The Young Journalist - March/April 2021

THE YOUNG
JOURNALIST
Students from Amersham & the Chalfonts
and Beaconsfield

ISSUE 2
THE YOUNG
Now is the time to
talk about it
Maddie Godsell-Tagg
When I think back to the
first lockdown, memories
of a last-minute leaver’s
day, dreams of a prom
abandoned and a summer
stretching ahead of me
with many social outlets off limits, all
come straight to mind, leaving me with
a void in my teenage years.
I collected my GCSE’s without taking the exams,
completely unsure of whether I’d been graded
fairly and despite my name being written all over
the envelope, the results still didn’t feel like my
own. Had I actually earned them? I remember
feeling so lost and hopeless, and here we are,
nearly a year later with the potential of a repeat
scenario for current exam years.
Since our exams had been cancelled, I experienced
minimal virtual school, so I’m going through it now
for the first time with my A-levels, and the pressure
is immense and the days are exhausting. I find them
all blending; we wake up, we do our work, we go to
sleep, then we wake up and repeat.
© Lindengate Gardens
I would love to sit here and type about how
I’m thriving in lockdown, finding myself more
productive and not having a single bad day but
© Lindengate Gardens
then I’d be lying. I’d be adding to this false reality
that 45% of my peers see all over social media and
I’d be responsible for creating this idyllic fantasy when
really, the effects of this pandemic have affected us
all, and now is the time to open up and talk about it.
Based on a survey I conducted, 77% of my friends
have noticed a decline in their mental health,
demonstrating the importance of self-care during
these unprecedented times, and emphasising how
finding a balance between school work, socialising
and downtime can significantly help. For some,
downtime will be unplugging from social media
or sticking to routines, and for others it’ll be
spending more time with nature or developing
new hobbies. For me, personally, I find walks to
be my escape, for the days when I’m stuck in a
negative mindset or overwhelmed with school
deadlines and projects.
The Lindengate Mental Health Charity
(www.lindengate.org.uk) located in Wendover
(see page 6 for more details), has provided over
1,500 visitors of all ages, in the past 7 months,
with a calming and safe environment that ‘offers
specialised gardening activities.’One of their
programmes ‘Rest & Reflect’ aims to encourage
a healthy coping mechanism for those struggling
particularly during the current times. This free
drop-in service is open on Mondays from 9am to
12pm and on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays
from 1pm until 3pm. (check website for changes
due to weather et cetera).
It is vital that you find a coping mechanism that
works for you and remember, in the same way we
got through the first and second lockdown; we will
get through this one too. You will see your friends
again, you will be allowed in the same room as
your extended family, we will have physical contact
and we will experience some form of normality
again. Just all-in good time. Be patient.
2 Beaconsfield Giving Together our is future part of the Community freedom of Together speech

JOURNALIST
Live Aid: Online music
charity event
Josh Sarl
I refer to my article
reviewing the current
covid difficulties within
the music industry. it is
important to outline just
how advantageous music
is, even on a global scale. Why are we
not paying more attention to reviving
such a troubled industry?
In July 2020, ‘Seshampton’, was founded by a
group of students at Southampton University
and schools in Amersham and Beaconsfield.
With their passion and love for ‘disc-jockey-ing’
(DJ-ing) and underground music, they wanted to
provide entertainement during lockdown. They
broadcasted livestreams in aid of charities and in
December 2020 one charity event raised money
for two organisations: Evergreen Africa and
The Salvation Army. The support given was
exceptional. Despite showcasing talent in a night
of entertainment, the event was also a useful
platform, in raising issues such as poverty in Africa.
One of the charities that Seshampton donated
money towards was ‘Evergreen Africa’- providing
sustainable aid to the Wanale Ridge, Uganda.
I spoke to the
founder of the
organisation,
Paul Voltzenlogel.
Paul outlined
the main
principles of
the charity:
education,
healthcare
and incomegeneration.
With 25,000
residents on the
Wanale Ridge
in Uganda, being considered as a community in
‘extreme poverty’ by the UN, the charity’s work
and involvement is urgent due to the village’s poor
hygiene, lack of income for locals and insufficient
education.
Despite Paul’s pressing concern for, not just the
Wanale Ridge, but for all impoverished African
communities; he is hopeful for the future and for
the prospects of the charity. Need for sustainability
was an outlining point.
Evergreen Africa’s sustainable market schemes,
working alongside their main projects, ensures
local funding can be generated and retained so
that the village can prosper without need for
external aid. This market sells coffee, bananas,
passionfruit and other regional produce to the
locals and by the locals. ‘It engenders amongst
the community a feeling that they’re doing it
themselves’ commented Paul.
Paul stressed how Covid-19 affected the Ugandan
community, as an extreme lockdown was called
by President Yoweri Museveni. Paul, describing
the impoverished community as living ‘handto-mouth’,
emphasised the financial impact of
the lockdown on the people. Evergreen Africa
successfully managed to continue funding the
village, providing essential items. Paul recognises
the astute work of the charity as ‘saving lives’. His
initiative of saving lives leads back to our initial
point, as now we can see the absolute need for aid
in Uganda, but also on a global scale. I personally
commend the generosity of Seshampton, and
their exemplary example for others to follow suit.
You can continue to donate to Seshampton’s
two chosen charities on their donations page:
www.beaconsfieldtogether.co.uk/evergreen
To young advertise journalist@communitytogether.co.uk
please call 07786 735 711 or email marketing@beaconsfieldtogether.co.uk
3

ISSUE 2
THE YOUNG
Reading for the Soul
Loren Dutton
The wonderful world
of fiction allows us to
explore and travel into
alternate universes and
dimensions, letting our
inner child run wild no
matter what age we might be. Due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, more young
people have been picking up books
to ‘escape’ from the chaotic and
unpredictable reality that we face in
these current times.
During these periods where most students have
to participate in school online, there isn’t much of
a separation between work and relaxation time so
we have been encouraged to allocate time away
from our devices. Therefore, many teenagers are
beginning to set up groups for book exchanges.
Books recommended to me by other teenagers
consist of classics like The Bell Jar by Sylvia Path,
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and American
Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.
There are many local authors in the Beaconsfield
community area for you to give your support to as
throughout the recent months job opportunities
for creative individuals have been unfortunately
scarce. Beaconsfield is a town filled with literary
talent especially for children’s authors, such as Enid
Blyton and a more recent author Amanda Hatter.
AC Hatter resides in Beaconsfield and has a great
book called Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost
about a 12-year-old boy that visits his grandparents
in Cornwall and the book is perfect for 9–12-yearold
readers. To win a chance to win a copy please
see our competition below.
An escape to the picturesque Cornwall would
sound ideal to most of us and indeed the
Duchess of Cornwall has thoroughly enjoyed
reading recently. I would recommend the books
on the Duchess’s reading list. She started ‘The
Reading Room’ as she said forming book clubs
have been “a lovely way of communicating” which
is very beneficial during these disconnected times.
Books with the Duchess’s seal of approval include:
‘Restless’ by William Boyd - a Wartime thriller,
‘Where the Crawdads Sings’ by Delia Owens -
a murder mystery novel soon to become a
movie adaption and many more. You can find
the Duchess of Cornwall’s reading list online at
www.royal.uk/duchess-cornwalls-reading-room
Reading is notorious for having copious amounts
of health benefits for the mind and soul. Research
shows that reading regularly is equivalent to
meditation which causes readers to sleep better
and reduce levels of stress and depression
compared to non-readers. Reading regularly is
something that should be ingrained from a young
age and has additional positive effects for children.
The National Literacy Trust says Children’s
enjoyment of reading has increased during
lockdown, from 47.8% pre-lockdown to 55.9%
post-lockdown and 34.5% of young people say
they have been reading more recently. So now
more than ever is the time to pick up a book and
transport yourself to another world.
Competition
win a signed copy of
AC Hatter’s - Callum Fox
and the Mousehole Ghost
To enter go to:
www.beaconsfieldtogether.co.uk/competition
Closing date: 10th April
4 Beaconsfield Giving Together our is future part of the Community freedom of Together speech

JOURNALIST
Our love-hate relationship with Social Media
My dad has recently dowloaded
Instagram. His idea of joining the
masses on Instagram is to share family
holiday photos of me squinting
awkwardly at the camera, blinded by
the midday sun, my hair windswept,
because I’ve just been battling the
waves at Bournemouth Beach.
Besides the potential embarrassment of such
photos, I’m glad my father has decided to join
the modern world of social media. Most families
struggle to relate to their children over what they
see online: I will be interested to see how dad’s
knowledge of popular culture, matches that of his
teenage daughter!
I question how realistic this will be - that a 47 year
old man really cares about the latest memes or
drama between ‘reality stars’? Just because we’re
both on the same social media platform, will
we see the same things? According to an eyeopening
Netflix documentary: absolutely not!
The Netflix show, ‘The Social Dilemma,’ was
enough to scare many people from their social
media accounts for days. The show shines a
light on the tactics to keep you on their pages
for hours achieved through an ‘algorithm’,
that makes a note of everything you click on,
tailoring everything you see to fit your interests
so you spend longer on the social platform.
I surveyed 240 students from Amersham School
and found around 80% of them agreed, and
were surprised at how much time had passed
unawares whilst on social media.
The algorithm is powerful enough to provide
some distraction to us from our daily lives, but
the aspect of social media that really caps our
attention is - ourselves. This is what the show
seemed to suggest above everything else,
that how we want to be perceived on our social
media profiles can keep us online for hours.
Around 80% of social media communication
is self-involved compared to only 30% when
speaking face to face. By receiving a positive
response to a social media post, whether a
tweet or an Instagram selfie, our body secretes
dopamine, the well known feel-good hormone, to
reward us on our success of being ‘accepted’ into
a group.
The ‘Social Dilemma’ explains that we have innate
desire to be accepted into a group, When we
begin to conflate the likes and number of people
we can engage with as self-worth, is when social
media can become damaging and addictive, as
we begin to subconsciously crave the dopamine
that we’ve absorbed.
In the survey I sent out, 100% of students agreed
that the time they spent on social media had
increased since lockdown. (The same can be said
for parents too). Now there is a greater need than
ever to stay connected with people we love and
the fact that social media can help us is amazing.
Talking on a Snapchat group with my friends,
we discussed how social media was a great
tool for talking casually with family members. It’s
fair to say that when used correctly, social media
can be uplifting, keep us connected with family
and friends and create a sense of community,
both of which are lacking right now due to the
COVID19. If we are conscious that social media
can be used to our advantage and not own
our lives, they can be extremely effective
communication tools to use.
Victoria Hayward
I’ll be interested to see if the time
my dad spends on his phone
increases over the next few days
and I’ll be there to cheer him on if
he feels his Instagram posts were
worthy of a few more likes.
To young advertise journalist@communitytogether.co.uk
please call 07786 735 711 or email marketing@beaconsfieldtogether.co.uk
5

ISSUE 2
THE YOUNG
What young people think about the vaccine
At the time of writing this, over twelve
million having received their first dose,
I decided to investigate what young
people think about the vaccine.
While the majority of us have not been badly
‘infected’ with the virus, young people’s minds
have been affected. A survey conducted by
the Young Minds charity showed that 41% of
young people believe that the coronavirus crisis
has made their mental health worse. For them
the vaccine provides hope: hope for their lives
returning to normal and hope for interaction with
their friends and families around a table or at
parties and pubs, but ultimately: hope for their
mental health improving.
I conducted my own
poll to find out what
151 people aged
between 15 to 22
think. The results
showed that 87% of
them would accept
the vaccine, if offered,
and 13% would
not. A 19 year-old
politics student from
Bristol said that she would be ‘a bit hesitant’, as
she is allergic to paracetamol and ibuprofen, so
would need some reassurance. Scientists have
opined that if you have severe allergies you
should speak to your doctor before taking the
vaccine. An 18 year old A-Level student from
Chartridge said she would ‘like a choice’ on which
of the vaccines she would accept: the Pfizer/Bio
NTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca, the Moderna and
the newly-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
When I pressed her further on why she wanted a
choice in vaccine, she said she wanted to do her
own research. She wished to make an informed
decision, and which one she thought would
be most effective and safe, rather than have it
dictated to her; as she feels she can make her own
decisions about important parts of her life - as
do other young people! Another student from
Amersham said he would not accept the vaccine
as he does not feel he ‘needs’ it and wouldn’t be
severely affected by the virus’, and ‘would rather
other, more vulnerable, people, have it.’
The development and roll-out of the vaccines
have been implemented rapidly and are in high
demand. In time, there will be more research
into the long-term effects, especially pregnant
woman and fertility. A statement released by Dr
Edward Morris, President at the Royal College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says ‘there is no
evidence to suggest that Covid-19 vaccines will
affect fertility’. However, there is limited research
into this, so when more is known about the
vaccine, the scientists can confidently address the
queries. Fertility is the biggest concern for young
people, as 60% of the people who said they
would not accept the vaccine, said it was because
of this lack of knowledge about fertility.
On the basis of the data and comments I have
received it seems that the majority of my peers
see the importance of the vaccine in protecting
themselves and others; whilst other people
remain undecided because of
health issues. If you are under
25, will you take the vaccine?
Please win a signed let us know copy by of filling out
the short online survey. Go to :
www.amershamtogether.co.uk/
AC Hatter’s - Callum Fox
vaccine and the Mousehole Ghost
To Melanie enter go to: Wood
www.beaconsfieldtogether.co.uk/competition
Closing date: 10th April
Please note: The opinions and findings expressed in this article are
solely those of the author and should not be assumed to be those of
Amersham Together or its affiliates.
6 Beaconsfield Giving Together our is future part of the Community freedom of Together speech

JOURNALIST
Changing our ways to change the climate
Our home is beautiful. Apart from
hosting many natural wonders of the
Chess Valley Walk and being within
the Chilterns AONB, the wildlife here
provides a haven of ancient woods,
rolling fields and fascinating flora and
fauna.
Centuries of momentous history are preserved
in Hodgemoor Wood, mentioned in the
Domesday Book. Undisturbed wilderness areas
such as these serve as habitats for a variety
of incredible species including red kites, deer,
beech trees and bluebells. However, our local
ecosystems, crucial for fresh air and fertility, are
facing the consequences of of our negligence.
Is it enough just to appreciate nature, or must
we act to protect what we love?
Last September, my sisters and I took part in
World Clean Up day by litter-picking in our
area. What we found was deeply disturbing.
On three streets and Little Chalfont High Street,
we collected more than 400 pieces of litter: 120
cigarette butts and 130 pieces of plastic. Both
these substances are highly toxic and nondegradable,
meaning they will poison our
precious ecosystems for many years.
According to statistics published by Gov.UK,
the Chiltern District consumes a significantly
higher amount of road transport energy than
the national average, polluting our picturesque
paradise. Donna, resident of Chalfont St. Giles
and passionate gardener, echoes our thoughts:
‘There is nothing more amazing than to see deer
grazing in the fields…To lose these creatures
due to the pollution of their habitats would be
devastating.’
To halt this destruction is not as difficult as
you might think. By integrating these three
simple steps into our lives, we can change
our environment for the better: less energy,
less waste and less pollution. Just visit
www.chiltern.gov.uk/whattorecycle to learn
how to dispose waste responsibly.
After lockdown, shop sustainably by visiting the
weekly Amersham market to buy fresh, locally
grown food with less plastic packaging. Make
space in your heart and home for our wonderful
wildlife: ‘In your own gardens, you can grow
nectar-rich flowers and shrubs to attract pollinating
insects.’ (Mick, professional landscaper.) The Royal
Horticultural Society advises that ‘early Spring is
an ideal time to plant Geraniums, Astrantia and
Oriental Poppies.’ This Spring, nurture your ‘green
thumbs’ as well as encouraging the splendour of
biodiversity.
You could invest in LED bulbs, which use 80%
less energy or even buy a reusable shopping bag
to reduce the detrimental impacts of humans on
Mother Earth, securing a future for our nature. As
members of this community, it is our responsibility
to protect our wildlife. The power is ours. And the
time is now.
My name is Sanchi and the three
things I love most are nature,
people and writing. Uniting these,
I aim to create a brighter, greener
world!
Sanchi
To young advertise journalist@communitytogether.co.uk
please call 07786 735 711 or email marketing@beaconsfieldtogether.co.uk
7

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