Month: May 2016

HWK 5 – Boy perspective piece

May 22, 2016 / / 1 Comment

I can feel the wind on my face as I cast my line over the side of the boat. I can hear the distant splash of porpoises diving in and out of the crystal clear waves. But then suddenly I can feel a bite on the end of my line. As I start to pull the line in a can feel the tension rising before it inevitably snaps. If only the old man was here, he’d know what to do and how to pull the fish in correctly. I’m useless without him. I wonder if hes caught anything yet. He deserves a fish soon. eighty five days is too long for any man to go without a catch. Especially him.

It’s my first fishing trip without the old man. I don’t know if I’m ready yet. He has been with me since I was 5, it just won’t feel right without him. What if I need some more advice or forgot the right type of knot to tie? My new boat is full of people who laugh at the misfortune of others. The opposite of the old man.

I wonder what I’m having for lunch today. Or if it will be whatever we catch. I hope its vegetable curry again. Martin makes the best curry in town. ‘The taste is all thanks to my families recipe,’ is why it’s so good. Perhaps some rice alongside it. That would be perfect on a sunny day like this. Not a cloud in sight. That may be bad however as fish have no eyelids and stay deeper down in the water the sunnier it is. The old man knew all of the best fishing spots. For sunny days, stormy days and calm days.

I miss the stories he used to tell me to pass the time. They would always have an amazing ending and seemed to intrigue me for hours at a time.

‘It’s enormous!’ Looks like the guy behind me just caught something big. I wonder if he’ll ever stop going on about how he gets all the big fish and how he’s the best on the boat. Is this the kind of talk that replaces the old mans stories? Constant bragging. I hope I can one day go and fish with the old man again. Here come the sea gulls hoping for us to throw them the off cuts and carcasses of the fish. They are the peasants of the sea. Live off of others scraps instead of catching something for themselves. The old man always used to tell me how important it was to be your own man. ‘First you borrow. Then you beg.’ That’s what he used to say.

I can’t wait to get back to the docks and see if the old man has caught anything. I enjoy talking to him. Sometimes we just sit watching the waves and talk for hours at a time. We talk about new fishing techniques, baseball and local gossip. Apparently someone caught a black Marlin recently! It took three people a whole day to bring it in. I don’t think I could ever catch a fish like that. Not even with two other men. I wonder if the old man has ever caught a fish like that.

Hwk 3 – boy perspective plan

May 9, 2016 / / 0 Comments

The boy perspective piece plan.

THINK:
.How he misses the old man.
.Wonders if the old man is ok.
.Wonders if the old man has finally caught a fish.
.If he is going to catch anything.

SMELL:
.He can smell the saltyness of the ocean and the smell of fresh fish.

SEE:
.He can see the sun directly above him.
.It’s around midday.
.Sea birds circling his boat.
.The siloets of small fish below his boat

FEEL:
.He can feel the hard wood below him.
.The wind on his face
.The sun on his back

HEAR:
.He can hear the birds squawking above him.
.He can hear the soft waves hitting the side of his boat.
.The wind whistling through the sail.

HWK 2 – Fast Track

May 2, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Should theme parks allows fast track? This is the question I will be discussing today.
I personally think that you should not be allowed to pay to skip queues. The reason I think this is that queues are one of the most fair systems there is at the minute. Or it was until people with more money got to go ahead of the people with less. Is their money not worth anything just because they didn’t pay as much as the fast track people?
Some people compare this system to bribery, you pay more money to get what you want quicker or without waiting.
However this service isn’t just limited to theme parks as you can pay to jump queues at many tourist attractions.

Some people may argue against me and say that the theme parks need the extra money to pay for repairs and maintenance on the rides. I disagree with this because its already expensive enough to get in alone. Then you also have the overpriced food, gift shops and whatever else they might be using to steal your money. The entrance price for Thorpe Park is £38 but adults and children will need to spend £60 for fast track.

But this system sounds so convenient, pay £22 to skip everyone else in line ad take their seat straight away, which is why so many people have started doing it. This will only make the problem worse because the more people that fall for the trap of fast track the longer the normal people have to wait in line. As a result of the longer lines the normal people will then also upgrade to fast track and then eventually that may even become normal with the cheaper tickets being bought less.

I know fast track will probably stay over the next few years but for it to be even a little bit fair to the people in the normal queues I think that it should slow them down by taking all of their seats. Small rides move slowly enough as it is and with the parks selling so many passes often 50% of the seats have to be given to the fast track holders in order to make their wait short enough to justify having charged them for the privilege. I think there should be a set amount of seats for fast track holders. Somewhere around 30% of the rides maximum capacity as there line is about 90% shorter.

My final thoughts on this topic are that it is completely unfair and is bias towards the people that do have money and can afford fast track. It is also making the experience worse for everyone else by extending their queue times by up to 50%.