Four weeks into the production of WINOL and it's about time I blogged on my thoughts on proceedings thus far.
All things considered the programme is now looking a lot more like a professional, well-rounded news and sport production. My role on the production team (and part-time presenter) has been a valuable experience and I have encountered many 'toils and snares' to quote a famous song lyric, all of which have furthered my education as a journalist.
The first week was always going to be riddled with cliches concerning rustiness and general lack of practise. To the team's credit, already by week two we were producing a bulletin that mirrored the standard that the third years reached at the end of last year. Similar standards were reached in weeks three and four, an effort praised by visiting guest editors from well-knows news corporations.
There are, however, a few minor issues to solve. Editorally, there appear to be few hard-hitting news stories with strong angles and pictures. Admittedly, Winchester is quite a sleepy town news-wise with only the odd parking issue rearing its ugly head now and again. On a positive note, it's good to see reporters working sequences into their packages and starting to eliminate the jarring GVs that smack of rushed filming and a general lack of pictures.
The sport team will always have the advantage of forward planning and has now reached the point where it can be creative and produce more entertaining news packages. It is easy for them to slip into a state of dependency on highlights rather than belt-and-braces news stories concerning sport. It would be nice to see a real sports news story rather than a procession of highlight reels.
The structure of WINOL is now easing the workload on the various departments. Consequently, the website now looks far more professional and eye-catching. The fact that content is pouring into the system is fantastic and, coupled with the drive to include more visual content (pictures and video), the website is now like a living, breathing organism compared to the asthmatic, forgotten runt of the litter it appeared to resemble a year ago. As a member of the production team, it's great to be able to come up with clever, pun-laden headlines when subbing a story.
Let's hope that by Christmas we can pull our socks up even further still and challenge for some serious student media awards. In my opinion, they can start engraving the trophy now. Here is the latest bulletin exclusively for your viewing pleasure.
Showing posts with label WINOL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WINOL. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Gonzo Journalism Piece - Election night through the eyes of a journalist
"Why are you all dressed up for?" Angus Scott broke off from his lecture with the first years to look at the usually scruffy individual, now stood before him resplendent in a sharp, tailored suit. "I'm presenting today", I replied.
Angus rolled his eyes before returning to his preaching. The man who I'd modelled my presenting outfit on was casting aspersions on my fashion sense? Not the start I needed to what turned out to be a long day. The previous night's early bedtime was abruptly ended by my noisy housemates returning from what sounded like a pretty good night on the tiles.
I sat at one of the computers in the newsroom and logged on wondering what on earth the people in the mock interview were going to ask me. I had only come in early to attend the damn thing otherwise I would most probably have still been in bed! "Oh my god I love your braces!". I whirled round to see two of my colleagues admiring my braces before finding myself having to explain my need for wearing them.
After a while I glanced at my watch to find it was nearly time for my mock interview. I strode into the studio to find only two other people from my class stood there. Nightmare. I'm dressed up to the nines for this and no-one else could be bothered to turn up. What made it worse was the final summing up of my performance in what had appeared to be a very relaxed interview: "your answers were a bit long..."
Around three o'clock I was met by the familiar figure of Brian Thornton. "We've had a bit of a think and have decided we need a wider picture on the election as a whole", he said, running his hand through his hair before bringing it to rest behind his head. He went on to explain his plan about my role before I was to present. "Yeah, sounds pretty good." I told him and began scouring the newspapers before the first rehearsal.
I was hooked up and ready to go to a static talkback system that gave me the movement radius of a whale in a bathtub. The rehearsal started and It wasn't too long before I made my first appearance on camera. "Go Tom" I heard in my ear before coming out with a string of nonsense in order to fill the time. Wow. Felt a bit like being on Sky Sports News. It's unbelievable Jeff...
I could hear people behind me in the newsroom laughing and cracked a smile. A moment later, the main anchor Graham Bell came storming through the newsroom door. "That was brilliant mate! We need to get you on camera more. It's so boring otherwise." I nodded my approval and turned to Brian who's smile confirmed my new role in the grand WINOL election coverage.
It was not until well into the first hour that I made my first appearance. My pre-broadcast bathroom break had disastrous consequences: I'd forgotten to turn my microphone back on. "And now let's cross over to Tom Otrebski who's in our newsroom this evening. Tom how's it looking over there?" came the voice over the talkback. Silence. Goldfishing. Absolute humiliation. "Well we're experiencing a few sound problems there we'll be back over to Tom shortly....".
"F**k! Forgot to turn my mike back on!". I cursed my lack of awareness to the rafters. "Don't swear" came the voice of Chris Horrie over my shoulder. All that time going over the handover in my head beforehand: "Yes thanks Graham, I can tell you one thing for sure. David Cameron is not YET Prime Minister. Gordon Brown is not calling the removal men just yet.". Brilliant stuff. All lost to the sands of time because of a silly mistake with the microphone.
As time wore on I grew more accustomed to my new role and began searching for any nuggets of information I could share with our surprisingly large audience. Queues at polling stations. People being turned away and not allowed to vote. Dynamite stuff! I began waving frantically at the camera to try and attract attention. "Tom's got something to share with us. Do we go over to Tom?" came the director's voice. Excellent. Here we go. To my horror, Graham is describing word-for-word what I was going to say. What am I going to say now? "Thanks Graham....well.....um...just to confirm that people have been turned away from polling stations across the country....".
Before too long the counts began slowly seeping through which thankfully gave me something to talk about. Quick cross-overs, breaking news, crashing into packages - this is more like it. Brown holds onto Kirkcaldy. Before long Cameron holds Witney. Another update was scheduled so I adjusted my earpiece and checked my tie in the window to my left. "Ok guys quiet I'm just about to go back on air" I said to the handful of people in the newsroom. Chris came over with a fistful of papers in his hand. "Right. Ok. Say that Cameron has said..." In my ear I can hear the director telling presenter Claire to cross back over to me. "Um, Chris..maybe in the next update" I interrupted. He nodded and shuffled away managing to hide whether he was disappointed or not.
Later I heard him say "I want to hear from somewhere tonight that the Tories are like a boxer landing blows but not making any knockout blows." I quickly scribbled a note on my muddle of papers and made sure to remember to use it. Sure enough they were back in the newsroom and the cameras were on me yet again. "Well from the counts coming in so far, the Conservatives are like a heavyweight boxer making his long-awaited comback into the ring. They're landing punches left, they're landing punches right but they can't find that knockout blow Graham!"
Cue roars of laughter behind me. I turned my head to find Chris doubled over as he chuckled with a broad smile on his face. He knocked it up and I smashed it back down the line for the winner.
In all the excitement, I seemed to have forgotten that it was nearly four in the morning. I looked at the clock and in one smooth movement my eyes clamped shut. After earlier pouring three cans of Red Bull down my throat I felt like penning an angry letter to the manufacturers there and then. Talk about a baptism of fire. The news that the Winchester count was delayed didn't help things. The declaration was now due around 5am.
Luckily as packages ran out, the more the studio crossed to me which helped keep my mind focused; in some small way, I was glad that outside broadcasts were dropping out on a more regular basis. As a result, the two-ways became much more conversational. During one link I remarked that Swindon South was my home constituency at which point Graham moved the conversation around to ice-hockey and Swindon's least known professional sports team.
As the whole team held their breath for the Winchester seat declaration, I poked my head out of the open window and was met with the dawn chorus. A lovely sound but a stark reminder of how long I had actually been on campus for. I perched on the edge of a seat and realised for the first time how much my feet were aching. Like a poorly made car from the 1970s I seemed to be slowly falling apart piece by piece.
Despite it now being light outside, the way Stuart Appleby described the Winchester declaration was something that will go down in WINOL folklore. "He's won! Brine's won!" came the cry as the massively pixellated image of something that resembled Stuart with a microphone moved around the screen.
The feeling of elation when we finally went off air was indescribable. At last I could start to think about my nice comfortable bed again. After over seven hours of live coverage we had achieved something truly groundbreaking for a student broadcaster. For all the aching and fatigue would I do it again? You bet I would.
Angus rolled his eyes before returning to his preaching. The man who I'd modelled my presenting outfit on was casting aspersions on my fashion sense? Not the start I needed to what turned out to be a long day. The previous night's early bedtime was abruptly ended by my noisy housemates returning from what sounded like a pretty good night on the tiles.
I sat at one of the computers in the newsroom and logged on wondering what on earth the people in the mock interview were going to ask me. I had only come in early to attend the damn thing otherwise I would most probably have still been in bed! "Oh my god I love your braces!". I whirled round to see two of my colleagues admiring my braces before finding myself having to explain my need for wearing them.
After a while I glanced at my watch to find it was nearly time for my mock interview. I strode into the studio to find only two other people from my class stood there. Nightmare. I'm dressed up to the nines for this and no-one else could be bothered to turn up. What made it worse was the final summing up of my performance in what had appeared to be a very relaxed interview: "your answers were a bit long..."
Around three o'clock I was met by the familiar figure of Brian Thornton. "We've had a bit of a think and have decided we need a wider picture on the election as a whole", he said, running his hand through his hair before bringing it to rest behind his head. He went on to explain his plan about my role before I was to present. "Yeah, sounds pretty good." I told him and began scouring the newspapers before the first rehearsal.
I was hooked up and ready to go to a static talkback system that gave me the movement radius of a whale in a bathtub. The rehearsal started and It wasn't too long before I made my first appearance on camera. "Go Tom" I heard in my ear before coming out with a string of nonsense in order to fill the time. Wow. Felt a bit like being on Sky Sports News. It's unbelievable Jeff...
I could hear people behind me in the newsroom laughing and cracked a smile. A moment later, the main anchor Graham Bell came storming through the newsroom door. "That was brilliant mate! We need to get you on camera more. It's so boring otherwise." I nodded my approval and turned to Brian who's smile confirmed my new role in the grand WINOL election coverage.
It was not until well into the first hour that I made my first appearance. My pre-broadcast bathroom break had disastrous consequences: I'd forgotten to turn my microphone back on. "And now let's cross over to Tom Otrebski who's in our newsroom this evening. Tom how's it looking over there?" came the voice over the talkback. Silence. Goldfishing. Absolute humiliation. "Well we're experiencing a few sound problems there we'll be back over to Tom shortly....".
"F**k! Forgot to turn my mike back on!". I cursed my lack of awareness to the rafters. "Don't swear" came the voice of Chris Horrie over my shoulder. All that time going over the handover in my head beforehand: "Yes thanks Graham, I can tell you one thing for sure. David Cameron is not YET Prime Minister. Gordon Brown is not calling the removal men just yet.". Brilliant stuff. All lost to the sands of time because of a silly mistake with the microphone.
As time wore on I grew more accustomed to my new role and began searching for any nuggets of information I could share with our surprisingly large audience. Queues at polling stations. People being turned away and not allowed to vote. Dynamite stuff! I began waving frantically at the camera to try and attract attention. "Tom's got something to share with us. Do we go over to Tom?" came the director's voice. Excellent. Here we go. To my horror, Graham is describing word-for-word what I was going to say. What am I going to say now? "Thanks Graham....well.....um...just to confirm that people have been turned away from polling stations across the country....".
Before too long the counts began slowly seeping through which thankfully gave me something to talk about. Quick cross-overs, breaking news, crashing into packages - this is more like it. Brown holds onto Kirkcaldy. Before long Cameron holds Witney. Another update was scheduled so I adjusted my earpiece and checked my tie in the window to my left. "Ok guys quiet I'm just about to go back on air" I said to the handful of people in the newsroom. Chris came over with a fistful of papers in his hand. "Right. Ok. Say that Cameron has said..." In my ear I can hear the director telling presenter Claire to cross back over to me. "Um, Chris..maybe in the next update" I interrupted. He nodded and shuffled away managing to hide whether he was disappointed or not.
Later I heard him say "I want to hear from somewhere tonight that the Tories are like a boxer landing blows but not making any knockout blows." I quickly scribbled a note on my muddle of papers and made sure to remember to use it. Sure enough they were back in the newsroom and the cameras were on me yet again. "Well from the counts coming in so far, the Conservatives are like a heavyweight boxer making his long-awaited comback into the ring. They're landing punches left, they're landing punches right but they can't find that knockout blow Graham!"
Cue roars of laughter behind me. I turned my head to find Chris doubled over as he chuckled with a broad smile on his face. He knocked it up and I smashed it back down the line for the winner.
In all the excitement, I seemed to have forgotten that it was nearly four in the morning. I looked at the clock and in one smooth movement my eyes clamped shut. After earlier pouring three cans of Red Bull down my throat I felt like penning an angry letter to the manufacturers there and then. Talk about a baptism of fire. The news that the Winchester count was delayed didn't help things. The declaration was now due around 5am.
Luckily as packages ran out, the more the studio crossed to me which helped keep my mind focused; in some small way, I was glad that outside broadcasts were dropping out on a more regular basis. As a result, the two-ways became much more conversational. During one link I remarked that Swindon South was my home constituency at which point Graham moved the conversation around to ice-hockey and Swindon's least known professional sports team.
As the whole team held their breath for the Winchester seat declaration, I poked my head out of the open window and was met with the dawn chorus. A lovely sound but a stark reminder of how long I had actually been on campus for. I perched on the edge of a seat and realised for the first time how much my feet were aching. Like a poorly made car from the 1970s I seemed to be slowly falling apart piece by piece.
Despite it now being light outside, the way Stuart Appleby described the Winchester declaration was something that will go down in WINOL folklore. "He's won! Brine's won!" came the cry as the massively pixellated image of something that resembled Stuart with a microphone moved around the screen.
The feeling of elation when we finally went off air was indescribable. At last I could start to think about my nice comfortable bed again. After over seven hours of live coverage we had achieved something truly groundbreaking for a student broadcaster. For all the aching and fatigue would I do it again? You bet I would.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
History and Context of Journaliam
After Thursday's exam, I was reminded of my neglect for keeping up my blog on the HCJ lectures.
Firstly, it has been the most fascinating compliment to the hustle and bustle of WINOL: it's been good to sit down in a proper, intelectual environment.
Looking back on the course, I have been most fascinated by Orwell's 1984. It's incredible how Orwell managed to see things from outside the box, as it were. The scary thing is that we don't actually KNOW how much our government hides from us. Clearly the obvious points to make surround the Ministry of Defence/War and other examples of NewSpeak.
I know from personal experience how manipulation of language has had a devastating impact. In Soviet Poland, many old Polish folk songs were altered to remove any anti-Soviet sentiments within them. Now, the only versions of these songs that exist are those that were doctored by the communists.
Anyway enough about Soviet Poland. The funniest version of Orwellian deception that I can recall was in the lead-up to the latest Gulf War. In an interview with John Humphries on Radio 4's Today programme, Jack Straw went back on a statement he had made earlier in the interview. He was so adamant that he hadn't said anything that Humphries was left laughing at him!
Over the coming days I will be reviewing the HCJ lectures with a blog on each of the key topic areas so watch out for them!
Firstly, it has been the most fascinating compliment to the hustle and bustle of WINOL: it's been good to sit down in a proper, intelectual environment.
Looking back on the course, I have been most fascinated by Orwell's 1984. It's incredible how Orwell managed to see things from outside the box, as it were. The scary thing is that we don't actually KNOW how much our government hides from us. Clearly the obvious points to make surround the Ministry of Defence/War and other examples of NewSpeak.
I know from personal experience how manipulation of language has had a devastating impact. In Soviet Poland, many old Polish folk songs were altered to remove any anti-Soviet sentiments within them. Now, the only versions of these songs that exist are those that were doctored by the communists.
Anyway enough about Soviet Poland. The funniest version of Orwellian deception that I can recall was in the lead-up to the latest Gulf War. In an interview with John Humphries on Radio 4's Today programme, Jack Straw went back on a statement he had made earlier in the interview. He was so adamant that he hadn't said anything that Humphries was left laughing at him!
Over the coming days I will be reviewing the HCJ lectures with a blog on each of the key topic areas so watch out for them!
Saturday, 12 December 2009
WINOL week 6
Firstly I'd like to congratulate every single person involved in WINOL's first ever live run. You've all done such a fantastic job on the bulletin and the site. Let's hope we can replicate the same standard when the 3rd years leave us in the new year.
From the outset the sports department were sorted. Everything filmed and edited by Tuesday morning was exactly the position we wanted to be in. This week was the first edition in which I felt we actually wrote to our strongest pictures. The dancing puns and and references were not only a pleasure to write but seemed to be enjoyed by all when the bulletin actually went live!
The most satisfying element of the whole operation was the fact that we managed to do a thorough run-through before recording the live bulletin. I'm sure everyone would agree that it made a hell of difference to be able to do a full practise run.
All-in-all, after feeling so down in the dumps last week, we turned things around, bounced back (can't be bothered to put any more cliches in!) and produced something of which we can all be proud.
From the outset the sports department were sorted. Everything filmed and edited by Tuesday morning was exactly the position we wanted to be in. This week was the first edition in which I felt we actually wrote to our strongest pictures. The dancing puns and and references were not only a pleasure to write but seemed to be enjoyed by all when the bulletin actually went live!
The most satisfying element of the whole operation was the fact that we managed to do a thorough run-through before recording the live bulletin. I'm sure everyone would agree that it made a hell of difference to be able to do a full practise run.
All-in-all, after feeling so down in the dumps last week, we turned things around, bounced back (can't be bothered to put any more cliches in!) and produced something of which we can all be proud.
Monday, 7 December 2009
WINOL week five
It all seemed to go pear-shaped this week. Why? It's hard to say.
From the start of the week it seemed a pretty routine run-through. Even on Wednesday there was a relaxed atmosphere around the newsroom. Perhaps this was what caused everything to go awry.
From the outset I have to say that it was the technology in the studio that let us down. I'm going to make no secret of the fact that system used for playing packages needs to be seriously reconsidered because pieces are coming out on black holes, they're cutting out halfway through, something needs to be done.
On a personal note, very happy with my performance. Let's hope my presenting streak continues!
Monday, 30 November 2009
The second Scottish enlightenment?
With the Scottish Government publishing its white paper on constitutional reform, it now seems that a referendum on independence is now inevitable.
Prime Minister Alex Salmond proclaims that Scotland cannot reach its full economic potential unless it is independent. On the face of it, this seems like a pretty bold thing to say. However, before analysing the merits of this claim, is it purely a coincidence that this comes amid a 'revival' of Scottish culture?
Recently there has been an increased interest in Scottish culture and traditions. Whilst most people would cringe at the stereotypes of whisky, shortbread and haggis, it appears that descendants of immigrants to America and Canada feel a certain nostalgia for the icons of their ancestors' homeland. Even their new-found love for Scotland could support a drive for independence.
Economically, it seems as tall order to survive as a nation the size of Scotland. Having said that, if countries like Luxembourg and Andorra can survive then why shouldn't the Scots have a go?
On a sporting level, the Scots have always had independence. Any Scotland football fan worth his salt will gladly tell of victories over England at Wembley, perhaps most famously in 1967. Even in rugby, the Scots are fiercely proud of their sporting independence. In nearly every mainstream sport (with the exception of athletic/olympic sports) every home nation has independence from the union.
The minority SNP aims to devolve powers almost wholly to HolyRood with just matters of defence and foreign affairs still residing at Westminster. With various political commentators urging the Scots to drop the idea of a referendum on something so critical during this recession period, my bet is that they will do the exact opposite. With many disillusioned with the current Labour government, the advantage already lies with those who are pro-independence.
Scotland has long craved for a split from the UK. Who knows, in the current climate, they might just get their wish.
WINOL week four
Another successful week for the WINOL team. As well as reporting much more hard-hitting news, the presentation of the whole outfit has a wholly more professional look.
People are now coming to news conferences with stories already filmed and ready to go which gives the editors a much richer pool of news stories to choose from. As a result, the news content this week sounded and looked far more like a regional news programme than any of the previous editions.
The one problem that I think holds back the project a little is the time it takes to upload the bulletin onto the internet. Clearly this is something that can't be helped; the internet is a fickle mistress and if she's not in the mood...
From a personal perspective another fairly solid week. It has been tremendous fun so far being involved in the sports planning and presenting. Despite that, I am starting to warm to the idea of installing a second earpiece kit in the studio due to the fact that after every VT, it seems as if I'm on screen looking like a goldfish while I wait for confirmation that I am on air.
Andy Steggall was a fantastic help for the sports team. Having been quite conservative in our script writing, it was quite refreshing to be told that we can really let ourselves go and have some fun with our scripts. All of this means that I'm relishing this week's edition!
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Latest Match Report
After a cold yet exhilerating game of football (even by Third Division standards!) here is my match report.
http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10341~48471,00.html
As an aside, I'm very envious of the first years. Why? Because with Chris and Brian now recording podcasts for them to download they can now listen to the content of the HCJ lectures without actually turning up! Tsk the young-uns these days....they seem to have everything delivered on a plate to them....
http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10341~48471,00.html
As an aside, I'm very envious of the first years. Why? Because with Chris and Brian now recording podcasts for them to download they can now listen to the content of the HCJ lectures without actually turning up! Tsk the young-uns these days....they seem to have everything delivered on a plate to them....
Monday, 23 November 2009
WINOL week three...and it's live!
Our first live edition of WINOL felt and looked a lot more professional that the previous two editions. Clearly there are some production issues to be sorted out. As the content improves week-by-week, we can now start turning our attentions to more studio-based problems such as the set, lighting and the autocue!
Having said that, the standard of content and output that we are producing has vastly improved from the basic bulletins I saw from last year's year three students. Having the guest editors in so far has been (personally) a tremendous help. Drawing on their advice has been crucial in setting a benchmark for us all to strive for.
From a personal perspective, another good week in the presenter's chair especially as I had to deal with the autocue not keeping up with me again! Thankfully I managed to cover it well but perhaps a little more rehearsal time next week perhaps....?
It looks as if we're all settling in to our roles nicely and that can only mean one thing: improved content and a much more professional look and feel to the output.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
WINOL Week Two and Steinbeck
With the second WINOL dummy run now behind us, I think it's fairly safe to say that we are slowly beginning to gel as a news team. Speaking purely for the sports team, we're starting to think over a week ahead in terms of news which is fantastic if something falls through we can always slot something else in.
From a personal perspective, another week in which I would (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being highest) rate News Production, Enjoyment and Knowledge Gained with a big, fat 10. I've most certainly been bitten by the telly bug ever since I presented the sport last week! Although there was a slight mishap with the autocue, I got through it with a minimum of fuss; a huge confidence boost. Definately better on the timings this week too, bring on the live edition next week I say!
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was the topic for Thursday's lecture. Having read another classic of his Of Mice And Men, it's easy to see how Steinbeck was pilloried for his ellusions to socialism (or more correctly communism, when the time period is taken into context; McCarthyism, Red Tide etc.). At the heart of his writing is the temptation and seduction of pastures new for people who literally had nothing.
The crux that underpins the entire novel is, I think, a reference to a method of achieving pure socialism. If everyone has nothing then are people made more aware of collective values and conciousness? Is this then where we see true humanity?
The style of writing is also important with Steinbeck: the way his books are so simply and accessibly written, with all the lyricism and poetic elements of novel-writing stripped away to reveal an almost raw depiction of what life is like for immigrants (wow, A-Level English Literature came in handy for something!).
Immigration has become a hot topic in recent weeks with the ultimately pointless appearance of a certain someone on a certain flagship BBC debate programme. As an immigrant (of sorts) myself it always makes me laugh how people with clearly foreign surnames claim they want to kick out anyone who is not a native. A "native"? In this country? Invaded by Romans, Normans, Vikings and Saxons (not in that order I hasten to add I do know my history!) then surely anyone who is Italian, French, German or Scandinavian has claim to being a native Briton!
With the recent influx of Eastern Europeans into the country they seem to be getting the brunt of the anti-immigration flak. My story is a little bit different to those who either come to work or merely to sponge off the soft-touch UK benefits system. Having been forced from their homes by the Soviets both sets of my grandparents' families were taken to Siberia. They then came to Africa with the Free Polish Second Corps through India then Asia Minor and then down to Rhodesia and Tanganiyka. When the war ended, they were told they could return to Poland if they wished or go and start a new life in another country. With the new communist government in place my families chose to come to the UK like many others did but for those who returned to Poland, they were quickly seen as being a potential problem to the newly installed government and were either executed or exiled.
As a result, any factually correct Polish history and culture was doctored to suit the Soviets which has a knock on effect today, where most (not all but certainly a lot) of Poles coming to the UK today have either a warped view of their own history or don't know anything at all. My grandparents knew that this was happening - people in Soviet Poland were actively taught in schools that the millions of Poles like my family in the UK, the US, Australia and beyond were traitors. Therefore I, like many of my contemporaries, have been brought up with this history in an attempt to stop the truth being erased from history altogether.
Not a lot of people know that.
From a personal perspective, another week in which I would (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being highest) rate News Production, Enjoyment and Knowledge Gained with a big, fat 10. I've most certainly been bitten by the telly bug ever since I presented the sport last week! Although there was a slight mishap with the autocue, I got through it with a minimum of fuss; a huge confidence boost. Definately better on the timings this week too, bring on the live edition next week I say!
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was the topic for Thursday's lecture. Having read another classic of his Of Mice And Men, it's easy to see how Steinbeck was pilloried for his ellusions to socialism (or more correctly communism, when the time period is taken into context; McCarthyism, Red Tide etc.). At the heart of his writing is the temptation and seduction of pastures new for people who literally had nothing.
The crux that underpins the entire novel is, I think, a reference to a method of achieving pure socialism. If everyone has nothing then are people made more aware of collective values and conciousness? Is this then where we see true humanity?
The style of writing is also important with Steinbeck: the way his books are so simply and accessibly written, with all the lyricism and poetic elements of novel-writing stripped away to reveal an almost raw depiction of what life is like for immigrants (wow, A-Level English Literature came in handy for something!).
Immigration has become a hot topic in recent weeks with the ultimately pointless appearance of a certain someone on a certain flagship BBC debate programme. As an immigrant (of sorts) myself it always makes me laugh how people with clearly foreign surnames claim they want to kick out anyone who is not a native. A "native"? In this country? Invaded by Romans, Normans, Vikings and Saxons (not in that order I hasten to add I do know my history!) then surely anyone who is Italian, French, German or Scandinavian has claim to being a native Briton!
With the recent influx of Eastern Europeans into the country they seem to be getting the brunt of the anti-immigration flak. My story is a little bit different to those who either come to work or merely to sponge off the soft-touch UK benefits system. Having been forced from their homes by the Soviets both sets of my grandparents' families were taken to Siberia. They then came to Africa with the Free Polish Second Corps through India then Asia Minor and then down to Rhodesia and Tanganiyka. When the war ended, they were told they could return to Poland if they wished or go and start a new life in another country. With the new communist government in place my families chose to come to the UK like many others did but for those who returned to Poland, they were quickly seen as being a potential problem to the newly installed government and were either executed or exiled.
As a result, any factually correct Polish history and culture was doctored to suit the Soviets which has a knock on effect today, where most (not all but certainly a lot) of Poles coming to the UK today have either a warped view of their own history or don't know anything at all. My grandparents knew that this was happening - people in Soviet Poland were actively taught in schools that the millions of Poles like my family in the UK, the US, Australia and beyond were traitors. Therefore I, like many of my contemporaries, have been brought up with this history in an attempt to stop the truth being erased from history altogether.
Not a lot of people know that.
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