Laura Denham, Author at The Orbital

24Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Lifestyle

January Recipes! Sponge Cake and Butter Bean Pasta

Sponge Cake! You will need: 200g sugar 200g butter/margarine (at room temperature) 200g self-raising flour 4 eggs 1tsp vanilla extract 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 2. In a bowl, cream together the sugar and the butter/margarine until pale. 3. Gradually add in the eggs and the flour until well combined, then stir in the vanilla extract. 4. Either spoon the finished mixture into cupcake cases, or divide it evenly between two cake tins. 5. Bake in the oven. The cupcakes should take around 12-15 minutes, and the larger cakes will take around 25-30 minutes. Towards the end of the baking time, check whether they're done with a metal skewer (or a knife)– if you poke the skewer into the cake and withdraw it, it should come out clean. If any cake sticks to it, your cake is ...

24Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Lifestyle

Magic on Parade

*Disclaimer: this article contains magic* Walt Disney is one of the most influential figures of an individual's childhood and their dreams. Everyone has his or her favourite film and accompanying songs, and the princess they all wanted to be (for the record I wanted to be Belle – did you see her library?!). Disney is gender and age inclusive. Which is why the week before Christmas I saw myself and three friends head off to Disneyland Paris to celebrate our 21st birthdays in style. This trip had been in operation since October, and to say we were excited was an understatement – even though three of us had been before. From the moment we arrived and saw our Cars themed hotel we turned into excitable children, bouncing up and down, admiring the bedding, lights, wallpaper and even the bathroo...

24Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Lifestyle

Healthy Eating, Healthy Living

This time of year sees all of us peering down at the scales in a haze of post-Christmas regret. During my gap year last year, I was lucky enough to meet lots of inspirational people (personal trainers, nutritionists, yoga fanatics, health enthusiasts), all of whom passed on great advice that contributes to living the healthiest, happiest lifestyle possible. I'm Healthy Hannah, and here are my tips on how to stay healthy in the new year. Eat three meals a day. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Factually, people who eat breakfast are slimmer than those who don't. And breakfast is a great thing: it starts up the metabolism, gets us fuelled for the day ahead, and will stop those awful hunger pangs at ten o'clock and the Kit Kat we seek thereafter. Think 80/20. I've noticed that many people decide ...

24Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Features

New Year, New You?

As another year passes, it is with a fond farewell we wave goodbye to 2013. I feel it's only right to have a cursory backward glance at some highlights of ‘yesteryear'. In January we had the horsemeat scandal, to be fair I didn't really notice the change in the Tesco burgers, then again I normally prefer my Lidl pony (sorry I had to). Then in February the Pope resigned and as 2013 gained momentum, we saw a real-life, low budget Russian remake of Armageddon, complete with shattered windows and hysterical drunk members of the public – it was then that the meteor hit. As well as this, America broke for a little while, with millions of employees put on leave until Obama turned the economy off, then on again (which obviously fixed everything). But I do think that for me, the defining cultural ...

24Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Features

Year Abroad: Vacation or Education?

It is only sometimes when I stop and glance at the majestic, snow-capped mountains outside my bedroom window that I remember how lucky I am to be living abroad. Caught between the French Pyrenees and the Mediterranean beaches, my home away from home is a French-Catalan town in the South of France, called Perpignan. Not many people can just pack their bags and jet off to another country to live for a year. But as a modern languages student, this opportunity is actually compulsory. Forced to go abroad to meet new people, explore new cultures and enjoy weather that is evidently going to beat the gloomy UK any time of the year? Go on then. But is the year abroad as easy and fun-filled as jumping on a plane and living a life of luxury for a whole year? If someone asked me this question about t...

24Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Features

‘Drunk in Love’ or Mild Indifference?

For Beyoncé: Beyoncé, in the simplest terms, is the epitome of the modern feminist. With songs that speak to women across the world and voice feminist issues, she has slowly become somewhat an idol to many. Whilst building her career she has managed to maintain a successful marriage and given birth to a child; a feat admired by me personally and I am sure by many others. Though, she hasn't always had the support of some women through singing (on some albums) solely about men and sex. According to some this means that she isn't a true feminist- but not in my opinion. In modern society the media creates our understanding of the world and how we see it, this means that artists must now go further than creating music, they must become a role model, sex icon or both- why is that a bad thing w...

14Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Opinion

A Debate over Puppy Therapy at SURHUL.

Mental Health is Important, but Puppies aren't the Answer. (Original Article) Mental Health issues are a complicated, yet common thing within society and I'm glad to see the SU is responding to it through its Mental Health Awareness Week in January. They say mental health problems will affect 1 in 4 people, therefore any efforts to tackle the stigma around talking about such problems are very welcome. However, it is important we get our facts right about what helps and what doesn't. At the end of last term ‘Puppy Therapy' was a hugely successful event at the SU, and why wouldn't it be? Dogs are lovely, and one can't help but feel for the ones at Battersea Dogs home who are without a family to love them. What I do take contention with, however, is the misleading link between this activity ...

14Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Opinion

Depression: Illness, not Weakness

*Trigger Warning: mentions of self harm* Being a student is not always easy. Whilst the common perception of students is that they booze and sleep their way through their degrees, in reality, the workload can pile up and many students, especially those in their first year, can become lonely and homesick. For some students, however, it is not a case of feeling a bit down every now and again; the struggle with these negative emotions can become a part of everyday life. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was seventeen. In my case, this was mostly due to an unsettled upbringing and the death of two family members in only a few years. My problems had started at the age of 14, but I had been discouraged from seeking help by friends and family, passing my behaviour off as “being ...

14Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

Opinion

The Tories Must be Stopped from Re-writing History!

2014 marks the centenary of the start of World War One, a travesty that shook the world and claimed millions of lives. For many, it will be a year of mourning or reflection, though for some revisionist historians, being led by key Tory politicians, it is an opportunity to challenge what we remember altogether. In October 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that his government would spend £55 million on commemorating this centenary year, comparing the ‘celebration' he wants to lead to that of the Diamond Jubilee. Michael Gove too recently laid the gauntlet for this commemorative year by condemning ‘left wing myths' about world war one, supposedly spread by programmes like ‘Blackadder' and ‘left wing academics'. He states that those who fought in the war were actually ‘…consc...

14Feb

By Laura DenhamNo Comments

News

The EDL in Slough

On February 1st of this year, members from the far- right organisation ‘The English Defence League' lead a protest in the nearby town of Slough. Announced as part of a series of demos across the country, a statement on the group's website states that the demo is against the conversion of a local community centre into a mosque and the creation of an all-girls Muslim faith-school in the area. The controversial group had a conflicting 2013, seeing an upsurge in activity following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby by a pair of extremists, holding protests up and down the country. This was followed by the resignation of its leader, Tommy Robinson, in October stating his concerns for growing far- right extremism in the group as his reason. The February demo will be one of the first under new Lead...