Zombie Takeover.

Zombies invade Exeter

On Saturday the city centre was infested with zombies’ as part of a Halloween celebration. The event started in Exeter city centres bus station. It then proceeded down Sidwell Street, through Princesshay, The cathedral green, then onto The Phoenix Arts Centre. The event was organised by Exeter’s Phonic FM and The Phoenix.

People came to the march from all over Devon, one woman said “We did this last year and it was very fun. So we did it again. We travelled from Paignton, but it is so fun it is worth it.”
The march was publicised “by social media the event was promoted through social media, word of mouth and Phonic FM, we didn’t use posters around town. “. This was very much a safe, fun community event, a strange disease had not spread around the world nor was Exeter being used as a horror film set.

The people dressed up had some open sores, blood dripping down their faces, calling and moaning after fresh blood. Strange brides wandered the streets complete with dead flowers. Terrified teenage girls ran away from monsters squealing in fear. Many were dressed in strange ripped clothes. Some chased terrified shoppers through the town centre looking for fresh flesh to feed on. This frightening behaviour had spread from North American towns, and then spread to London and Bristol now Exeter was invaded by the zombie mob. The participants reached The Phoenix at around 5pm where they were then greeted with a live music event called “The Zombie Ball”. 

This was a community event was organised by Mike James, Phonic FM’s DJ of The Rock show. Mike has caused quite a stir in the rock music community. Mike had talked to mega famous rocker Slash has talked on his shows. He has also been nominated for FM DJ of the year award. The event was inspired by events around the world. Zombies marched to the Phoenix arts centre for a family rock show; money made from the show is “keeping the station afloat. Last year we made it to the top 100 zombie walks in the world which is amazing considering were up against cities such as New York and London.”

Many families went on to the Zombie Ball and the mix of heavy rock and dressing up kept all generations happy. Prices for the show were recession friendly £10.00 in advance and £12.50 the door “ten bands played and will be playing against a packed house of over 300 people.” All profits went to Phonic FM.

These money making events and contributions are the only way the station keeps broadcasting. Many zombies appeared in a rock video for up and coming band Cambion, the event was partly to find zombies to appear in their video. Cambion had been supported by Phonic FM since they started out; [The Rock Show] had also supported the band”. Many other local heavy bands played such as Your Mums Beard, Flame Fracture and with the Famous Vampire Killers headlining.

The event was a great fun family day out and showcase for some great heavy local rock music. If you want to join in the fun keep posted to Mike James on social media platforms and of course, The Rock Show on Phonic FM. Next a heavy rock Christmas party is due to be hosted by the radio station. Look for the link for a massive collection of stills posted below.

By Ruth Barr and Merlin Spiers. Please visit the link below for high resolution photos taken by a professional camera. Please only use them for personal use, for uses contact merlspiers@gmail.com before hand.

Waikiki is a great restaurant for Exeter’s fussiest family.

Waikiki is a great restaurant for Exeter’s fussiest family.

As a tribe we are a fussy family. Theirs me, I eat a low sugar, very low meat diet. On the occasions I do eat meat I would really like a full psychological report on the animal, if was happy, I might eat it! I’m not keen on eating in pubs being strictly teetotal. I not keen on menus in a different language, intimidation by waiters and taking my tribe anywhere posh.  My children are easier to please, they like noodles, they make their own lunch most Saturdays, and they can boil a kettle and their experts at getting just the right amount of hot water in the pot. Clever! When we go shopping we often end up in the place advertised by that creepy clown. I hate the food; my kids hate the security guard. I need to watch out for him, I sometimes sneak last night’s dinner in to eat under the table.

 

To solve our problems with food we try Waikiki. This restaurant sits close to another competitor, the place where you “eat fresh”.  They are aware of this and have competitive offers. I have eaten some dead animal there, wild boar burger. It came with a simple salad, chips and tortillas, all for under £7. I assume the pig had a happy life as it was wild! I was happy to eat my food off a plate rather than a table, how civilised.  

 

I took my tribe to Waikiki . The décor is modern with fresh colours, a surf documentary plays on a large screen and pop music plays at a conversation friendly volume. My son who likes his food simple was happy with a familiar ham and salad sub. There was a little too much mustard for his liking but there is a very cheap childrens’ menu. My son liked the bread better than the place you “eat fresh” at, praise indeed. My daughter and I had the tomato and basil soup. The soup was very refreshing and herby like a good pasta sauce. The bread the soup came with was lovely wholemeal bread.  I treated myself to a frozen yogurt on offer at £1.99, you can only have low fat yogurt and it came with a sugary sauce rather than fruit, I do sometimes eat sugar at the weekend and it was lovely.   The atmosphere is very good, the staff wear smart surf dude and dudette clothes, they are genuinely polite and friendly. There is a bar but it is a secondary feature and well tucked away. The restaurant is pleasantly busy without being claustrophobic.

 

Wakikis is a great family restaurant. It has a relaxing atmosphere with real plates and cutlery. The surf theme is not overdone and the documentary give the most stressed out family something to chat about; you can hear each other chat too. There are familiar favourites for fussy children and older people and even a bar. No security gaud is always a good sign in a restaurant. You can’t buy a burger for a quid or salty skinny chips but the food is healthy. Lastly I would like to thank wild boar, you tasted great!

Rant and Write

Fed up with being a kitchen table bloger, YouTube ranter and disillusioned retail worker I started a course at Exeter college. As well as a student I'm also a single mum. I know my life will involve juggling and being skint for the next three years, but I'm up for new experiences and I have to make tomorrow better or die trying.

I spent some of the summer reading, as well as texts on the reading list I've read "Chavs" by Owen Jones. This is a really important book about divisions in society. Single mums are deionized, this is something I would like to write about. I'm only half joking when I tell people I don't spend my child benefit on Vodka and I know who the father of both of my children is!  Owen Jones got there first but he helps make me realise what sort of journalist I would like to be. The book outlines the way some sectors of society are written about because of the background they come from. People do believe what they read in the papers about people they have never met. Flat Earth News was recommended reading. While in the park with my kids I studiously make notes. It makes me cynical about the business I want to be part of. I'm not hugely into cash so I think free lance is the way to go.

The first few weeks were a blur of introductions to introductions. It's great to meet new people, all the time I'm aware of being the old lady of the group. I do have dubstep on my YouTube channel but I'm not 19! Amal was one of the first girls I got to know. It's fun to have girls to go around Primark with. One of our first assignments is to write about another student. Through doing this I get to Know Lottie Fox. I admire her calmness and maturity, at nearly 40 I can't manage that sort of thing.

We get let out of our classroom and go to Crealy, a childrens' animal and adventure park. We go by bus armed with radio equipment, packed lunch and some background information. This man takes those cute pictures of animals doing human stuff. I have to ask him, how to get a pig in wellies We also think up some questions about animal rights. I'm pleased to be in the radio group. I grew up with radio 4 and John Peel. We find there's more to this man than cutesy pictures. He has lots to say about how the newspaper industry is changing and a brilliant picture of a hunt.Then for the bunnies pushing a shopping trolley with baby furry creatures, ahh.   Merlin and I spend the next day editing three hours of material into 2 minutes. I realise how techno old school I really am. We also have editorial decisions to make, cute animals or controversy? We go for the cute animals, I regret that about five minutes later!