Francesca Tyer, Author at The Orbital

5Dec

By Francescatyer1No Comments

Features

RHUL Donate and Reuse

Donate and Reuse is one of many volunteering programmes offered at Royal Holloway. The project is currently in need of new volunteers to help run the programme and promote the reuse and recycling of clothing. Taking part is a great way to meet new people whilst also gaining experience as an individual. What is the Donate and Reuse volunteering project about? This is a campus project associated with the British Heart Foundation. It encourages students to donate their unwanted clothing, therefore promoting the reuse and recycling of these items. What kind of tasks are volunteers given? Through working as a volunteer, students would be promoting end of term collections, helping with the coordination of these collections, and distributing them to the Egham branch of the British...

Do you know the true origins of Halloween?

31Oct

By Francescatyer1No Comments

Features

Do you know the true origins of Halloween?

Halloween takes place on October 31st each year and is a time associated with trick-or-treating, ghosts, and scary costumes. This celebration has become a huge part of culture, but how many people know its true origins? The traditions we celebrate today have their roots in both Christian and Pagan festivals. Halloween rests on the eve of All Saints Day or All Hallows Day, a time many church practises used to celebrate the saints. The eve of this day became known as All Hallows Eve and which eventually merged to become Halloween. Traditionally, worshippers would go to church on All Hallows Eve to pray and fast before a day of feasting and celebration. All Souls Day, a day set on November 2nd to honour the dead, is also part of Christian tradition. The horror films, zombies, ghosts, ...

29Oct

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Features

Loneliness in Young People

Loneliness is something most people experience at least once during their lifetime. Whilst generally associated with older generations, it has come to light as an issue increasingly affecting young people. In April this year, the BBC published an article which suggested that loneliness is “more likely to affect young people” than those with greater life experience. The question that must be asked is this: why are young people suffering from loneliness? One contributing factor is the swift digitalisation of our modern world. The reliance most people, especially teenagers, place on technology is a major cause for concern. Frequent communication via Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram detaches young people from raw social experiences such as talking face-to-face. Whilst this issue is not exclu...

12Oct

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Sports & Socs

An interview with LINKS First Aid

First Aid is one of the most useful skills you can learn: teaching you how to treat small-scale injuries, such as cuts and sprains, to dealing with life threatening situations. I asked the president of the society, Alex Mullen, to answer a few questions regarding his experience as a member of LINKS. How would you pitch your society to potential new members? We are a First Aid Society; with strong, foundational links to St John Ambulance. It is the goal of the charity and therefore our goal to ensure that nobody suffers from a lack of trained first aiders. Everyone has been in the classic 'caring for a drunk friend' situation, but would you know what to do if they fell and hit their head, or became unresponsive and stopped breathing? We teach loads of useful first aid skills, and al...

19Mar

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Culture & Literature, Music, Theatre & Performance

Setting sail with HMS Pinafore

Savoy Opera’s production of ‘HMS Pinafore’ set sail last night amidst a sea of laughter. Niamh Dunne did a brilliant job directing the show, successfully combining the heart wrenching with the hilarious. Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedic Operetta is set on board HMS Pinafore. The story follows the plight of Josephine Corcoran and her forbidden love for the sailor Ralph Rackstraw. Tasha Crossley played Josephine convincingly, successfully conveying the false innocence of the character. The contrast of sweet naivety with awareness of sexual humour was delivered with capability. Will Maxwell brilliantly played Josephine’s unfortunate lover Ralph. He brought to the stage the injustice of their separation. I was particularly struck by his solo ‘The Nightingale Sighed’ in which the character’s e...

6Mar

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Features

Our Changing Language

Mansplaining and hangry, acorn and buttercup – words that made the news for different reasons. The new list of words joining the dictionary in January 2018 has been revealed. Several times a year, new words are added to the Oxford English Dictionary, words that have already become integrated into our society. This January, the BBC has reported that over 1,000 words have been added. Mansplaining and hangry are just two of these, both originating online. An article from The Guardian by Alison Flood reported that ‘Mumsnet’ was asked for advice when compiling the new list of words. Our language is increasingly drawn from technology – words used on the internet and on texts. Remember the introduction of selfie? The new list includes e-sport and e-liquid, once again words related to techno...

How can we remember the horrors of WW1? – A generation who weren’t there.

27Nov

By Francescatyer1No Comments

Lifestyle

How can we remember the horrors of WW1? – A generation who weren’t there.

If their names were picked from a hat, they went over the top. They ate parts of the packing wrapped round their food to stave their hunger. Many were conscripted before they were of age, passionate to fight for their country. 11.11, the day we remember those who gave their lives for their country – and it all stemmed from the signing of the Armistice in 1918. This was the day victory was secured for the allies and Germany suffered defeat. We use remembrance day as a time to connect to the past, but how can we really know what our ancestors suffered? I asked my grandma for her memories of my great grandfather’s experiences during the war. The most remarkable story she told me is that of the cigarette case that saved his life. Placed in his breast pocket the day he was shot, it stopp...

18Nov

By Francescatyer1No Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Worth Every Penny

Last night saw the opening performance of the Savoy Opera Society’s ‘The Threepenny Opera.’ The show took on a unique and thought-provoking perspective, brilliantly interpreted and directed by Rafael Aptroot. Aptroot set the show in a Post-Brexit world, moving away from Bertholt Brecht’s original Victorian setting. This modernised form was used to deliberately convey how our values have returned to those exercised by the Victorians. The story follows the anti-heroic actions of the notorious gang-leader Macheath (Mack the Knife) and his relationship with naive and determined Polly Peachum, played by Abi Smith. The wrath of her father, Mr Peachum, leads to the imprisonment of Mack. Peachum’s attempts to have him hanged are stalled by chief of police Tiger Brown, played by Barney Nunn and ...