The Written Podcast: Constructed Dismissal

My first job was at The Range in Colchester, in 2015, and it was found by an agency, specialising in helping people find jobs. They helped me massively, and it wasn’t long before joining the agency that I secured a position as retail assistant at The Range. It was a moment to be happy about, and even though I was incredibly nervous going for the interview, I was excited to finally have a job. This was the beginning of a new era, and so was a moment I needed to put everything I had into it.

It didn’t take long during the interview before I was offered the job, which was a good sign. I came out of the shop smiling from ear to ear. I was buzzing with glee, and even more nerves than before because, the interview was only the beginning.

The Range is a massive warehouse like store, full of practically everything you’d need for the household, from arts and crafts to armchairs, from pet food and toys to garden equipment and potted plants. With so much stuff just in one section alone, during my first day a customer with over £200 worth of stuff passed through. Thankfully I had help with processing that amount of stuff, and I was given a compliment on how well I handled that, given how it was a lot to take in straight from the off.

Before I continue, I will state that I had absolutely no official retail experience whatsoever before going to The Range. I did do a two-week period in WHSmiths, but that was just putting stock on the shelves, helping customers find a specific item – nothing remotely equivalent to operating the till, because I was only sixteen at the time and so understandably too young to touch any button on the till for fear of the managers falling on top of me and the staff members like a tonne of bricks. I told the manager at The Range, clearly, that I had very little to no retail experience, yet she still took me on. My first day at The Range, behind the till, was quite literally my first day in retail, and so needed to be trained up from scratch – or in other words, from the very bottom, a place where I’m sure the manager was at once as well.

After four months, the manager asked me into the meeting room to discuss my performance, and that’s when thing started to make less and less sense. Needless to say, they dismissed me after the meeting.

I will explain their reasoning why my performance was less than adequate. Then explain the truth of what actually happened to make them believe they have justifiable reasons.

1. I was going to slow, therefore letting the queues build up and not getting the customers out the door quick enough to keep things flowing smoothly. I was also told that a member of the team at Customer Services was able to get through four customers by the time I had finished processing one. I will also add in the point of letting the queues build up instead of a steady flow of people coming through my till.

2. Not keeping an eye on the tills so when they do get busy I am not there. This also includes leaving the tills when there are queues.

3. Making too many mistakes. One mistake I did make, and did understand could have gone a lot worse if the customer hadn’t noticed, was give them the wrong change. This happened only once, and I made efforts into making sure it never happened again, such as counting out the change in my head to the exact amount. This method worked splendidly, and a member of the customer service team did comment on how I had improved on that particular mistake.

4. Standing around looking like I’m not doing anything.

5. They do not believe that I am ready to handle the Christmas rush.

I will now explain to you the truth of what really happened. 

1. I was going to slow:

When on the tills, I am customer lead. This means that if a customer so wishes to not purchase a particular item once I have already scanned it, they have the right to do so. I do not have the authority to void an item off my till, so I have to call Customer Services for them to come and take it off. This also goes for price changing when necessary, for example: When the till displays one price, but the item says another due to in-store reduction. When the store is at its busiest, long queues do form as a load of people head towards the tills all at once – this can result in till-trained staff being called over to open up all the other tills to help with the flow.

My time at the Range was straight through the summer holidays, so it was busy in terms of families wanting to get a load of arts and crafts items, toys and sweets for the kids; people wanting to get a load of garden equipment and plants to spruce up their gardens; and people wanting to give their home a fresh look with new cushions etc.

It is very rare for a basket or a trolley full to the brim to come through my till without any problems such as needing to void or price change. It is my waiting for a member of Customer Services to come over and do what is necessary that increases the length of the queues, and by the time they come over, that one member of Customer Services mentioned above has processed multiple customers before I’ve helped one.

Another factor that adds to them believing that I’m going too slowly, is having to wait for codes. I have lost count as to how may items that have gone through my till which did not have a bar-code for me to scan. This can be for many reasons, but the majority was due to it being the last one on the shelf. This results in having to wait for a member of Customer Services to call a member from a particular department to come to my till and see what they need to get a code for. Once they have done that, I then have to wait for them to actually go and get the code. Depending on the item, this can take several minutes. I can get lucky and the customer says that they do not have enough time and will leave the item, but most of the time, they do wait with me. Every time I have to call Customer Services to call a member of staff, I always explain the situation politely, and the majority of customers do understand and won’t make a fuss.

And as I am waiting for all of that, the queues get longer and longer, resulting in them saying that I am going too slow.

Someone described what it was like during the Christmas rush and they said – and I quote – “all eight tills are open and there are queues extending all the way through Housewares.” Going by the logic of being told there should be any long queues at my till states that everyone should have been dismissed a long time ago, which doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.

The final point about being too slow, is about the tills themselves. They are old and constantly have problems. I’ve lost count with how many times one or more tills have gone down because they’re just too old. When a till goes down, everyone who was queuing at that till goes over to the others, therefore adding to it, creating that illusion of my going slow when in fact it has nothing to do with me at all. And when my till goes slow, I have to wait for it to work again or move over to the other till, which also increases the length. Being told that I’m going to slow when it’s not my fault in the first place is unfair.

2. Not keeping an eye on the tills and leaving when there are queues:

During the summer holidays, after a busy wave, there is a quiet period before it picks up again, then settles down again at around 4 O’clock onward save from a couple of spurts of a few people every now and again. When it goes quiet, I take that time to do what needs to be done. These actions include: Cleaning my till after someone has just gone through with a load of plants and left behind a sizable mound of dirt and water, which I have to clean up before the next customer. I always kept some tissue in my pocket for whenever that happens, but with the considerable amount of plants coming through, those tissues do get used up rather quickly, and the only place to get some tissue is at the Customer Services. It is fair to say that I do leave my till to get some tissue otherwise the next customer’s cushions are going to get rather dirty, apart from that, I never leave my till when there is a lengthy queue. Also during a quiet period, I leave my till to put a number of unwanted items into the throwbacks section, but only after I have asked if anyone wants any help, and if no one comes, then I’m free to clear my till.

Sure there may be one or two people queuing at the other tills, but if I do not clear my till of items of dirt and water, that can turn into a health and safety nightmare, which I no doubt would also get blamed for causing.

When it does get rather quiet and there are no customers, my job is to then either make the shelves look tidy or put out stock. When a customer asks for help, I must put them first, so I lead them to where an item is. During that time, people can come to the till. How can I keep an eye on the tills when I’m on the other side of the store, helping a customer?

Another thing is, during one of my first meeting with the manager, she said that it was OK for me to leave my till as Customer Services will call me back, only to then be told that I was wrong to do so in the meeting afterwards, resulting in my dismissal.

3. Making too many mistakes:

As stated above, the manager, knew of my experiences and it was my doing well at the interview that got me the job. I was left to my own devices, expecting to – and I quote directly from the manager herself – “just know it”, which is an impossibility for anyone. I can guarantee that the manager had to go through training and didn’t know what to do from the off. I can only learn from the mistakes that I knew I was making, but to be told about a bunch that I didn’t know I was making, was down to poor training and management.

      4. Standing around looking like I’m not doing anything:

It may look like that, but in fact, I’ve put back all the items in the correct throwbacks boxes, cleaned my till and put out as much stock as I could. When it is busy in store, I do not want to leave my till for it will soon get very busy with people in only a minute or so. During these intense busy periods, customers either come in waves or they’re a constant stream from the beginning of my shift to the end. At first it was hard to judge when it was quiet enough to leave my till and sort out stock or stay and wait for more customers to come. Over the next few days, I started to get a feel of what was required. I knew when to not leave my till because I would only then be called straight back without having done anything stock related. I also knew when to not stand around and wait for the customers to arrive because I could have sorted out a good amount of stock. However, every single time I judged correctly when a customer needed my assistance and returned to the till; the manager believed I was not paying enough attention. And every single time I judged correctly when not to leave my till, the manager believed I was standing around doing nothing.

5. They do not believe that I am ready to handle the Christmas rush:

This is a completely contradictory statement for the summer holidays are incredibly busy throughout every day of every week. As said above, I am customer lead and I have to adapt to the slowness of the tills themselves, so it may appear that I cannot handle the Christmas rush, but in fact, they’re the ones that are setting things up so that no one can. There was someone there with less experience than me and they were heading toward the Christmas rush. That makes absolutely no sense, at all.

The legal term for dismissing someone for unfairly justifiable reasons is, “Constructive Dismissal”. They literally make up reasons for why you’re not fit for purpose, and that’s an illegal action to make, unless they jump through a legal loophole and invite whoever any company dismisses back, which The Range certainly did.

I never returned, and I’m glad I didn’t.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Skyscraper

Unfortunately, about half way through, I found myself not paying much attention to the film, almost forcing to finish it. It’s formulaic. San Andreas, also staring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was about a natural disaster beyond anyone’s control and Dwayne’s character has to fight through the city to rescue his family. Skyscraper was about a man-made disaster and Dwayne’s character has to fight through a burning skyscraper to rescue his family. It gives the impression of copying and pasting, tweaking a few things and then the writers are free to head down to the pub for the evening.

I discussed how Rampage was a good summer blockbuster, how it ticks all the right boxes even though the core structure is no different to most other summer blockbusters. Well, Skyscraper didn’t even try to build upon that core structure; they just left it as generic man rescuing generic family.

It had poor attempts at humour, and at one point tried to be self-aware when Dwayne’s character noted how stupid his plan he was about to act upon was, which failed miserably.

Rather regrettably I wouldn’t recommend Skyscraper, and I used the word “regrettably”, because I did have good hopes for this film. I was sucked into the grandness of the trailer. It showed us epic scenes, teased action packed sequences – but neither were delivered. Dwayne Johnson has a few summer blockbusters under his belt, so it makes sense that at least one of them is going to be a dud. It’s a shame it’s this one, but the writers didn’t exactly help themselves when constructing the story.

Summer blockbusters aren’t supposed to be anything other than an action packed scene after action packed scene, with a barely visible story, with characters that hardly develop, and everyone is affected but most of the time the main character lives, and he completes his mission and moves on from that point forward. I understood it wasn’t going to be the greatest film of all time – I was fully expecting to get what was shown, and that’s it, nothing more, and nothing less, but it could have been a bit better.

There is one particular aspect of the film which was done well and built upon, to make it appear different from other action sequences. Dwayne’s character is an amputee. It was shown how he lost his leg, and it showed him having to deal with his leg, but then nothing else afterward. I can understand why they didn’t focus on the leg too much – to show that it’s a sensitive subject and he wants to continue with his life as normal as possible. Unfortunately, the rest of the film doesn’t help that element. The entire film feels lazily put together, and so the scenes with the leg feels lazily placed in.

At least Dwayne’s character didn’t make a comment about how huge his muscles are, or how tall he is, or anyone else make a passing reference to how strong he is, which has featured in almost every single film he’s been in. Although, if you count the scene when he climbed up an entire crane by himself as a reference, then at least they’re doing something original with the joke.

I wouldn’t personally say it’s a good film, but I can see the entertainment value within for some, and it does give the impression of being a popcorn movie to make the night fly away.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Toys by James Patterson and Neil McMahon

This story is set in the future, in the year 2061. One thing that hasn’t changed is humour, only this time, era the jokes are all about humans and told by, what are called the ‘Elites’ in this futuristic book.

Hays Baker and his wife Lizbeth are about to meet president of the United States of America Hughes Jacklin. Something is about to happen, Hays and Lizbeth work for the Agency of Change and are ‘Elites’ themselves, this is a quick read.

The part mentioning about the increased level of the ocean and its effect on North America gives this book depth and makes it realistic sounding so far in the future.

Having set this book I the future the authors can really use their imagination when it comes to the Toys they can present to the world, and they do, the Toys are on a much higher level than you would find nowadays, also a little controversial. Hays and Lizbeth don’t want their two daughters, April and Chloe playing with the special order dolls, I can see why not.

This story mentions driverless cars, this book was first published in 2011 and now as I am reading it in 2018 there are experiments with driverless cars, this goes to show how realistic this book could be.

This book is however, a little harsh in its description of humans, but for how the world has turned out and for the purpose of the story, I can see what the authors mean, in that there is a difference between the ‘Elites’ and the humans.

When the ‘Elites’ don’t lie, finding out what happened at the Toyz store should be easy, but it seems there was a gap of missing time, this is what I have personally come up with, but I cannot be sure.

Wouldn’t you just love it if your car quoted the obvious? Well Hays didn’t.

There is a shock ending to part one, how this affects things in part two makes me want to keep reading.

Hays life has changed overnight, this is realistic, one day you have everything and all is fine and the next in an instant, set up or no set up, you find yourself on the run. I want to read on as I am intrigued to find out what is going on. I hope the two daughters will be ok.

This book proves you can never really learn about something, in this case humans from just technology. You have to visit and have experiences to truly learn about something.

There is another big shock at the end of chapter 38, this book is certainly an eye opener.

The story takes a dark turn when Hays visits his mother and father. It is sad to read what happens to them. Sometimes you just never know who the enemy is after all. When you think it is one set of people it turns out to be the other group.

In chapter 51 Hays learns of an unexpected fact about humans, this is a surprising turns of events for Hays, however, it seems humans are more useful to the ‘Elites’ than Hays first thought. I am not necessarily surprised as it is not uncommon for a team of people to be working in the background for something to function, only to take all the credit in the foreground.

At the end of chapter 62 Hays and now Lucy are in England and we read Hays using a phrase that has stood the test of time which is ‘We have ways of making me talk’ a take on the one ‘We have ways of making you talk’. I don’t see why this phrase wouldn’t stand in the future, other phrases as well as this one are still used today, why not they still be used in the future.

I like the futuristic way Hays uses his brainwaves to knock out the interrogator and the equipment. It was amusing to read also showing the author’s clever imagination.

I feel sorry for Hays and his marriage, but I am glad that he is now seeing things from the human’s point of view and seeing them as he should and not how the ‘Elites’ wants him to see them. It just goes to show not everything is black and white, pigeon holed or should be tarred with the same brush in the past, present and future. This is a good clever way to teach a big life lesson.

Part 4, chapter 76 was unexpected until I read on, I don’t know what is now real or Hays is just recovering. All the past lessons are still there; you can’t take away what you have read before. The story has certainly gone back as much as it has gone forward.

Now in chapter 79 we see the bigger picture, but Lizbeth could be a weak link, after all she is married to Hays. This book keeps you reading leaving you questioning chapter after chapter as to what is going on.

Turns out it is up to Hays to save all civilisation.

There is an amusing part at the end of chapter 109 where someone should be warned before a grenade is thrown. It is funny because the image the story gives has depth and clearly describes what happens if only if you read between the lines.

In the epilogue there is a good description of how something or someone bland can become interesting. It is good to see it all end well for the good guys, for now maybe.

Jerry's Journal: Asking Politely

Jerry is asking politely to be taken for a walk. At the Weekend, I like to take him for a decent sized walk. On Saturday, he had a car ride to Colchester, and around his favourite store, Pets and Home, where he met new dogs and people. Today, he's asking if he can go for a walk around the area. 

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Written Podcast: A New Era

Everybody at some point in their lives experiences the end of one era, and the beginning of another. The end of something significant in their lives, transitioning over to another – it can be quite daunting, and scary.

Our younger lives are full of new eras: Our first day of school, our last day of primary school, our first day of high school, our last day of high school, college, university. When we step foot into the big wide world, that’s a new era, starting a new job, progressing from one level to another, becoming a manager, maybe even higher. New eras happen all the time, and when one does come to a close do we really reminisce on what has happened, and the memories we’ll be taking with us as we continue forward into a new chapter of our lives.

I’m writing this post because this Monday, I started a new era. Or, to be specific, I’ve started transitioning over to a new era. Since last April, I have been a driver. My job role was to pick up customers’ vehicles, bring them back to the yard to have work done to them, then once it’s all done, take it back at the end of the day. I secured my driving job quite suddenly, to be honest. Someone I’ve known for a long time phoned me up and asked if I wanted a job, and I said yes, and the next day I was walking in through the door, interviewed, secured the job, and began working the following day.

During my stint at retail – a post for another time – I realised it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t necessarily the job that pushed me away from retail, but instead the people within. I understand most of the people’s personalities get pushed from pillar to post every single day, unfortunately it helped me decide that retail wasn’t my cup of tea. It was a new era, though. My first job was in retail, and it was the beginning of a new era. I was officially an independent person, earning my own money, pathing my future one day at a time… until I ended up hopping from one job to another. Since 2015 – including my new one – I’ve had five jobs. Two sessions within retail, an unenjoyable stint in a mailroom because of the constant threat of not being needed anymore looming over you, causing unnecessary stress, the driving job, which is, as of now, the longest job I’ve ever had. I remained as a driver for over a year, and I was good at the job. Each day was busy, hectic even, but 99% percent of all work was completed each and every single day.

I absolutely loved being behind the wheel, navigating unknown roads, or driving to familiar destinations without the need of a satnav, getting paid to sit in traffic, listening to music, talking to my colleagues, enjoying being outside in the fresh air. I was driving on average 500 miles a week, which was a lot when having to squeeze every mile within a normal working day. I expected to finish late on some days, and I did – but I wouldn’t say it was the only reason why I decided to walk away from driving altogether. One of the reasons, and understandably so, is because my new job offered more money. However, I also know that you shouldn’t always give up something you love for more money, because you may not entirely love the new era, and therefore start spiralling down into the doldrums, subsequently lose motivation and become stressed with having to keep going. It sadly does happen to a lot of people. However, I transitioned over when I believed it was the right time to do so.

I still absolutely love driving, but rather unexpectedly, I found that that particular job was the one to drag me down until I became demotivated, lethargic, and I had no idea why. That was, until it clicked into place.

I was thinking about the future, about buying a house, when I realised that with my then current job as a driver, I wasn’t going anywhere. I couldn’t really move forward. My subconscious was telling me that, if I were to look at the facts, there wasn’t much of a future for me at my job, in terms of progressing with my day to day life.

My new job does, completely, allow that to happen. I now have a concrete future ahead of me, and as a result, I am happy. But, with all new beginnings, I was nervous. I was nervous for all the right reasons, and those are the best nerves, because it means I was confident I’d do a good job, but nervous because it was something completely different to what I was doing before. Instead of driving 500 miles per week, I would be stationary in one room. It’s the biggest new era I’ve experienced since transitioning from high school to college, except bigger. High school and college may have different atmospheres, but they ultimately do one thing, teach – you’re in a classroom, being taught by a teacher. It’s the same but different, therefore is a big change, but not necessarily completely different. Going from being a driver to an office based job is much bigger change. I’m no longer in front of a steering wheel, but instead a computer. I’m no longer driving a car, but instead typing on a keyboard, sorting out paperwork.

But the most important thing is that I’m happy. And I am.

New eras are scary, I get that. Sometimes the scariest eras are ones you have no control over whether you enter them or not. Sometimes you know when the right time to end one and begin another is, and maybe you will be scared. There’s nothing wrong with being scared of a new era, it can be a monumental change – but if you know without a doubt you’ll be happy, then that new era was meant for you.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Overboard (2018)

There was an article for Mum’s Monday reviewing and giving an opinion on Overboard the 1987 version. It was my former next door neighbour’s favourite film, and was a good premise. The original film was iconic and became a film people watched as a family. Although Hollywood does appear to be throwing darts and recreating any film it hits, Overboard did make some rational sense. Updating a story for the generation who would like the story, but not the 1987 version. There’s nothing plainly wrong with the original Overboard, but updating it was necessary to keep the story moving through the generations. At the time of hearing the announcement that Overboard was going to be recreated, it was one of the rare times when I agreed it needed to be updated.

Recreating a film can be seen as an adaptation, as the filmmakers are adapting it to fit modern times, and with all adaptations, there will always be changes. Most adaptations are from books, and of course, sacrifices in the forms of whole chapters, characters, or even plot points within a book must be made to help it translate to the big screen – tell the story we’re familiar with. When it comes to updating it – recreating a film – it can go one or two ways. It’s black and white; the film can be poor or excellent. A huge chunk of films that have been recreated people comparing the two films together, but mainly criticising how the modern one isn’t up to scratch to the original, and how the modern version shouldn’t have been made. I understand perfectly why they’d rather remain loyal to the original, because modernising a film that’s moulded around it’s time doesn’t work.

The remake of Ghostbusters is a prime example of a bad modernisation. The original was a product of its time. It was unique and became an instant classic. The theme song is a staple in our culture. Recreating Ghostbusters, therefore, in Hollywood’s eyes, did seem like a rational thing to do. Update a classic to those who can appreciate it more. Except, Ghostbusters should have been left alone. Sure, with modern filmmaking, you can upgrade the special effects, make the ghosts better – except that would ruin what makes that film a classic, among other ways. Plus, the modern Ghostbusters was filled with absurd jokes, poorly written dialogue, and frankly, the ghosts in the original most certainly looked better than the ones in the modern version. As far as most people are concerned, Ghostbusters never got remade.

Overboard is a prime example of a good modernisation. Sure, the original was a product of its time, I’m not going to dispute that. It was unique and became an instant classic, that’s absolutely true. It didn’t have a theme song, but the overall film certainly became a staple in our culture. So what makes Overboard a good remake when it only did what Ghostbusters did. Because the filmmakers did what Ghostbusters failed to do; absolutely nothing.

The filmmakers took the story of Overboard, placed it in modern times, switch the genders around – the character who does the tricking a woman, and the character who has amnesia a man who later discovers he’s been played but also realises he’s fallen in love with her and subsequently leaves the rich life to be with the one her. They adapted the story like any other, and with any adaptation, there are changes, but paradoxically, there are making changes, and then there are making changes. Overboard made changes but changed nothing, whereas Ghostbusters made changes and changed the overall feel of the film. Ghostbusters should be compared to the original, because the two are so different. With overboard, the comparisons are only what I’ve explained above. It’s a modern remake, with a couple of changes here and there to abide by the modernisation, but the overall core running through the original film is still there. It’s an entertaining film.

However, and understandably so, there will always be those who will say the original is better, and there will always be those who will say the remake is better, and who am I to say any one of them is better than the other. A good remake should be where they are both enjoyed on equal measures. Can co-exist without interfering with the other. Only achieve one goal and that’s allow the newer generation be entertained by a classic story.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

This edition published by Penguin Popular Classics

As I start to read this version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I questioned, whether it was a fictional or a factual story. It is however, I have found out, a fictional story. It proceeds to break the ‘fourth wall’, I have only known this in films before. When the film characters talk to the watching audience down the camera lens, during the film. In this book the fourth wall is broken throughout, referring things to the reader directly. i have never known this to happen in a fictional story, in a book, making it, for me, unusual, but I have known numerous times in films.

I also like, that, whenever there is a sentence in French, the translation is in a key at the bottom of the page.

At the end of the first 4 chapters of book 1, I feel sorry for Gringoire, it is annoying and frustrating, when things don’t go according to your plans. He is at a loss with so many people not on his side.

It is not until, book 1, chapter 5, we meet Quasimodo, AKA the Hunchback of Notre Dame, he is the well-known bell ringer, of the cathedral. It is sad to see, how the public treat Quasimodo, the judgemental comments, just because he looks different.

It is not until the end of book 1 chapter 6 we come across La Esmeralda, where everyone seems to look upon her in awe. The opposite of how they see Quasimodo. It is sad to see them judging someone on beauty, or how they look alone.

It was sad to read of Gringoire’s predicament, but good to see him, instead of wallowing, he took the ‘if you can’t beat them, join them, attitude’. I am glad he found another way, although I still felt sorry for him. Someone trying to help themselves. I hoped, as I read on things would get better for him.

It is good to see, any person, whatever, their circumstances, in this case Quasimodo, has a place in life, and can fit into a group of people, however rough and ready they appear to be, including thieves and the such like. I am not sure I agree with the company he is keeping, but for the purpose of fitting in friends are friends.

Also now at last we have come across Frollo, so we have now met all the main characters of theis story.

There is a lot going on in this story, but it does all have a purpose and makes it an interesting read. However, whilst reading this book, I have just found out another side to Quasimodo I didn’t know. Well I suppose, if you mix with the company you keep, it is no surprise, if you end up a bad guy as well. Like I said, I never knew that of Quasimodo. It is sad to see his options thus far in the book, are limited.

As for the character of Gringoire, will he ever have some good luck? Who knows at the moment. However, a last piece of luck, saves Gringoire, but mixing with the dregs of society in Paris, could be seen as the lessor of 2 evils. He is saved, rescued, but married, but not in the usual way, if indeed at all in the eyes of his rescuer.  I don’t see Gringoire’s life as being dull, just lucky, for the time being, at the last minute.

Book 3, starts of and seems to have been researched really well, describing the Notre Dame Cathedral, as how it was, back when this book is set, and what it is like now.

Chapter 2 in book 3, is all about the view from the towers, it is interesting to read, the history of Paris, as I never knew it started off as 3 different cities, which are now amalgamated into one, the well-known city of Paris, we know today. Not only do we get a love story, we also get an interesting history lesson. This enhances the book, as we learn a lot about where, and the era this book is set.

I like what has been written at the end of book 3, ‘during the day Paris is talking, during the night, Paris is breathing and when the church bells chime, the city is singing’. This is a great description, of how a city can be seen as a living breathing organism.

This book is written, in great detail, going back to when Quasimodo was a young child and was adopted by a priest, who turns out to be Claude Frollo. To have the back story to the Hunchback of Notre Dame, adds to the, getting to know the character fully.

Book 4, chapter 2, made me questioned, whether I had read and understood the previous parts of the book correctly. Quasimodo is described as a good guy, who hardly left the Notre Dame cathedral, so it made me, wonder how it comes to be, that he mixes with bad people and that side of Paris. The story becomes intriguing, and I want to read on, to see the connection, and whether the character of Quasimodo was actually miss-understood initially, or I misread or was misled on how he was portrayed.

We have to wait and see as chapter 2 of book 5, is all about, how architecture, has changed over the centuries. How it became less and less from the imagination of them. The reasons why and described in this chapter, are because people seem to be channelling their thoughts and ideas into books. Although this is an insight into why the Notre Dame was built the way it was and I am yet to see the connection, and where the information fits into the story. We only know that to start with Frollo, is asked for some advice about learning to read.

This book goes off in many different directions, away from the love story between Quasimodo and La Esmeralda, however, as this is near the beginning of the book, it only serves to set up, solidly the setting and the goings on in the background and Paris back drop to this classic story. This is described so much that sometimes, you can lose sight of what this tale is actually about though.

The story soon reverts back to Quasimodo and now we find him being put before a judge. The chapter where the judge and Quasimodo are both deaf is borderline silly, and sad to read. I however, am made to feel sympathy for Quasimodo, so although unamusing, it is well written, for me to feel towards him as I do.

The story, goes on, begin to go back to Gringoire, but quickly goes off in a another direction, describing the ‘Rat Hole’ and the comings and goings of the life of the occupants in the cells.

Book 6, chapter 3, has a very good line written in it, this line basically says, that if you say everything at the beginning of the book, you will have nothing to say later on in the story. Although this the case in other books I have read, this is the first time, that I have actually read a description of this as a method of storytelling in a book.  

The connection between Quasimodo, being a good bell ringer, to finding himself in the predicament, he unfortunately had to suffer, becomes apparent. La Esmeralda, shows kindness to him so we, begin to see why he falls in love with her. It is nice to read about the help she gives him, and that she doesn’t care how others may see this, the only thing is, he is still miss-understood, but it is still early days in this love story.

Book 7 chapter 1, started off reminding me of arranged marriages, with trying to find a wife for a Captain Phoebus, but soon quickly turned in a different direction, when La Esmeralda and her goat appeared on the scene. This part shows that, just because you are from a noble background, it doesn’t mean that you act in the appropriate manner expected of you and your up-bringing.

It is good to see all the elements I have previously read about, start to, all come together. the book is getting easier to read, more story based, than a factual account of Paris at that time.

I like the fact that the author, Victor Hugo, treats the reader as an intelligent person, especially at the beginning of chapter 8 in book 7. In the previous chapter, chapter 7 book 7, it is clear who is wearing the cloak, but the person isn’t actually mentioned by name, it is left up to the reader to work out who it is throughout the chapter. I like the air of mystery and to be allowed, a, what could be described as a puzzle to solve, cleverly interweaved in to the story.

In book 8 chapter 1, shows that something, that is seen in one context, can be seen differently in another, what is seen as entertainment out on the street, is seen as witchcraft in a court of law. This doesn’t seem fair, but I suppose, it does depend on how a variety of people in many situations think about what they are witnessing.

Now as we approach the end of the book the love story slowly begins, during the previous books and chapters it built a solid and well explained basis to this outcome. Everything, I now realise, had to happen in the way that it does to conclude in the classic romance of it all.

This book is an extremely good example of showing, that beauty on the inside can be just as important as beauty on the outside of a person.

Someone can be pretty on the outside but be ugly on the inside and also some people can be deemed ugly on the outside but be a kind, caring and lovely person on the inside. Quasimodo is a prime example of this.

Overall in this book there is a lot of background descriptions to get to the story’s conclusion, but worth a read. Also the phrase ‘The Bells, The Bells’ is not actually in this book.

If you get a chance to go to Paris, you can visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. It is situated on an island in the river Seine. The nearest metro station is St Michael Notre Dame and is on the dark blue line B.

The Written Podcast: The Differences Between “Titans”, and “Teen Titans Go!”

I have no problem with there being different versions of shows. If done correctly, you can use the same characters but within completely different types of show entirely. There have been so many instances where shows have been rebooted with different tones, remade with different styles. Two examples of tonal difference come to mind: Sabrina the Teenage Witch – a light-hearted, child-friendly, comedy – and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – a dark, adult orientated, drama. I picked these two shows because one is child-friendly, and the other is adult orientated (not because I’m writing this article straight after the article where I talk about those two shows….) Those two shows prove it is possible to do a complete tonal shift with the same characters, but no tonal shift can ever compare with that of “Titans” and “Teen Titans Go!”

One is bloody, violent, swearing – very much dark and aimed solely at adults, not children. The other is aimed at children, full of puns, moral lessons, and in many ways diverts very far from the source material. Just don’t get the mixed up. I wouldn’t recommend you child watching Titans, and I’m sure many adults are tolerating Teen Titans Go! because it keeps the children quiet for half an hour.

I recently found Teen Titans Go! readily available on Amazon Prime, and I’ve heard it’s somewhat decent, but that’s not why I watched the first two episodes. I had just finished watching the first three episodes of Titans, a new adaptation on the characters, and side by side, they do look very different. Almost unrecognisable – almost parallel universes different from one another.

I fully understand why they have made these two shows, to give the characters as much attention as they deserve across all demographics. It isn’t as if a child who likes Teen Titans Go! is going to watch Titans, and vice versa. They’re world apart from one another. But for someone who is old enough to flit between the two shows, it’s a wild shift.

When watching Teen Titans Go!, I cannot help but imagine those version of the characters doing the same as what they do in Titans. It gets weirder still when imagining the version of the characters in Titans singing about Pie. They’re so incredibly different from one another, it’s practically impossible to collaborate them both in the same article.

Of course, I prefer Titans over the other. But there’s nothing inherently wrong with Teen Titans Go!. The latter made me chuckle here and there, and groan with mental pain occasionally when it pulled off some over-the-top pun. The latest episode I saw involved Robin wanting to ask Starfire out on a date, but Speedy gets there before. Robin ties Speedy up, takes his clothes and goes as Speedy. However, throughout the episode, his conscience has been speaking to him, narrating how Robin feels. The plot twist at the end of the episode sees the disembodied voice within Robins head going on a date with Starfire. That twist almost angers me with how much that hurts – because it’s something I absolutely did not predict. Believe it or not, but the child-friendly cartoon version of Teen Titans Go! is something the parents wouldn’t mind watching along with their children. No one would have predicted that twist – keeping not only the child’s mind active, but also the parent’s mind, too.

Both ends of the demographic can enjoy watching their favourite superheroes on screen, but it has to be weird when the child is tucked up in bed after having watched an episode of Teen Titans Go! with you, and you come downstairs and switch over to Titans; the drastic tonal shift must be difficult to adapt to instantly. One minute their singing about pie and the next the same characters are slicing people apart. In Titans, Raven is a depressed, powerful daughter of a demon, not in control of the magic – it’s heavy in some areas, brutal in others, with only a few selected scenes of rest before going straight back. Turning that on its head and portraying the same character as comical is tremendous.

If you were to describe each show to me before saying they both have the same characters within, I would say those are brilliant shows, but wonder why you would be using the same characters. One of those would make those characters appear, well, uncharacteristic, and I wouldn’t know which one. Yet, if you were to present the first episode of each show to me, I wouldn’t worry which one is uncharacteristic, or why they’re so different from one another, I would enjoy them both – one above the other, I dare say, but nevertheless find them entertaining for further watching. I would at first say it would be an outlandish idea that wouldn’t hold much traction, but then again, most outlandish ideas seem to be the ones that have earned the most following.

Other than the previously mentioned two shows, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I cannot think of two shows where they’ve had such drastic format changes they’re completely different characters, yet paradoxically the same characters. Well, now that I think about it, other than Batman – The Dark Knight Trilogy sitting next to The Lego Batman Movie, for example. And each new regeneration in Doctor Who – although technically that doesn’t count as an example because it’s only one show, not two… But Torchwood can marginally count, as it’s within the same universe, but definitely a tonal shift from Doctor Who. And Arrow sitting next door to Legends of Tomorrow; a dark violent show sitting next to one that doesn’t take itself seriously in such a serious way, almost parodying the universe it’s sharing with Arrow… OK, so maybe it has been done a few times before, but it certainly isn’t common, because taking the same characters and making completely different shows is a high gamble. All those examples have worked, and are a big hit among fans.

If done correctly, tonal shifts with the same characters is doable, but it seems that the only way to make tonal shifts work properly is making both pieces of content on complete opposite ends of the spectrum – maybe if they’re too similar to one another, it wouldn’t work. That makes sense as to how both Titans and Teen Titans Go! are big hits, and the other aforementioned shows and films – they’re so different, so incomparable, you can’t criticise one in favour of the other, but only highlight its strengths and weaknesses only within the confines of the show.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

TV Show of the Week: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – Episode 1

Back in the day, when I came home from primary school, from 3:15PM to 5:00PM, CITV came on. 1-hour and 45 minutes of children’s entertainment, which varied from day to day with maybe one or two regular shows. One of the shows I remember was Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Whilst it may not have been specifically for a boy, I watched it nevertheless, and found it as entertaining as a child who is watching TV because I was allowed to. It was light-hearted and my mum who sat with me certainly found it funny. Unfortunately, nowadays, it’s majorly featured on lists intending to invoke nostalgia – “can you identify all these nineties shows?” or words to that effect.

When I heard the news of it getting a remake, it obviously sparked my curiosity, but not in ways it normally does. It’s been a while before the show ended, so they’re probably going to do a modern take on the show – maybe jiggle with the format slightly for newer audiences, but keeping the same soul the original had. Of course, this was pure speculation, and so I waited for more news to drop. I was expecting it to be aimed at children, so I automatically expected to see what the new show looks like and feel a little nostalgic to what I used to watch, and that’ll be it.

So, you can imagine I was surprised to learn that it would be a darker version, aimed at teenagers and adults, not children. It was also surprising that, after all this time, I discovered Sabrina the Teenage Witch was actually an adaptation based on the characters in the Archie Comics, and that a darker version of the story was released, called, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which is what this series is focusing on. That’s as far as my research went, to be honest. I didn’t read up on any source material, just moved on with my newfound information and wondered how a new, darker, version of a light-hearted show I used to watch was going to turn out.

After watching the first episode, I can safely say the only comparisons with the child-friendly show is the characters. Absolutely everything else is either tweaked or completely different. And it certainly is darker. I was fully expecting to compare the two shows. It isn’t a comedy, but instead a drama. It heavily leans on the witchcraft, dark magic, and their “boss” is the Dark Lord. It separates itself entirely from what came before.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a gripping drama focusing on a sixteen-year-old witch who has to decide between becoming a full witch or staying in the mortal world with her friends. Sure, if I say it like that then it sounds basic and clichéd. But nothing about the show is basic and clichéd. It’s definitely original, and came at the perfect time. I grew up with the light-hearted comedy version of Sabrina’s story, and now I’m older there’s the much darker, adult orientated version of her story.

As far as I can see, there are no deliberate references to the other show, which is a good thing. It’s not at all meant to connect itself to the one previously, because it is its own show. It is for all tense and purposes, unique. If the previous show hadn’t existed, this show wouldn’t have been affected. If you didn’t like it for whatever reason, you cannot say that it’s because the former show was better – that’s equivalent to saying Sabrina the Teenage Witch is much better than the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina when the former’s first episode first aired. The latter never existed then, and whilst yes, the former show does exist, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is so different in every aspect that it treats the other show as if it never existed, and that’s not a bad thing, because it doesn’t have to state during one line of dialogue in one scene that the light-hearted children’s show was once a thing – that would derail the entire concept and tone of this show.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)