We are Thatcham Rotaract and from the 12th to the 18th of August we will be walking 129 miles collectively to raise money for the West...

On Sunday 3rd Dec we attended the Santa Fun Run to support the event organised by Thatcham and District Rotary Club, sponsored by...

Global warming is always the centre of conversation when talking about the environment. The effects of using fossil fuels are disastrous on our planet and it is becoming vital to find renewable resources to combat climate change and waste. One of these resources is bamboo! Yes, that plant commonly found in pandas’ mouths can be used to make clothes, toothbrushes and more! So, keep reading to learn about how using bamboo can tackle climate change. What is bamboo and what is it

It’s the middle of October, the nights are getting longer and there’s a chill in the air so where else would you rather be than at home nestled up in a blanket ready to scare yourself with a horror movie! Now I’m not the biggest horror movie fan, but I can appreciate how popular the horror genre is and all its iconic movies like Scream (1996), Carrie (1976) and The Shining (1980) to name only a few. These movies have had a huge impact on pop culture and more continue to be ma

Neuralink was co-founded by Elon Musk in 2016, it is a neurotechnology company that has been focused on developing chips that can be implanted in people’s brains. Elon Musk suggests that this chip can be used for medical reasons like restoring vision, helping those with paralysis gain mobility, helping with mental health and it can even let us control our phones with our minds. How does it work? The chip records and processes the electrical signals in the brain and sends this

The members of Thatcham Rotaract and the Rotary Club of Thatcham will be battling against each other in a competition to see who can walk the most from July 31st-6th August. This is in an effort to raise money for the West Berkshire Foodbank, which continues to do amazing work supporting the community. In light of this, a few members of Thatcham Rotaract were kindly given a tour of the West Berkshire Food Bank, and the following blog details the key takeaways from our trip. T

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dear friend and member Bethany Privett. Bethany passed away on...

The Psychology of TikTok In the morning as I wake up from my alarm, the first thing I do is check my phone (I’m not proud of it) and I have a little scroll on social media to see what the world has been up to as I was sleeping. I’m able to quickly catch up on the latest news from the warmth of my bed thanks to social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. I happen to be one of the billion users on TikTok, a still relatively new but increasingly popular social media

For those of you who don’t know, I study psychology at university and throughout the past few years I’ve studied fascinating topics like forensics, the brain and developmental psychology. Although my degree involves a lot more statistics and brain terminology than I would prefer, I have really enjoyed learning about these areas of psychology. This year I did a module about cases in Clinical Neuropsychology. I quite liked this module and I found myself looking forward the lect

Currently there are around 79 million people who have adopted the vegan lifestyle, this has led to the increase of vegan alternatives such as meat, milk and cheese. People can use the wonders of science to create vegan chicken nuggets that have the same texture and taste as normal chicken nuggets, but science doesn’t stop there! What if they could create real meat without the harm to the animal? History of Veganism and Vegan Alternatives While the term veganism was only creat

Be My Anti-Valentine The 14th of February comes with connotations of roses, candlelit dinners and being swept of your feet. For many people this holiday is about spending time with loved ones and showing them that you care about them. However, I think Valentine’s Day over the years has lost its meaning and morphed into a holiday that people can dread. I thought I’d write about a few of these reasons why Valentine’s Day is not a day of love for everyone. Of course, it’s import

Over the holidays my family and I travelled to Iceland, it was an amazing experience, so I thought I’d share some memories of our trip...

Burns Night, or Burns Supper is a Scottish celebration which was established in 1801 to memorialise the life and legacy of Robert Burns. Every year on 25th January, Robert Burns’ birthday is celebrated – this year it would mark his 264th birthday. Who was Robert Burns? Burns was a Bard or Poet, born in Alloway, Scotland on the 25th January 1759. He died 21st July 1796 aged only 37. Burns had a reputation as a ‘dangerous rebel against orthodox religion’ (Britannica), to such a

I would happily spend every day of December walking around the Christmas market wrapped up in a coat and scarf with a cup of mulled wine. It is one of my favourite things to do to get in the Christmas spirit and of course I’ll insist that we have to go to every single stall no matter how cold we are. In Manchester the Christmas market is huge and it’s always filled with people no matter what time of day it is. I love smell of the food that’s cooking, looking at all the Chris

As we lead up to Christmas and starting to get into the festive spirit we start singing carols and traditional Christmas songs. One of which, the classic, Twelve Days of Christmas. Starting with a partridge in a pair tree and ending with 12 drummers drumming we all take delight in belting out 5 gold rings. But how many of us know the real meaning of the twelve days of Christmas? The twelve days of Christmas is a Christian festive season surround the birth of Jesus. Starting o

Oscar Wilde wrote ‘beauty is a form of genius- is higher, indeed than genius, as it needs no explanation’ in The Picture of Dorian Gray which highlights one of the key themes of beauty and youth in the novel. It explores the aesthetic life many people aim to have and draws attention to the consequences of placing so much emphasis on external and superficial things. This is a topic that never really gets old as there is a prominent focus on aesthetics in society whether this i

The National Service of Remembrance The National Service of Remembrance is held annually at The Cenotaph in Whitehall. The memorial was originally made from wood and plaster as a temporary structure by Edwin Lutyens and was part of the Peace Day events in July 1919. When it was unveiled to the public, the memorial instantly became popular. Within a week of it’s opening, nearly one million people visited the memorial to pay their respects. This led to the memorial becoming a p

Diwali is the festival of light that is celebrated by the many religions in India and many other countries in Asia. This year Diwali falls on the 24th of October, the date changes each year depending on the position of the moon, but it is usually around October and November. Many have heard of Diwali but are less familiar with why we celebrate it, so grab a cup of chai and let’s go back several thousand years… In the Ramayana, an epic Sanskrit poem, Lord Rama and his wife Sit

Thursday 8th September 2022 was a day that will not be forgotten. Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully surrounded by her family. She served her country for over seven decades, making her the longest reigning monarch in history. All of us at Rotaract are deeply saddened by this news. In honour of her passing it’s important to remember the service she gave to her country and charities that she supported. Her Majesty worked her whole to give back to others. Princess Elizabeth o

In the winter months taking care of our mental health can be a struggle. There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is a lack of sunlight. According to scientists, the main theory behind this is a lack of sunlight which may cause a change in our mood. Seasonal affective disorder also known as SAD is a form of depression that many people experience during winter. For many of us, winter is hard with not much sunlight which can affect our mood, and we rarely ge