BY JACK WATSON For less than the price of a couple of cocktails (£7 / 25 East Caribbean dollars), you can step into 44 acres of Caribbean adventure, history, and jaw-dropping beauty at Pigeon Island National Park. During my college trip to St. Lucia, we discovered Pigeon Island—and it ended up being the highlight of our two weeks. This national park packs in 18th-century British fort … Continue reading Pigeon Island: A National Treasure
BY JACK WATSON The Hull Boy–whose real name is Marcus Skeet–is an English influencer, content creator, and endurance runner from Malton who has risen to prominence over the past couple of years. He began as a Hull City match vlogger before rapidly growing into a national star. A powerful advocate for mental health awareness, Marcus has raised nearly £250,000 for the mental health charity Mind, … Continue reading About A Hull Boy
BY JACK WATSON A week in Istanbul marked my first trip abroad since visiting Australia a decade ago. Travelling with my grandfather Roger—a contributor to these pages—we indulged in the first-class lounge, flew European Business Class, and stayed at a four-star Radisson Hotel. It was luxury all the way. The view from our hotel’s rooftop dining area was nothing short of spectacular: distant islands, countless … Continue reading A Week in Istanbul
BY JACK WATSON Holding Conservative Views in a Woke Education System At sixteen, most students look forward to sixth form college for the freedom, new friendships, and fresh academic challenges. For me, there’s another reason: the hope of escaping the suffocating political bias and social backlash that comes with being a young conservative in modern Britain. Under a Labour government that seems more interested in … Continue reading A Conservative Student’s Struggle
BY JACK WATSON The GCSE season—that great, grinding machine of stress and sleeplessness—has finally shuddered to a halt. For two years, we have been its fuel. Now, hollow-eyed and frayed at the edges, we sixteen year olds emerge, blinking, into the light. We are told these exams are our first real credentials, the golden tickets to college, the gatekeepers of our futures. But one must … Continue reading The GCSE Gauntlet: A Sixteen-Year-Old’s Lament
BY JACK WATSON In Fahrenheit-182, Mark Hoppus (bass guitarist for Blink-182, a famous rock band from the 1990s) takes us back to when he grew up in a California desert. Presumably the title is an homage to Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian novel Fahrenheit-451. The book provides an insight into a troubled childhood; how he first met Tom DeLonge and their creation of Blink-182. Then their … Continue reading Fahrenheit-182
BY JACK WATSON My grandparents recently took me to a lovely place two miles from the market town of Beverley—a historic town just outside Hull—called Butt Farm for a guided tour. Now a farm and campsite, this area was once the site of a World War II anti-aircraft battery established in 1941. It comprises four brick-built gun emplacements arranged in an arc around a semi-submerged … Continue reading Butt Farm
BY JACK WATSON Prime, a hydration drink launched in 2022 by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, quickly became a viral sensation, particularly among children and teenagers. Desperate to get their hands on it, fans resorted to raiding store shelves, queuing outside shops hours before opening, and paying exorbitant prices. In some cases, people even shelled out large sums just for empty bottles. It seemed … Continue reading Past its Prime
BY JACK WATSON Louise Haigh, Labour’s transport minister, has expressed her support for low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), which would empower local councils nationwide to establish 20mph zones in urban areas. This initiative coincides with similar restrictions being introduced in Wales, where speed limits have sparked backlash from residents and road users. Following a poll published in The Telegraph showing that 70 percent of the population … Continue reading Low Popularity Zones
BY JACK WATSON In the UK, it seems that one of the critical aspects of our justice system – the ability to imprison criminals – is becoming problematic. At the start of May, the population in prisons in England and Wales was 87,505, with the official capacity at 88,895. There are only 1,390 more spaces left, meaning there will eventually be nowhere to put offenders … Continue reading Crime and No Punishment
BY JACK WATSON In Hull it seems that even one of the Corporal Works of Mercy – to bury the dead – can be turned into a scam. Legacy, an independent family-owned funeral directors, established in 2010, with two branches in Hull and one in Beverley, has made the news headlines for all the wrong reasons after it was raided by police last month due … Continue reading A Tragic Legacy in Hull
BY JACK WATSON I have to admit, as a massive football fan, I quite like listening to The Rest is Football podcast with Gary Lineker. My generation doesn’t tend to, but I also enjoy watching Match of The Day (MOTD) with Gary Lineker every Sunday morning. Footballwise, I think Lineker is an intelligent (football) commentator and pundit. It’s just a shame that his political views, … Continue reading Lineker’s Star is Fading
BY JACK WATSON In her memoir The Woman In Me, Britney Spears, a controversial teen pop artist from the 1990s, shares her story on how she earned her name. The ‘Princess of Pop’, the moving story about her difficult life and the challenges she has faced are highlighted, as are her hard childhood, her father being her conservator and all her setbacks through this period … Continue reading The Woman in Me
BY JACK WATSON First it was lockdown, then it was strikes and now it appears that English school students just can’t get a break. That old chestnut is back: the hoax bomb call During my first day of the new academic year, things almost started with a bang. On September 5th, Year 7 students were supposed to have an induction day. However, a couple of … Continue reading Bomb Hoaxes in Britain’s Schools
BY JACK WATSON A UN report has suggested smartphones should be banned in schools across the world to protect the mental health of children, to improve learning and to eradicate any distractions in the classroom. This report comes after the agency wrote that less than one in four nations across the world have banned smartphones in schools. I am still at school and the … Continue reading Smartphone Addiction Not So Smart
BY JACK WATSON After months of causing chaos on the streets of London, Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters are planning a continuing summer of discontent having stated that they will ‘paralyse London’ further, with slow-marching columns ten times bigger than anything they have had before. This after the Metropolitan Police confirmed yesterday that JSO had cost them £.7.7 million since April. The galling prospect … Continue reading Just Stop Oil – Weirdo Eco Terrorists
BY JACK WATSON Last month, GB News stated that the teaching unions were demanding more freedom to ‘educate’ children on their gender identity. Well, given that the genders are male or female, this would have to be one of the easiest lessons for them to teach (I know that I am walking on what some would say is thin ice, but it is the truth). … Continue reading Hey Teachers, Leave Those Kids Alone
BY JACK WATSON Snapchat has recently introduced its own AI chatbot which, according to Snapchat, is an experimental, friendly bot which can offer advice and ask questions. It can answer a burning question about virtually anything; offer advice on a gift for someone; help plan a holiday and suggest what to make for dinner. Also, it is powered by OpenAI’s GPT. Helpful, perhaps, but there … Continue reading Spy Media
BY JACK WATSON The police visited my school the other day and they delivered a session about how youths in my area have been throwing objects such as rocks, bricks, eggs and other dangerous items at buses. This is not confined to my home town of Hull. In Edinburgh, over 30 kids were charged after buses and drivers were targeted, which resulted in police officers … Continue reading On the Buses
BY JACK WATSON An electric scooter, or e-scooter, is a two-wheeled manual scooter, except it is propelled by a motor. Many people seem to be in awe of them at the moment, including Toby Young of The Spectator, and they have become a popular mode of transport. Others find them a nuisance and if they cannot be made safer or if people do not start … Continue reading E-legal Scooters
