Artograffi #151
New Sweet Shop
There is a new sweet shop in Amble on Queen Street. It’s called Coquet Confectioners. It opened on 1 February 2025.
Racheal and Lauren with the Artograffi gang
The owners, Rachael Mitchell and Lauren Lowes, wanted a nostalgic look for the shop. They told us that starting the business was a joint idea as they already made sweets and sold them on Etsy.
Rachael said, “I always loved the idea of an old-fashioned sweet shop, weighing things out.”
They love Beamish and the idea of bringing back memories for adults coming in with children.
Most Popular Sweets
• Chocolate Limes
• Lemon Sherbet
• Mega Sour Sweet Selection
• Mix Ups
• Jelly Selection
• Harry Potter stuff
Lauren and Rachael originally made the shop for adults but as we are in Amble they knew children would want sweets as well. There are over 150 jars of sweets to choose from.
The shop is open from 10am-5pm 7 days a week.
Lauren said, “It has been very popular and has already exceeded our expectations.”
By Nina and Eden
Plastic litter on beaches and in our oceans
As you know most of us live by the sea, and on the windy days you see all the plastic bottles, plastic bags, fishing lines etc on the beach.
Seal with plastic around its neck. Photo by Ben Burville
How does rubbish get into the sea ?
The rubbish gets into the sea by going down the drain. the wind blows the plastic into the rivers and then into the sea . Did you know it is illegal to dump rubbish in to the sea? Some of the biggest waste comes from ships when the rubbish drops off them. Don’t let your balloons go, it is bad for the birds because they can get tangled in the string and choke and die!
What happens to plastic in the sea?
According to Surfers Against Sewage: A plastic bottle can last for 450 years in the marine environment, slowly fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces which never truly disappear. Every piece of plastic ever produced is still with us in some form.
According to the University of Birmingham: Waste entering the ocean each year could triple from 10 million tonnes to almost 30 million tonnes by the middle of this century.
The fishes and wildlife will get seriously injured and may die because some people are horrible. Puffins, seals, seagulls, and octopuses can be harmed by all the plastic, rubbish and litter in the ocean.
What can we do?
* Stop dropping litter everywhere
* Businesses make plastic reusable
* Clean up after yourself
* Take your rubbish home and recycle it properly
* Take a reusable bag anywhere to put your rubbish in
* Use reuseable water bottles
* Use paper instead of plastic
By Skylar and Nina from an idea by Maisie
What is the student council ?
The student council is a group of students that meet up together and speak about what changes people might like for the school. I am a school councillor so if you have a problem about school, you can come and find me.
By Eden
Why I love running
My name is Esme, I’m a 12 year old girl and I have enjoyed running since the age of seven. I love running because I feel that it is a free space to practise your breathing skills and improve fitness as well, as it gives you lot of adrenaline.
Why it’s good to run
Running is a great way to improve your fitness routine. Even if you don’t do much fitness, running is a great sport and it comes with lots of events. Another great thing about running is you don’t have to do it in the same place over and over again. For example if you go to a gym it is in one space like a building, but with running you can run anywhere such as fields, roads, beaches, tracks and even your home – that’s why you should do it.
Running here and throughout the world
Running is a big part in life not only because people like it but because it is an event in the Olympics. Alnwick Harriers is a local running club, there’s a parkrun at Druridge Bay, and there are famous runners in the area such as Laura Weightman and Tracey Sample.
Running at JCSC
Our school JCSC in Amble was promised a fancy new running track when they build the new school, instead of the old one we have which is just mud and twigs. But disappointingly, the council changed their mind and said now we are not getting one. Instead they made a new decision to give us a new football and rugby pitch.
By Esme
AI is bad for the environment and dancing pink kittens aren’t worth it
Unfortunately, I’ve recently been seeing a lot of AI content on social media – AI ‘art’, AI music, and of course weird AI generated videos of pink kittens dancing to pop music.
As funny (or whatever people like this type of content for) as it might look on the surface, it actually is bad for the environment – it uses a lot of electricity and water AND, if being powered by non-renewable energy sources, has huge carbon emissions too.
It’s not even worth it in my opinion – the ‘art’ is ugly, soulless and disproportionate, the videos look like they were animated by someone who (very obviously) doesn’t understand physics, and the music just sounds bad.
How much electricity does AI need? For one question to ChatGPT, AI uses 2.9 watt-hours. A normal google search is 0.3 watt-hours.
In 2022, data centres used 460 terawatt hours of electricity, a figure which the international energy agency expects to double in only four years.
How does it need water? Fresh water, which could have been used as drinking water, is used to cool down the machines in the data centres which do the calculations for generative AI to be able to do whatever you asked it to. Google’s data centres used five million gallons in 2022 – 20% more than in the previous year. Not all of this would have been due to generative AI, but it definitely wouldn’t have helped keep the figure as low as possible. Carbon emission wise, ChatGPT 3 generated 552 metric tonnes of the greenhouse gas – that’s the same as driving 112 petrol cars for a year.
None of this is beneficial towards the environment – is it really worth asking ChatGPT to do your homework for you?
By Grace
Who will we vote for?
We have realised that everyone in Artograffi right now will be 16 or over in five year’s time. So if the government lowers the age for voting to 16, like it promised, we will probably be able to vote in the next general election!
Who will we vote for?? We think it will be good if there was a woman. Also we would like someone who listens and someone who has experience in everyday life and how people struggle. As well as someone who is truthful.
By the Artograffi team
Crazy careers
Are you wondering what to do when you leave school? See if you fancy any of these weird and very different and unusual jobs available!
1. Professional sleeper – to test comfort or quality of the bed. I feel this job would be so good, imagine geting to lie down all day!
2. Hugger – to hug anyone who needs hugging but you get paid. Interesting job, but it depends who!
3. Dog food tester – to test dog food for the dogs. Yuk! Who wants to eat dog food? It sounds disgusting.
4. Armpit sniffer – someone who tests the best deodorant or the way it works the best. Maybe not the worst job, but still disgusting at times.
5. Taster – someone who tests food to make sure its perfect. This sounds like a good job, to try lots of good food, rate it and get paid!
By Issy
