Arsenal become the most successful club in FA Cup history as they retain the title for a record breaking 12th time, further earning manger Arsene Wenger an equally-record breaking sixth triumph, over taking George Ramsay who held the record with Villa between 1887-1920.
The Gunners dominated throughout the match in a magnificent display of football skill, taking the lead 5 minutes before half time by a Theo Walcott goal. Sanchez followed with an undeniably brilliant 25 yard thunderbolt, arguably a FA cup finest. Mertesacker, left unmarked, head a third goal and Villa were dragged through the mud when Giroud completed the harrowing of Tim Sherwoods's side moments from the final whistle, Villa handing Arsenal the title in a 4-0 defeat.
Yet, what is next for the club? After finishing 3rd in the Premier League, 12 points behind champions Chelsea, many question whether next season may be on of more silver wear for Arsenal. Striker Theo Wallcott believes that the Premier League is the Gunners next target, "That's two FA Cup wins now but this is one of the best squads we have had at Arsenal so we should be achieving more. We need to start well in the Premier League next year."
Next season will be an interesting on, with three big names all fighting for that title, no one can seem to call what will happen. However, after a record breaking win in the FA cup for Arsenal, spirits will be high for the season 2015/16 for the developing club.
Not forgetting that the Woman's World Cup held in Vancover starts on the 6th June. England remains hopeful of a possible win, yet a warm up knock down 1-0 defeat against the hosting side Canda may prove to the ladies that this will not be an easy ride. Still hopes are high for the strong England side, good Luck to the lionesses!
Though I try to keep these posts fairly unbiased, it is almost impossible for any article of any type to be completely unopinionated. This may show in this post more than others, so this is a heads up for that.
Gun control is a widely discussed topic across the board of many countries. Guns are the easiest, quickest, and most efficient killing machines, and have caused the death of millions. Though the person pulling the trigger is responsible rather than the gun itself, guns certainly make killing easier and more accessible.
Usually for these articles, I find images to make the post isn’t just a boring block of text. Typing ‘gun control’ into Google Images was a surprising adventure though, as 70% of the pictures were against gun control. These are the first two pictures relative to gun control:
However, changing ‘gun control’ to ‘gun control statistics’ shows a different story. These are the first two pictures relative to gun control:
So what does this tell us? The facts and propaganda are clearly separate, so who is right? Well, that’s up to personal opinion.
One of the places gun control is discussed the most, is the USA, as you can see above, that’s where the propaganda and statistics are based. America’s second amendment protects ‘the right to keep and bear arms’, essentially meaning they are allowed to have a firearm if they wish. This is one of the main arguments against gun control, as it would be deriving from tradition and a breach of rights.
However these amendments (the main 10) were created in in 1789, and ratification was completed in 1791. Since then times have changed, and guns have become more efficient, accessible, and overall deadlier.
Lets look at the statistics.
Firstly, let's compare statistics between countries. The two articles I chose to cross reference the data between gun control and deaths by firearm were very extensive over 49 countries. In the interest of not having to wade through mountains of data, I have chosen just 8. South Africa, Canada, Mexico, United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia and Sweden. (Please note that these locations were unbiased choices.)
From this, we see that countries with the stricter gun control laws have less gun violence. The United Kingdom has the least gun violence, and is the only country on the list to have an outright ban of most firearms. This is a clear correlation, and makes us wonder why other countries don’t have a similar gun control laws in place.
Here’s why.
In 1976, the Washington, D.C. City Council passed a law generally prohibiting residents from possessing handguns and requiring that all firearms in private homes be 1. kept unloaded and 2. rendered temporarily inoperable via disassembly or installation of a trigger lock. The law became operative on Sept. 24, 1976.
During this time, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11% lower. The spike in death rates caused the law to be struck down in June 26 2008 by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling as the law was unconstitutional.
There was a similar case in Chicago in 1982, as the city instituted a ban on handguns. This ban barred civilians from possessing handguns except for those registered with the city government prior to enactment of the law. The law also specified that such handguns had to be re-registered every two years or owners would forfeit their right to possess them.
Since the outset of the Chicago handgun ban, the percentage of Chicago murders committed with handguns averaged about 40% higher than it was before the law took effect. In 2005, 96% of the firearm murder victims in Chicago were killed with handguns.
In June 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that Chicago's ban was unconstitutional, and it was repealed.
This is evidence against the effectiveness of gun control in the United States, and contradicts evidence of successful gun control in other countries.
Why?
There are many possible factors of this, perhaps due to the culture, media differences, individuals, politics, religions, or the fact that there is no limitations on travel between states, and that people with guns from other states could have easily spied Chicago and DC as easy targets during these times. The point of gun control is to restrict criminal activity with guns, not to restrict the protections of victims. Due to the lack of state border control, these bans did not reduce the criminal activity, just the citizen activity, and therefore they did not work. That’s why gun control in countries work, as they have strict border control.
It seems that without a consistent ruling across all the states in the USA, something that is practically impossible due to the individual rulings and governments of the states and the way their political systems work independently, gun control will be ineffective. However this doesn't mean it won't work in other cases, as the USA is not the only country to have problems with gun violence.
I also recommend watching this video, as it is an insight into teenagers views of gun control and the youth of America’s opinions about their country, something that is often overlooked.
Hello everyone! It is me Charlotte and now I have finished exams... I am back! For this weeks post I wanted to post about The Happy Hippie Foundation. For those of you who are unaware of what this is; it is a non profit organisation founded by Miley Cyrus. The organisation aims 'to rally young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBT youth and other vulnerable populations'. I really think it is a fabulous foundation which deserves a lot of recognition and Miley is certainly trying to get people involved. She has recently posted a number of amazing backyard sessions featuring some well known artists such as Ariana Grande in order to spread the message and help these people. This isn't the first thing Miley has done to help the community and I think it's nice for people to see that she has this loving side in her despite the controversial and craziness that comes with her. The backyard sessions show just how talented she really is and I think it has proven to many people how good how vocal range is. She has even involved rock legend Joan Jett who is most well known from the song 'I Love Rock n Roll' with a very catchy song called 'Different'.
It is a great organisation and it is nice to see someone with such a large following and a very public life doing such an amazing thing! If you would like to read any more about it then click here to head on over to the website and check out how you can get involved.
So now a few who have finished their exams, like myself, think its time to use this new freedom to do something productive. Lets get fit! Yes exercise does help with weight loss but that isn't what it is all about. It can be used to increase you emotional, mental and physical health which generally can make someone feel better within themselves. I've got a couple of tips that are actually important for your exercising needs. - Get a fitness friend Having someone join in on your exercise routines can help motivate and encourage you to test your limits. It can also make exercise more enjoyable and can include a social side to it. I go running occasionally with a large group of people and it makes me want to go running as I just enjoy going with those guys. Fitness friend is definitely someone to get. - Perfect playlist If your like me, music is essential to stop running from being boring. It can really help you get into the groove of running but make sure it isn't too loud if you are going road running, just so you can hear out for cars. People listen to all different types of music when they are running, for me it has to be lots of guitars and a good drum solo. Others may even listen to Beethoven's symphonies but again it is whatever floats your boat. - Water your new best friend Whether your are off to the gym, boot camp or any exercise it is so important to stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water during exercise helps to stay energized and make your workout the best it can be. So if you want to step up your fitness game this summer, you go for it. Remember don't go at hundred miles a hour, it is important to do what works for you. Take it a stage at a time and before to long you will the peak of fitness!
Though you may not believe it, yes this is a Life, Advice and Rants post! Exam season for me is finally over! Please spare a moment for my shrieks of glee and uncontrollable fist pumps. Anyway, now the main thing I have to look forward to now is Reading and Leeds Festival at the end of August. Festivals can be an amazing experience for everyone but I think most of us know its not only the music that entices the crowds every year. Not always being the safest place, its good to be prepared. Below are some tips and tricks to help you make it out of a festival with all intact. 1. Be careful of the dodgy stuff Look I get it, drugs are a big part to play in the festival scene. Its ignorant to believe people won't be on them, or try to sell them to you. Don't take substances from strangers, there can be anything in there. Some of the stuff isn't clean so take care if you use them. The same amount of care applies to alcohol as well. We all want to get merry but make sure you are hydrated with water as well because most of these festivals are going to be in hot weather. Dehydration isn't fun, trust me. 2. Leave valuable items at home A good rule for when you are attending a music festival: don't bring anything that you wouldn't want to have stolen. You might think its a great idea to bring along your fancy new camera to get some great shots but it is so likely it will be broken or stolen. Phones are relatively necessary but maybe not your beloved iPhone. There is mud, water, heat and rowdy crowds all ready to destroy it so probably best you leave it at home 3. Plan it out One of the most annoying things is missing a set you really wanted to see only because you didn't have your days planned out. The majority of the big festivals allow you to create your own schedule on their websites so you can save it and print it out. If the festival you are attending doesn't offer this then just simply make your own. Music festivals are amazing opportunities to see a wide variety of bands, meet fellow music lovers from all over and maybe even see the next big thing. So follow theses tips and tricks and hopefully you will have the best time possible!
So May is a busy month in the world of tours. Pop queen Taylor Swift kicked off her 1989 tour this week on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan and I am so incredibly jealous of everyone with a ticket. The tour doesn't hit the UK until June and until then fans will just have to get updated by Twitter. The set list is literally one of the most amazing things I have ever seen and I am just praying she releases some more dates in London. Currently she is just doing 1 show in London where she will be headlining in Hyde Park. Unfortunately it is now all sold out though which makes me v sad but is obviously a huge achievement for Tay Tay.
Pop- Rock band 5 Seconds Of Summer are also touring as off this week. Their 'Rock Out With Your Socks' tour is their very first proper headline tour and it all started in Lisbon, Portugal. The Aussie boys also treated the audience to a brand new song called 'Permanent Vacation'. The setlist for this tour is also amazing and thankfully I actually have tickets for it! I AM SO EXCITED. I also was lucky enough to watch 'The Vamps' perform at the o2 on Friday (which is why I was unable to post) and they were brilliant as usual. AND I actually had floor tickets for the first time ever; it was at the back but it still counts and it was fab. I was then back at the o2 2 days later on the Sunday to watch Olly Murs perform. (It's lucky I only live about an hour away from London haha.) He was so entertaining and Ella Eyre was a support act which was spectacular. Overall I had an amazing weekend last week and I can't wait to see 5sos perform in June!
Add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Make sure you put the yeast on a sepreate side of the bowel to stop the salt and yeast activating together.
Then add the melted butter (you can do this is a microwave) and the warmed milk.
Then add the 2 egg yolks and mix all together until it has formed a dough.
Now it is time to knead your dough, which if i'm honest, is basically a muscle workout which you will be doing for 15 minutes so enjoy!
You will want the dough to become elasticated and soft enough so that when you press a hole in it with your finger, it bounces back into its original shape.
Then, pop this dough into a bowl and cover it with cling film. It is ideal to then leave it to rise in a warm environment (i used my airing cupboard) for 3-4 hours. I know this sounds like a long rise but it will give you a really nice light and fluffy bread in the end!
-4 hours later-
Now you can get your dough out of the bowl and cut it into three sections.
Take one section and roll it out thin enough to fit a plate on it.
Then smother nutella in the area where the plate went.
Roll out the second ball of dough and then put this over the top the first layer
Put the plate on top again to mark where the nutella on the previous layer went and then cover that area with nutella.
Roll out the third ball and pop this over the second layer.
Put the plate on top however this time leave it on top and cut around the plate to remove excess dough that was not covered in nutella.
Now, place a cup in the center of the circle and push down slightly to make an indent in the dough.
Cut the dough into quarters but do not cut into the small circle you just made in the middle. Cut the quarters you just made in half and then half again so you end up with something looking like this.
Now, as seen in the picture, you need to take two pieces and twist them away from each other twice.
keep repeating this until you have twisted all sections.
Once you have done this, take the ends of each pair you twisted and join them together at the ends.
Use the egg whites that you saved from the used egg yolks to brush over and make the bread look shiny and then leave this to rise for another 20 minutes.
Once it has risen, cook in the oven for 15 minutes and then enjoooooooooooooooy. p.s it may seem like this takes forever to make but it's totally worth it;)
On the 2nd of May, Britian were glued to their TV sets as an over due Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to hospital in the early stages of labour. They didn't have to wait long as 8:34 GBT at St Mary's Hospital in London, and weighed 8lbs 3oz, a little princess was born. Fourth in line for the throne, just behind her brother Prince George, and is where she will remain regardless of whether any other brothers are born due to changes in the law made by Queen Elizabeth herself.
Prince George visited her new sister, clinging to his father the Duke as they entered the Lindo Wing, waving to adoring crowds briefly. Suprisingly, this is only the third time the prince has been in the public eye, since his christening and at last Aprils Australia Tour.
Celebratory crowds caught a glimps of the new princess, draped in white a little less than 10 hours after her birth, cradled by the stunning Kate Middleton. After a brief meeting with well wishers, the growing family went back into the hospital.
She is yet to be named but bookies favourites include Alice and Charlotte, other candidates are most fittingly Victoria, Elizabeth and Diana. For such a modern royal couple, I find it hard to believe they'll name her such old fashioned name but it is likely that Elizabeth and Diana to be found somewhere in the mix.
A royal baby is exciting as it is but a princess is something to celebrate since Princess Anne was born in 1950 was the last born princess. The UK celebrate and await the name of the little princess as London lit up pink.
