bathimpact Volume 14 Issue 10

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Tuesday 16th April 2013

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NUS

Volume 14 Issue 10

Your newspaper. Your news.

University of Bath

Animal research on your campus ~

Liv Hows News & Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

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n the 9th April, Toni Pearce was elected as the new President of the National Union of Students (NUS). The vote took place at the NUS Conference which was held in Sheffield, and was attended by over a thousand NUS delegates from institutes from all over the UK.

Ms Pearce is the first female president to have been elected since 2008. She is also the first NUS President who has not been to university. Before being elected as president, Ms Pearce served two terms as the Vice-President Further Education, after being elected into the role in 2011.

The main points outlined were her aims to achieve during her presidency is to develop a greater link between college and university students’ unions. She placed strong emphasis on

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Toni Pearce NUS President

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reducing the divide between Higher and Further Education. Her manifesto, in many ways, looked to create closer ties between universities and colleges.

Her primary concern was for students nationally to decide on a vision for Higher and Further Education, rather than simply opposing motions and cuts. Out of 732 votes cast, Ms Pearce won with 424. Speaking after her election Ms Pearce commented:

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“I’m really proud to have been given the opportunity to build the student movement around a vision for public education, and to be leading NUS as we build towards the next general election.

“Between now and 2015 we need to hold a full and frank debate about what education means to society and to properly articulate the public value of education in communities up and down the country.”

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The legacy that continues to divide

Revolting students and their protests

bite’s guide to British festivals

Thomas Gane looks at the legacy of Margaret Thatcher and argues that she is iconic, more so than her policies.

Tom Ash discusses how University of Sussex students have had their rights denied in favour of protecting property.

This pullout is something everyone should pin on their wall to plan their summer. Find your festival inspiration!

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Editorials

The circle of accountability T

he media is without a doubt, the greatest, most accessible forum for expressing opinion in the world. The freedom of speech has become an inalienable right in every developed country and is a cherished tool to criticize those in the wrong and bring the corrupt to account. At bathimpact embraces this idea as much as any paper, no matter where you lie on the spectrum.

Opinions are expressed on almost every page and when these ideas are contentious, writers are encouraged – and often do – to write replies keeping the circle of accountability in motion.

The ideas which people express are often to do with national topics ranging from Israel-Palestine to NUS conferences. This paper also deals with the trivial; what is the right etiquette? Should the Plug be a bar or a coffeehouse? Having opinions on these matters are important, interesting and sometimes amusing.

However, one area bathimpact barely covers is criticism of that which occurs right in front of us; the things that we, as students, do.

All societies and sports clubs work very hard to produce the best results they can. Whether it is a dance show, a music recital or a sports match, there is little doubt that everyone works hard, for little or no pay, to exhibit their passions in the best way. The ethical question that we, as a campus university, must face is to what extent we should support these efforts? Should we swear allegiance to promote and praise these events no matter the quality?

This newspaper cherishes the opportunity to cover events no matter what they are. If any group puts the effort towards organising something, it is our responsibility as your representative paper to cover them if you want us to. bathimpact do match reports, theatre reviews and even have the Activities page to allow societies

to tell the rest of the student body what they are up to. This doesn’t, however, mean that we will always write what is pleasing to the performer. As a paper, bathimpact are required to express what we feel. It is our duty to never lie to readers.

Last month, bathimpact produced a review which the critiqued society did not approve of. Both parties agreed that the article was not malicious or counter-productive.

However, nor was it particularly positive of the performance. bathimpact decided not to publish the article, but this paper has made it clear that in the future reviews would be written as the reviewer sees it. You may well ask, is this fair?

It is certainly true that most societies would consider themselves amateur. Many of us do not wish to pursue careers in the extra-curriculum activities we are involved with, but rather do them for fun. We do, however, not mind putting ourselves

out there whilst at university. We do consider ourselves qualified enough to charge money for our shows and events.

If the point of the media is to cover events in a truthful manner, bathimpact simply cannot risk losing our credibility by writing reviews based on tacit allegiance. Readers require truth to help them make informed decisions. If a football team loses 7-1, it is untruthful to say that the team played particularly well.

In the past, both articles and the paper in general have been criticised quite openly on our Facebook page.

When people have taken the time to reply to articles, this newspaper have printed them. bathimpact will continue to write reviews and if people disagree with them, rebuttals that people wish to submit are welcomed and will also be printed. bathimpact is open for criticism in the same vein as every other society. And so, the circle of accountability continues.

been quick to condemn the behaviour of the North, with tougher sanctions immediately being implemented.

They have called for Kim Jong-Un to, in no uncertain terms, tone it down, lest they retaliate.

But ultimately, in spite of all the words, there is currently no action.

Many of the world’s prominent nations are together, united on the issue, however they will not act. This begs one obvious question.

Why have the NUS not yet taken action? They have just had their annual conference. The eyes of the

world were turned towards them and waited with baited breath: yet the NUS stayed silent. We, the students; we, the people of the world, want serious leadership in these times of peril.

Usually we see a swift and tough response from the NUS; most memorably, their call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

This kind of action is the only way to make progress with the international community and we now live in world that needs the NUS’ tough love.

With all reserves included, the North Korean army contains more than 9 million soldiers. The NUS has

7 million soldiers at its command. But unlike them we do not fight for our leaders, we fight for our ideals; our hopes; our dreams.

War is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. The NUS will lead us through this crisis. They are the people to turn to. bathimpact have faith. bathimpact believe in the NUS. It is our Union. There are many like it but this one is ours. Our Union is our best friend. We must master it as we must master our lives.

Searching for new leadership W

e are living in a state of fear. Not since the height of the Cold War has the Western world faced such a clear and present danger. Over the last month the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has put forward a level of rhetoric that, even for them, is intense. They have tested another missile. They have tested another nuclear weapon. They have cut the hotline with South Korea. Nobody knows what they will do next. The people are scared.

The countries of the world have

Rape is wrong, understood?

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ssues of women rights are not exactly a new phenomenon. Yet, recently it would seem that there is a whole new spate of threats to any form of progress. Uganda’s ethics and integrity minister has proposed a ban on mini-skirts. It has been said that theses encourage or provoke their attackers. Provocative clothing appeals to the aggressive and sordid side in men, so women shouldn’t bring it upon themselves.

In Steubenville, Ohio in the U.S., a sixteen year old girl was raped by two boys. The publicity surrounding this case stated that because the girl in question was both drunk and dressed in skimpy clothes, that in some way, it wasn’t an unprovoked attack. One of the young men received as little as two years in a juvenile detention unit.

In Canada a seventeen year old girl has committed suicide, after she was bullied so extensively after she filed raped charges after being allegedly

gang raped. Photos of her in a compromising position with one of her alleged attackers circulated her school and town. Criminal charges were dropped. As the images circulated social media sites and the internet she was a minor. Yet still charges were dropped. She was driven to taking her own life because the justice system failed to protect her.

These cases are just a few of an alarming trend that has begun in recent months. Obviously, these things have always happened. These are not new issues. However, it would seem at a time when women’s rights are supposedly at their best, and in a modern age when nearly all women are free to make their own choices some things are still out of reach. Women can decide their own fates, work, are sexually liberated and seen as equals (largely) to men, yet it would seem the choice to dress as you like with expectation that the word ‘no’ will suf-

fice; that the decision of the message an outfit and your appearance is trying to tell men, is not one women are free to make. Responsibility for rape seems to being increasingly placed at the door of victim. ‘She got what she deserved’, ‘she wanted it’ and ‘she was asking for it’ seem to be a recurring theme.

Don’t think that this observation is simply being levelled at justice systems or those in a position to correct these perspectives. No, it is people in society, homes, schools, you name it and these opinions will be heard. It is a pervasive problem, seen in the most unlikely places. It is becoming entrenched in people’s thoughts.

In 2011, when a Toronto policeman said women could avoid being raped by not dressing like a ‘slut’ there was universal outcry. People made claims of ignorance, sexism, misogyny. You name it, he was called it. Yet two years on and although few have gone as far

as to say it in such blatant inflammatory terms, this kind of attitude is still prevalent. These beliefs are irrespective of religion, geography or culture they are seen across the board.

The most crucial message for people at this university, especially in an environment when alcohol runs freely: alcohol, drunkenness and a short skirt are not an invitation. Unconsciousness is not a chance to do as you please, and it isn’t consent or someone not saying no. bathimpact would like to think that people here are educated enough to know these points. It would also be nice to believe that students here are the kind who could make a difference and help expel these ideas. So, next time you decide someone is flirting, before you do something you regret remember until you hear ‘yes’. And be sure to tell those who voice these ideas that no one deserves to be raped, scantily clad or not.

bathimpact.tumblr.com Rowan Emslie Editor-in-Chief impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

Elliott Campbell Deputy Editor impact-deputy@bath.ac.uk

Thomas Gane bite Editor impact-bite@bath.ac.uk

Liv Hows News and Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

Benjamin Butcher Features Editor impact-features@bath.ac.uk

Matthew Powell Sport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

Caleb Wheeler-Robinson Photography Editor impact-photo@bath.ac.uk

Katharine Agg Online Editor impact-it@bath.ac.uk

Scarlett Clark Publicity Officer impact-publicity@bath.ac.uk

Aran Gnana Treasurer impact-money@bath.ac.uk

Nick Hill Media Officer su-media-officer@bath.ac.uk

Advertising Enquires Helen Freeman H.Freeman@bath.ac.uk 01225 386806 www.facebook.com/bathimpact www.bathimpact.com

bathimpact Students’ Union University of Bath Bath BA2 7AY 01225 38 6151

The opinions expressed in bathimpact are not necessarily those of the bathimpact editors nor of the University of Bath Students’ Union. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct and accurate at the time of going to print, the publisher cannot accept any liability for information which is later altered or incorrect. bathimpact as a publication adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Conduct.

Please contact them for any information.

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fortnight photo

The Inanimate Carbon Rod is not a joke candidate. It is a serious candidate for what has become a joke position.

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expressimpact Inanimate Carbon Rod (Samuel Gaus)

A party in Glasgow celebrating the death of Margaret Thatcher Mwezibou

fortnight in figures

11 years

Margaret Thatcher’s time in office, a record for 20th century

News Lite updates & events

1 The number of female prime ministers in the UK

Online Links

• Like bathimpact on facebook. com/bathimpact • Follow @bathimpact on twitter • Read the articles on bathimpact. tumblr.com Get in touch via any of the above links or email - we always need new team members

UPCOMING EVENT

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

University of Bath Referendum of the NUS

Margaret Thatcher’s funeral is to be held on Wednesday 17th April. The service will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral, with the guest list including influential faces and celebrities alike, from Mikhail Gorbachev to Shirley Bassey. Also present will be Lady Thatcher’s friends and relatives, members of her cabinet, and foreign dignitaries she had contact with during her time in office.

Eskinder Nega, a prominent Ethiopian journalist who has been a fervernt critic of theEthiopian government has been jailed for 18 years on charges of ‘anti-terrorism’.

Nega was in fact arrested due to an article that he wrote about what he believed as the government’s too extensive anti-terrorism legislation. Amnesty International has leveled criticisms at the trial process.

Date: Tuesday 23rd - 25th April Voting opens at 9am on Tuesday and closes at 10pm on Thursday. Voting will be on bathstudent.com

UPCOMING EVENT

LOCAL

EDUCATION

UPCOMING EVENT

General Meeting and Debate on membership of the NUS.

A campaign aimed at First to lower their bus fares has started. Daniel Farr, from Bristol, originally started his e-petition just for Bristol, but has since contacted Bath and North East Somerset Council in order to garner suppport to apply pressure on the bus companies.

The ban on London Metropolitan University accepting students from outside of the European Union has been lifted. London Met’s dealings with international students will continue to be watched for the next year to check that compliance with visa requirements are being upheld. London Met has been without the ability to accept non-EU students since August.

University of Bath Student Media Awards.

Date: Friday 19th April Location: Arts Lecture Theatre Time: 1:15pm

The petition can be found at: http://bit. ly/10OXOd9.

Date: Tuesday 16th April Location: Vodka Revolutions, Bath Tickets for the event can be bought on the door for £5.

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NUS Conference 2013: a round up Will Bunce/NUS

Dylan Baker NUS Delegate

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he National Union of Students (NUS) elected Toni Pearce last week as their new President, the first ever president from the NUS zone for Further Education. She has acted as Vice-President Further Education for two years and is the first female President of the NUS in five years. The NUS also voted against a national demonstration in 2013, against campaigning for free education, and against the reinstatement of the EMA, opting instead for a new financial support system covering both Further and Higher Education.

Over eight hundred delegates from Further and Higher Education took to Sheffield to attend NUS National Conference, a three day annual conference designated to set policy, elect representatives and confirm the budget for the following year. A full delegation of four was sent on behalf of the University of Bath, including SU President, Chris Clements.

Paul Bloomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, was the first to welcome everyone to Sheffield, focusing on the "strong, radical tradition" of activism in the city. Liam Burns, outgoing NUS President, then officially opened the conference with his keynote address about the challenges facing the student movement. He focused in particular on the division between students, the effects of recent cuts on part-time students and the work

Over a thousand delegates dsecended on Sheffield for NUS Conference 2013. recently done by the NUS on ‘lad culture’ in the UK. He was later forced to interrupt proceedings to make a statement to Conference about the death of Margaret Thatcher after many delegates laughed and cheered at the mention of her death by a speaker. He said: "There is such a thing as sensitivity.

And there is such a thing as respect. I ask you all to think very carefully indeed about how you respond to this news as conference continues." The humorous reaction to the death was widely condemned by other delegates on Twitter.

Presentations were made over the course of the first two days by the five NUS Vice-Presidents for each zone (Welfare, Further Education, Higher Education, Union Development, and Society and Citizenship) on the work they had done since conference last convened a year ago. Motions were then debated and voted on for each zone, setting policy for the NUS to adhere to and work on in the following year.

Conference passed the NUS priority motion "A Vision for the Future of Education" into policy, outlying a new direction for the NUS based

around "trust between student and institution", a priority on funding Further Education, and developing "a view of education that is engaged with the labour market". There was also a specific focus on the activities undertaken by students, passing a motion and amendment, submitted by the University of Bath, resolving to explore activity development and the benefit of a VP Student Activities.

The most highly anticipated and controversial motion of Conference was "Motion 701: Gender Balancing" brought up at the NUS Annual General Meeting, resolving to set a 50%

female quota to NUS committees and delegations. The motion was voted on by secret ballot after a procedural motion was put forward but didn't pass by a margin of 258 to 249. It was argued that whilst there are issues with female representation in the NUS, quotas would simply cover these up and not rectify any of the fundamental underlying problems.

Elections for the six full time representative positions took place on the second day of conference. Toni Pearce beat out three other candidates for the position of NUS President, including Vicky Baars, outgoing VP Union Development, and the Inanimate Carbon Rod. Rachel Wenstone was re-elected as VP Higher Education in an election that saw almost half of the conference delegates walk out of Sheffield City Hall during the election speech from Tomas Evans after he defended the allegation of rape apology against the Socialist Workers Party, of which he is a member.

In the other elections Raechel Mattey, Dom Anderson, Joe Vinson and Colum McGuire were elected to the positions of VP Union Development, VP Societies and Citizenship, VP Further Education and VP Welfare, respectively. On the final day of Conference, Bath's outgoing SU President Chris Clements ran for Block of 15, part of the NUS National Executive Committee, the results of which will be announced in the following week.

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Animal research on campus: The facts revealed Rowan Emslie Editor-in-Chief impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

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here is a certain, unfortunate breed of mouse that is incredibly prone to addiction. It will forsake water for alcoholic beverages, it won’t contain itself around drugs, it will abandon almost all other activities to run around and get high all day. This type of mouse doesn’t make for a great parent or, one expects, particularly pleasant company for less self-destructive mice. It is, however, coveted by scientists who wish to study the effects of addiction – how the brain and behaviour are altered, or how to improve the ‘cold turkey’ period when addictive substances are withdrawn from dependants.

Destructive personality traits are not the preserve of humans alone.

Animal research generates a lot of ire. As recently as February 2013 a nearby facility in the University of Bristol found itself the subject of a protest over the “manifestly cruel physical and psychological” treatment of the animals in the facility. These allegations were strenuously denied. In the past, similar

facilities have been targeted by arsonists and bomb makers while researchers have been sent death threats as well as suffered violent, personal attacks against them and their families. People all over the world are passionate about the rights and lives of animals. This passion sometimes spills over into aggression and violence. Understandably, many researchers in the field are reluctant to publicly highlight their work and facilities are often shrouded in secrecy as well as huge security measures.

Perhaps because of this threat of violence, I was only dimly aware of the animal research that happens at the University of Bath. I had heard vague assertions from friends – ‘you know we do tests on cats and dogs on campus?’ ‘there’s a whole bunch of drugs testing going on, it’s all kept hush-hush’ – which were never followed up with any hard facts. How did they know about these things? Were they involved? What was being tested?

This year, my position at bathimpact, with a lot of help from the University and faculty, has granted access to some of these facilities to

gather some real information.

My first stop was the facility where I met some of these addictive mice – the catchily named C57BL/6 strain.

WHAT I SAW, WHAT I LEARNED On entering the facility, the researcher who is my guide jokes, ‘Welcome to Fort Knox’. The building itself looks very plain, like any other boxy white building. When I ask about threats, I am told that the vast majority of the safety features are to protect the animals, although some are to protect the researchers from violence. This includes an ‘air shower’ – basically a cupboard like room that acts like an enormous hair dryer – before going near the actual animals.

Disease is a huge worry for the researchers. If these animals aren’t as healthy as possible, they are of no use scientifically as they cannot be regarded as typical data sets which can be cross-referenced or tested against.

The facility itself is licensed by the Home Office, as are the ‘Project Leaders’ who are responsible for particular studies and, below

these, ‘Personal Licences’ which are required for any contributors to those studies. If, at any time, anybody is found to have contravened the enormous amount of regulations surrounding animal research – mistreatment of animals in any way, going beyond the remit of your particular license – the offender could be black-listed for life, depending on the severity of the misdemeanour. Not only is animal welfare vital for good science, I am told, it is very much in the interest of the careers of the professionals who work there.

Walking around the pristine, white halls and rooms the thing that really jumped out were the pictures stuck all over walls. Pets: cats, budgies, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs and more. Lovingly displayed and pointed out – these are the animals that those who work in the facility keep at home. It is obvious that they are passionate about animals. One person tells me they get phonecalls from time to time from Bathonians asking about their lost pets – ‘are you doing experiments on my cat? She’s been gone three days. You’ll know her, she has one

eye and a limp.’ The researcher is quick to note that all the animals on the facility are bred specifically for scientific study; they are also all rodents, mostly mice and rats.

There is one room for guinea pigs, used for teaching. I was surprised to find that they played Radio 1 to them, apparently the noise helps them to get used to people walking in and out. The rats get the same treatment. It isn’t URB, but it will do.

The vast majority of the testing at this facility is considered ‘mild’ – the lowest Home Office rating for animal suffering. Some minor surgery is performed, under anaesthesia and pain killers. In other studies the animals are also treated with addictive drugs – which is where those sad C57BL/6s come in. Many of the experiments focus on behavioural changes under drug treatment – issues like addiction or depression are examined, including the testing of the controversial group of drugs known as SSRIs, of which Prozac is the most familiar.

These are drugs that are prescribed to and used by humans in Britain and most of the world.

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those things are controversial, to Dr Kelsh and his team have the decreased production of a certain an extent, because any testing or ability to keep up to thirty thou- type of pigment cell - iridophores, tampering with them conjures up sand fish – they are studied partly the ones that make fish scales shiny images of tampering with young, because of how small, easy to keep - highlights which drugs would defenceless, living things. Rightly and easy to breed they are – but ac- stop ALK expressing cancer cells or wrongly, such work might upset tually keep more like ten to fifteen from developing into dangerous tupeople, not because of the actual thousand. “We don’t like to keep mours. This is a cheap and easy idea harm done to the animals in ques- more fish than we need,” I am told, for screening for treatments for sevtion (it should be noted that these because all they really study are em- eral very dangerous cancers. It’s the fish are better looked after than bryos. The adult fish are kept for sort of thing people tend not to get most pet shop fish) but because of breeding purposes only. As they age, upset about. the powerful nature of genetic tam- they become less useful for breeding It is conspicuous that animal pering. Should anybody, regardless and so are euthanized with an over- rights groups and their associated of intent or effect, be altering some- dose of anaesthetic. Other than this, literature mostly shies away from thing as basic as the genetic struc- no procedure is done on them after mentioning medical research done ture of an animal? the first five days of their existence. on animals. PETA list the following: “I do not “stopping think that the use of the changes animals in we make in cosmetics the course laboratoof our reries, ag- REFINE the way experiments are carried search are ricultural out, to make sure animals suffer as little any more research, as possible. This includes better housing - REDUCE the and improvements to procedures which substantial dog and number of animals minimise pain and suffering and/or imthan those cat food used to a minimum, prove animal welfare. to obtain information made routrials, from fewer animals tinely by, w e a p or more informafor examons tests, tion from the same ple, selecaerospace number of animals. tive breedstudies, - REPLACE the use ing.

Even and carof animals with the changes crash simalternative techwe make ulations”. niques, or avoid the that involve As I preuse of animals altogether. introducing pared to new genes write this to test the article, I effects are was ready still very mito connor in terms vince the of ‘percentrelevant age of genes campus changed’, so that there is no doubt “Have you been to a pet shop? authorities to give me access not the animal itself is not of a different You’ve seen goldfish in tanks there only to dispel myths but also to extype. In principle, the field of syn- with bulging eyes and stomachs? pose some of the fascinating medithetic biology is capable of creating They have oedema, we wouldn’t cal work being done. What actually genuinely new organisms, and in ever keep a fish like that.” This is a happened was I was met by some this sense the accusation of ‘playing usually fatal disease in fish that is very proud professionals who were God’ is much more realistic - and considered very painful. In animal very keen to let the wider public indeed a true concern, especially research facilities, such animals are know what they were working on. because of the potential for (acci- humanely put down to alleviate suf- Despite this, I was told by some othdental) release of a novel organism. fering, not so in pet shops. er experienced members of student This is because experience tells us Much of the research is exciting, media that as recently as five years that the frequent outcome of our none more so, I think, than the study ago, this article would have been a meddling in eco-systems is disrup- of certain pigment cells from Ze- no go. tion of that eco-system, sometimes brafish to find drugs that inhibit the WHY NOW? disastrously. But this is a new field, protein ALK. This protein is linked I asked some of the researchand one where active anticipation of with the development of several ers what made them want to talk to these and other problems is being cancers including some lymphomas bathimpact. Dr Sarah Bailey, Deencouraged, and guidelines being and lung cancer. They noticed that partment of Pharmacy Pharmacoldrawn up to protect against this.” screening embryos for drugs that ogy, had this to say

What do you think about it?

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As a University, we’re here for the enhancement of knowledge. If scientists, the laws of the land and all relevant ethics committees believe such practices contribute to this, why not?”

Principle: The Three Rs

understandinganimalresearch.org.uk

Of course, there are deaths.

There are several thousand mice and rats in the facility, all of which are fed and watered in enclosures that are cleaned at least once a week by a dedicated staff. Rodents do not have a huge life expectancy and some develop medical issues. These are humanely put down with either a simple neck-breaking procedure or an overdose of CO2. The bodies are donated to a local reptile facility.

Often, it is growth patterns that interest the researchers – such studies are often useful for cancer research. They add a gene from a jellyfish which glows bright green under ultra-violet light, to certain parts of the body such as the brain or other organs. This allows researchers to better see what has or has not changed. Looking at some mice, glowing in the dark, they didn’t seem to me to be bothered by this addition to their bodies. Scientists do not think this harms them in any way, but it does raise the spectre of another side of the animal research debate: is it ethical to change the biological make-up of a living animal, however benign the alteration, or is that, as some would argue, playing God? To follow up on this question I spoke to Dr Robert Kelsh whose work at the University focuses on the Zebra fish. He is a Professor of Stem Cell and Developmental Genetics, his work focuses on the neural crest which develops in embryos and helps to generate various elements of the body – the jaw, the nerves in the skin, parts of the bowel and pigmentation. After speaking to him, he took me to see the fish he studies. More specifically, he showed me the embryos – all their research is done in the first five days of embryonic development – because these embryos are incredibly visible. They are, in fact, see-through. You can quite literally watch skin pigment develop, cell by cell.

The work done in the fish facility is less intrusive than the work done with rodents. What they work with they can only see with microscopes.

The embryos he showed me were alive and well, not even anaesthetised. But these are embryos, and what the researchers are specifically interested in are stem cells: both of

What have you heard about it?

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I was completely unaware any animal testing was taking place. I don’t think I would have taken much notice if I had.”

Did you know this happened on campus?

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No, I would have organised a petition or something already!”

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“My personal view on why we should be open? The public fund a lot of medical research, through research councils and medical charities, much of which involves using animals. The vast majority of the public support animal research for medical purposes; this support depends to some extent on how we keep people informed about what we do. If scientists are not open then we may be viewed as having something to hide - and we don’tthe UK has the strictest legislation regulating animal research which places animal welfare at the centre of everything we do. That is important for all researchers. The University has recently signed up to the concordat on openness on animal research along with more than 40 other organizations.”

“We have always been open about our work, through the website and publications. We’re very confident that we work within very stringent guidelines - the UK legislation is more so than those of any other country I have worked in or discussed with colleagues. And our fish are more healthy than, for example, many you can freely buy in pet shops!”

There will always be people who regard any animal research as ethically wrong, just as there are people who regard eating meat as ethically wrong. For me, the whole issue is more complicated than any blanket judgement of right or wrong. The regulations seemed to be incredibly strict, the actual conditions of the animals were, as far as I could see, near impeccable and all the individuals involved had considered, long and hard, what they did and how they did it. To ignore these extra factors seems like wilful ignorance.

Hopefully, this article has shed some light about what actually happens with animal research on campus and dispelled some myths. Fear not for your pets, these researchers are dedicated scientists just like, no doubt, many of you wish to be.

With thanks to Will Marsh and Vicky Just as well as the researchers involved. If you would like to comment about animal research on campus please email impacteditor@bath.ac.uk

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he annual National Union of Students (NUS) conference, this year held in Sheffield City Hall, is an event where delegates from all further and higher education constituencies congregate for the discussion and debate of policy for the year ahead as well as electing permanent officers to continue to improve students’ lives in five key zones: further education, higher education, welfare, society & citizenship and Union Development.

Although this may sound dull and dry, I can assure you it is anything but. I was so impressed by the proceedings it encouraged me to write my first bathimpact article.

The conference had motions on all of the aforementioned zones which the delegates could decide for or against (or abstain if they had no view or felt it irrelevant). Some of them were controversial, notably the women’s quota vote. This policy argued that to improve representation of women in union politics a quota needed to be sent to conference from all unions. I am not ashamed to disagree with this motion as I feel it is an injustice and disservice to women who deserve to be elected on their merit, not their sex. Also, I feel

whoever gets the most votes, regardless of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, etc., should be chosen to represent those that voted for them.

The conference felt the same way, however, the motion only fell by ten votes. Undoubtedly, this will not be the last we hear of this contentious issue.

A number of motions were on the cutting of university fees and going on another national demo against the government. My view is that we have wasted enough time and energy on changing the government’s mind about fees, highlighted by the £150,000 mess that was #demo2012. Fortunately, I was not alone on that view, with the majority voting against further demonstrations about fees. This shows that as a student body we have updated our opinions from last year which was emphasised in the way the votes went to the full time officers.

The majority of the elected officers, including the new president Toni Pearce, felt that we needed a positive and constructive change to suit our current economic climate. Watch Toni’s presidential speech on the NUS Conference 2013 website.

On top of all the action on the conference floor, there were a number of events hosted around Sheffield

during conference breaks known as fringes. These fringes covered a vast array of topics relevant to students and the ones I went to I found highly interesting and inspiring. I went to one where Matthew Collins talked about how he initially joined the British National Party (BNP) but over the years has changed his views and now actively campaigns against BNP; read about his transformation in his book titled ‘Hate’. Another fringe talked about activism in the NUS and the struggle University of Sussex has been having against privatisation. Some of the University’s students have been fighting against this by occupying their union; support their cause on Facebook, titled: ‘Stop the Privatization of Sussex Services’. I also saw a fringe talk about how ‘Lad Culture’ is pervading our unions; read the summary report published by the NUS called “That’s What She Said” online.

Although the conference was not perfect, with a number of policies not covered by the delegates due to time restraints and electronic voting equipment malfunctioning in crucial votes, I felt it was a genuine success and I have very high hopes for next year after a demoralising year for students. Having seen the work of the NUS first hand, I urge every-

The electronic voting system failed and resulted in close margins one reading this to consider voting to stay in the NUS in the upcoming referendum. The union is so active and passionate about the people it

represents, I feel the positives far outweigh the negatives and we are better off standing together than existing alone.

Morten Watkins

Chris Pagett NUS Delegate

Will Bunce/Nus

NUS Conference 2013: A review

Sussex; unlike my house, Sussex is a public institution with a royal charter and the students protesting within its walls were members of its academia. Even if they weren't, if Sussex is a public body then even if its estates are privately-owned, they are held in trust by the university on behalf of the country. In reality of course, the increasing privatisation of universities means that they are coming to be seen as private bodies in more than just the economic sense, as the High Court ruling proves.

The injunction is to be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights. Of course, by the time European judges come to a conclusion it will be too little, too late for the Sussex protesters. At least, however, if a ruling is reached that the injunction was unlawful then British judges in the future may think twice before issuing similar writs. For at the moment the mere mention of the 'I' word seems enough to make the arbitrators shiver with delight like an addict getting their fix. We need to wean our judiciary junkies off their injunctive opiate, and do it quickly; because all too often they are siding with the private and not with the public.

Revolting students & their protests Tom Ash bathimpact Writer

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midst the green and pleasant pastures of rural Sussex, a storm has been brewing of late. Anyone paying much attention to the news will know that the student protesters have been uprooted from their makeshift camp by a court injunction issued last month, ably assisted by over a hundred security and police officers who laid siege to Bramber House, dashingly scaling the walls and battering down its doors with pneumatic drills.

The siege of Leningrad this was not, but even now, with the dust settled and the thunderous boots of the law silent once again, there are lingering issues to consider. Not least among them is that insidious little injunction, granted by Mrs Justice Proudman, which not only gave the university the right to evict the protesters, but also the power to prevent any protest which it does not sanction from taking place on its premises between now and September.

There are two tangible problems with the way University of Sussex management have acted. The first is an abject, even wilful failure to engage with the concerns of staff and students alike over the outsourcing of university jobs. But let us leave

The injunction means Sussex students are losing their right to free speech in favour of property that aside. Let us push through the growing enjeu of a university sector where management overrules the academic body. Let us ignore the rights of students, as paying clients, to have a say in the running of their institution. Let us pay no heed to the abdication of responsibility for

redundancies and reduced pay that will result from the outsourcing.

Because there is a fundamental rottenness that sits at the heart of this, which seeps out from the injunction that Justice Proudman saw fit to issue. In her infinite wisdom, she has chosen to place the right of

property over the right to freedom of expression. In and of itself, this isn't necessarily a bad thing; we wouldn't want the unwashed masses to be able to invade our homes and turn them into bastions of protest.

But there is a distinction to be made in the case of a university like

Tuesday 16th April 2013

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Getting your tits out for feminism Rebecca Muir looks at the effectiveness of nude feminist activists Ammar Abd Rabbo

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he naked female body is used by feminists to subvert institutional sexism and reclaim ownership of the female form. However, is this actually an effective method to get feminism to be taken seriously, or does it just mean that people seriously miss the point?

How a woman reveals her body uproots so many assumptions deeply engrained in society. Last month in Steubenville, Ohio, a young girl was raped and assaulted by two footballers. While she was completely unconscious and bystanders watched, the two young men posted explicit details on Twitter. Despite this, victimblaming comments on social media appeared, describing her as ‘a loose drunk slut’. This yielded sympathy for the rapists, as ‘they did what most people in their situation would have done’.

As this girl was attractive and dared to expose her legs while at a party, she lost ownership of her body. This sends out a clear message to women; you cannot dress or look how you want to.

Feminists using their body to expose this inequality, to reply to this oppression using a clever tactic that angers and disturbs men most of all – my body is mine and I can do what I like with it.

The media focusing on the narrow category of a nineteen year old with a

Is getting naked the best way to be taken seriously and make sure your point gets across? banging body has a cascade of ramifications for everyone’s body image and self-worth. As we are being constantly bombarded with images of pert tits and tiny waists, toilet papers such as The Sun are defining female attractiveness with airbrushed and unrealistic images. Women are reduced to hypersexualised caricatures, packaged for male gratification. The high turn-over of these models reinforces female infe-

riority in society, as women are treated like disposable objects only useful for entertaining the male gaze. Femen, a Ukrainian topless protest group, are quite rightfully angry about the way women are devalued and have staged many topless demonstrations in response to the inequality. A nineteen year old Femen protester recently received threats of stoning after displaying the words ‘my body belongs to me’

suing a sentencing of paralysis to a prisoner, couple that with the words “petrochemical company” which have a ubiquitous association with infamy in areas ranging from environmental impacts to unethical business practices; is this really an institution that the University of Bath should be associating with?

I do completely accept the hypocrisy of my position. In applying I did do my research on my prospective employers: looking up their origins, business practices and general ethical credentials, but this did end up limiting my opportunities. For example another placement opportunity was offered for the South African company SASOL, a company that in two consecutive years were fined for two instances of price fixing and involvement in cartel activities! Admittedly we’re not talking Breaking Bad levels of cartel excitement here but it is still a completely abhorrent activity for a global company that claims ‘a proud reputation for integrity and sound governance’. Again I would ask is this the sort of company that the University should be encouraging its students to learn from?

Maybe the problem here lies with the chemistry industry as a whole. I for

one certainly did not expect to have to navigate such an expansive job market of morally grey areas when I first applied to do Chemistry. I didn’t realise the choice would be between industries such as pharmaceuticals, oil and cosmetics. Can we really blame the University for a problem that comes from the industry itself? Well I would argue that the University holds a special position in guiding students in their choice of placements and even future careers and this position comes with the responsibility not to further enable unethical business practices or encourage an association in its students with such infamous companies.

Within the Chemistry department for example, placements at the pharmaceutical company GSK are viewed as one of the best placements to obtain. In July 2012, GSK was fined $3 billion for drug fraud in the US. This case involved “off label marketing” a fairly benign sounding activity but one that, in this case, involved the promotion of an antidepressant, that was only FDA approved for adults, as suitable for children and adolescents as well. GSK knowingly suppressed studies that showed that the drug not only didn’t work as an antidepressant but also increased suicidal tendencies

on her chest. These women are putting themselves in real danger in order to reclaim their bodies and rights, and it is definitely effective at highlighting how society treats women.

However, this method could be seen to be a cheap gimmick in order to get press attention – attention which probably won’t convey the desired political message. Unfortunately feminists are in a power struggle, where

ironically their most potent weapon is their bodies (and its objectification).

Femen have been covered by the press internationally, appearing in news features and articles on CNN, BBC and Euronews. But you can’t help but think one of the reasons they have this much media impact is because they are often slim, blonde and attractive – a narrow desirable category of appearance that normally decorates the pages of newspapers anyway. People probably aren’t looking at their chests to read the Ukrainian protest slogans.

Sex sells, but it’s effectiveness at challenging patriarchy is questionable.

Women are disproportionately underrepresented in the most influential public spheres of UK society, with men making up nearly 80% of MPs and 74% of news journalists. No wonder women try and use any power they can grasp to try and change the oppressive barriers in place. It’s uncertain whether this is the best tactic to actually change the way society thinks about women, or if it just reinforces the idea that women are only worthy if they are pretty. Feminists are fighting for sexual liberation, freedom and overall equality. It’s quite a shame that while using their assets to promote change, the message gets lost in translation, and they can simply be seen as fit birds.

Thomas Rookes bathimpact Writer

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s my internship draws to a close I, like many others, will be frantically tying up loose ends in my work, scrabbling to finish my report and meet all of my deadlines before saying farewell to my colleagues and heading back to Bath for the final year of my Chemistry degree.

Placements in third year are part of many students’ degrees. This is undoubtedly a huge selling point of the University. Firstly I would like to say I have loved my placement at SABIC. I have gained invaluable experience not only academically but also personally, meeting people from all over the world whilst living and working in a foreign country; you can’t get much better than that! However it’s when you look a little deeper that a darker side of the placement program start to emerge.

Take SABIC for instance, a world renowned company with brilliant research facilities and a strong track record with placement students.

Sounds good but SABIC is a Saudi Arabian petrochemical company.

Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy that operates under Sharia law and in the past month alone has been under international criticism for is-

NWFblogs

Placements need to be ethical

The business ethics of placement companies need to be checked in patients under 18. This was done whilst simultaneously promoting the drug to the medical industry through various lavish perks and conference trips that of course could have only been held in Puerto Rico and Hawaii!

Doctors who agreed to promote it were put on the company pay roll.

University of Bath has a built a

great reputation as a leading university with excellent graduate employment rates due, at least in part, to its extensive placement program. It is with this unique position that I would like to see Bath leading the next generation of employees away from such unethical and immoral companies.

Your move, Bath.

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Politics

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The legacy that continues to divide Tom Gane looks at the passing of one of politics’ The most iconic figures and her controversial legacy

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robertthestuff

Reaction

We have lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton.”

David Cameron

The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.”

Barack Obama

The United States knew Margaret as a spirited and courageous ally, and the world owes her a debt of gratitude.”

Nancy Reagan

Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world.”

Tony Blair

I will never forget her contribution in overcoming Europe’s partition and the end of the Cold War.” Angela Merkel

Her beliefs - in thrift, hard work, and proper reward for merit - were not always popular.

But her legacy is colossal.”

Boris Johnson

Margaret ‘the Iron Lady’ Thatcher passed away on April 8th after suffering a massive stroke ’m a Welshman living in Bath. As was a grocer and Methodist lay-coun- Prime Minister at all is testament to such my social media accounts cillor. Alderman Roberts was a firm her intelligence and will-power. are full of people from completely believer in Victorian Values and the With her time as Prime Minister, it different socioeconomic backgrounds importance of duty and hard work is again important to emphasise how passing comment on current affairs, and he passed this onto his daughter. difficult a position Britain was in in the usually resulting in multiple interpre- Baroness Thatcher later described year before Baroness Thatcher took tations of an event filling up my feeds. him as her biggest influence. Born in power. The Winter of Discontent saw Now whilst Facebook and Twitter 1925, she grew up in the Depression the culmination of rampant inflation aren’t known for their subtlety when and The War, two periods that only and public sector disputes, perhaps debating anything political, April 8th served to increase her belief in hard most notoriously remembered in the took this to ridiculous new levels. The work and self-reliance. It is important strikes of gravediggers and waste colreason of course was the death of Bar- to remember that when she came to lectors and the fact Britain had to aponess Thatcher. Britain’s first female power Britain was in its worse state ply to the IMF for an emergency loan. prime minister and the longest serv- since the war and there was a clear For a former imperial power, this was ing of the 20th Century. A Prime Min- crisis of national identity. Thatcher incredibly embarrassing and there ister who had a larger impact on the was a feel that Britain was bowing out nation than any other leader in living of the world stage with a whimper. memory and one who fiercely divided Whimpering is something you could History needs figures to a nation. For every mournful or renever accuse Baroness Thatcher of, specting tweet came an expression of especially in foreign policy. Her cries stand by their guns and glee, typed in hysterical capitals, that of “No, No, No” have almost become to change the world” the Iron Lady had passed. For every the stuff of legend and brought back comment lamenting and cursing what images of Britain as a strong, indeshe did while in power, another two believed this was in no small part pendent country who would not be replies would spring to her defense due to the fact that people had come bullied and pushed around by Eulike a conservative Hydra. Whether or to expect too much from the Gov- rope. She responded to the Falklands not this was appropriate is a discus- ernment, that they had concentrated Crisis with immediate action, despite sion for another time (although I will far too much on “entitlements” and the calls of allies such as the US for mention that sites such as Is Thatcher “rights”, rather than hard work and restraint, and cemented her reputaDead Yet seemed amusing last week, their obligations. On the surface and tion as a leader to be reckoned with. yet on the day simply seemed callous), in economic terms, it is certainly the Along with her ideological brother, but it is worth reminding ourselves of case that these ideas proved to be Ronald Reagan, Thatcher pioneered why she produced such a response in fruitful and that Baroness Thatcher the ending of Détente and pushed for the first place. turned Britain around and gave it a a harder line with soviets, ending the While the current crop of contro- direction that had been lacking since Cold War far sooner than it otherwise versial Tory ministers are rather no- the war. She created a nation that would have. Testament to this is the ticeably from a very different back- people could stand behind, although amount of coverage her death has reground of those who their policies whether it was a nation to be proud ceived in America and their immense effect, the most famous Conservative of is another matter. However, con- outpouring of grief. As well as foreign of modern times was actually from a sidering her rather modest birth and policy success she removed the apfar more modest background. Bar- the fact that she was the first member prehension to free market economoness Thatcher was born to a father of her family to go to any university, ics, ultimately brought Britain out of who, rather than a Lord or banker, let alone Oxford, the fact she became depression and created a model that

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was followed by the next highly influential and controversial leader, Tony Blair.

It is hard to argue against how important and successful Thatcher was in these areas, but the question must be asked, at what cost? Privatisation and the opening of the British economy to the market may have created larger profits and eventually brought Britain out of recession, but after selling off the basic utilities prices soared and made life for the working class more difficult. Many also believe that this commitment to commercialism and the market policies she pioneered are largely responsible for the economic crisis we are suffering today.

She also sought not only to rein in the trade unions, but actively attempted to destroy them and used unemployment as a tool of government, rather than a cost. The crippling of the mining industry and her treatment of Republicans in Ireland resulted in prolonged strikes, which were not handled with a deft hand (ten died in Northern Ireland) and she provoked a general feeling that she wished to attack the working man and did not care if the working classes suffered.

This was then followed by the Poll Tax and the riots that followed, also making the Conservative Party effectively unelectable in Scotland. She was also not a feminist icon. She never said anything to help other women, did not put another women in her cabinet, openly opposed feminism and the women’s rights movement and this hangover is still evident today in our present male dominated Parliament.

On issues such as rape, domestic violence, childcare, benefits for single mothers, discrimination, harassment and inequality, Thatcher did nothing and she should be vilified for this.

Thatcher was an icon. In an era of consensus politics she was always true to her convictions and never wavered from what she believed in. She took charge of a Britain that was in its worse condition since the war and turned it into a nation people could believe in. She was a giant of foreign policy and the fact she became Prime Minister at all as the daughter of a grocer is remarkable. Whether these achievements were worth the cost of Britain’s industry, trade unions, welfare system and the decimation of certain working class areas is a question for history, but history needs Margaret Thatchers. History needs figures to stand by their guns and attempt to change the world or we would simply stagnate, and at the very least she should be respected for that.

Tuesday 16th April 2013

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Politics

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North Korea: is there any danger?

Helen Edworthy debates whether we should take the threat seriously attributed to several factors, one of the most contentious being increased sanctions imposed by the UN after recent missile and underground nuclear tests. Another potential reason for the up-scale in threats from North Korea is its relationship with South Korea, in particular relations between the northern capital city Pyongyang, and its southern counterpart Seoul.

The North hopes that the new

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petersnoopy Karl Baron

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ince the death of former Supreme Leader of the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (North Korea) Kim Jong-Il, his son and successor Kim JongUn has been the butt of a lot of jokes internationally. The Onion have written satirical pieces on him, and the general tone when speaking about the current ‘Supreme Leader’ of the DPRK is not one of seriousness. In the space of one week, however, the threats of North Korea’s leader have been met with calls to increase surveillance of his military from both the main objects of his rhetoric: The Republic of Korea (South Korea) and its ally the United States. Kim Jong-Un has stated that North Korea will be entering a ‘state of war’ with the other half of the Korean peninsula, that it has placed rockets on standby and that it will target the US cities of Washington DC and Austin (Texas) with missiles should the US continue its annual military exercises with South Korea.

The increasingly aggressive posturing from North Korea has been

Nobody quite knows how seriously to take Kim Jong-Un”

South Korean government, headed by its first female president, Park Geun-Hye, will change its policies towards Pyongyang. Despite North Korea’s numerous threats to take action including nuclear war ‘without warning’, should Washington or Seoul appear to be attempting military invention, its actions till now have only gone as far as shutting down communications and

Kim Jong-Un replaced his father as leader of North Korea withdrawing its workers from the spond as quickly as they can should Korean peninsula’s last symbol the worst occur and North Korea of inter-Korean co-operation, the begins shelling either the South or Kaesong Industrial Park. surrounding islands that remain One major problem with Kim a point of contention. The UN are Jong-Un’s increased aggression is also duty-bound to react, due to that nobody quite knows how seri- North Korea’s consistent disregard ously to take him. When it comes for sanctions that were placed on to threats of war, both the US and it. The reaction is different from South Korea are duty-bound to re- both the South Korean popula-

spent some time working last summer.

During my summer in Aboud, I quickly learnt never to expect life to be made simple for Palestinians.

When I flew into Tel Aviv airport in Israel and I mentioned I was staying in the West Bank I immediately had my passport confiscated. When I was finally allowed to leave we travelled almost two hours in the wrong direction. Our driver explained how he was confused because signposts

in the West Bank were first written in Hebrew, English and finally Arabic.

The Arabic was not a real translation, but a version that made little sense to Palestinians. Little things that alone are trivial but together add up to a mountain of discrimination against the Palestinians.

Over the next few weeks I made strong bonds with so many of the people in Aboud, receiving treatment like that of a relative. They were honestly the most hospitable people I

tion and the wider international community however; within South Korea, the reaction from both Korean-born citizens and waeguk (foreigners) is one of nonchalance; every few years or so, North Korea threatens to drown the South in a ‘sea of fire’ and for South Koreans it has reached a point where they no longer pay much attention to the latest threat from the country's severed other half. Internationally, concern for South Korean lives is a much bigger issue, but even this is despite the fact that Kim Jong-Un is seen as a rather comic figure.

Regardless of how Kim is viewed in the wider international context, the increase in military drills cannot be taken light-heartedly. Whether or not his threats of international warfare become physical actions, it means further punishment for North Korean citizens in one of two ways; either as victims of an all-out war; or as collateral damage in an aid struggle between their government and its benefactors. That, at the very least, is reason to take Kim Jong-Un’s threats seriously.

The on-going struggle for freedom Emily Sara bathimpact Writer have recently taken to following international news outlets including the perhaps controversial Al Jazeera and Palestine News on Twitter. Their tweets announced that a young Palestinian man had been shot in the head and killed by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration. It was the name of the village – Aboud - that particularly caught my eye, as it was the same place in which I had

Wall in Palestine

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The graffiti filled Isreali built wall which continues to divide Jerusalem from Palestine

have ever met. The one thing that was asked of me was to spread their story.

I distinctly remember a boy, virtually my age, asking if before I had come I had thought all Palestinians were terrorists and this same boy was genuinely surprised when I claimed I didn’t know anyone who had been shot at. It was occasions like this that jolted me back to face the reality of what these people deal with each day.

After I saw the article about the young man, Mahammed Asfour, 22, who had been shot and killed by what the Israelis claim are “non-lethal”

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The one thing they asked of me was to spread their story”

rubber bullets; I searched the internet for pictures of Asfour, desperately praying he had not been one of the boys I had met. He was not, this however gave me little satisfaction. In the first photo, of Asfour’s funeral procession, I recognised one of the men and as I flicked through I saw more and more people I knew.

Finally, I reached photos of Israeli tanks and snipers arriving to deal with the post-funeral protesting. The

disproportionate nature of the weapons seemed almost comical. The pictures showed young Palestinian boys throwing rocks at Israeli tanks.

These were the same young boys who I had taught English to. They were wildly intelligent, but rarely concentrated long enough to show it. Had these same boys not grown up in a war zone they would most likely have grown out of their immaturity and succeeded in life thanks to their natural intelligence and charm.

The danger they faced was so real and yet it was hard for me to imagine the lazy streets and the wonderfully happy and jovial summer school in which I had worked, facing this type of turmoil. It made me aware of how quickly one judges and accepts the images we see on the news without real consideration of the normality of the people who live in these parts of the world; without considering the desperation that has often led to their actions. I can emphatically vouch for the fact that these boys are not evil or unkind or terrorists. We are so quick to judge the actions of both sides in conflict, so quick to claim we would never act in the way that others do, so quick to condemn while we are at home with very little to fear, with very little need to leave the ironic comfort of sitting on the fence.

Tuesday 16th April 2013

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World

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Finding your inner Pole here at Bath P

London, home to the largest population of Poles in the UK. For those on a budget I recommend Mamuśka bar mleczny (mamuska.net), located in the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, which certainly makes for an interesting setting for this typical Polish lunch buffet. You order your meal at the counter and get called forward once the food is ready; starters and desserts are priced at £3, mains at £5. The dishes to try are pierogi (polish dumplings with a va-

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You can get acquainted with Polish culture right here”

riety of fillings), gołąbki (mince pork and rice filled cabbage rolls), bigos (a hearty stew with sausage) and for dessert sernik (Polish cheesecake), which is the best I have tasted outside of Poland. If you are looking to try something a bit more upmarket Baltic Bar & Restaurant (balticrestaurant.co.uk), near Waterloo station is a great discovery I recently made.

The restaurant has an elegant yet rustic aura and is the perfect place

for sampling Polish food taken to a higher level. The menu provides a great selection of traditional Polish fare from barszcz (beatroot soup) and kaszanka (polish black pudding), blinis (Russian pancakes served with various toppings) and pierogi to the more complex meat and fish mains.

After the satisfying meal (the portions, as in any Polish home, are generous) head to the bar area for some swanky cocktails made with the best of Polish (and Eastern European) vodka.

Now Polish culture has more to offer than food and drink and you can visit the Polish Cultural Institute, located aptly on Poland Street in West London, to get some exposure to the cultural achievements of Polish artists, film directors and musicians over the decades. The institute organizes regular exhibitions of contemporary polish artists, screenings of famous films and concerts of up-and-coming bands. Check out the schedule at polishculture.org.uk.

Unfortunately the Bath Polish Society has suspended its activities due to inadequate membership. However a number of other universities have active Polish student organizations

that organize various events aimed at Polish students in the UK throughout the year. Recently the LSE SU Polish Economic and Business Forum was held on the 3rd of March and the Congress of Polish Student Societies in the UK held Warwick on 8-10th

March.

Hopefully this article has provided you with a concise but user-friendly introduction to Polish culture. Failing all that, simply head down to Tiki and order a latte from your lovely Polish barista. annasphotos

Julia Lipowiecka bathimpact Writer oland - labelled the land of cabbage, plumbers and vodka – has recently shot up to become one of the hot new destinations to visit in Europe (no doubt Euro 2012 helped). Luckily you can get acquainted with Polish culture right here in the UK. According to the ONS in 2011 there were 521,000 Poles living in the UK and this has led to the creation of a plethora of Polish shops, restaurants, bars and cultural institutes where you can get a taste of Polish culture or, if you are Polish, reconnect with your homeland. Though Bath has a sizable Polish population all there is on offer here is the Polish Deli on James Street West. Here you can sample a variety of Polish products - paluszki (salty pretzels) and kisiel (fruit jelly) make for particularly good student snacks, jams and pickles are for the more adventurous (Poles love to pickle just about anything) and the kielbasa (polish sausage) and ham section is heaven for meat-lovers. While the Polish deli may be a good introduction you will have to venture further afield to experience the real stuff. Next stop

Are you ready to delve into a delicious barszcz here at Bath?

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Tuesday 16th April 2013

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Business

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BAE: bringing defence to campus Oskar Butcher explores the realities behind the company and asks whether we should support their presence at our University

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BAE

AE Systems have a significant presence on our campus. The company has ties with our engineering department, has featured in prospectuses and first year notebooks. and holds on-campus graduate opportunity stalls. With one of the best mechanical engineering departments in the country, it is no surprise that BAE hopes to recruit Bath graduates, however there seems to be little discussion or knowledge about the history or nature of BAE Systems; a major player in the murky world of the global arms trade.

In 2010, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIRPI) ranked BAE Systems as the second largest arms-producing company worldwide, based on total arms sales and profits.

Comprising 95% of BAE Systems’ total sales (2010), the business of selling arms to over a hundred countries worldwide is clearly the prime occupation of BAE Systems.

In an industry that is notorious for unethical business practices and huge costs in terms of human life, the prominent role that BAE Systems plays in arming the world is difficult to overestimate.

Perhaps the most notorious transaction which BAE has been involved in, is the Al Yamamah

FinancialTimes

BAE is the second-largest weapons manufacturer in the world, but their clients have been criticised deal between UK and Saudi Ara- cluded commission payments of a $30,000 Mercedes, a Rollsbia. In ‘The Shadow World’, An- over £6 billion (a police estimate Royce, a £175,000 Aston Martin drew Feinstein’s authoritative ‘believed’ by the UK parliament). and multiple holidays costing and acclaimed guide to the arms Feinstein reports how these pay- over £99,000. Among others to industry, it is suggested that the ments were made through off- have benefited from the deal are Al Yamamah deal has been “the shore front companies based in Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a diplomost corrupt transaction in trad- the British Virgin Islands and mat whom BAE gifted a £75 miling history” and that the deal in- controlled by BAE - primarily ‘Po- lion air-bus, and Mark Thatcher, seidon Trading Investments Ltd’ who is reported to have gained and ‘Red Diamond Trading Ltd.’. £12 million in commission for Aside from the payment of ‘providing excellent ties to govcommission rates up to three ernment’ (a report which he detimes those allowed by Saudi nies). law, Feinstein notes the “masThe Al Yamamah deal is the sive slush-fund” that was set up to “take care” of the Saudi rulers purchasing arms on behalf of give some their nation. In 2004, the Guard- ian reported that BAE Systems thought to what they had contracted companies such as actually represent” Robert Lee International to handle the payments made from the slush fund, which came under the largest-scale and most notorious heading ‘accommodation services of BAE’s corrupt dealings, aland support for overseas visitors’. though BAE has also been fined These services included millions for corruption in deals with Tanspent providing cars, yachts and zania, and paid fines of £250m pleasure trips for Saudi pilots, to the USA after being accused and even greater amounts were of making misleading statements spent on Saudi officials. over payments made whilst tryPrince Turki Bin Nasser is ing to win contracts. There can be thought to have received most little doubt that the Al Yamamah from the slush fund; the Ministry slush fund and the payments it alof Defence in 2004 seized files de- lowed, helped in landing BAE the tailing the £17 million of benefits multi-billion pound contract. allegedly paid to Bin Nasser by The global arms trade is known BAE. The ‘accommodation serv- to be the most corrupt industry ices’ which Bin Nasser and his in the world; Joe Roeber’s 2005 BAE Chairman Dick Olver accompanied David Cameron to India family benefited from included study on the arms trade for Trans-

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parency International found it to be accountable for 40% of corruption in all global trade. Almost none of this corruption has been punished; of the 502 violations of UN arms embargoes since 1990, two have led to legal action - with one conviction.

Deals such as Al Yamamah are government-to-government deals, meaning that BAE is selling arms under the umbrella of the UK government. This makes it all the more ominous that it was Tony Blair who in 2006 shut down the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) investigations into the Al Yamamah deals. In 2010, BAE admitted to false accounting in relation to Al Yamamah, and agreed to pay £285m in fines to the US and the UK; a number that is nonetheless dwarfed by the billions that went through BAE’s ‘global money laundering system’.

In February, David Cameron visited India (accompanied by BAE chairman Dick Olver) aiming to secure an arms deal worth billions; this shortly after taking the decision to stop all financial aid to India by 2015. Cameron has also been promoting Britain’s arms industry in Oman, sealing a deal (to be carried out by BAE) worth billions, selling arms to an authoritarian regime criticised by Amnesty International for using excessive force against peaceful protests by civilians.

Few are predicting an end to Cameron’s continued pushing for the sales of British arms around the world - to dictatorships as well as poverty-ridden nations.

There is a reason that an industry shrouded in corruption, and which profits from conflict is yet to be subjected to real accountability or meaningful controls. It is worth astronomical amounts of money, and that is unlikely to change in the near future.

At the University of Bath, there is only so much we can do about the shady world that is the arms industry. The beginning of that is to understand who the people on our campus are. The next time that BAE Systems hold a graduate opportunities stall on parade, or you see a smiling dolphin ‘calling all of nature’s great performers’ towards graduate opportunities with BAE Systems, give some thought to what this company that wants to employ you actually represents.

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bathimpact

Business

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Economics of...

Religion

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Cypriot President Nico Anastasiades will be watching the situation inflict losses on all depositors. ian constitutional court.

Usually the stockholders are hit, Probably the most concernfollowed swiftly by the bondhold- ing consequence of the Cyprus ers. However, in Cyprus the battle problem for the rest of Europe between economics and politics is the new openings available has resulted primarily in the pun- to, and the growing influence of, ishment of retail savers. Without Vladimir Putin and his cronies in the necessary protection of its de- Russia. Having loaned Cyprus 2.5 positors, Cyprus will not be able million euros, before rejecting the 5 million euro loan requested by recently resigned finance minister, Michalis Sarris, and with the Many are accusing possibility of its recapitalisation Germany of being a of Cypriot banks along with exploitation of the island’s recent ‘big bully’” gas findings in the eastern Medito prevent them from worrying terranean, Russia could become a about their savings tucked away in powerful worry for the Eurozone, banks such as Laiki and the Bank creating more divisions and probof Cyprus, the island’s two largest lems within the European contibanks. This could also have disas- nent. trous consequences for Italy, as With Cyprus a haven for illegal its government passed a deposit Russian money, Putin was quick levy of 0.6% in 1992, which was to criticise the recently rejected then legalised in 1995 by the Ital- bail-out offer from the Eurozone countries, seeing it as an opportunity for empowering its strategic position in Europe and causing Cyprus to become some sort of satrapy for it to exploit.

Finally, if Cyprus were to be abandoned by the European Union, one of its fundamental principles of solidarity and its desire to create a meaningful banking union and Eurozone would be completely undermined. Planting doubts in cross-border banking and resolution would fragment the banking sector and endanger the single market massively. Abandoning the island would cause irreversible and perhaps catastrophic damage to the Eurozone’s currency. As The Economist has recently described, the euro was supposed to be a result of a majestic political project but has in fact become more like a loveless marriage, in which the cost of breaking up is the only thing keeping the partThe European Union will face the wider consequences ners together. uggboy

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hat’s the best thing you’ve ever purchased?

Think about it. For me, it was a Charizard shiny. For a steal at £5, I got a piece of glossed card covered with the wonders of Japanese anime. Well, it was either that or the six month subscription I had to HD pornography. Either way, the value of both these items have dramatically decreased. So, imagine my surprise when last Sunday, in exchange for a little bit of time from my mortal life, I was offered the product of eternal life. Ladies and gentleman, it appears we have a winner.

As usual, we will move away from the social debate about religion. If you believe in G-d, Allah, the Buddha or even the Spaghetti Monster, those are your beliefs and you can sleep easy knowing that you are better than us non-believers. I merely want to access what we get out of our devotion. But first, we must ask, what they get.

Let’s go to Rome; the centre of religious wealth, well at least it used to be. The Vatican, despite rumours of hidden gold, currently runs a $2m deficit. Of course, it’s liquid assets in general may be considerably more. The church amasses a shit tonne of gold all over the world, but the aesthetic value of this for most Catholics is far more than its actual worth. The Vatican does remain a business though, one built solely on charity. They receive the vast majority of their income from donations and they invest 80% of that in charitable organisations. Sure, they may have stolen a lot of their original wealth from innocent tribes and marginalised Jews, but in general the Catholic Church of today can hold its head relatively high.

For British religious organisations, spirituality has long stopped being about influence and status. To be a vicar now means gaining noth-

ing but a pitiful wage and the friendship of the Parish Council. However, in other countries, political and economic gain still give many a reason to join religious groups.

And what do you get in exchange for your devotion? If you’ve ever had the great misfortune to find yourself in North Norfolk, you will notice that for a sparsely populated part of the country there are a hell of a lot of churches. Norwich, in fact, has a church for every week of the year. The simple fact is that when the churches were built in the Middle-Ages, devout Lords or groups of peasants believed they were securing their place in heaven.

It is the same way that when we pass a beggar, some will give money and others will not. In Dr Baumard’s Explaining Religion, he claims that empathy and conscience were the clear determinants behind what decisions we make. In the olden days, semantic memory (long-term thoughts drilled into our heads) created a truth we could not debate; religion. Then, via episodic memory (memory based on impacting oneoff events), the long-term thoughts become associated with those longterm thoughts creating a connection. So, in religion, communion and baptism, or – for me – seder and Bar Mitzvah. By creating empathy to a cause and the long-term drilled in thought of eternal salvation, religion created a monopoly on conscience.

So, who has the better deal? We can never really know I guess. If, in exchange for long services, the loss of foreskin, and giving up pork, one gains long-term happiness spent playing golf on a cloud with Frank Sinatra, it could be worth it. If religion brings this kind of hope to the most desperate, that truly is outstanding. It is though, thanks to religion’s worst nightmare rationality, a risky investment for the rest of us. rubberbullets

Alexandra Egan bathimpact writer e have seen the protests in the street, the queues for ATMs and anger of the Cypriot people on the news across the world. Why has this seemingly insignificant little Mediterranean country, with fewer than a million inhabitants and an economy that only contributes 0.2% of the Eurozone’s GDP, become such a significant concern today? With its oversized banks, broken banking model and a bail-out that EU negotiators describe as the trickiest to date, why should we in the rest of the EU be so concerned?

Firstly, Germany’s might is further increasing when it comes to EU policy towards Cyprus. With elections on the way, Angela Merkel has taken a harsher approach to Cyprus and German dominance within the continent is getting bigger and bigger. Many are accusing it of being a ‘big bully’. Opposing Cypriot wishes could be profitable for the Chancellor and her people, a possible motivation behind Merkel’s hesitancy towards the troubled island. However, in the longer term, Germany needs to be careful not to revive memories from the past concerning growing power and dominance on the world stage, as it needs its European allies for domestic, political and diplomatic reasons. Be careful, Merkel.

Secondly, for the first time the EU has not protected its depositors; of the 147 banking crises recorded by the IMG since 1970, Cyprus is the only one that may

EPP

Cyprus bites the dust

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Most of the church’s liquid assets come through collection

Tuesday 16th April 2013

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16

Science & Technology

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Professor Science: the genes genie Our resident boffin explores the inner-sanctums of cross-breeding bloody stillborn.

However, there are ways in which to mess with the genetic information of different creatures. The easiest way is selective breeding. This method involves eugenics – pick the biggest, muscley-est specimens to breed with each other and their children will probably have more muscles than average. Most dog breeds were created in this way.

Another, seemingly more evil,

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ear Professor Science, I recently watched a documentary named “Catdog” and I was wondering whether these animals are available in pet shops and if they aren’t when will they be?

- Jansen Ilicevic Well Jan, I believe that you may be mistaken as to whether or not cats and dogs can, in fact, be one animal.

To prove my point, ask yourself where does the food that this demon creation eats come back out? It doesn’t. It has no anus. This is how you can tell that Catdog is actually photoshopped like Bigfoot.

As such I shall move onto the next part of your question – when will Catdogs be available in pet shops worldwide?

To answer this I must first explain biology to you. We are all made of cells and within a specific part of cells is the information that the cells need to reproduce – it is called DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid). This is the British Library of biology and allows the creation of molecules like proteins which, in turn, allow life to be lived.

Now normally if the DNA of a specific animal is changed, one would think you’d end up getting an X-man or a baddy from Spiderman but in fact you end up with the horrific reality of a

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You end up with the horrific reality of a bloody stillborn”

way to go about changing genetic information is to splice sections of genetic information from another place.

There are plenty of very clever ways to cut and paste certain attributes like drought resistance into wheat which I shan’t go into here.

Now let’s go deeper.

If you can locate the gene that, for example, gives dogs green eyes and replace it with the gene for blue eyes then you can create a dog with blue eyes. What you can’t do is find the gene on a horse for no wings and replace it with the gene from birds for

Professor Science shows off his new creation, a mear, who has the ability of looking like a freak two wings.

Cancer is a prevalent example of this, each other in vitro, there will be no This is because there is no individu- though a cancer needs several specific way to cause this monstrosity to occur al gene for the things that you non-sci- mutations (e.g. cell proliferation or the – there have probably been examples entists think there is. There are genes ability to have their own blood supply). of “Siamese” dogs or cats but I’m 95% for individual enzymes, each of which So onto catdog itself (themselves?). sure that there aren’t many people would cause a human not to function I hate to break it to you but until em- despicable enough to put in the work – even the tiniest of genetic mistakes bryonic research has reached the required to fuse a cat to a dog in such a can cause us not to function properly. point where we can grow them into way as this documentary claims.

The scientific marvels of conflict B

applications, but more importantly in the civilian world it is used to control air and sea traffic. This allows people to holiday in comfort and as it also controls shipping, by allowing ships to navigate the endless oceans that they travel through, goods and food can be

moved internationally. Finally it has applications in weather recording and hence forecasting.

The jet engine as a concept was developed long before the outbreak of the war, however it was met with scepticism by the British Government, and hence the devel-

tripb

Ed Peterson bathimpact Writer efore I start this article I want to make it completely clear that I’m certainly not justifying the Second World War nor am I saying that these technological advances were an advantage of the war. Merely that their development was accelerated by the breakdown of peace in Western Europe.

During the Second World War three inventions were developed that have shaped the modern world: radar, the jet engine and rocketry. The daily importance of radar and rocketry may not seem as obvious as the jet engine but all three are intrinsic to our daily lives.

Radar was first used by the British during the Second World War. It provided the Air Ministry with a system of locating enemy aircraft and hence fighter aircraft could be scrambled to intercept them. This information was invaluable and was one of the driving factors behind British victory in the Battle of Britain and arguably therefore the war.

Today radar still has military

opment was not funded. However as soon as political tensions rose, the Government suddenly became interested in its potential. The Nazi government had also seen the potential in this technology and had pumped a large amount of capital into the design, and hence they had the first production of a jet aircraft.

In peace time jet airliners were developed starting with the British designed De Havilland Comet,

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Their development was accelerated by the breakdown of peace”

A V2 rocket: a more devastating scientific discovery of war

with further designs following, the Boeing 707 being the most noteworthy. The jet airliner made globalisation possible, meaning that Western Europe could continue their alliance with the USA and hence profit on their growth, and as a secondary bonus, when growth started in the Far East in 1960s, Europe could profit from the new technological boost. Finally the quality of people’s lives

dramatically increased, except those who lived by airports, as soon it became possible for the average person to go on holiday abroad easily and cheaply.

V2 rockets at the end of the war caused untold misery to the south of England. They were near on impossible to detect and intercept so people had no real chance of escaping them. Since then missile technology has advanced and hasn’t really helped our daily lives. However satellites have made many things in modern life possible: Sat Nav, saving large arguments on long journeys; Satellite TV allowing live broadcasts from all over the world, improving rolling news, finally satellites have improved mobile phone and mobile Internet networks the advantages of which are numerous.

These inventions would have inevitably been invented, but at a much later date. Unfortunately governmental investment in technology is seriously capped unless there are times of desperation; the one and only time when engineers are written blank cheques and hence can rapidly develop world changing technologies.

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bathimpact

17

Science & Technology

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Future of UK energy is not so bright that trains can accelerate faster.

Now you may say, well surely the electricity generated to power these trains would be generated from fossil fuels, thus making the conversion largely pointless. Well currently that would be correct. Here however is where the largest possibility to move away from imported fossil fuel energy lies: The National Grid.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change will no doubt take great joy in telling us that in 2012 11.3% of the UK’s electricity generated from renewable sources. Although these facts are deceiving as

not all of this electricity was produced in the UK, making them embarrassing at best.

To combat this is seemingly simple; in this time of economic downturn, create jobs by building renewable sources of electricity. We could, for example, construct wind turbines in geographical hotspots, but then once again Middle England would just get on its high horse and stop the development.

An onshore wind farm; a view that is not that common in the United Kingdom. Yet. It seems the three main argu- quieter than a fridge, i.e. inaudible. doesn’t blow all the time, but large ments against wind turbines are: Next people say that they are ugly power stations, regardless of the They are noisy, ugly and that the and they ruin the countryside. True, type, always need to be shut down wind doesn’t blow all the time, they don’t look like trees and are for maintenance. Also the UK is therefore they are pointless. clearly visible, but so are the great clearly very capable of importing Starting with noise: The noise concrete cooling towers of conven- energy, if there is a shortage caused emitted by very large wind turbines, tional power stations. On top of this, by a lack of wind. in high winds, is approximately 110 wind turbines don’t need large conIt is clear that sustainable energy db. This is the same as a car horn, trol rooms, office blocks, car parks is needed in the UK, and that there but to Middle England it’s a car and roads built around them, so are no real problems with building horn! Admittedly, they are loud, but in the grand scheme of things they wind turbines. The only obstacle they would never be built right on are far less ugly and obtrusive than right now is Middle England, who top of somebody’s house. After 400 power stations. are just too stubborn to listen to the meters, they are at 40db which is Finally it is true that the wind facts.

Marral Shamshiri bathimpact Writer ’ve been vegan for almost a year and a half, having been vegetarian since the age of fourteen. I’ve surprisingly come across many who struggle in differentiating between the two terms. Veganism differs from vegetarianism in the sense that while vegetarians abstain from the consumption of meat, vegans abstain from eating or using any animal products including eggs, dairy, leather and so on. It has undoubtedly been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Personally, it was a conscious moral choice, but there are a number of other significant considerations which I will address in my endeavour to convince you that veganism is increasingly relevant in the world today.

The moral campaign is obvious.

Killing is wrong. Animals, like humans, have the absolute right to existence. Surely then, the slaughter of living beings for the sake of human greed and consumption is decadent. Procedures of slaughter are unjust; there is undeniably no humane way of killing. Vegans compassionately choose not to

take the lives of innocent animals to feed their hunger when there are substantial alternatives which are readily available and sufficient.

Almost every dairy product has a soya alternative. Tofu is a favourable meat substitute while Quorn is not vegan-friendly (we don’t want to eat anything that is made to resemble meat any-

way). Linda McCartney is an absolute babe. There’s a common myth that no meat equates to no protein, but beans, lentils, pulses and nuts prove otherwise. A vegan diet implores extra consideration to what is being eaten to ensure a healthy balance, and together with the exclusion of animal fats, hormones and general junk it is much healthier than a meat based

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Create jobs by building renewable sources of electricity”

Brooke Raymond

Simon Rushton bathimpact Writer urrently in the United Kingdom 43% of the energy required is imported, the highest value seen since 1976, and it looks like this trend is only going to continue in the future. Secondly, although our overall dependence on fossil fuels is diminishing, it’s currently around 88%, it’s not dimishing fast enough. So where does this leave the country and what can be done?

Transport is the largest user of energy in the country and a conversion away from imported fossil fuels is a long way off. Electric cars are beginning to reach the commercial market, but a lack of charging points means that driving any great distances in them is not possible.

Furthermore there is no obvious replacement of fossil fuels for heavy goods vehicles or aircraft.

Replacing diesel powered trains with electric trains is something that could be done, arguably something that should have been done a long time ago as the majority of trains in Western Europe were. This power system results in less emissions from the train, it also makes the trains quieter, as the motors are silent. Electric motors produce more torque than diesel engines meaning

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Jennifer

Veganism: a world-altering diet?

Vegan falafel: both good for your health and the environment

diet.

The environmental considerations should not be undervalued, but unfortunately seem to be. The meat industry is one of the biggest contributors of carbon dioxide and other gases, accounting for almost one fifth of the global total of greenhouse gas emissions

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It has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made”

according to the UN. This exceeds that of cars and all other forms of transport put together. And we wonder how to reduce our carbon footprints.

Breeding animals for human consumption requires large amounts of land, water, food and energy. With an increasing appetite for meat, more land is being destroyed in order to make room for both the animals as well as the crops they are fed. It’s absurd and unfair that a third of the world’s cultivable land is used for growing crops to plump up the animals

which the world’s richest can afford to eat, while there aren’t enough crops to feed the world’s hungry and poorest. If we want to tackle world hunger and poverty, the unsustainable consumption of meat needs to be heavily reduced.

I won’t conceal the negatives of being vegan. It’s a massive pain when the coffee shop doesn’t do soya lattes. It’s annoying when there’s only one meal on the menu that you might just be able to eat.

It’s frustrating that you can’t use normal shampoo as it usually contains lanolin. But it’s absolutely fine; a black tea can suffice, you are saved from the hassle of being indecisive about which meal you could possibly choose from, and the thought of sheep grease in your hair really isn’t too appealing.

Veganism isn’t merely a diet but a whole lifestyle. It requires effort, promotes good health, a good conscience, and is vital for sustainability. We need to make serious amendments before we exhaust the Earth of its resources through our unrestrained consumption; veganism is the viable yet overlooked solution.

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bathimpact

19

Activities

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Hand-woven path to sustainability?

Sophie Esslemont and Emily Sara share the story of Ugandan Threads ent is the harmonised aim in using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a more sustainable world, following a very simple, but effective, ethos: “a head for business… a heart for the world”.

One of four incredible projects run by Enactus Bath this year is the Ugandan Threads Co. A group of ten university students set out on an adventure to help equip those in a remote Ugandan village with the

such as consultancy and the teaching of transferable business skills to the socially excluded in society; in many cases simply helping to get them back into employment or improving their CVs. Suffering from the ‘Bath dilemma’, Enactus sees a

skills to sustain and run their own business.

The business is bags. Upcycled.

Handmade. Contemporary. Bags.

The aim was to start small, empower 13 women, harness their tailoring skills and give them access to international markets. So far this year, Ugandan Threads have liaised with Mindset Development Organisation, to help facilitate the business on the ground in Uganda; African Minerals, securing permission to

use their logo and a supply of 500 recycled mineral bags per month; and the University of Bath’s very own success story, Elephant Branded, a similar project selling their products online and in John Lewis stores.

The aim is for Elephant Branded to take on their products, opening the business up to bigger markets. Contacts are key, and Ugandan Threads Co. are lucky enough to have found some crackers! They have recently laid their hands on 8 beautiful, upcycled bag designs and are in possession of a prototype thanks to their Vogue intern designer. Next step-Uganda!

By the end of this summer, they will have visited Uganda and held business skills workshops, met the women and the contacts out there and undertaken plenty of market research should the partnership with Elephant Branded fall through.

Never passing up the opportunity to use a play on words – they are well on their way towards stitching together the fabric of a long-term, co-operative business. Remember, Ugandan Threads Co. is just one of the projects that Enactus Bath is undertaking this year. Other projects work a lot closer to home, in roles

James Plunkett Formula Student team member Run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers since it began 15 years ago, Formula Student challenges universities from across the world to design, build and race a single seat racing car from scratch in one year – before putting it to the test at one of the world’s greatest racetracks. This year, the University of Bath will enter two events, both the UK event at Silverstone, to be held from the 4-7 July, and Formula Student Germany at the Hockenheimring on the 30 July-4 August.

Unsurprisingly, it stirs up a lot of interest, both from the industry and amongst the general public.

Last year, nearly 2000 people came along to spectate, and for good reason, as some truly interesting machinery is turned out. This is partly due to the open-endedness of the rules, but also a testament to the creativity of the young engineers involved. If you thought Formula 1 was more interesting when the likes of Colin Chapman and Gordon Murray were regularly giving the regulators a headache, then you will almost certainly appreciate the lack of

homogeneity apparent at Formula Student. This year’s University of Bath’s car is no exception; it has an un-sprung downforce generating carbon fibre diffuser, something that is banned in most other echelons of motorsport.

The importance of innovation is maintained by Ross Brawn OBE, Formula Student Patron and Team

Principal of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, who said: “Formula Student has been helping to develop world-class engineers for 15 years now. It’s a fantastic challenge for students to undertake and encourages huge amounts of innovation, which I am particularly passionate about.”

The University of Bath has been

fielding entrants since 2001 under the Team Bath Racing moniker and will be launching the current contender on the 29th of May. The car, internally designated as TBR13, will weigh in at 155kg and is powered by a 58bhp Aprillia v-twin motor. This gives it a power to weight of 374bhp per tonne, roughly equivalent to a Ferrari 430 Scuderia (that’s the

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Does aid stunt economic growth? Is it sustainable?”

change in membership every year, as many of its members graduate or go on placement. They are always looking for enthusiastic and hard working students – if you think this could be you, then send Simon, the Chair, an email at sccl20@bath.ac.uk.

SophieEsslemont

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e’ve all heard the facts.

76% live below the poverty line. 320 people die each day from malaria. Life expectancy is 45. And that’s just Uganda.

It’s difficult to actually find a statistic that shocks us anymore. It’s easy to grow wary of the many pleas we receive to send our ‘hard earned money’ to Africa or South America or Asia – especially when we so often see the futility of the money that we do send. Aid’s effectiveness has become controversial: does it actually help development? Does it stunt economic growth? Is it sustainable?

Enactus, a community of business people, students and academics, attempts to find a solution to these questions through the use of social enterprise. Using the age old belief: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. It has in every sense a global vision; working with 38 countries, 1,600 universities, and 62,000 students around the globe from the U.S. to Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan to Puerto Rico, alongside hundreds of partners and donors including HSBC, The Coca Cola Company, Nestle and KPMG. What makes Enactus differ-

Take a U-gander: are projects like this the future of development?

PeterMontague

A Formula for scientific success

A knock-up model of one of the cars, in a project aiming to support future “world-class engineers”

stripped out track variant!)

2013 heralds a significant change for Team Bath Racing as it marks the evolution from Castrol to BP as lead sponsor. It is in part thanks to their generosity that TBR13 is the first car in TBR’s history to be a carbon fibre monocoque. This means that the chassis will be a one piece enclosure made of composite, and is much lighter, stronger and safer than a traditional steel space frame.

Gratitude must also be shown to the University Alumni Fund, who have helped to finance this technical innovation.

The team aims to build on previous successes by winning the UK competition outright. Previous form would suggest this is a possibility too. Bad luck prevented the TBR12 car from winning top UK team bragging rights at last year’s Silverstone event, but that’s not before earning the title at the Austrian competition with a 4th place overall finish.

Please visit www.teambathracing.com for more information, or find us at ‘TeamBathR’ on facebook.

You can also meet the team at the 2013 car launch on the University of Bath Campus on 29th May.

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Tuesday 16th April 2013

bathimpact

Sport

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Formula One season is back with a bang impactsport’s Simon Rushton and Anthony Masters examine the place for team orders in the sport after the Malaysian Grand Prix

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tion, in order to bring both cars home.

Team orders have always been prevalent in Formula One, despite a nominal ban from 2003 to the final race in 2010. The first suspected use of a team order was in the 1955 race at Aintree, where Stirling Moss believed his win was a generous gift of his Mercedes’s team-mate Juan Manuel Fangio.

In the modern era, the 1997 Japanese Grand Prix featured a sophisticated use of team orders: Eddie Irvine started the race lightly fuelled, powering ahead of Jacque Villeneuve. Irvine then slowed, allowing Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher to overtake both of them.

Blatant use of such commands has often provoked a fierce, negative reaction from fans. Jacque Villeneuve, assured of his World Championship in the 1997 European Grand Prix, was ordered to let through the McLaren cars of Coulthard and Hakkinen, as his race engineer said: “They’ve been very helpful”. In the 2002 Aus-

Sebastian Vettel caused controversy at the Malaysian Grand Prix when he disobeyed team orders trian GP, Ferrari’s Rubens Bar- faster than you. Can you confirm maximising points and making richello was ordered to let through you understand that message?” sure their driver clinches the title team-mate Michael Schumacher. before easing so Alonso could is the priority over an entertainBoth drivers were unhappy, with pass. Oblique messages displaced ing race. Historically, team orders Schumacher refusing to be on the direct orders during these inter- have been obeyed, even by highpodium’s top step. This incident vening years. ly-competitive drivers. Vettel’s led to the temporary ban on team Red Bull Team Principal Chris- disregard for these orders, along orders. The ban was lifted because tian Horner elucidates: “Formula with Webber’s violation of team the FIA deemed that it was unen- One is both a team and an indi- commands in the 2011 British forceable. In the 2010 German vidual sport and sometimes there GP, may mean Red Bull and other GP, Felipe Massa was told by his is a conflict between a driver’s de- teams find their orders rejected in race engineer that “Fernando is sire and a team’s interest.” Teams future.

Ben Cochrane impactsport Reporter am going to do something that may seem a bit controversial: I’m going to try and justify the salaries that professional footballers are on.

The average salary in the Premier League is £1.2 million a year, 45 times the national average of £26,500 a year. This figure becomes even more staggering when you look at the likes of Wayne Rooney or Yaya Toure, the two highest paid players in the Premier League, who get paid in excess of £17 or £18 million a year - over £300,000 a week.

Really we don’t have any right to question or even know someone’s salary; that’s a private agreement between the employer and employee.

In the real world people who work next to each other or people who have been friends since school don’t know each other’s salaries.

So why then do we care so much about how much these strangers get paid? We think we know them, we think we know everything about them because we’ve watched every match and interview or typed into Google ‘How much does Wayne Rooney get paid a week?’ But we don’t know them at all. Take your best friend. You may know a few facts about them: height,

weight (unless they’re a girl), where they were born, what school they went to etc. But would you necessarily know the intimate details of their job?

What year they joined their previous firm, how much they made for the company and most of all would you know their salary?

We wouldn’t know these things, we might have an idea or know about the general stuff that happens but we wouldn’t know the exact details of each part of their job. Yet with footballers, people who are complete strangers to us, we can quote exact figures from their job: number of goals, appearances, yellow cards, the price they were bought for, how many of their co-workers wives they are alleged to have slept with and most of all how much they get paid.

If we don’t even know this stuff about our best friends, why are we so obsessed with knowing all of this useless information about complete strangers that are not generally likeable characters?

When we work we provide a public service: A doctor cures people, an engineer makes our lives easier and a lawyer represents us in court.

What does a footballer do? They kick a ball around. But footballers entertain us. Well most people, I only watch football when I can’t sleep.

They are like characters in our favourite TV show; we feel we know every single thing about them and that we’ve known them for years and we want to know what happens to them next.

The public service a receptionist provides – they help people find what they want. Say they see between 40 and 50 people a day, 300 a week.

So they get paid £300 a week about £15,500 a year. That’s one pound for every person they provide a service to.

The average number of people who watch a Manchester United game in the Premier League is around 3 million in the UK and around 80 million worldwide. For big games this figure can reach 600 million, which was they viewing figure for the clash between Manchester United and Manchester City where City won 1-0 last season.

So if we divide 80 million by 22, the number of players who played and ‘entertained us’ we get we get 3.6 million. So each player entertained 3.6 million people; they provided a public service for 3.6 million people.

If we think of that one match as an accumulation of a week’s work you divide that by the average weekly salary of a Premier League player, £23,000 you get 157. So for every one-pound that a Premier League Footballer gets

rodefeld

t the Malaysian Grand Prix, team orders in Formula One reared its ugly head once again, with Red Bull and Mercedes both trying to influence the race result. The podium was bizarre, with all three drivers appearing disappointed.

Sebastian Vettel looked guilty for deliberately disobeying the team’s order by aggressively overtaking Mark Webber. Webber was furious at having a race win and vital World Championship points stolen from him by Vettel. Finally, Lewis Hamilton felt embarrassed for holding up team-mate and good friend Nico Rosberg, who was frustrated but obeyed his orders to maintain the 4th position behind Hamilton. Hamilton and Rosberg did struggle for the podium spot, with Rosberg overtaking Hamilton in the first DRS zone, with Hamilton reclaiming 3rd position in the second DRS zone. The same move one lap later produced the same result, before Rosberg was ordered by Mercedes supremo Ross Brawn to hold sta-

I

socialbedia

Do they deserve to earn so much?

Squads like Manchester United’s are earning millions each year paid, they provide a public service for many people sane. This may come 157 people, 157 times as many people in the form of playing or a story in as the receptionist helps. the tabloids; it provides a look into a If you use this logic, then a foot- world most people could only dream baller should be getting paid 157 of. If you look at Bank Managers who times more than they are already. pay themselves £2 million bonuses, Actors and musicians provide a pub- whom do they help? At least footlic service through entertainment to ballers actually do something for a lot billions of people and they get paid of people.

10’s of millions for their work in some I am in the party that think footcases, it still works out that they are ballers are a bunch overpaid dicksignificantly underpaid if you use this heads: I can kick a ball about for a logic. week, I can sleep with my friend’s You can argue that the job that wife, I can set fireworks off in my own the receptionist does is far harder home. Big deal. People will complain than that of a professional footballer about their salaries, but to be honest and so deserves to get paid more. But until we stop worshiping them like footballers, whether we like it or not, Gods and paying vast amounts of provide escapism for so many peo- money to see them play, their salaries ple – a necessary thing to help keep aren’t going to change.

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bathimpact bathimpact.tumblr.com

Tremendous effort from Tri Club Bath Triathlon Club

Emily Hogge impactsport Reporter

A

t 7am Wednesday 13th March the chatter of voices and whirring of tires could be heard outside the library, as distant splashes rang out from the pool and the first murmur of pounding feet emanated around the Bath university campus.

The challenge had been set, the goal was clear and the next 18 hours would determine the outcome. As the early risers climbed off the bus or stumbled out off their houses looks of confusion spread across their faces as a red blur disappeared around the corner and a red glow lit up the library. For the triathlon team it was the start of what was to be an immense challenge.

17 hours and 30 minutes later the last pedal stroke was turned amidst cheers and cries of satisfaction – the challenge was complete!

Tired bodies collapsed onto the floor, smiles broke out across their faces and laughter and singing emanated around the dark and cold

Bath University Triathlon Club taking part in their charity fundraiser outside the library campus. 79.1km swum in the pool, mination and commitment of the With £3302.35 currently raised 913km run and over 3240km cycled human mind and body. It was re- and more still being donated it has - the challenge had been smashed, a markable to feel the sense of loyalty been an extremely successful chaltruly incredible achievement. and dedication to the cause – to see lenge. But more than the money it All 50 of the triathletes who took the belief and hear the excitement was so exciting to see people pushpart gave 100% pushing themselves about the work of The Zoe Trust ing themselves to the limit for a to the limit. They all went way be- and share in people’s enthusiasm great cause, to hear the triumphant yond the call of duty. It was incred- for the future of our children. tales and stories of the day – to see ible to watch, to witness the deterThere were some remarkable the pleasure and the pride of the efforts; Dan Thorby completed an athletes. Watching people enjoy IronMan triathlon and Mary Bird getting involved in the work that we ¾ of an IronMan in around 14 are doing was wonderful and I hope hours – they are true heroes, both that in the future they will rememso close to breaking point yet de- ber The Zoe Trust name and come termined to fight on. Some other and join us in our fight to give our fantastic efforts were by Daniel children a brighter future.

Moorland, Lucy Harvey and JoshOn behalf of the Zoe Trust I ua Doran who completed their first would like to say a huge heartfelt Olympic distance triathlons. But I thank you to everyone who took wish I could mention every one of part, our wonderful supporters the triathletes who took part be- and to everyone who dug deep and cause they were all amazing and sponsored us. Also thank you to the showed such determination and University of Bath Students’ Union courage. for their support and help.

Simon Rushton impactsport Reporter

G

reat Britain will face their greatest test in the Davis Cup when they play their World Group play-off match in September against Croatia. A win in this match would promote Great Britain into the top flight of this competition since their relegation in 2008.

This monumental tie was earned by a remarkable come back from 0-2 in the team’s last match against Russia. The first day for Britain didn’t go well as both Dan Evans and James Ward fell to five set defeats, truly in the run of form as they were playing players with world rankings far higher than the British duo.

Day two went better for the British team with a comfortable doubles win for the Davis Cup debutant Jonny Marray partnering Colin Fleming, chosen from

a large pool of talented British doubles players, including two Wimbledon winners: Marray who won the mens doubles as a wildcard last year and Jamie Murray the winner of the mixed doubles in 2007. Fleming, the second highest ranked British doubles player, was the oblivious second despite not having won a grand slam, he has had success in ATP world tour titles.

Day three, the reverse singles, therefore started with Britain 2-1 down. Ward then pulled off a fantastic victory against a player ranked 149 places above him. This levelled the tie at 2-2 but with Russia as firm favourites going into the final tie. Even more miraculously Dan Evans beat Evgeny Donskoy a miraculous 245 places above him in straight sets.

This then set up the match against Croatia. Team morale will be further boosted by the return of

Angela N

GB tennis is finally on the up

Johnny Marray made his Davis Cup debut against Russia world number two Andy Murray, to outperform his role against Ivan who will hopefully provide 2 valu- Dodig ranked 54th in the world. able points in the singles, espeWith Murray’s input and a cially as he will be up against the strong doubles pool it can be world number 11, Marin Cilic in hoped that Great Britain can rethe opening tie. The second singles gain a place within the world player will once again be required group.

23

Sport

Powell’s Peeves

Give him a break

This week I would like to talk about the furore surrounding one Mr. Paolo Di Canio. He has recently moved managerial positions from Swindon Town to Sunderland. He left Swindon citing mistreatment from the Board, including the sale of Matt Ritchie behind his back.

At Swindon, Di Canio managed to get the team out of League Two and was doing well in League One. As such I can’t help but sit here and give him my admiration for somebody who is obviously a great football manager.

Now we’re up to date we can talk about the issue over which a certain David Miliband has resigned. Miliband was Sunderland’s vice-chairman and was also a non-executive director. A similar thing occurred when Di Canio started at Swindon when the GMB withdrew its sponsorship, citing his political views.

Every single person who is upset with his political views seemingly keeps on stating the same thing – that these views have no place in football. So why can’t these people practice what they preach? He was fined in 2005 for performing three facist salutes in a game for Lazio.

He was never fined again.

So why are we holding him up as some kind of needful paragon of democratic process? He supports fascism, a lot of people have. Get over it, he hasn’t rammed his views down anyone’s throats since 2005, now stop ramming yours down his.

For my two cents I think that he is a brilliant man - a journalist’s wet dream. He’s pushed over a referee while playing against Arsenal while with Sheffield Wednesday, and earned the enmity of Wimbledon fans in 2000 with what could be arguably hailed as one of the most physics defying goals ever (seriously, youtube it – it’s literally unbelievable). This year he bought fans who turned out to clear the snow off the pitch, pizza in thanks. In September, he subbed his keeper after he let in two goals in twenty minutes. From all of this I can only see a crazy Italian who has huge passion for football. He offered to spend £30,000 of his own money to keep players at Swindon. Sure he may be a fascist, but as long as he keeps to football and keeps schtum about it, let’s cut out the stick.

It’s a freedom we enjoy to have political views or to quit over the appointment of a talented manager who happens not to vote for your brother’s party but I know which I think is the worse crime.

impactsport F1 Season underway page 22 Team Bath

Tuesday 16th April 2013

Inside impactsport Do footballers earn too much? impactsport Reporter Ben Cochrane attempts to argue the idea that footballers merit the amount of money that they earn.

Page 22 has the full story

GB tennis on the up Simon Rushton looks at the recent success of the Davis Cup team in their tie against Russia and considers the potential promotion to the World Group.

See page 23 for more info

Tri Club raise money for charity The Bath University Mountaineering Club were crowned Club of the Year in 2012, time will tell who will receive the title for this year

Awards issue is now resolved Matthew Powell impactsport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

A

pril at the University of Bath. Many things happen at this time – our brief glimpse of the sun is one. Another is awards season. If you have made a sizeable commitment to university sport over the length of your course then there is a chance that you could be eligible for a Blues Award.

The majority of these awards are in recognition of “achievement, performance and commitment.”

There are a few extra special awards for clubs, teams or committee members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their execution of services for the university.

There are three levels of standard award that the University gives out: a Full Blue for being in a University first team and a national team simultaneously for two years, a Half Blue for playing for a first team for two years and having junior international representation or a BUCS podium finish and Colours

for playing for a University team for two to three years.

This year the entire process was hindered by an administrative error by Bath University Computing Services. The error was caused by a mailbox reaching its quota and therefore emails containing nominations bounced. It was not known at what stage the mailbox reached its quota and therefore SU Sport were not aware of the point at which the nominations were lost.

When SU Sport realised that there had been applications that had not been received they extended the application process for awards for a further four days past the original deadline. This was based upon advice received from BUCS which stated that affected students would receive an undelivered email notice; however it appears that individuals did not receive this failure notice. The clarity of the original email was also brought into question, as it appears that some members of sports clubs merely thought it was an extension to the original deadline for those that had not already applied, rath-

er than the opportunity to resubmit nomination forms.

It was at this point that various complaints were made to the bathimpact team and as such we contacted SU Sport Officer Jon Gleave, who informed us that the SU Sport team had been investigating a potential solution to the issue from the point at which they received the first complaint on the 29th March.

Unfortunately due to the Easter Break, the response time took longer as several key members of the Blues Awards Committee were on annual leave and as such couldn’t convene.

Working with the Blues Awards Committee, SU Sport managed to arrange for nominations to be resubmitted for those individuals that were affected. Appropriately, it was necessary for those individuals to prove that they had submitted a nomination before the original deadline.

Alex Grounds, a member of the Hockey Committee said of SU Sport’s response: “It is nice to see that the people that deserve recog-

nition, shall not be deprived of the chance of an award due to somebody else’s mistake.”

It is important however to remember that due to this error we have all been overlooking the reason behind the awards themselves – to thank the men and women who take part in sport at the University of Bath and who strive to perform to the best of their abilities week in week out for the furtherance of our university’s reputation.

It is supposed to be a time of celebration and recognition and it so nearly turned into one of diasappointment, although with the solutions put into place, hopefully there will be less people left disappointed.

Hopefully the action taken by SU Sport has helped to resolve the situation as originally we were made aware of 23 members of one particular Sports Club being deprived of the opportunity to be recognised for their sporting commitment.

If you have missed the opportunity to be nominated for a Blues Award, please be aware that it is possible to apply again next year.

Bath University Triathlon Club, take part in 18 IronMan triathlons in 18 hours in order to raise money for the Zoe Trust, a charity who support children.

Turn to page 23 to read the full story

Give him a break impactsport Editor Matthew Powell explains his issues with the criticism of the new Sunderland manager, Paolo Di Canio’s political views, and argues the relevance of these points Turn to page 23 for more

Get involved If you are interested in sport and want to contribute, then contact impactsport Editor Matthew Powell (impact-sport@bath. ac.uk) to find out more details about how you can get involved.

We’re always looking for writers, photographers, people to take part, or just all round sports buffs to help out. So, if you have a story you want to share, don’t be afraid to get in touch!

Caleb Wheeler-Robinson

2

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bite

bite Editorial : Punk T

his is one of those editorials in which I will be unashamedly unbiased. I love punk. I love the music, I love the ideas, I love the movement, I love scuffed up black jeans, old denim jackets and tattoos. I love The Clash, The Ramones, Refused, Million Dead, The Menzingers and The King Blues. This editorial isn’t going to try and make you love those things, but it should hopefully make you think that it’s important that they existed and it’s important that they continue to exist.

Firstly it’s important to distinguish what punk actually is, as to most people it’s just mohwaks and a tendency to light fires (I may like mohawks and think fires look pretty but that’s beside the point), but punk is far more than that. Punk is about standing about what you believe in and about not just accepting the status quo’s interpretation of an event. This originally took the form of brash clothing, loud music and shouting because that was new and different at the time. Punk rock was about feeling disillusioned about what was going on in the world at the time, the idea that society was ignoring the needs of certain people and that these people needed to have a way to have their voices heard. It just turned out that when the normal methods of the system aren’t working, the best way to get someone’s attention is to make a lot of noise and dress extravagantly. Consequently, it was also important in terms of giving people a home. When you don’t feel like you fit in anywhere else you need a place that you can feel like people are listening. That other people feel the same as you and can see that a lot of the things that are going on are a little bit insane and this needs to be changed.

A nibble of bite

bathimpact.tumblr.com

This originally took the form of a movement that a lot of people found offensive, and some people disliked it because of that, but that’s missing the point. Sometimes you need to be offensive. While some people take this too far, we often live in a culture in which being offensive is automatically wrong. Some people you need to offend. You shouldn’t give a flying fuck if you offend someone who’s spouting anything sexist, homophonic or racist. You should tar and feather them as a cunt and you should not apologise if they take offense at that.

You should dress up and scream it so people take notice and if people try to stop you making it known that someone is a cunt, you make it known that they are also a cunt. Sometimes the point is to be offensive, and a lot of the time nothing changes without being offensive.

By definition what the status quo doesn’t like will often appear offensive to a large majority of people, but this doesn’t mean it’s right. The same thing happened to the hip hop movement, which can draw a lot of similarities with the punk movement, and multiple others. Femen are punk rock. Wikileaks is punk rock. Anonymous are punk rock. While some things the organisations do may be wrong, they stand up for what they believe in and give the finger to those people who would try to make them stop.

Another important part of the punk movement is a certain amount of self-reliance. It’s about community and togetherness too, obviously, but if you want to something then you go ahead and fucking do it. If you have an idea or a vision and you can’t do it through traditional means, then find a way to do it. If you can’t

get someone to support your music, make a label with some friends. If you can’t afford to tour through traditional means, get your guitar and get on a train and sleep on some floors until you can. If you can’t get your book published, release it online. It’s not about profit, it’s about getting the message and the idea out there.

Everyday Sexism is punk rock. Something that started out as a twitter account and a simple blog is forcing giant companies to change their advertising and retract statements. Fucking the patriarchy with a twitter account, man.

So while the traditional idea of punk rock might not be as relevant as it used to be (although the music is still out there if you’re willing to look: The Menzingers, Real Friends, The Front Bottoms to name a few) the idea is still important. In fact I don’t want to live in a world in which there isn’t a punk movement. Unless we live in a world in which it’s no longer needed of course, although I very much doubt that. I may be a bit of an idealist, but there are always going to be bigots that needed to be shouted at and bastards in positions of power that need to be exposed.

Anyway, that’s my sentimental shit out of the way; enjoy the issue.

This week’s theme is...

Blog of the week:

Punk and protest. This week bite gets angry and angsty and threatens to take down the system... or maybe just write about it I guess.

On page 3 Ben Butcher discusses the lack of protest and the rise of apathy and Rowan Emslie introduces us to Tyondi Braxton in his regular column Modern Notes. Ben Hooper takes us to a fictional Punk universe on page 5 of the creative writing section. Then we embrace the DIY ethic with Fashion on pages 12 and 13 and with food on page 15.

http://awkwardedmilibandmoments.tumblr.com/

To get involved in bite and hear the playlist for this issue, head over to our facebook group at www.facebook.com/bathimpactbite Or email us at impact-bite@bath.ac.uk

Poor Ed. You can tell that he means well and that he’s a very smart individual, but he really can’t do real life all that well can he. This blog is dedicated to honouring those moments when Ed Miliband’s inner awkward voice over powers the one that’s telling him to be a sophisticated politician. It’s pretty amazing.

If you do one thing this week...

Things to...

Go and see ‘And So I Watch You From Afar’ at Thekla on April 17th.

Watch: Game of Thrones. Murder, nudity, dragons and intrigue... Surely that’s enough to get you watching?

Read: The Watchmen. It may be a graphic novel, but that doesn’t mean it’s not absolutely amazing and a legitimate work of art.

Listen: The Menzingers. Punk poets from Philadelphia, brilliant lyrics, passion and crunchy guitars. What’s not to love?

Irish alternative rockers ASIWYFA are probably some of the most talented musicians working in the UK today.

They play their brand of instrumental alternative punk with an incredible amount of energy and the fact there are no lyrics is never an issue. Definitely go and see this.

Guess what’s back? May 26th people.

Best quotes from our heads

Festival season’s coming up...

“Why don’t I strap on my job helmet and squeeze down into a job cannon and fire off into Jobland where jobs grow on jobbies?” ― Charlie Kelly

Turn to pages 7, 8 and 9 for our extended festival special on this years festival season. First Holly Narey gives you her guide on how to make the best of the festival season, drink, drugs, debauchery... and peanut butter.

“We have failed to uphold Brannigan’s Law. However I did make it with a hot alien babe. And in the end, is that not what man has dreamt of since first he looked up at the stars? ” ― Zapp Brannigan “E.E. Cummings on her face, now that’s poetry in motion.” ― Childish Gambino

New Release:

Then on pages 8 and 9 we have a pull out poster of this years best festivals and whether or not it’s the right one for you.

Wonderful new Frank Turner album, April 22nd

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bite

3

What happened to protest? bathimpact.tumblr.com

Michael Kapper

written by Benjamin Butcher

The Conservatives’ recent benefit cuts are set to cripple much of the welfare state and leave millions worse off, but they were met with little protest and anger

O

n the 2nd April Mick Philpott was found guilty of killing six of his twelve children. This baffling, horrendous act of cruelty came about as Mr Philpott felt he was unable to afford the children he was raising, so he set their house on fire and, pleading innocent, went about accepting the money well-wishers donated to them. With time, justice fought its cause, and Mr Philpott was convicted to life in prison. The despicable man who, it was revealed, had used his children as cash cows was gleefully described by the always understanding Daily Mail as the ‘vile product of welfare UK’.

Framing stories can have marvellous results and the tabloids are well aware of this; from now on Mick Phillpott, as well as Abu Qatada and swan-eating Poles will be associated with our welfare state, not the very people it was designed, and continues, to help. With these misconceptions in mind, the Daily Mail readership and petit bourgeois can sleep easy at night with the knowledge that as of April 1st, we were welcomed into a new era of the state. This is Mr Cameron’s Britain.

The Guardian proclaimed that these cuts are ‘for better or for worse’, a sentiment I agree strongly with. Some will agree with them, others will strongly disagree, and it is up to us all to decide where we stand. What is clear is that after two and half years of work, David Cameron is closely approaching his final destination, even with the deadweight of the Liberal Democrats.

The facts are these: 660,000 people in social housing will lose an average of £728 a year. Benefits will stop rising with inflation. Roughly £2.2bn will be taken away from legal aid for the vulnerable. Thousands in the NHS will lose their jobs, as well as many more in other public sector jobs. Mix that with the rise in tuition fees, the scrapping of EMA, vast cuts in education and health over the past two years (with more to come), it seems that the rhetoric of ‘we’re all in it together’ is out of date. It seems ‘you’re on your own, get on with it’ would suit the tone better.

An intense exchange with my mother, an avid Mail read-

er, put me in a rather self-effacing mood. My mum, who was raised in an impoverished slate mining area of North Wales, cannot stand the idea that the state is a good thing. She recalls her father who refused, like many others, to take benefits because he had too much pride. She recounted tales of her time at university and the immediate years afterwards when her and my father used to sit on the sofa, covered with donated blankets drinking rotten stew, as they couldn’t afford to put money on the meter. She accepted the benefits of a welfare system, but couldn’t understand how it got to this.

Our welfare state grew out of protest and respect. Protest because it was the unions and organised masses who got their dues after years of repression. Respect because, particularly after the First and Second World Wars, it was realisation that the working class who fought most of the battles at home and abroad deserved the benefits of security and health; when our country was at its weakest, they gave their lives, and so when the masses were at their weakest the government was obliged to return the favour.

So what happened? What happened to the protest and what happened to the respect? The respect is easier to answer; we are no longer a society of heroes. It was once easy to portray our working class as the life-lines of society; the dockworkers, the factory workers, the miners. Today, it isn’t that easy.

A BBC survey into class in modern Britain concluded that we are no longer divisible into three groups of income and stature, but rather we are a society of the rich and the richer. It is the majority who decides who gets ‘our’ money, but this majority has left an underclass without a voice.

The structure of society we live in may have changed in terms of class, but the system has hardly become more inclusive. Whilst those at the top are receiving bailouts and a tax cut at the command of Osbourne, the lives of the poorest is becoming increasingly difficult. Welfare was designed to help those when the system they lived in failed; it wasn’t socialism, but creating equality in opportunity and a right to self-respect

the working-classes didn’t have before the ‘welfare UK’ existed. The welfare state was discredited by Thatcher, but these anxieties were cemented by Cameron.

So the fighting? What has happened to the protest? The unions are dying and, despite little signs of Osborne’s austerity measures failing, the cuts will continue. On this issue, I will focus on students, debatably one of the worst affected by the Lib-Con coalition. There are those that will argue that raising tuition fees and scrapping EMA’s were necessary, but the issue goes further than this. The issue is why we were, and still are, so willing to give these up?

It is easy to say “we voted Lib Dems, they let us down, what more can be said?”. It is certainly an argument, but not a valid one. After the next election, the Liberal Democrats will be out of professional politics for the foreseeable future; they may have won our vote, but they have no lost it to their chagrin.

Too many of us though are passive. Politics to many students either doesn’t exist or only comes round once every five years.

The Bath Students’ Union elections may have been better than usual, but turnout was still only just over 25%. Only about one hundred and fifty people voted on whether Bath should join an NUS demonstration in December and I would be curious to know how many students know what Article 4 Direction is. We act like just because we don’t know what these issues are, they simply don’t exist. It is this distance we take away from politics that would shame the previous two generations who fought for social justice and gives those in power to simply ignore what we say. Students are certainly not an underclass, but we work damn hard to make it that way.

New Britain will not be the dystopia I have may have inadvertently made it out to be. Cameron’s legacy will not be akin to the first circle of hell. It will be different though. It will, however, be a society that has given up on certain values we have had since the early days of the 20th Century. A society were the individual triumphs and those who can’t afford to keep up will be pushed to the side-lines.

4

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bite

Modern Notes: Tyondai Braxton

bathimpact.tumblr.com

can remember the first time I listened to Battles’ first album, Mirrored, in January 2008. I was sitting on a long coach journey, staring out at some uninspiring scenery, growing bored of the songs I’d not replaced on my iPod for a few months. Then I remembered I’d gotten this album I’d never heard of from my brother for Christmas. Worth a go.

I don’t remember the rest of that journey – I can’t picture anything about the coach or what I saw out of the windows. All I can remember is this unbelievable album: everything about it was surprising. The structure of the songs didn’t seem like anything I’d ever heard before; the words were garbled, run through various electronic devices and tortured into bizarre noises; what even were these instruments – is that a guitar? It was eye-opening.

At that time Tyondai Braxton was the frontman for the band, sort of. After several years of trying to get tickets to see them live I eventually caught them touring their second album, by which time Braxton had left to pursue a solo career. Another band member, Ian Williams, addressed his absence: “So some of you might have noticed I’m playing a keyboard now instead of guitar. Now, there are three potential reasons for this and I want you to clap for. 1) I want to show off how talented a pianist I am. 2) The guy who used to speak to you guys had an afro and I’m not as memorable as him.

3) Purely musical reasons.” The second option got the most claps.

Braxton’s solo career was a move into avant-garde classical composition, an extension of the experimental rock that Battles made. He is a very modern composer, heavily influenced by the enfant terrible of twentieth century music, Igor Stravinsky, as well as some of the more difficult American composers like Charles Ives and Phillip Glass. More than that, he is obviously an experienced and enthusiastic electronic musician. His second, and finest, album, Central Market, blends the twentieth century classical tradition with dance music, with electronica, and with breakbeat. It is probably my favourite contemporary modern classical album precisely because it is very hard to pin down – I call it modern classical simply because no other genre is so all encompassing.

Back in the 1920s, several notable musicians and composers tried to break free of the ‘classical’ label and bridge the gap to popular music. Kurt Weill and Duke Ellington embraced the newly emerging popular music of the time, jazz, but set about studying and composing it with classical training. The result was hugely popular in Europe and America and both reached wider audiences than their ‘classical’ contemporaries. Not even the snootiest classical enthusiast would deny the talent and artistry of these composers, regardless of what genre they are filed under on Amazon.

Genre busting is a proud musical tradition. A lot of the bands mentioned in this issue are best known for breaking away from mainstream rock - away from prog or glam, from virtosity and polished performance. Punk was about kids wanting to get up on stage and express themselves without being told what style they should do it in. In many ways, that impulse underpins the changes to classical music in the twentieth century. Understandably, composers didn’t want to have to compete with Beethoven or Bach or Brahms. They wanted to be respected as musicians and creators in their own right. Who can disagree with that?

Braxton represents an area of the modern music industry that worries some of the old punk generation. Why did he feel the need to move away from mainstream music to create genuinely avantgarde, complex music? The huge proliferation of music in people’s homes should mean that the scope of what can or cannot be popular should be wider. As it is, not too much seems to have changed.

Boy bands still dominate the charts, other manufactured acts have, if anything, become more dominant since the internet ‘changed everything’. The radio is probably less homogeneous than it used to be, but only because specialist digital radio stations can afford to focus on smaller audiences as overheads for such ventures are so much less than traditional broadcasters. Perhaps that isn’t something to be applauded, no matter how excellent the BBC Radio6Music programming is.

The more music is divided and sub-divided, the less change there will be. The people who like ‘normal’ pop music won’t be challenged with anything more unusual because all of that stuff, stuff like Chapel Bell, has its own dedicated service and audience.

Where’s the fun in that? Without challenge and conflict, the status quo and it’s generic tastes will only remain for longer.

oliverspall

I

written by Rowan Emslie

Music needs people to push boundaries and try something new, that is the premise at the centre of punk

Tuesday 16th April 2013

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5

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The rise of the League (of Legends) written by Ron Morrow

W

hat do you think the biggest game in the world is right now? Some of you might be tempted to say Bioshock Infinite, the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed recent release from 2K Games.

That’d be understandable, but you’re thinking short term. Think online, think about what people keep coming back to, think multiplayer. “Call of Duty!” I hear you scream. Close, but no cigar I’m afraid. The biggest game in the world right now is League of Legends for PC by Riot Games, and it dominates on monthly player counts.

Some of you will be scratching your head, never having heard of this supposedly huge game. Understandable if you’re not really much of a PC gamer, but it’s worth taking note of when you realise that at last count LoL (with great game, comes great acronym) has 12 million players logging on daily from all around the world, kind of making it a big deal. To give you some context, it plays something like a top down 5 on 5 team game, where the aim is to slowly push your opponent back until you can destroy their base, which each player controlling one of over 100 different “champions”. LoL’s ace in the hole though is that it has created a huge competitive e-sports community, with Riot Games’ last season finale giving away a $2 million prize pool. Another famous example is of course Starcraft, which in South Korea is so famous that tournaments in the country are televised, the players are treated as celebrities and prize funds reach millions of dollars.

I’ve written in the past about competitive gaming and its prior failings, but by keeping itself focussed on only

one game and supporting both top and bottom tier tournaments it has slowly nurtured what appears to now be a sustainable format. While clearly they’ve got the top end covered they do grant their support to smaller local tournaments, and that’s where we come in.

Student Media and BUNCS set up our own ‘LoL: Best of the South West’ tournament, inviting universities from all across the region to get involved. The turnout was incredible with us having to turn away 5 of the university teams who applied due to space and time constraints. By booking The Tub in the SU and offering a £50 cash prize to the winners (as well as in-game currency provided by Riot Games for the top 4 teams) we saw people from as far away as Cardiff and Plymouth coming to compete. A whole day of gaming with full commentator, presenter and spectator set-up, all streamed online for the world to watch; maybe not everyone’s idea of bliss, but as it turns out incredibly appealing to a no longer niche group. And really, isn’t that the reason why we all came to University in the first place, to embrace the things that we love with like minded people.

If I’ve piqued your interest and you want to see what all the fuss is about then you can check out our videos from the day over on CTV’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/ user/BathCTV). Due to the success of the event, Student Media will be looking to host more of these events across the next year, gradually increasing in scale and scope. Rejoice people, the future is here and we’re putting you right in the middle of it.

Film Review: Danny Boyle’s Trance Look out for similar events in the coming months

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traight from the outset Trance is clearly a film that’s got not just the good looks, but the brains to back it up. Danny Boyle’s new film takes us on a journey through the mind, exploring emotions and identity, and it’s one hell of a thrill ride throughout this psychological drama.

James McAvoy plays Simon, a man who somehow manages to plan, pull off and yet also botch the robbery of a £25 million painting at an art exhibition. By betraying his associates seemingly for reasons of greed Simon finds himself on the wrong side of bad people, the repercussions of which (a nasty bump on the head courtesy of the betrayed) cause him to forget where he left it and why he took it in the first place. Boss man Franck (Vincent Cassel) unsurprisingly isn’t best impressed by the course of events, so decides to make Simon go see a hypnotherapist by the name of Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) in an attempt to overcome his amnesia. With me so far? Good, because it only gets more complex from here. There is a lot more at play than initially apparent and relationships slowly growing more complicated and intricate as the plot progresses.

Given that Trance only really focusses on a handful of characters it does surprisingly well to spin such a sophisticated web.

Narrowing its gaze to Simon, Franck, and Elizabeth gives the actors plenty of space to get to grips with their characters. The result is brilliant performances from everyone involved and the film plays to their strengths, with McAvoy proving to be enthralling as the lead. The visual style of the film is equally impressive with a lot of interesting shots giving the film an identity rarely found in recent films. Scenes are tense and crescendo the tension exquisitely providing truly gripping stuff.

Occasionally the film does lose track of itself though, becoming convoluted and not fully explaining its actions. It doesn’t stop you from enjoying it, but it does reduce the appreciation. While rated a 15, Trance proves to be surprisingly brutal and gory in places as well as providing somewhat graphic sexualisation. It comes so briefly and unexpectedly (no premature pun intended) that it feels out of place, breaking the otherwise immaculate im-

written by Ron Morrow

mersion.

Trance is an example of a good film done well, that will unfortunately narrow its audience with its highbrow approach despite ticking all the boxes of good plot, acting, and visuals. It suffers slightly from trying too hard to keep its plot complicated, which

will leave some confused, but by pacing itself well and having an almighty pay off it is consistently entertaining throughout. Stick with it and you’ll find yourself utterly transfixed.

8/10

6

Tuesday 16th April 2013

Searching for the sequel

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bathimpact.tumblr.com

written by Holly Narey

Continued from last issues, Sat in seat A25, which can be found online.

robert harwig

I

realise I’m starving. Opening my fridge I see it is practically bare, and all that is there is on the brink of going bad. I grab a bottle of milk and drink from it, quickly spitting it back out; it’s sour, I can taste solid bits.

Going back to my laptop I check today’s date; four days have passed since I fell ill. How did I sustain myself? How did I manage to keep myself healthy enough to approach recovery whilst also somehow writing something that is worth something? I get a drink of water and drink long, desperate gulps, and sit back in front of the computer. I have to continue, I have to finish it. If I could do it when wracked with fever I can surely do it when returning to something resembling health. My mind is blank. I type, pause, think, re-read and type some more. What I do write is stilted and forced, my ideas clichéd and contrived, the subtlety and the charm is gone… and then I think… what if my altered state of being, my delirium from the fever, pushed my mind into another state, a state where bridges between thoughts can be made and broken, random links creating something more honest and creative. I blink at the screen. The insertion point blinks back. I go back to the kitchen, pick up the milk carton, and drink the foul milk. I return to the computer, sit, and wait.

I feel these days as though I am barely waking. When I do come out from the dark beneath I spend my waking hours in hospital waiting rooms, until that isn’t enough, and I slip past the receptions, tagging on behind visiting relatives, wandering through wards, breathing deeply the sharp, chemical air. I pray for rain. I sit for hours with head and arms bare outside my building. A hundred pages, a hundred and forty, a hundred and sixty. I no longer go to work; I will not waste my life on mundane tasks, and I can’t face the looks of fear and concern of the people on my commute and in the office; a reminder of my own back when I was blind, before I knew what was good for me. I thought as a child that I was blessed by a strong immune system, now I fight an endless battle against my shell and its natural inclination towards health. I sleep with all windows open – one morning I wake with a pigeon on my headboard. Two hundred pages. I wake, I read, I hunt for what will next send me under. I must finish, I must know what happens next. I must create something worthy, to make up for all that has come before. You may call it self-destruction, but we all go one way or another. At least this way I will leave something when I go.

I wake; the hospital again; not the waiting room this time, but the ceiling. I try to sit up, but find I’m too weak. The lights hurt my eyes, but less than I last remember. I raise my arm; a drip sits in the back of my hand. I never thought skin could look so grey. “You’re awake?” I hear. I nod. “do you know what happened?” I shake my head, or try to. A nurse swims into view, I struggle to focus on her, fail, try again, succeed. “You were brought in, you were found inside your building; the door to your flat was open, so were all the windows.

It was minus four that night, you were in a bad way.” I blink at her, wanting her to go away, wanting her to let me go so I could carry on. “your neighbour brought you some of your things.” She gestures to a table next to the bed, does a couple of checks on my vitals and leaves. My laptop sits under a pile of books and a plant that has long withered, neglected on my windowsill. It is barely alive, just like me apparently.

I eventually struggle into a sitting position and pull the laptop onto my knee.

I open it and start it up, praying the battery will hold. It does. I open the document and look at the page numbers; four hundred and twelve. That’s a book right there. A book that will mean something to people, that will touch the lives of many. I imagine the looks on the faces of the people at the publishing house when they read it, when they see what I can be. I read the end of the story. No. I go back, back to the very start and begin reading again. No, no, no. Nonsense.

Garbled, delirious nonsense written by an addled mind, read by an addled mind. Now, with medicine running through my veins I am finally beginning to think straight and see clearly, I know what I have done, what I have destroyed myself for. Four hundred and twelve pages of feverish garbage. What a fucking waste. I throw the laptop back onto the table and start to panic, what the hell have I done?, My heart pounds, I think I’m going to be sick, I shout and shout. The nurse runs back in “are you in pain?” she asks frantically, a look at me convinces her of the affirmative, that or she just wants the ruined creature in the bed to shut up. A needle appears. I feel a sharp pain, and swiftly a warm, calming glow; a golden haze takes over and everything is alright again.

She waits until she is sure I am calm and then leaves. I lie, basking for a while, and then clumsily and slowly lean back over for the laptop, it weighs a tonne, it takes hours, or was it seconds? I open it and look again and laugh. I was wrong, of course I was wrong; it’s beautiful. I’m a fucking genius. I have to get out of here, I have to carry on, I’m sure there’s a sequel in me somewhere.

7

Tuesday 16th April 2013

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A cautionary punk rock tale bathimpact.tumblr.com

written by Ben Charles Hooper

The age of anything resembling defiance was a thing left in distant memory; the fallout from the recent semi-Nuclear War with North Korea had only worsened

matter, the skies were eternally grey and sunshine barely broke through. Climate change had escalated, all borders were closed. Emergency powers had been en

acted; control through fear and propaganda, this was all on the lips of the academics, journalists and intellectuals, who were steadily being silenced and paid off. Tesco, Ap

ple, Monsanto, Halliburton, Microsoft, Phillip Morris, Ryanair and all the worst oil companies had merged into News Corp., they had wanted to take

over Cadbury too, but Willy Wonka beat them to it.

Amidst the confusion of the contained war breaking out in North Asia, international business was breaking apart, trade was declining and states were attempting self-reliance. I

had been sleeping on the streets since funding from student loans companies had stopped trickling through, many had lost their jobs and people had started using

the word prole again. The streets were littered with junkies and dead bodies. Graffiti, boarded up windows, burnt out cars. Energy and clean water were found at established community centres, which were somewhat stable, coal mines had begun to be pumped for water, the mines that remained unpumpable were branded ‘Thatchers’, ‘cause she was totally unpumpable.

Since much of trade had collapsed, Britain began mining the pits that had been closed over one-hundred years earlier. The whole country was treading water, we were all

drowning. We needed someone, something to dredge society clean and start again. I lay in a doorway, covered in newspapers and illegal dogs, nobody cared about putting them down anymore and most people were actually eating dogs.

them – gone were the days of tying your dog up outside a supermarket. Gone were the days of supermarkets and eating anything but

Lucky there were so many. Looting had stopped and some had tried to arrange small community orders. The government and the aforementioned business empire

were keeping control through print media, public rallies and the military. Many would assume in this situation the people would have revolted, rioted, protested, in the face of uncertainty and fear, maybe tried to established a new form of government, a new order, but control ran too deep.

One night in early May I wandered through a car park, just behind a bus I saw what can only be described as a concentrated electrical storm; from it emerged a rabble of kids around

my age (twenty) lathered in denim and leather, skin laden with tattoos and piercings and hair which could have been carrying a fire hazard warning, that or a rooster. They were looking

fora woman named Sarah Connor, apparently she was going to give birth to the son of the revolution and they wanted to make sure he didn’t become an absolute PUSSY. So eventu-

ally the punks and Connor all gang banged and a seed from one of them took hold. Turns out the whole ‘prophecy’ from the future wasn’t true, we assumed it was like the whole Terminator thing, just so happens they were from the past… nevertheless Sarah was in love and her son did turn out to bring the whole system down. One brick at a time.

I’d hereby like to put to bed my fiction writing career, notwithstanding I think the point of this piece was clear (wasn’t it?). Western society isn’t really a society at all anymore; people talk about globalization connecting us all, bringing us closer together but it’s not? “But we can send messages to people across the other side of the word” I

hear someone splutter from beneath their sandwich… so what? We’re all stuck at home signing e-petitions and liking posts on Facebook about how shit everything

is. In my first year of uni the students rioted in London, now, I’m not saying rioting is the way forward, but, I was amused, excited and happy to see it. For once there was some spirit of protest; but as usual, no clear aim apart from smashing stuff up, which rendered it pointless. I guess I brought the punks in, because it was in their era that

the youth culture of collective/direct action died, punk ideology was anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian and stood for direct-action to name but a few things, it

is this direct action that I’m concerned with (though the authenticity of punk ideology is another question).

So where did our fighting spirit go, and the forums within which we displayed that spirit? Well, they all left us thanks to Thatcherism. Gone are the trade unions, gone is our sense of community, our society is fragmented, David Cameron was right, Britain is broken, but it’s people like him who broke it and his government continues to fuck

things up for common people (see Ben Butcher’s BRILLIANT article for more on that). The occupy movement, the movement for the 99%, the

only thing to even come close to any sort of revolution, has died its death. The site at Queen’s square in Bath just became a place for homeless people to have a fire and party (I went along). We’re now so desensitised, replacing the need for gratification of purpose in life, the blue collar population brought about a collectivism and direct action and we’ve replaced it with cushy insular lifestyles with no idea where our community really is, we sit around and instead of interacting with our environments we are touching our phones and

tablets, exteroception is now just a bunch of people sitting around fingering their Apple products. We have lost many great forums for protest and gained even bet-

ter ones, we’re completely interconnected. We just don’t use them for the right things, such as protests. Instead cat videos take priority. It’s our ideas, our feelings that have been dampened, have I said that before.

One final point before I go. Remember the video that took the internet by storm in last year? Invisible Children’s KONY 2012. Time Magazine dubbed it

the most viral video of all time, with some 110 million views by October 2012. Now, regardless of the credibility of the charity and the cause, the video inspired me (until it was quickly denounced) and I know it inspired many others to act, to act on something that wasn’t in their immediate area of responsibility, and didn’t example. Would we all stand up and do something. Apathy breeds lethargy people. Let’s wake up. Saying that, look at me, such a hypocrite, sitting on my high horse, eating a Wispa and doing nothing,

although I did join Action Aid.

BACK TO FICTION! I needed to tell this story, this is to that group of punks… protest. NOW. They’re breaking down the door. I’d better sign off. Follow the white rabbit. And it turns out it was all a dream.

Imperial war musuem

threaten them directly. Now I ask you, if such an inspiring video, with guidance and a little started pack, were to be made about the new changes to the NHS for

bite experience: The atmosphere at Beach Break is always pretty amazing and it’s a brilliant way to have a proper exams blowout. It’s also one of the best festivals to see EDM artists without having to go to Creamfields.

All revamped in a brand new setting, Beach Break Live is the UK’s premier student festival and it’s probably the best way to get rid of all that exam stress. BBL is a fantastic combination between a beach holiday and a festival and as well as the music there are always amazing other events, such as surf and ski tournaments, to fill your weekend. Highlights this year include Hospitality (High Contrast, Danny Byrd and Roddigan), Dub Pistols, Eats Everything and Will & The People.

When: 20th - 24th June Where: Newquay How much: £99 Headliners: Jake Bugg, Aluna George, Devlin

bite experience: Reading/Leeds will always be one of the UK’s best festivals, and with new stages this year it’s only set to get better. The sheer size of the festival means that there’s always an amazing band to see and amazing people to meet.

The UK’s largest festival and the general home of the indie/alternative/punk scene.

Reading and Leeds have taken a new turn this year, introducing a Dance Stage and a 1Xtra Stage to include EDM and rap to the line up. Other highlights include recently reunited Fall Out Boy, Brand New, System of a Down, A$AP Rocky and Knife Party. Always a great weekend, usually sunny and a great choice for a first festival.

When: 23rd - 25th August Where: Reading & Leeds How much: £202.50 Headliners: Eminem, Green Day, Biffy Clyro

bite experience: Green Man festival can appeal to anyone’s taste (bar techno etc) it’s happening but chilled. Nestled in the rolling hills of the Brecon Beacons, split in twain by the Usk and topped off with a bonfire of a giant man on the last night. What more could you want?

Wales’ premier music festival and also the festival of choice for any of the eco warriors out there. The music also fits this bill with the majority being folk / alternative, we recommend Syd Arthur, The Horrors, Local Natives and Swans.

When: 15th - 18th August Where: Black Mountains How much: £125 Headliners: Ben Howard, Band of Horses, Kings of Convenience

bite experience: Ah, Glastonbury. Not only does it normally have one of the most varied line-ups spread over more areas than you can count, the atmosphere is incredible (as long as it’s not raining). There’s so much more to do other than music too… paint for peace, make some metal artwork and eat some fantastic food. At the end of the day there’s always Shangri-La, where you can dance under a fire-breathing spider in the middle of a city built purely to party in. Can I live there?

The pinacle of festivals. The festivals all other festivals aspire to. So many stages, so many bands, so many god damn activities! If you like a genre of music, chances are it’s here. If you like an obscure type of popular culture, chances are it’s here. If you want the muddiest of muddy fields, this is your place. Limited ticket resale on 21st April!

When: 26th - 30th June Where: Pilton How much: £205 Headliners: Arctic Monkeys, The Rolling Stones, Mumford and Sons.

WOMAD: The UK’s premier international festival in Wiltshire.

Creamfields: The UK’s biggest dance festival (headlined by The mother-fucking Prodigy), based in Chesire.

Hop Farm: Alternative festival in Kent with My Bloody Valentine, The Presidents of the USA, Dry The River and Tall Ships.

2000 Trees: The champion of independent music and emerging talent, based in Somerset.

Lounge on the Farm: Family festival in Kent that has an amazing atmosphere and because of the location is usually super sunny.

Honourable Mentions

bite experience: It’s got a very relaxed atmosphere and doesn’t feel quite as commercialised as some of the other big festivals. The lineup is usually very varied and they always have some very big acts (Stones, Bowie, The Who) although the quality of the lineups haven’t been quite as good in the last few years. Some of the best music I’ve seen there though has been in the small bars on the site. I’d definitely recommend it.

If you like classic rock, the Isle of Wight Festival is the one for you. Always headlined by giants of Rock ‘n Roll (this years festival also plays host to Blondie and Bloc Party), Isle of Wight also always has a large variety of the pop, indie and alternative artists that you’ll all know from Radio 1. Highlights of this years festival include Bastille, Sub Focus, The Maccabees, Ben Howard, The Script, Grandmaster Flash, Rizzle Kicks, Ellie Goulding and the wonderful Ghost Poet.

When: 13th - 16th June Where: Isle of Wight How much: £185 Headliners: The Stone Roses, The Killers, Bon Jovi

bite experience: Download is an experience like nothing else I have ever come across. It’s a bizarre mix of meeting new friends and socialising before smashing the crap out of eachother as soon as any music is playing. In a friendly kind of way. If you are an aficionado of rock and metal it’s definitely worth experiencing, but if you do it right, be prepared to be left battered and bruised by the end.

Do you like long hair, anger, loud guitars and mosh pits? Look no further, this is your home away from home. As well as the stellar headliners other highlights include The Gaslight Anthem, Motorhead, Enter Shikari and Jimmy Eat World.

When: 14th - 16th June Where: Donnington Park How much: £195 Headliners: Iron Maiden, Slipknot, Rammstein

bite experience: A Beautiful setting, a folky atmosphere andlots of quirky touches all over the place. Musically it’s always growing stronger, focussing on chilled and ‘tasteful’ big-but-alternative names. Thoroughly recommended for a no-fuss festival.

The place for the slightly more discerning festival goer. Lots of lovely folk and alternative music if moshing isn’t your thing (we recommend Alt-J, Foals, Daughter, Modest Mouse and Everything Everything) while also including something a bit more raucous (Drenge and Japandroids are not to be missed). They also have a massive variety of other arts. Dylan Moran and Marcus Brigstock are highlights of the comedy arena, Carol Anne Duffy headlines the poetry tent and there are also plentiful film, arts and literature events to get your culture fix.

bite experience: Bestival, all in all, was probably one of the best weekends of my life- the atmosphere much more chilled out than Reading, the festival I went to the year before. The music was far more eclectic than a usual festival, and the roller disco was hectic.

The beauty of Bestival is its variety. Each year the festival has a theme (this years is HMS Bestival) and this always inspires a great atmosphere with some amazing fancy dress. The music is also ridiculously broad, from Snoop, to Disclosure, to Wu Tang Clan and Elton John, as well as great other events such as Scroobius Pip’s spoken word event.

When: 5 - 8th September Where: Isle of Wight How much: £189.95 Headliners: Elton John, Snoop Dog, M.I.A.

When: 18th - 21st July Where: Suffolk How much: £190.50 Headliners: Bloc Party, Foals, Kraftwerk

bite experience: T in the park has one disadvantage in comparison to other festivals. It’s in Scotland. That is in no way a slight to the delightful denizens of this resplendent nation, more to its unpredictable climate. Bring lots of waterproofs is what I’m getting at. If you can handle the weather and the journey up there you will be rewarded by an impressive lineup to make any festival go-er salivate. Just on a cautionary note if you walk around drunkenly screaming god save the queen, you won’t make many friends.

Scotland’s largest festival and a great mix of rock and pop. The line up is incredibly diverse this year and there are some incredibly acts making the journey north. Our picks for this years festival would be Tyler The Creator, Chase & Status, Frank Turner, Frank Ocean, Alt-J, Modest Mouse, Snoop Dog, The Strypes, Noah and the Whale, and Modest Mouse. The atmosphere is also absolutely incredible, although of course the weather is always an issue being this far North.

When: 12th - 14th July Where: Kinross How much: £194 Headliners: Mumford and Sons, The Killers, Rihanna

Plan your house festival trip with our poster guide to the UK’s best muddy weekends

The bite Festival Guide

10

Tuesday 16th April 2013

bite

How to festival and not die

bathimpact.tumblr.com

Fancy a festival this summer but nervous about venturing into a place that ignores most social norms? Well no worries, bite has you covered Pun

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Be v o ’ o b k t a y y u i nd re your , aban k chair, so if otentiall ea d open to yo u’r me d n s i t i o c i t a u l m o y a done l , d stranger v y your b s r e p e in reaso t b i o d r, yo s talking udn. Some a go acuum, t of the please ics then OULD world u’ve had. reflecting eer in the d in to you, w of them e s d you dru v W b o o e D l might b ithgs but o ory end m on’t year w ive, and vo ecide to g n the won sunby m WHAT e trying thers m friends d sp ive u w to s bly w after hen it to sell D ight hav a o t N b and be p you erful o A ed se tay th all be e just lo pr ked ome looking with. r o y c e u e g st their o real r l r i e h n i for som h ty gua t u s eone to eing rd giv again, un ntil the ne ing party t up b bly go xt e i l s you a the o an exhaus prob SAY? l’ hea tve-ho .

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Tuesday April 16th 2013

Music Review

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written by Robert Page

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hey keep telling us because we’re young we’re screwed. We’ll pay more for our education, more in tax, never find a fulfilling career, never buy a house, live alone with only our Facebook friends for company and it will never, ever, be as good as it was in their day. It’s all quite depressing. Allow me to introduce PEACE, four brummies with a simple message, that it’s pretty fun being young really. As with all good messages, it’s being communicated in the best possible way, tunes.

PEACE’s recently released debut, In Love, is a celebration of the carefree and never-say-no attitude that comes with the innocence of not being so young as to not really see how the world works, but not quite old enough to have seen the bad bits yet. This world outlook sweet spot unfortunately usually comes along with hyperbole lyrical bullshit that seem to contaminate most promising young bands these days. PEACE have overcome this and are all the better for it, they have great song-writing ability but it’s not exceptional. What really makes these guys stand out is that they haven’t overcomplicated lyrics with overly complex metaphors or grandiose ideas about life, the universe and everything. When vocalist Harry Koisser croons on the outstanding Califonia Daze “Ohhhh, she tastes like sunlight/And she’s always gonna be there in the back of your mind.” There is no pissing about; it’s something we’ve all probably felt or will feel at some point. PEACE are accessible while still managing to write about things that their listeners can really connect with. This makes them a terrifying prospect considering this is their debut album.

Fundamentally, In Love, is an album about being young and being in love. It’s not any more complicated than that and nor should it have to be. Appropriately it’s the vocalist that phrases it best “I feel quite naïve about everything. It’s quite a comfortable naivety. I’m still enjoying that I get to have fun.” If you ever reach a state of mind where having fun is not longer enjoyable so you turn your hate on others having a good time, listen to PEACE. If that doesn’t cure it, then I’m afraid all hope for you really is lost.

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t’s not as good as ‘Is This It’. Unfortunately I’m not allowed to write 8 word reviews of albums because apparently it “looks bad on the page” so I’ll develop my point, but really I’ve pretty much covered it all already, or perhaps I’m being unfair. Let’s find out…

‘Is This It’ was one of the reasons I fell in love with music, ‘Last Nite’, ‘Soma’ and most importantly ‘Hard To Explain’ (The drums, THE DRUMS!) sound-tracked my early life. ‘Is This It’ is as close to a perfect album as you reasonably get, in my opinion. Problem is, when you start out with something like that the only way is (come)down.

‘Comedown Machine’ is not a bad album, it’s just not great. The Strokes just don’t seem like they can be bothered with this anymore, they don’t tour and they did barely any promotion for this album. They’re just going through the motions and the result is something that doesn’t even deserve comparison to ‘Room on Fire’ let alone their debut. The best song of the album ‘Tap Out’ is not bad to be fair, but this just makes the album more infuriating. They can do it if they really want too. The album’s bizarre lead single ‘One Way Trigger’ is certainly not one for the first listen but after a couple of goes it sort of starts to makes sense, but not easily. This is not what The Strokes are about, they’re not meant to be a difficult listen, never a challenge.

One of the worst feelings is learning your favorite artist is retiring or that your favorite band is splitting up. Have you ever considered that perhaps they know better than you? That they would prefer to go out at the top and leave their legacy untainted by work that detracts from their best material simply because they lost the passion for making music. I’m not calling for The Strokes to jack it all in, but after ‘Comedown Machine’ they need to reassess whether their current direction is doing justice to their early work. To quote Batman, (never thought I’d finish this album review like this when I got up this morning) “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

bite’s punk albums you need to hear

The Clash - Combat Rock

The Ramones - Self Titled

Literally every single Clash album could be on this list, this is just the one we listened to on the day. They are exactly what punk should be, Joe Strummer will forever be a punk icon and the basslines on this album are something to behold.

Has any album ever had a more exciting start than Blitzkreig Bop? The Ramones were at the forefront of New York and America’s punk scene and deserve their legendary status (fuck anyone who buys a T-Shirt at top shop without knowing a single song).

Refused - The Shape of Punk To Come Sweedish post-hardcore anyone?

Everyone needs this album in and around thier face. Raw energy, fiercely political lyrics, heavy guitars and fantastic variety. Also has one of the best openers of all time in New Noise.

The Stooges - Raw Power

Green Day - Dookie

Before he did odd car insurance commercials, Iggy Pop actually made angry punk music. Raw Power, as the name suggests, opens up with the ridiculous Search and Destory and is basically half an hour of fury and noise.

Many people disregard pop punk and accuse it of ruining the punk scene, but that’s far from the case. Smash by The Offspring, Enema of The State by Blink 182 and Green Day’s Dookie were all brilliant albums that took punk in a new direction.

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Tuesday 16th April 2013

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Written by Sophia Guilfoyle Photographer Pedro Gomes

Maria Arimont and Hannah Topping co-creators of Mariannah Vintage

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aria Arimont (left) and Hannah Topping (right) are two inspirational and entrepreneurial students at Bath University who have just set up their first online business. I met with them to find out more!

for our idea from a nationwide panel, we knew we had to put it into action!

So ladies, tell me a bit about your newly launched business, MariannahVintage.

MV: Essentially, Mariannah Vintage is a free-to-use online community where students can buy and sell their once loved clothes, fancy dress and sports equipment.

MV: We offer an easy way to earn money from stuff that you no longer use or wear, and a place to find a fabulous bargain when you can’t justify retailer prices. Being exclusively for students and with our MV fashion police filtering the uploads, you can be assured of high quality items that take your fancy… without having to trawl through thousands of items!

And where did the idea behind Mariannah Vintage come from?

Fantastic! What has been the most exciting part about setting up MV?

MV: Being two fashion-loving students, it is a constant compromise between looking great and sticking to our budget, and with all our friends feeling the same we thought there must surely be a solution! We wanted a forum that was appealing to use, got all students involved and most importantly turned excess stuff we all have cluttering our rooms into something useful. So we pitched our idea of ‘UNIVERSITY re-OUTFITTERS’ at Grad Factor and got through to the Grand Final at the NatWest National Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Google headquarters in London. After seeing the enthusiasm

MV: Many moments from the launch at the F@B fashion show to our first sale have been highlights, but the best bit for us is hearing the positive feedback from our friends and users of the site. That is what keeps this business going!

knowing a trick or two has been the steepest learning curve.

Luckily we had fantastic help onside to guide us through!

Also the shoot for this article was pretty intimidating!

So what can MV offer Bath students?

What ideas have you got for the future?

What has been the most challenging aspect of setting up your first business?

MV: The programming! Having gone from being totally and completely useless as far as technological abilities go, to now

MV: We want to pilot MV to universities all over the UK, this would enhance the choice for you as shoppers, and also increase the audience for selling your items. Also we are considering expanding into textbooks as this is a considerable drain on many students’ budgets.

So if MV takes your fancy head to www.mariannahvintage. com to snap up some serious bargains. Everything Maria and Hannah are wearing in their photo-shoot is available online to buy now. Right, now business aside let’s get to know these girls a little better!

What song best describes your work ethic?

Maria: Any song by Destiny’s Child – really old I know, but I still love them!

Hannah: Haha, great minds Maria! Work song would definitely be Independent Woman by Destiny’s Child – don’t want to scare the MV boys away though!

Tuesday 16th April 2013

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13

Q&A If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you take with you?

Maria: I’d take music, friends and food…oh and my phone so I can check instagram!

Hannah: I’d take windsurf kit, ‘Into the Wild’ book and someone who is bilingual in English and Mandarin (they’ve gotta be a laugh though!)

Favourite cocktail ladies?

Maria: Strawberry mojito FTW, I like the pink in it!

Hannah: Cosmopolitan – hands down!

What was the last book you read?

Hannah: HHhH – epic bit of historical journalism!

Maria: Last book I read was The Alchemist by Paul Coelho and The Little Prince – I read them both at least once a year.

Maria styling a seductive skirt and cosy jumper from ZARA, both available on Mariannah Vintage

Maria looking fresh wearing ZARA long-sleeve top and ZARA jeans, both featured on Mariannah Vintage

If you only had 6 months to live how would you spend that time?

Hannah: The first two months I’d do an epic all American road trip in a 1960s convertible! Then I’d rent a house with a load of spare rooms and have my friends and family come whenever they can...

And get a pack of doxies to keep me company in between!

Maria: I’d travel all over the world and meet the most random people if possible, but most importantly I’d be surrounded by my family and friends.

Hannah showing off long-sleeve grey lightweight jumper and black jeans both featured on MV

Get Hannah’s gorgeous back-revealing top on MV now!

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Tuesday 16th April 2013

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Pussy Riot: Embracing punk

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written by bite’s sex columnist

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Dear Lucy and Edie,

Dear Lucy and Edie,

I’m bored of how things are with my girlfriend at the moment. We always just seem to be going through the motions and there’s no spark anymore.

We’re only 20, how can we be like an old married couple already? Please help, I’m worried that if things don’t pick up soon that she’s going to leave me for someone more exciting and adventurous?

My girlfriend is a feminist vegan who is strongly against homophobia. She likes going to riots and sees herself as a rebel against certain governmental movements, meateating and so on, and is regularly involved in demonstrations and street-marches.

How do I have wilder sex?

Alex

Smeerch I would caption this, but then how much more of a mental picture do you need?

oogle ‘punk’ and you’re likely to come up with definitions ranging from ‘a worthless person’ to stark images of bright pink hair and skin-tight leather. Google ‘punk sex’ and you’re likely to be scarred for life. But what exactly is punk sex and where can we get it?

If we look at the ‘punk’ subculture, we see that it’s about more than just a seemingly-negative characteristic, but a whole dress sense, music scene and value system. ‘Punks’ are generally associated with anarchy, rebellion, rioting and everything that’s wrong with the world. They have brightly coloured hair, they like loud music, they have motorbikes and they smash things up. Naturally, they’re a scapegoat within our society: the go-to group when we need someone to blame; the modern-day Mods and Rockers of years gone by; the people we never want our kids to date, let alone grow up to be.

In some ways, it could be argued that we’re all ‘punks’, even if we have to dig deep to find our inner rebel. The student riots of 2010; the London riots of 2011; the rumoured upcoming union strikes – we all like to yell and wave our hands in the air and carry big signs with poorly-worded expressions of anger scrawled on them. If you haven’t dyed your hair red or purple or pink, you’re among the minority these days. Once-tentative dip-dyers are resorting to all-over wild hair colours in a bid to ditch the ‘boring’ and embrace the ‘exciting’. Music is increasingly catering for our inner-punk, with screamo and generally aggressive music becoming more ‘mainstream’: to quote the film that may as well be dubbed the Bible of the boys, ‘Anchorman’: ‘LOUD NOISES’.

So if we’re all punks, do we all have punk sex? Well, if you have to ask, you’re not having it.

Punk sex appears to involve a lot of violence, girls covered in tattoos and ‘rock sluts’ choking their partners into a state of asthmatic-ecstasy. Can you say ‘asphyxia?’ Most of the results that the beloved internet brings up are accompanied by lashings of red lipstick, cement-strong spiked hair and ‘NSFW’ tags. And rightly so. This type of sexual deviance involves threesomes, public sex, drug-induced states of ecstasy and lots of lovely BDSM. Given the general ‘fuck you’ attitude of punks, it seems that pretty much anything goes. The punk era was all about embracing the now, being who you want to be and not letting anyone get in the way of it. So do it loud and do it proud. Wherever you are. Just be prepared for a lifelong ban from Weir Lounge.

We could of course embrace the values of punks and accept that they’re not just part of a subculture, but a part of society. For all we know, they could be the asexual among us, utterly devoid of sexual desire; the silent, frightened rabbits cowering beneath crisp bedsheets; the gentle lovemakers crooning to Buddy Holly while tealight candles flicker against pastel walls.

But where’s the fun in that? We’d much rather imagine nipple clamps and facial tattoos, scandalous nights of passion drowned out by The Sex Pistols, a colourful array of sex toys to rival the local Ann Summers and more verbal abuse than you can shake a Mohawk at.

So it seems that punks are not only concerned with giving society the middle finger, but also in shoving it somewhere rather more private.

And, on that note, I’m off to delete my browsing history. Goodbye innocence. And goodbye ‘Scary Punk Gobbles Up Man’. I’ll be seeing you again soon, no doubt.

Agony Aunts Lucy and Edie How can I embrace this and incorporate it into our relationship?

Thanks, Sam

Well first up I’d suggest that you guys dress up like punks. Those studded belts that were all the rage when you were fourteen and questioning your sexuality are great, team them with some wash-out pink hair-dye and a massive hoop earring. Remember, looking the part makes you feel the part. Listen to some screamo music to get you both in the mood for some love-making. Sing along. Everyone knows that strumming away on your airguitar leads to strumming elsewhere, so really go for it. Try headbanging. Make a beeline for the nose area: the more blood and gore, the better. Sex toys are so yesterday, all you need is a chainsaw, some gentle asphyxiation and, safety first, a condom or five to see you through.

It’s great that you’re taking an interest in what your girlfriend gets involved in. Try enhancing that by taking the strategies she uses in the demonstrations and riots and using them in your relationship.

Next time she does something that annoys you, which is probably quite often because she sounds incredibly irritating, rebel. Start setting fire to things and demanding change, all the while pumping your fist in the air and looking angry. Suggest she gets people to sign a petition next time she’s bold enough to imply that it’s your turn to do the washing up. If she uses the ‘I have a headache’ excuse next time you’re feeling frisky, hold up a home-made sign and protest against the unfairness of it all.

As for the stand against meat-eating, unlucky. Other than offering tit for tat or saying ‘it’s not going to suck itself’, I’m not really sure what you can do.

Play nice,

Have fun with your vegan bitch,

Lucy and Edie

Lucy and Edie

Tuesday16th April 2013

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15

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What you cookin’, punk? written by Lily Morris

I know, I know, when you think ‘punk,’ you don’t normally think of home cooking. But when you think about it, what’s more anti-establishment than stepping out of the system? It’s possibly the quietest, tastiest, and least violent form of protest there is. So, I’ll show you how to make some of your own staple foods – but only the ones that work out cheaper to make than to buy; there’s no point in spending more money just to stick it to the Man, after all.

Greek Yoghurt Personally, I love proper thick Greek yoghurt – the kind you can put on a spoon and it holds its shape. But, it’s quite difficult to find in shops, and can be expensive. All you’ll need to make it yourself is a tub of plain ‘natural’ yoghurt, which you can get from supermarket value ranges, some coffee filters, a sieve, and a large mixing bowl.

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Lay several layers of coffee filters into the sieve.

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jules:stonesoup

While shop-bought peanut butter is yummy, handmade peanut butter is absolutely amazing. You can also use this process to make other nut butters that aren’t widely available in the shops. For this you will need a food processor or a very tough hand blender.

Empty a bag of the roasted nuts of your choice (stop sniggering in the back!) into your food processor. 400g is a good quantity to do at a time.

2 3

Place the sieve over your large mixing bowl, and let the yoghurt drain. If it’s a warm day or you’re leaving it overnight, make sure to cover the whole set-up and put it in the fridge. An afternoon should be enough to give you lovely thick Greek yoghurt, perfect for having with fruit, soup, or by itself.

Store in a lidded container in the fridge, and use within three or four days.

CL_03

Sage & Basil Pesto

Peanut Butter

1

2

Empty the whole container of yoghurt into the filter-lined sieve.

A huge benefit of making your own pasta sauces is that you don’t have to worry about storing the rest of a jar designed to hold four portions – you can just make the quantity you want. Even better, they give you something to do while your pasta is cooking. To make this pesto really cheap, you can even grow your own herbs on the windowsill. You can make this without a hand blender, but it’s a lot easier with one.

1

Grab a handful each of sage and basil and chop into small pieces. Don’t worry about making them evenly sized.

2

Blend for about five minutes. The mixture will go from being whole nuts, to crushed nuts (ouch!), to a fine powder, and then a paste that gets thicker and thicker until it forms a ball that looks like dough.

3

Put your fresh peanut butter in an airtight container (Kilner jars are great, but you could also use an old pasta sauce jar that you’ve washed up) and store in the fridge.

Lori L. Stalteri

Chop a clove of garlic (you can use ready-chopped if you’re lazy like me) and put it, with a tablespoon of olive oil and your herbs, into a mug, or any container that you like to use for blending.

Blend until you have a paste of a texture you like, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Once your pasta is cooked and drained, add your fresh pesto and enjoy.

Any that you don’t use should be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.

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Tuesday 16th April 2013

Puzzle Corner

Across 5. Bubba Gump’s speciality (6) 6. It’s compare the Market. Seriously. Enough of this stupid gimmick (7) 8. South American pack animal (5) 9. If you think their necks are long, you should see their tongues. Gross (7) 12. Ankle-spur toting freak of nature (8) 16. The Road Runner’s least favourite animal (6) 17. Cartman’s crime fighting alter ego (6) 19. Last year’s international protest movement was named after this mammal (5) 22. You probably shouldn’t try rolling this animal up and setting it on fire (5) 23. A group of these animals is called a Candle (5) 24. A deer, but more pretentious (8) 25. A herd of these sealed Mufasa’s fate. Long live the King! (10) 27. Man of the woods (9) 28. The dwarf leopard (6) 29. They’re Gr-r-reat! (5) 30. Aquatic animals whoses pregnancy roles are reversed (8) Down 1. The name of the first town in Red Dead Redemption (9) 2. They never forget (8) 3. This little guru is apparently capable of predicting the end of Spring (9) 4. An animal that is too lazy to have sex (5) 7. Seabirds that have with incredibly large wingspan (9) 10. Australia’s largest native bird (3) 11. A pair of these feature in the name of Bath’s only Nepalese restaurant (3) 12. Middle French for spined pig (9)

bite

Horoscopes bathimpact.tumblr.com

 Aries

March 21 - April 20 Your life might suck, but Game of Thrones is back at least

 Taurus

April 21 - May 20

Insert slightly close to the bone but just about okay Thatcher joke here

 Gemini May 21 - June 20

I’m gonna be honest Gemini, I do these in a random order, your last and I’m struggling, like John Terry in a social situation I’m just going to give up here

 Leo

 Cancer

June 21 - July 21

July 22 - August 22 13. Predator who catches it’s prey with a fleshly lure (10) 14. Asthmatic bird (6) 15. One of the seven deadliest animals. I mean sins. Deadly sins. (5) 18. Colloquially known as an anteater (7) 20. P-P-Pick up one (7) 21. Not an animal you’d want to play cards with (7) 25. Sometimes I put two straws in my mouth and pretend I’m one of these (6) 26. Mind your head! (4)

Kakuro The object of a Kakuro is to insert a digit from 1 to 9 into each white cell so that the sum of the numbers in each row or column matches the clue associated with it (above or to the left of the row or column). No digit can be duplicated in any sum. Enjoy!

Sudoku

....Dench

I’m sorry, but deep sadness and shame will haunt you this week, than again change can be scary so maybe it’s for the best

 Virgo

August 23 - September 22

Remember life is like a game of junior football, as long as you hurt the other kid as bad or worse than he hurts you, you will have done your job

 Libra

September 23 - October 22 You’re not crazy, you’re a glorious powerful leader with the respect of everyone in the world.

Not crazy. They will all cower in fear. Not crazy.

You will rain fire on them. So not crazy.... oops, this is Kim Jong Un’s horoscope

 Scorpio

October 23 - November 21

You’ve been worrying that people think you’re a self righteous dickbag this week Scorpio... at least they’re also going to have to say you’re astute



Sagittarius

November 22 - December 21

You’ve been rather randy lately without much luck, but remember, the quickest way to someone’s bed is through their parents’. Have sex with them and you’re in. They’ll be all over you like a fly over some incredibly seductive manure



Capricorn

December 22 - January 20

You’re pregnant, congratulations!.... Haha, just joshing with you man, it’s herpes

 Aquarius January 21 - February 19

Remember, keep her out of water and never feed her after midnight... oops, this is Satan’s horoscope

 Pisces February 20 - March 20  Scorpio October 23 - November 21

Darius N. www.gonescribbling.tumblr.com

Good luck and happiness will enter your briefly enter your life this week... it’s a puppy with a Are you guys still seriously reading these? I gave terminal disease so it will also be leaving up weeks ago