Claudia Birchenough

In addition to the efforts of Marcus Rashford to stop disadvantaged children from going hungry, he has now teamed up with publisher Macmillan and the children’s food charity Magic Breakfast to help get children reading again. Macmillan will donate 50,000 books which will be distributed amongst more than 850 primary schools across England and Scotland. The campaign aims to get children excited about reading and reading for their own enjoyment when they don’t have access to books at home.

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The lockdowns of 2020 left the UK population with a lot of time on our hands, which led to many of us reverting to old hobbies. As we all looked for an escape from our monotonous daily routines, we turned to fiction to transport us to a different place. A recent report from the Publishers Association has shown that there has been a significant increase in fiction and audiobook sales, with sales up 16%, in spite of the bookshop closures. Audio book sales were up 37%.

The best selling titles incl

In our efforts to help stop the spread of COVID-19, we have all become accustomed to wearing masks in public spaces. Working in a customer facing role, I wear a mask for about 6 to 9 hours a day and, as this is still a relatively new law, I have noticed that my skin is struggling to adapt. I am lucky in the fact that I have never had major issues with my skin in the past, however since masks became mandatory I have noticed some considerable differences in the severity and consistency of my break

We are the first generation to know that our planet is in danger and we are the last generation that can do anything about it. The idea of becoming more eco-friendly can sometimes be quite daunting because it is hard to know where to start or what aspect of our lives need changing. So, I have put together a few easy changes you can make to your beauty routine that the planet will thank you for.

Using bar soaps instead of liquid soaps in plastic bottles is one of the best ways to reduce your was

La Semana Santa is an Easter celebration like no other! There is still a strong presence of Christianity in Spain, so the Holy Week is greatly celebrated all over the country and thousands of people take part in processions in many cities throughout Spain. Whilst studying Spanish at A-level, this specific festival was very interesting to me as it is so different to the way we celebrate Easter in the UK. When I think of Easter, I think of the Easter Bunny, Easter egg hunts and getting together wi

Purity culture is an idea that stems from religious teaching that a woman should remain a virgin until after marriage. It discourages the idea of dating, encourages women to appear innocent (have complete ignorance about anything to do with sex), promotes female submission to men, and pressures women into ‘modesty’. These teachings are still prevalent in many societies today and are very damaging to the way society views female sexual liberation.

An example that comes to my mind when I think ab

A few days ago, the Prime Minister announced the government’s plan to ease lockdown restrictions across the UK. This plan informed the public that if all goes accordingly, we will return to our ‘normal’ lives by the 21st of June; this includes foreign travel, the reopening of nightclubs, festivals and the return to football stadiums. Everyone across the country has been rejoicing in this announcement and has been the most talked about thing on social media since.

Some companies have taken this