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It’s best to tackle Christmas gifts early, making lists and budgeting, or even scheduling time to make homemade gifts. But if Christmas has suddenly crept up on you, no need to fear, here are some last minute gift ideas to save you some stress.  1 – Sweets or chocolates Found literally everywhere and with lots […]

2020 has been the worst year on record for a long while. But we did get some good music to keep us going. If you’re expecting this list to include any Hip Hop, R&B, techno, etc., then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. However, at least they’re current. So, whether you like it or not, here […]

When we sat around television last year on New Year’s Eve watching the fireworks boom in London at 12am on 1st January 2020, there was a sense of hope. I remember hoping that this would be a good year – that things would be a little bit brighter for everyone than they had been before. […]

‘I will find you, and I will kill you’ is one of the most iconic film lines ever, spoken chillingly by Liam Neeson’s Bryan Mills in Taken. Well, it seems that the character actually came to life in the form of a Mexican mother who hunted down ten of her daughter’s kidnappers until they were […]

We all over-indulge a little at Christmas – but do you know how much sugar is in your over-indulgent festive coffee? You’ll be shocked to say the least as some coffees contain as much sugar as seven doughnuts. Cafe Nero’s mint hot chocolate is the main culprit, containing 59.9 grams of sugar, which is the […]

3.5/5 Hello and welcome to the Hugh Grant fan bandwagon. Since I’m re-watching basically all of his classic films (it’s Christmas, leave me be), I thought I may as well review them. First up is Notting Hill – the Richard Curtis film that made this pocket of London one of the most famous. The plot […]

Disclaimer: I am not here to talk about the pandemic. Even though everyone wants to talk about it, we don’t need to. Instead, I’m here to share with you a nugget of wisdom that I learned this year. It is this: you know yourself better than anyone else – and don’t be convinced otherwise. As […]

Last night Prime Minister Boris Johnson travelled to Brussels to meet Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Union. It has been viewed as a last-ditch attempt to secure some kind of deal between Britain and the EU as negotiations reach yet another sticky point. The sticky point in question is actually a […]

Seeing as it’s officially December, it’s officially OK to watch Christmas films. After one hell of a year, who doesn’t fancy cozying up in bed watching some disgustingly happy people play around in snow, delivering an overarchingly positive message of hope and love? Even a pessimist like me wouldn’t say no to that. So, without […]

Twitter is a place for the people who don’t really fit the Insta gang or the Facebook mothers, so they pile in on the blue bird and share 280 characters of thoughts on literally anything. It’s a place for fangirls, it’s a place for politicos and it’s a place for diaries. And memes. So who […]

3.5/5 Once upon a time, Katy Perry was the ultimate Queen of Pop. If she released a song, she dominated the charts. With her album Witness, none of this happened. A whole era of her career was, as she admits, a failure. Two days before the birth of her first child, Daisy Dove Bloom, Perry […]

3/5 It gives me no pleasure to say it, but The Boat Shack, settled in the nest of the stunning Derwent Reservoir, was a bit of a disappointment. The cafe-style parlour has an Instagrammable selling point: its milkshakes. Everyone from everywhere has had one (or so it seems) and they look absolutely incredible. So, on […]

2/5 Lola Jeans has long had me absolutely dying to go. Why? Because of their Instagram. Every post is pitch perfect, their whole feed is coordinated and the food looks delicious. Eventually I went – and I am so glad I went when it was half price. I would absolutely not pay that much money […]

4/5 Greek food is absolutely all the rage at the moment. You can’t go two minutes on Instagram without seeing a kebab-like thing drowned in yoghurt. But I tell you what – once you’ve had one, you know why. Acropolis in the Grainger Market is a relatively small but authentic Greek street-food-type joint offering a […]

Once upon a time, a record player was as common as a Spotify Premium subscription. Everyone had one because that’s how you got to listen to your music. Once upon a time, you also paid about £3 for an album on vinyl. And that leads me to what I’m here to talk about: the simple […]

4.5/5 Authentic Lebanese food has taken off in the UK. It all began in London, really, and then hummous started to take off basically everywhere. Thank goodness it did – we wouldn’t have Fattoush Lounge in the Metrocentre otherwise. I am a sucker for a really good bit of authentic food – be it Italian, […]

4/5 What’s better on a gorgeous day than going for a cocktail with a mate? Nothing. And The Hudson is now one of my favourite places to do that. Located just opposite Newcastle Central Station with both indoor and outdoor seating, you can really take in the beauty of our city at The Hudson – […]

With the news today that the North East is going to be put in lockdown again, we’ve come up with a little list of things to do to keep you occupied. While a lot of folks are still working throughout this bout of tighter COVID-19 restrictions, there’s a lot of elderly and young people who’ll […]

5/5 When we were eventually let out of the house, there was one place I wanted to go: Tynemouth Surf Cafe. After originally hearing about them via the social media whispers of local singing hero Sam Fender in the midst of lockdown, I kept an eye on the beachfront venue. I’m glad I did. The […]

In the modern-day, it feels like there is more and more pressure to join social media. However, despite the interconnectivity, social media might not be worth it for everyone.  Toxicity Because of the optional anonymity, many people can become rude or even abusive when they disagree with someone online. Many people have been seriously mentally […]

On January 19th 2020, SpaceX had their second “Crew Dragon” demonstration mission, launching a Falcon9 rocket whilst carrying the Crew Dragon capsule. However, this particular launch was unlike any other that SpaceX has done before. One minute and 37 seconds in, the Falcon rocket exploded. Now, SpaceX is no stranger to “ rapid unscheduled disassembly […]

When naming anything, whether it’s a book, an invention, or a nickname for a friend, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Recognition If a name is widely used, whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay. For example, if you decided to start calling toast “grilled bread”, people would […]

It’s common knowledge that learning a second language can do wonders for your career, but bilingualism is worth much more than a bullet point on a CV. Learning a foreign language often helps you to understand your own. By studying the complexities of a foreign language you learn to identify key features in your own […]

North Shields and north east sweetheart Sam Fender took Newcastle’s O2 Academy by storm for two nights last weekend – and what an impression he made. The north already adores Fender, who grew up on a North Shields council estate with his mam, but this weekend only increased that admiration for the up-and-coming star. He […]

Social housing is housing provided by the government to people with low income or particular needs. These houses, also known as council houses, have much lower rent than regular houses, and usually provide long-term tenancy to help tenants focus on improving their lives. However, in recent years, there has been nowhere near enough social housing […]

4/5 If you’re on the hunt for the most-grammable food you can find, The Great British Cupcakery should be at the very top of your list. With the most dreamy aesthetic in the shop itself, and the most gorgeous-looking cupcakes and shakes you’ve ever seen, it is unbeatable. I have had my fair share of […]

Brexit has quickly become the bane of pretty much every British person’s life. The news, every TV programme, articles, comedy – you name it, they’re all talking about Brexit. And even though nobody can agree on anything, I propose there’s one thing we should agree on. It’s that no-deal should be ruled out entirely as […]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past couple of weeks, you’ll know that there’s been uproar surrounding Prince Andrew – the Queen’s favourite son. The whole Prince Andrew scandal is centred around the fact that he had a long and close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex trafficker. And when this […]

Augmented reality is a rapidly growing technology capable of changing the world around us. While it’s sister tech, VR, transports the user to entirely different worlds, AR focuses on modifying your world. It is defined as “a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite […]

Politics is never easy – and neither is cutting through all of the noise around it. But that’s why we’re here, and we’re explaining the key points of the Labour Party‘s manifesto for the 2019 general election. First of all, what’s a manifesto? Basically, a manifesto is a document produced by the political party with […]

November means one thing, mainly: it means it’s poppy season. Remembrance Day falls in this month, and it is always a time of great reflection for the nation. Yet this November, there is quite a stir on social media about the red poppy, with a few individuals equating it with supporting racism and homophobia. This […]

‘No good turn goes unpunished’ is an expression that might be quite close to home for US rapper Kanye West at the moment after he was falsely accused of providing sub-par catering at an event he performed at on the 1st of November. Kanye and his Sunday Service team performed at a fundraising event called […]

It’s not every day you catch a prospective MP candidate who said that the people starring in Channel 4 TV show Benefits Street should be “put down”. Yet Conservative candidate Francesca O’Brien said this in 2014 on Facebook, it was revealed. O’Brien, who is running to be MP for Gower in South Wales, was selected […]

The terror threat in the United Kingdom has been downgraded to “substantial”, according to the Home Office yesterday. Although this means the UK is still at a “high level of threat” according to Home Secretary Priti Patel, it is the lowest threat level since 2014. During the course of the past five years, the threat […]

It’s the time of year when students up and down the country are applying for internships at firms all over the place. The bankers, accountants and computer whizzes all have one thing in common: there are plenty of opportunities out there, up and down the country, and all of it is paid. The media, journalism, […]

‘The wage gap’ is phrase which has floated around for years in society, encompassing the fact that women are paid less than men. It cannot be denied that the wage gap exists: it’s a fact. Yet more often than not the phrase is perceived as simple, when indeed it is not and the wage gap […]

We often hear about how toxic things have become in politics. Be it Brexit, immigration, the NHS – all of these issues are highly emotive and have, without a doubt, caused tensions to run high with those holding public office. However, MP Heidi Allen has announced she is to stand down due to abuse she […]

You may have seen the recent news story making waves across the US this past week: a Texas jury ruled against a father trying to win sole custody of his twin seven-year-old sons, one of whom is due to begin hormone replacement therapy in order to begin the transition from male to female. This transition […]

It has been announced today by the European Union that the UK has been granted a further Brexit extension – 31st January 2020. EU Council President Donald Tusk said the extension is more of a “flextension”, meaning that the UK government can take us out of the EU before that deadline if they wish to […]

Eminem has been questioned by the US Secret Service over some “threatening” lyrics towards Ivanka Trump. A “concerned citizen” prompted the Service agents to visit the rapper after listening to his 2017 song Framed. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, has spoken out against the Trumps in the past. In 2017, he dropped a […]