Assignment Four: Interviews.

For assignment four we were asked to interview someone or a selection of people to put them in a situation where we could gather information. I began my investigation out with Uni I was at home and I interviewed a family friend; someone I'm not really in very close contact with. The question I chose to ask the subject was the question about. What thing do you treasure most. I was surprised when they answered this but it seemed very obvious when they said their dog. His dog is wired haired fox terrier, It 'pisses' and 'shits' everywhere he says but he doesn't seem to mind because he enjoys the fact that it's cheeky. The dog is only a puppy five months old and I can see why he'd be attached to it. I asked him who he trusts to look after it and he said only his parents; people that he knows have helped him to grow up and can probably help a puppy develop too. He's had the puppy four months and he got it from Aberdeen and was ecstatic the day he got it. The puppy is valuable because it is a living creature and he feels as if he has allot of responsibility for the animal. The last question was 'why do you have it?'. He stopped for a second and said because he likes dogs.

This interview was quite emotional because I initially thought when we'd be talking about something we treasure it would be some sort of inanimate object but instead it was a pet something i can entirely relate to. Sometimes the person was reluctant or hesitant to answer because he knew this was very personal to him. Some of his answers were laboured because he knew that they were about him and his animal having bonds that only they share.

A scrappy mind map of some of the things I was asking my subject.

Assignment 3

Assignment three asked of us to record observations we made of people in some of the places our tutor asked us to visit. For my assignment i went two of the places we were recommended to go to. I went to a football match and then the casino a few days after. This assignment was about seeing how people act in places like this because there are rules or etiquette when your in such a place.

This assignment has been very interesting because it has made me think of thinks that i've often thought before but never really pay much attention to. The football game i went to see was just an amateur game with about 100 spectators in the regional sunday league. My younger brother plays for the home side so I went to watch him play. Watching people spectate is nothing unusual, I've been watching football games for as long as I can remember. There is obviously a strict etiquette at football matches like this. People dress the same, people talk the same and everyone is obviously from a very similar social background. The people watching the game varied in ages. Most of the people there were boys my age who had a keen interest in football. at the other side of the park there were older people. they probably stood there because they did not want to mix with the younger spectators. Normally at larger games this would be different but because it was an amateur football match not everyone was there solely to concentrate on the game. At this game there was allot of encouragement from the fans. With football like this you don't get 'glory hunters'; people there for the hell of seeing a good team play good football for there entertainment, but instead a large amount of people who have been supporting the team for a long time. People get stuck into the football, if a player messes up he's soon to get an ear full from a fan. This is the kind of behaviour that isn't normally acceptable anywhere apart from a football game. The boys my age seemed to be the kind of people who enjoyed the banter of a football match. There was lots of loutish behaviour often allot of bad language and general arsing about! Most people turn a blind eye to this or sometimes enjoy some of the witty remarks the boys come out with to offend the opposing team. This assignment was supposed to be investigated in a place where we felt uncomfortable. Out of the places we were asked to visit i found this place the least uncomfortable. I felt like i fitted the criterium for a stereotypical supporter very well; young, loutish and supporting a team of importance to me.

The next place I visited was the Casino. I go there quite often and usually gamble a little bit of money. I went to the casino late at night because it's usually at its busiest then. I always feel uncomfortable in there because you know that at any point you could potentially be wrestled to the ground with the suspicion you'd been card counting or trying buy out the casino. The people gambling are often extremely drunk or half cut and you get the feeling the dealer could be leading them on. If you sit at a table to play either a game of roulette or a game of blackjack you feel like its going to be a team effort even though your out to win all the money the casino has for yourself. When i went in I went straight to the bar because there is nothing better to hide behind than a 15cm tall pint of Tennents when your in an uncomfortable situation. I got my drink and i sat next to a few people. I sat next to four other people at the black jack table. one guy was an ice hockey player from chicago. Another guy was an old boy who had lived in dundee all his life and two younger guys who were very drunk about my age. The american was a very nice guy he had allot of presence at the table from the size of the pile of chips he had accumulated. He was feeling very generous and donated me a five pound chip with the promise of another one if I won the hand. The old man wasn't very happy with this. He lost the hand and was obviously down for the night. I think everyone in a casino is slightly uncomfortable because of the security. Its a very nerve racking place to go. It either makes your night or ruins your night and you can see the winners and the losers as you walk through the place. Obviously the casino is a place where you have to dress smartly. However these days it's quite easy to look like some sort of socialite with a shirt and tie and some black shoes you picked up in primark for just over a tenner. I'd say the football game was definately my sort of stage.