The Dark Side of Worcester's Housing Market - Part 1

A reoccurring trait of UK media is to depict student communities as anti-social, scumbags, and menaces to society. It can be considered that no other cities news outlets exasperates these ill-conceived stereotypes to such an extend as those of the historic city of Worcester. A particular local newspaper of the city, The Worcester News is rife with one-sided criticism of the 'student menace'. Whether it be bringing attention to the 'fact' that students are showing 'no respect at all' to Worcester locals or reporting on the police restrain of 'one student' during freshers week, The Worcester News seems all to eager to show the minute negative side of the student population at Worcester in contrast to the unanimous body of hard working, conscientious, and polite student population who are arguably more moral than a considerable number of Worcester locals. The people I am referring to in that controversial statement are the many villainous landlords and landladies of Worcester who take extortionate measures to burn a hole in the pocket of the innocent and often naive student. As aforementioned, I am inclined to believe that no media outlet in Worcester will represent the student position (The Voice does not count) and so it falls on me, Stephen Dodd to report on the dark trade of the Worcester housing market and expose its injustices.

What better place to start my article than with exploration of deposits and retainer fees? Please note, I wrote deposits AND retainer fees, as many landlords/landladies expect both these payments. By definition a deposit is a down payment, 'somthing as a pledge for a contract, the balance being payable later' and thus it should act as a retainer in itself. Why then do many Worcester landlords/landladies demand substantial fees for both deposits and retainers? 

Many students, including some of my good friends have payed up to, £300 deposit and in addition a £300 retainer fee to secure a home for second or third years of study. Few homes in the UK request retainers alongside deposits, many that do are in highly sought after locations such as intercity London. This of course begs the question, do Worcester landlords/landladies see rationality and reason in charging both fees? This question of course excludes the landlord/landladies desire to satisfy their lust which comes at the expense and exploitation of the student who is willing to lose a mass of money in return for residential security.

Okay, so maybe paying a retainer along side a deposit is not so bad as long as you receive a good quality, comfortable house to spend the academic year in right? Well actually, this is often not the case. From interviews with other students I have been exposed to stories of some of the worst, most appalling living conditions this side of the developed world.

The main essential element to a home in my opinion after a water system and electricity is heating, heating however is often a scarce luxury for Worcester students who often struggle to get hold of landlord/landlady assistance when their system malfunctions.  

Alexandra Keyworth-Wright a recently graduated student from Worcester University has dark memories  of a cold and dreary winter in her accommodation stating, 'My heater was broken over the whole winter period (they eventually came and fixed it in March!).

Sadly, stories like this are not isolated cases. Current student, Sarah KImberly experienced deplorable damp conditions in her rented house which after months of complaining to her landlord, nothing was done to make the house a habitual environment. The problem of dampness was so  serious, Sarah explains, it led her to getting the flu!

So you may be wondering what explanation if any the landlord had for this catastrophe, and what his advice was to Kimberly. Well his reasoning was, as Kimberly states, 'the room just had to be lived in as we were the first people to live in the house for a while'.

After constant complaining Kimberly brought a dehumidifier which did little to address the problem and collected so much fluid it had to be emptied weekly! Kimberly's health continued to deteriorate and eventually she resorted in sleeping downstairs. And what became of the room? Well the wallpaper started to drop of revealing an under layer of thick mould. Sounds cosy right?

In between making ridiculous excuses for the living standards of student houses, avoiding students pleas for basic maintenance and charging totally unreasonable deposits and retainer fees it is not the student that should be represented as the demons of Worcester, but the many landlord/landladies greedy for cash and unwilling to do anything to justify this income. These people are the embodiment of immorality against their fellow man. Cases such as those aforementioned lead me to believe that the student is seen as an easy target for exploitation and viewed as a group of people who have low standards which can easily be catered for. This of course sickness me, I can think of no other group of people in which landlords/landladies would get away with exploiting to such an extent and this is why I call on students to never accept such conditions and always fight against the tyrannical rule of the landlord/landlady.

In my second part to this article I will explore case in which students have taken on landlord/landladies and won. I will also discuss nonsensical  hidden costs of student houses and ridiculous tasks students must complete in order to regain their retainer. In the meantime thanks for reading and keep it real!

Stephen Dodd

aka The Count of Monte Cristo

TTT

99th Anniversary of Marcus Garveys's UNIA

Hello readers, I would like to make a short post dedicated to my favourite historical icon Marcus Garvey as this day marks 99 years since the civil rights leader founded the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) in Kingston, Jamaica. The UNIA's aims included uniting peoples around the world of African origin, campaigning for the independence of African and Caribbean countries and fighting against racist brutality, especially in the United States. By the mid 1920s the UNIA had a massive eight million followers worldwide. An achievement of the organisation was the creation and success of the 'Negro World', a long running African American published newspaper celebrating black culture and black pride. Another milestone the organisation reached was the creation of the 'Black Star Shipping Line', the first international shipping company owned and run by African Americans. The most important achievement of the UNIA however is the sense of pride and self belief it gave to blacks in the realisation that they were as competent to achieve as much as people from any other nation or background.

  

After the decline of the UNIA in America following the deportation of Garvey from U.S in 1927 the remnants of the  organisation would inspire latter civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and show them the importance of unity and self pride in the fight for racial justice.

Marcus Garvey in his UNIA uniform.

A stock certificate for the 'Black Star Shipping Line'. Many African Americans rushed to purchase shares in this enterprise.

Marcus Garvey leads a UNIA parade in his automobile.

Go Farah!

Greetings readers, I do not usually post updates on current sporting events but I feel that Mo Farah's 5000M win on Sunday 30th deserves mention. Mo came to the track looking cool and relaxed, in his sports sunglasses it was difficult to tell if he was feeling any heat at all from his competition who all had desires to hurt Farah's credibility as the worlds greatest 5000M runner.  

In a tense race at the famous Birmingham Alexandra Stadium (excellent) Mo stayed in the back group of runners for much of the race leaving the pace makers to do their tough work. As always Mo played tactically and when the moment was right he exploded with his remaining power and took the lead with zeal in the last few meters of the track. As mentioned it was a much more tense race to witness than Farrah's famous Olympic victories of last year. There were times when Mo could not keep his desired running position at the edge of the race track. Massive pressure from other runners was alway imminent throughout the race. Mo had to dig deep against the competition in this race and hopefully will have enough power to continue this trend in the upcoming World Championships. For now however I hope Farah enjoys his victory!

The Best Albums Of 2013 So Far! (In My Opinion)

Hello readers. For a while now I have had a desire to upload more reviews to my blog, in particular reviews in the field of music. Fortunately I believe there could not be a better time to act upon my wish as I feel 2013 has thus far been a stellar year music wise. The surge of contemporaneous greats include the comeback of Justin Timberlake with his album 'The 20/20 Experience' and another of my favourite artists, Calvin Harris with his dance centric record '18 Months' which spans hit after hit of great collaborations with superstars such as Example, Rihanna and Ellie Goulding. It is likely that this years music will get even more extreme with records soon to be released from Dizzee Rascal, Timberland and Craig David. I will be uploading a top ten of my favourite songs at the end of the year but now I will shed some limelight on three albums of which are my favourite to be released as of June 2013. Enjoy!

1. '#Willpower' by Will.i.am

I have always been a big Black Eyed Peas fan even from the early days of the groups career and songs such as 'Where Is the Love' and 'Boom Boom Pow' are some of my favourite songs of all time. I was sceptical however if will.i.am could perform well as a solo artist. Fortunatley this sceptism proved to be unnecessary as upon first listening to the album '#willpower' I instantley decided that I liked it. All the well known singles on the album such as 'this is love' and 'scream & shout' are enjoyable as ever to listen to. There are also many other techno influenced tracks such as 'hello' and 'gettin' dumb' which are upbeat and catchy. 

Many reviewers have criticised the album for featuring too many other artists and in turn not reflectimg Will's own musical ability. Here I totally disagree with the norm, to me the collaborating artists all seem to add some advanced element to the songs they are in, for example in the track 'fall down' the collaborated artist Miley Cyrus' vioce creates a unique corous to the song and her more softer tone blends well with Wills heavyweight raping corous. Undoubtably Will's now iconic techno modified vocals are still the forefront of the album which proves to be a positive point.

One thing that can not be criticised is will.i.am's songwriting abilities, this is especially evident when will steps out of the dance zone and creates deep and meaningful tracks such as 'far away from home' and 'ghetto ghetto' which appear to be expressing the iner sentiment of Will and reflect his earlier life and growing up in a somewhat emotional way. My only small criticism to the album would be that there are not enough of these types of tracks and too many song sound similar in there pace and beat. I wish however I purchased the special edition to this album however as it contains slower tracks such as 'smile mona lisa' which address this issue somewhat and provides more variety to the album.

Overall this is a really great album and fun to listen to. I recommend you purchase the special edition version to get the three extra tracks which really add to the awesomeness!

VERDICT

STANDARD EDITION - 8/10 SLICKER THAN YOUR AVERAGE

SPECIAL EDITION - 9/10 OFF THE HOOK

2. 'Home' by Rudimental

Rudimental present a very unusual style of music, so much so that I can not define their genre. There are big dance tracks on the album such as 'Feel the Love' in which I have heard been played in clubs but these tracks are placed alongside the likes of 'Hell Could Freeze' which is a hybrid of soul and rap! For me the uniques of the album is appealing and even though different genres are explored all tracks somehow link nicely.

In reality however 'Home' is an album of two sides. There are marvellously created songs with clever lyrics and complex audio, this can be seen in 'Baby' with the combination of male and female voices played seperate from each other in order to create an intense dialogue vibe to the song. This feature is also seen along well placed lightly computerised beats which makes it both effective for dance and chilled out easy listening. Differently however songs such as 'Hell Could Freeze' and 'Spoons' are unsual tracks with their echo and almost dub like sound but for me they become very boring very quickly. I do not really enjoy the sound of a monotone woman's voice moaning in a slow tempo and thus despite being experimental these songs hurt the album overall for me.

In conclusion 'Home' is definatley one of my favourite albums of the year so far. The tracks with a slight upbeat dance vibe such as 'Feel the Love', 'Not Giving In' and 'Baby' are extreme as I would be equally happy to listen to them in a club as I would be at home and no doubt I will be keeping them on my playlist for a long time to come. However as I have mentioned experiments can some times go bad and this is seen in some strange and slow female vocals which almost sound haunting. Having said this I am sure some people may enjoy these songs, maybe if you are into soulful singers such as Adel you could appreciate these tracks, as for me I will stick with the more diverse tracks.

My final word would be to buy this if you want to try somthing different. Very different.

VERDICT

7/10 - EXTREME

3. 'The 20/20 Experience' by Justin Timberlake 

Prior to this album I had hardly listened to any Justin Timberlake songs even though I had an idea that his smooth R&B tracks would appeal to me. After hearing the great singles 'Suit & Tie' and 'Mirrors' I decided a listsen to a JT album was way overdue and thus made the purchase of the shiny new '20/20 Experience', Timberlake's first album in seven years. Firstly I am going to give complement to the designers for the cover of the album which I love. With Timberlake having an eye test in his suit is an adept way to relate to the albums title. Speaking of the title, on the album cover is is displayed in a reflective gold paper, this just adds an extra coolness to the already well designed cover. But of course  a good cover is unimportant without good music, did 'The 20/20 Experience' live up to my hopes?

As I mentioned I really like the singles 'Suit & Tie' and 'Mirrors' however upon listening to the album versions of these hits I discovered that they were different to radio versions. The main section of these two songs are identical to the radio edit but the album versions continue for a longer duration of around seven to eight minuets as opposed to the usual four minuets. In the extra allocated time JT changes the beats, adds different vocals and modifys pitch. Giving extra elements to songs like this is somthing I have never seen before but of which I really enjoyed. In fact Timberlake has distributed two different sides to all of the tracks on his album which is a technique that I love and adds to the longevity into which the songs can be continuously enjoyed upon repeated listen. I do not know if this was an intentional decision but the dual sided album tracks reflect the '20/20' album title which is, if nothing else a fun novelty and prehaps intentional genius.

As a advocate of post-colonial discovery one music element I always award high marks for is the use of exotic or oriental instruments in popular music. To my joy Timberlake seems to equally respect non western sounds as there several uses of relevant sounds in tracks such as 'Don't Hold the Wall' and 'Let the Groove Get In'. The prior uses what I can only imagine is a type of pan pipe for its main beat and the latter uses upbeat long sounding vocals and bongos which are common to the regions of Southern America. As I have stated, I respect this type of sound and the fact that the tunes are still lively and smooth still makes them suitable for parties and other such occasions.

The four songs I have mentioned are my favourite on the album but I appreciate all tracks. The only and very minute criticism I can give is that the album lacks some aspects of a shock value, for example there are no lyrics which come across as extreme. If this flaw was to be adressed however if could ruin the overall smooth feel of fhe album and thus I will conclude by saying 'The 20/20 Experience' is one of the best albums I have ever heard and will likely to continue to listen to it for a long time.

VERDICT

9/10 - OFF THE HOOK

Return To Oldbury

Hello readers, as previously mentioned my first semester at university has now concluded and I have returned to my hometown of Oldbury. I will spend the next three months here with my family until my second semester of university starts in September. Admittedly I was is some respects reluctant to return as I will indeed miss the radical social life and night life that Worcester provided me. On the contrary however, I am happy to spend some time with my family and look forward to a chilled out summer. Another positive aspect to my relocation is that of employment. I am extremely grateful to have been offered, for a third year, my summer job as a reprographics worker in a local school. As well as this I have already undertaken some work in the same school as an exam invigilator and am requested for two other exams next week. My good fortunes in employment will allow me to save up enough money to live on next year and somewhat make up for the seriously low maintenance loan I will receive from this bogus government.

At risk of sounding lame and corny I think there is, similarly to Worcester, a small essence of beauty in the architecture Oldbury and its nearby regions of Warley and Birmingham. Thus I will enjoy this change of scenery, at least until I get bored! Take a look at some of this photos and see if I can convince you to share my beliefs.  

Warley Woods - A large and historical wood near my home

Sandwell Council House - A large governmental station and office in central Oldbury  

Bridge Artwork - An enriching painting of a sun in Oldbury, the reverse side of the bridge shows a moon.

Birmingham Bull Ring - The iconic and futuristic shopping center

SPECIAL UPDATE - Goodbye Teme Halls - Photo Montage

My first year at uni has sadly come to an end. Though me and my friends will be returning for another two years of studies or more, non of us will be living in halls again. Despite criticism for being totally overpriced and of insufficient quality Teme hall is still the building that brought me and some of the coolest people I have ever met together so please enjoy this montage of photos of the halls and stay connected for more updates!

Craig David World Tour 2013

Dear readers, I have been wanting to share with you my great experience of seeing my favourite artist, Craig David perform for some time now but as I have stated in my previous post I have been quiet preoccupied as of late. On Sunday 19th of this month, the UK garage sensation turned international R&B superstar Craig David was performing near my home town in the Birmingham Institute. As my readers should know I am a massive fan of Craigy and was extremely excited for this event, but would my hopes of a great live performance be fulfilled and would Craig David be able to prove that he really is 'Slicker Than Your Average'?

Within minutes of my entry to the Birmingham Institute, which is a very impressive venue, Craig David's support act Charlie Brown started his set of songs. For those of you who do not know, Charlie Brown is an up and coming British pop/R&B singer who's track 'On My Way' recently reached the UK top 10. With zeal I watch Browns performances, and enjoyed his soulful stance and comedic aspects to his songs. Finishing with the hit 'On My Way' was a great way for Brown to demonstrate his vocal uniqueness and future potential as a singer. If you have not already herd this uplifting track then be sure to check it out if you dig the neo soul vibes.

 Brown's set was great but it had made me totally physked for David's stage time. Fortunately there was only a short interlude and it gave me time to grab a pint of Carling, EXCELLENT! Craig came on stage singing the classic track 'Whats Your Flava?' by this time I was already raving and singing along to the track, it was no doubt a great way to enter the stage. The second performance was of 'Hidden Agenda' a track which I didn't appreciate enough until I heard the live version which really spoke to me and became quintessentially meaningful. My favourite performance was of the more slower 'Walking Away' which proved to be a real crowd pleaser. It was beginning to look like David really was 'Born To Do It'. 

At one point David put down his mic for a while in return for DJ decks in order for him to show off his mixing skills, this in turn made the concert feel like a club and got everyone dancing to his playlist. The DJing was by no means added for shock value as David is a skillas a mixer earned him a show on the Miami radio station TS5.

David took hold of the mic again and the DJing ended with a mix of David's own Garage hit 'Re-Rewind' which is another one of my all time favourites. In short all the songs I was most hoping to be performed were and it was simply amazing to finally see my music icon. It left me listening to nothing but David tracks for the next 7 DAYS! Keep it real readers, BO SELECTA!

Foam Parties and Broken Phones!

Greeting readers, sorry for the long absence I have been very busy lately. My first year of uni is soon coming to an end and as people are starting to leave halls now there may not be many upcoming opportunities to have a Worcester piss up until next year. Despite this last Sunday was one of the most extreme nights in all human history! I'm talking of course about the cool foam party at Tramps night club!

Me and my buddies Adam Smyth, Dan Monk, Abi Fulbrook and Saffron Dhillon went to Tramps club in beach clothing, which was compliant to the theme of the night. In reward we got free entry into the club, EXCELLENT!oIIt was proper BO SELECTA throwing foam at people, especially when I had an opportunity to slam a handful of foam in the face of one of my recent enemies who's name will remain anonymous!

Even with the massive amount of foam I did not feel wet enough so I decided to jump into a cold pool of water! The only problem was as I was pissed by this time I forgot to take my phone and wallet out 

my pocket before I jumped in! Luckily my wallet was not to soggy when I got out but the radical touch screen on my phone became unresponsive. The next morning I was not pleased to reflect on the damage taken to my phone but fortunately in the afternoon the touch screen amazingly became responsive again and all systems were working! I guess it just needed to dry out! Keep it real readers, 7 Days! 

Thursday Nights with Sheesha

Hello readers, last night was a typically awesome Thursday night in Worcester as I went to two of my favourite clubs Sin and Bushwhackers. Teme hall member George Mckenzie celebrated his birthday by drinking hard as did everyone else in the crew. I was already totally smashed at pre-drinks thanks to 'Marstons Strong Pale Ale' with an alcohol volume of 6.2% and one of my personal favourite drinks, Wychwood breweries 'King Goblin Ale' with a mega alcohol volume of 6.6%. As the wise say, go hard or go home and thus I continued heavy drinking in Sin and Bushwackers being pleasantly surprised to hear one of my all time favourite classic tunes Craig David's 'Rewind' being played alongside radical tracks like Rudimental's hit 'Feel the Love'. It was cool to see plenty of my friends out and all having a good time, this of course created intense atmosphere.

Atypically however the night introduced me to sheesha. Surprisingly the sheesha bar I visited was at the back of a fast food cafe but I thought this made it edgey and secluded. I enjoyed the bubblegum flavoured smoke in the sheesha machine I thought it was a pretty fascinating and oriental way to get a small fix. I wonder if I would have thought the same if I was one percent sober? Hmmm, anyhow more blogs post heading your way, in the meantime keep it real!



Me and some of the crew at Bushwackers, not from last night but you get the idea...

PRE-DRINK GAME REVIEW - 'WORD ASSOCIATION'

Greetings readers, I have decided to uses this post to review the popular pre-drinking game 'Word Association' which is well known throughout the halls of universities in every locality. Those who know me will be aware that I despise almost every pre-drinking game ever created and the 'Word Association' game provides no contrast to this maxim. Nevertheless I will attempt to provide an unbiased review for my readership.

Take an elementary school wet break time game and combine it with alcohol! If this idea sounds good to you on face value, think again. The rules are simple enough, everyone sits in a circle or round a table and someone starts off by saying a noun of their choice. For example someone may say 'guitar' as a starting point to this monstrosity of a game. The person sitting next to them should aim to say an associated word such as 'music'. Exciting right? The correct answer is 'wrong'. 'Word Association' is one of the most tedious activities I have ever undergone. I simply have no interest in the fact that 'aeroplane' can be associated with 'sky' or that 'kettle' can not be associated with 'water'.

There are always annoying arguments in your group of friends to the question of weather a certain word can be classed as the 'associated' or not. Similarly there will be further arguments concerning the amount of beverage to be consumed upon failure to find the associated word. If arguing with people or being super defensive is your thing (which to some people may actually be the case) this game is for you. If however, when you pre-drink you only care about having a good time and enjoying your drink, do yourself a favour a leave 'Word Association' for the 5 year olds to play whilst eating their school dinners.

Verdict

0/10 DUMB

James Clayton, a member of Teme Halls getting annoyed whilst playing 'Word Association'

Minor Renovations

Greetings Readers, I am happy to report that my blog has now had 370 page views! I am enjoying writing stories and I hope you equally enjoy reading them. I have done some experementation with the website as you probably will have noticed. There is now a small profile section of myself to the right but more imprtantly I have placed a poll on my site. The question is do you think Justin Timberlake has made a successful comeback in 2013? This is a relevant question as I will soon be uploading my longly antcipated review of JT's new album 'The 20-20 Experience'. Please take part in the poll and stay tuned for the upcoming review!

Just handle it!

Greetings readers, on monday I made my return to Worcester for the last 5 weeks of my first year at university! It has been a great week to be back with radical flat parties in Teme halls (the student halls where I live) and inspiring lectures in both my English and History courses. There has already been some hilarious events going on. I would like to share with you my favourite comedic story so far which happened last Wednesday night.

As students who live on university campuses will be aware, there will come a time in which, whether you like it or not, your halls will be hosting a social! This very situation happened to me on wednesday, however for unrelated incidents I decided not to go out. The football society came round to my halls and started to party in flat three upstairs from me. Later in the night some of the society came down and tried to get into flat 1 kitchen where the normal pre-drink session was ongoing. This is where the drama began.

Unwilling to let the social get into the flat kitchen as, among other things, they were armed with piss filled water pistols and bottles, members of Teme used their strength to hold the kitchen door handle up against the society who were trying to push it down and unleash themselves into the forbidden area.

What was the result of the skirmish? Well fortunately for Teme, the social could not get into the kitchen, but unfortunately for Teme, the door handle had totally broken trapping them inside! I came out of my bedroom to see a number of futile and embarrassing DIY attempts to repair the door handle from both Teme and society members which proved to make the situation worse. In order to get out the kitchen Teme were forced to climb out the kitchen window and then through another window to get back in the corridor. It looked like nothing could be done to eliminate the problem so the majority of Teme headed out to enjoy a good night at the clubs.

With great fortitude, on return to the halls, Teme members Adam Smyth and Charlotte Smith decided it would be better to see if the Worcester University security department could repair the door rather than leaving the problem until the next day when this could have resulted in a possible fine due to complaining cleaners. This plan was a success as the security department along with a maintenance worker removed the entire handle from the door leaving the door to be able to be pushed open!

Two days after the event the door handle still has not be replaced but flat 1 are just satisfied to now be able to get into their own kitchen. Well you know what they say about University, it opens many doors! Keep it real!


This photo is of George Mckenzie standing next to the Teme hall sign. He is a Teme hall member who is also in the football society.

BOOK REVIEW - 'GULLIVER'S TRAVELS'

You will be hard pressed to come across someone who has never heard of the Irish writer Jonathan Swift's classic novel, 'Gulliver's Travels'. This is mostly due to the countless film adaptations released which are either aimed at children or of the comedic genre. An example of 'Gulliver's Travels' in popular culture can be seen in the 2010 film of the same title staring Jack Black which, like most other adaptations is very loosely based on Swift's original title. So how does the novel compare with the films? Well, quiet frankly there really is no comparison. Swift's novel is a masterpiece of British fiction and well deserves it place in the literature cannon. But being published in 1726 and pre-dating familiar classics such as 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Pride and Prejudice', does 'Gulliver's Travels' stand the test of time and is it enjoyable for that of an average modern reader?

As you will probably be aware, In 'Gulliver's Travels', Gulliver goes on voyages to fictional places of the globe, his first being to the kingdom of Lilliput. Lilliput is a kingdom in which everyone and everything is in miniature form with its inhabitants being around a mere 6 Inches tall. Gulliver is at first feared by the people of Lilliput which resorts in there kidnaping of Gulliver when he is asleep. Later however the people warm to his gentle personality, this includes the King of Lilliput who is most impressed when Gulliver helps his kingdom by stealing several battle ships from Blefuscu, Lilliput's rival kingdom. I found this first section of the novel to be very humorous due to Swift's political satire. The reason the two kingdoms are at war with each other is because they disagree about with which end of an egg should be broken first. The people of Lilliput being known as bigendians as they believe the big end of an egg should be broken first and the people of Blefuscu being known as smallendians for contrasting reasons. Swift's creation of these two rival nations signifies the stupidity and absurdity of real wars in a very witty and entertaining way. It is most interesting to see Gulliver's response and reaction to the people of Lilliput and how the jealousy and hatred of a few individuals ultimately causes him to flee from an undeserved prosecution.

The second part of 'Guliver's Travels' could perhaps be described a juxtaposition to Gulliver's prior engagement in Lilliput. Due to a shipwreck Gulliver finds himself in a country called Brobdingnag in which everyone and everything is approximately twelve times larger than that of normality. The voyage to Brobdingnag is equally enjoyable as the first part of the story as this change in the tide really puts Gulliver outside his comfort zone leaving him to struggle to adapt to life in this giant world. Naturally the populous of Brobdingnag are intrigued by Gulliver's size leaving him to eventually become the possession of the king of Brobdingnag. The king is highly interested in Gulliver's story and gets him to recite his experiences of England, this includes politics, monarchy and class. The king concludes, to the dismay of Gulliver, that England is a miserable and harsh place in which the people in high professions or of power have only achieved these statuses through brutality or deceit. Again this gives us another incite to Swift's political message. Gulliver is eventually taken by a hungry giant bird who accidentally drops him out at sea where he is luckily saved by a group of people in scale with himself and taken back to England.

Contrasting the first two exciting parts of Gulliver's story, I found the third instalment rather lacking in entertainment value. The voyages to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan which all take part in this episode of the story are quiet boring in my opinion and have no comedic aspects like Gulliver's prior voyages. I won't go in to much detail but the people of Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg and Glubbubdrib are all absurdly fearful of the apocalyptic end of the world which astronomers of the nations have predicted and thus they can not relax and enjoy their lives. The people are also obsessed with inventions and are always trying to make creations which will makes things easier for themselves, however they more than often fail at this procedure. The most unappealing part of the story for me was a part while in Balnibarbi, Gulliver converses with magicians of sorts who can create phantoms of people passed away. Gulliver requests to see many dead peoples including the philosophers Plato and Aristotle. As if this wasn't corny enough Gulliver actually gets these two philosophers to debate with each other and states that after much discussion these two men are actually appeased with each others view. Do not get me wrong, Swift has some interesting ideas here in Gulliver conversing with the dead but in the context of the novel which has a focus on travel, society, culture and politics it seems totally out of place and superfluous. I'm sure some Gulliver fans will be wanting to give me a piece of their mind right about now but I digress. I really found these voyages of minimal importance to the story and Gulliver's character development. In case anyone was wondering Gulliver only visits Japan in order to sneak aboard a vessel on route to Europe in order to return back home.

After the slightly bad aftertaste I had from the third part of the novel, the fourth and final part rekindled my love and interest for the story. The voyage to the country of the Houyhnhnms, is
undoubtably the corner stone of swifts novel and my personal favourite episode. After leaving England on yet another voyage, even though he told his wife he would never leave England again, Gulliver finds himself in a country called Houyhnhnms Land. On arrival he is attacked by a gang of disgusting hairy creatures known as yahoos. The Yahoos appear to Gulliver as deformed, ape like animals. He is naturally appalled when they start throwing their feaces at him. Fortunatley Gulliver is rescued by the leading race of the country, the Houyhnhnms. The Houyhnhnms are intelligent horses with the ability to converse with each other and sustain a society. Not only are the Houyhnhnms that of intelligent life, from living in their community Gulliver concludes that they are the most noble, rational and high-minded creatures he has ever come across. The Houyhnhnms are equally interested in Gulliver as he is of them, as in an epically well designed revaluation it is revealed that the yahoo's are actually humans despite there animal-like and savage behaviour. Gulliver is of importance as he is the first yahoo that show some elements of reason. Much debate and story telling takes place but ultimate the Houyhnhnms view Gulliver, the only intelligent yahoo, as a threat to the Houyhnhnms peaceful world and he is eventually banished. Swift creates deep emotions at this stage, due to the toll taken on Gulliver in being forced to return to the non-rational world. There is a sense that Gulliver has became insane due to his total lack of faith in humanity and his desire to find a deserted island rather than live among other humans. When Gulliver does eventually return to England the climatic passage of the novel stating that he can not bare to be in the same room as his family and how he spends most of his days talking idley to normal horses in his stables is rather upsetting and solum. It is a dark, but powerful end to a character the reader is most likely become attached to.

If this description has not kindled your interests enough I will conclude that 'Gulliver's Travels' is called a classic because that is exactly what it is. It's greatness recently led an American fan to pay $10,704 for a first edition copy of the novel. An epic story that has not be lessened since its publication almost 300 years ago. Swifts implications on British and European culture through the story creates great depth which allocates literacy critics to endlessly interpret his message and plot. Likewise 'Gulliver's Travels' is an unforgettable story, that despite the one mundane voyage previously mentioned, is ultimately a great and entertaining work that can be and should be experienced by everyone.


Verdict
9/10 - OFF THE HOOK

SPECIAL UPDATE - Happy Easter

Greetings readers, this is a quick update to wish my readers a happy Easter! Whatever you are doing, eating chocolate eggs, giving praise to the lord if you are religious, or just chilling, have a great time and keep it real! More posts coming soon, in the meantime enjoy these Easter themed photos and check out this proper funny mini egg commercial on youtube! http://youtu.be/Jm8kCF_9Uns