August eZine

48

description

August edition of the ezine!

Transcript of August eZine

Page 1: August eZine

Editorial Another month another eZine and what better way to start this than say

what an amazing summer the UK has had Weve had the Olympics our

usual weather of drizzle hot sunshine and then some more drizzle and

rain

But on a positive note we have our August eZine for you to read

apologies for it taking so long but good things are worth the wait eh

There is plenty of good and bad news to tell you all about Shall we start with the bad first Best to always get that out of the way huh

The bad and very sad news for the eZine is that our joint editor Zed has

decided to stand down from her role of editor which is sad news as I

loved working with her on the eZine since it has come back She will be

staying with the eZine though to write for us and provide other

contributions So for now I am on my own as editor But here is where

the good news comes in

In the next issue I will be announcing a joint editor to come and join me

in creating and coming up with ideas and such for the eZine every month

They will start as an editor for the Christmas issue and wont find out until then who it will be So suspense can be amongst you all

Some more good news is that the eZine will be recruiting more members

So after the August eZine has been published online keep your eyes

peeled for a thread in general chat about how you can try and get the

chance to become a writer for the eZine

Anyhoo thats all from me now we hope that you enjoy this monthrsquos

eZine and as it is the start of September we hope anyone starting new

schools colleges and universities have a warm welcome

Take care

Natalee (editor)

Community Team Picnic Meet

On July 1st the long anticipated community team picnic occurred although it

ought to be stated that minimal picnic-ing occurred due to inclement weather

conditions Relocated to Wetherspoons pub [where precisely NONE of the

alcoholic beverage consuming occurred] those with picnics nommed them

sneakily under the tables whilst others bought Wetherspoonsrsquo food to keep them happy

Cam [random swirls] was kind enough to provide party bags for the occasion

which were met with much excitement It turns out that party bags become

more rather than less exciting as one ages

By a happy coincidence Jenna [Narcissa] had face paints and a balloon hat

making kit left over from last weekrsquos birthday party so faces were painted

[Jenna as a charming clown thanks to Amy [Voldemort] and Emma [LavaLamp]

a sort-of pirate thanks to Jennarsquos dubious artistic skills] and a last minute entry

to the hat competition prepared whilst ordinary civilised patrons of

Wetherspoons looked on with interest

As promised the time arrived for the judging of The Hat Competition Cam was

appointed chief judge so her fascinator hat was not in the running for the

winner but as the competition was so fiercely contested she enlisted fellow old-

school RYLers Amy and Ritzi [fawkes] to aid in the judge After the agonising

wait the results were announced In joint third were Amy and Ritzi with their

farmer hat and Mary [Munchbox] with her miniature origami hat cue applause Jennarsquos spectacular balloon hat made using a balloons from a

balloon hat-making kit [not bitter at all here] was deemed to NOT BE A PROPER

HAT can you believe it and was awarded second place whilst Emma with her

pirate face paint and matching hat glided smoothly into first place Jocelyn

[Awakening] claimed joint ownership of the hat and hence the prize a rather

stunning notebook

With thanks to the community team for organising the picnic and to Cam for

her generosity in providing prizes and party bags )

By Jenna (Narcissa)

Shout Outs

From - [StarStruck]

To -

Rodolphus - You can do this lovely Marie You are so so strong I know youre really struggling right now but youre stronger than it all You are amazing

Always so wonderful and caring and youre inspirational I love you lots Please

keep fighting xxxx

Narcissa - Jenna You are always there for everyone Youre always so thoughtful

and you make people want to be here in this world because youre in it because

this world needs more people like you Youre simply marvelous Id be honored to ever have a friend like you But remember to take care of yourself too and to

reach out for help if you need it You need to be good to you as well ) Sending

lots of love your way x

Snow White - Lovely dovely Aimee I love you and I hope you remember that I

hope you remember we are all here for you if you ever need us Youve always been so kind hearted to me and I think of you often Dont give up keep trying

you can beat anything

Stellata - Sweet youre always there for everyone you have a way with words

and even when youre struggling you still try and comfort and support others

Youre incredible Lots of love keep being who you are because anyone would be lucky to have you in their life

Bellatrix - JodMum I know youre having such a difficult time at the moment

but remember how strong you are how strong youve been how brave you have

been how you are so so incredible and fantastic and you have a heart of gold and you have so much to give to this world you truly do so please keep on

fighting dont give up now dont give up ever dont let it win You can do this I

love you tonsamptons JodMum Always here lt3

---------------------------------------------

From - LavaLamp (Emma)

To -

To Leclaire (iateallthepies) ndash Thank you for your amazing support You are an

incredible friend who always puts others first You are kind caring thoughtful hilarious and fun to spend time with I think you are a beautiful person inside

and out

To Jodie (Bellatrix) ndash You are incredible You go through such hell day after day

but you survive and I that shows such strength You are so loved and we all

want to see you make it through this you deserve a life worth living Wersquoll be

with you every single step of the way

To Lillie (Chinahorse) ndash Keep fighting I love you you are such a brilliant friend

and I donrsquot want to lose you You are never alone

To Ailsa BigMike and SnowWhite ndash I love you guys you keep the Uni student

thread alive and Irsquom grateful for the chance to get you know you all better

To Beckie (PinkFreud) ndash Thank you for being you You always make me smile no

matter how much you are finding things in your life a struggle you always take

the time to make people laugh and some days I really wouldnrsquot know what Irsquod do

without that

---------------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Kismet (Louise)

Id like to make a shout out to Kismet (Louise) for being awesome brave and generally a great person

----------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - narcissa

Jenna - thank you for being my life line

To The Shiny People

The you for making the fight worthwhile

-----------------------------------------

From - Invincible (Beth)

Dear ALL of RYL

You are ALL amazing

You are ALL strong You are ALL beautiful

You are ALL worth an amazing amount probably more than youll ever know

You ALL deserve to be happy

You ALL deserve to smile

You are ALL gorgeous

You are ALL loved

And no matter what ANYONE says every word Ive just said up there is true

and I can say that without meeting any of you because everyone in this world

deserves happiness love and to smile

No matter what happens you all deserve to get better and recover from

whatever is happening for you right now be it relationships emotions mental health issues eating disorders everything Even if you feel like the loneliest

person on this planet theres ALWAYS someone who cares I can promise you

that

I want you to know there is always someone here for you You arent alone )

no matter what

and even if you dont believe a single word Ive just said its true and if even

one person who reads this smiles then its working and it was worth me writing

it

And Ive rambled on a lot so one final thing a quote from Dr Seuss that means

a lot to me -

ldquoBe who you are and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter

and those who matter dont mindrdquo

Love Invincible (Beth)

----------------------------------------

From - PassedExpectations

To all my friends on here who keeps me sane

----------------------------------------------------

From - The Stolen One

To - Katy (Buttons)

Just wanted to remind you that youre amazing and strong You mean a lot to

me and I really appreciate the fun times weve had Im really proud of you for accepting the help and for trying although its a scary situation I know things

arent at all ideal at the moment but youre honestly doing really well with it all

and no matter what happens in the future Im always going to be here caring

about you

Keep going you can do it Hope to see you soon Lovee lt3

-------------------------------------------------

From - Jocelyn [Awakening]

To - Emma (Lavalamp)

Id like to give a shout to Emma (Lavalamp) for being completely amazing in so

many ways For her 4 weeks of being self harm free and all the hard work shes

put into her recovery Shes worked so hard and it really shows She is truly

awesome lt3

---------------------------------------------------------

From - ArtOfDeduction

To -

Ailsa - You are such a beautiful woman You have helped me so much and I

wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past month You are one of the strongest women I know and I admire you so much lt3

Steph (username Pixiedust_11) - Steph you have helped me far beyond

anything you will know I am so so thankful to have you as my friend and I pray

your recovery goes from strength to strength lt3

Emma (username LaverLamp) and Jocelyn (username [Awakening]) - Where to start firstly Emma you are such a stunning beautiful talented woman of

God and I know you are going to be okay Jocelyn I know I dont know you as

well as I do Emma but it is clear to me how much you love her and she loves

you Together you both give me so much encouragement and hope for a better

world to come I love you both and am excited to see you both grow and fall

more and more in love lt3

------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Romperfry

I would like a shout out to Romperfry for always being there

---------------------------------------------------

From - Pink Freud

To -

Jocelyn AKA [Awakening]- because she has been so supportive and helpful

Cam AKA randomswirls- because she talks sense when i dont feel sensible

-------------------------------------------------

Narcissarsquos srs bsns shout outs

Wishing Fi [MaybeNotForever] all the best for her first term at university I hope

it goes splendidly

To Rachael [fakesmiler] I hope your wedding day is the best of your life and I

wish you and Sam so much happiness together

Lillie [chinahorse] itrsquos not over yet Engage in NONE of the dying please darling

lt3

Allie [Petite Souris] itrsquos been so lovely to get to know you I hope things get

better from here for you

And like ALL the love on ALL the days to ALL my tip-top friends the ones who

dutifully reply to every pointless thread I come up with the ones who spam the

hell out of my facebook when I least expect it the heroes of the hero brigade and the noble uni student thread and all ye who sail in her QK QK QK

And of course insert soppy st here for my darling Jodie [Bellatrix]

-------------------------------------------------

From GlitterTrashDoll

To Rachael [FakeSmiler]

Have a wonderful wedding day sweetheart I wish you all the best and a life time

of happiness

To my fellow Alien Nikki [Frozen Inside]

Thank you for letting me nerd out about Tokio Hotel with you I adore it D

--------------------------------------------------

From - BigMike (Mike)

To -

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 2: August eZine

Community Team Picnic Meet

On July 1st the long anticipated community team picnic occurred although it

ought to be stated that minimal picnic-ing occurred due to inclement weather

conditions Relocated to Wetherspoons pub [where precisely NONE of the

alcoholic beverage consuming occurred] those with picnics nommed them

sneakily under the tables whilst others bought Wetherspoonsrsquo food to keep them happy

Cam [random swirls] was kind enough to provide party bags for the occasion

which were met with much excitement It turns out that party bags become

more rather than less exciting as one ages

By a happy coincidence Jenna [Narcissa] had face paints and a balloon hat

making kit left over from last weekrsquos birthday party so faces were painted

[Jenna as a charming clown thanks to Amy [Voldemort] and Emma [LavaLamp]

a sort-of pirate thanks to Jennarsquos dubious artistic skills] and a last minute entry

to the hat competition prepared whilst ordinary civilised patrons of

Wetherspoons looked on with interest

As promised the time arrived for the judging of The Hat Competition Cam was

appointed chief judge so her fascinator hat was not in the running for the

winner but as the competition was so fiercely contested she enlisted fellow old-

school RYLers Amy and Ritzi [fawkes] to aid in the judge After the agonising

wait the results were announced In joint third were Amy and Ritzi with their

farmer hat and Mary [Munchbox] with her miniature origami hat cue applause Jennarsquos spectacular balloon hat made using a balloons from a

balloon hat-making kit [not bitter at all here] was deemed to NOT BE A PROPER

HAT can you believe it and was awarded second place whilst Emma with her

pirate face paint and matching hat glided smoothly into first place Jocelyn

[Awakening] claimed joint ownership of the hat and hence the prize a rather

stunning notebook

With thanks to the community team for organising the picnic and to Cam for

her generosity in providing prizes and party bags )

By Jenna (Narcissa)

Shout Outs

From - [StarStruck]

To -

Rodolphus - You can do this lovely Marie You are so so strong I know youre really struggling right now but youre stronger than it all You are amazing

Always so wonderful and caring and youre inspirational I love you lots Please

keep fighting xxxx

Narcissa - Jenna You are always there for everyone Youre always so thoughtful

and you make people want to be here in this world because youre in it because

this world needs more people like you Youre simply marvelous Id be honored to ever have a friend like you But remember to take care of yourself too and to

reach out for help if you need it You need to be good to you as well ) Sending

lots of love your way x

Snow White - Lovely dovely Aimee I love you and I hope you remember that I

hope you remember we are all here for you if you ever need us Youve always been so kind hearted to me and I think of you often Dont give up keep trying

you can beat anything

Stellata - Sweet youre always there for everyone you have a way with words

and even when youre struggling you still try and comfort and support others

Youre incredible Lots of love keep being who you are because anyone would be lucky to have you in their life

Bellatrix - JodMum I know youre having such a difficult time at the moment

but remember how strong you are how strong youve been how brave you have

been how you are so so incredible and fantastic and you have a heart of gold and you have so much to give to this world you truly do so please keep on

fighting dont give up now dont give up ever dont let it win You can do this I

love you tonsamptons JodMum Always here lt3

---------------------------------------------

From - LavaLamp (Emma)

To -

To Leclaire (iateallthepies) ndash Thank you for your amazing support You are an

incredible friend who always puts others first You are kind caring thoughtful hilarious and fun to spend time with I think you are a beautiful person inside

and out

To Jodie (Bellatrix) ndash You are incredible You go through such hell day after day

but you survive and I that shows such strength You are so loved and we all

want to see you make it through this you deserve a life worth living Wersquoll be

with you every single step of the way

To Lillie (Chinahorse) ndash Keep fighting I love you you are such a brilliant friend

and I donrsquot want to lose you You are never alone

To Ailsa BigMike and SnowWhite ndash I love you guys you keep the Uni student

thread alive and Irsquom grateful for the chance to get you know you all better

To Beckie (PinkFreud) ndash Thank you for being you You always make me smile no

matter how much you are finding things in your life a struggle you always take

the time to make people laugh and some days I really wouldnrsquot know what Irsquod do

without that

---------------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Kismet (Louise)

Id like to make a shout out to Kismet (Louise) for being awesome brave and generally a great person

----------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - narcissa

Jenna - thank you for being my life line

To The Shiny People

The you for making the fight worthwhile

-----------------------------------------

From - Invincible (Beth)

Dear ALL of RYL

You are ALL amazing

You are ALL strong You are ALL beautiful

You are ALL worth an amazing amount probably more than youll ever know

You ALL deserve to be happy

You ALL deserve to smile

You are ALL gorgeous

You are ALL loved

And no matter what ANYONE says every word Ive just said up there is true

and I can say that without meeting any of you because everyone in this world

deserves happiness love and to smile

No matter what happens you all deserve to get better and recover from

whatever is happening for you right now be it relationships emotions mental health issues eating disorders everything Even if you feel like the loneliest

person on this planet theres ALWAYS someone who cares I can promise you

that

I want you to know there is always someone here for you You arent alone )

no matter what

and even if you dont believe a single word Ive just said its true and if even

one person who reads this smiles then its working and it was worth me writing

it

And Ive rambled on a lot so one final thing a quote from Dr Seuss that means

a lot to me -

ldquoBe who you are and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter

and those who matter dont mindrdquo

Love Invincible (Beth)

----------------------------------------

From - PassedExpectations

To all my friends on here who keeps me sane

----------------------------------------------------

From - The Stolen One

To - Katy (Buttons)

Just wanted to remind you that youre amazing and strong You mean a lot to

me and I really appreciate the fun times weve had Im really proud of you for accepting the help and for trying although its a scary situation I know things

arent at all ideal at the moment but youre honestly doing really well with it all

and no matter what happens in the future Im always going to be here caring

about you

Keep going you can do it Hope to see you soon Lovee lt3

-------------------------------------------------

From - Jocelyn [Awakening]

To - Emma (Lavalamp)

Id like to give a shout to Emma (Lavalamp) for being completely amazing in so

many ways For her 4 weeks of being self harm free and all the hard work shes

put into her recovery Shes worked so hard and it really shows She is truly

awesome lt3

---------------------------------------------------------

From - ArtOfDeduction

To -

Ailsa - You are such a beautiful woman You have helped me so much and I

wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past month You are one of the strongest women I know and I admire you so much lt3

Steph (username Pixiedust_11) - Steph you have helped me far beyond

anything you will know I am so so thankful to have you as my friend and I pray

your recovery goes from strength to strength lt3

Emma (username LaverLamp) and Jocelyn (username [Awakening]) - Where to start firstly Emma you are such a stunning beautiful talented woman of

God and I know you are going to be okay Jocelyn I know I dont know you as

well as I do Emma but it is clear to me how much you love her and she loves

you Together you both give me so much encouragement and hope for a better

world to come I love you both and am excited to see you both grow and fall

more and more in love lt3

------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Romperfry

I would like a shout out to Romperfry for always being there

---------------------------------------------------

From - Pink Freud

To -

Jocelyn AKA [Awakening]- because she has been so supportive and helpful

Cam AKA randomswirls- because she talks sense when i dont feel sensible

-------------------------------------------------

Narcissarsquos srs bsns shout outs

Wishing Fi [MaybeNotForever] all the best for her first term at university I hope

it goes splendidly

To Rachael [fakesmiler] I hope your wedding day is the best of your life and I

wish you and Sam so much happiness together

Lillie [chinahorse] itrsquos not over yet Engage in NONE of the dying please darling

lt3

Allie [Petite Souris] itrsquos been so lovely to get to know you I hope things get

better from here for you

And like ALL the love on ALL the days to ALL my tip-top friends the ones who

dutifully reply to every pointless thread I come up with the ones who spam the

hell out of my facebook when I least expect it the heroes of the hero brigade and the noble uni student thread and all ye who sail in her QK QK QK

And of course insert soppy st here for my darling Jodie [Bellatrix]

-------------------------------------------------

From GlitterTrashDoll

To Rachael [FakeSmiler]

Have a wonderful wedding day sweetheart I wish you all the best and a life time

of happiness

To my fellow Alien Nikki [Frozen Inside]

Thank you for letting me nerd out about Tokio Hotel with you I adore it D

--------------------------------------------------

From - BigMike (Mike)

To -

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 3: August eZine

Shout Outs

From - [StarStruck]

To -

Rodolphus - You can do this lovely Marie You are so so strong I know youre really struggling right now but youre stronger than it all You are amazing

Always so wonderful and caring and youre inspirational I love you lots Please

keep fighting xxxx

Narcissa - Jenna You are always there for everyone Youre always so thoughtful

and you make people want to be here in this world because youre in it because

this world needs more people like you Youre simply marvelous Id be honored to ever have a friend like you But remember to take care of yourself too and to

reach out for help if you need it You need to be good to you as well ) Sending

lots of love your way x

Snow White - Lovely dovely Aimee I love you and I hope you remember that I

hope you remember we are all here for you if you ever need us Youve always been so kind hearted to me and I think of you often Dont give up keep trying

you can beat anything

Stellata - Sweet youre always there for everyone you have a way with words

and even when youre struggling you still try and comfort and support others

Youre incredible Lots of love keep being who you are because anyone would be lucky to have you in their life

Bellatrix - JodMum I know youre having such a difficult time at the moment

but remember how strong you are how strong youve been how brave you have

been how you are so so incredible and fantastic and you have a heart of gold and you have so much to give to this world you truly do so please keep on

fighting dont give up now dont give up ever dont let it win You can do this I

love you tonsamptons JodMum Always here lt3

---------------------------------------------

From - LavaLamp (Emma)

To -

To Leclaire (iateallthepies) ndash Thank you for your amazing support You are an

incredible friend who always puts others first You are kind caring thoughtful hilarious and fun to spend time with I think you are a beautiful person inside

and out

To Jodie (Bellatrix) ndash You are incredible You go through such hell day after day

but you survive and I that shows such strength You are so loved and we all

want to see you make it through this you deserve a life worth living Wersquoll be

with you every single step of the way

To Lillie (Chinahorse) ndash Keep fighting I love you you are such a brilliant friend

and I donrsquot want to lose you You are never alone

To Ailsa BigMike and SnowWhite ndash I love you guys you keep the Uni student

thread alive and Irsquom grateful for the chance to get you know you all better

To Beckie (PinkFreud) ndash Thank you for being you You always make me smile no

matter how much you are finding things in your life a struggle you always take

the time to make people laugh and some days I really wouldnrsquot know what Irsquod do

without that

---------------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Kismet (Louise)

Id like to make a shout out to Kismet (Louise) for being awesome brave and generally a great person

----------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - narcissa

Jenna - thank you for being my life line

To The Shiny People

The you for making the fight worthwhile

-----------------------------------------

From - Invincible (Beth)

Dear ALL of RYL

You are ALL amazing

You are ALL strong You are ALL beautiful

You are ALL worth an amazing amount probably more than youll ever know

You ALL deserve to be happy

You ALL deserve to smile

You are ALL gorgeous

You are ALL loved

And no matter what ANYONE says every word Ive just said up there is true

and I can say that without meeting any of you because everyone in this world

deserves happiness love and to smile

No matter what happens you all deserve to get better and recover from

whatever is happening for you right now be it relationships emotions mental health issues eating disorders everything Even if you feel like the loneliest

person on this planet theres ALWAYS someone who cares I can promise you

that

I want you to know there is always someone here for you You arent alone )

no matter what

and even if you dont believe a single word Ive just said its true and if even

one person who reads this smiles then its working and it was worth me writing

it

And Ive rambled on a lot so one final thing a quote from Dr Seuss that means

a lot to me -

ldquoBe who you are and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter

and those who matter dont mindrdquo

Love Invincible (Beth)

----------------------------------------

From - PassedExpectations

To all my friends on here who keeps me sane

----------------------------------------------------

From - The Stolen One

To - Katy (Buttons)

Just wanted to remind you that youre amazing and strong You mean a lot to

me and I really appreciate the fun times weve had Im really proud of you for accepting the help and for trying although its a scary situation I know things

arent at all ideal at the moment but youre honestly doing really well with it all

and no matter what happens in the future Im always going to be here caring

about you

Keep going you can do it Hope to see you soon Lovee lt3

-------------------------------------------------

From - Jocelyn [Awakening]

To - Emma (Lavalamp)

Id like to give a shout to Emma (Lavalamp) for being completely amazing in so

many ways For her 4 weeks of being self harm free and all the hard work shes

put into her recovery Shes worked so hard and it really shows She is truly

awesome lt3

---------------------------------------------------------

From - ArtOfDeduction

To -

Ailsa - You are such a beautiful woman You have helped me so much and I

wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past month You are one of the strongest women I know and I admire you so much lt3

Steph (username Pixiedust_11) - Steph you have helped me far beyond

anything you will know I am so so thankful to have you as my friend and I pray

your recovery goes from strength to strength lt3

Emma (username LaverLamp) and Jocelyn (username [Awakening]) - Where to start firstly Emma you are such a stunning beautiful talented woman of

God and I know you are going to be okay Jocelyn I know I dont know you as

well as I do Emma but it is clear to me how much you love her and she loves

you Together you both give me so much encouragement and hope for a better

world to come I love you both and am excited to see you both grow and fall

more and more in love lt3

------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Romperfry

I would like a shout out to Romperfry for always being there

---------------------------------------------------

From - Pink Freud

To -

Jocelyn AKA [Awakening]- because she has been so supportive and helpful

Cam AKA randomswirls- because she talks sense when i dont feel sensible

-------------------------------------------------

Narcissarsquos srs bsns shout outs

Wishing Fi [MaybeNotForever] all the best for her first term at university I hope

it goes splendidly

To Rachael [fakesmiler] I hope your wedding day is the best of your life and I

wish you and Sam so much happiness together

Lillie [chinahorse] itrsquos not over yet Engage in NONE of the dying please darling

lt3

Allie [Petite Souris] itrsquos been so lovely to get to know you I hope things get

better from here for you

And like ALL the love on ALL the days to ALL my tip-top friends the ones who

dutifully reply to every pointless thread I come up with the ones who spam the

hell out of my facebook when I least expect it the heroes of the hero brigade and the noble uni student thread and all ye who sail in her QK QK QK

And of course insert soppy st here for my darling Jodie [Bellatrix]

-------------------------------------------------

From GlitterTrashDoll

To Rachael [FakeSmiler]

Have a wonderful wedding day sweetheart I wish you all the best and a life time

of happiness

To my fellow Alien Nikki [Frozen Inside]

Thank you for letting me nerd out about Tokio Hotel with you I adore it D

--------------------------------------------------

From - BigMike (Mike)

To -

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 4: August eZine

Bellatrix - JodMum I know youre having such a difficult time at the moment

but remember how strong you are how strong youve been how brave you have

been how you are so so incredible and fantastic and you have a heart of gold and you have so much to give to this world you truly do so please keep on

fighting dont give up now dont give up ever dont let it win You can do this I

love you tonsamptons JodMum Always here lt3

---------------------------------------------

From - LavaLamp (Emma)

To -

To Leclaire (iateallthepies) ndash Thank you for your amazing support You are an

incredible friend who always puts others first You are kind caring thoughtful hilarious and fun to spend time with I think you are a beautiful person inside

and out

To Jodie (Bellatrix) ndash You are incredible You go through such hell day after day

but you survive and I that shows such strength You are so loved and we all

want to see you make it through this you deserve a life worth living Wersquoll be

with you every single step of the way

To Lillie (Chinahorse) ndash Keep fighting I love you you are such a brilliant friend

and I donrsquot want to lose you You are never alone

To Ailsa BigMike and SnowWhite ndash I love you guys you keep the Uni student

thread alive and Irsquom grateful for the chance to get you know you all better

To Beckie (PinkFreud) ndash Thank you for being you You always make me smile no

matter how much you are finding things in your life a struggle you always take

the time to make people laugh and some days I really wouldnrsquot know what Irsquod do

without that

---------------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Kismet (Louise)

Id like to make a shout out to Kismet (Louise) for being awesome brave and generally a great person

----------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - narcissa

Jenna - thank you for being my life line

To The Shiny People

The you for making the fight worthwhile

-----------------------------------------

From - Invincible (Beth)

Dear ALL of RYL

You are ALL amazing

You are ALL strong You are ALL beautiful

You are ALL worth an amazing amount probably more than youll ever know

You ALL deserve to be happy

You ALL deserve to smile

You are ALL gorgeous

You are ALL loved

And no matter what ANYONE says every word Ive just said up there is true

and I can say that without meeting any of you because everyone in this world

deserves happiness love and to smile

No matter what happens you all deserve to get better and recover from

whatever is happening for you right now be it relationships emotions mental health issues eating disorders everything Even if you feel like the loneliest

person on this planet theres ALWAYS someone who cares I can promise you

that

I want you to know there is always someone here for you You arent alone )

no matter what

and even if you dont believe a single word Ive just said its true and if even

one person who reads this smiles then its working and it was worth me writing

it

And Ive rambled on a lot so one final thing a quote from Dr Seuss that means

a lot to me -

ldquoBe who you are and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter

and those who matter dont mindrdquo

Love Invincible (Beth)

----------------------------------------

From - PassedExpectations

To all my friends on here who keeps me sane

----------------------------------------------------

From - The Stolen One

To - Katy (Buttons)

Just wanted to remind you that youre amazing and strong You mean a lot to

me and I really appreciate the fun times weve had Im really proud of you for accepting the help and for trying although its a scary situation I know things

arent at all ideal at the moment but youre honestly doing really well with it all

and no matter what happens in the future Im always going to be here caring

about you

Keep going you can do it Hope to see you soon Lovee lt3

-------------------------------------------------

From - Jocelyn [Awakening]

To - Emma (Lavalamp)

Id like to give a shout to Emma (Lavalamp) for being completely amazing in so

many ways For her 4 weeks of being self harm free and all the hard work shes

put into her recovery Shes worked so hard and it really shows She is truly

awesome lt3

---------------------------------------------------------

From - ArtOfDeduction

To -

Ailsa - You are such a beautiful woman You have helped me so much and I

wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past month You are one of the strongest women I know and I admire you so much lt3

Steph (username Pixiedust_11) - Steph you have helped me far beyond

anything you will know I am so so thankful to have you as my friend and I pray

your recovery goes from strength to strength lt3

Emma (username LaverLamp) and Jocelyn (username [Awakening]) - Where to start firstly Emma you are such a stunning beautiful talented woman of

God and I know you are going to be okay Jocelyn I know I dont know you as

well as I do Emma but it is clear to me how much you love her and she loves

you Together you both give me so much encouragement and hope for a better

world to come I love you both and am excited to see you both grow and fall

more and more in love lt3

------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Romperfry

I would like a shout out to Romperfry for always being there

---------------------------------------------------

From - Pink Freud

To -

Jocelyn AKA [Awakening]- because she has been so supportive and helpful

Cam AKA randomswirls- because she talks sense when i dont feel sensible

-------------------------------------------------

Narcissarsquos srs bsns shout outs

Wishing Fi [MaybeNotForever] all the best for her first term at university I hope

it goes splendidly

To Rachael [fakesmiler] I hope your wedding day is the best of your life and I

wish you and Sam so much happiness together

Lillie [chinahorse] itrsquos not over yet Engage in NONE of the dying please darling

lt3

Allie [Petite Souris] itrsquos been so lovely to get to know you I hope things get

better from here for you

And like ALL the love on ALL the days to ALL my tip-top friends the ones who

dutifully reply to every pointless thread I come up with the ones who spam the

hell out of my facebook when I least expect it the heroes of the hero brigade and the noble uni student thread and all ye who sail in her QK QK QK

And of course insert soppy st here for my darling Jodie [Bellatrix]

-------------------------------------------------

From GlitterTrashDoll

To Rachael [FakeSmiler]

Have a wonderful wedding day sweetheart I wish you all the best and a life time

of happiness

To my fellow Alien Nikki [Frozen Inside]

Thank you for letting me nerd out about Tokio Hotel with you I adore it D

--------------------------------------------------

From - BigMike (Mike)

To -

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 5: August eZine

The you for making the fight worthwhile

-----------------------------------------

From - Invincible (Beth)

Dear ALL of RYL

You are ALL amazing

You are ALL strong You are ALL beautiful

You are ALL worth an amazing amount probably more than youll ever know

You ALL deserve to be happy

You ALL deserve to smile

You are ALL gorgeous

You are ALL loved

And no matter what ANYONE says every word Ive just said up there is true

and I can say that without meeting any of you because everyone in this world

deserves happiness love and to smile

No matter what happens you all deserve to get better and recover from

whatever is happening for you right now be it relationships emotions mental health issues eating disorders everything Even if you feel like the loneliest

person on this planet theres ALWAYS someone who cares I can promise you

that

I want you to know there is always someone here for you You arent alone )

no matter what

and even if you dont believe a single word Ive just said its true and if even

one person who reads this smiles then its working and it was worth me writing

it

And Ive rambled on a lot so one final thing a quote from Dr Seuss that means

a lot to me -

ldquoBe who you are and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter

and those who matter dont mindrdquo

Love Invincible (Beth)

----------------------------------------

From - PassedExpectations

To all my friends on here who keeps me sane

----------------------------------------------------

From - The Stolen One

To - Katy (Buttons)

Just wanted to remind you that youre amazing and strong You mean a lot to

me and I really appreciate the fun times weve had Im really proud of you for accepting the help and for trying although its a scary situation I know things

arent at all ideal at the moment but youre honestly doing really well with it all

and no matter what happens in the future Im always going to be here caring

about you

Keep going you can do it Hope to see you soon Lovee lt3

-------------------------------------------------

From - Jocelyn [Awakening]

To - Emma (Lavalamp)

Id like to give a shout to Emma (Lavalamp) for being completely amazing in so

many ways For her 4 weeks of being self harm free and all the hard work shes

put into her recovery Shes worked so hard and it really shows She is truly

awesome lt3

---------------------------------------------------------

From - ArtOfDeduction

To -

Ailsa - You are such a beautiful woman You have helped me so much and I

wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past month You are one of the strongest women I know and I admire you so much lt3

Steph (username Pixiedust_11) - Steph you have helped me far beyond

anything you will know I am so so thankful to have you as my friend and I pray

your recovery goes from strength to strength lt3

Emma (username LaverLamp) and Jocelyn (username [Awakening]) - Where to start firstly Emma you are such a stunning beautiful talented woman of

God and I know you are going to be okay Jocelyn I know I dont know you as

well as I do Emma but it is clear to me how much you love her and she loves

you Together you both give me so much encouragement and hope for a better

world to come I love you both and am excited to see you both grow and fall

more and more in love lt3

------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Romperfry

I would like a shout out to Romperfry for always being there

---------------------------------------------------

From - Pink Freud

To -

Jocelyn AKA [Awakening]- because she has been so supportive and helpful

Cam AKA randomswirls- because she talks sense when i dont feel sensible

-------------------------------------------------

Narcissarsquos srs bsns shout outs

Wishing Fi [MaybeNotForever] all the best for her first term at university I hope

it goes splendidly

To Rachael [fakesmiler] I hope your wedding day is the best of your life and I

wish you and Sam so much happiness together

Lillie [chinahorse] itrsquos not over yet Engage in NONE of the dying please darling

lt3

Allie [Petite Souris] itrsquos been so lovely to get to know you I hope things get

better from here for you

And like ALL the love on ALL the days to ALL my tip-top friends the ones who

dutifully reply to every pointless thread I come up with the ones who spam the

hell out of my facebook when I least expect it the heroes of the hero brigade and the noble uni student thread and all ye who sail in her QK QK QK

And of course insert soppy st here for my darling Jodie [Bellatrix]

-------------------------------------------------

From GlitterTrashDoll

To Rachael [FakeSmiler]

Have a wonderful wedding day sweetheart I wish you all the best and a life time

of happiness

To my fellow Alien Nikki [Frozen Inside]

Thank you for letting me nerd out about Tokio Hotel with you I adore it D

--------------------------------------------------

From - BigMike (Mike)

To -

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 6: August eZine

To - Katy (Buttons)

Just wanted to remind you that youre amazing and strong You mean a lot to

me and I really appreciate the fun times weve had Im really proud of you for accepting the help and for trying although its a scary situation I know things

arent at all ideal at the moment but youre honestly doing really well with it all

and no matter what happens in the future Im always going to be here caring

about you

Keep going you can do it Hope to see you soon Lovee lt3

-------------------------------------------------

From - Jocelyn [Awakening]

To - Emma (Lavalamp)

Id like to give a shout to Emma (Lavalamp) for being completely amazing in so

many ways For her 4 weeks of being self harm free and all the hard work shes

put into her recovery Shes worked so hard and it really shows She is truly

awesome lt3

---------------------------------------------------------

From - ArtOfDeduction

To -

Ailsa - You are such a beautiful woman You have helped me so much and I

wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past month You are one of the strongest women I know and I admire you so much lt3

Steph (username Pixiedust_11) - Steph you have helped me far beyond

anything you will know I am so so thankful to have you as my friend and I pray

your recovery goes from strength to strength lt3

Emma (username LaverLamp) and Jocelyn (username [Awakening]) - Where to start firstly Emma you are such a stunning beautiful talented woman of

God and I know you are going to be okay Jocelyn I know I dont know you as

well as I do Emma but it is clear to me how much you love her and she loves

you Together you both give me so much encouragement and hope for a better

world to come I love you both and am excited to see you both grow and fall

more and more in love lt3

------------------------------------------------

From - anonymous

To - Romperfry

I would like a shout out to Romperfry for always being there

---------------------------------------------------

From - Pink Freud

To -

Jocelyn AKA [Awakening]- because she has been so supportive and helpful

Cam AKA randomswirls- because she talks sense when i dont feel sensible

-------------------------------------------------

Narcissarsquos srs bsns shout outs

Wishing Fi [MaybeNotForever] all the best for her first term at university I hope

it goes splendidly

To Rachael [fakesmiler] I hope your wedding day is the best of your life and I

wish you and Sam so much happiness together

Lillie [chinahorse] itrsquos not over yet Engage in NONE of the dying please darling

lt3

Allie [Petite Souris] itrsquos been so lovely to get to know you I hope things get

better from here for you

And like ALL the love on ALL the days to ALL my tip-top friends the ones who

dutifully reply to every pointless thread I come up with the ones who spam the

hell out of my facebook when I least expect it the heroes of the hero brigade and the noble uni student thread and all ye who sail in her QK QK QK

And of course insert soppy st here for my darling Jodie [Bellatrix]

-------------------------------------------------

From GlitterTrashDoll

To Rachael [FakeSmiler]

Have a wonderful wedding day sweetheart I wish you all the best and a life time

of happiness

To my fellow Alien Nikki [Frozen Inside]

Thank you for letting me nerd out about Tokio Hotel with you I adore it D

--------------------------------------------------

From - BigMike (Mike)

To -

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 7: August eZine

---------------------------------------------------

From - Pink Freud

To -

Jocelyn AKA [Awakening]- because she has been so supportive and helpful

Cam AKA randomswirls- because she talks sense when i dont feel sensible

-------------------------------------------------

Narcissarsquos srs bsns shout outs

Wishing Fi [MaybeNotForever] all the best for her first term at university I hope

it goes splendidly

To Rachael [fakesmiler] I hope your wedding day is the best of your life and I

wish you and Sam so much happiness together

Lillie [chinahorse] itrsquos not over yet Engage in NONE of the dying please darling

lt3

Allie [Petite Souris] itrsquos been so lovely to get to know you I hope things get

better from here for you

And like ALL the love on ALL the days to ALL my tip-top friends the ones who

dutifully reply to every pointless thread I come up with the ones who spam the

hell out of my facebook when I least expect it the heroes of the hero brigade and the noble uni student thread and all ye who sail in her QK QK QK

And of course insert soppy st here for my darling Jodie [Bellatrix]

-------------------------------------------------

From GlitterTrashDoll

To Rachael [FakeSmiler]

Have a wonderful wedding day sweetheart I wish you all the best and a life time

of happiness

To my fellow Alien Nikki [Frozen Inside]

Thank you for letting me nerd out about Tokio Hotel with you I adore it D

--------------------------------------------------

From - BigMike (Mike)

To -

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 8: August eZine

Mary (Munchbox) Thank you so so much for being an awesome friend to me

and for always being there whenif I need youre a super star

Ailsa What can I say about you you are always there to give me random chat

which I love and youre always there to give me support which has been needed

a fair bit lately thank you very much

Everyone on the Chatty Chat thread thank you everyone for keeping me

company ALL the time and ALL the days each and everyone of you are stars

Everyone on RYL Well Im on RYL pretty much everyday and everyday I see

some amazing support being handed out and all the help each and everyone of

you give to each other give yourselves a pat on the back because each and

everyone of you are amazing

----------------------------------------------------

Bigmike

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 9: August eZine

Saving Money Part 2 Continuing on from the first issue this guide aims to look at ways you can save

money this issue is going to look at bargain hunting and how you can save

money day to day

Presents Christmas

Okay while it is early to mention the lsquocrsquo word it is a time of year people find

themselves struggling for money and spending lots on gifts Last year I followed

some hints and tips and was amazed that come that time of year I had spent

little on gifts while wowing everyone to think I had spent a fortune on them and

I still had money left

bull Start early ndash By buying gifts months in advance you can look out for

opportunities in sales and get things for a good price Why pay full price for

something when you can get it much cheaper

bull Create a present box ndash Even if you buy things with no one in mind its nice to have a box to store everything in and if you ever need something when you

have little money to spend and forgot a birthday you have something there

already

bull Card factory ndash Why spend pound2 on a card when you can get 7 or 10 for pound1 They

may not be the most decorated cards however its good to stock up in case you

need one for any occasion and for as little as 10p each it saves you money This is a u shop but the same applies elsewhere look out for discounted card shops

bull Buy second-hand ndash while some people go ugh at second hand things it can

save you a lot of money on certain items For examples dvds can be expensive

buying second hand can save you more than half the cost If you have little

money to buy brand new buying second hand is the way to go

bull eBaytrading forumscar boots ndash Many people get given unwanted presents

which are then sold on look out for brand new items being sold rather cheaply

bull Salesvoucher codes ndash This is the main way to buy things donrsquot buy items full

price for a present look out for sales and voucher codes to lower the cost

bull Think about doing goody bags ndash Rather than buying someone one main

present think about buying a few things instead that you can buy when reduced

that way the person feels they have gotten an amazingly expensive bag of gifts

when you know its not cost you that much

bull Ebay jewellery ndash You have to do this at least a month in advance but you can get lots of jewellery on eBay from china for 99p delivered to your door Irsquove

never had something bad quality and have gotten things to give away that other

people sell on for more than fivesix times the cost

bull Search deals websites ndash people do the work so you donrsquot have to just simple

find something you like and if you like the cost buy it

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 10: August eZine

bull Buy a few things a month ndash Buying a few things each month means you donrsquot

have to spend a lot of money in one lump sum on something if you follow the

advice of buying in sales and reductions you will barely notice the amount you have spent

Finally the most important thing is donrsquot spend what you donrsquot have as getting

into debt is not fun these are tips to help you save money and come Christmas

time still have money to spare

Bleeding Angel

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 11: August eZine

Article ndash Keeping Safe at University

Staying safe at night

Plan how you are going to get home

Try to avoid going home at night on your own

Avoid going out at night by yourself Avoid walking down backstreets and unlit streets

Always keep your mobile phone on you

Let someone know where you are going and roughly what time to expect

you back

Always keep money to one side so that you dont spend it so that you are

always able to get home If you use public transport to get home - sit near the frontdriver

Drink Responsibly

Drink watersoft drinks between alcoholic ones so you dont get too drunk

If possible pre-book a licensed taxi andor locate the nearest taxi rank

Dont leave your drinks unattended or accept a drink from a stranger

If you take your bag out with you do not leave it unattendedopen Dont take anything out with you unless you 100 need it

Keeping personal belongings safe

Where you can get insurance

Mark possessions with a UV pen - Most unis supplies these with their

welcome pack

Do not leave cashjewelleryvaluableskeys lying around in clear view of

windows Dial 06 for your unique mobile registration (IMEI) number ndash the first

thing the police will check for when recovering stolen property

Avoid using your phone in isolated places Remember that texting can

distract you from what is happening around you When you are out and

about switch your mobile to vibrate mode rather than a ring tone

Tips for staying in halls

Keep your bedroomflat locked at all times

Only let people in you 100 trustknow

Dont leave valuables on display Keep them in drawswardrobe etc

Make sure items are insured

When you first move in - have a meeting with other houseflatmates to

discuss cleaning the flat and taking the rubbish out etc to make sure its

not the same person doing it Discuss who buys what or get a rota in to place so household items are

bought by everyone

GlitterTrashDoll

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 12: August eZine

Drink spiking and how to keep yourself safe from it

In 2007 578 females were drink spiked in the UK 68 of those occurred in the

Midlands Even though the number of drink spikes has carried on lowering since

2004 it is still happening all over the UK Statistics suggest that it is nearly

twice as likely to be drink spiked in pubs and wine bars as clubs

ldquoAnything could have happened to their drink and they appear totally oblivious

to itrdquo

When it comes to going out most people want to have a good time and after

they have drank more than they can handle they may forget a drink and to save

money go back and get it from the bar or table Some women and men leave

their drink on the bar to find a friend or take them a drink on the dance floor and

leave their trust with the barman to look after their drink Sadly this is not the

case and if your drink does not get spiked it may be taken by someone else or

even the staff to be thrown away ldquoGirls donrsquot really watch their bags when out

so why would they with their glassesrdquo

So many useful devices are being created for women to take out in their

handbag when out on the town A lip-gloss by 2 Love My Lips have designed a

lip gloss that will not just brighten up your lips but will also act as a drink

tester In five various colours you will not be stuck for choice and it will keep you

safe Whilst out using the lip gloss if you are worried your drink has been spiked

the lip gloss will come with two cards for you to test your drink with If the card

turns a dark blue then something bad has been detected in your drink At only

pound999 the lip glosses are defiantly worth the money if it ensures that you will

stay looking beautiful and keeping safe throughout the night ldquoI worry about my

girlfriend when she goes out unless Irsquom with herrdquo

Another device that has been invented is the bottle topper A simple plastic plug

that fits snugly over the top of your alcopop or beer bottle Best of all it even

has a little hole in the top to fit your straw in When on a night out with a friend

we both decided to give the bottle toppers a go and see how they worked They

come a variety of colours (blue pink yellow and orange) and at first it was quite

tricky to use but after a while of getting used to it it becomes like second

nature The only flaw with the bottle toppers is that they are so small if you lost

it in a busy clubpub you may not find it again so make sure to take plenty with

you on a night out They also have a whole in the top so you can drink it through

a straw The straw will fit snugly into the whole so there is no worry of not being

able to get the drink through it Overall I think they are a great little protection

devise against drink spiking and due to how small they are you can keep more

than one in your handbag Get yourself some bottle toppers at The Hub and

remember to stay safe and have fun on a night out

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 13: August eZine

Crossing The Line and No Going Back are two of Hollyoaks late night series

which covered drink spiking issues and both of the series focused around how

two girls become victims of it These were both aired in 2005 and at the time

drink spiking cases had been occurring in pubs and clubs in Birmingham Both

the series showed how the drink spiking happens and the aftermath of it with

how it affects the two female characters involved The shows were very wary of

what could happen to women at both house parties and when out with friends

If you are worried that you have had your drink spiked when on a night out if

with friends inform them what you are worried about and get a taxi or lift home

as soon as possible Once you are home your friends would need to stay with

you for a while until the drugrsquos effects die down If you are not with friends then

make sure to get into a safe place and inform the owners of the place you are

at such as a manager and ask them to let you go somewhere safe where you

can call someone (friend or family member) for help

To avoid becoming a victim of drink spiking make sure you are watching your

drink at all times to prevent your drink from being tampered with If you have

left the drink on its own for a while buy a new one as you do not need the worry

of becoming a victim If you can drink from a bottle throughout the night as it is

more difficult for it to be drugged and there are also bottle toppers that will keep

your drink safe Last of all avoid going alone to pubs and clubs go with at least

one friend who you trust

Make sure to keep yourself safe when on a night out and most of all have fun

Field Of Paper Flowers

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 14: August eZine

Fun Themed Review ndash Pole Dancing

While we still have a bit of summer left who wants to be stuck in the boring

gym on a treadmill when its lovely and sunny outside Just me eh Im all for

keeping healthy and exercising but Im also rather lazy and find the gym to be

pretty boring even if it is for a good cause

In April this year whilst looking around Ann Summers (as you do) with a friend

we noticed that they were selling poles and joked about who would actually buy

one of them for pound100 Then we both joked about the idea of going to pole

dancing classes and agreed about giving it a go if either of us found any classes

going near us

So a few days later when I was bored at home I Googlersquod (good old Google eh)

and found there was some pound5 an hour classes near to where I live So I emailed

the company and booked my place for a few weeks later I mentioned to my

friend about it but she chickened out on me so I was to venture to the classes

on my own

The evening finally came for the classes and I hadnt mentioned to my parents

what type of dancing I was going to do Theyd got me into dancing from a

young age (ballet and tap) so I just pretended it was something similar to those

I was shaking with nerves when I walked into the class asking a quiet Is this

for the pole dancing to which my teacher joyfully greeted me and welcomed

me in to talk about the classes and such I ran off to the toilet to put my shorts

on and came back more nervous than ever My pasty white legs were on show

four poles were now dotted around the room and there were more girls than

before scattered across the room some were doing the odd move or two on

poles

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 15: August eZine

I wandered over to an empty spot to stand and wait to hear what to do

The nerves soon went as the lesson progressed and now 4 months later Ive

moved from the bronze class to the silver and now there is discussion of me

moving into gold Good eh

I recommend pole dancing to anyone trying to get into shape and wanting to

have fun while doing so You have such a laugh in the classes and if you dont do

a move and end up bumping your legs hands and in my case a lot my bum you

just laugh it off with the girls and get up to try again

Your arms KILL after your first class too even picking up a cup of coffee is a

chore But those pains go by the time your next class is due and of course you

arms hurt for the first couple of weeks but as the classes go on you dont hurt

anymore

Ive learnt so much since starting the classes got myself some arm and tummy

muscles and Ive met some lovely girls too

If you are brave enough to give pole dancing a go I say do it And if youre from

Birmingham and wish to know who I use for my classes then feel free to drop

me a PM and Ill let you know Theyre safe and reliable and for pound5 it wont hurt

to have a few classes eh

When I first started University in 2009 I didnt know many people so when I

went out with one of my flatmates to one of our induction classes we started

talking and she told me she had signed up to do pole dancing lessons during Freshers as it was one of the University Societies so I asked if I could pop along

with her and see what it was about So I did

The room had 3 poles in and a bunch of nervous girls and even a few nervous

boys who had popped along to have a go Before we began the lesson we were

told this was not sleezy and if you thought it was or it was something sexual or anything other than a sport you should leave It was clear from the very start

this was strictly a sport and a way to keep fit and nothing else After that we

were told about the safety aspects as its quite a dangerous sport

I enjoyed my time doing pole dancing I met some lovely people and have fun

twirling round a pole - it didnt feel like exercise at all Although when I got to

the more advanced moves I got some pretty hefty bruises and it did hurt but that was only until my body got used to it after that it was fine

Unfortunately I quit after three months I would have loved to continue but

because of the people in my class and my friend who I went with took it too

seriously and it became less and less fun If someone made a mistake it wasnt

laughed off instead you just walked back to your spot and someone else had

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 16: August eZine

their turn and I had people constantly telling me what to do - which made me

not enjoy it as much as I had wanted I wish I did continue it though

It did alter my perceptions of pole dancing a lot and it is a very good sport to keep fit with The only problem is people stereotypes of people who pole dance

and that it is kind of a taboo thing which is a shame More ladies (and men)

should be able to do this fabulous sport

Field Of Paper Flowers amp GlitterTrashDoll

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 17: August eZine

Recipes

Macaroni Cheese

Easy quick and delicious macaroni cheese is great to cook for if youre cooking

for the family or want to make something you can have at work the next day

Serves 4

Ingredients

600ml1 pint milk 1 onion peeled

8 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

55g2oz butter

40g1 12oz plain flour

12 tsp ground nutmeg

5 tbsp double cream 100g3 12oz mature Chedder cheese grated

100g3 12oz Roquefort cheese crumbled

350g12oz dried macaroni

100g3 12 Gruyegravere or Emmenthal cheese grated

Pepper

Now time to cook

Put the milk onion peppercorns and bay leaf in a pan and bring to the

boil Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 18: August eZine

Melt the butter in a pain and stir in the flour until well combined and

smooth Cook over a medium heat stirring constantly for 1 minute

Remove from the heat Strain the milk to remove the solids and stir a

little into the butter and flour mixture until well incorporated Return the pan to the heat and gradually add the remaining milk stirring constantly

until it has all been incorporated Cook for a further 3 minutes or until the

sauce is smooth and thickened then add the nutmeg cream and pepper

to taste Add the Chedder and Roquefort cheeses and stir until melted

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of water to the boil Add the macaroni

return to the boil and cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite Drain well and add to the cheese sauces Stir together well

Preheat the grill to high Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish

scatter over the Gruyegravere cheese and grill until bubbling and brown Serve

immediately

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Student Cookbook 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture link

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 19: August eZine

English Muffins

Theres nothing better than a muffin with some melted butter jam Marmite

scrambled eggs etc on it to set you off for a warm summer evening OR a

summer morning on the way to work or for your lunch break

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

2 x 7-g 14oz sachets easy-blend dried yeast

250ml9fl oz tepid water

125ml4fl oz natural yogurt

450g1lb strong plain flour

12 tsp salt

50g1 34oz fine semolina

Vegetable oil for greasing

Butter and jam (optional) to serve

Now time to bake

Mix the yeast with half the tepid water in a bowl until it has

dissolved Add the remaining water and the yogurt and mix well

Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt Pour in the yeast

liquid and mix well to a soft dough Turn out onto a floured work

surface and knead well until very smooth Place in the bowl cover

with clingfilm and let rise for 30-40 minutes in a warm place until it has doubled in size

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 20: August eZine

Turn out again onto the work surface and knead lightly Roll out the

dough to a thickness of 2 cm 34 inch Using a 75-cm3-inch

cutter cut into rounds and scatter the semolina over each muffin

Re-roll the trimmings of the dough and make further muffins until it is all used up Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet cover

and let rise again for 30-40 minutes

Heat a large frying pan and lightly grease with a piece of

scrunched-up kitchen paper dipped in vegetable oil Cook half the

muffins for 7-8 minutes on each side taking care not to burn them

Repeat with the rest of the muffins Serve at once with lots of butter and jam if liked

And voila youre done

Recipe taken from Baking 100 Everyday Recipes by Love Food

Picture Link

Field Of Paper Flowers

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 21: August eZine

Make Up Piece

This issue of the eZine contains a bumper make-up section Why Because I

wanted to offer you a few different things and make sure there is something for

everyone With the Olympics and autumn approaching there is a lot to cater for

So hopefully I can solve some of that for you

Considering the Olympics have just finished and the Paralympics are just around

the corner its not surprising make-up brands have jumped on the band wagon

and decided to launch eye shadow palettes and nail polishes to go alongside

The first one I wanted to show you is the Glory palette from Sleek

The colours inside are named after

London tube stops

L-R

Top Tube (An off white) Overground

(Champagne) Bakerloo (Brown)

Jubilee (Shimmery Grey) Platform

(Matte Grey) and Northern (Dark

blue)

Bottom District (Turquoise)

Hammersmith and City (Pink)

Piccadilly (Blue with purple

undertones) Circle (Yellow) Victoria

(Light Blue) and Central (red)

This palette is absolutely beautiful

and once again Sleek do not

disappoint The top is nudes and the

bottom is lovely bright colours Whilst

Sleek are known for their shimmery

eye shadows and not so much for

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 22: August eZine

their matte shades (apart from their two new

matte palettes that were recently released) - in

this palette they have included two matte shades

so there really is something for everyone The

matte shades are the grey which is named

Platform (Second from right top row) and a red

shade named Central (Very right) all the rest

are the typical shimmery shades

They are highly pigmented and you dont need a

lot of product to get a great payout The only

disappointment I have with this palette is the

matte grey shade (Platform) as it doesnt have a

great colour pay-off which is unusual for Sleek

but it doesnt bother me as I probably wont use

it much and the other colours make up for it

This retails for pound799 at Superdrug or you can

get it online

The next palette is MUAs Going for Gold eye

shadow palette

This palette is obviously going off the medals

(Silver Bronze and Gold) and contains 10

beautifully shimmery colours

The first thing I love about this palette is the new

square design its so much better than the

circles It looks like you get more for your

money

Most of the shades are beautiful browns and

golds one of the shades looks orange in the

palette however when swatched on the skin its

the most beautiful gold colour This palette is

perfect for everyday use and the greys are

perfect to use on a smokey eye They dont have

a good as colour pay off as Sleek but they are

still amazing - especially at the bargain price of

pound4

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 23: August eZine

The last Olympic themed product I want to bring you is Barry M nail polish

[Picture from Barry M Facebook page]

Why not give yourself Olympic themed nails Barry M nail polish is great quality

Its fast drying and just takes one thick coat to completely cover your nail

Theres a blue Red and White nail paints or you can go crazy and get the

colours in glitter Barry M do a wide range of colours like this - so you can get a

colour thats on the flag from where you are from Barry M are great for people

on a budget too - their nail paints are only around pound3 and if you cant find the

colours you want at your local drugstore then youll be able to find them all plus

more on the Barry M website So you have no excuse to have colourful nails

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 24: August eZine

The second part of this bumper edition is natural make-up as we go back to

schoolUniversityCollege we probably arent going to wear as much make-up

This also applies to the older members who are working so need neutral make-

up So I thought I would bring to you Cheap VS Expensive Palettes

First the expensive one The famous Naked Palette from Urban Decay

At the pricer end of the spectrum this palette retails for pound36 you get 12

fabulous shades that you can use for every day us and then the darker colours

so you can glam your make-up up for a night out with ease This palette also

comes with a mini eye shadow Primer which makes your eye shadows stay for

longer and it also comes with a full sized shadow brush So this is actually a

bargain

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 25: August eZine

Now on to the cheaper one Undressed by MUA

[Photo from httpmesluxesblogspotcouk]

This palette is almost a complete dupe for the Naked Palette and is a steal at

only pound4 from Superdrug stores Even the named suggests is a dupe

[Undressed Naked You see where Im going] Except this palette doesnrsquot

come with a primer and the brush isnt near as good quality its the standard

foam pad on a stick that comes with most palettes now - but you can use ones

you have at home or pick them up yourself and itll still be cheaper So if you

cant afford to splash out and get the Naked palette this MUA palette is an

absolute bargain

GlitterTrashDoll

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 26: August eZine

Creative Piece

As a writer the majority of my written pieces are serious and I never really take

to being comical unless its for a chick-lit novelshort story

However one afternoon at work whilst it was quiet I randomly came up with this

story idea of a lonely chocolate bar and his longing to be bought by somebody

Its not a long piece but as I was writing it I kept chuckling and giggling to

myself Something that the person I was on my shift with questioned every

time Anyway enjoy and hope you find the story as sweet and funny as I did

while I wrote it

Once upon a time

There was a chocolate bar and his goal in life like every chocolate bar was to be

sold He lived on the shelf inside a shop and he was terribly bored and lonely

especially when all the other bars were sold leaving the poor little chocolate bar

behind on his own

He didnrsquot know why people didnrsquot want to buy him but he didnrsquot let it get him

down He sat on his section on the shelf and waited for days weeks and even

months to be sold but no one came

Once he nearly got lucky A little boy came up to him and picked him up without

hesitation He was so excited that he wanted to be bought there and then before

the little boy changed his mind He longed for this moment for so long but to his

disappointment the little boyrsquos mother came over snatched him off of the boy

and put him back on the shelf Although disappointed he got close and he knew

the next time he would be closer so much closer hersquod be on the till being bought

and taken away to be eaten

However more days weeks and months passed and he still hadnrsquot been sold

and with this he had finally lost all hope He knew he would end up being thrown

away and classed as waste eventually being destroyed or in some glimmer of

hope being eaten by a homeless person

He continued to sit on his shelf feeling sorry for himself with all these thoughts

constantly running through his head All the bars the same as he were being

placed on the shelf by him and then being sold and when the shelf was growing

empty and the chocolate bar had his chance more bars were placed around him

What was wrong with him Was his wrapper damaged had he melted Who

knows what it was but he knew his days were growing shorter and he needed to

be sold even if it was for half price up on the till He NEEDED to be sold he

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 27: August eZine

NEEDED to that day if not that week

As if like the great chocolate God heard his pleas one of the stuff in the shop

picked him up from the shelf and took him over by where the tills were This was

it he was finally going to be sold

He lay there waiting patiently for something to happen when suddenly he felt

something being stuck to his wrapper It must have been one of those reduced

stickers that past bars have spoken of before He wanted to know how much he

was going to be sold for he thought was worth full price Maybe they were

putting him down to half price he was worth 89p so that would mean they would

sell him at 39p

For a chocolate bar that was a disgraceful price over 50p was always the prices

people paid and thatrsquos what the chocolate bars before him had always stood by

You were usually shamed upon if you allowed yourself to be sold for less than

you were worth What made matters worse is that he was a popular chocolate

bar and to be sold half price wasnrsquot a nice feeling

He was placed at the front of the till next to bags of sweets and other reduced

items before him which included three packets of Jaffa Cakes and two bags of

Hula Hoops as well as the cheap bags of sweets for a pound1 There he just had to

sit and wait for someone to notice him and purchase

It felt like hours and he wasnrsquot being sold not even for half price It made him

feel miserable every time someone reached to grab a bag of sweets or one of

the other reduced items He thought they were going to grab him but instead

they went for something else Would he even be sold today Who knows

After more hours there was only him and a packet of Jaffa Cakes left The packet

could see he was distressed and sad so he cheered him up with talks of how

everything would be okay and if none of the customers bought him he was sure

staff would

It was late and only one member of staff was left serving in the shop now and

even then she would probably be leaving soon and that was the sign that the

shop was going to be quiet and hardly anyone would come in It had been quiet

all day which wasnrsquot good The Jaffa Cake packet assured the chocolate bar that

if it had of been busy hersquod have been sold by now He wasnrsquot so sure but tried

to keep his spirits up anyway

A young man came into the shop and placed lots of bottles of Lucozade and

Coke on the till and as the woman was pricing them up she asked the man

something Chocolate bars and other edible items canrsquot understand what

humans say so it all sounded blurred and strange to the little bar of chocolate

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 28: August eZine

Suddenly the man picked him up looked at him for a second and then placed

him back onto the till

The chocolate bar thought hersquod blown his chance again like with what happened

with the little boy but he was wrong and the man pushed him towards the

woman to price up She picked him up scanned his bar code against the red

flasher as the chocolate bars called it for as long as they can remember and

pushed the bar back towards the man He paid picked up the bottles and the

chocolate bar and walked out of the shop

The Jaffa Cake packet called bye as he walked away the man clutching him

tightly and he called back saying goodbye

He had finally been sold and he was happy his goal in life had been fulfilled

even if it was only done in half measures

By the way he was a bar of Galaxy Bubbles

Field Of Paper Flowers

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 29: August eZine

Supporters Article

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 30: August eZine

Coming Soon Agony Aunt from The Supporters - here to answer your questions

concerns and cover common areas of interest Submit your questions to the

Supporters email account with the title Agony Aunt Question and look out for

responses in the upcoming editions of the eZine

If you have immediate concerns youd like addressed please still use the

Supporters email account as usual We will still be responding to emails as

normal

Do you have questions about how to cut down on drinking how to address self

harm with your parents or problems in a relationship etc Then get in touch

The Supporters

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 31: August eZine

Members Piece ndash Film Review

The Amazing Spiderman (12A)

Category Action with hints of Romance

Ideal for

Fans of comic books particularly Spiderman anyone who likes fantasy-style

action and fans of the Avengersrsquo film and previous Marvel films

Trigger factor

Slight blood but most violence is implied

Rewatchability Factor (Out of 10)

7 One to rewatch once it comes out on DVDBlu-ray but it doesnrsquot have the

same pull to rewatch at the cinema unlike some of the other Marvel films

Overall Rating (Out of 10)

7

Review (No spoilers)

The Amazing Spiderman delivers exactly what is expected of a Marvel film it

has the back story the drama and the humour For both diehard fans and newcomers it provides an excellent explanation as to exactly who Peter Parker

(aka Spiderman) is and just why he becomes a superhero Unlike the previous

three Spiderman films this one has a darker undertone behind the humour and

yet the violence is mostly implied allowing for a wider audience

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 32: August eZine

Andrew Garfield (Peter Parker) does a great job of showing a teenage

Spiderman and he manages to avoid the ldquowhinyrdquo stereotype that is often

associated with the franchise His emotions feel genuine and not overdramatic

and he is a likeable slightly sarcastic character The chemistry between him and Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) also feels very realistic although the

romance scenes go on for a little long in places and they sometimes head

towards overly cheesy particularly in comparison to the more subtle romances

in Marvel films such as in Captain America It does not distract from the overall

film however and so it isnrsquot that much of an issue

The dialogue has the right amount of tension and humour with there being a handful of moments that caused the audience to laugh out loud and it has

something for every age to enjoy

The CGI was reasonable although it was obvious when it was in use particularly

in regards to the main villain This wonrsquot be a problem for a casual watcher but

it can sometimes bring you out of the Spiderman world if yoursquore watching closely The best CGI was definitely during the scenes where he is web-slinging

his way around New York City which were the pivotal parts of the film ndash it really

brought the distinction between normal people and a superhero to life in a way

that really added to the escapist atmosphere

The biggest issue I have with the film is the lack of back story for the main

villain Although it is a long film ndash just short of 2 and a half hours ndash it felt as though five minutes could have been taken out of something else to give the

villain more of a personality and a reason why he did what he did

It is impossible to do a Marvel film review without looking at the others in the

franchise It fits nicely with the others and if you enjoyed them then you will

most certainly enjoy this one as well However this film does not do anything new It is a great interpretation and in my opinion better than the other three

recent Spiderman films but it doesnrsquot stand out from the others It also has a

more childish feel to it most likely due to the age of Spiderman in this film

although the serious parts are still highly interesting and you may find yourself

becoming emotionally invested in the characters which is always a sign of a

good film The Amazing Spiderman can sit proudly in place amongst the other

Marvel films but the chances of it overshadowing the others is slim

Regardless it is definitely worth a watch

Short Review

middot Plus sides great interpretation with realistic characters and a great mix between action and humour There is something for anyone of any age and you

do not need to be a diehard fan to understand what is going on

middot Down sides doesnrsquot bring anything new to the table and it is overshadowed by

the other Marvel films The CGI isnrsquot as great as some other films that are

coming out and the romance bordered on being overly cheesy The villain feels

one-dimensional in places

By Gabriella (Lucius)

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 33: August eZine

Book Review

This is Gonna Hurt Music Photography and Life through the Distorted Lens of

Nikki Sixx

by Nikki Sixx

ldquoLife can be cruel Itacutes been my struggle my personal battle my obsession to

make people see that different isnacutet always badrdquo - Nikki Sixx

This book is simply beautiful If you have read Nikkis other book The Heroin Diaries you will know how brutally honest Nikki is in his books whether its

about himself his loved ones or his views

This Is Gonna Hurt is part photo part journal mdash but all Nikki Sixx It is a

collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage love

optimism darkness and determination that shape his work Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller The Heroin Diaries

This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixxs experience from his early years filled with

toxic waste to his success with Motley Crue his death from an OD and rebirth to

his addictions to music photography and love

This book is a mix of his personal life and his photography and the road he takes on his journey with his side band SixxAM This book takes you on a journey

not with Nikki Sixx the Rockstar but Nikki Sixx the man He helps show you

that difference is not bad in fact difference - whether its physical differences

such as disabilities to other situations in life In fact everyone is beautiful that

there is no such thing as ugly

Ive always had an eye for the oddities in life Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and

magical Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 34: August eZine

and weird People say I have a distorted lens I think I see things as they

really are - Nikki Sixx

This book is very inspirational and it will move you It features some of Nikkis personal photographs that he has taken himself on his travels around the world

as well as ones taken in his studio Funny Farm These are not the typical

photographs you would consider to be beautiful but they are Many of the

photographs are pictures of disabled people people with deformities but yet all

the images are stunningly beautiful

Love story bad-ass rock tell-all social commentary family memoir This Is

Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to

survive connect and find a happy ending mdash a search that fuels Sixxs being I

want to take you on the journey I am on in real time Sixx writes If you dont

deal with your demons they will deal with you and its gonna hurt -

BlabbermouthNet

GlitterTrashDoll

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 35: August eZine

Film Review

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is the movie adaptation of the Broadway show Its a musical based

on Sunset Strip Hollywood in 1987 and centers around the fictional music venue

The Bourbon Room The movie has an all star cast featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx as well as Russell Brand Alec Baldwin Mary J Blige and Catherine-

Zeta Jones

The story is based around a small town girl Sherrie from Oklahoma who moves

to LA to follow her dream of being a singer where she meets Drew who works at

The Bourbon Room

However the person who steals the show is Tom Cruise who plays legendary

rock god and lead singer of the band Arsenal Stacee Jaxx Not only is Tom

Cruise amazing at his roll in the film and really brings the character to life - he

went under extensive vocal training for his songs in the film which he sings

himself and his voice is surprising

Normally Im not one for musicals but this one is one I love The music fits and

answers questions about the character and lets you into their mind If you love

80s rock then you will enjoy this film With songs such as Pour Some Sugar on

Me Wanted Dead or Alive I Love Rock and Roll Hit Me With Your Best Shot We

Built This City and loads more The soundtrack alone is amazing

There is alot of touching and funny moments and you really feel like you are

there in The Bourbon Room The actors did a brilliant job bringing these rolls to

life The film has romance and comedy and I think there is something to appeal

to everyone After watching it it always leaves me in a good mood

GlitterTrashDoll

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 36: August eZine

Play Review

Frankenstein

In February 2011 Danny Boyles production of Frankenstein was premiered and

ran its showing at the Royal National Theatre until May 2011 The two main

cast members for this version of Frankenstein starred Benedict Cumberbatch

(Sherlock War Horse Atonement) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting Love

Honour amp Obey Dark Shadows) however they didnt stick to one role as with

each performance they alternated between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and

the Creature

The version of Frankenstein I watched Cumberbatch was the Creature and Miller

was Victor Frankenstein Sadly I didnt get to watch a live performance of this

play but thanks to the National Theatre Programme I was able to watch a

recorded version in a cinema

The National Theatre recorded a performance of Frankenstein for people

worldwide to enjoy and during June July and August this year theyre showing

the play for people like myself to go and watch They did this previously for two

dates in March 2011 but of course my best friend and I didnt get a chance to

watch it due to being busy with university However on 26th July we finally got

our chance to watch it

I canrsquot put into words how amazing the performances were especially

Cumberbatchrsquos but it has just made me want to see how Miller performed as the

Creature as I heard he was better at it I donrsquot know what to think the first

actscene was amazing with how the Creature is shown to evolve and adapt to

his new surroundings I wonrsquot go into too much detail as I donrsquot want to spoil it

for anyone who may try and go to watch it after reading this review but it is

spectacular I just couldnrsquot help but watch every little detail possible throughout

each actscene as Cumberbatch and Miller did such an amazing job you can

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 37: August eZine

really get into how the Creature evolves throughout the play and how cold

Frankenstein is

Before we watched the play there was a fifteen minute interview with Boyle

Cumberbatch and Miller about how they achieved how they produced directed

and acted throughout As a writer and someone who has taken drama since the

age of five it was inspirational and interesting to hear how both the actors

researched in their own ways to show their different versions of the Creature

with one of them using babies and one using people who are going through

physio as ideas

Now moving onto the play The first thing you see is the Creature being born

and coming to life which was rather odd and fascinating all at the same time It

reminded me of Bambi when youre watching him learn how to walk and stand

Cumberbatch of course was the Creature and for the first twenty minutes of the

play youre just watching him wander about the stage learning about how to

move crawl stand stay stood walk etc Its amazing how quickly the Creature

evolves over time too

You see how cruelly treated the Creature is by the villagers as well as his own

creator Frankenstein He flees finds someone who cares about him and teaches

him plenty of things including how to speak and once again is scared away by

people

The story gets darker as it goes on murders threats and all sorts It kept me

on the edge of my seat and I couldnt help but cry at some parts of the play The

Creature is a sad and lonely person who just wants someone to love him the

way he desires to be especially by someone who is just like him Whilst

Frankenstein just doesnt seem to care about anything in life other than his

work

Its amazing play and if you are able to watch it I recommend you do Even if

you arent a fan of theatreplays etc go and watch it Itll make you think

There are petitions and threads of all sorts all over the internet for there to be a

DVD released of Frankenstein and I myself have signed a few petitions it would

be stupid not to come out on DVD

Marks out of 10 Definitely a 10 its beautifully performed by all the actors and

the directing that Boyle did on it was great too I hope he does some more work

like this its wonderful

Field Of Paper Flowers

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 38: August eZine

Moving Forward

Welcome again to the eZinersquos moving forward highlights I hope this issues finds

you well and enjoying whatrsquos left of the summer season

Irsquove been really pleased to see some wonderful threads around the various

boards promoting individual recovery and getting members to share their daily

achievements no matter how big or small Itrsquos important to acknowledge the

little things that keep us ticking over

A couple of months ago I asked members to share their positive stories so that I

can show them to the readers of the eZine and I was astounded by the

response The stories submitted were truly heartfelt and inspirational here are

the few that I received

Smokeandmirrors (Kate) - My personal highlight is that Ive managed to stop binging amp purging altogether when I used to be doing it several times a day

Facet - I am almost five full months free of any kind of self-harm even though

things have been unbelievably difficult the past few years I am proud of that as

well as the fact that I am taking myself out of self-imposed isolation pushing

myself out of my comfort zone and getting back into things I enjoy I am creating my own reasons to get up every morning even though at times it

seems impossible

Laurawr- The last 6 months have been really hard for me as I moved to London

and didnt have any friends here My depression took a turn for the worst in December and I had to be signed off sick I could barely get out of bed at a

reasonable time and at times I would not shower for days on end and stay in the

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 39: August eZine

same clothes constantly It got so bad at one point that I was confined to my

room and even the thought of leaving the house made me cry I was

contemplating suicide and had strong urges to self harm after 3 years clean

6 months on and everything has changed for the better I am getting up at

normal times taking care of myself volunteering and going out and meeting

friends and most importantly having fun I do not even give a second thought

about leaving the house now as I am enjoying my life so much now In late June

I got offered an amazing job opportunity for a full time job which includes some travel to Dubai and quite a nice salary By the time of publishing I will have been

working full time for a month

I am living proof that you can get better and achieve your goals it will be scary

and hard work but it is so worth it

HelloKitty - Id like to share that Irsquom 3 years free on the 8th July And my best

way to recover was literally have one person you can rely on when things get

tough

LavaLamp

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 40: August eZine

Random Facts

The lifespan of a taste bud is ten days

An oyster takes ten years to produce a pearl that is about the size of a pea

During the average human lifetime a persons heart will beat about 2

billion times

An alligator can go through 2000 to 3000 teeth in a lifetime

Dollar bills are made of cloth they are a mixture of 25 cotton and 75

linen The eye chart with the big E on top is called a Snellen chart

The number 4 is the only number with the same number of letters as the

meaning of its name Amazing considering there must be trillions of

numbers

Contrary to the widely held belief there are no wild tigers in Africa

King James IV of Scotland was an amateur dentist He even paid people to

let him practice on their teeth If the only thing you have to fear is fear itself you could be suffering from

phobophobia mdash the fear of phobias

Bigmike

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 41: August eZine

Signature of the Month

Every month we look around the RYL forums in search of our favourite signature

This monthrsquos Signature of the Month belongs to

[Redemption]

ldquoIf ever there is tomorrow when were not together there is something you must

always remember You are braver than you believe stronger than you seem and

smarter than you think But the most important thing is even if were apart Ill always

be with yourdquo

hearts

We love the signature because we believe the meaning behind it can be applied to every

single one of us We always remind each other that we are stronger than we think we

are that we are braver than we think we are and we are so much smarter than we give

ourselves credit for So we think that instead of telling other people this to encourage

them we should also remind ourselves that we are so much more than we give

ourselves credit for and there is always someone looking out for us whether you realise

it or not Keep believing in yourself

you want to be in with a chance of being next monthrsquos Signature of the Month then get

creative

Remember it doesnt need to be busy and full of colour to win

It can win because its funny inspiring creative or just shows off your personality

Remember as well when it comes to signatures they also help other members

remember who you are because they remember a phrase or a picture in your signature

Have fun getting creative

GlitterTrashDoll

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 42: August eZine

Jokes

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping They pitched their tent

under the stars and went to sleep

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said ldquoWatson

look up at the stars and tell me what you seerdquo

Watson replied ldquoI see millions and millions of starsrdquo

Holmes said ldquoand what do you deduce from thatrdquo

Watson replied ldquoWell if there are millions of stars and if even a few of those

have planets itrsquos quite likely there are some planets like earth out there And if

there are a few planets like earth out there there might also be liferdquo

And Holmes said ldquoWatson you idiot it means that somebody stole our tentrdquo

Yoursquore Drinking Too Much Coffee When

1 You ski uphill

2 You speed walk in your sleep

3 You answer the door before people knock

4 You sleep with your eyes open

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 43: August eZine

5 You just completed your third sweater today and you donrsquot know how to knit

6 You grind your coffee beans in your mouth

7 You have to watch videos in fast-forward

8 The only time yoursquore standing still is in an earthquake

9 You lick your coffee pot clean

10 Your eyes stay open when you sneeze

11 The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse

12 You can type sixty words a minute with your feet

13 You donrsquot sweat you percolate

14 People get dizzy just watching you

15 People can test their batteries in your ears

16 Your birthday is a national holiday in Brazil

17 Your Thermos is on wheels

18 You can outlast the Energizer Bunny

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him

The waitress asks them for their orders

The man says A hamburger fries and a coke and turns to the ostrich Whats

yours

Ill have the same says the ostrich

A short time later the waitress returns with the order That will be pound940 please

and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for

payment

The next day the man and the ostrich come again and the man says A

hamburger fries and a coke

The ostrich says Ill have the same

Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change

This becomes routine until the two enter again The usual asks the waitress

No this is Friday so I will have a steak baked potato and a salad says the

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 44: August eZine

man

Same says the ostrich

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says That will be pound3262

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the

table

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer Excuse me sir How do

you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every

time

Well says the man several years ago I was cleaning the attic I found an old

lamp When I rubbed it a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes My first

wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything I would just put my hand in my

pocket and the right amount of money would always be there

Thats brilliant says the waitress Most people would ask for a million dollars or

something but youll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live

Thats right Whether its a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce the exact money is

always there says the man

The waitress asks Whats with the ostrich

The man sighs pauses and answers My second wish was for a chick with long

legs and who agrees with everything I say

Theres two muffins in the oven

One says Man Its burning up in here

The other one says Hey look A talking Muffin

LavaLamp

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)

Page 45: August eZine

Gathering the Threads

Well what a month it has been We at the eZine have been working hard to bring

you this August issue and we hope you enjoy it

We decided to go with an end of summer and going to university theme

Soon enough well be experiencing autumn and fresh starts and further career

moves when some of us set off to university for the first second third and even

last times I finished university this time last year and when it came to nights

out I was rather street smart and aware but I know that some people are a little

more naive than myself and others so thats why we have our huge piece about

keeping safe at university whether its on a night out or at home in halls

As well as this we have our usual features for you to enjoy as well as loads of

reviews to read We have an amazing film review written by a member of RYL

Lucius (Gabriella) and reviews written by us

We also have a piece by the community team about the picnic meet up they held

on July 1st and a piece by the supporters

After this issue of the eZine we are going to bring you some exciting issues to

end the year with We wont reveal what they are going to be just yet but soon

enough in the next month or so you will soon find out

As well as that were recruiting again I will be posting a thread soon about

recruiting were excited to have 10 lucky RYLers join the eZine soon so keep

your eyes peeled for that

Well I best be off now enjoy this issue of the eZine and please leave us your

kind and honest works on the usual thread

This will be the last gathering threads I write by the way as the new person to

come alongside me will be writing this every month Itrsquos been lovely to write it

for you mind while is has lasted and I hope when you love the person who will

be writing this as much as I do

Tally ho

Natalee (Field Of Paper Flowers)