You know who your bullies are


People complain about adverts on TV, but sadly, they’re here to stay. Luckily, there are a few that raise enough of a smile from the viewer for them to forget it’s the nineteenth bloody commercial in a row, you’ve grown stubble since the first and all you want to do is watch old Scrubs repeats without being sold something.

Unfortunately, certain adverts have a habit of annoying the hell out of viewers, and specifically me; I find myself getting really quite angry at some of them. Ambulance-chasers demanding you seek compensation. Ringtone commercials that refuse to end. Halifax adverts that get an awful parody of an awful song stuck in your head for the rest of the day (Howard Brown has a lot to answer for).


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We’re ready for you now


We’re ready for you now

Last week I went for my first job interview since finishing my degree. And suffice it to say – bloody hell. Perhaps it’s three years of learning about semiotics and moral panics, maybe it’s working at gair rhydd or just maybe it’s something to do with Fun Factory and £1.19 doubles at Metros, but I’d forgotten how terrifying the prospect of talking to someone for a short while could be.

It was for a temporary contract as a sous chef at a centre in Banff to earn some cash towards buying a round-the-world ticket. Hardly a life-changing job, but one I was determined to get.


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In the papers: The Times


I was furious to hear two academics at Nottingham University – one an employee and one an MA student – had been arrested under the Terrorism Act for possessing an al-Qaida training manual, essential to the MA student’s research.

This time last year, gair rhydd reported on initiatives to track library books related to terrorism and requesting lecturers to look out for signs of extremism among students. The situation has only exacerbated.


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In the papers: The Guardian


So the government is looking to crack down on smokers. Again.

Cigarettes are going to be brandless, more expensive and kept under the counter alongside hardcore porn, pointy objects and other social taboos.


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