We’ve seen it all on TikTok, from ASMR to the WAP dance, but self-defence tools are a new one. Chloe Martin writes about why self-defence tools are a strange but needed trend.
 
“It’s sad that we live in a world where this is necessary” states one highly repeated comment on a TikTok video of a miniature purple pepper spray, window breaker and safety alarm, held by a keychain with a fluffy pom pom attached.
 
This represents the tragic reality that women feel they have to go out their way to buy self-defence tools to feel safe just walking the streets. These keychains are made by Fabulyss Boutique, founded by Alyssa who started her business after feeling unsafe on her college campus due to her car being broken into and robbed.
 
During quarantine she decided to sell her self-defence products to friends and family. After plucking up the courage, she opened her Etsy shop in July 2020. She now has her own up and running website with an expanding range of products.
 
On the Fabulyss Boutique Instagram, she states that she hopes to make both men and women feel safer, not just for walking on campus, but anywhere.

​Fabulyss Boutique’s self-defence keychains are a hit on TikTok, racking up anything from 14 thousand to one million views per video. It’s not just the self-defence keychains that are hyped, they also have other products including brightly coloured key knives and Kitty Knuckles in baby pink, black or brown. Be sure to research the legalities behind the products included on the keychain for your country, we’re trying to feel safe, not be charged as criminals!
 
They’ve even just introduced a Christmas keychain collection, with bright red window breakers, Rudolph wristlet and even the Grinch is in on one of the designs. It feels slightly strange to say that you can switch up your self-defence tools depending on the time of the year, but if it keeps you safe, then why not.
 
You might be wondering the same thing I did when I first saw this, why the pom pom? One of the comments says it all - “we have to protest ourselves in style. Duh.”
 
All jokes aside, some may not like the fact that a business is profiting off women and men feeling unsafe, but I don’t see it like that. This is a business with great intentions, and the customer reviews speak for themselves.
 
This is one TikTok trend that I can stand by.
 

By Teah Gillingham

When I was nineteen, me and my twin sister embarked on a six-week trip to South East Asia; we went to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and spent a night in Thailand. 

We went there with our eyes closed and a little bit of money in the bank. Who needs to plan a trip? 

All that research would have been a waste of time…. WRONG! We laugh about it now; I didn’t even Google any of the countries or even how they looked on a map.

I was very naive and thought it would be so easy to get around and know the best places to go.
 
If I could go back, I wouldn’t change how we went about our first ever experience of travelling. We thought we had to see every temple in every place we went to; we didn’t let ourselves have many chill days. We thought we always had to see the sights and soak in the culture. 

Yes culture is great but days and nights on the beach drinking beer are also amazing. Which we did do a good few times.

Aside from the lack of planning and direction, it was a great trip. We experienced immense highs and lows which no one ever talked to us about. 

When you’re travelling whether that be for three weeks, three months or a year. You are away from home, in a different country, completely different culture and time zone. It can be hard, so I was lucky to have gone away with my sister where we could be open and have someone to talk to. 

However these are my top tips for travelling that I have learnt over the last five years since my first independent trip.

1. Stay in shared dorms, it is a great way to meet people and is so cheap. I was too scared on my first trip and ended up spending so much money the first few weeks till I thought this is just like throwing money away.
2. Research, research, research. But at the same time, just go with the flow. Plans change, you miss buses. It is not the end of the world.
3. Always haggle on prices! It is so easy to get ripped off without you even realising it.
4. You do not need to see every temple! Yes they are magnificent and hold great stories and culture but don’t let it take over your trip. You are there to see the sights but to also enjoy yourself.
5. Drink local beer and eat local food. Nine times out of ten it tastes great and is even better for your wallet. If the locals are eating there then you know it is probably good food.
6. Finally take it easy. If you want to lay on a beach every day then do that. Do what you want to and not what you think you should do. You are there to have fun after all!

If you ever have the chance to go to Asia then jump at it. It is full of lovely people and amazing sights to see.  And the best part is, the most expensive part of it will be the flight. I did six weeks on £1500 and that was for accommodation, food, alcohol, souvenirs and paying for attractions. 

It works out to be just over £30 a day and like I said previously that was forking out for private rooms the first half of the trip. 

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By Chloe Martin, Editor of Lifestyle

Copyright: Dr. Akansha Bhatia ​

Born in Rajasthan North West India, Dr. Aakansha Bhatia, also known as Annie, is a rising food blogger in India and she’s now about to explore food and life in her new home city of Exeter. 
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Currently a Postgraduate student studying Leadership and Healthcare Management at University of Exeter, I got the chance to chat to Annie about her growing Instagram account, her experience eating alongside famous Indian bloggers and finding out what she thinks about classic English food. 

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Q&A:

Hello Annie, how are you? I hope you’re keeping safe and well. I want to get straight in and ask you when your love of food began? 

“Hi, yes I’m well thank you. I would say it was when I was five years old that I first fell in love with food. I remember my Grandfather taking me to street food tours to see all the flames and spices flying everywhere. He used to make some amazing dishes for my family, and my mother is also an amazing cook. I’d even go far enough to say that all my recipes are inspired by them.” 

Were you always surrounded by food and cooking at a young age? 

“I used to help my mum add the spices to our food and mixing with a wooden spoon, it was so exciting! My Grandfather used to own a hotel in India where he was the chef, I remember him and my mother coming together and cooking some of my favourite dishes. One of those was chole bhature, which is a spiced chickpea curry with bhatura that’s a fluffy and soft bread that originates from Northern India.” 

The food on your Instagram looks delicious, what pushed you to create your Instagram page @the_blogtor?

“Thanks so much! Well, I used to cook a lot for my friends and family and whenever we went out to restaurants to eat, I would always be the one taking photos of the food. So, they suggested that I create an Instagram page to show off my cooking and other restaurant food. And that’s where my Instagram journey began!” 

Your Instagram is growing quite quickly, I’ve seen that you’ve been feature on @delhifoodwalks’s Instagram page and in a YouTube video, how did this opportunity come around?

Delhi Food Walks is a popular YouTube channel and Instagram page run by the famous Indian Chef Anubhav Sapra and his team. They’re often found exploring a new food market, exciting flavours and trying new, delicious food delicacies. 
“When I first started my page, I reached out to them saying how much I loved their page and YouTube videos. Then before I moved to Exeter, they contacted me with a message on Instagram saying that they’re coming to Udaipur and would love for me to show them around and grab some food. So yeah, they asked me if I would like to feature in one of their videos!"

Wow! That must have felt amazing to be contacted by them after you reached out in the past. What was it like to be featured in one of their videos? 

“It was an amazing experience and a great opportunity for me to learn and collaborate with them. We did an Udaipur city food tour, where I got to show them all the best local delicacies. It was a fantastic opportunity for me to reach a wider audience and show off all the amazing food that Udaipur city has to offer.” 

I think Delhi Food Walks is such a great concept, do you ever think you’ll start up a food YouTube channel in the future?

“I’ve thought about it already actually! I think I might start one soon or maybe if I go back home to India.”

So, you’ve been living in Exeter since September? How are you finding it so far? It’s a lovely city. 

“Yes, this is my first time being away from India, so it’s all new for me at the moment but it’s lovely. All my new flatmates are really friendly, I’ve been cooking for them and having parties, obviously within the restrictions but so far it’s been a great experience.” 

Have you tried any typically British foods? I think Exeter is famous for things like cream teas, cheese and fresh fish.  

“Yes, I’ve had an English breakfast with sausage, bacon, eggs and everything, and I also had a burrito yesterday too. We found a delicious food stall in the city centre called Pinkmoon, which serves fresh burritos and tacos. I had the Baja fish burrito, which was lovely and really filling, I’d definitely recommend it for you to try if you go to Exeter. It’s really nice to try other cuisine so that we can find new flavours and recipes to try at home.” 

When you were in lockdown at home in India, how did you adapt your cooking to this? And did you try or discover any new flavours or combinations? 

“I did all home-cooked meals and then I started baking bread and desserts too, which I think is what a lot of people turned to during lockdown. I also tried some new spices that were in the back of my cupboards, so now I think I can take three or four ingredients and make anything!” 

Since being in the UK have you found any new flavours to include in your meals? 

“I’ve been eating a lot more pork sausages and I’ve also discovered butternut squash. I didn’t even know what that was three days ago but now I’ve been using it in an Indian style of cooking, seeing what I can come up with.”

Have you found many Indian restaurants in Exeter? If you have, do you think you’ll give them a try, or do you think you’ll stick to your own authentic Indian cooking?
 
“Yes, there’s quite a few. We ordered from one the other night and it wasn’t very good. I think if I was to go out for food, I’ll try other types of cuisine rather than trying the Indian food."

Do you miss any particular spices or ingredients from India that you can’t get in the UK?

“I just miss spices in general! I’ve told my mum to send over some spices that I can use in my cooking, I think she’s worried about me not having them more than anything!”

My last question is a tough one for any foodie, but if you had to choose, what is your favourite thing to cook?

“I think it would have to be butter chicken or aglio Olio which is like a garlic and olive oil spaghetti. The butter chicken takes some time, but I’ve been cooking the aglio olio quite a lot since being here at university because it’s so quick and simple.” ​

By Chloe Martin, Editor of Lifestyle

I have been through and succeeded in keeping my long-distance relationship during my three years at university, let me share some of my tips with you freshers. 

The amount of relationships that fail not long after they’ve moved away is very common. An American study from 2018 suggests that long-distance relationships have an 58% success rate, which I guess isn’t great but it’s also not awful. It is possible people!

It’s most likely that moving away to university is your first time having a long-distance relationship, and let me tell you, it’s a learning curve. 

Before I went off to university in another city, leaving my boyfriend in my home city to study, we were both scared of what it might do to our relationship. I had many say that I was going to miss out on ‘typical uni things’ just because I was in a relationship. They were basically just saying that I’ll miss out on having one-night stands and hook-ups. I wasn’t bothered by this in the slightest because I was already happy in my relationship. 

But I can see how it’s easy for people to get in your head. 

I’m not going to sit here and deny the fact that long-distance is not a struggle. I hate to break it to you, but this is probably going to make or destroy your relationship, which can be terrifying. But here are some tips that should help you keep a healthy and balanced long-distance relationship:

1. Make time to talk everyday, and I mean, everyday even if you’re busy. A  lack of communication can kill a long-distance relationship. If there’s no communication, there isn’t a relationship. Moving to university can be overwhelming at times, with new friends, work and surroundings, but if you want to keep your relationship you have to chose talking as one of your priorities. There are 24 hours in a day, so a half an hour call and a few texts here and there won’t harm a busy schedule. 
2. Be transparent. Feelings are scary. But hiding them can make things worse or damage your trust with one another. If you’re feeling a certain way, say. It’s much better to openly talk about how you feel because this will certainly bring you closer.
3. Visit each other. It’s a two-way street! If you’re both not making that effort to organise a date to visit or book tickets to see each other then it won’t work. Setting a date will give you something to look forward to and plan some fun activities to do while you’re there.
4. Organise fun activities to do online. Try to do things you would be doing if you were together, like streaming a film or playing a game which will help you feel closer and gives you something to take your mind off of not literally being with them. Thank God for technology hey! 
5. Being Jealous is ok, but there’s a limit.  If you’ve both moved away to different universities, there are undoubtably going to be new friendships made and new people in the picture, but you can’t let this crowd your relationship. The first year of university for a long-distance couple is a true test of trust and commitment, you have to let each other meet new people even though it can be worrying. 
   When you visit each other, spend some time with each other’s flatmates or friends to help you get a feel of who they are for yourself. This should ease your worrying because then you’ll know the types of people who your partner is hanging with when you’re not there.
6. If you have an argument, sort it straight away. There’s no doubt you’re going to have arguments when you’re away from each other for the first time. But when you do find yourself in that sticky situation, aim to resolve the issues straight away over the phone. No one likes arguing over text. 
   You need to hear each other’s voices and emotions. 
   Quick note: I understand some of this won’t be possible during this awkward and frankly frustrating time, thanks COVID, but stick with it and remember what you’re fighting for. Trust me, it’s worth it. ​

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By Tom Guyton-Day

I remember vividly being told by mummy “we’re moving to a new house.” I had a great many questions… being the inquisitive chap I was. None of them included what country this new house might be in. One might presume at the tender age of 6, “what even is a country” – the very principle had not quite developed in my spongy brain nor been taught.

Those years I spent in France, at the time were very stressful for me, but as any Englishman does (not that this was even a concept to me at the time) – we get on with things. I met a nice Franco-American guy called Pascal who kindly helped me throughout my very earliest years of education and made lots of new French friends, invited to birthday parties, had running races through the central school yard, and played in the sand pit. Rather blissful. 

The first time I ever went to a French school, I was left by Mummy with my new teacher, with his brushy moustache. Marc. He was the kindest influence on me and tolerated my inability to speak a word of French. The chatty little boy I was, I began explaining to him a great many things – only to find, English was not his mother tongue. This is when I met Pascal and a Friendship was born from necessity at first, but admiration soon followed. 

I’m writing this, not as a memoir of my time in France, instead as a hark back to a time when children engaged in the world around them, unhampered by technology like smartphones, tablets, and the internet generally. Laptops were expensive. We didn’t even have the internet when I was a child to begin with, then came dial up… though even that was too painful to use. I remember the first time I ever used a PC was in France as a young child, a puzzle game – very simple but rather entertaining… 

I remember the electricity going out often, due to overloading the system. Yes, that did used to happen. You couldn’t run more than a few things at once without the entire system going (this is when I learnt how to operate the fuse box).

I remember watching endless episodes of Fireman Sam on the video player and getting to understand how it operated (and broke). This was somewhat limited by my parents. 

Otherwise we were in the pool, learning to swim or riding bikes down endless safe roads in the South West of France. The taste of milk down your throat being known for the first time after an extensive rally with your brother on two wheeled vehicles. The rush.

I was left to roam two acres of French woodland with my young brother Kristof (my younger sister Frances not yet born). We found lizards, entertained with their falling off tails – I’m not sure the lizards were in the ranks of the comedy set we formed but they always survived the day (we hope). They were often collected into little buckets to wonder at. I dream children today would be so entertained and left to wonder such strange little green creatures of earth. 

We had superb fun getting ants drunk with small amounts of whisky, stolen from the cupboard and mixed with sugar. They danced in circles of craze. Again, I’m not sure the RSPCA would be quite so fond of our antics, but there we are. That was the world. Explored by tiny feet. 

We explored through barns at our own peril, often filled with dangerous chemicals, extremely old furniture covered in rat and bat poop, but we survived. Papa built us two treehouses, the first when we lived there, and the second was a renovation of the first when the house became a holiday home for the long school holidays. We survived… It was a dangerous place to grow up as a child in many ways but a childhood I wouldn’t change one bit. 
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Edited by Martha Evans, and Pictures by Tom Guyton-Day

By Chloe Martin, Editor of Lifestyle

I recently found an old t-shirt I wore to a One Direction concert (yes, I was *cough* am a fan girl) from 2014 under my bed. Just from looking at it the memories came flooding back. Maybe not all clothes hold memories and feelings, but some do. A quick fling into the washing machine, and it’s good to go. 

If more people had this mentality, 13 million items of perfectly great clothing are less likely to end up in landfill sites each week. We need to learn how to love and appreciate the clothes we own or learn how to give them to someone who really needs them. 

Over the past year and during the global pandemic, the desire for second-hand clothing has dramatically spiked. Now, it’s all about purposeful purchasing, rather than buying something new for the sake of one event or a last-minute dinner date.

#SecondHandSeptember was created by Oxfam to emphasise the harmful impact buying new can have on the planet. Throwaway fashion is an unsustainable way to sell and buy clothes, which is why I think we should all aim to reuse and recycle our old clothes, not just for September, but to help sustain the future of our planet.

According to Oxfam, it would take 13 years to drink the water needed to create one pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. There are still millions of people who are clueless to how clothes are made, the impact on the planet and the amount of textile waste that is building. Second-Hand September shows us we have the power to give clothes a longer life, easing the pressure off the planet and people. 

Buying from the local charity shop or purchasing a one-off vintage designer piece isn’t just beneficial for the planet, but for your wallet and the local community too. Pre-owned fashion is cheaper, so it allows those who may not be able to afford a certain piece of clothing to buy something that’s as good as new. 

If you are after the latest trends, this is still possible. Maybe not always second-hand, but there are an increasing number of brands that are fully sustainable so you can shop the next big thing without having a guilty conscience. 

Instead of throwing away an item that isn’t on-trend anymore, keep it. You may think I’m crazy if you live in a small flat in London, but there are ways to keep your loved pieces. Fashion trends often come back around in a few years or decades, so holding onto those key pieces will pay you dividends in the future. You’ll be thankful you kept it. 

If you’re a designer lover, there are several vintage and second-hand designer outlets online and around London that offer you the chance to buy pre-loved classic designs. If you’ve always wanted to own a classic Burberry trench, now is your chance to buy one at a fraction of the normal price. 

Being more conscious about fashion buying habits and buying second-hand can help give back to the local community, find unique pieces that no one else is wearing and become more eco-friendly. Everyone can do their bit to develop a recycling community and to reduce the constant need for new garments. 
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Whether you’re new to second-hand shopping, or you’re a regular looking for your next fashion vision, there are shedloads of fresh and on-trend second-hand inspiration on Instagram. To get you started, here is a gallery of second-hand Instagram outfits to show you how you can turn someone’s pre-loved garments into your new favourite wardrobe pieces…

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Edited by Martha Evans

By Zeena Mistry

By Zeena Mistry, edited by Tom Guyton-Day

By ​Dr Simon Stevens, edited by Martha Evans

By Teah Gillingham, edited by Tom Guyton-Day