Always a bridesmaid...and what's wrong with that?

After watching the new movie '27 Dresses', i have to say i felt a close connection to the main character who in the movie is a bridesmaid 27 different times and is not only very good at the job and helps out with the planning of the wedding but also enjoys being a bridesmaid. With all that superstition like three times is bad luck and 'always a bridesmaid never a bride', i ask what's wrong with being a bridesmaid when your helping someone close to you on their special day?

I have been a bridesmaid twice. Once when i was five for my cousins wedding and the second time when i was eight for my aunties wedding. I loved being apart of the ceremony and watching my family or soon to be family walk down the aisle, just like Jane describes in the film when she is discussing why she loves being a bridesmaid so much. Although i was too young to take part in the main preparation of the wedding, i still believe i played big part in it all as i was the only bridesmaid at both weddings and was driven in the same car as the bride herself. I was also on the head table and was in many of the special photographs. The best part of all was when the bride thanked me for being her bridesmaid as you know then that you did the job well.

With two of my closest friends engaged now I'm sure there will be many more opportunities for me and although their weddings aren't for a couple of years i just hope they know I'm here if they need me as I'm always ready to help out a friend on their special day.

The film itself was very funny and emotional in parts and i definitely would recommend it. All the actors played their roles brilliantly, especially the hilarious Judy Greer (the yoga scene is a classic!), but the best part of the film would have to be the dresses. The many crazy and embarrassing dresses. It's all happy endings by the end but shh! I don't want to spoil it!

What China tells them

We all know there is growing concern in China over the continuing riots and the new threat to the up and coming China Olympics of 2008. What we don't all know is what it's exactly like in China at this present time and what the Chinese public are going through.
The censorship of the Communist Chinese government play a huge part in the controlling of it's citizens and are a lot worse than we thought. The unrest has been felt in China, especially in areas with high Tibetan population, for many years dating back to around the 1940's due to ethnic and religious hatred and also by the rising inflation and food costs which forced many families out on to the street and madethe sight of starved corpses quite common. A British source currently living in China told me that there are vast differences between the rich and the poor, despite Communist ideology being everyone is equal. However, both classes undergo the same influences from the Chinese media.
There have been many unexplained stories which have been banned by Chinese censors from being broadcasted and this has become stricter and stricter over the last few years especially over issues such as health, education, inflation and stories concerning China's national leaders which are all big issues affecting China currently.
What i found most shocking from what my source told me was how the rioter's and protesters were being portrayed in the Chinese media. When reports are being shown to the Chinese public about the riots, those involved are not displayed as being ordinary citizens looking for change and a better way of life, but are presented as terrorists only out to cause trouble. With all the casualties and deaths caused by the rioting, two different death tolls were given. The Chinese official news agency, Xinhua, announced the death toll was at 19, whereas, the Tibet's Government-in-exile put the figure at around 100 although the reports are unconfirmed.
The overall concern currently is with the threat of athletes boycotting the Olympics in the hope that the rioting will cease but i wonder how it could ever end unless certain problems are resolved and how on earth they can hold Olympics when they are in the middle of a crisis such as this.

Sixthform Art Trip to St Petersburg

This year’s Sixth form trip, organised by Mrs Downey, was to the famous, historical, Russian city of St Petersburg and was attended by 23 students. The enthusiastic group departed from Willink School in the early hours of Monday morning on the 18th February and were to embark on two plane flights on their way to their final destination of St Petersburg.
On arrival the excited group, mostly due to the sight of snow, piled on to a coach and got their first taste of Russian city life. When they arrived at the hotel, Hotel Rossiya, they quickly settled into their rooms and came down for what proved to be an unusual and interesting dinner, made even more interesting by the heavy snowfall outside. Temptation got the better of us and we were soon outside hurling snow balls around, most of which were aimed in Mrs Tang’s direction. Another attraction in Russia which became popular in the evening was the hotel bar and the prospect of real Russian Vodka!
The next few days were filled with sight seeing which displayed to us some amazing and incredible Russian buildings, including the many palaces in the city. We got to visit St Peter’s and St Paul’s fortress which included the burial place of the famous Russian royal family and then spent the rest of the morning exploring the Aurora, a famous symbol of the Communist revolution. At lunch time students were expected to find their own food around St Petersburg’s Art Square near the spectacular Church of Spilled Blood.
We also visited many Museums and gallery’s celebrating the history of Russia and St Petersburg. The Hermitage was a must as it was once the Winter Palace now converted into a giant art gallery displaying art from around the world. After a very long trek around the gallery we were treated to something extremely new, The Russian Opera, many of which enjoyed whilst other’s were quite happy to get their first opera experience other and done with.
The next day we were shown around the famous Russian porcelain factory which gave the opportunity for more souvenir shopping, something that we all enjoyed. We then had an eventful evening at Nikolaevsky Palace with a Russian Folklore show. The many extremely talented acts had us laughing and clapping along the entire time and were especially exciting when one of our group was invited on stage to join in with the dancing. There were many surprises that night including some flirtatious female dancers, an instrumental boot, two frisky Eskimos and also some Russian dancing of course.
On the last day we received one final treat of being taken to Pushkin Palace which had many breathtaking rooms including a room made of amber! The Pavlovsk gardens also looked astonishing in the heavy snowfall which hit us that day. Afterwards we headed to the airport and said goodbye to Russia. The trip was a huge success and we’d all like to thank Mrs Downey for organising the trip. Many of yr 12 are all ready preparing for next years art trip which is rumoured to be to Istanbul.