Concrete - Issue 238 - 26/01/2010

TAKE THE CONCRETE SEX SURVEY ONLINE Log on to www.surveymonkey.com/s/ concretelovesurvey today to take part in this year’s saucy survey.

FEATURES PAGE 14

ISSUE 238

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

HEALTHY DESSERTS? DON’T BOTHER. Why the low-fat diet version just won’t do.

FOOD PAGE 18

www.concrete-online.co.uk

THE 2010 CONCRETE HOUSING GUIDE Get advice about Norwich neighbourhoods, housemates and more.

FEATURES PAGE 12

UEA’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

FREE

REJECT APPLICANTS AT RECORD LEVEL Record numbers of university applicants expected to be rejected in the upcoming academic year.

Thousands of students rejected last year swell application numbers with a 30% increase at UEA.

Adam Plom

SIMON ARMITAGE SET TO TALK AT UEA LITERARY FESTIVAL CONTINUES ON PAGE 4

FOR FULL ARTICLE ON LITERARY FESTIVAL TURN TO PAGE 4

UNION DELETES KORFBALL PAGES IN WEBSITE SERVER UPDATE Nick Church

2 NEWS

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.news@uea.ac.uk

STREET BLACKOUT AGREED NORWICH FRAUD HOTSPOT Gordon Malloy

contents

Norfolk County Council’s Cabinet agreed to go ahead

seem to think all people go to bed at 10 o’clock at night… they think everyone lives a “I’m frightened there will be an actual increase in crime

streets between 12 midnight and 5am on Monday 25th January, despite vocal

NEWS

1-6

TURF

8

from the local community Bert Bremner, Labour Councillor for the University

OPINIONS

10 - 11

member for community safety and community cohesion

FEATURES

12 - 14

EDITORIAL

15

INTERNATIONAL

16

TRAVEL

17

FOOD

18 - 19

FOCSOC

20

LIFESTYLE

21

SPORT

22 - 24

Nick Church

recognised card crime was a

Norwich has been named as a card fraud hotspot with around 40,000 people in the city thought to have fallen

crime increasing…the savings According to the annual Card Fraud Index, compiled by around 7,800 streetlights in Norwich from the hours of

(CPP), Norwich is the third worst city for card fraud in the

Since last going to print, the police have broken their silence over the proposal saying that while they do not object to the plans in principle they would not want

could be based one the other side of the world and have a bank account in a separate “We have had a number which we have managed to

able to freeze bank accounts to prevent further fraudulent A CCP spokesperson urged all Norwich cardholders to be vigilant and take steps to avoid fraud criminals: “When out and about never let your

Speaking to Concrete he said: “[Norfolk County Cabinet] Greg Mann

really important to check your bank statements regularly and thoroughly so you can spot seen an 11% increase in card

the worst card fraud problem with 37% of consumers Dave Kirkham, from Norfolk Police’s Economic and Computer Crime Unit,

with 35% and Southampton

PCSO WARNS OF CAMPUS BURGLARIES Joey Millar Students were welcomed back to UEA with a strong security warning: the University’s Police Community Support made

the

announcement

that the vast majority of oncampus burglaries also go back from the LCR to see our that over 90% of incidents

digital camera amongst the

Luckily, individual doors had all been locked, meaning that “the only thing that was taken was our alcohol but it

also failed to report to campus security for more than a week, severely reducing their

marred the return of students despite the comprehensive

Alexander told Concrete, emphasising the need to be wary of strangers, saying “People need to be challenged

members of campus security patrol the site by foot, bike and van, at every hour of the

She also highlighted the necessity of keeping main

Safer Neighbourhood Police

Greg Mann

reported this semester, but it is suspected that there have been a number of similar incidents that campus security Report by Dan Holley

Concrete was unable to

to give advice to students

Alexander at Earlham Police you require advice before the

student, was happy to discuss

security and it is suspected

NEWS 3

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.news@uea.ac.uk

“HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU GRADUATING WITH FAIR DEAL FOR PART TIMERS Nayo Hunt A DEGREE FROM UEA?” ask Suze Wood and James Dixon has issued a report calling for a

in the House of Commons called for the abolishment of repayments should be achieved through a system of graduate prevent them from accessing income and the number of

is also fully in support of recession I can see why people want to go on to very important that you have

advantages for going for that the skills you are learning rather than the actual content

of those currently in higher

spectrum of work is very vast

students unless they are on a

students so it is anomalous

It is suggested that increasing interest on student loans will

of

the area and there are a lot of because it means there are economy is going to be in when I graduate! I feel my degree has

main concern is passing the degree itself!

about the rates of graduate

the

loans

and

grants

would be more useful than instead I’m just trying to get a good degree and see what

people are looking to re-train think the most important thing my mind and wanted to do

sense to maintain such barriers

UNION VOTES ON NEW SPORTS SABBATICAL POSITION David Churchill that the vast membership Sports club and society members will today vote in a referendum which will decide whether the Students‘ Union is to install a new full-

The role has been devised

by Union Council with the aim of widening access to

act as a central focal point for

that students have widened access to such advantageous

is to take place on the 25th

arrangement sports clubs would produce 92% of monies

being given a week to obtain

the fencing club stated that

Separate concerns have also been raised over whether

that they were unable to

new role would also involve adding that there was a need

‘sports days’ every semester to

than draw up manifestos and

and arrange regular fundraising charity events such as

and arranging further internal the proposed role was part of the Union’s grand vision

had been discussed numerous been raised by sports clubs The way in which the Union has proposed to fund

and engagement with sport

Council so individual Sports

currently comprises of four

aware of the proposals as far has also been met with some be to ensure that clubs have

that she had been approached by a number of clubs who

the Union announced that the annual cost of the new

up with the standard of

hadn’t been given enough was also revealed that the students hold a membership

on equipment only a select that although she receives

those joining sports clubs by She

added

that

club

clubs across the spectrum will

Co-ordinator and two partspan between the referendum

is to be taken from revenue

there would be no clash with current Union jobs and the role is predominately concerned with lobbying

4 NEWS

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

CADAVERINE MAGAZINE The

concrete.news@uea.ac.uk

CLASS SIZES TO RISE AS FUNDING FALLS Projected university funding cuts of up to £900 million may

Cadaverine being forced to close, over

university class sizes could compared to an average of just

All genres of literature

to Sally Hunt, general secretary being accepted for university

Cadaverine

The Cadaverine. magazine,

and even increasing our academic resources to ensure

independent

The Cadaverine

Secretary

Lord

Mandelson

DON PATERSON TO OPEN UEA FESTIVAL Simon Armitage is one of All submissions can be

adapted Chocolat

Anglia in The Sea House and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Seeing Stars

UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS CAP CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

NEW LECTURERS BOOST HEALTH FACULTY David Churchill

Professor Alastair Watson as Paramedical Studies courses in

to

“vulnerable

subjects

Professor

Ian

Harvey

university plays a leading role in WORLD LEADING

6 NEWS UK-CHINA INITIATIVE

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.news@uea.ac.uk

NORFOLK SAFEST COUNTY IN BRITAIN

NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY RETURNS

Nick Church

Julia Rasin

JOURNALISM AWARD

The Times’

CONSERVATIVES SEEK ELITE TEACHERS David Biggins NAIVE PLAN?

EASTER CRAFT FAIR

L’Emission de Télévision L’Emission de Télévision

6 NEWS UK-CHINA INITIATIVE

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.news@uea.ac.uk

NORFOLK SAFEST COUNTY IN BRITAIN

NATIONAL STUDENT SURVEY RETURNS

Nick Church

Julia Rasin

JOURNALISM AWARD

The Times’

CONSERVATIVES SEEK ELITE TEACHERS Nick Church NAIVE PLAN?

EASTER CRAFT FAIR

L’Emission de Télévision L’Emission de Télévision

8 TURF

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.turf@uea.ac.uk

Budget transport: cycling reconsidered

Big freeze puts strain on British wildlife

Tom Hunt

John Ferguson

transport that doesn’t cost

spell that has hampered Britain for the past few weeks has added a new dimension to the already complicated dynamics

maximise foraging being just

rising and bus passes too

reserved

its

unfavourable

to reconsider the pros and As well as experiencing some of the lowest recorded temperatures in decades this winter, Britain has been laden

Drivers to campus will is pressed for car parking

unprecedented emphasis on when the consequences of climate change are widely

2

emission of three tonnes per year, in contrast to the carbon on our roads, driving is one of

that in general, people walk 20% less than at the turn of the

Cycling

requires

more

of books from the library tremendous amounts of space for said books compared to be remedied in part by the use of panniers, but even then storage is limited and must be

four million commuters who drive just four miles or less to work each day cycled instead, 2 would But when it comes to families, bikes are not seen as would struggle to put the kids on the back and cycle them to school, though in summer at least they could living further away from their schools and workplaces, it is no surprise that cycling currently makes up for just 2%

However, the bike has none

amounts of people choosing to stay put for their holidays each year and avoid the expenses and emissions of air travel, cycling is becoming some, especially hard-pressed petrol can be put towards food and drink and a tent can be shared between several bikes, making it possible to pitch up for the night wherever there be taken through woodlands

phenomena, with many species

means by which wildlife have are harmful, from the covering of ground food supplies by snow and deep frost, to the accelerated heat loss of thinly

deer species that live in Britain are primarily grazers, so the carpet of snow and frost that has coated our countryside of late has presented a serious

small rodents tend to thrive around the grass that is under the snow and ice carpet and are consequently not badly

would be quick to assume that deer can simply brush this snow away, but unfortunately the energy spent doing this is more than what is gained by feeding on the damaged grass

under the snow carpet, as their

freeze, in strictly wild terms,

photographers trying to snap

birds, for example, have been forced to adopt rather unusual

however other reports have revealed rather more astute

owls and kestrels, aren’t able to

problems are made even worse

have seen some serious wild

reports of birds risking their lives feeding at the side of busy withstood in a car than on an exposed bike, though with 40,000 towns across Britain there is always somewhere to

vole species have been faring

news for our wildlife, with the last few weeks rewarding those who take advantage of Many large predators such as sparrowhawks and foxes have of late, due to weariness of

presented us with some picturesque views, it has also resulted in certain species that wouldn’t normally venture into Reports of birds not usually associated with gardens, such as migratory species, desperate for food coming into our gardens have been commonplace and it appears that we are only too happy to oblige them, with retailers

Surprisingly, certain mice and

However, with increasing

Environmental manifestos: Labour vs Conservatives Alex May Following the Copenhagen climate change summit at the end of last year, the environment has undoubtedly become, as far as government policy-makers are concerned at least, the main focal point for all of the world’s most

carbon emissions; developed of January to announce by how much they wish to reduce

established a target to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by

and New Labour have diverging views on the best way to accomplish this task: the main

blueprint in this area should deliver a step change in lowline with its target to make all new houses zero-carbon from

waste disposal, whereas Labour is focusing more on light bulbs being given out as

States, Japan, Australia and

ways to tackle climate change and improve the state of our environment, both on an

to phase out high-energy light has pledged to improve the environment by working towards zero waste; the plans So what exactly is the deal with environmental issues

Having addressed numerous environmental issues at the conference, one of the main

also set to receive help from

of giving businesses long-term certainty to invest in new, more sustainable forms of waste

a voluntary arrangement with producers in order to encourage them to reduce waste and improve measures

Responsibility Deal on waste;

scheme for families who recycle will also reward responsible

working towards the same goal,

parents and bring awareness Labour, with a focus on sustainable energy sources,

- it won’t be long before government’s

environmental

10 COMMENT & OPINION

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.opinion@uea.ac.uk

Earthquake exploitation After the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti earlier this month, Tim Marsh looks at the response from around the world and questions whether the disaster will be used as a political tool.

“The disaster should not be used as an opportunity for exploitation”

Debate: Can we legitimately ban protestors?

For

Fact box It is now a criminal

Islam4UK’s proposed march through

Against James Dixon

offence to be a member of Islam4UK, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The group have been

march.

banned under an extension of the 2000 Terrorism Act. Islam4UK was already banned under its other incarnations of “al-Ghurabaa” and “The Sacred Sect”.

clamours.

concrete.opinion@uea.ac.uk

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

COMMENT & OPINION 11

A touch of class Housing horror

“An extra couple of weeks looking could save you a whole year of hassle!”

IF YOU HAVE A COMMENT OR OPINION THAT YOU WANT TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST ON ANY ISSUE, THEN THIS IS THE PLACE FOR YOU. PLEASE CONTACT CONCRETE.OPINION@UEA.AC.UK AND WE’LL GET YOUR VOICE HEARD!

12 FEATURES

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.features@uea.ac.uk

THE 2010 CONCRETE HOUSING GUIDE Housing Checklist

will probably be in a normal student house on a side road, but there are some huge terraced houses on Earlham Road itself that are let out to students.

Bowthorpe

from 10am to 4pm in the LCR. This is your responses. Then visit the Home Run List from

Choose your housemates. This needs to be done carefully as rash decisions result in at least one miserable university year. See page 13 for more info.

tenants if you can.

Make sure you pay a visit to the Union’s Advice Centre before you sign the contract. They’ll look over it free of charge and help you to understand all of the legal jargon. It’s also a good idea to do the provides you with.

are both major pros, yet considerable cons to living in this area. At about half an hour’s walk from the University, it is far from the ideal add, but Humbleyard itself is not much to look at.

However, having lived there for a considerable amount of months

Where should I live?

Unthank Road Unthank Road and its surrounding area is one of the most popular student housing hotspots in Norwich. The 25 bus route is directly onhand, and the Unthank shopping precinct is full of great local shops.

The proximity to town is great, as well as the abundance of shops, two Co-ops, two butchers, greengrocers, estate agents, chemist and

live in. For a start it has reliable bus services to the University and to the centre of Norwich, and in most parts there are bus stops only

of that studenty vibe. Although there are no large supermarkets or

Get your paperwork in order. Make sure you’ve got all of your contracts stored away safely, a

Earlham Road Like anywhere in and around the city, living on Earlham Road has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the great things about easy, although this does depend on what end of Earlham you live on.

If you want to risk it and rely on the buses, for the most part they’re

In halls of residence, it’s easy to lock yourself away and bask in your own

of sofas will mean that you’ll actually have to live with these people and see their faces grinning over a cereal bowl every day. So choose carefully. Here are a few words of advice from students in and around campus.

not good for sharing houses with. The biggest

had any problems

like living in a clean house, don’t live with people who make mess. Don’t be like, “Oh, we’ll get hate them. My best mate, I hate him so much. I love him but he’s an absolute bastard. He never does the washing up and I want to ram it down “From my experience, don’t live with a couple. It

How do I choose a house?

Here’s a few things to consider when choosing a house.

the life and soul of the party and an all-round social whore, you don’t want

Dereham Road Situated just outside of the Golden Triangle, Dereham Road can

year of student life, you should have worked out what camp you’re in.

Decide how many people you want to live with. Two can be calmer and easier but it’s also very intrusive and, if you argue, there’s no other shoulder

served not-so-frequently by the number 21 and 22 buses which take approximately 45 minutes to get to campus.

However, Dereham Road is, on average, cheaper than Unthank

bills ridiculously complicated and inter-house teams can begin to form to break the harmony.

Thinking about what you need out of your room is another important factor.

If you have a long term boyfriend or girlfriend, a double bedroom may be a

coming out of every crevice and there are some seriously trendy watering holes right on your doorstep like the Norwich Arts Centre,

The Avenues

rent you pay as well.

There is an increasing trend for parents to buy houses in the area for their children to live in, using it as a future property investment. This can be great

Make an inventory of items in your house which is

Earlham runs right from the city to beyond the University Village

your landlord to counter-sign it so that all damages that are not created by you are accounted for.

have to walk back or get the 25 and walk through to Earlham. Neither

studenty but also not isolated, The Avenues are at the centre of the Golden Triangle, halfway between uni and town and on the

awkward and friendships can be ruined.

If there are any problems with anything in the property your landlord has a statutory responsibility to repair it.

Earlham Road, where you have the Co-op for all of your shopping

The Avenues are quieter than surrounding Unthank and Earlham but this serves to make the area rather dangerous at night.

available such as becoming a resident tutor on campus which means your rent is cheaper and you don’t have

FEATURES 13

Advice from students who’ve been there

else.

campus quickly. you parents’ insurance may not cover you in rented property.

Who should I live with?

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

than some of the houses nearer the University. They not only have

a Co-op and a Roy’s within walking distance from the Humbleyard area. There are also a few takeaway places, which is always handy. close proximity, but they tend to be quite expensive, even if they are really nice. The main issue with Unthank Road is the distance from campus. It is only a ten minute bus ride, but the buses have a nasty habit of not turning up, being stupidly late or being too full on a regular basis. Any of these circumstances leave you with a 30-40 minute walk to campus that isn’t helpful if you are in a rush. It’s a fun

concrete.features@uea.ac.uk

“Make sure you make a house group on Facebook so you can ask

14 FEATURES Concrete Sex Survey 2010

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.features@uea.ac.uk

Question Time for Blair On the 29th January, Tony Blair faces the toughest inquisition of his life by the Iraq Inquiry. Blair’s answers could determine whether he could legitimately be put on trial for war crimes. David Biggins explains why this is the political event of the year and why it could turn out to be even more significant than the forthcoming general election.

Last month, the former Director of Public

We need your opinions to make it the sauciest survey yet!

Log on to www.surveymonkey. com/s/ concretelovesurvey

The Times

Keep voting for your sexiest lecturer!

We still need your votes for UEA’s Sexiest Lecturer!

Just log on to www.surveymonkey. com/s/votefornumberone The results will be published in Features in the next issue of Concrete.

the Daily Mail Guardian

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk

EDITORIAL 15

CONCRETE EDITORIAL EDITOR

EDITORIAL

concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Hannah Livingston

DEPUTY EDITOR concrete.editorial@uea.ac.uk Alice Violett

CHIEF COPY EDITOR concrete.editorial@uea.ac.uk Denise Bartlett

Proofreaders Ayesha Bailey, Rachel Handforth, Rachel Finlay, Hazy Hale, Mia Wecker

NEWS EDITOR concrete.news@uea.ac.uk Nicolas Church

Deputy News Editor David Churchill

‘Sexiest Lectuer’, as voted for by all you lovely readers, will be announced in the next issue

TRAVEL EDITOR concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk Rachel Conquer

Writers Sarah Morgan, Josh Weatherill, Sophia Thompson

Writers Daniella Hadley, Duncan Vicat-Brown, Melissa York

Writers

TURF EDITOR

LIFESTYLE EDITOR

Writers

Writers

John Ferguson, Tom Hunt, Alex May

Sam Gillespie, Adam Fenwick

OPINIONS EDITOR

SPORT EDITOR

Writers

Writers

Jack Brinded, Matthew Allison, Tim Marsh, Henry Croft, James Dixon

Chris King, Rob Schatten, Matt Beaumont, Georgina Wade, Ben Frith

FEATURES EDITOR

NON-EDITORIAL

Writers David Biggins, Keri Dickens, Ed Leftwich, Davina Kesby

concrete.international@uea.ac.uk Qingning Wang & Filipa Mendes

Writers Julia Sherman, Nishavitha Murthi

sexy prize. announcements for you. Firstly, FocSoc have announced a name change and will from here on in be known as ‘In Focus’. Secondly, UEA’s

Love Hannah

SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

Fran Bradley, Olly Larkin

concrete.lifestyle@uea.ac.uk Samantha Lewis

concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk Danny Collins

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Greg Mann

Photographers Casper Palmano, Ella Chappell

INTERNATIONAL EDITORS

survey within these very pages (page 14), so you can all go and brag about your sexual conquests

IN FOCUS EDITOR

Julia Rasin, Chris King, Helen Thomas, Jessica Keating, Suze Wood, James Dixon, Nayo Hunt, Joey Millar, Gordon Malloy, Adam Plom

concrete.features@uea.ac.uk Melissa York

jovial and chipper of us into a character ripped straight from the lyrics of a Leonard Cohen song.

To tackle “Blue Monday” (who names

concrete.food09@gmail.com Edward Leftwich

concrete.editorial@uea.ac.uk Alice Violett

concrete.opinion@uea.ac.uk Davina Kesby

surveymonkey.com/s/votefornumberone.

FOOD EDITOR

Reporters

concrete.turf@uea.ac.uk Rebecca Wiles

overall comedown from the Christmas spirit has

DISTRIBUTION Martin Lippiatt

CARTOONIST Hector Lowe

WEATHER FORECASTER Dan Holley

CONCRETE

PO BOX 410, NORWICH, NORFOLK, NR4 7TJ 01603 593466 Concrete is published by UUEAS Concrete Society ©2009 Concrete.

ISSN 1351-2773 Letters should be addressed for the attention of the Editor, Hannah Livingston. Letters must include contact details, but we will consider anonymous publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity as necessary. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Publisher or Editor.

Use of the name The Event is by arrangement with the copyright holders, Planet Zog Ltd. No part of this newspaper may be reproduced through any means without the express permission of the Editor, Hannah Livingston.

Printed by Archant.

16 INTERNATIONAL

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.international@uea.ac.uk

Hoping racism becomes an Say no to racism obsolete word Have you ever experienced racism? Do you know anyone who is suffering from racial abuse? If yes, you can seek help from these places:

Julia Sherman Racism.

It’s a word no one likes to hear, and unfortunately it is heard

individuals, rather than an

becoming ever smaller and

interest and genuine curiosity about the fact that I am from

of course) thanks to the Internet and all of the global

Outside of my school,

exists. However, as sad as it is, we all know and are well aware of this fact.

Thankfully though, UEA

Student Society (ISS) events (and yes, English students From the delicious sushi and

fresh air. At a school with students from over 100 countries, it would be very easy for racism to rear its

that any racism at UEA is very that will highlight cultural growing from their diverse

maybe I just don’t get out months that I have been at UEA I have seen an embracing

focus on learning from each other’s cultures. While it would be easy to say that I haven’t seen any racism while at ISS events, I also haven’t

view will reach beyond our While it is true that racism in the world, and being

day the term ‘racism’ will longer used to describe the

general. Rather, I see students

A history of Race: past and present

The University Trade Network Nishavitha Murthi

Filipa Mendes Race. Short as the word may be, it doesn’t necessarily have

“I need books!”, “Where do I buy cooking utensils,

The modern world has a way of making anything

owned

would

mean

that

to “I am about to go crazy” race, what it means to them

feature in the media as much as they once did. Thankfully, society seems to have evolved into an ever inclusive

them any obvious advantages.

“over 500 years ago, it all started off with slavery and unlawful prosecution mostly related to skin colour or religious belief”

semester, circumstances are

unwanted items for some of the world and call it your home for the next few years. It

than you’d like to believe.

new and for some even the language and culture might

thanks to this extraordinary resource. But not all can be few.

even have the vaguest idea

more charitably) for free to

and make new friends.

This website established by our

was very

hatred, and hate websites where freedom of transit recent years. From this, one

good idea. And every single

you want. Well, it might not be the end of the world just yet.

The University Trade

for who they are, regardless of where they come from, how rich they are or what

social networking website, created by a UEA student for students which allows anyone to buy, sell, exchange or

abolishing any kind of racism

is the World Wide Web. This has created a boom has indeed become an invaluable resource for most.

a bargain. Of course this also means that UEA leavers have

mostly related to skin colour or religious beliefs. Today, more subtle, and yet equally

Hieu Van Tran (Kevin Tran) from Vietnam. Kevin, who is currently a third year Business student, has been working on

and leavers, and has brought it to life with the aim of

concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

Greek Getaway After trekking through Greece during the summer, Sarah Morgan recounts the untouched beauty that she discovered.

Last summer, I spent about three weeks hiking through Greece. Apart from the beauty of the country, what surprised me the most was how it was so untouched by tourism. We spent three days in Athens, which was a dusty haze of crumbling concrete and noise. The backstreet we stayed were congested and the But it was honest, and it was cheap.

Amongst the chaos lie some of the most awe-inspiring sights; the Acropolis sits high above the dusty city against a backdrop of blue sky; it reminded me of a god on a giant throne looming over the city and market, nowadays more tech than and new.

The best way to reach the mountains from Athens is by train. In Kastraki, just outside the mountain town Kalabaka. Situated amongst the Meteroa, meaning ‘suspended in loomed over the landscape, made lush green forest that wove between them. Exploring this region you can discover the ancient monasteries, their surprisingly decadent gardens

a pool, acres of green grass, sparkling and the most delicious house wine.

The food in Greece is somewhat

TRAVEL 17

Lively Ljubljana Josh Weatherill Lively, spirited and chilled: three words that I would use to describe capital, Ljubljana. I mean, hands up: how many of you could actually locate

diplomat revealed that regular meetups with their Slovakian counterparts are necessary to exchange wrongly This compact city, built around the snaking Ljubljanica River, is guarded by handsome Ljubljana Castle which proudly sits upon its forested prominence. With its blend of Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture, Ljubljana is a joy to simply stroll around. Uncongested roads and meandering pathways which overlook over from the large stone-built grill, wine. We became addicted to the oil and feta-laden cool salads, juicy green olives and succulent kebabs.

The route we planned over the Pindus mountain range took us through a village at least every two days. We chose to hike over Greece as it seemed fairly unexplored: this

the village. Just outside Ambelia, we spot, the regular occurrence of such places made the trip all the more wonderful. It lay in a dried up river bed in a wide, sun-drenched valley, with a metre-wide clear stream bed. We stayed there for about three nights, just exploring the surrounding

“The stars in Greece are like none seen in this country and are especially breathtaking on the islands” ten hand-built houses, and one oddly placed cafe-style building, which was clearly only ever used by the odd local. Ambelia, another village on the track, was a struggle. Having been told that this was where we was not the case. Nobody spoke a

never encountered a hiker or tourist

reached Klinos, an incredibly remote village where we camped on an old

for miles.

Returning to Athens port starving, yet wonderfully happy, a local we met told us about the island Aegina. It was cheap to get to, about £20 each

more pleasant small town feel than a stressed-out city vibe. A visit to Tivoli Park is a must: a sprawling green space bringing nature right into the city centre. Chestnut-lined avenues front a deeply wooded hill that conceals hidden gems such as the strikingly pink hungry? Try the charming central market for fresh Slovene snacks and

rolled with walnuts, cream and vanilla.

Much like our beloved Norwich, Ljubljana boasts a buzzing student

nature. By night, bar and cafe tables spill out into the narrow cobblestone scene, whilst street entertainers dot the atmospheric lanes and many bridges spanning the Ljubljanica.

former prison the hotel boasts twenty

and

canoodling

couples

are

a

the tourist slogan goes, that when in

Student Ski Trip Sophia Thompson

22 hours on a coach: not the ideal way to travel, but for over 100 UEA students it was the start to one of the greatest ski trips a student will ever experience.

Despite the lengthy journey, I felt gloomy as I arrived back home and realised Valmeniere in France was my

small, with a large harbour covering put skis on will be out of student life, I

candle-lit tables on the sand allowing feet to be dipped in the warm ocean during dinner. The sunset is inescapable; large and glowing in the darkening sky, it lit up the sea front at night, later to be replaced by the silvery gleam of the moon. The stars in Greece are like none seen in this country and are especially breathtaking on the islands. At night the sky became a blanket of blackness punctuated by thousands the clearest Milky Way. It was the perfect place to rest our sore feet and shoulders as we wondered: is Greece the last undiscovered beauty?

being in Canada.

Valmeniere is a small ski village,

French and speaks French, which is a bit of a struggle if you are languagechallenged like myself. I adored the donkey farm I saw as I skied onto the other side of the mountain, the oldcharm in the local cafes. Unlike other ski trips, where I felt like I was on a permanent student bender, Valmeniere symbolised French eloquence.

Each ski resort has something

students, have great night life, endless slopes and plenty of inexpensive places to stay. Mount Tremblant, typical of Canada, was freezing, the Canadians do know how to ski and

When choosing a place to ski, keep in mind the size of the resort, who will be there, and what the slopes are like. You should also consider the weather; personally I would prefer to ski in France with a frostbite-free nose.

Although I will miss UEASS, they have taught me all I need for the perfect ski

18 FOOD

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.food09@gmail.com

Currying Flavour Concrete Curry Goblin

Homemade curry powder Perfect curry from scratch best curries in the world. So how

Ingredients

Ingredients 2 tablespoons oil

good as making your own. and the wonderful thing is that it can

5 tablespoons ground coriander seeds 2 tablespoons ground cumin seeds 1 tablespoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon ground chilli peppers (Add more or less according to taste)

2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 teaspoons dry mustard 2 teaspoons ground fenugreek seeds 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

eggplant etc. Whatever you fancy.

1 pinch of fresh ginger tomatoes

Method 1. Heat the oil in a saucepan or wok

below are all the other spices that

or two.

Method 1. Mix them all together and keep in

in Norwich are the Market in the

up occasionally. As soon as the onions

stall devoted to spices and herbs and

they are cooked.

thicker.

chillies. When the garlic turns light 7. Eat.

Healthy Desserts? Don’t Bother.

Melissa York Jamie Oliver hates snobs. Nigella Lawson hates supermarkets and sad chickens. Gordon Ramsay hates people (even his wife). Most of us would keep these idiosyncrasies to ourselves to make yourself skinny. And that is against

Avatar in 2D because you thought you looked forced to keep to themselves: low-fat desserts.

been seeing Avatar

about food hates low-fat desserts.

Daily Mail decided to ignore yoghurt with your pie you hate pie. You hold unfathomable prejudices about pie. You may as well openly declare pie away the cream is from

the

taste

and you will use the ingredients that best serve

concrete.food09@gmail.com

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

Take Me Away!

Duncan Vicat-Brown delivers a stern lecture on takeaways.

It was always going to happen. You’re

thighs (two boxes of four for £4 at Co-

Sticky BBQy Porky Goodness Concrete BBQ Gnome

up Domino’s Pizza than it is to cook up University student Hannah Cooper did amongst university students, as part degree, and came to the conclusion that a university lifestyle leads, in the vast majority of cases, to an increased in your surprise.

If you’re like 99% of university students then you won’t need to hear that fast food is bad for you

that Subways are healthy needs lobotomizing. But let’s have a sensible discussion for a moment. A decent meal for two, made up of chicken

for that sort of money.

As for the cooking, it really isn’t much of an obstacle. If a meal for one takes more than about half an hour to cook, then you aren’t doing it right. If the idea of taking an hour out of every day to cook gives you the screaming heebie jeebies, try cooking

Student life is characterized by a endemic lack of money and one of the best places to make cuts is your food budget. Pork is one of the cheapest meats, but

Ingredients 1 pork chop 1 small baking potato, cut into wedges

4 tsp honey 1/2 tsp mild chilli powder 1 tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp white wine vinegar

a Tupperware box and bunging it in the freezer. In this way you can cook a couple of days worth of food in the

1/2 tsp English mustard 2 tbsp ketchup

Don’t try the ‘But I don’t know how to cook’ argument either. You may not have been taught at home, when mummy and daddy were there to do it for you, but now that you’re an independent person there really is no excuse. How old are you now? 18?

1. First make the BBQ sauce by mixing the ketchup, garlic, mustard, honey, vinegar, and chilli powder in a bowl.

Season with a bit of salt and pepper,

3. Meanwhile, preheat the grill and place the pork chop on a baking tray.

Cook for 8-9 minutes, turning halfway

Marinade the pork in half the sauce

are one and the same, you can pan fry the pork on a medium to high heat for roughly ten minutes. Ensure that the pork is cooked all the way through and the meat is white in the middle 4. Serve the BBQ pork with the potato wedges, using the remaining barbecue sauce for dipping.

housemates will be more than happy to show you what’s what.

So there you have it - prove Hannah Cooper wrong, save some money and get healthy to boot. Consider yourself

Method

the remaining sauce for dipping later.

2. Parboil the potato wedges for 5-6 minutes, drain well, drizzle with the oil, season with salt and pepper, then through and crispy. Turn the potatoes

Concrete’s Cocktail of the Fortnight : Naughty Pina Colada Daniella Hadley

shouldn’t cost more than about £3.50 meals. And, worst of all, you’re now in charge of ALL your food shopping.

Are you going to buy healthy things?

Or are you going to buy crap? You’re going to buy crap, aren’t you. Of course you are.

Don’t be too hard on yourself – we

FOOD 19

So you like pina coladas. the rain. Screw the rain bit, nobody in their right mind enjoys that. But a pina colada?

It tastes like the milkshakes you had as a child, but if you drink four it’ll be the best night you ever had and your worst morning.

But the cocktail was fast becoming an average, older drink, not holding its own against the double vodka red bulls and sex on the beaches. That is,

us here. We now have a pina colada for you with a very naughty, student friendly twist.

Ingredients 2 measures of white rum 4 measures of pineapple juice 1 measure of coconut cream 1 measure of cream 1 measure of sambuca 1 measure of vodka

20 IN FOCUS

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

concrete.editorial@uea.ac.uk

Providing Hope For Latvia Get racing for EACH Fran Bradley

Olly Larkin Want to prove that you are the next Lewis Hamilton or Jenson

as well as over 25 minutes worth

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Visit our website to see many more properties.

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concrete.lifestyle@uea.ac.uk

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

LIFESTYLE 21

Confessions of Students: careerist or idealistic? a UEA Sam Lewis investigates the prospects for graduates in the new decade. student Guilty of mindless munching, Adam Fenwick admits to his late-night cravings.

“The Higher Education Statistics Agency found that three-quarters of female graduates had secured a job within the first six months of leaving university, compared to only two-thirds of their male counterparts.�

Wiki wild wild west Sam Gillespie reveals all there is to know about the wonders of Wikipedia.

22 SPORT

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

Canary Corner

concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk

Five minutes with: Holly Suthren Concrete speaks to the UEA Women’s Rugby president.

UEA?

like?

Ziggurat Korfball: NBS snatch victory and lead

BUCS Results - Wednesday 20th January Badminton UEA Women’s 1st - 6

Basketball UEA Men’s 1st - 37

UEA Men’s 1st - 44

concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

SPORT 23

FIGHT CANCELLATION HIGHLIGHTS BOXING’S WOES Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather Jnr. recently failed to come to terms for their proposed ‘superfight’. Rob Schatten examines the failure of boxing to bring together the world’s two greatest pugilists.

The two camps worked through the autumn to put a deal together; the venues expected to be in the Boxing fans should have witnessed

Manny Pacquiao against American legend Floyd Mayweather.

Instead, even the greatest wills in boxing can’t seem to make this clash will be facing up to Ghanaian Junior may meet Shane Mosley. who are very good boxers in their own right – both are current welterweight have the same feel to them.

Pacquiao is one of the outstanding

Mayweather, who announced his

Mayweather’s preferred venue in Las Vegas, the Staples Centre in Los Angeles or the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. But then, suddenly, the deal fell apart, as Mayweather challenged Pacquiao to random drug tests in the The Filipino and his camp were furious. Pacquiao launched legal proceedings against Mayweather,

drugs. Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, accused Mayweather – who is “scared”.

“Mayweather is scared,” he said, “and he’s just afraid that he’s going to get his ass kicked.”

Mayweather responded in the passed every test ever given to us. “totally disgusted” that he was being and countered, “Manny needs to stop

Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, talks

takes him three or four days to recover from it. I am not going to have my

between him and Pacquiao, who holds and not sure of himself.”

some that the sport as a whole is in decline.

BBC journalist Ben Dirs commented in his boxing blog that “this was boxing’s big chance to emerge from the slump. If the dunces can’t sort this mess out, many will think the sport is not worth forgiving.”

That, indeed, will be the worry for

boxing fans everywhere.

Meanwhile, the war of words

Mayweather, saying, “I want to clear my name. I’m very disappointed for what he accused me of.”

Progress, indeed.

CONFIDENT PIRATES SET TO SAIL INTO THE PLAYOFFS Pirates, who relentlessly pinned the scored a safety. Unfortunately, Tsunami worked their way inside the

UEA’s American football team, the UEA Pirates, are one of the oldest organised teams in the BUCS leagues,

In a cruel twist, with just three

coach, Rob Kerr has led the Pirates to three wins and three losses going into the Christmas break. came up against Brighton Tsunami,

So what’s next for the Pirates?

Currently, they occupy third spot in the Conference. However, having played the most games, they have

last season, were out for revenge. The

defend their unbeaten home record

weekends had taken its toll upon the Rob Posey and kicker Josh Cronin heading the list of absentees.

Thankfully, their busy schedule in the autumn leaves only two struggled to take advantage of their dominance on the line, and squandered chances in the red zone.

Brighton, fortunately, were only able to capitalise upon this once, when an error in coverage led to a touchdown,

and they subsequently scored their extra point.

not long before a spirited defence

rematch in Chelmsford against Essex

back Andy Custerson up to sneak the ball over the line.

full strength, and force their way into

concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk

BOXING

Rob Schatten discusses the failure of boxing to engineer the Pacquaio v Mayweather ‘superfight’.

TUESDAY 26th JANUARY 2010

ZIGGURAT

Georgina Wade reports on NBS’s victory in Ziggurat Korfball which saw them go top in the standings.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL Matt Beaumont runs through a mixed start to the season for the UEA Pirates.

CANARIES

Concrete watches Norwich avenge their 7-1 defeat to Colchester earlier this season.

LAST GASP FRISBEE PROGRESS TO NATIONAL FINALS Chris King

STUDENTS TO VOTE ON NEW SPORTS AND SOCIETIES OFFICER Danny Collins