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What is Worcester’s Best Fast Food Burger?

As I consider myself a somewhat connoisseur of food, and having spent a fair amount of time in Worcester High Street, I have compiled a Top 5 list of Worcester’s best fast food burgers.

The criteria for this list was based on the burger quality, price, waiting time, and any accompanying items e.g. chips, drinks etc.

5. Yummy’s

Yummy’s offers a 6oz cheese burger for £5.50 with an option of chips for an extra £1.50

The burger, while very good, is rather expensive considering it doesn’t come with fries or a drink, and the waiting time for the burger in a largely empty restaurant was very long, hence it makes #5 on this list.

4.McDonald’s

While McDonald’s is a classic with a very cost effective menu and range of side options, the burgers are poor quality lacking any flavour so it only makes #4.

3. Back Street Diner

The Back Street Diner is a food truck located opposite WHSmiths; while the price is reasonable and the waiting time very short the quality is very average hence it only reaches #3 on this list

2.Five Guys

An American influence brought into Worcester shortly after the construction of the new Cathedral Square, a burger at Five Guys is a very good quality choice. However, the factors that deny it top spot on this list are the price and waiting time. The price is incompatible to what you actually receive and the wait is always verging on too long.

1.Tasty Takeaway

And the number one spot goes to Tasty Takeaway, known colloquially as ‘hole in the wall.’ The Tasty Takeaway is a small food stand that quite literally resembles a hole in the wall on the High Street. The very good price coupled with the very good quality burger, alongside large portions of chips delivered extremely promptly earns it the number one spot.

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KING’S COMEBACK IN FINAL EVENT OF THE YEAR!

Last term, King’s played rivals RGS in the 2022 Superball. For a sports fan who lacks real knowledge of the sport of netball, this was my first experience of the most watched school netball game in the country.

King’s started off slowest in what was an even first quarter with RGS taking the lead by a couple of goals. By the second quarter, shooters Charlotte W,  Tamara M and youngster Maddie W were really starting to find their rhythm in front of the loud Worcester crowd. However, RGS took a 3 goal advantage at the half time interval, 16-13.

After a show of ‘brilliant’ shooting in the half time challenge from some of the U6 boys, King’s resumed their battle with the Grammar. The shooters continued to stay calm under pressure and Captain Emily D was ever present in all the King’s attacks, controlling the midfield for The Dots. RGS continued to lead through their Captain and held onto a 2 goal lead at the end of the 3rd quarter.

All was to play for in the final quarter as the ‘Green Army’ began to tire. King’s continued to battle through Jaz F and Emily D and some great defensive effort from Maggie M and Georgia H kept the RGS shooters at bay allowing the King’s shooters to capitalise, bringing them back level with 30 seconds left. Lower Sixth member Tamara M then sunk a close shot to give King’s the lead and the WIN WITH 5 SECONDS TO GO. The Arena erupted with delight from the Dots supporters and the girls had pulled off one of the biggest and best comebacks in school sport history.

Commiserations go out to RGS as that was a tough way to lose having led the whole game. But in the last big sporting event of the calendar year, King’s took the victory meaning a 2-1 aggregate win for the Dots (the football was a draw so doesn’t count). Congratulations to the girls and it was a great event rounding off a great day and year for the many U6 girls who leave the school at the end of the year. #WorcesterIsBlue

 

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Playing the Squid Games (Part 7 – Finale)

We conclude our journey with the last of the Squid games – the Squid Game.

Throughout the entire series, the viewers will have experienced many emotions radiating through their screens – hurt, betrayal, loss and many others. As the series concludes, we are left with the last two participants, Gi-hun and Sangwoo, the once-best-friends. In the end, the one with the blood-stained suit is Sangwoo, undeniably one of the most brutal of all the characters, whilst Gi-hun’s suit remains clean, reflecting the mercy he shows throughout the whole series.

Although the Squid Game is referenced in the first scene of the series, it is definitely very difficult for many British viewers to understand the rules of the game, as it is not explained very well at all. As a result, we chose to modify the Korean game to a somewhat similar game played in Britain – hopscotch.

In the game, the player must simply throw a stone onto the chalk-drawn tiles and then hop onto each tile, avoiding the tile which the stone has landed on. On the way back, the player must then pick up the stone whilst staying on one leg, then make their way back to the start without changing legs or stepping out of the tiles. No doubt, a great adaptation of the original Squid Game.

A simple game, yet somehow some players (Elliot) managed to fail spectacularly. The final results are as follows, with Grace as our overall winner.

Grace: 11 🥳
Mary: 10 (joint)
Magnus: 10 (joint)
Ben: 9
Elliot: 8 (joint)
Thora: 8 (joint)
Alfred: 5

 

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Why I don’t like Boris Johnson: the rise of populism and the death of reason

If he is blue collar, he is likely to be drunk, criminal, aimless, feckless and hopeless, and perhaps claiming to suffer from low self-esteem brought on by unemployment.

– Boris Johnson

The concept of oxymoron is a well established one in the literary field, and one to which I found myself turning upon reading my schoolfellow’s article entitled ‘Boris Johnson, the Working Class Hero.’ In the interest of political balance, I feel I should offer some points of rebuttal alongside my own fears regarding the rising tide of populism in the UK and beyond.

Johnson at Eton College

 

Let us begin by looking at Boris Johnson’s Eton days. Not only did he attend the school, he was also a member of ‘Pop’ or the Eton Society, making him an elite of the elites, far from a ‘working class hero’ as some may claim. At school, his teachers claim he ‘adopted a disgracefully cavalier attitude to his classical studies’, an approach which he has brought also to his prime minister-ship (as detailed in my previous article) with countless allegations of lockdown rule-breaking in government.

At Oxford, Johnson was a member of the infamous Bullingdon Club, notorious for sexism, vandalism, and bullying. The club’s recruiter during his time said about Johnson: “Boris was one of the big beasts of the club. He was up for anything. They treated certain types of people with absolute disdain, and referred to them as ‘plebs’ or ‘grockles’, and the police were always called ‘plod’. Their attitude was that women were there for their entertainment.”

Johnson alongside David Cameron in the Bullingdon Club

 

Is this really the man we want leading our country?

After Oxford, Johnson worked for The Times; however, once again his ‘disgracefully cavalier attitude’ led him to invent a quote from his godfather, historian Sir Colin Lucas, which resulted in being fired from the newspaper. Events like this permeate Johnson’s career, from his extramarital affairs, partygate, and wallpaper gate, to his unlawful attempt to prorogue parliament and mislead the Queen. Furthermore, his claim that we send £350m per week to the EU was, according to the UK Statistics Authority, a ‘misleading’ figure.

Perhaps it is this cavalier attitude which explains the popularity of Boris Johnson, his charisma evident even to his harshest critics; however, looking into his past, beneath the veneer of populism, we can see yet another elitist, Etonian, Oxbridge educated, lying Prime Minister. Some working class hero.

 

 

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Knu Age

On Monday 14th March, I interviewed Klaudia Burton about her sustainable fashion brand, Knu Age.

What gave you the incentive to start up?

Over time, there were a range of things, but the ultimate push was when I began working for another, very well-known fashion brand. I could see many flaws in their ideas, and knew exactly what I would do if I was running it. And so I immediately began working on Knu Age and stopped working for them.

Could you expand on your message of body positivity and conscience for the environment further?

Everyone is aware that models are often pushed by the industry to be underweight and unhealthy. This is not something that we would ever support at Knu Age as our priority is the health and happiness of people and the planet. We all need clothing, and lots of people really enjoy fashion, but it should go without saying that fashion should not have any negative impacts on the people or the planet. The fashion industry is currently one of the most polluting industries globally but it is possible to enjoy fashion without being so polluting. However, it is apparent that companies prioritise methods that make them more money despite being harmful.

How do you make your products plastic free, chemical free, and vegan?

All Knu Age clothing is 100% Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton. I decided to use this fabric because I wanted a natural fabric that will break down. As you know, cotton is a plant, and so it is natural, will break down, and is not derived from animals making our clothing vegan. All Knu Age clothing is PETA approved vegan. What makes Knu Age different to all other brands is that we do not use any plastic at all.

Listen to the rest of the interview:

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Why I like Boris Johnson, the working class hero!

My hero!

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, controversial to some, disliked by many, astonishing to most … and a hero to me.  Out of touch with electoral opinion and swept along by fashionable idealism, my classmates usually ignore political realism and oppose my perfect view of Boris. Here is why they are wrong!

A liberal conservative, Boris is serious and charming, scruffy but smart, impulsive, exuberant and the first British leader in generations who genuinely appears to be having a good time.  People laugh with Boris, not at him.

Through a time of upset and despair, Boris is the right man at the right time. He’s exactly what this country needs, a politician liked by the masses. Not so much a Dick Whittington rags to riches London mayor but rather a politician with the style and charisma of an Eton mess.

It’s difficult to argue with the Boris’s core political principles: freedom, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity. With the firm, velvet glove style of leadership, Boris has made Britain great again, picking us up when we were down, leading us from Brexit despair, when they thought it was all over, to 1966-style victory.

Not satisfied with winning mayoral elections alone, Boris championed a working class victory over the red wall with 365 seats won at our last election, increasing the Conservative presence in the House of Commons by 47 seats, the most commanding election win since 1987.

With a solid majority in place, Boris has guided his Brexit vision across the finish line, beat Covid personally, and nationally and led us through the catastrophic pandemic. He has emerged with the belief that we need to shift power and wealth to the left behind regions who delivered his greatest victory. Boris is making good on a long-standing promise to the working-class voters who made him Prime Minister. He is a working class hero!

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Our library

As it was World Book Day last week, I thought it would be fitting to take a look at our very own library.

Before the library that we all know and love in School House today, the only library access that students had was situated in Edgar Tower and the facilities were no where near as vast.

The Matthew Armstrong Library was built in 2006 and has grown to include 15,000 books. School pupils also have access to all of the books and more via the e-library, which came into its own during lockdown. What many people may not know is that you can actually request books for the librarians to order if you can’t find what you’re looking for!

The library receives new books everyday so the ‘new books’ display has to be kept up-to-date by our wonderful library staff. Display boards play a big part in the library experience for me as they really brighten up the room and have some great book recommendations.

The ‘new books’ display

WRAITH is also a really important part of the library and I find a huge enjoyment in reading a different book each half term that is somewhat outside of my comfort zone. WRAITH is the book club that we have here at King’s and counts around 90 members at the moment. The WRAITHers and avid readers among you will have been excited to hear about the library’s reading challenge. The reading challenge is across the year groups and is a great way to encourage people to read more and to read widely.

The collection of books for the reading challenge

So why not take a visit to the library next time you’re in the long gallery, you never know what you might find!

 

 

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Jazz after COVID

Jazz music has always provided a certain catharsis. Whether it is the swing era, which gave comfort during the war or the blues which came out of slavery in America, it is clear that jazz gives a sense of community and belonging for all who choose to listen. However, with live music compromised by lockdowns and venues only just beginning to re-open, will the genre survive to comfort those in the future?

In 2013, a study by Dr. Peter C. DiCola of Northwestern University School of Law showed that 28% of musicians’ revenue comes from live shows and performance (see pie chart) and in 2019, according to estimates by Aston University’s Dr. Patrycja Rozbicka, the West Midlands alone had 870,000 visits to live music events, worth £250m to the economy.

Due to lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, attendance at live events has been cut to one third of this, a vast impact on not only the local economy and venues but also the income for professional musicians.

With COVID variants still sowing uncertainty within all areas of public life, live music is making a tentative comeback, but a comeback nonetheless. It is up to us, therefore, to ensure that jazz remains part of our culture after COVID, to be enjoyed by future generations.

How, then, can we help?

Buying vinyls and CDs of artists, as opposed to or as well as streaming, is a great way to support musicians. Furthermore, visiting venues locally will greatly help restore our music industry as we all return, gradually and cautiously, to normality. For example, we are fortunate locally to have Blas-Jazz in Malvern, which hosts monthly jazz performances at Elmslie House.

Sax legend Jerry Bergonzi performs at Elmslie House in Malvern

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WHO’S THE GOAT: RONALDO OR MESSI?

Is it him?

The debate of who is the greatest men’s footballer of all time (GOAT) has flooded the mind of many for years. Is it the 37 year-old Portuguese or the 34 year-old Argentinian? With a combined 1,562 goals and 2,059 appearances, the two have led the way in 21st century football.

Lionel Messi made his debut in 2004 for the Spanish giants Barcelona. From the off he helped propel the Catalan side to 10 La Liga titles in the 17 years he was at the club. Recently he transferred to Paris St Germain in France and is already tearing up the French league, propelling them to a current 1-0 lead in the Champions League Round of 16. Many believe Lionel is the GOAT because of the way in which he has given Barcelona the status as one of the European giants of the game with his flair, trickery and agile feet. He is a true hero and legend to the Catalan fans.

Or him? Cartoon by Elliot

Cristiano Ronaldo first stepped onto the scene as a young teenager who made his name in his home country, Portugal before getting a big move to English giants Manchester United. He excelled under Sir Alex Ferguson, scoring 100 goals in his first 5 year stint at Man U. He then moved to Messi’s Spanish rivals Real Madrid and won 4 Champions Leagues, making Madrid the best team at the time. Ronaldo later moved to Italy before returning to Manchester United. In his career Cristiano won 5 Ballon D’or and 4 Golden Boots compared to Messi’s 7 Ballon D’ors and 5 Golden Boots.

(Side note: Ballon D’or is a competition where by players vote on the best player of that year. Golden Boot is the highest scorer in all competitions for that calendar year.)

Although the statistics below seem to fight Messi’s corner, many argue that Ronaldo is the GOAT because of the impact he has had on various clubs around the world. Wherever Ronaldo seems to go he wins trophies and lights up the league, scoring goals and leaving defenders and records in his wake.

Messi (left) Ronaldo (right)

Who do you think is the GOAT?

#RonaldoIsTheGOAT