Egham – Page 6 of 11

Say his name: how Candyman’s sharp social commentary exposes the horrors of reality

16Oct

By Kianna BestNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

Say his name: how Candyman’s sharp social commentary exposes the horrors of reality

Nowhere near as sweet as he sounds, the urban legend of Candyman is rooted in the bitter realities of racism at the hands of white supremacy, birthing a monster and personifying the terrors of oppression. Arguably ahead of its time, the origins of the frightful hook handed menace stem from the realities of a history not so long ago, placing the slasher film and systemic racism alongside each other to induce the greatest levels of fear. The son of slaves and a product of the sinister consequences of the Jim Crow era, Bernard Rose’s Candyman (1992) places on the big screen the constantly perpetuated message that the Black man must be feared. Told from the perspective of graduate student Helen Lyle, the motivations of the Cabrini-Green bogeyman are touched upon but fall back to the ...

Back to Live, Back to Reality: Bloodstock Review

16Oct

By Amber BrooksNo Comments

Features, Music

Back to Live, Back to Reality: Bloodstock Review

It took a long time to get to Bloodstock festival. There was a four hour train from Egham, but that was nothing compared to the two years I had been waiting for live music to return. The journey was long and arduous; there was so much at stake for the performance industry who had suffered greatly at the callous hands of the pandemic. Yet there was no greater joy than standing in a field in the Midlands for the UK's largest metal festival. Festivals were the glorious beginning of bringing live music back. The government introduced pilot events to test the spread of the virus, with festivals such as Latitude, Download Pilot (A downsized version of the Donnington giant) and Tramlines. Fortunately, there were only 28 positive cases of COVID-19 amongst the 58,000 people who attended these t...

The Mermaid of Black Conch Review: A Mermaid Love Story fused with Colonialism

16Oct

By Leah EdwardsNo Comments

Literature

The Mermaid of Black Conch Review: A Mermaid Love Story fused with Colonialism

Monique Roffey’s The Mermaid of Black Conch has recently gained a lot of publicity, having won Costa Book of the Year in 2020 and more recently, a BBC Sounds audio adaptation. Whether they’re sirens in Greek mythology luring sailors to their deaths, or tiny, doe-eyed Disney characters in colourful seashell bras, we’ve seen and read mermaids in all their forms. On the surface, the novel appears to be just another folk-lore tale, but below scratch beneath the water’s surface and it’s a deeply unique story. The Mermaid of Black Conch is not your typical white European Disney Princess, but an indigenous woman from long agow with a tribal tattoo covered torso. And, instead of a glamorous underwater paradise, the setting is a post-colonial Caribbean world. The novel takes place in April 1...

16Oct

By A.L WalesNo Comments

Creative Writing

I Do Not Write Love Poetry

but memoirs on your arcs pilings of tobacco peppered question marks morning it is raining paraoxysms from my crown wordlessly you pour for me tempers tremors now dusk I am awake again here another drought I silhouette your body softly smoke you out Photo credits: Photo by Robert Ruggiero on Unsplash

16Oct

By A.L WalesNo Comments

Creative Writing

Gutter Talk

early mornings in plettenberg bay five am & the sun was not yet high but it was warm still and bright plett sun is a different breed rich was by my side back then & red flocks flew west when they heard that laugh hingeless & hungered & hollering oorah those ears car doors on a sedan in midsummer left open to cool him down I was in Kensington when he next called midday my time midnight his I heard the tik screech through his jangled mind & lacerate his words discordant until the teakettle boiled into a goodbye & the smack of bone on tile it was a sickening sound at night I dream of africa the waves smash against my mind & the moon is still not high ...

Bedtime Stories for a Grieving Child no. 4: Royal Holloway on Fiction

16Oct

By Zaki ChanNo Comments

Creative Writing

Bedtime Stories for a Grieving Child no. 4: Royal Holloway on Fiction

His wrinkles were gone. His crows’ feet only just starting to set in, the laugh lines around his mouth less pronounced than what I was used to. He wore his starched white business shirt, sweat faintly dripping down his brow, his hair just starting to recede. There he stood in his stiff work clothes, a handkerchief just peeping out of his pocket. “Well? Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Dad said, a hint of playfulness creeping into his voice. I smelt the cigarettes off his breath. There was pandan in the air somewhere. I tasted the ash in my mouth. He accompanied me all the way to the hospital, making small comments about the old photos that I found in his old apartment, even after he separated from Mom. He kept the different rings that they wore during their marriage, tucked ...

The appeal of autumn: Reasons to Fall in Love with Autumn

16Oct

By Jessica WattsNo Comments

Features, Lifestyle

The appeal of autumn: Reasons to Fall in Love with Autumn

It’s that time of year again: the earth applies her sepia filter and autumn arrives. It’s the season that calls for dad jumpers, thick socks, and hot chocolate on tap. Scarves, bobble hats and fingerless gloves seep into everyday outfits and you start pondering over your boot collection, wondering whether last year’s Chelsea boots are still ‘in’. It sounds so romantic that it’s easy to forget the correlation between the fall in temperature and the rise in mental illness. Autumn and winter are largely polled as people’s least favourite seasons. The latter half of the year isn’t as romantic as it might seem, but is there a way to rekindle our love for autumn this year? S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a condition which affects up to three in a hundred people in the UK. A somewhat ...

The Dos and Don’ts of Halloween Costumes in 2021

16Oct

By Beth McCleanNo Comments

Lifestyle

The Dos and Don’ts of Halloween Costumes in 2021

Ah, Halloween; a strange time of year. For some, it’s a day of celebrating old traditions, a way to honour the dead and make them immortal through our memories. For others, it’s a time where you can get discounted chocolates and binge horror movies. Regardless of how you celebrate the end of October, one thing is certain: whether they are meticulously planned or thrown together at the last minute, there will be copious numbers of chaotic costumes. However, if you don’t know where to start, here are some Dos and Don’ts to help you get your act together. DO: be sensitive to other cultures. Although we have made great strides in bringing attention to insensitive costumes, unfortunately, common Halloween attire still includes ‘Mexican’ ‘Native American’ & ‘Tribal’ outfits. These ...

15Oct

By Luz Sanchez-Real ZielniewiczNo Comments

Science & Technology

Much Ado About Sleeping

The end of summer feels like the end of a dream. Lie-ins morph into morning lectures; you never seem to win the daily battle with your alarm clock; and all you really want is to finish that dream about the llama and the-- never mind... Sometimes, it seems that getting a good nights’ sleep (and then waking up again) is harder than getting your actual degree. You’re likely aware that there are different stages of sleep which affect how you’ll feel when you wake up. However, it’s difficult to get the timing just right. To paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘the course of true rest never did run smooth’. If we break it down, though, you might just figure out how to wake up feeling fresh as a daisy and ready for all of those 9AMs... The first step to a solid sleep is the non-REM (REM = Rapid ...

Back Gate To Close Overnight, Following Resident Complaints

16Jul

By Jamie WoodsNo Comments

News

Back Gate To Close Overnight, Following Resident Complaints

In what has been described as a "difficult" decision, Royal Holloway College have today announced they are going to resume closing the back gate overnight. From the start of term in September, the gate will be closed at 12:30AM each night, and re-opened at 5AM. The back gate originally closed at 12:45 on Friday and Saturday and 11:15 throughout the remainder of the week. The back entrance to campus is located on Spring Rise by the Senate House Library depository. It had been opened overnight in January 2018 following lengthy campaigns run by students and the Students' Union, starting with a petition in 2015. Access had been provided through the use of swipe cards outside of regular hours. The announcement follows lobbying from local residents, who told the college that students ar...