Joshua Smith - Journalist

River Online • 15th March 2024

Sir Ed Davey calls for ceasefire in the Middle East and targets Tory defeat

An “immediate bilateral ceasefire” must happen in the Israel and Hamas war, Sir Ed Davey, the Kingston and Surbiton MP and Liberal Democrat leader, told The River.

The Lib Dems called for a ceasefire in November when the conflict was only a month old. But the situation has escalated with the number of Palestinian deaths now over 30,000 as the war enters its sixth month, according to the UN.

“How anyone could not want an immediate bilateral ceasefire is beyond me. It has to happen, the killing

River Online • 27th March 2024

England 2-2 Belgium: Bellingham’s last-gasp strike rescues England

Jude Bellingham bagged an injury-time equaliser to save England from a second successive defeat in their 2-2 draw against Belgium, in an international friendly on Tuesday.

The Real Madrid midfielder slotted the ball into the bottom right corner in the 95th minute after substitute James Maddison found him in the middle of the box, causing an eruption of applause from the Wembley crowd.

“Jude, of course, is the headline, that competitive spirit, that desire not to lose, desire to win in the end,

River Online • 17th January 2024

London’s darts resurgence: how the sport is back on the rise

Hidden in an alley, underneath the railway line in Southwark, a pool bar sits away from the streets of corporate London. Under the Shard’s towering presence, a glimpse into an older London can still be found. The sound of a train rattling overhead can be heard from within Spots and Stripes Pool Club where London’s dart scene can be found, as can a view of London’s darting future. The City of London Darts Association (CoLDA) is hosting their Speedway Event, one of the many competitions they hold

The River • 9th February 2024

Ukrainians in Kingston reflect on the second anniversary of the war

On February 24 we approach the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused widespread catastrophe for Ukrainians worldwide.
Among those affected is Kingston resident Alina Ledinova who fled her home in the war-torn eastern Sumy region of Ukraine, an area that was struck by war on the first day of Russia’s invasion.
While Alina and her son found refuge in the UK, her
husband remained in Ukraine to serve in the military.
For Alina, the most challenging aspect was worrying about her husband’s safety, who she has not seen since

The River • 9th February 2024

Meet Kingston University’s oldest ever graduate

Dr David Marjot made history as the oldest person to graduate from Kingston University earlier this month, achieving a master’s degree in MA Modern European Philosophy at the age of 95.
Embarking on a two-year part-time study, Marjot leaves
Kingston with a merit.
He has beaten the previous Kingston record held by a 93-year-old graduate from 1994 and is just shy of the UK’s oldest-ever graduate, 96-year-old Archie White who graduated from the University
of Brighton in 2021.

Medium • 11th April 2023

Protesting in Perth: giving a voice to those who need it

As a warm, 26-degree sun penetrated the clear blue skies above Perth’s central business district, it created a warm, fatigued ambience; at least for the majority of the people who had decided to spend their day in the city. Hidden amongst the shade, carrying frozen drinks and shopping bags, they weaved in and out of the retail stores, or stopped inside of cafés, on a regular Saturday afternoon.

But for those at Forest Place, on 1 October, it was far from a regular Saturday and the atmosphere wa

The River • 9th March 2024

Why millions of young Brits will reject the Tories

The troubled Conservative Party is losing support from Gen Z and millennials - significantly more so than other generations, academics have warned.
The latest polling shows that only one in 10 people under 40 in the UK will vote Tory at the next general election.
“You’ve never had a majority of young people across the country voting Tory, but what appears to be happening is that fewer people are moving towards the Conservatives as they grow older,” said Dr Peter Finn, senior lecturer in politics at Kingston University.

River Online • 22nd February 2024

Kingston resident embarks on year-long marathon challenge for charity

Kingston resident Steven Ramek is planning to run 12 marathons in 12 months in aid of the charity Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness.

He will run a different marathon every month throughout the year.

“It’s a good charity,” Ramek said. “Whatever town or city you go to you see so many people there who are desperate through no fault of their own and I think it’s a good cause to raise money for.”

So far Ramek has completed January’s marathon, running the Phoenix Unicorns Run in Sunbury with

The River • 24th November 2023

Thames Water’s sewage spills are damaging Kingston’s rivers

The Southeast River Trust has warned that sewage pumped into Kingston’s Hogsmill River by Thames Water is damaging the vulnerable stream.
Kingston’s rivers, the Hogsmill and the Thames, experienced 14 sewage spills for a total of 75 hours in 2022, according to data from The River Trust.

River Online • 25th January 2024

Chelsea scrape past Madrid to earn Champions League quarter-final spot

Captain Erin Cuthbert secured Chelsea’s place in the Women’s Champions League quarter-final with a hard-fought, 2-1 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Chelsea manager Emma Heyes said: “We expect to go through, that’s our expectation, that’s our bare minimum, we should expect to go through as group winners.”

The winner came in the 70th minute when Cuthbert, who was influential all night, received the ball on the right and fired at goalkeeper Mylene Chavas from the byline, but Chavas could o

Western Independent • 18th October 2022

Food relief is struggling

Food relief services in WA have seen more people coming to them in the search of aid.

Foodbank WA chief executive Kate O’Hara said that on their busiest day in September they had 833 requests for food from people which they managed to provide. While in July 2020 the normal number of people requesting food per day was 220.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that the Consumer Price Index, which measures the average price of goods and services bought by a household, has risen by 6.1

River Online • 21st February 2024

The UK's technical recession explained

The UK fell into a technical recession at the end of 2023 as GPD dropped by 0.3% between September and December, it was announced on Thursday by the Office for National Statistics.

A recession occurs when the economy, which is measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), falls over two consecutive three-month periods, or two quarters.

GDP is the value of all the goods and services that the UK produces.

However, the UK economy actually grew by 0.1% across the whole of 2023, leading some to refer

River Online • 24th November 2023

Chelsea Women 4-1 Paris FC

Sam Kerr’s impressive hat-trick gave Chelsea their first Champions League victory this season in a 4-1 win over Paris FC on Thursday at Stamford Bridge.

Kerr’s first goal came in the 31st minute when Lauren James received the ball on the right wing, the England international cut inside and curled the ball across the box to the back post and Kerr was there to stab it into the goal.

Just minutes into the second half Kerr scored again in similar circumstances. Half time substitute Fran Kirby play

The River • 27th October 2023

Kingston aims to be most biodiverse borough in London

Kingston Council’s Biodiversity Action Plan has aimed to help protect local habitats and species, as well as introducing routes for wildlife to travel across the borough safely.
Elliot Newton, Kingston Council’s Biodiversity Officer, says the plan is aimed at reversing the ‘biodiversity crisis’ that the UK and the rest of the world is facing.

River Online • 14th October 2023

Interactive artwork celebrating Black History Month at Knights Park Campus

Former Kingston University Fine Arts students Warsha Ahmed, Lucy Carter and Cuba Brown-Higgins have curated an interactive piece of artwork that explores the importance of Black History Month and what it means to them.

The project invites students to add their own thoughts about how society can amplify black voices, how black students see themselves, as well as a series of resources for Black History Month such as books, films, podcasts, and articles.

Carter said they made it interactive as a

River Online • 15th December 2023

Chelsea women miss chance to take top spot in Group D

Chelsea’s bad week continued as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by BK Hacken in the Women’s Champions League on Thursday, just four days after their 4-1 defeat to Arsenal.

Despite the motivation to win following the weekend, Chelsea failed to take home all three points.

The result leaves the Blues in second place in Group D with five points from three games, two points behind the Swedish team.

Speaking in the pre-match media conference regarding their loss to Arsenal, striker Sam Ker

Medium • 9th July 2023

Women in Football: Can Australia Follow in England’s Footsteps?

It was a bleak and bitter Thursday night; the cold wind was biting as it rushed through the club grounds of South Perth United Soccer Club in Western Australia. Beyond the car park, the first thing you see is a large playing field. Like a sea of green, it stretched out across a copious amount of ground and possessed three full-length football pitches. The pitches are magnanimously illuminated by tall floodlights that stand erect across all sides of each pitch. The luminous field was like a beaco

Medium • 2nd May 2023

Smiling Friends is absurd, hilarious, and highly philosophical

It has been said that a great narrative must have characters with two opposing philosophies. When these characters clash, they become the physical embodiment of these ideologies, proxies in a battle of a philosophical nature — metaphors if you will. These beliefs must be challenged through the course of the narrative arc, for a character that remains the same at the end of a story as they were at the start shows no progression. This basic, yet fundamental, aspect of storytelling is non more prev