Jack Cooper

Gustav was purchased for £1,450, which was negotiated down from the original £1,600 asking price. It's a Laurin & Klement example, which means we have heated electrically-adjustable leather seats (they are SO comfortable), auto lights, wipers and mirrors, a six-CD changer straight from the nineties, dual-zone climate, fancy trip computer display, and all-round electric windows.

But as you can see beyond the now-fixed throttle issue, these are quite minor niggles that don't really affect the core functions of the car. For something with 206,000 miles on the clock, it's surprising to me that things like the electric heated seats, all the buttons, lights and displays are working perfectly without a hitch still. In many ways, this thing seems bomb-proof that will go on forever with very basic maintenance. 

I don't have much planned with Gustav for now, but it will come in handy when I inevitably drive across the UK out of boredom one day, visit distant family, or visit friends in Brum or Brizzol. I also really like the idea of getting an air mattress and sleeping in the back of it on a road trip adventure -- is that weird?

Anyway, the distance to the moon is 238,855 miles. I better get cracking in Gustav to reach that milestone, because he definitely deserves to celebrate it.

By almost every measurable account, I am an incredibly lucky and privileged person. I've just finished up my MA course in Automotive Journalism (the only one in the world, amazingly), and it went as smoothly as I could've ever hoped. I also landed a fun graduate job in April working for Volkswagen and Haymarket as a content editor for VW's internal website for dealerships. It's full-time, 9-to-5, bread-and-butter with all the usual cushdyness that a modern office job brings. More fundamentally, I am a straight white male born into a nuclear family and have never experienced poverty. Lucky and privileged, for sure. 

Photo: Connor Michie

Travelling across the world visiting multiple countries is perhaps one of the most common and desirable bucket-list wishes that anybody can have. The idea of broadening your horizons, meeting new people, and experiencing different cultures is extremely alluring, and yet for many people, it forever remains a dream.

Cross-country travelling with nothing more than a backpack to your name requires commitment, which clashes heavily with the typical adult lifestyle. Recurring things such as bills and relationships means many cannot just quit their job and disappear for a year or two.

Connor Michie graduated from Brunel University only last summer. For him, this was the now-or-never time to be brave, and book the flights and hostels – or risk forever missing the perfect opportunity.

“I don’t think - for big things like travelling - that anybody is ever going to be 100% ready, but I knew that I wasn’t ready to start settling down and pursuing a career”, he recalls.

“I had a list of destinations – a dream to travel, I suppose. I had the funds to go and do it. It was just a case of having no obligations left, and there’s no way I would’ve been able to settle without doing it.”

Running away from your problems

Criticism exists from some groups, who’ll often proclaim that people go backpacking merely to escape reality, and that they’re running away from the real world. Connor instantly rejected the sentiment:

“To say travel is addressing none of your problems is a bit cynical. You’re not running away from yourself; you are allowed to be more yourself than usual, I think.

“I wanted to eat some amazing food, meet some new people, and build some amazing connections around the world.

“I wasn’t running away from things – I was running to them whilst I had the opportunity.”

The gorgeous scenes of Queenstown, New Zealand | Photo: Connor Michie

I've  had my iPhone XR sitting in my pocket for just about 15 months now, which, to me, is mad. It only felt like a couple of months ago when I walked into the trendy (and culty) Apple store, and set out the rather appetising interest-free finance arrangement for my first step into iOS for a mobile phone.

Usually, you'll see a load of write-ups for 6 months of ownership, or perhaps 12 months. This write-up is after 15 months, because I'm lazy and I forgot to write something at a meaningful point in time. Better late than never, hey.

What I ultimately want to see is if moving to iOS has been worth it. I've had iPads since 2012, but I've stuck with Android for my mobiles until now, mainly just because there always tended to be an Android to suit my budget. With iPhones, it's either nothing or everything, with no real budget options besides the SE.



So firstly, let's start with what I've enjoyed with my iPhone ownership so far.

The good stuff

The battery has done me so well. When I first got the phone, it was a legitimate two-day battery life with moderate usage, and even with heavy, antisocial usage it was almost impossible to kill it before you went to bed. Even today, 15 months later, the battery still easily lasts for a day without any worries about conservation. It's definitely not a two-day battery anymore, though.

Compare that to my Samsung S7 Edge (my previous phone), which needed a top-up in the afternoon if you used it anything more than regularly, it's a refreshingly free feeling not to worry about bringing a battery bank with you for your travels.

iOS is a software that's love/hate, in my eyes. To achieve the things that you love about it, there has to be things you'll hate, too. For example, it's a beautifully optimised system. It's light on the battery, as we just discussed, and the phone barely ever stutters or hangs, regardless of what you throw at it. It's buttery, but it's also locked down in Apple's pursuit of optimisation. Every iPhone feels the same - you can't customise iOS like you can with Android. But I guess that's a necessary evil to have things like the smoothness and the fast software updates - it just depends where your priorities lie.

The camera is also great on the iPhone. The XR came with just a single lens on the rear - which is a bit old school these days - but that one sensor does a great job. Contrast is great, stabilisation is excellent, the colours are pleasing to the eye (if a little oversaturated), and video looks gorgeous. The camera still holds up well today, even as we head into 2020. I haven't found myself missing out on zoom or wide-angle sensors, but I wouldn't say no to them, either.

Lastly, and perhaps most surprisingly, I found myself getting on well with Face ID. This was something that I expected to dislike, after swearing that fingerprint scanners (like on my S7) were superior. In some specific circumstances, the fingerprint is better - e.g. if your phone is flat on a table, you have to actually hover your head over it to get the iPhone to unlock, which just looks daft. But 98% of the time, Face ID is so seamless that you barely miss other ways to unlock your phone. As long as you're looking at the screen, the phone will unlock almost as quick as you can swipe to unlock the screen. It's a great system that even works in pitch black conditions, and I don't doubt Apple will keep refining it over the next few years.

My iPhone experience hasn't been perfect, though. Let's have a look at some of the things where the XR falls a bit flat.

The less good stuff

The screen isn't that great. Sure, it's a fairly modern edge-to-edge design (albeit with some rather large bezels), but it's an LCD panel that's only just about 720p. It sounds like something straight out of 2012 - in fact, it has the same pixel density as the iPhone 4 from 2010. It's not a bad display per say, since the colours are good and things look sharp until you pixel-peep, but you really expect more from an £800 phone. Coming from my 1440p Samsung OLED panel, this was by far the largest downgrade.

Siri is bloody useless, too. What I like about Google Assistant and Alexa is that they're fairly human and contextual in their responses. If you ask Google Assistant a question, they'll read out an answer they took from the web, which 99% of the time is what you're looking for. More often than not, Siri will just take what you asked it, and respond with "Here's what I found on the web." You then have to click the search results, which takes you to Safari. What's the bloody point of that? If I wanted to surf the web, I would've just gone on my browser in the first place. The whole point of a smart assistant to me is having answers read to me, like a person. I remember when Siri was cutting edge back when it was announced. Now, it's just useless.

This is another side effect of the Apple ecosystem, but I don't like the Lightning connection. Again, this is one of those things that was cool when it was announced, back in 2012. In those days, everyone was using crappy Micro USB connectors, and Lightning appeared futuristic and simple. Today, everyone uses USB-C, and having Lightning alongside just doesn't make sense. The Macbooks are USB-C, the iPad Pros are USB-C, so why do I need to carry another cable for my phone? Additionally, I can't even plug in my phone to my Macbook with the supplied cable, since the other end of the Lightning cable is USB-A (the normal rectangular connection) - and modern Macbooks don't have a USB-A connection. It's a daft example of connection fragmentation, and I really hope Apple sorts it out sooner, rather than later.

Conclusion

Overall, though, I'm happy. I do wish sometimes there was a bit more customisation with my iPhone - I can't even toggle an option to display battery percentage, for god's sake. But what I lose with customisation I gain massively with stability and support. Add on the fantastic camera, generally preferential treatment from app developers, and good integration with my other Apple products, and it looks like I'll be hanging on to this XR for some time yet. 

I've been a long time Android user for as long as I can remember, but with my S7 Edge reaching the end of its life after a solid two and a half years of daily service, I fancied a more dramatic, Apple-shaped upgrade.

Don't get me wrong: I still like Android, and will defend it to the naysayers. But after three Android phones on the trot, I wanted a new experience to play with - mostly just so my new device can be satisfyingly 'different'. With that in mind, I dive-bombed straight into the deep end of the pool and plunged into the depths of the Apple ecosystem with the 256GB XS Max.

To save you time, my overall impression is that the XS Max is a damn nice phone, but the price Apple want for it is just absurd. You have to pony up £1,100 for the base model, which comes with only 64GB of non-expandable storage. Applications these days are pretty fat in size: your staple social media apps are approaching half a gig each, and of course the phone is capable of data-heavy 4K 60fps video recording. All of this means that 64GB is just not enough, and Apple know this better than anyone else.

Instead of offering up a sensible 128GB option (which in 2018 would be the sweet spot for a high-end phone), Apple makes you jump straight to 256GB. While nice to have, it means you're now paying £1,250 for a phone just to make it unrestrictive. But hey, it makes for a juicy profit margin for the trillion-dollar behemoth of a company.

Despite the insane pricing, people are still buying these phones at a consistently strong rate. I suppose that's what piqued my curiosity to switch to iOS; these phones must be amazing if they're still pulling in all these customers with that price. So, coming from Android, how is it for me?

Well, there's absolutely no denying just how much more smoother and well-optimised things are in the iOS world. In Android things can feel a bit disjointed with inconsistent UI and app designs (though it's miles better now than what it used to be), but iOS is undeniably on another level with fluidity. That comes at a double-edged sword, however, since the only way to achieve such consistency is to make the software incredibly closed off. So yes, the 'It Just Works' mentality is nice, but the lack of customisation can make iOS feel soulless.

Am I an iOS convert? Definitely not, though I do appreciate it for its own merits. I think if iPhones were similarly priced to Android flagships then I'd be swaying towards Apple more routinely, but at the insane price of the XS Max, I am unfortunately seriously considering a return.

OnePlus is a company that's been around for five years now (!), and in that time it has made strides in the mobile industry, that's risen more than just a few eyebrows. Rocking into the scene in 2013 with the oddly-named OnePlus One, it shook the competition with its top notch specs, and a mindblowing price of just £229. Today, though, things are a little different.

It's not exactly a hidden secret that I am an obsessive car nut; I always have been, and frankly, I probably always will be. At the ripe old age of 20, I've had my licence for three years now, and yet, curiously, I haven't had a car to my name since summer 2017.

The answer as to why that's so is, rather predictably, university. The hashtag student life suddenly makes you really rather poor, so much so that running a car just isn't economical. But I've finished for the summer, I've got a job, and because of that, I now have a new set of wheels. Read on to find out the good, the bad, and the ugly about my 'new' 2007 Corsa 1.3CDTI Design.

If you have a Facebook account, and live in a place of residence that isn't anything smaller than a hamlet, then chances are you've probably heard of the fabled 'Spotted' Facebook pages.

The 'Spotted' phenomenon really took off in 2013 across the United Kingdom, and has since remained strong for many local communities. Spotted pages rely on the locals to drive their content; residents are encouraged to message the page with anything they wish, and the administrator of the page will forward that message into a post that every member of the page can view. Common posts typically include breaking local news, upcoming local events, and general questions about the local area. For Coventry, posts reach over 60,000 people.

60,000 followers for a page is no mean feat, and it's safe to assume that the people behind running such a page have a lot of maintenance and management to keep up. Bearing in mind that all of this work is selflessly for the benefit of the Coventry community and is completely unpaid, I therefore think that the admins of the Spotted pages are, in my opinion, the hidden local heroes of your community. They go about doing their jobs unnoticed, unpaid, and uncredited. With such selfless and time-consuming work, what is the drive for an administrator to continuously maintain a Spotted page?

316,000 strong population, all connected together by one selfless, generous individual online

I got in touch with the administrator of Spotted: Coventry City to find out just that, and more. They kindly agreed to talk to me, but wished to remain anonymous.

"I think that Spotted really does unite the city, because it gets people who would otherwise never talk to each other to unite over problems and queries"

"I don't have a favourite post specifically, but one of my favourite things that Spotted does is help local residents have a voice, and a platform. There's no better page out there to ask for help about a missing pet, or to help find a criminal who's broken into your car, in my opinion."

It's clear that the administrator really does believe in the power of Spotted, and how it plays a role in the modern Internet-connected local community. But what is their motivation to continue running the page for free?

"Running this page just gives a feel-good factor; it's really nice to know that you're helping the residents of Coventry come together."

"I think [the motivation comes from] the knowledge in knowing that Spotted makes a difference. It brings issues and events into the spotlight. The amount of regular participation the page sees tells me that the people of Coventry do indeed enjoy Spotted, and that goes a long way to keep me motivated to maintain this page." 

Should everyone in Coventry participate with Spotted?

"Certainly so. You never know when your help might be needed for the locals around you, or when you may need help yourself! The Spotted community is a really nice, helpful place for discussion, and even helps grab the attention of the council at times."

But perhaps most importantly: do they believe they are a local hero?

"Ha, I don't think so. I don't think serving the community should be something seen as heroic - it should be something that everybody should try and aim to do."

It certainly isn't surprising that the administrator doesn't want to be known as a local hero. But in my eyes, they are. The amount of time and resources that have to be given up to maintain a 60,000-strong Facebook page that many of whom rely on cannot be downplayed.

So next time you participate with your local Spotted page, pause for a moment and consider the person behind the page. This person will be giving up their time for their love of the local community, and as such, the locals of Coventry and other settlements across the nation have their towns and cities enhanced just that little bit further.

Photo: Coventry City Council

17th March 2018

The 2018 Coventry Half Marathon, which was set to take place on Sunday 18th March, has been cancelled.

To say "life is a blur" is a statement that's all too easy to push away, and disregard as an overused cliché. After all, we all live lives. To say that life is a rollercoaster to a fellow human is not going to be breaking news for them. And yet, it's almost impossible not to say at times - times such as starting your first ever week of Higher Education.

But before I get to that, I want to briefly slam this train of thought into reverse gear and reflect back on my previous form of education - Sixth Form. Right up until the summer months of 2016, I was essentially spoon-fed all my tasks and information; my only job was to memorise all the alphabet soup that was being injected into my brain. All 'reading' was done in class, and all homework was non-critical to the final grades. It was essentially education on cruise control.

Almost whilst sleepwalking, it feels as though I have just stepped into a completely different life. Suddenly I find myself saying goodbye to Bedfordshire (mind you, not much love lost there), and hello to this strange new place they call Coventry. Suddenly I have my own living space, I'm making my own meals, I'm doing all the chores, and managing more bills. It is, understandably, incredibly overwhelming to take in.

Welcome to the Jungle

Thankfully Universities are not oblivious to that fact. One of the major things that occur to help you settle in is something called 'Induction Week', where all the modules and tutors are introduced to you. That has been and gone for me now, so I want to use this little slice of a webpage to reflect back on how this first week has gone for me.

However, as important as Induction is, if I wrote solely about that then I would be completely neglecting the 'other' side to the student life. And no, there's more to the other side than just alcohol. Not much more, granted, but enough to write about.

Let's start with the accommodation. From the very moment I took a step into my private room, it hit me, and it hit me hard. All this is here was mine, and mine only. All of this that I see in front of me is now solely my responsibility to upkeep. I was nervous but damn excited to have my own freedom. The thought of doing what I want, when I want was making me giddy with excitement, but I knew it wasn't going to be plain sailing.

"Home", sweet "home"

With the first day fears quickly eradicating, it was time to tackle Induction. Once again, this was another time to have butterflies in my stomach, simply because I didn't have a hoot of a clue of what to expect. However, there was only one way to find out...

The easiest way I can sum Induction up is this: whoever originally came up with such an idea, I owe my life to them. As someone who is inherently a bit on the quiet side, Induction really allowed me to settle into the groove of things before the modules had even begun. Tutors were warm and friendly, guest speakers were insightful and fascinating, and course mates approachable and funny. I was particularly engaged with the lead editor of Yahoo Movies UK, Tom Butler, whose brilliant combination of humour and intellect provided a unique insight into the world of online journalism, and how the trade works, right down to the nitty-gritty.

So here I am, on the other side of the first week. I now know where my rooms are, who my tutors are, what my modules are about, and even have a few decent friendships forming already. Now, if only someone could teach me how to perfect ironing...

As I'm fairly certain that you as the reader can attest to, no two days are ever the same when it comes to the moods you feel from day-to-day; the world is just way too big and unpredictable to let you go hours and hours without some form of mood change. The thing I find about these changes in emotion is that it doesn't only change your perception of your surrounding environment, but it also affects how you see yourself.

I'm a very tall person, and always have been in the relative sense. Growing up, I was always the tallest in class, or at least in the top 2, and I finally settled at a fairly notable 6"3' when I was around 17 years old. Granted, it's not a crazy tall height, but it's enough to be the subject of all the small talk at family gatherings.

My relationship with my height has very much been one that's love-hate, depending on my mood for the day. On some (predominantly sunny) days, I can appreciate the fact that I'm tall like a stereotypical man, and that I've never had issues reaching top shelves of shops or home cupboards. On the other hand, sometimes I completely and utterly hate the attention that my height brings me. I'm introverted through and through, so sticking out like a sore thumb in a crowd is not something I always want. And that's before we've moved on to my biggest gripe...

Body stereotypes are annoying. These days we're told to more or less ignore them, and that they're just constructed by the media - which is true. But both girls and guys are both equally as likely to fall into the trap of comparing themselves with what the 'ideal' physique is. Some could say it's a far bigger issue with girls, but I'm not here to argue that today. All that needs to be said is that I've fallen into the trap in the past before, and it's not nice.

Damn media and their unreasonable ideal body representations

It is, admittedly, quite hard to become morbidly obese when you grow upwards at a vast rate of knots. To put it crudely, when some people were using their energy to grow outwards, I was still using mine to grow closer to the clouds. And while that's all well and good, the downside of that is you tend to become quite slender.

I without doubt eat well over 2,500 calories every day, but I still look like I can fall through a crack in the pavement. My body is disproportionate; I've done too much upwards growing and not enough outwards growing - which takes me back to my point of 'ideal bodies'. I'm disproportionate compared to the models in magazines, but the mainstream media is powerful enough to convince me - and probably you - that those bodies are the right bodies.

It's hard to wrap this blog post up, actually. Usually I find some solution to the problem, and all is well with the world once again. But this time it's a lot harder, because any solution I do think of will be personal and anecdotal, and would therefore be neglecting the (likely) billions of other people having the same sort of worry. It just makes me wonder how much worse this is going to get, now we have the Internet and whatnot. 

Ahh, life updates, perhaps the ultimate case of getting readers to shout angrily "Who gives a flying fuck?" Indeed, I'm very aware that the market potential for reading into a 19-year-old customer assistant's life is relatively narrow, but at the same time, I sometimes like to use this blog as a bit of a diary-esque kind of thing. If that isn't your cuppa, then I totally get you; I wouldn't give a toss, either.

But anyway, here's a flattering recent picture of me, so the post link on the blog home page has an image attached to it. Professionalism.



The last time I did a post like this, it was last summer when I got my A-level results. At the time, they seemed really important to me, and that I had passed one of the biggest milestones of my life. And while that can indeed be argued for, when I look back on it now, it just seems like a mere flash in the pan. My life has moved on loads since that day, and to even think just 9 months ago I was still at school is crazy. It just seems like such a distant memory.

My plan at the time was to not go to university, because the costs of it all repulsed me. I knew, of course, that it was all on loan, and that if I earned less than £21k it wouldn't be repayable, yadda yadda yad. I just didn't fancy being in debt. I suppose it scared me, in a way. Also, I was in the mindset that what I wanted to do (journalism) was something that's gained through experience, not degrees. Again, there are two legitimate sides to this argument, but I won't waste my typing on that one.

Come September 2016. It was just over a month since I got my results, and several months since I last went to school. All of my friends had now gone to university, which essentially left me alone in my home town, doing my customer assistant job day in, day out.

I would like to quickly interject and say I have nothing against my job. In fact, I really quite like it. But what grates on you after a while is the fact that suddenly I had almost nobody to hang out with whenever I felt like it. And while I knew it was possible to get into journalism through merit alone, it became very apparent as the weeks passed that I was making it far more difficult for myself than it had to be.

By the end of that September, I was talking to my friend Connor in the evening through Facebook when I suddenly declared to him that I was going to attend university in September 2017. Bear in mind I had given no proper prior thought to this - it just burst out. Much to my amazement, I haven't looked back since. If I wanted to be all cringe, I would say this was the 'inner me' finally coming out of its shell. But you and I both know that's bull.

So much of the autumn and winter months were spent researching and applying. Considering, as I said, I made this announcement completely on the whim, I had to sort everything out right from scratch. I had to research dozens of universities, craft a UCAS application without any school support, and (admittedly at my own will) check out some potential unis in person. I wouldn't say it was tiresome or overwhelming, but it is a challenge to make sure you pick the place that's right for you. After all, you would be spending years of your life there, and maybe even be based there for your future living indefinitely.

To save you additional reading, the two places that I'd be really happy to go to is either Uni of Sussex, or Coventry Uni. I place Sussex higher purely based on location and scholarship options, but either one would be awesome. And I can happily report I have received an offer from Coventry!

They call it conditional, but the only condition is I provide proof of my results (the certificates), to make sure I'm not a lying bastard. As long as I do that, I'm in bois. And that honestly makes me really happy. It will be a new, exciting chapter of my life, and I really hope the next 7 months fly by, because I really cannot wait to start.

So what a turnaround. I was adamant just 6 months ago that uni wasn't the way, and that it was best to build money and be lucky with my blog. And, you know what, that may still be the best way. But my gut instinct changed, and I really didn't want to fight against it. I suppose if there needed to be a cheesy ending to this post, Never say Never. Bleugh.

This post does contain spoilers.

I will be the first to freely admit that I'm not much of a movie guy. Sure, I will sit down and watch a theatrical release (and perhaps even enjoy it if the planets align), but they've just never really been my cup of tea. If I did have to only watch one genre of film for the rest of my life, though, I would probably put something light-hearted like a sitcom, or something a little slapstick. Basically, anything that doesn't require me to get invested and think about the plot.

So what was I doing watching a drama film at the cinema today? Well, when you're around your buddies, watching the animated kids' film probably isn't the best step to becoming socially competent. Plus, when you're at the cinema, you want something a bit more than just a production you switch your brain off at. Enter Lion.


I had honestly never heard of this film until today, but we were forced to look through the list of films that were on before entering, because neither of us particularly keep up with the latest releases, and I flat-out refuse to see La La Land. After reading the blurb, Lion sounded engaging - but I knew in the back of my head it had the chance to be cliché central.

The film opens with some beautiful-looking cinematography. Little did I know these exceptional shots would last throughout the entire film. We also immediately get introduced to the main character, 5-year-old Saroo, and his brother, who do hard labour for small earnings to essentially keep their family alive.

I don't want to do the whole plot rundown (even though I will spoil it anyway), but the basic thing you need to know is Saroo gets lost as his brother leaves him on a bench. Saroo - still only 5 at this point - gets back on the train, assuming it will take him back home. Little did he know he would be heading nearly 1,000 miles in the wrong direction.

We follow Saroo throughout the movie with his emotions being very clearly conveyed to the audience. In 10 minutes of movie time we see he goes from homeless, to being kidnapped, to being adopted by an Australian couple; it's quite obviously hectic for him. Upon being adopted, we see he shows signs of adapting to the new culture, before the movie suddenly jumps another 20 years.

All grown up, and on a mission

This was now essentially the 'second half' of the movie. Saroo is in his mid-20s, he speaks fluent English, and seems to have life in order. However, he has a mission: to find his mum. Even at the mature age, he has strong memories of his childhood, and even certain foods give him vivid flashbacks - vivid enough to set himself on a mission to find his real family.

What follows is what I can only call an emotional masterpiece. This movie shows pretty much every human emotion under the sun, and they're always displayed so appropriately, so elegantly, that it really hits you. I know I've already spoilt a lot of the movie, but I won't give away the ending. Just know it was an exceptional bomb of emotion - the cinema room was full of people sniffling. The way the movie showed direct comparisons of real life events at the end is very powerful, too. The characters were spot on. I didn't even know it was a real story, so to drop that bombshell at the end just makes everything more hard-hitting.

The story isn't deep or clever (why manipulate real life?), but the way it's shot, and the way everything is conveyed is nothing short of jaw dropping. This may have the same genre banner as EastEnders, but honestly, it's on another level. Trust me: I actually enjoyed it.

Edit (12/2/17): Lion managed to win two awards at the BAFTAs tonight! Thoroughly well deserved - I'm amazed it doesn't have the attention it deserves.

Well, when I say 'the' in the title of this post, what I should be saying instead is 'one of the'. You see, it was recently announced that the UK Prime Minister had invited Mr. Trump, the new Presi for Freedom Eagle World, for a state visit. You may be thinking: "Well, what's the big deal over that?", like I did. But you need to know that a state visit means a near-celebratory welcoming for the guest - an event hosted by the Queen. Is this what the misogynistic, Islamophobic, Twitter-twat deserves? In the eye of over 1.7M UK residents, no.

bow chicka wow wow

Such speed to invite a President to a state visit is unprecedented, too. Recent history shows US leaders tend to serve a couple of years before being invited for the special visit (official visits as a US representative are different), so the sheer swiftness of the invite has led many to believe Theresa May is trying hard to get into Trump's good books. And while a 'special relationship' may be good politically, Trump's policies blend about as well with the majority UK general population as a glass of milk and cola.

Naturally people were unhappy with May's bending over, and what do unhappy people do? They want their voices heard. Of course, you can rant on Facebook and Twitter all you like, but nothing quite makes a point stand than collaborating all together and amplifying your voice by hundreds. Trump protests were happening all around the country on Monday evening (30th January 2017), and it just so happened I was in London that day.

I had never been part of a protest before, so this was to be a brand new experience for me. While I disagree with almost everything Trump stands for, my hatred isn't quite passionate enough to go out of my way to protest for. However, these people shared my viewpoint, so I didn't feel out of place at all mixing in. They were just far more dedicated, and for that I have nothing but respect for them.

The first thing that hit me as my friend and I approached the organised chaos was the sheer noise. If you imagine what a football stadium sounds like when the home team scores, you're pretty much there, but it was constant. And, though I can't specifically place my finger on how, I could really feel the emotion through the noise. It's weird: it was just a wall of  incomprehensible human noises, but the raw emotion was easy to detect. People really hated this man, and rightly so.

The atmosphere was electric. The way people chanted together was addictive. Seeing so many people of all ages, nationalities and sexes unite together over one problem was oddly empowering. I guess it's nice to know I'm not alone in my concerns.


Despite it being so crowded, it was incredibly organised. I never once got squashed, there was never any panic or anger from people; the police were just standing in a row probably having a relatively easy shift. Some of the picket signs gave a good chuckle, too.

My friend and I didn't hang around for ages, but we were there for nearly an hour. We retreated round the back with a slight euphoria, and headed towards Trafalger Square, where, upon Nelson's Column, we got a fantastic view of all the happenings. I had no picket sign, and I didn't really chant anything, but just adding bulk to the protest movement was enough to make me feel part of it all.

In reality, I'm well aware how little protests and petitions tend to do. But at the same time, making the public viewpoint known is undoubtedly pressure being applied to politicians when making decisions. After my unforgettable experience, all I can say is: if a peaceful protest is happening surrounding an issue you care about, don't be afraid to attend it. You will not regret.

I am completely and utterly a self-confessed Top Gear fanboy. When I first discovered all the re-runs on the UK TV channel 'Dave', I was instantly hooked. I was only about 12 years old at this point, but something hooked me to that show, and I couldn't quite place my finger on why that was so.

Fast-forward to the present day, and I still retain a large amount of affection for the show. I even sat through the entire new series earlier this year, which, if you listen to the hate bandwagons, was no mean feat. Clarkson, Hammond and May had a chemistry that spoke to the audience quite substantially, because it was something they could relate to. It was crude, self-depreciating and slightly bullish behaviour that sent some people running with their fingers in their ears over the lack of political correctness, but others nodding to their 'mates', because they saw the similarities. Down to Earth, if you will.

So of course I was saddened when I heard the news that Clarkson was terminated from his position, but I did understand the situation; punching someone isn't, and probably never will be, OK. But predictably the trio reunited pretty shortly after the drama, and announced they were making their own new show, later revealed to be named 'The Grand Tour', or 'GT' for short. With Chris Evans taking over Top Gear, this was going to be a fiery battle between GT and TG.


Reincarnated Top Gear came first, and it was alright. Loads of people hated it, but you cannot go watching this show expecting the same as the previous presenters. Really, the show should've been completely renamed and re-formatted - that would've avoided the comparisons and potentially heightened its popularity somewhat. Regardless though, I got some enjoyment from the show, but that's most likely just because I like cars. Cars on telly will always please me to some extent. I finished the series with a fair bit of anticipation for the Grand Tour.

After what felt like a complete eternity, the show finally graced us. We were drip fed tiny little details (such as there being a tent, how they're going to globe-trot etc.), but finally in mid-November, it all came together.

The opening sequence was substantial, big-budgeted, and fairly breathtaking. Quite a nice way to introduce the show - or introduce their budget - but it didn't show anything that made Top Gear successful. We had a couple of minutes on a stage in America where the three presenters pandered to the audience with gags and clichés about one another - nothing we hadn't heard before. I was smiling, but out of familiarity rather than outright tickling of the funny bone.

Once we got into the tent, things were a bit weird and unsettling for me. There was a distinct feeling of fakery with this new show. And yes, before you bite my head off, I am well aware Top Gear studio segments were scripted as well. But Top Gear did a far better job of hiding it, and making it appear more organic.

I'm not too convinced just yet

Take the news section, or 'Conversation Street', as it's now called. In Top Gear, you got the impression that the script was some bullet point topic starters and maybe some gags, but the presenters filled the rest in with the banter we know and love between themselves. You often got presenters making hilarious remarks off the top of their head. In the Grand Tour though, each and every word is so painfully scripted, and it's so wooden as well. Clarkson says something outrageous, Hammond points it out, audience laughs. Clarkson shows a car, May makes an old-person comment, audience laughs. It's lacking a soul and feels too robotic for my liking. It's weird though, because technically speaking they aren't doing anything different from TG, but the 'feel' is just completely off.

The VTs are similar in their problems. Once again, I'm aware that a lot of them in TG were scripted to some extent, but you get the sense that when things go wrong, it provokes genuine reaction and laughter from the presenters. The same, however, cannot really be said for the Grand Tour. In episode 3, for example, James goes on about this twitch he gets from Hammond's car. Are we meant to believe that? You could pass it off as a comedic gag, but then you get parts where Clarkson tries to drill it in to the audience by saying things like "No, really, it's genuinely true."

It may still be scripted, but Top Gear did a better job of hiding it

It sounds like I have a complete downer on the GT, but I don't. I'm still highly entertained by it every week, and I'm also well aware we're not even halfway through the first series yet, so I will give it time to get into its stride. But if TG was an 8/10, the GT is perhaps a 6/10 for me. Grand Tour producers, please:

• Ditch the American
• Lower audience interaction
• Ditch the stupid celebrity death gag
• Loosen up the script, at least in the VTs
• But keep up the amazing cinematography

Despite all the efforts with the merging, the brand revamps, and the heavy advertisement budget, it's no secret that the Dixons branch Currys PC World doesn't exactly rank too high in the world of retail customer satisfaction. It's silly, really; customer satisfaction is one of the easier things to mend in a retail environment, and you'd think the branch would do everything it can to try and compete with the ever-more dominant e-commerce force. As I found out first-hand recently though, it becomes all too clear that they're failing against the Internet for a reason. Allow me to share my experience.

It's September 2016, and I'm done with my iPad. Spoilt, maybe, but I found the iPad wasn't giving me enough power to do what I wanted with it. I couldn't use it like a more portable laptop, and that, after years of tablet use, is what I've discovered I want from a slate. The most obvious solution was the Microsoft Surface Pro 4: a full Windows machine in a tablet body. It was basically made for me.

Goodbye, Cupertino

The good thing about having an Apple device is that they retain their value really well, so long as you keep them in decent condition. My iPad was spotless, and as such I managed to claw back nearly 70% of the money I initially paid for it, despite it being damn near a year old with constant use. As a comparison, I'd get perhaps 50% of my money back now for my 5-month-old Samsung S7 Edge. Anyway, bottom line is that I had the sting taken out of the Surface's steep £1,000 asking price.

I chose to go to Currys PC World (despite knowing about the iffy service) because I'd rather not trust couriers with something so expensive, and it's nice to pay for something and receive it immediately. More important than all of that, though, the shop was running a promotion that made it cheaper than the rivals.

The general atmosphere of the store is nice and fairly inoffensive. Products are nicely on display, and allow customers to freely have a fiddle with most of their functions - that's something e-commerce will never be able to compete with. I had a play with the Surface, and sure enough it felt nice and premium: exactly what the countless online reviews I'd read were saying. I was sold before I had even set a foot into the store, but physically playing with the device gives you a bit more security. And confirmation bias, obviously.

It took a while before any member of staff noticed me, but I'm not slating them for that. I wasn't exactly calling out for them, because I'm socially inept. The guy was nice enough, and I asked for the precise model I wanted. Sure enough, about 2 minutes later, he emerged from 'the back' with a brand new shiny Surface Box. This is where things started to go a bit downhill.

The guy led me to a computer screen, and took down my details, including my address and email. Seems a bit unnecessary, but in my case it allowed them to send an 'e-receipt', which I thought was a good idea (I'm always losing paper receipts when I need them), and a gift voucher as part of the promotion. He then moved on to selling a warranty service for my tablet, which was about £100 a year. Nothing wrong with that, but I politely declined. I thought that would be the end of it, but oh how wrong I was.

Under Pressure

What followed was some insanely persistent guilt tripping from the customer assistant. He was making me feel guilty, like I was making a really bad choice, and developed a fairly hostile tone to his voice. I can only assume the employees have a target of this warranty thing they have to sell in a certain period of time, but if anyone else is like me, then it rubs the customer in completely the wrong way. I left the store feeling dissatisfied, and relieved I was finally away from the near-on begging for the extra sales.

Which takes me back to my original point. Currys PC World are not particularly a huge success story right now, and with the current practices they're employing at the moment, they're essentially shooting themselves in the foot. It would be so easy to change the tone of the sales people, but they clearly prioritise revenue over satisfaction, which is an awful long-term strategy. Part of the reason why Amazon are so successful (besides the sheer ease of buying something) is that they're on the customer's side. If something's faulty, you get a refund with no strings attached. Try that with Currys PC World, and expect a fight to get your money back. They only give refunds if you haven't opened the box.

If the Dixons carry on as they are, I can't see there really being a place for them in the near future.

As I was saying in my previous post, I had enough with my iPad Pro and its limited functionalities. All that power being throttled by the mobile OS that is iOS was like having a Ferrari on wooden wheels: you could never apply the power it had. I was willing to spend money for a change, and that's exactly what I did by purchasing the Surface Pro 4.

Man, talk about first world problems. How privileged do you have to be to determine that the iPad Pro - the range topping big daddy of the iPad world - isn't quite good enough for you? Although I must disclaim that I do purchase (read: waste my money on) my own devices, so don't write me off as a 'Daddy's money' kind of guy just yet.

$$$$$

Anyway, now that I've cleared my name somewhat, we'll get back to the topic in question. I am currently the semi-happy owner of an iPad Pro, and have been since the first day it ever came out. No, I didn't quite go to the extent of queuing outside an Apple store, but I was sure to order online as quickly as I could. My iPad 3rd gen from 2012 was desperately slow, so I was eager to replace it. I had a bit of money knocking around, so why not treat myself to a powerhouse?

The Pro arrived the day after I ordered it, and Jesus, it's huge in every aspect besides depth. The screen was beautiful, the speakers were meaty, and the internal chipsets were strong and handled anything I threw at them without breaking a sweat. So why, as the title suggests, would I want to ditch it after 10 short months?

All that power... and this is about as taxing as things get

Well, let me tell you. It's all well and good having one of the fastest mobile chipsets and graphics that put a vast majority of laptops to shame, but what's the point of having all that power when you can't utilise it? The Pro, as you likely know, runs iOS. It's a fantastically polished interface that follows Apple's "it just works" slogan nicely. But to keep things so clean and simple, the interface by nature is very closed off. No tinkering here.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about iOS on a powerful device is how it forces you to use mobile applications. Sure, these apps have been changed to suit the bigger screen, but at the end of the day, these are still apps which are designed to run on 512mb of RAM and 1GHz dual core processors. The Pro never heats up because the hardware is never challenged enough. As a result from all this, even though I knew I had a serious piece of kit in my hands, all I did on my iPad was browse the web and watch YouTube.

Over time I found myself getting more and more frustrated by how locked I was. I paid a pretty penny for this cutting-edge hardware, and I really wanted to use it. This is what has ultimately led me to ditch my iPad Pro in favour for a Surface Pro 4.

I've never done such a thing before. When I acquire a pricey new gadget, I always hold on to it for at least a solid year before moving on. Hell, my previous iPad gave me 3 and a half years of service before I gave in. The Pro is not deformed, and it still feels as quick as the day I got it - letting go of it now feels wrong, somehow. But I know selling on eBay will yield me a decent return, because the Pro is still the latest model, and thankfully I haven't given it a single scratch yet on its beautifully delicate aluminium back. So it's not quite money down the drain. But still... weird.

I'm nervous as hell, but this is the functionality I've always wanted

So why the Surface Pro 4? Well, it offers similar power to the iPad Pro, but because it runs Windows 10, I can utilise that power properly. Think full Adobe suite, and even some PC games, if I become that desperate.

There's no denying I'm a bit nervous about the purchase. The experience will be less polished than the iPad, and it costs an even prettier penny than the Pro ever did (we're talking several hundred more pounds here), but I think it'll be worth it. All I will say though is this: thank god for return periods. I won't sell my iPad until I'm happy and settled with the Surface.

It would now just be sod's law that I acquire the Surface, sell the iPad, and then Apple announces
the iPad Pro to run Mac OS X... goddamn.