Concrete issue 250 18 01 2011

250th edition!

Housing Special Four page Union housing pull-out for every reader

As Concrete reaches its 250th issue, Features looks back at some of the stories that have shaped UEA

Tuesday 18th January 2011 • Issue 250 • UEA's Independent Student Newspaper

TechpocWypse~eakshavoc • UEA network, including Web mail, Broadsearch and phone system, fails in crucial last week of term.

• Controversy rages as students from different faculties are given drastically different extensions.

Joshua Resoun News Reporter Problems with the UEA network have caused considerable disruption to staff and students leading up to and during the Christmas break. Controversy also raged over disparities in the extensions given to students in light of the problems, with arts students receiving a 24-hour extension and science students being given January deadlines.

The technology problems appeared to be over as of Friday January 14th when the university released a statement saying that the work to replace the network core was complete. The statement also expressed thanks to staff and students for their "understanding" throughout the problems.

However, questions are still being asked as to what caused the problems in the first place, and what is being done to avoid these problems in the future.

Shortly before midnight on December 13th, the UEA network began to experience problems which were caused by a failure with the main network core. By December 14th, the network faced a rapid degradation in the quality of service, including access to the Portal, Broadsearch and Webmail.

On the January 13th, UEA Information Services stated that they were "pleased to inform students and staff that the final phase of the replacement to network equipment which caused IT problems before Christmas has now been successfully completed".

NEWS: Riverside nightclub to re-open

The UEA network crashed in week 12, with problems continuing to plague students over the Christmas break The Union of UEA Students sent an open letter to Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic), Professor Tom Ward on January 6th, outlining the anger and frustration that many students have felt during the

'Techpocalypse'. The letter was formed from the primary concerns of students, saying: "The main difficulty was that the University failed to adequately communicate with the student body".

NEWS: New Streets album COMMENT AND OPINION: Eastenders: A to feature Ziggurats : step too far?

Nightclub to open on the site of The album cover of the Streets final Alex Couzens comments on the former Norwich club Lava & Ignite . album will feature the iconic UEA furore surrounding the recent this February accommodation : Eastenders baby swap plot Page 11 Page 4 : Page 4

This was certainly true as far as extensions to deadlines were concerned.

Continued on page 3

FEATURES: Concrete's guide to student housing

COMPETITIONS: Win White Lies tickets!

Concrete gives you the low down on making the transition from halls to private housing Page 14

Turn to Venue page 20 for your chance to win a pair of ticket to see the White lies at the LCR Venue Page ZO

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NEWS

ISS UE 250

www.concrete-online.co.uk

Report reveals the number of Firsts awarded has doubled in recent years

UEA's Independent Student Newspaper

• One in seven students achieved a First last year, with 46, 825 top class degrees being awarded.

• Calls made for introduction of a 'starred first' to distingui sh exceptional students.

Concrete Newspaper Union House UEA Norwi ch NR4 7TJ

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james Hughes

concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk

Danny Collin s

Deputy Editor:

Steph McKenna

Chief Copy Editor:

Mia Wecker

News Editors:

Davina Kesby Ed Leftwich

Comment and Opinion Editor:

Emma Parrott

International Editor:

Nishavitha Murthi

Features Editor:

Adam Fenwick

Turf Editor:

Ann a Tomson

Lifestyle Editor:

james Dixon

Travel Editor:

Tom Hunt

Sports Editors:

Chris King Rob Schatte n

Chief Photographer:

Greg Mann

Deputy Chief Photographer:

Laura Smith

Advertising Manager:

j ean Will s

Distributor:

Ross Grant Contributors:

News Re porter

Th e hi g hly debate d topi c o f hi g he r e du ca tion has e ntere d a ne w dim e ns ion o f cy ni cis m foll owin g a n inves ti gation by Th e Sunday Tim es into degre e res ults.

Th e findin gs es t a b li sh e d th a t th e p e r ce ntage of s tud e nts g ra du a tin g with firs t or hi g h sec ond class d egr ees is alm os t d o ubl e wh a t it w as 40 yea rs ag o .

Thi s has pro mpte d a n inqui ry into the uni vers ity g ra ding sy s t e m w h ic h ha s bee n in d o ubt a mon gs t o ffi cia ls fo r s om e tim e now.

UEA w as o n e o f th e m a ny aca d e mi c es tabli s hm e nts m e nti o n ed in th e r e p o rt co mpil e d fr o m th e s ta ti s ti cs o f the s urvey. The pe rc e ntage of gra du a tes o bta inin g a firs t class d eg ree has in cr ease d fr o m 5% in 197 0 to 1 5% to d ay.

Th e g ra d e infl a ti o n has b ee n pa rtl y at tri b ute d to th e re lax in g o f so m e uni ve rs ity m a rkin g s ta nd a rd s clu e

Editorial: 01603 593 466 Advertising: 01603 592 507 Editor:

t o t he incorporation o f polytechni cs into th e ove ra ll unive r s ity sy s te m .

Prof. Al a n Smith e r s of Bu ckingh a m Uni ve rs ity s ugges ts th a t "g ivin g unive r s ity s ta tu s to th e p o lyte chni cs, so m e of whi ch a re ve ry goo d, fr ee d t h e m to award th e ir own d eg re es a nd th ey ha ve exe rcise d th a t fr eed o m to a ward hi g h d eg re es t o re la ti ve ly p oo rlyq ua lifi e d e ntra nts ."

Th e reaso n fo r th e evid e nt ri se in th e numb e rs o f g radu a tes rece ivin g th e to p degree s from traditional unive rs iti es s till r e m a in s un ce rta in , how eve r.

Th e r e is s p ecul a ti o n th a t th e necess ity to a pp ea r s up e ri o r to o th e r aca d e mi c es ta bli s hm e nts , in o rd e r to ga in r esea rch g ra nts a nd e n courage ne w s tud e nts, h as meant unive rs iti es h ave b ee n g ivin g g ra du a tes hi g h e r m a rks to improve th e ir s ta tu s in th e leag ue ta bl es.

Reass ura n ce has bee n p rov id e<.! fo r s tud e nts, as w e ll a s th e unive rs iti es

th at have b ee n a llud e d to as th e ma in culprits of cl e li be ra te g rad e infl a ti o n. A Unive rs iti es UK s pokes p ers on has s ta te d that "'l'h e pro p o rti o n o f firs ts a nd 2:1 s a ward ed has in cr ea s e d marginally in r ece nt yea rs, reflecting in creas es in e ntry level s " and thu s thi s is s imply indi ca tive o f a n aca d e mi ca lly thirsty ge n e ra ti o n.

Anni e Ogcl e n, Hea d o f

Commun ications, sa id th a t re a sons for the change cou ld ra nge from "th e introdu cti o n of m o du la r d eg rees to th e p oss ibility th a t s tud e nts may be w orkin g ha rd e r; s om e s ubj ects have ra ise d th e ir e ntry re quirem e nts, so ma ny s tud e nts now a rrive wit h hi gh e r qualificati o n s fr o m th e o uts et. Diffe re nt ma rkin g or teachin g m e th o d s m ay now a lso b e e mpl oyed ".

New language course announced

Clou dy at first, sunny Dry with bri ght or sunny sp ell s late r. Feelin g chilly. spells. Chilly & breezy .

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Danny Collins Editor

L.,:-.:::I:~~~~;::::~:w l;~~~~i:!::!~~~=±L~ Th e Unive rs ity has recently

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Joshua Resoun, james Hughes, Susanna Wood, james Schofield, Riann a !son, !an Hobbs, jack Brinded, Alex Sunny spe ll s at first, Couzens, Hannah Evans, Kate Ali en, jonathan Parr, beco min g cl oudier later. josh Weatheri ll, Fiona Howard, Drew Nico l, Kri stin a !--:~~,.. ... .., ........ ""'~ Stephens, Rachael Lum, l sabell e Carty, Ruthana Christofides, Will Lacey, Emma Williamson, Lisa A rather cl oudy wee kend with a chance o f Stevens, Ava Gaida, Sim on O'Meara, Oli Platt, George li ght rain or drizzle at times . Fee lin g rather Neal, Chris Teale, Kristen Wade, Mark Roach chilly with a cold northerly win d.

Proofreaders: Milly I-lumphrey, Gabriella Slake, Sam Dordoy, Ann I-lartigan, Susanna Wood

co ncrete.n ews@ uea.ac.u k

Fair1y chilly but largely dry with sunny spell s and ov ernight frosts , and a ri sk of isolated showers . Beco ming milder fro m next weekend with patchy rain possible at times . www .concreteweather .co.uk

a nn oun ced th e esta bli s hm e nt of a Japa nese la nguage d egree for th e 2011 -12 acad emi c yea r as pa rt of a pa rtn e rship with Japa nese food giant, Yakult.

Japa nese La nguage Studi es, whi ch has bee n mad e poss ibl e through th e fundin g of a new teaching post, will comme nce nex t aca d e mi c y e a1~.

Prof David Peters Cm·bett, Dea n of th e Fa culty of Arts and Hum a nities at UEA, said: "In a time when rapid globa lization is ta king pla ce, th e impo rta nce o f unders ta ndin g different

cultures ca nn ot be und e res tim a ted,.

"We a re d e lighted th a t Ya kult UK is ge nerous ly s upp ortin g th e creati o n of thi s new lectu res hip, whi ch in turn will sec th e esta bli s hm e nt of a new deg ree course. We vigorous ly co ntinu e to deve lop japa ne ·e stra nds in o ur edu ca ti o n a nd resea rch, a nd our a im is to ma ke UEA a key destin ati o n fo r stud e nts a nd researche rs wh o wis h to study japan a nd its culture."

Th e course will join a dive rse lis t of languages ta ught a t th e Unive rs ity, ra nging fro m th e traditional m od e rn la nguages, to Russ ia n a nd Chin ese.

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Tuesday 18th January

UEA hands out £38,785.61 in "refunded fees and expenses"

UEA law lecturer sentenced Julian Myerscough, the UEA criminal law lecturer who was found guilty of possessing indecent images of children, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison. ln addition to this, Myerscough has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for ten years and must pay prosecution costs totalling £3,000. He was also given a ten year sexual offences prevention order. These orders are designed to prevent the offender from committing further offences.

Myerscough was found guilty after the inappropriate images were viewed within minutes of other pages. These pages were found to reflect Myerscough's interests, including cricket and classical music.

Davina Kesby

UEA appoints new head of climate research

• •

Universities revealed to be giving compensation to students for courses which are "not up to standard".

UEA reimburse a postgraduate student over £50,000 for fees, expenses and sponsorship.

Susanna Wood News Reporter

It has been revealed that in the 2009-10 year a UEA student received £56,138.11 in compensation from the University.

The figure was released following an investigation by The Guardian into how much money is paid out to students studying at UK universities. UEA was revealed to have awarded the second highest amount to students out of all UK institutions.

The international student, who was on a postgraduate course, was reimbursed £38,785 .6 1 for living expenses and flights. An additional £17,352.50 was paid to the sponsor of the student to refund fees paid since 2005.

The reasons why the compensation was awarded were withheld by the University

when asked, saying that due to "co nfidentiality and data protection", they were unable to give details of the individual case.

An article published in The Guardian on 27th December 2010 suggests that compensation cases such as this one show that students are willing to fight for what they pay for during higher education.

The University, however, has highlighted that this particular case was an isolated incident and therefore not indicative of a rise in student expectations.

A spokesperson for the University said: "We are proud of the levels of overall satisfaction expressed by our students. Cases such as this are extremely rare and it is right that students should be compensated where appropriate."

The Union of UEA Students provide support for compensation cases through their Advice

Union bar prices on the rise after VAT increase Davina Kesby News Editor

UEA has appointed a new Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change who will also act as the new Chair of Climate Change Science and Policy at the University.

Prof Corinne Le Quere has a Ph.D. in Oceanography and MS in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and BSc in Physics.

Originally from Canada, Professor Le Quere will conduct research on the interactions between climate change and the carbon cycle. She lectures internationally, and said: "The Tyndall Centre is a young and vibrant Institute with a highly respected international reputation.

I look forward to maintaining and enhancing Tyndall's renown and exploring new avenues of research".

Ed Leftwich

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The rece:-~t increase in VAT has led to an increase in bar prices at UEA. Spirits and beers have increased by lOp, with soft drinks and hot drinks unaffected.

On the 4th January, VAT was increased from 17.5% to 20%. As a tax on goods and services, this rise has been reflected in retail outlets across the country as well as within the Union of UEA Students.

Prime Minister David Cameron

has intimated that the rise, while initially thought to be a temporary measure in order to tackle the budget deficit, may be permanent.

Speaking to the BBC, Cameron said that the changes are having to be "pretty permanent".

In 2009, the then Chancellor Alistair Darling reduced VAT to 15% in an attempt to revive the economy by encouraging people to shop more. The figure of 17.5% was restored in January 2010, making this increase the second in a year.

Laura Sm Students have been successful in claiming compensatiOn from their universities Centre. Talking to Concrete, Union Academic Officer, Rachel Handforth, said: "The Union will always support students who have been found to have been disadvantaged in their education."

Other prominent universities were also revealed to have given large sums in compensation to students over the last year.

Examples include Cardiff

Univers ity, awarding £39,100, and Exeter, awardmg £21,500.

Thames Valley University was the only university to award more money than UEA, with £55,437 reimbursed to nine students after their tutor went on sick leave .

This issue is particularly pertinent with the rise in tuition fees, as students may expect higher quality tuition for their money.

Computer says no ... «

Continued from page 1

Each Faculty was placed in charge of whether or not to extend their deadlines, with the Faculty of Science postponing their coursework deadlines until the 20th January. The Faculty of Humanities, however, postponed their coursework deadlines until the 17th December, giving students just one extra day.

Rachel Handforth, Academic Officer of the Union of UEA Students, said: "'The Union is extremely disappointed that the IT and network problems caused so much distress for students in the last week of term - a stressful enough time already.

"The University should have done more to communicate with students effectively about the problems, and as all students were equally affected by the system crash, students felt that there should have been a standard extension of all deadlines for coursework."

After the resolution of the problems, Professor Tom Ward said: "We are extremely sorry about the disruption caused to students as a result of the fault in

our netvvork in a week when many students had coursework and assignments due. Decisions about deadline extensions were made by each faculty individually and the faculties will be explaining their decisions to their students.

"I am writing to all exam boards to ask them to ensure that no student is disadvantaged as a result of this problem. In addition, changes will be put in place to ensure that a future network breakdown does not impact so badly on our ability to communicate."

A full response from the university is expected at the Union Council meeting on February 3rd, with Professor Tom Ward confirmed to attend, along with the Associate Deans of the four faculties andilieheadofUEAI~

Anger amongst students remains, with one student stating: "Due to the Techpocalypse I have missed out on an accommodation offer at my year abroad university."

Questions also remain as to why the hardware which plays host to the UEA network managed to fail only 2 lh years into its five year lifespan.

Joshua Resoun

ISS UE 250

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con crete.news@ uea.ac.uk

Union appoints new chief executive 'T'h e UE/\ Union o f Stud e nts has recently a ppointed a new chief exe cut ive, Ri chard Powell OBE .

Powell has ex tens iv e ex pe ri e nce runnin g charities and is expected to aim the Union toward becomin g a low-ca rbon union.

Rob Bloom e r, Ch ;lir of th e Board of Truste es, said: "R ichard will be a n exce ll e nt a ddition to th e ma nage me nt tea m of th e Uni on.

Throu gho ut the inte rview process I hav e be e n con s is tently impressed with hi s peopl e man age me nt skill s, s t ra tegi c a bility a nd hi s ab ili ty to inn ova te a nd fundra ise.

I envi sage us rea ll y developing as th e exe mp la r low- ca rbon uni o n th a t we a im to he.

Ric ha rd's pass ion for th e job was ev id ent throu ghout, and I very mu ch loo k forwa rd to workin g w ith him wh en he beg in hi s ro le."

Riverside club to re-open • Project Ni ghtclub to be opened in pl ace of the Lava/Ignite co mpl ex whi ch shut down in September 2007 •

Professor Gree n to perform at VIP opening ni ght on February 24th

UEA Union puts on free screening Th e Uni on is puttin g on a free s ho w in g of "Bl ac k Dy na mite" on Thursday, Janu a ry 27th in Lecture Th ea tre On e. Sta rrin g Mi chae l ja i White as th e gun -totin g, nun chu ckw iclding, ladi es' ma n and so ul brother 8i<1ck Dy namite.

Shot in Sup e r 16 r:il m, thi s ribcrac kin g s poo f of "bl ax ploit ati on". film s from th e 197 0's bl end s th e likes of Black Belt )ones, Shaft , Bru ce Lee a nd Dirty ll arry.

The Uni on is a lso promoting th e film s release onto DVD a t th e Club l~cu · o LC I~ on Saturday 22 nd Ja nu a ry.

co mp a ni es wh o wa nt to use our ca mpu s as a bac kdro p to s till photog ra phy or fi lms . We ta ke eac h requ es t on merit, e ns uring

th a t s uch a n ac ti vity wo uld no t in conve ni e nce s ta ff or s tud e nts a nd th a t th e s ubj ect ma tter is not in a ppropri a te".

News Re po rte r

UEA launches iPad prospectus UE/\ have laun ched a n a pp whi ch wi ll all ow pro s pe ctive students to v iew in fo rm ati on about th e uni ve rs ity on a n iPad. Th e free app prov id es information on courses ava ilabl e at UE/\, ih e s tud ent ex pe ri ence, fac ili ties, acco mm oda tion and th e loca l area. Th e univers ity is th e first in th e Ul< to deve lop a n app of thi s kind .

Suzy Gook, 11 cad of Ma rkcti ng a nd Admi ss ions, sa id: "it's grea t to see our prospectu s bein g downloaded in thi s format around th e wo rld and to see th e popul ari ty of the iPad growin g. Th e mos t interes t so far has com e from th e Ul<, th e USA a nd Chin a."

Nearly four years s in ce its closu1·c, the ni ghtclub form erly kn own as Lava/ Ignite in th e Riversid e co mpl ex is to reo pen, und er th e new na me of Proj ect.

Th e club, adj acent to the Hollywoo d Bowl a nd see n as a n integ ral pa rt of th e a rea, wi ll host a VIP grand opening on Thursday 24th r:ebrua ry. 'T'h e ope ning of Project fo ll ows th e reo pening of th e ll ollywood Bowl in Dece mb er 2010.

Th e Lava / Ignite nightclub closed in 200 7 du e to stru ctural co nce rn s with th e building, a move whi ch also forced th e clos ure of th e adj oining bowlin g alley.

Since th en, the Rivers ide co mpl ex, whi ch a lso in clud es Wethers poo n's Qu een of lce ni pub, a n Od con cin ema a nd seve ral 1·cstaurants, has been hi t hard by the loss of mon ey s pent by th ousa nd s of club bc rs each wee k. Th e a bse nce of Lava/ Ignite ha s seen oth e r ba rs, such as Norwegia n Blu e, being forced to close th eir doors du e to th e fall in custom.

In May las t yea r, the site landl ord laun ched a £20m lawsuit against co ntracto rs, cla iming a breach of co ntra ct wh en th e stru cture was

bu ilt. ll o w c v c r~ a n out-o f-co urt legal settl ement res olved th e row, and a lega l dea l was stru ck to enabl e both th e ni ghtclub and howling a ll ey to be refurbi shed.

Th e ope ning of th e club will ge nerate 75 part-tim e a nd fulltime jobs and increase the level of s pendin g in th e s urrounding arc<l.

Ca roline Willi ams, chi ef executive of Norfolk Cha mb er of Co mm erce, was pl eased with th e news.

"Thi s is good news for Norwi ch as th e crea ti on of new jobs wi ll he key to th e eco nomi c deve lopm ent of th e city. At a tim e wh en th e se rvi ce indu stry is findin g it chall enging, this shows a pos iti ve co mmitm ent to Norwi ch."

Proj ect Nightclub will host a range of nights, in cludin g an indic mus ic night on Fridays, co medy nights, and karao ke. Th e club will a lso sec a host of live acts ove r th e cou rse of the yc<Jr. After Lava/ Ignite was well regarded for hos ting popula r stud ent nights every Thursday, th e club has desce nd ed into myth, with ve ry few current students hav ing vis ited. jay Reeves, alumnu s of UF.A in th e class of 200 8, co mm ented that "if Project is half as good as L<wa/ Ignite was on Thursdays, yo u're in fo r a trea t".

Ja mes Schofield

Th e Project nightclub, which opens in February

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Ziggurats used for new Streets album artwork Ri anne lson News Re porte r Mi ke Skinn e r of 'Th e Stree ts' has un ve il ed hi s bra nd new a lbum cove r fo r 'Computers and []/u e.\", w hi ch is to be re lease d in r:eb ru ary, w ith th e ra th e r fa m ili a r vi ew of Norfo lk Te rrace at UE/\.

Th e fro nt ma n of th e Briti s h band is see n gaz in g fr o m UE/\'s ico ni c Zigg ura t buil d in g, illum ina ted by a pink li gh t.

Skinn er, bes t know n fo 1· hits s uch <I S 'Dry y our eyes' whi ch cha rted at nu mbe r o ne in 20 04, has bee n LJU Ote d as say in g t ha t he chose the 1960s buildin g a ft e r perform ing at UEA' s LCR ve nu e, h cc<~ u se he "like d the loo k o f it ".

Skinn e 1· is repo rted to have atte nd ed a n a ft er pa rty at th e accommod a tion blo ck a fter hi s perfo rm a nce a nd , lik e ma ny

oth e rs, fe ll in love with its charac ter is ti c architec ture.

'Computer and Blu es' is th e fifth a nd fin a l a lbum fro m Th e Stree ts as Skinn e r w is hes to purs ue oth e r proje cts, howe ve r th ey will be returning to UE/\ as they pe rfo rm th e ir fa rewe ll to ur o n th e Febru a ry 28 th a t th e LCR. Th e a lbum is release d on Febru a ry 7th.

Th e Zigg u1·ats a re a Grad e 11 li s ted buildin g a nd we re na med as "o ne o f th e mos t o utsta ndin g new uni ve rs ity d es igns in Brita in " w hen th ey we re built in th e 196 0s .

The UEA ca mpu s has a ls o rece ntly bee n use d as th e bac kdro p to a n advert for Levi jea ns. A UE/\ s pokes pe rso n sa id : "Th e uni ve rs ity ha s ve ry di s tin ctive a rchitec ture a nd is se t in a n ex tre me ly attrac tive environm e nt, so we a re o fte n a pproac hed by

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eo ncrctl' .Ill' I I' S~'l uea.ac. u i<

27 Liberal Democrat MPs vote in

Millbank protester

jailed A s tudent who hurl e d a fir e exti ngui s he r fr o m th e roo f of Co nse r va ti ve Pa rty IIQ into th e crowd be low has bee n ja il e d .

Ed wa rd Wo oll a rd , 18, w a s a m o ng th ose wh o broke into th e Mill ba nk buildin g durin g th e s tud e n t p ro tes ts of Nove mb e r lOth . Th e in c id e nt occ urre d afte r pro tes to rs d e trac t e d fr o m th e route of th e m a rc h a nd bro ke into Co nse r va ti ve Pa rty ll ea d quar te rs, occ upy ing th e roo f fo r seve ra l ho urs. Th e e mpty fire extin g u is h e r mi ss ed a lin e o f police o ffi ce rs by a ma tte r of fee t, a voiding po te nti a ll y se r io us in jury.

Woo ll a rd s te pp e d fo rwa rd a fte r h is moth e r p e rs ua d e d him to turn him se lf in to t he po lice.

Ju dge Geoffrey Riv lin QC to ld th e d efe nd a nt t ha t it was "excee din g ly fort un a te th a t your acti o n did no t res ult in d ea th ... to a p o li ce o ffi ce r or· ;1 fe ll o w protes tor". Woollard has b ee n se nte nce d to t wo years a nd e ig ht month s in pri so n, w it h ha lf o f th e te r m to he se r ve d in a yo un g o ffe nd e rs ' ins titute.

Ja m es Sch ofie ld

Charles Clarke fronts lecture series

favour of fees •

Poli cy o n fees passed by a slim major ity of 21 votes, with 323 votes in favour and 302 against.

• Simon Wright honours pledge to rebe l against party and vote against tuition fee proposals.

Davina Kesby

po lit icians w h o have let us dow n

News Edito r

so ba dl y ".

Afte r m o nth s o f d e b a te, th e vo le o n wh e th e r to ra ise tu iti o n fees to a m ax imum of £9, 0 0 0 was passe d in th e ll o use of Co mm o ns by ju s t 2 1 vo tes. Th e Lo rd s a lso backed th e prop osa ls . d es pite a n a tte mpt from La bour Lo r·d s to a m e nd t h e bi ll a nd se nd it bac k t o t he Co mmon s.

Th e vo te, w hi c h took pl ace o n t he Dece mb e r 9 th, sa w 323 MPs vo tin g in fa vour of a ri se in fees . w ith 302 vo tes aga in st. Stud e n ts sta rting t he ir s tudi es in 2 01 2 w ill face fees ri s in g fr o m th e cu r ren t fi g ur e o f £3,2 90 to £6, 000 , w ith so m e unive r s iti es b e in g e li g ibl e to c ha rge u p to £9,000-a-yea r for t uit io n .

T h e e du ca t io n po licies of t he ne w Co a liti o n Gove rnm e nt h;we bee n s hrouded in co ntr ove rsy, m a ny unh ap py s tud e nts t urning to pro t es t in o rd e r t o vo ice th e ir o pp os ition .

Pres ident of th e Na tion a l Uni o n o f Stud e nts, /\aro n Porte r, sa id th a t th e NU S a re "in c re di b ly di sa pp o inte d a nd a ng ry w ith th e

Resig n at ions Two Libera l De m ocrat MPs, Mi ke Crocka rt a nd Je nn y W illo lt, s te pp ed d ow n fro m th e ir positio ns as juni or mini s te ri a l a id es in o rde r to vo le aga in s t th e pro p osa ls. Lee Scott, t he Co nse r vat ive MP for llro rd No rth, resig ned fro m hi s ro le as Pa rli ame nta ry Secreta ry a nd a bs ta in e d o n th e vo te.

Mu c h has been m a d e o f th e p ros p ects for t he MPs w ho rebe ll ed aga in s t th e ir parties, with so m e Conse r vat ive MPs fac in g co ns id e ra bl e o pp os itio n fr o m t he ir coll ea g ues . it has bee n ru moure d th at so m e MPs have bee n th reate ne d by party wh ip s, a nd co ul d face los ing t h e ir sea ts if co n s ti t u e ncy bound <J r ies a re re dra w n.

Th e s ix Co nse r va t ive MPs w ho vo te d aga in s t th e ir pa rty line a nd th e two To ri es wh o a bsta in e d o n th e vo t e no w face a hatll e lo rega in c re d ibility w ithin th e ir pa rty. in s pi te o f s upp o rt fro m the ir co ns titu e nts. Am o ng th ose t h o ug h t

Business Secretary Vince Ca ble and De pu ty Pri me Minister Nick Clegg, w ho bo th signed the NUS pledge yet voted in favour of the proposals to be a t r isk is Tra cey Cro u c h, th e MP fo r Ch<1 th a m a nd Ay les fo rd, w ho w as e lec te d for th e fir s t Lim e in th e 20 I 0 ge ne ral e lect io n.

Ke ttl e cl

1\ series of lect u res co-o rdi nated by form er MP Ch<J rl es Cla r ke will be ta kin g pl ace thi s se m es te r.

Th e titl e o f th e se ri es is 'Th e "Too Diffi c ult" Box' a nd w ill tack le so m e of t he di ffi c ult iss ues fac in g soc ie ty.

The lec tu res ho pe to add ress w hy so m e of th e lo ng-runnin g pmbl e m s in s oc ie ty ha ve no t ye t bee n so lve d by p ol it ics.

Th e Rt. li o n. Cha rl es Cla r ke w ill o pe n t he se ri es w ith a n introductory lec tur e o n Thur·s cla y Ja nu a ry. 2 0th . All of th e lec tures w ill ta ke pl ace o n T hurs days a t 6p m in th e T ho mas Pa in e Ce ntre lec ture th ea tr e.

Va riou s pol icy- m a ke rs w ill b e ta kin g pa rt, includ ing re no wn e d soc io log is t /\nth o ny Gidd e ns a nd for m e r ca bin e t mini s te r Pa tri c ia ll e w itt.

Dav ina Kes by

Wa lly wi th a brolly: Ni ck

On th e d <Jy o f th e vo t e, thousa nds took to t h e s tree ts in a nd arou nd West mi ns t er in a las t attempt to infl uence t h e vote, w h ic h was ev id e ntly go in g to he close as s pec ul a ti o n g re w a bo ut w hether Li beral Democra ts wou ld ho no ur t hei r p re-e lect io n p ledge to vole <Jgainst a r ise in fees.

Mu c h o f th e m edi a cove rage a ft e r th e prot es ts was foc use d o n the fact t hat a ca r w hi c h \ViiS tra ns portin g Pri nce Ch a rl es a nd t he Duchess of Cor n wa ll to the Roya l Va ri e ty Pe r fo rm a nce was a tt ac ke d . On e o f th e rea r wind ows was c racked a nd t he c<Jr was cove re d in pa in t.

T he tactics of th e po li ce h<1ve co m e und e r fire, with m <1 ny pro tes te rs be in g ke ttl e d for ho urs.

J(e ttlin g in vo lves co nta inin g a g ro up o f pro t es te rs in a pa rti cul a r a rea a nd le ttin g th e m o ut o f th e co ntain e d a rea in s m a ll numb e rs.

it h as bee n re p o r te d th a t c las hes b etw ee n t h e p o li ce a nd t h e a ctivi s ts t oo k a t urn fo r th e worse w he n it w as ev id e nt th a t th e p o li ce we r e ke ttlin g large g ro ups of p eo pl e.

As th e o ut co m e of th e vo le was s prea d a mon gs t pro tes ters, th e v io le n ce inte ns ified, wi t h seve ral win d ows of Treas u ry bu il di ngs being s m as h ed. J 2 p o lice officers and 43 pro tes t e rs we re inju1·ed o n th e d ay.

Hughes takes HE acces s role In a furth er t w ist, Sim o n ll ug h es, th e De put y l.cad e r o f th e Li be ra l De m ocra ts w h o abs ta in ed in t h e vote o n fees, has bee n a pp oi nt ed as a n a d voca te for access to hi g h e r e du ca ti o n . Thi s r o le, w hi c h is a s ix m o nth unpaid p os iti o n, w ill in clud e go ing in to sc h oo ls a nd ta lkin g to tee nage rs fro m p oo re r b ac kg ro und s.

Thi s is a mov e th a t has bee n co nd e mn e d by La bo ur as be in g a cy n ica l a tt e mpt to w in hack di se nc ha nte d vo te rs. Mr llug h es sai d th a t hi s ro le was "to m a ke s ure p eop le und e rs ta nd th e fac ts".

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8

NEWS

FormerUEA chaplain jailed on child porn charges

A former chaplain at UEA has been jailed after pleading guilty to downloading inappropriate images of chi ldren after being arres ted in June 2010.

Father John Shannon, who was a pri est in Costessey and a chaplain at UEA, down loaded 740 indecent images of children and was sentenced to eight months in prison on the January 14th. He has also been placed on the sex offenders' register for ten years and has been banned from working with children for life.

Three of the images accessed were classed at level 5, the most severe category, with 521 at levell seriousness. The children were aged between 9 and 15, and were predominantly young boys.

In a stateme nt, the Catholic priest said that "curiosity a nd lack of se lf- contro l that led him to access these websites".

His celibacy, as result of being a priest for 30 years, was blamed for his compulsion to view the images, many of which were deleted after being viewed.

At the time of his arrest, Shannon was a part-time lecturer at Ulshaw Co ll ege in Durham. Hi s arrest was prompted by information passed to Durham Police from the college, after the college authorities discovered that someone had made a considerab le number of attempts to access restricted websites through the college computer system.

The Rt. Rev. Michael Evans, Bishop of East Anglia, said: "Any form of abuse of chi ldren, including that invo lved in the production of indecent images, is something we cannot tolerate as Christians".

During the trial, it was revealed that Shannon had sought counselling for his problem a nd was "genuinely re morsefu l" for what he had done. The Diocese of East Anglia said that Shannon had never been the subject of any complaint about inappropriate behaviour with children.

He voluntarily withdrew from his positions within the ministry shortly after his arrest.

www.concrete-online.co.uk

ISSUE 250 concrete.news@uea.ac.uk

Sportspark gyntnastics extension to be built

I

Rianne lson News Reporter

Work is to commence this month on a brand new Olympic gymnastics centre for UEA's Sportspark. which will cost a total of ÂŁ2.8m and is due to open in September.

It will include pits for vaulting, tumble tracks, a high bar, floor area and floor level trampoline for the gymnasts to make use of and hone their skills.

The director of the Sportspark. Keith Nicholls, who is responsible for developing the centre, said: 'There are hundreds of children in the area waiting to get into a gymnastics club."

Therefore, the centre is specifically for those who wish to take up gymnastics at an introductory level, but of course will be a practice space for those individuals that are more advanced as well.

Mr. Nicholls added that "A director of gymnastics will be appointed whose role it will be to develop a programme of foundation level gymnastics".

He continued that the brand new centre would be a source of encouragement for those who have a strong passion and talent for gymnastics.

Rugby scholarship for Pharmacy masters student James Elliot, a final year Pharmacy masters student at UEA has become the first beneficiary of a sc hol ars hip from local rugby s ide North Walsham Vikings.

James will receive ÂŁ1,000 towards his course fees and in return will play for the Vikings at weekends. He will also be able to play for the UEA RFC to enable him to make the most of his university sporting experience.

The schol a rship is available to any talented rugby player who studies at the University of East Anglia.

For more details on this story turn to page 24 in this fortnight's Concrete Sport section. !an Hobbs

Nicholls believes that the development of the Sportspark will give individuals the opportunity to compete with reputable clubs and further their skills.

UEA Sportspark will also be hiring out the space for competitions and training, according to the director.

The development of the new Olympic Gymnastics centre is only one aspect of the overall plans for the new Sportspark. including the addition of sixty extra car park spaces to

the car park.

The expansion of the Sportspark is already underway with the building work having commenced on three new soccer pitches, which are due to open at the end of January, of course weather permitting. This will cost a total of ÂŁ400,000 due to each 48m by 24m pitch having a 3rd generation synthetic grass surface.

This project falls during the Sportspark's lOth anniversary year.

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L

10

Nick Clegg: The new year and the new problems It's been a somewhat diffic ult year fo r our Deputy Prime Minister, so, in the tradition of New Year refl ection, Concrete looks at what 2011 has in store for Mr Nick Clegg.

Em ma Parrott While we were all digging into that th ird box of Quality Street this Christmas, Ni ck Clegg, the selfportrayed nationa l marty1; was looking wid e-eyed into a ca me ra for hi s a nnu a l New Year's message.

"I don't want to pretend it's all bee n easy" he told hi s me mbers.

"Action to tackle the deficit and the need to refo rm hi ghe r ed ucation has forced us to make so me incrcclihly difficult decisions."

Wha t a year it's bee n for Mr Clegg.

Apri l saw th e awesome s pread of 'Cieggma nia': th e undying s upp ort for a ma n who co uld do no wrong.

Th e televised de bates s pa rkin g the catchphrase everyo ne has come to reg re t of" l agree w ith Ni ck".

Yet co me 6th May 2010, this fail ed to translate into votes. On ar ri ving at Richmond C.oll ege on election ni ght, Vin ce Cab le was heckl ed "Wha t's happened to Clegg man ia"'" to which Cable repli ed "There's not a lot of it aro und ".

Things jus t went from bad to

worse in Novembe1; whe n stud e nt protests began aro und the cou ntry.

We all have photos hanging a round tha t we wish had neve r been taken, but does a nyo ne regret a photo as mu ch as Clegg mus t be moan that of him holding his pledge to vote aga inst stud e nt fee ri ses7 No doubt these we re jus t a co up le oftho ugh ts goi ng through Nick Clegg's m ind as Big Ben stru ck midnight this New Yea1; but what does 2011 hold for the De puty Prime Minister?

Th e protes ters may have sto pped fo r a Christmas break, but this doesn't mean th ey wo n't co me back angrie r and w ith eve n lo nge r s ti cks with which to poke the Duchess of Cornwa ll. Few would now s uggest t hat th ese protests have bee n purely stud e nt led, with repo rte rs everywh e re clamouring to de noun ce th e 'anarchists'. I never rea lised so many 16 and 17 -year-olds were into the work of Pierre- jose ph Pro udhon, but neve r mind.

The New Year VAT ri ses and soa ring petro l prices will s ure ly be e no ugh to ri le eve n the mos t peacefu l parts of the electorate. Perhaps we w ill see eve n more 'ana rchis ts' ta ke to th e s treets of London.

Clegg is a lso a lmost certain to face

N\CK AGRt.

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furth e r and tougher rebellion from his own pa rty. The Old ha m Eas t and Sadd lewo rth by-election of Ja nu ary 13th was painted as the first maj o r test of t he coa li tio n. In the actual even t, Labour wo n comfo rtab ly, in a mo me nt described by Eel Milibancl as a "wa ke- up ca ll" for the Coa li tion.

The European Unio n Bill, which bega n its co mm ittee stage in th e House of Commons last wee k, is a lso s ure to ca use further tensions in the Cameron-Clegg bromance.

Th e European Unio n was a lways set to be a deal-breaker for the coa lition a nd th e dyna mite fac tor of this pa rticul a r bill is that it does not go far eno ugh for e urosceptic

Conservatives whilst a lso failing the Libe ral Democrat ma nifesto promi se of putting 'Britain at the heart of Euro pe'. Watch this space.

The alte rnative vote refe re ndum of May 5 th 2011 will a lso su rely be high on Clegg's list of priorities for the up-coming yea1~ If Cameron a nd his party ca mpaig n for a 'no' vote, th e coa litio n is un li ke ly to s urv ive. Furthe r mo re, any susta in ed 'no' vote campa ign from th e Co nservatives will a lm ost ce rta inly raise qu es tions a mong I,iberal Democrats as to why they eve r ag reed to take pa rt in this Coalitio n. it's like a footba ll ga m e. Both s id es agree to play by th e rules,

but th e n in the second half one tea m sta rts pi ckin g up th e ball a nd throwing it into tl1 e goa l. The 27 Liberal Democrats who voted with th e Governm e nt on tuition fees, fo r exa mpl e, might feel th e ga me is n't being played fairly.

One th ing is certain: w hateve r Clegg does do/ doesn't do/ promises but th e n fails to do, there will be a cor res po nding Face book g roup.

Highlights from 20 10 includ e: 'Why did Nick Clegg cross th e road?

Beca use he prom ised not to' a nd T he awkward moment when Nick Clegg destroys yo ur future'.

Good luck, Nick. I th ink you mig ht need it.

Innocent until proven guilty1 After a year m arred by protests turned violent and clashes with the police, Concrete looks at the problem of police brutality and asks how equal before the law we really are?

Jack Brinded As children we're to ld th a t a ll men a nd women in our society are eq ua l before the law, a nd I m us t admit, it so unds love ly; it makes us fee l warm and sa fe . ll owcvcr, it mus t be ac kn owledged that it's a lso quite apparently a fa irytale which, ove r the pas t yea1; has ta ken a se ri es of heavy blows. it ha d a lready taken a he fty beat ing in the wake of va ri o us scanda ls; perhaps the most infamous case be ing th a t of jea n Cha rl es De Menczes who was kill ed by the Metropolitan Police. The Crown Prosecut ion Se rvice neve r brou ght

cha rges against a ny individu a l involved. it see ms reaso na bl e to estima te that hi gh profil e cases such as De Me nezes, Blair Peach and most re ce ntly fan Tom li nso n a re jus t the tip of a n ever-ex pa ndin g icebe rg, as the police continu e to dodge the pun ishment th a t they so clea rl y deserve.

Howeve 1; on th e Ja nu ary 11th t his yea r 18-yea r-o ld Edwa rcl Woo ll a rcl, the A-level stu d ent who, no matte r how you look at it, hurt no one, wa s se nte nced to two yea rs e ight months in prison for violent disorder.

Wh a t joke of a cha rge do yo u expect to be brought for t he cop w ho beat Alfi e Meadows ove r the head so hard he needed brain s urgery at th e December 9 th 20 10 protest in Lo ndon ·?

Tim e a nd aga in the law a nd the state come clown o n the s ide of police brutality, whilst crimin a li s ing the orclin a 1·y ci tize n over th e imagi nin gs of what might have happened .

1\nd this s ha m is n't co nfin ed to London life, as was s how n recently when a n impressive demonstration took place in Norw ich o n th e 6 th of Dece mber 6th . Hundreds of City College stud ents of 16 to 18 took to the st1·ee ts in protes t against cuts to travel s ubs idi es.

Th e demo was praised by the To ry leader of the No r·fo lk County Counc il, Derrick Murphy, but thi s in rea li ty was a n em ply ges ture.

The rea lity was a co un cil which had prepared for every eventua lity sl<ltioning ri ot pol ice a t key locatio ns, wh ich they we re fully prepared to deploy against you ng peo ple, ma ny first time protesters,

so me s ti ll chil dren, exe rcis ing th e ir democratic right to lobby th e ir loca l Cou nty Council. The sca nd a lo us s tory was neve r covered by Look East.

If th ose in ar mour had been ca ll ed into action in de fe nce of the state, had they beate n co ll ege

s tud e nts o n t he s tree ts of Norw ich, a nd had there been a nother Alfie Meadows case, w ha t do we ex pect would have ha pp e ned to th e po liceperso n responsible?

I have a n inkling that they wouldn't be s haring a ce ll with Edward Woollarcl a nyt im e soo n.

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. www.concrete-online.co.uk

ISSUE 250

Tuesday 18th January

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COMMENT AND OPINION 11

Can Britain really afford climate change?

After the coldest December since records began, Concrete looks at what it will take to stop the country from coming to a standstill again.

Joshua Resoun

I

Cancun, Mexico: the year was 2010 and from the November 29th to the December 10th the United Nations Climate Change Conference took place. Representatives from around the world battled it out for a new deal on how to tackle climate change, and the result was a new agreement between participating countries, giving a new lease of life for those who wished to combat climate change.

The average temperature in· Decembe r was -lC What, however, does climate change really mean for Britain? Last year was one of the cold est on record, with the months of November and December seeing heavy snowfall, travel disruption and widespread chaos across Britain.

The consequences of climate change are more complicated than us enjoying hotter summers and hating colder winters. Jt is the monetary costs of climate change which worries me the most, as, after all, money makes

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the world go round.

Let's begin with rock salt, which is used to grit Britain's roads during periods of snow and ice. In 2009 the BBC filed a report which placed, on average, the cost of a single tonne of rock salt at (for simplicity's sake) £27. Now, Edinburgh City Council aimed to stockpile 10,000 tonnes of rock salt; that's £270,000 to simply purchase the rock salt, let alone store and distribute the salt throughout the year. Aberdeen City Council stockpiled 17,000 tonnes in 2010, at a cost of £459,000.

Now Scotland requires more rock salt than most in Britain, but the cost of buy;ng, storing and distributing rock salt also varies, and in reality you're looking at millions upon millions of pounds to combat a mild winter, let alone the harsh winters which we have been experiencing recently. I would also like to point out that in 2009 a £2billion roads repair bill was filed to repair potholes and ·other damage caused by harsh winter weather. I'd like to say, that's a lot What about the amount of money lost by businesses as a consequence of the harsh winter weather? BAA for example is expecting a bill of at least £40 million for weather-related disruption. Air France-KLM lost around 70 million euros (about £58

million). Estimates from the insurer Royal Sun Alliance placed the cost of the weather to the UK economy at £1 billion per day.

2010wasthe 12th coldest year in the UK on record .

These figures are quite high to say the least, and I'm still only talking about the economic costs of climate change here. What if we wanted to do something about it; how much would that cost?

So, let's say that we want to tackle climate change with some good old renewable energy, and if every country did this, climate change would be averted and these crazy costs of rock salt and road repairs would disappear. After some research I came across some interesting figures, if, for example, you wanted to provide wind power to the whole of the UK, it would take, at the minimum estimates, 30,000 wind turbines; costing. at mjnjmum estimates, £2 million each. That's a nice little £60 billion mark; once again, that's a lot of money. Other methods, such as nuclear power, are even more expensive.

I haven't had room here to go into

an in-depth analysis of the economic costs of climate change; I don't think the entire of Concrete would have room for that analysis.

Either way, Britain is going to face a huge bill. Combating climate change, or simply toughing it out in the coming years is going to hamper

the Government's plans to reduce the deficit I merely hope that the economic costs are forgotten, and the impact that climate change will have on human lives are taken into account.

All I know is that Britain cannot afford climate change.

Everyone's talking about it In another week of complaints to the BBC about the nation's favourite soap opera, Concrete asks the question: what is all the fuss about?

I

Alex

Couzens

Another year. Another Eastenders plot. Another host of newspaper headlines. Another win for the BBC. The New Year saw the explosion of the baby-stealing storyline in Eastenders. For the unaware, let me fill you in. Ronnie and Kat both had babies over Chr istmas. Sadly, Ronnie's baby dies of cot death on New Year's Eve. Dramatic isn't it?

Well, not dramatic enough for the Eastenders' writers. So, Ronnie, bleary-eyed, walks into the pub, goes

I

upstairs while everyone downstairs is merrily drinking the night away and swaps her dead baby for Kat's living one. Last week saw Kat bury this child, believing it to be hers.

This beauty of a storyline has resulted in over 6,000 complaints to the BBC and tabloid frenzy. To add fuel to fi re, the actress who plays Ronnie, Samantha Womack, this week qwt the show. If no publicity is bad publicity then the BBC must be rubbing their hands in delight over this one.

Of course the tabloids could be missing the scariest part here. If 6,000 people felt the need to pick

up the phone, pen or laptop to make such a complaint, what does this say about our nation of television· watchers? Could they, at risk of sounding somewhat patronising. think Eastenders is real?

((Soaps are not real. They're not even realistic" Samantha Womack was attacked in the street last week, l::iy a woman shouting that she was a murdering bitch. Does this person

also believe that Stacey is sunning herself somewhere with baby Lily, having got away with the murder of Archie? What about the fact that lan Beale has somehow convinced not one, not two, but four women to marry him?

See, my point is, soaps are not real. They're not even realistic. They exist purely to fill gossip magazines.

As Eastenders never tires of telling us: everyone's talking about it.

To back this up, you need only imagine the viewing figures. Most people, people who care anyway, were well aware, weeks before New Year's Eve, what the plotline

was for that evening. Countless soap magazines lined our petrol stations and newsagents shelves with photos of Ronnie and baby· swapping headlines. So here's a question for you: why watch it? If it is that shocking and that upsetting. why bother watching it?

I'll leave you with this little reported fact. Viewing figures for £as£enders have actually gone up this week That's right, from 10.4 million viewers last Monday to 11.1 mill ion by the Wednesday. 11.1 million against 6,000 complaints do you really think the BBC cares?

I 12

f~ATURES

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www.concrete·online.co.uk

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B'n; : ; ;.-selllns l>ar 1s w'e" th~ boot!

POP BAND WRECKS CAMPUS KITCHENS

Student Union

POPBAND WRECKS CAMPUS KITCHENS

A~er perfonning at UEA, St Etlenne stayed at Constable Ter~a~e . their antics included squ~rtmg ketchup on the walls, baking coffee onto trays under the grill, and forcing open students locked cupboards With a ~~nc~H! _ (27th Apri11994)

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ISSUE 250

ISSUE 250

concrete.features@uea.ac.uk

Tuesday 18th January

FEATURES 13

www.concrete-online.co.u k

ST~~~NT UNION BANS NESTLE Bntam s best-selling bar is given the boofl

"I RESENT BEING COMPARED _TO SADDAM HUSSEIN" Emot1ons run high as

Still in effect today, the start of the Nestle boycott was covered by Concrete back in 1993. Union coum;illors decided to ban the sale of their products after the motion was proposed by EnvSoc. The ban came about after the organisation 'Baby Milk Action' claimed that the corporation was sending free powdered milk to mothers in third-world countries which discouraged them from breast-feeding, leading to the deaths of 4,000 babies every day. Reaction at the time was mixed, but many students felt that the student body taking on a multinational corporation was something to be proud of- despite the loss of the beloved Kit-Kat. (10th November 1993)

£30,000 THEFT FROM C~M~U~

t:3

Raid could be linked to international operation, say Umvers1ty offiCials 1~rom 1 The School of Information Systems was broken into by thieves back in April 1993. Only topspec machines were stolen -like the Apple Quadras (a far cry away from the Apple MacBooks of today). UEA officials stated that the thieves 'could be involved in a national or even international network of computer thefts.' There were a number of similar incidents at other universities across the country including Cambridge. (12th May 1993)

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1ormer US Secretary of State visits UEA

then

campus

A heated debate took place in Lecture Theatre 1 back in 2003 when former US Secretary of State· Madeline Albright arrived during her tour of Europe. Around 7080 protesters attended to speak out against her controversial involvement in the UN's sanction policy against Iraq, which 'some believe led to the deaths of 500,000 children.' During the talk she was compared to Sad dam Hussein after Dr Rupert Read, Head of Philosophy, accused her of having 'blood on her hands for not allowing the provision of necessary materials fo!' rebuilding Iraq's health and sanitation systems.'

(5th November 2003).

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COUGH DP!

The UEA ViJiage was a very different place back in 1994 Shortly a fter opening, students· started comp1aining about dirty mattresses and an infestation of bed bugs. Some shower floors slanted away from the plug-hole' (19th October 1994) · -'=- - --

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e rontpa e!

To celebrate our 250th issue, :A-dam Fenwick takes a look at the past 19 years of Concrete. It's been a hard job, but we've uncovered some of the biggest and most bizarre stories of UEA's history - from the boycott of Nestle products to a pop band causing havoc in Constable Terrace.

~ BARING UP' uEXs

very own Sportspark lans to host an reveale d P t'tion for internation~l com;~; so-metre

;:~r~==~~::;::tl.e e_vent as si! had one glass wmdow only by wouldn't get too much passersZOOO) of an eye full! (lOth May -

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· BANNED

TRIGHTBEER U-P-=

The_ Uni~n _stops Concrete being distributed in theu bulldmgs because they don't like our advert Two unidentified students scaled the Registry and replaced the UEA flag with their own version'WELCOME TO DISNEYLAND'. They said · "It had to be done- a practical joke to end all practical jokes. We suspect only a porter or two and a few birds saw what we did. We were armed with two ladders, a rope, a flaslilight, and a lot of balls. And no·one saw us doing it..." (7th June 1995)

lt's hard to believe, but your friendly student newspaper got itself in a spot of bother back in 2003. The issue dated Wednesday 26th February was removed from all outlets on campus within an hour of the new issue being delivered after it had received complaints from around 'five, six or seven' students regarding an advert for a local strip-dub. The advert showed the back of a naked woman and offered a free lap-dance to every reader. The Union Executive Committee decided to ban the issue on campus unless the advert was withdrawn. However, a number of students were angry at the decision, particularly then Concreteeditor Katie Hind- "Anyone who gets offended by this is going to have trouble watching television. It also seems silly that the Union are happy to continue selling newspapers such as The Sun and The Star which feature naked women."

(12th March 2003)

15 years ago, a pint at the SU cost only £1! Concrete reported on the lOp rise in pints to pay better wages to bar staff .and lower prices in the union supermar~et.

With today's price of £2.20 a pmt, and an increase in VAT, should we be worried for the future?

(29th May 1996) .

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coNCRETE - A (VERY) BRIEF HISTORY Coke canned as ban reaches campus UEA's independent student newspaper was set-up by three students back in 1992 on an overdraft. Although its future was uncertain, Concrete celebrated its fiftieth issue in 1995. In the same year, the paper's office had a complete refit and was shortlisted for the Guardian and National U!lion of Students Awards in the 'Student Newspaper of the Year' category. By its fiftieth issue, Concrete was read by 98% of UEA students.

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ISSUE 250

www.concrete-online.co.uk

concrete.features@uea.ac.uk

Frotn halls to houses Moving out from halls to your own house can seem daunting. So Concrete has compiled the best advice for you and your housemates, along with quick guide to some of the most popular student locations around Norwich

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BLUEBELL ROAD & surrounding areas Bluebell and the surrounding roads can be a reat location to live once you have to move off _ _ _ _ _ _ __. ~am pus, particularly if you want to be c~ose ~o the . ·cy It's great being near the umverslty on Umvers1 · d · k and n LCR nights, particularly for hosting pre- nn .s r.-, 0 __. rthen only having a short distance to walk. lt s ~t Orso convenient for town, however, and genera y, Om on you.need to get the bus or a taxi to get to the centre -i

_ _ _ _ _ _ _.,. of Norwich.

Bluebell Road is a quieter. place to rJVe than some of the other student areas, as there are not so many students living close together ~none ~;e:~ It's not too far to go if you want to VISit peop . don't be too worried, but it's worth remembermg that it might not be as lively an area as Unthank.

The convenience of being so close to campus _ _ __ _ _ _ ...... for both lectures and the LCR really makes Bluebell Road the ideal place to live.

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If you live off and around Unthank next year u.J you will not be disappointed. Possibly the most ::::> "You go up to The v· golden road in the Golden Triangle area, Unthank furtheJ:" West EarJham realJJIJag.e and then a bit has it all. Directly on the 25 bus route there are from UEA. With only a few~ IS m. the great yonder two bus s tops to choose from on your way into Aldi about ten minute l ops m the centre and • - - - - University: a little tip, the closer to the city the going on in West E=r~aa k, there really is nothing quieter the bus stop.

22/21 bus route is on! a ~ Jt~elf. However, the You'll be spoilt fo r choice with takeaways, 0 m mute nde and the area is very close to c y including a Chinese, an Indian and a Subway, not access a cinch. am pus so it makes University to mention the plethora of trendy cafes and gastro The stores include· . pubs. Your student loan will soon feel the pinch of pharmacy.; butcher's· bake~' convenience store; • - - - - as well as your jeans! The Co-op and a brand new of a candlestickmaker's)· s (~hough a tragic lack Tesco Express has everything you could need. , an mexplicable keba b shop; charity store· a There's a dry cleaners and launderette for parlour. The bake~'sn ~ven more mystifying tattoo any unfo rtunate accidents with wine/the effects, yesterday's bread for SOp.great .because they sell of wine. And last but not least there is also a . So Earlham is a kind f .. hairdressers so you can always look your best for ~JIJains and stran e b ~ fauyta!~ P.lace with the LCR! Ironically, it can he! g o usmess InltJatives but, - - - - - - Kate Alien up.

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With rent and bills to pay on a regular basis, Jiving in your own house means you'll have to be a lot more frugal.

If you've brought your car to Norwich, do a big weekly shop at a supermarket with your housemates. You'll be less likely to buy food during the week, especially wasting money on campus food. Set aside around £10 per week for communal meals - each take it in turns to cook an evening meal every night of the week. This means less time cooking, less people trying to cook at once, and enjoying the time with your housemates. · If your house has a garage, use it to store your bike. Don't waste money on a bus pass when you can ride a bike for free while keeping fit.

Finally, your parents may say it at home and now you'll know why - turn lights, water and heating off when you don't need them. You'll save a heap of cash in the long-term for... alcohol.

From your second year, you'll realise all the things you took for granted on campus. As a tenant you'll now be responsible for paying bills, emptying your own bins and, unfortunately, cleaning your own showers!

Get things sorted over sum mer - contact your landlords to find out which energy companies supply the house then contact them the day you move in to provide them with your details. It's easiest to pay by direct debit every month - you'll end up paying less, more often rather than a huge bill at the end of term when you've got no money left. Sort your broad band out as early as possible as some companies won't install your router for about a month after setting up the account.

The easiest way for everyone to pay for bills is to have one mai n bill-payer who everyone pays their share to on a regular basis. Make sure you trust t he people you're living with, though.

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ISSUE 250

Tuesday 18th January

.

TRAVEL

¡ www.concrete-online.co.uk

Enchanting Istanbul

Exploring the Ukrainian Utopia

Fiona Howard

Josh Weatherill journeys around Ukraine, an emerging destination promising buzzing night-time venues, and a wealth of culture, from the vibrant cities of Kiev and Odessa to the tranquil Crimea.

Still struggling to reassert a national identity since independence, Ukraine broods in Russia's shadow.

Sadly many people can only associate this diverse nation with Chernobyl despite it being the second largest country in Europe. And don't make the mistake of calling Ukraine 'The Ukraine'; proud Ukrainians feel this makes their hard-earned land sound more like a region than a fully-fledged country.

Kiev, Ukrai ne's grand capital, provides an excellent introduction to the country. Don't let the vast stretches of indistinguishable Sovietera concrete flats put you off as you first arrive; the drab outskirts are in no way representative of the handsome green city beyond. Skirted by the great Dnieper River, the hilly centre of town is a maze of tree lined avenues and steep cobbled streets.

Onion domed churches resplendent in t he s un peep out behind the m ix of old and new architecture.

"... two scrapping gra nni es on a marshrukta (rickety minibus overflowing with passengers) were particularly memorable."

Saint Sophia Cathedral is Kiev's crown jewel: a stunning example of Eastern Orthodox architecture where blue, green and gold colours are used to magnificent effect. The underground labyrinth of burial chambers that stretch for miles thro ugh the hills a nd were built

by Christian monks is another must see; a walk through the dark passageways with nothing but a

candle to illuminate the coffins is certainly a morbid pleasure.

In such beautiful surroundings, it's a s hame that smiles seem to be rationed in Kiev. Locals can often come across as cold, which isn't necessarily surprising in a country whose language has no word for 'excited'. Still, it's not too difficult to find locals who'll help you find your way - they might just need a little warming up first. And come night fall, Kiev casts off its inhibitions and enters the party spirit with an electric and indulgent night scene. Smoky basement clubs are where the citizens of Ki ev come to misbe have- a Balkan beats night led to some of the craziest dancing this writer had ever seen.

Leaving the delights of Kiev behind, optimistic Odessa is a more laid-back coastal city where the iconic Potemkin Stairs bring in the Black Sea cruise ships (and money) .

Indeed, the centre of Odessa has an affluent and refined air to it, with neoclassical palaces and wellmaintained gardens competing for one's attention. The Odessa Ukraine Hostel went well with the look, being a beautiful high-cei linged city However,

up front fellow guests turned out to be more interested in the sex tourism scene, thinking that they could flash their British passports and have girls fa ll at t heir feet.

With numerous wedding agencies openly advertising Ukrainian women to western men, there is sadly some truth in their judgement.

A hot and cramped overnight train takes you from Odessa to Crimea - a mountainous autonomous region of Ukraine that juts out beneath the country as though loosely tacked on.

While many other Ukrainians are increasingly looking west to the EU, more traditio nal Crimea ns feel nervy at the prospect of straying too far from the protective wing of Russia.

Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet, is a good place to start -a pleasant and structured town that, until the mid-90s, was a 'closed city', surrounded by military outposts.

Russian tourists abound and indeed everything seems geared to Russian nationalism: flags flap patriotically in the sea breeze and pictures of Medvedev sit proudly in the cafes.

All-in-all, Ukraine is a curious country filled with eccentric characters - two scrapping grannies on a marshrutka (rickety minibus overflowing with passengers) were particularly memorable. Still finding its feet after the fall of the Soviet Union, a compulsive, hedonistic and sometimes gangsterish race to capitalism has left a noticeably large wealth gap; polished Ro lls Royce's and BMW's stand out in con trast to worn-out Ladas.

Nonetheless, Ukraine is most definitely worth your time and I have only been able to touch on the delights and intrigues. With Ukraine jointly holding the Euro 2012 event with Poland, hopefully this fine country will become known for more than just Chernobyl.

15

Travel Writer Every cliche about Istanbul that's ever been written is true. It is the bridge between east and west, a melting pot of cultures and where minarets meet miniskirts. The Golden Horn area is fascinating but there is more to Istanbul, as you'd expect from a city over 130 times the size of Norwich, so here are two destinations not to leave off your list.

Istanbul offers a plethora of activities for those interested in art, shopping, history, or a weekend away. This all starts in Taksim on the European side. This is the heartbeat of the city. No trip to Istanbul is complete without meandering your way through the throngs or taking a ride on the tram down Istiklal. At the enJ of lstiklal Caddessi, towards Galata, is the world's second oldest subway, the perfect ending.

After the hustle and bustle of Isiklal, the Princes' Islands offer a qu iet respite with charm, as no cars are allowed. A popular spot for loca ls in the summer; the Princes' Islands often get missed off many tourists' radar. These nine islands off the Asian coast, nearing the Sea of Marmara,

are about an hour's ferry trip from mainland Istanbul offering the ideal opportunity to see the city from its best vantage point, the Bosphorus.

The islands used to be where the elite were exiled, and where large communities of ethnic minorities lived. A horse-drawn carriage round any of the Islands, in particular Buyuk Ada, allows for history to manifest in a tranquil environment and the chance to see the legacy of the wealth of Istanbul.

Competing with its cosmopolitan European counterparts, Istanbul also offers noise and vibrancy unlike any other that no article could ever truly capture. Istanbul truly is one of the most dynamic cities in the world right now.

Lovely jubbly Ljubljana

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Tom Hunt Tra ve l Edi tor

Ljubljana may not be the friendliest city to pronounce, but it is certainly among the friendliest in Europe.

The bubbly atmosphere of Slovenia's capital reflects the pristine streets and bui ldings, all clustered between the river and the hill, atop of which stands the Castle.

Ljubljana Castle is the best place to grab your bearings on arrival. From here, you can look down at the river wind ing its way through the cobbled streets, each clogged with restaurant tables and chattering crowds and even further afield, to the mountains looming on the horizon beyond.

Descending into the city below, the relaxed and jovial people provide the very best of welcomes.

On this occasion, a host of Japanese tourists performed a quirky wizard sketch, casting spells complete with wands and capes, unabashed at their aud ience's response. Among the pedestrians the odd fairy-tale character waltzed about on stilts, doffing caps to passers-by, while street entertainers sat strewn about the squares in the sunshine and sprawled across Dragon Bridge, a

Slovenian monument which crosses the Ljubljanica river three times.

The bridge is named in honour of the sym bol of the city: the mythical green dragon. It can be â&#x20AC;˘ seen everywhere, in statues and flags, as well as many a postcard and represents the legend of jason, of Argonaut fame, who slew the beast nearby.

A break from the revelry can be found in the reverence of shady churches, where only a hushed silence prevails. Here time stands sti ll beh ind bea utifully carved stone doors, as locals come to pay their respects, before rejoining the neverending buzz outside.

Whether stopping by for a day or lingering longer, Ljubljana is an excellent place to move to your own pace while remaining at the centre of events. As capitals go, Slovenia certainly has a gem at its heart.

ISSUE 250

16

co ncrctc.l ifes tyle@ uea.ac .u k

Is virginity an issue for university students?

Concrete looks at the implications and social connotations of students retaining their virginity at uni ve rsity Drew Nicol Lifes ty le write r Th e re a re m a ny reaso ns w hy st ude nts of bo th ge nd e rs mi g ht a rri ve a t uni ve rs ity as a virg in .

T he m os t co mmon reas on s, g ive n hy th ose wh o do so, a rc th a t th ey a re sav ing th e mse lves fo r th e r ig ht pe rso n o r have re li g io us o r o th e r pe rso na l reaso ns. All o f th ese a re com pl e te ly va lid reaso ns to re m <J in a bs tin e nt until a pe rs on is rea dy. In fac t, no t o nly is this a va lid cho ice but rece nt s ta t is t ics pub lis he d wo uld s ugges t th a t it is th e s m a rt o ne.

T he BBC pu blis hed resu lts fro m a su rvey w hi ch s ta te d t ha t 63% o f sex ua lly active ad o lesce nts re po rted w ishi ng th ey had wai te d longe r be fo re beco min g sex ua lly ac tive. To add to thi s, although t he ave rage age fo r peop le 111 th e UK to lose th e ir v irginity is 16, a s ta ti s ti c fro m the sa me BBC su rvey s howed th a t 78 % of a ll ad o lesce nts s urveyed be lieved a do lesce nts s hou ld not be sex ua lly active . As we ll as thi s, 89% of those s urveyed wo ul d ad vise th e ir ow n bro th e r, sis te r or fr ie nd no t to have sex until a t leas t a ft e 1· fini s hin g secondary sc hoo l.

13e i ng a virgin a t uni vc r ·ity ca n co me · w it h a lo t o f s ti g ma a nd negative reacti o ns by some more he d o ni s ti c

me mb e rs

of the pop ul a ti o n. th e re a rc ma ny peo pl e w ho wo ul d w e lco me th e o pp o rtuni ty to be in a re lati o ns hip with so meo ne who is a virg in . Afte r s peaking to seve ra l s tud e nts, both m a le a nd fe m a le, the re wa s a n o pinion re pea te dly vo iced th a t m a ny w o uld re li s h th e op po rtunity to be in a re la ti o ns hip with so meo ne wb o d oes n't co me w ith a so rd id pas t or a n ll owc v c 1~

te rms. l-l owcve!; rega rdl ess of t he rea lity of th e s itua ti o n, so me virgi ns a re fee ling a ve ry rea l press ure to ' los e it' as fas t as poss ibl e in o rd e r to avoid socia l a wkwa rdn ess.

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a precious commodity" w is hin g to ha ve to li e to th ose a round him , but a lso wi s hin g to a vo id r idi cu le by th e s tud e nt po pul a ti o n as a w ho le. li e co mm e nted: " If I was w ith ju s t my close friends and

Jack Wills us to purchase Concrete exarnines the impressive rise of Jack Wills in 2010 Kristina Stephens Lifes tyle w rite r In th e las t co upl e of yea rs it mi ght be ha rd not to have noti ced that th e hi gh s treets of towns a nd cities have bee n fl ooded w ith th e likes of jack Wills, ll o lli stc r a nd i\bc rcro mbi c a nd Filch.

Sudde nly th e ir new a nd exceeding ly pop ul ar forms of 'as pira ti o na l bran di ng' have ca ug ht o n. In the last month o ur ve ry ow n No rw ich has joined in, a nd has seen th e open ing of bo th jack Wills a nd Hollis te r s tores in ti me for Chris tm as. These new add itio ns to s ho pping in th e ci ty have a ppa re ntly go ne cl ow n a s to rm, eve n a ttractin g qu e ues o uts id e.

Th ese br;mds prid e the msel ves o n a n a ir of exclus ivity, on e whi ch you

m ight thin k is e ns ured by th e hi gh prices fur f~tirl y ordin a ry ite ms, and intim ida ting attract ive sta ff chose n du e to th e ir 'look'. A pa ir of pa nts e mb lazon ccl w ith th e jW logo w ill set yo u hac k a me re £1 9, a nd yo u won't ge t mu ch cha nge of £1 00 fo r a du ve t colo ured w ith th e ir trade ma rk pin k a nd blue st rip es.

Peo ple mi ght be ta ke n a back by th e way in w hi ch you ng peo pl e have fl ocked so q u ickly to bra nd th e mse lves with th ese logos. The ir success seems to e ma na te fro m ma rke ting p loys to 'sell a lifestyle' w hich coincides with the ove rpri ced clothing, a nd thi s is cele bra ted, pa rti cul a rly in th e jack Wi lls bro chure, whi ch l<lkcs th e fo rm of <I 'ha ndb ook', a ls o le ttin g you know th e right musi c to lis te n to a nd places

to be see n. Provid ing self-procla im ed "fa bu lo us ly Bri tis h goods fo r th e uni vers ity crowd ", "o utfit te rs to the ge ntry", is a no th c1; eq ua lly offe ns ive tag lin e.

One ca n't de ny th e s uccess of th e bra nd ; it d o ubl ed its p rofits to £42 m in 2009, ye t so me are less tha n impressed . i\ Facebook g ro up e ntitled: 'a nyo ne w ho s ho ps at jack W ills is a co mp lete c•**' has attracted a ttention, and the 63,000 me mb e rs o f 'Why are you s till in your Pj's·' Oh sorry, d id n't sec the 'jack Wi lls' logo' are clea rly less than impressed.

There has a lso bee n criticism of t he gro up w hi ch run s ll ollis te r a nd Ab c rcro mbi c du e to th e ir o pe n di sc riminatio n w he n e mploy ing s ho p s taff base d o n attrac ti ve ness.

th e s u bject ca me up I wo uldn 't li e, I' m no t e mb a rrasse d a bo ut be ing a virg in. But in a la rge r g roup s ituati o n o r a t pa rti es I w o uld do my bes t to a vo id th e to pi c, o r if I ha d to, I'd li e".

A ve ry p os iti ve o pini o n was s ha red by th ose wh o s poke to Concrete. Alt ho ug h mos t of th em we re a t a s tage w here th ey wou ld co ns id e r th emse lves ready to have sex, th e re was no me nti o n o f a feelin g of d espe ratio n to do so.

"Although I'm ready to have sex.

I'm in no way w ill ing to co mpro mi se my s ta nd ards o r m o ra ls just to have it. I' m no t at a stage wh e re I'd be ha ppy with le ttin g my firs t tim e be ing a one ni g ht s ta nd in a ba ck all ey o 1· whatcvc 1;" he sa id .

An o th e r s tud e nt rei nfo rced this, say in g: "I can p robab ly sec myse lf hav ing a sex ual re latio ns hi p w it h th e nex t guy I go o ut with, but I'm

no t bo th e red w h e n he co m es a lo ng if I' m ho nes t". Wh a t thi s s ho ws is th a t a lthou gh the soc ia l press ure to have s ex is o ut th e re, a nd fe lt by s tud e nts wh o a rc virg in s eve ry day, th ose wh o w e re willin g to ta lk to Co ncrete a t leas t we re no t le ttin g it co ntro l o r ma nipul a te th e m into rus hin g so m e th ing wh ich s ho uld he a n imp o rta nt a nd satisfyi ng m o me nt in a p e rso n's li fe.

Th e b igges t ris k tha t co m es fro m thi s pe rceived negativity towards be ing a virgin is th e fact th a t so m e peop le m ig ht fee l a n urge ncy to have sex just to say th ey ha ve, regardless of w h o w ith, w he re o r w he n. Th e fa ct th a t thi s is a real prob lem rai sed by th ose s poke n to by Co ncrete is eve n m o 1·c of a tra ge dy co ns id e ring t hat t he rea lity o f the s itua ti o n is th a t peop le w ho a rc virgi ns s ho uld cons ider the mse lves a prec io us commodi ty.

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ISSUE 250

17 .,

Tuesday 18th January

Concrete's collection of culinary building blocks Spinach, feta and goat's cheese pancakes

Italian white wine risotto

Ava Gaida Lifestyle writer

Emma Williamson Lifestyle writer Ingredients: • A knob of butter • Two tablespoons of olive oil • Three chopped onions • Two cloves of garlic • One cup of Arborio rice (per serv ing) • Thyme (fresh or dried) • Salt and pepper • One glass of white wine SOOml of vegetable stock (chicken/beef stock can also be used) • lOOg of grated parmesan cheese (vegan a lternatives can be used)

Method: 1. In a large pan, heat the o li ve oi l and butter until melted. On a high heat, add the onions, garlic and thyme and allow them to fry. After five min utes reduce the temperature to a low setting and allow the ingredients to cook slowly, stirring occasionally for thirty minutes.

Once the vegetables have softe ned, add the arborio rice and increase the temperature.

2. Co ntinua lly stir until the rice has become translucent. Add the wine and deglaze any caramelisation that the onions have left at the bottom of the pan. Still stirring, allew the wine to evaporate and the rice to fully absorb the liquid.

3. Turning down the heat to a medium setting, add a ladleful of the hot stock to the pan and allow the risotto to absorb it. Continue to stir the mixture and repeat this procedure for seventeen minutes, adding stock as the risotto retains it.

If the risotto rice is not cooked to your taste, add bo il ing water and follow the same instructions until it softens to your desired degree.

4. Once cooked, remove from the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and cheese. Leave to stand for five minutes, season, then serve.

Student attitudes to volunteering at university Lisa Stevens looks into students' relationship with volunteering Volunteering for ma ny people draws up images of carehomes, unpleasant chores and boredom, but more and more students are rea lising the benefits and satisfaction to be had in offering up their free time.

University will hopefully be one of the on ly times in life when you find yourself with a n embarrassi ng expanse of spare time to watch whole television series in one go or sleep for half a day and be annoyed when a housemate pesters you to go into town.

Many students fall into the trap of wasting their time at univers ity when faced with just s ix or seven contact hours a week. Volunteering has become increasingly popular

among students because it gives back the sense of purpose and routine lost in what is often coined as the University 'bubble'. There 11 •••

volunteering

is such an easy thing to do}/ are many differing opportunities and outlets to volunteer for at UEA, ranging from the student run listening service 'Nightline' to conserving the biodiversity of campus.

Volunteering doesn't just look great on your CV but really does help

you learn new ski lls and meet some fascinating like-minded people.

The University provides a volunteering section on the official UEA website that offers a string of UEA-based volunteer projects as well as a link to Voluntary Norfolk that lets you know what volunteering opportunities are available in Norwich. Electra Gerolymbou, a third year Literature student recently ran a Shoebox appeal for refugee and orphaned children in Romania. Electra's voluntary work meant that she managed to send 47 boxes out to Romania, making a substa ntia l difference to those children who may not have expected anything

They may be more of a fritter than a pancake, in any case, they are amazing. This is one of the only ways to eat something fried, cheesy and greasy, and yet still healthy!

You will need: • 1 bag of baby spinach • 2 spring onions - chopped • SOg Feta- crumbled • SOg Goats cheese (Soft, hard, however you like it) -crumbled • 1 Egg • 1 Garlic clove - chopped • 120g Flour • Some kind of oil. We like sunflower.

a lid or plate on top of the colander.

The s pinach will be cooked quickly,'five minutes at the most. When it's all soft and juicy, take it out and chop it up .

2. Mix the spinach, onions, feta, egg and goats cheese in a bowl - add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Mix in the flour. Make sure the mixture has a consistency that will hold its shape when fried. If It doesn't, add more flour.

4. Heat the oil in the pan .

Method: 1. Steam the spinach in a colander or sieve over some boi ling water in a saucepan. It's a lot faster if you put

5. Spoon the mixture into the pan, in pancake-shaped clumps. You may have to flatten them a bit. Fry until golden brown.

over the holiday season to bring them cheer.

Concrete asked Electra what she would say to someone considering voluntary work: "! would say that volunteering is just such an easy

thing to do. Anyone can do it, and even the sma ll est action of kindness can mean so much to those who have less than us. It's just a beautiful experience and everyone should volunteer at least once in their life."

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ISSUE 250

INTERNATIONAL 19

www.concrete-online.co.uk

uesday 18th January

, 01(

To tnove or not to tnove Concrete looks at the advantages and disadvantages of living in halls and private residencies Rachael Lum International Writer Certain universities only guarantee accommodation for students in their first and final year. At UEA, students paying overseas fees can continue living in the residences throughout the duration of their course provided they apply before the deadline. The decision of whether to reapply or search for private accommodation depends on the students themselves.

Concrete International weighs the ups and downs of both these potential choices.

Living 1n the residences means that students will experience the same level of comfort and convenience as the previous year.

Living in the residences means that tudents will experience the same level of

comfort and convenience as the previous year. The walking distance from campus accommodation to class venues is not demanding. There would be less worry about having to rush to the lecture halls, and it would take shorter time to reach the LCR on student nights . That aside, the rent already includes utility bills and cleaning services, something that must be taken into consideration in private housing.

The cost of this is that you don't get to pick which accommodation you want, nor are you able to choose your housemates, although this would not be a problem if you are prepared to make new friends.

Other than that, the student residences are nowhere near to the city centre, which is unfortunate if you enjoy the many happenings in Norwich.

House rents in Norwich are relatively cheaper than most parts of the UK. starting from as low as ÂŁ50, non-inclusive of utility bills. If you are not one to leave the room lights on all day, the total cost for private accommodation should add up to less than that for university residences. Students might want to exercise more independence by looking for their own home with people they get along better with. On top of that,

you and your housemates get to set your own house rules.

The downside to this is that private lodgings are normally further off campus, which may require reliance on public transportation if it is too much of a trek.

account. Should you choose otherwise, the housing list is released on Tuesday, 18th January 2011, or you can visit the website: http: /fwww.homeru nstuden tpad.co. u k/ for a start. Concrete International wishes students all the best this house-hunting season.

The downside to this is that private lodgings are normally further off campus, which may require reliance on public transportation if it is too much of a trek.

Students are also expected to be responsible for everything that comes with the package, such as the bills and cleaning.

The only certain thing for both options is that students must act fast. An email would be sent to remind international students about the deadline to apply and confirm the accommodation in February. lt would be best to keep an eye on your UEA

Friends or Strangers?

Concrete examines whether living with friends or complete strangers is the better choice lsabelle Carty International Writer Halls of residence can provide students with a ready-made social life, an easy way to make friends and a sense of security.

Leaving all of that behind and finding accommodation off campus can be a stressful and worrying experience. There are an abundance of decisions to be made ranging from who to live with to the kind of housing you want. Howeve1~ there are resources available that can help to make this transition a seamless one.

"Before signing anything make sure to read through contracts, ensure that the property is safe and be assured that your deposits will be kept in a secure location".

On entering private rented accommodation for the first time there are certain issues that you will have to take into consideration . Unless you can afford a single studio apartment you are likely to have to share your living space with others.

You will undoubtedly have developed a network of friends by now and may even have an idea of who you would like to live with. However, if there are not enough of you to take up all the rooms in the house that you have chosen you can always advertise the availability of extra rooms either by simply telling people you know or by using the University's notice boards (both real and electronic).

Another factor to consider when choosing house-mates is whether or not you would like to be in a smoking or nonsmoking household . lt would be best not to have a mixture of the two as this can lead to conflict. One helpful lip for when you do start living together would be to eat meals together as much as possible. This will help you to bond as a group and will provide a forum to air any grievances before they fester.

If you are uncertain about where to begin, try the University's Accommodation Office. They will be happy to recommend a host of local landlords and agents who can assist you in your search. There are also student accommodation websites that you can peruse to get a sense of the pricing and types of accommodation available. You may even be lucky enough to find your future house via one of these websites.

Before signing anything make sure to read through contracts, ensure that the property is safe and be assured that your deposits will be kept in a secure location.

Finding the right house with the right peo-

pie can be an extremely exciting experience so do not be afraid to visit as many houses as possible until you find exactly the right one for you .

,

_,

20

~~~~----~~~~--~~~------~--~--------~~~~~~~~~~~~~----------------~---------------- I SS UE250

co ncrete.tu rf@uea.ac. uk

Cancun: a step forward?

Ruthana Christofides Turf Reporte r Whil e Ch ri s tm as a pproac hed a nd s hop pe rs a tte mpted to bag a deal for und er the tree, Cancun he ld host to word leaders who were wo rkin g a t setting up a new treaty, one to e ns ure th a t in fifty years tim e, trees to s helte r prese nts still existed.

With clai ms th at this has been the co ld cst winter ever recorded, and a n unspoken hypothesis that climate change is to blame for thi s, a ll eyes were on the Ca ncun Clim ate Summit. Afte r th e failure of the s ummit in Copenhagen at th e e nd of 2009 , the talks were desc rib ed as th e las t chance for an e ffective pla n, putting great press ure o n the 193 a ttending nation s. Des pite criticism about the o rgan isation of the summ it, it was deemed to have been the most s uccessfu l s in ce cl imate co nfe rence the l<yoto Protocol in 1997.

The plans in clude s tee pe r cuts in car bon e miss ion s, a lthou gh there

was no mention as to how this would be ac hi eved. With Chin a and America seem ing more co mpli ant, the only objections to th e Mex ica n pla ns surpri s in gly came from their ne ighbour Bo li via. Although the dea ls a nticipated were no t reac hed to th e exte nt wanted by many govern ments, a s tepping s ton e was s till ac hi eve d.

The most sig nifi cant of the deals ach ieved is th e pl edge from the West to give funds to developing nations, so that by 2020 £61 billion every year will be avai la ble to ai d th e develop ing world s uffe rin g with th e im pacts of clim a te cha nge a nd low ca rbon e mi ss ion s. Thi s issue, which has been coined 'C limate justice', reac hed a sta le ma te at the last climate s ummit.

Also passed was an agreement to in crease emiss ion pledges as we ll as a stra tegy to stop countri es destroyi ng th ei r forests - o ne s ugges ti on being to pay countri es to maintain their forests . Deforestation is the cause of 15(% of globa l ca rbon emissions.

However, des pite th ese seem ingly

s uccess ful outcomes, it has not bee n dec ided where the funds for the developing world will come from no r has the re bee n any progress su rrou ndin g the lega liti es behind a new global ag ree me nt.

"Th e world is in a state of e me rgency, th e time for procrastination abo ut climate change has lo ng s ince passed," sa id a second-

Reclaim your life Anna Tomson Turf Editor In t hi s age of austerity -there a re fewer jobs, less affordab le hous in g, an d with th e ris e of VAT a m o ngs t o th e r thin gs, living has beco m e m o re expensive. Do you wa nt to find o ut a bo ut c hea pe r a lte rn at ives '' Would you prefer to li ve without a la ndlord o r a boss co ntro lling yo ur life? Come a nd ch eck out th ese workshops for so me a m az in g a lte rnativ es!

MONDAY January 24th Reimagining Political Dissent.

Union House Rm. 1.33 4pm.

A c rea tive ca mpai g nin g sess io n for a ll th ose who fee l disillusioned by th e vio le nt ta ctics use d a t th e cuts de m o ns trati o ns. Come along to help think of cons tru ctive and cra fty ways to ge t your message o ut there.

TUESDAY January 25th Food co-ops and freeganing Union house 1.33 6pm A workshop foc us in g on food so urc es, from a lter na te dumps te r diving to se ttin g up a food co -op. Thi s is for anyone who is interested in bei ng invo lved in establishing a food co-o pe ra tiv e at UEA or is s imply tired of trekking to Tesco every weekend.

WEDNESDAY Janua•·y 26th Housing Co-ops Union house 1.28 7pm Want to avo id pricey a nd uncompromising la ndl ords?

Me mb e rs from th e No rwi ch ho us ing co-o p Nauti a w ill be ex pl ai ning wha t a hou s ing co-o p is a nd ho w to set one up. Nautia a re interes ted in expa ndin g th e ir g roup, so co me a long if you're inte rested.

THURSDAY January 27th Workers Co-ops Union house 1.33 7pm Mo re a lter nate livin g; re prese nta tives from GreenGrow (a vegetab le-gro win g co-o p) and Cata lys t (a finance co-op) wil l be ta lking a bout runnin g a business in a way that is empowe rin g a nd co mmunity- ce ntred.

FRIDAY January 28th Bike skills share Dr. Bike hut 12pm Dr~ Bike is running a fr ee works hop on bike m a inte na nce. All two whee le rs welcome!

The week e nd s in a Critical Mass through th e streets of Norwi c h.

Bikes aren't di s ruptin g traffic th ey ARE the traffic! Meet o utside the Forum at Spm. Fo r more informati o n, check out 'Reclaim Your Life We e k' on f-ace book.

yea r BIO stud e nt, "a nythin g that ca n be clone s hou ld be. We have ab used the planet fo r too long a nd s hould s ta rt he lping it out so we don't ruin futu re generations of life."

Although the media atte ntion towards the iss ue of cli mate cha nge has dimmed the work of ca mpa igne rs. activ ists a nd s tud ents indicate that change is clearly wa nted, a nd with

the nex t s ummit sc hedul ed for nex yea r in Durban, one can o nly wait an see what ha ppe ns.

Alth ough Cancun has been s ma ll stepp ing sto ne in tackli cli mate cha nge, ma ny a rgue that more ra d ica l a nd bin di ng agree m is des pe rate ly needed if we a rc preve nt the potentia lly catastrop hi impac ts of globa l warming.

Green Wing Will Lacey Env iro nm e nt Office r This yea r, th e Green Wing is cont inuing to bring tog e th e r a set of passionate a nd bra iny s tud e nts co min g up with brilliant id eas for co pin g with the e nviro nm en ta l iss u e th a t we al l face.

Th e Green Wing went thro ug h a p e ri od of flux a t the Autumn te rm 's s tart which sa w n ew faces that pro mptly brought n ew id eas a nd new e n e rgy to the team. On e of th e bigge s t proj ects th e Gree n Win g worked o n la st term was th e c re a tion of a ' Green Handbook' targeted primarily a t the uniqu e stud e nt ex p e ri e n ce, m a king it id ea ll y suite d to th e uniqu e c ha ll e nges we face in trying to take our e nvir on m e nta l imp act into o ur h a nd s . Th e co ntributors a re too m a ny to name but a big th a nks goes o ut to them fo r setting aside time in their bu sy sc he dul es !

Th e Environm e nta l Soc ie ty h as a lso begun producing r eus a ble notebooks from the library's u se d pape r, co ri1plet e with co m e dy covers mad e from beer c ra te ca rdbo a rd' Tac kling the re li a nce o n bo ttl e d water has a lso been o n the age nd a and Gree n Wing is w o rking on m a kin g

water fountains o n ca mpu s eas i to get to , as well as in ves t igati th e poss ibility of int roducing usa bl e water fla s ks to be on sa l in Uni on shops for a s tud e nt friend ly price.

As well as workin g awa o n these more crafty id ea th e Green Win g is h op ing h o ld so m e co ffee mornings in the next se m este r to promo discu ss ion a nd owners hip ove e nvironm e nta l s ubj ects th a t can be a littl e co nfu sing if you ha ven mu ch t im e for resea r c h.

I'd like to e nd hy ex press in g h ow mu c h I' d love to nam e m e mb e rs in thi s art ic le a nd g ive t h em a ll th e c re dit they d ese rv e but I'm terrified I'd mi ss someo ne o ut, so I'd like to say a perso na l th a nks for eve ryon e 's invo lve m e nt so far and for a ll that t h ey'd brought to the tab le.

If yo u'r e intereste d in taking l part, h ea d along to the w ee kly m ee tin gs th a t ta ke pl ace in th e Board Roo m in Union Hou se, above th e lli ve . Hav in g troub le finding us? Ask one of th e brilliantly helpful Va leric or Ali so n at rece pti o n a nd they' ll point yo u th e right way.

ISSUE 250

21

Tuesday 18th January

â&#x20AC;˘

Impressive comeback for Athletics No place like home IUEA's finest dominate competition in first cross-country meet of 20111

Ch ris Ki ng Sports Editor

Simon O'Meara Sports Correspondent UEA Ath letics returned to competition this week, with t he cross-country team travelli ng to RAF Marham on January 12th for a n East Anglia Cross-Cou nty League race. In comparison with past meets, the squad was slightly di mi nished, so the pressure was on our seven men and two ladies.

Any suggestion of Christmas turkey-induced sluggishness were immediately d ismissed as two UEA women and five men formed their respective leading group of runners.

A smooth course underfoot favoured Lydia Growns, who took the bronze for her third time in the present campaign. On her energetic return from injury Sarah Burdett completed the ladies' team, finishing seventh. ln the men's race Josh Entwistle gained a decisive victory, wh ile Nick Earl came second, having passed Richard Henderson, who ran bravely follow ing a period of flu to

fin ish t hird.

Team captain Alec Beaney held on to fourth with Simon O'Meara pursuing in fifth. Man Ming Cheung ended up a modest 11th with distance running convert Andy Dixon bringing t he team home in 35th.

"Any suggestion of Christmas turkeyinduced sluggishn ess was immediately dismissed by UEA" The outlook is bright for this year's runners prior to the BUCS Cross-Country Championships, which will take place in Birmingham on February 5th. ln preparation, UEA's women are beginning a ladies-only session on Sundays.

A Sunday long run constitutes a large proportion of many distance runners' mi leage, and though not

necessarily intended to be run quickly, it provides a wonderful opportunity to explore the rural areas surrounding the campus.

Next up for the runners is a trip to Wattisham Airfield in the East Anglian Cross-Country League on Ja nuary 26th, whe re they w ill hope for a similarly strong performance.

Meanwhile, UEA's sprinters are in the midst of winter training, with the aim of peaking for the BUCS Indoor Championships on February 19th and 20th. Several athletes will participate in their first Championships, with ones to watch including 400m runner Amardeep Sangha, and 1 00m/200m speed merchant Emma-Lou Wagstaff.

The Sheffield showdown has seen UEA records broken for the past two years and the trend is set to continue. Coach Robin Saunders has dedicated hours to training enthused athletes on the track and in the gym. Preparation will be solidified by racing at the London Indoor Games three weeks prior to the BUCS Indoors.

UEA has informed cricket clubs in and around Norwich that they will no longer be able to use the pitches located at Co ln ey La ne playing fie lds.

As reported by the Norwich Evening News last Wednesday, UEA sent a letter to five community clubs stating that they could no longer accept bookings for the pitches due to funding cuts and stretched resources.

The clubs, which include Rackheath, Colney, Civil Service and bot h Great Melton's B and C teams, will now have to look for alternative grounds before the cricket season begins in three months.

Keith Nicholl s, Director of Physical Education and Sport at the Sportspark, sent the letter on January 3rd, inform ing the clubs that the pitches will only be used by university students in future.

The letter said: "The University has been subject to cuts in fund ing both this year and for future years.

As a result, the focus is on identifying and ma intaining core services for

university members.

"Staff resources are stretched and with the current budgetary pressures, it is not possible to maintain the current level of service for Colney Lane.

"The income for community use is far short of that required to cover the maintenance and staffing costs. ln the past, we have been able to provide this support for community use, but after review, we have concluded with some sadness that the pressures on the budget cannot be ignored," Nicholls' letter concluded.

The aforementioned clubs have already expressed their disappointment and were supported

by Norfolk Cricket League Secretary, Tim Porter, w ho said: "I really do not know what we can do.

'The teams are already struggling for numbers and I am worried that this could be the final nai l in the coffin for them," he added.

Despite the decision, Kieron Tuck, of the No rfo lk Cricket Board, said that he was hopeful that discussions with UEA could continue and a reso lution cou ld be found.

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22

Oli Platt Spo rts Co rres pondent Norwich City enjoyed a thoroughly produ ctive Christmas; Wes ll oo laha n's (right) hattrick aga in st Sheffie ld United at home punctuated three win s out of four in Dece mb er. Despite specu l atio n s urrounding manager Paul Lambert, th e s ubj ect of interest from fell ow Cha mpi onship sid e Burn ley, th e Canaries bega n 2011 in styl e, Ru sse ll Ma rtin grabbing the only goa l in a 1-0 victory over league leade rs QPR at (arrow Road.

Despite their excel-

lent form, any FA Cup run the club might have bee n hoping fo r was end ed abruptly, as Ci ty fell to a disappointing 1-0 home defeat aga in st League On e out fit Leyton Orient. it may perha ps be s urmised th at one or two of th e Ca naries pl aye rs were distrac ted by th e pros pect of a showcruci a l down aga in st Ca rdiff City.

Prior to kickthe two s id es found th emse lves just four points off ledders QPR, with 43 points api ece, hut in th e end th e spo ils were s ha !-ed, a 90t h minut e eq uali se r from Ru ssell Martin ca nce ll ing ou t

]on Pa rkin's ea rly ope ner.

Lambert has bee n kee n to strengthe n hi s squad w ith the opening of the Ja nu ary transfer window, in ord er to ho lste r City's bid for promotion to the Premi er League. Co lchester United left-back Marc Tierney has followed MJ< Dons striker Aaron Wilh raha m in signing for th e Ca nari es, both for undi sclosed fees. /\s fo r Ipswich Town, th e Ch ri stmas period has bee n even more hecti c than us ua l in Suffol k, the Tractor Boys pa rting ways with manage r Roy J<ea ne fo ll owing a series of poor resu lts. J<ea ne leaves Ipsw ich 19th in the tabl e, with fo rm er Wiga n Athletic boss Paul jewe ll (right) hav ing taken th e helm, a nd with it th e cha llenge to dras ti ca lly improve Town 's league pos ition. 'fh e ma nage ri al sw itch W<lS of littl e s urprise, given th at, fo ll owing a good st;n"t to th e seaso n, the Blues have esse nti ally been in free fa ll , a nd are now in cl ange r of re legatio n after

Winter sportingland ISpor ts Editor Rob Schatten explores th e non -s top nature of sport over the holid ays I Th e Chri stmas period is known for being a time of rest and recovery, in which to s pend a few peaceful days with your nea rest a nd dea rest.

Unfo rtun ately, there are th ose in the s porting world who neve r received that message. As a res ult, ma ny of our s portin g icons enjoy- or endure - <1 rath er less rela xed holiday seaso n.

The tra dition of s port ove r Chri stm as Day goes back through generatio ns, with one of the most famou s exa mp les being th e Christmas Day 19 15 'Arm istice ga me' pl ayed between English and Germa n so ldiers in no man's la nd between th eir battlefi eld trenches in the French countrys id e. /\c ross th e Atla nti c, the National Basketba ll Association (NBA) featu red five ha ck-to-back fi xtures on Chri stmas Day itse lf, with the league's biggest names go ing headto-head over a n 11-hour period.

Th e sched uling has, in th e pas t, ca used imm ense controversy, w ith Orla nd o Mag ic coac h St<lll Va n Gundy being heav ily fined for criti cis in g it last seaso n. Thi s ye <ll~ clea rly wi sh-

•

ISSUE 250

www.conc~ete-online.co.uk

SPORT

ing to avo id a repeat, Van Gundy so mewhat sarcastica lly lav ished prai se on the co nce pt, go in g as far as to s uggest "startfing] ga mes at mid night and playling] th em all through

Mild -mannered: Stan Van Gundy th e day so th ere's not <l minute of Chri stmas Day where there's not an NB/1. ga me on TV." There was also one Nf-L ga me on Chri stmas Day, with the Da llas Cowboys los ing out to the Arizona Ca rdinals.

Startin g Boxing Day, th e holid ays bore w itn ess to th e us ual wh irlw ind

of Engli s h football league fi xtures, with a number of tea ms pl ay ing as many as four games in a ten-day period. This is often a defining tim e in Engli sh League footba ll, when a team hitting a streak of good form can rack up th e points in a hurry whil e those ca ught in th e bri efest of slumps ca n be left grasping fo1- a handhold.

Although th e English syste m is alone in Europea n footba ll in honou ring the tradition of conti nuin g through th e holidays (though that practi se is threa te ned by th e possibility of a Janu ary World Cup for Qatar 2022), it is far from a lone in s port. England 's rugby ca l e nd a 1~ too, continu ed on Boxing Day. The /\s hes ca rri ed o n unabated as wel l, with th e third test at Perth beginning on Box in g Day. Th e home si de, full of Chri stma s chee r, co ntin ued their woeful for m in the first innings but turn ed the match around ove r th e followin g few days to bri efly level the se ri es. Th e So uth AfricaIndi a se ri es a lso co ntinu ed right through the holid ays.

Bah humbug, inde ed.

co ncrete.sport@ uea.a c.u k

a run of just one league win in nin e ga mes. Thi s ca me at hom e to Lei cester City in farcica l froze n co nditions, but it was on ly a bri ef resp ite.

The days following J<eane's departure brought th e undoubted low

FA Cup, the vi s it of a nother Premi er League gia nt in Arse na l to Portman Road for th e first leg of th e Ca rli ng Cup se mi-fina l looked more th an a littl e da unting. Howeve r, with jewel! watching on from the sta nd s, ca retake r manage r !a n McPa rla nd ra llied th e troops to a me mor<lbl e 1-0 vi cto ry, Ta mas Priskin ca pping off a superb display with th e ga me's only goa l to hand Ipsw ich th e adva ntage. jcwe ll 's first ga me in cha1·ge was a tri cky trip to Millwall, with Town go ing down 2-1 , hav ing take n an early lead. Des pite th e negatives, Ipsw ich <lrc se t to trave l to the Em ir-

point of the seaso n followed by the biggest hi gh for be leaguered Town fans. Thras hed 7- 0 by a stuttering Che lsea at Sta mford Brid ge in the

ates for the seco nd leg of th eir Ca rling Cup ti c agai nst Arse nal at the end of the month , dreamint-\ of their first visit to the new Wembl ey.

Now is the winter of our discontent ...

C

hristmas may be known as a relax ing time, but foo tball league ma nage rs live co nstantly on edge during this pe riod, wh n re pu ta tions ca n be ta rnished in a fortnight.

Surpris ingly, it is not the Premier League orchestra ting this manage rial witch-hunt, whi ch has claim d 11 bosses in the past three weeks.

In fact, the Champi onship and its triggerha ppy hi ring and firing is leading the way, with 11 manage r having departed so far this season.

Before the cull transfe rs to insecure Prem ier League manage rs, in cl uding Av ram Gra nt, Carlo Ancelotti and Gerard Houllier, it's ti me to ta ke a look at those who slipped up on the festive ice:

Dec 29th Darren Ferguson (Preston North End) Bria n Laws (Burnley)

Jan 1st George Burley (Crystal Palace)

Mark Stimso n (Barn et)

Jan 4t h Chris Hutchings (Wa/sa/1)

Paul Simpson {Stockport County) Phil Parkison {Char/ton Athletic)

Jan 7th Roy Keane {Ipswich Town)

Jan 8th Roy Hodgson

(Liverpool}

Jan lOth Kevin Dillon (Aldershot)

Jan 11th Gary Johnson (Peterborough

ISSU E :150 T u cs d ~1 y

18th Janu ary

England come out on top down under I England achieve glorious 3-l series victory- Australia's first home loss for a generation- in cricket's blue -ribbon event I

I

all that was good about England' s attitude through out .the se ri es : he s pe nt a n unb e li eva bl e 36 hours a t th e crease.

Th is greed for runs was met glad ly by l~ n g l a ncl 's we ll -rested bow lers, wh o whe n ca lled up on, perfo r med exce pti ona lly. Their execution of pl a ns was ruthl ess; th eir ada ptati on to different pitches fa r bette r than th at of th eir oppo ne nts. Ba cked up by a wo rld -leadin g sta nd ard of fi eldin g, th e bowlin g ofte n emba rrasse d th e Au stralia n bats men, mos t notab ly be in g howled out fo r 98 at Melbourn e in a memorab le 1\ustra lian lovv.

James 1\nd erso n a nswe red hi s criti cs with a se ri es -l ea din g 24 wickets. Seco nd in the wickets co unt with 17 was Chri s Trem lett, w ho ste pped in for th e injured Sluartl3mad <:lnd in sta ntly looked a

Geo rge Nea l Spo rts Corres pond e nt

As th e anti cipati on of Christmas hol idays a nd fes ti viti es gave way to th e bl ea ry-eye d co me-d ow n of the New Yea 1~ there was one great spo rt ing co nsta nt: th e 1\shes.

Bes id es a blip in Perth , Englis h supremely cri ckcti ng reig ned do min ant.

From Andrew Stra uss down to Ia n IJel l, th e who le of Engla nd's top order played hrilli <lllliy. Both tea m and indi vidu al haltin g reco rd s were broke n tim e e1 nd aga in as England racked up tota ls of ove r 500 o n severa l occas ions. Alas tair Cook was pan icu la rly astonishing, end ing the se ri es as En gla nd 's seco nd-highesl 1·un sco re r in a Lest se ries, hav in g a me1ssed 766 run s at <l bli ste ring average of 127. Anoth er Coo k wo 1·ld record stand s to encapsu late

Australia What went wrong?

F

or those who decided to atte nd the spa rsely-occupied gro unds during this winter's Ashes, or equally, those wh o chose to stay away, words that come to mind when refl ecting on the series are humiliation, embarrassment and shame, to name but a few.

Australia's game plan appeared to crumble alm ost immediate ly.

Followi ng a disa ppointing opening draw, the second test in Adelaide was characterised by poor batting and fielding choices, which allowed Engla nd to take a 1-0 series lead.

However; the hosts clawed back in the third match, requiring just 48 minutes to dismiss England's remaining five bowlers in order to move level.

Michael Clarke admitted in a post-match interview that his side was simply "outplayed in all facets of the ga me': an admission reflective of th e negative attitude toward s the hosts' performance dep icted in th e media, which led calls for an 'inquest' into the defeat. All aspects of Australia's ga me were severely criti cised, from batting, to fielding, to the captaincy.

Indi cative of th e vitriolic attitude in the media was the Sydney Morning Herald, whi ch published daily critiques throughout the series; headlin es such as 'England dances on Australia's Ashes grave', 'Ashes loss • a wake up call for Australia' and .,-~-----,1 'Austra lia coo ked Des pite this, the AUSTRALIAN C r CKET, then tormented ,,.Ill • 11 ,we: by Bell' were fourth 'Boxing Day ;;.6th DECEME i . 2010. commonplace.

Test' in Melbourne o ... ,.t.

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•· · ··•· ·•·• .. •·· ' With the likes will be remembered as the nadir of the of Glenn McG rath series, with Australia and Adam bowled out for a Gilchrist no longer mere 98 runs. Stand-in captain ava ilable, Australia must now focus Michael Clarke was hoping for a on developing and strengthening a reversal of fortune in the fifth and test si de capable of reclaiming the final test,yetitwasn'tto be; England Ashes trophy. once aga in dominated, as Australia lost by an inmngs fo r the third time Kirste n Wade in the seri es.

Reporting from Sydney, Australia

world beater. Where 1\ustra Iia had one man howlin g well, Engla nd had three. Th ey bowled in pa rtn e rs hip s, buildin g press ure thanks to good pla ns from th e bowlin g coac h a nd we ll thought-o ut fi elds by Strauss. it was an ex hibition in prepa ratio n a nd exec uti on.

1\ustra li a showed s parks of exce ll ence throughout the ser ies, but neve r strung enough mo me nts togethe r to perform co ns iste ntly we ll. Mike Hu ssey a nd Sha ne Watson impresse d with th e hat, th e fo rmer averag in g 63 per innings, a nd at tim es Mitchell john so n <md Peter Siddl e proved devastating for Engla nd's batsmen. Ye t th ese mo me nts of indi vidua l bri lli a nce pa led in co ntras t against Englan d's tea m performance and co ns iste nt effec tive ness, a nd ultim ately that diffe re nce proved th e key in a sc intillating se ri es.

Clockwi se from top left: Australia captain Ricky Pantin g cut a disconsolate fi gure as England ran riot; Paul Collingwood was the mas te r of the fielders, highli ghted by this spectacu lar ca tch fro m Panting; Al as tair Cook was th e se ri es' top scorer, ma king 766 run s includin g a n unb ea te n 235 in th e first tes t; Ian Bell was one of Engla nd' s batting he ro es, reac hing a ca reer tota l of 4,000 run s along the way.

England What went right? ollowing their emphatic 3-1 series victory, during which the visitors dominated the vast majority of the five test matches, it was clear that England had learned a few vital lesso ns from their previous tour Down Under; which ended in a 5-0 whitewash in favour of the Australians. The successes of the recent series can be attributed largely to the effective and efficient partnership between captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower.

England's intelligent planning was clear to see in the pretournament matches; the visitors' first-choice batsmen were given as much time in the midd le as possible, while the bowlers were allocated ample time, both to bowl and acclimatise prior to the opening test in Brisbane. The warm-up games, all highly competitive a nd played aga inst strong teams in a variety of co nditions, furthermore illustrate the excellent nature of England's preparation.

During the tests themselves, selection decisions were made quickly and intell igently. Many doubted the effectiveness of

F

England's remammg fast bowlers when Stuart Broad was forced to withdraw due to a torn abdominal muscle. However, his replacement, Chris Tremlett, was an inspired choice, as was the decision to replace leading wicket-taker Steven Finn fo llowing the first two tests with Yorkshire's Tim Bresna n.

Stand-outs for England included Alastair Cook and leading overall wicket-taker james Anderson. As for the batsmen, each of the top seven managed to score at least one century, while England's bowlers all managed to chip in with wickets;c often at crucial moments.

While he did not contribute a great deal with the bat, Paul Co lli ngwood was an inspiration in the field, taki ng a number of breathtaking catches and setting a high sta ndard throughout the series.

With the Ashes retained, and th eir fi rst series win in Australia since 1986/87, England will look to k~ep their good run of form go ing a nd lea rn from this series, especially with India and Sri Lanka to co me in the summ er.

Chris Teale

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Update: East Anglia

The Ashes

Sports correspondent Oli Platt looks at Ipswich Town's appointment of Paul Jewell, and a memorable Carling Cup victory over Arsenal

Concrete Sport takes an in-depth look at England's first Ashes triumph in Australia since 1987, and analyses what went wrong for Australia

Carrow Road final in sight for UEA I

MarkRoach Sports Correspondent

UEA Football Men's I Dereham Town

1 0

UEA Men's Football are through to the semi-final of the Norfolk junior Cup for the second consecutive year after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Dereham Town at Colney Lane.

UEA came into the game lacking match practice after the winter break, but started the game positively ~th Chris Evans going close and a squared ball across the box from Simon Beeson evading the run of Matthew Wed lake.

Evans continued to drive at the Dereham back line, and after 26 minutes was tripped inside the area.

However, to the amazement and disbelief of all players on both sides the referee deemed the challenge to be an acceptable one and awarded Dereham a goal kick.

The Yellows continued to press, however, and eventually got the breakthrough when a chipped ball from Evans resulted in the on-

rushing Dereham goalkeeper misskicking under pressure from Nick Heap, who was left to pass the ball into the empty net to put UEA ahead.

Several other chances were

created in the opening half, but nothing really troubled the goalkeepers at either end, and the sides went into the break with the hosts maintaining their slender 1-0

lead.

Dereham were quickest out of the blocks in the second-half, and as UEA struggled to keep hold of the ball, the defence came under increasing

pressure as the visitors got into their stride and forced a succession of tackles and clearances from UEA. Evans, Wedlake and Heap all had chances on the counter-attack but it was Dereham who looked the most likely to score, as they spent the majority of the second-half camped in UEA's final third.

The Yellows' back four of Dennis, Blackwell, Roach and Kelly held firm time and again as Dereham continually tried to break through the back line; when they eventually managed to on 73 minutes, it took a last-ditch tackle from Luke Blackwell and a smothering save from Adam Burnett to keep the score at 1-0.

When the final whistle was eventu~lly blown a very tired and relieved UEA were delighted to have progressed through to the semi-finals after a strong first-half performance and a second period in which the home side showed resilience, character and commitment.

This was a huge result against a strong Dereham side and the semifinals now beckon for UEA - who have just one team between them and a Carrow Road final.

UEA rugby player wins local scholarship I

Ian Hobbs Sports Correspondent

UEA student james Elliot has become the first recipient of a rugby scholarship in a newly established scheme linking the University with local side North Walsham Vikings RFC. james, a final year masters pharmacy student, will receive a ÂŁ1,000 bursary towards his course fees. The new scholarship will be open to any UEA student who excels in the gentlemanly discipline of rugby and is able to play for North Walsham Vikings at weekends in local league fixtures.

The Vikings have offered to pay travel expenses so james is able to make both training and matches.

North Walsham's Nick Grimmer said: "With university fees continuing to rise we believe the bursary will be attractive to many talented players who can enhance our playing strength."

,.

Thanks to the scholarship, james will be able to use his immense rugby talent to enhance his education and create a better future for himself both academically and in sport. Concrete Sport caught up with james, who told us he was "very proud to have been selected for this scheme.

"The team are great and the club as a whole is very welcoming. and I would strongly encourage any future UEA rugby players to jump at the chance to play with the North Walsham Vikings ".

Both prospective and current students can apply for the scholarship, with the size of the bursary dependent on how many years of study you have ahead. Anyone interested in applying for this scholarship should contact with Nick Grimmer at North Walsham Vikings RFC for further information at nick__grimmer@hotmail.

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