Deadly Cocktails, Whats in our drinks?

18 year old Gaby Scanlon was celebrating her 18th birthday like any other regular teenager, when she found herself in the horrific position of becoming breathless while on her night out.

Gaby had drunk a cocktail containing an amount of Liquid Nitrogen leading to a hospital admission where doctors had to perform surgery to remove part of her stomach. Doctors have said that she would have died if the surgery was not performed, the bar has now stopped serving the lethal cocktail.

The substance is often used in the preparation of drinks in order to freeze the glasses made increasingly popular by the television chef Heston Blumenthal. However the substance is fine to prepare glasses and the making of ice creams but should never be ingested as it can cause severe frostbite or burns when it comes into contact with tissue. 

Like any other 19 year old student myself and friends go out and drink a little too much, what shocked me and attracted me to this story is why do we not question what we drink on nights out? Should we make sure we are more careful? 

Drinks should be made safely and we should be more aware of what's being put in them. We already have to be wary of drinks being spiked which from previous experience is not a nice one therefore we shouldn't have to worry what the bartenders are putting in them as well.

The Food Standards Agency says that bars and clubs have a legal obligation to ensure that anything served to the public is to be fit for human consumption but surely after this story more has to be done.

50 Shades of Grey...

The fifty shades trilogy written by British author E.L. James has caught England and many other countries by storm with many claiming the novels to be 'Mummy Porn'.


The erotic novels are seen to move many away from the negative views of erotic literature and have set the record for the fastest selling paperback of all time beating J.K Rowling's popular 'Harry Potter' series. 

Hearing all of this and seeing basically the whole of the British female population picking up the novel I decided that I just had to see what all the fuss was about. Although my passion for literature lies with the greats such as Austin, Wilde and Atwood, I do enjoy sinking my teeth into popular teen books such as Twilight and other teen novels. 


Fifty Shades of Grey reminded me of Twilight in a way that it was catchy, thrilling and you couldn't put it down however you knew that the literature itself was badly written and you probably shouldn't be enjoying it as much as you were. The erotica itself made you feel quite shameful and especially when reading it in public you feel certainly out of place and wonder whether you should be reading it.

Nevertheless I enjoyed the book so much so that I have ordered the rest of the series 'Fifty Shades Darker' and 'Fifty Shades Freed' therefore I recommend that you divulge even if after you feel disappointed with the phenomenon itself. 

Several studios including Warner Brothers and Sony have expressed their desire for the film rights to the trilogy with Vampire Diaries star Ian Somerhalder favourite to comprise the mysterious role of Mr Grey.

TV REVIEW - 'True Love'

'True Love' is a five part BBC television series written and directed by Dominic Savage, which made its début on Sunday bringing in 3.1 million viewers.


The first of the quintet of 30 minute episodes features David Tennant whose character 'Nick' has to decide whether to leave behind his present life with his wife played by Joanne Froggatt and two children or run away with his first 'love' played by Vicky McClure. The episode which was shot in Margate showed outstanding talent from both Tennant, Froggatt and McClure who all used a certain amount of improvisation in the episodes as with all the actors in the series. 


Although the episode showed an excellent and distinctive tale of a modern day situation which has given hope to English drama series again the episodes were only 30 minutes long and the story line was consequently rushed into a rather short period of time. 


This was made more disappointing to the rather bizarre scheduling times the BBC has put the series in, The quintet has been given out over the past 4 days finishing tonight with the final two episodes, the first at 22:45 on BBC1 finishing with the final episode straight after.

However the episodes are a really decent look into the quaint and dark side of British television which gives it an eery feel which are definitely worth watching even if you aren't into the romantic and heartbreaking side of television.

Catch up on BBC Iplayer if you have missed the series NOW - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01k692v/True_Love_Nick/

News Story - The Olympic Torch makes its way through Cornwall

The Olympic torch started its 8,000 mile journey in Lands’ End and was relayed throughout Cornwall last weekend.

The torch ceremony was a great success for Cornwall and drew in large crowds at places such as Truro, Falmouth and St Austell, it gave Cornwall a great opportunity and brought a sense of community spirit to its small towns.

Sarah Harrington, 19, local resident of Falmouth said: “I went and saw the Olympic torch in Falmouth on Saturday and it was really amazing to see such an iconic part of the Olympics’ in our hometown. It went past really quick but there was so many people and activities going on surrounding the torch it made up for it.”

It is estimated around 40,000 people flooded the streets of Falmouth to view the Olympic Torch. The torch arrived 20 minutes behind schedule but the crowds were kept occupied by many events and performances such as Falmouth’s very own marine band that played on the Moor for the thousands who turned up.

Anissa Alane, 19, student, saw the torch in St Austell: “It was such a lovely experience, it saw the whole of St Austell and Cornwall coming together as a community. It’s something which could be enjoyed with family and friends and it’s a once in a lifetime experience”

The torch relay will last 70 days with around 8,000 selected and gifted people carrying the torch across a total distance of about 8,000 miles. The official Olympic torch lighting ceremony took place on the 10^th of May 2012 at the Ancient home of the Olympic games in Olympia, Greece.

The torch is due to reach the Olympic Stadium in London on the 27^th of July to start the Olympic Celebrations and Games.  

Elementary 2012 - Fall Preview

American broadcaster CBS released a sneak peak trailer earlier this month for the latest adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes franchise staring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu.

'Elementary' is a new modern day drama which shows much likeness to the popular BBC drama 'Sherlock' which is set in Modern day Britain but featuring Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. However 'Elementary' is set in a modern day New York and stars popular movie actress Lucy Liu who is perhaps most famous for her role in the Charlie's Angels films. Lui is cast as a female version of John Watson, Sherlock's ever present 'Side-Kick' in the popular novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Liu's character is aptly named Dr. Joan Watson and is supporting popular British actor Jonny Lee Miller as the lead character 'Sherlock Holmes'.

Miller has worked with Benedict Cumberbatch, star of the British BBC drama 'Sherlock' previously in the National Theatre stage production of Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstein'. In which they swapped roles each night, they both were awarded and 'Oliver' award this year for their roles in the production.

The trailer presents a darker and more American take on the popular franchise however what was perhaps significant was that they ensured that Miller's English accent was still present in the series. The trailer shows how the series is similar to that of American detective shows such as NCIS and CSI which makes me believe that this series will become a hit in America where it is due to show in the fall and in England and surrounding countries.

The trailer shows a behind the scenes take on the show and features interviews with directors and the leading actors and actresses giving an insight into the show. Compared to the popular BBC series the costume's Sherlock is adorned in doesnt seem to live up to those worn by Cumberbatch, however I might be just biased in my views.

'Elementary' is sure to be a hit in both England and America so make sure you check out the trailer now and tell me what you think!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrDVSxNycKc

Film Review - American Reunion

13 years have past since we were first introduced to the comical, awkward, sexual experiences which involve Jim and his high school friends and American Reunion is still exactly the same.

Written and Directed by John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg it is the forth instalment with the original cast and the eighth in the American Pie Series.

American Pie has always been funny, awkward and at times controversial and if you have loved the past four then you are pretty much guaranteed to enjoy this film. The acting of these individuals is similar if not the same as the previous three, they know how to make you laugh and are good at it even if they wont win any awards doing it.

The film is funny and its clever in the fact that it introduces new characters however still focusing on the old favourites such as Stifler and Jim etc. However I don't think it can live up to the previous films partly due to the sheer age of all the actors and the fact that it still feels very set in high school themes.

Nevertheless if you enjoy the American Pie films then this film is a must on your list of films for the summer!

Watch the trailer here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1akixU65dDY

Guest Speaker - Sandra Laville

Sandra Laville visited University College Falmouth this week to give University students advice following her recent appearance in the Leveson Inquiry.

Laville has been the Crime Correspondent for the guardian for seven years where she is the senior journalist and has covered many major cases such as the Harold Shipman murder investigation and the fatal stabbing of the 10 year old Damilola Taylor.

Laville advised students: “When people employ you they want to hear about your integrity and ethics, you are young and employers want to hear about how youre not tainted by any of these bad practices. It is an ethical profession it is a positive and good thing in society.”

She started off her journalistic career in local news starting on the Northampton Chronicle and Echo also the Cornish weekly newspaper the Western Morning News before moving to London. 

Laville told students to: “Take every opportunity that comes to you, don’t be afraid to start small, don’t be afraid to start on a niche magazine”.

Journalists have been highly criticised for their involvement within the phone hacking scandal particularly under the rein of Murdoch’s empire. However Laville argues that as a Journalist it is her job: “to be the people’s eyes and ears, To hold the authorities to account, To give people voices who don’t have voices normally. I need to shed light on injustice”

She understands that due to the huge scandals within the press and the weakened relationship between journalists and the public it is becoming increasingly harder  for young journalists to make an impression in their chosen field of profession. She adds: “Your jobs might be harder in the future but you just need to be tenacious and dig around for stories.”