In the October half term its safe to say, it was a nice break away from Brendan's life. I managed to fit in some of my favorite things to pass the time with, before its back to the madness. I love shopping, doesn't every girl? so of course I made time for a few shopping trips here and there. I love fashion enough to work in the industry and so fortunately, I increase my interest every time i'm face to face with it upon every shift. I am also interested in travelling and have been to some amazing places including all the Caribbean islands, America, Africa and Greece. Some places I would love to go in the next few years would be Dubai, New York and Italy. I have always wanted to visit the city of Verona in Italy which also happens to be my middle name (Verona) and so its only in my nature to want to know why I was named after this city.

In terms of my unique learning style, I would say I am a practical and visual learner. I love to be active when learning so I find anything project linked and visual really helpful. I find it boring and dull when I am forced to listen to a lecture for the whole time. I am really creative and perhaps that's why I love and took A level art, but I just love doing group work and developing practical skills, it helps me remember the information a whole lot better.  

To me, I cannot hear a unique accent or think I even have one, yet I know everyone has a different way of pronouncing, speaking and projecting words, therefore I figured I must have my own language in one way or another. To explain my own language, when I hardly know myself, is quite hard so I believe a little background history may help myself and others work out a little more of how my language was formed. I was born and raised in the City of Bath where I currently live. I was always told to speak 'properly', yet always questioned what 'properly' meant. I am often told I have a typical Bath accent, which I was confused about and more commonly named as 'posh' by the way I pronounced some words. However, during school there was a vast variety of cultures and backgrounds in which I mixed with and believe I picked up a few other accents and speaking habits during the 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a period of 5 years, you're bound to have picked up something. Most of my friends were from Bristol which is why I think I speak in a combination of ways depending on the topic of conversation. Now my accents can go both ways. The main reason for warnings and telling off during school (ask anyone) was for being 'too loud' and 'all chat, no work' which I disagree on. So overall, I have no idea what my language, accent or specific way I talk is, and its very hard to pin down once you think about it.

Commentary of news paper article

The news article I have chosen to commentate on is on the subject of children and homework, a topic we are all familiar with. The title grabs the attention, especially of parents and teens who can currently relate.

  'Can't get your kids to focus on homework? Give them blueberry juice to boost their brainpower' this title captures the audience mainly from the obvious, straight to the point rhetorical question. It allows parents and mothers to automatically question whether this article would relate to them and make them want to read on to find a solution to the problem addressed. The second sentence in the title is a blunt answer to the question, which makes it seem like there's more to the point and makes the reader question this so called solution to years of problematic homework. The use of alliteration in the title creates a concise way of getting the point across. 'blueberry, boost, brainpower' all are words which allows the audience to directly understand the information given and helps to bury the words and points in their mind to help it stick and be memorable later on.

Underneath the title there are three bullet points that highlight the key ideas suggested in the article:

• Scientists believe flavanoid chemicals improve blood flow to the brain
• Primary-age children were given cognitive tests after different drinks
• They ignored distractions and performed better after consuming berries

The fact that the first bullet point is expressing that scientists and research has been involved in this article is vital because it shows there is a form of evidence and proof that this theory has been trialed and tested and has obviously gained some sort of result to make it into the news. The second bullet point shows that an experiment has been done related to this theory and the use of the word 'cognitive' expresses that the children's senses, behavior, intelligence and thinking had all been taken into consideration when trialing this. The last bullet point is brief and straight to the point without any weaknesses to the experiment being shown. The fact that these short, straight to the point bullet points are placed straight after the title makes the article more defined and eye catching, making the reader want to read these points then follow on by reading the full article. These bullet points give a quick opportunity to grab in the reader, highlight the main ideas and make the reader feel obliged to read the full thing. 

The first couple of lines in the article are again three, short sentences that explore the subject in more detail yet keep it very short, light and not in bulky paragraphs. This keeps the readers attention and doesn't allow the mind to drift and get distracted by other articles or thoughts. There is a large image after these three short sentences of a little girl picking from a pile of blueberries:

This image is also the main image when you first see the advertisement of the article. It suggests children and health, which gives clues before you even read the title. This image grabs the audience and gives them something visual to look at. There is another image further down on the article after a couple more lines of article information. The picture shows primary school children participating in class, this photo also captures the audiences attention and gives them something to break up the text which is important as it keeps the reader constantly interested. 

The article is kept very short and brief which allows it to keep the readers attention and get a point across without going in too much detail.   The use of the name 'Professor Williams' makes the theory sound more professional and reliable because of the expert name given for someone usually involved in science. Another factor included in the article that would also make it seem more true and a professional tried and tested theory is when they mention 'The study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, used a powder made from wild berries to make the drinks' This short, simple sentence gives strong information about how this theory has been backed up by including a large company and well known authority to make the tests appear very active in a greatly recognized international industry. 

Bathing in madness

The City of Bath is like lots of cities around the country mashed into one. It's full of buzzing tourists and commuting locals combining their two views of the city together and creating one big mess. It's crisply clean town houses and pretty parks create the privileged lifestyle look we all admire Bath for.
Bath is famous for its historical sites and traditional tea rooms such as the Roman Baths and Sally Lunns Buns that attract so many keen, soul seeking individuals. Take a casual stroll to the bath abbey or the flower filled gardens and you'll know why so many find Bath so picturesque and a beautiful place to live. People from all around the world come to see Bath but the truth is, they don't know the half of it.

Living in Bath all my life, I know practically every corner and cobble of every street and I know; Bath is a two sided story. If you've ever been shopping on a Saturday in Southgate then you will know your shopping trip will be filled with endless choice and opportunity... which also includes spending half your time wading through a sea of shoppers, explaining 'sorry' every time you bash your bags into someone, and choosing which shop next when walking past an endless amount of shops ranging from ted baker to primark. The sales obsessed people of this city love a bargain, and don't let the endless ques put them off. Its like an obstacle course every time you want a bottle of water to say the least.

The Bath bus station is heart of the madness with the constant in and out, moody bus driver system.Its rammed with people getting agitated, children crying, pigeons swooping and the odd instructor telling you your in the wrong bay and the bus is delayed.  It seems to be in this unfortunate city, you are either leggin' it and waving your arms because you desperately need to get to college and you know the teacher will not put up with the 'I got up late' excuse, or you are 34 mins early and sit contemplating moving to a better city with better public transport. Its safe to say, Bath is one of the most unreliable Cities there is, but that's why we all admire it so much.