MM Magazine - December 2018

One Giant leap for Manc-kind!

City’s basketball stars on the move... again!

‘Ed h a s b een g rea t for my c a re e r ! ’ N i n a N e s b i t t c h a t s t o MM a b o u t t h e i n f l u e n c e o f h i t - m a k e r e x - b e a u S h e e r a n , t o u r i n g a n d v i s i ti n g M a n c h e s t e r

Inside... Village Manchester FC, a special report on hip neighbourhood Ancoats, period poverty & much more

BREXIT sent me prepping m ad P

By JULIAN PERREIRA

reparation, Prevents, P**s, Poor, Performance — well that is the advice from one of the UK’s leading Brexit Preppers.

With Britain only weeks away from leaving the European Union, Mark McLean aka the ‘Prophecy Prepper’ is in the final stages of his Brexit preparations — he is one of the many households within the country now hoarding extra food and medical supplies in fear of the uncertainty that is Brexit.

Mark, a 33-year-old, Customer Services Manager from Scotland, has every eventuality planned in detail, from collecting rain water to drink, stocking up on medical supplies, army rations, and future plans to build a bunker.

The former army cadet from Scotland said: “I have been in full preparation mode for the past six months, I have

Are been up in the woods practicing my survival skills, learning how to fish and build shelters.

“I started off watching survival videos on YouTube, and before I knew it I was watching them for hours on end — I took to it hook, line, and sinker.”

Preppers come from all walks of life and work in many different sectors — although they have one thing in common — they belong to a growing number of the UK population making emergency preparations for leaving the European Union and for any potential chaos at borders that may jeopardise people receiving food and medical supplies.

Theresa May has even ordered her Brexit Minister to fast-forward her cabinets no-deal Brexit plans — which would see the military drafted in to help

Mark knows where he is going in a worst case scenario: “I will be heading for the hills - I know how to survive there.”

pre pa red? relieve any traffic chaos at ports or quash any public disorder.

Once again, it will be the British Armed Forces that will be called in, to help at the borders with the logistics, moving essential food and medicine around the country.

Mark will be leaving nothing to chance, and he will most definitely not rely on the government, as he and many others have taken matters into their own hands — bulk buying bandages to beans and bog roll to biscuits, and everything in between.

After speaking with many self-confessed ‘Brexit preppers’ — they believe a lot of people in this country are not taking the implications of a no-deal Brexit serious enough.

This comes as Theresa May orders her cabinet to push forward with an

extra £2 billion additional funding for a no-deal scenario — the extra cash will be for priority areas such as borders, security, trade and agriculture.

Some would say the government is a bit late off the mark — as some members of the public have been preparing for a ‘hard Brexit’ since Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.

Mark believes he is way ahead of the game saying: “When people in this country start to realise what is happening it will be too late.

“It is due to the amount of confusion surrounding Brexit, the government has never been so unclear, this uncertainty isn’t good for anyone.

“Although it’s not Theresa May’s fault, she has inherited this Brexit nightmare. But a humble leader would give the people what they want — a

second referendum especially now that everything has come to light.

“I know there are two sides in this debate, but she needs to know where people are now, so we need another referendum, and if it comes back as a leave result again then so be it.”

The 33-year-old is very doubtful the Prime Minister will listen adding: “The closer we get to the 29th March I will stockpile even more food, but it doesn’t matter how much food you have, it will eventually run out.

“I probably have enough food and supplies for two weeks — but I have a water purification system that will last for months, army rations, a large sleeping bag and I know how to build a shelter to keep me warm and dry.

“Once my rations have gone and it starts getting serious I will hunt or fish for my food. That’s when I will Bug-out to a remote area — I will be heading for the hills — I know how to survive there.

“If food supplies and medical supplies are disrupted for longer than a week that is when we will see it really kick off.

“People will not put up with it — there will be sheer panic, people will riot. Riots especially in the capital and cities all across the country, it will be big government and businesses that will be hit.

“You should never go against law and order, but how else would we get them to listen? “We rely on them for our food, water an electricity — If that all goes, you will quickly see panic and disorder kick-in.”

Mark doesn’t see himself as an extreme ‘doomsday prepper’ type and was very keen to emphasise that he believes that even some good may come from any minor food shortages, saying: “If there’s any shortages of food at the shops, we’ll have to go back to a humble way of life.

“We already waste too much. You only have to look at Christmas and how much we waste or throw away. People will have to get thriftier. We need to start saving more.

“It will be the close-nit communities outside the cities that will come together more easily and help support each other post Brexit.”

Mark does wish he had more space to prepare, as he currently living in a city-centre flat without much space.

He wants the space to grow his own food, telling me: “I currently live in a flat which is too small, so I plan to invest more time into my YouTube channel and to run it full time, so that I can make money from it and buy my own house, where I can build a greenhouse to grow my own food and build tunnels.”

He said this uncertainty has taught him how to be more resourceful and has also changed him as a person he is focusing on the positives. YouTube is where a lot of preppers turn to for advice, that is where Mark goes to impart his survival skills that he has learnt.

He told me: “I am going to have a niche — all these other YouTube preppers are talking about how to survive.

“But they’re not talking about why. I talk about why the economy could collapse and why there is potential for a nuclear war, I am talking politics and religion.

“At a minimum we will see very high prices for importing goods, and it will be the consumer that is burdened with the extra cost.”

Although whatever the scenario, Mark has said he feels he is well prepared, finally adding: “I’m always ready for anything, whether it's in a month or in a year.”

After speaking to Mark this is when I realised people are really taking things serious, so I done some more digging and managed to catch up with A.J Rawson author of the book ‘BREXIT: HOW TO SURVIVE THE FOOD SHORTAGE.’ — an in depth guide of where to start; what to buy; how to store supplies; prepping for babies and young children and even chapter on prepping for your pets.

But most importantly to the family of three children is: “Maintaining good

morale in difficult circumstances.”

The author is from the rural North of England, but that is as far as I’m allowed to reveal — that is what I am told when I asked about interviewing other preppers — I was told by A.J: “You are likely to find prepping is a secretive thing, maintaining security of one’s supplies is a key principle.”

But here is a list of the authors top tips they would like to share with any would be Brexit preppers; “Decide what they think they can’t do without food / medication. Research where their preferred foods come from. Anything that comes from Europe they need to think about stocking up on.

“That’s the simplistic view, but also bear in mind the predictions say widespread price rises and there are other reasons for some foods becoming more expensive so it would be better to stock up on anything they use regularly.

“Plan meals, make sure it’s things you’d eat anyway - you don’t want to end up with a random selection of food that won’t combine to make a meal or that your family won’t eat. Mixture of easy food that needs minimal preparation and bulk food that may need more cooking.

“Morale is important so include some ‘treats’ if money allows. Start with a few days’ worth then work from there. Don’t worry about having left it too late, any prepping is better than none and it can be done cheaply if you research best value suppliers for the foods you want.

Plan for all family members and pets.

“I think it’s already causing problems - anecdotal evidence of problems getting hold of medicines already. Food already getting noticeably more expensive in the last few months. There will be shortages and big price hikes.

At least we can stockpile food.

“Put pride, career and party politics aside and do what is good for the country- No Deal Brexit is going to be horrendous for the country and they [government] know this.

“A tin opener. In seriousness — the essentials my family needs to get through a difficult period. Food everyone likes and some treats.

“I’ve probably got about three months’ worth. We could last longer assuming some stuff is still available and I used my stores to supplement what we could get subject to availability / price rises (having a store is a good buffer against rapidly increasing food prices).”

Whatever the predictions and outcomes of Brexit, all that spoke with me believed that any major disruptions wouldn’t last long — community spirit would prevail and we would get through any hardships together.

I hope that they are right. But with 30% of our food coming from Europe the most likely course of action we will see is higher tariffs on imports, which will ultimately mean higher prices at the tills for the consumer — or we may have to cut back on our favourite European food and beverages.

T

READY: Preppers are already stockpiling supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit (above).

Mark McLean (below) says he is all set should Theresa May not get her plan through parliament.

NO DEAL BREXIT - WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

he UK government is now preparing itself and the country for the possibility of a 'no deal Brexit' - but what does that mean for you?

A no deal Brexit means the UK would be leaving the European Union (EU) on the 29 March 2019, and there would be no agreements in place about the future UK/EU relationship.

With the deadline now ticking down to get Theresa May’s unpopular deal through parlaiment - a no deal Brexit is looking increasingly likely. Not many politicians believe it would be a good thing for the country. But it's a possible outcome if politicians can't agree on what should happen next.

A ‘no deal Brexit’ could lead to a number of outcomes. For example: Border checks could be re-introduced

and British nationals would be subject to checks when entering EU countries.

EU, initially leading to long delays at ports or borders for lorries transporting food and goods into the UK.

Transport and trade between the UK and the EU could be severely affected - leading to extra tax on goods entering or leaving the UK from the

Citizens may not be able to drive in EU countries without a driving permit - although it would cost £5.50 for 12 months.

THE BREXIT IMPACT

Ilovetheeu via Wikipedia Commons

What will Brexit mean for Manchester?

I

By PATRICK JACK

n the June 2016 referendum, the city of Manchester had the fifth highest vote to Remain in the EU with 60%.

Many here believed that would be the same across the country but seven of the ten Greater Manchester boroughs, and most of the UK, disagreed. Wigan, just 20 miles away, voted to leave by 64% in a complete reversal of Manchester’s vote.

Both sides are still as adamant as ever they are right but looming over all is the ever growing possibility of no deal. Most see this as a threat but some an opportunity.

We contacted all ten boroughs to find

out how they were preparing and learned only Manchester and Oldham have prepared impact reports.

Bolton Council said it was “not yet possible to foresee the many different scenarios in enough detail” while Wigan claimed the current level of uncertainty meant “no organisation is able to say what the impact will be nationally or locally.”

With just 100 days to go until we leave the EU on March 29th 2019, we will use these impact reports and hear from a range of voices to discover what this will mean - both for the city of Manchester and the wider region.

In the most recent report from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the potential impacts from each of the current scenarios on the table were outlined.

Jeff Smith, MP for Withington, said any kind of Brexit would be damaging for Manchester but no-deal would be “catastrophic”.

Without a deal, economic growth for the region would be £8.2 billion smaller under current projections and take around £2,730 from the pocket of every resident. The North-West on the whole would be the third worst affected area of Britain, something Sir Richard Leese, GM Council Leader, said we are “sleepwalking” to-

wards. The other scenarios modelled range from £0.4 billion smaller from the White Paper (the ‘Chequers’ plan) to £5.1 billion under the average FTA deal which would take us outside the customs union.

The report revealed that almost one quarter of firms are unsure of how Brexit will affect their investment plans, although this is less than the 35% who felt the same earlier this year. Manchester Digital represents the city’s digital and technology sector and Managing Director Katie Gallagher argues that hiring from outside the EU can be “clunky, slow and hard to navigate.”

She added: “Preventing freedom of

Manchester for Europe

The economy

movement – a policy that provides access to the additional talent Manchester's digital and tech businesses need to grow – without fixing the existing problems, will have a negative impact on tech businesses.”

Figures from GM Chamber of Commerce show a decline in fortune for the services industry but an upturn for manufacturing. Construction has expanded nationally according to the latest PMI score and orders within Greater Manchester are anticipated to grow. The Brexit Monitor did note that despite this expected increase, optimism for the future was at its lowest level for nearly six years.

Trade

Dr Jonathan Swift, a senior lecturer in international business at Salford University, argues that your perception on Brexit depends on what you see our exit as.

He said: “People like me look at it like leaving a club.

The EU use it as a divorce. They want to share out everything.”

Dr Swift called the £39 billion that the UK will have to pay the EU “reparations” and said that by leaving without a deal we can use that money to pay for services in our own country.

This £39 billion would be good for

Britain, he argues, and “what is good for Britain will be good for Manchester”.

Once we have a clean break from the EU, Britain can make trade deals with whomever we wish and as Manchester has “traditionally looked westward”, deals with the United States of America will bring a lot of opportunities.

Statistics from the ONS show that Manchester is more reliant on trade with the EU than other parts of the UK. In 2017, the EU accounted for 49% of goods exports from the UK as a whole, but 57% from Greater Manchester. Less trade

Manchester City Council’s economic scrutiny committee estimated the city received over £150 million from European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) between 2007-13.

This included The Sharp Project, a digital production complex, which received a £7 million grant and now provides 1000 jobs; the National Graphene Institute which opened in 2015 with £23 million from the ERDF; and the National Football Museum which was given a further £3.7 million, 25% of its total.

Dominic Jackson, Secretary for Manchester for Europe, believes the city (and region) have “benefitted immensely” from a

history of funding support from the European Union, including over £20 million to help rebuild the city centre after the 1996 IRA bomb.

In the current funding period (20142020), Greater Manchester is due to receive almost twice its previous funding. £322.75m will be split across European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) (£176.78m) and European Social Funding (ESF) (£145.97m), which is equivalent to £53.8m per year.

The Shared Prosperity Fund is due to replace ESIF funding at the national level but the European Commission announced the region will continue to be eligible for fund-

with European nations would necessitate more from elsewhere, something the Chairman of UKIP Manchester says is a good thing.

Trade with our “commonwealth allies and across the developing world can expand once again”, just as it did when Manchester was a ‘hive’ of activity in the 19th Century.

They added: “Manchester has proudly been setting examples to the world for centuries in economics, science, and culture.

Free trade in particular was a hallmark of this area at a point in history when such ideas were deemed radical.”

Funding

ing until 2020/21, while the UK government has guaranteed any funding secured before 29th March 2019 in the event of no deal.

UKIP Manchester argues Brexit will be good for the city because the EU “will not be attaching smug propaganda plaques to Manchester buildings”. They suggest the funding gap can be filled by our own private sector, highlighting “£3 billion of new investment” from Legal & General into Greater Manchester.

When contacted, however, the firm said they were not sure where this figure came from.

Education

Over 150,000 EU citizens live in Manchester, many of them former UK graduates, and Jeff Smith MP worries their rights will be impacted by Brexit. He said: “Our city produces world-leading academic research with the help of EU funding and the freedom for European academics to live and work here.”

FOI requests show that between Manchester and Salford Universities over 1600 UK students have taken part in the Erasmus exchange programme over the last three years, with around 1500 European students coming to the city in exchange.

Since the referendum, the number of outgoing Erasmus students has increased by over 70% while incoming students from abroad decreased by 78%.

Jamie Brown, Head of Communications for Manchester University, said the scheme is currently planned until the end of 2020 but applications submitted while we’re still in the EU can continue after Brexit.

He said: “The University will continue to make representations in support of our staff and students and collaborators who are affected in different ways by the conse- Mike Peel

Ilovetheeu via Wikipedia Commons

Both of the councils that have conducted Impact Studies are united in their belief that those in worse-off areas are likely to be hit the hardest.

Oldham council said: “Regardless of the type of deal agreed with the EU, consumers are likely to be hit by an increase in prices, particularly for food and energy.”

Dominic Jackson of Mcr4EU calls this the “perfect storm” of declining personal incomes and diminished council funding.

In 2016 Stockport’s residents voted narrowly to Remain and though the council have not prepared an impact study, they

did note that EU support from Stockport residents is at a “substantially higher level” than two years ago.

Investment in the area is in jeopardy, living costs have gone up and public sector funding has gone down, persuading the council to call upon the government to abandon a hard Brexit and give the people a final say.

Without a deal, Manchester City Council listed four immediate risks and civil contingencies for residents: food, fuel, medicines and social cohesion/ hate crime. Sir Richard Leese said: “In the meantime, we have to continue making our own prepara-

Residents

tions in Greater Manchester, thinking about the worst that might befall us.”

Steven Woolfe MEP says Brexit will result in new international trade deals.

He said: "These deals will open fresh business opportunities for Manchester companies and improve job prospects for employees. The new immigration policies which will result from Brexit will cause wages to increase for employees in Manchester, especially for low-skilled or lowpaid workers."

Unemployment and property

Analysis from the Migration Observatory shows that the hospitality, finance and construction industries of Greater Manchester contain the largest number of EU nationals and will be most affected by Brexit.

The most recent Brexit Monitor by GMCA was slightly more upbeat in terms of unemployment after falling to 4.6% in the 12 months before June 2018, though it remains above national rates.

However, though the numbers of unem-

ployed according to the traditional labour force survey are down, the amount claiming unemployment or underemployment benefits in Greater Manchester has risen to its highest level in over four years.

With more people in work, the housing market remains stable. The Brexit Monitor notes that the most recent housing sales data from the Land Registry have shown little impact from the referendum.

House prices in Greater Manchester

have risen faster than national and regional averages, showing steeper growth even than London.

In a February 2018 report, investment management firm JLL said the growth of the city centre population, the rise in new build prices and the graduate retention rate have made Manchester the most attractive city centre market in the UK. They said: “Despite national and global headwinds, Manchester’s momentum continues unabated.”

Conclusion

Ilovetheeu via Wikipedia Commons

One of Manchester City Council’s biggest concerns from no deal was Manchester Airport. Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry claimed that flights would be grounded without a deal and many Mancunians are worried their holidays in April will never take flight.

However, Manchester Airport Group CEO Charlie Cornish told us the signing of an aviation agreement meant this would not occur.

He said: “We have also welcomed the publication of technical notices from both the UK and the EU which have set out a

If there is one thing these disparate groups can agree on, it’s that Parliament have dropped the ball.

Pro-manchester represents the business community in the North West and say that despite the cranes littering the Manchester skyline, uncertainty stemmed from the “political bickering” of Parliament. Chief executive Sam Booth said: “A concrete plan will benefit our business community greatly, allowing us to plan accordingly and move forward.”

UKIP Manchester criticised the “political shenanigans” that have held up the negotiations and argue the establishment is doing its “bare minimum” to bring about a Brexit that will be much weaker than they wanted.

Sir Richard Leese described the lack of decisive action as “absolutely shameful” and that while we found out we still have a Prime Minister, there’s still no evidence of a government at work.

Andy Burnham, Mayor for Greater Manchester, said the lack of focus from government had added 10-20% more work for GMCA this year alone regarding the rail crisis and homeless problem. He said: “We are not getting the support that we should get from a fully functioning government at the centre of the country. This situation cannot carry on.”

Manchester Liberal Democrat Leader John Leech blamed council leaders for playing “political games”, refusing to back a People’s Vote and condemning future generations to fewer opportunities as a result.

Mr Leech said: "Labour themselves have acknowledged that Brexit will be catastrophic for Manchester - why then are the likes of Labour's Richard Leese, Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Burnham teaming up with Theresa May and Nigel Farage who are so afraid to let the public have a final say?”

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced to the House of Commons that 3,500 troops will be on standby should the ominous no deal occur.

With 100 days to go, Parliament continues to pass the blame and let tensions rise but as the countdown ticks ever closer the only thing certain to increase is more uncertainty.

Lift off

clear and positive commitment to allowing airlines continued access between the UK and the EU, even in a no deal scenario.”

Mr Cornish, said the best result for the aviation industry would be one which “preserves the liberal flying freedoms and competitive approach” but the new routes to Mumbai, Beijing and Houston could become even more popular after Brexit.

At the very least, come March 30th, Manchester residents will be safe in the knowledge that the planes will take off and the world will keep spinning. pedrik via Flickr

A peek inside a Manchester food bank portrays the rising level of poverty in the United Kingdom

T

By RHYS THOMAS

hree times a week, different groups of Mancunian men, women and children alike make the journey to Manchester Universities' Catholic Chaplaincy.

They might take a train to the nearby Oxford Road Station, or they might use one of Manchester’s famous yellow trams.

Some might take the bus, yet in reality, even if the journey is a long one, most probably have no choice but to walk.

The reason that Mancunians make this journey is for the simplest of reasons, to pick up food.

The Chaplaincy is home to Manchester Central Food Bank, a Trussell Trust site founded by a group of university students in 2013.

The food bank provides emergency food packages to those in desperate need, and largely serves Ardwick, Longsight, City Centre residents, and some parts of East Manchester.

Amy Wisenfeld works at the food bank – she joined part-time whilst studying for a Masters, yet joined full-time as the Project Manager eight months ago.

She says that of the three years she has worked at Trussell Trust, the last year at Manchester Central has been busier than any other she has seen.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in the number of people who are using our foodbanks.

“So far this year we have redeemed over a thousand vouchers, which have fed over two thousand individuals.

“That’s an increase in pure statistics on the previous year.

“It’s not a huge increase but it is definitely an increase in the amount of people that we have fed.”

The Trussell Trust across the whole of the UK has seen an increase in general use of around 13%, and there are reports that the number of privately-run food banks could even outstrip the number run by the Trust.

Prime Minister Theresa May declared in October that austerity was ‘over’, pointing to the end of a comprehensive squeeze on public spending implemented by former Chancellor George Osborne.

The current Chancellor Philip Hammond echoed May’s comments that the age of austerity was behind Great Britain, yet the topic of poverty refuses to go away.

The pressure on the Tory Party was ramped up when UN representative Philip Alston offered a staggeringly strongly worded swipe at the parties’ policy following a recent visit to the UK to examine poverty levels.

Alston visited a food bank in Newcastle, also visiting Scotland, Northern Ireland and London as part of his trip.

He said that Ministers were in a ‘state of denial’ about poverty, saying that the ‘misery’ he saw on his tour was caused a by a purposeful government policy, as opposed to a necessity.

Speaking about his experience, Alston said: "A lot of misery, a lot of people who feel the system is failing them; a lot of people who feel the system is really just there to punish them.”

“

”

Even if ten people access the food bank in a year you could say that is not acceptable, no one should be accessing them

Alston used very emotive language when describing his experience, yet his findings reflected reality for Amy and those who use Manchester Central Food Bank.

“Even if ten people access the food bank in a year you could say that is not acceptable, no one should be accessing them.

“It’s great that the support is there, but we want to live in a society where there is already enough support there. In that sense I totally agree with the outlook of the UN Report.”

A key topic raised by Alston was the controversial roll-out of Universal Credit, a new monthly benefit payment designed to replace six of the benefits paid more regularly, such as Income Support and Job Seeker’s Allowance.

Universal Credit has only been introduced in some areas of the country so far, yet reported delays in the enrolment process have been cited as a key factor in the increased usage of food banks.

Many people have had to wait up to six weeks for their first payment, leaving some of the poorest in society with the task of paying their bills and buying food for a month and a half with no income.

There have been many reports of people being forced into high-interest loans and credit cards to pay for their essentials, beginning a cycle of debt that can be hard to recover from.

Amy says that a large proportion of the people she deals with on a day-to-day basis are forced into using the food banks because of Universal Credit delays.

“The first issue with Universal Credit is the waiting period, which has been in the news a lot.” she said.

“It can be a five week waiting period when you change from one benefit to another, which is leaving people in the lurch a lot in that period.

“We’ve seen general issues with the monthly payments as it obviously used to be twice a month.”

Overall, there is an unfortunate weight of evidence that poverty in the UK is rife.

A study from Eurostat earlier this year revealed that nine out of the ten poorest regions in Northern Europe are in the United Kingdom.

Another report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that 22% of people in the UK are living in poverty, over one in five people. 7% of those people are living in ‘persistent poverty’, some 4.6 million people overall.

The economic strain in the UK is sadly disproportionally affecting children, with 4.1 million children now living in poverty in this country, and the situation in Manchester is reflective of the wider problem.

The JRF report shows that 32% of children in the North-West are living in poverty, higher than the national average of 30%.

Amy reveals to me that of the 2,000 people to receive emergency food packages from her food bank this year, 700 were children.

For families struggling to get by Christmas can be the most difficult time of the year.

No parent wants their child to spend Christmas hungry, or to wake up on Christmas morning with no presents under the tree, and Amy and the staff at the food bank are empathetic to the strain those with children can experience.

“It makes their whole situation much more visible I think during the Christmas period.”

She says.

Trussell Trust statistics show that December was by far the busiest month for food banks last year, and over 65,000 children received food supplies in the month.

The numbers have been rising year on year since 2012, and a recent statement from Trussell Trust’s chief executive Emma Revie highlighted the issues people are facing in the run-up to Christmas.

“

”

Christmas is supposed to be a time for joy but what we’re seeing is the festive period becoming increasingly stressful for more and more people across the country

She said: “Christmas is supposed to be a time for joy but what we’re seeing is the festive period becoming increasingly stressful for more and more people across the country.

“Our benefits system is supposed protect us all from being swept into poverty – but what we’re seeing is people struggling to heat homes and put food on the table because they simply cannot afford the basics anymore and that just isn’t right.”

Manchester has firmly established itself as ‘Capital of the North’ and it is a common site to see cranes marking further exciting developments in the City Centre, yet it is surely worrisome for any Mancunian that while the city thrives, the numbers of its people struggling to buy the very essentials is rising each year.

Manchester Central is accepting food donations in the run-up to Christmas, and Amy says that there are certain areas that are in short supply.

“We could do with anything non-perishable really – we run low on tinned meat, tinned puddings, tinned fruit, powdered milk etc.”

The Red Bo Inside the campaign aiming to S

By OLIVIA BARON ometimes it is often easy to miss things that are happening right in front of you. It’s easy to miss because you’re not looking for it. But sometimes, that can only make the problem worse.

Did you know that currently there are more than 14 million people in the United Kingdom that are living below the breadline? That includes 4.5 million children, according to the Social Metrics Commission. That means over 21 percent of the country are not able to afford the basic necessities they depend on.

Most people may be shocked by these statistics, and others may simply read them, and continue their lives in blissful denial at what is happening right on their doorstep.

So, what exactly is poverty? Poverty is the lack of the means necessary to meet basic personal needs.

That means there are people out there who cannot afford food, to clothe themselves or their family and sometimes, cannot even afford shelter. These are often things that we take so easily for granted.

In recent years, period poverty has become more prevalent. This type of poverty occurs when women and girls are unable to afford the means of buying sanitary products.

The latest research from children’s charity Plan International UK reports that one in 10 young women (aged 14-21) have been unable to afford period products.

And poverty is just one issue that may affect a person’s access to period products.

There are varied social and cultural reasons why products might not be available at home, many of which are linked with the stigma that persists around menstruation.

Increasingly, overstretched teachers are taking on the responsibility of helping pupils in need and schools keep small

stocks of menstrual items for emergencies. Limited budgets mean they can usually only hand out a couple at a time, sometimes being forced to charge students per product.

Helping to widen our understanding of the extremities of poverty is just one thing. The next is what can we do?

The Red Box Project is a nationwide, community empowered project that was set up in March 2017.

The initiative was devised to ensure that no young person misses school and other educational settings across the UK, ensuring young people have access to menstrual products wherever they need them – no questions asked.

The aim is to tackle the issue of period poverty head on.

The Red Box Project distributes red boxes around educational facilities in the UK. Each box contains a variety of different sanitary products in, so that those who cannot afford them don’t undergo the awful situation of not using them or misusing them by using them for longer than is instructed.

The scheme encourages individuals in the local community to support a Red Box in a school near them, working together to keep it filled with period products and spare underwear.

The Red Box supports young people throughout their period with as many menstrual products as they need, along with the added reassurance of a few left over to prevent a panic next month.

Periods happen during the school holidays too and so students are encouraged to take extra for times when school is closed. Coordinators also place Red Boxes in appropriate settings such as youth clubs, libraries and church halls which are accessible all year round. This is what makes the project special.

The Red Box is easily accessible through appropriate members of staff and plain bags are included for discretion.

Posters placed in toilets and changing rooms signpost the box, its contents and location.

Access to the Red Box is available to everyone, no questions asked. Open discussions are encouraged between teachers and students about the subject of periods generally, and the availability of period products via the Red Box specifically.

A spokesperson for the Red Box Project said: “The Red Box Project was started in March 2017 with the aim of tackling period poverty within schools.

It began in Portsmouth after hearing that 1 in 10 young women was experiencing period poverty in the UK according to Plan International UK; this rose to 1 in 7 young women within London.

ox Project eradicate UK period poverty From there the project has expanded right across the UK with us now having over 2000 active red boxes within education settings across the UK. The boxes are stocked with menstrual products as well as knickers and tights - the young people can come and take as much as they need from the Red Box, no questions asked.

“A Portsmouth school reported having seen a rise in attendance levels in girls by just under a third since having the Red Box installed within the school. This report was carried out by BBC South Today (16 December 2018).”

What does this mean for women and girls in period poverty?

It means they don’t have to undergo tearful panics in the loo.

No wrapped-up toilet roll. No anxious embarrassment.

No missed lessons or staying at home. No missed education.

The Red Box Project is powered by community kindness and focused solely on supporting young people. It is designed to be a simple, no frills scheme to meet a need with minimal fuss.

Castle View Academy in Portsmouth has said since the scheme was introduced it had helped increase attendance levels by nearly a third.

Now, the Red Box Project reaches 2000 active boxes in the UK. Anna Miles, co-founder of the Red Box Project, said: "A young woman's education will shape her future.

We are determined that this will be the last generation of girls to suffer the indignity and embarrassment of period poverty.

“When we started this project, the need for the provision was clear to us.

Within three months we had six boxes and by the end

“

of 2017, nine months in, we had 35 boxes.

By the end of 2018, just one year later, we will have over 2000. It’s incredible.

“The support we have received to date has been amazing.

There are people out there who cannot afford food, to clothe themselves or their family and sometimes, cannot even afford shelter. These are often things that we take so easily for granted

”

If you want to get involved in providing menstrual products to young people in your community, please do get in touch with us. We would love to hear from you.”

A teacher from a school that has a Red Box commented: “Our girls are no longer whispering, ‘Miss, do you have some pads?’.

Our girls are not having to decide between buying lunch or sanitary protection. They feel loved and supported.”

A simple idea, an aim to help others and proactive approach in making that become a reality.

An action of good might not change the world but it might change the world for one person.

Maybe that’s an attitude for us all to try and adapt.

Did you know that...

14 million people in the United Kingdom that are living below the breadline, including 4.5 million children (Social Metrics Commission) One in 10 young women (aged 14-21) have been unable to afford period products

1 in 10 young women was experiencing period poverty, rising to 1 in 7 young women within London (Plan International UK)

Understanding suicide in the North The group that gets men talking about mental health

I

By TJ GALLAGHER

n many ways Oldham is the quintessential Northern British Town. Not a Victorian town with paper sellers, apple stalls, and factory workers; nor the children on bicycles, nuclear family, and patriotism of the 1950s; it is not even the long shadows on county grounds, invincible green suburbs, and old maids cycling to holy communion that John Major famously described.

But with its dilapidated town hall converted into a brand-new Odeon cinema complex, town centre shopping precinct wrought in 1980s architecture and grandiose, moth-balled cotton mills, Oldham is instantly recognisable as a quintessential Northern British Town.

It is an eclectic mix of old and new, the past and present seeping into each other, creating a landscape that acts as a timeline of British history.

However, despite its traditional history, Oldham is currently the host to an innovative solution to something which is, sadly, also common in quintessential Northern British Towns, male suicide.

Andy’s Man Club was established by Luke Ambler in 2016 after his brother-in-law Andy completed suicide. It is a volunteer led organisation in which men suffering from mental health problems, including suicidal tendencies, can go for help.

Originating in Halifax the organisation has grown organically and now has 17 groups around the country. Ian, who coordinates the group meetings in Oldham, claims that they regularly host up to 60 men.

“It’s essentially a talking group, a peer-to-peer talking group.

“We have a series of questions that we have, we sit around in a circle, we pass a bottle round and we all talk and help each other with our problems.

“We would generally find out where people are at on a weekly basis, what’s been going on from that previous week, things that are going on in their lives.

“Whether there are things people would like to get off their chest or whether there are particular issues they want to talk about.

“There are usually some targeted questions about trying to promote some kind of positive change and some kind of direction and setting targets and that kind of thing.”

It is a much-needed service. In 2017, the Office for National Statistics reported that of 5,821 suicides completed in the UK 75% were men and in the North West and average of 15.6 out of every 100,000 male deaths is a suicide compared with 11.6 for London.

So, why is male suicide so much more prevalent in the North West?

A research paper by Samaritans entitled Men, Suicide and Society cites several studies that explain the high rate of male suicide in post-industrial towns, namely changes to the labour market, relationship break down, and particular characteristics of masculine socialisation.

“

In 2017, the Office for National Statistics reported that of 5,821 suicides completed in the UK 75% of men and in the North West an average of 15.6 out of every 100,000 male deaths is a suicide compared with 11.6 for London

ings of shame and inadequacy following break ups and men are also more likely to be separated from their children and suffer housing instability and homelessness as a result of relationship breakdown.

These issues are compounded by the insipid characteristics of male socialisation.

As children, men are bombarded with messages to hide their feelings and therefore often struggle to communicate distressing emotions.

This inability to self-express can be internalised to the extent that by the time men realise that they are vulnerable it is too late.

Suicide rates are higher in areas of socio-economic disadvantage, but this is even more the case when populations are looked at on a more localised level, which indicates that there may be specific characteristics of local character that contribute to suicide rates.

Ian is candid about the causes of mental health issues and suicide amongst men in Oldham and Greater Manchester: “I think it’s an old mill town, very much an industrial workingclass town and the general pervading attitudes of men within the town probably makes them predisposed towards aspects of mental illness and suicide in particular.

“I think there’s a very macho attitude within the town as a whole, as a former industrial town, where a man is very much seen as being the bread-winner within the family and the patriarch.

“I think over time as industry has changed, jobs have changed, I think a lot of people’s identity had struggled as a consequence of that.

“I think for me that would certainly seem to be that way as people are kind of pushed into different areas of employment and as [there has been] general change as well, I think men’s identity has struggled as a consequence of that.

“There’s a huge issue around relationship breakdown as well.

“It has a massive effect on the mental health of the people that we see.

“Relationship breakdown is a big issue that puts people at crisis point.”

Ian, a suicide survivor himself, understands why the group’s unique character can help with the specific set of problems men in places like Oldham face, aiding them in overcoming the psychological, and in some cases physical, isolation they face.

“ ”

Changes to the labour market and the industrial landscape of towns such as Oldham have been obvious and irreversible since the 1980s: between 1980 and 2010 the UK’s manufacturing sector shrunk by two thirds.

The decline in manufacturing work in areas such as Oldham has created a combination crisis where men are cut off from proving themselves in two ways: by providing for their families and by performing in a masculine occupation.

The so-called ‘feminisation’ of the economy – the growth of the service sector over manufacturing – has meant that there are fewer manufacturing jobs, limiting a traditional route to masculinity in working class areas like Oldham where for centuries manhood has been proved through physical labour.

Working in a manual job is also essential for proving self-sufficiency and for providing for one’s family.

Despite the steady decline of the bread-winner model in the UK with the advancement of women’s equality there is still a heavy expectation for a man to be the primary earner in a household.

The report also suggests that men suffer more from relationship breakdowns in the longterm.

Men receive more emotional support in relationships than women and therefore struggle more when they end.

Men’s social roles are often less flexible and as a result they can suffer from deep feel-

I think over time as industry has changed, jobs have changed, I think a lot of people’s identity had struggled as a consequence of that.

I think for me that would certainly seem to be that way as people are kind of pushed into different areas of employment and as [there has been] general change as well, I think men’s identity has struggled as a consequence of that

”

“I think that the fact that there is no barrier to attendance as long as you’re male and over the age of 18…we don’t take any details from people and we don’t report unless there’s these particular issues.

“I think also word of mouth, I think a number of people that we get who are friends or who are people who are familiar with a friend of the group is something that drives us.

“I can relate to men who based on my experience [relate] to me in a way that I couldn’t have done with women that I know.

“I can’t necessary put my finger on it but intuitively it just feels easier in that environment.

“There’s a real community feel about the club.

“I wouldn’t want to say that it’s exclusively macho way…but there is certainly a feel that men can be men as well as just being part of this group…in a natural and friendly way that doesn’t replicate itself in other aspects of life.”

The club is diverse, containing members with disabilities, from a variety of ethnic groups, and of different sexual orientations, but all the members are united in their journey and learning from each other to get well.

“I think there’s a common denominator between us all.

“We’ve all walked through that door and we all have a level of vulnerability that kind of brings us together.

“We do rely on people who are at different aspects of the journey and this kind of process works because I think the man who walks through the door on that first evening wants to be around people who are in a similar situation.

“But I think he also wants to see that someone else is at a different point in their journey and is actually well and functioning and has taken a lot from a group of men, to be in a position to give back to the other members.”

The issues which cause high rates of suicide in men are, like the landscape of Oldham, a mixture of old and new, but the unique, organic character of Andy’s Man club is a perfect solution.

A place where men can be themselves but also be vulnerable and a place to break the deadlock of male emotional distress built up throughout a lifetime.

The Smiling Soldier

“This is the face of depression�

D

By MARTHE DE FERRER

epression means sadness, right? It means wearing sweatpants, being reluctant to leave the house, eating a lot of junk food, or not eating at all. Depression is something we see on television: a miserable visage in a sea of happy faces. We know what the warning signs are in a friend or loved one perhaps they are withdrawn, ignore your calls, or simply seem overwhelmingly pessimistic.

But this is not depression, not really. It’s far more deceptive, far more insidious, and far more terrifying.

Scroll through Instagram on any given day and you will inevitably be met by a barrage of smiling selfies and enviable travel snaps. Flick to Facebook and look down your timeline to take stock of countless grinning group shots and outright braggadocio. Turn on Twitter and there will be many more #newprofilepic posts of yet more beaming faces.

I guarantee that many of those faces will be battling depression. Not just at some point in their life, but right now.

Behind those smiles is absolute desperation and hopelessness. When we live in an Insta-ready world, how on earth can we see the pain hidden beneath the filters?

I know this personally. There’s a great photo of me fooling around in New York with friends at the end of a working trip in the States. I look carefree and utterly delighted with everything around me. That was one of the lowest points in my life. When I got back to the UK a week later, I was formally diagnosed with clinical depression. I am grateful I made it back home at all, some don’t have that chance.

After the unrelated suicides of multiple friends, I poured through their social media accounts looking for clues. There weren’t any. They had posted the same happy pictures on Instagram, shared amusing anecdotes on Twitter, and reminded us all of hilarious throwbacks on Facebook.

Levi Crabtree was no different. His mother, Margi, posted a charming photo of the two of them - both smiling - just days before Levi took his own life. The last photo she has with him, Margi shared it again on Facebook after her son’s death imploring people to realise that this is the face of depression. It can be a sweet smile in a selfie with your mother.

Levi was 29 when he died on 1st November 2018. He had left the US Army five months prior, where he had worked as a Military Police Officer for six years. The end of his military career was a challenge for Levi, who struggled to adapt to civilian life as he moved back to his hometown, outside Columbus, Ohio.

“Levi loved everyone, there was never a person who came across Levi’s path that he didn’t make smile and bring happiness into their lives,” Margi recalls. “But I noticed when he was starting the process of getting out [of the army] that he was kind of not himself, he wasn’t as bubbly.

He wasn’t spending a lot of time at home and he would continually apologise for it.

“I told him, ‘you need to reach out to us if you are struggling. We are the ones who are here for you, reach out to

your family, reach out to your friends, reach out to these people - they know your heart.’ But at the end, he felt so alone, and it was just so crushing to my spirit, because he was not alone he had so many people. But the pain of his mind was just too much for him to bear.”

For Levi, life began with difficulty. Born three and a half months premature at just 1lb 15oz, Margi explains that “he fought hard and he came home four months later.” In spite of this challenge, Levi grew to be a naturally positive and warm person, a disposition Margi credits with this early strife: “he had to fight to live, to stay alive.”

This innate strength is why his death came as such a surprise to everyone who knew him. Levi spent his time in the military facing some of the world’s biggest crises. He worked in West Africa during the Ebola crisis, where he helped develop an educational facility. Following that he spent a year in Korea on a hardship tour.

This was a man who had seen the very worst, yet still managed to make meaningful connections with people: “he has friends literally all over the world,” says Margi.

These friends came out in overwhelming support for Margi after her son’s death, each explaining the ways in which Levi supported and loved them.

“I learned more and more about my son’s character from all of his army friends who sent me messages when they found out about his passing. Several of the people who reached out to me told me that when they were going through the darkest parts of their lives, Levi brought a smile to their life.”

One friend explained to Margi how Levi had supported him throughout his own depression, where he told him that “there was nothing better than life.” This infectious enthusiasm for life is why his death came as such a surprise to not just his friends, but his own family too.

For his two younger brothers, Caleb and Seth, Levi was their idol. Caleb joined the army at the same time as Levi, aged 22. The siblings looked up to their eldest brother, as, in Margi’s words: “he was their rock and their strength. His passing was really a shock to all of us."

A few times during my call with Margi she describes her son as: “a light.” She explains that he was someone who could lift people out of darkness, who carried energy and enthusiasm to everything he did, who drew people in with his charming warmth.

“He just brought such happiness to everybody, because his smile was so contagious and his personality was just so charismatic. He brought laughter. He loved everyone.”

Margi pauses, and adds: “but he also had so much pain.”

Initially, Levi’s relative lack of vivacity after leaving the army seemed a natural response to a major period of transition in his life. The warmth was still there, just slightly dimmed. Margi talked with him a week and a half before he died, offering support and comfort in any way she could.

“He was really struggling with the weight of everything. I told him that I thought his struggle was really within himself, because he was not being himself. He was trying to be what he thought everyone else wanted him to be, and not being Levi. He said that he felt that he wasn’t good enough now.

We were talking and I told him that first he had to find peace inside of his heart because everybody loved him and loved who he was just the way he was.”

In an effort to lift him up, Margi decided to organise a fun day together. She wanted to take him somewhere they had not been before, so drove to the Ohio Caverns nearby. It was there that she snapped their final photo together, a smiling mother-and-son selfie.

“His smile hid so much pain. So much pain.”

Less than a week later, Levi left home as usual for his job installing air conditioners, while Margi went to her work as a legal assistant. When she returned later that day, she discovered Levi’s body.

“He left for work that morning and he told me goodbye and that he loved me, which was completely normal. And then I found him when I got home from work.”

I ask Margi how she thinks cases like Levi’s can be prevented, how we can really know when someone is suffering.

“I feel that if your heart tells you something is off, about their smile, about their eyes, about their character then reach out to them, hug them. Talk about it. There’s nothing that you’re holding inside that can’t be made better if you share it with someone. And don’t take no for an answer, hold them, and hug them, and love them, and let them know that they’re perfect. We’re human, we’re all human.

“There’s nothing that someone else has not been through.

We all make mistakes and we all fail. But we have each other to pick each other up. I wish I had just stayed with him, and held him, and told him how much I loved him.”

At the end of our chat, Margi sent me a message to add something to the story. She wanted to let me know that she feels that Levi’s death is part of a wider epidemic of veteran suicide in the US. The family has chosen to support Save22, an Ohio charity which specialises in supporting veterans’ mental health.

An estimated 22 veterans commit suicide every day in the US, according to Save 22, a figure founder Tom Indorf is trying to tackle.

Indorf, a former US marine, explains how Levi’s story affected him.

“It hits home with me. I started Save 22 because I struggled with my own demons. I was close [to suicide] and I looked and I saw that I wasn’t alone, so I decided to do something to help other people who were feeling like I did.

“Talking to another veteran helps, because there is a brotherhood there. All veterans are intertwined in some way.”

He closes our chat with an interesting thought, something which resonates beyond military suicides alone.

“Even if your friend seems okay, sometimes they are not.

And that phone call can make the difference of them committing suicide or not. Don’t wait for them to say ‘hey I’m not okay’, see if they are okay.”

I wonder if this could the key. In a world where everything is lived through a filter, our default reaction is often “I’m good” when are asked how we are. Perhaps being pushier, trusting your gut, really checking what is lurking beneath the smile, could be enough to make a difference.

From Sudan to Egypt to Bolton

The refugee fighting for UK integration

I

By LIAM BEARD

t is twenty years since Sudanese political activist Yagoub Matar, 49, first became a refugee when escaping the clutches of the one-party, oppressive state of Sudan.

Travelling along the Nile, he sought refuge in neighbouring Egypt in 1998, joining his sister and friends, and established a career there.

He then became a political refugee again when his stance on refugees and criticism of the government made his eighteen-year stay in Egypt untenable.

Now, he lives in Bolton with his wife and three children and the cultural differences are stark.

In September 2017, he become one of only 121,837 refugees living in the UK by the end of that year – just 0.25% of the UK’s total population – when he arrived in Greater Manchester.

He achieved refugee status because he could prove that he was at risk by continuing to live in Egypt and his application was granted by the government.

His family accessed the UK through the Gateway Programme after seeking refuge and they have since had a mixed experience of life as refugees in the area.

Yagoub is not the stereotype of a refugee typically portrayed in the media.

This is a refugee who has attempted to immerse himself in the local culture and adapt to its demands and intricacies.

On his arrival in Bolton he said: “The biggest challenge I faced was the language barrier.

“I speak English but not colloquial English and the area which I live in makes it harder because I cannot understand anything people say.

“With the help of Refugee Action I started at the community college studying English Language.

“For the colloquial language, I participated in volunteer work in the community that covered both local people and immigrants.”

However, unable to find a job, he must accept that volunteering is the only way into a career for a refugee.

He continued: “In order to work in the UK you must have UK experience which I obviously don’t have.

“To get this you have to volunteer.

“I tried to apply with my own qualifications for different jobs but unfortunately none of the employers called me for an interview.”

He has applied for numerous jobs in administration, social work and accountancy but companies will not even look at him because of his lack of work experience in the UK. He must build up a bank of one year’s volunteering to even be considered.

How can he forge a life for him and his family without an income?

He says the system must change: “Many people from aboard have their own skills, and very good skills.

“To be an electrician or a builder you have to have a licence and also study in this country.

“This means that these skills [gained abroad] are not transferable to a job in the UK. “Why can’t the government have exceptions to help refugees?

“The system is failing.

“Good mechanics aged 52 and 53 have good skills but have to learn English and go through apprenticeships.

Refugee Action fundraising in practice

“It is so difficult for them to do this at their age, but intensive English courses would help.

“People who come to the area are registered at Bolton College to learn English as a second language and they select two hours a day and two days a week, but it is not enough.”

He believes that the key to integration is to understand the differences and nuances in cultures and communicate openly with the local people.

He has made a conscious effort to make himself known to the local community and approach them to try and navigate some of the usual barriers that stand between immigrants and the locals.

However, it is when he has attempted to forge more meaningful relationships that he has struggled to bridge the cultural divide.

He said: “Here, the way people socialise is different.

“I had to force some neighbours to communicate and I had to fabricate a topic to initiate conversation with them.

In order to integrate more and for the local people to open up more with refugees and create a more welcoming and inclusive environment, Yagoub believes that there is work to be done on both sides to bridge the cultural differences.

He is taking the time to understand and adapt to British culture and he suggests that this is the reason why he has been welcomed without friction.

“We have to understand the culture of the local area.

“I haven’t experienced any problems because I have taken the time to learn about the cultural differences.

“If I can come closer to your culture, I can make a peaceful accord between you and explain my culture to you.

“For example, in Sudan there can be a queue for a bus

EGYPT

SUDAN

Yagoub moved from Sudan to Egypt in 1998

and I can cut in with no consideration for others.

“Here, you cannot do that.

“Me and my wife try to go into the community and learn about the culture and the laws and this would be good for other newcomers to the area.

“Sometimes though I don’t know the differences.

“I remember the first time I took the bus with a pushchair for my kids and left it in the aisle.

“In my culture no one cares.

“I could tell from people’s eye contact and facial expressions that something was wrong and I asked ‘am I doing something wrong?’

“They told me that I couldn’t leave it there so I had to fold it up and take my kids elsewhere.

“Their facial expressions can come across as aggressive.

“My initial reaction from the facial expressions was that there was hatred and they don’t like me but when I asked, I began to understand the culture of the country.

“But it is just about taking a bus in different cultures.”

He also believes that it is up to media to inform and educate British people more on the situation of refugees and to improve their knowledge on why they are moving to their country.

He said: “It is normal for any nation, if they don’t any information about migrants, to be nervous.

“They are asking: why are they coming here?

“They may have the wrong impressions.

“In one year here I have watched the media a lot and they don’t shed a light on the people who come here.

“I think the media can play a vital role in providing information on refugees and why they have left their countries and they are not.

“

”

In one year here I have watched the media a lot and they don’t shed a light on the people who come here

“There is no discussion of their situations at all.

“There needs to be a two-way dialogue because people coming here don’t know what British values are.

“There needs to be a system so that refugees can understand what British values are and adapt to them.”

Refugee Action, a charity that has worked with Yagoub and has helped him settle and also provided a platform for him to help refugees in the future, also believes that there is a lot of work to be done to provide support for refugees when they arrive in the UK. Jeremy Bernhaut, Specialist Resettlement Manager at Refugee Action said: “Most of the British public want our country to be a welcoming home for those who need sanctuary and a good number of local authorities are committed to making that happen.

“Still, some issues do remain like a lack of funding for services, the poor quality of asylum accommodation, a shortage of English lessons, and restrictive legislation which prevent those who are seeking asylum from getting into work.

“Through our own work and by public campaigning we hope to continually improve the support given in this country to refugees and people seeking asylum.”

Yagoub now plans to reapply for a master’s degree in Migration and Diaspora Studies at SOAS University of London, after being rejected this year for failing to obtain a scholarship to raise the money for a pre-course.

He is not being provided with the necessary support to improve his situation and contribute to the British economy.

He is willing to move away from his children in order to provide a better life for them, contribute to the economy and help refugees like himself by studying on this course.

More needs to be done to provide the required funds and accessibility so that refugees can integrate into society better and improve their prospects.

How I escaped North Korea

J

By JAMES MOULES

i Hyun Park was born and raised in North Korea.

Two escape attempts, sex slavery, and a stint in prison camp later, now she lives in Bury.

Mention North Korea to anyone and striking images will likely fill their head. Vast military parades through the central square of the nation’s capital. Endless streams of soldiers proudly goose-stepping before their commanders.

Fawning civilians prostrating themselves before giant statues of their dear leaders.

Given recent developments, some might even envisage a mushroom cloud.

This is the strong image that the Kim regime likes to present, yet for the average North Korean the reality of their lives is far from glorious. Ji Hyun Park, a refugee from North Korea now living in the UK, says: “This world can’t imagine this country.”

To begin with, she had the standard upbringing for children in North Korea.

“When I was a child, we learned the history of the revolution. They told us Kim Il-sung is a god and the greatest leader in the world, not only in North Korea.”

There was little to no access of foreign media. All information was provided by a single TV channel and the government newspaper.

Escape from North Korea is fraught with danger – this is no secret. Attempting to leave by either South Korea in the south or China in the north presents different problems of their own. South Korea seems like the most logical country to head to, but anyone fortunate enough to evade the guards at the border will find themselves in a literal minefield.

The other route – and the one which Ji Hyun took – is to head north and cross the river into China. Yet taking this

route is just as risky. Korean refugees captured by the Chinese authorities face repatriation and imprisonment for defiance of their dear leader Kim Jong-un.

Kim is the third Supreme Leader of North Korea, having acceded to the throne of the hermit kingdom in 2011. The Kim dynasty began with Kim Il-sung, who founded the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948 following the end of the Japanese occupation.

After Kim Il-sung’s death in 1994, he was granted god status with the title of Eternal President while his son Kim Jong-il took over as Supreme leader.

His death in 2011 expanded the pantheon of North Korean deities, being declared Eternal General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea.

Their collective rule has been condemned all over the world for flagrant human rights abuses.

So in 1998, aged 30, Ji Hyun made her first escape.

Mass famine was ravaging the nation at this time. Three million people died of starvation, including Ji Hyun’s uncle.

She and her brother left North Korea into China, leaving the rest of their family behind.

“I still don’t know when my father passed away.”

Once in China, Ji Hyun and her brother believed that they were free – they could start a new life away from the hegemonic regime of Kim Jong-il.

It was not to be.

They ended up ensnared by human traffickers, who took Ji Hyun into slavery and had her brother repatriated to North Korea. She still has no idea what happened to him.

She explained that the Chinese are not accepting of North Korean women – they would either be workers or sex slaves. While in China, Ji Hyun gave birth to a child.

Even after all this, she was still repatriated to North Korea five years later.

In their 2017/18 report on the nation, Amnesty International suggests that Ji Hyun’s story is commonplace among

women attempting to leave North Korea – many make deals with human traffickers, and are often subjected to abuse from their captors.

There are also details the horrors or North Korea’s notori-

Image: Roman Harak@Flickr

“ Wh en I g ot t h e re fu g ee v i s a , I n e a r ly c ri ed . It is a s m a l l ID c a rd , b u t it saved my l if e”

ous prison camps. Amnesty International estimates that as many as 120,000 people are under arbitrary detention in North Korea, and inmates are said to be repeatedly subjugated to forced labour and torture.

Image: Roman Harak@Flickr

Ji Hyun’s description of her own experience in one of these camps details this horror in vivid reality. She describes how the inmates were forced to work manual labour all day long, with no shoes and no proper toilets.

But after six months, Ji Hyun severely injured her leg in an accident, leading to near fatal complications. The North Korean authorities were not prepared to let her die inside the camp, so they released her. Close to death, she made contact with the human traffickers once again and returned to China.

The same risks were there as before. If she was caught again, she would be repatriated again. But her young son was still in China – at this point, he was the only family she had.

This time, however, luck was on their side.

In 2007, Ji Hyun met an American Korean pastor in Beijing. It was he who found them a way out of this life, and helped them move to England.

Ten years after her first escape, Ji Hyun arrived in the UK. “When I got the refugee visa, I nearly cried. It is a small ID card, but it saved my life.”

Since living in Bury, Ji Hyun has worked with Connect: North Korea, an organisation dedicated to helping Korean refugees into their new lives.

There are many challenges facing refugees, not least of which is learning to speak English. Ji Hyun describes this as Connect: North Korea’s first goal for helping refugees. The offer book clubs and writing clubs to help work on their language skills.

She faced this problem herself upon her arrival to England. When her son passed exams to enter Bury Grammar School, she received a scholarship letter from the school.

She couldn’t understand the letter, so her son didn’t get to go there. As a result of this, she set out to learn the language herself.

Image: (stephan)@Flickr

Connect: North Korea estimates that there are about 700 North Korean refugees living in the UK, many of whom are in London.

In 2017, North Korea forced itself into international attention with the advance of its nuclear weapons programme.

Tensions reached critical levels, with speculation that Korean ICBMs now had the potential to reach the continental United States. President Trump, with his typical chestthumping ‘America First’ rhetoric, issued apocalyptic threats to Kim. Many thought this might be it. The world would soon be destroyed in a blast of ‘fire and fury’. The Economist ran a front page cover featuring Kim and Trump’s faces forming a mushroom cloud with three simple words: It Could Happen.

In spite of this, tensions appeared to rapidly defuse in early 2018. Kim Jong-un made a historic meeting with South Korean president Moon Jae-in across the demilitarised zone. In June, Donald Trump became the first US president to meet with a North Korean leader at a summit in Singapore – something that might be described as his ‘Nixon in China’ moment.

There has even been talk denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Ji Hyun is sceptical. She estimates that Kim’s recent posturing on the world stage has been an act of desperation.

International sanctions have forced Kim to attempt diplomacy. She adds: “Kim Jong-un has never said he’s going to give up his nuclear weapons, you never heard that.

“Nuclear weapons are Kim Jong-un’s power.”

Ji Hyun is one of a number of refugees who managed to make it out of North Korea alive. Others are not so fortunate. Many are arrested in China. Many die on the journey.

Many face the horrors of repatriation.

But she believes all should remain defiant in the face of tyranny.

“In the UK I learned that refugees are stronger people

Nina Nesbitt on messages and E Jarrod Kay finds an engaging interviewee in one of the UK’s brightest new singing stars MATES: Capaldi and Nesbit have been on the road together

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truly engaging, self-confident and multi-talented lady, Nina Nesbitt is clearly capable of leaving a lasting impression.

In a relaxed and informal conversation with MM, the singer revealed all manner of fascinating details about her life. Not least that her middle name Lindberg is her Swedish mother’s maiden name.

Nina paused then laughed upon being quizzed over such a topic. She declared: “Nobody has ever asked me about the origin of my middle name before.”

These days most are understandably curious to know how Nina asserts her individual identity after having been in such a high profile relationship with Ed Sheeran which made headlines back in 2012.

Unfazed by the curiousness into her love life, the 25year-old explained: “I don’t really think I have an issue with being an individual because that relationship was seven years ago, and it’s really irrelevant to my dating life now.”

She added: “Obviously he was a big part of my life in general, as a person, you know giving me that first opportunity to go on a tour. I think a lot of people associate me with him in that way but I wouldn’t say anyone thinks of me as his ex-girlfriend now.”

Nina does think that former associations are something that celebrity women can struggle with, but she understands why such labelling occurs.

As for Ed, she said: “I think, as a musician, he’s been instrumental in my career, but I don’t really have an issue with people labelling me as his ex.

With justifiable pride, Nina added that she has since built her own career and had chart success as a result of her own efforts. She giggled as she added: “I have lots of

strings.”

Nina recently toured alongside Lewis Capaldi and, excitingly for all concerned, they played Manchester’s Albert Hall.

So, how exactly did this exciting collaboration with Lewis come about?

It turns out that Nina and Lewis are both from West

DISCOVERY: Nina only found out about Lewis recently

Lothian in Scotland. Nina had not heard of him until fairly recently, but he had apparently been a fan of hers for ages, since her first EP. Lewis had gone along to her gigs, covered her songs for competitions and applied to support her on tour a few times, but she never actually knew it was him.

He then released the song Bruises on New Music Friday which impressed Nina.

She reflected: “I just had to find out who it was, as I thought it was so good. I remember hearing it and thinking ‘I like that; I think that’s amazing’.”

Nina eventually tracked Lewis down and found out ‘he lives in literally the same place as me’. She explained that she ‘reached out to him about doing a writing session, so we had a session and just hung out from there’.

Now, the songstress thinks he is one of the most exciting new artists. Firmly believing that much of the music scene is now about following a trend or trying to be cool, she thinks Lewis is just a timeless artist with a great voice and great song writing skills.

It was actually in Manchester that Nina performed her first ever gig. As a 16-year-old she took to the stage at the Roadhouse in the Northern Quarter.

She has performed in the city multiple times since then and is happy to confess that she absolutely loves the Manchester crowd.

Some three years ago, Nina was invited to attend the Women in the World summit – an annual gathering of luminaries promoting the cause, now in its tenth year. She was asked to take part in the panel and offer her perspective as a young woman who had grown up with social media.

Nina – who felt honoured to have been invited to contribute to the event – explained: “I think the internet is amazing, but there is quite a lot of pressure, particularly on young girls to look a certain way.”

Given Nina’s interest in such issues, I asked what advice she would give to the young women of Manchester

n 'strange' Ed Sheeran

about their place in the world, particularly after the Arena attack?

She praised Manchester for its strength, sense of community, and its devotion to music.

She said: “It’s the sort of place where I could have done a show five years ago and I’d get the same front row now. People are very dedicated and make you feel great at the gigs.”

In terms of Manchester’s young women, she was keen to emphasise that whatever it is they aspire to be they should work hard, believe in themselves and use every tool at their disposal, particularly the internet.

Nina pointed to the bravery of Ariana Grande in putting on the One Love Manchester concert in the wake of the attack. It’s easy to sense that Nina was inspired by what she perceives as a selfless act, on which others can model their behaviour.

Nina’s song-writing contains a lot of personal emotion and experiences, which could possibly pose an issue about how she separates her public self from her private self.

She revealed: “I don’t really mind people discussing things about me. I’m quite lucky in that I don’t have anyone harassing me. So it’s not really difficult for me.

“I’m the sort of person that has always been open with my song writing. I know everyone realistically goes through the same things and so, yeah, I’m pretty much an open book.”

I found it fascinating that Nina maintains her enthusiasm for such public access to herself, given reports she had been the victim of a stalker. The starlet was happy to confirm that these reports are, unfortunately, true.

She divulged: “Yes, I had somebody online sending me strange messages. I do think the internet opens you up to great people and also some people who have got slight issues like that.

“I would urge people to be careful who you’re talking to online, especially if you don’t know who they are.”

Let us be clear: Nina Nesbitt is young, bright and talented. She has a lifetime ahead of her in a creative industry that will take her in all kinds of directions.

With this in mind, I explored what success looks like for her.

She pointed out that she thinks the idea of success changes constantly.

Her 14-year-old-self would consider what she’s currently doing as ‘success’, whereas now she is setting her sights on new goals.

With sagacity, Nina turned the question on its head and said: “I think failing is something where you’re not doing what you love and you’re not happy with what you’re doing.

That’s what failing is.”

For those who have not yet seen the video for Nina’s single Loyal to Me it features fantastic wardrobe and choreography. It’s well worth checking out, especially since Nina was involved in the design.

She revealed that she knew exactly what she wanted for the video. She was set on the ballet themed, romantic P!nk-meets-androgynous look, so she just worked with a few people to source the outfits.

A lot of the creative and visual ideas came from her because that is something that she is really interested in.

She added: “All the artwork on the album has a theme. And from each single the artwork tells a story.”

When I first heard Nina sing, I felt I recognised shades of Cat Power in her voice. I asked Nina if Cat had any influence on her style.

It turns out that, whilst Nina is familiar with the name she has never actually listened to Cat. However, we laughed as Nina admitted she was now intent on going to check her out after the comparison!

How three guys revolutionised film consumption Sam Port takes a look at Netflix’s unstoppable rise to dominance...

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Reed Hasting – Netflix CEO and Founder

Marc Randolph – Netflix Founder

o, the official story goes that in the 90s Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was so embarrassed by a $40 late-fee that he incurred for a copy of the movie Apollo 13 at his local Blockbusters, that he came up with the idea for the company: An online DVD postal-rental-service that worked on a monthly subscription basis, with no due dates, no late fees and no need to even get off the sofa or out of the house to venture to your local store.

“That’s a lot of crap,” said co-founder Marc Randolph to biographer Gina Keating, adding that this story was a “convenient fiction” – an apocryphal tale that could sell their vision of Netflix, exemplifying the benefits of their service in the process.

This story would grate on the founding team however since it put Hastings in the limelight, making the company all about him.

It all began in 1997, Scott’s Valley, California.

Hastings was a computer-engineer, in charge of a software debugging company Pure Atria. Noted for his cold engineering mind-set, he was passionate about the World Wide Web. He specifically enjoyed cracking computer algorithms. This passion would later lead to the Netflix algorithm, the winning code that generated recommendations for its users.

Randolph was his marketing director and had previously founded a separate computer mail order company. An affable people-person, he would guide Netflix in to becoming the consumer-centric company with the quirky aspect that we know and love. He wanted to replicate the Amazon online store model - then a fledgling company - only with something different than books.

Hastings liked the idea. He told the Mobile World Congress in 2017 that the idea for renting DVDs specifically stemmed from a maths problem: Computer scientist Andrew Tanenbaum asked students how much a bandwidth a station wagon would hold if full of VHS tapes. The answer lay in how many tapes the wagon could carry, how much data was in each tape and what speed the wagon could get to its destination.

This lead Hastings to think about how much more bandwidth DVDs could carry. He said: "When a friend told me about DVDs and I realized, well that's 5 gigabytes of data and you know you can mail that very inexpensively, I realized that is a digital distribution network.

And from that original exercise, it made me think we can build Netflix first on DVD and then eventually the internet would catch up with the postal system and pass it."

The Silicon Valley duo hatched a scheme to see if DVDs would travel safely through the postal service, by sending it in the mail. Although, actually getting their hands on a DVD to do the experiment with proved tricky. This was back in the days of screechy dial-up internet and videos being the household norm. They had to use a CD-ROM for their experiment.

Hastings mailed the CD to himself and it arrived at his home unscathed.

He promptly sold of Pure Atria and invested $2.5 million in to the start-up project to take on the then $16 billion DVD and VHS rental industry.

Early Struggles “Netflix was originally a single rental service,” Hastings told website Inc. in 2005. “But the

Ted Sarandos – Netflix Chief Content Officer

subscription model was one of a few ideas we had--so there was no Aha! moment. Having unlimited due dates and no late fees has worked in a powerful way and now seems obvious, but at that time we had no idea if consumers would even build and use an online queue.”

It wasn’t until 1999 that Netflix would employ the subscription model. This set them apart from the other rental services and they grew rapidly.

In the next year, however, Netflix only amassed 300,000 customers. Even worse, their customers were growing tired of the long wait time that the US mail service necessitated and this service was becoming costly for Netflix.

Netflix offered acquisition up to Blockbuster for $50 million. They proposed to rename the website to Blockbuster.com and continue to run the mail order service. Blockbuster rejected the offer.

Netflix’s problems continued. They had to lay off one third of their staff in a bid to stay afloat. Mitch Lowe, one of the founding executives, was poached from the company to competitor Redbox, a DVD rental kiosk service.

Randolph left the company as CEO in 2002 – the reasons behind his departure shrouded in mystery. At this point, all the founding members except for Hastings had left.

It wasn’t until after an initial public offering (IPO) selling $15 per share, raising $82.5 million that Netflix began to experience real growth – reaching 1 million subscribers in 2003.

The Winning Algorithm In 2005, as Netflix was dominating the DVD rental-service, with a customer base of 4 million, four times the size of Blockbusters, and two years away from making the leap in online

DID YOU KNOW? • Netflix has 117.6 million subscribers.

• 73% of all US households subscribe to Netflix, now equal to that of cable subscribers.

• Neflix has a market value of $150 billion.

• Netflix has seen a 31,260% rise in its share value since the company went public in 2002. This would mean an investment of $990 in 2002 would have generated over $310,000.

streaming, Hastings told Inc. that: “There are three types of customers at Netflix. One group likes the convenience of free home delivery, the movie buffs want access to the widest selection of, say, French New Wave or Bollywood films, and the bargain hunters want to watch 10 or more movies for 18 bucks a month. We need to keep all the audiences happy because the more someone uses Netflix, the more likely they are to stay with us.

“At this point, our movie buyers are very good. We constantly invest in and improve our technology. Using all of our measurements, we know within a 10% range whether a movie will be a hit with a subscriber.”

Hastings’ focus was on developing Netflix’s computer algorithm, “Cinematch”. It was an instrumental part of the service, computing the customer recommendations.

It was Hasting’s plan from the very start to focus on exploiting the dot com wave and move the business towards an online streaming platform: "We want to be ready when video-on-demand happens. That's why the company is Netflix, not DVD-by-mail."

Todd Yellin, Netflix’s current VP of product innovation, told Wired that the foundation of Netflix was resting on a “three-legged stool”.

This analogy articulates that the streaming goliath depends on its customer base, its work force and the algorithm.

Netflix monitor the data of what customers have watched. Workers are tasked with watching every second of content and tagging it, these tags can vary from whether the TV show or movie has an ensemble cast, a strong female lead or if it’s set in the future. The computer algorithm then disseminates the data from both of these strands and syncs recommendations with the customer’s viewing habits.

Furthermore, the streaming service were so eager to spearhead their algorithm that in 2006 they set a competition for web developers to come up with a better alternative to Cinematch, offering up a cash prize of $1 million. It was only until 2009 that an international coalition of four teams “BellKor’s Pragmatic Chaos” won the competition with an algorithm that had a 10.06% accuracy increase.

Eventually in 2011, Neflix stripped out the DVD-by-mail service – forming a separate company called Qwikster to shift them…which died a fast and brutal death. Due to the mass of criticism, Netflix quietly kept the service going in the US with a current customer base of 3.3 million.

Netflix Originals Ted Sarandos has been described as the evil genius behind the TV revolution of binge watching. He is Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, responsible for the acquisition of Netflix greats such as House of Cards, Orange is The New Black, Narcos, Stranger Things, The Crown, Bojack Horseman…the list goes on...there are so many, presently the platform boasts a total of 700 original programs.

Explaining the reasoning behind the binge output model of releasing a season in one batch, Sarandos told The Guardian: "The television business is based on managed dissatisfaction. You're watching a great television show you're really wrapped up in? You might get 50 minutes of watching a week and then 18,000 minutes of waiting until the next episode comes along. I'd rather make it all about the joy."

In the 70s, when Sarandos was a teenager he would watch episodes of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (a satire of soap operas) with his family on a Sunday night, all the week’s episodes back-to-back because they worked during the week and couldn’t watch it otherwise.

When the Sopranos was broadcasting, he didn’t have a HBO subscription, so would have to lend recorded videos of the show which had three or four episodes on. He would watch the whole tape in one go because he had to watch the next episode straight away.

After he was brought on to Netflix in 2000 to develop the DVD-mail postal service he noticed that “people would return those discs for TV series very quickly, given they had three hours of programming on them – more quickly than they would a movie. They wanted the next hit."

Conversely, Netflix Orginal movies have thus far attracted much less acclaim and water cooler reverence than their series’ output.

The streaming gargantuan may have conquered television but the film industry lashed back in early 2018, with Cannes Film Festival banning Netflix from screening their films at their festival. The festival stipulated that the films to be shown must have a theatrical release.

Netflix responded by giving films such as Alex Garland’s Annihilation and the Coen Brother’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs limited theatrical releases, but to meagre gains as these releases were, as confessed by Netflix, benign.

One could surmise that Cannes’ action indicated an underlying fear from the film industry

Image: Bill Selak@Flickr

but the streaming service has failed to shake the direct-to-video feel that Netflix Original movies have grown. Rumours circulated that Oscar hungry producers and writers weren’t prepared to sell their scripts to Netflix for this reason.

This reputation has grown from Netflix films such as the 2017 Will Smith movie Bright which attracted over 11 million views in its first three days but it was slaughtered by the press and The Cloverfield Paradox, which was also sentenced to death by film critics.

The growing speculation is that films become ‘Direct-to-Netflix’ movies because the production company forecast poor returns in the box office due to their poor quality.

Nevertheless, more recently Netflix foreign-film Roma by Alfonso Cuarón is tipped for Oscars glory and The Christmas Chronicles starring Kurt Russell as St. Nick received over 20 million views in its first week with a mix of fairly positive reviews, so the tide could turn.

The upcoming Martin Scorsese flick The Irishman starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino is certainly an exciting prospect.

The conflict between Netflix and the cinemas rages on. Speaking to the UBS Global Media, Sarandos said: “I don’t disagree that going to the theatre to see a movie is a great experience. I don’t think emotionally it’s a different experience than seeing a movie on Netflix. It is a different physical experience for sure.”

Netflix has changed our viewing experience for good. Before the Academy Awards are announced we could watch Roma on our phone legally in clear and crisp condition whilst riding the bus.

Reed Hasting said: “Stone Age. Bronze Age. Iron Age. We define entire epics of humanity by the technology they use.”

The 2010 decade has so far become an age of smart phones and internet dependence.

Netflix has yanked film in to that territory.

DID YOU KNOW? • The only territories where Netflix is not available are China, Crimea, North Korea and Syria.

• Netflix only moved beyond web browsers in 2008, partnering with companies to stream on Blu-ray disc players, Xbox 360 and TV set-top boxes. Moving on to smart TVs and PS3s in 2009.

• Netflix’s first international venture was in Canada, launching in 2010. Latin America and the Caribbean in 2011, then finally breaking in to Europe in 2012.

• As of 2018, Netflix are $8.34 billion in debt, up 71% from $4.89 billion a year prior.

Happy birthd

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The groundbreaking contraception div

By YEMAYA MARSDEN

t has been over half a century since the contraceptive pill was first made available on the NHS, and although it has often been heralded as a factor in changing social attitudes towards women, the tiny pill has faced more than its fair share of adversity.

The 4 December 1961 was a landmark day for women’s rights as the introduction of the pill marked the liberation of women from the fear of pregnancy and enabled women to embrace their sexual agency.

pill, but all of them contain the same type of synthetic oestrogen (ethinyl estradiol) and one of eight synthetic progesterones (progestins). The synthetic oestrogen prevents the body from releasing an egg every month. Meanwhile, the progestin thickens the cervical mucus to not only make it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg, but also makes it harder for the fertilised egg to latch onto the uterus and start growing.

That sounds brilliant, but many women are not aware of how synthetic hormones can wreak havoc with our own hormones? When I visited a GP for the pill for the first time, I was asked three questions: 1) 2) 3)

Do I suffer with migraines?

Do I smoke?

Is there a history of blood clots in my family?

No, no and no. I was fine to take the pill.

I didn’t expect the side-effects. I have had to switch pill brands four times because I’ve suffered side-effects from extremely heavy periods to intense panic attacks and paranoia. My GP never took me seriously and simply just prescribed me a pill that contained a different progestin.

I am not alone.

dig through my arm and covered me with my own blood. It had sunk so deep that I had to have stitches after.

“I was also on the pill for three years and I went from a size 8 to a size 14. I’ve been off it for a month and I’ve lost almost a stone without any change in exercise and diet.”

However, Katie Williams, 24 from Stirling, Scotland has had a different experience with Rigevidon: “I hear a lot of people say the pill affects them badly, but I have never had any of the side-effects, not even drastic weight gain.”

Implant

The pill is not the only form of contraception available for women. Another popular form of birth control is the implant, a small flexible rod that is placed under the skin in your upper arm. It releases progestogen into your bloodstream to prevent pregnancy and lasts for three years.

The pill

Initially, the pill was only for married women, but this changed in 1967. This coincided with the 1967 Abortion Act, a revolutionary piece of legislation that enabled doctors in Great Britain to perform abortions lawfully and safely.

Fast forward 57 years and the pill is still the most popular form of contraception (aside from male condoms) in the UK, despite other options that are now available.

There are two types of pill – the combined pill and the “mini pill,” which only contains progestins.

There are many brands of the combined contraceptive

“

Prudence Flavin, 22 from Truro, Cornwall relies on the implant for contraception, but also used the combined pill Rigevidon to regulate her periods. She recently had a terrifying experience when she had her implant replaced and realised the negative effects the pill had on her body.

“I recently had my implant replaced and the doctor had to

”

I was also on the pill for three years and I went from a size 8 to a size 14

In 1993 Norplant, which consisted of six progestogen (levonorgestrel) releasing rods, was introduced in the UK. However, this was replaced by Implanon, a single rod implant containing etonogestrel, six years later. In 2010, Nexplanon was phased in to replace Implanon. These two implants are

day to the pill

viding opinions for nearly six decades very similar, except that Nexplanon is radio-opaque and the insertion procedure is different.

Emma Allen, 30 from Tarporley, Cheshire has experienced some unwanted side-effects from her recent implant, but her positive experience with previous implants has not persuaded her to try a different contraceptive method.

“I didn’t have any issues when I initially got the implant nine years ago. I then had it removed to have my second child and since then I’ve had numerous issues with my menstrual cycle, sometimes I’d bleed for three weeks at a time.

“My latest one, which is due to run out in May, has already failed so I’ve been put on the pill. Other than that, it’s done its job and I’ll definitely continue on the implant in the long term.”

Unfortunately, Andreia Dias, 25 from Kettering, Northamptonshire does not sing any praise for the implant.

“I was on it for four months before having it removed. At first, everything was going ok and then a month into it I had my first period, but it didn’t stop.

“I was on my period continuously for three months with about two days between each one. I ended up in hospital because I was losing too much blood and was in a tremendous amount of pain. I became anaemic.”

The coil

Another non-permanent option of contraception is intrauterine devices, or IUDs. One of the most appealing factors for opting for the IUD is that there are no hormonal side-effects (unlike the pill and implant), such as acne, headaches or breast tenderness.

The IUD is a small, T-shaped plastic and copper device that is put into your womb via the uterus. Copper IUDs were first introduced in 1969 but prior to this, IUDs were made from silver, plastic… and even a ring of silk worm gut.

The IUD is often referred to as the “coil” and releases copper into the womb to prevent pregnancy for between five and ten years. When inserted correctly, the coil is more than 99% effective.

However, many women have complained about the pain

experienced during the initial fitting of the coil, as well as during the process of having it removed.

“

but now lives in London with her British husband. After a pregnancy scare, she opted for tubal ligation at the age of 23, but only after sending forms to the state health department.

At the end of the day, what works for one woman may not work for you. Our bodies are complicated, our hormones can be wild

Zara Reid, 19 from Bournemouth resorted to the coil after having negative past experiences with the pill. Having the coil fitted, however, was not an easy or pain-free procedure.

“My experience leading up to getting the coil was very scary and I had almost everyone in my ear telling me it was more painful than childbirth. The actual experience was honestly as painful as everyone was saying and I almost passed out from the sheer pain and longevity of the whole process.

“However, the next day I couldn’t feel a thing and was back to normal and super happy that I’d done it. I definitely think I would have it replaced when the time comes because it has been my best method of contraception, so I wouldn’t hesitate to carry on having it until I want kids.”

Sterilisation

Some women know from a young age that they never want children. However, doctors are not keen to do tubal ligation on childless women in their prime child bearing age.

Kim Mc Intyre, 51, is originally from Logan, West Virginia,

”

“They turned me down, so I wrote a letter of appeal and told them if they did not do the tubal ligation and should I become pregnant, I would immediately get on welfare and the state could provide me with food, housing, and healthcare for me and my child for the next 18 years.

“I received a letter a couple of weeks later that I had been approved. It was the best healthcare decision I ever made.

“I got a lot of criticism for not having kids, but my husband is 20 years my senior and he had three kids already, so he was supportive of my decision not to have children.

“I did not want to have to take the pill all my reproductive life because of the side effects. Pregnancy terrified me, and abortion just wasn’t easily procured in West Virginia at the time, which would have been the only thing I would want to do.”

At the end of the day, what works for one woman may not work for you. Our bodies are complicated, our hormones can be wild. It is important to research hormonal and nonhormonal methods to make informed choices on what is best for our bodies.

Love it or loath it, the pill and its contraceptive cousins are here to stay, preventing unwanted pregnancies and allowing us to have more control over our body and how we choose to live our lives.

The conscious beauty lifestyle Mindful beauty: healthy body, clean conscience

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By YEMAYA MARSDEN

hen was the last time you checked the ingredients in your skincare, makeup, or even cosmetic glitter? Do you even pay attention to the logos (or lack of) on the packaging?blind texts.

We often associate the word “sustainable” with green energy, compost and ingredients in our food, but we should also check the sustainability in our makeup bags and bathroom cabinets.

There is a growing awareness of the ingredients in products that we are not only putting inside us, but also what we are putting on our skin every day. As well as the popularity of veganism and “clean eating,” many people are opting for “clean beauty.” It would not be farfetched as to say that most people opting for natural, organic ingredients in their diet want to align their beauty routine with their lifestyle.

Plastic and its negative impact on the environment is a hot topic at the moment and for good reason. According to Green Peace UK, an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans each year. That’s a truck load of rubbish every minute. The beauty industry has, like many other industries, fallen foul of indulging in non-biodegradable materials in their products. However, more and more companies are following a much more eco-friendly road to helping our planet.

But at the end of the day, it’s up to us, the consumer, to do our part.

The number of vegans quadrupled between 2014 and 2018.

But veganism isn’t just about a diet overhaul. There is also a growing appetite for vegan and cruelty-free beauty products.

Vegan and cruelty-free are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. This might sound confusing, but a beauty product can be vegan without being cruelty-free.

Vegan products, just like the vegan diet, do not contain any animal by-products, which can be an animal ingredient or an animal-derived ingredient. These include beeswax, lanolin and keratin. Meanwhile, beauty products labelled as cruelty-free would have been produced without any form of animal testing.

and toothbrushes because it is a very renewable material – one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. Bamboo is hard wearing, but it is also biodegradable and compostable, unlike the plastic ending up in our oceans and inside our beautiful aquatic animals.

Eco Tools uses renewable bamboo and recycled aluminium and plastic to make their eco-friendly makeup brushes. In addition, the bristles are made from Taklon, a cruelty-free synthetic fibre, and the packaging is made of “100% Tree-Free paper” – 20% cotton and 80% bamboo fibres.

Other plastic-free alternatives include recyclable glass bottles or no packaging at all. Lush has plenty of shampoo bars and normal soap, perfect alternatives to hand wash, body wash and shampoo that usually come in plastic bottles.

Glitter and face wipes are a must for festivals, but did you know they contain plastic? They are non-biodegradable and end up in our landfills and oceans. I personally wouldn’t recommend using face wipes at all because facial cleansers are better for your skin. However, if you must then look out for biodegradable glitter, such as Eco Stardust, and face wipes from The Body Shop and Yes To.

Since 2013, EU law states that it is illegal to sell animaltested cosmetics in Europe. However, any company that sells their products in countries where it is law to test on animals may still be carrying out or commissioning tests on animals. This means that these companies still profit from cruelty to animals despite labelling their products as vegan.

To ensure that you aren’t indirectly supporting animal testing, look out for one of three certified cruelty-free logos.

This guarantees that the company does not endorse animal testing anywhere in the world.

Ethically sourced ingredients

Cruelty-free

Veganism is a big, booming business in the UK and the popularity of vegan products are constantly growing in line with consumer concerns about the ethical and environmental impact of animal-related products. Whether it’s for animal welfare, for health or for the environment, there is no denying that veganism is on the increase. According to latest research, The Vegan Society found that there are 600,000 vegans in Great Britain in 2018, or 1.16% of the population.

Ethically sourced ingredients are important so show your support by purchasing products from companies that are dedicated to sustainable productions and paying suppliers a fair wage.

A good starting point would be to check for the Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance logos, which are a sign that the ingredients have been sustainably sourced.

The Body Shop regularly launch new campaigns to highlight pressing issues in their “Bio-Bridge adventures.” Back in April, The Body Shop teamed up with the Red Panda Network to save these adorable endangered animals. Together they sought to reforest core degraded habitat of the red panda in Nepal by planting all the trees necessary for their survival, including bamboo, so the red pandas have a safe home and plenty to eat. To raise money, a donation from every sale of The Body Shop’s vegan Himalayan Charcoal range was made to the Red Panda Network.

Ditch the plastic

More and more beauty companies are ditching single-use non-biodegradable non-recyclable plastic in a bid to help the environment. Many companies are turning to more ecofriendly substitutes to plastic packaging. Bamboo is a popular alternative to things like plastic makeup brush handles

Beauty with a conscience

There are many reasons why we should be more mindful about our beauty products, for a healthy body and clean conscience. Whether that’s shunning animal-derived byproducts and animal-testing or opting for natural ingredients or recyclable packaging, we should do our little planet a big favour.

Fast fashion’s

H ow to s h op m or e su s ta i n ab l y T

By LORNA O’BRIEN

he issue of fast fashion has quickly become a topic of discussion following the premiere of the BBC documentary Fashion’s Dirty Secrets in October.

It exposed the damaging impact our love of shopping has on the environment, as viewers were shocked to discover that to produce one carrier bag of clothing would take the equivalent of 80 years of drinking water for one person.

Presenter Stacey Dooley confronted the heads of much loved brands such as ASOS and Primark at a sustainability summit in Copenhagen, however she was met with a deafening wall of silence.

It was a similar story last month when the Environmental Audit Committee held a meeting with staff from ASOS, Missguided and Boohoo.

The brands have created enormous empires, built on £5 dresses and clothing designed to be worn for one night or to gain likes on Instagram before being relegated to the back of the wearer’s wardrobe.

Carol Kane, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester-based Boohoo, stated that the infamous £5 dresses were simply a “marketing tool” to drive traffic to the website and that as “loss leaders” the product did not generate a profit for the multi million pound giant.

The brand has come under fire for its use of “dark factories” in Leicester where workers are reportedly being paid less than the minimum wage.

This was confirmed by Channel 4’s Dispatches, an investigative current affairs programme, who filmed undercover at these factories - which also supply Missguided - between the years 2010-2017.

When asked how they could sell a dress for £5 when the minimum wage is £7.83, Kane replied that the costing must

be taken into account but was unable to provide any specific details.

She did, however, discuss the brand’s involvement with reGAIN, a company that encourages shoppers to download their app and donate unwanted items to one of their 20,000 drop-off points in the UK in return for vouchers to spend on clothing, homeware and holidays.

During the meeting, Kane said Boohoo are looking to work with more influencers and brand ambassadors in the upcoming year, adding that “the online space has a great social reach”.

Critics may argue that it only fuels the fire by giving shoppers the incentive to replace their old clothes with new ones, but with Pretty Little Thing and ASOS also on board, it will hopefully make an impact in years to come.

MP Philip Dunne argued that by targeting girls aged 1629, these brands are putting pressure on them to constantly buy items to keep up with the latest trends and emulate the influencers they follow on Twitter and Instagram.

Natasha Collins, a 27-year-old property investor and university lecturer, said that she shops online 3-4 times a month, but is conscious about choosing high quality pieces that will last a long time.

“Usually when I’m looking online, I try to go out and buy the product in the shops, mainly because I’m worried about quality.

“I hate it when I’ve bought something and it seems like I’m going to sweat straight through it.I’ll spend ages picking out the garment I want, for example my last purchase a Michael Kors quilted coat, and then I’ll go in store and buy it.

“I like the feeling of handing over my card and swinging a nice looking paper bag. Makes me proud that I’ve worked for that,” she said.

Though she doesn’t feel “overly pressured by the Instagram or Twitter to always wear something new”, she doesn’t like going to parties in the same dress.

Nevertheless, she is “more and more aware of sustainable fashion”, and will donate items she has not worn for 6 months to charity.

When it comes to shopping for sustainable items, she doesn’t know where to shop for it and has “a mental bias that sustainable clothing only comes in T-shirts and yoga pants”.

However, she would “definitely be interested in shopping more sustainable brands for my clothes and the fabrics I use in my home” and is “very conscious of other sustainable products, I always buy fair trade and I just purchased sustainably made wedding invites online.”

Paul Smith, Head of Product Quality at ASOS, defended the brand’s decision to target young women.

He said, “We do not promote the use of our clothing as a one-off wear. There is a longevity and a quality built into our product that we have invested in, so I do not think we are being socially irresponsible.

“We are trying to promote a feel good factor with people, and mental well-being. If you look good you feel good, you feel empowered. I think that we have all been in that situation ourselves. It is not just young women who go through that.”

The surge in popularity for clothing hauls on Youtube only adds to the growing pressure to keep spending money on one off pieces for a night out or special occasion.

I’ve certainly been guilty of this during my student years once my loan came in I went straight down to my local shopping centre to pick up yet another sparkly top or clutch bag.

But Boohoo hope to get influencers on side to promote reGAIN as well as a series of “how to wear” videos that will encourage shoppers to incorporate their new purchases with existing ones from their wardrobes.

They have so far recruited online influencer Fashion Influx to create a series of Youtube videos, styling Boohoo pieces

dirty secrets

with items she already owns.

Nick Beighton, Chief Executive Officer at ASOS, also emphasised the positive use of social media to promote sustainability within the brand, which was founded in 2000; the acronym stands for As Seen On Screen.

He said that “We do use the power of our social media to help guide and educate. Telling does not normally get the best response for our 20-something audience.

“Guiding, education and informing does and we aim to use our social media to use that channel to make people feel great about their purchases and know how to deal with it, care for the garments and also how to recycle their garments if they so choose.”

ASOS was the only brand at the panel who has signed up for the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan and Beighton discussed their work with a factory in Kenya as part of the ASOS Foundation.

It currently has just under 80 single mothers making garments in the region, using the offcuts for toys for children, and the Kujuwa initiative uses spare fabric to create sanitary pads for young women.

“The consumer today holds brands accountable for taking care of these things for them. I think that it is really important that we lead on that and that is part of the ASOS Fashion with Integrity programme,” he said.

Currently 18% of ASOS denim is recycled, so the fabric of the denim is recycled and by next year they aim to have 100% of the ASOS denim range created with recycled or more sustainable material.

They have also developed a range of ASOS-branded lingerie made from plastic bottles and a swimwear range using recycling fishing nets.

If you’re looking for a new piece to add to your wardrobe, why not consider one of the many sustainable brands that are helping raise awareness around fast fashion in Manchester?

Founded by Hannah Beaumont-Laurencia in 2008 after a stint teaching maths to children on the island of Taveuni in Fiji, Beaumont Organic specialise in casual pieces with a luxury twist, using organic cotton and leftover fabrics from their factories.

They also work with The Loloma Foundation which provides medical care to rural communities in Fiji, and 1% of all their profits last year were donated to the foundation.

Their flagship store is located on 49 Hilton Street in the heart of the Northern Quarter.

Blackburn-based Community Clothing create jobs for skilled workers in empty factories across the UK, paying them a living wage.

Founded by British designer Patrick Grant, they currently work with 19 factories and key suppliers to create their range of easy to wear basics, featuring socks from as little as £2.50, which can be bought from their online store.

Finally, Stitched Up, based in Chorlton, run workshops teaching people how to up-cycle and repair old clothes and also hold clothing swaps.

They have a range of events planned throughout January, including a four week garment making course starting from Wednesday 9th and a master class in shibori, an ancient Japanese dyeing technique, taking place on Saturday 19th.

Manchester has stepped up its efforts to become more environmentally friendly and tackle climate change with its Zero Carbon plan.

The Climate Change Board hopes to turn Manchester into a zero carbon city by 2038 by reducing carbon emissions by 13% from 2018 onwards.

An Annual Review by the Board has shown that over the last year the city’s carbon emissions have fallen from 2.2 million tonnes in 2016 to 2.1 million tonnes in 2017 and the city is on track to achieve a 38% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.

DID YOU KNOW?

To produce one carrier bag of clothing would take the equivalent of 80 years of drinking water for one person

Currently 18% of ASOS denim is recycled, so the fabric of the denim is recycled and by next year they aim to have 100% of the ASOS denim range created with recycled or more sustainable material.

The name Ancoats is likely derived from the old English word ana cots, meaning ‘lonely cottages’.

The high concentration of factories saw Ancoats become an integral centre of industry, renowned for its production of cotton and other textile mills and glassworks.

Ancoats lacked parks and other public spaces and buildings. In fact, the first record of a church was as late as 1821. The area lacked basic services such as plumbing and street cleaning. Public health was a concern.

The area developed into an industrial hotspot throughout the 19th century and as a result became densely populated. The cramped community within Ancoats was more populace than large towns in Greater Manchester such as Blackburn or Bury.

Despite a thriving economy, the rapid expansion left Ancoats underdeveloped. Rows of back to back housing dominated the neighbourhood to supply the demand of workers needed for the factories.

The end of the 19th century saw an influx of immigrants from Italy and Ireland, spawning communities which still be found today.

As the industries fell victim to new technologies in the early 20th century, the area became very deprived and notorious for crime and disrepair.

1989 saw Manchester City Council make Ancoats a conservation area to protect its historic buildings, but this made regeneration a more complicated process

In 2000, the Government approved the 250m New Islington Project, kick starting the regeneration that can be seen in Ancoats today.

Poverty was rife and the terraced neighbourhoods become slums.

Unemployment was widespread and World War II saw depopulation.

Manchester’s bids for the 1996/2000 Olympic Games also led to speculative buying of property. After the bids failed, this property was hard to sell and mostly left derelict.

The Bengal Tigers Gang Gangs became increasingly notable in Manchester in the late 19th century following the decline of the previously prosperous industrial activity in the region. Members were known as ‘scuttlers’ and the gangs derived their names from their affiliation to the neighbourhoods they controlled. They were violent and highly territorial.

Street fighting and other public displays of violence were commonplace.

The most infamous of these scuttling gangs in Ancoats were the Bengal Street Tigers.

Meet the Scuttlers

Scuttlers were youth-centric. Many were still teenagers and adopted a strict fashion with their association to their gang. Their appearance and distinctive dress code differentiated themselves from other working-class civilians in the neighbourhood. Men wore uniforms with brass tipped clogs, bell bottom trousers and peaked cops worn on a slant. They also cut their hair short at the back and sides and grew long fringes, known as ‘donkey fringes’. Matching scarfs or neckerchiefs might be worn to identify membership to a specific gang.

Looking the part...

The gangs offered opportunities upon membership. Whether it be about gaining status and respect or the simple thrill and sense of belonging. Interestingly, gang activities did not revolve around stereotypical criminal misdemeanours such as robbery or racketeering. These were violent territorial groups and street fighting was their unifying signature.

Fighting was strongly engrained in the gang’s way of life. Gang members fought with knives and heavy belt buckles. But this street warfare wasn’t intended to cause casualties. Opponents were left seriously injured and often scarred for life as a reminder of the defeat, but fatalities were a rarity. Violence was fuelled by pride with the aim of proving the neighbourhood they represented was the toughest. Street fighting was already more acceptable within working class Victorian culture as a form of resolution to an argument, but the gang culture seemed to incite and intensify it. The mundanity of young people’s lives working within factory districts also presumably led to a search for excitement and escapism.

Gang life and violence

This article and its images were sourced from ‘The Gangs of Manchester’ by Andrew Davies (Milo Books).

The problems surrounding Manchester’s gangs in working class neighbourhoods inspired the founding of youth clubs; some of the first of their kind. Unlike the efforts of the Police and local Government at that time which had worked against the gangs with harsh prison sentences, the youth clubs offered an alternative establishment for young people to join. Primarily focused on sport and in particular football, the clubs allowed the competition and rivalries to live on, representing their neighbourhoods without the need for violence. One such example, St. Marks Football Club, is still running to this day. Although you may recognize it by its new name; Manchester City FC.

The legacy...

Ancoats: Manchester’s Little Italy T he 19th Century introduced many political and economic hardships in Italy and as a result many Italians left the country in search of a new life.

Thousands left their rural villages from all over the country. Leaving their homeland behind, many made their way to port cities such as Naples to make the long voyage. With an uncertain future ahead of them, they sailed to many destinations around the world and one of them was Manchester.

Many of those who were forced to leave were simple farmers. The rolling Italian hills and mountains were a far cry from Manchester’s industrial cityscape. The Italians found residence in Ancoats and worked in the many factories and mills. Although the housing was old and run down, it would’ve seemed like luxury compared to what the immigrants had left behind.

As word grew of the successful journey and search for work, more and more Italians emigrated and eventually began to outnumber Ancoats’ English and Irish residents. The expanding colony had become its own community and spawned societies and committees to protect and promote Italian life in Ancoats, some of which are still running to this day. Soon Italian traditions and influences started to become apparent, with one such delicacy becoming a firm favourite; ice cream. Originally made by hand in the cellars of Little Italy’s workhouses, the process was meticulous and strenuous. However, concerns over public health arose which threatened the ice cream industry.

In those days people used ‘licking glass’ bowls to eat their ice cream and these likely spread illness and disease. Because of this, the classic wafer cone was invented and is still manufactured in Manchester to this day. This seemingly small bit of innovation probably saved the entire industry.

The War years were an extremely difficult time for the people of Little Italy. Mussolini’s siding with Hitler led to a strong wave of anti-Italian feeling amongst Britains, despite the Italian immigrants having built a respectable and peaceful life in Ancoats and very few were fascists themselves.

This culminated to widespread rioting against Italian communities and many men were arrested on suspicion of being security risks. Life and conditions in detention facilities for these men was very poor and the arrests plunged many families into poverty with no wages to provide for the households back home. Sadly the tragedies would only continue.

On 2nd of July 1940, a passenger liner transporting many Italian and German detainees was sunk on its way to Canada. 470 Italians lost their lives, many of whom were citizens of Ancoats Little Italy. Despite their arrests being unwarranted, to this day an apology to the community is yet to be received.

After the War, Little Italy began to rebuild itself and businesses began to thrive again.

This prosperity introduced opportunity and the later generations of the initial working class families started to venture to the inner city and its surrounding suburbs. The slum clearances of the 1960s all but broke up the remaining community of Little Italy.

With generations of Italians now integrated across the city, the recent renaissance in Ancoats has provided opportunities for new residents and businesses to call it home. But for the folk of Little Italy, the cobbled streets of Ancoats will remain the birthplace of their proud heritage.

This article was sourced from the archives of Anthony Rea. Visit www.ancoatslittleitaly.com for more information. Copyright is reserved.

R e co m m e n ds . ..

In the final pa rt o f our Anco ats spec ia l, Matthew Re eve l ook s at the bes t pl aces to eat a n d d r i n k i n M a n c h e s t e r ’ s n e w e s t h i p ne i g h b o ur h o o d

FOOD...

This place is about as authentic as they come.

Rudy’s pride themselves on following the cultural traditions of Naples in preparing each pizza they serve. These guys are pizza enthusiasts and it shows.

Dough is freshly made on site and once the toppings have been added they cook for 60 seconds. That’s all it takes for this style of dough to be ready to eat. If you like your pizzas, this place is the promised land.

Having relocated from Piccadilly earlier in the year, Pollen Bakery is a welcome addition to Ancoats growing list of food and drink hangouts. Whether its savoury pasties and sough doughs, or outrageously good cakes and brownies, this place accommodates for all ‘light bite’ fancies. It also offers some great vegetarian and vegan options and the coffee is excellent as well. If you’re passing - this spot has all the makings of a perfect stop off. Trust us, you won’t regret it.

Integral to the make-up of Elnecot was embracing their Ancoats heritage. The building, furniture and materials all nod to the areas industrial roots and it’s nice to see somewhere that clearly cares so much about their inherited culture. This bar and kitchen is a delightful addition to the many new spots the neighbourhood now boasts. A fantastic selection of guest beers, wines and cocktails accompanied by a tapas-style menu of delicious small plates. You get the sense Ancoats has just upped its game with Elnecot.

Everyone knows, fish and chips is the quintessential British takeaway. It’s arguably the nations favourite meal. However, The Hip-Hop Chip Shop say this universally loved fast food is often bogged down by the boundaries of tradition.

Well no more. They offer the finest revitalised fish and chips you’ll every have the pleasure of eating. They make everything by hand and to the finest quality. Oh, and did I mention the top notch hip-hop memorabilia? It’s unquestionably the coolest chip shop you’ll ever set foot in, and even if the food doesn’t take your fancy, they serve great beers on draught. Happy days.

And our favourite café in Ancoats goes to…

Café Cotton. If you fancy a delicious choice of sandwiches as well as a great coffee and cake selection then look no further. On top of that the breakfast is a real treat; as every good cafe’s should be. Café Cotton is just an excellent all-rounder. We advise going for an early lunch though as their sandwiches and paninis are a firm favourite and can sell out fast!

... OR DRINK Looking for a good cocktail bar? Look no further. This is the best one around. Set up by two brothers who built and named the bar in memory of their mother, The Jane Eyre offers a great selection of cocktails, interesting wines, local beers and small plates. It’s a fantastic little spot with a warm and friendly atmosphere. In fact, The Jane Eyre may be the best bar in Ancoats… but we’ll let you decide that for yourselves.

After 25 years, Britain’s tallest rollercoaster continues to draw in the crowds...

Michael Berry takes a look at the history of Blackpool’s iconic Big One Between 1991 and 1994, England became the focus of attention for the installing of major new rollercoasters. The build up to the English Tourist Board’s Year of the Rollercoaster in 1994 began in a town called Stainley near Ripon, in North Yorkshire.

Robert Staveley, who at the time owned Lightwater Valley, designed the layout for The Ultimate, the World’s longest rollercoaster. Covering an area of 44 acres, with a track length of just over one and half miles, it opened in 1991 and no doubt inspired other parks in the country to expand.

In 1992, it was announced that three major UK parks would be investing heavily for the 1994 season. Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Drayton Manor Park would be hiring three major companies to design the world beating rollercoasters.

Bolliger & Mabillard, and Intamin from Switzerland designed the UK’s first suspended looping coaster and the first standup rollercoaster in Europe. Nemesis, at Alton Towers, proved to be one of the most intense rides ever built, and people from all over the world came to ride it after its preview opening for GMTV, on the 28th March 1994. I was invited to this event and it was an amazing experience riding the coaster with Ross Kelly from the morning television show.

Drayton Manor Park commissioned Intamin to design and build 7up Shockwave - a four inverted coaster that featured a world’s first element for a stand-up ride, which opened in March 1994. The inline twist had never been seen before on a stand-up coaster and, to make it more thrilling, the train executes it over the rapids ride, giving each rider the near-miss sensation.

May 1994 saw the opening of The Pepsi Max Big One in Blackpool after two and half of years of construction by Watson Steel, and Allott & Lomax - two Manchester based engineering firms.

Watson Steel, like many companies in the early 1900s, began life as a family organisation. Founded by Robert Watson (1886 – 1949) in 1933, they went on to become one of the biggest steel fabricators in the country. William M Watson (1896 – 1960) was born the same year that another family-owned attraction opened in the North West of England, namely Blackpool Pleasure Beach. At the time, the Pleasure Beach was the odd ride built on the sands at the South Shore; yet, more than 125 years later the park is still the most popular tourist attraction in the UK Amusement Park industry.

The company was family owned up until 1978 when they were merged with Fairclough Building. Shortly after, in 1981, the company joined Amec. It was under this

merger, although still named Watson Steel, that they would for the second time be involved with Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

As rollercoaster interest grew, so the way they were built evolved. Since the late 1800s, wooden rollercoasters, which had no undertrack rollers, were noticeable in several seaside resorts. It was not until the 1920s that the undertrack roller was invented, and new more daring wooden coasters were built.

In 1923, Blackpool Pleasure Beach built the UK’s first rollercoaster with this design.

Following the construction of The Big Dipper, the park built multiple wooden coasters right up to 1935,

using the same design methods, these were the: Roller Coaster (1933), Zipper Dipper (1934) and Grand National (1935).

While the park was expanding, so to was Watson Steel. The Bolton-based company, between 1956 and 1971, fabricated steel for companies including Heathrow Airport, where they constructed one of the passenger terminals in 1958. They also worked on the Gathurst Viaduct for the M6 in 1959, and the Rakewood Viaduct for the newly built M62. But it was in 1978 that the company would first come in to contact with the Pleasure Beach for construction of Europe’s first looping rollercoaster.

The park commissioned America-based designers Arrow Dynamics, who had previously built Matterhorn Mountain for Disneyland in California, to design the launched rollercoaster Revolution. All the structural work was fabricated by Watson Steel in time for its 1979 opening and this was the beginning of a working relationship between Arrow Dynamics, the Pleasure Beach and Watson Steel. Although, Arrow had already been involved with the park in 1977 with the construction of the three track Steeplechase which, alongside Revolution, still operates to this day.

Watson Steel first worked with the Pleasure Beach between 1978 and 1979 for the fabricating of the steel work for Revolution which put them in good stead for future projects.

Peter Miller, the Associate Sales & Estimating Director for Severfield said: “Because of this, we were the natural contenders for the construction of The Pepsi Max Big One.” 13 years on from Revolution, the Pleasure Beach was now under the control of Geoffrey Thompson, son of Doris Thompson, who commissioned Arrow Dynamics, Watson Steel and Manchester-based Allott & Lomax to work on the structural engi-

neering of this project.

Peter said: “Our main contact was Dr John Roberts at Allott & Lomax, he was the person we worked with.”

One of the biggest problems with the new rollercoaster was the lack of space in relation to where Watson Steel could piece the structure together, and how to get it into the park. Each section was transported to Blackpool Airport from the Bolton engineering firm before being pieced together in sections and then transported to the Pleasure Beach.

The roads leading to the park had to be closed multiple times and some of the transporting of the support sections, which were as wide as the road itself, had to be conducted at night time.

Peter added: “All the construction was done blind, in that the crane operators had to communicate with those in the Pleasure Beach to lower the supports in place over Ocean Boulevard, for the sections that lead up to the turnaround above the Grand National.”

Once the structure had been fabricated and delivered to the park, the bright red track was installed from January 1994. In no time at all, the coaster was looking all the more complete and added a new photogenic scene to the Blackpool skyline. It could be seen as far away as Southport and the roads leading in to Blackpool.

On the 28th May 1994, the day finally arrived for the opening of this landmark rollercoaster, built entirely in England.

Rollercoaster fans and the general public lined the promenade and walkways in the park to catch a glimpse of the first test runs of the day. Celebrities Bad Boys Inc caught the inaugural train, alongside the chairmen of The Rollercoaster Club of Great Britain: Andy Hine and Justin Garvanovic.

Geoffrey Blears, a rollercoaster fan from Llandudno said: “I wasn’t going to go on it

when I first saw it, but my Dad said he would never buy me another ticket if I didn’t. I remember feeling glad I had done it but not wanting to do it again.”

Geoff remembers not liking the turnaround section on his first ride, as there is no choice but to look 114 feet down to the ground.

Another rollercoaster enthusiast, Adam Kean from Blackpool, explained that when he was 12 he could not believe the size of the coaster.

He said: “When I first saw it, it took me two years after the opening to actually ride it. The lift hill was so intimidating, as I didn’t know when the drop would happen on my first ride.

“Several years later, I am still riding the coaster and have ridden it both at night time and during the day, which is amazing.”

Several years ago, the trains were decorated in the Union Jack flag which shows the patriotic nature of the park. The Avalanche trains were also decorated in the flag.

In 2019, The Big One and the Revolution both celebrate anniversaries - 25 and 40 years respectively. Both were fabricated by Watson Steel, which still manufactures steel sections for buildings and bridges all over the world, under the name of Severfield.

Rollercoaster designing is now more of niche market, and so only specific companies build the steel work. Icon, the latest rollercoaster at the Pleasure Beach, was designed and fabricated in Germany before being shipped over to Blackpool.

The North West of England can be proud to say that it was involved with The Year of the Rollercoaster, and construction of the one of the most recognised steel coasters in the World.

Dare you ride The Pepsi Max Big One?

City’s history m C

by Sam France

oach John Fox could hardly believe his eyes. It was November 1988 and his team had been playing together for a few weeks, but they seemed incapable of responding to his instructions.

“Carrie!” he screamed into the frostbitten air of Oldham’s Boundary Park. “Carrie! Carrie!”

His players were as bemused as he was exasperated.

“Who’s Carrie?” they asked each other. “He keeps telling me to give it to Carrie, are you Carrie?”

Half-time came and the penny dropped. The mysterious Carrie was never found. “No,” Fox sighed. “Carry the ball!”

• Thirty years later, there were no such miscommunications.

2,149 people watched on at City’s state-of-the-art Academy Stadium to see a crunch clash at the top of the Women’s Super League that was making waves on social media.

Two professional, technically superb and tactically proficient sides went head-to-head, teenage starlet Georgia Stanway scoring twice as City ended Arsenal’s perfect start to the season and set up a thrilling title race.

The club’s Twitter account showed off a stunning second goal to more than 6.5million followers but there were no fans more proud than a group of women in their 40s and 50s, invited as guests of honour for the biggest game of the season. The pioneers, the trailblazers. The class of ‘88.

• Manchester City’s first women’s team was the brainchild of Neil Mather, who worked with the City In The Community (CITC) branch of the club.

He would organise small-sided tournaments between company teams, and eventually decided to run one for female employees who wanted to take part.

Encouraged by the turnout but frustrated by the lack of further opportunity, Mather put it to his bosses that the club should hold trials for a women’s team, and secretary Bernard Halford agreed.

An advert was posted in the Manchester Evening News and the men’s team programme, but Mather didn’t know how optimistic to be.

To help shore up the numbers, he dragged along his little sister Michelle, only 15 but eight years a season-ticket holder at City.

“We went to Platt Lane and there were 70-odd that turned up,” she recalls.

“I can remember being lined up across the astroturf on the Platt Lane complex, and it was just sort of simple touches of who could kick it, who could play a short pass to narrow it down because there were so many there.

“We got put into groups of ‘yes you can play a bit’ and ‘no you can’t play, you’re just here because you’re a City fan’”.

Image via @ManCityWomen

Main images via Manchester Evening News [L] and Lynne Cameron

PROGRESS: Michelle Middleton [front row, second left] was one of t

The variation in ability among those who turned up was huge some played for local teams such as Redstar or Woodley Ladies, while others had never kicked a ball in their life.

But 70 potential players was far more than Mather had anticipated, and sorting the wheat from the chaff was a welcome chore.

• After a couple of weeks and a few more training sessions, they had an opponent.

“We were going over to Boundary Park to play Oldham thinking ‘oh my God!’” Michelle says.

“We didn’t really know each other, we’d only trained together a couple of times, had some light training sessions.

“A motley crew went over to Oldham to play that first game on the 27th of November.

“We didn’t expect that we would go there and win because they were an established team with established players.

“It was a bitterly, bitterly cold night.

“They all came in, all wrapped up ready to go, tights and leggings on, long sleeves under their shirts and Neil was like, ‘we’re having none of that!’

‘But it’s freezing!’

‘I don’t care how cold it is, shirts on, shorts on, get out there and run. If you’re cold, it’s because you’re not working hard enough.’”

City won 4-1. The star of the show on the night, and indeed for many seasons to come, was centre-forward Donna Haynes.

“She’d have fitted in today’s team,” coach Mather recently told the club’s website.

makers hit 30 women’s team, they were an attractive prospect for local players, some of whom played for their previous club one day and City the next for a chance to wear blue.

With the nucleus of the squad quickly formed and bolstered, the big fish soon outgrew their small pond and won promotion to the North West Women’s Regional League First Division after just two seasons.

At the time, this was the highest level the team could play in.

Though it was only a regional competition, the structure simply wasn’t there for a national division and it took dedication and perseverance from players and staff to keep the club going through these stagnant years as the entire club struggled.

As clubs like Arsenal and Fulham started to pay wages to their women’s teams, better players could be attracted to the league and the standard gradually improved.

“

n/Man City/Getty Images [R]

the founding members of the Manchester City Women team

Image by Gary James

“Although she never trained, smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish, she could score goals left, right and centre. She was our Maradona.”

Michelle draws a comparison closer to home, likening her to current City wizard David Silva.

“Keep it tight and get it up to Donna and Heidi [Ward] and you knew they were going to do the damage,” she says.

• The tactics may have been rudimentary, but those who stuck it out through the first few weeks were in it for the long haul.

Fines for dirty boots or being late to training, punishing workouts at their Armitage Centre training base, and use of the CITC bus for away games around the North West showed their commitment to operating like a ‘proper club’, and it was a club that quickly gained momentum.

As one of the first big clubs in the country to have an affiliated

”

‘Would we have been here if you hadn’t turned up that day for a trial? Would it have all got to this?’ Who knows!

By the early 2000s, there was a traditional club structure at City; not just the first team but reserves and youth sides as well, a progression system which pushed the quality up further.

Games in Manchester for the 2005 European Championships piqued the public’s interest in the women’s game, and attendances at City grew.

• As with the men’s team, it is not as if the club didn’t exist before Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008.

City weren’t far off the top level but not quite there, and investment in every corner of the club translated to a rejuvenating process for the women’s team.

By 2013, the club outbid rivals to enter the reformed top division at Doncaster Rovers Belles’ expense, and started to bring in experienced internationals such as Jill Scott, Karen Bardsley, Toni Duggan, and current captain Steph Houghton.

The success of the England national team at the 2015 World Cup - the Lionesses came third, beating Germany in the bronze medal play-off - kicked off an attendance boom as the Euros had done ten years earlier.

Twice in the following campaign, City broke the league attendance record at their new home, the 7,000-capacity Academy Stadium. They won the 2016 Women’s Super League at a canter, finishing unbeaten and conceding just four goals all season.

A core part of the expansive Etihad Campus, Manchester City Women’s place at the Academy Stadium is significant in itself.

Their position as an official part of the club formalised in 2012, they share the same training facilities, corporate links and resources as the men’s team and feature in the same marketing material.

Their wages and exposure aren’t at the same level yet and likely won’t be for many years, but City present their men’s and women’s teams as equally important parts of the same machine.

Horizons are broadening in every area of the game - opportuni-

HOTSHOT: Nikita Parris [L] recently became the Women’s Super League’s all-time top scorer | Image via @ManCityties are there in coaching, nutrition, physiotherapy and analytics that simply didn’t exist ten years ago.

It may well be decades before women’s football is truly on an equal footing with the men’s game, but you sense the current crop are willing to put in the work.

• Both of the Mather siblings have more than played their part, with Neil still working at the club and Michelle still holding a season ticket.

Now, it is about giving the next generation the sort of chances that the previous ones haven’t had.

“We had all the old cliches of ‘do you swap shirts at the end of games?’, and ‘it’ll never take off’, from a lot of people,” Michelle says.

“The day of the Arsenal game was really special for us all because it was an acknowledgement of ‘would we have been here if you hadn’t turned up that day at Platt Lane for a trial? Would it have all got to this?’ Who knows!

“I’ve got a 17-year-old daughter that’s on an elite rugby programme, and now it’s my hope that it crosses over into other sports, that they look at football as an example.

“Rugby’s one of those sports that’s heading that way and touching on being professional and for my daughter, she’s hoping to go on the pathway of becoming a professional rugby player.”

Neil has said similar: “One of the big deals for me, as a father of a six-year-old girl who plays football for fun, is the thought that she has women to look up to as her inspirations – not just men.

“She sees women playing the game as a career – people like Steph Houghton – and she says: “I want to be like that!””

Children need heroes they can relate to. When you see the way the current City Women team interact with fans, you can’t help but feel hopeful for the future.

30 years ago, a woman kicking a ball about was a novelty. Now, she’d just be a footballer. And for a little girl watching wide-eyed from the stands, they might both just be heroes.

City won a cup double in 2000 | Image via Gail Redston

One Giant leap for Manckind Manchester’s basketball team within touching distance of a new home

T

By MARK SLEIGHTHOLM

he Giants are on the move again. After four and a half seasons at the Powerleague Sportsdome, just outside the Trafford Centre, Manchester's only professional basketball team are preparing to make a new home from themselves in nearby Urmston.

The relocation has already thrown up several headaches for the club. The Sportsdome's sudden closure has forced them out earlier than they were expecting, while decisions over plans for a new arena at the George H Carnall centre are dragging on and facing an uncertain future.

It's the second move for the Giants since they joined the British Basketball League in 2012, and part of a long line of relocations that has characterised the history of basketball

in Manchester, a city where the sport has thrived, on and off, for nearly fifty years.

Both the current Giants and their namesakes and predecessors of the 1970s, 80s and 90s have struggled the find a permanent home in Manchester, despite repeated success on the court and a firm following of fans.

It’s a story that is entwined with Manchester’s sporting history, from Manchester United’s rivalry with, and then ownership of, the club, to a move to the Velodrome built for the city’s Olympic bids and Commonwealth Games hosting.

And now the most recent incarnation of the Giants have found themselves part of the plans for the future of Trafford’s leisure centres.

Playing in the shadow of one of the world's leading football clubs has undoubtedly shaped the history of the Giants

for both better and worse, but the club has proved the most enduring representation of basketball in the city.

At many points from the 1970s until their demise in 2001 the Giants were among the country’s leading basketball sides, and thousands of fans went to watch their games at the Manchester Arena in the 1990s. Financial problems silenced the party for a decade, before club legend Jeff Jones resurrected his old team in 2012.

Part of the ethos of the rebranded club was to embed itself into the community, but the web of local politics, planning applications and company collapses that the Giants have since found themselves in was probably not what they had in mind.

The club recently agreed a partnership with wheelchair basketball club Manchester Mavericks, and in early 2018

the club revealed plans for a state-of-the-art development that would house not just themselves, but community health facilities and affordable housing too.

Trafford Council was looking to close the George H Carnall Sports Centre and move the facilities it housed to a revamped Urmston Leisure Centre, freeing up space for the Giants just a couple of miles down the road from the Sportsdome.

The Giants were hoping to move in to their new 2,000-capacity arena ready for the 2019/20 season, but events over the intervening months unravelled their plans.

The Conservatives lost control of the Council in May, while plans to improve the borough’s leisure centres escalated, pushing back the date when the George H Carnall Sports Centre could close as a public leisure centre to 2020.

In October the Council announced that, while the Giants could still move in, development plans would have to wait for a fresh round of public consultation.

A second curveball came in the weeks that followed when Powerleague announced that they would soon be closing the Sportsdome. On the verge of financial collapse, the company was shutting 13 of its 50 sites across the country on 31 January 2019, leaving the Giants with nowhere to host the remaining seven home games of the 2018/19 season.

The club managed to negotiate with the Council to move into George H Carnall early, but without the luxury of developing the site first. Chief executive John Dwan put a brave face on and announced: “there is an exciting future for the club at the facility and while the early move presents some challenges for the redevelopment, it does mean that we can start the new chapter in the club’s history straight away.”

It’s a new chapter in a rollercoaster of a novel. Just as basketball has never quite broken through into the mainstream in Britain, the Giants have found it hard to truly es-

tablish themselves in a long-term home, and the club’s history is a frustrating one.

The Giants emerged in the early 1970s, just as English basketball was getting itself organised into a league. They made their home in leisure centres in Sale, Stretford and finally Altrincham, but remained the dominant basketball power in Manchester.

That was, until 1985, when Manchester United decided to try their hand at basketball. The club bought the Warrington Vikings and moved them to the Giants’ doorstep in Stretford.

United’s move sparked an intense rivalry between the clubs, but this had a positive impact on results. In 1985 they finished second and third in the league, before United went one better the following year and took the title, something the football side of the business hadn’t managed for 19 years.

That same year saw a controversial merger between the two sides, with United’s chairman, Martin Edwards, saying: “I don’t think there is room for two clubs in the city at this early stage in the sport’s development.”

While the sport is still yet to really move out of this early stage of development, the merger made Manchester a powerhouse of British basketball in the late 80s and into the 90s. United soon decided to concentrate their efforts on football and sold the club in 1988, but after a series of further mergers, name changes and relocations, the club found itself playing at Manchester Arena in the late 90s.

Despite record-breaking attendances basketball never quite achieved its promised mainstream following, and the Arena proved too expensive for the Giants. The club crumbled under financial pressures and folded in 2001.

A decade later Jeff Jones, who arrived from America in 1976 and became the Giants’ star player and eventual coach, resurrected the Giants. After 18 months of planning the new franchise entered the BBL in 2012 and made the

playoffs in their second season.

Since then the side has languished near the bottom of the table, although their performances do seem to have improved so far this season.

Jones himself coached the side until 2015, while his sons James and Callum have both played regularly for the Giants since the relaunch.

Homes of the Giants

1973-79 Sale Leisure Centre (average attendance 500)

The Giants joined the emerging English National League in 1973 and quickly saw success, with a second place finish coming in 1977. While most of the players hailed from closer to home, American Jeff Jones arrived in 1976 and soon became the club’s star player.

1979-83 Stretford Sports Centre (capacity 1,500)

The team moved to a larger venue and briefly became the Trafford Giants, but continued to put in respectable performances in a slowly-growing league.

1983-86 Altrincham Leisure Centre

Onwards and upwards for the Giants, until Manchester United bought their way into the league in 1985, when they moved their newly purchased Warrington Vikings to Stretford Sports Centre, a stone’s throw from Old Trafford. An intense rivalry between United and the Giants was cut short when the clubs “merged” in 1986. Giants fans set up the Stockport Giants in protest.

1986-93 Stretford Sports Centre (capacity 1,500)

Whatever happens with the George H Carnall redevelopment, the next few months will be turbulent for the Giants and this is likely to have an impact on court as well.

Their elusive long-term home, and the regular local support that goes with it, could be the missing ingredient that can make the Giants mighty once again.ient that can make the Giants mighty once again.

The merger saw the Giants name return to Stretford. At one point the new United owners planned to build an 8,000 seat arena, but the arrival of Alex Ferguson shifted their attention back to football, and in 1988 they quietly sold off their basketball experiment. The team briefly became the Manchester Eagles, before further mergers, with Giants of the Olympic City and Stockport varieties, saw the old name return.

1993-95 Armitage Centre and Velodrome

For the first time the Giants moved out of the Trafford area and into the Armitage Centre in Fallowfield. One year later and they moved again, to the newly opened Velodrome. Jeff Jones, by now the club’s coach, was dumped in 1994, but the Giants still consistently made it into the playoffs.

1995-2001 Manchester Arena (average attendance 5,000)

The Giants moved even further into the city centre with the opening of Manchester Arena. Games regularly attracted crowds of 5,000, but 14,251 watched their first match in their new home; still the largest ever domestic basketball attendance in Britain.

2001 Manchester Velodrome

Despite success on the court in the late 1990s the club was suffering financially, and moved back to the Velodrome to save money. Further problems followed, however, and the club folded early in the 2001-02 season.

2012-14 Wright Robinson College (capacity 900)

With the Giants gone, Jeff Jones turned his attention to Manchester Magic, who had started as the reserve team of the Giants in the 1990s before breaking out on their own. His dream of bringing professional basketball back to Manchester eventually came to fruition in 2012, when the new Manchester Giants played their first BBL match.

2014-19 Trafford Powerleague Sportsdome (capacity 1,100)

The Giants returned to their Trafford roots when they moved in alongside 5-a-side pitches at the Sportsdome. Plans for a longer-term home were well developed by 2018, when the Sportsdome announced its sudden closure, forcing the Giants to move earlier than planned.

2019-present George H Carnall

Although the specifics are still to be decided, capacity is likely to be less than at the Sportsdome for the short term. Plans for a 2,000 capacity arena are currently on hold, but public consultation is expected in 2019.

Football in the Village

INSIDE THE ‘BEST GAY TEAM IN EUROPE’

I

By JAMES SPROSTON

t’s a Saturday, and that means that it’s game day for Village Manchester FC. This week they’re taking on Salford Victoria Reserves at their new home ground, Trinity Sports Centre. From the outside this is just like any other match in the Lancashire and Cheshire league, but this is the best gay team in Europe. Or so they claim.

Some will be able to deduce from the name that the club is associated with the city’s famous gay village, but now it’s grown to represent so much more than that. Steve Clayton is VMFC’s Treasurer and Visual Communications Officer, and has seen some significant changes over his seven years at the club.

“We’ve had Africans, Brazilians, Americans, Canadians, always Irish and we’ve had a few Eastern Europeans, so it really is a massively mixed team,” he recounts.

“The difference is now that the straight lads are coming of their own accord, I would say that they’ve been dragged along by their gay mates but it’s actually the other way around; the straight lads have dragged along their gay mates to make them feel comfortable.”

Steve is the best man to ask about the journey that the club has come on. In 2016, the club’s 20th anniversary, he took it upon himself to delve into the archives and dig out the team’s short history.

“It was one or two guys that had been involved with Stonewall Football Club in London, the first [LGBT club] in the UK, then came back to Manchester and said: ‘Why don’t we?’

And they did.

“I think in the early days, they really struggled, and it was probably 18 months before the team even won a game, but then they progressed and got more players.”

In the club’s formative years, they played in and won the Manchester Accountants League, which they remained in until 2016. They also participated in the Gay Football Supporters’ Network (GFSN) Cup, which they first won in 2008 and did so again 10 years later.

“We’ve also won some daft stuff, some small tournaments that don’t really matter, but it makes you feel good when you win them.”

Whilst they have participated in a number of GFSN tournaments and leagues, the club have spent the majority of their history playing in straight competitions. Predictably, throughout that time, players and supporters have been on the receiving end of homophobic abuse.

However, Steve has seen things change.

“I think there is generally a change in British society. We’ve got equal marriage now, which ten years ago you wouldn’t have thought of, and British society hasn’t collapsed since then.”

“I think there has been a changing opinion of the British people generally. That’s not to say some of the lads still haven’t experienced problems, we’ve still had homophobia on the pitch in the last two or three years.”

Brendan McKenna is 21 years old and a newcomer to the club. Anxiety over his sexuality kept him away from the game for nine months. After it was recommended to him, VMFC has been a way back into playing the sport.

“My work manager’s husband plays for the team, and he suggested them about two years ago but at time I wasn’t ready. He egged me on again and after one session I knew I wanted to stay.

“I’ve kind of had difficulties with homophobia in football for a few years, but when I first joined this team and I started playing for them I kind of realised that it’s a kind of community where I feel included.”

That inclusion isn’t isolated to football. Though they’re all independent of each other, the Village has a huge variety of sports teams and societies, from water polo through to line dancing. VMFC have quite a tight connection with the Village’s rugby team, and Steve has managed to do socials outside of drinking.

“We get to know them and do socials with them, and we used to do something each summer called rugball where we’d play half a game of football and half a game of rugby but watching rugby players trying to kick a ball straight was hilarious and watching our lot trying to run with the ball was hilarious.

“There’s loads so it means different things to different people. It adds something to the Village that isn’t just going out and getting pissed.”

One huge date in the teams’ calendars is the Gay Games. Founded as the Gay Olympics

back in 1982, the Gay Games are a multi-sport event every four years that look to promote LGBT groups and sexual diversity. VMFC take part in the EuroGames and European Championships, but the Gay Games spans the whole world.

“A lot of Village teams probably went, though they didn’t come with us. When you go to these massive Games you’re quite insular because we’re playing football 10 miles out of Paris, so we don’t see any of the other sports.

“You see literally thousands of sport people at the opening ceremony, but you don’t necessarily see them taking part in anything because you’re playing football. Once the opening ceremony is over, it does feel like you’re just at a big football tournament.”

The Gay Games in Paris last summer are the reason why Steve calls the club the best gay team in Europe. Though the first team came away with no silverware, they went all the way to the final against American side West Hollywood, only to be beaten on penalties.

“We were the best European side there. West Hollywood were probably technically on a par with us, but they were just physically so much stronger. You can just imagine a typical Hollywood, Los Angeles sports team, and that’s exactly what they looked like.”

When VMFC went to Paris, it was almost their 20th tour abroad. It’s a phenomenon quite alien to most who play Sunday league football, but Steve believes it’s part of the club’s DNA. “Touring is a crucial part of the club. It’s probably something that a lot of straight football teams don’t have any experience of whatsoever, and if they do it would be just a case of booking with a sports agency and not knowing any of the teams. Whereas all the games we go to, we know a lot of the teams.”

Whilst touring has always been a mainstay at the club, the ethos has always been far simpler. The people involved just turn up to play football, no matter of their sexuality. However, if new players are not on board with the inclusivity of the club, then it’s clear that the club don’t want them either.

“We introduce new players to the club and make sure that they know it’s an LGBT club first and foremost because certainly some of the lads who just turn up might not know that.

They might just see this team on Wednesday nights and think that we look organised so they see if they can join in.

“We used to play at a park in Salford so we used to get a lot of players that just lived round there who see us and just want to join in. But we make sure that they know what kind of team it is, and we’re quite honest with them, if they’re happy with that then they join in, and if they’re not then bugger off. This is our club.”

Steve speaks of players that have been at the club for almost 20 years, but he doesn’t think how senior players are or how long they’ve been playing correlates to how involved they are with the club.

“I don’t think it’s really how long you’ve been around or how old you are because we’ve got oldies that don’t necessarily get involved in the social scene as much and we get younger ones that don’t, but then we get some who do.

“What we try and do is mix up the socials. For example, we’ve just moved our home ground to Trinity Sports Centre, which is near the University. There’s a great pub nearby so we’ve started going to the pub after training, which is going to be great because there will be some straight guys who aren’t against it, but just don’t really fancy coming down the Village all the time.”

The value of the club is not in years of service, but how invested the players are in what the club stands for. Brendan became secretary of the club within five weeks and without knowing most of the players’ names. Like many others he’s been swept up in the club, and understands its importance in modern society.

“With football being so masculine you tend to get very masculine guys who think that sexuality is a choice, and that it is wrong. I’m not there to meet anyone, and I just want to play football. At the end of the day sexuality shouldn’t be brought into football or into sport at all, it’s got nothing to do with football.”

Steve agrees, and believes that the club still has a part to play in changing perceptions of the relationship between the gay community and football, but beyond that it still has a place as a home of football.

“Interviewers always ask if we still need LGBT clubs, and after 20 years we still need them for fighting homophobia on the pitch, and we still haven’t got an out player in the Premier League, even though statistically you’d be bonkers to think there aren’t gay players.

“We’ve still got 21-year-olds coming to this club saying that they’ve been uncomfortable in straight teams. What people forget is that we want there to be a club, it’s not just a case of needing one.

“So when we’ve got a straight guy from Cape Verde playing for us, he hasn’t got anything like the shared background of the rest of us. He’s seeing us as a great team and getting involved.

“We used to play Jewish teams in our old league, and it’s their background and this is our background. We’ve got a common background and now we’re just mates, so there’s also that angle. People forget football clubs are basically a great big bunch of mates.”

It’s easy to say that VMFC are more than a football club. Yes, they represent inclusive.

Yes, they represent a safe space for gay players. And yes, they represent the change that they’d like to see in football.

Whilst that is apparent, what’s more poignant is that they don’t need to be. Fundamentally, they are a football club, and will always be no matter how football or society as a whole changes. Village Manchester are here to play and here to stay, whether you like it or not.

From fresher to national lacrosse coach in three years Here is how Kieran Pegrum-Milner did it

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By SVAR NANAN-SEN

aving never touched a lacrosse stick before September 2015, Kieran Pegrum-Milner has become a National Team Development Lacrosse Coach within three years.

In addition, Kieran is the Head Coach of University of Reading’s Women’s Lacrosse Team.

During this feature interview; he discusses his whirlwind journey within a sport that is continuing to grow in the UK. Having previously played football, hockey and rugby to a high standard during his time at school, Kieran decided to take up a fresh

rather than just learning through the training sessions.

Halfway through his first season, Kieran was moved up to the OBULC first team and began competing for a starting role in the team alongside senior OBULC players.

At the end of the 2015/16 season, he was appointed captain of the university team for the following season.

Due to Oxford Brookes not having a lacrosse coach come in to train the students, one of the roles of being captain was to put on training sessions for the squad.

This is where Kieran believes his tactical knowledge of the sport really grew.

“I took over the captain’s role of the team but unfortunately we didn’t have a coach

Kieran applied through England Lacrosse for his first job as a Coach at St Albans School where he was the Head Coach from November 2017 until March 2018.

Following that four-month spell, Kieran joined The American International School in England (TASIS England) as Assistant Varsity Coach working under Matt Bagley.

Bagley is the current Head Coach of the German Men’s National Team and has been in the role since February 2015.

Prior to that, he was the Head Coach of the England Men’s National Team.

“I learnt a lot from him, the way he watched and read the game and would implement a plan. Tactically he definitely helped me to improve; the way he made de-

In this role he trains the under 18’s who are selected from trials for the training or development squads.

For the forthcoming April 2019 Home Internationals, Scotland will be selecting an under 19’s A and B team respectively.

Kieran will be coaching the under 19’s B team and hopes that some of his development squad will be amongst the players.

Within the same month as bagging the Scotland job, he became the Head Coach of Reading University’s Women’s Lacrosse first team.

As part of the recruitment process, Kieran put on a training session and provided player packs, regarding situational guidance, body positioning and fitness.

sporting challenge at university.

“I went to university and looked around the Sports Fair and saw a video of lacrosse going on and was intrigued by it; I thought it looked crazy.”

Kieran signed up and attended the taster session put on for freshers by Oxford Brookes University Lacrosse Club (OBULC) and particularly enjoyed the physically competitive nature of the sport.

During his first season as part of OBULC, Kieran mostly played for the second team which was predominantly made up of players who were playing lacrosse for the first time.

The purpose of the second team was to allow players to gain game experience

and we had new freshers coming in so it was my role to lead by example, coach them and help them understand things even though I myself was still learning all of it, so I took it upon myself to think of drills so that the sessions weren’t boring for anyone.”

Kieran left Oxford Brookes in May 2017 and decided he was going to pursue a career as a Lacrosse Coach.

“I always thought tactically about games whenever I was watching them or playing in them and it was that aspect of the sport I found most enjoyable.”

The 21-year-old decided to also pursue coaching roles within the women’s game.

“The main reason was the new challenge of a new game and new rules”

cisions as a coach, made me want to get better as a coach.”

Kieran then went on to his current job at Caterham School as a Lacrosse Coach under Jenny Simpson who currently plays for the England Ladies Team.

He also credits Simpson as being an influential mentor on his own coaching methods: “I’ve learned so much; she studies the game and is methodical about improving the play. It’s essentially her programme that she’s implemented over the last five years at the school.”

In September 2018, three years on from first trying the sport, Kieran was appointed as Scotland under 18’s Women’s Development Coach.

Reflecting on his rapid rise and achievements to date, he can’t help but be pleased at how far he has come.

“I’ve developed through coaching school teams and through the people I’ve worked under, I’m buzzing because of my progression but it’s basically what I did while captaining Brookes.“ Regarding his hopes for the future, Kieran outlines an expansive vision for himself and the sport he came across only three years ago.

“For my future, I would like to see myself as the head coach of a national team.

Lacrosse is an up and coming game. There are opportunities for development throughout the world.”

ENGLAND EXPECTS...

R i c h a r d Lu n t c a s t s a n e y e o v e r t h e C h a m p i o n s L e a g u e s e m i - f in

A

s 2018 comes to a close, the Champions League draw certainly whet the appetite for what Europe’s premier competition has to offer in the coming year.

Five time winners Liverpool face stern opposition in German powerhouse and reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich who have also raised the trophy five times.

Domestically “Die Bayern” (the Bavarians) find themselves in the unfamiliar position of third place but it is business as usual in Europe as Niko Kovac’s men topped their group unbeaten despite two draws against a resurgent young Ajax side.

The usual big names remain for the team German fans refer to as “FC Holywood”. Manuel Neuer, a man once all but unanimously considered the best goalkeeper in the world, defensive colossus Mats Hummels, the incomparable dutch battering ram Arjen Robben and the tournament’s top goalscorer (8) the ice cold Robert Lewandowski..

The depth at FC Bayern is as terrifying as ever with quality players throughout and yet there’s a feeling that while Bayern have been unlucky in previous competitions - especially against Real Madrid - that they are not the force they once were.

For Liverpool the outstanding Virgil Van Dijk will be missing from the first leg at Anfield due to his well timed but dangerous tackle on Dries Mertens and long term absentee Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will also be missing but the reds will be hoping to welcome back Joel Matip and Joe Gomez from injury.

At the time of writing, Liverpool have everyone else available and while their irresistible front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah are obviously the ones to watch, there can be little doubt that Xherdan Shaqiri would enjoy the schadenfreude of making the difference against the side who previously deemed him surplus to requirements.

Jurgen Klopp is fondly remembered by many in Germany as the man who overthrew the previous Bayern reign but from a Champions League point of view, the charismatic coach will be looking to avenge the 2013 final defeat of his brave Borussia Dortmund side, even if you will not hear him

admit to as much.

Despite the quality running throughout FC Bayern, if Liverpool can stave off injuries to major players then this is a tie they can and perhaps should progress from.

It’s no disrespect at all to their opponents but while Klopp’s side have a definitive style and belief which allows them to execute their coach’s wishes - in a sometimes relentlessly ruthless fashion - Bayern are still looking to divine a path under Kovac and that could well be the difference

KEY: Mo Salah will be hoping to lead Liverpool’s attack when the sides meet. That said, if Klopp’s men are at anything other than their scintillating best then expect FC Bayern to take full advantage.

Schalke 04 are undoubtedly the weakest team in the last

16, certainly if their league position is any indication. “Die Königsblauen” (the Royal Blues) languish 15th in the Bundesliga with 15 points, a mere five more than bottom club Hannover 96 and 24 points adrift of fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table.

For years Schalke’s story has been more about trying to keep hold of their best players rather than adding to a talented group and so it was again this past offseason.

Despite this though Schalke - who lack the world class quality that such an occasion tends to demand - have still made it to the last 16, albeit mostly due to the fact Galatasaray and Lokomotiv Moscow looked way out of their depth.

There are some players of note in Domenico Tedesco’s side, Ralf Fahrmann is one of the many top quality German keepers around, City fans will of course remember Matija Nastasic who plays next to an underrated Salif Sane and Daniel Caligiuri is the light in a currently dark tunnel for “the miners”.

It’s foolish to think that you can write off anyone in this competition at this stage but it’s difficult to make a case there is an easier tie out there than the one Guardiola’s men drew. In fact it was plain to see by the poorly hidden delight on City director of football Txiki Begiristain’s face.

City will be expected to advance and comfortably so, especially given the return of the inspired midfield dynamo, Kevin De Bruyne, the devastating attacking ability of whichever front three they field and with Silva and/or Silva pulling the strings.

Given the breathtaking ease with which City can pass teams into a trance and then knock them out of a tie within a matter of minutes - as Shakhtar Donetsk can attest to perhaps the greatest worry for the English champions here is complacency.

With a manager as meticulous and experienced in the competition as two time European Champions League winner Pep Guardiola, it’s hard to envisage that being an issue.

What is far more likely, is that City put the tie to bed in the first leg at the Arena Aufschalke and pour it on in the return

n a ls a s th r e e Pr e m i e r L e a g ue s i d e s d r a w G e r m a n o p po s it i o n at the Etihad.

Borussia Dortmund are the team to watch in Germany this season and the 1997 winners of the European Cup will be hoping to take a step closer to repeating that feat.

Standing in their way will be Tottenham Hotspur, who finished second behind Barcelona after a final day 1-1 draw thanks to Lucas Moura’s 86th minute strike.

Dortmund may not have all that many established Champions League campaigners but what they lack in experience they make up for in an abundance of vibrant, young, talented footballers.

After a two year period of inertia, “Die Schwarzgelben” (The black and yellows) are back and in a big way.

Lucien Favre’s side are a joy to watch. Unbeaten in their last 15 games they are the emerging force of German football.

The world class Marco Reus - having put yet another heart breaking injury to one side - has scored 14 goals and provided 6 assists this season in all competitions.

Reus is flanked by 18 year-old English starlet Jadon Sancho and the lesser known Jacob Bruun Larsen meaning 20 year-old American Wunderkind, Christian Pulisic is given the role of dynamic super sub .

Paco Alcacer rounds out the attack nicely with his 12 goal return this season suggesting he’s finally found a home.

Defensively Roman Burki keeps goal while at centre back, Favre tends to favour Zagadou and Akanji only 19 and 23 respectively but outrageously talented for their tender years with 22 year-old Abdou Diallo also in the ranks if needs be.

It will be strange for Tottenham Hotspur to go into a game feeling like the more experienced side but that is the reality they face here and one that shows their growing stature in the competition.

A side that has improved year on year, they will look to continue their progression and have one eye on the trophy itself.

Why not? They did beat the eventual winner Real Madrid last season topping their group with no defeats and of course beating Dortmund home and away.

It’s not difficult to suggest that perhaps this tie comes too early in the re-birth of one of German football’s most likable clubs and Pochettino’s men will look to use what was learned in their last 16 defeat to Juventus last season to push them to greater heights.

The majority of Manchester United fans will be buoyed by the news that Jose Mourinho has been sacked at Old Trafford given the infighting, the toothless anti-football displays and petulance, it simply had to happen.

RETURN: City will be hoping Kevin De Bruyne returns The other side to that coin is whether you love him or hate him, Jose Mourinho’s pedigree in the Champions League is simply unquestionable, two Champions League trophies with two different clubs speaks for itself and let’s be honest

it could easily have been more.

Thomas Tuchel’s Paris St Germain could well be a future home for Mourinho if you believe the rumours but for now, the German - yes another German link - is in charge and if he wants to remain so, he simply must beat a lacklustre and disoriented United side.

PSG have quality in abundance from their choice of the legendary 40 year-old keeper Gigi Buffon or the 25 year old apprentice Areola. A centre back partnership of Marquinhos and his talismanic Brazilian counterpart Thiago Silva is joined by the metronomic Marco Verrati in midfield but it’s the front three that grab the headlines. Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani a triumvirate of the best forwards the world has to offer that need no introduction.

WIth that said, there’s obviously hope for United. For a start, PSG are far from unbeatable and while this certainly wouldn’t be the game you’d expect it to happen, PSG have been known to take their eye off the ball and pay the price.

Perhaps a honeymoon period for the new man in charge will see PSG struggle in the February fixture at Old Trafford with United finding new vigour and belief in a more attacking system for players like Sanchez, Pogba, Mata, Lingard and Lukaku to name a few and where there’s De Gea there’s hope but realistically even with that being the case, you’d still back this unforgiving attack of PSG to take their revenge in the return leg.

It’s not as cut and dry as the Schalke tie would seem to be for City but you’d be hard pressed to find many takers for United to navigate their way into the last 8.

Whoever wins their respective ties, this is shaping up to be one of the most even and enjoyable Champions League competitions in many a year, let’s hope it continues in that manner and as Jimmy Bullard says “football is the winner.”

The best is yet to come for Manchester MM takes a look at the sporting year ahead in the city...

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By NATHAN OKELL

ith so many great sporting events taking place both across the world and right here in Greater Manchester, M Magazine looks at what’s in store for sports fans in 2019. It promises to be another explosive 12 months so here’s a little something to whet your appetite for what’s still to come.

January

To kick off the New Year, Manchester’s own National Cycling centre hosts the HSBC UK’s National Track Championships. Between the 25-27th of January, the home of the Great Britain Cycling Team will open its doors to visitors to watch some of the best track cyclists in the county face off against each other. The highlight of the domestic track calendar, it is certainly not one to be missed, with cycling enthusiasts and families alike being more than welcome to witness a fantastic weekend of entertainment.

Secure your tickets soon to find out who will emerge victorious and claim a prestigious red, white and blue national champions’ jersey.

February

February looks to be a pivotal month for the city’s two largest football teams, with a number of key matches promising to keep fans glued to their seats. Manchester United welcome French champions Paris Saint Germain to Old Trafford on 12th February in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League match-up, with Manchester City traveling to Gelsenkirchen a week later to take on Schalke. United can take hope from an away win in Turin in the group stages, while Pep Guardiola will be confident of keeping his side’s European dreams alive. Domestically, the blues also face a stern test to their Premier League ambitions, with the visit of title rivals Arsenal and Chelsea in successive weeks at the Etihad (2nd and 9th) kick-starting a spectacular month.

March

Staying with football, all eyes in the city will be firmly on Old Trafford on 16th March, with the 178th staging of the Manchester derby. City fans will have fond memories of the 6-1 defeat they inflicted on their nearest and dearest in 2011, whilst the chance to put a serious dent in the ‘noisy neighbours’ title hopes being all the motivation the Red Devils need. March also sees the second leg of the Champions League ties, with both teams looking to continue their European journeys. Away from football and Manchester itself, horse racing fans will flock to Cheltenham to enjoy Britain’s most valuable non-handicap race, taking place on Friday 15th. Especially as the weather starts to improve, March continues to look like a blockbuster month of sporting action.

April

Sunday 7th April will be etched in the diaries of all running fans in 2019 as it marks the start of the Greater Manchester Marathon.

The challenge of competing in the UK's second biggest marathon is too much to resist for keen runners across the county, with many PB’s waiting to be smashed. Competitors receive a medal and Asics technical t-shirt, and with a 75% increase in sign-ups already being reported, it looks to be the best year yet. For those who are happier simply watching and cheering on the runners as they pass by, get yourself down and line the 26.2 mile route to show your support as they make their way to the finish line at Emirates Old Trafford, Lancashire County Cricket Club.

May

Cycling fans are in for a treat in May, with the return of the Tour de Manc to the city’s streets on Sunday 5th. Originally conceived in 2015, the race tours through all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs, with participants having the option of taking part in the Full Manc (100 miles) or Half Manc (100 km). The gruelling challenge aims to raise funds for charity whilst helping to promote a healthier lifestyle through cycling. On Saturday 18th, Salford Quays also gets in on the sporting festivities by hosting the Greater Manchester Swim. In one of the UK’s only venues where spectators can walk directly alongside the swimmers to cheer them around, it really is a great experience. Rounding off an action packed month is the Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run on Sunday 19th, which again sees runners pushing themselves to their limits in the aid of charity.

June

Headlining June is the final of football’s pinnacle club competition - the UEFA Champions League. Hopefully both Manchester

clubs will be in the running by this stage, with an away day in Madrid on Saturday 1st the goal for fans from either club. Back in Greater Manchester, Horwich welcomes cyclists for a week-long extravaganza of biking action from Sunday 9th. Unique to this country, the Horwich Festival of Racing is an event enabling beginners, enthusiasts and elite athletes to take part in a series of races across the weekend including road racing, unicycling, sprint orienteering and an individual triathlon. The festival should definitely be on the to-do list for fans of the sport, whether that is to take part or just to watch and cheer from the roadside.

July

July is a month jam-packed with sporting events, both across the country and in the Manchester area. Most notable is the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, which will see people from across the country either descent on SW19 from Monday 1st or sit at home with their eyes glued to their TV screens, whilst golf fans can, from Thursday 18th, see the Open Championship tee off from the Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland. Back in the region, one of the semi finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup is being held at Emirates Old Trafford on Tuesday 9th as well as a trio of lung-busting, long distance competitions in the form of the City of Salford 10k (Sunday 7th), Morson Salford Triathlon (Sunday 28th) and Ironman UK Triathlon (Sunday 14th in Bolton) which round off the month.

August

Rugby League’s flagship competition, the Challenge Cup, is the main event for august, with Wembley stadium once again welcoming fans from teams across the country on Saturday 24th. Greater Manchester are well represented in the competition, with Salford Red Devils and Wigan Warriors looking to have the best chance of making the final, but Leigh, Oldham, Rochdale and Swinton will be giving their all to progress as far as they can. Last season’s final saw French side Catalans Dragons become the first non-English side to emerge victorious in the final, but hopefully 2019 will see the famous trophy return to the borough.

September

For cricket fans, one competition stands out amongst the rest – the Ashes – and 2019 sees the famous competition return to the city, with Emirates Old Trafford hosting the fourth test between Wednesday 4th and Sunday 8th. Joe Root will lead his side into battle, hoping to regain the urn which Australia emphatically won down under at the end of last year. England will take confidence from the fact they have not lost a series in this country since 2001, and hopefully will enter the tournament in good form following their exploits in the World Cup, also being held in this country. Tickets will not be available for long, so look to book early before they inevitably sell out.

October

October sees two huge sporting events take place in Manchester, and both on the same weekend. First up on Saturday 12th is the Super League Grand Final, staged at Old Trafford for the 22nd time. Again, Salford and Wigan are set to represent the borough, with the latter emerging as Champions in last year’s showpiece. The following day, the 2019 Manchester Half Marathon takes over the city, with the 13.1 mile challenge starting and finishing by Old Trafford. It is easily the biggest in the region with over 13,000 runners, and since its launch in 2016, it has proved popular for both runners and supporters.

November

Not specifically Manchester related but certainly of interest to sports fans in the area, November sees the final of the Rugby World Cup take place on Friday 1st and the US Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday 17th. The former, being held in Japan, is the first time the tournament is to be held in Asia, and will hopefully involve England as they continue their quest for a first World Cup triumph since Jonny Wilkinson helped them to a 20-17 victory in the 2003 final. The latter will see Lewis Hamilton look to help his mission to secure a fifth drivers championship in six years, with the race being staged in Austin, Texas.

December

There is no bigger competition in December than the PDC World Darts Championship in the spectacular venue of the Alexandra Palace, London.

In total, 96 players will fight it out to earn the title of world champion, and walk away with a mammoth £500,000 in prize money. Always very popular with the fans who pack the venue in fancy dress, the tournament sees the world’s greatest darts players under one roof, with the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and Rob Cross in action. A perfect way to round off the year.