Saturday, 28 November 2015
28 Reasons Growing Up In The UK Is Actually Awesome
1. Our parents raised us on a cocktail of brilliant British music, Queen, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles…
2. David Attenborough has been teaching us about the world since birth.
3. We have some of the most beautiful countryside in the world.
4. We have ALL the history! (Alright, not all the history but quite a lot…)
5. Under age drinking at a field party was actually amazing (even when it meant sleeping in a stable.)
6. Going to the pub when you turn 18 and acting super nonchalant.
7. We went on school trips to places like Stonehenge and Shakespeare’s actual house!
8. Scones.
9. We have the best chocolate. No discussion.
10. We all read Harry Potter and wanted to go to Hogwarts.
11. PRIMARK.
12. Fish and chips, specifically fish and chips at the seaside.
13. Love or hate the monarchy, if the Queen came to town you’d be a bit excited.
14. Europe is on our doorstep and Europe is awesome.
15. Break your arm as a kid? No worries, we have free healthcare!
16. When the sun comes out we REALLY make the most of it.
17. We drank WKD down the park and ended up with blue tongues.
18. Going to London is magical. Living in London is also pretty up there.
19. Sitting down every weekend with your family for a Sunday roast.
20. Feeling way cooler than the year 7’s as soon as you get to year 8.
21. We have weird, old, traditional fairs e.g. the Newent Onion Fayre where people have onion eating competitions. Yep.
22. British TV is so good.
23. We grow up fluent in sarcasm.
24. Cider is our thing.
25. We have a huge, diverse range of regional accents that sometimes we don’t even understand.
26. In the summer, we BBQ against all odds.
27. We KNOW how to take the p*ss out of each other.
28. We have marvellous swear words.
An Abandoned Island in The Middle of NYC
An Abandoned Island in The Middle of NYC
#1 The Mysterious North Brother Island
Ghosts? Zombies.. Brad Pitt? This forgotten isle in the East River between Bronx and Rikers Island, NYC would make for a perfect film backdrop! Recognizable are its abandoned buildings from the late 19th century including the remains of Riverside Hospital, which quarantined those suffering from infectious diseases. The site also held experimental drug treatments and was a detention home for wayward youth.
#2 The ‘Life After People’ TV series
North Brother Island was featured in a TV fiction series on the History Channel. Scientist, structural engineers, and other experts speculated what would happen should humans instantly disappear? The Riverside Hospital made a good example for the deterioration of the built environment without humans.
#3 The Auditorium Theatre
Photographer Ian Ference captures the remains of an auditorium in the School & Services building. The theatre supplied seats with a small stage for incarcerated students. North Brother Island was rather self-sufficient, and although it required food and water to be ferried in, it provided its own steam, electricity, and an eventual telephone and fire alarm system.
#4 Post-WWII
To remedy a housing shortage after the war, the island housed veterans and their families. The quarantined hospital had stopped functioning before the government allocated surrounding homes for vets attending local colleges on the GI Bill. After the nationwide housing shortage ended in 1952, the vets left the island mainly because the ferry service was “inefficient and expensive”.
#5 The Drug Rehabilitation Center
The final phase of the hospital’s facilities was its conversion into a juvenile rehabilitation center. Young drug addicts were forced to undergo withdrawal symptoms without medications or assistance. They were locked in a room alone for days with a bare mattress and a mess bucket until withdrawals were complete.
#6 Typhoid Mary
North Brother Island’s Riverside Hospital housed the infamous ‘Typhoid’ Mary Mallon, who was sent against her will in 1915 for 3 decades until her death. She’s believed to have infected 51 people, three of whom died, while she was employed as a cook. Mallon was the first “healthy typhoid carrier” to be identified by medical science
#7 The Morality of Confinement
North River Island saw patients undergoing life threatening diseases such as: typhoid, diphtheria, venereal disease, heroin addiction, tuberculosis, smallpox, typhus, scarlet fever, yellow fever, and even leprosy. The isolation seemed a good answer for removing extreme contagions from society. At times the hospital had state-of-the-art therapies, yet it courted controversies and according to Ference, “the death rate among patients was high and the recovery rate low.”
#1 The Mysterious North Brother Island
Ghosts? Zombies.. Brad Pitt? This forgotten isle in the East River between Bronx and Rikers Island, NYC would make for a perfect film backdrop! Recognizable are its abandoned buildings from the late 19th century including the remains of Riverside Hospital, which quarantined those suffering from infectious diseases. The site also held experimental drug treatments and was a detention home for wayward youth.
#2 The ‘Life After People’ TV series
North Brother Island was featured in a TV fiction series on the History Channel. Scientist, structural engineers, and other experts speculated what would happen should humans instantly disappear? The Riverside Hospital made a good example for the deterioration of the built environment without humans.
#3 The Auditorium Theatre
Photographer Ian Ference captures the remains of an auditorium in the School & Services building. The theatre supplied seats with a small stage for incarcerated students. North Brother Island was rather self-sufficient, and although it required food and water to be ferried in, it provided its own steam, electricity, and an eventual telephone and fire alarm system.
#4 Post-WWII
To remedy a housing shortage after the war, the island housed veterans and their families. The quarantined hospital had stopped functioning before the government allocated surrounding homes for vets attending local colleges on the GI Bill. After the nationwide housing shortage ended in 1952, the vets left the island mainly because the ferry service was “inefficient and expensive”.
#5 The Drug Rehabilitation Center
The final phase of the hospital’s facilities was its conversion into a juvenile rehabilitation center. Young drug addicts were forced to undergo withdrawal symptoms without medications or assistance. They were locked in a room alone for days with a bare mattress and a mess bucket until withdrawals were complete.
#6 Typhoid Mary
North Brother Island’s Riverside Hospital housed the infamous ‘Typhoid’ Mary Mallon, who was sent against her will in 1915 for 3 decades until her death. She’s believed to have infected 51 people, three of whom died, while she was employed as a cook. Mallon was the first “healthy typhoid carrier” to be identified by medical science
#7 The Morality of Confinement
6 Magical Scottish Places All “Harry Potter” Fans Must Visit
6 Magical Scottish Places All “Harry Potter” Fans Must Visit
All aboard the Hogwarts Express.
1. Glenfinnan Viaduct, Lochaber
This instantly recognisable Victorian railway viaduct at the head of Loch Shiel was first seen in Chamber of Secrets, when Ron and Harry pilot the flying Ford Anglia to Hogwarts. It’s also the place where Harry encounters a Dementor for the very first time in Prisoner of Azkaban, when the Hogwarts Express stops on the bridge.
2. Loch Shiel, Lochaber
This gorgeous loch near Glenfinnan was one of two lochs used as a stand-in for Hogwarts Lake in the Harry Potter films. It’s the place where Buckbeak dips a toe in the water in Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry and Hermione also look out across it from the Astronomy Tower in a particularly beautiful shot at the end of Half-Blood Prince.
3. Clachaig Gully and Torren Lochan, Glencoe
During the filming of Prisoner of Azkaban, the crew built a replica of Hagrid’s Hut beside Torren Lochan in Clachaig Gully complete with a pumpkin patch and smoking chimney. Sadly, the hut (and Hagrid) aren’t there anymore, but the scenery will feel very familiar to fans. Plus you can grab a drink in the neighbouring Clachaig Inn.
4. Eilean na Moine and Loch Eilt, Lochaber
This bonny little island (Eilean na Moine) is the site of Dumbledore’s final resting place, and where Voldemort steals the Elder Wand in Deathly Hallows Part 1. Loch Eilt is also the place where Harry and co. find Hagrid gloomily skipping stones out over the water in Prisoner of Azkaban after learning Buckbeak is to be put down.
5. Black Rock Gorge, Ross and Cromarty
Steall Falls wasn’t the only location used for the dragon scene in Goblet of Fire: Harry initially hides from the Hungarian Horntail in this impressive, 120-foot deep gorge in Glen Glass not far from Evanton. The gorge is rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of a Lady Balconie, though she didn’t put in an appearance during filming.
6. The Elephant House Café, Edinburgh
And finally, no Harry Potter–themed trip to Scotland would be complete without a coffee at the place where it all began. J.K. Rowling was a struggling single parent when she wrote parts of the first book in this pretty café’s back room, which features this stunning view of Edinburgh Castle. Thanks for the inspiration, Elephant House. And thanks for the memories, J.K.
All aboard the Hogwarts Express.
1. Glenfinnan Viaduct, Lochaber
2. Loch Shiel, Lochaber
This gorgeous loch near Glenfinnan was one of two lochs used as a stand-in for Hogwarts Lake in the Harry Potter films. It’s the place where Buckbeak dips a toe in the water in Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry and Hermione also look out across it from the Astronomy Tower in a particularly beautiful shot at the end of Half-Blood Prince.
3. Clachaig Gully and Torren Lochan, Glencoe
4. Eilean na Moine and Loch Eilt, Lochaber
5. Black Rock Gorge, Ross and Cromarty
6. The Elephant House Café, Edinburgh
10 Reasons Scotland Is The Greatest Place In Britain
10 Reasons Scotland Is The Greatest Place In Britain
1. The innovative marketing techniques.
2. The puns.
3. The names of the towns.
4. This Edinburgh bench.
5. The energy drinks.
6. The way Scots approach a party.
7. The fact that their national animal beats all other national animals.
8. The pub blackboards.
9. The public service announcements.
10. The mature humor.
1. The innovative marketing techniques.
2. The puns.
3. The names of the towns.
4. This Edinburgh bench.
5. The energy drinks.
6. The way Scots approach a party.
7. The fact that their national animal beats all other national animals.
8. The pub blackboards.
9. The public service announcements.
10. The mature humor.
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