New Descriptive writing 1

February 13, 2016 / / 3 Comments

One Stadium, One Heart

I’ve just arrived at one of the most sacred grounds in Europe for a once in a lifetime experience. The “Marakana”, also known as Stadion Rajko Mitic, is being graced for one of the most passionate and explosive derbies in world football. This is Serbia. This is Red Star vs Partizan. Welcome to Belgrade. The stadium holds 55,000 spectators (though it once had an unbelievable record attendance of 117,000 spectators in 1975). It is the largest stadium in Serbia and undoubtedly the best.

A few hours before kick-off I leave early to grab a seat before the action begins. The streets are already littered with fans. Chants and flares are being let off before I even arrive. I can already tell the atmosphere is going to be fantastic. As I enter the stadium the echoes of chants rocket back and forth. I walk anxiously to my seat. To my surprise, there are already thousands of people planted at each end of the stadium. Both sets of fans are on opposite sides. The north and south ends are occupied by the hard core supporters of each club.

As I watch on I realize that the hatred and passion is reaching boiling point as kick off begins. Flares are being launched and they fly like eagles to each end of the stadium. BOOM! TING! A huge flash of light comes surging onto the pitch revealing a spectacular view of lurid green grass and the enormous stadium itself. It’s something you can only experience if you are there. No words can describe this beauty.

Suddenly the hard core fans of Red Star “Delije”, translated in English as ‘Legion’, begin waving thousands of huge flags, the massive unified movement making it seem like a single ocean wave. Over on the north end, the hard core Partizan fans, also known as “Grobari”, are trying to cause chaos. The stands are set on fire and the emergency services are called, however the Partizan fans stand in front of the water hoses locking arms and chanting. Loud roars ricochet like rockets from each end.

I am completely carried away on a rising tide of Red Star passion. Suddenly the Red Star team walk out and an ear splitting chant begins. However, when the Partizan team come out boos ring around the stadium like a chorus of sirens. Then unexpectedly a blast of sound comes from a speaker ordering the Red Star fans to link arms. As I do so the microphone orders everyone to bounce. On a signal we all bounce as one. It feels like the seats are going to shatter and the concrete crumble: the entire stadium heaves up and down like a trampoline for a few glorious minutes. Every fan’s face is etched with anxiety.

Kick off begins and instantly thousands of red and white flares are raised. I am blinded by light. Fans disappear into the smoke like ghosts. Once the first mass of flares dies down they are instantly reignited, sparking a second brain blinding surge of light.

The chants seem to go on forever and each and every fan sings along with bursting pride trying everything to gain their team an advantage. These aren’t just seven or eight chants like the Borrusia Dortmund vs Shalke match. They are hundreds of chants that reverberate all the way through till the last second. Smoke rises into the air and settles over the stadium. Suddenly Red Star nets their first goal with a powering header. The stadium erupts. Each fan leaps out of their seat with joy and screams their lungs out. The Red Star side raise their hands and unite, one single chant silencing the away fans. Whoever wins this match returns as the King of Belgrade…. till the next match.

However, Partizan fans are still looking for revenge. Furiously they fire flares into the Red Star stands. Straight away chairs and flares are hurled from one side of the stadium to another. The police are quick to react and break up the fights via riot squads. Moving into the last seconds of the game, there is a sudden stalemate. Looking down onto the pitch the grass is churned into a mountain of mud from all the vicious tackles taking place. The smell of the mud hung heavy in the air.

It’s the dying seconds. Partizan has the ball. It should be an easy finish. Somehow out of nowhere the Red Star keeper pulls off an astonishing save as he leaps into the air like a demented acrobat. The rapturous fans chant his name over and over again. He kisses the badge on his shirt. The game ends: both teams look drained and exhausted. All of a sudden the Red star team are clustered up by the stands, singing songs of their victory alongside the fans.

I finally know that Red Star isn’t just a football club – it’s a family.

English course1

February 10, 2016 / / 4 Comments

Dear Miss Birbalsingh,

I am writing to you to prove your opinions on the riots wrong and suggest that many other factors could be linked to this event. As a reader, I strongly disagree with your opinion, which seems to imply that crime is a constant theme for black people. I believe the issue of the riots has given you an opportunity to attack the black community for making a stand against the corruption of the government and the police force.

You openly state your prejudiced assumption that Mark Duggan is of black origin prior to you finding out he was black. This indicates to me that you had already prejudged black people in a negative way. No wonder, then, that you ‘knew instinctively that black youths once again have set London alight’ because, for you, crime can only be committed by black people. In a time where racial discrimination is at an all-time high, it is incredibly unethical to stereotype one race and deem all blacks criminals.

On reading your article, I notice you highlight that some kids that you used to teach are incredibly angry. The surprising thing is you do not seem to be empathetic or sympathetic to the traumatic impact of the event itself. Instead you pose the question, “What are they angry about?” Historically for hundreds of years blacks have been subjected to horrible treatment. You must also remember that it was only sixty years ago that racism in America was at an all-time high. This similarly relates to the events that have gone on in our very own nation, which is highlighted in the Notting Hill riots and the Brixton riots of the 1980s. You ask, why are they angry? Think to yourself that if you have been treated as a second-class citizen for decades would you not be angry too? For some blacks this may remind them of this, hence there will inevitably be anger when a happening such as this occurs: given the historical background, we should realize that an event like this can cause high tensions.

Another problem that seems to cause high tension is the police. You seem to think that there is no problem with the police force at all, however, the fact that there has been three hundred thirty three black deaths in police custody since 1998 suggests that there is an issue that needs to be looked at. Above all, the fact that it seems that there are still no properly functioning systems of accountability for the police is a huge issue. There is some justification to allegations that the Met police is institutionally racist. The fact that it took many years to solve the Stephen Lawrence case has proven this. The case is one of the most important in the modern history of the British criminal justice system, having created inquiries, reforms of the police and challenges to racial attitudes in Britain as a whole. The key issue here, however, is that the Met Police have a history of ignoring cases related to racial incidents.

In the following paragraph you then start to justify your argument that black people are criminals according to Met Police statistics. For example, with Mark Duggan being in an apparent shoot-out with the police. Yet your argument contains no evidence to prove if he actually fired the shots at the police. This is highlighted by the quote, “Either Duggan was shooting at the police or the driver of the minicab was”. You then go on to suggest that the police did not kill the man in cold blood. However, a crucial detail is missing. We as the readers never actually find out the ethnicity of the cab driver. Was he also black or was he white? You have done this deliberately in order to focus the attention on Mark Duggan and the fact that he is black and an apparent criminal.

Another big contributing factor to the riots could have been the high poverty and large unemployment; this could have been yet another reason why people were taking to the streets. Haringey, the borough that includes Tottenham, has the fourth highest level of child poverty in London and an unemployment rate of 8.8% which is double the national average, with one vacancy for every 54 people seeking work in the borough. This therefore tells us that the riots were not about race but about other factors that made people from specific boroughs stand up and fight for their rights.

To conclude, your argument that the riots were caused by black people is wholly unacceptable. There is no tangible evidence to back up this claim. The majority of your article is biased and does not provide an outlook from both sides but only from one. If blacks are only to blame and are really bad then why do we not do more to prevent this? Why don’t we ask ourselves why one part of our society is growing frustrated day in day out? These points need to be addressed. It is people and articles like you that promote ethnic tensions and promote racial hatred, where we should all be doing more to stop it.

Regards,

M Petrovic

Katie Hopkins

February 10, 2016 / / 2 Comments

Dear Mrs Hopkins,

I came across your article and found the way you are writing about people trying to flee a country torn by war very insulting. You use offensive language such as “cockroaches” to describe them: in fact has it ever occurred to you how many people believe you are the “cockroach”? In your article you said that we need a tougher approach on migrants, however what you are suggesting is meeting violence with violence. This shows that your knowledge does not stretch far, and neither does your compassion as a human. Additionally, I note that with this article you are promoting racial hatred which again proves your lack of education and empathy.

In the next few sentences you mention some more harsh words such as, “aggressive young men at Calais spreading like norovirus on a cruise ship”. They are not “aggressive” but struggling and hustling to get a better life for themselves where they may have a chance of being free to live a life without being oppressed or manipulated to believe in something they do not want to. What you must understand is that as migrants they hope and believe that by moving away from all that violence,terror and war it will give them a better chance of survival. This includes a better life which will enable them to do things we “British” take for granted. For example things like education,food and shelter were unavailable to them while the war was raging on. Has it ever crossed your mind that the very clothes you buy and the food you put in your mouth all come from different countries? Or has that just bypassed your comprehension?

You claim that, “Watching them try to clamber on to British lorries and steal their way into the UK, do I feel pity? Only for the British drivers, who get hit with a fine every time one of this plague of feral humans ends up in their truck”. You forget that some of these British lorries that accept migrants actually do it for money. Furthermore I do not feel pity for the driver as it is his choice as to whether he wants to take the risk and jeopardise his job. Additionally, you again launch an offensive attack upon the migrants, calling them “feral humans” and “plague”. How does “feral” equate with the plight of people who are desperate to achieve something that will secure their safety into a better life? Would you not do the same? It would be interesting to see you in their shoes, just to see if you would be able to do what these truly desperate and brave people are doing to survive.

In conclusion, I hope by reading this letter I will be able to appeal to your sense of empathy and compassion. We as the people of Britain have to be grateful for the blessed opportunity to live in a democratic society which is not engulfed in war. As humans we should stand by each other and try to help those less fortunate than us. This can be done through the promotion of articles which would encourage the reader to help and to make a small but valuable difference in an ongoing battle. The mentality of “we should not care as it is not our problem” is narrow minded. if we start to care we might in turn make a difference and, yes, maybe we might not stop an entire war but we might help save some lives. After all, the article which you wrote was most likely written with the aid of an Apple computer. Need I remind you that Steve Jobs was the son of Syrian migrants? So in turn we owe these people so much more than you think.

Kindest Regards,

Milos Petrovic

This is Your Online Domain

May 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Hello and welcome to your personal online journal.

Edutronic has been created to enhance and enrich your learning at the London Nautical School. Its purpose is to provide you with an audience for your work (or work-in-progress) and you have the choice (by altering the ‘visibility’ of your posts) of whether your work on here is visible to the world, or only to your teacher.

Anything you post here in the public domain represents you and thus it’s important that you take care with that decision, but don’t be afraid to publish your work – as the feedback you may get from people at home, your peers and people from around the internet is only likely to enhance it.

Remember you can always access your class blog and all manner of resources through the Edutronic main website – and by all means check out the sites of your peers to see what they’re getting up to as well.

If you have any questions for your teacher, an excellent way to get an answer is to create a new private post on this journal. Your teachers are am notified of any new posts and will reply swiftly to any queries.

Make the most of, and enjoy this new freedom in your English learning!

May 25, 2014

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ― Ernest Hemingway