For the last two years, indie rock band Akeal have been creating a stir in Warwickshire’s music scene with their rapidly-growing fanbase.
Known widely for their UK tour with Coventry band The Enemy and their various performances at events such as the 2008 Godiva Festival, lead singer and guitarist, Gaz Openshaw talks about his experiences during his rise to fame.
Inspired by bands such as Interpol, Elbow and The Doves, Gaz told of how his love of music started “when I was about 17, I’d always listened to music, you know, doing a bit of air guitar when no one’s around, but I’d never really learnt to play any instruments, but I figured it’s not too late to learn” and went on to meet fellow bandmembers Matt Graham (drums), Sean Davenport (bass) and Chris Hamblett (guitar) at a music group in Leamington Spa, where they soon became close mates and “it became apparent we’d be in a band”.
Gaz’s ideal situation would be that the band would become so sought after that they’d “be able to pick and choose where (they) wanted to play out of pretty much anywhere”.
When writing songs for the band, Gaz admits “I’ll be honest, when I first sit down to write a song, I’m not focusing on the message I’m putting across as much as I’m focusing on trying to make it sound good, but as soon as I’m happy with the music I’ll sit down and fit some meaningful lyrics to it: it’s not one-sided.”
“Do you see being in the band as mainly business… or pleasure?” I ask as he stops for a few seconds before answering with “I love being in the band, it definitely started as a hobby, but right now I’ve gotta say it’s about 60/40 in favour of business.”
Gaz then went on to tell me of his excitment about the possibility of touring with General Fiasco at some point next year, although it’s not been finalised as of yet. The bands’ next big performance is to be the Snowbombing festival in Mayrhofen, Austria next year between the 5th and 10th of April, where Akeal will be playing alongside established artists such as The Enemy, The Doves, Fatboy Slim and The Editors.
Cold-related illnesses are expected to take the lives of at least eight pensioners every hour this winter.
With the recession weighing down on our purse-strings this year, record numbers of elderly have been too afraid to warm their homes, simply enduring the cold rather than taking on a hefty gas bill. “They’ll rob you blind if you let them” says 72 year old, Helen Smith.
“Winter deaths” as they are referred to have reached their highest point in almost a decade, with 36,700 more deaths in England and Wales, compared with the average toll for the non-winter period.
Gordon Lishman, Age Concern’s Director General claims that “2.4 million older people in Britain live in homes that are cold enough to cause illness”, but it need not be this way. Few know of the government schemes put in place to help in situations such as the winter fuel allowance, given out to over 60’s to help warm their homes during the winter months. For more information called 0845 915 1515 to see if you are legible to claim fuel allowance.
Friends and relatives of people over 60 are also encouraged to advise them not to simply endure the cold this winter. It’s always worth enquiring at your local job centre to see what support is available to you should you need it.
By Ryan Brailsford
Sources:
- ONS Winter mortality statistics for England and Wales: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=574
- DirectGov: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Inretirement/DG_10018657
- Age Concern
X Factor 2009 finalist, Lucie Jones showed her fans she’s not going anywhere last night after performing at Coventrys’ Chicago Rock Café
After being defeated in a singing showdown by the notorious John and Edward, it looked like the show was over for the welsh student, but she’s currently touring the UK doing one-off performances. When asked how she felt about leaving the X Factor, she claimed she was “gutted” and that she thought there was “no way” she could have squared up to John and Edward in the eyes of the public.
Unfortunately this sentiment was somewhat justified by the crowd last night, whose comments seemed to focus more on her appearance than her performance. Some described her performance as “dissappointingly short” and “not as good as she is on TV”, though many compromise that this may be due to the venue’s strict budget and poor sound equipment.
In the eyes of her die-hard fans, who got to meet her shortly afterwards however, her rendition of Katy Perry’s “Hot n’ Cold” was described as “amazing” along with her covers of, “All I Want For Christmas” by Mariah Carey, “This Is Me” from the Disney movie Camp Rock and the rumoured winners’ single for 2009 “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus, which all received scattered praise.
X Factor fans are now looking forward to the appearance of Jamie “Afro” Archer the following week.
The Oval, Coventry Road, Bedworth, Warwickshire, CV12 8NN 30/11/2009
Press Release
Ron’s Gutted About Knuckles Showing Arsenal
Bedworth United’s reputation took a battering this week after exaggerated headlines swept the tabloids.
Manager Ron Gutted promises he is going to “crack” down on the behaviour of star striker Joey Knuckles after he was seen mooning from the team coach as it left Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in front of various tabloid reporters last weekend after claiming their 12th consecutive victory against Arsenal. A frenzy of rumour and false scandal followed this rather tedious incident.
The unfortunate striker took further criticism after being sent off for the fifth time in the last 12 months, with vital facts being ignored such as the provokation and harrassment he recieved prior to the tackle that ended his game by Arsenal striker Andrey Arshavin.
Press Officer Ryan Brailsford claims “Gutted has no intention of letting Knuckles go, but vows to curb his recent binge of bad behaviour”, in reference of course to the reported scandal of him being seen in compromising embraces with several women outside London nightclubs without his wife, supermodel Sauternes Nightly, who, as of yet, has decided not to comment on these accusations.
Fans are urged not to take many of the tabloid’s accusations concerning Knuckles at face value, as it has been publically revealed that at least two of the recent stories published have been unfounded and false, leading to the sacking and humiliation of various tabloid journalists.
For more information please contact the clubs’ Press Office at 02476 491986 or email press-enquiries@bedworthfc.co.uk (Office hours are between 9am-3pm Mon-Fri)
By Ryan Brailsford
[DISCLAIMER]: All content (including names and companies) mentioned in this are entirely fictional (even those based on real entities) and bear no significance, or reflect any of my views or the views of the lecturers involved in this task.
Members of the Warwickshire Youth Parliament have been invited to sit in on a Police meeting this Wednesday, in an attempt to give young people a better understanding of police work.
The youth representatives have been elected through UKYP (United Kingdom Youth Parliament) open days where, potential candidates between the ages of 11-18 from the local area are chosen as to represent their age group. Depending on the amount of young people in any given area, that area may have more or less representatives. Warwickshire currently has 6 Youth Parliament members, elected after participating in a UKYP open day.
Prior to the meeting, the Youth representatives will be interviewing the Police Authority Chair, Ian Francis and Deputy Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, Andy Parker, who said that “Gaining the views of young people can only assist Warwickshire Police in further protecting communities.”
Coventry University is soon to be launching the new “Make It Happen” scheme to help graduates become business owners. The University is teaming up with FlyingStart to provide specialist advice and funding over the course of the first 12 months of a student starting up their own business.
This initiative has been concocted in an attempt to counteract unemployment amongst university graduates, which has been steadily rising in recent years. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, rates of graduates being unemployed have risen by a third this year and the situation is steadily growing worse.
Dragon’s Den Star Imran Hakin commented earlier in the year that: “I wish there were initiatives like The Flying Start – Make it Happen programme available when I first started off” An open day allowing students to register is scheduled to be held in Coventry University’s George Elliot Building between 1pm-4pm on December 2nd.
This is a major opportunity for you to explore the possibility and then get the support, guidance and funding” says Dr Marks Evans, Associate Dean of Coventry University, with high hopes that the scheme will prove to be a success, adding some much needed stability to the higher education system, which so many potential students have lost faith in.
A body was pulled from the River Swift after a road accident.
The driver has since been identified as John Smith. The incident occurred on November 18th. The car was plunged into the river after skidding 20 yards, supposedly due to the hazardous road conditions following the day’s thunder storm.
Police are appealing for witnesses after a woman was found dead on the B4116.
The 28 year old from Atherstone was pronounced dead at the scene after a mysterious crash, that caused her to be thrown from her blue Ford Fiesta saloon, as she was driving from Coleshill towards Atherstone.
It is unknown what caused her to lose control of her vehicle and anyone who may have witnessed the event, or the car described prior to the crash is encouraged to contact the police as soon as possible.
If you have information you are urged to contact Rugby police on 01926 415441 and asking for Police Constable 784 Simon Marchetti.
In modern society there are a lot of fears about babysitting, but is it really necessary to keep your children with you at all times until they’re old enough to look after themselves?
Some parents around Coventry argued that having babysitters look after children “every now and again” effectively increases their social skills, by allowing them to interact with more people than those that they are usually around, as well as giving the parents a welcome break (which is thought to be good for the relationship between parent and child when in moderation). Of course, this leads to the pressing matter of who to trust with your kids, with cases such as the infamous Madeleine McCann story creating controversial panic about child safety.
Expecting mother of two, Rebecca from Coventry claims that “I wouldn’t put myself in a situation where I didn’t completely trust whoever was looking after my kids: It’s not worth the risk or worry.” she then continued to state that she would only trust her own parents with looking after her children.
Naturally, not everyone has the luxury of being able to call upon their parents to look after their children, in which case it’s advised that you do thorough background research on any potential sitter, asking for references and getting in contact with others whose children have previously been cared for by the person, as well as always asking for proof that they have had a clear CRB check. The NSPCC and RoSPA (Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents) state that any babysitter should be at least 16, though there is no current law that enforces this.
Though some may see it as common sense, it is of vital importance that you comprise a list of your child’s allergies and any special needs or illnesses when using a babysitter. This way you need not worry that they are going to be unknowingly exposed to such dangers.
This television commercial has made it’s way into my cabinet of curiosities simply by being the most annoying media text I could think of.
Its pushy sales pitch and repetitive nature make it an effective text, for all the wrong reasons. Though the average consumer of this would simply disregard it, if they were to later need the product it was advertising (windows and doors), it’s likely that they would instantly remember this text, simply because of how much it got on their nerves.
The fact that it is blatantly aware of how irritating it is adds to my negative opinion of it, but doesn’t discount it’s effectiveness, by breaking from the conventional techniques such as throwing attractive actors in the viewer’s face.
The public reacted to the various different versions of this commercial as expected. According to Abbi Coulam “that ad’s the most annoying thing on TV, every time it comes on, I just switch channels.” some even compare it’s brutal tactics to cold-callers and door to door salesmen. “It’s frustrating to think that people are willing to bug us in our own homes to sell some crappy glass.”
By Ryan Brailsford
Sources: www.youtube.com, http://www.safestyle-windows.co.uk/, television.
