A Guide To... Egypt

There are many guides, all over the Internet about what you should take, how you should act and horror stories about the food, people and illnesses. After spending two gloriously hot weeks in Egypt earlier this year I thought I would give a first hand account of what to look out for and take with you.

Before You Leave:

- Inoculations. If you are staying in Sharm El Sheik there is no need for malaria jabs as there is only one, tiny section in the middle of Egypt across the Nile that is a hot spot for malaria. Just make sure you take repellent spray and try to have it included in your sun lotion too. Everyone needs to have Hepatitis A and B and Typhoid. Most people that have already been abroad will only need a booster of Hepatitis A or B or not need them at all. There is no cure for Rabies so don't touch any animals whilst your out there.

-Hotels. I stayed in The Sierra Hotel which is an English 4/5 star Hotel. In Egypt there ratings are about 1 or 2 stars less than our rating. Which means that if a hotel is rated 3 stars in Egypt it is about a 1 star in an English equivalent. I definitely recommend going all inclusive as there aren't many places to buy food in Sharm, just make sure you go for a high star hotel.

Whilst You're Out There:

-Food. I was warned not to eat ice cream, don't have ice in my drinks, don't have fruit or salad that hasn't been washed etc but after three days I did all of those things and felt fine. No matter what you eat or drink in Egypt you will have a jippy stomach. Everyone will go through it and it should last more than a day. True you wont have too good a day but you can still lie by the pool, just make sure you're close to a bathroom or your room. Also there is a miracle pill that I swore by. Its a little yellow packet that will cost you 5 Egyptian Pounds. Of course this will be after haggling as it can be as much as 80 or 90 Egyptian Pounds which is about 15 English Pounds.

-Haggling. I tried this once. I haggled a bottle of sand down to 300 LE from 1500LE. I thought I had done extremely well. That was until I walked away and realised that I had just spent £40 on a tiny bottle of sand. If you're going to haggle make sure you know the exchange rate and what is a fair price of what you are going to buy. Always think about your purchase before you go ahead and enter into a haggling war.

-Natives. They're all very friendly, some a tad over friendly. They will all try and shake your hand, give you a hug. Maybe even a kiss or two but just be careful. When we went to Naama Bay we were frequently being hassled and shouted at to come in to shops, to stop and talk and this left me with an angry feeling, of which meant we never went back to Naama Bay but I'm told that if you go in groups you should be fine.

-Trips. We did a few trips whilst out there and I recommend them all. The Ultimate Desert Experience was amazing. Quad biking through the desert, camel riding as the sun went down and then a Bedouin dinner before returning to base in the dark, in the desert on our quad bikes. There was also Cairo. You can travel there by coach or by plane. We went by plane and by 5pm we were shattered with all the travelling which was nothing compared to the people that went by coach. We visited The Citadel, The Pyramids of Giza, The Sphinx, The Egyptian Museum and T.G.I. Fridays. The Museum was amazing, holding Tutankhamen and many other spectacular, historical pieces of Egyptian History. You're tour guide will be with you from the minute you arrive in Cairo until the minute you leave at the airport. Ours was called Wally and snaps to him for making the day memorable, funny and informational.

Overall, an amazing holiday, an amazing country and amazing people. I will definitely be going again and I recommend to everyone that you should see the Pyramids at least once in your life.

A Guide To ... New York, New York!

Whether you know the State as: "The Big Apple," "The City," "Gotham" or "The Media City," everybody knows of the place and has seen its many defining features a thousand times or more. The City is home to over 8.4 million people of many different backgrounds from all over the world, and walking the streets this is very apparent. Whether you're in Manhattan, The Bronx or Queens you still have the warm fuzzy feeling that you are in the City where everything happens at any time of the day. The City that literally never sleeps, being able to get an Oreo cheesecake at three in the morning and a cab at four. Being able to walk the streets at any point of the day or night and never being alone. This is the feeling of living in the Empire State that the Business, Fashion and Media world revolves around.

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be able to visit Gotham and walk the skyscraper lined streets that hummed with; sights, smells and noise for every minute of the day and night. A City that I had only ever been able to watch in soap operas and films was now lying beneath my feet. Recognising buildings and streets from my favourite programs. The Russian Tea Room from Gossip Girl and Central Park from Sex and the City. Of course there were many sights that had to be seen before I returned to simple Southampton, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The Chrysler Building, Central Park, Fifth Avenue and of course hailing a ride or two in a yellow cab.

The sounds of the City never stopped, after 24 hours the sounds became normal and faded into the background. The sirens ringing down the streets and the smells of the underground through the steam grates started to become known as home. As I walked the streets back to my hotel, The Wellington, Times Square started to become the mile stone of us nearly being back in our hotel room. Times Square felt like home, walking through it, knowing the shops, the streets and the vendors on the corner made me feel like a true New Yorker. Storming down the streets as if I knew exactly where I was and where I was going melted me in to the crowd and fade past as an American, not an English tourist.

Knowing that every building, street and park was steeped in history made me want to know more and gather as much information and pictures as I possibly could. I wanted to document every minute of the day so as not to forget how amazing the City is. Also to make sure that this wasn't a dream, that I had actually lived in New York, if only for four days. I am sure to return and would love to live there one day. To work in the skyscrapers and live in a tiny, dingy, smelly six foot square apartment for at least six months. Just to say that I once lived in the City that never sleeps, and that nowehere else I know will ever be as amazing as that one State in America.

William Randolph Hearst

The film Citizen Kane was loosely based on him. It's not that bad a film so i would definitely suggest watching it. I thought I'd bullet point some things about Mr Hearst for future reference.

• He was born to a millionaire mining engineer on April 29th 1863.
• He went to Harvard College but later left after giving pots to his Lecturers with their names inscribed.
• He entered the publishing business in 1887 after taking control from his father of The San Francisco Examiner.
• After his move to New York he acquired The New York Journal and started direct competition with Joseph Pulitzer who ran The New York World.
• Hearst created a chain of nearly 30 newspapers in major American cities. At his peak he expanded to magazines - creating the largest magazine and newspaper business in the World.
• He created magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Harpers Bazaar and Town and Country. Many of which are still around today which proves his powers in the Journalism business.
• He was twice elected as democrat to the US house of Representatives but ran unsuccessfully of Mayor of New York City in 1905 and 1909, for Governor of New York in 1906 and for Lieutenant Governor in 1910.
• He was a prominent leader of the Liberal wing of the Democratic party from 1896 to 1935 although he became more Conservative later in life.
• His life became an inspiration for the lead character in Orson Welles's Citizen Kane.
• He was a self proclaimed Populist.
• Hearst made the Holocaust big news whilst others played it down and said - "making the flag of National Socialism a symbol of National Savagery"- Kristallnacht.
• He married Millicent Veronica Willson whose Mother ran a Brothel. She was a 21 year old chorus girl and bore him 5 sons.
• One son went on to win the Pulitzer prize for Journalism.
• He had an open affair with Marion Davies, he left his wife but they never divorced.
• Hearst - "routinely invented sensational stories, faked interviews, ran phony pictures and distorted real events" - this became known as 'Yellow Journalism'.

For another view of Mr Hearst, Citizen Kane is on You tube.

Councillor Observation

Councillor Jeremy Moulton sits in his office, of which he shares with three other councillors, and collects his new emails and information for a meeting he is to attend in twenty minutes. The room has a wall full of windows letting in the morning light and slowly heating up the room from the new April warmth.

Councillor Moulton wears a light pink shirt with blue stripes and a blue tie with pink squares, all topped off with a blue jumper. A combination that seems to work with his grey slacks and black leather shoes. He stands at about five foot six inches and has sandy blonde hair.

He talks about his aims and goals and the elections he is standing in. He is up for re-election as Councillor of Finance and is also standing in the General Election as the Conservative Candidate for Southampton Test. This is a large area of Southampton that covers: Coxford, Redbridge, Millbrook, Shirley, Portswood, Freemantle and Bevois. If he wins the General Election, his plan is to stand down as Councillor of Finance after a year and put all of his attention in to being the MP of Southampton Test.

At 8.48 Councillor Moulton heads out of the Southampton Council Offices to his Ford Mustang GT, in grey. He sits on the left to drive the rear-wheeled, left drive automatic and reads his emails whilst he drives to the meeting in some sheltered accommodation in Freemantle. He parks opposite the Freemantle Church and strides towards the sheltered accommodation. On the way he comments about the meeting and his stand point on it. The meeting is for Sycamore Lodge, a sheltered housing accommodation for older people. This is the alternative to a retirement home but makes them feel safer than living on their own. The sheltered accommodation has its own warden which helps the older people when they need it and also makes them all become more social by setting up games and conversations for them all to join in with. Jake is Sycamore Lodge’s warden and he lives with them, meaning that the older people are always safe, twenty-four hours of the day. The meeting has been set up by the action group that live at Sycamore Lodge and other sheltered homes around the area. They are meeting in order to protest against the removal of Jake, their warden, in favour of a warden that is on call for all the sheltered homes in the area; but does not live in any of them. Councillor Moulton’s stand point is that he wants to give the residents whatever they want. He said that if the residents want a full time, live in, warden he shall make it so that they do.

Councillor Moulton rings the doorbell to be greeted by Jake, a stocky man with wispy grey hair, a chequered top and stone washed jeans. They walk in to the communal room which is set up with about twenty chairs in a circle. Councillor Moulton is the first to arrive at five minutes to nine. “We’re the first one’s here?” he asks Jake, the warden. Jake said that he was two hours early as the meeting doesn’t start until eleven. After some more banter he finds out the Councillor Alan Whitehead will be attending the meeting, the Labour MP of Southampton Test and Councillor Moulton’s opponent.

With two hours to fill, Moulton proceeds back to his car and opens the boot to find a loot of fliers, leaflets, posters, car stickers of Conservative propaganda with Councillor Jeremy Moulton’s picture on, and including a magazine all about Councillor Moulton and his career and beliefs. The leaflets are traditional blue and green Conservative colours with the areas of his proposed Constituency. It also features Moulton posing in front of the Bargate in Southampton with yet another blue and pink ensemble. This includes Moulton’s contact details and the slogan, ‘The only local alternative to Labour’.

After dropping leaflets in the near by neighbourhood for two hours, Councillor Moulton proceeds back to the meeting and instead of just being a Councillor overlooking the meeting, as he thought he would be doing, he was the one answering all of the action group’s questions and trying to sort the problem out by himself. He stood his ground and the residents of the home ended with agreeing with everything he said and talking to him about the General Election. They said about how their age group was the group that were the ones voting and that it was time to become Conservative.

The meeting ended at 12.30, just enough time for Councillor Moulton to meet up with his girlfriend and campaigning group at The Bush Inn, a pub on Wimpson Lane. The pub was empty, apart from an alcove of well dressed men, and two ladies eating a platter of sandwiches and Indian seafood. The drinks were put on the tab and the food was guzzled down.

After twenty minutes of eating and campaigning tactics Councillor Moulton hopped back in to his Mustang and showed the way to the biggest Mosque in Southampton to his friend, Steven Hammond, Shadow Minister for Transport. After reaching Derby Road and finding a place to park, (which needed a permit) they started to talk tactics again. The plan was to wait outside the Mosque and hand out leaflets until the entire building was empty of people. The Mosque held over 1,200 people and was an old school that had been made in to Abu Bakr Masjid on Argyle Road. Moulton, Hammond and Royston Smith waited outside. Royston Smith was the Conservative Candidate for Southampton Itchen and was showing his support to Councillor Moulton as well.

The three candidates stood outside handing out about five hundred leaflets, of which about one hundred and fifty were left. After the road and Mosque were cleared the Conservatives were invited inside for some rice and meat. The head of the Mosque, Zahir Ahmed welcomed everyone with food and conversation about the up-coming election and his and his friend’s opinion on who they were voting for, the Conservatives.

This marked the end of the day as Councillor Moulton returned to his Mustang, and drove back to Southampton Council Offices after a successful day of Campaigning.

I Love Louboutin

The sole man, Christian Louboutin has created an all new barbie, and she's a red head! My favourite shoe designer has been in collaboration with the Barbie people to create his own collection of the dolls. The newest, Anemone Barbie comes with four pairs of Louboutin shoes and her own couture gown ready for the Cannes Film Festival, 12-23rd May. Even the bows on the back of the gown and a pair of classic Louboutins is tied by Louboutins personal bow maker!

Other Barbies he has already created include the Dolly Forever Barbie taking cues from this years spring/summer collections of military inspired looks. These include a khaki tunic dress and fringed fuchsia boots. All tied up with some retro pink sunglasses and three other Louboutin red sole shoes.

This Barbie has everything I want, and the body to go with it. However Louboutin had something that needed changing if he was going to put his shoes in to Barbies lifestyle. It was her legs, they had to be made thinner, to give her a rounder ankle and allowing the shoes to look as perfect as they could. In a recent interview he said, "It's not like she is going to suffer for it".

I love Louboutins, saving for my favourite Christian Louboutin black crepe satin peep-toe pumps may take a while, priced at £389 but I look forward to my first walk in those sexy red sole heels.

Council Bug

I feel have caught a political bug of some form since my day campaigning with Councillor Jeremy Moulton et.al. I attended a meeting today for pensioners. I will not be classed as one of these for another forty years. I don't have to worry about anything to do with pensions for the next thirty years and yet I still attended, and loved it. At the front was a man named Robbie of which Cara had campaigned with, Alan Whitehead, now campaigning to be re-elected as the Labour MP of Southampton Test and another MP which was about to become candidate for Southampton North and Romsey, again Labour.

The room was filled with people no younger than 45. I felt very young, a little odd and wondered why I was there. After listening about why these pensioners should vote for the Labour candidates and what they wanted to do for the pensioners I felt that there were many questions. Thankfully there would be a question time at the end of the speeches. The most hilarious part of the meeting was when Emma, the oldest member at 94 decided to put the Labour MP's on the spot and tell them what she really thought of them. At the end of her speech there were many claps and whoops. As the meeting progressed I found that I had a few questions and decided to have my say. I was handed the microphone, and after the hall of pensioners finished shouting at me about how to use a microphone I finally proceeded with my question. Of which, I do not think Alan Whitehead liked, he kept repeating, "that is an open ended question". I couldn't understand this but was glad my question was liked by the pensioners and follow on questions were added to back mine up.

I felt like a real journalist. It was a great practice for press meetings and I'm proud that I had the confidence to speak up and ask my question. It was valued and I look forward to the next meeting.

Observing Councillor Jeremy Moulton Campaigning

When we were first set this assignment, my first thought was 'No, I don't have a clue about politics, when is the election again'? However after giving it some thought, and choosing my outfit I thought of a film I had watched recently, and loved, 'Definitely, Maybe', a chick flick about Will Hayes, (Ryan Reynolds) a political consultant explaining to his daughter how he met her mother. At first I thought observing a councillor campaign for a day would be very much like I'd seen in the movie. A hot-shot with a big posse all thinking that they're slogans and policies are the ones to produce a bigger and better country and losing was not an option.

After sending many emails out to every Southampton and Totton Councillor I could find I started becoming a little disheartened. Every reply was that they were either too busy, didn't want someone following them around or the only campaigning they were going to be doing was dropping leaflets. Something I thought would never fill a thousand word essay. My illusion of watching high powered figures for a day started to fade.

That was until my reply from Councillor Jeremy Moulton. Councillor of finance in Southampton. Conservative. Up for the General Election in Southampton Test and up for re-election of Councillor. His plan, if he becomes MP of Southampton Test is to give up his role as Councillor after a year. He proposed a day of canvassing, a political-ish meeting of people in a sheltered home and leaflet dropping outside the biggest Mosque in Southampton. My illusions of politics re-appeared and I grabbed at the chance to campaign for a day with Councillor Moulton.

I had interviewed Councillor Moulton one time before about the fluoride debate in Hampshire. This made it easier as I knew who I was waiting for and what they looked like. The first big decision of the day, heels or not? I wanted to look professional, positive and as if I was meant to be campaigning - my visionary - Elle Woods. However, I didn't want to become crippled after an hour from my feet hurting with blisters. I didn't know what the day held so I decided to put on the flats and keep the heels in the car.

I didn't start the day as well as I could have. When asked about politics I proceeded to talk about Cosmopolitan and an article they had done last month. It included a profile and interview with Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Gordon Brown. Not knowing Councillor Moulton was Conservative, (must research in future, lesson learnt) I proceeded to talk about how unsure I was about Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg but how sure I was about not liking David Cameron. My judgement had came from what I had read in the interview and how he came across, not about the party or the policies, so it could have been worse. Happy with my talk about politics and showing to myself that I can hold a conversation about it, we proceeded to Councillor Moultons Ford Mustang GT. Pretty impressive I thought, until I saw the back seat lined with posters in Conservative blue. Well done Domonique.

The rest of the day went without a glitch. We delivered leaflets where I found out how strong opinions were about the election and the different political parties. I hadn't realised before how strong people actually felt about it and how opposed they were to the Labour party. I'm sitting on the fence about my own opinion and who I am going to vote for is still a question but the public seem to be confident who they are going to be voting for.

The meeting at the shelter home went well. Councillor Moultons opposition sat across from us, slouched in his seat with his researcher. Alan Whitehead. Current Labour MP for Southampton Test.

We then went to a local pub where I met some of his colleagues and girlfriend. All of whom were very nice, accommodating and very professional. This was the part where I felt I was part of the campaigning crew, adding drinks to tabs was definitely new.

We then went on to Southampton's largest Mosque. An old school that had been bought and made in to a Mosque. This was very different for me. I do not go to Church, my family and friends aren't religious and so it was a very different experience for me, I wasn't quite sure of what to do or not to do. We met up with the Shadow Minister for transport, Steven Hammond; who came down to help Councillor Moulton campaign and Councillor Royston Smith who is up for election for Southampton Itchen. For about twenty minutes I saw people fill in to the old school for prayers. All delighted to see us stood outside, arms cradling hundreds of fliers.

As the prayers finished, including one for the two firemen that had been killed in the tower block blaze. Hundreds of men filed out taking the fliers, greeting us like friends and talking animatedly about the party, the election and how it was now time for change. Again this showed me how people wanted change, they wanted Labour out and the Conservatives in. The same points were made time after time. A vote for the Liberal Democrats is wasted so if you don't want Labour vote Conservative. One man said that his whole street is voting Conservative. Another that he personally knew 1000 people who were voting Tory.

I ended the day with a sun tan, a blister, finding out a little more about politics and some different thoughts about Conservatives. I've decided to start paying attention to the election pages in the papers, listening to the news when they start to talk about politics and actually taking note of the different policies the parties have. If I'm going to be voting I need all the details. And I can safely say I will be voting for the party whose policies I agree with, whether or not they have a chance in hell of winning.

So Good Luck to everyone from Labour to the Green Party and from the Conservatives to the Monster Raving Loony Party.

You can learn more about Councillor Jeremy Moulton on his blog, http://www.jeremymoulton.blogspot.com/