Hot Rox

Live music is my second love – although we aren't as close as we used to be, left-field hip hop produced by the likes of genius J Dilla (RIP) will always have my heart, but in recent years acoustic guitar, keys and kick drum own my ear.

It’s been a while since I went to a show and was wowed by an act though, and the cynic in me - noting the contrived pretty girl with tomboy-influenced Shoreditch uniform and pseudo Winehouse annunciation prototype that is currently doing the rounds - had grown a little tired of ‘the scene’.

But at this year's Croydon Summer Festival I saw an artist who, despite ‘the scene’ was simply ‘an artist’. And a flipping great one at that.

Meet Rox – though you may have done already.




Wow. Standing up front at the open air stage after shimmying past drunken revellers, mums with prams and teen girls posing as the Saturdays, an unexpected treat in the form of Rox took hold of the stage and grabbed the audience’s full attention.

Blasting my (undue?) cynical expectations out of the water, this songstress melted my heart with her crystal clear vocals and excellent showmanship.



Singing renditions of Bob Marley’s Rock Steady, and a reggae-inspired version of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, alongside her own original material including recent single ‘My Baby Left Me’, her smooth vocals sailed effortlessly above the crowd, rested beneath the afternoon sky and were underscored by sexy swaying moves punctuating each beat of the band’s percussion.

Vibrant stage presence with sincere crowd interaction, her performance was a pleasure to experience. This girl simply has it. Beauty, talent and confidence – but most of all, talent. The natural kind record execs can’t prescribe.

I don't quite know how to feel about her vocals when recorded (do a little you tube-ing and you might agree that, by comparison to the live stuff, the texture and clarity of her voice are a little lost on wax) so maybe I'd do better to hold out for an unplugged album? (A little something to think about, oh ye of Rox Management...?) Until then, her debut album Memoirs is out now.

One thing is for sure though - when live, Rox rocks.

Check the excerpt of her performance at the festival below - the quality isn't great and there were other standout moments in the set, but I’m happy somebody was less awestruck than I and actually thought to record some of this (you tube, we love you)

Work Experience: Trinity Mirror Part 2 - Concrete Jungle (but the glass is pretty...I like shiny things)

WEEK ONE


Artificial. Stunningly constructed and breathtaking in its….unnaturalness. That is the first thing that hit me upon emerging from the jubilee line, pausing on the brick terrace and beholding the glass menagerie that is Canary Wharf. The people pottering by uniformly, the polite and empty clink of breakfast cutlery during business meetings al fresco at Carluccios and the glittering office blocks - silver towers shooting floor upon floor into the sky; both imposing and beautiful at the same time.


And despite the deliberate injections of nature...



...the glaring artificialness is inescapable. Surrounded by construction sites, Canary Wharf is like a scientific experiment on a remote island in the Pacific, built by a mad control freak playing God, like a corporate version of the Truman Show.


But beyond the impressive surroundings, I was most impressed by this guy.


Soothing guitar music from a busker near the station’s main exit, and a nice morning note:


Quite. What a perfect beginning to Trinity Mirror mark two. After entering 1 Canada Square, slightly confused about who to report to and feeling a little lightheaded after the 22 floor elevator zip up to the Daily Mirror offices, it struck me:


Toto, I don’t think we’re in Chertsey anymore!


However the larger scale operation didn’t give me small-fish-in-big-pond syndrome – I quite liked looking around to see desk upon desk of busy journos. After a health and safety tour a la Nims the security guard (below) I was given an ID card and told I can use the office gym whenever I want! Yay!

Back at the office, although prepared for a spectator experience at TM HQ, I lucked into sitting next to a really nice lady who made sure I had work to do. Week one included re-working press releases into stories about impatient British shoppers, mobile phone addiction, drink driving, the cheapest pay as you go tariff available and the fact that some insane people have already began their Christmas shopping. Some of my work was published, which was a nice feeling – no bylines but hey, whatareyougonnado? "Fo'get about it" (shrugs) I’m still happy.

Here are my teeny-weeny contributions :)



http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/04/end-of-line-for-queues-115875-22462484/



http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/05/drink-drive-youngsters-on-the-rise-115875-22465926/

Also, the whole Naomi Campbell blood diamonds thing was breaking news. But you’ve heard enough about that already I’m sure.


WEEK TWO

Next stop – features department. A news feature is a funny thing – unlike an in-depth magazine feature it skims the main facts but does so conversationally, while retaining a newsy tone.

Confused? Me too.

Even so, I managed to research a few feature ideas, forwarded them to the features editor and got some positive feedback. However, the idea he wanted me to write up had been done by the Daily Mail a month before!!!!

Typical rookie mistake, but we live and learn. And fortunately he asked me to write up one of my other options instead, which was encouraging.


Still enthralled by the surroundings in Week two, I got a little snap-happy towards the end of the placement; even passing tourists were eyeing me pityingly.

The final two days at TMHQ were quite non-eventful; the mood was heavy (maybe because of the impending redundancies) and few staff were actually around.

After pestering everyone for some work to do one of the news reporters asked me to write up a story that he had already done – then we could compare and see if my technique was right.

Here is mine:

A teenage burglar who could have put his felonies behind him has ended up behind bars, despite a 'last-chance' offer from a lenient judge.

Bradley Wernham, 19, who was given a chance to turn his back on a life of crime, was jailed for five years today following a string of crimes and a failed rehabilitation programme.

After being spared a prison sentence last October, he somehow dodged 17 counts of theft and burglary and, instead of jail time, was handed a three-year community order. The young crook has a staggering 660 crimes on his record, and has handled an estimated £1,100,000 worth of stolen goods since the age of eleven.

Wernham was sentenced today to four and a half years for the original offences, plus an additional six months for yet another crime – attempting to burgle a house in January this year.

He was able to give jail the slip in 2009 due to a new scheme Essex Police were trialling - education, training and close supervision by the Probation Service instead of prison, a scheme which the judge described today as “innovative”.

Praising the scheme, Judge Christopher Ball QC blamed Wernham’s immaturity for its failure. He told the teenager, of Chelmsford, Essex: “You cast yourself as a victim and you’re not. The public are the victims of your offending and you are responsible for it - no-one else.”

Wernham smiled as he was led away to begin the sentence.

And here’s what the subbers did to his:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/08/05/one-man-crimewave-bradley-wernham-jailed-by-the-judge-who-let-him-off-115875-22465784/

I think they deserve the byline!

So, exiting the main reception, heels clicking over marbled flooring and ready for the Wizard to send me home, (perhaps in a courtesy porsche from the neighbouring tower block...? No? Ok cool. A girl can dream...)


some encouraging words from Eric the security guard reassure me that with hard work I can achieve a lot in journalism. Thanks buddy!


On my way underground, thinking about how truly unforgettable the experience had been I was compelled to reach for my video phone… and then….



Seriously, what are the odds??! Some things are just fate….

Work Experience: Trinity Mirror Part 1 - Welcome to Jamrock...I mean Chertsey

WEEK ONE

For those who are down with Damien Marley's 3.38 minute depiction of life in Jamaica, forget it.

Not that there's any reason Chertsey would remotely be anything like Jam-Down, but Damien does reference the Jamaican districts 'Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey' during the outro to the song, and Chertsey is in Surrey, right? I'm just saying.


Anyway, the sun was certainly high in the sky radiating heat not far off tropical when myself and co-Catch-ee Hermione stepped into the office of the Surrey Herald, for our two week regional installment of the Trinity Mirror experience.

After a looooong train journey up to North Surrey, where the train zone is 'Twilight', we settled into our temporary journalistic abode.

The receptionist was delightful (shout outs to Susie)



and the team, busily hitting deadlines for an impending publication, had little time for small-talk (as professionals rarely do), yet the atmosphere was undoubtedly welcoming.


Under the expert tutelage of Content Manager Suzy Talbot, the first week was a mixture of re-working press releases, researching and feature writing. The peeps at C22 had prepared us for this, the more involved portion of the Mirror placement, so I was happy to jump straight in with the tasks.

My feature remained a bit unfinished, as my contact at Surrey Police was a bit scatty. Nevertheless, we press on.

By the end of week one morale was high, with the bar for week two set even higher.

WEEK TWO

With a much shorter slog to C-Town (how did any London-based commuter ever survive before tfl journey planner?) the start to week two was promising. I was enjoying it so much that the fact I hadn't ended up here:


But here:


wasn't bothering me at all.

Departing from the news team, I worked in the Commercial Features Department and wrote an 'Advertorial' piece for a wedding magazine.

Advertorial: a clever sales tactic that makes you think you're reading a story, when you are actually being impregnated with thoughts to buy buy buy!

My piece was good, with minimal editing from the line manager (ahem) setting me in good stead for rest of the week, which consisted of posting stories on 2 of Herald's news sites, 'extracting' (won't go into detail - all you need to know is this was the most tedious and finnicky job I've done in life) and some vox-popping.


On the last day I accompanied one of the reporters to the above impressive building for a news meeting with the police, in the hopes of catching that pesky contact (who shall remain nameless - Let's call him 'Mr. Ripley') But the elusive Mr. Ripley remained...elusive. Even so, I completed the job without him, like all good journalists do (your loss, mate).

So, as the 5.29pm train raced back to Waterloo, slicing through the North Surrey scenery and sending images of Chertsey retreating rapidly into the near distance, I feel Trinity South has given me all I expected and more. The variety of work was the best bit - what will I miss? The slightly uncomfortable near-silence of the newsroom, the bubbly and helpful receptionist, the bench Hermione and I ate our lunch on each day and the stimulating, engaging tasks.

Oh, and the dodgy-looking car wash next to the train station.


Memories...(sighs)