Concrete issue 012 28 10 1992

cone re ISSVE TWELVE

UEA's INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

IT()() Ta7il PLACES TO . SHOP . AND PLACES TO BE SEEN IN

OCTOBER

28, 1992

PHOTOS FROM BOSNIA: UEA STUDENT THE MINERS' REPORTS FROM THE FRONT LINE- Page 9 DEMO IN LONDON

•

- ob • • er cen OlD r1

our ONLY EIGHTY first years have given their support to the Rent Strike, despite the publicity campaign by the Student Union.

After the UGM, door drops and a stand in UH, the Union has not received the amount of support that they had hoped for the Strike.

The Union defends the lack of numbers by saying that the letter sent to Freshers in the Welcome Pack made the soon·to-

By Heidi Bulcock and Gill Fenwick be-students pay up out of fear and confusion.

Chris Hollingworth, Union Finance Officer said, "One thousand people had paid their rents in advance" and so the number of supporting students was expected to be a minority.

But Michael Benson, UEA's Public Relations Officer, branded the rent strike as "an attempt to trivialise a serious issue".

He stressed that "the strike not only fails to address the real issue of student hardship but remains counter-productive in that any money the University loses out of as a result, will need to be recouped by future rents."

He reiterated that "the rise in rent is to cover current maintenance needs and not to contribute to Phase Two of the new residences, a fact most students realise."

This, he claims, is "proved by

Turn to Page 2, Col. I

Disabled access for sports centre challenged

by Gill Fenwick Tiffi SPORTS Centre has no access for the disabled to its upper floor.

The booking office, pigeonholes, notice board, common room and viewing positions for the sports hall are all situated on the first floor.

It is only accessible by the outer concrete stairs or the inner spiral staircase.

Keith Nicolls, Director of Physical Recreation noticed the deficiency first when he arrived at UEA two years ago.

However, it has recently been brought to the attention ofColin Browning, Union Welfare Officer and Keith Nicolls by two disabled first year students and their friends.

Shaun Gull, a disabled first year is very mobile in his electronic wheelchair, however the Sports Centre is inaccessible.

Although some may argue that sports are off-limits for the disabled, Shaunexplained "although I'm disabled, I like participating in sports as much as I can, table tennis and things like that.

It' s not just for me, its for prospective disabled students as well. They're entitled to have access to all facilities".

Colin Browning is supportive of the student's views and he put forward the motion for some sort of access to the upper level ofthe Sports Centre to the Tuesday Club on October 20th.

The motion was put to Keith Nicolls, who explained that he had applied for a minor works grant for the same thing last year

Shaun Gull and the University had turned it down.

However, Mr Nicolls was quick to assert that "it was one of a number that I put forward which

cont on page two

"Enough is Enough" : I

Societies Officer Resigns I

By Nigel Harding

I

THE UNION ofUEA Students is currently reeling after the second resignation from the Executive in three weeks.

Paul Harrison, Societies Officer, resigned last Friday and his action again calls into question the unity of the Executive.

The Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Rights Officer, Lucy Broadhurst, resigned earlier this month after disagreements with the Executive.

In a heated debate at last week's Student Forum, a split in the Executive was clearly apparent.

Paul brought a motion condemning the Executive's decision to censor a Survival Guide issued by the Horsham Halls Committee warning of "sharks" at Fifers Lane.

The motion called for the Forum to forbid the Executive from " taking action against any union-affiliated organisation without specific approval in advance from Students ' Forum or UGM" Paul also wanted the Executive to apologise to the

Union Executive - minus 4 officers

I-ll-1C chair.

He was supported by Lucy Broadhurst and the Union' s Sabbatical officers, Richard Hewison (Communications) and Nicola Sainsbury (Academic), and vehemently opposed by the other two Sabbaticals, Colin Browning (Welfare) and Chris Hollingworth (Finance).

In the subsequent vote the Forum was also split down the middle, 10-10. The chair of the debate then cast the deciding vote in favour of the motion.

Despite his victory, Paul felt that the Executive was still so "divided and unable to work as a team" that he could no longer be a part of it.

"Basically, I've felt undermined by various acts made by the Executive as a whole

and by individuals, it got to the point where I felt I could not do the job anymore".

He believes that his resignation will be lessening his own personal contribution to these divisions and will hopefully persuade the Executive to review the way they work together.

Community Liason Officer, Lizzi W atson, expressed her disagreement with Paul's implications, " Undouted.ly there was a split over the I-ll-IC leaflets, but the great thing about the executive is that we can disagree on one issue and then agree on other issues. There is always room for discussion".

Richard Hewison again expressed regret at losing another member of the Executive and wishes Paul well in his future plans.

2

Concrete, Wednesday , October 28 , 1992

4°/o join strike

Disabled Access

Cont. from Page 1

Cont. from Page 1

the fact that only eighty people, or four percent of fi rst years, have contributed their support to the rent strike; eighty hardlyconstitutesa majority."

Chris Hollingworth strongly believes that if the re nt strike conti nues into another term "many more will support the campaign, especially those who were misled into payi ng in advance. New students will be able to see that the Union is looking after both their interests and their money, so will place greater trust in us next term. " The Student Union have called an emergency meeting of the Student Affairs Committee to present a special discussion paper featuring the rent strike issue.

The paper will propose keeping Fifers Lane Residences open, postponing Nelson Court phase 2, freezing current rent levels for next year and take funding for Campus cateri ng out of the University accommodation account.

The University have not yet decided on their next move but Michacl Benson remains ada mant that "the University can and will not make any concessions and I cannot sec any reason to do so."

tennis and things like that.

It 's not just for me, its for pro pective disabled students as well .

They're entitled to have access to all facilities".

Colin Browning is supportive of the student ' s views and he put forward the motion for some sort of access to the upper level of the Sports Centre to the Tuesday Club on October 20th.

The motion was put to Keith Nicolls, who explained that he had applied for a minor works grant for the same thing last year and the Univers ity had turned it down .

However, Mr Nicoll s was qu ick to assert that " it was one of a number that I put forward which were rejected''.

The Dean of Students said at the Tuesday Club that the cost of ramps was " prohibi tive"llowever, Colin Browning's suggestion of the installation of a wheelchair lift on the internal staircase will cost much less than a ramp, an approximate figure of £ I! ,000 was put forward at the meeting.

Colin and Shaun are still waiting for an official response from the University.

Shaun said "they want to put themselves in my position, and other disab led people 's position. The University gets applications from all students and they should treat them fairly, "'hether they ' re disabled or not" .

Despite Keith Nicoll's comment 'Tm su re the University wants to sec it done, its a maner of budget and priority". they are dubious, especially si nce the request was turned down last year. **In 1989 Rag raised money for a ramp out~idc Waveney ABC. which totalled £385 , and the University made up the shortfall.

The Alternative Christmas Stocking!

Minotaur le~ loose in Bill Wilson room

By Paul Lynes THIS YEAR the silly season has surpassed itself in the shape of a two foot long comedy sheath, namely "Jolly Johnny".

The brainchild of Professor E. Lactik, the very cuddly, extremely pink, woollen condom is the novelty gift which promises to ease the retai l blues this Christmas.

Yet the sheer size of the product leaves a question mark over its practical use.

1l1e makers insist that versatility is the key. " He 's a hat , a very accomodating Cluistrnas stocking, even a balaclava.

We can see great potential for him at office parties where clever dicks are, of course, prevalent", explained the promoter.

"Jolly Johnny" retai ls at £5.99 and is intended to be affordable.

Marketed at the student age range the promoters believe that it will sell.

But what does UEA thi.tl.k?

Some students did not seem that impressed.

It drew quite serious comment from a Law student who stressed, " ... it's just a willy warmer wiU1 a face on it."

Other reasons included a criticism of its novelty factor, pointing to the number of \vlnd-up willies already on the gift shop shelves.

However, ' Johnny' can remain ' Jolly' as all was not lost. One female student highlighted its selling potential.

"1l1e face on it is so cute" she said, and continued to suggest that " you could fill it with, foam tic up the ends and use it as a cuddly toy". Quite ...

PHOTO: Mark Turner

By Matthew Broersma MINOTAUR and the Drama Society will be perfonning licensed drama productions in the Bill Wilson Room starting this

year.

The drama licence will mean entrance fees for audiences which the drama sociey hope will recoup the cost of the licence.

EAS Studio Director, Tony Frost explained that the Union are purchasing a drama license for the room from the Norwich City Council, a step necessary

before any organisation may stage paid productions there.

While the two can1pus drama organisations have made use of the room in the past, they were unable to charge for ticket sales, an important source of funding according to Mr. Frost. "[1l1e licence] will put the Bill Wilson Room on a legal basis at last, which a is good thing", Mr.Frost said. " It has to be done to allow the company to charge realistic ticket prices, which it obviously hasn't been".

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Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

Protest!

3

Me Murder, McMassacre?

By Matthew Broersma MCDONALDS in Norwich became the site ofa protest by 20 to 30 UEA students and representatives of local environmental organisations on October 16.

The protest was co-ordinated by London Greenpeace as part of the UN World Food Day; also called IntemationalAnti-McDonaldsDay. Mark Simons of the Norwich Environmental Network: stated the aim was to raise awareness about McDonalds and its relationship with deforestation, Third World starvation and animal cruelty.

The crowd of demonstrators included representatives from Norwich Animal Charter, Norwich Environmental Network, Friends of the Earth; as well as UEA's EnvironmentalAction Group and School of Development Studies Society.

Participants handed out flyers and leaflets to customers on the pavement outside the restaurant and displayed their messages on placards.

One woman demonstrator greeted passers-by dressed as a female version of Ronald McDonald.

Despite a few minor incidents early on in the day, McDonalds manager Tim Foley, observing the demonstration with other members ofmanagement,didnotseem overly concerned. "It's been like a normal lunchtime for us really," he said.

Norwich Environmental Network alleges that McDonalds' involvement with cattle ranching in rainforest countries "forces subsistence farmers to clear large areas of forest", as the corporation use the most productive land themselves.

The network further charges that

some animals used for McDonalds food production are treated inhumanely, and their involvement in US "economic imperialism forces the poor to die while people in 'western' countries grow fat". "If we make people aware of the envi-

ronmental costs, the human costs of what they're eating, they will then boycott them, and stop using McDonalds," explained Dev Soc president Tony Cunningham. "It's a long term thing, and all we are is a part of the educational process."

TV's for 'richer' students THE NEW residences currently being built on University Plain will provide more luxurious facilities - for those who can afford them.

This 'higher~lass' accomodation includes television lounges, and ensuite facilities. All of which will be available for next years' students for higher rents.

The new residences have cost ÂŁ 15 million to construct, and by offering

By Kate Bailey bookable rooms of superior quality, the University hopes to attract more people from the conference trade.

Richard Hewison, Communications Officer said, "It is disgraceful that the University is willing to spend millions of pounds on new residences with luxury en-suite fa-

cilities obviously aimed at the conferencetrade rather than less money into keeping Fifer's Lane open, and rents at a level students can afford ."

By building these more exclusive residences the University will undoubtedly increase class barriers.

At present all university residences are more or less of the same standard, so a relatively classless situation prevails.

However, if different standards of accomodation are available for different rents, this will inevitably lead to the destruction ofthis equality.

Mike Benson, the public relations officer for the University, stressed that "it is not going to be that d ifferent", but Richard Hewison failed to agree, believing "it will evidently lead to resentment and not greater harmony."

Bins for Turnaround?

FIVE STAR TAXIS NOR\VICH

or 619289 or 619280 Tiffi UNNERSITY and the Student Union are in disagreement over building plans for the bus turnaround.

In an attempt to i.-nprove the appearance of the University there is a proposal to renovate the area by the side of Union House.

This would include fmding a new refuse site; one suggestion being inside Union House.

Union Square, the official name for the bus turnaround, is the

next area to be revamped, following the controversial building ofa sunken garden and refurbishing of the Registry.

The problem arises over where the new rubbish bins would be kept: the skip currently being situated in the Union Square car park.

While the University Press Officer, Mike Beru:':'n, says there are no definite plans for where the site would be relocated, Union House is a possibility.

When asked for an opinion on

this option, Union Welfare Officer, Colin Browning, felt that in doing so the University would "undennine the Union' s management of Union House".

He also pointed out the lack of space in Union House for rubbish bins.

Mr. Benson replied that many possibilities are still being considered, adding that the University "wouldn't dump a bin store in the middle of Union House".

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4

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

Money owed to Union

by Louise Maskrey and Abbie Walsh THE STUDENT Union is considering halting loans to clubs and societies. This is due to certain clubs failing to repay their loans.

Disagreement exists between the Union and t11e clubs involved, regarding the details of repayment. The Rugby Club is one of the societies accused of failing to repay ilieir loan. Concrete spoke to lan RabenChristensen, President of the Rugby Club . They originally borrowed ÂŁ1 ,000, ÂŁ600 of which has already been repaid. According to lan, ilie outstanding an10unt is due

to be paid by the end of the term.

When asked for his opinion concerning clubs which have not met repayment deadlines, lan commented that iliey arc " abusing the system". He also said they were "irresponsible and selfcentred" since ilie societies which do make payments lose out when the union cuts back. The Union Finance Officer, Chris Hollingworth, echoed iliis view, but was cynical as to whether the Rugb y Club itself would complete payu:cm::..

Chris mentioned iliat the

PHOTO: Afark Turner

Union is currently reviewing its position on loans. At a conm1ittee meeting on Tuesday 20th October, he proposed a policy to terminate uni"n loa.1s t0 societies, due to ilie difficulty surrounding repayments .

Chrissuggested iliat the current system is failing since there is ''no way of enforcing it".

As a substitute, he advocates clnbs and societies ra:!:ing money for themselves ilirough various events.

Plays wanted for Drama Festival

By Dan Burke TH E NATIONAL Student Drama Festival is to be held once again thi s Easter in Scarborough.

The Fes tival , which set Rik Mayall, Sian Phill ips, Be n Elton and Brian Blessed on the road to stardom, is in its 38th year.

Student drama groups have the chance to enter their 0\\11 producti ons .

The best fourteen will be selected for performance at the SDF, with possible transfer to the London fringe and the Edinburgh Festival.

The NSDF also provides daily workshops, talks and di scussions led by leading professionals.

Budding playwrights can enter the International Student Playscript Competi ti on.

The winning entry will be judged by the patron at the NSDF, Alan Ayckboum and will be read at the festival.

Potential drama critics are invited to work on the festival ' s daily newpaper, "Noises Off ', which has been known to launch professional careers. Those interested may obtain further details by ringing the NSDF director Clive Wolk on 081 883 4586.

Fame comes at last for UEA! Exclusive By Paul Grainge

Push or Jump?

By Craig Eason 1\ NEW university guide isavailable offering the would-be-student a different guide to higher education .

It details a variety of information from the price of a pint at Newcastle to how politically minded the students are ti10ught to be.

It uses a price gauge called tile University Booze Index; where a L I pint is gauged as I 00, this is a useful indicator of the cost of other expenses at university, the cost of groceries to the price of a night out. ll1e Polyteclmic and University Student Handbook ' s (PUSH) editor, Johnny Rich said to the Gua rdian newspaper " It's all very well to decide on a university on its academic courses, but what really matters on a day to day basis is where to go in the evening , whether you have a roof over your head and where you go to eat. " Other key factors listed are; accommodation, flunk rates,listings of political convictions, and sporting prowess.

Incidentally the most right wing is Bournemouti1, the most left wing is the Luton College of Higher Education. The U.B.I. ranges from 133 a t G reem\~ch University to 91 at Lancaster, and ti1e highest flunk rate is at The London School of Economics .

Norwich just seems to be average.

Launch of Initiative in 'The Hive' MP JOHN GAREIT came to UEA on Friday October 16th to launch d1e Student Community Initiative Programme .

The programme aims to increase links between UEA students and the o rwich community through voluntary work .

The Student Union, the Norwich District Voluntary Services and Rag are all involved in rai sing money for local chari ti es and hospitals.

John Garetl said, " I am very pleased to see the Student Union taking an active part in the community. It's very easy for a university packed on the edge of a city like thi s not to get involved in the local community."A Student Community Action Relief (SCAR) worker will be funded jointly by the Union

PHOTO: EDPI John Folkes

By Gill Fen wick and Rag to co-ordinate the relationship between the University and the community.

Richard Hewison, the Communications Officer, has initiated the campaign and explains what he hopes to achieve: " We want the people of Norfolk and Suffolk to start to view UEA as their universit y ."

The Dean of Students told the group present at the launching, " The University welcomes the initiative and I welcome it."

Initiatives could include gardening, shopping and driving for the elderly, rai sing money for charities and putting on entertainment.

Representatives from the Norwich District Voluntary Services said that the new programme is "a very positive step forward ; we are also excited about the prospect of working with students.

Not only is it going to benefit the clients who receive the help but it will also benefit the students themselves, by giving then1 valuable job experience and hopefully opening their horizons within d1e community", sai d Kat Helier, Coordinator of orwich South. John Garetl hopes to continue to be involved in the Community Initiative; he promised: " If I can help in any way, oil the wheels, that' s what I'll do . I want to keep up with progress. I hope they ' ll report to me what they' re doing .''

IJEAhas achievedamajorpublicity scoop in this month ' s Empire magazine.

In a double spread advertisement, Le vi ' s has chosen UEA to help promote its message- " 50 I jeans- worn all over. " The advertisement consists of sixty-four postcards from around the world and sitting proudly between Waikiki beach, Las Vegas and a picture of a kangaroo, can be found a postcard of tile University, showing four pictures of UEA in all its concrete glory.

The advert contains only four postcards from the UK, together with UEA are two of London and one of Dorset.

All the oiliers are from the most celebrated and exotic locations of the world, including California, Rome and Jamaica.

Perhaps UEA's inclusion was an accident, since it is certainly a major pictorial anachronism.

A more compassionate and be-

lievable explanation, however, might be that, at last, UEA has been recognised as ti1e centre of British 'trendiness' (together with Dorset of course!).

In fact, neiilier explanation is wholly true.

According to Levi 's advertising department, the idea for the campaign was devised several weeks ago and members of the department were asked to fmd interesting postcards to use for the ad.

Spokeswoman Jo Speed said ti1at Levi does not usually use ti1e press as a means of advertising, but intend to use this particular campaign in "trend-setting" magazines until next September.

Apparently, the postcard ofUEA was chosen because it had visual impact.

Whether this is true or not, the Le vi's ad cannot do any harm to the University's reputation and the question that needs to be asked now must surely be - does UEA need a prospectus anymore?

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

J 0 bs to be _n_a:_~o_x----'路 advertised

NUS Introduce New Help-Card TinS WEEK saw the release of a joint production between the NUS and Youthaid - the Youth Trainee Rights Card.

The wallet-sized card is designed to set down in plain English the rights and entitlements youth trainees can expect in the workplace.

The move is made after recent figures from Youthaid suggested that only 35% of trainees leave YT with qualifications and by June 1991 unemployment amongst YT trainees reached 23%.

The two organisations hope the card will help young people to articulate their need for high quality training, as well as to

I

L..--1

understand exactly their entitlements.

The information on the card covers such issues as minimum wage, Trade Unions, health, safety and disciplinary procedure, and details what action trainees can take if they feel they are being mistreated. Lorna Fitzsimons, National President of NUS said, " This Government's record on youth training and employment is inexcusable.

"Not only has this government been unable to honour its guarantee of a YT place for anyone who wants one, but often those who do get a place get insufficient training."

Further information can be obtained from theCitizen' sAdvice Bureau, or local libraries.

inUH JOB HUNTING for students during vacation and term time is to be made easier this term.

Plans are currently being made by the Welfare Officer, Colin Browning, to set up an Employment board in UH. This has been initiated as a result of student hardship; insufficient funding has forced students to find other means of financial support.

It is expected that the Em-

By

Amanda Cresswell and Simon Lau

The International Club, has been relaunched after lying dormant for nearly twenty years.

It is aimed at the many international students in the area and hopes to bring together a variety of ethnic groups.

It hopes to help those new to the country and confused by British ways, encouraging them to mix with other foreign students and many international residents in the area.

The International Club provides a very useful booklet, "The International Students Guide To Norwich 11

UH. At first, Colin will be hoping to interest prospective employers from public houses and fast food catering outlets.

There will be postcard sized advertisements pinned up on the board.

It is hoped that this would interest the university catering services when vacancies occur.

The original International Club

was launched in 1948 and ran until the mid 70's. It wasaplacewhere inunigrants and refugees could meet, relax and enjoy a social evening without fear ofracial comment, and the new International Club hopes to capture the same

atmosphere ofbonhommie.

Funded by the British Council and contributions from other local sources duringitsrelaunch, the NIC hopes eventually to become self-sufficient.

The opening party, on Sunday October 11 , was attended by the Mayor of the city. 路T he formal speeches by the Mayor and members of the International Club Committee were kept to a minimum.

There was a great diversity of International cultures with their individual dances and songs:

There was a great diversity of international cultures with their individual dances and songs Phillipinos, Fijians, Omanis, Swedes, Finns, Indians, Indonesians,Canadians, Germans, Napaliseandmanyothers.

The club will meet every Sunday evening from now on at the Waterfront from 7 .30 until 10.30pm.

The International Club provides a very useful booklet, "The International Students Guide To

New Law Course?

ployment board will be set up opposite the finance office in

International Club

By Craig Eason

5

THE UNIVERSITY Board will be deciding in Week 8 whether or not to introduce the Law Society's new vocational examination - the Legal Practice Course - at the start of October 1994.

The examination, compulsory for all prospective solicitors, has been opened up to universities and polytechnics for the first time; previously only a selected few institutions were given permission to run the exam, which was called the Final Examination.

Concrete spoke to Dr. David Pearl, the Dean of the Faculty of Law at UEA, to ask him what the changes would mean for the University and the area as a whole. "In East Anglia there is a feeling that there should be a Legal Pracice Course", said Dr. Pearl, because many fmd it difficult to travel to such places as London or Nottingham, especially as once students get settled, it is cheaper to stay in one place.

The introduction of the course would bring a further one hundred and fifty students to the University and would also require the employing of more permanent staff, plus further expenditure due to the necessity of another building to house the new 'Fourth Year' in for their studies.

But it would not just mean renting another building in Norwich similiar to Earlham Hall - which is not too much of a problem because of the present property market situation - further money will be needed from the University to pay for the extra books for the resource library and as Or Pearl stated, video rooms would also need to be installed.

Or Pearl also said that it was obvious that a university like our own cannot afford such a large scheme and therefore, "support

By Mike Brad brook from outside" will be required, possibly suggesting sponsorship. As to the question of fees, at present the Local Education Authorities do not pay for post-graduate courses, and this course is no exception.

Or Pearl said the the cost for the student would be around five thousand pounds unless students are able to receive a grant from a city law firm .

When we asked whether the students will be allocated accomodation on campus, the Dean of Law said that he did not see the need, as even with the increase in student numbers recently, it had, "not resulted in a housing crisis in Norwich, which suggests a surplus of accomodation".

Although they might not get accomodation, there is some good news for UEA law students: that subject to qualification, all of them will be guaranteed a place for the Legal Practice Cource. Or Pearl ended by saying that as the University would be allowed to set and mark its own exam, UEA could devise a course to suit what the law fmns wanted and be a "niche provider" for fmns in southern England, in particular the areas of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and north Essex. cation of this new 'Earlham Hall' is not a problem thanks to the current housing situation, with rents relatively low, but money would be needed for the extra resources and the The Law School wiil be making a decicion "in priciple" during Week 4 but it will be the subject to the University's approval whether or not the expansion is allowed.

PHOTO: Craig Eason Norwich", informingforeignpeopleofthe legal side oflivinghere, where to shop, bank, find a doctor etc.

If you want to go to the NIC, contact Jane Donaldson at the Dean of Students' Office, Monday to Friday lunchtimes (or at

home, tel 259099) or the treasurer, Eshetu Wondi Magegne (Post grad, Bio ).

It will cost you拢 I membership and 25p every time you go.

However, they promise music, shows and a very friendly atmosphere.

New Chaplain at University

By Hwee Hwee Tan

FREE ADS IN 'CONCRETE'

FROM the next issue (Week 6) onwards, Concrete will be running free classified advertisements.

The ads will be free to place for students, University staff, and anyone else at the Editor's discretion.

You can place an ad by sending itto 'Concrete Classifieds, UEA, Norwich', or by internal mail, or

telephone the office on Norwich 250558(intemal2512).

Failing that you can put your ad in one of the special post boxes that will appear around capmpus Classificationswillincludc(oot in the next few days. will not be limited to) For Sale, Ads can be anonymous if you Wanted, Personal, and Notices. wish - so get writing.

UEA HAS a new chaplin, Dennis Lloyd, who began his commission this term. Mr Lloyd, used to head a group of engineers designing classified military technology ( eg radars for detecting missiles) for the Royal Navy and NATO. His ftrst job in the Christian ministry was working as a curate in a deprived Council Estate in Poole, working with poor and

uneducated people. A unique feature ofLloyd' s job is his independence, since he is not employed by the Chaplaincy or the University.

He hopes to use his independence inaconciliatoryrole, forexample, mediating disputes between the Union ofUEA Students and the University, since he does not have any vested interest in supporting eithei group.

6

Concrete, Wednesday, October 2~1992

Students fail to support Clinton A US Election Special by Vicky Berry and Phil Scott AN EXCLUSIVE Concrete opinion poll has found American students at UEA failing to support 13J!l Chnton, Democratic candidate, in the same numbers as students in the

us The poll showed that 52% of UEA ' s Americans said they would vote for Clinton, as opposed to 66% m comparable survcvs in the United States.

Republican George 13ush gained 20% and Independent Ross Perot 5%.

Bush only had 8% of the total sun·eyed, \\ho felt he would wm .

Whereas 92% believed Clinton would be victorious (nobody thought Perot would winll) .

Most felt the economy and ' fami lv values ' were the battleground for the election, with George Bush favour ing the latter and Bi ll Clinton attempting to liven up the campaign by using his Hollywood con-

nections.

However the British medw came in for heavy criticism for its reporting of the election.

Many American students said that they had followed the campaign very closely whilst m the States but 20% felt that at best the VK' s media coverage was " OK".

However, 64% thought the reportingwas"bad", and 16% confessed that they had failed to pick up a newspaper or watch the news since they came to Norwich.

As the campaign enters its fi nal stages, personal allegations and innuendoes are flying thick and fast.

Bush has been attacking Clin ton 's patriotism, using his visit to Moscow whilst a student at Oxford, as his grounds.

In retaliation, Clinton 's counter-attack has involved label ling Bush a 'McCarthyite ' , an especially vicious blow, since it was Bush 's father who ended

p

e

McCarthy ' s reign of terror.

However such ' dirty tricks ' have not dissuaded American students from voting.

Despite the inconvenience registering and absentee balloting, 92% of those questioned, said they would defini tely vote.

Of the 8% who will not be

p

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I an e

ad m i ssion £ 1 5 0 w i t h the fr eedom i n d d a n c e n 0 d r e s s £ 1

c.lt~r

taking part, the main reasons were that they were either underage or had been frustrated by bureaucratic difficulties.

This is in stark contrast to their more apathetic counterparts in Britain of whom approximately 40% managed to vote during the General Election.

Twiddle your knob to 945 AM. crank up the volume and you 're listening to Livewire 945!

Live wire is UEA •s student radio station, broadcasting news, views and music 24 hours a day across campus.

Opened by John Peel just two years ago, Livewire has already won six major national awards from Radio I confuming it as Britain's best campus radio station.

From Livewire you' ll hear the hits as they happen as we preview the latest releases and broadcast the weekly HMV chart (4.30pm Saturdays, repeated 7prn Mondays).

For news from around the world, Britain or even Norwich (!) check out the Pulse (Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm). Including interviews with the people in the news and the most complete what's on diary around, it's a must.

You 'll also hear interviews with all the top acts that come to Norwich; recent guests have been Suede, Ruby Wa.x, Magnum and Punt & Dennis.

Let Livewire wake you up in the morning and ease you into the day every Monday-Friday from Sam. Not forgetting CupidSoc on Wednesdays- the dating sevice for all you sad, lonely people out there - over the breakfast table?!?

Join the lunchtime crew between 12 and 2pm for all the latest music news. quizzes and previews of new releases on "Round Table" and don't forget you can hear Livewire in the Hive and the foyer of Union House all through the day.

Every afternoon on Livcwire it's GOLD!!! as our golden oldie team take you back in time and play you the best mix of classic hits from the 60s through to the 90s.

When you're borne after a hard day's studying let Livewire's teatime lot ease you into the evening and keep you informed of all the events happening in and around Norwich.

Since we leave tbe choice of music to our members. we can guarantee that there's something for you. From Jazz to Dance, Gospel to lndie, Tecbno to Lurve the evenings are YOURS! If you're having trouble remving us, then try turning your radio through 90 degrees (it does work. honest!) and if you 're still having problems then come up and sec us in tbe Livewire office, upstairs in Union House.

Don't forget our request box by tbe Steward's office too- drop your dedications in and we'll do our best!

Whatever your tastes, we're here to play what you want to hear so lock your dial to Livcwire 945!

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

7

Features

Whose nightline is it anyway?

Paul Grainge finds out about UEA's support and information service At this year's SOC MART, the Nightline stand could be found squashed somewhere between the Ballroom Dancing Society and the Chess Club. Is it perhaps here then, that the enigma ofUEA's support and information service really begins? N ightline hardly suffers from lack of publicity - posters can be found in all Halls of Residence and there is hardly a toilet door on campus that isn ' t home to a little Nightline sticker, sitting proudly amongst the grafitti and art work that also lives there. Nightline is a word of which you cannot help but be aware. It is the meaning of the word that seems to elude the greater part of the student body.

UEA Nightline is part of a national organisation and is but one of fifty similar nightlines in higher education establishments across the British Isles. Originally set up by a mature student at Essex University in 1970, Nightline has become the answer to the Samaritans in many academic institutions. It is, in fact, no part of the Samaritan organisation at all and the popular myth that it is a service for people with desperate problems alone is perhaps at the

root of themisunderstanding.

Leaflets describe the organisation as both a support and information service and the essence ofNightline is in the practical application of each of these words. In the haze of the popular myth however, the word "information" seems to be neglected, despite advertisements promoting the message; "From pizza numbers to suicide." Indeed, although Nightline might not be the first place you think of telephoning for pizza enquiries, it may certainly be the last place you can, if the need to know how many toppings you can have at "Domino's" grips you in the early hours.

At present, Nightline is organised by eighty student volunteers who man a telephone and walk-in service (Norfolk Terrace C0312, tel.

503 304) from 8 pm to 8 am. Although the majority ofNightliners are women, an increasing number of men have volunteered at this year's SOC MART and it is the policy ofNightline's support service that both a man and a woman should be available to meetthe needs of any caller. Indeed, although the information aspect ofNightline is a necessary feature, the support serv-

ice is recognised as the keystone of the organisation.

As continually stressed, Nightline is not a professional counselling or analyst service, but Nightliners do have to undergo training, which consists ofa series of role plays and empathy workshops. ''Nightlining is about empathising," says Saturday Nightleader Pam WiUiams, who is quick to emphasise the "listen rather than advise" policy of Nightline as well as the confidentiality which such a scheme demands.

Such confidentiality is taken very seriously by all Nightliners, to the extent that each member must sign in before commencing a shift so as to exempt them from being dutybound to inform the police should a caller wish to talk about a crime. Indeed, confidentiality joins non-judgmental as the two focal words that describe Nightline. Unfortunately, "misunderstood" is a further word that has impressed itselfon descriptions ofNightline's service in recent times, but this is something hoped to be rectified.

Publicity-wise, there is a difficult balance to find when trying to promote a service which caters for the

PHOTO: Craig Eason smallest to the largest of problems.

Emphasis will obviously be with the latter, but this has always led people to believe that Nightline is a service for people with needs of a desperate nature . However, Nightline members stress the fact that they are there for everyone, whethe "t be the eed for pizza

numbers, the need for conversation or simply the need for coffee and biscuits (with which the Nightline officeisalwayssupplied). Squashed between the Ballroom Dancing Society and the Chess Club it may be, but Nightline occupies perhaps the largest stand at the SOC MART in terms of membership Although

eighty volunteers organise it, the Si:rvice can be used by every single student ofthe University, regardless of race, religion, political persuasion or ability to checkmate or tango.

Membership is inclusive to being a student at UEA, and from 8 pm to 8 am, som~<one will always be there to

.

t

"Save the envifonment"

Come Dancing

Saving a rainforest from the centre ofNorwich cannot be an easy task.

Yet the Rainforest Action Group (now re-named the Environmental Action Group) is seeking to widen the environmental debate by involving its members in direct action.

Before images of green extremism spring to mind, Tirn Plunkett, a grounding member, insists that the EAG is concerned only with peaceful demonstrations, like the protest at the B&Q hypermarket last summer.

By Sue McManus Protestors climbed onto the roof and let down a banner protesting against the company' s purchase of tropical timber.

It was a qualified success as the group are to meet B&Q's Environmental Co-ordinator.

AnotherdemoatTilberryDocks involving other national environmental groups was successful in delaying a ship docking with a tropical timber cargo. Operating along the lines of an environ-

mental Amnesty group, the EAG collates information and then organises volWiteers to protest.

With a growing membership of over 80, the EAG is focusing student and general public attention on issues ranging from the use of plastic cups in SU outlets to the policies of multi-national companies.

The Union Bar, 7.30pm on Tuesdays may not be Brazil but it's a start.

Every-Game-But-Chess If you have ever been

PHOTO: Keith Whitmore

Angela Rippon, blue eyeshadow, fake tans, waxed hair and the Ronnie Hazelhurst All-Stars Band are just a few mental associations I make with ballroom dancing.

My proficiency at this art extends to lightly fox-trotting towards the bar, then dropping a sublime shimmy and gracefully (oozing artistic impression) asking for a pint.

The nearest I get to a perfect exhibition is McEwan's.

So it was with some apprehension or perhaps embar-

rassment that I went along to the Ballroom and Latin American Dancing Society (or BALADS to save trees).

I searched desperately for the sight ofhorrendously high heels.

My ears strained to hear the swish of chiffon lightly dusting the floor.

But everything was very normal and, well, reallyverywelcoming.

People with the aptitude of a hahbutattempting embroidery had apparently entered Balads and were now accomplished

dancers.

Above all, Balads, with over 100 members, presents a relaxed atmosphere based around an unusual pastime.

Amanda Slowey (Treasurer) says that by definition, "Ballroom dancing is a social event." With weekly sessions in The Hive (at noon on Sundays) and an extravaganza - the Snow Ball - in Norwich Castle in week 8, Balads promises entertainment and diversity. Angela, putthatblueeyeshadowaway.

By Sue McManus

fortunate enough to venture into Union House on a Sunday lunchtime, you may have seen an inordinate number of grown men and women hanging around dressed in cloaks and carrying swords that make lightsabers look tame.

Don't worry- you may feel that you have been transported onto another planet (probablyalsoduetoahangover from last night's festivities) but what you have actually done is run into UEA' s

By Darren Fisher Games Society, out on one of their bi-monthly live roleplaying expeditions.

The Society, one ofthe more popular in the University, could also be more accurately known as the "Every-GameBut-Chess Society".

When most people think of a games society, they envisage nothing more than a bunch ofovergrown men sitting around a table all night playing Dungeons and Dragons, but I was assured that this was not the case.

They meet almost every

night and have an exhaustive collection of games that can be used by any member at any

time.

Whilst not many women are members, the society have seen a marked increase over the past few years - apparently the live action is a big attraction - and they are anxious to increase their number.

When asked why they ran around the broad hitting each other with rubber swords and staffs, an avid member simply replied - "It's just loads of fun."

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Concrete , Wednesday , October 28 , 1992

Are Men Better Cooks?

Matthew Broersma investigates the culinary skills of male One inventive and female students at UEA After a long and trying day of classes, do you find yourself whipping up a roast peppered rib eye steak with potatoes au gratin and a side salad? If so, not only are you probably someone of great interest to your less gifted hallmates, but you are more likely to be

"I live with two women, and neither of them cook... They eat pathetic amounts of food ... they are like 'Oh, I can't, it's too bad for me."' male than female, say UEA students. Despite the age-old stereotypes, many students believe men are superior to women when it comes to matters of the palate. '' Men are definitely much better", Steven lsaac, a second year who often cooks for his female house mates, asserted. ''Girls don ·t bother with cooking much - they ' ll fix salads. or potatoes, or they ' ll pinch ofT us . Guys tend to want to cat more, so they' ll

spend more time on a meal. " Lisa Musial agreed : " It ' s true , more women can ' t cook .... my friend Joy tried to boil an egg, but she couldn't quite get it. " What could possibly lie behind this apparent reversal of the usual gender roles? According to rugby player Matt, issues of fitness could have something todowithit. " IIivewithtwo women, and neither of them cook.... they eat pathetic amounts of food. and they won't cat properly ... they're like. ''Oh, l can\ it ' s too bad for me." " Of course. not everyone sees things this way at all. Plenty of women have robust appetites, and. of course. many arc rather accomplished in kitchen artistry. Julictte Annal, who last year prepared a Sunday dinner for 40 , insists ··women are the better cooks.

They tend to be more adventurous ." Then again, it cannot be overlooked that both sexes have their share of culinarily challenges.

Whether inexperienced , pressed for time, or simply lazy, these unfortunate individuals probably constitute a majority of the student body, including the full spectrum from first years to postgraduates. " The most elaborate meal I ever prepared was

undergraduate reportedly filled a tub with porridge, froze it, and then broke off a hunk every day for his lunch

spaghetti outofa tin on toast," recalled fresher Daniel Spenser, with evident pleasure. " That was the first time I'd made toast, though, so it was a bit difficult. " Eschewing pots and pans altogether, Alexandrine Cerfontaine, a graduate law student, enjoys a microwaved bowl of tomatoes, salt, and cheese, four or five days out of the week.

One inventive undergraduate reportedly filled a tub with porridge, froze it, and then broke ofT a hunk cvel)' day for his lunch. While achieving his goal of reserving all his money to spend on beer, he left the university with a case of rickets.

And while his qualifications as ''culinarily in1paired" may be debatable, the undergraduate who, having trapped and skinned a wild cat, chopped off its leg and chucked it in the oven for dinner almost certainly merits at least cursory psychological examination.

Don ' t try this one at home, kids! So who are better with skillet and spatula, men or women?

Ultimately the evidence stacks up high on either side.

But until the student body at large is taught basic kitchen craft, neither guys nor gals will have much to brag about.

"The most elaborate meal I ever prepared was spaghetti out of a tin on toast"

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Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Features~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ourne Ed Hassall writes about his summer job working for the army in Bosnia J

I arrived in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, at lunchtime.

The journey so far had been gruelling.

Excalibur Airways had taken me to Prague, a night train from Prague had taken me to Budapest, and an early morning train from the Hungarian capital had then brought me into Croatia.

The little I saw of Zagreb was nothing special.

The only thing really noticeable ofthe place was the sense of normality.

If it hadn't been for the soldiers who walked the streets and sat in the cafes and strolled up and down the station platform, one could easily be forgiven for thinking that there wasn't a war going on at all.

But I had not come from England to see Zagreb.

I had come to see the war.

Zagreb was a stepping stone, it had a bus station, and that was why I was there.

The coach for Split, far down the coast of Croatia, left at eleven o'clock in the evening.

Every seat was taken.

I was crammed in at the back, between a young blonde woman and some Croatian youths, who alternately slept and smoked hash.

It was a clean coach, with plenty of no smoking signs, so they smoked self-consciously.

Thejourneytooklongerthan

"I was crammed in at the back of the coach, between a young blonde woman and some Croatian youths, who alternately slept and smoked hash" should have been necessary, due to a vital bridge on the main highway being blown.

The ensuing detour involved

Anti-aircraft guns could seen if you looked bar~ enough. Houses had been shelled. Bullet holes surrounded windows.

When I got off the bus at Dubrovnik, shells were bursting in the hills above.

They were not near enough to do damage, so I walked to Stari Grad, the famous Old Town.

taking a small ferry and driving several extra miles.

But the detour certainly was not in order to keep out of range of Serbian tank and artillery fire; for much of the journey, we were not more than five miles from forward T 64 patrols.

At eight in the morning, the coacharrivedinSplit. Thanks to the Black Market, I managed to get a room very near to the waterfront. I paid for a couple of nights.

Split is rather like an oasis in a sea of war.

But, unlike Zagreb, you get more a sense that a war is going on.

There are more soldiers, more of them armed, and Split's famous market sells military regalia in almost every stall.

If you have the money you can but anything from knifes to uniforms, holsters to water-bottles.

But as I was later to find out, in a war, this stuff is easy to come by -and you don't have to pay for it.

At Split I met an English Aid-worker. It was evening and he was eating ham and eggs at a cafe.

He was suspicious at first (''l'msorry,butyoujustdon't know who to trust"), but I was quick to reassure him I was just a harmless stranger.

We talked for much of the night. He'd just come back from the hills with a convoy,

and he'd had a rough time.

It was getting cold in the hills, he said. The Serbs were

"I found the old town to be a far cry from what had been described by the western press.

Dubrovnik is not in ruins" bad enough, but the Croatian and Bosnian checkpoints were not much better.

Later, before I got used to disturbingly suspicious behaviour of soldiers at checkpoints, I was inclined to agree with him.

When I left the aid-worker, I realised that I had never asked his name.

From Split, I got a bus down to Dubrovnik. It was on this journey that I was to learn of the rigours of checkpoints.

Eventually, as you get used to it, you begin to sweat less as the soldiers, armed with AK 47 Assualt Rifles, come down the aisle of the bus towards you.

On the bus to Dubrovnik, the war became more apparent. We stopped in order to let a tank come past.

"After a while you learn to ignore the rumbles and machine gun fire coming from above you" The road to Stari Grad was surrounded by war damage; bullet and shrapnel holes in many buildings; the odd shell hole; cars riddled with shrapnel and bullets.

I found the Old Town to be a far cry from what had been described by the Western Press.

It really did not look too badly damaged, and I couldn't help remembering an article I had read entitled "Dubrovnik in ruins".

Dubrovnik is not in ruins.

True, on St. Nicholas' day

in 1991, it was attacked with 2000 wire-guided missiles and shells.

But the shells were anti-personnel (leaving fifty dead in Stari Grad), and air-burst shells, which explode before they hit the buildings.

The architecture is pockmarked with shrapnel holes, but you won't find some kind of Dresden in Dubrovnik.

I spent several days in Dubrovnik. An old drunk called Tony, who spoke good English, found me a room and offered his services as a guide.

It was good to stroll around the empty streets- the population at that time of year was normally about 25,000; now it was 4,000 -and sit in cafes and drink.

After a while, you learn to ignore the rumbles and machine gun fire coming from above you.

I met some good people there. One night I returned to my room reeling drunk, having spent the evening with some new friends from the 2nd, Thunder Brigade. Later they were to show me what war was all about.

However, what I saw and did with the Croatian Army are personal and some painful memories which I do not believe suitable for a university newspaper.

After this interlude, in which my eyes were opened even further to the war, and I had met up with an English mercenary, I was back in Split.

The mercenary and myself managed to get ourselves a lift home in a British Humanitarian convoy.

For the next three days, we saw Europe from the back of a lorry.

We got little sleep, and our faces were black from exhaust fumes, but it was good to be away from the war.

Some people ask me why I went to what was once Yugoslavia. There is a simple answer.

Emest Herningway said the best experience for a young aspiring writer - which I am arrogant enough to call myself- is war. So I went.

10

Concrete, Wednesday , October 28, 1992

Top Togs - Place

and

0

aces to be seen in

Abi Patton discovers the best and cheapest places to shop for clothes in Norwich and Pamela Sarna talks to students about their views on the shops to be seen in ON ARRlVING in the vast style mecca known as Norwich you could be forgiven for thinking that you'd reached the ends of the earth regarding fashion ; the point of no retwn.

At first glance Norwich offers such sartorial delights of style as Top Shop, Next , Debenhams, Marks & Spencers, Millets and River Island.

Not exactly a dream emporium.

Not exactly causing Vivienne West wood any sleepless nights either.

Norwich may be a pretty place full of pubs and churches but for a non - alcoholic aetheist the emperors new clothes may not be all that far fetched an enticement.

Students used to a rather more cosmopolitan surroundings and more varied shopping patterns could be a little disappointed by the apparent lack of decent shops. London (where else?) has collectives such as Hyper Hyper, Camden , and Kensington market en masse, whilst Liverpool has The Palace and Manchester Aflecks . ln fact most home towns have some individual and original shops.

So what does Norwich really have to offer for the discerning student who wants style and affordability? ·s ure , there ' s plenty of places that sell anoraks (fine for a chem. student) but which shops do you hit, grant cheque in hand, for that essential garment des igned to conceal all the lumpy bits and not eat a huge hole in your, ha ha, bank account.

Obviously the cheapest (and sometimes most rewardi ng) place to buy is at a charity shop. Clothes snobs stop reading here. If you don' t have a problem wearing second hand clothes and like to help out a charity these places are an Aladdins cave of style.

Nonvich has quite a few decent bargain places - Oxfam, Cancer Research, Age ConcemandSueRyder. lfyoudon't mind hunting through an awful lot of polyester (not to mentiOn anoraks) then it' s well worth a look. Leather and suede jackets for under a tenner, handy woolly jumpers, tight fitting seventies !-shirts (o.k, personal preference) and just about anything else if you ' re willing to scrabble.

Roz Myhill, manageress of Norwich's Oxfam, said that "just recently we've sold a lot of sixties and seventies clothes, like suede and leather, mostly to students .

"We do get a young age group of buyers because recycling is now an issue and it's not a bad thing anymore to say that you shop at Oxfam." Charity shops really do offer the chance to create something different without having to abstain from eating fora week.

Ritzys" shirts are quite horrific though.

Norwich also has a Miss Selfridge, Snob, Benetton, Laura Ashley, plus lots of others with differing price ranges and obsessions with leaving naked manne-

Obviously Cardigan Paradise is to be found at good old M&S, who are also responsible for underwear that stays in one piece through thick and thin; unfortunately it still goes grey after repeated launderette washes.

"we have something that we can sell to absolutely anyone."

So, what does every single student have in common? Apart from the inevitable overdraft it's jeans. Norwich can, at least, boast rather a lot of jeans outlets . There' s The Blue Jean Company which sells loads of, er, jeans and sports a rather alarming small car in its window. There 's Millets, Jeans Station, some stalls on the market and nearly everywhere else basically. Lets face it - a pair of Levis from London are not dramatically different from their Norwich counterparts.

Blue Jean Co. is the only place that offers a l 0% discount to NUS card holders and as ovmer

Dogfish and Littlewoods all of which offer much the same thing at a variety of style, quality and price.

High street chain stores also vary accordingly. Next's Sonja Todd told us that their main customers were working people but that a lot of students shopped there. Next does offer good quality, reasonably priced

PHOTO: Rob Hardy able clothes that have been poached from the leading designers collections and transferred to the high street. Their clothes are of varying quality but are generally up to date.

Some of the mens "night out at

Norwich may be a pretty place full of pubs and churches but for a non - alcoholic aetheist the emperors new clothes may not be all that far fetched an enticement.

David Finlay said " we have something that we can sell to absolutely anyone."

Moving onwards, but not necessaril y upwards , are the chainstores. Obviously Cardigan Paradi se is to be found at good old M&S , who are also responsible for underwear that stays in one piece through thick and thin; unfortunately it still goes grey after repeated launderette washes .

There are plenty of other depart ment stores in Norwich .

Oebenhan1s, C&A, Bonds, BHS

wearing the cardigan granny knitted you for christmas).

However, Richard Norton, manager of the newly opened Dogfish, is keen to dispel this notion. "We'retrying to open the doors to as many people

clothes , but does appear to have a rather conservative image.

River Is land, who have outlets for men and women, are, again a high street store aiming at a middle market.

Sean Lender-you, deputy manager, stated that they hoped to "aim at the market between Next and Top Shop" and speakingofTop Shop!fopMan, when we approached them to ask who they tried to cater for, they were apparently " unable to give that kind of information" ' Nevertheless Top Shop sell s afford-

The Blue Jean Co.

quins in their windows .

Finally we reach the top end of the market. The small, privately owned shops. It' s a good idea to get a housemate to hide your cheque book before youenterthese shops. Shops such as Phillip Brown, Bazaar, Bowlers, Dogfi sh/Catfish all sell designer gear designed to set you back the price of a small mediterranean island.

Only kidding .. .... The clothes in these places are extremely stylish and at least you know that no one else will be wearing the same thing, but they are often zones of extreme and terminal fashion victirnness and are quite intimidating to look around (especially when there are more shop assistants than customers and you're

as possible- we' re totally against pressure selling and want to encourage people to shop here."

Indeed, the clothes are brilliant with prices ranging from £10 to £250. Besides, Dogfish is worth checking out just for the wonderfully kitsch leopard skin chaise longue upstairs !

With the imminent opening of the new Castle Mall shopping centre it will be interesting to see what happens in Norwich.

Students could fmd themselves swamped in choice.

Who knows, Haute Couture in Norwich ? I still don 't think Ms. Westwood's too worried.

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Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

11

Fine Clothes in a Fine City ?

"NORWICH -A FINE CITY, -Or so the signpost tells us as we

approach the city's boundaries.

One cannot deny that Norwich. certainly is a fme city in respect of its history, Cathedral, Churches, restaurants, cinemasthe list could go on but the fullstop would have to come before one mentioned the words "Clothes Shops."

Oh, I admit to coming from London and therefore having access to a wide variety of shops catering to a wide variety of tastes, but having asked many students from all over the United Kingdom, it seems that there is a general consensus towards Norwich of''NO VARIETY." As Fiona Matthews (EAS Ill) said: "It is mainly chain stores and not very exciting." Disheartened Simon Lau {MAP Ill) who summed up Norwich's clothes shopping facilites with the statement "The Sweater Shop is totally naffl" has only bought one pair of jeans in Norwich in his entire time here. This really is quite a sad state of affairs as Norwich is the "capital" ofEast Anglia. Several people interviewed who come from smaller

towns said that when they need clothes, they visit adjacent, bigger cities. But we are already hereinEastAnglia'sbiggestcity and there is no other nearby option.

Being a University City, should it not have more clothes shops that cater to student's needs?

Norwich, like many old, historical cities, does have a variety of specialty shops that do offer customers something different from main-stream stores. The Mustard Shop, Hovells, and Brambles are a few worth mentioning, but individual clothing shops are severely lacking.

In the two years that I have been here, more independent shops have opened, but they were generally considered to be overpriced, and as Claire Middleditch (BIO Ill) said, ''not oriented towards, and too off the scale for students."

I remember being quite excited at the prospect ofNorwich being famous for its Market; however, it turned out to be not quite as I had imagined. Apart from cheap, "lycra-free" leggings that are guaranteed to rip after three wears, the market really is better

for potatos rather than items to cover oneself with.

However, it is not all bad as Norwich does have some decent chain stores such as River Island and Miss Selfridge. But the Miss Selfridge is unfortunately, a

Footnotes The shop assistant will look at you rather strangely and point you in the direction of the Kiddies department. Size threes always sell h • Jd rat er Y•

rather small branch and therefore does not stock all the lines.

Other chain stores popular with students, such as Oasis and Warehouse, do not even exist in Norwich. And as for men's chain stores, if they do not like Mister

cally economic terms "grossly inflated!" Purchasing habits varied, but the general answer was '1 bur when I see something I like 'fd when I can afford it."

Ho'Yever, there were extremes such as Simon Goddard (EAS Ill) ~o wears his clothes "till it eith falls off of me or exposes too uch."

Not all towns can have a Camden Market which is an exceptipnal student's paradise; however, Norwich does have many charity shops which nearly all the students questioned said they shopped at. They are certainlythe best places to get trendy sixties and seventies numbers which wfien teamed up with something carefully chosen from Top Shop, (not the hideous zebra print trousers) one can achieve that ultimate look of being originally stylish for a really cheap price, Th~ one plus point of going to University in a city as ''trendy" as Norwich is that as Lisa Ford (LAW II) says "It is quite good becaUse whilst I am here, I do not spend any money on clothes!"

UNION

•••

As A FOOTshoes, Offcie N01E: Norwich Shoes - the and shoes- the names sound rnuwordsjustdo like exotic, farnot go together, away places in they are comthecontextofthe pletely incomNorwich shoe patible terms. scene. Red or OUt QWC Dead would be Well there is Saxone and there --------------------~----~--------- great but that is is Dolcis, and oh yes, there is a women on this planet, you haptaking things a bit too far. Top pen to be a size three or less, then Freeman, Hardy and Willis as Shop and Miss Selfridge stock you might as well forget it. The quite a good range of semi-difwell. OK, thereisnothingwrong shop assistant will look at you with Dolcis shoes - they are stylferent shoes, and of course, one ish and relatively well priced, rather strangely and point you in can always get a pair of ubiquithe direction of the Kiddies debut what does one do ifthey want tous DM's which luckily are something slightly different? The partment. Size threes always widely available. Finally there sell out rather quicldy, yet Noranswer is, either go barefoot or is always the Clarks shoe-shop buy before you arrive. By the wich has not yet come to terms which would really please your way, if like me, and many other with this fact. Ravel, Sacha parents!

Byrite, the choice is even more limited!

On the topic of cost, most students felt that many ofthe clothes on offer were over-priced in relation to their quality, or as Alison Williams (SOC Ill) said in typi-

TRAVEL SHOP

YOUR LOCAL AGENT FOR STUDENT/YOUTH TRAVEL

Are you travelling home for Christmas?

If so make your flight I ferry reservations NOW. Many dates in December are already full.

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So book and pay now to secure the cost.

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UNION HOUSE UEA NORWICH Open Mon-Fri 9.30-4pm Tel NORWICH 5031 03

ABTA Your Union working for you PHOTO: Clara Tuckey

12

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

Interview

Bob Geldof.... at by name, Jacqui Mackay talks to rat by nature?

Bob Geldof In 1975 a group of friends were starting a band and asked fellow student Bob Geldof if he would join them. Unsure of whether the project would work he took the chance and his gamble paid off; the Boom town Rats were born. Seventeen years have passed and Sir Bob has never looked back.

"I could have written a hundred 'I don't like Mondays' but I didn't want to."

Since the success of the Rats hi s career has been a series of ideas brought to fruition . His desire is to set a project in motion, once he 's sold it to the public he gets bored and moves on. " I could have written a hundred 'I don ' t like Mondays' but I didn ' t want to. Once I know an idea has worked I want to look for new things, new projects''.

Consequently, his career has consisted of all manner of pursuits but Geldof is adamant that music is the only thing that gives him "a deep and lasting sense of achievement". Music and Paula Yates and their three chi~stheepaopkiffimf:i:rjo!ls

being with "more than anyone else", arehis "stables in life that together keep the night-wolves Inevitably an interview with Bob Gcldofwill touch upon

the subject ofBand Aid and Live Aid, things he sees as being finished and left behind long ago.

Geldofis almost like a child with his toys: picking one up, playing with it for a while and then throwing it away when he loses interest. His work for the starving in Ethiopia originated a style ofraising money for charity that has been copied world wide ever since. Why did he feel the need to get up and do something about tl1e problems? Simple: "I was depressed and in that night because the Rats weren ' t touring and saw the first pictures of the famine on T.V. The people involved in Live Aid were good friends of mine and I knew I had the organisational capacity and the political sense to know how to conduct such an affair". Subject dismissed.

"The people involved in Live Aid were friends of mine and I knew I had the organisational capacity to conduct such an affair" The latest production that Geldof is involved in and promoting is the Big Breakfast Show on Channed 4 , launched in the same week as his second solo L.P ., The Happy Club. The progranune gives him

the opportunity to interview some of the most prominent figures in modem day society, including recently, Yasser Arafat. Geldof likens these interviews to "pub conversations". Similarly he doesn't see his own fame as a barrier stopping any member of the public approaching him on the street and having a casual chat and dislikes any suggestion ofhis exclusivity. The attitude he displays is one of not giving a f**kabout ilie position his fame and fortune has put him in. Unfortunately, he comes across in conversation as arrogant, not approachable. Geldof disregards the importance of any work he does except for his music, "This is ilie only iliing iliat I can invest wiili every aspect of my personality".

The programrne gives him the oppurtunity to interview some of the most prominent figures in modem day society, including recently, Yasser Arafat Geldof likens these interviews to "pub conversations".

He claims to be unimpresses with ilie rest of his career: " I have not achieved anything". He feels the media have created a myth around him: "I am not just a personality. Personah <ies appear on Blankety-Blank but so saying I would be on BlanketyBlank if I wanted to".

However, Geldof does not seem to be receiving much recognition as a musician on his current tour. The gig at UEA was one of few in England iliat didn' t have to be cancelled due to poor ti cket sales. He does not feel disappointed over this, merely "weary acceptance".

Geldofandhis Happy Club came to Norwich top lay a gig, ''I'm not promoting my album" (must just be a big coincidence) and it is in concert iliat he can sell ilie image he chooses to. In this area one cannot knock his humour, infectious energy or ability to charm and control an audience. As a performer Geldofis superb.

He is, as he justly believes, much more ilian a mrdia celebrity. His request is iliat he be judged on his musical ability and he gets "p**sed off and annoyed" if he is not .

Anyone who went to the gig on Sunday night was treated to an excellent night's entertainment more memorable ilian my encounter wiili him that afternoon.

Judie Tzuke visits UEA Review by Craig Eason As I walked towards the Union House I heard a girl ask her friend "Who is Judie Tzuke?"

The ar1swer is simp le. A talented charming singer who is definitly switched on to the smaller crowds .

Lyrical melodious ball ads waxed ar1d war1ed like her romar1tic moon in this one hundred minute concert; the lovers in the crowd held har1ds and sang to each other.

The faster numbers had the crowd tapping along ar1d singing to the beat. they could hardly dar1ce because there were tables and chairs in the way.

The lovers in the crowd held hands and sang to each other Judie told me afterwards that she found it awkward at first to sing to a seated crowd, and could not get them to liven up due to the imposing tables half expecting a waiter service to appear So she had resigned herself to sing he r best ar1d see what happened.

She sar1g well , \Vith her old n umber one hit " Stay with me to dawn" ar1d " Heaven car1 wait'' She was glad she sar1g and s o were her fans .

It was a warm night despite the October freeze . Quire boy s cat your heart out.

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13

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

•.•WHAT'S ON WHERE

Moving into the Frontline The City's newest radio station- Frontline lOO FM started broadcasting to Norwich last Thursday evening.

At exactly 6pm, the temporary station- which promotes itself as being 'young, free and independent' -took to the airwaves, and it will continue to broadcast 'alternative' music until November 18.

The Station's Dfs- from the City, the Waterfront and the University-areall volunteers, and together they are broadcasting music 24 hours a day - the mix will range from indie to acid jazz and rock to reggae - basically anything that is non-chart.

Situated in the Waterfront, Frontline was launched to coincide with the top venue's second birthday celebrations, at which a number of local bands played, and Radio lFM's John Peel, spun some discs, beginning by saying "Well, I'm your Radio l celebrity .. .a kind of Neale James of the 1970's!"

In an exclusive interview after the party, John Peel spoke

to me on air about stations such as Frontline - saying there should be more independent 'alternative' stations which can give struggling, new bands a chance.

And this is one ofFrontline's basic philosophies- to get City bands heard by a wider audience, although they also want to give people with no previous radio experience a chance to use some professional equipment.

A number of Livewire DJs are also getting some extra practice at sounding like their favourite presenters - includ-

ing Ed Meikle, Neil Stock, John Richmond, Katja Lasseur, Karl Chapman and Livewire's Station Manager, Chris Barson (who presents the breakfast show (6am-9 Mon-Fri)).

The station is also broadcasting news (in three bulletins a day at lOam, 4pm and 7pm), and a number of specially prepared interviews, including EMF and bands both national and local - who have been linked with the Waterfront.

The stations output power, limited by law, means that their range is limited, and reception is patchy at the University campus. But other listeners are picking the station up loud and clear as far away as Aylsham - about 11 miles from Norwich.

For further details write to Frontline FM, c/o The Waterfront, 139-141 King Street, Norwich. NRl l QH.

Programme Information WEDNESDAY 6am-9am: Chris Barson 9-llam: Mark Brenner 12-Jpm: Nick Applin 3-6pm: Jon Fry 6-8pm Local Band Sessions/Demos/ Features 8-1 Opm Ed Meikle 10-tam: Steve Jatkson l-4am: M&M 4-6am: James J

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The Lawnmower Man Preview by Sanjay Magecha The Hand That Rocks the Cradle C ast: Rebecca " Risky Bu siness" De Mornay, Anabella " Jungle Fever" Sciorra.

Director: Curtis Hanson.

Movie sy'nopsis: Psychotic babysitter tries to destroy woma n who caused the babysitter' s husband to commit suicide.

One reason for watching .. T he Hand that Rocks the Cradle" is due to its shock success in A merica, ie it made over $ 100 million even though it didn ' t cost half of the US GNP to make and it didn ' t have Jul ia Roberts in it.

T he main reason for it ' s success is due to a new type of Hollywood villia n. a villian who (at first) blesses the victim eg helping her cook. beating up the boy that has been bullying her child ; a vill ian whose motives we can sympathi ze with, as Rebecca De Mornay's character is rendered inca pable of having children through a trauma initiated by Anabella Sciorra ' s cha racter.

The performances are convincing. though in the category of " Best Performance by an Ina nimate Object" , Anabella Sciorra comes a close second to the white picket fence.

Verdict: Recommended if you ' re into typ ical Hollywood thrillers and (according to market resea rch in the US) if you ' re a young female .

1131t~lr lllA\~ 1 13

11~~·~·~·

''The H've'' DAY TJM£ NJGHT TJM£

9M11 -

Uest Coffee Ol1 Ca mpl-4s Sl-4per Ro11s/Sl1acks Stl-4bel1t Rabio "livewire"

7pm

Wi~e

raMge of beers & Beverages Sights & Sol-4M~s from Sk'1 MTV

7pm - Close

AND SP£C1AL OCCASJONS

Sk'1 Sport TV il1cll-4bil1g Premier Leagl.4e Football Al1~ ...

Tl.4es~a'1

Nights f abl.410l-4S

UEA Lecture 'Theatres -7pm.

Admission £1. 75 (6-7 UH Foyer)

OCTOBER Tue 27: Bugsy Thu 29: The Lawnmower Man Fri 30: The Hand that Rocks the Cradle

ln this science-fiction movie Pierre Brosnan (of Remington Steele fame) plays a brilliant scientist, Doctor La\\-Tence Angelo, who has designed a virtual reality video game that 1mproves the I.Q. of whoever plays the game on a regular basis.

Wh iIst making steady progress \\ith trials on monkeys his superiors decide to abandon the project.

Doctor Angelo finds himself a new ' guinea pig'-the Iawrunower man, a retarded gardner who reluctantl y agrees to try out the virtual reality gan1e The result of his experiments were, of course, to increase the I. Q. of the lawnmower man, who can perfoml unbelievable mental feats.

1l1e superiors find out what Angelo is up to and attempt to put a stop to him . Meanwhile the la\\nrnower is striving to control U1e world. A good science fiction film , if you are a sci-li fan .

U1Ulr

1

"live il1 The Hive" \Atatch the posters

Your Union working for you

FILM LISTINGS

NOVEMBER Tue 3: The Doctor Thu S: Bill et Tcds Excellent Adventure + Bogus Journey Fri 6: Black Robe

ODEON - Td: 0426 932450 Aclm. £3.80, or £2.50 stu.

(Weekdays, not Jut ·show)

UP TO AND INCLUDING THU 290CTOBER Screen I : Beauty and the Beast (U) 11 :SO (expt Sun) 2:00 4:15 6:30 8:35 Screen 2: Carry On Columbus (PG) !:SO 3:4S WbiteMcnCan'tJump(PG)5:40 8:0S Screen 3: Califormia Man (PG) 2:00 3:5S 5:50 Lethal Weapon Three (15) 7:45

CANNON- td: 613312 Aclm. £3.40

1492

(15)

Cannon Cinema, Prince of Wales Road, Norwich If you are expecting (yet another) adventure movie full of powerful images and period costumes, you would not be far wrong. ' 1492 ' follows the rise and fall of Christopher Columbus in his search for a New World and questions the morality surrounding his discovery.

The film emphas ises the religious background ofthe events, a much needed dimension to this familiar tale.

Ridley Scott ('Thelma and Louise' and 'Alien') here combines scenic photography and act ionpacked shots with an impressive result, particularly so with the Vangelis soundtrack.

Some how, though,

Scott ' s latest film lacks the psychological punch ofhis previous films; the characters remain disappointingly underwritten, as the visual impact is given precedence.

Depardieu, perhaps not the most brilliant choice as Columbu s, neverth eless does do his best and there are moments, such as his first meeting with the Indians, that excel in imagination and sensitivity.

The fi lm does not strike home any obvious message, and this is to its credit; Scott gives us an impressioin of the events of L492 rather than a neat definition of them.

Worth watching for the photography alone, so long as a few executions don't bother you.

UP UNTIL AND INCLUDING TIIU290CT Screen 1: 1492 (15) 1:25 (not Sun) 4:40 1:SS Screen 2: Beethoven (U) (Not Sun orThu) 1:30 Houscsitter(PG)(expt. Thu)3:30 Patriot Games ( 1S) (expt. Thu) 5:40 8:25 6~1R:t:~ Wolves (Sp. Ed.) (18) (OnlyThu)2:007:00 Screen 3: A League offheir Own (PG) 2:30 S:40 CityofJoy(l2) (expt. Wcd)8:10 Screen 4: Buffy The Vampire Slayer(l2)2:204:15 6:15 Unforgivcn ( 15) 8:20

CINEMA CITY - tel: 622047

Aclm. (sCU) £2.50 £3.00 Fri Late, £1.10 Mat. NOVEMBER Sun I : The Producers (PG) S:45 Cyrano De Bcrgerac (U) 7:30 Mon 2 to Wed 4: The Rapture (18)5:45 8:15exuptMon 8:15High Society (U) Thu 5 to Sat 7: Pepi, Luc~ Born (18)

Sun 8: All About Eve (PG) 5:45 Rosenc;rantz & Guilenstem (PG) 7:30 Mon 9 to Tue I 0: Johnny Suede (IS)

Mon 5:45, Tue 2:30 5:45 8:1S Mon 9: On the Town (U) 8:15

NOVERRE- Td: 630128

UP TO AND INCLUDING SAT OCTOBER31 Batman Returns- 2.30, 5.45, 8.1S

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

Iconcrete I

Magnum play the LCR November Wed 4: 'The Bardots (£3 on door) 8pm. lhv 5: The Demon Boyz (£6 adv, £7 door) 7:30pm Mon 9: Doctor Pbibc:s (£4 adv, £5 door) 7:30pm Wed 11:The Roc:kingbirds(£4adv, £4.50 door) 7:30pm lhv 12: Jlh Wobble (£6 adv, £7 door) 7:30pm Mon 16: Chumbawamba (£4 adv, L5 door) 7:30pm lhv 19: Shooen Knife (£4 adv, £5 door) 7:30pm Mon23: Therapy?(£4adv, £5 door) 7:30pm MON 30:Thll Petrol Emotion (£5 adv, £6 door) 7:30pm

Music Review Suede at the Waterfront Monday 12th October The perpetually fickle music press in a desperate attempt to self-justifY their' credibility' have chosen Suede for this year's "new Smiths" slot, just as they did with Blur last year (and where are they now?).

Why is it necessary? Suede are a very fme band indeed and watching them live, it becomes clear that the only common denominator is that both vocalists camp it up a bit.

Brett owes about as much to Morrissey as he does to Billy Ray Cyrus, and Bemard Butler's guitar lines are more perverted than Marr' s ever were.

What is nice about Suede is the fact that on stage, they are extremely together, whilst maintaining their own individual personalities - a breath of fresh air after the blankness of shoe-~az­ ing.

Brett swaggers around, endlessly stroking his fringe, playing the perfect narcissist and at one point invites the audience to indulge in 'a bit of banter', This immediately sparks off requests . for the removal of his trousers.

The opening two songs, both unheard, SOWld excellent, with Bemard and Mat unleasing kinlcy seventies riffs which complement Brett's ''Bolan-esque" foppery.

Forget Morrisey's Manchester, Suede bring you all the love and poison of London "My Insatiable One", already an estabilished hit is next, with its naughty fetishistic Wldertones and this is echoed again in the chorus of "Pantomine Horse": 'Have you ever tried it that way' .

Two singles "Metal Micky" and "The Drowsers are both as tight and beautiful as hell", and another newie "Animal Train" is most energetic, with Brett wrapping the mike lead around himself like a whip.

Highlights of the gig were; "To the Birds" with its stop/start treachery and "He's Dead" which is flawless and after fifty minutes, Suede left, tossing instruments to the floor.

Forget Morrissey's Manchester, Suede bring you all the love and poison of London.

Bjorn Again Again!

Watch out for the winter wonders at UEA during the remainder of this term. Those pseudoSwedes, Bjorn Again, are the terms fmal sing along (Sat 5 Dec) with their own interpretations of "Take a Chance On Me" et al.

UEA ~

Sat 31: 'The AUSiralian Doors Show (£7,50)

Latest Releases ....

November .

Sun 8: Jimi Hendrix 50th llllliversary expaierK:e (£7.50adv) Fri 13:Spearofi>aliny(£7.50adv) Sat 14: Dr Feelgood (£7 adv) Wed 18: 'The Farm Fri 20: Galtiano Sat21 :"TheKingandf'(£7.50 adv) Fri 27: CClCDedy wi1h Bill HK:ks ( LS adv)

Sat 28: Ned's Alomic Dustbin (£8.50adv)

DROP NINE TEENS: "My Aquarium" (HUT Records) Despite the media-induced backlash against Britain's shoe-gazers this time last year, the American IndieKids still seem content to explore the possibilities of atmosphere-through-feedback, with bands such as Medicine and the Drop Nineteens making a breakthrough. This 12" by Boston's Drop Nineteens is a reworking of one of the best tracks on their debut album "Delaware"; and is really more akin to a Pixies track than to one by My Bloody Valentine.

Whilst an album version is a girl/boy nursery rhyme over a single acoustic baseline, this version has effects pedals on full whack and is really quite abrasive and scary. On the B-side there is a cover ofBarry Manilow' s "Mandy" which is quite amusing, sounding very like Teenage Fanclub (worrying!), and goes well with their cover ofMadonna' s "Angel" on the album.

"Third track" is a very nasty little shocker and is pretty standard Drop Nineteens guitar noise, so on the whole, "My Aquarium" is a pretty worthwhile investment.

DR. PHIBES AND THE HOUSE OF WAX EQUATIONS "Misdiagnosedive" E.P. (Offside Records) I've never really understood what Doctor Phibes and his waxen friends are trying to do. Okay, so they create astral 'soundsscrapes' of fuzzy guitar a la Boo Radleys/Ozrics, but it always seems like there's a vital ingredient missing.

That said, they have come up with a couple of classic songs, one of which was last year's, "Hazy Lazy Hologram", and the other could well be this.

"Misdiagnosedive" starts off with a nice reverb guitar bit and then plunges straight into a wickedley funkey bassline that just lifts the whole way through the song. The vocalist sounds a bit like H.R. from New York Rasta punks, "Bad Brains", and on the whole there is a definite vibrant feel to the whole thing, especially when they start shouting, "People Paranoia People Paranoia".

As with most of their stuff, it then flips out into a mad thrashy psychadelic guitar adventure and fades out leaving you pretty exhausted.

"Psycho Killer" on the B-side sounds a bit like Eddie Grant with a teastorone overdose (make of that what you will!) although it has some

nice guitar parts before yet again plunging into outer space, and on the whole the E.P. goes some way to making up for the lacklustre album.

DELICIOUS MONSTER: "Missy Power" 12" (Flute Records) "Missy Power" kicks off with a P.J. Harvey style accapella and then crashes into a beautiful spiralling chorus which is very reminiscent of (yes, you guessed) the Sundays, although Delicious Monster never quite capture the fragility of the Wheeler/Gavurin combo. "Best Babe" is very similar, and the tinny guitar sound is very effective, especially when it mellows out towards the end.

The real gem on this record is however, the epic "Blood", which goes on for ages exploring some really interesting sounds including Indian Radio samples and mock-psychadelicguitar, and the whole song takes on mantra-like dimensions. The vocals are excellent and when played loud "Blood" is quite an experience. Compared to the first two tracks it proves that there is more to Delicious Monster than conventional Indie-pop, and its worth buying the 12" just for the B-side.

Stare, The Badgers and Passing Clouds Norwich Arts Centre- October 17 Interesting three-piece, Pipehead.

Wrenching life out of their early slot, out of the bleak void that is the NAC early on, Pipe head effectively managed to mesmerise the (albeit small) cowd with fistfulls of pulsatingly threatening pop songs, blowing away Passing Clouds with hurricane-like blasts.

For some reason the Clouds have fans in the national Music Press -perhaps they' re good on vinyl, it can't be down to seeing them live.

This is the third time for me and, sure, they go against the grain of music fashion with their barbed rhythms and hypnotic verbal streams, but do they deserve such high praise?

Well, they were billed third tonight so make of that what you will.

Not much new material brought out tonight by the Badgers, as they continue to plug their excellent Picnic EP. But how the last few months have changed them.

Previously Norwich Reserves played with more passion than this lot but tonight not only did they appear to be

Review by Ed Meikle enjoying themselves (rumour has it that the guitarists were were seen to smile) but they moved about as well! Shocking.

Entering to the theme-music of 'Platoon' was a dodgy choice for a band so young.

In their performance they exposed themselves as little more than a band with a sixthform sensibility singing about the effect the last 13 years has had on the country and anything else that annoys them.

If it had worked it would have been great. But it didn't.

They' re a sort of In die/Rock outfit, with emphasis not on grunge but on terraces-style choruses.

But when we're informed that Radio One refused to play ' Work' which they duly perform, you have to suspect intervention by the infamous Taste Police.

On vinyl their current single ' Mood' is pretty good but live, Stare managed to butcher this not once but twice.

Unforgivable. Roll on Drop Nineteens.

•

I

16

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

John Fowles: Obsessive, Iconcrete! Compulsive, but English?

& The Rest ..

•' Niall Hampton leafs through the pages of Madonna's new book WEDNESDAY 2 I st October saw the much-hyped release of Madonna ' s eagerly awaited book, simply entitled ''Sex".

Having just released her new album "Erotica", the subject matter of"Sex" needs no explaining.

Anyone expecting a medium sized, glossy hardback containing suggestive photographs laced with the usual Madonna-isms should prepare for a surprise.

Not only does "Sex" come in a foil-packaged, metal-covered, spiral-bound format containing suggestive photographs, but is splashed throughout with some intriguing sexual aphorisms, coined from Madonna's unique vision oflife.

Released simultaneously in 5 countries, initially "Sex" sets out to tease in the now familiar Madonna mode Many kinds of sexual inclinations are dep icted. using Vogue-i sh photograph y fra med with mean dering prose.

Although Madonna admits the subject matter of"Sex" to be pure fa ntasy, some of the images contai ned in its scrap-book style format aim to shock. whil st others aim to be

purely comical.

Madonna's useofthepersona 'Dita Parlo' for the prosaic content of "Sex" provides a certain di stance between her and the subject-matter, making her claim in the prologue "I made it all up" all them ore credible.

Besides Madonna, other celebrities popping up in "Sex" include Naomi Camp bell, Big Daddy Kane and th e talen ted Vanilla Ice, who appear in some interesting contexts.

Retailing at a mere £25.00 in its foil wrapper (spot the safe sex metaphor), "Sex" is apparently the fi rst of two books from Madonna .

What is left to come for the second volume remains to be seen fo llowing a grope through "Sex", but no doubt Madonna will find something further with which to push back the limits of sexual expression .

Having said that, "Sex" should be interpreted as Madonna intends it to be; alongside the allusions to safe sex and fa ntasy lurks a sense of fu n (don't miss the photo-stri p section).

In he r own words fro m the prologue: ''Nothing in this book is true ... it 's ridiculous."

Wise wo rds indeed.

'Loitering With Intent' Tony Sweeney reviews Peter O'Toole's latest book Chatty, anecdotal , and delivered in short bursts, with the lilt of the social historian; stopping often as if to gulp the odd gin and tonic.

Such is the style of O'Toole's autobiographic inspection of his early life between the 30 ' s and 40's.

The prose witty in the manner of Noel Coward and the vocabulary is imaginative and idiosyncratic. His ironic and sometimes sneering humour is best when applied in conjunction with airing of his Hitler obsessiOn. i t is here where O ' Toole ' s creative imagi nation is expressed, for example with his fanciful reporting of the great dictators oratorical power. ... (in the voice that cap-

tivated millions) u-boatsl uboats' I shall build u-boats! uboats! ... and it is my intention to build a dog track at Linz .."

The author ' s wit is loaded and his personal demeanour is inevitably to be compared to that of Burton, Harris and Hopkins.

There is a readily available anger of a loud, liquid and youthful kind. An autobiography is self-expression, and O ' Toole's is both fasc ina ting and poetic; such as his ironic rendition of a Nazi sentiment: "(Germany) must grasp an ember from dying fires of culture ... light a branch to hand on to subsequent generations ... " O ' Toole is intelligent and interesting but his description of Redgraves "King Lear" as " pre-occupied, rash, a touch gaga .. " could well be applied to himself

ByDan Hawtrey and Nick Wilsden "Kill your parents ... damn everyone" was John Fowles' s instruction to aspiring young writers when he spoke at VEA on Wednesday night as part ofthe season ofArthur Miller lectures.

Fowles, cutting an eccentric fig ure in tweed jacket, aeroplane collars and dashing red neck-tie, drew the largest audience to date for a visiting writer on campus.

A queue of over 500 people trailed out of Lecture Theatre I to see the authorofsuch books as 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' and 'The Magus' a sprawling, fathomless book which drove Fowles ' mad' when writing it, and has since become a perennial cult novel amongst students.

Fowles spoke unprepared, and largely uninterrupted fo r over an hour, his tone ranging from the passionate to the humerous.

Clearly an unashamed romantic, he spoke of his burning need to let out of the "wild man", the driving force behind all his writing.

He often directed his words to would-be writers, speaking of his

love of the "unfettered imagination", which was both "terrifying and delightful".

He urged writers to "go wild ... to embrace the freedom of the novel".

The writer, for Fowles, is a modern-day shaman, obsessive, cornpulsive, set apart from society, driven by an ungovernable urge to write, to communicate his vision.

Fowles's writing is tinged with the magical aura rarely attempted by English writers of his generation having much more in com mon with his American and French counterparts than "the English novel of manners" .

Novel-writing he describes as being like growi ng a tree: though you can prune the branches, you cannot control how the branches grow.

There is always the occurrence of accident or "hazard".

He is himself totally disorganised in his writing method, saying that inspiration will strike maybe once every six months, when he will write for hours, and at other times not at all.

John Fowles was born and brought up in Essex.

He went to public school (Bedford) where he was made headboy.

He expressed his shame in having to administer punishments in the form of caning.

An actor, whom Fowles seemed

And another author...

Genevra Fletcher and Karina Wilsher interview Dame Iris Murdoch Iris Murdoch - authoress of

sider herself to be " much more

Ireland in 19I9 and a s an only

of a nove list than a philoso-

chi ld she spent a lot of time

pher" and has a favourable

reading with her father , w ho

tendency to always believe that

was a "very literary man."

her most recent w ork is the

Her childhood favourites were

best.

" Alice in Wonderland" a nd

She has just had a new book

"Treasure Island" and she

on Philosophy published, enti-

had already started writing

tled " Metaphysics on Moral-

her own stories by the a ge of

ity" a nd this was the main

nine. Her father encouraged

subject for her talk at UEA on

and fosterd her love of litera-

October 14.

Although the lecture theatre

" inspired each other", and

was crowded, the atmosphere

she knew then that she wanted

was slightly more intimate than

to become a writer.

whe n Susan Sontag had ap-

After the constrictive atmos-

peared the week before.

phere of a girls' boarding

She spoke with real feeling

school in England, Iris fou nd

on the values of philosophy

Oxford University in 1938

and a rt, and alsoexpressed her

"jolly good fun ."

concern about the possible ter-

The rules then were of course very different and the sexes

mination of Philosophy as a university degree subj ect.

were segregated, so she was

Unfortunately it seemed that

most interested in the arrange-

undergraduates were not well

ment our residences at UEA.

represented at the lecture,

Through reading Classics a nd

though it was of great interest.

Ancient Literature she dis-

The Arthur Miller Centre has

covered Philosophy - a sub-

invited many other outstand-

ject she found difficult but

ing writers to UEA as part of

challenging, and it was only

the literary fes tival, and should

when she began to teach the

definitely be supported by more

subject at Oxford tha t she re-

students.

ally began to fathom it.

LISTINGS Norwich Arts Centre. ea~ ~52 for details

The Waterfront

Tue 3 & Wed 4: The Kosh, performing "Endangered Species La Revue, £6.50, Doors 7.30, 8prn show.

Call 766266 for details.

Maddermarket Theatre.

Oct 30... Nov 7: Much Ado Nov 27- Dec 5: Don Juan Tel620917 Box Oftlce lOam daily.

-~pm

The Arthur Miller Centre A Utery Festival of dlltinguished authon at UEA

November 2: William Golding.

16: Margaret Drabble and Michael Holroyd.

25: Julian Barnes.

30: Antonia Byatt.

AJIIectures are in LTl at 7pm, tickets at the door (£3, or £2 students).

Two Way Mirror

However she does not con-

some 24 books - was born in

ture - a s she said herslf, they

unwilling to name, recently interviewed on TV, when asked for his most memorable event at school answered being beaten by John Fowles.

He was made an instructor Lieutenant in the Royal Marines training Commando recruits in Devonshire. When given the option to continue his career in the marines or study French and German at Oxford he chose the latter.

In I 95 I he went to the Anargyrios School on the Greek island ofSpetsai where he taught English.

There he met his wife Elizabeth who became a major influence in his writings.

Shortly after his departure from Greece he began his writi ng career with The Magus.

John Fowles suffered a stroke recently, causing him to lose a substantial amount of his memory, which clearly causes him much frus!ration.

It was poignant to hear him speak so frankly of the holes in his brain thatappearedas whitedotsonan Xray he was shown.

He did not have an ounce of selfpity, and even joked quite flippantly about his loss of memory.

The vigour and determined energy with which he fought it, was inspiring and betrayed a very real heroism .

. .

Following a year of unprecedented success for the Minotaur Theatre Company during the 1991/92 season this year opens with a production of Arthur Miller' s ' Two-Way Mirror' , a double-bilL The frrst, and shorter, of the two pieces, ' Elegy for a Lady', like the best work ofPinter and Beckett, is deceptively simple in its language and effects. It opens with a man tentatively entering a bouti que, apparently seeking a gift for a dying woman; as the play unfolds the proprietress slowly exposes , or so it seems, something of the man ' s relationship with the lady of the title for whom the gift is intended.

Some years ago Arthur Miller found himself involved in a local criminal case where he successfully intervened to secure the release of a man falsely accused of murder. ' Some Kind of Love Story ' is clearly a reworking of this experience; on a deeper level it is also a hunt for meaning and security conducted on the very borders of madness. For some critics ' Some Kind of Love Story' is also Miller' s most honest representation of his relationship w ith Marilyn Monroe.

Two of UEA' s most accomplished actors, John Hales and Andi Rampton di splay their versatility acting opposite one another in two very different pieces. Under the steady hand of frrst time director Guy Martin they produce contrasting yet equally compelling performances in each of the plays. ' TwoWay Mirror' runs for two nights only at the UEA; Lecturs Theatre One on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of November at 7 .30pm Tickets are priced at £3.00 and £2.50 for concessions and will be available on the door.

1

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

17

rabba (week4,Autumn Term, 1992)

The official line on what's happening in your Union

"----:-------l

ControversialDebates Union To Increase Programme Will Sail Pressure On Rents CloseToTheMark

The Union will attempt to call an emergency meeting of Student Affairs Committee, the University body which around Norfolk & Suffolk inNUS Officer, Shelley will be on pornography, the originally O.K. 's the rent levvolved in leading and taking Wright, is organising the full programme of debates inels in residences.

Union backed series of open cluding their time and place part.

The Union are prewill be issued next week.

If you have any bwndebates due to start in week 4. senting a case for keeping ing issues you feel should be The series which will aim to The aim ofthis program rents at the same level next cover themes of general interis not only to encourage a wider discussed then grab Shelley by ceaseing unfair subsiyear upstairs in U.H. - there are no est to students and the local discussion of issues in an indies to the catering operation, sacred cows that will not be community, will start with a formal setting, but also to link halting the second phase of debate on home teritory - - into the Community Initiative slaughtered sometime during luxury residence building and this series!

What is the use of NUS? programme by getting speakinvesting money saved in The debate in week 5 ers and organisations from ---------------------:---------------------

maintaining Fifer, s Lane (threatened to close next year) and hold rents at the same level.

At the moment, when the University has a Conference, the funds recieved from it are split equally between the Residences Account and the Catering Budget. This means, in effect, that conferences are paying less per night into the account than students! If you stay in a hotel at €20/night bed and breakfast, this does not work out at £. 10 bed, £ l 0 breakfast, and it is high time this was stopped at

UEA!

Also, the next phase of the residence building program will cost approx. 6 million (as long as it doesn't go over budget like the sunken garden - oops!). Why are we building 300 new beds at a cost of £6 million, when it would take £ l.5 million to keep the 580 at Fifer '-s Lane and improve them to a decent quality? Perhaps because the Conferences need their cosy shower every morning? Come on University - its time to end this farce!

r

Elections - OutWith Round Two! the Old, and Recent on With the Decisions by the New

After this year' -s notable sucess in electing School Board and Forum representatives, Student s Forum fulfilled it -s role in electing some of the Unions more colourful posts.

Of the heavyweight Union posts, Shelley Wright becomes the new Chair of Forum with James Butler becoming the new Deputy Chair of Forum. Between them, it will now become their task to guide the Union 1-s meetings and attempt to make them comprehensible to the masses.

Meanwhile, the new Deputy Returning Officer (the Returning Officer is a member of Union Staff) is Rachael Maskell who now takes prime responsibility for the Unions democratic proc-

esses.

University Council is the body which controls all non-academic matters in the University, and James Tansey becomes forum s rep to Council. Meanwhile, University Senate, the body of equal magnitude on the academic side, gains Thomas Lovekin as Arts Rep, Annie Hillyer as Social Sciences Rep and Paul Harrison as Sciences Rep. The other committees were too numerous to mention, however special congratulations must be given to Jacqui Mackay, who'-s touching and emotional speech left many members ofForum quite visibly moved, and resulted in her unanimous election to the Radiation Hazards Sub-Committee.

TerrorUrileashed Sports Officer, John Holmes, has cunningly put together a Grand Prix Team consisting of members of both 1 the Executive and Student s Forum. The fairness of using such a slick group of top-class athletes in the trim of physical fitness has already brought critisism.

One Sports Team Captain said today, -I think its a sick move which takes away any real sense of competition from the event. How can we ever hope to match up to people like that?

We look forward to seeing the triumphant team at the prize- giving.

Thursday Week 3 was an interesting day for the executive, with Jim Hickson joining the executive as the new Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Rights Officer, and a mere 30 minutes later, the Societies Officer Paul Harrison resignin g.

Jim takes up his new position with the aim of organising far more awareness projects surrounding the issues of Sexuality around the campus. The rapid replacement of the previous LGB Officer should come as no surprise to most watchers of the executive - it is amazing the speed the LGB Society moves compared to some parts of the Union!

Out goes the Societies Officer, the first votii1g member of the executive to resign this term in week 3. Quite impressive, but not as good as last year 1 s first NUS Officer

who managed to resign before the end of week l !

Paul s reasons for leaving included the fact that hefeelsunabletoperformhis job in the way he wants, and felt that his work was being undermined by other members of the executive.

Communications Officer, Richard Hewison said,I am very sorry to see Paul leave the executive, he was a very hard working member of it. However, I do not accept the allegation that any of the executive have attempted to undermine him: it is true to say tensions have on occasion run high, but on Paul '-s last day before resigning, I witnessed several other members of the executive going to great lengths to reassure Paul of our support for his work.

We all wish him well with the rest ofhis time at UEA

f.ravda Is wtittea aad Oillllpiled entirely tiy the StUderits UniOn. lt ap(Jears here by

EX ecuti•V e and Forum

The most recent meeting of Student 1 s Forum tackled the fiery issue of the executive intervening in the publicity put out by the HHC. After a stormy debate, Forum decide by the narrowest margin possible (i.e. the casting vote of the chair, following a dead heat) that the executive should not have acted the way it did, and prevented such action from occuring in future.

The Executive, meanwhile, has concentrated on more everyday items. It was decided that the situation in the University C&r Park was getting beyond a joke, and in

a fiery and passionate speech Liz Rice convinced the Exec to take the bull by the horns and do something about getting Give Way and Stop signs sorted out, and put to an end the increasing number of accidents.

It was also decided that it was time to do something about setting the Women+s Campaign up again, Colin Browning and Shelley Wright are to go about this.

Other items are far too tedious/ trivial to bother with - but for all you true addicts out there, please see Richard Hewison to get a FULL copy of the minutes.

I

18

Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

Ill concrete

~

0603 250558 University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ Publisher: Stephen Howard Editor: Peter Hart News & Features Editor: Gill Fenwick Sports Editors: Katherine Mahoney & Clare Gemmel Chief Reporter: Polly Graham Advertising: Simon Mann Distribution: John Barton Proof Readers : Ruth Wilson, Rebecca Saraceno, Rebecca Keys, Ruth Austin, Helen Kennett Typists: Kate Ainscow, Niall Hampton, Paul Felton, Heidi Bulcock Layout Assistants: Phil Scott, Michael Bradbrook, Paul Felton, Marcus Morrell, Emily Cohen, PC;tul Coslett, Harry Stockdale, Son Truong Contributors: Tara Hoke, Chris Coole, Dan Hawstrey, Nick Wilsden, Amanda Creswell, Jane Lipman, Simon Hall, Louise Maskrey, Jacqui Mackay, Russel Booker, Mathew Broersma, Craig Eason, Rob Hardy, Hwee Hwee Tan,Kate Bailey, Michael Bradbrook, Vicky Berry, Paul Grainge, Abi Patton, Pamela Sarna, Dan Burke, John Holmes, Niall Hampton, Paul Lynes, Nigel Harding, Daniel Fox, Sanjay Magecha, Ed Hassal, Phil Scott, Genevra Fletcher, Katrina Wilsner, Heidi Bulcock, Sue McManus, Jamie Putnam Many thanks to Technical Advisors: Neil Barnden, Mike Salmon, Peter Roberts, Dave Cartwright Thanks to: Union House stewards

Concrete is published independently at UEA. Opinions expressed are those of the contributor and not necessarily those of the Publisher or Editor (C) 1992

Printed by Eastern Counties Newspapers, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich

If you have anything that you feel strongly about, whether it is the content of Concrete, or something about UEA which gets you going, write to: The Editor, Concrete, UEA, Norwich, or bring your letter to the Concrete office upstairs in Union House. If there is anything which you think we should be writing about, drop us a note, or call us on Norwich (0603) 250558 (or internal 2512). We do not publish anonymous letters.

No Jobs for Christmas ...

With reference to the article concerni ng semesterisation in last weeks Concrete (14th Oct).

I feel compelled to pass on the views of this household.

1l1e primary objection concerns the dates of the Christmas vacation, as this is the time of year that students can most easily find employment. How is it going to be possible when we fmish on the 23 rd December?

The two week period of employment during the busiest shopping period of the year wi ll be lost, and finding employment after Christmas is as impossible as fmdingajob during the Easter vacation.

We feel that this is another step towards the rendering of the I Iigher Education system the preserve of the wealthy, begun with the withdrawal of students· rights to claim housing and unemployment benefit, and exacerbated by the introduction of the Poll Tax, now proven to be totally farcical , an~ student loans.

Will the University tolerate students leaving two weeks early in order to earn the money which will help tide them over the next tcnn? I low many students can a!Tord to lose those two weeks of education? TI1e implication of term finishing on 23rd is that students will not be free to leave until the 24th. l low many parents are willing to collect their offspring on Christmas Eve, especially those who have more tium a couple ofhundred miles to travel?

Ev..;n using public transport will be a total nightmare in the few days before Christmas. What are overseas students v.'ishing to be-with their families over Christmas supposed to do?

The situation is totally ludicrous, and we wou ld like to know what tiw Union 's policy is on this matter.

Why can ti1e two semesters not be spread over the existing three terms, as in ENV, and at other universities, such as Aberdeen?

As it is, we appear to still !,ave tirree teaching blocks separated by vacations of varying lengti1s, breaking the semesters into uneven periods, particularly the first , with the last two weeks tagged on to the begi1ming ofti1e second semester.

C hris Povey, C laire Tilford, Mark Jennison, Jo Elkington, Marti n Jones, Lee Prince

Were We Told the 'Truth ' ?

We read with interest the Union's comments in ' Pravda' (Concrete, Oct 14) concerning the first Union General Meeting.

The article stated, " most people seemed satisfied with the answers gi ven" to the questions posed from the floor. Would it then be too presumptuous to ask if the cries from students fell upon deaf ears ? Any answers given were evasive and/or aggressive.

Beer prices, for example , seemed to beofmajorconcem to many students. When this subject was brought to ti1e Executive ' s attention, it was brushed over and dismissed witi1 the patronising comment: " it ' s cheaper than in town". This may be true (although Norv.'ich is a city), but is ti1e only objective of the Uruon to make a profit out of the members it should serve?

Taking the figures given in response to one student's enquiry about beer prices, that a penny ofT every pmt would lose the Union £20,000 over a 30 week year, it has been estimated that the Union Bars must therefore sell two million pints a year ' Surely the figure s quoted are inaccurate and misleading.

TI1is must bring in tu question whether some, or all, of jje answers given at the UGM were also maccurate and misleading.

We should be intersted if the power-hungry ' pse udo-politicians' of the Executive would like to respond to these comments in a forti1coming edition of Concrete . And could they please answer the question which still remains unresolved : with the NUS having "the second largest brewery account in the UK". as quoted by the Vice-President of the NUS, j ust why is beer so expensive at UEA? Jonathan Turtle, Paul Murphy, David McLoughlin, Jamic Glanville, Bjorn Topp.

Concrete reply : The Concrete Co-op would like to reiterate the fact that the 'Pravda ·page is written by th :!

Union of UEA Students as part of an agreement with Concrete.

'Pra vda · does not express th e views of Concrete. its Edi tor or Publisher.

Prizes for Europe!

AUT Open Meeting

How would you like to take part in a European universities' quiz game?

The UEA team is through to the semi-fmals in Oxford, which will be held some time in December.

Prizes are guaranteed, even for the losers. The -winners can expect to be wined and dined throughout Europe, as well as the chance to win scholarships and more prizes.

UEA needs two more scientists to complete the tean1 . If you are interested please contact Mike Hadlow, DEV 3, on 765315, or through his pigeon-hole.

There is an open meeting organised by the local Association of University Teachers.

Speakers will include the ViceChancellor and a representative from the Union of Students.

It will be held at 1pm on Wednesday Wk 4 in Lecture Theatre 1.

All students are welcome to attend.

For more information.

Kitty Inglis ext. 2430

IRecruitment I Concrete's continued success depends upon your continued support. If you would like to contribute in any way - whether it be writing news, features, arts or sports; taking photographs or producing artwork; typing proof-reading, selling advertising, or doing anything it takes to make a newspaper work, then come to one of our meetings. They are every Monday in Room 1.33 of Union House. Or come and see us any weekday between 12pm and 2pm in our office, upstairs in Union House. No experi• ence IS necessary.

• Concrete, Wednesday, October 28, 1992

Sport

The Challenge of a Lifetime The training takes two years, you sail round the world the " wrong way" and you put to port three times in eight months -would you have the stamina and courage to take on the " British Steel Challenge " ?

by Katharine Mahoney.

One of the most arduous yacht races started on Saturday 26 September. Ten identical, 67ft, steel yachts set out from the Solent to race 28,000 miles around the world. The race takes eight months and the course takes them east-west around the world against prevailing winds and currents. The yachts stop just three times, at Rio de Janeiro, Hobart and Cape Town and are due to arrive back in Southhampton next May. The model for this immense undertaking is Chay Blyth, a three time circumnavigator, Atlantic rower and transatlantic race winner, he frrst undertook the same journey in 1970.

The yachts are professionally skippered but are not, as you

might expect, all crewed by incredibly experienced sailors. It is in tact a mixed crew of 130 amateurs, 70% of whom have never had any sailing experience before. The crew, picked from 11 ,000 applicants, have undergone two years intensive training and by the time the race began had logged between 3,000 and 5,000 miles. The only draw back to being a crew member is that it costs each individual £14,850 each.

This does not mean that only the rich and elitist can take part.

It would be more accurate to say that it is the truly dedicated ( or mad ) who take part. Some people sell not only their businesses to take part, but also their cars and homes. However, the majority of the yachtsmen take less drastic measures by raising the money through sponsorship.

During the race, the crew eat

freeze-dried food which can be stored anywhere and keeps the weight down when racing.

The yachtsmen take it in turns to cook as appetising a meal as possible, under extremely difficultconditions. Twoofthe crew in each yacht are trained in first aid, however in case of emergencies the yachts are lucky enough to have five crewmen who are normally doctors.

The event costs £11 million and therefore is not just for fun. All the boats are sponsored by various companies, such as the Commercial Union, Nuclear Electric and Rhone-Poulenc. The Teeside Development Corporation put up £225,000 to have one of the ten yachts under their colours.

The advantages of this are that the sponser will have his namecarriedaroundtheworld,

\

which will hopefully provide new industry to the area.

The crews are also helping to carry out ecological projects.

They will be monitoring sightings of whales, dolphins and pollution during their journey, as part of " Ocean Vigil "

a study organised by the Marine Conservation Society.

The British Steel Challenge will provide a tough race around the world. Yet what will remain in the memories of those that take part will no doubt be the most incredible challenge of a lifetime.

Looking forward to ''a good Squash I v Mens 1st XI Hockey Bucks season of UEA Rugby'' v Bucks

by David Brown

skipper of the frrst team, Mr. James(Bendey)Turneyhasbuilt a strong team who unluckily lost their frrst match against Beccles, but put up a great fight against Thetford I sts in the Norfolk Cup narrowly losing 17-10. As huge underdogs they played out oftheir skins and it won ' t be long before Mr. Turney has a winning record with performances like that. The Second team, still skippered by Chris "Tod" Coole, have had a storming start to the season and with the team having 9 newcomers, they overcame Beccles with ease in a 32-5 romp. North Walsham fourths put up more

resistance but were beaten 15-7 and in the first UAU of the season we played Buckingham University I sts where their form eluded them, the tactics were wrong and a weaker Buckinghamsidemanagedtowin 11-3.

The thirds, captained by "Tigger'', have also taken this season and made it their own by being the only undefeated UEA side. They were victors against Beccles3rds, l0-0, followedup by a 22-0 aniolation of Lakenham. With the UAU' s around the corner all three teams are looking hot and be prepared for a good season ofUEA Rugby.

Basketball: UEA Aardvarks continued from page 20

UEA Match Reports and Results

UEA Rugby has seen a lot of changes since this term has started; many of last years players have left, more players have arrived, captains have changed and even the rules are different! Only 3 or 4 players remained from last years frrst team so there were plenty of places available for all the new talent that started this year, which consisted not only of freshers but alsothecreamofthe UEAAmericanFootballTeam. Playerssuch as Jim Goodwin, Stu CiftonSmith, Paul Slack and Simon Williamsonhavealldefectedfrom the Gridiron to take their place on the rugby field. The newly elected

19

Playing at a squash club in Milton Keynes, that put UEA squash courts to shame, our first team played Bucks University.

The no.5 seed Paul Bedwin (SYSI) battled valiantly to keep up with the fast pace, not helped by a lack of match fitness! He eventually went down, in 3 games.

The fourth seed, Steve Teape was also suffering from the lack of match practice, but stil performed admirably. However he lost in 3 games so it was up to the top 3 seeds to save the day.

At this stage UEA was two matches down and morale was pretty low. The pressure was on for UEA's top players.

John Caton (EAS II) playing as our no.3 seed, in his frrst UAU match as club president, was in fme form. He totally devastated his opponent with a mixture of fme " touch " shots and a high fitness level. He won in 3 games only, barely breaking into a sweat.

Club secretary David Brown, the no.2 seed, was faced with strong opposition from his German opponent. The frrst game was easily won by David with excellent " kill " shots helped also by frequent mistakes from the oppostion. In the second and third games he needed to draw

by Mike Baker UEA were held to a goaless draw

by Buckingham, on astro-turf at Milton Keynes. Buckingham opened well, but the UEA defence held frrm and UEA also had several attacks in the frrst half; almost invariably starting through Eddie Costelloe at centre-half. After halftime, UEA did most of the attacking but could not quite apply the finishing touch. Nick Stevenson was unlucky to have a shot saved on the line by a defender and the Buckingham defence in general was pretty solid. This was a good performance from UEA, who were unlucky and disappointed not to have scored a winning goal.

on all his experience and fitness, to overcome an ever improving opponent. Winning in three games, the overall match score was tied.

It was then left to the number one seed, and first team captain, Arun Mistry (SOC Ill) to clinch the match with a " special " display of dominant squash, leaving his opponent with no chance of survival whatsoever. The top match, went to Arun in three games and secured the fixture 3-2 to UEA ..

With a relatively weak side, UEA performed well and deserved to

wm.

up of foreign students. Approximately halfhail from Europe and the other half form the United States.

The Norfolk League has no nationality restrictions, but when the team plays in County Cup matches they are only allowed to have two foreign nationals on the team. For those games, played against sixteen local teams, the foreign players will be forward Sergio from Cyprus and centre Andy Ortale from the United States. The first County Cup game was October 13 and UEA won by a wide margm.

The team has seven players returning from last year who are distributed between the two squads. Starting in mid November the teams will be competing in the frrst rounds of the UAU' s.

There will be thirty eight teams participating in the tournament and two years ago the Ardvarks made it to the fmal eight. Although there are no nationality restrictions for these games all of the players must be current UEA students.

The womens club president Philina Gatfon was also forced to make quick decisions regarding her team. Over 25 women are active club members and fifteen will make up the team. After only two practices, the Lady Ardvarks had their frrst game on October 6. The team managed a decisive victory over North Norfolk. The UEA team dominated the boards and managed to take two or three shots each time down the court. The Ardvarks frustrated the North Norfolk team into countless turnovers and ended the game with a score of73-18.

There are eight women returning from last years squad that took the silver medal at the University Championships. As with the mens team a majority of the women players are not British.

The ratio of foreigners is even greater than with the men, and if the league deceides to enforce the only two foreign nationals rule, UEA would have a difficult time producing a full team.

The women played their second game on October 13 and this time they defeated Hobart rather easily. After the two, twenty minute halves the score was 5129.

Both the men and the womens teams are looking forward to continuing success on the court.

Games are held at the Sports Centre on Tuesday nights. Admission is free, so come out and support your University of East Anglia Aardvarks Basketball teams.

•

•

concre e s ...

It started in Boats Tara Hoke and Nigel Harding look at thedifferences between University sport in Britain and in America

I_

When in 1829, students from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge met in llenley to contest a boat race, the event marked the world's first inter-collegiate sports competition . But whereas in Bntam collegiate sports have remained more of a " tournament of gentlemen ", in America they have evol ved into a" Clash of Titans .. where natiOnal passions nm as high as tl1e annual turnover.

In 199 1 CBS Televi sion patd a staggering $1 billwn for the rights to screen first-divi sion college basketball games for tl1e following seven years. ll1e University of Notre Dame, which features one of America ' s most successful college football teams, signed a $40 million contract for five years. lne arumal revenue for Division One /\.A American football , including television coverage, ticket sales and endorsements, will tl1is year nm to more tl1an $500 nulhon .

Officially, not a pe1my of this

vast income goes to pay tl1e players. The money is split amongst the competing universities where it is put back into the sport. In 1989, tl1c University of Michigan spent $21 million on its Athletics Department.

In 1992, The Student Union at the UEJ\ will spend £57,000.

Why is there such a huge disparity in the finan ce of college sports? One reason is the importance placed on college participation by American professional sports. In the UK. , promising soccer players arc generally snapped up by professional teams immediately upon leaving school to serve an apprenticeship with tl1e club.ln tl1e US , however, tl1e only way for talented sportsmen to receive attention from professional ballclubs is through playing with a college team. This trend is similar in all major sports; football , soccer, basketball and hockey, all select their new players from college drafts.

Anotl1cr reason for the difference stems from public interest in college sports. In America, sports fans know that they will be seeing the star players of the future in the college matches. It is not unusual for a single football game to attract a crowd of one hundred thousand in the stadium alone wiili tens of millions also watching on TV. In the UK, ilie most watched college event is shll tl1e Oxbridge boat race, witl1 a handful of keen supporters by the river-side and a few million viewers tuning in one Saturday afternoon a year.

One fundamental differance in US and UK university sports is in tl1e emphasis on academic requirements for team members.

In nearly all British universities, sports are strictly extracurricular. Sports teams at UEA are partofilie Students' Union railier than the university itself.

Coaches for the various sports are paid small fees for a few hours a week. In ilie US, sports

...

Fast and furious Nikki Zite follows the fortunes of UEA's Basketball team

•

For most students the saturday of week 0 was ilie last chance to re lax in preparation fo r the grueli ng tern1 ahead. TI1is was not tl1e case for over eighty men and women who wanted to play basketball as tl1at was the day ilie team trials were held.

Unl ike some of U1e sporting societies at UEA, that gradually build ilieir clubs up in size and activity throughout tl1e first few weeks of ilie term, the basketball teams were forced to organise quickly as their first games were on October 6.

The mens club organisers, Dave Brown and !an " Spidee" Summers, along wiili head coach, Alan Buck and playing assistant coach, Alunmi Dave Baker, watched tl1e forty five club members and chose twenty for ilie teams. The f1rst official league game for ilie two squads actually had iliem playing each oilier.

There are three male divisions in ilie Norfolk League and in ilie past years UEA has had a team

in each of ilie top two. As is common in many leagues the team with tl1e best record from each di vision moves up a division at ilie end of each season.

Last year ilie UEA seconds were undefeated and ilierefore are now playing in ilie same division as ilie UEA fi rsts.

The fans who came to watch the game saw a hard fought battle iliat ended in a 78-42 victory for ilie UEA firsts. Along wiili ilie exciting action of the game itself, ilie observant fan quickly noticed some interesting facts.

Firstl y, although both teams were made up of UEA students, only one team was wearing UEA uniforms. The oilier team was dressed in j erseys from th e University ofCalifomia. It seems iliat tl1e head coach, Alan Buck, is originally from ilie Berkley Campus of ilie University of Cal ifornia and a few years ago he managed to acquire some uniforms and donated iliem to UEA. The second interesting fact coul d

are w1der ilie administration of ilic tmiversity itself. Students can gain scholarships largely for atl1letic ability and are often expected to spend 30 hours a week in training - more than twice their actual class time.

The universities employ fulltime coaches for the major sports and ilie very best can expect a salary of up to $700,000 a year.

College sports have existed in a competitive arena for over 160 years. Today,altlloughalotmore rests on American inter-collegiate tournaments ilian those in Britain , tl1e basic spirit of competition remains ilie same on botl1 sides of ilie Atlantic.

THE STUDENTS' LANDLORD

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PHOTO: Mark Turner only be picked up by iliose who li stened closely to the game .

Hearing numerous accents from the court, it became clear that iliere were quite a few international players on ilie teams. Over t\vo-thirds of the squad is made

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