Concrete - Issue 264 - 31/01/2012 by Concrete - the official student newspaper of UEA.

Issue 264 | Tuesday 31st January 2012 | Fortnightly | Free

UEA’s Student Newspaper

UNION IN CRISIS Joshua Resoun News Reporter

The Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) is facing a deficit of a quarter of a million pounds for this financial year. Last year UUEAS experienced a deficit of £198,449, indicating a growing trend. Students’ Union Services (SUS), which operates under the parent body of UUEAS and provides student services on campus, endured a £74,496 loss last year. Publicly available documents reveal ever increasing losses for both SUS and UUEAS. For the year ending 31 July 2011, the Union suffered a 7% fall in bar sales, which led to the overall contribution from the Union Bars falling from £563,267 in 09/10 to £459,483 in 10/11. The recent decline in LCR club night ticket sales has attributed to the overall drop in bar revenue, as fewer students are attending the Tuesday and Saturday club nights compared to the 09/10 period. Both of these have struggled to sell-out in recent months. The revenue generated from club nights fell to £32,881 for the 10/11 period, a drop of £50,000 compared to the previous year. The Union has implemented a number of strategies in an attempt to reverse the drastic fall in bar and ticket sales. One change has been the extension of the LCR’s Saturday club nights until 3am.

Laura Smith

• Union set to face a £250,000 deficit this year • Falling bar and LCR revenue could impact upon clubs and societies funding • Without an increase in revenue, or cut in spending, the Union’s deficit appears could rise even further

Continued on page two

Back with a bang - The Concrete Sex Survey Visit our Facebook page to find out how to take part in the survey Results will be revealed in our Valentine’s Day issue

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comment p7-9

travel p10-11

Union in crisis Continued from front page However, facing fierce competition from bars and clubs in the city, and with the offering of increased variety and lower prices at these venues, the decline in sales looks set to continue. It is not all doom and gloom, however, as the recently reorganised Travel Shop brought in a small profit of £5,552. The revenue generated from the Union Food Outlet (UFO) has also increased steadily in recent years. The Union has began a process of commercial diversification, looking to expand its activities into new markets. This includes the proposed establishment of a Union Lettings Agency, to challenge the services offered by Premier

Properties, Prolet Property Services and Kent Property, amongst others. The budget for sports and societies has also been reduced by an estimated £20,000 worth of efficiency savings. The immediate financial security of the Union is assured, given that its reserves amount to more than £1m. However, with a steadily growing deficit, unless a monetary strategy is implemented to reverse this decline, the Union could be facing severe financial consequences within a relatively short amount of time. On the ground the Union’s efforts to reverse the fall in LCR ticket sales appear to be having little effect, with attendance for the Tuesday and Saturday club nights still low, and the events rarely

selling out as in previous years. The Union is carrying out a number of student consultation projects, yet until response rates are published, it is difficult to tell whether these will yield any results. The Union, like most institutions across the country, is facing a number of difficult choices as to where it should allocate its limited financial resources. As the deficit builds, however, no promises can be made on the future funding cuts and redistributions. As the Union elections draw closer, the topic which ought to be on every campaign agenda is what to do about the current financial state of the Union.To view the documents go to www. concrete-online.co.uk; or visit www.ueastudent.com/voice.

Editorial enquiries/complaints concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Got a story? concrete.news@uea.ac.uk

Telephone 01603 593 466 Website www.concrete-online.co.uk

Letters should be addressed for the attention of the Editor, Chris King. Letters must include contact details, but we will consider anonymous publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity as necessary. Anonymous article submissions are permitted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the newspaper. No part of this newspaper may be reproduced through any means without the express permission of the Editor, Chris King. Concrete is published by UUEAS Concrete Society ©2011 Concrete BMc. ISSN 1351-2773 Printed by Archant.

EDITORIAL Editor | Chris King >> concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Deputy Editor | Hannah Britt >> concrete.deputyeditor@uea.ac.uk News Editors | James Dixon/Susanna Wood >> concrete.news@uea.ac.uk Comment Editor | Joshua Resoun >> concrete.comment@uea.ac.uk Features Editor | Billy Sexton >> concrete.features@uea.ac.uk Travel Editor | Greg Lewry >> concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk Turf Editor | Becky Hazlewood >> concrete.turf@uea.ac.uk Lifestyle Editors | Hasina Allen/Rianne Ison >> concrete.lifestyle@uea.ac.uk International Editor | Rachael Lum >> concrete.international@uea.ac.uk Sport Editors | Matt Scrafton & Chris Teale >> concrete.sport@hotmail.co.uk >> concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk Copy Editors | Amy Adams/Harry Slater >> concrete.editorial@uea.ac.uk Chief Photographer | Laura Smith Deputy Chief Photographer | Harriet Jones >> concrete.photographers@uea.ac.uk Distribution Manager | Stephanie Gover >> concrete.distribution@uea.ac.uk

CONTRIBUTORS News Joshua Resoun, Catherine Hardy, Beth Wyatt, Freya Barry, Michael Drummond, Susanna Wood, Amelia Edwards, Richard Joslin, James Dixon, Sophie Witts, Frances Mckeown, Tom Bingham, Steph Clark, Philip Thomas Comment Ciara Jack, Richard Law, Susanna Wood, Rebecca Goodacre, Amelia Edwards Travel Andy Browning, Roberta Phillips, Sam Langan, Holly O’Mahony Features Billy Sexton, Steff Young Turf Toby Samuels, Chris Teale, Benjamin Brown Lifestyle James Dixon, Hasina Allen, Natasha Bailey, Samuel Ronald, Hannah Pearman, Sadie Clark, Dave Bolton International Viviane Fluck, Isabelle Carty Sport Matt Scrafton, Doug Patient, Adam Plom, Phil Thomas, Billy Sexton, Tom Shaw, Sam Tomkinson, Chris Teale Proofreaders Harry Slater, Amy Adams, Charlotte Cox, Jamie Isitt, Matthew Weddig, Josh Bowker, Beth Wyatt, Juliane Appelhans, Suhailah Ali, Tom Bingham, Joshua Resoun, Emily Arndt, Emily Badger, Harriet Smith

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turf p15

lifestyle p16-19

international p20

NEWS

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR I never realised how spacious the Concrete office actually is. Move a couple of desks around and an area the size of a small dancefloor (Lola Lo springs to mind) emerges before your eyes. Despite the lurid yellow walls, it’s actually almost quite a nice place to be on a production weekend. Some of you will have read the statement from the Union of UEA Students concerning the decision made by the Union’s Management Committee, which includes the four, full-time officers, to cease funding the role of the Concrete editor. Since 1995 the Union has funded a paid editor for the newspaper, since the Union bought out Concrete. Concrete has, since it was founded in 1992, produced countless professional journalists, and provided invaluable experience of writing, editing and proofreading to thousands of students at this University. For

decades it has provided a service to the wider student community. Our sports reporters stand observant at BUCS matches on freezing January afternoons. Our lifestyle contributors preview countless societies, from Baking to Drama. We offer in-depth coverage of events campus-wide and beyond, and this year will be travelling down to Essex for Derby Day once again. Yet Concrete is also a vehicle by which students can have their say on what happens at their University, on their campus, and in their Union. We don’t dictate what goes into the newspaper, our contributors do. Concrete doesn’t always get it right, but we can only change with your input. Therefore I urge you to attend our meetings, email our section editors, and tell us what you want to read in your student newspaper. Chris King Editor-in-chief

INFORMATION FOR SOCIETY MEMBERS AND GENERAL STUDENT POPULATION Concrete has been informed that the Management Committee of the Union of UEA Students has decided to no longer fund the paid editor from next year. This was made known to the Society on 17 January. Concrete has had a paid editor since 1995, when the newspaper was originally bought out by the Union from the student-run company which founded Concrete in 1992. Concrete is editorially independent, as enshrined in the Society’s constitution. The editor role has continually been plagued by controversy, and there has been tension with other societies, none of which have ever had a full-time paid member of staff. In 2005 a campaign was launched to make the editor role elected, considering Concrete’s status as a society. This was defeated in Union Council on 24 November that year. As the Society was not informed that the paid editor role might be abolished at the beginning of the year, and only told in the second semester of the academic year that it would be, there have been concerns raised at the short amount of time available to the Society in which to restructure itself. The Union has highlighted that many other student newspapers operate successfully with fully-volunteer editorial teams. These publications tend, however, to have larger subeditorial teams, and direct staff support from their unions with regards to advertising. This demonstrates that significant restructuring of Concrete would be necessary. Concrete’s print budget has also been reduced from £20,000 per annum in 2009-10 to the £12,500 figure provided by the Union for this year. The incumbent Union officers have suggested that the money saved from the editor position will either be distributed between the Union’s 173 societies or invested in a new member of staff to support these societies. The issue will be raised at Union Council on 2 February, though this will be mainly in regards to implementing plans for Concrete’s future, as the decision about the paid editorship itself is regarded as a staffing issue by the Union. Concrete will continue to engage in discussion with the Management Committee regarding this issue and potential restructuring, and will not be making any further comment at this time.

NEWS

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E-censorship? Not at UEA Catherine Hardy News Reporter An innocent email about cyber bullying caused a big stir on campus last week, due to beliefs it threatened students’ freedom of speech. The email, sent to all UEA students on 21 January, was intended to make students aware that if they posted unfriendly comments about another student on social media sites the University would intervene if contacted. However, due to unfortunate wording, this message was lost in students’ fear that any views they posted about UEA itself would result in legal action against them. The email read: “Anything you post (however innocently intended) on your own blog, web page or on Facebook or similar sites, may, if it includes, for example, ill-judged views, inaccurate information, or personal remarks directed against others, be seen as potentially defamatory or libellous.

“Any statement you publish may be legally actionable. Even comments which simply contain factual inaccuracies can potentially cause loss or damage to individuals or jeopardise their safety. You may be personally liable for the consequences.” Josh Bowker of the Save UEA Music campaign tweeted Concrete in response to the

email, saying: “The wording is … interesting. No examples, it implies everything you say could be libellous. Considering some of the stuff myself and others have posted since the whole music school debacle, it could get interesting.” Second year Tom Ritchie added: “How can an institution be so petulant? Students not allowed to voice

their displeasure at an education we pay for?” The University have since reassured concerned students that any views they have regarding UEA may be freely posted on social media sites, but that they will not accept the cowardly use by students of sites, such as Facebook, to post malicious and insulting

Chloe Hashemi

comments about their peers. The Dean of Students, Annie Grant, said: “Sadly, with the increase in the use of social media and text messaging we have seen an increased incidence of cyber and text bullying in our campus community. This type of bullying is just as upsetting and undermining as any other kind of bullying, and can have as damaging an effect on the victim’s wellbeing. “We are committed to doing all we can to ensure that UEA is an environment where students can feel safe to fully engage with their studies, explore ideas, debate issues intelligently, openly and honestly, express views that may be controversial and develop academically and personally without being subject to inappropriate personal attacks.” Students can rest assured that their freedom of speech is not in jeopardy. However, the message to “think before you post” still stands, and if you don’t have something nice to say about another student then don’t say anything at all.

UK first for UEA module Simply the Zest

Beth Wyatt News Reporter

A groundbreaking new module on Islamic women and their portrayal in the media has begun at the University. The module, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, commenced on Thursday 19 January with 18 third year students enrolled. The class aims to examine objectively the treatment issues such as veil wearing and

honour crimes receive in the media, using sources such as documentary films produced by women. The Women, Islam and the Media module, which has received coverage from the Guardian, was created by Dr Eylem Atakav on the basis of her own research into these topics. Dr Atakav said: “[At] the School of Film and Television Studies at UEA, we are committed to trying out the new and we are enthusiastic in exploring issues that are

controversial.” “As a School committed to internationalisation we explore, in our research and teaching, issues in world cinemas and popular television from across the world.” She added: “Women’s place in Islam has been widely discussed. But the relationship between women, Islam and the media has only recently been picked up, particularly in relation to the Arab spring and new forms of political activism by women.”

From the 21 January, campus eatery Zest launched weekend opening hours. The restaurant now serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30am till 4.30pm. This brunch includes a wide ranging buffet service with a selection of traditional English and continental breakfast items. This move has been received very well by the student population, as previously the only catering facility on campus offering hot meals on weekends was the INTO building. Students have also responded positively to

the reasonable pricing, with deals available for five, nine and 11 breakfast items from the buffet. UEA Catering explained that the decision to open on weekends was based on the fact that: “Students aren’t just predominantly here during the week.” The decision to open on weekends was made to accommodate students who live on campus as well as those who use the campus facilities at the weekend. Freya Barry

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Hub iMadness Michael Drummond News Reporter The Arts and Humanities hub is considering investing in tablet computing in order to better assist students having problems with the University’s online services. This news comes after a trial of an iPad in week 12 of last semester was deemed successful. Concrete spoke to Arts and Humanities Hub managers Mr John Tully and Mrs Lynne Ward to get a better idea of how the scheme would improve the service students receive from the recently reorganised hub system. It’s no secret that there have been some problems with the new system. Tully and Ward

believe that a tablet would enable students to log into their account and show the hub exactly what’s wrong. This is due to some differences between the staff view that the hub staff see and what students see. The tablet can be easily passed over the counter and used by the student whereas they can’t see the computer monitors. The idea of using a monitor mounted on a swing arm to negate this problem is also under consideration. Asked whether the problem warranted the price of a tablet computer, which do not come cheap, Concrete was told that the new technology is “not going to break the bank”. However it became apparent that only 10-20 students have had problems with the hub that the tablet would

help to resolve. Another problem is the tablet’s life span. Tablet computers rarely stand the test of time, lasting only a few years, and so might be considered to be a waste of resources. However, Concrete was informed that “they won’t get heavy use” but that their purchase would be “justified”. At present the tablets under consideration are the iPad, which retails at £399, and the new Toshiba tablet which costs £349. Even allowing for the corporate discount UEA would receive, the new technology would be expensive, especially if so few students would make use of it. The hub is constantly taking student feedback in order to improve the service they provide.

Waterfront mired by thefts Amelia Edwards News Reporter A spate of thefts at the Waterfront has led to party-goers being asked to look after their personal belongings. In the course of just one night, Saturday 14 January, three thefts were reported. One 20 year old woman found that her iPhone and £40 had been

taken from her handbag, which had been unzipped, while a man of the same age had his wallet stolen from his back pocket. A 22 year old woman was using her iPhone to text when it was grabbed from her hand. As a consequence of these thefts, Norfolk Police is urging the public to keep a closer eye on their possessions when on a night out. They suggest that

party-goers not leave their possessions unattended, keep their phones out of sight and not in a back pocket, and register their phones at www.immobilise. com. Anyone with information about the incidents should contact the City Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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YouTubed News Sasha Laxton, a five year old Canadian, has been raised gender neutral by his parents. Sasha is aware that anatomically he is a male however his parents have attempted to raise him in a stereotype free enviroment. This video depicts Sasha commenting on the concept of gender in a dialogue with his mother. She asks him about gendered colours such as pink being for girls and blue for boys. He replied: “I think that is really silly.” Sasha’s upbringing has sparked much debate over childcare across international media. Got any suggestions? Contact concrete.news@uea.ac.uk.

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NEWS

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Apple plans to tear up the textbook Richard Joslin News Reporter Apple announced its iBooks 2 app for iPad product last week, claiming it will “reinvent textbooks”. The tech giant made its usual grandiose statements about its new product, announcing that iBooks 2 will revolutionise learning by “inspiring creativity”, with dynamic features such as “fluid navigation, easy highlighting and note-taking”. Unveiled on January 19, over 300,000 copies of the seven textbooks available were downloaded within three days, at $14.99 each but it is, unclear how many of these paid downloads were the free sample book E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth. Five of the seven titles are from publisher McGraw Hill Education, with a spokesman saying: “The previous version of iBooks didn’t allow for the kinds of things we wanted to do, but iBooks 2 has it all: videos, music, touch. Sheet music, for example, will now be synchronized with you, automatically moving through the piece, as you

A group of research institutes on the Norwich Research Park are to accept a £4m grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to aid in funding postgraduate study. The grant alone stands to fund 39 PhD students undertaking the Doctoral Training Partnership award at the Norwich based institutions. Led by the John Innes centre, the award will be undertaken in collaboration with the University of East Anglia, the Sainsbury Laboratory, the Institute of Food research and the Genome Analysis centre. A further £2m has been pledged by both the Norwich Research Park board and the partner institutions over the next three years, resulting in a total of 59 students receiving postgraduate support.

Can you fit it in Yar-mouth? James Dixon News Editor

Laura Smith practice your instrument.” However, there has been a large amount of criticism of the iBook Author’s user agreement, which keeps in line with the perceived “locked down” nature of the Apple ecosystem. Steve

Kohach of Business Insider pointed out that “even though it’s your creation, Apple claims ownership over it simply because you used its app to make it.” Glyn Moody, tech blogger, criticised the service in a blog

post entitled: “Apple’s iBooks 2: an attack on educational freedoms”. Many have concerns about leaving poorer students behind in the future due to the extremely high price of Apple products and services.

£4m awarded for science research Sophie Witts News Reporter

The investment places Norwich amongst 14 institutions that were last week announced by Minister for Universities and Sciences David Willets to receive £67m nationwide in order to fund postgraduate development in biosciences, as well as a number of industrial Case (iCase) student awards. Speaking at the University of Reading, David Willets said: “This £67 million Laura investment Smith in postgraduate training is excellent news for students, research organisations, industry and the UK as a whole. The brightest and best students will be finding solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing us all, from food security through to renewable energy.” Over the next three years, the BBSRC will work closely with each training partnership, providing £5,000 per student per annum, increased from a minimum £1,000. The partnership aims to both

maximise student employability and provide highly skilled

Greg Mann

scientists for the UK research base.

The Jester’s Diner in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk has caused controversy through one of the items offered on their menu. The usual range of fried breakfasts can still be purchased, however Jester’s has gone one step further and produced a massive breakfast that it claims weighs the same amount as a small child. Aptly titled, the “Kidz Breakfast” weighs roughly 9lb and consists of some 12 sausages and 12 rashers of bacon. The breakfast features a main of toast and a huge helping of mushrooms. This is completed by two hash browns, tomatoes, and beans. Speaking to the BBC, the owner Martin Smith, said the breakfast was “just a bit of fun”. The “Jester’s Challenge” involves consuming the breakfast in 60 minutes with no other help. If successful, the meal is free. Upon failure, customers must pay £15 to cover the costs involved.

Students raise funds for local charity Frances Mckeown News Reporter UEA students recently presented a cheque for over £2,300 to staff at the Matthew Project. The charity is based in Norfolk and Suffolk and provides support and advice for people affected by drugs and alcohol. The MBA students held a fundraising gig at the Norwich Arts Centre on 8 November. The Matthew Project was founded in 1984 by Peter Farley, to offer support to young people. It now helps adults and wider communities. Last year, the charity received National Lottery funding for the Junction, a service for adults in the North Norfolk area. It also provides support for parents and families of drug and alcohol users. The Matthew Project runs a confidential drop-in service on campus which offers support and advice on alcohol and drugs. It runs every Wednesday in the Hive juice bar.

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world news

A concise update on worldwide happenings, straight from the Concrete newsdesk

Guatemala

America

The Guatemalan courts have called for the trial of the dictator Efraín Ríos Montt this week. He is now linked to at least 1,700 deaths from the civil war that shook the country for 36 years. Commentators have hailed this as Guatemala’s progress towards burying its bloody history.

Frightened drivers raised the alarm after a ferocious animal was spotted in a residential area. Houston residents called the emergency services to report the unusual sight of a big cat lounging on a hotel roof. On arrival, firemen discovered that the animal was a cuddly toy in the shape of a tiger; no more deadly than the average moggy.

Tom Bingham

Beth Wyatt

Ecuador

Spain

Iran

Over the last few years, Ecuador has seen great progress in the acceptance of homosexuality, but this progress has been shadowed by increasing reports of homosexuality clinics. These private clinics claim to cure homosexuality and patients are said to have been subjected to gross violations of human rights, such as torture.

Official figures show that Spain’s unemployment levels passed the five million mark in the last quarter of 2011. Spain already holds the highest level of unemployment in the 17-nation Eurozone and is expected to slide back into recession. Public service employees staged a series of demonstrations across Spain to protests against increasing austerity measures.

UN inspectors have arrived in Iran to question scientists suspected of working on a nuclear weapons program. Leader of the delegation General Herman Nackaerts told reporters of his hope to “start a dialogue that is overdue” with Iran. Tehran has refused to discuss the alleged experiments for the past three years.

Steph Clarke

Charlotte Cox

Sophie Witts

Willetts’ warning of grade inflation Philip Thomas News Reporter Universities minister David Willetts recently prompted higher education institutions to resist grade inflation in light of revelations that more dissatisfied graduates are officially challenging their grades. This comes amid criticism of the long term increase in the number of top degrees awarded. Growing numbers of students with poor or disappointing classifications have complained to the official regulator. The Office for the Independent Adjudicator processed a record 1,341 complaints in 2010, many concerning individuals contesting lower second class (2:2) awards. Mr Willetts urged universities to maintain “academic integrity”, and reminded lecturers not to feel pressured into awarding unwarranted grades. The impetus among students to achieve respectable first and upper second class (2:1) degrees is attributed to an increasingly competitive jobs market. Moreover, there are concerns that the increase in tuition fees could swell the number of complaints, with students

demanding more from their degrees. However, Mr Willetts reminded students that they are paying for higher education, and not a degree itself. Nationally one in six undergraduates were awarded a first class degree last year, representing a 14% increase since 2010 and a 125% increase in the past decade. Some commentators have argued that grade inflation risks devaluing the degree. Since 1997 the number of first class degrees awarded by the University of East Anglia has more than doubled from 7 per cent to 15 per cent. In a statement, a spokesperson at UEA said: “It is very important for the credibility of the education that we offer, that high standards of teaching, learning and assessment and therefore awards are maintained” adding, “this is important for our graduates, as it ensures that the worth of their degree is beyond question”. Furthermore, Mr Willetts also suggested that the current grading system is outmoded, and should be replaced by a more comprehensive means of assessment, incorporating both academic and extracurricular achievements.

THE MODERN PARTY Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts Saturday 4 February 7.30pm - midnight UEA staff and students are invited to join us for a party to celebrate the beginning of a new development at the Sainsbury Centre Find out more facebook.com/sainsburycentre scva@uea.ac.uk

COMMENT

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A taxing episode for Romney With the race for the Republican presidential candidancy heating up, Ciara Jack highlights a bigger issue with the American tax system US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney promised to, and did release, his tax returns after being humiliated with the exposition that he pays 15% less than his secretary and most working Americans. The notion of taxes, or “goddamn Communism” as it can sometimes be referred to, can be like stomping on thin ice in the US. Even the proposal of increased taxation would cause a split that would fracture like a web of cracks through whichever State it was proposed. Romney is aware of this, and hence why it is a distraction to confront it. Regardless of whether or not you explained the benefits of taxation would Americans find it more appealing. For instance, my grandmother in Pennsylvania has to pay separately for her garbage to be collected. Otherwise, the consequence is an 80s style mountain of bin liners developing outside her house. Moreover, the notion of higher taxes in order to provide a safety net by the State is not such an easily

dismissed subject in America’s current economic climate. Families are currently living in motels because they’ve lost their home and health in insurance payments due to the lack of a safety net to cushion the blow for them. Romney hasn’t realised that his taxes aren’t the main problem; it’s America’s approach to taxes. You can be honest and at the same time mislead people. Yet it seems honesty will not patch up the evidence that shows a high earner can pay less tax through tax dodging than someone on a lower income. If the Republicans return to office, the frigid fiscal ideologies will be pinned down along with the oath of office. Even a Republican minority can still filibuster any Democratic initiative according to Senate rules. So Romney can afford to keep his policy on tax in the background. But will the issue of tax evasion and unfairness be an obstacle in his path to greet the shivering crowd in the frosty January morning of inauguration? Only time and the electorate will tell.

One hull of a problem As Michael Gove thinks of buying a new Royal yacht for the Queen, Richard Law laments about the new found attraction for boats Boats have been getting a bad press of late. On the centennial of the Titanic’s incomplete first and final voyage, an Italian captain learned that cruise liners don’t float on land and a Tory MP discovered that Royal yachts sink in times of recession. These stories found themselves deliciously juxtaposed on the Guardian’s front page, where the image of the capsized Costa Concordia is pasted above the headline “Give Queen a new Royal yacht for the Jubilee, says minister”. Such divine irony could plant party poppers in Cromwell’s multiple graves. In a leaked letter, Michael Gove proposes a £60m yacht

to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This is one in a series of enlightened ideas; by Easter, each primary and secondary school in the country will be the proud owner of a King James I Bible, now finally complete with a foreword by “Saint Gove” himself. Not until he’s splashed every last penny on every last anachronism will Gove’s political suicide be complete. Or perhaps Gove just stands loyally in line with the rest of the prime minister’s human shield, as it was Cameron who erected a “no fishing” sign in the public pocket. The project already has £15m backing in donations from Lord Ashcroft and two unnamed

Canadian businessmen. But this is damage limitation at its finest.

“The divine irony of giving the Queen a yacht for the Jubilee could plant party poppers in Cromwell’s multiple graves” Pictures of the Italian cruise liner drunkenly flopped over are particularly unsettling: it’s visually unnatural. Picture, then, a royal yacht, decked with aristocracy, floating from the shores of a nation who is struggling to punch enough holes in her belt, and on the mast a portrait of Gove, flicking the Vs: the salute of the “big society.”

Rihanna is the new feminism With Rihanna coming under increasing criticism for her rauncy videos and outfits, Susanna Wood argues that the controversial popstar is, contrary to the the view of the media, empowering women Artists who use sex overtly have always been a bit of a problem for feminists. Rap, for example, has often been used as an example of misogyny in action, with the cliché of male “gangstas” singing about ‘bitches’ and ‘hoes’ providing endless ammo for feminist vitriol. However, the issue today is less about men talking about sex, but more about women talking about sex, and how this discussion can empower women. Regularly churning out ‘explicit’ material into the musical

mainstream, Rihanna is a good example of how female sexuality is becoming popularised. Her raunchy outfits and dirty lyrics at first glance seem like a feminist nightmare. Derided for both her performances on popular shows such as the X Factor and the playing of her more sordid tracks uncensored on radio stations, anyone would think that Rihanna and artists like her are solely responsible for a moral decline worldwide. Yet, I think people like to

hide behind the notion of ‘inappropriate’ because they themselves feel uncomfortable by sexually provocative artists, especially if they’re women. People get offended by artists like Rihanna because they portray an image of sexuality which isn’t the status quo. Why is it so offensive to see a woman write songs about sex, or more specifically, female pleasure? Why is Michael Jackson grabbing his crotch ok, but Rihanna grabbing hers is suddenly deemed inappropriate?

Unlike many other, seemingly less provocative, female artists out there, she clearly addresses the issue of female pleasure. Her aim is not to titillate men (or women), but instead she aims to empower women. The media’s attitude towards her sexuality just proves that there’s a wide gap between what happens and what is seen to be happening in regard to sex. The truth is that many women these days are sexually liberated, in practice. By sexually liberated,

I mean that they can make their own choices in regard to sex, not necessarily that they are permitted to be promiscuous if they want to be. Indeed, if it is a question of permission, clearly women are not liberated. Choice to not abide by the status quo is true liberation. For artists like Rihanna, pleasure isn’t gendered. She isn’t telling us to get back in the kitchen. She’s telling us that, if we want it, we deserve it, daily, nightly and ever so rightly. I find it pretty hard to argue with that one.

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COMMENT

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THE BIG DEBATE

For Rebecca Goodacre

Against Amelia Edwards

The American primaries are underway for this year’s presidential elections, and with the Arab spring launching a number of new democracies, Concrete asks:

Is there such thing as too much democracy? From open marriage requests to forgetting their own policies, the 2012 Republican candidacy race appears to have sunken even lower in political name calling and is doing very little to raise the international perception of American politics. What is most unfortunate is that in their petty squabbles they are obscuring a system which is in fact incredibly democratic offering far more political power for the individual than most other countries. From the ground up, Americans are able to pick who they wish to lead their country. Not just the party, but the person. As the recent debates have shown, there are a number of significant ways in which each individual would choose to lead the US.

“From the ground up, Americans are able to pick who they wish to lead their country” However, the often long-winded aspect of American elections may seem tiresome to some, creating only a recipe for apathy, demoralising some from actually voting. But with the recent Occupied protests, and their calls for the 99% to be heard, far-reaching democracy seems more important than ever. It might take a little more effort to be informed, but you can’t just sit on your sofa and expect the right political changes to come to you. When referendums and policy changes which affect nearly all members of that nation are debated in government, it should be the citizens who make that final call. This is particularly prudent when it is social and welfare systems which are up for debate, as it can mean the difference between getting

the right arthritis treatment and living in permanent pain. Or the difference between living on the breadline, and sinking deep below it. It is largely impractical for an entire population to vote on every issue that arises. Some might argue that the openness and freedom granted to candidates only allows them to make seemingly amoral statements; Rick Santorum saying a hypothetical pregnancy of his daughter due to rape would be a gift from God, being just one example. It might not be pleasant, but if you want to be able to say what you want to say, you have to allow others the same, regardless of their views. You only have to look to North Korea, a somewhat extreme example, but a reality nonetheless. I would much rather have an antiabortionist shouting in the street, than be forced to worship a leader that left me to starve. However, America is not a perfectly democratic system. Many critics highlight the ever increasing influence and role of finances in the American political system, and the power it has on the running of campaigns. With the cost of these campaigns rising, politicians are often reliant on donations, meaning wealthy individuals can be granted sway in policies in return for large contributions. The billionaire Koch Brothers, for example, have donated approximately $100m to various conservative and libertarian advocacy groups; a somewhat selfserving move which would benefit their own interests more than the masses. It is only through a true democracy that the average man, with two kids and a dog will have as much voice as the one who has six houses and a yacht.

Can there be such a thing as too much democracy? That depends entirely on how the term democracy is interpreted. Taken literally, it means rule of the people. From a literal standpoint, therefore, a true democracy would be one in which each person has a say in the ruling of the country. This sounds to me like a splendid idea. I would like a say in what the country does, wouldn’t you?

“A true democracy would be one in which each person has a say in the ruling of the country” Of course, you might say that the idea of everyone having an equal say in what a country should do sounds like it could be a catastrophe. There are more than 62 million people living in Britain today, and they are bound to have a lot of different ideas about how the country should be run. This is true, and allowing every individual in the country to have a say in a topic as vast as Britain would make any issue difficult to resolve. But the idea of everyone having a say is not a bad one in itself, it just needs a system set in place whereby it can be done without creating mayhem. Democratic electoral systems attempt to do just that. In a country in which every adult has the right to vote, everybody in that country has the ability to sway policy. The trouble is that this system does not really work entirely as it is meant to. In times of financial crisis, such as now, politicians can make vastly unpopular decisions which they will not have to answer for until their time in parliament is up, and four years is a long time in which to make such decisions. Sometimes unpopular decisions

may be the decisions which make the country wealthier, so overall the question is whether the wealth of the country is more important than the happiness of its citizens. I think not. One of the main topics in the news right now is the election campaign for the Republican presidential candidate. The ability to elect not only your president but to elect who you think should represent your party to become president seems the most democratic option, and one which keeps the minds of the population on the issues at stake. It would of course be useful if those issues did not include extramarital affairs, but nonetheless it inspires a great deal of interest and hopefully more knowledge in the population at large. When an elected official is as important as the President of the United States of America, this has to be a bonus. It could be argued that such a privilege should be permitted in the UK. We may have a policy of voting for the party and not for the person, but since the prime minister is one of the UK’s main representatives (and we don’t get to vote for the queen, either), surely we should have a say in the matter of who it is. More democracy could never be a bad thing. This does not just apply for the main areas of politics, either; if we lived in a country in which everyone could be successfully heard, whether through referendums on important points, or through politicians taking note of large protests, the people of the country would be happier. If all countries counted their success rate on the proportion of their population which was happy, I believe that the world just might be a better place.

Your voice. Your comment. Your paper. Whatever the topic, if you want to write for us, make a complaint or get your voice heard, email concrete.comment@uea.ac.uk. We accept anonymous submissions.

COMMENT

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Where is the British bulldog spirit? The queen’s diamond jubilee is fast approaching, and no doubt in the coming months I will have to endure adverts, slogans, campaigns, and whole internet forums being taken up with those who like the monarchy, and those who do not. I cannot wait for that age old debate to begin once more (the sarcasm is implied there, I assure you). The diamond jubilee does present a wider picture in British life, and that is a picture of a whole country of British citizens who only rarely show any kind of patriotism for their country. It is odd to see how emotional the Scots can get over independence, and yet at the same time, those of us in England just don’t care. Being patriotic in the American sense of the word is just not our thing, we Brits have a quieter and more dignified way of displaying our love for our country, or at least I think we do, I actually have yet to find it. That’s just the thing that gripes me though. Why is it that us Brits just cannot be proud of our traditions, our heritage, and the fact that Britain really is

great? I myself am proud to be British, I am proud to look back at our history and go, “Oh hey, this little backwater island nation once ruled half the world, cool”. Britain has seen the birth of the industrial revolution, it has seen a stable democratic government, and it has given the world: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and the Beatles; to but scratch the surface of the talent that has emerged from Britain.

“It is odd to see how emotional the Scots can get over independence, and yet at the same time, those of us in England, just don’t care” There are of course problems with Britain, but the British people can, and will, endure. The harsh economic times will pass, the democratic deficit will fade, the bankers will once again hide away in the shadows, and Nick Clegg will finally leave government. Until that time however, I implore you, have some faith in Britain and its people. Wave our flag, sing

our anthem, have parties in the street, enjoy the cultural heritage that Britain offers. Even if we are no longer the empire we once were, we still have a lot to be proud of. Our armed forces, always a controversial topic with students, is at the top of its field still, taking part in reconstruction work all

Anti-piracy or anti-privacy? Sopa and Pipa may have been stopped, but Emma Holbrook highlights an even more dangerous bill which has slipped into legislation almost unnoticed. The subject of internet piracy has well and truly reared its ugly head this month. It began with a deceptively innocentlooking bill in the United States’ Congress and spiraled into the closure of file sharing site Megaupload and subsequent protests – online and off – over the importance of free speech on the internet. You probably will have heard of Sopa (or at least, you’d heard of it once Wikipedia became inaccessible for the day and everyone promptly forgot everything they’d ever learnt) and its younger sister Pipa, after the widespread uproar caused the U.S. Congress and Senate to shelve the bills. But whilst Sopa and Pipa (who, quite frankly, sound like a pair of spoilt children were nipped in the bud, a more dangerous threat to internet privacy managed to sneak up on the world unnoticed.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) would drastically alter the way that information can be shared on the internet, by allowing service providers to monitor your entire internet usage, regardless of whether you possess any copyrighted material. Possibly the most problematic aspect of Acta is that it has been negotiated, in secret, by non-democratically elected officials, meaning that we have absolutely no say in our own internet privacy rights. The sudden appearance of Acta has not gone down well: thousands of demonstrators in Poland took to the streets in order to voice their displeasure and infamous Guy Fawkes masks even made an appearance in the Polish parliament. Kader Arif, the official carrying out a report on Acta for the European Parliament, resigned in protest

and, never ones to miss out on a protest, the anarchic hacktivists Anonymous carried out a series of superfluous hacks on the FBI, Justice Department and Sony Music websites. And yet, the future looks rather bleak. 22 EU countries have already signed the treaty, as has Barack Obama (bypassing Congress and forgetting his own country’s Bill of Rights in the process). The demonstrations will continue but they will probably only be as successful as the Gunpowder Plot was in the first place. Acta is here to stay. Despite the fact that we are in the midst of a global recession and global injustice, western governments are choosing to protect corporations who are scared of people downloading episodes of Glee. Whoever said politicians have warped priorities?

over the world, handing out humanitarian aid and giving protection to those who cannot protect themselves. Britain’s influence in foreign affairs is still strong, even if it is decline, the leaders of the world will listen to our diplomats and our experts. In a world which sees people living in famine and squalor in Africa,

which sees people living in fear in Iran and North Korea, I am quite content with what Britain has to offer. So please, students and citizens alike, stop moaning about Britain, and for just once, be proud. Anonymous

Your Union, your choice The Union of UEA Students performs a vital role in the lives of countless students at the University. It operates many of the services we use daily and come this time of year a group of freshfaced, enthusiastic students set about campaigning to take on one of the full-time officer positions. The officers are a visible point of contact. But how many students know who their officers are? Turnout in elections is low, and every year individuals are elevated to these positions of tremendous power and responsibility with only a few thousand votes. Turnout may be similar to the national average, but in general students simply don’t care about Union politics. Only 4,978 votes were cast for the four paid student officer positions in last year’s elections; this hardly constitutes an overriding mandate to rule. The power of the student officers as well is rarely discussed around election time. They have the power to make decisions with ramifications that may not even be

felt until they have long departed. Also, the temptation, knowing that time is of the essence, to make dramatic changes to the way the Union operates, is one that even the more forward-thinking officer may find difficult to resist. The advertising of the student officer positions is also extremely flawed. It fails to communicate sufficiently to the Union’s members what these officers actually do, and how they can genuinely be held to account for decisions they make. The fact is that for the majority of students, the university experience is one which, unless you are passionate about student politics, can be lived without knowledge of who the Union’s elected officers are, or casting a vote in the elections. The Union is a member-led organisation, but in reality this is somewhat misleading. Officers lead, members follow. Some do so with vague complicity, and others without even knowing. So when it comes round to election time, be careful who you vote for. If you vote at all that is. Anonymous

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TRAVEL

Living on the edge of the world Andy Browning

Ever wondered what it’s like to live on the other side of the world? UEA graduate Andy Browning is doing just that. Here is his experience living on the dot of Pacific paradise that is Tuvalu Surrounded by people in flip flops, floral garlands, and Hawaiian shirts, I skillfully negotiated my way across the sticky dance floor, avoided the vomiting rugby player, made it to the bar, and then made it back to my place on the dancefloor next to the speakers without spilling a drop. If I didn’t know better I could easily have been at a beach party at the LCR, but the fact that there was no roof and I could see the Pacific Ocean from the dancefloor soon brought me back to reality. I quickly realised I wasn’t in Norwich anymore. In fact the roofless Matagali Gali bar is about as far away from Norwich (and the LCR) as you can get, and is the only nightclub for the entire Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, the country I am lucky enough to call home for the next nine months. Unless you are a geography teacher, climate change researcher, or have been keeping up with Kate Middleton’s 2012 schedule (easy boys), you probably won’t have a clue where Tuvalu is. Don’t worry, most people don’t, and I have to confess despite being a UEA

Earth Science graduate I had to look it up when I first heard about it. Luckily, I am also a UEA PGCE geography graduate, so I always have an atlas to hand for precisely this sort of situation. Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country on the planet, and is made up of nine tiny coral atolls spread over 1000km² of Pacific Ocean. When combined, the 9nine atolls can boast only 10km² of land mass. With the highest point in the country being a vertigo inducing 4m above sea level, tropical storms, high tides, and sea level rise are all major issues which could potentially affect the longevity of Tuvalu. Some experts believing it will disappear under rising sea levels in as little as 50 years. As well as being one of the smallest countries in the world, it is also one of the least visited, with only a handful of tourists visiting every year. With two hideously expensive flights a week to the tiny airstrip masquerading as an international airport, and a sporadic cargo boat service coming from Tuvalu’s closest neighbour Fiji (a 4 day trip) most

tourists tend to arrive in their private yachts and without the long white sandy beaches, lush jungle clad mountains, and tourist resorts provided by other Pacific islands, they don’t tend to stay for very long. So what on Earth is a UEA graduate doing here for nine months? Especially one who most definitely does not own a yacht? Well I am lucky enough to have been selected by the UK Scout Association to be a Scout Development Ambassador for Tuvalu. What is a Scout Development Ambassador? Well, my job is to support the newly created Tuvalu Scout Association to rejuvenate and develop Scouting in this corner of the Pacific. Scouting is the largest youth organisation in the world, offering fun, challenge and adventure to over 28 million young people in practically every country and territory, including several Pacific islands, where Scouting is very strong. Tuvalu used to have a very strong Scout movement, but in recent years the numbers have dwindled, and so, at the last regional meeting

they approached the UK for some support to get things moving again. Enter yours truly and a guy from the Isle of Man called Jay, and the scene was set for us to take up arguably the best volunteer jobs on the planet. We have been here for over 2 months now, and they have been nothing if not eventful. Torrential tropical downpours; rats running over us in the night; learning to spear fish with a rubber band and rusty spike; water shortages; the constant battle against the ants; high tides; the mysterious lack of fruit on a tropical island; chancing our luck playing rugby against the locals; dealing with “Tuvalu Time”; and of course learning to love raw fish, especially the juicy, still warm heart of a tuna! So many stories from such a small island; at times you really can tell that we are living in the world’s fourth smallest country on the other side of the planet from home. But throwing some shapes on that sticky dance floor brings a small slice of UEA to this tropical paradise, and a smile to my face. Now if only they would play Journey!

Essential Tuvalu Population: 10,544 Capital: Funafuti

Getting there

>> Suva in Fiji is the gateway to Tuvalu with a couple of very expensive flights a week on Air Fiji and government-owned cargo/passenger ships every three months which take about four days.

Staying there

>> Vaiaku Lagi is the country’s only hotel but there are various lodges and motels available. Follow Andy’s adventures in Tuvalu on his excellent blog at www. andyexplores.wordpress. com and on Twitter @AndyExplores Ashleigh Berryman; Drew Nicol

TRAVEL

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www.concrete-online.co.uk Tuesday 31st January 2012 - Issue 264

‘‘The greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine’’ David Bowie recognised Berlin’s vivid culture when he lived in the German capital with Iggy Pop. Nearly 40 years later, Roberta Phillips goes back in time to discover some of Berlin’s colourful party hot-spots nestled amongst the sobering urban art that depicts the city’s history Arriving in Berlin, my first impressions of it were cold, grey and, as many people agree, the language is not particularly attractive. However, what it does have to offer is culture. On my recent trip to the German capital, I discovered a city steeped in history that also offered impressive street art and a party scene that would put most British cities to shame. In the daytime we visited historical sites, including the East Side Gallery, where the largest part of the Berlin wall still stands, and the Holocaust memorial. Both were intensely emotional experiences that put German and English history into perspective. Though we missed the “alternative tour” due to misreading the slightly confusing underground map, we did manage to find The Kunsthaus Tacheles. Formerly a Jewish department store and a

Nazi prison, this art house is, if you can ignore the intense smell of urine, definitely worth a look. Our favourite area, Kreuzberg, was where I had my most memorable night in Berlin. Memorable because I wasn’t ridiculously drunk, but more importantly, because the place we stumbled upon was like nowhere I had ever been before. I felt like we had been transported back into the 1970s, something I’ve always wished was possible! Outside, it looked like abandoned housing, covered in graffiti. The stairway stank of urine and at the top we were greeted by a sign that warned us strictly no photos, a common rule in many of the clubs in the city. On the other side of the curtain, our noses were filled with the aroma of marijuana, beer and sweat. The club wasn’t particularly big and was heaving with locals. There

were people dancing all along the window sill, in front of the steamed up glass, to soul music that glided into hip-hop as the night progressed. Beer in hand, we jumped straight into the party

Travel writer Sam Langan runs down his best, first and worst adventures abroad

Best Bangkok, Thailand

First Van Vieng, Laos

Worst Varanasi, India

My first independent travelling experience was arriving in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and my first 24 hours in Bangkok was a rather clichéd “first travel” affair. I can remember stepping off the plane and being in a dream-like daze thanks to a cocktail of humidity and jetlag. I unwisely took a battered, unlicensed taxi all the way to the hotel and ambled down the infamous Khaosan Road nauseated and homesick. A refreshing Heineken at 11am was the perfect remedy.

Laos is a wonderful country and well worth visiting. The people were friendly and outgoing and it has a beautiful culture that means you can seek out spiritualism, naturalism and hedonism in equal measure. Our days spent in Van Vieng were definitely the latter. The attraction in the town was to hire a tire tube and float effortlessly down river, Beer Lao in hand, stopping at an appropriate bar perched on the river bed. I remember gazing up at the mountains and being taken in by the overpowering nature of my surroundings.

Unfortunately Varanasi’s manic atmosphere hampered my overall enjoyment of this ancient city. Our first moments were fraught as we arrived and a taxi tout deliberately took us to the wrong hotel. After returning to the train station, we found our way to the correct one but I don’t think we ever got used to the noisy, cluttered intensity. The oldest parts of the city are labyrinthine and filled with small alleys, adding to the cramped feel. Our best times were sitting on the Ghats, looking out over the River Ganges.

Travel Confessions By Holly O’Mahony

Arriving in Bangkok amidst the 2010 riots, we were keen to head to the station and get out of the city. Whilst in the train station, out of nowhere, the shriek of a whistle filled our ears as we watched soldiers with guns over their shoulders march into the building. Everybody was up on their

and onto the dancefloor. I have no idea what the club was called, or if it even had a name, but I will definitely make it my mission to visit Berlin again and return to this place.

Berlin should be on everyone’s travel to-do list this year as it provides the perfect mix of culture and nightlife. The only thing I didn’t encounter, was sunshine!

Top 3 tips for cheap travel 1) Book hostels that offer free breakfast

Hostels have cottoned on to the fact that travellers will stay somewhere that promises free food. Many now offer buffet breakfasts and whilst it may just be toast and tea, it’s still enough to keep you going until lunch.

2) Splash out on lunch

In many restaurants around the world, lunch menus are around 30-40% cheaper than their evening counterparts. Fill up on lunch and then keep to street food for dinner.

3) Surf on couches

Not literally of course! One of the worst-kept secrets of modern day travel is Couchsurfing and it is perfect for the independent traveller who isn’t too afraid of staying at a random stranger’s house. It’s perfectly safe so give it a go! feet in no time, and all my knowledge of country customs left my mind. I remember thinking in that second as we faced the soldiers’ guns that this was the end that we were about to be shot as a warning to other tourists, and that I should have booked a holiday in Spain instead. Looking back,

it could have only been two or three seconds before the speakers clicked into action, and the National Anthem began to play. So we stood for the anthem, crying with a mixture of relief and laughter. That night on the train, we made sure to read the chapter on culture in our guidebooks!

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The Checklist There are dozens and dozens of things you should be thinking about, but never fear for help is at hand. Here is Concrete’s list of the most important ones you need to know about.

Utilities

Gas, electricity, water, internet – these are the things that you need when living on your own. Once you have a house in mind, make sure you look into utility suppliers; prices are constantly going up so shop around for the best deal. Top Tip: Virgin Media offer a high speed and unlimited usage broadband deal, so maybe check them out!

Television

The upside to having a house is having a lounge, and every lounge you need two things: a sofa, and a TV. But wait! In order to watch live TV in the UK you need a TV license. As the fines for not having one are in the thousands, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Contract

Parking

Once you have that house, you get a lengthy document which is your contract. There are a number of things which your landlord or letting agency have to provide. If in doubt, get your contract checked by the Union Advice Centre or UEA Accommodation Office

Be warned: not many student houses offer off-road parking. What’s more, Norwich is famous for its cramped roads. If you do want to run a car in the city, you will probably need a parking permit. Make sure you buy the right permit for the road you’re living on by contacting Norwich City Council.

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With students having either found their dream student home, or settled for something with a roof and some walls, Features is here to provide you with the run down on your new home, what to do once you have signed the contract, some advice on how to handle your landlord, and all the rest on what to expect in your student housing.

Union Advice Home Run is the largest provider of student housing in Norwich, with over 300 landlords letting their properties through Home Run. Students are reminded not to rush into putting a deposit down in order to secure a house, as the Home Run list is constantly updated and contracts are legally binding. Landlords who use Home Run comply with Minimum Standards with regards to gas and electric. They are expected to deal with repairs quickly and unlike letting agencies they do not charge fees to students. Alongside this, the Union Advice centre are willing to go over any contracts with students, clarifying any doubts and answer any questions.

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Concrete Housing Guide

Tuesday 31st January 2012 - Issue 264

Unthank road, nr2

Popular areas Unthank Road

Best pub: Langtry Best takeaway: Lim’s Fish & Chips Bus routes: 25 (three stops - York Street, Colman Hospital, Essex Street) To campus: 25 minutes walk, 15 minutes bus To city: (St. Stephen’s Street): 15 minutes walk, 5 minutes bus Average monthly rent: £220-300 Average house size: 4-5 bedrooms Amenities: Breadwinner Bakery, Co-Operative, Le Chateau wine shop, Subway, Tesco, takeaways, three pubs (on Unthank Road itself)

Earlham Road

Lukas Harnisch

West earlham, nr5

Best pub: Black Horse Best takeaway: Rice & Spice Bus routes: 35 (three stops - Earlham Shopping Centre, Mitre Pub, Black Horse) To campus: 30 minutes walk, 20 minutes bus To city: 20 minutes walk, 10 minutes bus Average monthly rent: £240-280 Average house size: 4-6 bedrooms Amenities: Earlham shopping centre, Co-Operative supermarket, takeaways, two pubs

West Earlham

Heaven

“After having a rather poor house during my second year, our overriding goal was to find a house which would be warm during the winter, and allow us to use the oven and watch television at the same time. Way back in January we viewed a house on George Borrow Road, we looked about it for a good thirty minutes, and instantly wanted it. The house itself has a large lounge, a breakfast bar, three double rooms, and, as the cherry on the top, a washing line. As good as the house is though, it is the fact that rather than go through a letting agency, we went private. Our landlords are fantastic, if we have a problem we can contact them easily and they’ll be round either on the day, or the following day, to sort it. Imagine a friendly, warm and caring couple, that’s what our landlord and lady are like. Oh, did I mention the fact that we have a gardener?”

Joshua Resoun

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Housing

Hell

“We’ve had a lot of difficulty with Complete Property Estates, with regards to getting repairs done. It took them a year to get our toilet seat repaired, months to replace an oven that was a health and safety risk, and we still have loads of smaller repairs that need doing that we’ve been chasing up for months. They also rarely give us 24 hours notice before coming around.”

Hattie Grünewald “We literally have the worst estate agents in Norwich - MJB (formerly Golden Triangle). I have nothing good to say about them and we will be very pleased when we move out. They take weeks to do anything and whenever you phone they just say “Oh, well you are on the maintenance list...” They never know what’s going on; they depend on the manager. Problems have included them taking weeks to change the locks (previous tenants still had their keys), broken shower, numerous issues with the heating and dodgy tiles which were letting water from the shower run down them and through to the heating room!”

Beth Wyatt

Best pub: The Freed Man Best takeaway: Kathy’s Plaice Bus routes: 21/22 (no longer stops at University, but does run to City) To campus: 10/15 minutes walk To city: 1 hour walk, 30 minutes bus Average monthly rent: £230-270 Average house size: 4 bedrooms Amenities Chemist, Aldi supermarket, local convenience stores, takeaways

Ga Chun Yau

bowthorpe, nr5

Colman Road

Best pub: Farmhouse (the only pub on Colman Road) Best takeaway: East Chinese Bus routes: 25 and 35 (one stop each) To campus: 5 minutes (25), 10 minutes (35), 15 minutes walk To city: 15 minutes bus, 25 minutes walk Average monthly rent: £250-300 Average house size: 3-5 bedrooms Amenities: Domino’s Pizza, Papa John’s, takeaways, convenience stores, Barclays bank, Boots chemist, Coral bookmakers

DON’T GET CAUGHT SHORT

learn your rent and bill payment dates, because they won’t wait, and “sorry, i spent too much last night” isn’t a valid excuse. you don’t want the bailiffs popping round uninvited, do you? Laura Smith

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FEATURES

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The Arab spring: one year on Features editor Billy Sexton reviews the main events of the past year and looks at the impact social media had on the revolutions It’s been over 12 months since the first protests of the Arab spring broke out in Tunisia in December 2010. Since then, headlines have almost been constant, most notably from Libya and Egypt, where the dictatorial regimes of Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak were successfully overthrown. Bahrain, Syria and Yemen are among other countries protesting against current regimes, and consequently the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix had to be abandoned in 2011 and the 2012 race looks to be in doubt again, despite the ruling royal insisting they will increase human rights and democratic representation. The Arab spring certainly hasn’t been a peaceful or romantic affair, unlike some revolutions in history, notably the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, 1989. With the death toll close to 40,000, protestors in Syria and Yemen seem determined to follow in the footsteps of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, towards greater political freedom. Governments have been quick and ruthless in their attempts to put down the revolutions. Syrian authorities have cut off electricity as well as water supplies. The Free Syrian Army was formed in the summer of 2011 to work with protestors in bringing down the government.

Yemen also has military and government personnel who have defected, resulting in much of the country being out of the control of president Saleh. However, Saleh has been willing to take into account protesters’ views from the start and hold democratic elections, draft a new constitution and introduce easier voter registration. On review, it’s important to realise the important role that social media has played, and continues to play, in the Arab spring. It is believed that messages were sent via social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to promote and spread messages about freedom and democracy. For example, the number of Tweets originating from Egypt, in the week leading up to Hosni Mubarak’s resignation increased ten fold. Videos uploaded to YouTube went viral, receiving millions of views and resulted in Egypt’s dictatorship ultimately attempting to shut down the internet. People harnessed the power of social media, meaning those who opposed the regimes but had previously been fragmented, could now unite under one cause and protest for the changes they’d so eagerly longed for. The news of uprisings in

Tunisia and Egypt allowed other individuals in other countries pick up on the situation. Call it social media Chinese whispers, if you like. The social media revolution didn’t stop at the Arab spring. When Osama bin Laden was finally killed in May 2011, an IT consultant living in Abbottabad tweeted,

unknowingly, of the American raid as it was happening. Social media is undoubtedly going to help historical research too. Whilst historians are unable to discover precisely what normal, everyday people experienced during medieval times or the early modern period, social media will leave its own digital trail in the

history books of the 21st century. One year on and the Arab people are still striving to achieve what western civilization has experienced for centuries. With assistance from the west and the continued use of social media, protesters can hope for the establishment of a more democratic regime.

A re-freshing look at Norwich nightlife Features writer Steff Young takes a look at the new Norwich nightlife ahead of the Spring Semester Compared to other university cities, Norwich seems to have a quick turnover of clubs and events, with a new venue or night being premiered on average once per semester. For the spring term, the examples of these are Carnival (previously Knowhere) and the monster that is Tao, which opened last semester. Personally, I had no idea Knowhere was undergoing a facelift to become Carnival and this is probably due to it’s lack of reps, compared to Tao and Lola Lo’s who frequently spark angry facebook updates about their arguably excessive plugging. However, in their defense, this does seem to generate constant revenue, as Come Play

at Tao on Mondays (the love child of “club-promoting god” Carl Silverstone) consistantly have at least 15 minute queues. Project with it’s indoor queue space, (always a bonus) remains popular for students on a Friday night at Propaganda because it seems to be the only club with offers for students on a Friday. Project is spacious so rarely feels suffocating on the dance floor like Tao or Lola’s. However, the bars are often crowded. The music is feel-good, familiar tracks from across the 80s, 90s and 00s in the main room, with a more dubstep/drum and bass room as well, and the quirky addition of a small karaoke bar, because who doesn’t fancy theatrically

serenading somebody after a few drinks? With the opening of Tao last semester, Lola Lo’s seems to have been somewhat sidelined. However it still appears to be popular with those who don’t like or don’t want to queue in the cold for Tao. Lola’s Trashed night takes place on a Monday and their hugely popular and well-loved Kitsch Wednesday night remains the only club offering a student night on a Wednesday. Cheap drinks and discounted entry for students can also be found on a Thursday. Different music and/or DJs are often advertised on these different events, but honestly I’ve never noticed a difference. The only thing that matters to

the majority of people looking for a good time is that they know the words, or maybe only the melody, so that they can nonsensically shout along in loud enjoyment of the familiarity that makes bumping and grinding acceptable, just. Anticipated is the opening of Uber, the cocktail bar replacing Mercy. A few socials have been given VIP visits, and reception has been unexcited but not critical. It is a large venue that will need a lot of visitors to create an atmosphere, and student events are yet to be released. Finally, the old, alcoholic and politically incorrect granddad of UEA, the LCR. Seemingly on the up this term, especially

for the non-fresher community. Saturday nights are reliably great. They’re cheap, popular and perhaps more casual than a night on the town (for us girls there is no shame in wearing a pair of flats or boots to the LCR). They also seem to be updating their Tuesday night fancy dress themes with super-heros and anti-valentines looking to be popular, as well as the old favourites like Harry Potter and Skool Daze, making Tuesday nights no longer exclusively fresher territory. All in all, Norwich has a lot to offer with regards to nights out, and should continue to do so with the many changing masks of it’s nightlife.

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Stem cell sausages for a sustainable future Turf writer Toby Samuels looks into the race to produce edible meat from stem cells As students, many of us are regular consumers of cultured products. From yoghurts that get us going in the morning, to a rewarding beer after a hard day studying, food products derived from cultures of living organisms feature daily in our lives. However, as of 2000, experiments at Nasa, universities in the Netherlands, and the United States among other facilities worldwide have been exploring the concept of culturing stem cells to produce chunks of meat in laboratories. The basic idea is simple. Take stem cells (those cells which haven’t yet got a designated function within the body, such as a muscle cell) from the animal whose meat you want to cultivate. Allow these cells to nestle in friendly collagen matrix, coating a plastic or silicon sheet. Provide a nutritious broth for them to feed on and watch them grow. In reality, there are many more complexities to add to the recipe, including how to coerce the majority of the cells to differentiate

(specialise) into muscle cells, which predominantly constitute meat products. Furthermore, the plastic or silicon sheet is stretched and relaxed to exercise the cells, mimicking the conditions the meat tissue would be under in a living animal. Initial experiments by Nasa in 2000 produced a fish fillet from goldfish stem cells, potentially opening the door to food production on long space journeys. Since then, other research groups have seen the potential for this stem cell technology to flourish into an alternative to meat from reared animals. A leader in the field, Dr. Mark Post of Maastricht University, has claimed his lab should be able to produce beef sausages and burgers by March and September of this year respectively. However, with many obstacles to overcome before any sort of marketable product could be developed, including the overwhelming cost (estimated in 2008 as being $1m for a 250g

piece of meat), the question remains: what is wrong with a bacon sandwich? Worldwide meat production has huge environmental impacts, from deforestation to create farm land, resulting in a loss of biodiversity, to its contribution to our changing climate. Currently, the industry accounts for 20% of total greenhouse emissions, utilises over two thirds of available agricultural land and terrifyingly

consumes four to 10 kilograms of feed to produce a mere one kilogram of meat product. In stark contrast, a future cultured meat industry would require only two kilograms of feed for an equivalent portion of meat, 1% of current land use (taking advantage of culturing facilities on upper floors) and an 80-95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions currently produced. On top of all that, cultured

The true value of biodiversity A new study in the journal BioScience has said that some of the poorest people in the world would be half a trillion dollars a year better off if their indirect conservation of natural habitats was given an economic value. The study, “Global Biodiversity Conservation and the Alleviation of Poverty,” looked in particular at 17 of the world’s most important areas for biodiversity. It has found that people living in these areas carry out activities vital to maintainng habitats and therefore are maintaining socalled “ecosystem services,” which are often invisible benefits of conservation. For example, the maintenance of wooded areas can help to prevent mudslides and provide valuable watersheds that keep rivers healthy and provide clean drinking water, as well as absorbing carbon dioxide from the air. Usually, the chopping down of these trees would be seen as more economically valuable through providing an instant return, but now this study has

meat provides an alternative to an industry associated with an inhumane and cruel track record, interesting vegetarians and animal rights protestors alike. If cultured meat does have a place in the future of food research, then it can only be hoped that the current texture, which has been described as somewhere between jam and spam, might be improved. But for now, it’s back to the bacon sandwich.

Get ready to go green!

stated that deforestation will lead to economic losses in the longer term. Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and a co-author of the report, said: “We have always known that biodiversity is foundational

ensure continued broad access to nature’s services, and meet the UN millennium development goals.” There are already some schemes that could help to pay the poor for their work in conservation, like the United Nations-backed system called Redd (Reducing

of Conservation International and the lead author of the study, said: “Developed and developing economies cannot continue to ask the world’s poor to shoulder the burden of protecting these globally important ecosystem services for the rest of the world’s

to human wellbeing, but we now have a strong case that ecosystems specifically located in the world’s biodiversity hotspots and highbiodiversity wilderness areas also provide a vital safety net for people living in poverty. Protecting these places is essential not only to safeguard life on earth but also to support the impoverished,

Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), but they are currently small in scale. However, as this study shows, the economic value of the natural world must be better understood if we are to preserve it, and the work of the world’s poorest people is already of great benefit. Will Turner, vice–president

benefit, without compensation in return. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about valuing natural capital. Nature may not send us a bill, but it’s essential services and flows, both direct and indirect, have concrete economic value.”

To mark Go Green Week, which is happening across universities nationwide from 6-11 February, UEA’s People & Planet society will be active around campus with a number of events to inspire students on how to take action for a greener future. To inspire students to reduce their water consumption a group of students will be surviving for 2-3 weeks on rations of water they have to carry around with them. Also on offer will be an Ecotricity campaign in the Hive to encourage green electricity for student housing, a permaculture and veg box event, not to mention tips on how to eat on “a dollar a day,” a proposed film screening event and a speaker from “Frackoff” (details TBC). Interested? Find us on Facebook or come along to the Hive on Tuesday 7 February to find out more.

Chris Teale

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LIFESTYLE

Serving up a loving spoonful James Dixon Lifestyle Writer Spooning can be one of life’s great pleasures as it involves the delicate entwining of two bodies. This horizontal embrace symbolizes the affection two people share for each other and can be enacted by friends and lovers. The human form fits neatly together when a person lying on their side, (the big spoon), gently hugs and presses another person’s back against their chest. The embraced person, (the little spoon), brings their knees further up to their chest, thus allowing the big spoon’s legs to slot comfortably into the V shape created. This creates a deeply intimate sense of physical proximity whereby one person’s form blends softly into another. To avoid physical discomfort, the big spoon should slip their bedside arm through the gap in between the little spoon’s

head and bedside shoulder. With this in place, the bond is complete and the persons can spoon for as long as they desire. The little spoon can bask in the comfort and security provided by the embrace of the big spoon

who in turn, finds pleasure in holding the other so perfectly in their arms. If lovers, the big spoon is able to adorn the little spoon’s nape with tender kisses and nuzzle the back of the head. Their ceiling side arm can

caress the little spoon’s body and draw invisible patterns that linger from the briefest of touches. Whilst difficultly to maintain is subjective, to fall asleep and thus awaken spooning provides a deep sense

of unity and attachment. This delightful embrace can be as innocent or as sexually passionate as the persons desire. The proximity can lend itself to the carnal desires. Spooning can occur between friends and even to some degree, with inanimate objects. Some people have been known to spoon large cuddly toys which are a relic of the childhood desire for safety at night. During the winter, this writer occasionally spoons a warm body of water: his hot water bottle. Multiple friends can spoon at any one time, as apart from space, there is no real limit to the number of people involved. The current record was set by the Texas A & M University who gathered 676 people together for a five minute spoon. Spooning quite literally brings people together and in a time where technology helps us escape physical limitations, it is cathartic to lie next to someone and share your physicality.

CliveCares Helping turn life’s lemons into lemonade If you have a burning issue then Clive Ashcroft is the man for the job. Contact him at: clivecaresconcrete@gmail.com

“Broken friendship” Dear Clive, Ever since I shaved my friend Pete’s eyebrows off, he has been a bit funny with me. He has a quite an abnormal face as it is, and having no eyebrows has not helped the situation at all. I’m worried that he’s really annoyed at me. How can I repair the friendship, Clive? I don’t want this to ruin everything! Cheers, Sam Dear Sam, I hope your friend has a sense of humour and his eyebrows grow back very soon! He is probably feeling very embarrassed, and walking around campus with no eyebrows may be daunting. At the moment, he may be harbouring some resentment towards you. Most people I know who have had their eyebrows shaved off, because they’re asleep or drunk, may seek revenge: but please don’t panic! Don’t worry too much about your friendship, everything will be fine. Good luck Sam!

“Post-uni panic” Dear Clive, I’m starting to panic about post-university life. I’ve been constantly applying for jobs, but to no avail and I’m really starting to worry that I will be unemployed come September. Should I apply for jobs in the sector that I want to work in or should I just settle for something else? Regards, Anonymous Dear Reader, Please don’t panic or worry regarding future employment. Due to today’s climate, employers seem to be holding back with recruitment. Only time will tell, please don’t settle for second best. You have worked hard to achieve your goals in life. May I suggest that you continue to apply for the sector you will be most happy in. I wish you every success for the future.

LIFESTYLE

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Sir-ving up a naming conundrum Hasina Allen Lifestyle Editor Knowing what to call your professor at university is an oft overlooked challenge. After years in the British education system, being told that you can call a figure of academic authority by their first name can come as a shock. For years the first name was a sign of insolence or intimacy: reserved for teachers who were family friends or for those who you particularly wanted to annoy. Even the young teachers still clutching their PGCEs, soon retract any initial assertions of being cool with you calling them by their first name, retreating to the security of a century old hierarchy system between teacher and pupil. At university, the traditional titles used to create a distinction between learner and learned are abandoned, along with seating plans and putting up your hand to ask permission to go to the bathroom. First names can be a difficult adjustment at first, and knowing when it’s appropriate to use them doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Generally you should call someone by the name they use to introduce themselves. A fail-proof tactic, whenever

101 tips By students, for students

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If you’ve got university work to hand in the next day that is not completely finished, by all accounts, do not go out! Samuel Ronald

introductions take place. Seminar leaders who don’t introduce themselves cause an additional set of worries for the overly conscientious. It may well say Dr. Richard Smith on the module document but without any additional indication, how are we supposed to know whether they are a Richie or a Dick? Not knowing how to address a seminar leader can make some students reluctant to ever speak to them directly in class and avoid them in the corridors. Once you have grasped the art of the first name, it can be all too easy to forget that the

professor-student relationship is still a professional one. Calling your professor Jim does not mean you should treat him like an acquaintance in the pub. While the equality and mutual respect fostered by using first names for senior figures can create a much more pleasant learning environment, the relationship still carries boundaries. Maintain a level of formality in emails. Resist the urge to sign off with “peace” and never send a lecturer an x shaped kiss, however well you get on in class; remember they are doing a job and rightly expect any correspondence to

reflect that. Obviously there are exceptions to every rule. Some lecturers feel most comfortable using the formal honorifics of yesteryear, others feel the opposite. With the end of my third and final year as an undergraduate fast approaching, I am finally confident in my ability to use the right tone at the right time. However, there is no right way to deal with this particular piece of university etiquette, but as long as your attitude shows respect, the importance of what to call someone fades into the background.

Society Spotlight: University Royal Naval Unit Natasha Bailey Lifestyle Writer Most people haven’t heard of the University Royal Naval Unit, and although our title can be misconstrued, we boast more opportunities than most societies in sports, adventurous training, qualifications, charity work, travel and social events. One of the obvious misconceptions students have about us is that either you are, or will be expected, to sign up when you graduate. This is not the case. We aim to provide opportunities and educate undergraduate students on the Royal Navy, both its history and the role it plays within today’s society. We embark on two annual deployments aboard our very own warship, HMS Trumpeter.

Having previously sailed to Gibraltar, France, Spain, Portugal and many more

fantastic places, life aboard gives a real navy experience. If sports are more your thing then

consider attending the interUrnu national sports weekend as defending champions this coming February! The sports over the weekend that you can compete in include rugby sevens, netball, bucketball, hockey, an assault course and rowing. Not one to be missed, if only for the fancy dress social event afterwards! The Unit also offers incomparable opportunities in kayaking, sailing, hiking, diving, flying camps and also the chance to gain City & Guilds awards in leadership and also Royal Yacht Association powerboat and theory qualifications. Without sounding too cliched, the Unit has made my university experience complete and has meant that I can work hard, play hard and receive a wage at the same time!

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Invest in a grilling machine, so that when you want that bacon sandwich after the LCR it’s at least slightly healthier. Rianne Ison

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When in halls, leave your door propped open so that your friends can wander in. Hannah Pearman

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Don’t start to panic if you feel that you have not met a niche of people like you, many people don’t meet their best friends until the very end of first year. Sadie Clark

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Make your own alcohol. It may take a while, but it’s worth it and it’s a lot easier than you would think. Just take a look online for how to do it. Dave Bolton

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Lifestyle gets Sorted Rianne Ison and Harry Slater talk to Jamie Spafford from Sorted Food. They’re all about cooking simple and tasty grub with your mates

SORTEDFood

Like all good ideas, Sorted has its origins in a pub. School friends Ben Ebbrell, Barry Taylor and Jamie Spafford have taken it upon themselves to bring decent food to students. Their YouTube recipes have over 7 million views. Read what happened when Lifestyle got Sorted Firstly, for the benefit of our readers, would you just like to introduce yourself and tell us a little about Sorted? I’m Jamie and I help run Sorted Food. I kind of fit in on screen and I also help behind the scenes in terms of community management and talking to our viewers. We try to get lots of food problems sorted; we try to get young people into the kitchen and cooking good food. Most of all, we try to show that cooking doesn’t have to be difficult; anyone can do it, even me! How did Sorted start? When we came back from university over the Christmas holidays things got going. We were at the pub and talking about what we’d been up to at uni. Ben, being a chef, got quite scared when he heard what we were eating. It had never occurred to him that we’d be eating rubbish food. He started writing recipes down on beermats. We’d take them back to uni and cook them, then friends from uni would ask where we got them from and it just grew naturally from there. Barry has a background in photography and design, and sparks began to fly. We thought: “We can’t be the only ones that are

having problems eating right.” Our skills fitted together perfectly to build a team. How important it is to retain an informal, sociable nature? Very important. There’s no point getting all formal and serious about it. At the end of the day, everyone has to eat and everyone has to cook, so you might as well make it fun. As we’ve grown up we’ve always maintained that informal style. What really helps is that we’re just a big group of mates and we never take things too seriously. We are always taking the piss out of somebody. Is working with your mates a challenge? Not at all. We’re on our home turf in our kitchen. When you’re with your mates it’s very easy to say: “Come on guys! We need to get this done.” Sorted came about when yourself and the rest of the crew were at uni. Did you ever think you’d end up doing something like this? No, basically. We all went to uni with our own plans. Ben, being a chef, was destined to work in restaurants. I studied marketing so was destined for agency land.

Barry was a photographer doing lots of freelance work. We never expected to end up here and I can’t believe our luck. We all get to work together as friends and it doesn’t feel like work. It’s not work, it’s mucking around in a kitchen with your mates! It’s tricky for most graduates to get anywhere fast right now. Do you have any tips? What we did was use the tools that were available to us and the web makes that so much easier. Platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are completely free to use and you can reach any number of people across the world by using them. Although we have a complicated set up with the YouTube videos, all you need is a camera and you can create a video that will be seen by how ever many people want to watch it. Using your initiative, getting off your backside and doing things yourself is the best way. Sharing recipes via YouTube is a unique method. Why did you pick it? It reaches a lot of people, but we also reach people through the platforms where they spend their time. Students tend to be on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, so

it makes sense to get our message out on there as well. We try to fit into their lifestyle. You’ve just announced big changes for 2012, including even more recipe videos. What else can we expect to see? There’s a new book coming out in the summer which we’re really excited about, but basically we’re building on what we’ve got. For instance, having two YouTube videos a week instead of one means we can help more people. There are so many situations that people find themselves in, whether that’s having no money or specific dietary requirements. By filming more videos we can build a great catalogue of recipes on our website that anyone and everyone can use. Definitely, I’ll be sure to cook some of your recipes with my friends, not that I usually eat beans on toast every night ... Glad to hear it! What’s most important to Sorted? The friendship. We are a genuine bunch of friends and that gives us authenticity. We are basically out to help people and have fun at the same time!

What’s your favourite dish? My personal speciality, that we haven’t covered just yet, is chilli con carne. But, my favourite recipe from Sorted has to be the lamb tagine. I absolutely love that one, it’s so easy and so tasty! And lastly, has a recipe ever gone spectacularly wrong? There was one occasion when we were filming and Ben left one of our friends, Adam, to look after a pan and it all got a little bit smoky and a little bit fiery! Thankfully, we managed to extinguish everything, but that’s the worst we’ve had. When there’s fire involved, it’s never good! Adam hasn’t cooked again. He’s only been back to eat the food.

Sorted Food giveaway: Where did Sorted originate? Email your answer before Saturday 4 February at 12pm for your chance to win a Sorted recipe book. Good luck!

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Food, friends, banter? SORTED Lifestyle share a selection of Sorted Food’s recipes to help add more fun and flavour into your kitchen

Rianne’s favourite: Crustless salmon quiche

Harry’s favourite: Chocolate orange sponge

So many of us struggle to find something a bit more interesting for lunch than a simple soggy sandwich, but Rianne has the answer. Sorted’s individual, crustless quiches are a great, quick and easy packed lunch item for work or university.

Many people are put off by the thought of baking as it can seem a little tricky. After receiving such a positive response to their cake in a mug recipe, Sorted wondered what other microwave versions they could come up with. The end result is delicious.

Ingredients > Plain flour (125g) > 1 tsp salt > 1 tsp baking powder > 2 eggs > Milk (230ml) > Butter (100g) > 2 spring onions > Small fillet of salmon, skinned and cubed > Small head of broccoli handful of grated cheese

Ingredients > Butter, softened (100g) > Caster sugar (100g) > 1 egg >Dash of orange extract >Self-raising flour, sieved (100g) > 2 shots of milk (50ml) > Double cream (100ml) > Dark chocolate (40g)

SORTEDFood

Recipe 1. Preheat oven to 180C. Cut the broccoli into small florets and dump into a pan of rapidly boiling salted water. 3. Cook for 2 minutes then fish out and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking. 4. Slice the spring onions finely. 5. Weigh and sieve the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. 6. Melt butter in a pan or microwave before adding to the dry ingredients with the eggs. 7. Beat to form a paste then pour in the milk, a bit at a time, until fully combined and smooth. 8. Season with salt and pepper and mix through the grated cheese. 9. Ladle into greased muffin tins or paper cases and bake for 30 minutes until golden and set. 10. Cool in tin for at least 10 mins before popping out and allowing to cool fully on a wire rack.

SORTEDFood

Recipe 1. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. 2. Beat in the egg and orange extract until well combined. 3. Stir through the flour, then splash in the milk and mix again. 4. Once fully combined transfer the mix into a Pyrex pudding bowl. 5. Nuke in the microwave on full power for 4 minutes (we used an 800W model). 6. Cut the chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl with the cream. 7. Heat the cream up in the microwave whilst the cake is resting for a minute. 8. Turn the sponge out onto a plate. 9. Stir the cream to make a smooth chocolate sauce and drizzle over the sponge. 10. Serve immediately.

Sorted’s favourite: Moroccan tagine with couscous Jamie recommends this mouth watering, hassle free dish in the interview on the opposite page, and having given it a go, it comes highly recommended from us too! Ingredients Tagine > 2 large onions > Shot of olive oil > 1 tbsp ground cumin > 1 tbsp ground coriander > 1 tbsp ground cinnamon > 3 cloves of garlic > Lamb leg or shoulder, boned (1kg) > Lamb or veg stock (200ml) > 2 tbsp honey > Juice of a small lemon > 5 or 6 tomatoes

Issy Mitchell

> 2 fistfuls of dried apricots > Fistful of flaked almonds > 1 tbsp salt and ground black pepper Couscous > 2 mugs of couscous > Fistful of sultanas > 1 tsp salt > 1 tsp turmeric > Couple of spring onions > 2 mugs of boiling water > Glug of olive oil > Fistful of fresh coriander

Recipe 1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Peel and slice the onions, then fry them in oil in an ovenproof saucepan for 5 minutes. 2. Spoon the dried spices, salt and pepper into the onions with the peeled and crushed garlic and cook for a minute. 3. Tip the trimmed and diced lamb into the pan and cover with the stock, adding the honey and lemon juice. 4. Hack up the tomatoes and put all of the flesh, seeds and juice in the pan. 5. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid and place it into the preheated

SORTEDFood oven for an hour. 6. Add the apricots and stir the tagine well. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes without the lid. 7. Place the couscous in a bowl with the sultanas, salt, turmeric and throw in some finely sliced spring onions. 8. Pour boiling water into the couscous, stir then cover the bowl for 3 minutes. 9. Toast the almonds in a dry pan until golden and garnish the tagine with them. 10. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and mix in the olive oil and finely chopped fresh coriander. 11. Serve the tagine with the couscous.

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INTERNATIONAL

Buryatia: a new renaissance of Buddhism Viviane Fluck International Writer Buddhism has had a serious comeback in the Republic of Buryatia in Siberia, Russia since the late 1980s when Moscow loosened its regulations on religions. But this quick surge in Buddhism has also brought problems. After Mongolian and Tibetan Lamas introduced Tibetan Buddhism to Siberia in the middle of the 17th century, it became extremely popular. In the 1930s, however, the Soviet regime persecuted Buddhists with more vigour than any other believers. According to author Igor Troyanovsky: “Not a single functioning temple and not a single lama remained.” Buddhism had its return in the late 1980s due to the loosening of constraints by the Russian government. In 1997 acceptance of Buddhism was further established through the preamble of a law regulating religious organisations, which named Buddhism as being historically important to Russia.

Ivolginski Datsan, the largest and most important Buddhist monastery in Buryatia When travelling through Buryatia today, one cannot help but notice the growing number of newly built Buddhist temples. Many Buryats seem keen to reconnect with Buddhism. “I meditate every morning and

regularly visit the Datsan,” says a PhD student living in Ulan-Ude. But this quick rise in popularity has yielded several challenges. Buddhist education normally starts at a young age, ensuring an intensive learning process.

The break in Buddhist tradition caused a pause in Buddhist education, which has led to an acute need for Buddhist lamas. Moreover, every so often believers fall prey to fake monks who ask for high donations and

practice rituals that have nothing to do with traditional Buddhism. When recounting a ritual in a new Buddhist temple that included spitting on a piece of meat, Lyudmilla, a retired lecturer, confirms that “There is a lot of nonsense practiced that has nothing to do with real Buddhism, it’s a big problem.” Another challenge for Buryat Buddhists is the Russian government’s continued refusal to grant the Dalai Lama a visa, in order to maintain good relations with China. Since the Dalai Lama resigned as the political leader of the Tibetan government in exile, this is met with growing disappointment. Still, when joining the festivities at Ivolginski Datsan, one cannot deny that Buddhism is alive in spite of all obstacles. The air is filled with the smell of incense and a hint of alcohol from the opened vodka bottles that make up a big part of the offerings, which seem to fill every available spot in the Datsan. Whole families queue to pay their respects to the body of lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov. The message is clear: Buddhism is back in Buryatia.

A grand celebration for down under International writer Isabelle Carty looks into the traditions that surround the country’s festive Australia Day Australia Day, or Foundation Day as it was previously referred to, is celebrated annually on 26 January in Australia. The celebration commemorates the arrival of the first fleet (11 ships which set sail from Great Britain to establish the first European colony in Australia) at Sydney Cove in 1788.

“There are also a number of ceremonial aspects to many contemporary Australia Day events which have become both a tradition and a symbol” The tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday is one that started only in 1994. However, it quickly became a day for all Australians to enjoy. Although it was not officially known as Australia Day until

recently, records of celebrations on the 26th date back to 1808. The first celebrations were initiated by immigrants who prospered in Sydney, especially those who had been convicts or the children of convicts. They began marking the colony’s beginnings with an anniversary dinner to celebrate their love towards the land they lived in. The celebration is not only one of feasts and festivals. There are also a number of ceremonial aspects to many contemporary Australia Day events which have become both a tradition and a symbol of the national day. These ceremonies can include citizenship ceremonies where prospective citizens have the opportunity to affirm their loyalty and commitment to Australia and its people. There are also affirmation ceremonies which allow Australian-born citizens to affirm their loyalty to the country

leading to a feeling of belonging and pride in their citizenship. On Australia Day, people all over the country will fly the nation’s chief symbol: the

Australian national flag, as well as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander flags. There are extensive celebrations for all to enjoy such as fireworks, outdoor

concerts, community barbecues, sports competitions and festivals all over Australia, making it a day for the whole family to look forward to.

SPORT

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Editors’ Column

What is it with blind faith from football supporters? Once a player or manager signs that contract to their supported club, then that’s it, they can do no wrong. In recent weeks I’ve become disillusioned with perpetually naive and unaware football supporters. The tribal element to football supporting is fantasitically unique, but sometimes it just goes too far. For example, Swindon Town fans seem to have no problem with their club employing an accused fascist and admirer of Benito Mussolini, in ex-West Ham striker Paulo Di Canio. Of course, the fact that the Robins are currently sat in 4th place in League Two might have swayed their minds. And there I was sat at home on Wednesday evening witnessing 40,000 fans provide a standing ovation for Craig Bellamy. Admittedly, his performance was worthy of just that, but I felt slightly uneasy with the knowledge that this man who once confronted a teammate with a golf club, and has also been prosecuted for assault, is so willingly adored by the Anfield faithful. Speaking of which, the Liverpool fans still proudly chant the name of Luis Suarez, despite the Uruguayan being found guilty of using racist remarks against Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. The Frenchman also had to deal with a hostile reception in Saturday’s FA Cup game on Merseyside. Perhaps I’m just far too moralistic. But is it really too much to ask to expect football fans to open their eyes just a little? Matt Scrafton

travel p10-11

features p12-14

turf p15

lifestyle p16-19

international p20

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So You Think You Know Sub Aqua?

For many people, sport is more enjoyable when partaken in a social, rather than a competitive environment. The sport of Sub Aqua, essentially scuba diving (selfcontained underwater breathing

apparatus), caters perfectly for such people. There are no competitions within the sport, so the underwater world can be enjoyed at leisure. You would be forgiven for thinking that it would be too

www.concrete-online.co.uk Tuesday 31st January 2012 - Issue 264

expensive or dangerous for the average student. Indeed, there are many misconceptions surrounding the sport. However, these are just not true, as can be seen in the example of the UEA Sub Aqua club. All kit is catered for, and completing diving training within the society you make a healthy saving of around £200. The Sub-Aqua club at UEA meet most Mondays at Petans, the offshore survival training centre. They offer courses to suit everyone, through the internationally recognised diving organisations of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (Padi). On top of this there are trips to Gildenburgh, Stoney Cove and the more exotic Dahab in Egypt. As with all societies at UEA, they offer a vast amount of social activities too. So if you want to learn a new skill, make new friends, or just have a bit of fun, why not try out the highly recommended SubAqua club?

s BUCS stats BUCS Index 52) York 377.5 pts 53) Oxford Brookes 374 54) Liverpool John Moores 355

55) UEA 341 56) Lincoln 338 57) LSE 336 58) Bangor 324

UEA Form Guide Top 10 Women’s Hockey (WWWWWW) Men’s Table Tennis (WWWLWW) Men’s Lacrosse (WWLWWW) Men’s Tennis (WDWWLD) Women’s Netball I (LWWWWL) Men’s Football II (WWDLWL) Men’s Fencing I (WWLW) Men’s Tennis II (WLLWLW) Women’s Tennis I (WDW) Men’s Football I (LWLLWD)

Doug Patient

Northampton deal Men’s Rugby a knockout blow Matt Scrafton Sports Editor

Men’s Rugby II Northampton I

10 50

Just occasionally, sports teams take the saying “take the fight to the opposition” just a little too literally. Wednesday afternoon’s (25 January) match at a chilly Colney Lane was a perfect case in point. The game should have been remembered for a routine victory for an unbeaten Northampton side, as well as a valiant effort from UEA. Instead, the focus will remain on a fight that broke out towards the end of the match as the fixture threatened to boil over. The feisty atmosphere was evident from the outset, with the referee taking the brunt of Northampton’s bickering and constant complaints. But the referee could only stand and watch as the two sides were embroiled in a full-scale scrap, after a UEA player didn’t take too kindly to a late off-the-ball dump tackle from Northampton’s rightwinger. The tackle was made well after the referee’s whistle

had been blown, and the player certainly knew that and had every intention of causing pain. Thus, reactions were bound to be angry, but the reaction from both sides cannot be condoned. The referee set the tone for the match when he penalised Northampton with a number of questionable decisions early on in the game. However, there was very little respect shown from the visiting players towards the official, and from the touchline you could see the anger and frustration slowly creeping in to their gameplay. Nevertheless, it didn’t affect their dominance on the match. Northampton have won every league game so far this season, and their quality was evident to see as they ran in with a number of impressive tries. Their passing and handling was top notch, and whilst not dominant in the scrum, they certainly held the advantage. UEA performed fairly well in the opening period, spending plenty of time in the Northampton half. But the league leaders were ruthless with any opportunities that came their way, as was made evident with the 28-3 half-time scoreline.

Despite an early response from the hosts at the beginning of the second-half, Northampton continued where they left off, as they took advantage of any mistake from UEA. The hosts were much improved in terms of tackling and cutting down on mistakes in the second period, but there still wasn’t much they could do to halt the visitors crossing the try line on a consistent basis. With the result already

Greg Mann

confirmed, the two sides began to lose their discipline again. Northampton, as they had all game, maintained their quarrels with the referee, who was forced to sin bin one player for repeated fouling. By this point both teams were beginning to make some noticeably robust challenges, and the official had completely lost control of the match, which is when the “incident” occurred.

SPORT

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Canary Corner Fell scale new heights in Scotland

by Adam Plom

Norwich City capped an excellent week by beating West Bromwich Albion (WBA) 2-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday. The Canaries, full of confidence following their hardfought draw with Chelsea, took the lead 35 minutes into the game, through Grant Holt’s ninth goal of the season. After the break, WBA came out strong and were soon level through Marc-Antoine Fortune, after Jerome Thomas capitalised on some poor City defending. As the tie drew to a close, a replay at Carrow Road looked to be on the cards. However, Norwich do not know when to give in and they were rewarded with another late goal. Super sub Simeon Jackson made the most of Craig Dawson’s error and snatched the winner for the Canaries in the 85th minute. City’s place in the last sixteen owed a lot to young goalkeeper, Jed Steer on the day. Steer, making his senior debut, pulled off a number of crucial saves, denying Thomas, Mattock and Long late on. Seven days previously, Lambert’s side had secured an impressive point against Chelsea. Again, the Canaries had their goalkeeper to thank, as well as the misfiring Blues’ forward

Fernando Torres, who made it 17 games without a goal for club and country. John Ruddy made a string of excellent saves as the Norwich defence managed to shut the West London club out at Carrow Road. After being foiled by Ruddy in the first half, Torres had a great opportunity to put Chelsea in the lead after the break, but toepoked wide from just ten yards out, much to the delight of the City fans. In the end the Canaries held on and were good value for their point.

“Norwich do not know when to give in and they were rewarded with another late goal” Meanwhile, in transfer news, City sealed the signing of Jonny Howson from Leeds United. The twenty-two year old admitted that leaving Leeds was the “hardest decision of his life,” but also that he was delighted to be joining the Premier League club. Going the other way, Richie De Laet had his loan spell with the Canaries cancelled. The Belgian, who only made six appearances for Norwich has returned to Manchester United. Finally, Korey Smith joined Barnsley on a one-month loan deal.

concretebucsindex

Pl. Team

P W D L

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23

5 6 5 4 3 6 3 6 6 6 6 5 8 8 6 6 6 6 3 6 4 6 1

Hockey W1 Lacrosse M1 Table Tennis M1 Fencing M1 Tennis W1 Tennis M1 Golf Netball W2 Badminton M1 Football M2 Tennis M2 Squash M1 Rugby M1 Rugby M2 Badminton W1 Football M1 Football W1 Netball 1 Lacrosse W1 Hockey M1 Futsal M1 Rugby W1 Water Polo M1

5 5 4 3 2 4 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 0

0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0

0 1 1 1 0 1 1 3 3 2 3 3 5 4 4 3 3 4 2 5 2 4 1

Diff.

Win %

23 18 37 41 16 8 1 -5 -10 1 9 -5 55 -64 -10 -7 -3 -3 -9 -30 -6 -64 -18

100 83.33 80 75 66.66 66.66 66.66 50 50 50 50 40 37.5 37.5 33.33 33.33 33.33 33.33 33.33 33.33 25 16.67 0

Phil Thomas Sports Correspondent Imagine discovering yourself perched within a precipitous gully, clinging perilously to the north face of a Scottish mountain, secured only by the firm grasp of an ice axe and pair of crampons biting into the snow. “There’s no such thing as winter hill walking,” said the instructor that morning, “only winter mountaineering.” His words seemed pertinent as the group embarked upon the ascent of a couloir later that day. Eight members of UEA’s Fell and Mountaineering club ventured northwards into the Cairngorms to embark on a course in winter mountaineering. Once acclimatised we soon became acquainted with the array of specialist equipment and terminology required for winter mountaineering, and set forth into the corries, where sufficient snow had accumulated. Fell’s first lesson in ascent was a slow and arduous exercise in traversing the snow securely without crampons, by step

kicking with sturdy boots, and step cutting with the aid of an ice axe. Having gained some altitude we next began to excavate stable seats in the snow. We fitted our crampons and acquired newfound confidence in our footholds and balance as we ascended and descended the snow slope, soon even manoeuvring ourselves across hazardous sheets of ice. With dusk fast approaching we made a hasty retreat and celebrated an early Burns Night in the cabin, musing on the whereabouts of wild haggis over a glass of scotch. The next day our training schedule concerned various means of descent. These ranged

from the intentional to the accidental. Using the pick of an ice axe as a brake, we practiced “selfarresting” techniques, which can prevent rapid and potentially fatal falls. Hurtling head first down an icy slope was certainly the most daunting variant to rehearse, and a terrifying prospect. A safer and gentler method of descent is attached to a rope, which can surprisingly be secured in the snow by digging snow anchors or ice bollards. Winter mountaineering is ideal for anyone with a passion for adventure, however it is a potentially hazardous pastime and is best enjoyed with the necessary training and safety precautions. Howard Jeffs

BUCS away game round-up Concrete Sport looks at the recent fortunes for UEA’s sports teams With just three fixtures being played on home turf, the majority of UEA’s teams found themselves on duty away from home, in what for many teams was their first game back following the Christmas break. Results were mixed for our BUCS sides on their travels, with five wins, five losses and a draw across the 11 fixtures played away from UEA on Wednesday (25 January). Men’s Table Tennis enjoyed yet another victory in Midlands Division 1A, as they demolished Warwick II 16-1 to move into third place. Their record of four wins and just one defeat ensured they kept up the pressure on Birmingham I and Nottingham Trent I above them. Men’s Football I were the other side from UEA to make

the journey to Warwick, but they came away on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat, leaving them mired in relegation difficulties in Division 1A. By contrast, Men’s Football II extended their unbeaten run in Midlands Division 4B to three matches thanks to an impressive 3-1 victory over Leicester II, a result that moves the team into second place in the league. However, Men’s Rugby I’s trip to Leicester saw them lose a tight match by a scoreline of 8-3, leaving the side in midtable in Midlands Division 2B. An away trip to Nottingham Trent I brought yet another victory for Men’s Fencing I, as their impressive start to the season continued with a 12589 win, ensuring they kept up

the pressure on Cambridge II at the top of Midlands Division 2A, despite their closest rivals having a game in hand. Two other sides made the trip to play counterparts at Nottingham Trent, with Women’s Football I managing a 2-2 draw and Men’s Hockey I suffering a 6-0 defeat as their search for another victory looks set to continue. Two sides made the long trip to Oxford during this round of matches, and while Women’s Badminton I lost 6-2 to Oxford I in their Midlands Division 1A match, Men’s Lacrosse I’s excellent season in Division 2A continued with a comfortable 11-4 over Oxford Brookes I. Finally, Men’s Tennis II enjoyed an impressive 11-3 victory over Northampton I as they look to make progress in Midlands Division 3B, while Women’s Netball I suffered a 45-25 defeat at the hands of Birmingham III.

SPORT

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Badminton make a racket in hard-fought win Billy Sexton Sports Correspondent

Men’s Badminton I Cambridge I

5 3

With an inspiring pre-match team talk from captain Michael Wood, Men’s Badminton were able to defeat Cambridge 5-3 in an intense encounter at the Sportspark on Wednesday (25 January). UEA were hopeful of victory against rivals Cambridge, as they had already defeated them 5-3 previously in the season. Their opponents Cambridge were sat second from bottom with only one win to their name, and thus looked to reverse a run of three straight losses. UEA were able to race ahead to an early 3-0 lead thanks to an impressive display from Wood, whose superior skill and technique frustrated his opponent and also gave him a victory in straight sets (218, 21-13), he utilised his smash shot throughout the match. Ben Hitcham and Matt Farrow were victorious in their first doubles match and they too were able to record a straight sets victory. Andy Pebbles, who was playing

with glandular fever, competed with great intelligence to secure victory too, ensuring that UEA were put in a good position for the rest of the fixture. A Cambridge challenge looked likely, and Wood appeared to be buckling under pressure in his second match, needing three sets to overcome his tricky Cambridge opponent. Wood kept his head though, and despite an intense rally, he emerged victorious after a smash shot, to

ensure that UEA would secure at least a draw. Wood was undoubtedly man of the match, leading from the front and providing encouragement to his team-mates throughout. Doubles pairing Matthew Cavalcanti and Chris Piff were unlucky in both their games, losing out narrowly to Cambridge, with the away side’s doubles pairings putting in an impressive display. With the scores edging closer, UEA were reliant upon the duo

of Hitcham and Farrow to secure victory. Both stepped up to the plate, seeing off their opponents in straight sets, ensuring a muchneeded victory for the hosts. The victory will move UEA clear from the relegation zone as they hope to remain in the BUCS Midlands 1A division. Their next fixture is against Birmingham III, who are currently bottom of the league, and so UEA will be hoping to build on this victory and begin a good run of form.

Harriet Jones

In what turned out to be the longest match in Australian Open history, Novak Djokovic retained his title in a five set victory over Rafael Nadal. Despite facing each other many times before, these two had never made it to five sets and both players were clearly exhausted by the time the match ended at 1.30am. The encounter, which lasted for over five hours, was a gruelling effort in which mental toughness became as important as technical ability, and it was Djokovic who ultimately prevailed. The Serbian proved to be a worthy winner after having to pass Andy Murray en route to the final which also required a high level of physical endurance. In the women’s finale, Victoria Azarenka shocked Maria Sharapova to win her first grand

slam title and become the new world number one in the process, replacing Danish star Caroline Wozniacki. Azarenka fully deserved her triumph as she outshone her Russian counterpart in a straight set victory, dispatching the former Wimbledon champion in one hour and 22 minutes. The 22 year old from Belarus reached the Wimbledon semi finals in 2011, but was knocked out by eventual champion Petra Kvitová, who also defeated Sharapova in her path to glory. The tournament has left Andy Murray still awaiting his first Grand Slam victory, despite an outstanding performance in his semi-final defeat to Djokovic. Under new coach Ivan Lendl, Murray is experiencing for the first time what it is like to be taught by a former world number one, and his knowledge of the sport has clearly benefited the Scot’s game. Murray left no one in doubt that

Humiliation for England’s cricketers After two woeful batting performances, England find themselves standing on the brink of a series whitewash against a plucky Pakistan side. In both matches England were found wanting in the batting department. With only a few innings of any note it is far to say that this side are, like many England teams of the past, unable to handle spin in the subcontinent. Over the last two matches, Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal have been destroying a lacklustre England middle order. The left arm spin of Rehman should be relatively easy to play, however with the indecisiveness of England’s batting and the presence of the impressive Ajmal, Rehman has figures of a world beater.

“It is fair to say that this side are, like many England teams of the past, unable to handle spin on the subcontinent”

No Murray-cles down under as Djokovic triumphs Tom Shaw Sports Correspondent

he has the quality to win a grand slam, with even Rafael Nadal claiming so, and can be pleased with his efforts. If he is to triumph

on the big stage however, he will have to overcome Djokovic, who is currently playing tennis of a superb standard.

Add in the top class swing bowling of Umar Gul and there is a strong bowling line up, however not as deadly as England have made them seem. No credit should be taken away from the performance of the Pakistani bowling attack who through consistent lines and lengths have managed to skittle England out for under 200 three times, the most recent being 72, which can not be entirely down to poor batting. In stark contrast to their batting, England’s bowling has been impressive. The return of Monty Panesar to the line up saw him achieve figures of 6-62, and with Stuart Broad and James Anderson continuing were they left off against India with accurate wicket taking bowling. The next match will be a huge test of character for this England side, who in recent years have not been accustomed to tasting defeat. Fans should expect to see a far more defiant side in future tests. Sam Tomkinson

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issue264 31january2012

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UEAsport Rugby match report | p21 A review of UEA’s away BUCS matches | p22

Inside concretesport this fortnight:

• Billy Sexton watches an impressive win for Men’s Badminton, while Doug Patient introduces us to UEA Sub-Aqua • Tom Shaw reviews the Australian Open, and Sam Tomkinson reports on the struggles of England’s cricketers in the sub-continent

Women’s Rugby crush Nottingham Trent Chris Teale Sports Editor

Women’s Rugby I Nottingham Trent I

60 5

Women’s Rugby ran in ten tries as they thrashed Nottingham Trent I 60-5 in a one-sided contest at Colney Lane. The team were looking to keep up the pressure on Warwick I, who are just above UEA and outside the relegation zone on points difference. The team’s large margin of victory more than halved the difference between themselves and Warwick in Midlands Division 1A of the BUCS league. UEA began the game showing greater attacking intent, and scored their first try after just two minutes. Forcing a turnover from a Trent ruck, Nina Crowther ran in a superb solo effort, which was converted to give the home side an early 7-0 lead. Crowther followed this early success with two more tries inside the first 10 minutes, to complete a stunning hat-trick and give UEA an early 20-0 lead. The home side were exerting incredible pressure on the Trent defence, and were dominant in lineouts and scrums. Despite a few responses from the away side, handling errors and strong UEA defence meant they were unable to hold possession for any length of time. Despite their constant attacking threat and a lack of any reciprocal threat from Trent, it took UEA until the half hour mark to extend their advantage, again through another try from Crowther after good work by the forwards in a scrum. Then, almost

Greg Mann straight after the kick-off, another superb passing move saw Crowther cut swathes through the Trent defence and score her fifth try of the opening period. This period of domination was brought to a close by a sixth try of the half, meaning that at halftime, UEA were in a seemingly unassailable position with a lead of 40-0, and the away side struggling to find any response.

The second half saw a definite change in the pattern of play, as Trent began to attack with more intensity, and gave UEA’s defence a thorough examination. Trent spent nearly 20 minutes almost exclusively attacking, but the home side’s defensive rear-guard held firm. After a period of attrition, in which both sides struggled to gain any momentum, a superb

breakaway UEA move saw the ball make its way to Crowther once again, who came through for yet another try, her sixth and final one of the game. This seemed to galvanise UEA’s attacking play, with three more tries being registered in the final 15 minutes, two of which were scored by winger Steph Creasey. This took the scoreline to 60-0 in favour of the home side,

but to their credit, Trent kept driving forward, and eventually scored a consolation try of their own, which at least gave them something to celebrate on the long journey back to Nottingham. The final score was 60-5, and with this victory UEA ensured that they maintained the pressure on Warwick I, who are directly above them in Midlands Division 1A.

VENUE

Concreteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fortnightly culture pullout

Photo by Chloe Hashemi

issue 264 | 31/01/2012

Annual Student Survey 2012 Tell us what you think...

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re All Ears! ÂŁ50 Cash prizes to be won! Go to ueastudent.com to answer the questions The Union of UEA Students is a registered charity England and Wales no 1139778

03 IE

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VENUE CONTENTS

ssue 264 | 31.01.2012 ditor-in-Chief | Chris King | concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk

enue Editor | Alex Throssell | concrete.event.uea.ac.uk

When selecting the photos I wanted to use for this issue, I found my choices to be inadvertently quite artistc and oddly prophetic. Despite attempting to exude colourful vibrancy in this issue, the reality is that, as the picture on this page shows, beneath its pretty facade Venue’s dreams are well and truly crumbling. Is it disappointing that the Union have chosen to strip Concrete of its paid editorship next year, but as Concrete’s cooler older brother, Venue is going to try and stay aloof. I could say how the hundreds of hours of effort that go into each issue seem to go completely unnoticed, but I won’t. I could also carry on with this ridiculous cliche, but ... actually I won’t do that. No instead I’ll heed the advice of the now overused mantra and keep calm and carry on. This issue of Venue genuinely looks amazing; its the cleanest and most professional I think it’s ever looked, so props go to all of my sub-editors who clearly understand the idea of going down in a blaze of glory.

Alex

Music | Editors | Alex Ross & Jordan Bright Music Contributors> Cheri Amour, George Hamilton-Jones, Sam Warner, Jordan Bright, Danielle Hutley, Matthew Weddig, Barney Horner, Hana Lockier, . Wired | Editor | Josh Mott Wired Contributors> Leo Hunt, Oliver Balaam, Joe Fitzsimmons, Tom Mott, Callum Watson, Andrew Wilkins. Fashion | Editors | Hannah Britt & Milly Sampson Fashion Contributors> Hannah Britt, Emily Pearse, Jess Beech. Arts | Editor | Emma Webb Arts Contributors> Greg Materfield-Ivory, Katherine Holder, Bridie Wilkinson, Emma Webb, Harriet MacDonald.

TV | Editor | Matt Tidby TV Contributors> Beth Wyatt, Sam Richards. Film | Editors | James Burrough & Anna Eastick Film Contributors> A.J. Hodson, Julie Sanderson, Joseph Murphy, Sam Warner, Meg Fozzard, Alek Stoodley, Tim Bates, Annie Rhodes, Kieran Rogers, Harry Denniston. Competitions | Editor | Sam Tomkinson.

Photo by Chloe Hashemi

Creative Writing | Editor | Ella Chappell Creative Writing Contributors> Ella Chappell, Ellie Reynard, Geoffrey Delaney, James Sykes.

MUSIC

31.01.2012

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

album reviews the kabeedies soap

Every artist gets it. The cold sweats in the night, looming sense of anxiety, trepidation and unease: the inevitable task of penning that second album. R&B deity Lauren Hill has to be the ultimate one album wonder with her (formidable!) debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, only to fall out of the spotlight, not rating the music industry and/or celeb culture. Sure, the Sex Pistols may have released more records in the wake of their ’77 debut, but nothing comes close to matching the patriotic angst cool of their first definitive punk statement. Even local glamour pusses, The Darkness were hit hard by such a musical milestone and went from elaborate stage pyrotechnics to a fiery battle with drugs. 2012 sees peppy popsters, The Kabeedies take on the feat with the zealous vigour of teens but three years on from their debut release, Rumpus, the band have certainly grown from producing Fisher Price pop hits. New album Soap is released this month on indie label Fierce Panda and sees the group dabble in a whole host of new sounds, not to mention new musical accompaniments (who knew the indie upstarts were all in

cloud nothings attack on memory

From the other side of the pond comes Attack on Memory, the third album from Cleveland, Ohio’s Cloud Nothings (it’s a Rock N’ Roll city). This instalment sees singer-songwriter-founder Dylan Baldi split session duties with other members of the band. Another important item of buzz around the record is the fact that the band decamped to Steve Albini’s (Big Black/ Rapeman/ Shellac) Electric Audio studio in Chicago to record. The result is a hot album that puts to bed reports of Rock’s demise. The first track, No Future/ No Past, begins with a plaintive piano. The song has an interesting structure of extended build up that sits well with its slightly depressing failed relationship subject until the concluding outpouring. The drums sound excellently recorded throughout the album. Airy and transient throughout, they leap out at the listener with force. The refrain of “No future and no past” underlines the

emphasis on the (tortured) present at the expense of the past and the future, a theme the album returns to with a fairly consistent air of striving. Wasted Days continues to showcase Baldi’s writing chops. Notably poppier, it all hangs on the chorus of “I thought/ I would/ Be more/ Than this.” With unities of instruments and purposes it goes like a train. The buzzsaw rhythm guitar replete with Fender twang is an album fixture that complements the drums and bass groove in propelling the music forward. The interlude in this track is well judged and evidence of a willingness to abandon conventional structure to make a bolder statement. The bass work is a very pleasing detail on the album, at times vying for leadership with the vocal like Bill Wyman on Jumpin’ Jack Flash. There is no bad track, but the concluding Cut You fading out feels like evidence of a faltering conviction. This album really excited Venue and leaves its predecessor in the dust but just as it’s the right record at the right time, it’s difficult to know how it will wear. To be enjoyed at full length. George Hamilton-Jones

favour of accordions and reversed mandolins nowadays?). New single, Eyes is a wash of lush reverb and brass trills (but with somewhat questionable 90s intro phaser...) while opening track (and surely, single number two!?) Hang Ups of the West, could make you wonder if you popped Paul Simon’s Graceland into the CD player with its funk fused bass line. Vocally, The Kabeedies share some of the boy-girl call and response brilliance of bands like The Selector and The Specials. There’s clearly elements of that two tone delight in live favourite and former single, Santiago as well as Come Out of the Blue and, to grapple with a metaphor if you will, this album appears like a recording of two tones. Fans will rejoice in the familiar gaiety of Elizabeth and chirpy choral coo of Drowning Doll but it’s moments like L.T, that show this band really trying to carve out something beautiful with Soap. With the sparse ambiance of a Vampire Weekend opus, L.T is both unique in its sound but, sadly, also on the album. Yet, as the band themselves sing, “the lieutenant brings, what the lieutenant brings” and in this case, he’s at the top of his rank. If the rest of their new material can follow suit, The Kabeedies are primed to be the local leaders of a powerful new aural army. Cheri Amour

31.01.2012

MUSIC

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

album reviews lana del rey born to die

There’s not much to say when you have been both hyped up endlessly, and vilified more than Voldemort before your debut album has been put out there. Poor Lizzy Grant! But ironically, Born To Die leaves this reviewer somewhat stuck in that polarized opinion. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. Lana’s debut opens with the eponymous track, her stirring voice subtly merging with the rich production and soft beat. The uniqueness of her style leaves you wondering wheat she will ponder next. Unfortunately, though continuing to hold her trademark style, the next few tracks seem to lose standard; on Blue Jeans her voice almost sinks into her trademark pout. But her breakthrough Video Games restores hope and Born To Die veers into a wonderful mix of “gangsta” and soaring dark melodies in tales of heartbreak and money. The lyrics seem to veer from a GCSE standard poetry competition, to the outright ridiculous: “said to be cool, but I’m already coolest,” she sings on National Anthem. But one cannot deny they are bloody catchy! The album swerves episodically between

grimes

the big pink

visions

future this

The major pitfall awaiting any self-respecting music critic is the sudden, complete, inability to have a purely instinctive reaction to music. Through picking it apart the joy that first piqued a love of music is too often lost. Records are no longer treated as art, but as science: with a prescribed formula to measure their greatness. Visions is an album that is treated unfavourably by this process. It may be called shallow and unvaried in upcoming reviews but that is because it requires to be listened to without pretence. You cannot quantify pure, unadulterated beauty. Visions is the third album released by Canadian Claire Boucher (who operates under the moniker Grimes). Fully embracing electronica, Boucher has fashioned a record that is recognisable, yet original in its own right. Comparisons can be drawn with Kate Bush and Enya for her high-pitched delivery, while the music is best described as a potent mix of Blade Runner era Vangelis and the soundtrack to Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive. It may be odd to liken a record to the music accompanying

two films, but not when you recognise that Visions is above all else atmospheric. In reality, deconstructing any meaning from the lyrics is senseless because not only are they almost impossible to discern, but the vocals are used only to add weight to the melody. While electronic music is often cold and industrial, Visions maintains a sense of warmth and colour throughout. It is likely, however, that this is an album that you will either adore or despise. As a result single Oblivion is an ideal point of entry. Venue tipped Grimes for success in the last issue. We may just have been right. Jordan Bright

As the band’s follow up album from A Brief History Of Love, this has definitely caused a stir and would have by no doubt either extremely satisfied listeners’ expectations, or in contrast completely failed them. Stay Gold, the first single released from the album, is not the best of album starters, but nevertheless introduces the band with it’s characteristics being so similar to the likes of previous material. If the hit Dominos was a favourite from the first album, then this track shouldn’t disappoint. The duo continue Future This with a similar electro rock/indie vibe, something that doesn’t take a lot of effort to listen to, and would be the perfect soundtrack to a lazy day with its relaxed feel; there doesn’t appear to be any particular urgency throughout any of the tracks within the album. Hit The Ground (Superman) is the second released single, and happens to be the second track on the album. This would appear to be a good choice, with a continual quick, driving

filler songs and strong beautiful melodies. On Summertime Sadness she genuinely sings from the heart, putting to shame her whiny ramblings on how “hard life was” on Radio. Thankfully she closes with another authentic effort on Lucky Ones, proving her capability for Adele-esque emotional depth. The great irony of Born To Die is that it stands out on its own conceited strive for authenticity. At the heart of it lies a good pop record, different from most of what lies on the Radio 1 playlist at the moment. But if you look within the record, it almost becomes a parody of itself. The key weight lies in the rich production. Keeping you engaged throughout, the unique mix of twangy guitars and Kanye West type beats are enthralling. At some points it even makes her voice unnecessary, opening hope for a few instrumental tracks instead. In the end, you can understand the hype due to the freshness of the music. But at the same time, the character of Lana Del Rey is irritating in her desperation to sound genuine, something that you just cannot hear. Nevertheless, Born To Die is quite a promising debut and hopefully represents a springboard that Lana will use to develop into something more substantial.

Sam Warner

drum beat present throughout, and a good enough chorus that could be considered “catchy” this is definitely one of the better tracks of the album. As a listener, it can only be assumed that this wasn’t intended to be an immediate, hard hitting album, yet when given the time and patience to appreciate, it is definitely one that grows on you. Similar to artists such as Passion Pit and Bombay Bicycle Club, this is the sort of album that I would recommend to fans of theirs and others similar, but isn’t something diverse enough to encourage listeners from other music genres. Danielle Hutley

MUSIC

31.01.2012

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

live reviews

reel big fish

the horrors

the waterfront

25.01.12

22.01.12

Although Reel Big Fish have maintained the pretenses of keeping busy, it’s been the better part of a decade since we’ve had any new material. Instead, their recent activity has been marred by repeated rereleases of old material through an excess of live albums and rerecorded best of albums and, worse, lineup changes. Although nothing new to Reel Big Fish, the most recent loss of long-time member Scott Klopfenstein has been among the most jarring. As such, Reel Big Fish is a band in an awkward phase of transition, although they aren’t actually doing anything new. While Klopfenstein, who provided trumpet, backing guitar, and lead backing vocals has a perfectly competent musical replacement in Matt Appleton, the band’s first saxophonist in over two decades, where the loss is really felt is in the band’s chemistry. Klopfenstein served another important backing role as frontman Aaron Barrett’s wingman, helping deliver the jokes integral to the band’s sometimes absurd, sometimes dark sense of humour. Wednesday’s concert shows that trombonist Dan Regan seems to have adopted this role, probably through seniority as the only other band member around since the 90s. While he still feels a bit awkward in his expanded role and the newest members rarely, if ever, participated in the jokes, the band’s sense of humour is still as lively as it’s always been, keeping all

the classic songs fresh with an enthusiasm only rivaled by the ecstatic crowd. Reel Big Fish may have gotten stagnant, but they certainly haven’t gotten stale. Despite starting the show the same way they have for years with a one-two punch of Trendy and Everything Sucks, the music is as undeniably catchy and fun as it’s always been, and the band knows it. They’ve had plenty of time to perfect the delivery of their much-loved music. Between undeniable classics such as the fiery, disaffected Beer and the hilarious self-pity of She Has a Girlfriend Now as well as returns to older, deeper cuts (largely because of the new sax player) such as Join the Club and, strangely, Say ‘Ten from their classic debut album from the 90s, Turn the Radio Off. This shows Reel Big Fish as a band sliding quite comfortably into the position of a legacy act. Although recent lineup changes have noticeably altered the magic, they have the longevity to work with it and absolutely succeed. Kicking off their encore with their biggest hit Sell Out, one of the most ironic one-hit wonders ever, and closing with their second biggest hit, their cover of A-ha’s Take On Me, Reel Big Fish proves itself to be a band not past its prime, but perpetually capable of enthusiastically providing its prime to its much-loved fans. Matthew Weddig

Generally The Horrors are an easy band to review: hip young music journalists try to capture their essence by following the standard model of fawning over their rakish appearance and then gleefully listing the number of cool musical idols that the Southend band insist there are influenced by, submitting articles that are always replete with buzz terms to describe the swooning minimalist synth and guitar, like “woozy” or “hazy”. With that in mind it was just before nine o’clock that the foppish five languidly mounted the low stage at the Waterfront, clad in their characteristic black drainpipes John Cooper Clarke style, following The History of Apple Pie’s stirring warm-up. After singer Faris Badwan’s swift haughty greeting they kicked straight into Changing the Rain a woozy synth laden track. The next hour featured a superb mix of Primary Colours and Skying, understandably forsaking the unsuitable ultra-goth garage rock of debut album Strange House, combining alt rock’s most critically acclaimed sub-genres of krautrock, psychedelia and shoegaze, taking cues from pop stylists Simple Minds, reverb heavy My Bloody Valentine and gloomy Spacemen 3 among many others. They climaxed on an elongated rendition of Moving Further Away, plunging the packed room into a typically Can-esque extended instrumental and

hazy crescendo of sound, led by guitarist Joshua Hayward’s incessant use of the pitch bending whammy bar in opposition to the debonair grace of bassist Rhys Webb. The Horrors remain quite a unique live experience, harshly illuminating their sartorial spindly silhouettes by shining bright lights from behind to contrast with Badwan’s aggressive vocal assault on the crowd. Although the tracks from Skying were tight and successfully realised in the live environment, they didn’t pulsate with the same vigour as Primary Colours gems Sea Within A Sea or Three Decades. But nonetheless the eager audience was sated after a long delay; many had been waiting for tonight since October after the band had twice pushed back the date. While much ink is spilt by music journalists who accidently follow the typical Horrors model of review as outlined above, their writing is still good. The same applies to the band themselves: although numerous influences are usually synonymous for derivative and unoriginal, they still manage to sound good. They breathe dynamic life into a faltering British guitar scene which critics continually insist is dying. Evidence to the contrary here.

Barney Horner

31.01.2012

MUSIC

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

pop vs reality after lana del rey’s hotly anticipated and roundly panned saturday night live performance aired last week,

the singer’s manufactured persona was called into question yet again. but is disbelief the scourge of pop music?

We all like a bit of pop. Not that ever so thirst quenching can of Lilt you just bought from the UFO, the other pop. You know, the music stuff. 2011 saw a true revival of the pop song and the charts were plagued with incessant dance thuds and chimes, David Guetta we’re looking at you. Although we are trying to ignore it, there is a slight chance that 2012 might do the same. To be a little less pessimistic 2011 did bring us some absolute classics that any LCR would feel hollow without: We Found Love (cheers RiRi), Superbass (Whad up Minaj), but with thoughts of summer already sneaking into the dusty corners of my brain one can only imagine who will be gracing the stages of all the festivals this year, fingers crossed for The Stone Roses. However there is one argument that hides behind this optimism. Pop singers; festival yay or festival nay? This may seem a

bit harsh, but when acts such as Girls Aloud, Pixie Lott and Chipmunk grace the Virgin Media stage and sound a little off it is hard to avoid thinking “I could do better than that” or “Get back in the studio love”. The truth is not all pop singers sound great live. We have come to accept this fact, but should we really settle for it? Most of us music fans can easily run off all those artists that blew us away at festivals, concerts, intimate gigs or even just a video that you saw on YouTube. With so much deliciously talent packed music out there, why then should we have to listen to artists that sound screechy, off pitch and just a little bit shit. One thought could be, if you are not ready to sing live yet, maybe hold off on that tour and learn to be at one with your vocal chords and know what they can and can’t do. It is true artists do grow as performers. Take Rihanna for example. The

memory of watching her perform Disturbia at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards is more than disturbingly bad; it’s painful and cringe. She ruined that song for my 17 year old self. The performance was good, there were nice theatrics and the dancing was slick as oil, but she was a disappointment. Disturbia quickly got overtaken in the top 25 most played in my iTunes. But worse things have happened. A few years back Ashlee Simpson got caught out on the infamous Saturday Night Live by her backing track playing the wrong song, the one that she had supposedly just sung to us…live. Whoops. But already in 2012 the SNL curse strikes again. This time the victim is internet sensation and big mouthed beauty Lana Del Ray. The entirety of Britain, I tell a lie, a fair few people loved Video Games and could not wait to hear more effortlessly haunting melodic notes fall from those lips.

On the back of the promo for new single Born To Die and album of the same title, SNL probably sounded like the most perfect performance slot ever. America waited with baited breath. She Sings. Oh wait. Hang on. She sounds foreign? A drunken Bolshevik in some parts, the Queen in others. Hope and excitement quickly run and cover their ears, and disappointment makes itself comfy on the sofa next to you. Maybe there will always be those certain songs you can never listen to again despite how polished and fresh they sound coming from your iPod on the walk to uni, simply because you cannot shake off that dooming feeling that what you are hearing is not real. Shall we just be naïve? Seems a lot easier, did you know that Father Christmas is real? Hana Lockier

MUSIC

31.01.2012

concrete.music@uea.ac.uk

dog is dead

venue’s george hamilton jones chatted with nottingham’s dog is dead ahead of their headline show at the arts centre

You had the Your Childhood EP out on Atlantic last year and you’ve got a big slew of dates in February and March. Is an album in the offing? Yes, we’ve already recorded over half of it. We’re going to go back into the studio after the tour and finish it. We’re hoping to drop it in late August. Judging by your touring schedule you’re a hard working band. What can the audience at the Arts Centre expect? We really love playing live. It’s really important to us and it’s always been at the centre of what we do ever since we started the band. You can expect five people on stage, excited to perform, excited to travel to a new city. Hopefully that will come across. Have you played in Norwich before?

Yes. We played a while back supporting a band called Viva Brother. It was a bit of a weird tour but the venue was really busy and we’ve had some tweets from people who enjoyed it. Norwich doesn’t seem to forget bands that come to play. I get the feeling people want to support bands that come to Norwich. What was it like to appear on Channel 4’s Skins? It’s really weird. At the time it seemed like an interesting opportunity, something out of the ordinary that you don’t get to do every day. How it happened was the director rang up telling us he liked our single [Glockenspiel Song] and asked us if we wanted to appear in an episode with the plot inspired by our song. When we went down for the recording of the episode we didn’t really know what was going on. But it was fun and we have benefitted from it. Kids from all over the world

have been getting in touch with us telling us they saw us on Skins and they like our music. It’s quite surreal really, I don’t really know why kids from Chile would watch Skins but they get in touch with us and tell us they like our music.

They’re quite quiet and modest but they’re very generous. They’re a great band to tour with and they’ve taken us to some huge venues but they don’t make a big deal about doing things like that for us, they’re just very nice.

So what kind of bands do you list as influences?

They remixed your new single right? Is that the B-side?

It’s an eclectic mix really, lots of different things from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. A lot of the stuff we listen to doesn’t really show in the music: we listen to a lot of grunge bands. We’re big fans of bands like The Flaming Lips, The Mercury Rev, Nirvana and Pixies.

Yeah and it’s amazing. The remix is going in the single bundle so it’s a bit like a C-side (laughs). Jack [Steadman], the singer, is a really good electronic musician as well as a great guitarist. In the end I think he could be more noted for that side of things because that’s where a lot of his brilliance is.

What is touring with Bombay Bicycle Club like? It’s great, we love the band and we’re big fans of their music. And they’re big fans of us. They’re really lovely guys, very supportive.

Dog is Dead play the Norwich Arts Centre on Saturday November 18th.

N TA S

Wanted 6 Union Part Time Elected Officers (4 non-portfolio, Environment and Ethics) Contract period 1 year April 1012 - March 2013

We are looking for 6 UEA students of any age or nationality who have the dedication, energy and enthusiasm to volunteer help us take the Union forward in very uncertain times. If you are interested in making real change for students UEA gaining a unique experience that will set you up for virtually any career – then this might be the role for you. You will receive training, be able to attend conferences and gain a variety of work-based skills, experiences and development opportunities.

Wanted Union Full Time Elected Officers

Successful candidates will be expected to:

Contract period 1 year July 1012-July 2013 Salary: 16k Hours of work: variable

Support a variety of activists and volunteers

We are looking for 4 UEA students of any age or nationality who have the drive, energy and enthusiasm to help us take the Union forward in very uncertain times. If you are interested in representing the interests of students to the university and wider community, and improving students day to day university experiences, as well as meeting new people, being challenged on a daily basis and gaining a unique experience that will set you up for virtually any career – then this might be the role for you.

Wanted 6 Union Part Time Elected Officers (International, Mature, Disabilities, LGBT,

(Academic, Communications, Community and Student Rights, Finance)

The Student’s Union is an £11mn turnover charity run by students for students. We employ 100 permanent staff and up to 500 student staff. With the decline in alcohol sales in the LCR and Pub, the introduction of £9k fees the future will be challenging. Our full time Officers will help shape the future direction of the Union. Alongside you salary you will receive full training and offered fantastic development opportunities. You will be expected to: Successful candidates will be expected to Lead Union Campaigns and Democracy Improve the day to day experience of students at UEA Represent Students at University Committee’s Be Trustee of the Union AND the University* Be a director of the Unions two limited companies Support and train a variety of activists and volunteers *Finance and Communications Officers

UEASTUDENTELECTIONS.COM NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN!

Become a member of the Unions Student Officer Committee Implement Union policy agreed by Union Council Be a Trustee of the Union* Lead Union Campaigns and Democracy to improve the day to day experience of students at UEA *2 part time officers are elected by the Student Officer Committee to sit on the Unions trustee Board

Womens’, Ethnic Minorities)

Contract period 1 year April 1012 - March 2013 We are looking for 6 UEA students to represent our Equal opportunities groups on campus. If you have the dedication, energy and enthusiasm to volunteer help us take the Union forward in very uncertain times. If you are interested in making real change for your students peers at UEA and gaining a unique experience that will help you develop real skills – then this might be the role for you. Our equal opportunities officers represent the voices of their peers through campaigns, awareness, and bringing their own experiences to the Union If you are a students who self-define as Gay, Lesbian, bisexual or transsexual, a student with disabilities, from British ethnic minority, International, mature, or a woman and want to ensure that your peers a represented effectively to the Union and the University then we want to hear from you.You will receive training, be able to attend conferences and gain a variety of work-based skills, experiences and development opportunities. Successful candidates will be expected to; Become a member of the Unions Student Officer Committee Implement Union policy agreed by Union Council Leading Union campaigns based on the needs of their peers Support a variety of activists and volunteers

Wanted 4 NUS Delegates

Every year, the Union sends four elected NUS delegates to the National Union of Students’ National Conference. This year, it’s taking place in Sheffield from Tuesday 24 April to Thursday 26 April 2012. The role of an NUS delegate is to represent and vote in line with the policy of the Union of UEA Students. It’s a really good way to get involved with the national student movement, vote in the presidential and vice-presidential elections and represent the views of the Union on a national level. The Union of UEA Students is a registered charity England and Wales no 1139778

Union Pages - Elections, Nominations 2011-12.indd 1

25/01/2012 15:22:38

WIRED

31.01.2012

concrete.wired@uea.ac.uk

resident evil 6: a return to racoon city? Anyone who gives a damn about actionhorror hybrid games has been waiting for this day ever since they finally immersed Albert Wesker in lava. That’s right folks, Resident Evil is back and this time it’s for an actual proper console release, not a rehashed version of the Mercenaries mini-game on a certain 3D handheld that nobody cares about. Resident Evil 6 is shuffling onto an Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 near you, and Capcom have kindly released a three minute trailer to prove it. Resident Evil 6 looks set to continue mining the vein of action-horror that Resident Evil 4 discovered, much to the chagrin of series purists everywhere. This means no door opening animations, no fixed camera angles, and no zombies. Well actually, no. The trailer clearly shows that the parasite ridden humans of Resident Evil 4 and 5 are history, replaced with the classic shuffling undead of the early games. A small change perhaps, given that the zombies seem to act in the same terrifyingly fast, aggressive manner as the villagers in the newer titles. In fact, it seems the development team have been watching 28 Days Later and making copious notes, as one of the shots in the initial trailer is a direct lift from the underpass

scene from Danny Boyle’s masterpiece. Wired doesn’t intend to describe the entire trailer blow-by-blow, since if you’re interested you’ll get online and watch it. It is worth instead considering the recent history of the series. Previously the grand old man of horror games, increasingly irrelevant and talked about only in retro columns, the Resident Evil series was revived in 2005 by Shinji Mikami’s brutal reimagining of the games as gory, frantic action-horror. Resident Evil 4 was critically acclaimed and became a classic almost upon release, and is still one of the best games ever released for the Gamecube. Its genius lies in the incredibly tense combat, where the player cannot move while shooting and must constantly switch between manuverability and being able to defend themselves. Combined with the terrifying infected villagers, who unlike zombies are able to run, climb, use weapons and even drive, Resident Evil 4 was a non-stop explosion of guts, flames and farm implements being used for unintended purposes. Although the follow up, Resident Evil 5, was hotly anticipated, Wired found the fifth entry in the series less to his tastes, possibly due to the departure of series director

Mikami. Although Resident Evil 5 wisely didn’t muck about with the core gameplay, the game was lacking the surreal touches that made Resident Evil 4 such a treat, such as the moment where the player was pursued by a gigantic stone statue of Napleon. The fifth instalment was also marred by the decision to set the game in Africa, which resulted in some stunningly racist set pieces; including a section where the white protagonist is assaulted by hordes of black men in tribal masks who are literally chucking spears. Although charm is an incredibly difficult thing to quantify, Resident Evil 4 had charm in spades, while 5 felt charmless, created from a list of things that teenage boys like which was written on a big whiteboard in the Capcom offices. Unfortunately, the new trailer seems to be showing the same charmless things we’ve had from other games over the past few years, notably Gears of War. Grey industrial scenery, generic unpleasant monsters, muscular soldiers who spend half their time crouching behind cover. Here’s hoping the trailer is unrepresentative of the actual game, and that we get some of that old, crazy magic back. Leo Hunt

retro column: silent bomber

a bluffer’s guide to sopa

A PlayStation One game released mere months after the PS2 hit shelves, Silent Bomber was largely ignored by critics who were awed by prettier, shinier but ultimately shallower launch games on the new platform. This was a tragic oversight because Silent Bomber, a Contra-style shooter, the likes of which we rarely see today, was a perfect send-off for the 32bit era. You play as Jutah who, equipped only with a bomb launching glove and a floppy anime hairstyle, must save his space station from evil robots. Thankfully, the bare bones plot does not get in the way of what the game is really all about: fast and frantic combat. Think Bomber Man, with the aesthetics of Metal Gear Solid and the speed and fluidity of Ninja Gaiden. Initially it is effective enough just to plant bombs directly on enemies with the snappy but satisfying lock-on targeting. It does not take long for this tactic to wear thin and that is when the game really comes into its own. It becomes less about shooting individual enemies and more about controlling the battlefield as a whole. Setting up chains of bombs while using the responsive dash mechanic to avoid incoming fire, you soon realise it’s less of a

HR 3261, or the Stop Online Piracy Act, is a bill aimed at restricting online piracy and giving companies greater power in restricting the illegal distribution of their copyrighted material. While this sounds fine in principle, in its current draft, the bill not only fails to properly solve the problem it seeks to address, but also gives powerful companies potentially tyrannical rights to control the use of copyrighted material. Under SOPA, companies would have the legal right to force the shutdown of any website they deem to be illegally displaying their copyrighted material. This would not only have disastrous impact on media news sites, such as The Escapist or Kill Screen, which rely on the ability to display copyrighted material to produce balanced and insightful journalism, but could also be fatal to YouTube and Wikipedia, where copyrighted material is often the basis of their content. Regardless of this censorship, piracy will remain largely unaffected as file sharing can easily be done without the obvious display of copyrighted material, meaning it will still be incredibly hard to prove unlawful distribution. Therefore, SOPA will fail in the one thing it set out to do, but if passed in its current state, HR

shooter and more of a hybrid puzzle game. Add to this a rock, paper, scissors mechanic where different enemies are susceptible to certain bomb types (gravity, electric or napalm) and you have an easy to pick up but difficult to master combat system that just keeps giving. The designers at Bandai have crafted levels and bosses that take full advantage of their fantastic combat system with memorable enemy patterns and slow moving, dodgeable projectiles again strengthening the Contra comparisons. Unlike Contra however, Silent Bomber is fully 3D, allowing level designers to go wild with three story combat puzzles and even a little platforming. It’s not all great thought. The voice acting was uniformly horrendous and similarly, for a game about planting and detonating bombs, the audio design has little to offer. All of this considered, Silent Bomber is still a masterfully crafted game and, as the shooter genre has largely moved on from this model, it still feels fresh today. Silent Bomber has been re-released as a PS1 classic for the PS3 and PSP on the PSN.

2000

Oliver Balaam

3261 could spell the end of the internet as a communication tool protected by freedom of speech, instead leaving the internet forever moderated by copyright lawyers. Luckily, SOPA has huge opposition from many powerful internet figures and political lobbyists, including Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, the Business Software Alliance and the Consumer Electronics Association. Thanks to the phenomenal outcry against the proposed bill, including a one day blackout by Wikipedia in protest, support for HR 3261 has plummeted in the United States House Of Representatives, with President Obama even expressing his intention to veto the bill if it made it into the Senate. This has resulted in a “shelving” of the proposed bill, to allow a review and redraft. It appears then, for now, we are safe. However, it is likely that at some point, possibly in the near future, we shall see SOPA resurface. Freedom of expression is one of the core principles the web is founded on, and we need to ensure that this right is upheld, lest we lose one of the most important inventions of the century, and a life enriching medium. Joe Fitzsimmons

31.01.2012

WIRED

concrete.wired@uea.ac.uk

appy corner: grand theft auto iii

under the radar: amnesia dark descent

The portable and handheld market is fast becoming the destination for all sorts of retro games, and the release of Grand Theft Auto 3: Ten Year Anniversary Edition for iOS devices is a prime indication of this. GTA 3 smashed onto our iOS screens on December 15 2011, weighing in at a very reasonable £2.99 from the App Store. This isn’t the first GTA to land on the handhelds though as Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a port of a Nintendo DS and PSP game. However Chinatown Wars relied on top-down gameplay, whereas GTA 3 is third person. Liberty City’s transfer from PS2 is great and it is all there to browse, cruise, complete missions and massacre in. The sheer amount of gameplay in the average GTA is astounding, and to fit that into an iOS game is very impressive. The main question for most will be how the touch controls hold up against conventional buttons and joysticks. Having played through most of the story on the iPad 2 and an iPhone, the answer is: not bad. Arrows on the left steer the character (or car), and a set of buttons on the right handle everything from accelerator/ brakes to weapons and carjacking. The only

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a deftly created realisation of our worst nightmares. Its trade is fear, and it provides it in excess. The kind of fear that claws down your spine, chills your bones, leaves you unsettled, and probably needing a new pair of trousers. It is telling that Swedish developers Frictional Games insist from the onset this is a game to be played alone, in the dark, with headphones, and with no reprieve or salvation. If you can manage it, then this is possibly the most terrifying game on the market and is the closest thing there is to a true incarnation of horror. You are Daniel, and you begin by waking in Castle Brennenburg suffering from, wait for it...amnesia! Hurrah, one of the oldest tropes in the storyteller’s arsenal, and possibly the most tiresome. Except that here it works. Frictional don’t place too much emphasis on the fact that Daniel can’t remember and instead use it as an effective medium for the player to move the story along. Much of Amnesia’s horror is derived from the notion of total immersion, something which is facilitated by this effective storytelling method and a strong physics engine. The story is told in a series of flashbacks which do not interrupt gameplay but instead complement the atmosphere of Castle Brennenburg. The aim is to move through the castle towards the “inner sanctum”, solving puzzles, discovering the mystery behind your past, and generally exploring the grounds along the way. The castle

issue to be found in the otherwise watertight control system is that finding the right button in a squeeze can (and certainly will) result in many deaths. When escaping angry Triads in your shiny new “Stinger”, the last thing you want to do is misplace the handbrake button, instead hopping out of your car and being mown down by the persuing gangsters. Aside from slightly annoying controllerbased hiccups, the game has a substantial amount to offer. Flipping through the hilarious radio stations and fake ads is just as fun as it was 10 years ago. While other notable additions to the iOS version that should greatly alleviate frustrate is the “Mission Retry”, which comes as a standard in modern GTA games but wasn’t in GTA 3, and an auto save mode. Although GTA 3 shows its age graphically compared with games like Infinity Blade II, as a port of the original it really is fantastic. For all of you that played and loved the PS2 version, this brings back waves upon waves of nostalgia.

Tom Mott

itself is immaculately constructed and has been painstakingly designed to be as terrifying as possible. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of Amnesia is the lack of any combat or means to defend yourself. In other games of the horror genre, fear is generally abated through a swift shotgun blow to the face of anything that moves. Not so in Amnesia. Daniel must avoid his enemies by any means possible, whether this is hiding in a cupboard or running like crazy; the fear of being caught is a truly heartthumping experience. Hide in the dark for too long however, and Daniel’s sanity will start to wane, causing the screen to blur and eventually he will go mad. Meanwhile your only friend in the game, a lantern, has the unwanted effect of attracting the local population of monsters. This interplay of light and dark forms one of the key mechanics of Amnesia, and with the choice of retaining either your sanity or your face, it makes for an interesting balancing act. The only criticism that can be levelled at Amnesia is game tim; it takes roughly 6-8 hours to complete, which is slightly on the short side, however this means it grabs you by the neck and does not relent, never once outstaying its welcome. And at £12.99 Amnesia is an experience no horror fan should miss.

Callum Watson

wired’s top five video games that should be films 5. assassins creed

The Ubisoft mega-franchise offers a rich narrative tapestry for cinematic adaptation. Following the escapades of the two assassins Altair and Ezio throughout the Renaissance era would be a visual breath of fresh air from most current adventure films. The game’s strong emphasis on free-running and swift sword fights would no doubt keep audiences on the edge of their seats. However, the reconstruction of 15th Century Israel and 16th Century Italy would be a huge financial challenge for film makers. Incorporating the right costumes and dialects would be crucial in creating the perfect historic atmosphere. No doubt the content and story is all there waiting for adaptation, but whether movie companies would risk taking such a large project on is another question.

4. uncharted

The Uncharted series is now easily seen as one of the best reasons to own a PlayStation 3. Cinematically, the game itself couldn’t seem more like a high-octane film if it tried.

The graphics and storytelling have their own sense of Hollywood production that sets Uncharted well apart from many games on the market. As a film adaptation, it would seem foolish for the film-makers to wipe the slate clean and change things up because so much of the groundwork has already been laid out. Its success would depend on how well the film keeps what already works with something that will draw in a wider audience. The comparisons to other adventure films like Indiana Jones will no doubt help with its mass appeal but when the voice acting and animation is already so good, it’s hard to see a film adaptation being just as perfect.

3. shadow of the colossus

Team Ico’s legendary PlayStation 2 game definitely fits the bill for a game that would make an epic film. The endeavours of a young man attempting to resurrect his dead girlfriend by destroying 16 large monsters called colossi would most certainly make for a visual treat. The mystical world that the game places itself in would be a surreal

detachment from the chaos of most modern films. Arguably, the game’s premise is a little too basic to stretch out for a full length feature but its simplicity could be its greatest asset. The fight scenes between the hero Wanda and even just a select few colossi could be some of the most exciting action sequences in a video game film adaptation and would certainly resonate well with fans of Japanese cinema and sheer artistic excellence.

2. metal gear solid

Konami and Hideo Kojima have teased with the idea of a Metal Gear Solid movie for years. Early speculations have included Hugh Jackman taking on the main role as Solid Snake to rumours that even David Hayter, the voice behind the spy, had drafted his own script for the film. Regardless of what is or is not happening Metal Gear Solid should almost certainly see itself translated to film. Solid Snake’s adventures in any of his four games would be perfect for the big screen with their sublime blend of action, stealth and intriguing stories. Hideo Kojima

is notoriously known for drawing out long cut scenes within his games so the cinematic framework for a film is already there, begging for someone to take it on.

1. half-life

The closest you’ll ever get to “playing” a film. Released in 1997, this masterpiece remains as timeless as ever. Half Life arguably reinvented the first person shooter by incorporating a terrific story with socio-political zeal, aliens that look like ball bags, and a man with a briefcase and the most chiselled jaw known to Black Mesa. At once both episodic and cohesive, Half Life plays like clockwork where the action and suspense never lets up and you’re always left wanting more. As a film, there is so much potential for Half Life to satisfy all of the diehard fans as well as any fans of horror, action or adventure. With a sequel considered equal to if not greater than its predecessor, there is universal scope for a Half Life film, one that would write itself. Andrew Wilkins

FASHION

31.01.2012

concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk

the hotlist smokin’ THE NEW

Olivia Lopez Blogger, 19, owns her own vintage store. Jealous.

CRUISE COLLECTION

SEASON’S COOLEST

FROM VERSACE FOR H&M IS SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT. FROM THEIR DRESSES IN THIS

CANDY-COLOURS

TO THEIR FUN,

FRUIT-PRINT TOPS, YOU MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT

TO STOP AT BUYING JUST ONE ITEM. THE COLLECTION IS FULL OF VERSACE’S SIGNATURE COLOURFUL PALETTE AND MANY OF THE

Prints The bolder, the better.

PIECES ARE ADORNED WITH THE BRAND’S FAMOUS GREEK

KEY MOTIF.

THE PRINTED SHORTS

A MUST HAVE FOR THIS SUMMER. TEAM THEM WITH A PLAIN WHITE T-SHIRT FOR AN INSTANTLY

The New Burberry Campaign Featuring Birdsong’s Eddie Redmayne. Phwoar.

THE FRUITY THEME CONTINUES WITH THE COLLECTION’S CASUAL PUMPS.

THE FRONT OF THE SHOE GIVES THESE CUTE PUMPS A

ARE

FUN AND VIBRANT OUTFIT. THE GREEK MOTIF PLACED AT

TOUCH OF SOPHISTICATION. THEY ARE PERFECT FOR DAYS

OUT, AND THE PRINT WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH BOTH SPRING AND SUMMER. WHETHER YOU’RE WALKING ON THE BEACH OR

chokin’

SHOPPING IN DOWNTOWN NORWICH,

Muffin Tops We ate too many Snickers... and now we’re paying for it.

THEY WILL INSTANTLY BRING SUNSHINE TO YOUR MOOD

EVEN IF IT’S CLOUDY AND RAINY OUTSIDE. THE CRUISE COLLECTION ALSO EXTENDS TO ACCESSORIES. THEIR

DESIGNED BAG Kim Kardashian We wish that she would just go away.

BEAUTIFULLY

HAS A FRESH SUMMER LOOK, GREAT FOR VACATIONS, WITH PLENTY OF

ROOM FOR ALL YOUR ESSENTIAL HOLIDAY ITEMS. ALSO EXQUISITE, THE GRECIAN-STYLE EARRINGS ARE SUBTLE IN

THEIR ELEGANCY.

ESPECIALLY FABULOUS ARE THE

HOOPED EARRINGS

WITH VERSACE’S FAMOUS GREEK MOTIF. THE PRICING OF THE COLLECTION IS VARIED, SO WHETHER YOU ARE

Flatcaps If you’re under 40...just don’t.

LOOKING TO SPLURGE A LOT OF MONEY OR NOT WANTING TO OVERSPEND, THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING FOR

EVERYONE’S PRICE RANGE.

Emily Pearse

FASHION

Photo: Laura Smith, Styling: Jess Beech, Model: Charlotte Cox, Dress: Topshop

concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk

Photo: Laura Smith, Styling: Jess Beech, Model: Charlotte Cox, Dress: Topshop

31.01.2012

glam on a budget My instant reaction upon being invited to my boyfriend’s family parties is usually one of fear. The idea of being silently judged by his family is too scary for words. There is also the antagonising question of what to wear to create the right impression. So, naturally, panic sank in when I was recently invited to his cousin’s 21st birthday. The cousin in question is a cast member of The Only Way Is Essex and therefore the party was going to be covered by magazines. Outside would be swarming with people taking photos. A fashion crisis. What does a poor student wear to this kind of glamorous affair? After a few deep breaths and the realisation that a vajazzle kit and a push-up bra was not

the way to go, I thought up a few ideas on how to get a glamorous dress on a budget. Firstly, look no further than your wardrobe for your trusty black mini dress. The LBD is as classic as it gets, and with its streamlining abilities it effortlessly creates the perfect base for an accessories frenzy. Rifle through your jewellery boxes or the Topshop sale to find chunky chains, embellished collars and lashings of beads. Putting your hair up will draw attention to your added neck detail. You can also go for statement-coloured shoes and bags. Avoid black shoes or accessories with a black dress; the introduction of colour adds an instant lift to a monochrome outfit. If you must have a new dress for the

occasion, go for an unusual variation of the LBD which will not date. “Mullet dresses” (long at the back and short at the front) are everywhere this season. Maxi and midi dresses can also be found with cut out detailing on the waist, exposing just the right amount of skin. If you are going to go for a detailed dress, keep accessories to a minimum to make your dress the focal point. A cuff bracelet and box clutch will be just enough detail, and do not forget a pair of leg lengthening nude heels. If black is not your thing, base your look on a timeless era. The 1920s will always be iconic, and with Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby coming out at the end of the year, a dress in this style will see you right

through. Tiered or drop waist beaded dresses in soft flowing fabrics and creamy peach colours will always look gorgeous. You can even play around with beaded headbands with feather detailing. These kinds of dresses can be found on a budget in shops such as H&M and in the sales of more expensive shops. Just be careful with chiffon and sequins as delicate fabrics pull easily and sequins can fall off. There is nothing worse than a dress which looks tatty. Glamour really can be done on a budget, and often without looking any further than your own wardrobe. Classic is the key; you do not have to spend a fortune to make a good impression. Jess Beech

ARTS

31.01.2012

concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk

literary festival: john burnside

The first speaker of UEA’s Spring Literary Festival was the winner of this year’s Forward prize and T.S. Eliot prize: John Burnside.

Having accepted the latter award just 24 hours before his appearance here, Burnside read from his winning collection, Black Cat Bone. Despite a few issues with finding the right pair of glasses to read with, and the occasional string of coughs, Burnside read thoughtfully and clearly. His deep Scottish accent wrapped its way around the words as he delivered his poems, letting them linger in the ether for the audience to breathe in. An accomplished writer, Burnside has published novels (his latest of which won the Costa Book award this year), short stories, and two memoirs but he is perhaps best known for his numerous collections of poetry. Having been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot prize twice in the past, Burnside’s poetry has become a permanent fixture in the British literary landscape. His twinning of everyday detail with lyrical imagery grants his poems a deeply penetrative quality within an almost dream-like narrative. Reading from his poem Late Show, Burnside described “birds that look like friends I had in school/are dancing in a field of moss and thaw/and, as I watch, the darkness gathers round me/slowly, warmth and quiet in its gift”.

After the reading, Burnside took part in a question and answer session with the audience, many of whom were on the university’s creative writing MA programme and had not had chance to speak with the poet in the day due to his train being delayed. The discussion ranged from writing technique to Burnside’s relationship with Norway; having been invited to a literary event there years ago, he described being lost without a compass and driving on the wrong side of the road. In his response to questions about the practice of writing Burnside preached what he practices. Describing the quest of writing as “to say it without saying it”, he espoused the philosophy many great writers employ that less is often more, emphasising the significance of the words left out and the precision of the words left in. Burnside’s considered approach to writing was reflected through his affable demeanour and the lecture afforded literary enthusiasts a chance to hear from and interact with a poet of great importance, as well as further cementing UEA’s reputation among the creative writing community. Greg Manterfield-Ivory

an inspector calls: theatre royal J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, set in 1912, explores the issues of class and social responsibility. Director Stephen Daldry – also the director of Billy Elliot (both on stage and screen), and the heavily acclaimed film The Hours, offers a novel take on a well-loved classic. With such prestigious credentials, an audience would expect An Inspector Calls to be of the same calibre. Indeed, there were many things to commend in the show. One could almost justify watching this adaptation purely to see the beautifullycrafted set. In a play which at its heart has the didactic message: we are all responsible for each other, the set really enhanced the initial “them and us” standpoint of the Birling family. Levels were cleverly manipulated to physically mirror the class system present in Edwardian England. The Birlings’ house is

elevated off the ground, and opens out like a dolls house when the Inspector arrives: symbolic in addition to being a great set-design feat. The dramatic use of lighting onstage was also highly effective, especially the use of sepia “nostalgic” lighting in the closing scene. However, other features of the play could not boast the same intricacies. The use of “dramatic music”, for example, was over-used throughout the play, and did not seem to have the desired effect upon the audience. At one point, the Inspector had to shout over the music to get heard, and, as it seemed far too melodramatic for the scene, sniggers could be heard from the audience. Furthermore, there were a couple of moments in the play where there was such a long pause before the Inspector spoke, that it would appear that he forgot his lines. However, although the Inspector failed

to impress, the actress Kelly Hotten who plays Sheila Birling was outstanding. To conclude, Daldry’s An Inspector Calls is highly recommended to anyone interested in set design, but for those more familiar with the play, this adaptation requires one to go in with an open mind. Daldry’s adaptation transforms Priestley’s play from a classical piece of naturalistic theatre to a rather non-naturalistic performance. His actors break the 4th wall (they face the audience when they speak rather than each other) and the play heavily relies upon smoke machines and clever set design in an attempt to render this an original adaptation. Nonetheless, it was highly entertaining and, for the most part, did Priestley proud.

Katherine Holder

bicentary of charles dickens’ birth prompts celebrations of his work 7th February marks the 200th anniversary of one of the UK’s most celebrated writers, Charles Dickens. With a vast collection of fiction, non-fiction, short stories and plays that are responsible for some of the most iconic and beloved literary characters, Dickens and his work have transcended their time. His continuing popularity proves that there is still an audience for the 19th Century author. The stories and characters that epitomise a Victorian England have been reintroduced over and over to new generations. They remain present in bookshops, as his books have never been out of print, allowing new readers to discover the Dickensian world. His tales are constantly used and adapted for television, with his serial style of writing easily turning from chapters to episodes. In film we see his stories being used with new advances within film. Classics such as A Christmas Carol are told through many different incarnations, such as animation, by The Muppets and in a 3D motion-capture blockbuster. It’s no wonder that the world’s media and cultural institutions are celebrating this bicentenary by uniting to create a large retrospective of the writer and his work called “Dickens 2012”. Started in November and finishing at the end of the month, it is an international campaign and involving hundreds of organisations. It’s size, and the passion that drives it confirms that Charles Dickens remains present in our culture, and proves the timelessness of the writer and his work. Bridie Wilkinson

31.01.2012

Hi Mark! Are you having a good day? Hello, nice of you to ask! Yeah I’m having quite a nice day, just sat having an all-day breakfast here with my friend Alec, and I had a bath this morning as well which was nice and relaxing. So, so far it’s gone well! What do you think of our fine city? I think it’s very nice, quite an underrated place actually. I came to UEA a lot when I was at University; I went to see quite a number of bands there. Norwich is one of the places where I get my best audiences as well, I always sell more tickets there than almost anywhere, for reasons I’ve never understood I’ve always been quite popular in Norwich! You’ve appeared on a few panel shows – Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You etc – which one was your favourite? I’ve only done it once but my favourite was probably Would I Lie To You? It’s nice because you’re not trying to get your jokes in and there’s not pressure to prepare loads of material. Its basically like playing some sort of party game at Christmas, if you’re family was really, really witty!

ARTS

concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk

mark watson interview Generally he’s less horrifying in some ways, more horrifying in others! You’ve also written three novels, with a fourth coming out soon. What do you find harder, being a writer or a performer? It’s hard to compare because they’re both such different skills. I think there are times when you are more in the mood for sitting down and thinking, and then there are times where you’re more in the mood for the adrenaline of performing. Overall I think I find it easier writing, performing is quite hard. You have been known to perform with a Welsh accent that’s not entirely yours – what’s the story there? I’ve faded the accent out now, really, but I first started doing it when I first began stand-up to hide behind; it made it a bit less stressful if I felt like it wasn’t really my voice. It was a

way of protecting myself. Also things were funnier in a Welsh accent! I am half-Welsh, my mum is Welsh so it wasn’t a complete lie; the accent came quite naturally to me, but it was a bit of lie and in the end I got sick of it. I heard you’re a Bristol City fan – that’s a shame, isn’t it? I was born in Bristol and brought up there, and they were the local team I watched as a kid, and I believe that once you’ve got a football team you should stick with it, even though its not brought a lot of success in 25 years! My father-in-law supports Norwich and I’ve become more and more jealous of him as they get better and better. But at least we don’t have to play them now that they’re in the Premiership! You’re also a husband and a daddy – how do you balance it all? Quite badly really, but I’m working on

You’ve just released your first DVD – congrats! What has that been like for you? It was a nice feeling, lots of people have DVDs out at the moment and I was starting to feel quite left out! It’s quite a grown-up feeling, it’s like I feel like a real comedian now I suppose. What is nice is that it hasn’t affected me too much, I was worried that my mum would keep playing it at Christmas and all the family would have it, but luckily it was kept quite hush hush. What’s next for you, Mark? I’ve just done a Channel 4 show, a series about advertising, which will be on next month. I’m touring Australia in March and April which is very nice, I’ll be on tour quite a bit again this year but I’m hoping to do more writing projects, and also trying some other stuff, like hiking and just proper life activities! I’m going to try and work a bit less this year and relax more, and do stuff like drink wine!

What’s Frankie Boyle like in real life? He’s obviously less evil in real life than he makes out! He’s got one hell a beard these days (although I haven’t seen him for a few months so he might not now) but when he’s fully bearded he can be ferocious! He’s quite softly spoken and you wouldn’t think that, with that heart of darkness lurking in there.

Interview by Emma Webb

this week in arts history

... 1922

James Joyce’s modernist epic Ulysses was published in Paris on 2nd February 1922. Ulysses by James Joyce is considered today to be one of the most important works of modernist literature. It was originally published in a series of episodes from March 1918 to December 1920 in the American journal, The Little Review. In 1920 Harriet Shaw Weaver, a political activist and magazine editor planned to publish Ulysses in England as a complete book but many printers Weaver approached declined to print her edition of Ulysses, due to its obscene content. Two American publishers, one being B.W. Huebsch, who had published other works by Joyce such as Dubliners and A Portrait as an Artist as a Young Man were also interested in the publishing of the book, if Joyce were willing to make certain editorial changes to limit the profanities within the text. He refused and so Huebsch too declined to

it! It’s quite difficult because obviously at the moment I’m touring, I have to try and hope that because I’m there during the day sometimes, it makes up for me being in places like York in the evening. It makes you quiteunpopular with your family! It’s a great job in most ways but the downside is trying to balance it with having a civilised life, seeing mates as well, just things that normal people do.

publish it. On 6th April 1921, Joyce visited Sylvia Beach at her bookshop Shakespeare and Company, one of her two independent bookstores on Paris’ Left Bank, which during the 1920s was a popular gathering place for writers such as Joyce, Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway and Ford Madox Ford. Joyce told Beach the unfortunate news about his English and American publishers and Beach offered to publish Ulysses under her Shakespeare and Company imprint. By mid-April, Beach secured a printer for the job and proposed to print 1,000 copies. When Joyce told Weaver the news she organized Egoist Press to publish an English edition, to be produced after the French edition sold out. Beach and Joyce planned to publish the book in October 1921 and decided to offer the book to

subscribers, hoping to acquire enough advance funds to cover the printing of the edition. 1,000 copies of the book were published on the 2nd February 1922 (Joyce’s 40th birthday) and by 1930, Shakespeare and Company in association with the Egoist Press produced 28,000 copies. Ulysses was banned in the United States due to its obscene content until 1933 by a group called the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice but nonetheless, Ulysses was successfully smuggled into the States and by 1930 the book had readers in Europe, North America and beyond. Today Ulysses is hailed as a classic which, for all of its obscenity, is cherished by academics and will remain in print for good. Harriet MacDonald

CREATIVE WRITING

31.01.2012 concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk

poetry corner SPOTLIGHT Q&A with UEA writers. This week - Ella Chappell what are you studying? Creative Writing: Poetry masters. what’s your favourite word? Fat. I realised that Slyvia Plath uses it quite often. It’s one of those words that isn’t immediately “poetic” but can be used in really surprising yet simple ways. how do you defeat writer’s block? Stop overthinking and trust your instinct. Particularly with poetry. But then editing is required later to clarify everything. what inspires you? The connections between people. Places; real and imagined. Inexplicable things. Everything. who are your favourite writers? My favourite novelists are Jeffrey Eugenides, Alan Hollinghurst, Jonathon Franzen, Flaubert. With poets its harder to say. Hugo Williams, Ted Hughes, Ginsberg, Tim Lilburn. to kindle or not to kindle? Not to Kindle. If you sit on a book or drop it in the bath, it won’t break. Plus why would you need to take 10,000 books around with you? do you prefer handwriting or typing? Typing. I’ve got into the habit of it. But I always have a notebook with me. what’s the weirdest thing that’s inspired you? That bit of skin above your lip. where do you write? Mostly at home but I often have something going round my head when I’m out and about that will slowly

“ “ ” “ ” ” “ in the shadow of an aircraft

compost heap

holder

by Geoffrey Delaney

by Ellie Reynard

We hide in the field that was carved from planes laying bombs listen as cows lull the sun to sleep talk about doing over. We were always soldiers there gunning for it from the lobby Mum draped our scarfs around us tied your laces for you too her eyes teary from the nip.

I zipped my own coat in the end remembered sticks for swords honed you a cardboard shield forgot to take your gloves then fought too hard to see you cry.

Mum rumbled and flung the word again as she packed kisses round your fingers kneaded at your puckered skin whilst I picked at the foot I’d scraped flying over kerbs to get you home.

I’d washed your cheeks with gritty snow fretted aloud about what Mummy would say whether she’d let us come again. I learn to drive us there we slosh through craters of drying rain you teach me all the clouds’ proper names. Though we weren’t to come again we visit on the promise of cigarettes

words

Down past my shrubs and fig, my unproductive veg, Down past your herbs and our need for separate beds, Past the lawn you sowed and I refuse to mow And the shed not for me but you wanted anyhow, Past the trellis where the wind piles up the leaves, To the bottom at last, where the bin is, plus Our steaming heap of old compost. We sling in peelings, Parings, weeds, harsh words, apostle spoons, regrets; All, all our sins. It is writhing with worms and yet It is at bottom, warm as breath; soft as velvet; Moist as a kiss and dark as our rich secret.

the times, they are unchanging by James Sykes

Nothing has changed for a thousand million years. A thousand million years old and Awaiting another thousand million years to pass, Nothing has changed. Stone golem on the hillside. Why! The people weep. Why have you watched a thousand million years and Deigned not to move a single muscle? Why have you wept a thousand tears? Why have you loved a thousand loves in the way only a man can love? Why have you plagued the angels and skies and sickly fluorescent stores with your silent stares? Why have you asked a thousand questions and refused to answer a million? Why! The people weep, and Nothing has changed for a thousand million years, Except everything else.

by James Sykes

There are certain words and certain phrases That you have turned and made your own, and They have settled like stray leaves in my hair. I have tried them on my tongue But they have not fit, and They leave me with a bad aftertaste, or Sometimes in instantly regretted conversation, Lodged in my oesophagus shortly after use. Well, if you wish to choke me with your affectations and Terms of endearment, Bear with me while I cough and suck on the air, but I will stand here and allow it to happen.

creative writing events

Poetry, Prose and Translation with Michael Hulse, George Szirtes and Judith Baumel.

The second event in a mini-series of Poetry and Translation readings, hosted by the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing in collaboration with the Alumni Association Annual Fund. An opportunity to hear a mixture of prose in translation and original poetry from two of the UK’s leading poets and translators in addition to a rare appearance, by US poet, Judith Baumel. The Drama Studio. Monday 6th February, 6:30pm.

31.01.2012

TELEVISION

concrete.tv@uea.ac.uk

the sweetest sound sebastian faulks’s best-selling novel birdsong finally makes it to the screen. was it worth the wait?

Literary adaptations are always a difficult issue. For years, fans wait for their favourite novels to make the transition to the screen, so when the time does come, expectation is at its highest and the slightest deviance from their vision of the book can quickly cause disappointment. Therein lies the problem of adaptation; as each reader has their own unique experience when reading a novel, no adaptation is ever going to please everyone. But Birdsong certainly gave it a good go. The BBC drama introduces viewers to Stephen Wraysford, a young Englishman who lodges with the Azaire family in Amiens, France, in 1910. Here in the sweltering summer heat, Stephen embarks on a passionate affair with his host’s wife Isabelle,

blissfully unaware of the impending World War and the chasm it will create in the heart of Europe. The first, obvious point to make about the adaptation is that it rejected the chronological narrative of the book, instead alternating between the pre/post-war scenes. Although this was unnerving at first, fears that this interchanging style would be to the detriment of the quality of the piece were unfounded. The scenes changed fluidly and purposefully; the contrast between the old Stephen and the new, his apparent coldness in the trenches contrasting with the exhilaration he felt when he was with Isabelle, made the programme more moving throughout. One skilful example was the juxtaposition between Stephen and

new girl, old tricks? As I was talking with a group of friends (no no, honestly), one of the girls participating in the conversation (honestly) brought up New Girl. After quoting several lines from Zooey Deschanel’s character Jess, one of them remarked that it “just makes [her] feel happy”. This is exactly what New Girl aims to do. It doesn’t by any means reinvent the sitcom genre or provide any scathing satire; but then that’s not at all what it’s trying to do. If New Girl was a foodstuff, then it would be cheddar, brie, stilton, and double Gloucester all stacked on top of each other before being covered in a sugar and glitter coating. It can be very cheesy, but also quite sweet. It follows the eccentric and loveable Jess who dumps her boyfriend after discovering that he is cheating on her. She then does what every sane person in this situation would do, and moves in with three strangers she met on the internet.

The three strangers are Nick, Schmidt and Coach (who is later replaced by Winston). The three men fulfil classic male sitcom archetypes; one nice and sensitive, one overtly sexually promiscuous, and one sporty and shouty. They’re not the stars of the show however. Jess would be the result if you were to put 30 Rock’s Liz Lemon and Friends’ Phoebe Buffay into a blender. And, no, by that I don’t mean she resembles a cocktail blood and skin mush. She’s kooky and she sings constantly, and is ultimately a charming and lovely character to follow. In short, the “new girl” in question is what makes this programme so endearing; whilst the show doesn’t break the mould, and it may not be rolling-on-the-floor funny, it’s a pleasant little half hour of television which, for most people, will make them “feel happy”. Sam Richards

Isabelle finally giving into their desires and Jack Firebrace hauling an injured Stephen out of the tunnels, the exchange contrasting Stephen at his most exuberant and his most vulnerable. Nevertheless, the adaptation was mostly faithful to the book, keeping key scenes such as the pre-war trip to the water gardens and the emotional exchange between Stephen and his fellow soldier Douglas; the former, despite his efforts to remain detached from his comrades’ fates, consoling the latter, as he lies with his stomach ripped open. The acting, too, was first-class. Eddie Redmayne’s performance has been criticised by some viewers, but, judging by the comments of many others, he may be in the

curious danger of acquiring his own fan/stalker club. Redmayne certainly looked the part, but he also managed to capture the essence of Stephen’s complicated personality. He is not a typical protagonist, making it essential that he be shown as a character deserving of the viewers’ sympathy. Despite the constraints of adapting such an emotionally in-depth novel, Clémence Poésy was a delight as Isabelle, and Joseph Mawle deserves a mention for his performance as Firebrace, bringing the popular character firmly to life. Birdsong was an emotional ride, but one worth it for the stunning visuals and excellent performances. A very worthy adaptation. Beth Wyatt

FILM

31.01.2012

the descendants Directed by Alexander Payne, The Descendants is about a father, and land baron, who is forced to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife becomes comatose following a motor boating accident. Simultaneously, he has to decide the future of the large expanse of Hawaiian land he and his fellow descendants have inherited. Warning: this film is a real tearjerker. Something about the tragedy of the plot juxtaposed against the beauty of the Hawaiian landscape and serene Hawaiian music brings a tear to the eye without anything having been said. The film maintains this surreal atmosphere throughout, always toeing the line in the sand between utmost peace and tragedy. Special mention should first go to the use of music and cinematography because it is this element that allows the mostly underplayed, subtle emotions of the characters to become more poignant. George Clooney delivers a delicate performance as Matt King, the father.

Originally appearing as somewhat deflated, unlikeable and helpless in the face of familial adversity, that is, his two daughters, the way in which he deals with the matters at hand (not wanting to give too much away) eventually reverses these initial opinions about him. He sacrifices his own right for revenge and people’s negative opinions of him in order to allow their positive opinions of his wife to remain intact. One such character is King’s father-in-law, who barrages King with insults, only for King to remain silent, allowing him to uphold his decent opinion of his daughter as a martyr. Shailene Woodley plays King’s daughter who goes through a similar transition. First, she appears unlikeable, obtuse, belligerent and selfish but, when certain revelations are made clear, her actions suddenly become reserved and mature. Woodley excels in her role and is one of the driving forces of the movie, appearing fiercely independent, often rude, opinionated and yet devoted to

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

her father in his time of desperation. She goes against the usual cliché of the spoiled daughter, playing with our expectations of that particular role. King states early on that “people think that just because we live in Hawaii we live in paradise.” Interestingly, all of the characters in the film seem to fall prey to this kind of ideology. One obvious example is Elizabeth, who was entirely sunk in this kind of Hawaiian formula and subsequently brings about most of the emotional trauma in the movie. It is interesting, and genius, that we are never given a scene with Elizabeth in which she is conscious (except for one shot of her motor boating across the ocean, seemingly away from her family). This leaves her character in a state of fragmentation and we, as the audience, like the characters, are left to rebuild her personality, leaving a good question: is it better, knowing she may die, to reimagine her as a Hawaiian paradise, or as a flawed person, someone who has made mistakes and hurt the lives of those around her, even in a comatose state? What was admirable about the writing of the film was how believable the decisions of the characters were. Their actions and

decisions are imbued with a kind of Hawaiian passivity. This is not to say their reactions are boring, far from it. In fact, the passivity of the characters makes it all the more gripping and morally satisfying, highlighting the characters subconscious pursuit of an ideal Hawaiian paradise over futile and pointless conflict. One problem might be the running time. The final shot is brilliantly conceived but would have been more poignant had it ended a tad sooner, when emotions were running. People who have seen the film may disagree, arguing that the ending is a moment of peace and, therefore, doesn’t need to come earlier or be emotionally charged in order for it to be poignant. It was refreshing to see a simple, down to earth tale told and acted well with no need for flourishing stylistic choices like its fellow Oscar nominees. All in all, it is a gently brilliant film which is equally funny, relaxing, gripping, tear jerking and frightening in a way that deconstructs the stereotypical Hawaii we see in travel brochures and holiday programmes. A. J. Hodson

31.01.2012

like crazy

Having been simmering away quietly since its triumphant airing at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Like Crazy has finally been released in the UK. At only 90 minutes long, it’s a short, sharp and sweet look at a long distance relationship pushed to its limits. Anna and Jacob meet while Anna is studying in America and she makes the fateful decision to stay with him during the summer, instead of returning to England after her visa expires. US immigration catches up with Anna and she is forced to fly home and banned from re-entering the United States. The film tracks Anna and Jacob’s progress over the next five years as they attempt to make their

j.edgar It is probably fair to say that in recent years Clint Eastwood’s output has been, well, subpar. Come on, Invictus was not exactly his opus. But although J. Edgar is not a concrete return to form, it holds its own. It charts the story of J. Edgar Hoover’s strong-willed determination as he builds up his baby: the FBI. Raised by a repressive mother, played coldly yet masterfully by Dame Judi Dench, Edgar is forced to face the conflict between duty to

FILM

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

coriolanus

relationship work and try to get the ban lifted. The film is shot in a way which makes it feel extremely intimate and raw, with lots of lingering close-ups and scenes continuing long after many directors would have called “cut”. Furthermore, much of the dialogue was improvised by the actors, all of which contributes to the overall feeling of reality that permeates the film. Like Crazy is not your typical Hollywood rom-com, but rather an achingly honest portrait of an imperfect love story.

Julia Sanderson

As Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler, covered in dirt, sweat and blood, grapple violently on the floor, in a surprisingly similar manner to Alan Bates and Oliver Reed wrestling nude in Women In Love, it should be clear that this is not your standard Shakespeare adaptation. This is the Bard’s dense, convoluted and relatively unknown Roman tragedy shifted to what looks like the modern Balkans and stripped down to its barest essentials. Its themes of class, democracy and the nation state make it a surprisingly contemporary film, fitting perfectly into a world of violent protests and the Arab spring. Fiennes does a perfectly adequate job

his country and the gentle push of love that tries so very hard to conquer his steel heart. The key force of the film lies in DiCaprio’s performance, capturing Edgar’s essence and resolve while never faltering away from that classic Leo touch. The constant flicker through time periods could be seen to detract from the flow of the film. However, it actually accentuates the multifarious nature of our anti-hero. DiCaprio also generates superb chemistry with Armie Hammer, who portrays Edgar’s only true love, Clyde Tolson.

But while it boasts complexity, the film lacks direction in parts: screeenwriter Dustin Lance Black tries to cram in too many key points from Hoover’s life, dragging the film on laboriously at certain instances. However, J. Edgar ranks itself as one of Eastwood’s finer films of recent years. We see the portrait of an intricate man slowly expose its colours, while never fully revealing to the world what lay behind. Some secrets are best left hidden. Sam Warner

behind the camera and an exemplary one in front of it, turning a pitiless, fascistic brute into a disturbingly charismatic figure; his eyes alone carrying a singular determination that is almost terrifying. He has brilliant support from the likes of Jessica Chastain and Brian Cox, and even Gerard Butler turns in a fine performance as his sworn enemy. But towering over the film is Vanessa Redgrave as Coriolanus’ manipulative mother, chewing up every inch of the scenery and reminding those who’d forgotten that when she’s on form, no actress on the planet can touch her. Joseph Murphy

ranter’s corner I’m not the first to rant about Hollywood remakes of foreign language films, and I definitely won’t be the last. Let me draw your attention to a certain case study: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It’s not that I think it is a bad film or that it is worse than it’s Swedish predecessor. It’s just the same. Rooney Mara’s performance as Lisbeth is equal to Noomi Rapace’s and Daniel Craig’s to Michael Nyqvist; even the settings and dialogue look and sound like they have been directed lifted from the original. I shouldn’t be feeling this cheated by this repetition because the clue is in the word remake, but Fincher promised that this would definitely be putting his stamp on the film and I failed to see that at all. The defence from Hollywood is that they truly believe that they are doing the foreign film directors a favour because after seeing the remake, people may then watch the original. What makes this argument ridiculous is that this particular film is a crime thriller, so why would anyone watch exactly the same film again when they knew who the murderer was, just in a different language? Audiences are not stupid and can manage to read subtitles. $10,000,000 worth of people coped and they shouldn’t have to pay to see the same movie once again. Meg Fozzard

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31.01.2012

the sitter

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

the popcorn chart

leonardo dicaprio’s top 5 performances

Take Superbad, add kids. This is the premise behind The Sitter, and it actually works pretty well. Jonah Hill is predictably comfortable in his role as the not-so-cool college kid Noah Griffith. Guilt-tripped into babysitting three excessive children he regularly doles out excellent one-liners. His ability to bring the laughs is especially impressive compared to the unfortunately bland performances given by his three charges. Landry Bender is clever in her role as a young girl obsessed with make up, clubbing and being ‘hot’ but Max Records feels pointless as her elder brother and Kevin Hernandez’ character

are too extravagant to be really enjoyed. Where in Superbad Jonah Hill seemed to have great chemistry with Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, nothing of that level is ever achieved in The Sitter, and this ultimately lets it down. It also tries to give itself a more serious side as the children all confront and overcome their respective disfunctionalities, but it’s hard to take these scenes seriously and they ultimately fall flat. Despite these shortcomings The Sitter is a genuinely funny film, and well worth watching if you’re a fan of Jonah Hill. Alek Stoodley

competition Venue has 3 copies of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris on DVD to give away. To be in with a chance of winning, just answer this question:

what’s eating gilbert grape? (1993)

DiCaprio had been in a couple of films before this, (Critters 3, anyone?) but this was his real star-making turn. In a role perhaps as far away as possible from the suave star of historical drama and epic adventures we know him for today, he plays the title character’s mentally disabled younger brother, Arnie. In a role that could so easily have been annoying, a young DiCaprio found the perfect balance between frustratingly limited and disarmingly endearing. Find a copy of this indie hit, and you won’t believe it’s him.

titanic (1997)

What is the profession of Owen Wilson’s character? Email your answers to concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

Yes, it’s a cliché, yes it’s a film any one of you could have predicted would be on this list, but the numbers don’t lie: a worldwide gross of $1.8bn, 11 academy awards from 14 nominations, and the defining image at the centre of it isn’t the team of treasure hunters, it isn’t the ship’s brave Captain, it isn’t even Rose. It’s a young man, named Jack, standing on the prow of the boat, shouting ‘I’M THE KING OF THE WORLD!’ You could take so many other elements away from this film and still have it work. You couldn’t take DiCaprio.

gangs of new york (2002)

Midnight in Paris is out on DVD on 6 February, courtesy of Warner Home Video

In a film containing Daniel Day-Lewis’ chillingly real portrait of Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, it’s amazing that anyone can even remember DiCaprio was in this movie. But, look a little closer, and you begin to realise, in the quieter scenes without giant meat cleavers, gang warfare and attempted assassinations, the whole thing starts resting on DiCaprio’s performance. Without a believable character arc, a mooring rope to

guide us through the chaos, a film like this could have never survived its own three hour run time. More than any other film on this list, it shows DiCaprio’s much understated ability to work in an ensemble.

blood diamond (2006) While perhaps not the most popular drama he’s been in, Blood Diamond makes quite a good case for being DiCaprio’s most important. It’s an American film that really captures the scope, majesty, and poverty of Africa, with Dicaprio playing a diamond smuggler looking for a ticket off “this godforsaken continent”. It’s a powerful piece of work, with the constant reminder that, while you might see more distressing films, which hit closer to home, this film will always seem closer to reality.

inception (2010) It’s another ensemble cast, featuring talent from all over the world, turning the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy into mainstream stars, but this was still a film that was DiCaprio’s to lose. An “intellectual thriller” in every sense of the word, Inception gave us a fresh idea (what if people could sneak into someone’s mind and steal their ideas?) and promptly flipped it on its head. The idea being to go so deep into someone’s subconscious you could implant an idea and make it look natural. Yes, its got an incredible 3D action sequence. Yes, it has a minibus taking an age to fall off a bridge. It’s also got a man fixedly staring at a spinning top, while holding a gun next to his head. Which of those images do you remember best? Tim Bates

31.01.2012

FILM

concrete.film@uea.ac.uk

david cameron:

film preview

bringing an end to british national cinema?

As if the state of British cinema wasn’t miserable enough, what with the abolition of the UK Film Council (UKFC) last year, the Prime Minister David Cameron, that esteemed pioneer of the arts, has waded in to suggest that the British film industry should be backing “commercially successful pictures”. With the phenomenal box office success and Oscar glory poured upon British films of recent years, such as The King’s Speech, it is plain to see that Cameron believes that a film can only be valued by how much money it makes, and that the way to utilise this brief spell of success is to repeat the same formula again and again. But what exactly is this mysterious formula for mainstream appeal? The suggestion that the success of any given film can be predicted is absurd. One of the wonderful things about film as a medium is that it is unpredictable, and still has the power to enthral and astound audiences that may believe they have seen it all before. When the demise of the UKFC was announced, a victim of the coalition government’s first round of cuts, it looked like the beginning of the end for British national cinema. The quality and sheer volume of original, exciting and well-made films, such as Nowhere Boy and This Is England, that may not have seen the light of day if it wasn’t for funding from the UKFC is enough to make any film fan mourn the death of such a body. Funnily enough, Slumdog Millionnaire and The King’s Speech, two British films that went on to enjoy huge success, both critically and financially, were considered to be so vastly unappealing from a commercial point of view that they had a hard time finding funding in the initial stages of their production. These are the kind of films whose success Cameron wants to see replicated in the future of British cinema, yet these are the kind of films that owe their existence to funding from the UKFC, which Cameron’s government have now extinguished. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

“the

the hobbit: an unexpected journey

Rather than throwing money at those who already have it, or at the plethora of scripts for period dramas about various members of the royal family that are surely flooding production offices around the country in the hopes of becoming “The King’s Speech 2”, funding needs to go towards nurturing those filmmakers who may not have the means to visualise their ideas yet. There is a definite threat that our cinemas may become overwhelmed by a slew of homogenised, mediocre films with a quintessentially “British” feel, due to the success of recent films that have ridden a wave of nostalgia all the way to the Oscars. If David Cameron, in his infinite wisdom of what makes a financially bankable film, were to have his way, the stagnation of our film industry would be assured. Thankfully for us, the entire fate of film doesn’t lie in his hands, and with the recent success of films made by independent British filmmakers such as Paddy Considine and Steve McQueen, the end is far from nigh. Annie Rhodes

advent of regression”

venue explores the nostalgic nature of contemporary cinema

If you journeyed through the screens of a multiplex during last December, you could be forgiven for believing that time had been reversed to a more primitive age in the lifecycle of cinema. For row upon row, audiences could be seen re-embracing a lack of sound and re-indulging in the genius of film’s ancestral pioneers. This began when the end of 2011 saw two major releases indebted to cinema’s past, in the form of Michel Hazanavicius’ “silent” film The Artist and Martin Scorsese’s 3D vehicle Hugo. Revered for oozing a love, albeit self-referential, of cinema, the two undeniably exhibit a sense of history through their content, style and themes, pleasuring spectators through nostalgia. Welcome to the advent of regression. Since Alan Crosland’s The Jazz Singer and the emergence of sound in 1927, silent film has not been prevalent in populist cinema. Yet The Artist is a contemporary film that

With Peter Jackson back at the helm and Martin Freeman due to give a joyously apt performance as Bilbo, the first slice of the two part adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien’s much loved predecessor to The Lord of the Rings trilogy is set to be a breathtakingly magical cinematic event. Said to be “more light-hearted” than the previous films, The Hobbit follows Bilbo as he is swept up by Gandalf to join a throng of Dwarfs on an adventure to re-capture their treasure, pillaged by Smaug, the infamous dragon (voiced by the sublime Benedict Cumberbatch). The story will stick closely to the original, with Bilbo and the 13 dwarfs encountering carnivorous trolls, bawdy goblins, ravenous wargs and, of course, the riddling Golem in the depths of the Misty Mountains, where Bilbo first finds “the Ring”. There’ll also be an array of familiar faces as Andy Serkis, Ian Mckellen, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving all reprise their original roles. There is a trailer online, and undoubtedly there will plenty of sneaky tidbits released for fans to salivate over as the year progresses, but still, December has never seemed so far away.

relies on visual storytelling, utilizing the techniques that were apparent throughout the silent era: close-up profiles, title cards et al. And similarly, the cinematic techniques applied to Hugo are also firmly attached to the past, seeing that 3D has been used as a format since 1903, initially by the Lumière brothers in their picture L’Arrivée d’un Train. Despite the technological advances since that time, the way in which Hugo uses its three dimensional scope relates more to the genesis of film and its circus origins than any modern paradigm. It is used as an ode to, and literal representation of, the theatricality and trickery of early fantasy cinema. If anything, this suggests that, in an era of post-modernity, the medium’s bonds with its past are stronger than ever. “Out with the old, in with the new” is a mindset exclaimed poignantly by one title card in The Artist, but the popularity and critical successes of these two films suggest that the new can learn from the old. It is at this year’s Academy Awards where a celebration of nostalgia, that the advent of regression, may be fully realised. The two films have a combined 21 nominations, and wins for either may be the greatest tribute of all to those films, filmmakers and eras that preceded them. In an age of digital technology, where 35mm film and projectionists are dying breeds, it is a romantic thought that fragments of the past remain within, and influence, the present. Dare we ever forget it. Kieran Rogers

Here’s a checklist of things you might want to have sorted before re-visiting Middle Earth this December: 1. Get fitted with this season’s mithril (silky beige.) 2. Practise your troll impression. This may sound churlish, but it could be very useful in tight spots. 3. Sharpened Glamdring, ready for any goblins. You might want to practise warg-skinning, too (this one’s more for the ladies.) 4. Must-have: map of the Misty Mountains. (Beware of alliteration.) 5. Lose any excess finger weight: you don’t want to have to leave behind any jewellery you might find on the way because you have stubby digits. 6. Brush up on riddles. Rumour is Golem has. Don’t be scared to play dirty. 7. Make sure you’re fine with riding a really big eagle. 8. Learn dwarf names. There are thirteen of them, so memorise them by pairing them off, (Dwalin/Balin, Fili/ Kili etc.) Don’t forget: Thorin’s the boss. 9. On the off-chance that you escape giant spiders only to be captured by conniving elves, check whether you can fit inside a barrel (standard size): a useful escape method. 10. Top up asthma inhaler for dragon smoke. Harry Denniston Visit the website for Anna Eastick’s review of War Horse and Annie Rhodes’ review of Shame www.concrete-online.co.uk

COMPETITIONS

31.01.2012

concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk

across 2. Savoury pudding from Scotland (6) 6. Former F1 world champion who has recently signed for Caterham (4,9) 8. Zn on the periodic table (4) 10. What singer is the biopic ‘Walk the Line’ based on? (6,4) 11. What television quiz show does Alexander Armstrong host (9) 12. Northern most US state (6) 13. Film with the most 2012 Oscar nominations (4) 14. What is used within a Twitter message to identify a keyword or topic of interest (8) 17. Metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service (8,4) 19. Developer of the Wii (8) 21. Fear of spiders (13) 22. A travelling amusement show (8) 23. Which soul singer recently split up with supermodel Heidi Klum (4)

2 3 6

6 9

18 20

22 23

win a pair of tickets to the kerrang! tour...

6 1 7 4

3 9 5 2

1. A single shot of Goldschläger, dropped into a glass of energy drink (11) 3. What’s the surname of the twin girls in the Harry Potter series (5) 4. The Largest populated city in the EU (6) 5. Ancient Roman chariot racing circuit (6,7) 7. Footballer fined over homophobic tweet (7,4) 9. A marriage that includes more than two partners (8) 15. Country culturally part of Caribbean, despite being located in South America (6) 16. The surname European Ryder Cup captain for 2012 (8) 18. A device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices (8) 20. A contest in which opposing speakers assert their views on a given topic (6)

down

5 3 1 9 6

7 4 3 8 2

...visit

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31.01.2012

LISTINGS

concrete.listings@uea.co.uk

January/February 2011

Tuesday 31st

Wednesday 1st

Waterfront Gigs: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (7:30pm) Price: £12.50 The Waterfront

Hypnosis show: An Evening of Mind Bending with Wayne Goodman and Doug Segal (7:30pm) Price: £6 UEA LCR

Drama: ‘Coffee and Cropped Laurels’ by Joe Wright (6:30pm)Price:£6.00/£4.00 (Concessions) UEA Drama Studio

LCR Club Nights: Chase & Status DJ Set & MC Rage (10pm) Price: £10.00 NUS / £12.50 non-student UEA LCR

Waterfront Gigs: Roots Manuva (7:30pm)Price: £15.00 The Waterfront

Films: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 & 2 (7:30pm)Price: £2.80 Lecture Theatre 1

BRETT GOLDSTEIN: GREW UP IN A STRIP CLUB (7:30pm) Price: £10 Norwich Theatre Royal

Waterfront Gigs: Lester Clayton (7:30pm) Price: £5.00 The Waterfront

Waterfront Gigs: Chantel McGregor (7:30pm)Price: £10.00 The Waterfront

LCR Club Nights: Hogwarts (10pm)Price: £3.50 UEA LCR

Sunday 5th Waterfront Gigs: Kina Grannis @ WF Studio The Waterfront (7pm) Price: £10.00

Friday 10th Waterfront Club Nights: Color presents INTO THE JUNGLE (10:00pm) Price: £8.00 The Waterfront

Monday 6th

Thursday 2nd

Tuesday 7th

LCR Gigs: Kaiser Chiefs (7:30pm) Price: £25.00 UEA LCR

Waterfront Gigs: My Ruin (7pm) Price: £13.00 The Waterfront

THE WEBB SISTERS (8:00pm) Price: £12.00/£10.00Concessions Norwich Arts Centre

LCR Club Nights: Superheroes (10pm) Price: £3.50 UEA LCR

Saturday 11th

Sunday 12th

Waterfront Gigs: Alesana + We Came As Romans plus support from iwrestledabearonce and Glamour Of The Kill (6:30pm)Price: £12.00 The Waterfront LCR Club Nights: A List (10:30pm) Price: £4.50 UEA LCR Love Looks: Expressionist Nudes (11:00am - 3.00pm) Price: Free Garden House

Friday 3rd

Wednesday 8th LCR Gigs: Kerrang! Tour sponsored by Relentless Energy Drink (New Found Glory/The Blackout/letlive/ While She Sleeps) 7:00pm) Price: £20.00 UEA LCR Omid Djalili Stand Up Comedy (7.30pm) Price: £20.00 Norwich Theatre Royal

Waterfront Gigs: Sonic Boom Six @ The Waterfront Studio (7:00pm) Price: £8.00 The Waterfront

Monday 13th LCR Gigs: Big Country (7:30pm) Price: £22.50 UEA LCR

Saturday 4th LCR Club Nights: A list (10:30) Price: £4.50 UEA LCR The Floating Greyhounds + Barcode Generation (8:00pm) Price: Free The Brickmakers

Thursday 9th LCR Gigs: Mastodon (7:00pm) Price: £17.50 UEA LCR MISS 600 + the Testosta Tones (8:00pm) Price: £5.00 Advance/ £7.00 DOOR Norwich Arts Centre

Tuesday 14th Waterfront Gigs: Ghostpoet (7:30pm) Price: £11.00 The Waterfront LCR Club Nights: Anti-Valentines (10pm) Price: £3.50 UEA LCR

Photo by Harriet Jones