Syria: Humanity in Conflict

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8 February – 14 September 2014, WaterWay Gallery,  IWM North

Free Entry; Donations Welcome

 ‘The reason I do it is because first and foremost I am Syrian and I can’t stand to see my people suffer.’ Hamza, Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer, December 2011

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Photographs by an award winning Syrian photographer that reveal the impact of conflict on humanitarian volunteers in the country, are being unveiled at IWM North, part of Imperial War Museums, in Manchester.

 

The powerful images explore the experiences of Syrian civilians and humanitarian volunteers who place their lives on the line, almost three years since the outbreak of conflict in March 2011.

 

Created in association with the British Red Cross, this small, emotive display at v shows images by Syrian – Italian photographer Ibrahim Malla.

 

The free display features the comments of local volunteers for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), reflecting on their motivations to become a volunteer and the risks they take as they stay in Syria to respond to the current conflict and humanitarian crisis.

 

The British Red Cross and SARC are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world’s largest independent humanitarian network.

 

Malla is currently working in and around Syria for the International Federation of the Red Cross. This free display contains his most recent work. Malla has previously photographed many humanitarian crises. He has exhibited in Syria, Italy, Madrid, Paris, London, Geneva, Sydney, China, Germany and Scotland and won six international awards during his career.

 

SARC volunteers have been at the front line of the humanitarian response in Syria since fighting erupted. Many SARC staff and volunteers have been killed; many more have been injured, kidnapped or detained. Ambulances have been fired upon or in some cases stolen.

 

Across the country, thousands of SARC volunteers continue to provide essential assistance to those affected by the crisis.

 

SARC volunteers and staff are delivering a wide range of life-saving aid to almost 3 million people each month: food parcels, blankets, mattresses, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, first aid and ambulance services, fixed and mobile health clinics, psycho-social support services for children and their families, water and sanitation. They also support temporary shelters in schools, offices, and public buildings.

 

Visit www.iwm.org.uk for more information, follow @I_W_M #IWMNorth, or like facebook.com/iwm.north

 

Ibrahim Malla said: “My photos show the tragedy of the conflict with a message of hope – showing the hard job that the Red Cross and the Red Crescent volunteers are doing, always helping everybody in respect of our principle of neutrality. This is the message that I started to carry around the world, to let everybody know and see the bravery of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers. I feel this is my duty to honour my friends who sacrificed their life.”

 

Graham Boxer, Director of IWM North, said: ‘From images of aid distributions to the evacuation of 2,000 people from a besieged town in October 2013, Malla’s images portray the role, dedication and bravery of these volunteers in Syria today.’


Wow Women Launches The Woman Of The World Collection

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New contemporary designer brand Wow Women has announced the launch of their latest collection. A very cool and colourful range of t-shirts and vests.

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The Women of the World collection consists of ten original and eye-catching designs placed on t-shirts women would want to wear.

All the Wow Women designs are created and produced in the UK. Made using high quality materials, the t-shirts and vests are comfortable, made to last and to retain their shape. Each item is lovingly crafted with attention to each and every detail.

Every t-shirt and vest is finished with a special damask woven and hand sown Wow Women label tag in the neck and on the sleeve or hem.

There is the additional option of purchasing beautifully presented packaging in the Wow Women colours where the t-shirt or vest arrives in a gorgeous black and cerise box, folded professionally and within cerise tissue paper.

To celebrate the launch, the first 100 orders placed with Wow Women will automatically receive the gift box.

Both t-shirts and vests are available in white and black; and in sizes small to extra-large. All t-shirts retail at £29 and all vests retail at £27.99.

The Wow Women collection is available now and exclusively through the Wow Women online store.

Zac Posen Designs Affordable Wedding Dresses

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It’s time to get excited; New York designer Zac Posen has designed some beautiful yet affordable wedding dresses. Truly Zac Posen is exclusively for David’s Bridal, the US export that’s now big in the UK. Even better, it launches tomorrow (6th February).

“It’s a love note to a bride on her most beautiful day.” Zac said. They are all available in plus size.

The collection, called Truly Zac Posen, includes seven wedding gowns and ten special occasion gowns. Prices start at £725 and stretch to £1,295. Take a look and tell us what you think.

All images courtesy of David's Bridal.

All images courtesy of David’s Bridal.

All images courtesy of David's Bridal.

All images courtesy of David’s Bridal.

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Zac-Posen bridal david bridal

A Boombox Speaker For Your iPhone? Hell Yeah!

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Us Frosties love this: A speaker for mp3 players and phones that is a wireless boombox.

This is the new ultra-modern take on the classic Boombox! No more jack leads, power cables or heavy docking stations, as here is the must-have Wireless Touch Speaker BoomBox.

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There’s no need to plug in your phone or mp3 player to boost music anymore. This powerful gadget will amplify your sounds by simply touching it against your phone or mp3 player!

Sleek, lightweight and without wires it’s certain to be the first thing you take in your bag. It’s amazing battery lasts an a stunning 10+ hours before it will need charging again. Now if you can party for 10 hours we applaud you!

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The Wireless Touch Speaker BoomBox costs £24.95 from www.prezzybox.com.

Features:

Compatible with most smart phones and MP3 players with external speakers
Built-in rechargeable battery: charge via micro USB cable (included)
10 hours play time per recharge
Optional 3.5mm jack input (cable not included)
Speaker: 4 Ω/3W
Rating output: 100Hz-20KHz
Charging voltage: DC 5V
Battery Spec: 3.7V 850mAh lithium ion battery

Spring Clean Your Beauty Bag

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There’s nothing like a good spring clean, but it’s not just your house that may need a good clear out; how long have you had that blue eye shadow in your make-up bag? What about that body lotion lurking in your bathroom? A lot of people keep skincare and makeup way past their use by date but old products are a breeding ground for bacteria which you are then transferring to your skin.

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Follow Skincare Expert & Facial Therapist Amanda Elias’ DO’s and DON’Ts to ensure a clean beauty cabinet this Spring.

  • DO use a marker pen to note the date you’ve open the product. Most skincare products only have the months in which they should be discarded after use rather than an actual date. By noting the date you’ll know when to discard it if left unused.
  • DON’T keep make-up or skincare “for best” because there’s a good chance they’ll pass their expiry date before you use them. If you’ve splurged, reap the benefits by using your products regularly and while they’re at their optimum.
  • DO wash your hands or use the end of a spoon as a spatula before scooping product out of a jar to prevent the spread of bacteria.
  • DON’T use product which has separated, changed colour, changed in smell or has started to irritate your skin; take this as an indication to replace it.
  • DO follow the life expectancy of cosmetics;
  • Mascara – 3 months
  • Liquid foundation and concealer – 12-18 months.
  • Lipstick and Gloss – 2 years for lipstick and 1 year for gloss. A good sign that a lip product has gone off is that it can leave the lips irritated or tingly.
  • Nail Varnish – 2 years. If the product separates and doesn’t combine when you shake it, it’s time to replace it.
  • Eye and lip pencils – as these are sharpened you are constantly removing any bacteria so they should last for at least 2 years.
  • Powders such as Eyeshadow, Blusher and face powder generally last 2 years, if you notice the product is dryer than it used to be, replace.
  • DON’T ignore your make-up brushes; these should be cleaned once a week. I like to clean my foundation brush daily as bacteria can grow quickly. My tip is to clean my foundation brush and an extra brush every time I put my make-up on, which guarantees all the brushes I use are always clean and free from bacteria.

If you’ve bought make-up and skincare within the last 6 months that you don’t like or use, why not have a swapping party with your friends? There’s a good chance they’ve also got recently purchased, unused products in their make-up bag or beauty cabinet.

For any skincare or make-up products or accessories that are in great condition but aren’t being used, why not donate them to this worthy cause? http://www.giveandmakeup.com.

Highly experienced within the industry, Amanda Elias is the brains behind effective yet affordable skincare brand, Bravura London – a business founded following Amanda’s own skin problems and subsequent discovery of using AHA, BHA and Hydraulic Acid for troubled skins.

 

Kristin Scott Thomas Retires From Film

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Kristin_Scott_ThomasAfter 20 years and nearly 80 credits Kristin Scott Thomas has announced she is done with making films and has decided to quit.

“I just suddenly thought, I cannot cope with another film, I realised I’ve done the things I know how to do so many times in different languages, and I just suddenly thought, I can’t do it any more. I’m bored by it. So I’m stopping.” She told The Guardian.

Scott Thomas has said it is partly due to be treated like an “aging actress.” She is sick of playing the “sad middle-aged woman”.

“[I’m] asked to do the same things over and over, because people know you can do that, so they want you to do that. But I just don’t want to pretend to be unhappy anymore — and it is mostly unhappy.”

“I’m often asked to do something because I’m going to be a sort of weight to their otherwise flimsy production. They need me for production purposes, basically. So they give me a little role in something where they know I’m going to be able to turn up, know what to do, cry in the right place. I shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds, but I keep doing these things for other people, and last year I just decided life’s too short. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

There might be a small surfeit of roles for elderly actresses like Maggie Smith and Judi Dench (who never seem to stop working, thank goodness), but the film industry has little need for women in their fifties, except to play moms. I’m sort of, as the French would say, ‘stuck between two chairs’, because I’m no longer 40 and sort of a seductress, and I’m not yet a granny.”

On studio films she says; “I can’t bear all the kind of rubbish that goes on on those big films. I just can’t stand sitting around for hours in a great big luxury trailer, waiting, bored out of my head. I used to do a lot of tapestry. Yes, I had a lot of cushions around.” On Confessions of a Shopaholic, she says, “I thought it would be quite good fun. But I spent my entire time waiting. I hated it, hated it, hated it, and I said that I wouldn’t do another one.”

She won’t be doing TV either; “I can’t do miniseries. Once you’ve got the characters, once you know who they are, they’re going to repeat themselves, aren’t they, for the next five years? It just goes on and on and on. I get terribly bored. Series bore me.”

However, you can still find her on stage; “When you are acting in a film, you’re giving the director the raw material to make the film,” she says. “But when you’re acting on stage, that’s it. And that’s when you discover that you can really do it. It’s this word ‘trust’ that keeps coming to me. It’s not a question of whether one person is conning you into thinking you can do it, saying, ‘Oh, it was beautiful.’ On stage, if it works, it works.”

 

iPhone 5c Review

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Upon receiving the iPhone 5c I thought two things; it’s pretty and it’s, actually, just a phone. The second comment upset my mother and fiancee, who were fast to tell me that the iPhone is certainly not ‘just a phone’. So with such passion inspired by this little smartphone I decided to give it a fair chance. I love Apple products myself and the only non-Apple piece of tech I own is my phone. Which is a Blackberry (don’t laugh), it is awful and never works. In fact, by the end of this review if I haven’t convinced you to get an iPhone I have absolutely no problem with that, after all this is only a review, but please, for the love of god, do not get a Blackberry. I don’t know a single person who is happy with them.

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So, to the iPhone 5c review.

It’s pretty and pink. It looks the part; cool, high-tech, slick, expensive. There is a lot of screen which I love. I have seen people watch movies on iPhones and you can do so and have a great viewer experience. It comes in bright colours (green, yellow, pink, blue, white) and is the lower cost version of the iPhone, a cheaper version of the iPhone 5s. This was the first time Apple released two versions of the iPhone at the same time. Not only is it gorgeous, but it is also not made with cheap plastic. It is made from steel-reinforced, machined polycarbonate, and then coated in a glossy finish. The craftsmanship, the colours, the design, is all stunning. Although the cheaper version it is not a cheap phone. It will cost less to make and Apple will get a high profit margin but that doesn’t come across in the phone. It also has a great 4-inch Retina Display screen.

It has a lot of features that the iPhone 5 had but comes with an improved front-facing camera and global LTE support. The minus with the iPhone 5c is that you are not getting a lot of new technology. It is a lot like the iPhone 5 when it comes to features, which means you are paying a lot of money for a phone without a lot of new features. You also don’t get the fingerprint scanner that the iPhone 5s has.

If you are not someone who needs the latest technology and features then the iPhone 5c is a really good buy. It is smaller than the iPhone 5, which was long and slim. It is chunkier too but I like the size and you still get a decent screen. It is certainly lovely to look at. It was hard to not feel happy when holding a hot pink iPhone. The ‘c’ could mean ‘colour’.

It comes with iOS 7 and runs smoothly. It has good battery life. Something that used to be a negative with iPhones, they needed charged half-way through the day if you were lucky. The iPhone 5c has a lot going for it, although I know a few people see it as an iPhone for poor people. In fact, there is no such thing. Poor people definitely cannot afford iPhones, but with the lack of new software on the iPhone 5c it is easy to see why some people see it as a lesser version. However, it’s not. It is a good phone in it’s own right and it is beautiful to look at. So just make your own mind up.

iPhone 5c (green/ blue/ yellow/ pink/ white) available for £19 on Vodafone Red 4G-ready plans from £42 per month