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Blue Story - why the film shouldn't be banned

Blue Story was released on Friday, a movie about teenagers growing up in London and how they are sucked into gang culture. The film, which has been likened to the hit show Top Boy, has now been banned from all Vue cinema's in light of an incident at one of their venues in Birmingham - a decision that I think is ridiculous. Photo from Rapman's Instagram. While the safety of cinema goers is of course integral, the incident in question has not been directly linked to the film. In addition, many of the people involved are not even old enough to watch the rated 15 movie . Police have not mentioned the movie in any of their inquiries and have not recommended a ban - something the media has not shone as much of a light on. The reason this has got under my skin is that after I watched the movie on Sunday the message I took away from it is that the systematic culture of gangs is heartbreaking and unnecessary. At the heart of this film its creator Rapman is trying to say that, whil
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James Haskell's heartbreak at retirement due to injury

James Haskell has been a professional rugby player for 17 years. He has won Premiership and European championship titles with Wasps and many other titles while playing in France, New Zealand and Japan. He has had a glittering international career with England as well, winning the Six Nations, a whitewash test series in Australia and earning 77 caps for his national side. He has also toured with the British and Irish Lions. Now at the age of 34 Haskell is retiring.* "It's really daunting, I'm effectively unemployed at the end of the season. It's terrifying as it will be as if I haven't done anything." Northampton Saints home ground Franklin's Gardens looks like a fortress. It looms over the houses and businesses that surround it. In the car park are Rolls Royces, BMWs and Audis of the players turning up to training. Wales fly half Dan Biggar skips up a flight of stairs as I walk into reception. It's hard not to feel the stardom and celebration of s

Melanie Murphy: YouTuber, Author, Film-maker

I have watched Melanie Murphy for the last few years. I adore her content as it delves into sex, relationships, sexual health and much more. She has mounted nearly 600'000 YouTube subscribers and is a best selling author of her non-fiction book titled 'Fully Functioning Human (Almost)'. Now the Irish entrepreneur has penned her first fiction novel due to be released on 6th June. Melanie was kind enough to chat with me about her new novel, YouTube life and her boyfriend Thomas. What made Melanie start YouTube? "I was a big fan of lifestyle content for a couple of years before I found the courage to start a channel of my own, and one of the people I was watching mentioned how much confidence filming and uploading videos gave her. "I was finishing up my degree in education and training from DCU and I was really struggling with standing up and giving presentations. So a huge reason for me starting to upload was to loosen up when publicly speaking. Over the fi

The Game of Thrones characters whose stories ended well

SPOILERS AHEAD I have been debating the ending of Game of Thrones with my friends all morning. Do we all love that Bran is King? Nope. Should Jon be banished beyond the wall? Maybe not. Should the writers have given in to the Jaime and Brienne stans just to break Ser Brienne's heart? Definitely not. But there are some characters in the last season that met a satisfying end. Hint Cersei is not one of them. (I mean rocks? Come on!) Before I start going through the characters who I believe had good endings just know these are only my opinions. Please don't come at me with pitch forks if you disagree - let's discuss and be friendly. Now onto the good stuff. Theon Greyjoy. Photo credit: Alfie Allen I will never forgive Bran for not preventing the death of Theon. Let's be honest here, if he travelled all the way from Winterfell because he knew he would be King he could've told Theon to move aside for a few seconds before Arya kills the Night King. You can te

Game of Thrones obliterates stereotypes

Okay Game of Thrones is a fictional story with fantasy, magic and monsters, but developers - David Benioff and D. B. Weiss - and author George RR Martin managed to represent both men and women more of a real way than any ‘real’ portrayal on screen before it. Warning: spoilers ahead! Picture: Unsplash The show has always highlighted men and women in honest lights, with no one being purely good or bad, but The Battle of Winterfell really emphasised a key message - stereotypes are a load of old rubbish. Featured were a range of tough,brave, emotional, strong, empathetic people. Each person displayed a range of emotions and so everyone watching at home could relate to at least one character - highlighting the depth of representation in the episode. Here are a few characters that stood out to me to be breaking down the stereotype barrier Lyanna Mormont: one of the most feminist figures I’ve seen on TV, absolutely fronts up. She’s strong and a true leader, unlike stereotypical po

This Is Stephen Graham

What does a movie star look like? Stephen Graham dresses very simply. He is wearing a plain grey polo shirt with all the buttons done up, accompanied with black skinny jeans. No designer labels in sight. However, a gleam of light suddenly stretches across the room from his Rolex watch. Diamonds glisten from the beams of the stage lights. His only glamorous accessory. He is famously short and his feet are quite small. Stephens face is slightly chubby, his eyes have crow's feet wrinkles and laughter lines become obvious as he smiles. His Calvin Klein aftershave wafts around the room, the musty smell so strong that the perfumed chemical tang invades the taste buds. His ears are bright red but his piercing blue eyes are his striking feature. They cut through whatever or whomever they have in their sights. He pays strict attention to anyone he talks to and confidently answers them. However, in between questions he fidgets, picks and bites his nails. He bends his head, looks at the flo

Strength

I have had the most incredible three weeks. I have always dreamt of becoming a journalist. You'll know this if you have been reading this blog for a while, but ever since I was in year 9 or so, I have wanted to be working in a newsroom. For the last three weeks I have been doing work experience at The Sun. I have been working on news, sport and showbiz and each desk has been fabulous. They have allowed me to write pieces in the paper and take on challenges that I haven't been able to before. I finish my time at the national paper today but last night was the peak of my experience here. Last year I was in a pretty bad place and I listened to Dua Lipa on repeat. No joke, ask my housemates. The artist really helped me through a shit time and last night I saw her live. But on top of this I got sent there by The Sun for free. My heart was so full that this year had come full circle. From questioning my career choice as it had lost me a boyfriend in January to in December dancing