Album of the Summer (Review)

The Beach Boys – 20 Good Vibrations (Greatest Hits)

When I think of the summer, personally no other band says it better than The Beach Boys. Being a fan from a young age they have become my favorite artist to listen to in the summer, and I recommend them to anyone wanting some different music this summer.

Used to symbolize the beach and California style in many films, The Beach Boys bring a distinct happiness to their music through instrumentation and harmonies (they really do like they’re harmonies!), and follow in the Beatles footsteps at creating new sounds for their music. Lead singer and Bass player for the band, Brian Wilson even had a sand-box brought into his house underneath his piano to create the Beach ‘Ambience’ he so followed.

With their discography spanning more than 20 albums within their career it’s hard to pinpoint their must have album, so I’ll do the obvious thing and suggest their Greatest Hits! This version of their greatest hits features their best songs from many different albums and time periods in their music, including famous tracks such as ‘Surfin’ USA’ and ‘Good Vibrations’. Their style, known as Surf Pop is the perfect way to bring in the summer, the upbeat sounds and melodies of such songs as ‘Wouldn’t it be nice’ will put a summer time smile on anyone’s face.

In terms of prices, brand new you’ll be looking at around 20 pounds as most of the songs on the album were re-mastered into stereo recordings, however if you look around on Amazon you can find great deals on the album and others alike. Some CD sellers often do bundles of their albums along with the greatest hits for fairly cheap, due to their ever growing fan base that never seems to die out.

Concerns for Winchester Hospital (Edit)

“Don’t let our Hospital disappear” is the tone local Winchester MP Mark Oaten is setting for the community. Plans have recently been made to move most of Royal Hants surgical, orthopaedic and maternity services to Southampton, after complaints that there are not enough of these services in the larger neighbouring City.

This is a big problem for the Hospital, if the plan gets carried out the Hospital will be downgraded and less services will be available. Oaten is asking the Winchester public to voice their opinions on the matter, additionally focusing on where their money is being spent. “We would create patient contracts allowing individuals to decide where their money is spent and on what”, Oaten claims.

Oaten represents the Liberal Democrats and is married with two Daughters; he claims this enhances his views on the health service both locally and nationally because he wants a high level of service in case anything happens to them.

The Liberal Democrats have also released a website, ‘NHS SOS’ that sets out the ways in which they plan to make the service better for everyone. The County Council in Winchester are planning to support the scheme fully, as always working along side the Local MP to get the publics voices heard. Only time will tell if the plans will be effective, and if the Winchester locals will support all plans made by their representatives.

The Budget 2008

This years Budget Report from the HM Treasury is set out for change. It contains the Governments plans for medium-term economic position and its tax and spending plans. It comes at an interesting time, what with the problems of the Housing Market and prices in decline; will the new formed ideas of the Government be able to make a change to our Economy?

Included in the Budget Report is the statement “the economy is stable and resilient, and continuing to grow, and that the Government is meeting its strict fiscal rules for the public finances.” Although is this true? Current inflation in the Housing Market seems to be settling back down over the past month however Evan Davis (BBC Finance Reporter) states – “There is always a two year silly frenzy that has to be undone.” Although this has to be done through the help of the Government as well and there are no immediate passages in the Report that cover such schemes.

Hon Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary also draws upon the factor of Globalisation, and how the UK must adapt to a stronger economy to welcome in the policies of other Countries. He highlights the importance of the Labour and Capital markets and states that these are key to making the economy more stable and cost-efficient. Linking back to the Housing Market the Report also highlights plans to make further business start-up an easier process for independent people, meaning that this may lead to an Increase in more Housing related businesses being formed.

Especially hopeful are those involved in buying property and renting it out as a Hotel or Home, the Governments plans to make this an easier process should allow some change to be made to the Housing Market, and may bring a change to the inflating prices on property. Although there are concerns that this change will be minimal, and that the plans proposed in the Budget Report are certainly not enough to bring an end to the Housing Market troubles.

If you would like to discover more about how the Budget Report 08 can help you, focusing especially on the above themes, phone 020 7270 4558 and ask for information about ‘Enterprise: Unlocking the UK’s talent’.

Radio News Day – Crimestoppers arrests

Simon Theobalds, Hampshire Crimestoppers’ co-ordinator, today stated that arrests have risen by twenty-nine percent in Hampshire thanks to the anonymous Crimestoppers line.

The Countys figures are better than most others, receiving one thousand, seven hundred and seventy seven calls last year. This was a record figure and twenty percent more than the last 12 months.

Hampshire’s chief constable, Paul Kernaghan made the following statement on the matter “The force’s detection rates have risen significantly this year, and Crimestoppers information has certainly assisted this.”

Festival Madness!

I’ve just spent the last few days attempting to buy a Weekend ticket to this years Reading festival, what a stressful time it has been!

The idea was to buy 3 Weekend tickets to the festival with two Uni friends, but this soon became a very tough mission, having to guess times when the already crash-prone website would say there were tickets available. So after an evening of guessing our lives away tiredness eventually kicked in, forcing us to retreat and relax our ‘Refresh page’ fingures. I managed to wake up at 9am to find tickets available on the site, and rushing to the phone we all began ordering the tickets we needed, until right at the end of the purchase is says those 4 dreaded words – “Sorry, Tickets sold out.”

So we eventually phoned up my local box office and to our immense happiness got the day tickets we wanted. And now I have the time to relax and reflect on the energy it has taken, I wonder if this is the future for Festivals like this? My family gave me the ‘Back in my day’ talk about how tickets were only £40 and available on the door, with legends such as The Who and David Bowie playing. Now look at the price and commotion we have to go through to even get day tickets!

Expect a Review of the event after the Festival. Ranting over now – it should be an amazing Festival this year with an all star line-up! Follow the link to the official site below.

http://www.readingfestival.com/home/

Dispatches – Undercover in Tibet

3 Months Undercover, thats dedication to the cause. ‘Attempting something which has never taken place before’ a Free Tibetan named Tash Despar, attempts to show the reality of the crisis in Tibet and faced Imprisonment if he was found.

Amazing video of the crossing over the Himalayas that some of the Tibetans take to escape the Chinese shows them being gunned down “Like Dogs” and interviews with some of the survivors. I found this facinating as they were able to voice their opinions safely to the Dispatches crew, whilst being backed up with real footage from the scene they are describing.

This episode is a big change into the ways Journalism is created and broadcast, especially video Journalism. There is no doubt that this documentary will be remembered for its style and content. Even the fillers are strategically placed to enhance the scenes being set by the narrator, many of the homes created by the Chinese to house Tibetans are located out in the middle of no-where. A falcon or bird of prey is filmed, maybe as a symbol of the dense area in which they live.

In various stages of the program, shots are also filmed from inside the car of police following them curiously, a very risky way to get the shots.

The most memorable scene for me was an interview with a woman who was forced to be sterilised in the most cruel way I have ever heard of, and in the interview agrees to show the scars to the camera. Tash remains calm and keeps the interview running smoothly and allows pauses for the woman to really speak her mind, finishing the interview with “Since then people are too scared to have many Children.”

Whilst this blog is just my view on how well the program was created and carried out, you can find an interesting debate on the Channel 4 News site by folowing this link!

http://community.channel4.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/503603557/m/4800077679

The Railway Inn – Open Mic Nights Review

 

On Mondays The Railway Inn opens its doors to one and all for an Open Mic night, aimed at finding and showcasing all the talent Winchesters Live community has to offer.

I went down to check out the night, and any upcoming acts that are worth looking out for. Many regulars play there every week, and you get a real sense of community spirit in the Music Room, located at the back of the Inn. The room has a fairly large stage area as well as a bar and lots of seating. The black, UV and candle light surrounding the tables adds to the ambient feel of the night and it’s a great place to relax after a stressful day of lectures!

Simply writing your acts name down before the night gets you on the list to play, and students are welcome to play at the night, a few of the bands being from the University and hoping to kick off their music making careers.

In my opinion the act to watch out for the most was Ruth Theodore, a young artist from London who is set to release her debut album, ‘Wormfood’ on River Rat Records this month. “13 tracks of beautifully twisted, political and personal mayhem” according to her flyers. A female version of ‘Newton Faulkner’ is the way to sum up her sound, with added elements of rap. Certainly an entertaining act to watch I would recommend checking out her Myspace page! (Listed Below)

Genre wise the night is primarily aimed at the Acoustic fans out there, however Rock bands appear and also Jazz Trios and Doubles to chill you out even more. Poetry contests also happen now and again, as well as stand up Comedy acts, this really is an ‘Open Mic’ night – anything seems to go!

Definitely worth going down to, the night will continue through the Easter break, so if you’re staying at Uni over the holidays it’s a great chill out venue to get away from all that work! Alternatively when you return check it out from 8 till 11 every Monday night.

News Story for our News Day Papers!

Hampshire Ambulance – Response Times

The Hampshire Emergency Services have the same problem as many others, response times. With a high rate of calls coming from the Winchester area the time it takes for a service to reach the scene is often tested to the max, especially when it comes to Ambulances.

Chairman for the Hampshire Ambulance Service, Tony Barron said “We make sure that all of our Response Units are trained professionally and carry all of the necessary equipment. Response times are a constant reminder to us that every second really does count, and we try to reach the scene as quickly as possible.”

Most cases, Barron claims are to be reached within 8 to 19 minutes, depending on the class of how serious they are. Classes range from ‘Life Threatening’ to ‘Regular’ which is often given to cases of Binge Drinking. Barron also claimed that 30% of recent 999 calls have been due to drinking, focusing the attention on the teenagers of Winchester. Claire Severgnini, Chief Executive claimed – “The response times to more serious cases in Hampshire are often disrupted due to the party-goers out on the booze.”

We surveyed the public in Winchesters town centre to get their views on Response times, and the one recurring issue was that the town centre is one of the biggest problems for Ambulances. The winding crossroads located near the ‘O’Neils’ restaurant are often a problem due to traffic jams throughout the day.

The recent closure of Romsey Road’s bridge meant that a response time would suffer almost 5 extra minutes to reach neighbouring areas. Whilst the work could not be avoided most of the public said the Ambulance service should have been better prepared for such a closure.

So it seems as if a combination of common incidents within Winchester means that Ambulance services have to deal with a larger number of calls and have further distances to travel in some cases. Time will tell if they can counter this factor with new road routes or more Ambulances to cater for the publics needs, the Council may also consider creating plans to make access easier in the near future.

Martin Salter – Reading West MP

“The hardest working MP we’ve ever had!” claims his website, and this is very much a true statement within the town of Reading.

Martin Salter worked as the Regional Development Co-ordinator for a Housing Co-op for several years before deciding to aim his sites at becoming the Local MP of Reading West. Before that he was your typical hard working builder and cargo holder at Heathrow airport while he lived in London. Salter has also had a strong influence on the Labour party, voting moderately against the Iraq war and very strongly into the investigation behind the causes of the war and the decisions made.

Additionally in more controversial movements, he voted very strongly for both gay rights and the hunting ban, believing that we should all have a right to a good standard of living, animals of course included. He has also spoken in 36 debates, above average for most MP’s and seems to have a knack for talking to the younger generation, his speeches being understandable to most 17-18 year olds, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level reports.

His local influence extends over a wide range of people, especially the elderly with his help towards the Tilehurst’s allotment site that was due to be closed. He is also working to protect open spaces in Purley and elsewhere, being a very naturally influenced man with a passion for the Countryside. The allotment campaign is still going strong and plans have been made to protect the local site from being scrapped. The site still gets a big following within the older community and Salter feels that the site adds character to the local area. As well as enriching the lives of the elderly (another strong idea he follows).

If you wish to support the Tilehurst allotment campaign, or any of his others on the go at the moment, log onto his website – http://www.martinsalter.com/ and fill out his registration form. The strong following he has at the moment indicates that he is defiantly doing something right for the ever growing town, and he is certainly seen in a positive light by all of the local residents.

Gig Review – Southampton Guild Hall 11/2/08

On Monday 11^th Feb the happiest genre in music, Ska came blasting through the walls of the Southampton Guild Hall. The bands taking part, The Briggs, The Mad Caddies and Dropkick Murphy’s played their finest cuts of Punk/Ska greatness mixed with Irish and Scottish instruments such as Bagpipes and Banjos.

The two supporting acts, Briggs and Caddies opened the show with ferocity, the crowd skanking away (Crazy free roam dancing) at the centre of the stage, showing their appreciation for them. The Briggs are definitely a upcoming act to watch out for, check them out on their myspace page – The first album has already been released and was on sale at the gig for a reasonable £5, their songs also soon to be available on itunes for download.

The Mad Caddies, originating from the USA, are clearly just as popular over here, their famous songs such as ‘Monkey’ being played and the crowd was becoming ecstatic at the choice of song. Their style combines Punk with Ska and also elements of Reggae and Blues, truly music to have a dance too. The newest album, ‘Keep it Going’ is a must buy for any fans of these genres, especially with summer on the horizon – definitely a party album!

The main act of the evening, Dropkick Murphys ended the show with a bang. Their atmospheric opening set, combining Enya with a great lightshow was definitely a sight to get everyone filming on their cameras. They played for just over an hour, and after finishing the set by getting all the ladies from the first row up on stage to dance with them, were chanted back on stage to play two more songs.

In terms of pricing and travel for gigs at the Guild Hall, the journey takes roughly 15 minutes by train and costs £4.80 for a return ticket without a travel card, over a pound less if you have one though. Possible delays on trains aside, you will need to allow yourself a good hour to get the tickets and get to Southampton central, as the Guild Hall is a 10 minute walk from the train station itself.

You can check out the listings for future gigs on the bands websites and also the Guild Hall entertainment site, definitely a great place to go if you’re a fan of live, very loud music!