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Downtime


The Boy In The Well

Author: Manal Faris

Release Year: 2017

By Ahsan Usman


The story of Prophet Joseph

The Boy In The Well was published by a young author, Manal Faris. It describes the life of the Prophet Joseph and how he progressed from being betrayed by his brothers to a well-respected prophet and leader in Egypt.


The novel is set in Egypt for most of the story and begins with Joseph as a small boy trapped in a well, unable to do anything, as his brothers force him to stay there out of their jealousy. The blurb perfectly describes this:

“Trust. Broken. Life. A new. Life was going well for Joseph... or so he thought. He was prophesised to be great, and he had a loving family... or so he thought. Betrayed by the family he trusted, Joseph has no choice but to travel to Egypt. Captured. Enslaved. As if being sold wasn’t bad enough, he has a woman on his case who is determined to have him. Does he have any choice to refuse? Life looks blurry and with only God on his side where else can he turn?”


Throughout this blurb, we have a variety of English structures such as rhetorical questions, short sentences, and repetition. She does this to get the reader hooked just by reading a few simple paragraphs.

Repetitional phrases add emphasis to the points coming across which makes the reader question what has been written in the book.


Faris makes you believe that he was brought up in a loving family, however, the cliff-hanger “or so he thought” is enough to get the reader to ponder upon these thoughts. She also uses short sentences for a suspenseful effect, for example, “Trust. Broken.” Without additional information, the reader asks themselves “By whom? Why? How?” The mysterious tone left by the author engages the reader and draws them in to find the answer themselves.


Additionally, she uses rhetorical questioning to envelope the reader within the book: "Does he have any choice to refuse?” The word "any" suggests that the chance is low, and it is nearly impossible to refuse.


She finishes the points by saying, “Life looks blurry and with only God on his side, where else can he turn?”. This suggests that his only chance to refuse the terrible things imposed on him, lies with God, implying that God is the only one you need to succeed in life. The author intends to convey a religious message whilst hooking the viewers to her every last word.


I really do suggest reading this book. The only disadvantage is that I was unable to put it down. Does Prophet Joseph (with only God’s help) make it past difficult times?

Read and find out for yourself!


TIME TRAVELLING WITH A HAMSTER

Author: Ross Welford

By Hana Nifal


Time travelling with a hamster is about a young boy called Al Chaudhury who was given a task on his 12th birthday. What Al thought would be a normal birthday like all other years wasn’t actually expected to happen. Instead, little did Al know he would be travelling back to the 1980’s...

Al Chaudhury’s father passed away a long time ago, but Al was about to meet him again, except it would be the younger version of his dad. Al was given a chance to save his father’s life while travelling back to 1984 but did he succeed…?

A letter from Al’s deceased father was left for him to read on his 12th birthday. The boy’s dad had a task for him to do and that was to travel back in time. However, this was no ordinary time machine, it wasn’t a box to step into or a rocket or anything like that. It was a laptop.

I highly recommend this book as it gives a thrill of excitement whilst reading it. The suspense makes me so much more curious and urges me to turn the page. It truly makes you go back in time with Al too.

I really enjoyed the main character and funny elements to some of his decision making. There is a lot of danger and excitement in it and that’s why Al is my favourite character. He loves taking risks even if it might have a long-term impact and not in a good way.

The story was clever and engaging and had a lot of Indian and Hindu references due to the family’s heritage, which brings in cultural diversity. However, I felt as if though the title was a bit misleading because the story would make no difference without the hamster so I felt as if the author should have added more about the hamster and his place in the story.

Overall, this is an enchanting and illuminating story that is filled with adventure that intrigues the readers. If you love time travelling science fiction stories, then I definitely recommend going for this novel!


Club Sandwich

By: Muizah Mahir


Ingredients:

- 3 slices of white bread

- 100g of roast chicken breast, sliced

- 1 tomato, sliced

- 1 slice of Emmental cheese

- 2 lettuce leaves

- 1 tsp of mayo


Recipe:

Step 1: Toast 3 slices of white bread

Step 2: Cut the chicken and tomato into slices

Step 3: Butter one slice of toast and top with Emmental cheese, half of your chicken, slice

of tomato and a lettuce leaf.

Step 4: Spread ½ a teaspoon of mayo on a second slice of toast and lay (mayo side down)

it on top of the lettuce.

Step 5: Repeat the process and finish by spreading the remaining mayo on the last slice of

toast and place it (mayo side down) on top.

Step 6: Cut into quarters and secure each quarter with a toothpick.

Enjoy!


Bread Pizza

Ingredients


  • 4-8 slices bread of your choice slightly toasted
  • 1 cup pizza sauce ( I use Bolognese sauce)
  • 1-2 cups grated mozzarella
  • salami/ toppings of your choice
  • 1 teaspoon oregano


Instructions


  • Pre-heat the grill of your oven (Gas Mark 5)
  • Place the toast on a baking sheet and add a generous spoonful of pizza sauce. Spread with the back of the spoon to the corners.
  • Top with a handful of grated mozzarella followed by the toppings of your choice.
  • Sprinkle over a little oregano.
  • Place in the oven and allow to cook until the cheese has melted.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.



Volunteering is an excellent way to give back to the community. And it’s also a practical way for you to learn some real-world skills as well as exploring potential career paths.


Benefits :


  • Building community
  • Increasing socializing
  • Improving mental health
  • Increasing self-esteem
  • Meeting deadlines
  • Working with colleagues
  • Getting to work on time


Some Places to find Volunteering Experience:


  • Your Local Mosque
  • Care home
  • British Heart Foundation
  • Cancer Research
  • Red Cross
  • Barnado's
  • Age UK
  • The Prince's Trust