My first chess tournament

From Anshi’s desk ….

This exciting tale begins at my school. It was yet another typical day of school and I had just received a blue letter from my teacher. It stated that there was going to be a chess competition and all the top chess players from my county would be playing. I was absolutely delighted to hear that I had been selected to play in the tournament.

When I got home I ran to my mother (my father was at his office) and told her the extraordinary events that had happened at school. She was absolutely elated to hear that I was selected!!!! And once my Dad had arrived from his office he was extremely jubilant to hear what had happened.
The tournament:

At last, it was time for the tournament, the day I had been waiting for had finally arrived. I was filled with a combination of nervousness and excitement and was running purely on Adrenalin. I gormandized down an egg and butter sandwich and gamboled to the car; I tried to relax by listening to one of my favourite songs. My Father arrived a few minutes later and after a goodbye to my Mother and sister we set off to the venue of the tournament.
At the tournament:

After entering we saw a swarm of chess players playing each other, some were discussing tactics, some were telling each other their favourite tactics. I gazed around looking at everybody and then I saw my friends who had been also been selected to play. I joined them and tried to help them as they played each other. Then a man stepped on stage and told us what was happening. He then told us our age groups and which room to go to when the matches began. The games began at promptly 10:00am.

After a grueling set of games, I managed to make my way to the next round of the tournament, the Gigafinal, having finished 7th out of over 250 participants. I believe I experienced synathesia as I was overwhelmed with emotions of joy and exhaustion. During the games, I used several of my favourite tactics to outwit and overcome my opponents, these included, the King and Queen’s Gambit, Scholar’s Mate and Forks.

After tearing through a packet of crisps, my father and I left to return home after collecting my prize. Having arrived, I immediately narrated the story of the tournament to my mother and sister, and after receiving a huge embrace from then both, relaxed by watching some television. That evening, I pictured myself at the Gigafinal, how wonderful the event would be, I was amazed by my skills, and vowed to hone them further.

A fantastic experience.

My Review of “The London Eye Mystery” – By Siobhan Dowd

Recently, I entered the library of my school, desperate for some new literature to indulge in. After beckoning the librarian, she recommended I try a series of mystery books by ‘Siobhan Dowd’. After becoming excited at the prospect of some new mysteries to occupy my mind with, I hurried towards the bookshelves and began scanning for the first in the series, named “The London Eye Mystery”.

During that particular school day, there was not a substantial amount of time to read, however, once I arrived home – after completing my homework – I engrossed myself in this book. After persisting through the first few chapters, which mainly included the setting of scenes, I began to understand why the Independent reviewed this as “Compulsive Reading”, and I myself must concur. The plot itself is completely encompassing; I shall provide you with a short description:

The main characters of this novel include a fourteen year old boy, Salim, his slightly egocentric but caring mother, Gloria – often abbreviated to Glo, a 12 year old intelligent boy with an apt understanding of meteorology, Ted, and his 15 year old sister, Kat, a stereotypically perceived teenager. The tale begins when Ted and his family receive an unorthodox letter from Gloria, who at this point lives in Manchester, in which she writes about how she and her son Salim were going to visit London, the area where Ted and his family are situated, on their way to their new home in New York, after Gloria received an attractive offer to become an artist. The family are excited at the idea of meeting their cousin Salim, whom they have not seen since 5 years before, however, there is a slight nervousness hanging in the atmosphere, as to whether they would still get on, or share the same opinions on any matters after all these years. After arriving, Salim enjoys his experience with Ted and his sister Kat, however in reality this is not a holiday for him at all, as he tries to go back home and stay his old friends and father, but after his father refused to let him stay at his abode, Salim was forced to come up with another plan. He contacts his friend Marcus and they hatch the plan to disguise themselves on the London Eye, where Salim specifically requests for Kat and Ted to take him, and through the use of Marcus’ brother, the last ticket available mysteriously ended up with Salim, at which point he gets on the London Eye. Without anyone realising, he completely disguises himself as a girl, and walks out to find Marcus in order to execute their plan of running away. However, at this moment we reach another plot twist, as Salim decides that he needs to face his fate. After Marcus leaves, it is up to Salim to find his way home, but before that, he decides to visit one of the tallest buildings in London, the Barracks, which is about to be shut down for demolition. As fate would have it, Salim is trapped in the building with no food, and it is up to Ted to solve the mystery of his disappearance.

This novel, in my opinion, is extremely gripping, and frankly, I found it hard to put down, as I was dying to know what happened next. One of the best aspects of the book, in my opinion, was the use of children throughout. Ted, for example, from a twelve year old boy, played the role of detective, and solved the mystery before the police. I believe that the book was allegorical, and preached about why we should trust children and not believe that they do not know anything, when in actual fact, they are extremely perceptive, proved several times throughout this novel. With all its plot twists, gripping detail, and the vivid imagination and fantastic portrayal of all the characters, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading mystery books with a slight twist.

What do we learn from “Animal Farm” about Totalitarian Regimes, how they consolidate power and the consequences for those whom they govern?

Recently, in English, I have learnt about the “Russian Revolution” and how Communism was closely related to Totalitarian Regimes. Eric Blair, better known by his pen name ‘George Orwell’ wrote “Animal Farm” to respond to what he was seeing first hand in the United Kingdom and Soviet Russia. He came from a prestigious family, and studied in Eton College. He declined this lifestyle and went to live amongst the impecunious people and he lived rough for a year. He shared his experiences in another book which he wrote. Orwell fought in the Spanish Civil War for the communists who supported Trotsky. This is where he experienced first hand what communism was like and he understood how closely and easily it could become a Totalitarian Regime, and for those whom it governed, it was not a pretty sight. He was trying to, in an allegorical form, warn the United Kingdom what they were getting themselves into. In a nutshell, he wrote the novel to show how communism could become derelict and crumble, turning into a totalitarian regime.

The first thing we learn about Totalitarian Regimes is that they indoctrinate the young, because the young are more susceptible to new ideas, having not gained any experience, whilst the older people are more cynical. We see this happening in Animal Farm when Napoleon takes the dogs away from their mothers at a very young age and puts them in his care. A good example of this is “They were the puppies whom Napoleon had taken away from their mothers and reared privately.

Once Totalitarian Regimes have seized power they consolidate it by controlling the military, the reason for this being that the military can take control at any given point in time, so it is essential if you want to keep power in a Totalitarian Regimes to control the military. Another reason for this is that the leader needs to keep the population in control using force and terror. We see this fairly early on in the novel, where the dogs – fully grown now – obey only Napoleon and are used to terrify the other animals to keep them in control, a quote that represents this is “Silent and terrified, the animals crept back into the barn.”

Totalitarian Regimes consolidate power using lots of techniques. One of the key things Totalitarian Regimes do is silence all opposition parties. That way, with no other parties to vote for, they gain control. Having gained leadership, the power is concentrated in the hands of the small elite. Not only that, they also rig the elections – the rationale for this being that if their are other competitors, they have a guaranteed chance of winning the election. In the novel, we witness this occurring when the pigs, cleverer than the other animals, take control. They stop all discussions and education for the other animals and keep all the power to themselves. A good example of this occurring is “In future all questions related to the workings of the farm would be settled by the special committee of the pigs…there would be no more debates.”

In Russia, during the time when it was under Communism, their were other popular leaders. For example, Leon Trotsky was very popular. Totalitarian Regimes stabilise power by eliminating or exiling powerful leaders. For Trotsky, this was no different, his fate was the same. Stalin, who was in power at that time – running a Totalitarian Regime – needed to eliminate Trotsky, so he exiled him. In “Animal Farm” this transpires when Snowball is chased out of the farm. A quote that clearly depicts this is “Snowball was seen no more…”

The failures and inadequacies of the regime of Totalitarianism were blamed on foreign enemies. In Russia, all failures like the 5 year plan to improve Russia were blamed on the United States. In “Animal Farm”, this is Snowball’s fate. For example, the failure of the Windmill was aimed on Snowball, when the reality was that the animals had not constructed it well enough. One of the many quotes that portray this is “Whenever something went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball.

The regime of Totalitarianism create and encourage a leadership cult, to consolidate power. This point is highlighted when Squealer praises Napoleon. This point can be portrayed from the quote “Napoleon is always right”. This is to gain the people’s support and trust him as a leader.

Totalitarian Regimes have many parades to show other countries and their own people that they have something to be proud of. In the real world, we see this happening in North Korea; they have a lot of parades to celebrate their weapons. In the allegorical world of Animal Farm, we begin to understand that the pigs are instigating lots of ceremonies, parades and rituals to convey to the other animals that there is not actually a famine. This quote clearly projects this “The animals would still assemble on Sunday Mornings to salute the flag, sing ‘Beasts of England”.

Another thing that the leaders of Totalitarian Regime do to keep power is to put a positive spin on everything. Squealer, being a great orator, uses this technique often. For example, he used this technique when giving a speech to the other animals about how the ‘Battle of the Cowshed’ was a victory. The exact quotation for this is “Comrades, the battle of the cowshed was a huge victory for Animal Farm”.

Not only this, but they also encourage loss of memory. We see this in “Animal Farm” when no one remembers the rebellion. The young, having not experienced the rebellion first hand, do not know anything in regards to it, and the older generation seem to have completely forgotten about it. A quote that clearly represents this is “The seasons came and went… A time came when no-one remembered the old days”.

There are many other techniques that the regime of Totalitarianism use to consolidate power, but these are the main ones. To conclude, I believe that Totalitarian Regimes use the techniques provided above to consolidate power, and the consequences for those whom they govern are malnutrition, pain and torture if you do not follow the leader, you could also be exiled if you rebel, and many others. Therefore, if you look at the novel and the evidence, the consequences are huge for those whom Totalitarian Regimes govern.

Why I believe the period of 1924-1929 should be considered as the “Golden Age” of German History

There are many reasons as to why the period of 1924-1929 can be considered as the Golden Age. One of the reasons for this is the economic recovery made during this time. For example, Gustav Stresseman – chancellor and foreign secretary at the time – created the new German currency which replaced the mark, called the, ‘Rentenmark’ which was worth one trillion marks. This allowed economic recovery to take place by reducing hyper-inflation in Germany. This allowed for better quality of life for the German people as food was able to be bought at a reasonable price, allowing for life to go back to normal for the masses, as items of food, clothing and other basic supplies became more readily available. Another reason as to how economic recovery allowed for the period of 1924-1929 to be known as the Golden Age, was the Dawes Plan, agreed by Stresseman, which allowed the Germans a huge sum of 800 million rentenmarks from the United States. This helps to give the period of 1924-1929 the titles of ‘The Golden Age’, as this loan severely boosted the German economy, allowing the industrial production levels to regain to before war levels, stabilising the economy and allowing for more job opportunities as well as more investment to be made within Germany, strengthening not only the economy, but the citizens morale, as people no longer had to fear as top whether they would be able to put food on the table and provide for there family. Finally, the ‘Young Plan’ of 1929 is another reason as to why 1924-1929 can be considered as the ‘Golden Age’. In this plan, the total reparations were reduced by 72%, from 6.6 billion pounds to 2 billion pounds. Moreover, Germany was given a further 59 years to pay these reparations. This significantly benefitted Germany as it removed a large portion of the economic pressure placed upon them, allowing for more focus and investment to be placed upon internal matters within Germany, stabilising the economy further.

Another reason as to why the period of 1924-1929 can be considered as the ‘Golden Age’ is the recuperation made within the housing industry. For example, during 1923, there was a shortage of one million homes within Germany. However, from 1925-1929, private companies built 37,000 new homes, while the new building associations built 64,000 homes, which severely reduced the number of houses required in Germany. By 1928, there was no shortage within Germany for housing. This helps to prove how the period of 1924-1929 can be considered as the ‘Golden Age’ as it stopped the crisis for homes, meaning people could focus on other aspects in their lives, such as work, as well as severely reducing homelessness within Germany.

A final reason as to why this time period can be called the ‘Golden Age’ is the improvements made in the Standard of Living, specifically wages and unemployment insurance. For those in work, wages and working conditions improved. As well as the length of the working week being shortened from 50 hours a week – 1925, to 46 hours per week – 1927, the wages per week significantly increased by 25%. This is a significant factor as to how this period can be considered to be the ‘Golden Age’. This is because it significantly contributed to the improvement of the Standard of Living, by providing people with more time to relax or to spend on their leisure activities, bettering the mental health of workers, as well as increasing the wage of workers, keeping the people happy, as well as bettering the economy, and allowing for more money to be spent on what people want, further benefiting the economy and allowing for workers to be able to provide for their families. Unemployment Insurance was a social problem in the early years of the Weimar Republic. During 1924, over 4% of the total possible workforce was unemployed. However, this improved. By 1928 only 1.3 million of the population was unemployed a significant reduction compared to the previous statistic of 1926, which saw the unemployment of 2 million people. The unemployment insurance act of 1927 charged 16,400,000 workers 3% of their wages and provided unemployment and sickness benefits if they fell out of work. This largely benefitted the standard of living, thereby contributing to how the period could be considered as the ‘Golden Age’ as it provided workers with security, that they would have some sort of income if they fell ill or out of work, improving the standard of living for workers. This allowed them to focus on work, rather than simply trying to keep a job, whilst only paying a minor amount of there wages in order to do so.

Was Hitler truly responsible for World War 2?

From Anshi’s Desk…

I have written about my interpretation of World War 2, and whether Hitler was truly responsible for World War 2, from my point of view. I decided to write on this topic as it is heavily debated and its wounds are very deep, to come to a conclusion, of which I feel, covers both sides of the argument fully. I have written this essay primarily based upon my classroom knowledge, and some extra research I conducted at home. In this essay, I have tried to stay neutral and cover both sides of the argument in order to reach a non-biased conclusion, which is rather difficult. Side Note: I have used a question to make it slightly easier to understand…

“Hitler can be seen as responsible for causing World War 2” How far do you agree with this interpretation?

I agree with this interpretation to a large extent. This being due to the fact that, although other events occurred during the time which may have added to the trigger of World War 2; had Hitler not taken advantage of these situations, the likely outcome would have been that the chances of World War 2 occurring would have been significantly reduced. Hitler seized the opportunity to take advantage of the Great Depression, the failures of the League of Nations, and the lack of action from France and Britain – including the rearmament of the Rhineland and territorial expansion to reunite all German speakers. However, there are a few factors which suggest that Hitler was not entirely responsible for World War 2, such as the Treaty of Versailles – which can be seen as both a cause itself, and an event which Hitler took advantage of to gain power.

Hitler severely took advantage of the Great Depression, allowing him to gain the nation’s votes and seize power of the country. During the period of hyper-inflation (a point in time where money was becoming worthless) the German people were both scared and angry. This was largely due to the fact that there was a lack of jobs and money, and due to the hyper-inflation, it was extremely difficult for the citizens of Germany to put bread on the table. After Hitler took over the Nazi party, and tried to overthrow the existing government, it seemed like Hitler was the only source of hope for the German people, because of his new ideas and promises. He persuaded the German people to vote for him through fear and anger, as Hitler promised to stop paying the reparations of 6.6 billion pounds from the Treaty of Versailles to Britain and France, allowing him to stabilise Germany’s economy, as well further stabilising Germany’s economy by reducing the hyper-inflation. Not to mention, he also advocated that he would be able to regain all of Germany’s lost land and colonies that were given away to Britain and France, particularly places in Africa, the Rhineland, the Polish Corridor, and Alsace and Lorraine. Furthermore, Hitler had a personal army of approximately 4 million troops; which he vowed to utilise, as well as allowing the government troops to join, which he believed would let them increase their empire, whilst not breaking the Treaty of Versailles. This was a huge factor of the causes of World War 2, as it was because of Hitler taking advantage of the Great Depression, where all the people of Germany were searching for a glimpse of hope, which made Hitler look like a saint, in turn meaning he seized power and was able to invade other countries, break the treaty of Versailles, and cause World War 2, which emphasises my initial statement of believing that Hitler was responsible for World War 2.

Hitler took the opportunity of the failures of the League of Nations in order to seize power and invade other countries. His primary advantage was the fact that the League of Nations did not have an army of their own, and so could only place economic sanctions, of which he could avoid by leaving the league, and trading with other countries outside of the league, such as America. This is exactly what occurred during the disarmament conference of the League of Nations. Hitler protested that after World War 1, Britain and France had not disarmed their countries, and yet Germany’s army was being stripped to the bare bones, which resulted in Hitler simply leaving the conference and intensifying the secret rearmament programme. Hitler made a non-aggression alliance with Poland, meaning they would enjoy cordial relationships for the next five years. This weakened France, who had tried to make sure that no country in Eastern Europe made alliances with Germany. It was because of the failure of the League of Nations, that Hitler was able to carry out Lebensraum – the idea of gaining ‘living space’ for the ever-expanding German population. Not to mention, this further allowed Hitler to gain more power as the League of Nations did not place any sanctions upon Germany, which let Hitler force the Austrian prime minister to allow all important positions within the government be appointed to Nazi’s, which resulted in the Nazi’s winning the election, therefore meaning Hitler was able to overthrow Austria. This sort of scenario occurred in many countries that Germany overthrew, such as the Sudetenland; in which Hitler believed it was not just for German speakers living in the Sudetenland – of which was majority – and wanted Czech to hand it over to Germany, so that German speakers could be united. This led to Slovakia asking for protection from Germany, which they agreed upon whilst subsequently ruling over them. It is due to these significant reasons, that I believe that Hitler was responsible for the cause of World War 2, as had Hitler not taken advantages for the failures of the League of Nations, he would have been able to gain so much power by overthrowing several other countries – which in turn caused World War 2.

Hitler heavily took advantage of the lack of action taken by both Britain and France, which permitted him to reamer the Rhineland, and further expand Germany’s territories; gaining him an abundance of power. During the period running up to World War 2, Britain and France were considered to be the most powerful nations in the world, partly due to the fact that they were part of the Arian race, which was considered the most superior at the time. This therefore meant that their decision on matters was final. One of the points within the Treaty of Versailles, was that Germany must demilitarise the Rhineland, which ergo meant that allied troops were posted throughout the Rhineland. However, on 7th March 1936 32,000 troops entered the Rhineland, meaning it was remilitarised. Britain and France did not react to this in any form, and simply allowed Germany to militarise the Rhineland, giving France no protection from the German troops. This gave Hitler a boost of confidence, as knowing that Britain and France would not react or place sanctions upon Germany for conquering areas of land, he invaded numerous other countries, gaining him both land and power, which were both part of Hitler’s foreign policy aims. By the time Germany had conquered many countries, giving themselves both land and power, Britain formed a treaty of appeasement in order to keep all countries going to war with each other. It stated that Germany had now gained enough land to satisfy themselves and were not permitted to complete anymore territorial expansion. Germany agreed to this treaty, however this was a mere façade, as at that moment in time, Germany had already gained enough power and land to believe that they were capable of winning World War 2, and so they overtook Poland, which was the trigger of World War 2. I believe that this is a significant factor as to why Hitler can be seen as responsible for World War 2, as had he not taken advantage of the lack of sanctions from Britain and France, the treaty of appeasement would not have been required. However, as Hitler broke the treaty, both Britain and France were angered, and after Hitler overthrew Poland, World War 2 was triggered.

Although there are many points to justify how Hitler can be seen responsible for World War 2, there is one cause which I believe illustrates that Hitler was not entirely responsible for World War 2. This is the Treaty of Versailles because of the fact that it was extremely harsh on the Germans, as not only did they have to carry the War Guilt around with them, meaning they were acknowledged as a horrible country, they had to pay a huge 6.6 billion pounds in reparations to Britain and France, meaning there economy took a huge plunge, a significant amount of the population went below the poverty line, not to mention the huge amounts of unemployment making it extremely difficult to pay the reparations. As well as this the military of Germany, often known as its pride and joy, was stripped down to 100,000 men and they lost most of their colonies, particularly in Africa. The Germans were given no say about the fate of the country, as the treaty was a ‘diktat’, which made the German people despise other countries, causing revolts throughout the country. This further resulted in a nationalist and “Forkeed” – a nationalist group – outbreak, aa well as communism causing further revolts. I believe that this was a factor conveying that Hitler was not entirely responsible for the outbreak of World War 2, as the treaty of Versailles was a diktat, meaning the Germans had no say in the fate of their country. As well as this, the land Germany and France had been fighting over, was ceded to France as part of the treaty of Versailles, meaning the Germans had no chance to make an agreement.

To conclude, I firmly agree with the interpretation that Hitler can be seen as responsible for the cause of World War 2, as there is significant evidence to prove this point; including Hitler taking advantage of the failures of the League of Nations, taking advantage of the lack of action from Britain and France, as well as the Great Depression. Whereas, there is only one point to support that Hitler was not responsible for World War 2, the Treaty of Versailles. On balance, I believe that Hitler was responsible for World War 2, and therefore agree with this interpretation due to the fact that there is significant evidence to convey this interpretation, whereas there is little evidence against it.

Roses – A facade!!!

From Anshi’s desk…

This story tells a tale of a young girl, aged 4. It is a tale about a fierce enemy, who sought to destroy everything that came in its path and a tale of a guardian, so great that it may be able to overcome the evil. However, the enemy has a trick up its sleeve.

Will evil prevail and encompass the land; or will the light overcome the darkness?

There was a bush of roes in the park, glowing in their beautiful glory. The ray of light hit them at such an angle, that it made the bush seem a place of haven, wiping away all the pain and darkness instantly. It would be impossible for anyone not to be attracted to them.

And so comes a young girl, wandering through a park with her friends sauntering behind her. Her parents sit down by a great oak tree, and say “Go play, little one.” Sensing that her parents needed some space, this girl who was very bright for her age;- decided to look around for something interesting to do. After scanning her surroundings, she was placed in two minds. On one side, a large playground stood, with children playing and laughing; and on the other, a serene, blissful bush of roses. How could this even be a question, she contemplated. It was obvious she should be going to the bush of roses. She headed over and reached out to touch one of the roses when…

“Ow!!!”, she screamed, whilst a bolt of pain flooded through her body. She traced the pain back to the source and saw a sharp, jagged object sticking out of her finger. Blood splattered everywhere as she shrieked in agony, “Dad! Dad! Help!”. The young girl sobbed, whilst her father came rushing, soothed her and cleaned the wound. It was at this moment his face grew more and more red, his blood began to boil, as anger and indignance filled his body and he swore to take revenge. After writing an extremely displeased letter to the local council, the father of the girl was able to persuade them to  have the roses removed. Within a week the job was complete.

However, though the enemy in this story were removed, would they strike again….. somewhere else?

(Inspired by the poem “Nettles” by Vernon Scannell.)

 

The Princes in the Tower and what happened

From Anshi’s Desk…
“Today, I have the extremely unfortunate task of announcing the death of the young nephews of King Richard the Third. The young princes seemed to have disappeared, it is such a peculiar phenomenon that it seems they have just vanished into thin air, consequently we have no other option but to assume that they have died.”
These were the words of a famous ambassador of the time. Today I will try and solve this mystery.
We can can only guess what happened to these poor young boys…
What happened to the young princes?
We have recently received some information from anonymous sources stating that the princes have been murdered by none other than their own uncle King Richard the Third!
Thomas More, a respectable historian and a trusted source, states that Richard would never truly to be accepted as King whilst the boys were around, since they were the true heirs to the throne, but were claimed illegitimate by Richard. Therefore he made an executive decision to get rid of them. He secretly commanded the Constable of the Tower to hand over the keys to Sir James Tyrell. Tyrell conspired a plan to murder the boys in their beds. He hand picked Miles Forrest, a servant, and John Dighton, who looked after the stables on Richard’s estate. All of the other servants were ordered to leave. Forrest and Dighton crept up to their beds with pillows surreptitiously, and pushed down to cover the boys mouths so that they were smothered. Tyrell then ordered that the boys be buried at the foot of the stairs, deep in the ground.
However, is this interpretation completely credible, due to the fact that it was written thirty years after these events took place and the author was only five when it happened.
The bones
The bones of the children were recently discovered in the Tower of London about ten feet below the floor. There is no scientific evidence which proves that these bones were the bones of the princes, however, as well as in Thomas More’s description, it was buried well below the foot of the stairs. This makes the first source more credible.
A confession
Two writers, Thomas More and Polydore Vergil later stated that Sir James Tyrell (one of Richard’s closest friends) confessed to the murder of the boys. However, there is no evidence to back this up.
To conclude, I believe that from the limited evidence I have studied, there is much which I have not read, that King Richard III planned the killing of his nephews; as there is a significant amount of evidence, from what I have read, which suggests this; and limited evidence against this accusation.

Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest

 

From Anshi’s Desk…

Deforestation of the amazon is a topic that is of the utmost importance to me in current times, especially with global warming overtaking the globe. In my limited understanding of this issue, deforestation is one of the key root causes which has had a major impact on society and the environmental health of our planet. Although many people believe that it has no effect upon global warming; science suggests otherwise…

So, let us embark And explore this topic by trying to answer why deforestation occurs, and consequently what is the effect of this upon the Amazon Rainforest? In this insight we will try to explore this issue as it stands.

To begin with, deforestation damages the rainforest floor, making it derelict by removing the fertile soil and replacing it with saturated, solid, baked soil. Where as previously the heavy downpour would collide with the treetops and flood through the branches, eventually entering the soil floor. However, after deforestation, the heavy rain hits the baked, saturated floor meaning it can no longer absorb water. The consequence of this being the formation of water puddles, which eventually convert into floods.

During photosynthesis, Carbon Dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is required for glucose to be produced and for plants to develop. Therefore the trees in the rainforest trap up to 10% of all of the greenhouse gases on Earth. Afterwards, gases are no longer taken in, but are emitted back into the air on Earth, meaning that global warming begins to take place. As the soil was previously fertile, vegetation was able flourish. After the soil becomes decertified, no plants are able to develop. Not to mention the fact that trees give shade throughout the day, which lowers the temperature on the forest floor. Now, the temperature on the forest floor increases during the day, and lowers much quicker during night.

These are just a list of a few environmental problems, there is also a rather large list of human issues. For example, many animals and other creatures will lose their habitats due to the fact that they live in the trees. Trees also contain certain chemicals which are found in many pharmaceutical medicines.

The main reason why these situations occur, is due to the fact that humans want to reap all of the benefits of the rainforests, without returning anything. For example, there are large amounts of cattle ranching occurring in rainforests as the business is extremely lucrative and much easier than many other jobs that people on the rainforest currently have. Other reasons of why this instances occur includes agriculture, which accounts for approximately 33%, fires and any other natural a disasters which take up around 3% of deforestation as well as commercial exportation of vegetables add up to make 1% of deforestation.

Please leave your suggestions of other topics I should explore and write about in the comments below…

The Hollow Room – A short gothic tale…

From Anshi’s Desk…

It was a peculiarly dark night, one which was not predicted by weather reporters at all. From this particular moment in time, it struck me that something was wrong. I did not wish to ponder much longer upon the subject, since I wanted to keep a positive spirit about me, as seeing the reviews of this hotel, I knew that what was to come was going to be very, very dark…

I arrived at the mansion at 6 O’Clock. I stood and watched it lie there, deteriorating, desolate. Vines hung from the walls, vultures circled around the building. There was an eery silence around this house, no birds chirping, no trees swaying. The atmosphere at this vile building seemed dark and secretive. There was something very ominous about this house, something which I could not quite put my finger on. However, thinking logically and methodically, I kept my spirit up, and ignored all of the features of the house, praying whatever lay inside was much nicer than this. “Looks can be deceiving,” I repeated to myself as I approached an ancient wooden door. I knocked three times, inhaling a lung full of dust as I did so. Suddenly, I felt a creak under my feet, and a colony of bats flew away from the dark ceiling of the patio. I waited for approximately two minutes, constantly reassuring myself that everything would be okay. I heard a creaking sound, and the door slowly gave way.. From a quick glance I saw nothing, except darkness surrounding the interior of the building. Then, I turned my head and focused my eyes upon the man who had opened the door. He seemed archaic, covered in wrinkles, with three teeth which were so brown, it was as if someone had covered them in chocolate sauce. He looked as though he was going to collapse any second. He smelt of devilled eggs, and something he was wearing was rotting. One feature of his which frightened me were his piercing blue eyes, staring straight at me.

“Good Evening,” I managed to cough up, “My name is…”
“It don’t matter what your name is,” he interrupted, with a strong Irish accent, “Get inside! We can’t have you standing out in the cold like ‘at,”
and with that, I wandered inside, cautiously. Now, I could make out a spiral staircase. Cold eyed statues of gargoyles surrounded an open area. Every bit of furniture was covered in decay. At this point, I didn’t think I was going to survive the night.
“I’ll show you to the ‘Ollow room,” he whispered, with a spine-chilling smile.
I noticed a painting of a lady hanging in the corner of the room, it seemed to match the archaic features of everything else in this place.

“The Hollow room?” I said, “What’s the Hollow Room?” From a distance I made out a high pitched cackle, and I saw on old lady, standing at the top of the spiral staircase, even more ugly than the old man. “The ‘Ollow room,” she said, “Was her ladyship’s favourite room.” After a short walk filled with creaks, cobwebs surrounding every corner, and the occasional black cat pouncing at onto the hallway, we had arrived at the ‘Hollow Room’. It was a dusty room, filled with filth and decay, as most rooms in this house were, and I heard the soft sound of scuttling insects. However, in this room, their were many stuffed animals, the only creatures I could be sure wouldn’t pounce on me. However, after contemplating about the creatures, they seemed very life like… At that moment, the door creaked shut, and I heard the click of the lock. I understood everything now! Why of all hotels did I choose to inspect this one! They were going to turn me into a stuffed human! As everything clicked into place, I slowly turned to face the animals. That must have been the decaying smell! They were all real animals! Lightning struck outside and the wind howled as dark clouds circled over the house.

I knew then, my life was over, I would remain trapped here forever, never to be seen again…

 

The Football World Cup 2018

From Anshi’s desk…

Recently, all around the World, the time has once again arrived. It is the World Cup, although I have no interest in this topic whatsoever, I have been following the tournament, as my parents have forced me to watch the games. This event has infected the World so much, that there is a competition being held within my class about this particular topic. Each and every person is assigned an international team, and has to support this team throughout the tournament. If your assigned team wins, you are awarded a prize.

Throughout the tournament, many emotions have flooded through, some overjoyed, and others, extremely disappointing. In recent Argentinian matches, Lionel Messi has not been in form, and this has been proven through the results. Whereas, young Belgian players have been scoring their first ever international goals, and are in the prime of their youth.

In this particular post, rather than focusing on the players, I have decided to dedicate this post to the referees, who judge the decisions during the matches. I believe that the referees are highly neglected and underrated, the amount of abuse they face, not only from the players, but from the millions of people watching, is upsetting. However, what is more disheartening, is the fact that nobody ever gives it a second thought.

It is very difficult, not only from a physical point of view, but also from a mental aspect, to be a referee. In intense matches when decisions are tight, stress levels are off the scale, and all the players are screaming at them, it can be very tough to absorb all the information surrounding them, and have a clear judgment as to what to decide. Not to mention, the physical standards they are expected to reach. For the players themselves, it is not difficult to reach these standards, as they are equipped with the best facilities and the best coaches and physical trainers available. However, for a referee this may be difficult.

To conclude, I would like to say, that no matter what position you are in, no matter how successful you are, there is no point disrespecting or abusing another person, for they may have a much tougher job than you, not to mention the extenuating circumstances they may be going through, which you are not aware of.

After all, looks can be deceiving!!!