Is Poetry the new Comedy/Black/Slash/Whatever?
By Monkey Poet “What do you do?” “I'm a poet...” “I mean to put food on the table.” “I poet.” “....!!!!” I've had this conversation so many times over the last five years, I stopped counting at 'hundreds'. However, due to the current resurgence in Poetry's popularity, with John Cooper-Clarke doing Arenas, Tim Minchin's beat epic Storm, Kate Tempest on the cover of the New York Times, Holly McNish in the Guardian...no wonder the earthy colloquial response of “eff off!”...
Girlhood – Film Review
by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada Girlhood is the story of Marième's journey from obedient child to defiant girl gang member to young adult fending for herself. It is a story of black female teenagers in the suburbs of Paris. It is a story of female friendship. It is a story of strength, of finding your way out. Marième grows up with many restrictions. Her mother is mostly at work, leaving her to look after her two younger sisters. Her older brother...
Billboards! Social Media is the Real Body-Shamer
By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent Protein World's 'Beach Body Ready' campaign has kicked up such a big fuss of late you would have thought body-shaming was a new concept, but the reality is that the girl in the yellow bikini has merely drawn people's attention to a more prominent body shaming platform, one that is far more pronounced and more destructive than any London Underground billboard ad. Social media compounds body image issues in ways no other platform has ever managed...
The Feminist Library turns 40
Like all powerful, female forces of nature, London’s Feminist Library is just getting better with age. To celebrate its 40th year, here are some of the arts highlights from its programme. Women and Tattoos 25th April 2015 With the amazing discussion-starter “Why you should never, ever get a tattoo (but having a baby is fine)”, pop along to the Library to debate the contradictory nature of what society says women should and shouldn’t do with their bodies. Here’s something for...
Adventures with the idiot Dog…
By John Locke ( Warning!- Do not read this if you are of a squeamish personality) We leave the train on Sunday at Manchester Piccadilly after the lad has barked at every train stop on the journey, ( he also tried to eat a huge lurcher in the next compartment, and scared a Polish cyclist somewhere outside Runcorn ) unless I offered him a Polo mint or let him stand on my legs like a panting mountain goat with the...
London’s Outdoor Art
Not sure about you but we’re pretty excited about the weather we’ve been having recently, and it can be kind of hard to resist the urge to spend every spare moment reclining in the park with a tepid Red Stripe. But catching some of the recent rays doesn’t have to mean missing out on culture in our fair city. Check out these London art walks. SLAM Fridays The South London Art Map (SLAM to its friends) runs Friday art tours and...
The Top 5 Pregnancy Exercise Questions you want to know the Answers to
By Dr Joanna Helcké I have the privilege of living in what many consider to be the UK’s sporting capital; Loughborough. With a University that attracts top athletes from across the UK, physical activity and sport is to be seen quite literally everywhere as people jog, run and bike their way around the area. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that as an expert in pregnancy exercise I find myself on the receiving end of lots of pregnancy fitness questions and...
What does Maglev mean for the Future of Rail Travel?
By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent Last week news filtered through that Japan's Maglev had set a speed record of 374 miles per hour. As plans are HS2 are unveiled in Britain, cutting journey time between London and Birmingham from 1hr 21min to 49min, the experimental magnetic levitation train looks set to slash times between Tokyo and Nagoya to 40 minutes - a trip that takes five hours by car. With intercity travel back on the agenda, what does this mean for the future of...
Part 3: Know your rights as a tenant of private rented property
By Bea Patel, Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent - The Estate Agent comparison site In the previous two articles in this four part series, I looked at Tips for moving into private rented property and Tips for when living in your private rented property. This week I’ll cover information about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant. When you move into a private rented property, you’ll have a tenancy agreement. This agreement is a written or...