Issue 266 | Tuesday 28 February 2012 | Fortnightly | Free
UEA’s Independent Student Newspaper
Visit www.concrete-online.co.uk for in-depth coverage of the Union Elections Nominations are announced on Friday (2 March), and campaigning begins on Monday (5 March)
Union cuts student staff pay Michael Drummond News reporter The Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) has decided to cut student pay from September. This will affect students who work in the UFO, the Union Bar, and other UUEASrun institutions on campus. As the cuts will not be implemented until the start of the next academic year, current staff will not be affected, but those who applied for the
recently advertised 60 jobs within the Union will face a lower wage than previously. The current wage of £6.99 per hour will be reduced to £6.50, a loss of £0.49 an hour or £7.35 a week (based on a 15 hour rota). The pay is still very competitive for the type of work and the new rate of pay remains well above the national minimum wage of £4.98 an hour for 18-21 year olds. However, the reduction will undoubtedly be a loss to many who hope to work for the Union. Furthermore, Concrete
has learned that while students are having their pay cut, other staff members are being given a pay rise to deal with inflation. Senior Management have declined to accept this wage increase. A third year student, who has worked for the Union for the past two years, told Concrete: “I understand the pay cuts are needed given the deficit, but the idea is that the Union provides good employment opportunities for students, and it seems unfair that despite rising living costs, Laura Smith
Could you edit Concrete? Could you manage a team of sub-editors? Could you work 35 hours every other week alongside your degree? Do you want to gain vital employability skills? 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
If you are interested in becoming Concrete’s editor-inchief for next year, you must do the following: Send in a 1,000 word proposal, your CV, a page laid up on InDesign software (the Concrete office will be available for this purpose), and an application form, which can be picked up from the Concrete office. Applications open from 9am on Wednesday 29 February and close at midnight on Tuesday 14 March.
the Union has decided to cut the pay for student staff. While student staff get pay cuts, full-time staff in the Union seem to be getting a pay rise, which is hardly fair as most students scrape by through their overdraft as it is”. Rob Bloomer, the Union’s Finance officer, commented on the cuts, saying that savings have to be made elsewhere as part of a broader “cost reduction programme”, and that students are not being targeted. He assured Concrete that the Union “absolutely believe[s] in a liveable wage”. Furthermore, Bloomer was keen to state that the holiday pay rate of 15% offered by the Union is also much better than similar establishments, and that the overall rate of pay was higher than that of other student unions UUEAS consulted. He was also eager to add that the Union, unlike other employers, guarantees 15 hours work a week, on campus, with flexible hours to fit students’ degree schedules and busy lifestyles.
The Concrete Drugs Survey Concrete’s drugs survey is back, and we want your responses. To take part, visit www.concrete-online. co.uk from Wednesday (29 February), and keep an eye on our social media pages.
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LETTERS Dear editor,
I found the “sex issue” of Concrete to be repulsive. I felt that some of the articles were rude, ill-judged and offensive. I feel Concrete has chosen the shock factor and cheap jokes over reasonable information about sexual health. I believed the rape joke on the double page spread to be particularly offensive and inappropriate. I don’t feel the subject matter and the content in the “bad sex” article, even if it was meant as a joke, should have been allowed to go to print. I also noticed that there was a huge weight on heterosexual couples and lifestyles, which is especially bad during LGBT month. I don’t know what
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homosexual or bisexual people are supposed to get from this issue, even if it is all written as a joke. It is hard to relate to something so staunchly “heteronormative”. I also believe it is wildly inappropriate to include sexualised pictures of students on the front page. Even if they are doing this consensually, having these images around campus provides a horrible impression of Concrete and UEA as a whole. I am not blaming the Union in any way. I am simply trying to get my complaint heard by Concrete. Regards, Anonymous
Dear reader, Concrete does not condone violence against women or any suggestion to this effect. Our intention with the previous issue was not in any way to offend or cause distress to students. We apologise unconditionally for the offence the content and design of the previous issue has caused. We wanted the issue to be informative and entertaining, and the survey itself was designed to look at fun and bizarre aspects of sexuality. We attempted to use feature and comment pieces to instigate a discussion about sex, and through the use of anonymity, to offer a unique insight into sexual practices, attitudes and experiences
at the University by means of the sex survey. Through the issue as a whole, Concrete intended to strike the right balance between entertainment and discussion. We appreciate that the right balance was, in certain cases, not met, and apologise for any offensive content that has not represented the student body in the correct manner. In collating and featuring the articles we did, and featuring the couple shot on the front page of the newspaper, Concrete did not intend to represent a heteronormative perspective above any other. Chris King Editor-in-chief
THE EDITOR’S COLUMN
CONTACT US Address Union House University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ
Got a story? concrete.news@uea.ac.uk
Editorial inquiries / complaints concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk concrete.event@uea.ac.uk
Website(s) www.concrete-online.co.uk concblog.wordpress.com
Telephone 01603 593 466
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
EDITORIAL
CONTRIBUTORS
Editor | Chris King concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Deputy | Hannah Britt concrete.deputyeditor@uea.ac.uk News | James Dixon / Susanna Wood concrete.news@uea.ac.uk Comment | Joshua Resoun concrete.comment@uea.ac.uk Features | Billy Sexton concrete.features@uea.ac.uk Travel | Greg Lewry concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk Turf | Becky Hazlewood concrete.turf@uea.ac.uk Lifestyle | Hasina Allen / Rianne Ison concrete.lifestyle@uea.ac.uk International | Rachael Lum ueaconcreteinternational@gmail.com Sport | Matt Scrafton / Chris Teale concrete.sport@hotmail.co.uk concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk Copy | Amy Adams / Harry Slater concretecopyeditors@gmail.com Chief Photographer | Laura Smith Deputy Chief | Harriet Jones concrete.photographers@uea.ac.uk
News - Michael Drummond, Beth Wyatt, Amelia Edwards, Catherine Hardy, Frances Mckeown, Sophie Witts, Jo O’Connor, Chris Teale, James Dixon, Natasha Preskey, Hannah Britt Comment - Tim Rose, Ciara Jack, Roberta Phillips, Billy Sexton, Doug Patient, Jess Collett, Beth Wyatt, Joseph Murphy Travel - Cameron Tucker, Gemma Devenish, Polly Grice, Holly O’Mahony Features - Beth Wyatt, Matt Finucane, Fran Roberts Turf - Will Lacey, Becky Summers, Kaitlin McGeary Lifestyle - Rebecca Hazlewood, Miranda Hutchinson, Freya Barry, Susanna Wood, Alice Homewood, Alex Valentine, Emma Williamson International - Tamsin Lillie, Isabelle Carty, Kathleen Gustin Sport - Tom Shaw, Joshua Resoun, Billy Sexton, Kris Nelson, Jenni Barrett, Chris Teale, Proofreaders - Miranda Langford, Matthew Weddig, Beth Wyatt, Sidonie Chaffer-Melly, Susanna Wood
This issue feels a bit like the warm-up act for the headline band, which will be the 13 March extravaganza. The issue is set to feature the Union election results, the same in-depth Derby Day coverage our sports reporters produced last year, this time from Essex, and a look at Norwich Fashion Week. It will be our biggest issue of the year, quite literally. Oh, and the annual drugs survey, did I mention that? Well, I have now. Check out www. concrete-online.co.uk for details on how to take part, and keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Still, don’t put down your paper just yet. This issue still has plenty to satiate your newspaper desires. We have a plethora of BUCS matches, and plenty of articles for your delectation. Having received a small number of complaints, I feel it would be appropriate for me to issue an apology to those who felt Concrete ought not to have published certain articles and features in the previous issue (Number 265). Concrete strives to represent the student body at UEA as best as it possibly can, and largely
achieves this as the editorial team, bar myself, is staffed by volunteers. The issue as a whole was deemed to be overtly heteronormative by readers, and in response to this I wished to run through the process which led to the selection of models for the front page shoot. The previous issue’s front page stands as an example of unique and eyecatching student journalism, and it was certainly not something that any member of the editorial team, myself included, took lightly. Models were neither factored in, nor discounted, on the basis of gender, or sexuality. Finding models to take part in such a public, unclothed photoshoot was incredibly difficult, and to achieve such natural chemistry in the eventual shot was certainly a positive for the newspaper. On a final note, Concrete would like to apologise to Amelia Edwards, whose article on page 4 of News, “Occupy set to last a bit longer” was wrongly accredited to Drew Nicol in the previous issue. Chris King Editor-in-chief
MODULE ENROLMENT Are you an undergraduate student returning to UEA in September 2012? If so you will need to enrol on your modules for 2012/13 very soon. You should look out for an email which will be sent to your UEA email address directing you to all the information you need to choose and enrol on your modules for next year. Your School will be offering help and information and many will have briefings or enrolment clinics which you are strongly advised to attend. Your Hub will be able to advise if you have any queries and you can make an appointment with a member of Hub staff
if you would like any help. Your Adviser or Course Director are also useful sources of information. There will be sessions in the Arts building IT labs (Arts 1.03 and 1.04) between 26 and 30 March where you can get assistance with the actual process of making your choices online. You will get further information about these with the email. Full time students must enrol for their modules online between 26 March and 30 March 2012; part-time students will be asked to submit their enrolments to their Hub on a form by 30 March. Your module choices will be confirmed to you in an email by the end of June.
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Students reject attendance monitoring Amelia Edwards News reporter Union Council has voted to oppose the University’s new scheme to introduce classroom attendance monitoring. This scheme, as outlined in the University’s corporate plan, would involve monitoring students’ attendance at “key teaching events”, the definition of which would be dependent on the individual schools, and if students should miss these key teaching events, they would be penalised. Although the exact details are yet to be determined by the University, the Union believes that the University may be planning to use a swipe system to register students, and that penalties for students who do not attend lectures will include denying them the right to be reassessed. Already there is a new tab on e:vision where students can keep track
of their attendance, but the findings of monitoring so far could not be described as particularly useful, as some lecturers have not submitted data about their class. Tash Ross, Community and Students Rights officer, proposed that the Union take a stand against attendance monitoring. She claims that such a system would be a waste of student time, and that, especially when students are paying up to £9,000 for their education, it should be up to them how they spend their time. Ross claimed that students now should be thinking: “I’m an adult, I pay for my education and I’ll take it how I want.” The Union of UEA students has resolved to take several steps to prevent attendance monitoring and lobby against ith where possible. Ross pointed out that the Medical students’ attendance of lectures is already being monitored, but claimed that monitoring their education
Harriet Jones
was fair as it is NHS funded. The Union is only planning to lobby for students in fields where they will be funding their own learning. The Union has also resolved to emphasise to the University that they should be focussed on improving the
quality of teaching events to make the students want to go, “rather than simply forcing students to attend”. It is also going to investigate and report back on attendance monitoring at other institutions to find out whether this is effectual in aiding students’ learning.
Essex are ready, are we? No ID? Beth Wyatt News reporter With Derby Day fast approaching (Wednesday 7 March), questions have been asked of the Union’s efforts to publicise the event. Posters displayed around the University, created by the winner of a competition to create the best design (which closed on 24 February), were put up on Monday 27 February, just over a week before the competition. In contrast, Essex University, the host of 2012’s Derby Day, revealed its first poster online on 8 February and another three on 21 February. The first image features a group pose and the final three posters feature one individual, side-profile, roaring, with the posters emblazoned with the slogan “prepare for glory!” The Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) told Concrete that the reason it decided to create the poster competition, rather than designing one itself, was because of negative feedback
towards 2011’s offerings. UUEAS drew upon an article Concrete published last year commenting on the dismal reaction of many students and the belief held by these students that, if given the opportunity, they could do a better job. The delayed appearance of UEA’s Derby Day 2012 posters, UUEAS argued, was not an issue as Essex is hosting this year’s event. Rob Bloomer, the UUEAS Finance officer, said: “The people who are going to play broadly already know, and there is not a huge contingent that want to go and support teams. The posters are going out a week in advance, which we think is perfectly reasonable. “We also have a huge number of messages going on at the moment, nominations for election was our priority message, and Derby Day now becomes that priority message as nominations have closed. This will change again when campaigning begins. It’s all about the Union making sure our key messages get out at the right times”.
No LCR
Campus cards will no longer get students into the LCR. From Friday 25 February, revellers will need a full photographic license or passport to get into Union-run venues. Traditionally, the UEA campus card has served as adequate identification for the LCR and Union bars. Now, however, the Union of UEA Students is clamping down by requiring standardised forms of valid identification and is also implementing a “challenge 21” policy. Susanna Wood
Essex’s Derby Day publicity poster (above) was uploaded to Facebook on 21 February
A NUS campaign: “come clean” Prince of Wales visits Norwich The National Union of Students (NUS) has just launched a new “come clean” campaign to tackle hidden course costs. Research has found that no matter the level or subject of study, students still face extra costs, which, for the most part, they knew nothing about. The NUS are therefore calling on universities to commit to full transparency about course costs prior to application,
absorb essential costs within the tuition fee and offer means tested support for non-essentials. All university students’ unions are being encouraged to take part, as UEA has, and the NUS will shortly be publishing a ‘Totalizer’ for students to add up hidden costs online. Catherine Hardy
The Prince of Wales visited Norwich this Monday (27 February). The prince spent the morning in Great Yarmouth, and met with staff and patients at a specialist palliative care centre on Unthank Road, Norwich. The Priscilla Bacon Centre provides care for individuals and their families suffering from advanced progressive diseases, including cancers and long
term conditions. It is run by Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust. Prince Charles also has established links with UEA as he became patron of the School of Environmental Sciences in 1992 and made his latest visit to the university in 2010.
Frances Mckeown
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Fair access director appointed by Cable Sophie Witts News reporter The appointment of a new government director of the Office for Fair Access to Higher Education has met with a conflicted response from universities and within parliament. In a move The Spectator called “depressing”, Business Secretary Vince Cable defied a Conservative backed report rejecting the appointment of Professor Les Ebdon and confirmed he would take up the directorial position later this year.
The decision has been heavily criticised by both Conservative MPs and universities within the Russell Group, many of whom have taken umbrage at Ebdon’s proposed policies concerning widening university participation amongst deprived households. Earlier this month Ebdon voiced concern at the Russell Group’s “mixed” record on admitting students from lower income families, confirming his willingness to enforce “nuclear” penalties on institutions failing to reach their admissions targets, including stripping them of their ability to charge the maximum £9,000 fee.
Dr Wendy Piatt, director-general of the Russell Group which represents 20 of the most academically selective Universities in the UK, criticised Ebdon’s appointment and argued that his proposed admissions targets would “disincentivise” institutions from continuing schemes for recruiting students from struggling areas. Dr Piatt added that such targets failed to address the key reasons for a lack of disadvantaged students applying to leading universities, and their failure to achieve “the right grades in the right subjects at school”, an issue she claimed universities were unable to address.
Such criticism has been rejected by Cable, citing Ebdon as having a wealth of experience working in higher education and “the qualities and determination to help those students from low-income or other under-represented groups to secure the places in higher education that their attainments and potential show they deserve”. Labour have been swift to voice their support for Ebdon, with Paul Blomfield MP claiming Ebdon had been subjected to a “political ambush”, and that: “It is students from poorer backgrounds who will suffer from this appalling gameplaying”.
Norwich voted seventh heaven in poll Charity football match at Carrow Road Jo O’Connor News reporter A recent study has found that Norwich is the seventh happiest place to live in the UK. Property website RightMove asked UK residents to rate the living conditions, safety levels, and the general community feel of the town in which they reside. Norwich was one of only three southern cities that made it to the top 10, and though not even deemed bronze medal worthy in the joy stakes, there are still plenty of reasons why Norwich made the grade. There is UEA itself, which recently smashed the Student Choice awards by being crowned the overall top English university. It was also voted best in the UK for its accommodation and students’ union. The characters of Norwich also set it apart from other places. What other city
can count Stephen Fry, Delia Smith and the legendary Clive Ashcroft among its patrons? And let’s not get started on the puppet man. Light entertainment has never looked so retro. Alice Homewood, an undergraduate at UEA, loves Norwich for its wide range of nightlife on offer. She said: “I love the great live music scene here, there’s a different event every night.” Fellow student Alice Lewzey agrees. She added: “I also like all of the little streets, like Rampant Horse Street, that you just want to get lost down”. Norwich indeed has a signature charm not found in other cities, characterised by its cobbled lanes and vintage shops set against the colourful iconography of the famous market Whether you like Norwich when you’re trawling the many shops, exploring the broads, or studying at our own concrete jungle, rest assured you will be doing it with a smile.
Chris Teale News reporter Staff and students at UEA are being offered the chance to play on the hallowed turf of Carrow Road in support of Childreach International in May. The event is being organised by UEA’s Raising and Giving Society, and the money will fund Childreach International’s work to increase the accessibility of healthcare, education, rights and protection to children in developing countries across the world. The event occurs on Thursday 31 May, and lasts from 9am until 12pm, and is a superb opportunity for fans of Norwich City Football Club to have exclusive use of the Carrow Road pitch. All of those participating will be asked to either raise or donate £50, and for this sum they are guaranteed the use of the home and away dressing rooms, showers,
free car parking, and will have Norwich City Football Club stewards and staff available on the day itself. In addition, those wishing to watch the morning’s events are also being offered the opportunity to do so either in the Directors’ Box, home to Delia Smith and Stephen Fry amongst others, and the surrounding areas in the Geoffrey Watling City Stand in return for a donation to the charity. Childreach International’s work focuses on seven developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and has seen them help thousands of children in those areas since the charity’s founding in 2004. Further to this, they also look to influence governments and the general public, and raise awareness about the work they do. The chance to play on the pitch at Carrow Road is one that does not present itself too often, and anyone that is interested in taking part should email t.stratton@uea.ac.uk for more information. Lizzy Margereson
Laura Smith
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Number of undergraduate courses drops by a quarter James Dixon News editor A recent report published by the Universities and College Unions (UCU) has outlined a 27% fall in higher education courses across the UK from 2006 to 2012. The number of courses on offer decreased from 70,052 in 2006 to 51,116 in 2012. With students set to pay fees of £9,000, the statistics display a narrowing of academic options for students studying in the UK.
The report, titled “Choice Cuts: How Choice Has Declined In Higher Education”, detailed a 31% decrease in courses offered in England, whereas Scotland saw a minor drop of 3%. The report delved into the regional offering across England. The east of England, which includes UEA, claimed the second highest regional decrease with
a percentage shrink of 40.9%, a cut of 1056 courses. The south west witnessed the highest decrease, at 47.1%. Almost half the courses offered were cut in the last six years. The information arises after the contentious closure of the UEA School of Music. James Ladyman, professor of philosophy at the University of Bristol stated: “I am really concerned that under the new funding environment universities will look at concentrating their resources on courses which they believe will deliver the highest financial return”. UEA markets itself as “an international university” and prides itself on its “top quality academic, social and cultural facilities” provided to “over 14,000 students”, who benefit from the breadth of courses. UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt also commented: “We fear ... that nervous universities will look to axe even more courses that they worry won’t make a profit”. Hunt added: “If we [Britain] want to compete globally, we simply cannot have areas of the country where students do not have access to a broad range of courses”.
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Graduate prospects vs school leavers According to new figures, 2011 was a bad year to graduate. Graduates fresh out of university found it harder to get a job than students who had just finished their A-levels. Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 25% of 21 year olds who left university with a degree in 2011 were unemployed, in comparison with only 20% of 18 year old students who had left school after completing their A-levels. Even more shocking is the statistic that only 26% of 16 year old students with GCSEs were unemployed. These figures would suggest that you have 1% more chance of getting a job if you spend three years doing a degree. It would appear that youth unemployment is the highest it has been since Madonna told us how it felt to be Like
A Virgin in the 1980s. However, the number of students leaving education after A-levels was smaller than the number of students graduating from university which can make the statistics misleading. Charlie Ball, Deputy Director of Research at the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, said that despite the depressing statistics, those finishing university were likely to get a job within six months of graduating. Furthermore, research by investment firm Skandia shows that, on average, a person with a degree will earn £1.6m during a 45 year career, whereas a person who leaves education after their A-levels will earn just £1m.
Hannah Britt
Stopping traffik at UEA
JAPAN
Kingdom of Characters 4 February - 24 June 2012 Only UK venue, admission free
Matthew Morton
Natasha Preskey News reporter
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts www.scva.ac.uk
Organised by
Images clockwise from top left: © Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK, TV Tokyo, ShoPro, JR Kikaku. © Pokémon. ; © Mine Yoshizaki/Kodokawashoten, SUNRUSE, TV TOKYO, NAS, BV; © BRANDAI . WiZ/TV TOKYO . 2009TeamTAMAGOTCHITV; © 2010 SAN-X CO. LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; © 2006 Nagaru Tanigawa . Noizi Ito/a member of SOS
One of UEA’s many cause-driven societies, “Stop the Traffik UEA”, partook in an innovative event to raise awareness on campus this week. Over 100 students took to the square where they were photographed holding a sheet of cardboard displaying slogans such as “Real men don’t buy girls” and “I’m not for sale. No one should be”. The photos were then used as profile pictures on Facebook meaning they could then easily be seen by hundreds more people, raising the profile of the cause even further. The society plans to take the campaign into the city centre in the hope of making sex trafficking a more prominent issue not only in the student consciousness but also with the public. Formed in 2006,
Matthew Morton the society is part of the global “Stop the Traffik” organisation which fights to end the sale of people and protect victims of trafficking. The movement comprises of 1,000 member organisations in 50 countries across the globe. UEA’s campaign follows in famous footsteps. Celebrities such as Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake helped to publicise a 2011 anti-sex slavery campaign by the DNA Foundation, which is run by the recently parted actor/ activist couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. They were photographed holding sheets sporting the same slogan and made YouTube videos which received more than 200,000 views. Viral internet campaigns such as these highlight an ever-growing relevance for social media in charity and campaigningare these styles of campaign the petitions of the future?
o i n u a w a 1 0
union awards 2012
scan me to nominate
Tues 13th March
Celebrating the achievements of students and staff involved in the Union of UEA Students, from clubs & societies through to school reps.
Know of someone who deserves an award? Think a club or society have done amazing stu stuff this year? Want to make sure the hard work someone has put into representing students isn’t ignored?
Union of University of East Anglia Students (UUEAS) is a registered charity England and Wales no 1139778
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It is what they do for a Union elections: the big issues living, can we be surprised? A lot of fuss seems to have been created over the recent fracas that occurred between David Haye (pictured) and Dereck Chisora following the latter’s defeat to Vitali Klitschko in Munich. The majority of this centred on their supposedly disgraceful behaviour and the shock over what they’d done. But surely fighting each other is what boxers are supposed to do right? Apparently not as the German police arrested Chisora, and attempted to arrest Haye before he fled the country. The British Boxing Board of Control have also threatened to prevent either of them fighting again. This seems exceptionally harsh considering that they were essentially doing what they are paid to do. You wouldn’t f o r example expect a footballer to be arrested for playing football. However, the fight did take place at the postmatch press conference, which while possibly was not the most opportune place, it is still completely inexplicable why anyone is remotely surprised by what occurred. A boxer’s
job consists of punching someone else repeatedly with the intention of making them lose consciousness. Therefore, the fact that they may also occasionally threaten to “burn” people and “shoot them dead” should not be a cause of concern. Boxer’s themselves must be slightly mentally deranged, considering they actually agree to be subjected to what goes on. There has been some speculation that what occurred was an elaborate set up designed to drum up publicity for a future bout between the pair. This would form part of the long tradition of boxer’s selfpromotion, exemplified by Muhammad Ali’s goading of Joe Frazier before their legendary fights. If this is truly the case, massive respect must be given to Chisora, as not many people would consent to being hit in the head with a tripod by a former heavyweight champion of the world purely to get media attention. If he does get banned from boxing a career in professional wrestling, surely has to be an option. For Haye the future is less clear, as following his flight from Germany, he evaded the British media, escaping to Las Vegas for “party time”. He seemingly cares little for the furore he inexplicably created.
Tim Rose | @TimCMRose
It is that time of year again, the time of year where the Union election campaigns begin, and you, as a student here at the University, and as a member of the Union of UEA Students, get to have your say in who will lead the Union for the coming year. As the election campaigns kick off on
5 March, you may be thinking to yourself: “What are the big issues? What should the candidates be talking about? What should I be thinking about as a voter?” Well, never fear, as Concrete is here to highlight the four big issues which your candidates should be discussing.
The deficit
The University
The Union is in a financial slump. Although its reserves will keep the Union afloat for the immediate years ahead, reforms have to be made now to ensure the Union’s long-term viability. As a Union Officer, it is not their job specifically to tackle the deficit; rather, they should be wary of what they can promise during their election campaign. Candidates cannot, for example, promise to buy a helicopter to transport students to and from Derby Day.
The intake of students joining UEA in September will be the first cohort paying £9,000 in tuition fees, and as such, the Union has to be ready to continue to monitor, support, and campaign on behalf of these students. The University is moving towards a paternalistic attitude towards the student population. All candidates will need to know of the Universities corporate plan, and know how to defend the rights of students.
Employability
Campaigning
This is the new buzzword, not just at UEA, but across the country. As finding work becomes ever more competitive, the Union has to have a plan to become an expert voice on employability, and have some ideas on how to offer students real work opportunities, to better prepare them for the ‘real’ world. The University has gone to great lengths to promote employability, and the Union must ensure it offers the same level of support to students in this regard.
A large part of the Unions’ work is to campaign on issues which affect students. As an officer though, you are representing the entirety of the student body, as such, they must be able to successfully find out what the students want to campaign on. It is no good for a candidate to promise to campaign on establishing a moon base for the Union, as the chances are not many students would be willing to campaign on this issue.
Window shopping in Amsterdam is a travesty “50 Euros for a suck and a fuck”. Now, you might think, “Not bad. Sounds like a right bargain”. Or perhaps, like me, you notice this price-tag is only directed at those possessing a penis. In Amsterdam’s notorious red light district you can purchase anything from designer shoes to a human (primarily female) body, if only for a short time. With 142 legalised brothels and 500 well-lit windows, filled with prostitutes for your perusal, Amsterdam has become a tourist hotspot. But at what price? For me, Amsterdam’s attraction was its relaxed attitude and the range of things to see and do. However, unlike some, when I say “things to see and
do”, I do not mean the prostitutes. It has become a “lads on tour” destination, with stag parties venturing to Amsterdam where they can legally pick and choose from a variety of women to purchase for sex, or watch live sex shows. My aversion to this practice does not stem from prudishness or being boring. I’m all for people having fun and experiencing new things. Though I personally wouldn’t be comfortable buying sex, what I ask is: where are all the men?
to put themselves on display, and as a result, make a tidy sum - so is it really that bad? I don’t want to speculate on how such women chose prostitution as I’m sure each has their reasons. However, what I do understand is that it can be a very dangerous industry, appealing purely for its economic perks and with many feeling they don’t have much of a choice. Formerly, brothels were generally run by madams, but nowadays, they are largely managed by Dutch and
“Like the men that traffic the girls and run the brothels, the government also collects off this largely female profession as their work is taxed. This, of course, is incentive enough to keep it legal ... Right?” On my visit, I did not see one man displayed, highlighting that this commodification of sex is only for men. The women play an integral part as objects to be bought and discarded. However, performing is exactly what they are doing. In the book Backstreets, female prostitutes explain that the separation of mind and body is crucial to their survival. You may argue that these women choose
eastern European pimps, meaning the profession has become one controlled by men, for men. The mayor, Job Cohen, highlighted prostitution’s risks in this statement: “This is no longer about small-scale entrepreneurs, but ... big crime organizations [which] are involved here in trafficking women, drugs, killings and other criminal activities. We’re not banning prostitution, but we are cutting
back on the whole circuit”. Like the men that traffic the girls and run the brothels, the government also collects off this largely female profession as their work is taxed. This, of course, is incentive enough to keep it legal ... right? With legalisation, the benefits to the industry include: more sanitary conditions, an appearance of safety, and help from the authorities if required. Nevertheless, with this district high on many tourists’ check lists, and with company-run tours available, the objectification of women is legitimized and perpetuated. Exhibiting these women, amongst plastic mannequins and designer things, clearly contributes to the objectification and dehumanization of the female body. I don’t know about you, but I, personally, do not wish to be equated to a Chanel tote. Serving a purpose, a commodity, but equally expendable. At the cost of becoming less of a human being – in men’s eyes and one’s own – I hope you agree that 50 Euros is hardly a fair deal.
Roberta Phillips | @ribenatoothkind
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For Billy Sexton @billysexton
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THE BIG DEBATE
Against Doug Patient @DougPatient
As the incidents of racist abuse in sport grow, and the Olympics drawing ever closer, Concrete asks:
Is racism a deep-rooted problem in modern sport? Over the past few months, racism in sport, particularly in Premiership Football, has been at the forefront of topical discussion. Sparked off by the infamous situation that involved Liverpool striker Luiz Suarez and Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, the saga has continued to tarnish what is a truly spectacular Premier League campaign. It has even breached the ranks of the English Football Association. What does it say about our country if the captain of our national team is charged with racially abusing a fellow countryman and is set to stand trial in the summer? With our capital set to host the greatest sports show on earth this summer, it’s certainly not an attitude Great Britain should be portraying to the rest of the world.
of the home stands whilst playing at FC Porto. Chants reached a crescendo when Balotelli was substituted. However, it’s not just football in which there is deep-rooted racism. Although somewhat outdated, in 1997, Tiger Woods became the first African American to win a major professional golf tournament. Fuzzy Zoeller, an older, professional golfer commented: “He’s doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it.” Although Tiger eventually accepted an apology from Zoeller, if Zoeller’s comments aren’t an example of deep-
The recent racial cases in football, especially between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra, have deeply saddened me. The incident was blown out of all proportion by its handling within Liverpool FC, whose reputation has been tarnished by the debacle. I do not believe that racism is a deep-rooted problem though. There are a number of points to my argument here. First of all, taking football in particular, I look at the history of racism in the sport in order to gain a perspective on the most recent occurrences of racism. Then I explore what the media-storm surrounding the Suarez-Evra incident revealed. Finally, I note that sadly the nature of the racial insult makes it attractive to the ignorant, who wish to cause maximum offence to their victim.
of it going on. Not once in the many games that I have attended, at Chelsea, Millwall, Norwich, QPR, Charlton and others, have I heard racial abuse directed from the stands. Of course, there has been the odd recorded incident at grounds, but nothing to suggest that it is deep-rooted in the game. The media have created a storm over the recent incidents, even going so far as to condemn John Terry as guilty before he has been proven to have committed the offence. While I do not agree with this, the media have created an atmosphere where anybody perceived as a racist is named and shamed, and this cannot be a bad thing. The outcry in the media and public spheres shows that there is a condemnation of racism in sport. The
“What does it say about our country if the captain of our national team is charged with racially abusing a fellow countryman and is set to stand trial in the summer?”
“Racism is not dead and buried, and sadly it probably never will be completely, but the majority of people involved in sport are actively against it”
Of course, many of us who play competitive sport would have experienced the times when tempers run high and the desire to win overcomes common sense. Some would argue that this applies to the John Terry situation. Terry’s team were two men and a goal down, he was overcome by passion and the desire to win and in the heat of the moment, said something he clearly shouldn’t have said. Admittedly, it may be the case in this situation, but it does not excuse the deep-rooted racism that exists not only in football, but in other sports too. Racism in football, the majority of the time, finds its origins in a minority of fans, hooligans, usually. Fans are respectful of all who partake in sport, regardless of their team, ethnicity, skin colour or religion. As little as two weeks ago, two black Manchester City players, Mario Balotelli and Yaya Toure, claim they heard chants from certain sections
I believe that by looking at the history of the sport, we can gain a sense of the context of the situation. If we observe the 1980s, racism in football was widespread throughout England. It makes me ashamed to be a Chelsea FC fan to find that Paul Canoville was abused by Chelsea’s own fans, as he warmed up before making his debut for the side. Garth Crooks, the much-loved pundit for BBC, had to endure racist chants and banners during his time at Tottenham Hotspur. Indeed, one of the enduring pictures of the decade was one of John Barnes back-heeling a banana off the pitch during a match for Liverpool against Everton. Looking at the situation now, it is fair to state that the issue has improved radically over the years. Indeed, there have not been many recorded incidents before the events in 2011. Growing up in the 90s and the early 00s, I do not remember any prolonged discussion about racism, presumably because there was not much
rooted racism, then I don’t know what is. It can be argued that white competitors and supporters sometimes feel threatened by young black talent. One could go as far to say that Zoeller was jealous of Wood’s success. Zoeller had only won two major tournaments in his golfing career, which Woods would soon surpass. This can be likened to a situation that presented itself in Formula One just a few years ago. Lewis Hamilton, the first black Formula One driver notoriously and admirably took the challenge to fellow teammate and double world champion, Fernando Alonso in his rookie season. So yes, there is deep-rooted racism in sport. Although sometimes certain individuals don’t engage their brain before opening their mouth, a minority of spectators can tarnish the reputation of the sport, and certainly don’t convey the views of the majority of fans, who simply want to see their favourite athletes do what they do best.
reaction of the English FA underlined this, with an eight match ban and a £40,000 fine for Suarez, the strongest sanction against racism ever recorded. Lastly, racial abuse is the lowermost form of insult, encapsulating the most harrowing form of prejudice. It is sad but true that there is going to be the odd ignorant fan or player who stoops so low that they use this form of insult. They know that they are going to get a reaction, which is usually the objective. In 2009, Jason Euell, a Blackpool FC substitute, was racially abused by a fan in the stands. This fan was in a minority though, with the majority of those in the same section being unhappy with his actions. So, racism is not dead and buried, and sadly it probably never will be completely, but the majority of people involved in sport are actively against it. Hopefully we can look back at these recent incidents as rare happenings rather than common occurrences.
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The Queen defends the faith Time for the government to shelve Recently the Queen has come out in defence of the Church of England, saying that the church has a duty to defend the free practice of any religion in the United Kingdom.
who the Queen actually is and taking this whole defending the church thing rather out of context. Unlike those who are rushing to take a stand on this rather complex issue,
“The simple fact is that the Queen is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. She is not just a head of state but the head of a religion. Consider her an English version of the Pope” This was in response to comments made by Baroness Warsi, as she warned us that Britain is under threat from “militant secularisation”. There was also some kind of kafuffle about prayers at council meetings, and it’s all descended into some kind of brawling mass with a looselydefined group of liberals and Daily Mail columnists squawking at each other about petty things and making vast sweeping statements on the subject (rather like I’m doing) before descending into a pile of furious fisticuffs. Probably. The thing is, it’s just a little bit redundant. People seem to be ignoring
please remember the simple fact that the Queen is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. She is not just a head of state but the head of a religion. Consider her an English version of the Pope (without looking like the Emperor from Star Wars) or the Dalai Lama (without the neat glasses). Would either of these two not stand in defence of their respective churches? Would either of them denounce or defame their religion? No. So we shouldn’t expect the Queen to stand idly by and not praise the Anglican church. It is her church after all. It was founded by a particularly despotic king for the monarchs of England. It is impossible to remove religion from her role, as it is inexorably entwined into the role of an English monarch. Our Queen is our spiritual leader, whether or not we like it and whether or not she actually does the job. At her coronation, she made a sacred oath to God to defend the faith within her realm. Should we, as an increasingly secularised society, ignore the solemnity of this, or maybe even mock this? No. Simple as that. Sure, I’m an atheist, but since when does that give me the right to mock people’s sincerely held beliefs? She’s taken a divine duty to protect the Church of England, so I say do what you have to do, Queenie, one is not going to stop you.
Jess Collett | @_Dottie_Smith
its shelf stacking proposals If its objective is to irritate us, the coalition is certainly making good strides. Its latest blunder was revealed during the week of Monday 13 February when the Guardian and other publications reported the government’s plan to cut benefits. Now when first hearing that the government was going to declare war on benefits, I thought: “Great, people who are capable of working should get off their arses and contribute to this country”. However, these latest plans are not attacking people who deserve it, but rather vulnerable members of society. Once Clause 54 of the Welfare Reform Bill is successfully passed through parliament, it is thought that this new benefits policy will be announced. Under the plans, individuals who receive employment and support allowance and are allocated to Wrag (Work Related Activity Group), and could be coerced to complete work experience placements for businesses such as retailers and charities. So people with illnesses such as terminal cancer, mental health problems, and those who have been involved in accidents or had a stroke, may have to complete a demeaning, unpaid work experience placement for an unlimited period of time. Non-disabled participants in government
work experience schemes are given a limit of eight weeks, so why are individuals with severe illnesses being singled out to work for an unlimited duration? Numerous organisations have slammed the proposals, such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) which said it wondered whether Jobcentre Plus staff and other individuals could “make appropriate decisions about what type of work-related activity is suitable for claimants with mental health problems.” The most farcical aspect of the policy is the fact that terminal cancer patients with more than six months to live will be deemed well enough to undertake the programme. So don’t worry if you only have seven months to live, you’re healthy enough to get the honour of working unpaid for Poundland in your final months. Cancer is a debilitating illness that ravages its victims bodies, and the individuals with cancer in Wrag have such an aggressive form of the disease that it has become terminal. I imagine themselves, and their families, would prefer it if they could live out the rest of their days in peace rather than stacking shelves for the government.
Beth Wyatt | @WyattBeth
Musicians should stay clear of politics, if America is to go by “Hold tight to your anger, and don’t fall to your fears” commands Bruce Springsteen on his new album Wrecking Ball, heralding his brave decision to keep traversing the minefield that occurs where politics meets music. Political songwriting may have many crowning achievements, but for every Masters of War there’s a Wind of Change, whistling at you like a salacious hair-metal builder. In music there’s a fine line between the heartfelt addresses of Billy Bragg and Dizzee Rascal’s frankly surreal Newsnight appearance in 2008, a sight so bizarre you were left wondering if Noel’s House Party was returning to our screens. Although his wealth and success have lessened his status as the voice of disenfranchised, blue collar America, Springsteen has it easy as far as politics are concerned. America is so divided along party lines that it would be stranger for a musician not to fall down on one side or the other. On our side of the pond however, this clear cut line seems to have tangled itself into a worse mess than a pair of unattended headphones. The glory days of Bragg and the fierce, if a little vague, polemic of the Clash have given way to the King Blues taking a stand on whatever non-issue the bloke down the pub has
mentioned to them this week, and a bumbling, if well intentioned, appearance by Will Young on Question Time. In America, musicians are regularly seen out on the campaign trail. George W Bush claimed that accusations of racism levelled against him by Kanye West were some of the lowest moments of his presidency (clearly forgetting about the multiple wars, major terror attacks and the fact that he became the only person in the history of existence to fall off a Segway). In Britain, a musician trying to become involved in politics is more likely to be acting, and often looking, like Vyvyan from The Young Ones. But perhaps it’s a good thing that over here, musicians have no real impact on political matters. Just imagine if Bono held genuine power, and then be afraid. Be very afraid.
Joseph Murphy
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Europe
Probably the best place to start is in the Alpine foothills of Salzburg, Austria. In the 1960s, the city became the scene for one of musical film’s greatest treasures, The Sound of Music. The movie took home five Academy Awards, and made Julie Andrews a household name. Prior to the 1960s, Salzburg was famous for being the birthplace of the wunderkind composer, Mozart. Yet, since the film’s international success, most tourists journey to the city with the intention of visiting the film’s main locations. However, the massive irony is that while this classic film has become Salzburg’s fattest cash cow, it is incredibly unpopular amongst the Austrian population. The
Some of the more profound films of the last decade have been based in the diverse continent of Africa. Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland and Hotel Rwanda portray war-ravaged nations on the brink of destruction, yet tourism to these areas has increased significantly. As these examples show, real-life conflict can draw people to even the remotest of locations. Fictionalised events of warfare can also have a similar effect. Since the Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy took the world by storm,
TRAVEL two sites in the North African nation of Tunisia have become synonymous with the series. Chott-el-Gharsa and Matamata, in Tunisia, depict the planet Tatooine, the birthplace of Darth Vader and his son, Luke Skywalker. Since the completion of filming, these spots in the middle of the Sahara have become inundated with tour groups of Star Wars aficionados, and are frequently used by the Tunisian Tourist Board as part of its advertising campaigns.
Africa
majority of Austrians either don’t know the film, or fervently hate it. Remaining in Europe, Alnwick Castle, a medieval fortress set amongst the rolling Northumberland countryside, was used from 2001 in the filming of the highestgrossing film franchise of all time: Harry Potter. The castle acts as the real-life incarnation of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with its extensive grounds notably functioning as the Quidditch field. Not only has Alnwick profited greatly from the series (tour ticket sales have increased by over 50%), but it has also reinvigorated the public’s interest in Britain’s historical past.
The World of Cinema
On 26 February, the world of the silver screen celebrated the 84th Academy Awards. A night of glitz and glamour, the ceremony brought together the world’s finest actors and filmmakers to recognise the best cinematic performances of the past 12 months. While exceptional performances were duly rewarded, many people seem to forget that the location of shooting is as important to the making of a film as the casting and the script. Directors can spend years looking for picture perfect filming locations. For The Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson spent two years trying to find the right sites to shoot the series. As a result of his research, the films have become legendary, and helped to cement New Zealand as a tourist hotspot for cinephiles. Cameron Tucker poses the question: is there a relationship between the pictures and tourism? Finally, where better to end this article than in Tinseltown itself? Ever since the dawn of cinema, America has been at the forefront, exhibiting first-class acting and impeccable production. We can see the influence of motion pictures on travel as early as the mid-seventies. Soon after the release of Steven Spielberg’s classic, Close Encounters, tourism in Wyoming
Asia
went up three fold, and even now, one in five visitors go because of the film. Other American classics have had a similar effect on travel in the States. Dances with Wolves has led to a 25% increase in visitors to Kansas, and since the success of Forrest Gump, Georgia is on many people’s minds when thinking of places to visit in the USA.
America Home to the largest film industry in the world, as well as some of the most exotic settings, Asia has played a major role in motion picture history. With a culturally and geographically diverse terrain, Asia presents filmmakers with an astonishing choice of filming options. Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, one of the seven wonders of the natural world, played host to the James Bond blockbuster, Tomorrow
Never Dies. The coastal regions of Vietnam’s neighbour, Thailand, acted as the backdrop to Danny Boyle’s adventure drama, The Beach, and has resulted in the increase of the Thailand youth market by 22%. The skyscraper landscape of Hong Kong has also been regularly portrayed on the big screen, such as in the action thrillers, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and The Dark Knight.
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The sky’s the limit when working USA Many students find temporary jobs in the UK to earn money over the long summer holidays. Gemma Devenish bucked the trend by finding an exciting job at an American theme park, experiencing the real culture of the USA and making friends from all over the world in the process Last summer, I found employment through BUNAC’s “Work America” programme. I worked on a theme park in New Hampshire for two and a half months, surrounded by magnificent mountains, wonderful weather and incredible individuals. My job was to work in the various shops in the park, generally keeping the stock tidy and the guests happy. The most exciting part for me was that I was lucky enough to meet and work
with people from locations all over the world, including France, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey and Jamaica. It was an incredible opportunity to learn about other cultures and traditions. Also, it’s fair to say that we all had our fill of red cup parties with our new American friends. As a part of our employment, we were taken to local attractions on our days off, many of which we were able to get into for free. Days out in the summer sun included
giant water parks, beautiful natural waterfalls, sandy beaches, kayaking on lakes, seeing a circus act, riding up a mountain on a cog railway, and of course, visiting the huge shopping malls. One of my first days there was Independence Day, and it was great to see the pride and enthusiasm of the locals, which made for a fantastic, atmospheric evening. Being away from everything I knew at home seemed to provoke a new hunger for adventure within me, and I ended up taking part in my first skydive, something I’d never even contemplated before. I keep in touch with the friends that I made this summer, and after meeting up with a few of them over Christmas, I found that we are just as close as when we’d parted ways. I’d recommend employment overseas to anyone. It is a real eye-opener to the world out there, and to live and work abroad really is once in a lifetime for many. If you are going to work your average 9 to 5 job, you may as well make new friends and experience life in a whole new country with it, finding plenty of adventures along the way.
Life’s a beach in Los Angeles Before I went to LA, I had a very specific idea of what the City of Angels would be like. Celebrities would lurk on every corner and the girls walking down the street would make Joceyln Wildenstein look like a natural beauty. Boy, was I wrong.
away from your towel for long enough. I wandered down the pier for almost an hour, stopping to look at the numerous souvenir stands, grabbing a snack (albeit an incredibly healthy fruit cup) and unleashing my inner tourist at the Route 66 sign.
“Whether you want to surf, sunbathe or just hang out and look cool by the skate park, Venice Beach is the place to be” Desperate to experience a side of LA other than Hollywood I set off to explore LA’s world famous beaches, starting with the beautiful Santa Monica. Two miles of golden sands and an iconic pier make for a wonderful day of sunbathing and swimming and the beach even has volleyball courts if you can drag yourself
Sunburn free I then headed to Venice Beach, which is more famous for the board walk entertainment than the beach itself. Mere moments after arriving I saw why, as a man playing the guitar rollerbladed past me wearing what appeared to be a turban. Singers, mimes, magicians and musicians perform ensuring that
Travel tips #1
How to: meet people when travelling alone An easy way to make sure you meet people if you’re traveling alone is to stay somewhere that provides a social environment. A youth hostel springs to mind. Within most hostels your bed will be
in a dormitory which you’ll be sharing with other travellers, many of whom may also be journeying alone. There’s likely to be a social area, potentially with a TV and games tables, both of which provide easy ways of finding common ground with your
there’s always something to catch your eye on the esplanade. There are more quirky shops and stalls than you can shake a hipster at for those looking for a more original souvenir than a mini Oscar. Whether you want to surf, sunbathe or just hang out and look cool by the skate park, Venice Beach is the place to be. Even if, like me, your idea of fun isn’t taking hour long bus tours in the hope that Brad Pitt will be standing in his driveway in his boxers (or if it is) I can’t recommend LA enough. It’s a wonderfully diverse city with a very unique culture and whether you’re browsing a gallery or walking along the beach, everything just seems to be happening here. Give it a chance, you won’t be disappointed. Polly Grice fellow occupants. There will probably be a canteen too, serving reasonably priced meals in a sociable atmosphere. Remember, the fact that you’re staying in a youth hostel, means that it’s likely that you’ll be mixing with people around the same age to yourself, who are looking for similar travelling experiences to yours and are on a similar budget too. Holly O’Mahony
Essential Work in USA The opportunity to apply for a working holiday visa to the USA (J-1 visa) is only open to current UK university students. The advantage of this visa is that you can spend the four months over the summer (May-October) working in any job
in any state in the US. For more information, attend a BUNAC presentation on Thursday 1 March (TPSC 1.5, 5.30pm) and Thursday 22 March (Arts 2.03, 5pm) as part of Go Global Week).
Top 3 budget resorts Egyptian Pyramids Tourism has plummeted by a third since 2010 and it is reflected in travel companies slashing their prices to get the tourism money Egypt is aching for. It is the perfect time to experience Egypt, with summer promising sky-high temperatures.
The Azores Listed as the number one budget destination for travellers in Budget Travel magazine, the stunning volcanic islands 930 miles off Portugal have become a cheap location due to the mainland’s economic problems.
Thailand Prices for accommodation and transport in Thailand have remained low, whilst not compromising on the quality. Experience the authentic culture and natural beauty, where Guardian writer Andrew Spooner found £4.50 a night beachside locations.
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Cyber libel: Have you got the right protection? Beth Wyatt discusses the problems of social media for companies and how they can be at risk from defamation lawsuits, without the right frameworks in place Social media has become a mecca of sorts for companies and organisations, giving them the lucrative chance to reach out to the masses and increase the popularity of their businesses. According to the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), 211 million Europeans use social media. Add that to the rest of the world and you have got an enormous figure. So clearly social media is an important tool, for now and the future, but have companies considered the negatives? One such consequence of having an online presence is the threat of cyber libel. According to legal information from Sweet and Maxwell, cyber libel cases increased from seven to 16 in the year ending 31 May 2011. The number of defamation cases as a whole brought to court increased from 83 to 86. It has been argued that the popularity of Twitter and Facebook is to blame for the rise in cyber libel cases, as companies can be swept up by the trend without properly considering what frameworks they need in place to protect themselves. Korieh Duodu, a barrister at Addleshaw Goddard, has attributed the increase in cases to writers who do not check their facts meticulously enough. Duodu has also spoken of the far
user-generated content”. In January the Eastern Daily Press published an article by Victoria Judge, of Gotelee Solicitors, on a cyber libel case her company had worked on. The defendant, Mr Turrell, was sacked from his job so he decided to take revenge. Turrell taped a conversation between himself, a co-worker and the employer’s lawyers and then posted it online. He also sent defamatory emails to contacts of the company and directed potential clients to negative statements online. The case was settled with the company bosses being awarded £120,000 and a permanent injunction. Judge also revealed the interesting fact that the first case of internet defamation was in 1999, when a Dr Godfrey won his case against Demon Internet, an internet service provider (ISP), when it failed to remove libellous statements online which it alleged to have been posted by him. In the article Judge informed businesses that ISPs can be useful tools in the case of defamatory comments as they can remove the content quickly. More recent cases of cyber libel than Dr Godfrey’s include one against Express newspapers in 2009, when an article online claimed that charity Interpal harboured support for Palestine’s terror organisation
“Celebrities have also borne the brunt of cyber libel. Courtney Love has been sued twice for comments she posted on her Twitter page” reaching penalties. He said: “People who find themselves damaged on social media sites can often find it time-consuming and difficult to have the offending material removed, because many platform providers do not accept responsibility for their users’ content”. “Such is the speed at which information travels through social networks that one unchecked comment can spread into the mainstream media within minutes, which can cause irreparable damage to the subject who has been wronged”. Duodu added: “There is certainly a need for greater accountability of the providers of
Hamas. One notorious case last year involved Ryan Giggs’ attempt to sue Twitter because some of its users revealed that he was the footballer hiding behind an injunction over his alleged relationship with Imogen Thomas. There have also been cases against individuals rather than companies. In 2011 broker Tim Haynes took action against Ian Puddick for posting comments about Hayne’s supposed affair with Puddick’s wife, on Twitter and other websites. Haynes claimed that the saga affected himself, his family and friends negatively, and had forced him to leave his job due to stress.
However, the case, seen as an important precedent for the outcomes of future trials on free speech, was concluded with Puddick being cleared. Celebrities have also borne the brunt of cyber libel. Courtney Love has been sued twice for comments she posted
for libellous statements. One of the most important courses of action is to have a framework in place to remove comments and articles quickly if they turn out to be defamatory, as the internet knows no bounds in spreading gossip and controversial
“The Government is also currently drafting a Defamation Bill to go through Parliament. The Libel Reform Campaign group has welcomed the move, but argued that changes need to include supporting website providers more” on her Twitter page. The first case was in March 2011 and brought about by designer Dawn Simonrangkir, after Love claimed Simonrangkir was a “nasty lying hosebag thief”. Love lost the case and had to pay the designer $430,000 (£263,000). The second case also involves Twitter, Love having defamed the law company that previously represented her. So, how can they protect themselves from cyber libel? The first step is to make sure that the only employees who post and control content online are those who have received sufficient training. Companies need to have the checks present which traditional media organisations do. Internet posts have to adhere to the same rules and regulations as articles and statements in print form do, such as newspapers. There is also the issue of user comments. Web masters can choose to edit comments before or after they are posted, but if the company chooses the former then they may be more likely to be held responsible
statements. Comments can clearly end up being viewed in countless other countries than just the one they were posted from. Insurance brokers can also aid businesses, by tailoring a specific package covering cyber liability. Traditional insurance policies will not cover these areas. By taking these steps, businesses can lessen the chances of someone taking a cyber libel claim out on them and they can therefore assist in the halting of the trend of increasing cases. The government is also currently drafting a defamation bill to go through parliament. The libel reform campaign group has welcomed the move, but argued that changes need to include supporting website providers more. A spokesman said: “We need the select committee looking at the draft defamation bill to make concrete proposals to stop legal threats against internet hosts bringing down entire websites.” The government believes that the bill will make a positive impact and uphold the right of free speech, but time will only tell if it makes a difference to cyber libel statistics.
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Your islands, or mine? Matt Finucane renews the debate of the ownership of the Falkland Islands given the presence of oil in the area With the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war fast approaching, the second round of opportunistic begging on the part of the newly re-elected Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, has begun. The stage is set. Britain, as a result of defence budget cuts, is in an even worse position to defend the islands from invasion than it was in 1982. Kirchner, who won her election on 39% of the electorate’s blessing, is seeking desperately to solidify her presidency, which can be likened to the situation Margaret Thatcher found herself in almost 30 years ago, after her popularity dropped amid a recession. What better way to do this than press on with her deceased ex-president/husband’s own brand of right wing, territorial nationalism. The Argentinian claim to the islands is as simple as it is impudent. There was a period between 1820 and 1833 in which Britain ceased to hold a garrison on the islands (but retained a plaque declaring
Britain’s continued claim of the islands). During this 13 year period, the newly independent Argentina believed the islands were granted to them by Spain, irrespective of Spain’s inability to grant territory of the United Kingdom to any of its former colonies. When, in 1833, Britain returned, the Argentinian settlers were ordered to leave and promptly did so. The islands were then officially colonised and this state has existed (bar a 74 day interruption) since then.
Ever since the failed invasion of 1982, the islands have seen their most prosperous years, netting almost £20m annually with living standards set to exceed those of mainland UK. This has done nothing to alleviate diplomatic tensions. Indeed, it has almost definitely raised them, and whilst the claimant’s prize looks ever greater, a claim to sovereignty must always be substantiated. This is a test Argentina has failed time and time again. The fact of the matter is as follows: the
“Britain could take it upon itself to claim a predominantly uninhabited, uncivilised rock, or Argentina could subject the population to the authoritarian rule of its military junta. Which sounds more malicious?” There has been great speculation as to why Argentina has bumped up its claim for the islands recently. Indeed, this escalation was predicted by some when $20bn dollars of oil was located 220km north of the Falkland Islands in 2010.
3,000 inhabitants of the Falkland Islands hold among themselves the utmost desire to remain both British and under British rule. This, unfortunately, has not deterred the opposition thus far. More recent arguments ranged from George Galloway’s
unsubstantiated piece on 10 O’ Clock Live, which effectively conceptualised the belief that the Argentinians deserve the islands on the grounds that the South American continent says so, to the absurd, with Hollywood actor Sean Penn recently stating that the world today would not tolerate any “archaic commitment to colonialist ideology”. Two situations are presented to Mr Penn. The first is that Britain, along with most powerful European states at the present time, takes it upon itself to claim a predominantly uninhabited, uncivilised rock. The second is one in which Argentina, almost 150 years later, operates entirely against the express wishes of the population of those islands, with the aid of a conscripted armed force, installs temporary control, and subjects the population to the authoritarian rule of its military junta. Now which of these sounds more like a malicious colonial action to you?
Stephen Fry returns to the theatre Fran Roberts covers the news of Norfolk’s finest returning to the stage after a long 17 year absence In September this year, television stalwart and Norfolk resident Stephen Fry is set to star as Malvolio in a production of Shakepeare’s Twelfth Night at the Globe Theatre in London, his first stage role in 17 years. But many may be wondering why has it been so long since he last trod the boards. Simon Gray’s Cell Mates was the play in which Fry last acted onstage in. The pre-London warm up dates in Guildford and Watford went well but a few dates into the play’s run at the Albery Theatre in London, Fry disappeared. Although he was replaced by his understudy, the play was forced to close just over a month after it opened in the capital, angering others that were involved in the production, including the playwright. He accused Fry of leaving “in the most cowardly fashion”. Fry eventually surfaced in Belgium and in recent years, his bipolar disorder has come to light, the incident occurring as a result of a major depressive episode. Fry is not the only celebrity to have been troubled by the condition. It is actually estimated to affect about one per cent of the UK population. In 2006 he filmed a documentary, Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, which featured his own experiences but also saw him talking to others with the condition, including Tony Slattery, Richard Dreyfuss and Carrie Fisher. Many people around
the world try to manage their condition throughout their lives, and Fry has also been an international ambassador for Equilibrium – The Bipolar Foundation since 2007. He is the current president of the mental health charity Mind. Whilst many people know him primarily for his work onscreen, from films such as Wilde and V for Vendetta, to programmes such as QI and Jeeves and Wooster, his casting as Malvolio marks a return to his theatrical roots. During his time as at Cambridge University, Fry was a member of Footlights, the theatrical club at the university. The 1982 Footlights revue The Cellar Tapes won the first ever Perrier Award at the 1981 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It gave the wider public a first taste of Fry when it was broadcast on television, along with several of his Cambridge contemporaries including Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery, and his frequent collaborator, Hugh Laurie. Between Footlights and Cell Mates, Fry also acted in Simon Gray’s The Common Pursuit at the Phoenix Theatre in London in 1988. His performance in September will reveal if Fry, one of Britain’s most famous theatrical sons, can follow in the footsteps of Richard Wilson, Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Nigel Hawthorne, who have taken the role in the past. Twelfth Night first shows on 22 September and runs for three weeks.
TURF Go Green week Environment Officer Will Lacey talks about how we can save water This year, Go Green week focused on water, and rightly so; we have barely any knowledge of our own water consumption. By living on an island, I sometimes feel water must surely be unlimited. I feel that this is a falsehood a lot of us share in. The issue we face is that while we drink local water that is relatively plentiful, lots of our products are made in, and use water from, places where water is scarce. The amount of water used in producing consumer goods for us is staggering; making a pair of jeans requires 10,850 litres. A cotton shirt needs 9,750 litres. Scarily, a simple bed sheet requires 9,750 litres of water to go from thousands of cotton seeds to keeping you comfy at night. So, as People and Planet say, you knowingly use 200 litres a day that is sourced from a relatively wet East Anglia. In all likelihood however, you use 4,000 litres in the products you buy, which is used up in areas where water is scarce or used inefficiently. This issue is complex, so let me help you become a savvy global citizen. There are two important things to bear in mind when getting to grips with water usage; efficiency and scarcity. The ideal case is to buy an item from somewhere it is produced efficiently and where water is plentiful. Efficiency regards climate and seasons. In the case of food, buy peas in summer and carrots in winter. Bananas are awesome because all through the year somewhere will have them in season. Equally, fruits like these are most efficiently grown in hot countries, so look to buy them from these. Oranges sourced from Florida and California are particularly good. Pork is produced efficiently in the UK, while beef in produced efficiently in the USA. Water scarcity is a tougher deal. Regarding clothes, I more suggest cutting your consumption rather than feverishly investigating where clothes are made. In almost all areas where cotton is grown, water is used extremely unsustainably, such as in Kazakhstan, where the Aral Sea has literally been drained by stupid amounts of inefficient irrigation. Simply buy better quality clothes that you will keep, and then think hard before you throw them away. Complex I know. Water is, because we all depend on it so much, and it seems so plentiful to us. But to some it’s a precious commodity. With some swift research, and a bit of savvy decision making, real progress on this issue can be made.
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Revenge for Climategate? Becky Summers Turf writer Documents leaked last week from the Heartland Institute, a leading US climate change sceptic think tank, have betrayed the innermost workings of the group. The Institute, an active lobbyist against climate science and policies, has been shown to be supported and funded by a network of fossil fuel interests, right wing think tanks, politicians, corporations and anonymous donors. The documents reveal funding from Exxon Mobil, Philip Morris, Microsoft, General Motors and a mysterious “Anonymous Donor”, who from 2007-2011 generously donated to the tune of $8.5m. Sketched out was also Heartland’s plan to revamp a school curriculum that teaches children the “scientific debate” regarding global warming, a contradiction of every major scientific organisation in the world, that agrees humans are directly impacting
upon the environment. Further evidence showed intentions to “undermine the official United Nation’s IPCC reports”. Alarm bells start to ring when the word chosen is not critique or challenge but undermine. Scientific data, like maths, is not opinion up for open debate. Data of course can and should be challenged. With new scientific data. Think of it as challenging maths, you can’t honestly disagree that 2 + 2 = 4, simply because it would suit you to equal seven. Climate sceptics work to create an “honest” debate within the science itself, when in fact what they are really doing is skilfully entangling science and opinion, mixed with a dash of ideology. This is not to suggest that scientists themselves are not swayed by their own political biases, but the leaked documents are evidence that the Institute is attempting to hide its true motives (vested commercial interests and political ideology) behind a disguise of false debate on the uncertainty in science.
Peter Gleick revealed himself to be behind the leaked Heartland Institute documents The storm raging between climate scientists and sceptics took a twist recently, when Peter Gleick, a water scientist, publically revealed himself to be behind the leaked documents, apologising for his deception but showing no remorse. An eye for an eye for Climategate? Or should science have turned the other cheek? Gleick, like any trained investigative journalist, has sought information in the public interest and rightfully acknowledged the reasons why he did so. Those behind Climategate have never stepped forward to claim responsibility. I
Go Green challenge: ten litres for ten days Ten students, ten days and just ten litres of water to live off. Throw carrying it with you everywhere into the equation and you have a challenge more than fit to raise awareness of water consumption After stumbling upon the statistic that an average European uses 150-200 litres of water a day while most people in developing nations use only 10 litres or under, UEA People and Planet (part of the largest student activist network in the UK) decided to do something about it. They chose to raise awareness of the issue of the overconsumption of water. To mark the start of Go Green week, on Monday 6 February, 10 dedicated students signed up for the challenge of their lives. For 10 days they lived on only 10 litres a day. This number included washing up, cooking, cleaning and drinking. After much debate, it was decided that snow rolling or opportune rain showers (while conveniently holding a bar of soap) were not permitted. Furthermore, only three changes of clothes and one set of dishes were allowed. This was to ensurethat an overconsumption of water was not experienced at the end of the challenge. At 10 litres per minute for a shower, 100
litres for one washing machine load, and 6 litres per minute for a running tap, the students who signed up were in for a challenge. In other words, what ensued was 10 days of carrying large jugs of counted water around, sporting artfully designed (and slightly dirty) t-shirts promoting water awareness, sponge baths, and collecting all used water for flushing the toilet. After celebrating Valentine’s Day with unimpressed (but still supportive) partners, the
challenge was successfully completed on Wednesday 15 February. The day after, all involved enjoyed a lovely (but obviously short) shower. Joking aside, the group found it surprisingly easy to live on 10 litres a day by implementing practices such as having a cup of water by the sink to brush their teeth with, turning off the tap while washing dishes, and following the mantra “if it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down”. If you are interested in trying a similar challenge yourself, see: http://youth. tearfund.org/webdocs/website/youth/ campaigns/tiu/TIU_4_1.pdf. To read all about out the group’s adventures, go to: http:// ueapeopleandplanet.tumblr.com/. And if you would like to provide sponsorship, please do so at: http://www.justgiving com/10-litre-challenge. Kaitlin McGeary
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Cafe No. 33 is No. 1 Sampling the delights of the independent cafes in Norwich has been a weekly commitment of mine for a few years now. Whether it’s a Friday afternoon lunch, Sunday hangover brunch or a romantic rendezvous, Cafe No. 33 definitely takes top trumps out of all my hungry ventures and draws me back time and time again. At peak times expect to wait for a table with huddles of hungrily awaiting regulars who confirm the quality of the service, food and atmosphere. Customers can choose from a range of delicious brunches including Smoked Salmon Benedict, a generous portion of fluffy pancakes or a full English breakfast piled onto tasty homemade bread. The “light” lunches always leave one satisfied well past dinner time, with an enticing range of salads, burgers, paninis and more inventive dishes, such as the “sausage, bacon and potato hash”, made with Norfolk sausages, ham, bacon and chorizo mixed with fried potato and rocket salad served with a perfectly poached egg on top. The price of the dishes varies from around a fiver up to £8, very reasonable for the quantity and quality that you recieve. Whilst waiting for your meal to be cooked you can sip on what are in my humble opinion the best cappuccinos in Norwich, or a generous and refreshing pot of loose leaf tea. A further perk to the tasty hot drinks is the coffee and cake deal. £3.50 for a huge slab of homemade cake to complement your beverage. The selection changes daily and includes a bounty of gluten free options, a perfect excuse to come back on a regular basis to sample them all. Let’s just say if this place produced a recipe book it would be a best seller without a doubt. If you want to visit Cafe No.33 you will find it on Exchange Street, Norwich, Norfolk, Norfolk NR2 1DP. Or call 01603 626097. Rebecca Hazlewood
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Norwich’s neglected heritage Join Miranda Hutchison on an exploration through Norwich cathederal Norwich is a city dominated by Norman landmarks. The cathedral, the castle and the marketplace all date from the time immediately after the Norman Conquest. Most students living in Norwich have actually taken the time to visit these spectacular Norman buildings? Any student living in Norwich will have visited the marketplace, but surprisingly few students go to the cathedral or castle. Anyone living somewhere of interest tends to find that they only visit the interesting tourist locations when they have visitors.
is cheaper yet. Located in Tombland, one of the most interesting areas of Norwich, the cathedral grounds are beautiful and entry itself is free, although they ask for a donation. Knowing some interesting facts about the cathedral is a sure way to impress visitors to Norwich. It was founded in 1096, over 900 years ago. The spire has blown down once and burned down once, meaning that the current spire is the cathedral’s third. Not bad for nine centuries of wear and tear. Last year, a pair of endangered Hasina Allen peregrine
“A wander around the cathedral is a world away from the stresses of university life, and can be both educational and inspiring. Once you’ve taken in the culture, why not visit the oldest pub in Norwich?” The castle and the cathedral are both great ways to impress guests visiting Norwich. Of course, for a poor student, the entry fee to Norwich castle can seem a bit steep, especially as the most impressive bits (the battlements and dungeons) cost extra. One to visit while parents are paying, perhaps. While popping in for a pound in the last hour is far better value at the castle, the cathedral
falcons nested there. On the front of the cathedral are two statues. St Benedict, holding the rule of St Benedict (the set of rules Benedictine monks follow) and a local saint, St Julian of Norwich. St Julian was the first woman to write a book in English, “Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love”, and it is still in print today. To the left, facing towards the cathedral from the main gate is a building which
is now the sixth-form common room for the Cathedral School, but used to be an ossuary. This writer wonders how many students realise their common room used to be full of bones. The cathedral and cloister boasts over a thousand roof bosses, mostly telling Bible stories, but it’s worth looking out for some odd ones like green men. There are free tours several times a day in the cathedral, and the guides are friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the cathedral’s history. The cathedral also runs evensong at 5pm every week day. Again, admission is free and the cathedral choirs are fantastic. The venue, combined with the beautiful music, is probably the best free concert in Norwich, and even this atheist writer enjoys the atmosphere. A wander around the cathedral is a world away from the stresses of university life, and can be both educational and inspiring. Once you’ve taken in the atmosphere and culture, you can either retire to the refectory, which serves lovely food, or perhaps continue the historical theme by heading to the Adam and Eve pub close by, supposedly the oldest pub in Norwich.
Helping turn life’s lemons into lemonade If you have a burning issue, Clive Ashcroft is the man for the job. Email clivecaresconcrete@gmail.com
Mid-term blues Hello Clive, I am having real trouble sleeping at the moment. Every time my head hits the pillow I can’t switch off and I just end up lying there wishing I could get some kip! I’ve tried doing the stereotypical thing of counting sheep and deep breathing, but nothing is working. Help! Dear Reader, I’ve tried counting sheep myself but it keeps me awake for hours, there’s always one more sheep! Mine was anxiety keeping me awake; may I suggest talking to your doctor who can advise you on your sleeping pattern? They may prescribe some medication to help. Hope I have been of some help. Take care.
Read more of Clive’s solutions on our website: www.concrete-online.co.uk
Sleepless nights Dear Clive, It’s got to that point in term where I’m constantly moody and just want to go home. However, the problem is that I can’t go home as I have deadlines looming and my bank balance is in dire need of a boost. All I want to do is have a bit of time away from university and visit my family and friends. What could I do? Thanks, Anonymous. Dear Reader, Sounds like the pressure of studying and exams looming is really taking its toll. You may feel like just walking away, however please stay calm. I’m sure your family and friends are very proud of you and are looking forward to your graduation. May I suggest inviting your family and friends to visit you? Always a good morale booster! Also, the Easter break will be here soon and will give you chance to rest and recharge your batteries good luck and take care.
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N I I T I F F A R G NORWICH
Pictures by Freya Barry
In Norwich, a city famed for its medieval architecture, graffiti stands out harshly against the backdrop of the castle and cathedrals. Norwich City Council receives between 400 and 500 reports of graffiti a year. The council spends more than £1m a year on cleaning the streets of Norwich, which includes tackling graffiti. This raises questions of ownership, as paintings are covered up in an attempt to “clean up’ the city”. But who really owns the walls? And is graffiti really just petty vandalism or an art form rich in history and variety with its own rules and conventions? The graffiti in Norwich varies from the political to the pop-cultural, with famous quotes or colourful examples of graphic art. In the city’s back alleys and subways, grim concrete surfaces host colourful slogans and images. Graffiti hotspots such as “the Yard” and the famous graffiti wall in Anglia Square or the smaller, more political pieces over by Pottergate are all worth a visit. While some walls are legal and serve as designated spots for artists to spray away, many are not and it is this sense of risk-taking that seems to fuel the energy and vibrancy of some of the pieces. Many of theses illegal examples are painted over by the Council, but this seems to merely
inspire the creativity of the artists in question, as they seek new locations to paint. In “the Yard”, an underpass in Norwich city centre, where the walls show evidence of this struggle between council and artists, the artists have taken to painting over the lights themselves and then scratching their initials into the paint. The practice of “tagging” or leaving a graffiti artist’s signature alongside the main work is commonplace, and the ceiling of “the Yard” is covered in them. Graffiti can be used to express an idea or an image of local significance and is urban art at its most collaborative. Images are layered and juxtaposed besides each other creating endless, highly expressive, walls of art. Artists spray images and words, either free hand with aerosol spray
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graffiti as an art form, combined with the high exposure of the work due to its location, are what make
it so appealing. Using public walls and streets as both canvas and inspiration,
“The sheer flexibility of graffiti as an art form, combined with the high exposure of the work, due to its location, are what make it so appealing” cans or with stencils, as demonstrated by Banksy, the famous and controversial graffiti artist. The sheer flexibility of
graffiti is an art form that is available to everyone and viewed by countless people every day, brightening journeys to work
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and school. Over by Anglia Square the graffiti is less individual than it is in “the Yard”: working more as a mural with each piece seamlessly flowing into the next, creating a stream of images. While the images in Anglia Square are vast and impressive, throughout the city smaller images adorn brick walls and sidestreets with the political graffiti on Upper Goat Lane, revealing the more anarchic elements of the Norwich underground arts scene. Graffiti at its core is about transferring a message or an idea via a simple phrase or image. This is art at its most accessible and public. In Norwich the sheer range of styles and materials used is impressive, proving that this medieval city does have a gritty, urban edge. Freya Barry
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Tuesday 28 February 2012 - Issue 266
Not the Wurst Looking for a theme for your next house party? Germanophile and fine beer enthusiast Susanna Wood explains how to recreate German folk party-time in your own back garden Germans really know how to party. Munich’s Oktoberfest is world famous, but many towns in Germany hold smaller beer festivals called volkfests throughout the summer, where traditions old and new are embraced. With a little ingenuity you too can recreate the glorious atmosphere and “make party” in your student house. Begin by scrubbing down your table and get it outside; the most important thing is that everyone’s s i t t i n g together. Next, leave any pretentions you may have about party music at the volksfest barn door. If you can’t get hold of the obligatory elderly accordion player, some cheesy German pop music will do. Failing this, put on any song that makes you want to get up on a scrubbed table and sing. If this doesn’t sound like your thing, it will be after five litres of bier. Drink wise, only beer will do. And by beer, this writer means highquality German export. If your dining companions are not keen on beer, convince them to try a Radler, which combines equal amounts of beer and lemonade, or a Diesel, which is beer and cola. Drink out of glass flagons and if someone shouts “Prost!” that’s when you should be clinking glasses with your neighbours. Whatever you do, make sure you look your toastee straight in the eyes; or, no word of a lie, you will have seven bad years of sex. As for food, sausage is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be the wurst. Schnitzels, pretzels and confectionary abound at a volksfest, so make sure you have plenty on offer and remember to serve everything with lashings of mustard. Finally, squeeze into your lederhosen / dirndl and party the night away German-style.
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Pescetarianism: a lifestyle choice Alice Homewood Lifestyle writer Being a pescetarian – to some this means I am a vegetarian who couldn’t hack going cold turkey, but to my mum it means I am a very responsible girl who eats her oily fish once a week. I haven’t eaten meat since I was sixteen, and only accepted fish back into my life at 18, during my A-levels
– mainly to silence my mother’s nagging that the essential omega-3 fatty acids in fish boost brainpower. The reason I have continued eating fish is mainly because I like it and partly because I find it hard to get enough good protein into my diet without consuming mountains of cheddar and eggs. In an ideal world, I would be a master of highprotein foods from other sources like pulses, nuts and soya (although I do love a bit of tofu) but as a busy and relatively lazy student, the thought of soaking lentils before bed doesn’t excite me. I said earlier that I haven’t eaten meat since I was sixteen – a lie I’m afraid: pescetarians are slippery characters. Last Christmas I ate turkey for the first time in six years. When told, carnivorous friends have expressed frustration, “Turkey?” they cried, “but that’s the most boring meat! There’s a reason why we only eat it once a year.” And yes, the results were disappointing. It was dry and flaccid and I did not feel good about it. But after the stomach ache had faded, I was pleased that I had tried meat again and was still firm in my vegetarianism. I am aware that in many ways it is more ethically sound to eat locally reared, free-
range and organic meat and to avoid dairy products, bearing in mind by-products of the industry, such as excessive methane production and the infamous veal trade. I have experimented with veganism, but I’m sure vegans will agree, it really is an all-or-nothing business that affects more aspects of your life than you’d expect. Admittedly, I know several vegans who find it a simple lifestyle choice, but I have also known vegans to carry around a lunchbox full of carrot sticks and soya yoghurts simply to get through the day without fainting. Personally, my decision for the moment at least is to keep shunning meat and have the occasional bit of fish until I truly become the queen of quinoa (it contains all the essential amino acids don’t you know.) Two years on the UEA VegBox Society committee has shown me how much passion there is out there for vegetables! It is great to see members flirting over the cabbages and swapping recipes for curly kale. For the rest of you, why not pick up a box from us next Wednesday in the Hive and try a vegetarian week? You may not need meat as much as you thought. For more information about the Society search for “UEA VegBox” on Facebook.
Recycle with Lifestyle: fish and chips Lifestyle writer Alex Valentine puts Concrete to good use after you have finished reading it This issue, we’ve rustled up that British culinary icon, fish and chips. We’ll be following a recipe for two that is quick and simple, trust us, if our writer can pull it off with his limited cooking ability, the rest of the student population will have no problem! Since Pancake Day was last week everyone’s probably fed up of batter by now, so we’ll be covering the fish with bread crumbs. Delicious! Ingredients: > 8 good sized potatoes > 2 fillets of fish > 3 slices of bread > 2 eggs > 4 heaped tbsp of flour
each side of the fish fillets. 4. If you have a blender place the bread inside it to make the bread crumbs (having a blender isn’t essential – you can easily shred the bread with your fingers.) Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs if desired. 5. Generously cover each side of the fillets with the breadcrumbs, most of which will stick to the fillets. Leave to one side. 6. Chop the potatoes into classic chip shapes of your desired thickness. Remember to leave the skin on to enhance that rustic look (most of the nutrients are
found in the skin anyway so it’s best to eat it when you can!) 7. Pop your chips into the oven, remember to turn them a couple of times. They should take around 20 minutes in total. 8. After the chips have been cooking for 10 minutes, add your breaded fish to the oven. They should take around 10 minutes to cook, and need to be turned once halfway through. 9. Remove fish and chips together. 10. When serving remember to “Recycle with Lifestyle” to give your fish and chip dinner that authentic seaside look! Enjoy!
Method: 1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/390F. Prepare two baking trays (if you have any greaseproof paper whack some of that over the top to prevent any food sticking to the trays.) 2. Use kitchen towels to remove excess liquids from the fish fillets, and place them on a plate. With a table spoon cover them in plain flour on both sides. 3. In a separate bowl crack and beat the eggs with a fork until runny. Drizzle over
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Vegetarian Italian feast Lifestyle writer Emma Williamson puts a vegetarian twist on these classic Italian dishes
Starter | Homemade risotto Ingredients
Method
> A knob of butter > Two tablespoons of olive oil > Three chopped onions > Two cloves of garlic > One cup of Arborio rice > Thyme > Salt and pepper > One glass of white wine > 500ml of vegetable stock > 100g of grated vegetarian cheese
1. In a large pan heat the olive oil and melt the butter. 2. Fry the onions, garlic and thyme for five minutes, then reduce the temperature and allow the ingredients to cook slowly, stirring occasionally for
30 minutes. 3. Once the vegetables have softened, add the rice. Continually stir until the rice becomes translucent. 4. Add the wine and de-glaze any caramelisation. Still stirring, allow the wine to evaporate and the rice to fully absorb the liquid.
5. On a medium heat, add the hot stock and allow the risotto to absorb it. Stir for 17 minutes, adding stock as the risotto retains it. 6. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and cheese. Leave to stand for five minutes, season, then serve.
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Main | Roasted vegetable lasagne Ingredients
Method
> One red pepper > One yellow pepper > One green pepper > One courgette > A tablespoon of olive oil > Three cloves of garlic > One red onion > Eight lasagne sheets > 200ml of passata > One white onion > Basil > Oregano > Teaspoon of flour > A knob of butter > 100g of grated cheddar cheese > 50ml of milk
1. Preheat the oven to 200c. 2. Slice the peppers, courgettes and red onion into large chunks and place on a baking tray. 3. Peel two cloves of garlic, roughly chop and add to the tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season, place the tray into the oven and roast for 25 minutes. 4. Whilst the vegetables roast, slice a white onion and crush a clove of garlic. Sautee in a large saucepan on a medium
heat, cover and cook until soft. 5. Once the onion and garlic have softened, season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper and then add the passata. Lower the heat and allow to simmer. 6. In a milk pan, melt the butter on a medium heat. 7. Remove the pan from the heat and add the teaspoon of flour. Mix into a paste. 8. Add the milk, and place the pan back onto the heat. Continually stir until it combines and begins to thicken.
9. Add the grated cheese and stir in. Take the pan off the heat and leave to the side. Once the vegetables have cooked and the sauces are both finished, evenly place the vegetables in an ovenproof dish. 10. Layer the pasta sheets over the vegetables, and then cover with a layer of tomato sauce. Cover this with a layer of the cheese sauce, and then layer with more pasta sheets and the remaining sauces. Place into the oven and cook for 45 minutes.
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Issy Mitchell
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Dessert | White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake Ingredients
Method
> 200g white chocolate, melted > 150g frozen raspberries > 185ml of double cream > 200g mascarpone cheese > 15 (crushed) digestive biscuits > Knob of butter, melted
1. Put the crushed biscuits in a bowl and mix in the melted butter. 2. Add the mixture to a cheesecake tin with a removable base and spread evenly,
IP ETE’Sd T g sugar CONCraR in ic an es spberri h
Decorate wit
pushing it into the base of the tin. Place in the fridge and allow to set for 30 minutes. 3. Add the mascarpone, double cream, sugar and melted chocolate to a bowl and mix it until smooth. Once mixed, stir in the frozen raspberries very gently,
ensuring that they do not bleed. 4. Remove the biscuit tin from the fridge. Pour the filling over the base and spread evenly with a plastic spatula. Refrigerate for at least five hours, or preferably overnight.
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INTERNATIONAL
UEA and the global health worker shortage Tamsin Lillie invites the participation of UEA’s healthcare students who would cherish the oppurtunity to volunteer in Malawi and Uganda In 2006 the World Health Organisation stated that there was a critical global shortage of health workers, with Africa alone needing 1.5 million more professionals in order to sustain the basic needs of its population. Human resources are one of the six building blocks of a health system. Without them, health services would decline and the most vulnerable people would suffer. It is no coincidence that Malawi, with 5 doctors per 100,000 people, has one of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. Sub-Saharan Africa has more than 24% of the global disease burden, 3% of the health workers and less than 1% of the world’s financial resources.
salaries. While this cannot be ignored, there are many other reasons which account for this shortage. Many African countries have only one university whilst some have none, meaning that their ability to train health workers is greatly reduced. Even in countries where there is a university, the cost of higher education deters many potential students from undertaking training. Evidence shows that people are more likely to stay in the country in which they have been given post-qualification training, highlighting the importance of improving infrastructure at a regional level. Medic-to-Medic is a UK based charity,
financial pressures to undertake training and increasing the number of graduates in countries lacking human resources. This is one of the most sustainable interventions; by training health workers, they are giving the knowledge to treat some of the world’s poorest people. UEA
M2M has been running since 2009 and is growing in success. If you’re interested in getting involved in UEA M2M, drop an email at ueamedic2medic@gmail.com or find it on Facebook to stay updated with this fundraising campaign.
“This is one of the most sustainable interventions; by training health workers, they are given the knowledge to treat some of the world’s poorest people” Why is there this critical shortage of health workers? When asked this question, many would answer “brain drain”, a term used to describe the migration of educated professionals to countries where the standard of living is higher with better
which was set up in 2007. The charity sponsors healthcare students (medics, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists) in Malawi and Uganda who are in financial hardship. M2M guarantees payment of each student’s tuition fees, reducing the
The enriching nature of international travel
A slice of America’s historical pie
International travelling provides an opportunity for incredible learning experiences through exposure to new lifestyles, cultures, people, places and languages. Foreign locales vary widely from what an individual may be used to and this immersion in new experiences is one of the greatest benefits of international travelling.
Presidents’ Day, a uniquely American holiday, falls on the third Monday of February each year and frankly goes largely unnoticed by the American public. Many people still have to work, and the only indications of there being a national holiday are the flags flying outside people’s homes and the barrage of advertisements for Presidents’ Day sales and cherry pie. Even so, the holiday remains rooted in American history and national legend. Before it was known as Presidents’ Day, Americans celebrated George Washington’s birthday. However this proved more difficult than expected. In the 18th century, there was a switch from the Julian-style calendar, which was used in England until the mid-1700s, to the Gregorian or “NewStyle” calendar which we use today. Born in 1732,
rates which allow for elongated holidays and experiences that would not be affordable (or available) at home. In addition, with an increasingly global economy, having international travelling experience and knowledge of different languages equates to a huge advantage in the workforce. Travelling is now so much easier
“All in all, international travel is a popular and enriching opportunity that allows people not only to find themselves but also to increase their appreciation of other cutures” The world has a stunning range of geographical features and travelling is the only way to experience firsthand what the world has to offer. There are numerous remnants of civilizations which have lasted for thousands of years, from the Aztec ruins near Mexico City to the Egyptian pyramids, allowing history to be brought to life. From a more practical standpoint, with the world’s current economic status this may well be one of the best times to travel. Travel prices are lower than they have been in years and travellers can even take advantage of foreign exchange
and quicker than it used to be. Whether travellers plan on visiting the beaches of the Caribbean or exquisite cities like Paris, they can arrive there comparatively quickly and in comfort with international airlines. With the possibility to book full holidays online, planning a trip as well as getting discounts and travel advice have never been easier. All in all, international travel is a popular and enriching opportunity that allows people not only to find themselves but also to increase their appreciation of other cultures. Isabelle Carty
Kathleen Gustin International writer
Washington’s birthdate was 11 February on the Julian calendar, but 22 February on the Gregorian calendar. Eventually, the 22nd was accepted as a national holiday. After the American Civil War, there was a movement to add Abraham Lincoln’s birthday to the list of national holidays. However, Lincoln’s birthday falls on 12 February and this proved problematic considering its proximity to Washington’s birthday. It wasn’t until the late 1960s, thanks to legislation for all federal holidays to fall on Monday, that Washington and Lincoln’s respective birthdays were combined into one national celebration, now known as Presidents’ Day. Still thinking about cherry pie? American lore tells the story of young Washington, who wanted to test a new hatchet by cutting down his father’s cherry tree. When his father asked if he had done it, he replied honestly: “Father, I cannot tell a lie, I cut the tree.” In commemoration of George Washington’s fabled integrity as America’s first leader, cherry pies are everywhere on Presidents’ Day. So indulge in a little baking, and have a slice of American history.
SPORT
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Editors’ Column
One half of the Old Firm went into administration last week, and once again the troublesome topic of football finances filtered its way back into the mainstream sporting media. “It’s a disgrace”, people cry. “Something needs to change”. Yet it never does. The status quo is far too appealing. People, or should I say “customers”, will continue to sit at home and watch the Premier League on Sky Sports, football clubs will continue to overspend and incur uncontrollable debts, and the cycle will continue ad nauseum. Then again, what should we expect when we’re constantly reminded that the Premier League is the pinnacle – the be-all and end-all? It sends out the wrong message, and clubs will continue to overspend as a means of reaching the “promised land”. After all, it’s what the fans want. If their club doesn’t spend then the board are accused of “not showing enough ambition”. Portsmouth are a perfect example. They overspent by gross amounts and received an FA Cup and a European adventure as a reward. They were supposedly punished with relegation back down to the Championship, but with two administrations in the past two years, they obviously haven’t learnt from their past mistakes. Yet you have Darlington and Kettering coming perilously close to going out of business, so let’s not lay all the blame with the Premier League. And in Crawley and Fleetwood, you have two traditional non-league clubs acquiring success in a completely unsustainable manner. The message is loud and clear – overspend and you’ll probably get away with it. Matt Scrafton
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Derby Day 2012 University of Essex v UEA UEA will travel to the University of Essex on Wednesday March 7th for Derby Day 2012, the latest instalment in the sporting rivalry. Last year, UEA were victorious by a final scoreline of 41-10, and will be looking to defend their trophy in Colchester in a programme comprising 42 fixtures across 27 sports. If you can’t make it to Derby Day, then follow Concrete Sport’s live updates from Essex on both Twitter and Facebook. Our reporters will be there all day providing live coverage, and keeping you all up to date. Keep an eye on concblog.wordpress. com for further updates before the big day.
The schedule Men’s Fencing - 10:00-13:00 Women’s Fencing - 10:00-13:00 Horse Riding - 10:00-16:00 Men’s Tennis - 10:00-13:30 Five-a-side Football - 11:00-12:00 Men’s Futsal - 11:00-12:00 Athletics - 12:00-15:30 Men’s Cricket - 12:00-13:30 Golf - 12:00-17:00 Mountaineering – 12:00-16:00 Men’s Rowing – 12:00-14:00 Women’s Rowing – 12:00-14:00
Men’s Table Tennis - 14:00-17:00 Trampolining - 14:00-16:00 Men’s Football II - 15:00-17:00 Men’s Pool – 15:00-18:00 Women’s Squash - 15:00-17:15 Men’s Hockey - 15:30-17:00 Women’s Badminton - 16:00-18:00 Darts - 16:00-19:00 Water Polo - 16:00-18:30 Women’s Basketball - 17:00-19:00 Women’s Football - 17:00-19:00 Women’s Table Tennis - 17:00-20:00 Ultimate Frisbee - 17:00-19:00 Men’s Squash - 17:15-19:30
Men’s Rugby - 13:00-14:30 Women’s Tennis - 13:30-17:00 Archery - 14:00-16:00 Men’s Badminton - 14:00-17:00 Cheerleading - 14:00-16:00 Women’s Hockey - 14:00-15:30
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Women’s Netball - 17:30-19:00 Men’s Boxing - 18:00-20:00 Women’s Volleyball - 18:00-20:00 Men’s Basketball - 19:00-21:00 Men’s Football I - 19:00-21:00 Men’s Volleyball - 20:00-22:00
UEA squashed out the BUCS Cup Matt Scrafton Sports editor
Men’s Squash I 1 Loughborough III 4 UEA Men’s Squash were knocked out of the BUCS Conference Cup at the quarterfinal stage following a 4-1 reversal at the hands of Loughborough III. After reaching the last eight courtesy of a bye and a walk-over, UEA were comprehensively beaten by a side who currently sit top of Midlands 2B. Having been beaten 5-0 by Loughborough earlier on in the season in a league game, you could forgive UEA for taking a tentative approach to this tie. However, the hosts were more than a match for the Leicestershire outfit and can feel rightly aggrieved by the somewhat misleading final scoreline. Nevertheless, the visitors deserve credit for storming out of the blocks and starting well, as they claimed the first two ties. Whilst Phil Slack was edged out by three games to two by Loughborough’s Luke Barnes, Ben Constant was
powerless to stop his opponent from cruising to an impressive 3-0 win on the adjacent court. However in the next match, Stefan Lubek inflicted a crushing 3-0 defeat on Loughborough’s Keith Parmley, giving UEA their first point of the day and bringing them right back into the match. Lubek’s dominance was evident from the outset, frustrating his opponent to the extent where he smashed his racket on the floor as he exited the court following his defeat in the opening set. Once the game had finished, he then proceeded to crush his racket with his own hands to the amusement of several onlookers. UEA’s ascendancy didn’t last for long though, as they went on to lose the penultimate and final games of the day to secure Loughborough’s passage to the semi-finals. Rob Mead was convincing in his 3-0 victory over Luke Grindle, who struggled to deal with the impressive groundstroke’s and constant movement around the court from the Loughborough player. Easily the most evenly contested match came in the final tie of the day, as Dom Williams was edged out by three games to one by his Loughborough counterpart,
despite taking the first set. The games ended up 12-10, 10-12, 7-11, 8-11 – the scoreline was testament to just how close the sets were. Although Williams took the first set, the Loughborough player battled for every point and never gave up during the seemingly endless rallies, but by the same token he certainly benefited from a number of favourable officiating decisions. After this 4-1 victory, Loughborough will travel to face Coventry I in the semifinals of the Midlands Conference Cup in early March. UEA will next face Leicester I in their latest league match, and will be hopeful of moving level on points with their next opponents in Midlands Division 2B.
Lukas Harnisch
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Canary Corner by Tom Shaw
Norwich City failed to capitalise on their impressive away victory against Swansea City, as the Canaries found themselves unable to reach the FA cup quarter finals after being disappointingly knocked out by Championship outfit Leicester City 2-1 at Carrow Road. The game gave opportunity to tinker
Birmingham City. It went from frustrating to heartbreaking in the space of a week when Manchester United came to Carrow Road and got an injury time winner through Ryan Giggs, who scored on his 900th appearance for the Red Devils.
“It went from frustrating to heartbreaking in the space of a week” with his side and brought in 19 year old goalkeeper Jed Steer to replace John Ruddy, with Steer having played in the previous FA cup fixture against West Bromwich Albion. Other changes included removing captain Grant Holt from the squad with Steve Morison and Simeon Jackson forming a partnership up front. Norwich were behind early on when defender Sean St. Ledger rose highest to beat youngster Steer but were back on level terms when Wes Hoolahan scored from a rebound of his own penalty that had been saved by Kasper Schmeichel. The game was won however by former England striker David Nugent who cleverly worked his way through the Norwich defence to book a quarterfinal clash with either Chelsea or
Paul Scholes put his team into the lead early on when he headed in from Nani’s cross in only the seventh minute, which could have easily let Norwich heads drop. The goal however proved incentive to Lambert’s men and created chances but had to wait late on for a goal. Grant Holt returned to the side and had looked to have secured the Canaries a priceless point after he fired into the top corner with only five minutes left on the clock, after holding off Rio Ferdinand. The evergreen Ryan Giggs however won it in the dying embers of the match as he finished through Ruddy’s legs to help their title chances and leave Norwich in eighth place in the table with a trip to Stoke City next for the Canaries.
SPORT
British boxers lose bottle Billy Sexton Sports correspondent British sports fan woke up last Sunday (19 February) morning to discover that two of their own boxing heavyweights, David Haye and Dereck Chisora, had been involved in a brawl that would tarnish not only their own image in the boxing world, but Britain’s image also.
Haye and Chisora. However, this would only affect Haye if he were to come out of retirement, something he would consider only if a fight with one of Klitschko’s could be arranged. Chisora is set to attend a hearing on 14 March regarding his actions both before and after his bout with Klitschko, whilst Haye is still wanted for questioning by the German authorities, as he is suspected of grievous bodily harm. If Haye were
“Haye could face a prison sentence of between six months and 10 years” Taking place during a press conference after Chisora had lost a WBC title fight to Vitali Klitschko, tempers flared between Haye and Chisora, resulting in a barroom style brawl. Chisora claims he was bottled by Haye and went on to say that he intended to shoot Haye. With gun crime a serious issue across numerous cities in the UK, it’s not the ideal message for a professional boxer to be conveying. The brawl is set to have serious consequences. Although Chisora has apologised for his actions in an official statement released last week, his actions at the press conference will ultimately speak, louder than any words. A statement released by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) General Secretary, Robert Smith, voiced the possibility of imposing life bans upon
to be found guilty he could face a prison sentence ranging between six months and 10 years. Figureheads in the boxing world have expressed their disgust with the actions of both men. WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko commented on the issue, saying: “This behaviour kills the hard work of the people that have been polishing the image of the sport.” In the aftermath, both Chisora and Haye issued statements apologising for their conduct, and stated their willingness to aid the police with any investigations. The situation will undoubtedly develop into a saga in which we have certainly not heard the last of and is set to have a profound impact on both the reputations and careers of both men involved.
Nottingham deal Women’s Hockey tough cup loss Joshua Resoun Sports correspondent Women’s Hockey I 0 Nottingham II 4 Despite a dominant first half performance, UEA Women’s Hockey were knocked out of the cup after a disappointing 4-0 defeat to Nottingham II. Taking the initiative after kick-off in the first half, Nottingham won a short corner in the second minute, yet UEA’s strong defence saw off this early attack. After pushing their opponents back into their own half, UEA were awarded a short corner. However, after closing UEA down in good speed, the away side countered and drove UEA back into defence. UEA’s prowess in keeping formation saw off this attack too, allowing the UEA’s midfielders to keep possession and place pressure on the Nottingham fall backs. Within minutes UEA were back on the offensive, with an impressive shot from Catherine Green blocked by the goalpost. At half time the match was well and truly in UEA’s favour, with strong
possession and a good defence seeing off attacks from the visitors. With the wind and rain picking up, both team captains gave a short speech during the five minute interval. Nottingham quickly took possession early on in the second half, placing pressure upon UEA’s newly changed formation. With the away side tiring, UEA kept on the offensive going into the 40th minute. UEA’s Oli Williams took a direct shot on goal in the 44th minute, and although it seemed to travel over the line, the referees did not call it. In an unexpected turn of events, Nottingham forced themselves past UEA’s defensive line, taking the lead. Nottingham kept the pressure on UEA, using superior stick work to manoeuvre around UEA. The 50th minute saw Nottingham further their lead, making it 2-0 to the visitors. Despite a determined effort from UEA to get back in the game, Nottingham slipped through UEA’s defence to take them 3-0 up in the 55th minute. As the 60th minute dawned, UEA’s Green took a ball to the face, causing her to be taken off to seek medical treatment. As the match drew to a close, Nottingham kept UEA pinned in their own half, and achieved a final goal,
taking the visiting side into a 4-0 lead. Despite the score, it was a closely fought game, UEA maintained good possession throughout, keeping their passes fast and accurate, and it was more lady luck than the ladies of Nottingham
II’s which dashed UEA’s cup dreams. The team will next face Nottingham III in their next BUCS league match, hoping to stay atop Midlands Division 3B. They also will face the University of Essex at Derby Day on Wednesday 7 March.
Tom Oliver
SPORT
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Three’s the magic number for UEA’s ladies Kris Nelson Sports correspondent Women’s Football I 3 Loughborough III 0 Despite leaving the game early due to injury, there was still enough time for Adele McCrory to inspire UEA Women’s XI to claim a 3-0 win over Loughborough III on a windswept Colney Lane. The result not only served as revenge for a 3-1 reverse in October, but also saw the home side rise to the top of the BUCS Midlands 2B division due to their closest rivals’ inactivity. Credit must be given to McCrory who, despite carrying an injury suffered in the warm-up, was able to exploit the conditions by scoring a speculative 25 yard strike before playing a superb pass through to Rose Gleninning who finished emphatically from close range to all-but secure the points for UEA. Considering her impact in the early stages, the hosts
must have been disappointed to see McCrory substituted as her injury finally got the better of her with thirty minutes of the game played. However, despite this setback, further gloss was added to the score just after the interval when UEA were awarded a penalty which while initially missed, was eventually scored by Danielle Laffian on the rebound to further enforce UEA’s dominance. Enjoying a three-goal margin, UEA understandably relaxed and found themselves under pressure from the visitors whom because of the result, would find themselves propping up the division on goal difference by the end of play. This called for a superb second half defensive showing from UEA, with particular mention to goalkeeper Axelle Courlander who on a number of occasions made strong saves from various shots and crosses as Loughborough tried to utilise the adverse weather conditions to their own benefit. Coupled with a commanding midfield performance from Leanne Stubbings, this
was enough to see out the game for the home side and secure a seven point haul from a possible nine in their last three fixtures. With a genuine “six-pointer” on offer next week as UEA travel to
second-placed Cambridge, consideration must be given to the possibility of UEA continuing this form, securing top-spot and promotion in their final two fixtures this season.
Tom Oliver
UEAHC raise nearly £2,000 for Meningitis Trust Jenni Barrett reports on the club’s efforts to raise funds in memory of a former team-mate This year, UEA Hockey Club raised almost £2000 for the Meningitis Trust at the 11th annual Old Boys’ weekend, taking the total amount raised to over a staggering £25,000 to date. The fundraising event takes place in memory of former student and UEAHC team-mate Mike Covell, who sadly passed away on 7th December 1997 after a brief battle with meningitis. Mike was due to
themselves recently donated £700 of this year’s total raised. The highlight of the memorial weekend is always the “Old Boys” match, where the 1997 team reform with Mike’s older brother, David, taking his place in the side. The format was revised this year, and after a round robin tournament, a ‘Best of UEA Old Boys’ team was put together, featuring players from all different
Norwich Evening News
“The fundraising event takes place in memory of former student and UEAHC team-mate Mike Covell” graduate from UEA in 2001, and since then the UEA Hockey Club has held an annual event in order to not only fundraise and pay tribute to him but also to raise awareness. This year’s charity matches were held on 30 October at UEA Sportspark, who
Norwich Evening News
graduation years. They played against the current 1st XI UEA team, and went on to win the match 2-1 with some skillful play from both sides. The support offered on a yearly basis from the Sportspark is invaluable at this event, and their contribution of £700 towards the total accumulated this year was warmly received. The money was raised through customer donations in exchange for copies of the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News through a promotion in conjunction with Archant Norfolk. Acting Director of the Sportspark, Maria Rowe said, “The UEA hockey club should be very proud of their efforts and all the money they have raised over the last tens years or so for the National Meningitis Trust. I’m sure Mike’s family are touched
The funds were raised in memory of Mike Covell by the support his team mates and friends have given to increasing awareness and ensuring this annual event takes place. “I’m really pleased that the Sportspark has been able to add to this year’s donation thanks to our generous customers.” The Old Boys’ weekend has become an integral part of the UEAHC calendar, with everyone getting involved in one way or
another. The fundraising doesn’t stop there however, as Mike’s former friends and team mates enter into various marathons and mountain expeditions in aid of the Meningitis Trust throughout the year. UEAHC will forever continue to support and raise funds for such a worthy cause, keeping it close to the heart of the club and paying tribute to such a well-loved player.
s
Derby Day preview | p21
concretesport
issue266 28february2012
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UEAsport Geraldine Morizet
Geraldine Morizet
Hockey match report | p22 Football match report | p23 Hockey charity game | p23
Inside concretesport this fortnight:
• Joshua Resoun watches a disappointing defeat for Women’s Hockey, while Kris Nelson sees Women’s Football take yet another win • Matt Scrafton reports on Loughborough seeing off Men’s Squash, and Billy Sexton comments on the Haye-Chisora saga
Table Tennis reach BUCS Championships semis Chris Teale Sports editor
Laura Smith
Men’s Table Tennis I 9 St. Andrews I 3 Men’s Table Tennis are one game away from the final of the BUCS Championships after a convincing 9-3 win over St Andrews I in the quarter final at the Sportspark. After a successful season that has seen them in the upper reaches of Midlands Division 1A after six wins and just one loss, the team have also made great strides in the BUCS Championships, a cup competition between the best sides in the country. St Andrews I made the long trip from Scotland as the top team in Scotland Division 1A, with eight wins from eight matches, and were hopeful of coming away with a victory in the tough away clash after seeing off Newcastle I in the last 16. However, in the opening round of singles matches, UEA streaked into an early 3-1 lead, thanks to straight sets wins from their first three matches. It was a stunning start from the home side, and gave them a superb advantage going into the rest of the matches. The second round began with straightforward wins for both Matt Haynes and Johnny Bispham, who were both clearly on form and looking to wrap the tie up as early as possible. Despite a straight sets loss for Kit Lo in his second singles match, Mikael Papantoniou held his nerve superbly in the final match of the round to come through a tense five set match, and give UEA a 6-2 lead at the halfway point of the singles matches. However, in his next match Bispham could not keep his 100% record intact, as he lost in straight sets to reduce the score in the tie to 6-3, but the home side extended their advantage once again as the impressive Haynes took his third win of the afternoon in four sets to give UEA a comfortable 7-3 lead. After Lo completely outplayed his
Men’s Table Tennis just need to beat Nottingham I to reach the BUCS Championship final opponent to win in straight sets to maintain the momentum, Papantoniou then had the chance to guarantee UEA victory in his third singles match, with the home side looking comfortable with an 8-3 lead. After losing the first set, Papantoniou then took the next two sets comfortably, and was confident of finishing the tie in style. However, after losing the fourth set by a narrow margin of 11-9, it came down to a deciding set, with the home side looking to
wrap up the tie, and the away side trying simply to stay in it. Nonetheless, the UEA man demolished his opponent in the fifth and final set, coming away with an 11-5 victory, and giving the home side an unassailable 9-3 lead in the tie, guaranteeing them a berth in the semi-finals. The tie was then awarded to UEA, as St Andrews had a long journey ahead of them and the other matches would be dead rubbers.
UEA will now face Nottingham I of the Premier North Division in the semifinal in Sheffield on 16 March, and will be hopeful of continuing their superb run in the competition. Their opponents are currently unbeaten in the league this season, and enjoyed an 11-6 victory over Leeds I in their Championship quarter final. However, after this victory against one of the best teams in Scotland, UEA will be hopeful of a victory themselves.
VENUE
Concrete’s fortnightly culture pullout
issue 266 | 28/02/2012
arts | saw uea’s production of as you like it | p. 9 fashion | give you tips on going vintage | pp. 12-13
Photo by Carver Ho
music | review the nme awards show | p. 7
03 IE
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VENUE CONTENTS
ssue 266 | 28.02.2012 ditor-in-Chief | Chris King | concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk
V
enue Editor | Alex Throssell | concrete.event.uea.ac.uk Short and snappy, that’s my inspiration for another insightful editorial. To be honest, it hasn’t got a great deal to do with anything in the paper, but more that this was possibly the fastest I’ve ever got everything done on deadline day. I woke up late, and didn’t even leave for the office until midday, but here I am, a delightfully painless eight and a half hours later, and I’m probably going to be home in time to eat dinner at a socially acceptable time for the first time in weeks. So, for the sake of my stomach, I’m going to love you and leave you so I can stop feasting on Suze’s chocolate covered rich tea biscuits and eat something slightly more substantial. Don’t be fooled by the inane brevity of this little ramble though, this issue looks amazing too, so turn over and have a look.
Alex
Music | Editors | Alex Ross & Jordan Bright Music Contributors> Alex Throssell, Gareth Rees-White, Cheri Amour, Hana Lockier, Lucy Jobber, Callum Pawlett-Howell. Arts | Editor | Emma Webb Arts Contributors> Emma Webb, Jack Coleman, Harriet MacDonald, Leigh Horan, Hatty Farnham, Issy Mitchell, Julia Sanderson,. Fashion | Editors | Hannah Britt & Milly Sampson Fashion Contributors> Hannah Britt, Lucy Jobber, Josie Lister, Jess Beech.
Film | Editors | James Burrough & Anna Eastick Film Contributors> Kieran Rogers, Alek Stoodley, Laura Westerman, Leo Hunt, Fiona Grundy, Adam Dawson, Tom Moore, Sam Warner, Beth Wyatt, James Burrough. Creative Writing | Editor | Ella Chappell Creative Writing Contributors> Rebecca Goodacre, Chen Shun Xuan, Katie Taylor, Tom King. TV | Editor | Matt Tidby TV Contributors> Bridie Wilkinson, Matt Mulcahy, James Sykes. Competitions and Listings| Editor | Sam Tomkinson
Photo by Aaron Toumazou
Wired | Editor | Josh Mott Wired Contributors> Josh Mott, Joe Fitzsimmons, Robert Austin, Adam Riza, Oliver Balaam.
MUSIC
28.02.2012
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
album reviews sleigh bells reign of terror Despite their recent commercial success, Sleigh Bells are still a band firmly championed by a dedicated cult of hipsters, and it’d be very easy to pass off their sophomore effort as “not as good as their early stuff”, even if only to make that delicious metaphor work. The New York duo wrote a deafeningly good debut EP and remastered it a year later as first full length album Treats. Any suggestions that Reign of Terror, with its ominously badass title, shouldn’t be as astonishingly head splitting as their previous efforts are unwelcome and ultimately unfounded Just like Treats, Reign of Terror is quite a simple record; Derek E. Miller’s distortion drenched riffing is still the counter balance to Alexis Krauss’ breathy vocals, but instead of becoming stale, their willingness to express a little more maturity means the hits just keep on coming. The tracks are still short and ever so un-sweet, and what with the whole album only just exceeding half an hour, the whole listening experience isn’t too far from some sort of interrogation. It feels as though, after surviving their debut,
the shins port of morrow As the cold winter days refuse to offer a respite in their gloom, what could be more fitting than the long awaited return of a band known for their innate ability to brighten the grimmest of days: The Shins. It has been five long years since Wincing the Night Away wowed critics and gained the band a Grammy nomination. Now, on 19 March, James Mercer and co finally return with Port of Morrow. As before, Mercer handles all songwriting duties, along with providing the lead vocals for each track. For this release, Mercer brings with him a new band, which includes the likes of Modest Mouse’s Joe Plumer. Past fans will be pleased to know the new band continues in the same style of The Shins they know and love, whilst adding their own mark. As well as the first album with the new band, this is Mercer’s first time recording with Columbia Records, after a decade long stint with Sub-Pop. Some fans may be concerned that this move from the indie darlings will lead to a more commercial nature to the band’s music, but
Sleigh Bells aren’t happy with you sitting so comfortably, so Miller proceeds kick your head in with a barrage of monstrous riffs and militant beats, whilst Krauss seductively tells you you’re “born to lose”. It sounds horrible, but it’s sickeningly good; Sleigh Bells are the soundtrack to a masochists dream. Things do relent a little though. The visceral Treats was firmly set in grimy venues, house parties, and the underground, but Reign of Terror, whilst thankfully not completely abandoning that formula, certainly gives us a sneak peek into the softer side of Sleigh Bells. Alexis’ sugar-sweet vocals are no longer limited to sorority cheers and riot grrl angst, but give way to more considered emotion on End of the Line and Road To Hell. Of course, it’s the raucous, thunderously loud tracks which whip you into the biggest frenzy, and fans of the earlier releases will rejoice at hearing True Shred Guitar, Born To Lose, Comeback Kid, and Demons. However, one or two of the other tracks on the album do feel like filler; they fall slightly awkwardly, never sure whether to stick to their aggressive roots or to branch into new, more vulnerable territory. Nevertheless, the album on a whole will certainly maintain Sleigh Bells’ vice like grip on the heart of every little hipster. Alex Throssell
Venue is pleased to report that the change has simply resulted in a cleaner sound, with the group playing even tighter than before. How much this has to do with the move to Columbia, Mercer’s interim time with Broken Bells, or simply the new backing band is hard to say. Instead, it is simply easier to say that the album is a joy to listen to from start to finish. Be it the driving drum beat of opener The Rifle’s Spiral or the sarcasm of Bait and Switch, each song adds its own. Standout track, It’s Only Life, is found at the albums mid-point, channelling a sound that is somewhat different from the rest of the album. It could be the laid back tone or the slurry of memorable lyrics (personal favourite: “open up the parachute, something’s got to stop the freefall”), but of the ten tracks, this one is the most likely to emerge as a festival season favourite. Of course, no album is perfect. It could, for example, be argued that the band has hardly changed their sound since their 2001 debut, Oh, Inverted World. The flip side to this is that the band has simply found a style that works, and has worked hard to refine it. Detractors of the band won’t convert, but for everyone else, the first great summer album of the year has been released. Gareth Rees-White
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MUSIC
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
gig reviews
Photo by Milly Sampson
05
28.02.2012
pulled apart by horses
james vincent mcmorrow
the waterfront
norwich arts centre
21.02.12
13.02.12
Tough love. Another classic example of that tired old refrain, “you gotta be cruel, to be kind”, and just as Nick Lowe crooned about it all those many years ago, the message still rings true even today, and you don’t need the “Jesus of cool” to tell you that! But underneath all that brute swagger, surely there has to be some actual heartfelt flutterings beyond such a fierce façade? Support act for the night, rockabilly meets rumbustious The Computers, in their matching white attire, walk the dapper line between charming and down right annoying. While the lead singer’s desire to clamber on monitors and sound desks alone was extroverted to say the least, referring to yourself as the “Greatest Rock‘n’Roll Band” is perhaps a little too bold for even this brash ensemble. As Leeds’ hardcore hellions, Pulled Apart By Horses take to the stage, there’s no need for weighty accolades or self important titles here. Live favourite and opening track, I Punched a Lion in the Throat, is met with a fervent surge as the teasing hi-hats teeter into a torrid of gutsy growls and slogging guitars. New
song, and lead lush number, Bromance Ain’t Dead goes out “to the bros” while Epic Myth has the heavy metal abandon of an ACDC-esque cry in lead singer Tom Hudson’s gore spattered growl. The school boy comparisons don’t stop there either. Sophmore album opus, Night of the Living [I’m Scared of People] showcases dual guitar brilliance of a cooler, and dare I say more sprightly, Malcolm and Angus Young with James Brown’s [no, not the soul singer’s] nifty fretwork and Hudson’s relentless riffage. Not ones to dwell on simply new tricks though, PABH pull out some fan favourites too with raucous renditions of first album frenzy, High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive, and the relentless groan of Den Horn’s extended rock refrain saw the band’s set come to a riotous close. With only two albums under their belts but a whole host of bile and grime in their throats, Pulled Apart By Horses certainly know how to treat ‘em mean and keep ‘em keen. If this is what tough love feels like, then godspeed Leeds! Leave us battered and bruised.... Cheri Amour
The day before Valentine’s day saw James Vincent McMorrow take to the Arts Centre stage, and whilst every glance around the venue seemed to find yet another couple, the set delivered to us was sensational enough to move even the bitter hearts in the room. There was no mellow introduction; James jumped straight in to Sparrow and the Wolf, and immediately caught the attention of everybody there. However, there seemed to be an awkwardness on the stage. James seemed unable to look at his audience, and stared directly over our heads right into the shining spotlights. However, first song down, he opened his mouth and the awkwardness seemed to walk quietly out via the fire escape. The man is an Irish charmer, with charisma and a sense of humour tucked up his sleeve: the air had shifted and by relaxing himself the audience did the same. Breaking Hearts did a valiant effort in introducing Down The Burning Ropes, which was phenomenal. The song is beautiful on the album, but it is one of those tracks that doesn’t show its true colours until performed live. Adding to its intensity was James’ powerful articulation, each lyric was pushed directly at you leaving nowhere to look but directly at the stage. Follow Me
Down to the Old Oak Tree and Early in the Morning boasted stunning harmonies from the entire band, leaving you to question why they need instruments at all. As the performance progressed, the audience were treated to a good slice of Irish banter which caused the crowd to erupt into laughter. Of course, a lot of people would have been waiting for one song, Higher Love, and it was definitely worth the wait, enchanting just about does the performance justice. We Don’t Eat, however, stole the show. The slow building piano and light bump on the bass drum held every single person captivated right up until the last note. JVM closed the set with a cover of Chris Isaak’s smooth classic Wicked Game, which was made even more sultry by his effortlessly innocent vocals. James Vincent McMorrow and his band of many gave the ticket holders a beautiful performance that was hard to fault, especially taking into account their confession of lack of rehearsal, which allowed everyone to walk out the Arts Centre with a coy smile upon their face. Hana Lockier
MUSIC
28.02.2012
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
nme awards tour
06
Photo by Sam Gladstone
lucy jobber reviews sets by azealia banks, tribes, metronomy and two door cinema club The show kicked off with feisty rapper Azealia Bankes, recently hitting up a storm in the music world, landing runner up in BBC Sound of 2012 poll and topping NME’s “cool list” in 2011. Azealia certainly packed a punch with her gutsy lyrics and relentless booty shaking but she felt out of place alongside the rest of the indie ensemble, with only the DJ and a few semi-inebriated teens seeming fully enthusiastic about her set. It wasn’t until the unlikely combination of Azealia’s vocals paired with the Prodigy’s infamous Firestarter, did the energy of the audience start to pick up. Next up were Camden-based boys Tribes, who worked their way through their recently released debut album Baby, a mixture of new grunge with a dash of brit-pop. They kicked off with their hit number Sappho, a tongue-in-cheek account of a mother who turns to lesbianism, before exploring more angsty teenage themes in Girlfriend and Halfway Home, perhaps more befitting to their tortured rockstar image. They oozed confidence throughout their gig and their anthems of youthful glory seemed to hold far more appeal to the new indie generation, reflected by the rallying chants of “we were children in the mid-90s!” The IT-crowd-esque potrait backdrop signified the entrance of Metronomy, the penultimate band and certainly no strangers to the UEA venue. Bearing their signature flashing lights round their necks, the band led us through such classics as, A Thing for Me, The Look, The Bay and Everything Goes My Way. The duet of synthesized keyboards electrified the venue, bass guitarist Gbenga revved up the crowd up front, and they wrapped their performance up with a surprisingly heavy pseudo-dubstep instrumental. Their live performance held almost no comparison to their recorded tracks which are relatively relaxed and almost sedative, but their performance proved without a doubt that Metronomy have plenty more to offer in future years. Finally after a massive 3 hours of support, headliners Two Door Cinema Club graced the stage. Unlike the preceding bands, they seemed fairly indistinct in appearance. With only one released album, most of their set was drawn from their debut Tourist History, although we were treated to a newly-recorded track called Handshake, which stuck to their signature sound of Caribbean-influenced drums, complex interplays of rhythm and lead guitars, with some heavy bass work from guitarist, Kevin Baird. Admittedly the Irish troop lacked the originality of the previous bands, but there is always comfort to be had in familiarity, and they undoubtedly know how to rock a crowd.
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28.02.2012
MUSIC
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
metronomy interview
alex throssell spoke to joe mount ahead of metronomy’s nme awards tour set at the lcr
It’s a big mix of bands this year, is it ever weird between you? Everyone gets on. I mean, it’d be stupid if you didn’t all get on really, cause even though the music might not be to everyone’s tastes, everyone’s just pretty nice really, and just like day-to-day, everyone’s eating in the same room and bumping into each other. It feels a bit harsh for you guys that you aren’t topping the bill? A band like Two Door, their success is much more in keeping with the target audience of that magazine. I can’t see us really headlining something like this, I think it’s the right way round really. There seems to have been a significant shift from Nights Out to The English Riviera, was it a conscious decision to play less from your previous albums? Yeah, but I think that’s kind of how it should be in a way. I mean, on a tour like this it would be stupid to play loads of stuff from our previous records, cause not many people would know it, and I don’t think this kind of shift is in any way turning our back on anything, it’s just getting on with stuff. I mean, we’re the only band on the bill who’ve got three records, so I think we’re lucky, Two Door Cinema Club’s album came out like two years ago, so they’ve been touring that record for a long time, so for us it’s good to be able to keep being excited. Does it feel odd being thrust into the limelight, garnering these larger crowds and receiving critical acclaim for your albums, considering you’ve been somewhat on the
fringe for so long? Well for me, I’ve spent five years kind of not being in this position, and I’ve seen friends of mine in bands who are literally being forced down people’s throats and before you know it they’ve disappeared, so I’m much more ready for it than anyone I know. I’m aware that it can disappear if the next album’s crap, I’m aware of all of that, but it’s much more manageable if you’re realistic. So you’re kind of taking things as they come? Yeah, and it’s funny because, especially on a tour like this, you see bands like Tribes who haven’t done any touring, like this is their first proper tour and [laughs] not to sound patronising, but, like, they’re so excited [laughs] and I’m just sitting here thinking, “ah I remember when it used to be like that.” This is a totally unrealistic tour; we’ve got days off all the time, travelling tiny distances, I’m not sure what my point is, but yeah. Do you miss those old times though? Yeah I do. The thing is you always do that kind of touring at the beginning, or when your first record comes out, rather than doing that now. We’ve been touring our latest album for just over a year now, and that’s just natural. But if you do anything loads you’re always going to find it less exciting over time, but only in that, if you’re doing the same thing for 12 months, you’ll probably enjoy it less at the end than as you did a few months in. But then when you start again, with the next record say, it’s exciting again; it’s just a big cyclical thing. So you have plans for another record? Yeah, yeah, but I mean we haven’t really had
time between all of these tours, and we’re booked up at lots of festivals, so I’m not really sure how it’s going to work yet. So are you still writing a lot of the songs? Yeah I am. I think it’s just the way that I’ve always done it. Like I think I’ve always been very aware that these records are what’s going to be left over; we’re not going to tour forever, so they’re the only thing in my life that I really try and stay in control of. I guess basically the way I think, is that if it doesn’t sound right, you do it until it does. I guess I’m kind of in charge of writing because of that, but that’s always how it’s been. I’m sure with the next record we’ll trying playing songs together, and sorting out parts together for recording, and hopefully that’ll work well, but then if it doesn’t sound right, it doesn’t sound right [laughs]. There’s room for anything to happen, but I guess in my head it always comes down to these records. There has been a change in your live show recently, why has that come about? Well because we don’t play with laptops anymore we have to physically play everything, so it’s hard to put as much time into the visual performance as we used to. But I’m not a massive fan of live music, so for me the point of it is you go out and you have a good night, and the band that you’re seeing play the songs that you like, and you don’t feel like you’ve wasted your money. I guess when we’re playing you want to put on a good show and try and do little things that make it special, but it’s maybe not as considered as some other things are in a way. I don’t think that’s a bad thing though; it’s not like we want
to be playing stadiums or anything. So are you going to continue with the idea of putting on an entertaining live show, but writing a very polished record? Well with the records you get a sense of beginning something and finishing something, and finishing it to a standard that you’re in control of, so I guess now I’m definitely interested in making stuff slick. Well, when I say slick I guess I mean wellrealised, like the last record. Whereas with the live side of things there’s so much going on that’s beyond your control that it’s more fun to just enjoy it. What about Joe Mount as a producer, are you going to spend more time on your other projects? At the moment, cause everything is going really well I just want to do another Metronomy record and see how I feel after that. This year’s been great and you never really expect to be in that kind of situation, so I feel we should just give all these new fans some more music. I guess now the idea of production is something I can see myself doing much later on, when I stop wanting to tour or something, cause at the moment so much of my free time is taken up by touring that any time I get any down time I’d rather put that into my own music than somebody else’s; things might happen with other people, but it’s not the priority right now.
For the unedited interview visit www.concrete-online.co.uk/Culture/Music.
MUSIC
28.02.2012
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
kaiser chiefs interview
08
callum pawlett-howell talks to kaiser chiefs guitarist andrew white
In the wake of their show at the LCR selling out in a few hours, Venue sits down with Kaiser Chief guitarist Andrew ‘Whitey’ White, who walks in looking like he should be in the Stone Roses or Happy Mondays, wearing no shoes and ready to talk about their latest album, the smell of Bono and football. It’s been three years between the release of your third album Off with their Heads and your latest album The Future is Medieval. Why did you go on this hiatus? After the first three albums we’d worked pretty hard; we’d been on tour for five or six years. So we just wanted to take a rest and have a break, think about our lives a bit. I had a baby, well I didn’t actually have the baby but you know, so it was nice to be at home and stuff and we’ve kind of gradually got back into it. Your latest album had quite an unconventional release, you allowed the fans to choose 10 out of 20 tracks, then arrange the track order and design the art work. Do you feel like you have lost much in way of creative control in choosing to release it this way? Kind of, but obviously not musically, we recorded it but that was kind of the point really, we basically had our time off and there was no energy and we didn’t really want to get back together really and do anything again the same way so Ricky (Wilson, Lead Singer) came up with the idea and it got us excited and it’s all about digital music. When you buy something digital, you don’t really get anything, just something on your computer, you don’t appreciate the artwork in fact you don’t even really listen to the
songs, well I don’t anyway, you click it and listen to a couple of songs and I’ll probably never hear it again. So the idea was that we wanted to give them a sense of ownership over something digital and if they created their own artwork and choose their own tracks and we gave them the opportunity to sell it on then maybe people would be more passionate about digital music.
playing them and we get a great crowd reaction. If we were playing them and they weren’t enjoying them, we probably won’t play them. We never really get bored of them.
One of the tracks on the album has a particularly strange name, the Child of the Jago. What is a Child of the Jago? I think it’s from a poem. Nick [Hodgson] (Drummer) is a poet and I think it was a pub in London in the Victorian times.
You’ve opened for both Green Day and U2, what was that like? They’re great. I met Bono, once very briefly he came backstage once and said hi. I remember him smelling very nice, he kind of woofed in and woofed out again. We supported them at our height 2006/2007, we thought we were big, at least we did until we supported U2. It’s good to see how other bands do it and Green Day are really great guys, they’re absolutely crazy after the show.
You’ve played most of the major festivals but you will be playing a much smaller gig here. Do you prefer to play the bigger festivals or the more intimate venues? Not really, it’s all good, it’s nice to have variety. It’s always been up and down, we might play a big place over here but a smaller place in Germany or a bigger place in Mexico. It’s just nice to do a sold out show and to play where you haven’t played for a while.
Do you have any pre gig routines? Not really, interviews are a usually pre gig routine but nothing’s set, although you do get into a routine. Nick, he’s asleep at the moment, he likes to have a little sleep. Some people are eating. We just sit around really and have a little warm up about half an hour before the show we get together and there’s no one else in the room and we just play music and get into it.
Can you describe the feeling of a field full of thousands of people singing the songs you’ve written back to you? Well I can’t hear them, it’s so loud on stage that I literally can’t hear them.
You’ve probably been asked this quite a lot recently but your predictions about the riots came true. Have you any other predictions, can we expect the future to be medieval? It kind of is, with that title we have tried to describe like I was saying earlier; making digital music more like vinyl and give someone something tangible and that’s trying to make digital music appear from the past and trying to give music back its physical form. So it kind of works in my head anyway. But I don’t know what the future holds.
Do you ever get bored of playing old fan favourites, do you wish you could stop playing them and just move on? Not really no, because it’s us we are not striving to be something we’re not. We know we’ve got some big songs and we enjoy
You have your own record label Chewing Gum records. Where did the name for that come from? It was Nick’s idea, he wanted to do it. It was just in their time off they moved down to London and I think they got bored and they just wanted to do something. We just wanted to help some other bands out, that we like and give them a foot up Finally, football. Leeds United Manager, Simon Grayson has been sacked after three years. What’re your opinions about that? Well, I think it’s terrible actually, we were really good friends with Simon, so it’s a bit of a shame really. In fact he’s been to a few shows on this tour, hopefully that’s not why he got sacked. But it’s the state of football, it’s like everything, everything needs to be now, bands don’t really get a chance to create or be experimental, not if you sign a record deal, you’ve got to have it now and it’s like that with football, it’s instant or you’re out. Do you know the Leeds squad then? We used to, but we sold them all to Norwich, we sold our captain to Norwich. You got your band name, from the South American football team that former Leeds captain Lucas Radebe used to play for. Have you ever met him? Yeah, we met him a few times. In fact when we went to South Africa, Lucas was over there and he took us round and we went to the Kaiser Chiefs training ground and we had a game of football with them, Kaiser Chiefs vs. Kaiser Chiefs. I think they won.
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28.02.2012
dancesport successful at nudc On 11 February UEA Dancesport travelled to the University of Birmingham for the annual Northern Universities Dance Competition (NUDC). With several beginner couples reaching semi-finals, novices Sarah-Jayne Alston and Richard Ayre achieving novice ballroom finals, and an overall 9th place out of 32 competing teams for UEA, it was a largely successful event for all involved. The all day competition began with a Mayfair quickstep in which several UEA novice couples made the second and third rounds. This was followed by the beginner category ballroom rounds, in which UEA beginner couples Bernadette Treen and Liam Hunt, and Emma Webb and Maxwell Rogers achieved a collective total of five call backs across the two dances (waltz and quickstep). Additionally, Louise Whiteside and Joel Lawrence made the second round for quickstep in their first competition together. The novice couples also had resounding success in the novice ballroom categories, with all six couples entered receiving call backs for both dances, and Aston and Ayre achieving sixth place in the final for waltz and fourth for the quickstep. Following the ballroom was several stunning performances in acrobatic rock’n’roll from Lawrence and his partner Nathalie Kernot, and in non-acrobatic rock’n’roll from Whiteside and novice Kurt Lee. The afternoon Latin rounds were also very positive for UEA, with Treen and Hunt, and Whiteside and Lawrence making the jive semi-finals, and Webb and Rogers reaching the same level for the cha cha cha. Three novice couples reached the third round for both Latin dances, and again Aston and Ayre performed beautifully in the Open Five Dance rounds. UEA’s submission into the offbeat choreography competition achieved seventh place. UEA will be entering approximately 14 couples into the final competitive event of the Dancesport calendar; the 50th annual InterVarsity Dance Association (IVDA) competition in Blackpool on 3rd March. Emma Webb
ARTS
concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk
as you like it To be able to bring new life to a 400 year old play is a daunting task, especially when the play is one of Shakespeare’s greatest and best loved comedies. But Dramasoc was able to give this production of As You like It
la traviata
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uea drama studio a modern twist by setting it in the swinging 60s, tie dye shirts and all, meaning they could break free from those stereotypical Elizabethan characters, developing more contemporary roles and relationships that the audience could relate to without taking away any of that original Shakespearian magic. There are two main settings in the play: the court of Duke Frederick and the Forest of Arden where his exiled brother, Duke Senior, lives with his band of followers. The contrast between the two places is reflected well on stage with the stark court of Duke Frederick, reflecting his oppressive rule, compared with his brother’s home in the Forest of Arden, which is full of colourful clutter: washing, tents and blankets, reflecting their life of freedom. This contrast was also shown well through the opposing dukes, both played by Ben Rogers, who was able to switch from the villainous Duke Frederick to the good natured Duke Senior with ease. The play revolves around the growing love between the witty Rosalind (Alice Spalding) and the courageous Orlando (Ben
Harris) which is played out in the forest with their friends, all of whom gallivant around entangling themselves in various love triangles. The followers of Duke Senior are always in “rustic revelry” and often break into song and dance, which left a smile on the audiences face. However it was the bawdy jokes and slapstick comedy of Touchtone (Jon Moss) and Aubrey (Natalia Massuco) that bought the laughs. In the end, Rosalind is able to use her powers of logic and persuasion to arrange happy endings for many of the characters as she marries them off. The play certainly has that feel-good factor and you can’t help but leave feeling better than when you came in. The production achieved a perfect balance of old and new, showing Shakespeare’s representation of love and life can apply in any context, proving those famous words spoken by Jacques (Dudley Brewis): “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…” Jack Coleman
theatre royal
Giuseppe Verdi’s operatic tragedy, La Traviata (The Fallen Woman) was written by Alexandre Dumas and first performed in 1853. Set in Paris in the 1850s, it follows a love story between Violetta Valery, a courtesan who is suffering from consumption and her admirer Alfredo Germount. Ellen Kent’s production stars the acclaimed Ukrainian National Opera. The music was all of exremely high quality, thanks to the orchestra and the incredibly talented singers. Maria Tonina, who played Violetta, managed to convey every intended passion and emotion, and Alfredo’s father Giorgio Germount played by (Ievgenii Lysytskyi) stuck out as one of the most talented singers in the performance. However, the groups’ singing abilities did not quite match with their acting skills. Firstly, there seemed to be no visible connection between the two lovers. The strong love between Violetta and Alfredo is demonstrated in the words of their songs, one verse that was heard often throughout the performance was: “sentia che amore è palpito, dell’universo intero, misterioso, altero, croce e deliziaal cor!” (I felt that love beating like the entire universe, mysterious, exalted, pain and pleasure to my heart!) But the two main characters were not convincing in their portrayal of these feelings. In the last act of the play, Violetta dies as Alfredo is sitting by her bedside. Surely such a tragic ending to a passionate love story would deserve an emotional reaction from their audience, but every eye in the theatre remained dry.
As well as the acting, the costumes also helped to impair the visual elements of the performance. The dresses worn by Violetta looked cheap and distasteful, despite £27,000 being spent on the costumes. In the first act all the females wore dresses which were white and pink and covered in sequins, much like the dresses that feature on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and the dresses in the acts that followed were similar. The stage set too had the same low quality, with tacky plastic fruit used as props
and cheap looking backgrounds. In Act Two the background showed faded trees painted on a loose curtain which resembled the setting of a children’s school play. This version of La Traviata should be recommended to a viewer who is willing to close their eyes throughout the performance or look past the visual tastelessness and just experience top quality singing and music. Harriet MacDonald
ARTS
28.02.2012
concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk
10
richard alston dance company: theatre royal Richard Alston is clearly a master in contemporary dance. The Richard Alston Dance Company graced Norwich for only two nights, but certainly made a more lasting impact than that short space of time would suggest. The performance is divided into three separate themes which each style of dancing pertains to. The music in these different stages comprises a broad spectrum: from Steve Reich to Mozart and Norwich-born Benjamin Britten. The dances are, in essence, simplistic; the dancers appeared to move freely, unconstrained, their movements as seamless as the transitions in the accompanying music. Roughcut is danced to Steve Reich’s New York and Electric Counterpoint for clarinet and guitar, which, although haunting, was also extremely repetitive. This point may seem more a criticism of the music than the choreography, but this sense of repetition extends itself to the point where many of the movements constantly reoccur. This is, however, a minor complaint. Alston’s motive in constructing Roughcut came from
the vivacity of the dancers he was working with; a vitality that was clearly displayed. The title is equally indicative: the dancers movements were rough cut and casual. This casual habit worn by the dancers
this week in arts history
tends to the more balletic and formal dancing in the second movement: Unfinished Business, where Mozart’s K.533 is introduced. Here, the choreography achieved a higher level of visual
performance. Though the duets were not particularly engaging (and this rings true for all of the acts) the solo and group dances were masterfully wrought. The movements were fluid and the music complementary. The solo dance by the artful Liam Riddick, accompanied only by a pianist, is one to watch out for. The performance concluded with the crescendo of A Ceremony of Carols choreographed to the nativity-inspired music of Benjamin Britten. Again, the group dances and solos were fantastically executed. Perhaps the mock crucifix that appeared onstage with no apparent function was slightly vulgar; suggesting the audience, without this visual prop, would be unable to comprehend the theme. But this complaint is not strong enough to mar an otherwise perfect performance by a reputable dance company. Quite simply, the Richard Alston Dance Company maintain a level of professionalism whilst mesmerising their audience: a combination that is hard to find elsewhere. Leigh Horan
... 1963
american poet william carlos williams died on 4 march 1963 The beginning of March will mark almost half a century since the death of William Carlos Williams, the American poet associated with Imagist and Modernist literary movements. The writer grew up in New Jersey and trained as a physician in Pennsylvania, a career he pursued successfully alongside his literary endeavours. Rumoured to have delivered thousands of babies during his lifelong medical career, Williams’ writing provides an almost clinical and minimalist approach to life and literature simultaneously. Often emotionally removed, concise, and representative of the ordinary, Williams’ work has been compared to his own life experiences as a doctor, as well as to his associations with the Imagist movement, and the works of literary expatriates such as Ezra Pound and Hilda Doolittle (HD). Imagism was an extension of Modernist literature which consciously attempted to isolate a single image in order to reveal the distinct meaning of an object, while also mirroring Cubism’s attempts to represent multiple perspectives within one image. This complex deconstruction of appearance and meaning within the everyday can be seen within the writer’s works, where he often took inspiration from scenes or
objects he encountered on the road to and from the hospital he worked in. For example, his famous eight line poem The Red Wheel Barrow creates one single image by contrasting several separate images and conflating them in a familiar setting: so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens. The seemingly simple poem layers abstract ideas of colour, distance and consistency, whilst remaining concise, barren and detached. When describing his own writing style, Williams stated that there were “no ideas but in things”, highlighting his approach to everyday objects and surroundings. Considering the inspiration he drew from both the natural and the manmade within his surroundings, it is no surprise that Williams differed from the majority of his American contemporaries. Whilst Ezra Pound, HD, and many others moved to Europe between the
world wars, Williams stayed in America all his life, remaining true to his American roots not only geographically, but also through his patriotic approach to the natural world, and through his use of American vernacular. Indeed, the year before Williams published one of his seminal books of poetry, Spring and All, T.S Eliot published The Waste Land, which Williams criticised for its pretentious use of reference and multilingual literature,
as he himself preferred to humbly adopt local vernacular in his works. Although less successful than his quasi-European counterparts during his time, William’s work has since been awarded many literary prizes, strongly influenced the Beats movement, and provoked literary contemplation for nearly one hundred years. Hatty Farnham
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28.02.2012
ARTS
concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk
there is here:
cafe
sainsbury centre for visual arts In his series, There is Here, a body of work specially commissioned by the Sainsbury Centre, Avi Gupta reflects upon absent presences, examining the shared human experience of asserting individuality. This is presented in a number of images portraying the personal lives of unknown people through scenes of domesticity. In focusing directly upon aspects of everyday life, Gupta adds a certain shrine-like quality to items of personal importance, such as recently abandoned beds, empty living rooms and trinkets, fully capturing the significance of personal identity. Gupta has employed soft focus, subtle
lighting and subdued colours to produce a delicate sense of calming familiarity to the scenes captured, adding a haunting quality to the work. This sense is heightened by the presence of individuals, as established by the impressions they leave behind, such as: slouching sofas, unmade beds and discarded items, such as flip-flops, rather than their physical presence. Although innately personal, abstracted from their owners, these items are transformed into representative symbols of general human existence, allowing viewers to associate with the images on an individual level, attributing aspects of their own lives to the scenes before them. Whilst this series examines how individual identity is built by the objects with which we surround ourselves, it also captures the degree to which each of us is perpetually linked by our shared humanity. The juxtaposition of the individual with the general human race is further emphasised by the ambiguity of the location in which each image was shot, portraying the interiors of homes in both Washington DC, where Gupta was born, and Kolkata, where his family originated, the
viewer is unable to decipher where they were taken. This ambiguity symbolises the difficulty with which people in modern society establish their individual identities, as cultures converge, providing a thought provoking view into the idea of what makes an individual. Issy Mitchell
sainsbury centre for visual arts becomes entirely seductive to even the adult eye. Indeed, the character culture is deeply imbedded within Japanese society and is brazenly loved by all ages within both private and public spheres. It is hard to understand the extent to which anime permeates everyday Japanese life, but the reconstruction of a typical Japanese girl’s bedroom allows insight into a private space where every surface and object is stamped with the image of the iconic Hello Kitty brand. At first glance, the room seems to demonstrate commercialism gone mad, but the Hello Kitty paraphernalia actually reveals a much deeper association. The Japanese Foundation asserts that “at the root of this love for characters is a unique, traditional aesthetic sensibility that is informed by a receptivity and fondness for planarity, abbreviation, symbolism, and simplification.” Indeed, expressionless or “muhyo” characters such as Hello Kitty, represent this simplified symbolism for their plain faces and ambivalent nature allows the child to read their own emotions within their anime counterpart. As well as reflecting their owner’s emotions, these fictional characters would
the exporting of harry potter
kingdom of characters: UEA is extremely fortunate to be the only UK stop for The Japanese Foundation’s latest project, which is currently being exhibited in The Sainsbury Centre of Visual Arts. The Japanese Foundation is an organisation which endeavours to broaden international communication and understanding. Entitled A Day in the Life of Japan, the Kingdom of Characters, the travelling project appears a conflation of a history museum and an art exhibition, as it reveals a chronological development of Japan’s anime and manga culture. The physical space of the exhibition is occupied by bright lights, clashing colours, plastic figurines, iconic commercial objects, and moving anime productions, and
conversations:
appear to have positive psychological affects upon their consumers. A survey conducted by the Bandai Character Research Centre in 2004 related that characters had a calming and tranquilising affect upon the individual who lacks communication and trust within an increasingly monopolising world. The exhibition closes with the screening of an anime film, which poignantly highlights the culture’s development through the eras. Indeed, with the increase in virtual and online character culture, this isn’t a fad which is set to die out soon, but one which is increasingly more accessible worldwide. Hatty Farnham
Since its publication in 1997, Harry Potter has become one of the most famous phrases in the English language, right behind “tea please” and “queue here”. The very definition of a literary phenomenon, the series has achieved global success and sold around 450m copies to date. Evidently, people are reading Potter the world over. But just how do you translate the magical world of Hogwarts into another language? This was the topic of discussion at last week’s Café Conversations series. Organised by the UEA Drama, Literature and Creative Writing department and held Wednesdays at 2:30pm, in the café on the third floor of Jarrolds, Café Conversations offers like-minded people the chance to get together and discuss a wide range of topics in a lively, relaxed environment (imagine a kind of informal seminar, with tea and cake). The discussion outlined many of the issues and difficulties faced by the translators as, understandably, Harry Potter has proven to be a tricky text to translate. Firstly, so many words and names were made up by the author. This means translators have to decide between leaving the word as it appears in the original text, or substituting it for a more appropriate sounding word in the language they are translating to. Some interesting examples include “McSnurp” as the Norwegian variant of McGonagall and “Poudlard” as the French translation of Hogwarts. Secondly, Rowling was a big fan of using names to infer certain characteristics, such as the untrustworthy nature of Slytherins through the phonetic association of a slithering snake and the inclusion of the word “sly”. Such insights are often lost during translation. British cultural references can also present a problem, from educational tools such as house points to the use of colloquial slang and Ron’s defining catchphrase, “Bloody hell!” Due to the massive fanfare surrounding the release of the final few books in the series, translators were often only given a couple of months in which to complete the translation, so it is something of a miracle that Harry can now be read in 67 languages. It seems like everyone wants a piece of the boy who lived and after all, it would be selfish to keep him all to ourselves. Julia Sanderson
FASHION the hotlist smokin’
28.02.2012
frockshop
Charity shops We found Prada shoes for £20 in Chelsea this week. Amazing.
chokin’ Rihanna’s blonde hair We preferred it when it was red. She’s still bangin’ though.
Coats It’s warm now y’all.
Dip-dyed hair It was cool. Now everyone has one.
As we’re students too, we know the loan never seems to quite stretch enough, so we’re here to help you guys out and make sure your vintage fashion thirsts are quenched affordably. To sweeten the deal even more, it’s all for charity! All proceeds go to The Big C: a Norfolk based cancer charity who use the money they receive to improve cancer treatment facilities and studies in Norfolk. We think it’s a great cause to support and we hope that you do too. Not only will your money buy you a cheeky new outfit, you’ll be helping The Big C beat cancer too. Smug much? We’ll also be selling the cheapest tea and
cake on campus, from 10p upwards, so there really is no reason to not give us a visit. To entice you further, we’ll be uploading photos of our stock onto our Facebook page to give you a sneaky preview! Find us on Facebook under the name of “UEA Charity Frockshop 2012 (guys and gals)” to get all our fashion updates. Oh and one last thing, we have a cheeky surprise in store for you all... but nope, sorry, we’re not telling. This one we’re keeping under our vintage Stetson hats, you’re just going to have to swing by on March 15th to find out what it is. So that’s the LCR on Thursday March 15th from 11am-5pm. See you there? Cool.
campus: what are you wearing?
Photos: Harriet Smith & Emily Brock
Angelina Jolie In black velvet Atelier Versace, her Oscars look was flawless.
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josie lister on vintage shopping on campus Hi. We’re Frockshop. Nice to meet you. We hope you don’t think us too bold in saying that you’re looking mighty fine today. OK, now we’ve broken the ice, let’s get down to business. Our name is Frockshop and we’re here to fulfil all your vintage fashion desires. We are a fashion sale run by students for students and we’re back this year for our third annual fashion sale. We will be in the LCR on Thursday, March 15 with all kinds of goodies for all of you to rummage through. And when we say all of you, we mean all of you, boys too, we cater for you all. Not only do we have a handy location, but all our stock will be exceptionally cheap.
Pork pie hats What the cool kids are wearing right now.
concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
it’s vintage, darling lucy jobber on navigating the vintage shopping experience With the recent release of The Artist, and the ever-constant snaps of such vintage-wearing lovelies as Dita Von Teese and Chloe Sevigny hitting the glamourous magazines, it seems that everyone is raring to jump onto the vintage fashion wagon. It all seems so effortless, but I surely can’t be the only one who peers into the door of a vintage shop and looks on horrified at the frumpy two piece suits, 80s velour cat suits, and worst of all, a dead fox... or is that a scarf? It’s a wonder how anyone in any decade, pulled these outfits off. I for one have spent hours traipsing through vintage shops looking for that one piece which will “complete” my wardrobe, but every time I try on that 70s tartan blazer which looked so promising on the rails, I’m left wondering why a chic version of Sienna Miller is not staring back at me in the mirror.
Not to mention the hefty price tag attached which leaves every student in the life or death situation of whether that must-have piece is really worth a week’s starvation. But despite my negative attitude (purely stemmed from one too many times looking upon my reflection and seeing a glimpse of my future incarnation as a grandma) I know that with buying vintage, perseverance is key. Much like wading through the January sales, or rows upon rows of shapeless nylon monstrosities in the charity shops, we should look upon these shops with a puppy-like enthusiasm, determined to find at least one key piece which will be in our wardrobe for eternity, because let’s be honest, that oh-socheap Primark onesie is not going to last till 2030. Not only are you guaranteed to pick up something completely unique, you can
reassure that nagging voice in the back of your mind, that you are in fact “saving the world from a throw-away consumerist society” by spending the last of your bursary. And there’s always the slim possibility that if it endures another few decades in your hands, you could be sitting on a goldmine. Failing that, it will provide the grandchildren with a laugh. So next time you hurry past the vintage boutiques, heading straight for high street, pop in and see if you can’t find an equally gorgeous item for a night on the town. It doesn’t have to be a flowing Edwardian ball gown, it might just be a quirky brooch or a pair of 60’s sunglasses. But hey, if it’s lasted at least two decades before us, I’m sure it’ll survive a few more years in the hands of a UEA student.
FASHION
concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
Photos by Laura Smith, Stylist: Jess Beech & Katie Nertney, Model: Hatty Farnham
13
28.02.2012
modern vintage jess beech investigates how to work vintage into your wardrobe The idea of trawling though the rails in vintage shops can be very daunting. It mostly involves being presented with a vibrant spectrum of colours and an eclectic mix of prints in quite a small space. In comparison to the colour coordinated and spacious layout of the high street, it is hard to know where to begin. It is difficult not to envy people who have the ability to put together an assortment of textures and patterns and pull it off with effortless ease. Yet vintage shopping can show you how set in your ways you are. When faced with a wide range of designs and fabrics, my obsession with cream chiffon becomes very apparent.
The beauty of vintage is the knowledge that the clothes all come with a story and that you are wearing something unique. That is why it is okay to shop vintage and only buy a cream blouse when you already own seven. The difference in the detailing, for example pussy bows, pleats, high neck lines and oldfashioned buttons, set it apart from the high street. And of course when items are not available in a range of sizes you can explore just how good oversized can look. If you want something statement but cautious, then you can play it down by placing a modern twist on a look. Think a Victorian style shirt tucked into frayed denim
shorts, a heavily embellished handbag with a casual outfit, or a bright printed midi dress with minimal tan accessories. Alternatively, work backwards and begin with accessories. Printed scarves are the easiest way to wear vintage, they instantly transform an outfit; whether worn round your neck or tied on a bag. In terms of jewellery, what better way to emulate an era than to get something that was genuinely from it? Look for intricate broaches and necklaces, normally about the same price as high street and they will not turn your neck green. Although I should not suggest it, I am ashamed to say that I love nothing more than
walking round Brick Lane and cuddling the various fur coats, scarves and hats. That is, up until the point that you snuggle one that the head is still attached to. But there is something of an old school elegance that comes with a big fur coat. It is timeless and so versatile that it easily translates across any look. It is an easy way to wear vintage. It can be tricky to introduce into your wardrobe but, vintage is really worth the rummaging for stand out pieces which give your look an edge on the high street. Think of it as sale shopping without the element of violence.
WIRED
28.02.2012
concrete.wired@uea.ac.uk
preview: mass effect 3 Shepard knew they were coming, but nobody listened; Earth was consistently ignorant over the fact that aggressive, immeasurably powerful, and illusive Reapers were coming to invade and destroy humanity. BioWare’s final game in this epic sci-fi trilogy will come to a head on 6 March 2012 when you as Commander Shepard have to rally up all the support you can muster and bring the fight to the highly advanced machine race of synthetic/organic star-ships. Mass Effect 3 is a game of consequence and is going further than the two previous instalments, unlike the previous two games where you can ensure a happy ending for Shepard and his team, there are no such guarantees. If you decided to kill your teammates in 1 and 2, your task to defeat the Reapers is going to be near impossible, and if you could not keep particular races such as the Krogan or the Asari loyal to humanity’s cause, expect little or no aid in your efforts to save Earth. Mass Effect 3 also welcomes the return of multiple characters from both games, including mediocre and dull humans Ashley Williams and Kaidon Alenko. With this new assemblage of characters, a new inclusion into the game will require players to choose squad members to perform secondary mission objectives in addition to the immediate squad objectives. Further additions to the game include
more cinematic conversations between characters. Some decisions and missions are under a countdown clock, giving the illusion that you’re in a race against time to take back Earth. When bringing the fight you can now do it in a newly revamped Normandy; BioWare have gone all out to ensure you ride out the
career development and creating more unique individual character builds. A final new ingame feature as detailed during E3 last summer is Mass Effect’s new Kinect compatibility. Instead of utilising motion controls, the game will use voice command control, mostly to be used in conversations. The Kinect option
trilogy in style. Weapon customization is back, allowing players to choose between various scopes, barrels, and other modifications. Character development has been enhanced with the addition of branching skill trees, forcing players to make choices in Shepard’s
has divided gaming fans due to Kinect’s rejection by first and third person shooter fans. Nevertheless, it is just another option to choice is you wish. More controversial is the change in musical composer. Jack Wall, the individual
14
who ground the games feel with his epic scifi feel has been replaced by Clint Mansell, composer for hit films Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler. Music in many ways defined Mass Effect, this controversial change has fans asking the question whether it was the correct decision, but until the game’s release, no one will know. The final controversial inclusion is the addition of online multiplayer. But there is no need to worry, as Bioware have pulled a massive rabbit out of the hat; its online is a successful mix of Halo’s Firefight and Gears of War’s Hoard Mode. With many doubters, the demo has proven to be a resounding success and will entice a completely new audience into buying the game. Working as a team is vitally important; keeping your team mates alive and fighting off countless alien foes is the aim of the game. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing BioWare with Mass Effect 3 is the huge expectations of fans who have journeyed with Commander Shepard since 2007. With fans expecting the greatest conclusion, the game appears to be setting up for a suitably epic confrontation that gives our Commander Shepard a heroic, or, if you neglected the first two games, a bloody send off. Robert Austin
review: playstation vita Released on the 22 February the PlayStation Vita marks Sony’s second foray into the handheld gaming market. With the inception of smart phones and tablets into portable gaming will the Vita revolutionise the hand held market or will it drown under the tides of smart phones, tablets and Angry Birds? The handheld market has changed significantly since Sony released their first portable device, the PSP, in 2005. Apple and Android products have revolutionised the transportable market, making portable games extremely cheap, thus much more accessible to the whole population. Evidence of this shift can be seen with the Nintendo 3DS’s lacklustre launch last year, which did not get off the ground till a huge price cut, and the launch of Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land. Are the public willing to pay £30 for a hand held game on the Vita and 3DS, when they can get engrossing pick up and play experiences on their smart phones and tablets for £1? The jury is still out on this question, however the Vita is not going to go down without a fight. The first thing that strikes you when you pick up a Vita is quality: the device feels and looks very stylish and very slick.
Sony has ingeniously married the touch screen capabilities of a tablet with the traditional joystick and buttons format of a traditional gaming device with the Vita, giving it functionality that will hopefully
Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the biggest title in the release line up, with its blockbuster production values as well as graphics unmatched by any other portable game in history.
lead to innovative and unique game playing experiences unmatched by any other gaming platform. The Vita is also markedly cheaper than its tablet rivals with the Wi-Fi only version retailing at around £210 and the 3G model at around £260. Unlike the 3DS, the Vita is actually launching with some very promising titles.
Other release titles include Wipeout 2048, a futuristic racing game that sees players racing at sound barrier-breaking speeds through the streets of vast future metropolises. Also, Little Deviants, which is basically a tech demo masquerading as a selection of mini games. As well as these new titles there are also plenty of
ports from the consoles including Rayman: Origins, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Fifa Football, all with graphics matching their console counterparts. There are also rumours of Bioshock, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil titles down the line as well. Overall the Vita is an extremely impressive piece of kit, however, the question of its ability to succeed in the bulging hand held gaming market remains to be answered. The Vita would certainly benefit from an Apple style App Store to properly compete with Apple and Android products. Also the question still remains whether, given the choice between an IPhone/IPad, or a Vita which one would you choose? Would Wired recommend that you buy a Vita now? No, we would recommend you wait a few months, see what other titles are announced for the Vita and see if there is a price drop, like the 3DS. The Vita’s quality as a gaming and multimedia device is undeniable; however, its ability to survive against the iOS juggernauts is questionable, as is Sony’s capacity to keep the device feed with good games. Watch this space. Joshua Mott
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28.02.2012
review: metal gear solid hd collection
In an era where HD remakes are the norm, it was only a matter of time until one of the most critically acclaimed and popular series in gaming, Metal Gear Solid, had an updated release for a new generation. Three games in Hideo Kojima’s classic series, Metal Gear Solid’s 2, 3, and Peace Walker, have been given a HD upgrade and compiled into a single collection, with satisfying results. For those not familiar, the Metal Gear Solid series is described by Konami as “tactical espionage action”, in that it requires the player to stealthily navigate through various settings, sneaking past or taking out guards in your path in order to uncover and put a stop to terrorist activities. This style of gameplay is unique in the current market of games, with the series almost creating a genre of its own, the only comparable games in recent years being the Splinter Cell series. The MGS series has a heavy reliance on story in order to engage the player, although it should be said that the storyline in the series can be confusing
WIRED
concrete.wired@uea.ac.uk
retro column: the secret of monkey island
and hard to follow. What makes it harder to follow for newcomers is the lack of t h e 1998 original game in the series originally released on the Playstation. Metal Gear Solid 2 in particular makes constant references to the original game, which will leave players starting at the second game feeling lost, meaning that some background research is needed to fully understand the story for this group of gamers. For those already familiar with the series however, this collection will provide a fantastic trip down memory lane. The graphics are obviously not up to par with new releases, but each game runs smoothly with no frame rate or glitch issues. In summary, this collection contains three great games of decent length and lots of replay value, all for a cheaper retail price than other new releases, in a deal that has not been seen in gaming since Valve’s Orange Box. For students looking for a gaming bargain, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection represents great value for money.
Originally released in 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island has developed a cult following almost unparalleled in the gaming world. Released by Lucas Arts and developed by Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer, The Secret of Monkey Island is often regarded as the peak of the point and click adventure game era in the early 90s. You play as Guybrush Threepwood (strong contender for the best named video game character of all time) in his quest to complete three pirate trials of Melee Island, defeat the ghost pirate Le Chuck and save Governor Marley. However, rather than fight your way to the damsel in distress, as in most games, Guybrush is required to gather objects, solve puzzles, and win sword battles with insults. Often praised for its wit, meta-humour and hilarious dialogue, as well as cleverly crafted puzzles, The Secret of Monkey Island was that rare breed of game that managed to be infuriatingly challenging and yet at the same time irresistibly compelling. As is the case with most games to include Schafer on the development team, most of the puzzles had a fiendishly clever and yet deceptively simple solution, often leaving the player chuckling whilst simultaneously kicking themselves for not figuring it out sooner. High points include treasure hunting for
T-shirts, navigating past piranha poodles, and the tussle with the town sheriff that gets interrupted by a “big, ugly, hairy yak wearing some wax lips.” In 2009, Lucas Arts released The Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition, a remake that, while leaving the original story and gameplay untouched, came with a completely redesigned art style, re-recorded soundtrack and full voice acting. The new control scheme earned some criticism for being slightly confusing and less intuitive than the original’s, but the gorgeous art work which fully captured the Caribbean aesthetic and the frankly astounding soundtrack more than made up for this. The ability to easily switch between the original and the special edition style also did a lot to satisfy purists and nostalgic fans. The Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition is now available on XBLA, PSN, Steam and even the App Store, so there’s no excuse for not going out and picking up what is undoubtedly one of the most clever, most amusing and most enjoyable games to contain dim witted cannibals, a beverage made from kerosene and a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle.
1990
Joe Fitzsimmons
Adam Riza
review: kingdoms of amular reckoning After 20 hours soaking up the rich fiction and beautiful world, I vowed to rush to the end of the main quest line in order to compose this review but we soon realised this is not how Amalur should be played. To rush it is to do a disservice to its beautiful
world, its intriguing fiction and to your own enjoyment of such a deep and well-realised game. Amalur’s depth can largely be attributed to its five year development cycle. Indeed the project started when Ken Rolston
finished his work as lead designer on Oblivion and left Bethesda to work on something new. This has naturally led to comparisons between Amalur and Skyrim, the follow up to Oblivion and Wired’s 2011 game of the year. Impressively, Amalur matches and in some respects outdoes this fierce competition. The most obvious improvement over the Bethesda model is the combat, which feels more like a dedicated third person action game than an RPG. Obviously taking inspiration from God of War, the game has you delivering meaty combos interspersed with responsive dodges and counters. Add to this a varied cast of enemies, dozens of genuinely unique weapon types and some brutal finishing moves and you have the best new RPG combat system in years. It’s accessible and instantly entertaining, but also gains tactical depth as your character levels. While Amalur’s greatest strength is its willingness to deviate from Bethesda’s tried and tested RPG blueprint, it does not always work out for the best. For example, Skyrim
is leaps and bounds ahead of Amalur in terms of user interface. Simple options such as “show quest on map” made fast travel painless in Skyrim and it’s hard to go back to scouring the map for markers while playing Amalur. Also, while Amalur’s world is aestheticaly outstanding, the network of paths are fairly linear, failing to provide the same sense of true discovery that Skyrim did. These compromises do little to hurt the game overall however, and Amalur manages to deliver a deep, polished, expansive and, most surprisingly, unique RPG experience that will keep players immersed for hours. Oliver Balaam
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FILM
28.02.2012
concrete.film@uea.ac.uk
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the best exotic marigold hotel Whether as a bustling world of 1.2 billion people or as a place of intriguing and stoic spirituality, India is a country of vast impressions and significance. In John Madden’s comedy-drama The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel it is adopted as a setting of exotic pilgrimage, where the film’s elderly characters discover and transform themselves, resolve their problems, both past and present, and confront their growing sense of mortality. Based on the book These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach, the story follows seven retired strangers who travel to Jaipur to stay at the “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, run by a hapless, though eternally optimistic, young man named Sonny (Dev Patel). The cast is an impressive ensemble, most of who can be regarded as British national treasures. Most notably, Judi Dench plays heartbroken widow Evelyn, Maggie Smith a xenophobe named Muriel, Bill Nighy, alongside Penelope Wilton, are
arguing couple Douglas and Jean, and Tom Wilkinson a former high court judge called Graham. Each flies to India with their own agenda in tow, and just as some willingly embrace it, others are slightly more adverse to their new surroundings. The overriding motive, however, is that, regardless of age or personal circumstance, it is never too late to let go of your inhibitions. The film’s strengths are, in no doubt, indebted to the contributions of such a fine plethora of talent. Its best moments are reserved for the more dramatic sequences, of which there are several, with Dench and Wilkinson in particular flexing their acting prowess. There is sincerity and pathos in many of the performances, found within characters that have experienced long, somewhat unfulfilled lives, and that are in need of finding a release. The comedy, meanwhile, often operates on the perspectives, on the commonly conceived notions, and sometimes prejudices, of the
elderly. Douglas and Jean, for example, are once condescendingly asked whether they would like supportive railings whilst being shown around a potential new home, whilst Smith’s Muriel is a foil for old dogmatic attitudes towards race. Yet, perhaps when it should, it never really reflects heavily on these interesting issues. Instead, it prefers to try and keep such moments trivial, as the characters begin to change and learn. It is here where the film reaches a peak of mediocrity, by providing anything but groundbreaking or challenging material. Beautiful though its location may be, it has nothing new to add in its depiction of India, capturing a country we believe to know: of call centres, overcrowded streets and strict family lifestyles. There also exists a sense of glamour in Madden’s interpretation. The slums are few and far, yet this is an India where streetwise children can talk perfect English. Its large list of characters also proves
problematic, with its multiple arcs and divided screen time meaning that some characters and their stories appear underdeveloped and subordinate to others. Celia Imrie’s Madge, who becomes less and less relevant, and Ronald Pickup’s Norman, a tool for more comic relief, are obvious victims of this trait. As too are the potential closure of the hotel, Sonny’s relationship and Evelyn receiving an unexpected job, brushed over as the film runs through to completion. Despite being a piece of work that veers dangerously into stereotype and unsurprising, cliché-ridden climaxes, it exhibits a pleasant and endearing sentimentality that ultimately means it will cater to its clear target audience. It will find its niche, and for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel this is likely to mean that, as Sonny is intent on suggesting, everything will be alright in the end. Kieran Rogers
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28.02.2012
safe house
CIA agent gone rogue Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) mysteriously hands himself in at an American consulate in South Africa and is promptly delivered into the care of Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), an inexperienced but ambitious agent. Things quickly turn sour as Weston and Frost are pursued by a team of elite mercenaries, desperate to get their hands on Frost, and boy are they relentless. The majority of the film consists of reckless car chases, furious gun fights and a lot of punching. Even when the pace does occasionally slow down with a conversation, somebody is invariably cut out mid-sentence
FILM
concrete.film@uea.ac.uk
project x
by a bullet to the head. In this way Safe House is totally unambitious: it does what it tries to do well, but it doesn’t try to do much. Although the acting is solid and everything is surprisingly well shot, there really is no reason to watch this over the Bourne films, or any of the other films from which it draws inspiration, as it doesn’t have anything new to bring to the table. The action is good but feels underwhelming when put in the context of such an unoriginal and predictable film. Alek Stoodley
Project X is an upcoming teen comedy movie with a found footage twist. A nerdy teenager is convinced by his friends to hold a house party in an attempt to become cool and “get their dicks wet”. Said party grows out of control and results in anarchy, fire and billions of dollars in property damage. So far it’s promising. The problem is the script isn’t funny, the characters are unlikable and unamusing, and the middle of the film relies on glossy MTV flashcut montages of people dancing and drinking. A blonde girl takes her top off, a Latino girl takes her top off, every girl on earth takes her top off.
he steered clear of. Luckily for director Stephen Daldry (The Reader), the film’s depiction of young Oskar Schell’s (Thomas Horn) quest to find the lock that fits the key belonging to his father (Tom Hanks), whose death in 9/11 Oskar strives to comprehend, is a definite triumph. Not only does Daldry take the novel’s most fundamental parts and blend them with a script that sticks closely to Foer’s text, but he chooses a cast that is most appropriate. Thomas Horn’s striking portrayal of the troubled Oskar and
Leo Hunt
ranter’s corner
extremely loud and incredibly close It’s a difficult task to try and translate any traumatic event into a cinematic medium, but when it also involves the interpretation of a highly successful novel, the task becomes twice as challenging. With Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005) gaining precedence over most of the other books squeezed onto my bookshelf for its masterful discussion of the tragedy that was 9/11, I was fearful that the film would treat the subject matter in the generalised way that Foer ensured
People drink tequila and puke. Look, there’s some ecstasy. Is this movie cool yet? The script is also woefully flat, every line containing the barest amount of information necessary to advance the threadbare plot. The characters are barely even 2D: nerdy nice guys, jock bullys, a wholesome blonde girl and a naive, autistic, fat kid all make tedious appearances. The only part that made me even smirk was when a midget punched people in the balls. Don’t see this movie, buy beer and go to an actual party instead.
Sandra Bullock’s realistic performance as the grieving Mrs Schell make the film even more heartbreaking. Ultimately, though, the film does not beat the novel’s experimental exploration of trauma and loss, although it still provokes the reader to ask a vital question: as we search for closure, do we actually get further away from ever achieving it?
Laura Westerman
Something was brought to my attention earlier in the month when watching the BAFTAs. The often glorious Stephen Fry ended his lavish and long introduction monologue with the unfortunate advice, “Please keep it short”. Am I missing something here? When did film award ceremonies become events in which the awards were the things that had to be rushed? Award ceremonies are often too long, however I don’t believe this is because of the time it takes to give the recipients their awards. What about the painstakingly long introduction monologues, the unnecessary musical numbers? I feel these events are becoming so little about the appreciation for film. It is more about the celebrity, the constant advertising breaks and the sponsors. If you watch an award ceremony like the Golden Globes or the Oscars you’re invited to watch up to four hours of ceremony, dragged out by commercial breaks and filled with anything but the important awards and their recipients. Sure, entertainment is key to keep your audience awake for the four hours, however when it begins to outweigh the actual awards, we have a problem. Fiona Grundy
FILM
28.02.2012
rampart
concrete.film@uea.ac.uk
18
the popcorn chart
venue’s top 5 depressing film moments
Rampart is boring. It is long, drawn out and the plot in non-existent. Co-written by James Ellroy, a master crime writer, and directed and written by Oren Moverman, the film is dripping with potential. Set in and amongst the Rampart scandal of the late-90s, when many LA police officers were revealed to be corrupt, the film follows dirty cop Dave “Date Rape” Brown and gives us a tour of his world of misogyny, sex and booze. Woody Harrelson is one of the redeeming points of this below average movie. He gives a stellar performance as bent police officer Dave Brown. He earns the nickname “Date Rape” after possibly killing a suspected serial date rapist and getting away with it. After Dave is filmed brutally beating an unarmed Mexican suspect to death, he is suspended from duty. Harrelson takes us deep down into the blackness of Dave’s life after this. It is filled with one night stands, sex clubs and a boatload of alcohol. The character forces you to pay attention, if only to wonder what he will do next to meet his violent needs. But this violent, sexual animal of a character makes the film a difficult watch for this very reason; he has no redeeming features. Dave Brown is corrupt to his core, there is no hint that he will ever do anything nice for
anyone. This is one of the few good things about this film. The story surrounding Dave is weak at best and, like a lot of this film, serves only as a distraction from the man himself. What could have been a powerful character study becomes watered down as the writers try to frame his actions with a mediocre plot. The plot also neglects a great supporting cast, including Sigourney Weaver and Steve Buscemi. The camera work is also a massive distraction. During a scene with Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi and Woody Harrelson, which should have been a highlight of the film, the camera moves between them so fast it is like sitting on a merry-go-round. The style of filming, with its odd cuts, fast cameras and bizarre angles, distracts more from Dave Brown’s story than the weak plot does. The worst thing about this is knowing that it could have worked. It could have been a fascinating character study, and it would have been very intersting to see a dirty cop’s breakdown on the big screen, but Rampart delivered no such intrigue.
what’s on at cinema city? To celebrate the success of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris at the Academy Awards, Cinema City are holding a special screening of Allen’s iconic romantic-comedy, Annie Hall on Monday 12th March. The film with which Woody Allen achieved his own distinctive style, a clutch of Oscars and world-wide success; Annie Hall is a poignantly comic, quasi-autobiographical love story, which gave voice to Allen’s distinctively rueful perspectives on fame, romance, relationships, neurosis and the competing attractions of New York and the West Coast.
Adam Dawson
grave of the fireflies Often overlooked when examining the work of Studio Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies, which presents an account of the toll World War II took on Japanese civilians, is by far the most emotional of their feature-length productions. 14-year-old Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, left orphaned and homeless by a firebombing run and rejected by their close family, are forced to fend for themselves in the wilderness. Though the audience is aware of her fate from the opening scene, in which Seita succumbs to the same lack of nourishment that claimed her life, Setsuko’s death is no less heartrending for it.
one flew over the cuckoo’s nest While One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is not widely known for bringing viewers to tears, it contains within its perceptive depiction of mental healthcare in early 1960s America a few standout emotional peaks. The most painful of these is undeniably the suicide of shy, inexperienced Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif). Emerging triumphant and stutter free from his first sexual experience, Billy is soon confronted by the domineering Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) who, in mock concern, remarks that she must inform his mother. Despite the miserable youngster’s distraught pleas, Ratched refuses to back down. Unable to cope with the combination of powerful emotions agonisingly surging through him, Billy takes a razor to his throat.
the fountain In The Fountain usesmultiple time periods to structure the tale of a desperate search for salvation. As neuroscientist Tommy (Hugh Jackman) finally discovers what may be the key to saving his wife Izzi’s (Rachel Weisz) life, his struggle reflected in those of conquistador Tomas and celestial traveller Tom (both also played by Jackman). However, his opportunity
to put it to use is snatched from his grasp by the inoperable brain tumour which he sought to cure. Few portrayals of a man’s entire world crashing about his ears have ever been quite so convincingly or beautifully realised.
american history x Prior to its closing sequence, American History X appears as though it may contain a somewhat uplifting resolution. Reformed white supremacist Derek (Edward Norton), having demonstrated to his younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) the error of his hateful ways, leaves him to his first xenophobia-free day of high school. However, a confrontation with a fellow pupil belonging to an ethnic minority earlier in the film leads to Danny’s bloody demise in its final moments. The brutality of a murder provoked by racial tension, accompanied by the voice of the victim reading the closing lines of Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address, provides a moving contrast, the likes of which is rarely seen in modern cinema.
life is beautiful Guido and his young son Giosuè, as Jews living in Italy during the Second World War, are confined to concentration camps around halfway through Life is Beautiful, marking a distinct shift in the tone of what is, up to that point, a lighthearted romantic comedy. In an effort to avoid his son becoming distressed or punished for disobedience, Guido turns their hopeless situation into a game for Giosuè. Guido, upon being caught trespassing while searching for his wife among the female prisoners, is marched to his offscreen death by the barrel of a soldier’s machine gun shortly before the camp is liberated. As Guido realises that his son is watching from a hiding place, his attempt to maintain a clownish façade as he walks to his death delivers a crushing emotional blow. Tom Moore
19
28.02.2012
concrete.film@uea.ac.uk
film preview
academy awards 2012 review
The bliss of being a student (apart from the sheer independence) is that you get to stay up until god-knowswhen after a night at the LCR, wishing for death to take you from over the cold toilet seat. Or, alternatively, you’re up doing a piece of coursework that’s due in a few hours. So it would come as no surprise that watching the Academy Awards seems like a pretty easy job compared to the first two. And you wouldn’t be wrong, as this year’s Oscars proved to be generally worth the effort of an all-nighter, with the aid of pizza and lots of coffee. Billy Crystal returned to the prestigious hosting reins for the ninth time, and proved to be reasonably worthy. Although his traditional schmaltzty song-and-dance number was delightfully terrible, it is something that only
the infamous oscars speech The stars came out in force on 26 February for the Oscars, with viewers excited to see which actors would deliver on their speeches and which would falter. Famously bad speakers in the past include Gwyneth Paltrow and James Cameron, but this year the speeches were mostly funny and touching. Meryl Streep was typically self-deprecating, joking that Americans would be bemoaning her win, but she also emotionally paid tribute to her husband. Jean Dujardin was a bundle of energy, ecstatic at his win; finishing his speech exclaiming “Merci Beaucoup! I love you!” Octavia Spencer gave an emotional offering in which she thanked all of Alabama, and Christopher Plummer joked that he had been planning his speech since he was born. The most terrible speech has to go to Dragon Tattoo’s editing team, who were so surprised that they could not think of anything coherent to say. Beth Wyatt
FILM
he can carry off with dignity still intact, and this reviewer was left with a slender smile on his face. Well, he did manage to incorporate all nine Best Picture nominees and certainly proved a million miles better than the Franco/ Hathaway disaster last ... let’s not even go there. Along with the choice of Crystal to host, this year’s Academy Awards adopted a classic feel, which held as the predominant theme of the night with top films such as The Artist and Hugo among the lead nominees. Both films were the big winners of the evening, with The Artist winning five awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin. Uggie the dog also made an all-too-brief brief appearance, bringing in the “awhhh” factor! (OK, he is bloody cute). Hugo also raked in five wins in the technical categories, cementing the acknowledgement of nostalgic cinema this year. Among the main categories some deserved winners emerged, with an absent Woody Allen taking Original Screenplay for Midnight in Paris and Alexander Payne the adaptation equivalent for The Descendents. Octavia Spencer supplied the first umbrella moment with her acceptance speech for Supporting Actress in The Help, and Christopher Plummer set a record in becoming the oldest Oscar winner ever with his long-overdue win for Supporting Actor in Beginners. However, if ever there was going to be a clash of the titans, the Best Actress category would have been the battleground. Although Meryl Streep took the gold, it could easily have gone to Viola Davis. But, it’s Streep. What more can you say! At the end of the night, there were no real shocks, unless you count Billy Crystal looking exactly the same as he did when he hosted nearly ten years ago. Nevertheless, the right films won (with a little help from Mr. Wienstien) in a year notable for films that dote to the past and the nostalgia of cinema. The Oscars proved that in an age of illegal downloading and the internet, cinema still has the power to captivate and retains an authenticity that can never be extinguished. The Academy Awards, and the awards season in general this year, have chosen to acknowledge and award the art of cinema, particularly as we stray into the polarised world of 3D and digital filmmaking. And hats off to them for doing so. Sam Warner
the amazing spider-man
Following a series of disagreements between Sony Pictures and director, Sam Raimi, regarding the Spider-Man 4 screenplay, producers were forced to cancel the project and announced plans to reboot the franchise with a new director at the helm. Many prolific names were considered, including James Cameron, David Fincher and Wes Anderson. However, it was (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb who Sony would eventually confirm as director of the reboot. An extensive list of potential actors emerged in a speculative few months regarding the new Peter Parker: Jamie Bell, Aaron Johnston and even Zac Efron were all rumoured as possible suit-fillers, but it was British actor, Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), who was eventually announced as the new SpiderMan. Unlike Toby Maguire, who made it clear that Spider-Man was just a job, Garfield claimed to be a lifelong fan of the comic books. During a Comic-Con panel discussion for The Amazing Spider-Man, the obviously humbled actor surprised fans with a heartfelt speech, explaining why Spider-Man was so important to him. “I needed Spidey in my life when I was a kid and he gave me hope. In every comic I read, he was living out mine and every skinny boy’s fantasy of being stronger, of being free of the body I was born into, and that swinging sensation of flight.” With the recent release of exclusive footage, posters, photos and trailers online, anticipation is already building for Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man, which is scheduled for release in early July. Early images of a bloody and battered Garfield in costume hinted at a darker tone and texture than Raimi’s installments, silencing cynics who were afraid the reboot would model itself on the success of the low-cost, high-grossing Twilight films. “There are certainly darker, more intense feelings in this movie,” comments Webb in a recent interview. “There is betrayal, there is tragedy, but there’s also humour and romance. So it’s a very complex bouquet of emotions.” The trailer offers a first glimpse at the mechanical webshooters which have prompted much dispute online. The concept of organic web-shooters was devised by James Cameron in an early Spider-Man draft in 1991 to avoid explaining how a high school student could invent the web fluid required for these complex devices. This decision was largely embraced by the comic book community. The Amazing Spider-Man, however, returns to the mechanical devices of the source material, a decision which has yet to convert the more protective fans of Raimi’s original installments. It is easy to forget that before audiences were first introduced to Maguire’s Peter Parker, cynics and fanboys took to the internet to express anger and disappointment at every decision the director made. Yet now, a decade later, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man stands as iconic and precious as the comic books themselves. So let’s hope that in ten years from now Webb’s superhero reboot reaches the same heights. James Burrough
CREATIVE WRITING SPOTLIGHT Q&A
with
UEA
writers.
rebecca goodacre what are you studying? American Literature & Creative Writing. what’s your favourite word? I get words stuck in my head. Last week it was Nicaragua. I went around saying it like Yoda. It got weird. how do you defeat writer’s block? Running helps. Or taking long showers.
poetry corner a painting
by Chen Shun Xuan
The pale sunbeam Was exposed slightly in dawn. A cup of orange juice And half a cup of white coffee Were splashed on a piece of drawing paper. The person in portraying Was ignited by the yearning in silence. From far to near, A string of rustlings Were approaching him Along a tree-lined trail By creeping as tread. He turned around joyfully. The naughty wind Was chasing after the withered leaves That appeared curly.
what inspires you? The mundane. who are your favourite writers? Jonathan Franzen, David Sedaris, Roald Dahl. I never read one writer for long. to kindle or not to kindle? No thank you. They’re for people who can’t bear to to bend the spines of books.
shy
Never have been, Will not be either, The visitors who go past By taking a leisurely walk And encounter him unexpectedly In the wilderness Which locates at the remotest corner Of the world. Wait as well as anticipation, Seemingly a proud and aloof soul That was buried beneath an ash Together with the dried painting By his own hands. No ones were informed of the places For which the creator of the picture Left that desolate land afterwards Who devoted The painstaking efforts to And nourished his work.
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He was still himself, While not known or recognised yet Artist was his identity In the previous years. Since the earthling Had not witnessed his masterpiece. Neither could that appellation Have been bestowed Upon him naturally. At present, The grove in that stretch of wilderness, On the heads of the branches Of that aged ash tree, Canaries are practising melodies And preserving The quietude and desolation.
by Tom King
veins
Feeding my own fire and burn my chest from the heat, Lunge at gatherers from the sandy gold camp, LEAVE! Leave me to it, all my ash is arranged to follow circles and labyrinths, all guides away from me, Leave me to blow away the embers, Into the dark, cool night, A mystical orange swarm heading for the clean stars, Watch as they climb and sway, A grain of the night loosely connected to my soul.
do you prefer handwriting or typing? I don’t like writing things down until I have to, I like them just sitting in my head. So generally I just type.
by Katie Taylor
plug my eye sockets I am kaleidoscope blind rolling and lightening
i reached out for my wine glass in the morning
by Tom King
I reached out for my wine glass in the morning, But my hand knocked it over.
what’s the weirdest thing that’s inspired you? Sandwiches.
The open window has chilled me all night I’m almost freezing now Two o’clock! I’ve slept far too long My girlfriend will call me lazy again
creative writing events
I hear voices from outside My parents laughing. I guess at the sun
free poetry reading at the drama studio
This room still smells of skin and beer It has a wintry feel because of the window I can’t be human inside My face has changed Something does not seem the same Photo by Carl Godbold
Monday 27 February, 7 PM George Szirtes will be introducing the poets: Dan Burt - US poet, published by Carcanet, author of Certain Windows and, forthcoming, We Look Like This Meirion Jordan - PhD, published by Seren, shortlisted for Forward First Collection Prize for Moonrise, this is the launch of his new book Regeneration. Meghan Purvis - PhD, Winner of Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry Translation 2011 Richard Lambert - author of The Magnolia Meryl Pugh - PhD, author of Relinquish
28.02.2012 concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk
On the walls are paintings I have not seen before Somewhere in sleep I’ve lost my way I need more wine I must move on It’s impossible to rest here
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28.02.2012
TELEVISION
concrete.tv@uea.ac.uk
altered images: memories of animation
venue takes a stagger down memory lane with our favourite animated television from our youth. do they stand up to the test of time?
the simpsons
1989
-
present
From my tentative early television days of CBBC, to swapping the terrestrial for digital and being introduced to Nickelodeon and Disney, I watched a lot of TV as a child. Amongst the dozens of shows, there is one that stands out for its omnipresence. The Simpsons completely dominated my family’s television screen during its heyday. Whether we watched it at 6pm on BBC2 before dinner, or on one of the VHS’s rented from Blockbuster, the adventures and mishaps of the yellow family from Springfield defined my childhood viewing. It presented the perfect balance for engaging family television: slapstick humour for the children and tongue-in-cheek, subversive comedy for the adults. Littered with pop culture references and lines that could easily embed themselves into family vocabularies, it was rare to go a day without someone in my family directly alluding to the show. The pinnacle of mine and my siblings’ childish wit were our attempts to re-enact Bart’s prank calls to Moe on our dad. My brothers’
he-man
brief foray into skateboarding and my longer one into playing the saxophone were direct results of episodes such as Bart the Daredevil and repeatedly listening to Lisa’s solo in the theme tune. However, when adolescence hit, the inevitable began to happen and I drifted away from the show, as “scheduled family viewing” time turned into fights over the remote. Despite my desertion, The Simpsons is in its 25th season and has just passed the 500th episode mark. It soldiers on and shows no sign of stopping. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and although I haven’t watched many of the new seasons, it is an unexpected joy to catch an old rerun of the show. As I watch classic episodes, I am reacquainted with the characters I loved, laughing at the jokes that I once pretended to understand and appreciating a show that represents such a specific and happy time in my life. Bridie Wilkinson
1983 - 1985
Filmation’s classic He-Man had everything a child could want: action, adventure, romance, silly costumes and a gloriously unsubtle homoerotic subtext. The show’s protagonist was plucky teenager Prince Adam. He became immensely powerful superhero He-Man whenever he raised his sword and yelled the words, “By the Power of Grayskull, I HAVE THE POWER!” Catchy, but clunky. Whenever this occured, Adam’s pet green and yellow striped tiger, Cringer (the name of my first pet cat), also transformed, becoming the armoured war-beast Battle Cat. He-Man’s principle foe was the evil Skeletor, a hooded, slightly camp sorcerer who wanted nothing more than to seize the power of Castle Grayskull, and conquer not only Eternia, but the whole universe. This would have been quite frightening, if it weren’t for the fact that
reboot
he was the most inept villain ever. This was one of many reasons why He-Man was so great: it never took itself seriously, and so it wasn’t surprising when something genuinely ridiculous happened. For example, in the Christmas Special, Skeletor’s diabolical heart (“And when they open their presents, they explode, right?”) is melted by two cutesy Earth children and he becomes He-Man’s best mate for a week. The original series was followed by a terrible movie and a badly-received 2002 reboot, proving the old adage (which I’ve actually just made up now) that you should never change a programme’s formula if it works well the first time around: He-Man was perfect just the way it was. Matt Mulcahy
1994 - 2001
It is criminal that ReBoot, the first entirely computer generated TV show, is so little known. Written with genuine wit, intelligence and heart, the show took place within the workings of a computer, referred to by the characters as Mainframe. It followed the exploits of a few “sprites”, one of whom, named Bob, has been sent from “the Net” to fight the “Virus” of Mainframe named Megabyte. Hailing from Canada, it was broadcast in the UK in the mid 90s on CITV in the most ridiculously haphazard way: they simply stopped broadcasting it halfway through the third season (assumedly due to the progressively darker themes and occasional, bafflingly hilarious sex jokes), leaving the younger me waiting for about seven years on a massive cliff-hanger.
Progressing from standalone stories to an increasingly intense continuing narrative, the writers of ReBoot weaved together a large number of bafflingly advanced parodies without ever depriving the show of its surprisingly intense drama. One episode, for example, entitled Firewall, opened with a lengthy James Bond parody, while another episode was entirely dedicated to an X-Filesesque story with Gillian Anderson voicing a character based on her television alter ego Scully. Like all the best children’s TV shows, there was a wealth of action, adventure and genuinely likeable characters, truly something for everyone. As for ITV cutting transmission mid-season, well, they broke my little heart. James Sykes
COMPETITIONS
28.02.2012
concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk
across
1. The meaning of the musical term “allegro” (7) 4. The nation which first gave women the right to vote (3,7) 5. Colour of a giraffes tongue (4) 10. Recently defeated British boxer who was caught up in a scuffle in a post-match interview (6, 7) 12. Winner of the Best British Group at Brit Awards 2012 (8) 14. A feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish (5) 15. The annual sports day between Essex and UEA (5,3) 16. The adaptation of a Roald Dahl classic that has won four prizes at the Whatsonstage.com awards (7) 19. The new Wolverhampton Wanderers manager (5, 6) 21.The Britpop band headlining a show in London’s Hyde Park to celebrate the end of the Olympic Games later this year (4) 22. A baker’s dozen (8) 23. A footballer who has been legally established as having had an affair (4,5) 24. Recently deceased world famous singer (7, 7)
down
1
2
9
3
4 5
6
9
7
8
11 12
13
14
16
G
G
N L
C I
20 21 22
23 24
word ladder:
see how many words you
change one word into
have a pair of tickets to see shappi khorsandi, described by
can make
another by altering a
the guardian as
You
must use the centre letter
in every word
There
is at least one nine letter
best young female comic by any
yardstick” and live at the apollo star lee nelson.
word ladder must be a
the events are being held as part of the union of uea students’
step. each step on the valid word.
spring “comedy club”, and tickets can be purchased for both card.
each row and column
but with the extra requirement
contains the numbers 1-5
need to contain the all
The
numbers 1-9 as well
than
RAFTS
(>)
khorsandi will be supported by ryan mcdonnell and lee nelson has support from tom deacon and jarlath regan.
to be in with a chance of winning the tickets, hand in
with no duplicates.
(<)
“britain’s
acts for £19, or £9.50 each in advance with a valid nus
the same as a normal sudoku,
greater than
venue has a huge giveaway for you this fortnight. we
single letter at each
word to be found
futoshiki:
supplied by john white
competition
word wheel:
sudoku x:
that the diagonals (the x)
17
18 19
puzzles Z
13
10
2.The soap that came under for fire for running a “rape” storyline (10, 6) 3. First ever Academy Award winner for Best Picture (5) 6. The MP has been charged with assault (4,5) 7. Six time Grammy winning songstress (5) 8. The traditional Japanese art or technique of folding paper into a variety of decorative or representational forms (7) 9. One of the countries that has agreed to cooperation over oil in the Gulf of Mexico (6,6) 11. The country with a maple leaf on their flag (6) 13. The currency in Chili (4) 17. Lacking social graces or manners (7) 18. The most common Element on Earth? (8) 20. Whiskey without a mixer (4)
A
10
12
15
I
22
your completed crossword to union house reception by 5pm
and less
on friday 3 march.
symbols also apply
name:
supplied by john white
email address:
mobile phone number:
BUNKS
23
28.02.2012
LISTINGS
concrete.listings@uea.co.uk
march 2012
Tuesday 28th February LCR Club Nights: Movie Stars (10pm) Price: £3.50 UEA LCR
Mrs Barbara Nice @ Norwich Arts Centre (8:30pm) Price: £12.00/£10.00 Norwich Arts Centre
Saturday 3rd LCR Club Nights: A list (10:30)Price: £4.50 UEA LCR
Wednesday 29th Waterfront Gigs: Band Of Skulls (7:30pm) Price: £15.00 The Waterfront
Friday 2nd LCR Club Nights: Ministry Of Sound Uni-Trash presents the Ice Breaker Tour with Artwork (10pm) Price: £9.00 / £7.00 (NUS) UEA LCR
Meltdown + Rawkus (10pm) Price: £4.50 / £3.50 The Waterfront Sunday 4th LCR Gigs: Labrinth (7pm) Price: £13.00 UEA LCR
The Tim Vine Chat Show (8pm) Price: £17 The Playhouse
The Burning Crows EP Release + Save Ferris (8pm)Price: £4 adv/£5 The Brickmakers
Wednesday 7th March 2012 Waterfront Gigs: Inme (7:30pm) Price: £12.00 The Waterfront
Friday 9th March 2012 Waterfront Club Nights: Color (10pm) Price: £10 / £8 NUS The Waterfront
Saturday 10th Waterfront Gigs: Rise To Remain + Heaven Shall Burn (7pm) Price: £13.00 The Waterfront
Up Pompeii (7:30pm) Price £7 Norwich Puppet Theatre
LCR Club Nights: A List (10:30pm)Price: £4.50 UEA LCR
Monday 12th Other: Comedy Club with Lee Nelson (7:30 pm) Price: £14.50 / £9.50 (NUS) UEA LCR
Rivers (9pm) Price: FREE UEA Blue Bar
Meltdown + Britpoppin (10pm) Price: £4.50 / £3.50 The Waterfront
Thursday 1st March 2012 Salt Box Comedy (7:30pm) Price: £6 advance Olives
Derby Day 2012 University of Essex Thursday 8th Legally Blonde (7.30pm) Price: £6.50 - £39.50 Theatre Royal Lady HaHa (8pm) Price £12 The Playhouse
what’s on?
-
28 february
derby day Derby Day approaches and there is a buzz amongst the sports teams as the bitter rivalry between UEA and Essex continues. After UEA won incredibly convincingly last year, Essex are sure to want revenge. This, however, will be hard for the Essex Blades as defending champions UEA have had a solid season and will be confident in defending the coveted bragging rights. For those unaware of the event it is a day filled with sporting fixtures, with this year’s being held in Colchester. Even those who are not participating it is worth going along as it is a great day out and a chance to really support your university, as well as a chance to enjoy a few beverages.
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Monday 5th Other: Comedy Club with Shappi Khorsandi (7:30pm) Price: £14.50 / £9.50 (NUS) Adv UEA LCR Tuesday 6th Waterfront Gigs: Killing Joke (7:30pm) Price: £19.50 The Waterfront
Tuesday 13th March 2012 Waterfront Gigs: Yashin (7:30pm) Price: £8.50 The Waterfront LCR Club Nights: Masquerade (10pm) Price: £3.50 UEA LCR
13 march
norwich fashion week
Last year UEA offered more than 60 sporting events, this year Essex have cowardly only offered a provisional 25. This suggests that they are threatened, despite the obnoxious and generally delusional comments on their “Derby Day Banter Page”. So make sure to purchase your train ticket or contact Ian Welch for transport as support is needed. Once again Concrete Sports correspondents will be there reporting on the events, so follow @Concrete_UEA on Twitter and like the Derby Day Live page on Facebook for up to date coverage of all the day’s events.
Sam Tomkinson
Norwich, the arse-end of England, has never been known for its fashion. Farming maybe, sometimes incest. Never fashion. Not until now anyway. Until now we have looked to London to tell us how to dress, to Paris, to Milan. However, this year, for the first time, we need look no further than N-town itself. Yes, Norwich is now on the fashion map: Norwich Fashion Week is coming. Between the 8-15 of March, the Norwich fash-pack are putting on a series of events heralding the brightest fashion talent the city has to offer. Up and coming designers from City College and Norwich University College of the Arts, along with independent retailers from around the city, will send their pieces down the catwalk during NFW.
There will also be numerous fashion and styling events held throughout the week for Norwich fashionistas to sink their teeth in to. First this month there was New York Fashion Week. Then came London Fashion Week. Now, we have Norwich Fashion Week. Who knew Norwich was so fashionable? We didn’t. Until now. You never know, Norwich might be harbouring the next Marc Jacobs or Alexander McQueen... Head to www.eveningnews24.com/nfw for more information.
Hannah Britt