Author: Luke Dobson

Religions all throughout history have had doomsday scenarios; prophecies and ideas about when, and how, the world would end. Isaac Newton, ever the polymath, even had his own prediction. Based upon his own readings of biblical events, he said that it would come to an end in 2060. My personal favourite is Ragnarok, mainly because it sounds like the ‘plot’ of a Michael Bay film. So what are the prophecies? What do they say will occur during the apocalypse? Here are three examples of religious views on the matter. Christianity The Book of Revelations is the grand finale of the…

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Due to rough seas a cargo ship, with its seven crew members, ran aground near Colwyn Bay on the evening of 4th April. Whilst traversing the waters at Llanddulas, the ship collided with a rock on the breakwater, causing it to run aground broadside on the coast. The first thing the emergency services needed to do was save the crew from the stricken boat. They worked tirelessly from two lifeboats and a helicopter, combating the awful weather conditions of gale-like winds and pitching waves. Five of the crew were rescued before midnight but the two remaining members had to stay…

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As I’m sat here eating a packet of Space Raiders, for the first time in ages, I’ve decided something: the 90s were, when all is said and done, a particularly peculiar decade. With this review I’m going to take a look back at some of events that I think shaped the final ten years of the 20th Century; from the toys that defined our childhood to the pop culture that brought about a new age of music and TV. Bursting with colour, mainly vibrant, those years were, for many of us, as formative as reading a Roald Dahl book. For…

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Why do children love horror so much? We shouldn’t really be surprised that they do though; think about the fairy tales they are brought up on. Dark tales of death and destruction all spun in a way that makes them seem palatable for young ears but actually aren’t, yet they love them. Maybe this is why Goosebumps, by the American author R.L. Stine, has already started to become exceedingly popular. The first two books to be released in the series have gone down a storm with young readers everywhere, and the next book is being eagerly awaited. Stine’s style for…

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We can’t really talk about the 90’s without mentioning the classic book from the decade: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone;  the one that started it all, way back in 1997. I remember being read this by my Year 4 teacher; near the end of every day she would sit us all down and read us a bit from this wonderful book she’d bought. We were all enthralled or, at least, I was. When we got to the end of term she hadn’t finished reading it to us and, with the long summer holiday stretching before me, I HAD to…

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Elsewhere in this paper there is an article about the ineffable growth of eBook readers such as the Kindle. Over the last year these devices have gone from expensive toys to affordable tools available for the majority of people; with the release of even cheaper models there is sure to be increased sales for those buying them for Christmas presents. I have to be honest with you here: I do not like the concept of eBooks; the idea offends my bookwormish sensibilities. This is a very traditionalistic point of view but, when it comes to books, I’ve always been snobby.…

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Last week saw James Murdoch resign from the executive boards which run The Sun and The Times. Mr Murdoch, son and heir apparent of the media mogul Rupert, had played an integral role in defending his father’s company in over the past couple of months. It has become clear, however, that James was as embroiled in the scandal as any other player; thus this would appear to be a pre-emptive action ahead of calls for his resignation from the company as a whole. The scandal, which has now achieved levels of infamy, seems to be spreading further into News International…

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