TSA Issue 16 by dtech

DEC 2015 ISSUE 16

NEWS • INTERVIEWS • EVENTS • JOBS

GLASGOW’S LONELY CHRISTMAS HOW YOU CAN HELP GLASGOW’S LONELIEST THIS CHRISTMAS PAGES 10 & 11

James McAvoy Alt J

CHRISTMAS and HOGMANAY

E S V R I E S F U F es L O g C & a EX LS to p 29 n & A r DE Tu 28

CHRISTMAS AT GFT He’s excited

elf

Tue 22 & Wed 23 Dec

THE BISHOP’S WIFE Fri 18 - Wed 23 Dec

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Fri 11 -Thu 24 Dec The Muppet Christmas Carol Sat 19 Dec 0141 332 6535 glasgowfilm.org @glasgowfilm /glasgowfilm Glasgow Film Theatre is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC005932

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

CONTENTS

EXCLUSIVE DEALS & OFFERS FOR STUDENTS TURN TO PAGE 28 & 29

ALT-J INTERVIEW PAGES 6 & 7

GET IN TOUCH E: info@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk T: 0141 222 2202 The Student Advertiser, Suite 3.3, Station House, St Enoch Square, Glasgow G1 4DF

ON THE COVER

TO ADVERTISE E: advertise@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk T: 0141 222 2202

GLASGOW’S LONELY CHRISTMAS – How you can help Glasgow’s loneliest this christmas 10-11

FIND US thestudentadvertiserglasgow

AN INTERVIEW WITH HOLLYWOOD STAR JAMES McAVOY 6-7

THE SECC’S ULTIMATE PANTO – PETER PAN 9

THE STUDENT ADVERTISER 2014 NEWSPAPER

AN INTERVIEW WITH ALT-J’S GUS UNGER-HAMILTON 14-15

MANAGING DIRECTOR Mark Ferguson mark@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk

WHAT’S ON IN DECEMBER

EDITOR Katie Jones katie@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk ONLINE EDITOR Courtney Hendry c.hendry@tsaglasgow.com

12 DAY’S OF CHRISTMAS – A complete guide to what’s on in December 4-5 TSA’s NEW YEAR SPECIAL – Our top 5 picks to do this New Year 8 A Christmas Extravaganza with The Prog before Christmas 12

LIFE

BUILD YOURSELF A MERRY CHRISTMAS

A REVIEW OF GLASGOW’S EUROHOSTEL 16

THE ULTIMATE FESTIVE GIFT GUIDE 30

Theatre Royal Lunchtime Shows 12

FREAKISHLY FANTASTIC SOCIAL TRENDS OF 2015 18

HOW NOT TO TURN INTO A CHRISTMAS PUDDING 34

Dining in Darkness and Deafening Silence at Christmas 13

THE ULTIMATE FAST FOOD TRENDS 18

A HEALTHYBEAR REVIEW

A Nightmare Before Christmas Cabaret 12 at The Britannia Panopticon

Season’s Screenings at GFT

What’s On at Megabytes

MUSIC

NATURAL REMEDIES FOR STRESS FREE EXAMS 21

CHRISTMAS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 35

BEST 5 TARANTINO FILMS 22

NOT SO ‘CHRISTMASSY’ CHRISTMAS FILMS

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS – PREVIEW

GAMES AND GADGETS OF THE MONTH

FALLOUT 4 – REVIEW

Love Action presents: 2manyDJ’s 36 37

GAMES & GADGETS EDITOR Aidan Scott a.scott@tsaglasgow.com SALES sales@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS Stephen Couse Ami Torrance Billal Rahman Cameron Patterson New Hellfire Club William Frew Kyla Booth Rachael Procter Emylie Howie Ryan McGinlay Rhiannon Melrose PRINTED BY News International DEC 2015 ISSUE 16

Clyde 1 Live at The Hydro

LGBTI EDITOR Jonny Stone j.stone@tsaglasgow.com

Celtic Connections returns this January 38

NEWS • INTERVIEWS • EVENTS • JOBS

GLASGOW’S LONELY CHRISTMAS HOW YOU CAN HELP GLASGOW’S LONELIEST THIS CHRISTMAS PAGES 10 & 11

SAMA’s return for a special christmas bash to wrap up 2015 38 Who’s Touring in 2016

James McAvoy

SPORTS

December Pick of the Month: Joe Bone And The Dark Vibes – Brought to you from New Hellfire Club 40

LGBTI

On The Court: Scottish Badminton Championships 53

Introducing Fat Suit – Glasgow’s 13 piece jazz band 41

World Aids Day – What you can do to help... 32

Gigs of the Month – Previews & Reviews 42

Our LGBT+ Top Movie Picks

December’s Gig Guide

How to improve your table game 54

The widening divide between sport and social media 54

LGBTI News Roundup from around the world 33

An expanding sport rolling forward 55

Alt J

CHRISTMAS and HOGMANAY

VE RS SI E U FF s CL & O age EX LS to p 29 n & A r DE Tu 28

DISCLAIMER The views expressed in The Student Advertiser do not necessarily reflect the views of those who have contributed to the publication. The Student Advertiser takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisements in this publication. The Student Advertiser considers its sources reliable, and while every effort has been made to ensure that information is accurate at the time of print, reporting inaccuracies can occur, therefore readers using this information do so at their own risk.

WHAT’S ON

12 days of christmas

All the best events taking place this December...

WHAT’S ON IN DECEMBER 1

PETER PAN

Hold on to your Santa hats! This festive season, Peter Pan promises to take audiences from the comfort of their seats to the depths of the ocean with a dazzling 3D underwater sequence.

THE RSNO CHRISTMAS CONCERT – THE SNOWMAN

An oldie but a goodie: the now annual screening of Dianne Jackson’s 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman as accompanied by a live score from the RSNO is the statement that Christmas has officially arrived! Let the Snowman take you on a magically festive journey with this special showing of the Christmas classic. Shown on the large screen, and accompanied by the RSNO and narrated by special guest star, Georgie Glen. Hosted by the irrepressible Christopher Bell, this Christmas party is perfect for the entire family. Filled with seasonal favourites, carols old and new – and, of course, everyone is encouraged to sing along! THIS ANNUAL SPECIAL SHOWING OF THE SNOWMAN WILL TAKE PLACE ON 19 DECEMBER AT GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL.

Climb aboard for the journey to the magical Neverland for Scotland’s biggest pantomime. Join international superstar David Hasselhoff, panto favourites The Krankies and Glasgow’s very own Pop Idol star Michelle McManus. The amazing 3D effects, and tons of music and laughter, it is sure to be a spectacular Christmas treat for all the family. SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH THE TEAM BEHIND THE PANTO ON PAGES 9. THE SHOW SETS SAIL FROM 12 DECEMBER 2015 UNTIL 3 JANUARY 2016 AT THE CLYDE AUDITORIUM, SECC – YOU WOULD BE ‘HOFF’ YOUR HEAD TO MISS IT!

STAR WARS

ALT-J

Alt-J have enjoyed great success since releasing their first album, winning a Mercury Prize and even breaking America with latest album ‘This Is All Yours’ charting at number four in the US. Hailing from Leeds and formed in 2007 by frontman Joe Newman, keyboard player Gus Unger-Hamilton, drummer Thom Green and bassist Gwil Sainsbury, they are still going strong – minus Sainsbury. The trio are currently on their latest UK tour, and will be stopping off at The SSE Hydro on Monday 7 December SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH ALT-J’S GUS UNGER-HAMILTON ON PAGES 14 AND 15.

The seventh Star Wars film kicks off a brilliant new trilogy with new characters and old favourites.

VICTOR FRANKESTEIN

It’s three decades on from the events of Return of the Jedi. On the desert planet Jakku, tough loner Rey (Daisy Ridley) plies her trade as a scavenger. Meanwhile, a stormtrooper named Finn (John Boyega) finds himself in great danger, the villainous Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) wields a cool cross-form lightsaber, and an X-Wing pilot named Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is sent on a mission by “a certain princess”. Star Trek director and long-term Star Wars fan J.J. Abrams brings these intriguing plot strands together with consummate skill to launch a spectacular new trilogy. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are among the returning members of the original Star Wars cast. And motion capture king Andy Serkis is also on board as Supreme Leader Snoke, who is very much on the Dark Side of the Force.

James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe star in a dynamic and thrilling twist on a legendary tale. Radical scientist Victor Frankenstein (McAvoy) and his equally brilliant protégé Igor Strausman (Radcliffe) share a noble vision of aiding humanity through their groundbreaking research into immortality. But Victor’s experiments go too far, and his obsession has horrifying consequences. Only Igor can bring his friend back from the brink of madness and save him from his monstrous creation.

SEE PREVIEW FEATURE ON PAGE 24. STAR WARS: EPISODE VII – THE FORCE AWAKENS IS IN CINEMAS 17 DECEMBER.

SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH JAMES McAVOY ON PAGES 6 AND 7. VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN IS IN UK CINEMAS 4 DECEMBER.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE

It’s not Christmas until this old school classic unveils itself on our screens, except this year it will be gracing the stage of King’s Theatre with it’s musical presence. Based on one of the most popular and best-loved Christmas films of all time, Miracle on 34th Street is the heart-warming story of Susan, a young girl who dreams of a father and brother to make her family whole, and Kris Kringle, a kindly old, bearded man who claims he is the real Santa Claus. When employed as a Santa at a department store grotto, Kris quickly spreads a wave of love through New York City, but can he help make Susan’s wish come true? This dazzling musical is an uplifting family tale about what it truly means to believe.

Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas classic follows the tribulations of small town everyman George Bailey, who, at the end of his luck, contemplates suicide one snowy, bleak Christmas Eve. Upon wishing that he’d never been born, guardian angel Clarence takes a trip from the heavens to persuade him otherwise. After a nightmarish journey through an alternative Bedford Falls, George realises the difference he has made to the people around him, learning lessons of love, loyalty, and the meaning of what it is to lead a wonderful life.

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET WILL PLAY AT THE KING’S THEATRE GLASGOW FROM THURSDAY 19 TO SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER AS PART OF A UK TOUR THIS CHRISTMAS.

CHECK OUT OUR SEASONS’ SCREENINGS AT GFT ON PAGE 19 AND OUR NOT SO ‘CHRISTMASSY’ CHRISTMAS FILMS LIST ON PAGE 35.

IRN-BRU CARNIVAL

Waltzers and dodgems, Voodoo Dancers and Matterhorns – you’ll find some crazy new rides at the IRN-BRU Carnival this festive season, if you dare to climb on! Of course the little ones will also be well catered for with the traditional spinning teacups and carousels, so it’s the perfect family day out. The carnival gets here on December 23, and entry includes ten vouchers which can be used on all the rides and most of the stalls. Ticket prices are £13.

It’s A Wonderful Life will play at Glasgow film theatre from Friday 11 to Thursday 24 December, with six showings on Christmas Eve.

GLASGOW ON ICE FOR STUDENTS Wrap up warm, get your skates on and soak up the 9

festive atmosphere at Glasgow on Ice. Open until Thursday 31 December, you can skate in the open air under the Christmas lights. Wear your festive jumper, don your winter woollies and get your skates on for a session that is out of this world. The unique double-deck cabin will give you fantastic views over the ice rink while you sit back, relax with a drink and watch the world skate by. Students skate for £6 at peak times every Monday.

TREACHEROUS ORCHESTRA

An un-definable collective force fusing people, concepts, styles and influences, shaping a musical supergroup that defies description. Emerging from their own musical habitat and adding their own distinctive identity, Treacherous Orchestra is composed of seasoned musicians who are already reaching international recognition with other bands as performers, arrangers and composers. Those bands that have gone before them, the likes of Martyn Bennett’s Cuilinn Music, Wolfstone, Peatbog Faeries, and Shooglenifty tell the tale of a country full of bright musical minds, ideas, innovation and evolution. It is a tale that continues with the rise of this epic Orchestra. THEY WILL BE AT DRYGATE BREWERY ON 12 DECEMBER AT 7:30PM. TICKETS COST £14. WE RECOMMEND YOU DON’T MISS IT!

Southside xmas Night

On 11 December join in the festive celebrations at Lebowski’s Pop Up hosted by the Southside Fringe Glasgow! They will be joined by some wonderfully talented performers from the Southside and beyond! The gig will be a fundraiser for The Southside Fringe 2016, which will run again in May! Events will range from comedy to music to reading from teenage diaries!! With tickets costing £8.

NELLY

Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum selling artist, Nelly, returns with his new single “The Fix” featuring platinum R&B artist Jeremih. “The Fix” includes a taste of Marvin Gaye’s 1982 classic hit song, “Sexual Healing,” and production from multi-platinum producers DJ Mustard and Mike Free. Alongside the new single, Nelly is set to bring his incredible live shows to the UK this winter. With a slew of number one singles under his belt including ‘Hot In Herre’ and ‘Dilemma’, Nelly will kick off his UK tour in London on 14 December. With a stop off at Glasgow’s O2 Academy along the way. SEE THE PREVIEW IN OUR DECEMBER GIG GUIDE ON PAGES 42 AND 43. NELLY WILL BE AT GLASGOW’S 02 ACADEMY ON TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER.

MOVIES

THE INTERVIEW: James McAvoy

JAMES McAVOY IS

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN There were times when filming Victor Frankenstein – during the wettest winter ever in the UK – was, says James McAvoy with a smile, a “bit of a challenge.” Born and raised in Glasgow and having films such as The Last King of Scotland, X-Men: First Class, and Filth under his belt, McAvoy had jumped at the opportunity to play Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant scientist driven by the desire to improve the human condition. With a screenplay by Max Landis and directed by Paul McGuigan, McAvoy joined Daniel Radcliffe as Igor – Frankenstein’s able assistant who works alongside his friend as they perform more and more outlandish experiments. Mary Shelley’s gothic novel was first published in 1818 – Landis has set his story almost five decades later – and has been regarded as a classic by generations of book lovers and indeed, by film-makers who have brought numerous versions to the big screen. McAvoy promises a brand new take for a contemporary audience. Speaking to McAvoy at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England, he was taking a break from a scene where Frankenstein and Igor are trying desperately to revive a ‘baby’ – in reality, an uncanny animatronic dummy designed by the wizards in the special effects department – who has, in the story, died an hour earlier.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

FULL INTERVIEW IN ISSUE 16 TSA

WHAT’S ON

New Year in Glasgow has some of the biggest celebrations around, but it can take some serious planning. Find the best things to do in Scotland’s biggest city this New Year’s Eve! Whether you’re from here or just visiting for the holidays, we can help you plan one hell of a New Year in Glasgow 2015/2016 with some of the best events available. Always big on the celebrations, our city has a shed-load of spectacular nightlife up its sleeve, not to mention the ever-AMAZING New Year’s Eve firework display in George Square. Check out our guide below for everything you need to know – Happy New Year!

Hogmanay Hootenanny

Merchant Square Hogmanay Party With live entertainment from Edward Reid, The Capitals, The Platinum Rock Dancers, DJ Colin McArdle and a fantastic atmosphere in all your favourite bars and restaurants under the one roof, Merchant Square is the perfect place to celebrate Hogmanay. The party starts at 7pm with DJ Colin McArdle on the decks to get the party

started. The party is hosted by the fabulous Edward Reid, who will also be entertaining the audience with his outstanding vocals and extensive range of songs. And it wouldn’t be Hogmanay without Merchant Square’s famous balloon drop on the stroke of midnight to welcome in the New Year.

Scotland is world famous for its Hogmanay celebrations, so where better in Glasgow to be than in the company of family and friends, bringing in the New Year at The National Piping Centre! The night includes dinner and ceilidh for £70.00 per person. This includes

GBX At 02 Academy Street Rave At SWG3 This New Years Eve, SWG3 will hold the STREETrave NYE Party 2015 from 8pm – 3am. Featuring: 100% Old School Classics. LIVE PA’S: FELIX, BASSHEADS, TOGETHER, K-KLASS, BABY D. DJS: JON MANCINI & IAIN ‘BONEY’ CLARK. Tickets cost £25.

The biggest ever stage show for GBX with Darren Styles, Code Black, Ultrabeat (aka Ian Redman), George Bowie, Scott Brown, Joe Deacon, Sparkos, Marc Loage, Stephen Macca McArthur. A massive LED screen, special fx, CO2 cannons, monster sound system, and state of the art light show for this massive Hogmanay bash! Have a blast this NYE with BTTF and GBX.

sparkling wine reception, canapés, 4 course choice meal, Ceilidh ticket and a haggis pie. For juniors (age 14-17), tickets cost £50 per person which includes a soft drink on arrival, canapés, 4 course choice meal, Ceilidh ticket and a haggis pie. What a night for the family!

Ashton Lane Street Party Glasgow’s biggest and most raucous end of year bash is back with another sensational Ashton Lane Street party for New Year’s Eve. If you’re looking for a big blow out with entertainment in excess, DJs and dancing until the wee hours then this is your port of call. Always big, always loud and always the biggest party, Ashton Lane awaits.

He’s Behind You!!

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

The Ultimate Panto comes to the SECC

THE INTERVIEW: Qdos Entertainment David Hasslehoff, Michelle McManus and comedy duo The Krankies will form the ultimate panto cast when they take to the SECC stage this December, starring in Qdos Entertainment’s production of Peter Pan. The ‘truly swashbuckling adventure’ will be the sixth SECC panto produced by Qdos Entertainment and a spokesperson for the company, who are the world’s biggest pantomime producers, told TSA that their experience in the city has helped shape the shows: “We know what our wonderful audiences like and we won’t deviate too much from that. This year our Glasgow audience can expect all of the pantomime ingredients they’ve come to know and love; a show full of music, dance, laughter and special effects. “This year sees the welcome return of The Krankies in their sixth year, they’re also joined by local girl Michelle McManus and, making his Scottish pantomime debut, the legendary David Hasselhoff as Captain Hook. Without wanting to give too much away, Peter Pan also features brand new 3D effects, lots of flying and the biggest crocodile in Pantoland, it’s one not to be missed.” TV legend, “The Hoff”, known for his roles

in Baywatch and Knight Rider, is always a massive coup for any pantomime and his previous panto ventures have generated record breaking sales. “The interest in the show has been phenomenal, with tickets being purchased from all over the world by fans of The Hoff who will descend on the city to see him in action. People adore David wherever he goes, he’s the ultimate showman, and having performed in pantomime for a number of years he certainly gets the art form, puts his all into the show and is well worth watching.” He added that the TV star, who claimed to legally change his name to ‘David Hoff’ in November in a bid to remove the hassle from his life, is ‘a natural for panto’, saying: “And he is actually a very skilled comedian, always happy to send himself up and not take himself too seriously. He knows that panto should be fun and he actually likes to add in self-deprecating gags as it shows audiences he’s happy to be sent-up. “He’s a natural performer, a solid song and dance man who commands attention on stage. Given his global popularity from television shows such as Baywatch and Knight Rider he’s one of the most recognisable men in the world so people are

always intrigued to see him strut his stuff in something as iconic as pantomime.” The Hoff, who will be taking on the role of Captain Hook, will be joined on stage by The Krankies and Michelle McManus, who will be on hand to guide the Lost Boys to safety as the magical mermaid. Qdos entertainment spokesperson, Mark Jones, explained why they chose this particular group of stars: “The Krankies are undeniably Scottish royalty, so who better to star in the biggest pantomime in Glasgow than Ian and Janette? Audiences absolutely love them and they have an absolute ball on stage. “Michelle is no stranger to pantomime either, as everyone knows she’s a terrific vocalist but she is also very funny so the three of them together will have a lot of banter and laughs.” He added that their chemistry will no doubt help secure more record breaking sales: “We held a press launch back in November where our stars all met for the first time and the laughs didn’t let up once, so it’s going to be a great show and we’re confident we’ll break our sales records this year.”

young, local talent to perform as the lost boys: “As she rose to fame on Pop Idol, we actually asked Michelle to step in and help choose our Lost Boys along with Peter Pan’s director Jonathan Kiley. Between them they have found two teams of very talented local boys who are all extremely excited. “It’s a big stage to appear on, but so far they’ve shown a great deal of enthusiasm and it will be a wonderful experience for them to star in a show of this size and scale. Peter Pan is also the first time we’ve included young stars in our show, so we’re excited to have a bigger company than ever before.” Mark acknowledged that panto is huge in Glasgow, there are plenty of different shows for every theatre taste, but added: “Audiences should come and see Peter Pan at the SECC as it’s full to the brim with laughter, special effects and plenty of boos and hisses. Where else in the city will you find your local Pop Idol, Scottish royalty and a global superstar under one armadilloshaped roof?” Peter Pan is running at The SECC from 12 December 2015 to 3 January 2016. by Courtney Hendry Online Editor

One of the stars helped the Qdos team find

@courtneysarahx

c.hendry@tsaglasgow.com

FEATURE

Glasgow’s Lonely Christmas

Scotish Freshers recruitment flyer.pdf 2 01/10/2015 16:56:47

CHANGE THE WORLD. GET PAID FOR IT. C

We’ve raised £500m for charities since we started in 2002 and signed up over 1m regular donors. We’re really proud of that journey - and of all the HOME fundraisers who’ve helped make it happen along the way. If you’d like to play a part in our collective story, we’d love to hear from you.

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Glasgow: 0141 221 0540 glasgowjobs@homefundraising.com

Dundee: 01382 223 690

dundeejobs@homefundraising.com

‘Spending time with family’ always appears as the top answer in polls about the nation’s favourite part of the festive season but that’s hardly surprising. Christmas is known as a time to spend with family – laughing, probably bickering and just enjoying some quality time together. Now imagine spending Christmas day alone. No excited faces in the morning desperate to see what Santa has brought, no tired parents yawning “Merry Christmas” after being dragged out of bed at stupid o’clock, no screams of excitement in the taxi at 2am after the annual Christmas Eve pub outing. Absolutely no-one to talk to, see or even exchange a gift with. Spending Christmas day alone sounds heartbreaking but sadly this is the reality for hundreds of thousands of older people in the UK. There are 4.8 million people in the UK aged 75 or over and according to a survey released in November by the Royal Voluntary Service, more than half a million report that they feel lonelier on Christmas Day than at any other time of the year and 200,000 don’t expect to see anyone at all on the holiday. That’s why John Lewis have partnered with Age UK for their annual tear-jerking Christmas advert, which we’re pretty sure you’ll have seen by now considering its 18 million online views. The advert left some in tears and others arguing about the glaring scientific issues regarding oxygen and telescopes but the actual aim behind the spectacle is to highlight the issue of elderly loneliness by promoting Age UK’s ‘No-one should have noone at Christmas’ campaign and it seems to be making a donations difference.

£7 - £10 per hour With just 2 per night:

£120 bonus 3 donations = £400 4 donations = £650 5 donations= £900 Full and Part Time 3,30-9pm Mon-Fri 12.30-6pm Sat

Marketing and fundraising director at Age UK, Esther Jackson, said: “The Man on the Moon advert has really struck a chord with people, helping to raise awareness of loneliness amongst older people. “Loneliness can be devastating and we hope this appeal will both cement this huge issue even further into public consciousness and drive vital donations to help us provide companionship, advice and support through a range of services. “We also hope it will continue to get people talking about this important issue and inspire action – we all have a role to play as individuals, families and communities in helping ensure older people feel valued and included so that no-one feels lonely at Christmas time, or any other time of the year.’ The last point made by Jackson is the most important that should be taken away – yes it is tragic that so many will be alone on Christmas day but Age UK have reported that around one million elderly people live on their own and often go a full month without speaking to anyone. The health impacts of prolonged loneliness are well documented. A 2010 study found that lacking social connections is as damaging to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and the effect of loneliness and isolation on mortality exceeds the impact of obesity. Similar studies found loneliness leads to higher risk of the onset of disability, depression and one study found lonely people are 64% more likely to develop clinical dementia. An official report released by the Scottish Parliament’s equal opportunities committee in October also reported that loneliness is “as damaging to Scots health as poverty and poor housing.” Convener of the equal opportunities committee, Margaret McCulloch MSP, said that loneliness was a “considerable problem in Scotland” and “individual citizens, public services and the Scottish government must take collective responsibility to tackle the situation.” The government responded to the

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

report, saying: “This is an important issue, with no easy answers, however we are committed to exploring what more we can do to tackle this serious issue which still affects too many in Scotland.” There should be more done by the government to tackle the issue of elderly loneliness but the full responsibility should be shared, as mentioned above, by the government, public services and individuals. According to Age UK, two in five older people in Scotland said television was their main form of company. Imagine 60 years from now, spending the majority of your time watching television, not actually speaking out loud to another person for days on end – it doesn’t bear thinking about. So do something to help someone in that heartbreaking situation. Pop round to a neighbors for a cup of tea, strike up a conversation with someone sitting alone in a café – you never know, you could be making their entire week. SO WHAT CAN I DO? For those who have been touched by the advert or the startling statistics, there are plenty of ways to get involved and help elderly people in your area. Start by donating to charities like Age UK (and signing their petition to get the local and national government to understand that older people’s loneliness really matters; that it’s a serious public health problem and not a normal part of ageing) or become a telephone befriender with a helpline charity like Silverline Scotland and make a friendship call once a week to an elderly person. You could also volunteer with Contact The Elderly – a UK charity now in its Golden Jubilee year that matches those aged over 75, who live alone, with volunteer drivers who taken them to a tea party held usually at the home of a volunteer host one Sunday each month. Valerie Crookston, Scotland Executive Officer of Contact the Elderly, said of the advert: “The John Lewis advert has really highlighted the issue of elderly loneliness and made this important issue a real talking point. There were more than 500 applications to the National Office the weekend the advert came out.” The charity has always focused on ‘relieving the acute loneliness and isolation

of older people who live alone’. Crookston commented: “Our tea parties make an immeasurable difference to the lives of our guests. It allows them the chance to spend an afternoon out of the house enjoying the company of people in their local communities. Social isolation is a serious issue which can have ramifications on mental and physical health – our parties are an important part of tackling this. “Our annual monitoring survey carried out in April 2015, shows how effective our model is at relieving isolation and loneliness: 85% of guests say their life feels better now compared to before they were part of Contact the Elderly, 90% feel less lonely, 94% have made friends with other guests and volunteers and 91% say that they have something to look forward to.” Mary, 91, is a guest of Contact the Elderly. She said of the monthly events: “Before I joined Contact, the only way I could mark the difference between a weekday and the weekend, was to sit in a chair in the week and move to my sofa on a Sunday.” Jean is another guest from Glasgow, she said: “Day to day, I don’t have as much contact with people as I used to when I was younger. The tea parties give me something to look forward to and I enjoy catching up on what the other older people and volunteers have been up to. “It’s great to get out the house and have a good laugh on a Sunday afternoon. I hope Contact the Elderly can find more kind people in Glasgow so that others in my position no longer have to spend the afternoon in the house with nowhere to go and no-one to see.” The Glasgow branch of Contact the Elderly recently issued an urgent call for new volunteers, so that more people like Jean can have something to look forward to each month. There are 50 people currently waiting to join the monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties and to enable these guests to attend the charity will need to set up 10 new groups in the city, as the groups are kept small to enable friendships to develop. This will require 70 volunteer hosts, 35 volunteer drivers and a pool of reserve drivers. Speaking from personal experience, volunteering with Contact the Elderly is such a brilliant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There is no better feeling than hearing your guest say they had such a lovely time and it’s heartwarming to know that you are making a difference to someone’s life. Also how often do you get to compare your 21st celebrations to those who celebrated theirs whilst the Second World War was going on? To find out more about volunteering in Glasgow, or to recommend someone for our waiting list, contact Janice.kerr@ contact-the-elderly.org.uk. by Courtney Hendry Online Editor

@courtneysarahx

c.hendry@tsaglasgow.com

by Courtney Hendry Online Editor

@courtneysarahx

c.hendry@tsaglasgow.com

WHAT’S ON

A CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA WITH THE ‘PROG BEFORE XMAS’ AT THE CCA – AN ABEL GANZ EVENT After releasing their latest album last year, 2015 has been nothing short of a remarkable period for Abel Ganz – having made trips to play at festivals both in the UK and Europe, as well as in the USA. To celebrate the band’s most successful ever year, and to see 2015 out in style, Abel Ganz is returning to the venue that started their recent journey over the last 12 months or so with a very, very special Christmas-time show at the CCA in Glasgow on Friday the 18th December – the same venue chosen for their album launch show. The band says: “We really wanted to end what has been a fantastic year for us with a special show in our own home town – and to help us celebrate we have invited along not one, but two of our very favourite bands to join us. Amazingly, they have both agreed! First of all, we are absolutely overjoyed to welcome along the man who is behind the brilliant Tiger Moth Tales: Peter Jones! Anyone who has not heard Pete’s albums Cocoon and Story Tellers is really missing out! The reaction to these astonishing works has been nothing less than ecstatic with many reviewers [quite rightly] hailing the man’s arrival on the prog scene as a major talent! Secondly, we have been watching

Abel Ganz

with great interest the growing roster of fantastic artists that have been gradually collected by perhaps the most important and influential independent Prog record label around at the moment: Bad Elephant Music. Amongst their many stand out releases in 2015 there is one in particular that we keep coming back to: Pandora, by young Manchester band We Are Kin. Rave reviews describe this fresh band’s atmospheric approach as

music that “transcends genre and sound to become something timeless, original and new”. So – there you have it. We are really, really excited about this! Three bands on one [xmas party] night. We are so pleased that Tiger Moth Tales and We Are Kin will join us on this special occasion and we are very proud to be bringing them both to Scotland for their first shows north of the border.”

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS CABARET

What’s this? A Cabaret performance of everyone’s favourite creepy holiday classic? The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall invites you to the last performance in the music hall before it closes for the holiday season. Definitely going out with a bang! Jack will leave Halloween town and arrive at The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall on December 18th at 7pm. Prepare to see something strange. After all, life’s no fun without a good scare! This is an 18 plus event so the little elves and trick-or-treaters will have to sit this one out. Whether you’re a fan of the original movie or just looking for a creepy holiday event. You are sure to have a blast. by Megan Peoples Twitter: Suggested @Donniefangirl4 donation £5 m.peoples@tsaglasgow.com

Theatre Royal Saturday Lunchtime Concerts

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Theatre Royal Glasgow presents a series of free lunchtime concerts every Saturday for four weeks from the end of November to mid December. Here lies an opportunity to enjoy the exciting new foyer space with performances from a wide range of local musicians. No booking is necessary, just rock up from 12.15pm until 2pm, soak up the ambience and enjoy the tunes! Some of the local talent include: On Saturday 5 December (pre The Last Tango) professional guitar player and singer

Martyn Rapley will delight with acoustic Spanish and classical music. www.martynrapley.com www.facebook.com/Martyn-Rapley @MartynRapley On Saturday 12 December and Saturday 19 December (pre Jersey Boys) The Shiverin’ Sheiks, a dynamite Glasgow based 4-piece band, will get you in the mood for Jersey Boys with 50’s pop, rock ‘n’ roll and doo wop. www.facebook.com/theshiverinsheiks/ @shiverinsheiks

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

DINING IN DARKNESS AND DEAFENING SILENCE CHRISTMAS EVENT At Christmas it is important to be thankful and appreciate what we have, as others are not so lucky. It is estimated there are 5,000 Scots who suffer from deafblindness, making everyday tasks most of us take for granted a struggle. It is something many of us can’t even imagine, a life with no sound or sight. Deafblind Scotland Invites you to their Dining in Darkness and in Deafening Silence event, held at the Radisson Blu hotel in Glasgow for perhaps the most interesting Christmas dining experience. On Thursday, 10th December 2015, diners will have a specially prepared two course meal (vegetarian option available) with a difference. Wearing ear muff and being blindfolded diners will experience what it is like to be deafblind and the difference it makes to eating out. Diners will not be told what they have eaten until after the meal. Previous guests have said: “Every forkful brought a new sensation: sour, salty, tangy, crunchy, sweet, stodgy, spicy, cooling... We found ourselves sampling the daily experience of so many deafblind people, in a way that went above and beyond well-meaning empathy... We would thoroughly recommend it to

anyone.” “Had a great meal and dining experience at this event on Saturday night. Food was delicious – Cod starter was outstanding as was the pork main. The entire evening was brilliant from champagne to start to the very informative cocktail masterclass at the end of the evening – well done to Angus for keeping us all entertained and even letting my wife shake some cocktails. Can’t wait for the next event.” Collage_Restaurant-Glasgow_Scotland. html# Georgi Lindsey, Business Executive, from Deafblind Scotland said: “Following the success of previous Dining in Darkness in Deafening Silence events, it’s only right we host a Christmasthemed lunch. Having previously worked with the Radisson Blu, I can assure you the meal will be absolutely exquisite. Diners will experience an afternoon unlike any other, with a heightened taste and smell they may not have encountered before. It is hoped the event will raise awareness of deafblindness as well provide an enjoyable afternoon.” According to Deafblind Scotland, most deafblind people are over 60 years of age and have become dual sensory impaired

as part of the ageing process. 20% of Deafblind Scotland members have a condition known as Usher Syndrome. 11% use BSL as their first language and English as a second language. 19 of our members use Braille to access written language. Tickets cost £25 and are available from

www.deafblindscotland.org.uk/events/ or by contacting Georgi on 0141 777 5854 or at businessexecutive@deafblindscotland. org.uk

by Megan Peoples Twitter:

@Donniefangirl4 m.peoples@tsaglasgow.com

STUDENTS HAVE MORE FUN AT THE EXPERIENCE The fun doesn’t stop at the Go-karting Arena. We also have our adrenaline filled Laser Experience and super-sized 8 lane Slot car track. The Academy restaurant also offers a selection of alcoholic drinks but please remember you can’t drink and kart! Any alcohol consumed must be after the karting experience has finished, otherwise you will be unable to ride.

EXCITEMENT, EXHIL ARATION AND ENTERTAINMENT AT THE EXPERIENCE

10% off for stude nts!

Enjoy a 10% student discount off karting, food and leisure 7 days a week. Just show your student card at Reception.* For more information or to book, call 0141 883 4005 or email hello@theexperience.org.uk *Student discount not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.

You and your friends can compete on our custom built track in Hillington Park, Renfrewshire. Then, once the high speed drama is over, get a bite to eat with one of our delicious burger options at our in-house restaurant, The Academy. Our 5-star venue is really easy to get to, just take the train to Hillington West or if you are travelling by car, we are just off the M8 at Junction 26. Have you ever driven an electric Go-kart? These karts are the first of their kind in Scotland and their AGNI 200-119 8KW Motor can accelerate quicker to their top speed of 35mph than standard petrol karts. All group sizes and abilities are welcome, so even if you are an experienced Go-karter or first timer, come along for some fun. Booking is not essential but is advisable for groups and societies. Just call 0141 883 4005 for more info. And because we love students, you get a free balaclava on your first visit. These must be worn by all drivers for hygiene purposes and normally cost £2 each. The balaclava is yours to keep and bring back on return visits saving you even more money.

THE EXPERIENCE, LOTHIAN STREET, HILLINGTON PARK, G52 4JR

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TheExperience

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0141 883 4005

@ExpVolta

The Experience, a division of Kibbleworks - Scottish Charity No. SC035861 - Registered in Scotland No. 269349

MUSIC

THE INTERVIEW: Alt-J’S Gus Unger-Hamilton

We have played Glasgow for quite a few years, we always have a really good time here

ALT-J HAVE ENJOYED GREAT SUCCESS SINCE RELEASING THEIR FIRST ALBUM, WINNING A MERCURY PRIZE AND EVEN BREAKING AMERICA WITH LATEST ALBUM ‘THIS IS ALL YOURS’ CHARTING AT NUMBER FOUR IN THE US. TSA’S STEPHEN COUSE SPOKE TO KEYBOARDIST GUS UNGER-HAMILTON ABOUT PLAYING THE HYDRO IN DECEMBER, WHAT BIZARRE NAME THE BAND COULD HAVE HAD, AND MILEY CYRUS.

THE BAND HAVE WORKED THEIR WAY UP FROM PLAYING THE ART SCHOOL THREE YEARS AGO TO PLAYING THE MASSIVE HYDRO, BUT DO YOU PREFER THE MORE INTIMATE SHOWS RATHER THAN BIG VENUES? There’s things I like about both of them. I think there’s definitely more romance to smaller venues, more history usually. But I think the atmosphere you can create at a big arena show in terms of lights and production and atmosphere and just the amount of people sharing the evening is really unbeatable. It’s a toss-up really but I love them both. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE GLASGOW CROWD? Always very good. We have played Glasgow for quite a few years, we always have a really good time here. Definitely vocal and lively and up for a good night usually, that’s how we find it. WE’VE READ YOU LIKE TO KEEP THINGS QUIET ON THE ROAD. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO GET UP TO WHILE TOURING? We’re not the kind of band who talks publically about our party lifestyle or whatever. There’s an impression that we’re quite boring! We do like to stay active, do stuff during the day, I think if you just

sit around the dressing room all day just watching films it kills your brain a little bit. I like to go out for walks in whatever city I’m in. And we do like to go out after gigs, but probably not the craziest band on the touring circuit! YOU’VE SAID BEFORE THAT “LEFT HAND FREE” TOOK ABOUT 20 MINUTES TO WRITE, BUT IT HAS BECOME A MASSIVE HIT! DID YOU SET OUT TO MAKE IT A BIG SINGLE? No, if anything we weren’t even planning to put it on the album to be honest. We wrote it and we liked it, we thought it was fun, a bit silly, not really very us. We said “that’s great, let’s book in a day to record that as soon as possible while it still feels exciting and fresh”, and so we did. The label heard it and got very excited by it and we were like “really?” We thought it was just a bit of a silly throwaway song. I suppose when you least expect to write a “hit”, it will happen without you realising it. Songs you maybe spend the longest on never even become singles. “HUNGER OF THE PINE” HAS A MILEY CYRUS SAMPLE, HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT? She professed herself to be a fan of ours. So Tom, our drummer, offered to do a

remix for her. He had all the stems for this song of hers called “4x4” on his laptop when we were writing. Tom was using more Ableton laptop stuff for this album, so when we were working on “Hunger”, he just experimented with chucking in this Miley sample that he really liked. He’d used this sample for his remix, it really worked when isolated like that. We tried it on “Hunger: and it kind of worked so we kept it. HAVE YOU EVER MET MILEY? We’ve met her a few times, she invited us to her show in London last year which was fun, very crazy, crazy show I mean. We met her in L.A. once. She’s nice, pretty down to earth. WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO JUST NOW? I’ve just had three weeks at home off tour and I’ve been taking a break from rock and all that kind of thing. I’ve just discovered this vocal trio called Voice. They’re from Oxford I think, a mixture of folk and ecclesiastical music, really digging them at the moment. They’ve got two albums, they are great. WOULD YOU PREFER THE FANS TO BUY VINYL OR ARE YOU HAPPY FOR PEOPLE TO DOWNLOAD MUSIC?

It’s nice when people want to commit to buying something because it’s so easy now to just stream stuff, but I feel like when somebody buys your album it shows a real commitment and a real appreciation. If they were going to buy it in any format I suppose I would like it to be vinyl, because I think it looks and sounds better on vinyl. We put a lot of effort into creating nice vinyl packages for people who buy them. But at the same time, it’s not up to us how people want to consume our music. I don’t want to be one of those musicians who kind of dictates to fans how to listen to music. IF ALT-J HADN’T TAKEN OFF WHAT WAS YOUR OWN BACKUP PLAN? I was actually in the process of applying for the Waitrose graduate scheme when I was finishing university and I got down to the final interview and I went up to London to do the interview and I was staying with my brother. The night before we went to the pub and he was like “why are you doing this?” and I said “I don’t really know!” We talked about it, and then I decided I wasn’t going to go to the interview, so I just sacked it off. I will never know whether or not I would have made it. But I think I probably would, so I may well have been managing a branch of Waitrose in

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16 Sevenoaks, Kent or somewhere boring like that! DO YOU SEE YOURSELF ALWAYS BEING IN A BAND, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO PURSUE SOMETHING ELSE? WAITROSE PERHAPS? Never too late! I would love to be in the band for as long as possible. We would really like to be like Radiohead where we’re free to do other things when we want to, there’s not the pressure to put out an album every year or two. Ultimately what would bind us all together fundamentally would be being in Alt-J, as with Radiohead. They are free to start projects, films, scores, whatever they want to do. At the end of the day, Thom Yorke and the rest of them are all really known for being in Radiohead because that’s the best thing they do, so I think that would be a really nice position to be in. WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN BEING IN A BAND TO PURSUE MUSIC ABOVE ALL ELSE OR TO ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP? When we were at university it looked like things were going well with the band just towards the end of our degrees but it was important for us to finish our degrees. It wasn’t necessarily so much of a back-up, we just put in so much time into it that it would have been a real shame to drop out in third year. It doesn’t hurt to have more than one string to your bow, but if music

really is your passion you should probably just give it everything. For us, certainly it was important to get degrees more for personal satisfaction. YOU’VE HAD A COUPLE OF NAME CHANGES OVER THE YEARS, BUT IF ALT-J WASN’T FEASIBLE FOR WHATEVER REASON DID YOU HAVE ANY OTHERS PICKED OUT? None that we could really agree on. Marines was one that was being battered about, not everyone liked that. That was my idea. I think our booking agent suggested Boyfriend Hands, which caused much mirth but wasn’t taken seriously, unfortunately! ALT-J DOES SEEM LIKE A SMART PICK WITH THE TRIANGLE SYMBOL THE FANS MAKE AT THE GIGS, WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE LOOKING OUT SEEING SO MANY PEOPLE DOING THAT? It’s really cool, it’s pretty exciting to see people that we don’t know engaging with our band in that way, especially considering we probably came up with that when were high at university or something, probably as a joke, so it’s quite surreal really. YOUR SHOWS ARE ALWAYS BRILLIANT, WITH INCREDIBLE LIGHT SHOWS, AND YOUR VIDEOS ARE ALWAYS VERY CREATIVE WITH A BIG VISUAL IMPACT, SO HOW INVOLVED ARE YOU WITH THE CREATIVE SIDE OF THINGS? We’re very involved. The video ideas almost always come from the band. As for our

SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER BY RADIO A ‘LEGENDARY DANCE VOCALIST’

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lights show, that’s actually more to do with our lighting designer Jeremy, who is a super amazing guy. We like to work with him up to a point and give him some direction but he is really in charge of the lighting and he does a great job, so we don’t have to mess with what he’s doing. WITH YOU WINNING SO MANY AWARDS ALREADY (MERCURY PRIZE, IVOR NOVELLO ALBUM AWARD FOR SONGWRITING) IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO ACHIEVE IN THE FUTURE? Other than making albums that we’re proud of, we don’t really have any aims for our albums. Winning awards is always a massive bonus and it’s an honour but at the same time if we’re feeling musically satisfied and creative then that’s all we really need.

interest. That’s not really your fault, but at the same time I’m really glad we had three years in Leeds as a student band, working really hard, learning about songwriting and also learning what it’s like to traipse about the country on buses and trains carrying your gear, doing shit gigs where only like five people turn up. We had three of four years of that and that was really formative. So we now really appreciate when we’re on a tour bus, we’re like “we’ve earned this”, because we spent so many years doing it the hard way! by Stephen Couse Twitter:

@stephen_couse s.couse@tsaglasgow.com

ALT-J play The SSE Hydro on Monday 7th December as part of their UK Tour.

ALT-J’s GUS UNGER-HAMILTON

YOU’VE BECOME A REALLY SUCCESSFUL BAND AT A TIME WHEN A LOT OF NEW ACTS COME FROM TALENT SHOWS, BUT DO YOU THINK THERE’S ANY ‘RIGHT’ WAY TO GO ABOUT BREAKING INTO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? I think it’s important to put in some time before you break. I know that’s not always the easiest thing in the world, if you start a band and happen to write six really awesome songs and your first gig has an A&R

QUICK FIRE ROUND: SINCE YOU DRESSED UP AS GANDALF FOR HALLOWEEN, WOULD YOU RATHER BE A WIZARD OR A HOBBIT? Wizard PASTA OR PIZZA? Pasta NAME ONE THING YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Asian food FAVOURITE SCOTTISH PERSON, REAL OR FICTIONAL? J.K. Rowling. Does she count? She lives in Scotland. She’s an honorary Scot, isn’t she? Probably going to get some grief for that one!

FEATURE

A Review of

Glasgow’s Eu

After a wild night of painting the town red, you intend to travel back to where you came from, with whoever you have invited back. Although there are two obstacles that make you re-evaluate your decision to get a taxi back to your house. First of all it’s the ridiculous amount of money it will cost you to pay the taxi driver, whether it is a black cab or a private hire. They like taking advantage of drunken people and are likely to bump up the prices, depending on the state of the very intoxicated person or people they have just picked up. It pains me to say that but it’s true. The second problem you might encounter when heading back to the family home is that you and your travel companion are likely to wake up members of your family. If it’s a larger group of your friends, then you will most definitely wake all of them up. Unless you have been blessed with the classic “empty” then you will encounter issues. There is an alternative option – ahead of your night out, grab your friends and invest in a night’s stay at Glasgow’s state of the art Euro Hostel (or longer than a night, because it’s that good). It is situated at the corner of Jamaica Street and Clyde Street and is in walking distance of any pub or club that is worth your valuable time. There are hostels all over the United Kingdom including Edinburgh, Newcastle and Liverpool and they have been providing excellent service, consistently for over fifteen years.

During July this year the newly refurbished accommodation was opened to the public after £750,000 had been invested into developing this into a super-budget type of accommodation. Jaws will drop after a night spent here thanks to the pleasant service and high quality of the brand new suites. They have raised the bar for accommodation around Glasgow, particularly for students seeking reasonably priced rooms. During our stay, I spoke with Lynn, one of the Euro Hostel staff members, who was a lovely individual and represented the quality of the staff who were cheerful and helpful during my stay. She noted: “A lot of students have come here and loved their stay so much that they have returned”. The company revolutionised hostels during its conception in 2000, now fifteen years later they are still improving the quality and are consistently delivering high quality service for all of their guests. They have added 66 new beds to a hostel that can hold 364 guests, so capacity will never be a problem and there should always be space available. The new suites that the Euro Hostel have introduced are memorable simply because of the fine quality of everything. The large area allows your friends that are staying to bring even more people and the overall privacy that you are entitled to is a stand out feature which is very unusual for a hostel, it might even make you think you are staying a four star hotel rather than a hostel. That could just be the booze

GLASGOW’S EU A SAFE HAVEN talking or it might just be the truth, you will have to try it for yourself to find out. Moreover, all rooms are affordable, costing just £20.00 per person for a private suite and £10.00 per person for a shared room. From there you have the choice of 50 available twin rooms, 23 double rooms, 32 four person rooms, three eight person rooms and finally there is one 12 person room and three 14 person rooms. What you want though is the private suite that holds 20 people so you can enjoy your night out and have an amazing after party. To be precise here it’s suite 101 and 102 that you want for a significant number of people. Now to my exact room, the beds are the softest cotton that my back has ever laid on. The living area has 40” plasma against the wall, perfectly situated directly across from the couches. The couch is L-shaped and could comfortably seat over ten people, even with the large pillows. Now if you’re wondering how we

managed to amuse ourselves, apart from drinking and watching TV, the foosball table that’s included created some highly competitive matches during my stay there. Just like the one in the hit TV comedy Friends that Joey and Chandler played over the years. So put yourselves in their shows, play foosball, drink beer and eat whatever you want since the the hostel allows you to bring food of any kind inside. This is very rare and exclusive to this hostel alone. The majority of hostels and hotels restrict you from bringing in food that is purchased outside of their premises. There are some delightful places to eat nearby and most of them do takeaway if you feel like relaxing back in the room. Nandos is right around the corner and will provide quick and quality food for a reasonable price – it’s some of the best chicken in Glasgow and the staff will also make you feel welcomed. In addition to this, there is a McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut at Glasgow’s famous

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

uroHostel

else. However, don’t be gone too long as you need to appreciate the suite while it’s yours.

URO HOSTEL IS FOR STUDENTS “four corners” which is also two minutes away. If you intend to go for something cheap and cheerful then four corners is the place to be. Finally if you intend to go for something different, Bread Meets Bread is a 10 minute walk from the hostel and will allow you to eat some of the best burgers you will have ever had in your life. This is an exceptional place and you will leave satisfied as it’s of the best restaurants in not just Glasgow but Scotland as whole. We know drinking in a room all night might not appeal to everyone and there are plenty of bars close by to keep you entertained. Hootenanny, which is located at the corner of St Enoch Square, will provide cheap drinks, surprisingly good music and it is close enough to the hostel that when you’re at Tesco getting beverages for the upcoming night you will probably decide then and there it’ll be your first stop.

Furthermore, Yes Bar is a ten minute walk from the hostel. If you voted for independence and enjoy drinking like the majority of Scots do, then you will love the Yes Bar. It has live music and although the drinks are a bit more expensive, they’re worth it. Crystal Palace is about a minute away from the hostel and is a typical pub that has a lovely interior design. It has two floors and there is plenty of seating for your companions to enjoy a drink. It isn’t one of those bars where you stand around waiting to be served for twenty minutes before having to stand around with your drink. It’s very relaxing and has a nice atmosphere to it. I once lost my wallet in here and the staff found and returned it, so you know good people are serving you! Back at the hostel there is plenty of space to get ready, as the suites are split into 10 bunk beds per room and there is a bar downstairs called Mint and Lime, that has live sports to keep those ready early, entertained while waiting for everyone

The hostel provides essential services such as free Wi-Fi, a bar and late check-out. You have the choice to pay for Wi-Fi, and in this day and age where we students spend half our lives on our phones, you might feel the need to purchase the faster broadband that is available. The bar Mint and Lime is connected to the hostel and is reasonably priced as it hosts live bands and broadcasts football matches regularly. If you intend to have quite the alcohol crazed night that was planned then I suggest you pay the additional £3 for a late check-out, there’s also an early check in for the same amount. If it wasn’t clear earlier it should be now, instead of wasting your money on a taxi you and your group of friends should share the costs for one of the finest suites in Glasgow. That way you essentially have a party flat at your disposal. It is suitable for pre drinks, for people who get so drunk they can’t make it out and for an epic after party. Also this will appeal to those rascals who like to invite back whomever they chatted up at the bar or the smoking area. Speaking of smoking area, for anyone who is smart enough to book a stay in the suites for their friends they can enjoy the luxury of a veranda style smoking area on the first floor suites. This is a beautiful area that is exclusive to anyone who is staying in the private suite.

It allows you to go for some fresh air but still be in the hostel so you don’t need to depart outside any time you need a smoke. There is also a television situated in the veranda and it’s protected by the walls around the benches and seating area, so no one will disturb you. The benches in this area are almost reminiscent of the beer gardens we enjoy during the summer or whenever we get any sun in our great city. You might be worried that it will be freezing in this designated smoking zone but that isn’t the case as there is outside heating that can be activated by a simple switch. It is very comfortable and a great attraction for this hostel. Students of Glasgow, people who work in the area or anyone who just wants to have a good time in Glasgow I recommend that you spend a night or two here. It’s brilliant for students as they can get up to, well, whatever students like to do in their spare time that isn’t working or studying. This is clearly the place to be so you need to think about getting together with your friends and pulling your cash to have an incredible night at the best hostel in Glasgow. Enjoy some of the city’s lively clubs and re-route back to the hostel during a wild night of fun, friends and freedom. Remember, whatever happens in the Euro Hostel stays in the Euro Hostel. by Billal Rahman Twitter:

@Billzinyourgaff

b.rahman@tsaglasgow.com

FEATURE

Freakishly Fantastic Social Fads of 2015 Every year we are infiltrated with new trends to follow. Whether they be fashion related, influencing our vocabulary or hashtags we simply see trending on Twitter, 2015 has definitely produced quite a collection of crazes for us to get caught up in. Things were particularly freaky on the fashion front. 2015 was the year that grey hair was transformed from a dirty secret to daring style stunt. Instead of dying their dreaded silvery strands models on the catwalks from the likes Jean-Paul Gaultier and Chanel were showcasing ladies of all ages with sparkly white locks which taught us that maybe we shouldn’t be suppressing those dreaded silvery strands anymore. Men have also claimed a controversial hair-do too: The Man Bun. At first, many mocked this act of courage, but when the hot weather greeted the long-haired lads, they realised it truly was a life-saver. Not to mention a total talking point for the ladies. Soon, guys everywhere were embracing the bun whether they were pairing the sleek look with a dashing three-piece or rocking it at a three-day festival.

Hairstyles weren’t the only focus of the year though. If you have been anywhere near a TV, social media, a newspaper or the outside world you will be aware of how big an impact the Kardashian family have had on the media this year. Breakups, romances, sex-changes and plastic surgery has been reported almost daily on almost every media outlet, and one of the biggest takeovers was the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge. Kardashian copy-cats took to their smartphones and videoed themselves sucking their mouths inside tubular objects in order to get the perfect Kylie K pout. What most people didn’t realise that they were in fact stopping the circulation to their lips, causing them to sometimes swell an inhumane amount. Videos of people ending up with cartoonish duck-lips were becoming a hilarious hit on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as we laughed at other people’s stupidity (almost like an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians…). Social media video trends are another thing that have been witnessed in abundance this year. There was the “Don’t Judge Me” challenge which was people drawing

mono-brows on themselves and pulling unattractive faces and then putting some sort of lotion on their skin to transform them into society’s version of “attractive human beings”. The message behind this challenge was a sort of “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” lesson, but really it seemed like just another excuse for people to get likes and retweets for almost no reason at all. The most current challenge is the “Condom water-balloon challenge” which started circulating in November. Basically, people are dropping condoms filled with water onto their friend’s heads. This particular challenge doesn’t seem to have any reasoning behind it apart from the fact that it is mildly funny to see your mates head trapped in a condom. The dictionary also saw a few additions in 2015. “Hoverboard” “twerk” “sext” and “e-cig” were some of the words that are now officially defined in the big book of English words. One word that didn’t quite make it was “bae”. The word has caused worldwide controversy after it was first recognised on a facebook photo where someone misspelled the word “babe”. Oh the power of the internet. Bae has since

WEIRD AND WONDERFUL FASTFOOD TRENDS As you know Scotland is a fast-food haven, everywhere we go we’re surrounded by it. On every street corner that you go to there’s either a chippy, kebab shop or Chinese take away. There is in fact so many that no results will come up when I ask how many there are in Google, however lets look at how wonderful it tastes. THE CHINESE MUNCHY BOX: Recently hit our high street, yes you read correctly, a CHINESE munchy box. This was born in the little town of Shotts and people were going berserk to get their hands on one. It even got to the point where the takeaway ran out of food to make this wonderful treat. The contents of the box are the following; Fried Rice, Curry Sauce, Chips, Chicken Balls, Ribs, Spring Rolls, Salt and Chilli Chicken

How good does that sound though? The fact about this Shotts delicacy is that it’s so cheap you only get it for a little more than £10, which is a bargain if you decide to buy all these dishes separately.

only £6.99 this could genuinely feed a family of 4 with all it’s contents so it could be argued that it would be the cheaper but unhealthier option for a family meal.

THE INDIAN MUNCHY BOX: Yes this one has been about for a number of years, it’s usually just addressed as the ‘munchy box’ though. When this was first introduced in around 2004 we could get it as cheap as £5 in some places, now every Indian take away does one.

THE BURGER: This is the more eat out option I know, but now Glasgow has it’s very own ‘Burger’ district with around 5 restaurants on Glasgow’s St Vincent Street. These stores include Five Guys, Bread Meats Bread, Gourmet Burger Kitchen etc.

The contents of the box varies in certain places but the basic items you should expect in this delicacy are: Kebab meat, Chilli, Pakora, Sour Cream Sauce, Pakora – (Chicken, Mushroom, or Veggi), Onion Rings, Wedges, Chicken Wings

Five Guys is an American fast-food brand that is known for its fantastic burger, with its drinks machine showcasing a library full of soft drinks available. If you had to get all elements of the experience (so Burger, fries and drink) it could amount to a staggering £14 and it is only fast-food.

Yes this is a wide variety of tasty items and the average price now starting at

Bread Meats Bread has a more gourmet

been mention in singer Pharrell Williams lyrics and so maybe 2016 will see the Oxford Dictionary recognise it as a real word. It wouldn’t be such a surprise after the word of the year as awarded by Oxford Dictionaries was announced as the “crying with laughter face” emoji. I think this decision pretty much sums up 2015 as the electronic generation with a decent sense of humour. In 2016, social media will probably continue to play a huge part in society and with interactive videos now allowing a 360 degree view of a whole environment, who knows what advanced technology will allow us to share on it. Coconut oil might be discovered as a cure for almost everything and vaping might eliminate cigarette sale altogether. Men might start sporting pigtails and ultra-feminists might ban the sales of tampons and razors altogether. Whatever happens, at least we know we live in a world where our parents can find the definition of “twerking” without having to ask us personally. by Ami Torrance

Twitter: @AmiFTorrance www.amiftorrance.wordpress.com a.torrance@tsaglasgow.com

approach, you are actually seated at a table, you choose your burger for the evening and then presented with this wonderful slab of meat (or veggie burger) on a bun about 15 minutes later. MONEY: A study took place and it revealed the average Brit spends around £1.3k a year on fast-food takeaways, it’s a pretty scary thought when you think of it like that, how unhealthy are we really? However I think it’s got to the point where we are all aware of the risks with eating out by now but the fast-food industry is now more powerful than ever. With cheap prices and semi-decent food, will its grip on our lives ever loosen? With them making more money than ever, I’d say that possibility is unlikely. by William Frew Twitter: @Mr_Blonde94 Blog: frewflix.wordpress.com w.frew@tsaglasgow.com

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

Seasons Screenings! at the Glasgow Film Theatre Ah, yes: Christmas is nigh! Before us are 30 days – 30 days of anticipation, preparation and organisation. With November finally swept under the rug, any efforts you make now to get in the festive mood will be celebrated, maybe even inspiring for others around you. That week prior to New Year – the seven days which will inevitably lead to the list of 2016 do’s and don’ts based on 2015 experiences – is a good time to embrace joy and family time, where possible. Granted, if your Christmas is full of traditional operations, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will be on the T.V. approximately five minutes after the final scrap of wrapping paper has been binned. Around three tins of sweets will be open on the floor, despite all them being Quality Streets, and one all-round-good-guy will sacrifice their morning in favour of cooking an amazing feast at dinnertime. Who doesn’t love living in these moments multiple times before December 25th? That’s correct – hardly anyone. And so, eager to please, the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) have an excellent line-up scheduled for those of us who want to turn ‘Christmas Movies and Chill’ into a

legitimate evening in the town. For those of you unaware of what exactly an evening in the GFT entails, prepare to feel all tingly with excitement. Think old-school popcorn pockets teamed with up-to-date projector performance. Screening posters really are surrounded by spherical cream lights at the GFT; it’s a treat to step back in time inside of it. Glasgow’s Film Theatre has been leading the way in specialised films for over 40 years. From art house cinema to classics, night cult screenings to documentaries. And, despite being situated a mere stonethrow away from Sauchiehall street, we still bet you didn’t even know it was there. Going out to catch a movie doesn’t have to break the bank, which is why the GFT have some pre-theatre and savings deals on offer throughout the year. Enjoy 20% off food in Giraffe on West Nile Street when you flash your GFT cinema ticket anytime during the week. Why not grab a buddy and enjoy a 2-for-1 on select Sunday showings courtesy of The Herald? Here’s some of our favourite screenings forecasted for this Christmas, ones which – we should add – won’t be running in mainstream picture houses. Check online for full listings at glasgowfilm.org. Seasons screenings from TSA!

It’s a Wonderful Life Friday 11 – Thursday 24 December Gremlins Friday 11 December The Bolshoi Ballet: Nutcracker Sunday 13 December When Harry Met Sally Friday 18 – Monday 21 December Die Hard Friday 18 December The Muppet Christmas Carol Saturday 19 December Elf Tuesday 22 December

by Rachael Procter @rrretro___ r.procter@tsaglasgow.com

DRIN

Diffe re Hot C nt Flavo u hoco lates red Coffe es • Milk shak • es

MARIO KART 8 TOURNAMENT 19th December

COSPLAY SCHOOL 16th of December Sewing for those that aren’t as confident with their needle skills.

ODPizza pie and O F EW is •

n Pani a-soup a z z i P • Meg s p i ch

WHAT’S ON

WHAT’S ON AT MEGABYTES

MegaBytes have been welcoming gamers, geeks and everyone else through their doors for 4 months now and already it’s become the most bustling, not to mention friendliest, place to meet like minded geeks in the city (and we’re all geeks these day aren’t we?). More like a giant cosy living room than a traditional games arcade, its cosy feel and quirky imaginative food options such as their Pizza Paninis, Mega Soup and special milkshakes make it an easy option to wile away a few hours and shelter from the winter chills, whether you want to get your mits on one of their classic controllers or just have somewhere welcoming and comfy to chill. Games: if you’ve a classic favourite you’ve been aching to play again and

you’ve been regretting throwing out that old crt tv – it’s likely they have it. Maybe it’s Super Smash Bros Melee, Mario Kart 64, Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Star Wars Battlefront 2 or even World of Illusion starring Mickey and Donald? They’ve got them all plus many more than we’ve space to list here. If they don’t have your favourite they might just try get it in for you. Feeling competitive? Been perfecting that fire hopping technique at home? They host regular tournaments too. Recently they’ve ran busy Mario Kart 8, Pokemon Stadium, Smash Bros 4 and Street Fighter tournaments. All hotly contested and often there’s even actual real enamel pin badges of honour up for grabs for the winners. There’s a real community feel to the

place and speaking to Nav and Danny they’re looking to really build on their great start and continue making Megabytes the go to place in the city for everything geek. Following on from their hugely successful cosplay nights they’ve even organised a cosplay sewing workshop on 16th December. Being the most populous city in Scotland, they want to prove Glasgow has more than it’s fair share of games development talent, we reckon Dundee has been trading off the GTA hype for long enough now. These days it’s surprisingly easy to create your own games on Unity and even Nintendo recently let go of some of the control freakery and opened their arms to the indies. They’re on a bit of a

mission with this so on 12th December they’ve invited along the cream of the local guys who’ve been doing great work in making games. Want to know how they got into it, need some advice or even just want to hear about some great local success stories? This type of event is unheard of in Glasgow so get along if you can. Get involved, they’re a welcoming bunch and to prove it they’re even offering 10% off for all students and a free hot drink to all TSA readers. All you have to do is tear out the voucher from this months centre page student deals section and show it to the guys. 3 2 1 Go!

Do you need a LIFT to buy a home? The Scottish Government’s Open Market Shared Equity scheme may be able to help you! The scheme helps people on low to moderate incomes who wish to purchase a home on the open market, but cant afford to pay the full market price. If eligible, you pay between 60-90% of the purchase prices of the property with the Scottish Government funding the remainder through an equity grant of between 10-40%



The scheme is currently open to:  First time buyers (who have never owned or had their name on a mortgage in the past)  Social rented tenants Serving Armed Forces Personnel, a recent veteran or the spouse/partner of recently deceased personnel killed on duty  Disabled people with a housing need to move For more information on how to apply: Telephone 0330 303 0125 Email LIFT@linkhaltd.co.uk www.linkhousing.org.uk/lift

Link Housing Association Limited is a company registered in Scotland under the Companies Acts, Company Number: SC216300, Registered Office: Link House, 2c New Mart Road, Edinburgh, EH14 1RL. It is registered as a Property Factor Id: PF000355 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Interim Permissions Reference Number: 643282. Part of © the Link group 2015

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

NATURAL REMEDIES FOR STRESS So at this time of year we should be all looking forward to enjoying our Christmas holidays. But instead we have masses of coursework to do, deadlines, presentations and the least favourable part of being at university – exams! Exams are placed at the wrong time of the year. For some, they fall just before Christmas and for others, they fall just after Christmas. So it does feel like the exam board are out to ruin our festive fun. With all the pressure that accumulates at university in December, alongside the extra added pressure of Christmas shopping, it is only natural to feel stressed out and tired. But do not panic! Napiers the Herbalists, located in the heart of the West End, can help worn out students put the spring back in their step with a variety of natural and herbal remedies. Napiers sell a great variety of natural remedies that are sure to help you destress. So here are a few that will get you through those tedious nights of continuous studying. The Study Essential Oil Blend is a great purchase and at a price of £5.95, it’s not going to break the bank either. Studying over Christmas is never easy, and it can be hard to maintain concentration when surrounded by festivities. Napier’s Study

Essential Oil Blend contains peppermint and rosemary to help clear the mind and regain focus. The blend also includes basil, which is excellent for aiding mental fatigue and helping memory – especially helpful when trying to drill in those facts and figures. The best way to use this product is to dilute and massage into temples or wrists to feel the calming benefits almost immediately. I don’t know what it’s like in your house, but in mine, a good cup of tea can fix almost anything. And if this applies in your household, then Napiers Rosy Calm Tea is just for you. Avoid overdosing on caffeine by trying Napiers Rosy Calm Tea. The soothing combination of rose and chamomile is livened by ginger and lemon and allows time to regain focus. The calming nature of the ingredients promotes balance and wellbeing both mentally and physically, helping tackle the day head on. If there is no time to indulge between running from lectures to the library, the Napiers stress blend (£12) is an ideal herbal remedy for those on the go. The remedy includes the herb Skullcap, known for its mild sedative qualities it is ideal for those who have trouble sleeping or struggle to sit still. Vervain is also in the blend, which is commonly used to relieve anxiety and

textbooks. Simply pop into a steamy bath and watch as the bubbles fizz and anxieties melt away. A herbal or natural remedy is an easy and effective way to relieve stress. Napiers the Herbalists is located on Cresswell Street, only a short walk from Hillhead underground. In store there are over 300 herbs and the expert practitioners are available to advise on the best remedies and herbs to help individual stress concerns.

tension headaches which are a common ailment for students before exams. So it’s the end of the day, you have had your cup of rosy calm tea, but just don’t feel quite chilled out enough. No problem. Why not try a hot bath? The Lavender Heart Bath Fizz (£2.50) is not only a cute stocking filler (two birds one stone situation here – cure your stress and a Christmas present for someone else) but the calming effects of the lavender will encourage relaxation. The soothing aroma will relieve headaches and calm stress, allowing the body to relax and prepare it to take the heavyweight

by Emylie Howie @EmylieHowie e.howie@tsaglasgow.com

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FEATURE

BEST 5 TARANTINO MOVIES

By now I’d imagine that you’ve heard of Quentin Tarantino, the director of many Hollywood masterpieces such as Reservoir Dogs, Django Unchained and Kill Bill? Of course you have and if you haven’t where have you been? 5 – KILL BILL VOL 1 2003 This was Tarantino’s fourth major production, this was in fact his first movie in the 21st century after a six year absence in the industry after Jackie Brown in 1997. Kill Bill seen Quentin Tarantino reunite with Uma Thurman from the blockbuster success they brought together in Pulp Fiction, along with other Hollywood hitters such as David Carradine and Lucy Liu. This one tells the story of ‘The Bride’ a pregnant woman who is shot in the head during her wedding rehearsal by her former lover ‘Bill’ and his squad of deadly assassins. She awakens four years later to notice, no baby, no family, and only one thing on her mind…revenge. For me this is sitting at number five due to the fact it had its on unique style of being cheesy on the martial arts side of things with a hint of gore, a BIG hint of gore. Seeing someone being decapitated and being welcomed with a hose of blood

spraying around the room was strangely cool, you don’t see that anywhere else.

Pitt, Michael Fassbender and the genius Christoph Waltz.

It also has one of my favourite fight scenes in film, Tarantino again using his genius making the scene completely black and white as we see the bride butcher 88 ‘Tokyo Yakuza’ gang members with her trusty Samurai sword.

For a start Christoph Waltz’ performance was simply mind blowing, this is where the world was introduced to him. For the first time we simply seen a linguist genius who mesmerised us every time he opened his mouth. Tarantino even came out to say that without Christoph this movie would not have happened.

In total this film had a total body count of 95 on screen deaths, so if you like a good slasher, this film is definitely for you!

4 – INGLORIOUS BASTERDS 2009 This film was Quentin’s 7th motion picture, so he was no longer the new kid on the block, he went into uncharted territory here with a World War 2 movie. Inglorious Basterds is a very unique film. To put it simply it’s about a squad of Jewish Soldiers led by a red neck on a quest to kill Hitler. Yes I believe that got your attention. The movie headlines names such as Brad

This film is full of complex conversation in German, French and English so getting the actors together to perform these scenes would have been a difficult task itself. But still with subtitles the body language and conversation topics itself kept us all engaged. Also with the complexities out the window, there was lots of shooting, scalping’s and seeing Nazi Soldiers being bludgeoned to death with Baseball bats. It was genius. Without ruining the ending of the movie, this film does simply not follow the true outcome of the war.

As violence and death is a common theme of a Tarantino film I feel the body count could be an interesting statistic. But Inglorious racks up an impressive 315 screen deaths, impressive, most impressive.

3 – DJANGO UNCHAINED 2012 Django is Tarantino’s most recent film, released in 2012 it tells the story of a slave turned bounty hunter trying to rescue his wife from slavery so they can have their happy ever after, the journey in trying to do so is epic though. This film stars a great line up of Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo Di Caprio. For me that is a cracking line up. Jamie Foxx was a surprise lead at the time and people were questioning the appointment, however he delivered with a strong cutting edge performance. Originally the role of Django was offered to Will Smith, now wouldn’t that have been a strong appointment, however him turning it down was probably the best thing that could have happened. I can’t picture anyone but Foxx in the role.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

Not only was Jamie flawless but Christoph Waltz whom I have spoken of before even got an Oscar out of his performance. Playing a silver tongued German bounty hunter who made a deal with Django to point out his targets and in return would help him get his wife back. Seems a simple deal doesn’t it? Nope not when the fierce slaver that is Calvin Candy (Leonardo Di Caprio) owns her. In my opinion this is Leo’s best ever role. He goes from a cool composed rich guy to bat shit crazy in a matter of seconds and it’s simply delightful. This film has the traditional aspects of a western but goes completely dark with lots of racial slurs, blood, guts and explosions. There is even a small appearance of a party of KKK members led by Jonah Hill. This film is totally crazy but that’s what’s great about it. Body count is nowhere near inglorious but still has an impressive 64 deaths!

2 – RESERVOIR DOGS 1992 This movie was Tarantino’s first movie and can be argued as the film that made him. All the way back in 1992 a young director decided to make a movie about a group of criminals planning a diamond heist. Now what’s so unique about that you ask? The film starts with the diamond botching then goes back to showing the story of each character on the job.

This film is what started the Tarantino dynasty with 4 of the main actors reappearing in other Tarantino films, the line up being; Michael Madsen, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi. The most interesting thing about this movie isn’t the shootings, the suits, the shades. It’s the culture. For example the first scene in the movie doesn’t start in the middle of the action, it starts in a small diner. Yup, it starts with all the criminals suited and booted in the morning of the heist enjoying a coffee and some breakfast together, seems pretty normal, what’s so special about that? They have a simple conversation about ‘tipping’, yes you read that correct ‘tipping’. This all starts when ‘Mr Pink’ refuses to tip the waitress because he doesn’t believe in it, this sparks off a debate which lasts a solid five minutes, but it keeps the audience engaged, I find scenes with simple but complex dialogue absolutely genius. Not only is the script magic but the film has a music playlist which is present through ‘K – Billy’s super sound of the 70’s’ radio show. The playlist explains it all really, with a wonderful line up great 70’s pop. Not only is this special but we also see someone’s ear getting cut off to “Stuck in the Middle”. Yes strange trying to picture it I know. This film has one of the lowest of Tarantino’s body counts sitting at 11 but I

blame that on the low budget, he’d have more if he really wanted to.

1 – PULP FICTION 1994 Pulp Fiction is a masterpiece and not a lot of movies live up to this. This was Tarantino’s 2nd movie in 1994 and has a strong line up Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman. This movie went on to become an icon in modern picture. Showing aspects of deep conversation, culture and violence. This film holds a special place in my heart as my favourite film of all time. Due to the fact it’s filmed in its own unique format, it’s not filmed in chronological order. People might think that won’t work, but it does. It was one of the first films to do this and God did it work. This film isn’t one big complex story but its several mini stories. One of them being taking the gangster bosses’ wife out to dinner, the other being trying to retrieve your father’s watch whilst having a price on your head and the other is accidently blowing a kid’s head off in the back seat of your car. Yes a little green bag of variety there. The film is similar to Reservoir Dogs in the sense of its tantalising conversations but it feels bigger to me in the sense of there’s more variety of topics which is talked

about. An example of this is when Hitmen are going to a deal with business early in the morning, they are talking about stuff from Burgers, Mayonaise and talking about massaging girls feet, but before they knock on that door they say “Right let’s get into character” as the door swings open, serious stern looks are on those loveable hitmen’s faces. It’s unique in the sense that you never see anything like this in cinema, to actually see it from the bad guy’s point of view was sheer brilliance. John Travolta and Samuel L did it for me in this. Their performance was flawless. Before this film was made John Travolta’s career was all but over, his singing and dancing days were a thing of the past as Tarantino converted him to being a badass hitman. Samuel L’s monologue of the ‘Righteous Man’ is also one of the most anticipated monologues in cinema history. The film currently sits 7th on the highest rated movies of all time on IMDB. So it must have done something right. This is actually a low body count on this one only sitting at a simple 7, oh well can’t be violent all the time I guess. So if you haven’t seen any of these movies, don’t be square. Get them watched immediately, by William Frew Twitter: @Mr_Blonde94 you won’t Blog: frewflix.wordpress.com regret it! w.frew@tsaglasgow.com

STILL SHOWING IN CINEMAS

MOVIES

PICK OF THE MONTH

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

DRESSMAKER

The Dressmaker is very much like marmite – some will love it, others won’t be able to stand it. We’re very much in the ‘hate it’ camp, it was weird (not in the good way), boring and trying too hard to be witty.

BLACK MASS

Johnny Depp’s performance is brilliant, as always, and saves this pretty intense film from becoming another typical gangster film.

MOCKINGJAY PART TWO

In a Cinema not so far far away Star Wars: The Force Awakens will hit our screens, on December 18 the 30 year wait will be over (let’s not mention those prequels as they tend to offend some die-hards). The story of our favourite intergalactic space heroes Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and of course everyone’s favourite Wookie-Chewbacca will be continued. However new blood has now entered the franchise as I don’t think the focus will be fully be on our aged heroes. Not much has been said of the plot but we do know it is set 30 years after the original trilogy. JJ Abrams (Star Trek and Super8) Co Written and directed which is sure to be the most anticipated film of the year, possibly even the decade. JJ has kept very tight lipped over the plot, characters and was very strict with people when working on set so no spoilers came to light. JJ Abrams has been a self-confessed Star Wars nerd and has told the fans he will do his best to give them what they want and has actually upheld the faith of the Star Wars community after those disappointing prequels. The official trailer for The Force Awakens was released on October 19th and has already racked up a whopping 65 million views…Impressive, most impressive. For the first time we see our new heroes which is Finn (John Boyega) – a young Stormtrooper who’s ship by the looks of it lands on the desert planet of Jakku where he meets the beautiful Rey (Daisy Ridley). Shortly after this acquaintance we see the

planet being attacked by Stormtroopers. Throughout the trailer we see our young Finn wield a blue lightsaber which begs the question; “Is he our new Jedi?”. This could be a major question as we don’t see a trace of Luke Skywalker at all. Sure we all noticed our favourite smuggler Han Solo as well as Chewy and Princess Leia, but still no Luke. We know Mark Hammill is in the cast for this movie but we just don’t know what form he’ll appear in. The trailer also showed the new villain ‘Kylo Ren’ wielding his unique cross edged lightsaber, his villainous robotic voice shows us staring at Darth Vader’s helmet saying “We’ll finish what you started”. So it looks like we have a bit of a fanatic here. Apart from that this is the only sniff we have of what the plot could potentially be. The movie had a staggering budget of $200 million and has a line-up that sci-fi fans have been screaming for: Harrison Ford, Mark Hammill and Carrie Fisher will return from the original trilogy, along with Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew returning as C3PO and Chewbacca. The new blood which joins us will be John Boyega (Attack the Block) – he will be playing our new hero Finn. Daisy Ridley who plays Rey a young scavenger who’s life changes forever when she meets Finn. Another big name which has drawn our attention is Andy Serkis who plays Supreme Leader Snoke whom we know nothing about. Serkis has described Snoke as a powerful figure of the dark side whom we don’t see in the trailer. Ticket records were smashed on the first day of being able to book with $6.5million worth sold in only 390 screens in North America, this beat the record of Hunger Games in 2012 by 8 times as many tickets sold. I’ve got my tickets and I’m counting down to December 18th to see the most anticipated film of the decade. I hope all Jedi’s, Wookie’s and Stormtroopers out there enjoy the movie, it’s going to be a cracker. May the Force be with you. Star Wars: The Force by William Frew Twitter: @Mr_Blonde94 Awakens is in cinemas 18 Blog: frewflix.wordpress.com December. w.frew@tsaglasgow.com

Book Corner

THE ICE TWINS

We loved this dramatic and fitting ending to the epic Hunger Games franchise because it answered all our questions, but it is definitely one of the weaker films in the series.

Couldn’t recommend this twisty, creepy book enough, one of the best I’ve read in 2015. It tells the story of a family trying to rebuild their lives by moving to a remote Scottish island after a tragic accident. It’ll keep you up all night trying to guess the next plot twist.

LITTLE GIRL GONE

BLACK CHALK

Another edition to the ‘Gone Girl’ meets ‘Before I Go to Sleep’ genre with a predictable twist but a much more interesting story than that of Gone Girl – you’ll find yourself questioning everything.

Christopher J. Yates’ debut novel will make you wonder just how far you would go in the same situations but whilst this had a very interesting premise there wasn’t enough about the actual game (played by six Oxford University students) and that was what drew me to the book.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

KRAMPUS

MOVIES OF THE

Legendary Pictures’ brings Krampus, a darkly festive tale of a yuletide ghoul, that reveals an irreverently twisted side to the holiday. When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max (Emjay Anthony) is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing nonbelievers. All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive. In German-speaking Alpine folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure. According to traditional narratives around the figure, Krampus punishes children during the Christmas season who have misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards wellbehaved ones with gifts. This folk legend of a scary anti-Santa inspired this horror comedy in which a hoofed-andantlered bogeyman terrorizes Toni Collette, Adam Scott and the other naughty members of a Scroogey suburban household. Christmas movies not typically scary enough for you? Then why not check out this blackcomedy horror flick this festive season. Krampus is in UK cinemas December 4.

THE NIGHT BEFORE ‘Tis clearly the season for holiday movies and along comes yuletide offering called The Night Before. But if you think this one is going to be full of cheer and good tidings like most movies of this ilk, think again. We are talking here about a Christmas movie starring Seth Rogen! Take away the trappings of this genre and you really have a film much closer in spirit to Pineapple Express, This Is The End or last year’s ill-fated Rogen vehicle The Interview. The plot revolves around three lifelong friends who have spent the last 10 years of Christmas Eves together on the town in New York City partying hard in every sense of the term. Isaac, Chris and Joseph somehow manage to get their hands on a hot ticket: three invites to the legendary and elusive Nutcracka Ball. This is their ultimate destination for what these three feel will probably be the last Christmas Eve they get to spend with total abandon. The Night Before is in UK cinemas December 4.

DADDY’S HOME

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg played a pair of mismatched cops in the 2010 action-comedy The Other Guys. This month, the actors will once again join forces in the upcoming film Daddy’s Home. Mild-mannered stepdad Will Ferrell is threatened by the return of his wife’s exhusband, Mark Wahlberg. Gotta say, those trailers promise a very funny movie. Ferrell plays a guy trying to be a good stepdad but who suddenly has to fight for the children’s affection when their cooler dad (Wahlberg) arrives back on the scene. Daddy’s Home was directed by Sean Anders and John Morris, the duo behind Horrible Bosses 2, We’re the Millers, Dumb and Dumber To and Hot Tub Time Machine. Daddy’s Home is in UK cinemas December 26.

MONTH

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA

Thar she blows! Director Ron Howard (The Da Vinci Code, Rush) directs a 3D maritime epic. Aside from the computer-generated waves that look like they could wash away the reality of the film, this drama looks very promising. Set in the winter of 1820, the film is based on the 2000 nonfiction book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick that tells the tale of the sinking of the New England whaling ship Essex. The events are what inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. Expect star Chris Hemsworth’s (Avengers: Age of Ultron) muscle-flexing to be overshadowed by the computergenerated fluke-flexing of the story’s angry bull sperm whale. Other cast members include Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson (Edge of Tomorrow, Batman Begins) and Ben Whishaw (Spectre). In The Heart Of The Sea is in UK cinemas December 26.

JOY Joy marks the third time that director David O. Russell has teamed with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert De Niro. The first two – Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle – were both massive successes and the all-star squad is looking to go three-for-three with this latest project.

Lawrence, Cooper and De Niro, once again join forces for Joy, a biographical comedy-drama that has the talented Lawrence portraying “Miracle Mop” inventor Joy Mangano. Can it follow in the footsteps of the other two by earning a nomination for the best-picture Oscar? Seems like a good bet. We think Russell is hit (Hustle) and miss (Playbook), but the man has a style. Even without revealing much about the film’s plot, the first two trailers had us intrigued, and just a few seconds in tells you Joy will be decidedly David O Russell, which is admirable. Joy is in UK cinemas January 1.

LIFESTYLE

BUILD YOURSELF A CHRISTMAS... Who would have thought that when we read about the Wise Men’s questionable gift choices, the only thing we’d take from the Holy celebration would be the ‘gift’ element.

Working in an art store, I sell Christmas cards, decorations and gifts to hundreds of customers every shift. The scene is set in store with the all-too-thoroughlyknown Christmas Soundtrack dusted off and blaring through the speakers. Yet, I’m surprised by the volume of customers who enter into a discussion at the tills not very much in favour of posting nice cards to loved ones this Christmas.

“How much is it for stamps?”

I tell the customer the price, knowing they’ll politely decline. I don’t press the sale because I’d do the same too if it cost me just under £3.50 to post cards to every six recipients on my list. A brisk stroll down Buchanan Street is enough to illustrate the sublime costs of Christmas. While there may be a 3 for 2 deal on every street corner, it seems that one small necessary purchase after another builds up a healthy old deduction from your bank account – a sum you might feel reluctant to part

DECORATED GLASS CANDLE HOLDER All you need to create beautiful decorations for your home or gifts for your friends is a few empty glass containers – be they empty candle jars, jam jars or a plain glass tea light holders – some Nail art pens or glass-friendly paints, cellophane, a bit of ribbon/string and a tea light (scrounge through your local pound store for a whole bag of these!). Using the paints, colour your glass container from bottom to top in pretty patterns and watch your designs come to life with a lit candle inside. If candles aren’t their thing, why not roll up some batterypowered fairy lights and stuff them inside? Wrap the completed holder in some clear cellophane, securing it with some more ribbon and a pretty gift tag. For an extra special touch, why not make a bed for your candle with some salt or dried fruit? Tie a piece of string or coloured ribbon around the rim of the container and secure with bow, an acorn or mini decoration to complete the look. Secret Santa – sorted.

with as your ‘available balance’ starts to shrink into something which won’t cover gifts for everyone. Surely, there are cheaper ways to make ends meet at Christmas. I took to the power of the internet to track down some of the best ‘how to’s’ for handmade festive gifts and decorations. Not only does crafting cost a fraction of a standard shopping trip, allowing yourself to be creative every so often is very therapeutic and provides a much needed escape from all the bustle of Buchanan Galleries in December. Taking time to make gifts

yourself is a much more thoughtful way of covering everything you need to on a budget as there is no price tag attached to creativity. Heck, we reckon they’ll be emotional at the thought you’ve put in alone. Here are some ideas to get you into the spirit. N.B. For ultimate festivity, why not put a Christmas playlist on in the background while you work? Get your flatmates involved too! by Rachael Procter @rrretro___ r.procter@tsaglasgow.com

DIY FIREPLACE

PAPER GARLAND

It’s the ultimate festive dream, isn’t it – to have a beautiful fireplace at the centre of your living room to decorate with beautiful lights and candles. So, what do you do when you don’t have an authentic one at home? You make your own cardboard one!

Take to the stacks to make your own decorative garland and save some dolla. You will need some sheet music or pages of an old book, a glue stick or some masking tape, a cardboard circle, a ribbon, some hot glue and a medallion or decoration.

Cut out a host of red paper rectangles and, using masking tape, form a fireplace arch from old cardboard boxes. Cover your makeshift fireplace in scraps of white A4 paper before sticking down your red rectangles to create a brick-look. Manoeuvre the entire thing from room to room if you like! Remember not to light the fire though!

Firstly, make a slit on the front of the cardboard circle near the top and feed some ribbon through it. This is how you will hang your garland to the wall or door. You will then need to roll 15 or 20 pages and secure the tips of each to the center of your cardboard circle, which you should mark the centre of with a dot to help you. Use masking tape or glue to do secure them tightly. Turn the garland over now and decorate the medallion in the centre – why not print out a picture to make it personal and cover the edges in frills? Simply feed the hanging ribbon behind the roll closest to the top to complete the garland. Experiment with different pages and medallions for a special touch and maybe even give this as a gift too!

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LIFESTYLE

Top festive picks for the woman in your life

FESTIVE G

Buying the perfect present for the woman in your life can be tough, and you definitely don’t want to risk getting it wrong! Thankfully, Buchanan Galleries is here to help this festive season. With brands like Thomas Sabo, Boux Avenue, bareMinerals and Mango, finding the ideal gift has never been easier. Here’s a look at the top Christmas gifts for women: FESTIVE FASHIONISTA A girl who loves fashion can be a challenge to buy for. Get her something she wouldn’t buy for herself, like Mango’s crystal stiletto court shoes (£49.99), for special occasions – like Hogmanay! To really make an impact on the special lady in your life, think big. The Michael Kors at John Lewis jet set large leather tote (£260) is every girl’s must-have handbag, no matter the season. The pink version is right on trend or go classic in tan leather. Pyjamas are always a winner at Christmas, but avoid the flannels and go for River Island’s silky style camisole (£16) and trouser (£17) combination. The oriental design with a hint of lace has a luxurious but wearable feel, ideal for Christmas night in front of the fire. Michael Kors at John Lewis Jet set tote bag (260)

River Island floral lace cami (£16 trousers (£17)

Swarovski darling earrings (£79) Accessorize starburst collar necklace (£22)

Boots Marc Jacobs Lola (from £48.50)

The Perfume Shop Yves Saint Laurent Opium (from £49.50)

THE FESTIVE FRAGRANCE

The Fragrance Shop Viktor & Rolf Bon Bon (from £73.50)

Every woman has a classic perfume she will always love. Treat her to the timeless fragrance of Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium perfume, (from £49.50) from The Perfume Shop, a warm oriental perfume heightened by the smells of mandarin and jasmine. If she prefers a bold, floral scent, Marc Jacobs Lola (from £48.50 from Boots) is a feisty scent not to be reckoned with. Notes of rose, geranium and fuchsia peony create the lavish, feminine perfume. For an entirely new scent this Christmas, treat her to Viktor & Rolf’s Bon Bon (from £73.50 at The Fragrance Shop). The fresh scent of peach and orange are mixed with sweet caramel, for a perfume full of indulgence and delight.

Thomas Sabo Love Bridge bracelet (from £250)

CHRISTMAS SPARKLE Jewellery is the sure way to delight your partner this Christmas, and with the likes of Pandora, Joules at Boots Ready for Arran Aromatic ultimate the Weekend set (£40) Swarovski and Thomas Sabo, we have a list that home fragrance tin (£60) John Lewis modern cocktail can cover all budgets and styles. The Thomas champagne mixer (£10) Sabo Love Bridge bracelet (from £250) offers STILL UNSURE? the option of engraving to create a truly unique When in doubt – spoil, spoil, spoil! Fill her stocking with the John Lewis piece she will show off all Christmas and for champagne mixer set (£10), including everything she needs to spice up years to come. The timeless jewellers, Swarovski, the Christmas bubbly to create her own Bellini or Mimosa. Let her take the boast exquisite crystal pieces this Christmas, from time this Christmas to relax, with Arran Aromatics’ ultimate home gift tin standout earrings to statement necklaces. Make (£60) including candles, a diffuser and room spray to help soothe away the your darling’s day with Swarovski’s ‘Darling’ long Christmasprep angst. Or pamper her away with the fabulous Joules Ready for drop earrings (£79), the classic style and wearable the Weekend set from Boots containing everything she’ll need for a luxurious colour will make them a key piece in the jewellery getaway including a Joules’ signature floral design overnight bag packed box. For something more affordable, Accessorize with a selection of must-have toiletries (£45). When it’s a question of gifts, offers a glamorous range of costume jewellery, chocolate is always the answer. A box of Kimble’s chocolates (from £11.95) such as the starburst statement collar necklace will have you on the nice list – just don’t expect them to be shared! (£22), a definite festive show stopper.

Help! It’s Secret Santa... It’s the time of year for the fear-inducing Secret Santa. Whether done in the office or amongst friends, the pressure is on to stick to the budget and still find something your pick will enjoy. With the likes of John Lewis, Lakeland and Arran Aromatics, Buchanan Galleries is the one stop shop for finding the perfect Secret Santa gift this festive season. So put down the penguin print socks and take a look at our top picks for Secret Santa success.

THE FOODIE Want a safe bet that always packs a punch? Food and drink gifts are guaranteed to be enjoyed by someone over the Christmas period! For the coffee lover, treat them to a bag of Starbuck’s Christmas blend (£4.95). The rich, bold coffee is only available at this time of year so you better move fast! The Great British Bake Off has inspired many to try their hand in the kitchen. Lakeland’s reindeer cupcake kit (£5.97) is a fun gift for those looking to add a festive twist to their cakes and you might get to sample a few. For the true Christmas lover, a mulled wine kit (£4) from Cottage Delight at John Lewis brings the taste of Christmas home and is great for smaller budgets. If you’re still clueless about your Secret Santa’s tastes, chocolate is the answer. Kimble’s has a delicious variety of gourmet treats to suit anyone, with prices starting from £4.50.

Starbucks Christmas Blend (£4.95) Isle of Skye votive candle (£5) Arran Aromatics Nut Cracker sampler (£10)

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

GIFT GUIDE FOR THE MAN WITH EVERYTHING…

Next monochrome check pyjama set (£24)

The Fragrance Shop Dior Sauvage (£67)

Finding the perfect gift for the man in your life at Christmas is no easy task. Will he want a cosy dressing gown, this season’s latest trends or a piece of tech gadgetry? Buchanan Galleries has 80 brands all located under one roof in the heart of Glasgow’s city centre. Meaning hunting for the perfect gift could not be easier, and while you’re there, why not treat yourself too!

THE PERFECT SCENT As well as a new look this Christmas, give the man in your life a fresh scent with a luxury fragrance or aftershave. The must have this season is Dior Sauvage (£67) from The Fragrance Shop – inspired by wide open spaces, Sauvage boasts juicy top notes with a deep, woody afterscent, guaranteed to become your man’s new signature scent. For more classic tastes, Versace’s L’Homme (£51.50) from The Perfume Shop, combines rustic scents with a taste of the oriental – a sophisticated scent combining the flavours of amber, jasmine and lemon. Boss Bottled (£58) from Boots is a key scent for any man. Fresh top notes are combined with a spicy scent leaving a rich, masculine perfume.

FOODIE Whether your man is an amateur or a pro in the kitchen, Lakeland has all sorts of cooking gadgets to bring out an experimental side. Lakeland’s doughnut moulds (£11.99) will encourage him to make tasty treats over the festive season with giant and mini doughnuts. If baking isn’t his style, Lakeland’s Batman egg cup and toast cutter (£6.96) will bring out both the comic book fanatic and child within. If a wee dram is more his cup of tea, The Whisky Shop has a huge range of whiskies and malts to cater to every taste. Whisky stones (£16.99) are an easy way to keep drinks cold without diluting the flavour or risking running out of ice cubes. Place them in a Glencairn water jug or glass (£30) with his favourite tipple for a sophisticated festive nightcap. The Carluccio’s pop up store offers indulgent hampers with Italian classics from pasta and coffee to prosecco and panettone.

Reiss at John Lewis geometric print shirt (£85)

Boots Hugo Boss Boss Bottled (£58)

Fred Perry classic barrel bag (£60) Carphone Warehouse milestone activity tracker (£49.99)

John Lewis Sony on-ear headphones (£39.99)

GADGET MAN

REFRESH HIS WARDROBE

Lakeland doughnut mould (£11.99)

Lakeland Batman egg cup and toast cutter (£6.96)

THE PAMPER-CRAVER There’s always one colleague who overdoes the endless parties and Christmas shopping. Treat them to a much needed pamper with soothing scents from Arran Aromatics. The Nut Cracker sampler (£10) includes products from the bestselling ranges of After the Rain or Citrus Shores to have them starting the New Year refreshed. If cosmetics aren’t their thing, Isle of Skye has a variety of candles ranging from popular lavender to the festive frankincense and myrrh styles, starting from £5 for votive. These small candles pack a big punch with over 20 hours of fragrance to beautifully perfume a small area. A little selfindulgence at Christmas is always nice, so treat them to a selection of nail polishes from Models Own (from £5) to give the gift of a pampering night in.

For the man who puts thought into his fashion there’s plenty to appeal to his tastes. He’ll be well dressed for the relatives on Christmas Day with a geometric print shirt by Reiss at John Lewis (£85). Jeans are an investment piece no matter the gender, and you can’t go wrong with Levi’s classic fit 501 style (£90) available in a variety of colours. For the man who is always on the move, invest in a new, stylish travel bag. Fred Perry’s classic barrel bag (£60) is an iconic piece and firm favourite of the best sportsmen. Next’s monochrome check pyjama set (£24) are ideal for the impossible to buy for man. Claire’s Accessories novelty socks (from £6)

The must have tech gadget for this year is the M:Tech sky drone (£129.99) from Menkind, with a high resolution camera sending your drone journey straight to your smartphone. For the fitness fanatic, the Milestone activity tracker (£49.99) from Carphone Warehouse offers a subtle way to track your exercise and sleep daily. Headphones advance in style and performance every year, and Sony’s on ear headphones from John Lewis (£39.99) are no different. The modern, sleek design and rich sound make them an ideal present for music lovers.

JOY ‘This mug contains gin’ mug (£7.50)

John Lewis Zen colouring book (£5.99)

THE NOVELTY GIFT Sometimes you just want to put a smile on someone’s face. So we have a variety of quirky gifts for the young and young at heart. Claire’s Accessories range of festive socks (from £6) will keep their feet warm this winter, with toes wiggling in Santa’s beard or polar bear styles. JOY has a variety of quirky gifts guaranteed to make anyone’s Christmas. Treat a work colleague to a new mug, like ‘This Mug Contains Gin’ (£7.50) for a bit of fun, and maybe truth, this silly season. The trend for colouring books has boomed this year. Treat your Secret Santa to a bit of creative therapy with the John Lewis Zen colouring book (£5.99).

WHAT’S ON LGBTI

What’s On: LGBTI WORLD AIDS DAY – WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP...

World AIDS Day once again fell on 1st December and sees a worldwide campaign to unite in the fight against HIV/ AIDS. The campaign serves as a powerful platform to raise awareness of the virus and remind people across the world that much is still to be done to eradicate it. Becoming involved is easy and can be as simple as sharing a link to donate to the National AIDS Trust on your Facebook page, visiting their site to learn more about their work and of course showing solidarity with those diagnosed with HIV/ AIDS and their allies by wearing a Red Ribbon, the campaign’s iconic symbol.

The Red Ribbon is hugely recognisable and will be forever synonymous with the fight against the virus. I have mine on a jacket all year round (it’s a fancy tartan one); I wear it out of pride, as it is a tribute to those who lost their lives to the virus and those who work tirelessly to eradicate it, and as a reminder for other people that HIV/AIDS is still a prevalent issue that doesn’t reappear once a year for a campaign like World AIDS Day. Since orchestrating the first official public health campaign to raise awareness of the virus in 1988, World AIDS Day has served to remind global citizens

and governments of how crucial it is to fund research, provide support to those suffering from HIV/AIDS and prevent it spreading throughout the world. And in 2015, 31 years after its clinical discovery, educating ourselves about HIV/AIDS has never been so crucial. Our generation has not been exposed to the trauma AIDS inflicted on previous generations, especially from the mid-80s to the early 90s. With effective treatment of HIV and good prognoses for a long, fulfilling life, it may be easy to become complacent with the threat of contracting the virus: according to the National Aids Trust, the number of people living with HIV has doubled in the past 10 years and while over half of all people living with HIV are aged between 30 and 49, there are significant numbers of young people now living with HIV. Complacency is detrimental to the fight against AIDS, and when more than 500 people died from HIV-related illnesses in 2013, clearly the fight against the virus is far from over. As always, education is key and HIV/ AIDS prevention is easy to achieve. HIV is preventable with safe-sex practices such as using a condom or dental dam as well

as water-based lubricant (not oil-based). If you’re in the Glasgow & Clyde region, visit www.freecondomsglasgowandclyde. org/ to find a venue near you that stocks free condoms. Universities and colleges often supply free condoms and lube, as well as gay-friendly clubs and bars. It is recommended that gay and bisexual men are tested at least once a year; the Steve Retson Project offers rapid HIV testing with results in 60 seconds, PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis for sexual exposure to HIV) and hepatitis vaccinations. You can even do your own HIV test at home with a DIY testing kit. Whether you have multiple sexual partners or are in a monogamous relationship, the routine of regular check ups gives you control over your sexual health. World AIDS Day may only last one day of the month, but its value is immeasurable. The momentum of showing solidarity with those with the virus and working to find an end to it must be sustained throughout the year. Be sure to donate generously to the National AIDS Trust and allow them to continue their excellent work to finally see the end of HIV/AIDS.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

by Jonny Stone @jonny_stone_ j.stone@tsaglasgow.com

OUR LGBT+ TOP MOVIE PICKS! As Oscar season approaches, many LGBT+ themed movies are hot tipped for success; between Eddie Redmayne’s turn as transgender artist Lile Elbe in The Danish Girl to the supposed tour-de-force Cate Blanchett delivers in Carol, there are so many films in mainstream cinema exploring LGBT+ characters and stories. While there may be issues in the way LGBT+ life is depicted – namely straight or cisgender actors playing queer roles, blocking tangible diversity in Hollywood – there are few things as inspiring, enjoyable and important as seeing gay stories being told on the big screen. Here are our favourites! PARIS IS BURNING

BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER!

This 1990 documentary presents the New York drag ball scene of the late 80s and may be one of queer cinema’s most significant and controversial staples. Following a group of black and Latino drag queens and transgender women, Paris is Burning showcases the beauty and spectacle of drag as well as the haunting reality of LGBT life in the 80s. Equally jubilant and heartbreaking, you’ll be sobbing at the end as Got to be Real closes this bittersweet masterpiece.

Everyone loves Natasha Lyonne as Nicki in Orange is the New Black, but before that’s she made her mark as a cult hero in this low-budget, camp classic from 1999. The film presents lesbian teenager Megan as she is sent to a gay conversion therapy camp. Like all good cult classics, it wasn’t received well at the time and has developed a huge following since then. Plus RuPaul plays one of their coaches, which is enough in itself.

BOYS DON’T CRY In what may be one of Hollywood’s most successful (and few) trans-centred success stories, Hillary Swank plays Brandon Teena, a trans man who in real life was brutally murdered by his girlfriend’s family. Swank, who won an Oscar for the role, portrays a man finally accepting himself, falling in love (with the stupendous Chloe Sevigny) and enduring unbearable societal pressure. Not gonna lie, it’s not a laugh riot: but it is a classic.

WEEKEND This brilliant 2011 movie features two young guys Glen and Russell who hook up one night and develop an amazing connection over one weekend. In three days – after which Glen plans to move to Oregon – the pair discusses everything from gay marriage and heteronormativity to inner demons and the high and lows of gay life. Understated and beautifully shot, Weekend is an intimate and bittersweet modern romance.

FROM AROUND THE WORLD The government has confirmed finally that it will review the status of blood donation from gay and bisexual men. The current law bans men who have sex with men from giving blood if they have not abstained from sex for a full year. This is blatant discrimination, seeing as the ban disregards those who have been proven HIV negative while allowing straight men to give blood without such requirements, as well as shaming promiscuous gay and bisexual men. Public Health Minister Jane Ellison has confirmed that a review of the policy will take place, stating “Making sure that the blood supply is safe is an absolute priority. Donor deferral for men who have sex with men was changed from lifetime to 12 months in 2011, but four years later it is time to look again at the question.”

PINK FLAMINGOS

Marriage equality has seen an almost domino effect in the past few years, with an increasing number of countries recognising and celebrating the validity of same-sex marriage. Japan appears to be the latest country to consider introducing marriage equality, with 51% of people polled indicating their support for changing the country’s marriage laws. Tokyo has introduced same-sex marriages – allowing couples legal and social benefits – that are unrecognised outside the prefecture, and while 72% people admitted it would be difficult to accept a gay child, such progress is hugely momentous for a country that so reveres traditional family values and culture.

John Waters is a gay hero: from Female Trouble to Hairspray, his movies are trashy, camp and hugely iconic. However, his masterpiece, so to speak, is Pink Flamingos hands down. Starring the iconic drag queen Divine, the movie is absolute filth, in every sense of the word. Upon hearing Divine is voted “the filthiest person alive,” her rivals compete to outdo her notoriety. It’s gross, the opposite of PC and you’ll watch most of it with your hands over your eyes. Absolute classic.

Singer Adam Lambert has been called to cancel his appearance at a Singaporean New Year’s Eve concert following a survey condemning his sexuality. The petition claims any performance of Lambert’s is essentially an “active promotion of a highly sexualized lifestyle and LGBT rights, both of which are contrary to mainstream Singaporean values.” Lambert has responded diplomatically, replying that his performance will “celebrate the entire human family in all its diversity. I am a uniter, not a divider…I hope you will join me to celebrate the future and 2016.” Such boycotts are not uncommon, with Lady Gaga and Elton John receiving similar treatment ahead of performances in Russia.

PRIDE Pride tells the true story of an unlikely but heart-warming alliance between gays and lesbians in London and Welsh coal miners when the former decide to fundraise for them. Set in 1983 in the midst of Thatcher’s rule, Pride is largely about the tense and unjust political climate of the time, but the characters themselves are so likeable: with hilarious dialogue, great performances and huge emotional resonance, Pride is a new classic.

LGBTI NEWS ROUNDUP

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV and V, the movie follows River Phoenix as narcoleptic gay prostitute Mikey on a journey of self discovery that spans from Portland to Itay, focusing on his unrequited affection for best friend Scott (Keanu Reeves). Phoenix is superb and gives such a nuanced, tragic performance. With great writing and amazing shots throughout, Private Idaho is amazing AND the name of a B-52s song.

Facebook will introduce maternity and paternity rights to same-sex parents equal to that of straight parents. The company’s policy now permits parents of any sexual orientation to take four months of leave after their child is born or adopted, stating “In reviewing our parental leave policies, we have decided to make this change because it’s the right thing to do for our people and their families.” This statement is pretty inspiring, reaffirming equality within the company and the ever-evolving status of family. Facebook has previously been criticised for its “authentic name” policy, in which users must provide identification or risk being locked out of their accounts when LGBT people may go by nicknames or pseudonyms for safety.

The Queen of Pop is descending on our fine city this month. Madonna will make her first appearance in Glasgow as the European leg of her Rebel Heart tour comes to an end. It was only in 2012 that she played her first Scottish gig at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, but after 10 world tours she has finally made it to Glasgow, playing the SSE Hydro Arena on the 20th December. The tour supports her Rebel Heart album, her first not to top the UK charts since 1994, which funnily enough may be her best release in a decade. Not sure what took her so long: she married Guy Ritchie in a lavish ceremony in the Highlands 15 years ago and is a notorious Irn Bru fiend. That last statement may be a lie.

LIFESTYLE

HOW NOT TO TURN INTO A CHRISTMAS PUDDING I hate Christmas pudding. Absolutely hate the stuff! It is right up there with Brussel sprouts and mince pies on my Crimbo dislikes list. This probably protects me a bit from the inevitable weight gain that comes with Christmas for a lot of people; or at least you would think it does. Well it doesn’t, I find lots of other rubbish to gorge on leading up to and certainly on Christmas day itself – mash and gravy, stuffing, pigs in blankets, Pavlova, Banoffee, Pringles,

Shloer, more Banoffee…mmmmmmm…. Banoffee. If it was a one day blow-out it would probably be fine, not healthy obviously but fine. The problem is that we as a nation seem to celebrate Christmas from the day after Halloween. Suddenly you are slapped in the face with a massive range of seasonal, calorific ‘goodies’ the second you walk through the door of any supermarket. Wow, that huge tub of Quality Street is only £4! I should buy that and put it away until

Christmas. Cue Sunday afternoon flaked out on the sofa halfway to a chocolate coma. Don’t be ashamed, we’ve all been there. There are ways to stop Christmas derailing your health and I’ve been practising these for the last few years and thankfully come January I’m usually still using the same hole on my belt. Give them a try this year to see if you can avoid a guilt-ridden January 2016. 1/ Avoid the ‘Gingerbread Latte with Ginger Infused Cream’ or whatever extravagant coffee you’re tempted by while waiting in line for your Cappuccino. A medium sized drink like this will set you back about 300 calories and a whopping 25-30g of sugar. A large will have at least 40g of sugar and around 500 calories. Compare that to a regular Cappuccino which usually has just less than 100 calories and 8.5g sugar all of which are milk sugars and don’t count towards the recommended daily sugar limits. 2/ When going to friends or families for Christmas visits be prepared for the onslaught of junk food. Eat a light dinner so you know you have calories left to spare and you won’t feel bad about indulging in a mince pie. Decide before you start eating how much you will eat, e.g. 1 of the mince pies and 1 glass of mulled wine.

Kyla Booth is a reg istered nutritionist and PhD researcher at Strathclyde University. If you ha ve any questions for Kyla, you can em ail her at kbnutritionconsult ant@gmail.com or visit her ‘Health in a Hurry’ Facebook page.

3/ Party! Christmas is all about socialising, having a good time and getting a bit worse for wear somewhere along the line. All the boozy nights add up though and alcohol is great for adding inches to your gut. Try drinking a glass of water every other drink or maybe every 3rd drink (whatever works for you). This will mean less total drink consumed (so less calories), less money spent and maybe even less of a hangover the next day. 4/ Enjoy your 3 course dinners but try to leave some on your plate at every course. The easiest way to do this is to move one third of the food to one side as soon as you are served the dish, BEFORE you have even tasted it. Just push it one side and tell yourself that that is your back up food. After you have eaten most of the meal (the 2/3), stop eating for five minutes, have a chat and drink some water. If after that you want to eat the remaining food then do. Our brains tend to take a bit longer than our stomach to know we’ve had enough. Just by following this simple rule you’ll cut a third of your calories while still enjoying all 3 courses!

A HEALTHYBEAR REVIEW

I had heard about the ‘healthy’ new eatery that had opened in Glasgow and thought, ‘Meh, healthy. We’ll see about that!’ Healthy in the food service industry usually seems to involve sticking some avocado in a calorie laden brownie recipe. I had to go to HealthyBear myself and check it out. I called in for lunch, undercover of course, to get a feel for the place and check out the grub from both a

food lover’s and a nutritionist’s view. First impressions of the place – well designed layout with trendy decor, seating downstairs and upstairs for those eating in. I love to people watch so I chose a window seat to stuff my gob; this had the added benefit of giving walkers-by a nice scare. I ordered ‘Hot-Ren-Dang’, an Indonesian slow cooked beef recipe with coriander, pickled cucumber and cashews available in a box with brown rice or a Lebanese wrap. My wrap was packed full of veg and good quality lean chunks of beef. I couldn’t even finish it and that is not like me at all! I revealed my identity before I left, so I didn’t look like a complete weirdo taking pictures of their Naked bars at the till, and the chef (Sharon Murphy) made me up a box of ‘Morocan-Can Lamb’ with rice and crunchy ‘kaleslaw’. Yet again, yum. The menu also had ‘Posh Pots’, an adventurous selection

Hot-ren-dang

of salads and ‘Rice Paper Rolls’. They also serve a range of breakfasts with something to suit everyone. Breakfast rolls include a ‘Portobello mushroom, spinach and cherry tomatoes’ option as well as the traditional Bacon roll for the less health conscious. Toasted bagels with a variety of toppings to choose from such as smashed avocado (full of great fats) and poached eggs with spinach (protein and iron, good start to the day). Freshly made juices and frozen yogurt are available but as always, beware the sugar in these. The great thing about HealthyBear is that all the meals are calorie labelled and there are gluten free options. Obviously I can’t guarantee that the quoted calorie content of my meal (378) was accurate without bringing it home, dissecting and weighing it but if I had guessed I would have estimated 400 calories so I think they

Morocan-Can Lamb

Till display

are on target. Price wise, you get what you pay for and what I got was a quality, filling, genuinely healthy meal cooked by a chef who obviously knows what she is doing. I sat in and paid £6.40 for my substantial lunch and a tin of diet coke. Yes I could have got cheaper in Greggs but I wouldn’t have got anywhere near the same sensory satisfaction and nutrition as I did at HealthyBear. HealthyBear is located on Ingram Street and opens 8am – 10pm weekdays, 10am – 10pm weekends. Takeaway and delivery is available.

Posh Pots

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD! The month of December is completely taken over by Christmas. Everywhere you go you see trees, tinsel and hear constant Christmas jingles. Christmas dinner is also a massive part of our culture with turkeys literally being fought over by shoppers on Christmas Eve. We also enjoy the odd roast potato, stuffing and pigs in blankets also during this annual family feast. However, the thing is most of us only know Christmas, well, as we know it. We don’t focus much on the other parts of the world where they do things differently, very differently in some cultures. So let’s educate ourselves a little and learn about Christmas traditions from around the world: FRANCE

CHINA

JAMAICA

France’s customs aren’t much different to ours actually, they celebrate by putting up their Christmas trees and playing the odd song, same as us really. Only difference is; they open their presents on Christmas Eve and have replaced stockings by opting to put their presents in SHOES instead.

In China only about 1% of people are Christians so Christmas isn’t widely celebrated, especially not in the rural areas. However more people in China are becoming aware of the celebration and in the major cities it is becoming more popular, there are even Santa’s grottos in shops – Santa is called ‘Shen Dan Lao Ren’.

Christmas time in Jamaica is very special. Lots of people paint their houses and hang new decorations for the period. People also like to spend the day at home with their families on Christmas day.

The French have a different line up in terms of cuisine; their main protein is RABBIT instead of the poultry we enjoy. The traditional Christmas bird is usually different, they often feast on a roast capon – a considerably smaller bird. Also they enjoy aigo-boulido (garlic soup) for their starter.

A tradition that’s becoming popular in China, on Christmas Eve, is giving apples. Many stores have apples wrapped up in coloured paper for sale. People give apples on Christmas Eve because in Chinese, Christmas Eve is called ‘Ping An Ye’ (which means quiet or silent night) and the word for apple in Chinese is ‘Ping Guo’ which sounds similar.

The meal is usually prepped on Christmas Eve and they have different meals for throughout the day. The traditional Jamaican Christmas meal include fresh fruits, sorrel and rum punch and meat. The Christmas Day breakfast includes ackee and saltfish, breadfruit, fried plantains, boiled bananas, freshly squeezed fruit juice and tea. Dinner is usually served in the late afternoon and this may include chicken, curry goat, stewed oxtail, rice and peas. Jamaican red wine and rum fruitcake is traditional and is eaten in most homes. The fruits in the cake are soaked in red wine and white rum for months before Christmas.

by William Frew Twitter: @Mr_Blonde94 Blog: frewflix.wordpress.com w.frew@tsaglasgow.com

RUSSIA In the days of the old Soviet Union, Christmas was not widely celebrated. New Year was the big time. Now, due to the old Julian Calendar which the Russian Orthodox church uses for religious celebration days, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January. The official Christmas and New Year holiday dates run from 31st of December to 10th of January. Some Russians fast on Christmas Eve, until the first star has appeared in the sky. People then eat ‘sochivo’ or ‘kutia’ a porridge made from wheat or rice served with honey, poppy seeds, fruit (especially berries and dried fruit like raisins), chopped walnuts or sometimes even fruit jellies. Some Orthodox Russian Christians also choose not to eat meat or fish during the Christmas Eve feast. As you can see there are massive differences around the world at our favourite time of the year. Could you celebrate Christmas anywhere else but here?

NOT SO CHRISTMASSY CHRISTMAS FILMS We all have those certain movies we watch at this time of year. Classics like The Nightmare before Christmas, it’s a Wonderful life and Miracle on 34th street. However, there are movies out there everyone loves around this time of year that have little to nothing to do with the holiday. So here are the top five non Christmas classics. 5 THE GREAT ESCAPE Nothing says joy to the world like a film about one of the most horrific wars in history. Despite that, many tune in or pop in the DVD to watch this film at this time of year. Perhaps it’s the music. Still, this is a classic to watch all year round. 4 THE SOUND OF MUSIC It’s a classic that makes everyone feel good. It has a great family centred story, all about love, understanding and the importance

of family. Perfect for this time of year. And Nazis. Can’t forget about the Nazis. Seems to be a trend. 3 ANYTHING PIXAR While some Pixar movies have one or two Christmas scenes and they do have Christmas specials but never a full movie dedicated to Christmas. That being said, many of Pixar’s films discuss the importance of family, making it a good choice for this holiday.

2 EDWARD SCISSORHANDS While this is a time to look at all the joy and happiness in the world, it’s important not to go overboard with the sugary sweet films or you might rot your teeth. Edward Scissorhands is a creepy but magical movie, which takes place on Christmas so technically it can count as a Christmas film but it’s on this list anyway. The focus isn’t on the holiday so it qualifies. The focus is where it belongs, on Edward. This film is a classic no matter the time of year.

1 THE PRINCESS BRIDE The Princess Bride is a comic marvel which doesn’t rely on crude or shocking humour. Good clean but nonetheless hilarious movie the whole family loves to watch, especially this month. If you haven’t already seen this film, shame on you! These films are perfect to watch in between all the cheesy campy Christmas movies which are in no short supply. by Megan Peoples Twitter:

@Donniefangirl4 m.peoples@tsaglasgow.com

MUSIC band and DJs at the top festivals as well as producing huge acts: everyone from Digitalism, Justice, LCD Soundsystem, Tiga and Crookers, Peaches and the Rolling Stones. Their unique style has been rocking dance floors for years and they’ve headlined some of the biggest events in the world. Their mix CD ‘As heard on Radio Soulwax Pt 2’ was the soundtrack to many an after-party during the early 2000’s. It mashed up tracks from across all the genres in the most exciting way ever. The energy created by Stephen & David is evident in both their DJ sets and live sets, it’s unmistakable.

Love Action Presents

2manyDJ’s Love Action are proud to present the first show for Belgian brothers 2manydjs at the new TV Studio space at SWG3. Get ready to party on Friday 11th December as the brothers play their only Glasgow show of 2015. There is nothing quite like a 2manydjs DJ set, if you’ve never witnessed it, then you cannot miss this show! If you have witnessed it, then you know there’s only one place to be on Friday December 11th. The Belgian brothers have headlined

many a show in Scotland and each time just gets better than the last, there’s simply no stopping these stalwarts of dance music. This is one night that you don’t want to miss out on! 2ManyDJs are Stephen & David Dewaele. Their sound can only be described as a distinctive mash up of all the things that make you want to dance. They’ve toured around the world and played as both

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The new TV studio space at SWG3 is a force to be reckoned with on the face of Glasgow clubbing, prepare to be impressed with the sheer power of the venue! It’s already been compared to the fantastic Manchester venue The Warehouse Project, which is a huge compliment. Just a short 10-minute taxi from Glasgow City Centre and you arrive at what is fast becoming Scotland’s best new venue. A mega sound system has been installed, which you’ll feel in your bones when the bass kicks in! The new space in the venue has already hosted DJs such as Jamie Jones, Patrick

Topping, John O’Callaghan, Dusky, Bryan Kearney and David Morales to name a few. Trust us when we say that SWG3 is going to be your number 1 choice of venue pretty soon! 2manydjs have already told us that they can’t wait to play in a new venue in Glasgow, the crowds are unrivalled and the Belgian Brothers love it. Glasgow has rocked by the brothers a few times and to this day people are still talking about just how good their sets are. 2ManyDJs have never disappointed the Scottish crowds yet and this December 5th will only add to their stellar run of gigs in Scotland. Need to get tickets? Just head to Tickets Scotland (Glasgow or Edinburgh) or go online to Resident Advisor, Skiddle or Ticketweb. Go on, you know you want to!

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

Stereophonics

Tom Odell

HYDRO SET TO ROCK IN CLYDE 1 LIVE! CONCERT ON DECEMBER 8 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Stereophonics, Kodaline, Foxes and Tom Odell make up the massive line-up On Tuesday December 8, Glasgow’s SSE Hydro will be the stage for some of the biggest names in rock and pop! Clyde 1 announced their biggest line-up yet to play the 12,000 capacity venue. Normally a night of pop, Clyde 1’s concert will lean more towards rock this year, with the star studded event featuring non-stop entertainment from some of Britain’s best musical talent. Rock legend Noel Gallagher and his band High Flying Birds will headline the night. They released their second album ‘Chasing Yesterday’ earlier this year, making number 1 on the UK charts. Fans should expect to hear songs from that, as well as hits from Noel’s own rich back catalogue. The former Oasis man will relish the opportunity to play to the Glasgow

fans again, calling the crowd at his last Hydro concert earlier this year “truly world class”. Welsh rock band Stereophonics will also perform on the night, showcasing their new album ‘Keep the Village Alive’. They will also be playing some of their biggest songs from the last two decades. ‘Keep the Village Alive’ was the band’s sixth number one album, showing themselves to be one of Britain’s best loved rock bands. Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year (2014) Tom Odell will be returning to play Clyde 1 LIVE! once more after his success last year. The indie-pop singer-songwriter will perform chart-topping hits from his number one debut album ‘Long Way Down’. The 25 year old also won the BRITs

Critics’ Choice Award in 2013 and covered the Beatles’ track ‘Real Love’ for John Lewis’ Christmas advert last year. Joining the bill will be Foxes. The pop sensation will be playing hits from her top five debut album ‘Glorious’ as well as treating fans to some tracks from her forthcoming 2016 album ‘All I Need’. The English singer-songwriter won a Grammy last year for her dance recording ‘Clarity’ with Zedd. Her next single will be ‘Amazing’, released just days before the concert on December 4. And last but not least, hugely popular Irish rock band Kodaline will be performing tracks from their album ‘Coming Up for Air’, which was released in February and debuted at number four on the UK album chart. Kodaline have attracted a huge

following and were nominated for the BBC Sound of 2013. Fans can also expect to hear some of their best known hits from their debut ‘In a Perfect World’. Clyde 1 breakfast show host George Bowie said: “We are so excited to have such a superb line-up of acts for this year’s Clyde 1 LIVE!. It’s fair to say there is going to be a lot of musical talent under one roof and all on the one night. “I can’t wait to see our Clyde 1 listeners pack out the fantastic SSE Hydro and create that world renowned Glasgow gig atmosphere. “This year’s Clyde 1 LIVE! Is the hottest ticket in town and it’s a great way to round off another fantastic year.” Tickets for the concert are on sale now, with all of the information on the event available at by Stephen Couse Twitter: www.clyde1. @stephen_couse com/live s.couse@tsaglasgow.com

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CELTIC CONNECTIONS RETURNS THIS JANUARY!

Robert Plant to star at Celtic Connections 2016

by Rachael Procter @rrretro___ r.procter@tsaglasgow.com

SAMAs return for a special Christmas bash to wrap up 2015 The Scottish Alternative Music Awards and Rebel Rebel will return this December 11 for a festive music feast at citizenM Glasgow to cap off the awards’ most successful year to date. Dundee five-piece Sinderins – formerly Anderson, McGinty, Webster, Ward, and Fisher – top the bill for the night at the boutique Glasgow hotel which is also set to feature acoustic up-and-comer Greg Pearson and the Best Newcomer nominated White Baer. With all of the acts playing acoustically, the SAMAs showcases give a platform for the best emerging musicians in the country to hone their live skills in an intimate environment. SAMAs founder and organiser Richy Muirhead is in good spirits ahead of the show, reflecting on a great year for the awards.

Muirhead said: “The SAMAs are all about throwing events and celebrating Scottish talent, so hosting a Christmas party was a no brainer for us. We’ve had a great year working with acts such as Gerry Cinnamon, Vukovi, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5, and many more. The lineup for the 11th is a combination of new talent and previous nominees from across the country – we can’t wait!” Tickets are available for the show from £10 (£5 for students with a valid matriculation card) from Eventbrite and come with a complimentary drink on arrival. You can also stay up to date online: www.officialsama.co.uk Twitter: @officialsama #SAMA2015 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ OfficialSAMA.

“If there’s one thing that makes wintertime in Glasgow great then it’s Celtic Connections.” – The Guardian, 12th January 2015. On Thursday 14th of January right through until Sunday 31st January 2016, Glasgow is set to, once again, re-welcome the traditional music festival of the year back to Scotland – Celtic Connections. Now in its 21st year, the aptly named festival celebrates Celtic music and its connection to cultures around the globe. For 18 days straight, musicians from around the world will descend on Glasgow and bring the city to life with concerts, chats, exhibitions, art, workshops, ceilidhs and a plethora of free events. What is not to love? The festival is renowned for its strong spirit of collaboration, a place where many one-off collaborative performances and spontaneous jamming sessions take place until the wee small hours of the morning. Stars of world, folk and roots music will perform on 26 stages at venues across the city. Celtic Connections remains a breeding ground of musical talent from a variety of cultures across the globe, and where better to host it than in our back yard? The Celtic Connections artistic director, Donald Shaw, said: “For 2016, we are bringing superstars and cult heroes, new talent, and artists who were legends long before the first Celtic Connections was staged. “This year we weave stories of pilgrimage, of crossing continents, we celebrate anniversaries and the Auld Alliance.” The Auld Alliance between Scotland and France will be centre stage at this year as the festival celebrates France as the partner country for 2016 and

the 10th anniversary of the twinning of Glasgow and Marseille. To mark the occasion, beer lovers will rejoice to learn that the Drygate Brewery will once again create a brand new craft beer with French hops, which will be available at all venues. Councillor Archie Graham, Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “Glasgow is a welcoming city which is proud of its heritage and embraces diversity. Each January we host a festival which in many ways mirrors our home city. “Celtic Connections brings together musicians from across the world for a celebration of musical traditions, the best of contemporary folk and world music, and the ways in which different musical cultures interweave and inspire and, always, entertain. The festival has a fantastic line up, including Rickie Lee Jones, The Chieftains, Lau, The Unthanks, Béla Fleck, Moving Hearts, Robert Plant, Lucinda Williams, Admiral Fallow, Toumani Diabaté, Karine Polwart, Boys of the Lough, Larry Carlton. There will be over 60 public workshops taking place over the three weekends for all ages and abilities. Highlights include the Ukulele School hosted by Finlay Allison and The Fiddle Village hosted by Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. The festival is also delighted to welcome the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra back again. This annual festival is a rare opportunity to see our city’s thriving and diverse traditional music scene that you simply cannot afford to miss. Whether you are a Celtic Queen or a complete beginner, join in with the conversation at @ccfest and www.celticconnections.com.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

WHO’S TOURING IN 2016? Whether you like some nostalgic early noughties pop, indie rock or hardcore punk, we’ve got all the hottest gigs in Glasgow in 2016 for you.

THE 1975 – O2 ACADEMY, FRIDAY 18 MARCH, SATURDAY 19 MARCH, SUNDAY 20 MARCH Music fans will have a difficult decision on March 18, with The 1975 also playing across the city at the ABC. Luckily, the indie-rock band from Manchester will play three nights in the city. MUSE – SSE HYDRO, SUNDAY 17 APRIL AND MONDAY 18 APRIL This is sure to be a big show, with Muse famous for their extravagant light shows and massive live performances. They play the Hydro in April, their first date in Glasgow since the release of their seventh album ‘Drones’ earlier this year.

The Libertines – SSE Hydro on Thursday 21 January

THE LIBERTINES – SSE HYDRO, THURSDAY 21 JANUARY Pete Doherty and Carl Barat have successfully reformed the legendary band and they’re embarking on their biggest tour yet, starting at the Hydro. They will play tracks from new album Anthems for Doomed Youth along with some classics. BLOC PARTY – BARROWLANDS, FRIDAY 5 FEBRUARY Bloc Party have went through a major change in their line-up with drummer Matt Tong and bass player Gordon Moakes leaving the band, but they are set to release their fifth album ‘Hymns’ with the new line-up in January, and just a few days later they will play the Barrowlands. FOALS – SSE HYDRO, FRIDAY 12 FEBRUARY From playing house parties arranged through MySpace to the Hydro, indierock band Foals have come a long way since their debut album ‘Antidotes’ was released in 2008. Their sound has become bigger and Q voted them the Best Act in the World this year, as well as the Best Live Band in 2013 – you shouldn’t miss this one. CAGE THE ELEPHANT – QMU, TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY The American rock band are known

for their energetic live performances, so the QMU is the perfect intimate setting. ‘Tell Me I’m Pretty’ will be their fourth album and is set to be released on December 18. GRIMES – O2 ABC, SUNDAY 13 MARCH Canadian pop artist Grimes released her latest album ‘Art Angels’ on November 6 to critical acclaim. The electropop single “Oblivion” is Pitchfork’s Song of the Decade So Far, so check Grimes out at the ABC in March to see why she is such a massive hit with fans and critics. WOLF ALICE – BARROWLANDS, WEDNESDAY 16 MARCH Rock band Wolf Alice were nominated for the Mercury Prize this year for their debut album ‘My Love is Cool’. Clash describe their sound as “the lovechild of folk and grunge’, a sound that can be seen live at one of the greatest venues in the world this March. ELLIE GOULDING – SSE HYDRO, FRIDAY 18 MARCH Massive pop star Ellie Goulding will be coming to the Hydro this March. Since topping the BBC Sound of 2010 list, she has went on to have 10 top 10 UK singles and two number one UK albums. Fans can expect her to play the mega hits “Love Me like You Do” and “Burn”.

Noel Gallagher – SSE Hydro on Thursday 21 April

BUSTED – SSE HYDRO, FRIDAY 13 MAY AND SATURDAY 14 MAY The massive noughties pop band will be reforming properly this time after the success of McBusted (McFly and Busted). They will play to nostalgic fans over two nights at the Hydro in May.

NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS – SSE HYDRO, THURSDAY 21 APRIL If you miss the legendary Noel Gallagher at the Clyde 1 Hydro show on December 8, fear not because High Flying Birds will be returning to the venue in April. They will play songs from the 2015 album ‘Chasing the Light’ and some more from Noel’s impressive back catalogue. FATHER JOHN MISTY – O2 ACADEMY, THURSDAY 12 MAY The American folk singer-songwriter is a former member of Fleet Foxes but has made a name for himself as a solo artist. His latest release “I Love You, Honeybear” was released to critical acclaim and his music is worth Student Ad A6 10/3/14 08:27 seeing live.

COLDPLAY – HAMPDEN PARK, TUESDAY 7 JUNE One of the biggest bands of all-time will play Hampden this summer. There is talk that their seventh album released on December 4, ‘A Head Full of Dreams’, could be their last, so it may be one of the last opportunities to see Coldplay live. by Stephen Couse Twitter:

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@stephen_couse s.couse@tsaglasgow.com

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December PICK OF THE MONTH 40

MUSIC

It’s no great secret that Scotland’s music scene is a thing to be proud of. So we here at TSA have teamed up with Glasgow’s very own New Hellfire Club to bring you a monthly pick of who we think are doing epically well right now. Keep your eyes out for these up and coming bands. This is TSA and New Hellfire Club’s ‘Pick of the Month’.

JOE BONE AND THE DARK VIBES

This month’s pick of the greatest Scottish bands we know and love, has to be the darkly charismatic Joe Bone and the Dark Vibes, one of the most hugely entertaining, and crazily moreish live acts that we have ever seen. Their lead singer, and musical commander in chief himself, Joe Bone can do most of the chatting from here on in though, so read on and find out a bit more about the Dark Vibes.... IT’S GREAT TO HAVE YOU GUYS (AND GAL!) AS OUR PICK OF THE MONTH, YOU WERE PRETTY MUCH A SHOE-IN TO BE HONEST, AS YOUR MATERIAL, BOTH OLD AND NEW, IS SIMPLY PHENOMENAL TO LISTEN TO, EARWORMS ALL THE WAY! LEAD US IN THEN, TELL US A WEE BIT ABOUT THE BAND, IT’S HISTORY, AND WHY PEOPLE SHOULD CHECK YOU OUT. Haha there’s not much history to be honest we only did our first gig last year so only celebrated our 1st birthday recently. But we’ve tried to cram as much in as possible in that first year without diluting and always writing new material. The band is a 7 piece outfit we have male lead vocals, female backing vocals, drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and saxophone. Why should folk check us out? Well why not? If you like your music not all stuck in the same genre and you like a bit of edge to it and originality I don’t think we will disappoint! SO, YOU’RE CALLED JOE BONE AND THE DARK VIBES, GOING ON THE STRENGTH OF THE NAME (THE DARK VIBES BIT, NOT THE JOE BONE BIT!) WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE NATURALLY

IN PARTNERSHIP WIITH

DRAWN TO THE DARKER SIDE OF LIFE AS MUSICIANS, OR DO YOU JUST FIND THE DARKER SIDE OF THINGS EASIER TO WRITE ABOUT THESE DAYS? (I ACTUALLY FIND SOME OF YOUR TUNES FASCINATINGLY UPBEAT SOUNDING, BUT THEN AGAIN, I CAN BE A BIT MORBID AT TIMES!) I would say the darker side appeals more to us, and I totally agree that you are a bit morbid at times! We do have a sense of humour (see last sentence) and although the songs are of dark origin they put a smile on a lot of folks faces (the morbid ones haha). I can naturally write songs about anything just some things appeal to me more, a lot of the dark stuff is more pulp fiction type / horror movie material only meant to be taken as a dark story rather than an honest feeling. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS OF WRITING WITH A SEVEN PIECE BAND AND HOW THE SONGS COME TOGETHER FROM START TO FINISH? IS IT A TEAM EFFORT, WITH EVERYONE CONTRIBUTING THEIR PIECE TO A NEW SONG, OR IS THERE ONE MAIN SONG WRITER? Basically I (Joe Bone) write the song and make a decent demo of it and give it to the band to sprinkle their magic on it letting them add anything they find might work. I always keep my original song demos as my own work but anything we release as a band is a joint work and I do not take full writing credits for it, it’s credited to the full band (Joe Bone & The Dark Vibes). So anything released by the band is very much a joint effort.

YOU’VE BEEN IN A FEW BANDS YOURSELF IN THE PAST JOE, (ONE OF WHICH IS ANOTHER FAVOURITE OF MINE’S FROM THE NOT SO DISTANT PAST, THE COFFINS) DO YOU FIND THAT ALL YOUR PREVIOUS BANDS HAVE LED YOU TO THE DARK VIBES? DO YOU FEEL THAT THE DARK VIBES CARRIES AN INFLUENCE FROM PAST PROJECTS? Yes there are always things I take forward because I was the main song writer in all the bands I formed. The format for me in starting a band was always me coming into the studio with a bunch of self penned songs and us working on them. So there will be bits of everything there, even all the different musical stuff I like, everything is thrown into a big melting pot called my brain and I come up with the next song. Some songs I’ve originally written have travelled through several of the bands, but never copied, as I only let the band hear the original demo rather than the last band who did it. An instance of this will be “The Murderer’s Song” which The Coffins did a brilliant version I’ve harked back to the original version (which had female vocals on it) and gave it to The Dark Vibes, we’ve tried it out in rehearsals and it seems to work. It’s now got a more dark gospel feel to it. YOU GUYS HAVE RECENTLY SIGNED UP TO A RECORD LABEL, DO YOU THINK SIGNING WITH A LABEL WILL MAKE ANY BIG DIFFERENCE TO THE WAY YOU DO THINGS AS A BAND, OR WILL IT JUST FREE UP MORE OF YOUR TIME FOR ACTUAL MUSIC RELATED STUFF? It won’t make a lot of difference in the fact I still manage the band to the best of my ability, the difference is that it will hopefully open up a few more doors for us but that’s not the work done, we need to make sure we take the opportunities the

open doors have led to, and with the same focus disregard opportunities that are going to bring us down. The Record label will have a name change next year and famous graphic novelist Alan Moore is coming on board and he has a design artist coming in to to create a new record logo. So we are chuffed to be one of their first Scottish signings. The Record Label takes care of finances regarding releases, so that means the financial burden has been lifted from our shoulders WHEN IS THE NEW RELEASE COMING OUT THEN, OR IS IT OUT ALREADY PRIOR GOING TO PRESS? ARE WE GOING TO SEE IT IN THE NHC SHOP, OR ARE YOU CONSIDERING MAKING IT A ‘GIG ONLY’ RELEASE? We will have an ep launch end of January, maybe start of February, just waiting on venue confirming. I should have the copies with me by next week but they won’t be available til the launch, and yes NHC shall be given some copies as this, unlike the gig only ep, is an official release. (Cat. No. and all that mate!) Aye we are really proud of this release, and well chuffed that The Very Rev D Wayne Love of The Alabama 3 was involved on all the tracks, coming up from London to get involved in this project with us after liking what he had heard of us through the grapevine. SO WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE DARK VIBES? ANY BIG PLANS FOR 2016 YOU CAN SHARE WITH US? Next will be the ep release, then I’m sorting out a calendar of gigs for 2016 as we speak, and a few nice folk have been in contact. There’s also a trip down to our record label’s home of Northampton on the cards, with other good stuff thrown in too, so we will be certainly busier than last year!

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

INTRODUCING FAT SUIT

GLASGOW’S 13 PIECE JAZZ BAND At one point or another, we’ve all tried to make a plan of sorts in a group chat and failed, miserably. Trying to sort out a simple dinner for six somehow requires detailed mathematical knowledge, a full year’s calendar laid out, a therapist to sort the disputes and a healthy supply of patience – so even imagining trying to co-ordinate the schedules for a 13 piece band sends us straight into migraine territory. Hence why we are in awe of Fat Suit, a Glasgow based ‘instrumental music collective’, who have performed across the UK and Europe, and are soon to be releasing their third, as-yet-untitled album, of which saxophonist, Scott Murphy, says, “all name suggestions are welcome”. Similarly, whilst it’s with “great difficulty” that the band manage to all organise their schedules for meetings, gigs and rehearsals, they also struggle to collectively agree on names. The name ‘Fat Suit’ was the brainchild of band member Andrew, a ‘master of puns and wordplay’, who after setting up a gig without a name, was describing the full line-up to the promoter who replied ‘woah, that’s a large outfit’, from that Fat Suit was born and it’s stuck. “We had spent a month or so trying to come up with something, and it’s hard to get everyone to agree, so when something happens quite organically it’s good to just run with it,” said Murphy. Guitar player Dorian Cloudsley, explained that the band was formed after a university module folded with a gig still planned in the diary: “That gig was still there in the diary and we had recently seen Snarky Puppy and we’d all been at the gig so we got a bunch of sheet music and thought why don’t we all play this? Then uncharacteristically for a jazz module gig lots of people turned up – so we thought cool maybe we should do something else and write our own music.” The band may have started by covering Snarky Puppy, a New York based instrumental fusion band with even more members than Fat Suit, but they’ve now found their own unique sound. “I think the first batch of things we wrote were quite clearly Snarky influenced and you can hear that, but there isn’t really much of a template for writing for this sort of band with this line-up, so we were kind of taking it from that. “I think as we’ve gotten further away, apart from the line-up and the sound of our instruments playing together, our style is getting further from Snarky’s. There’s definitely an influence there and I don’t think we ever would have started if we hadn’t seen them, so we’ll always take comparisons as a compliment,” said Cloudsley. Even with their comparisons to the popular Snarky Puppy, no-one in the band expected their sound to be so well received, their first two albums – Kambr and Jugaad – were praised by critics and their tours are, usually, always well attended: “The very first [European tour] gig was very poorly attended and our hearts were sinking because we were

thinking we’ve taken these people away from three weeks of work and we’re playing to a crowd of one, so we were dreading the rest but as soon as we moved on and had all the Polish gigs everything was really well attended, even Budapest on a Monday night was great. “We were very relieved. Europe does have a better reputation for how instrumental music goes down but we were completely unknown so it was a bit of a leap of faith but it turned out well.” That European tour – which brings back fond memories, with the two members recounting tales of playing on rooftops, piers and at castles – also took the full band to the Ukraine, which is where their gigs were. “Lviv and Rivne both in Ukraine were both really amazing, they were so welcoming and happy to have us. There was a group called ‘Art Jazz Coorporation’ who were basically a peaceful protest group in the midst of everything that was going on at that time and their slogan was ‘make jazz not war’ so they were very happy to have us and very accommodating and they set up all these incredible gigs. We hadn’t expected to go to Ukraine any time soon so to go somewhere you don’t think you’re going to go and be treated like that was amazing”, said Cloudsley. Their next tour starts on 3 December and covers all of Scotland, starting in Inverness, before moving to St Andrews, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and finishing in Glasgow. Fat Suit are touring with singer-songwriter, Angus Munro, and Murphy says the bulk of the tour will be Angus’ songs that they have worked with and rearranged. Munro is an incredible musician and eccentric performer, according to Murphy and Cloudsley: “Angus – what a guy, he is amazing. He’s probably the most talented singer I’ve ever, met he’s phenomenal. His range and his ability to sing anything he wants is just unparalleled with anyone I know and he’s an absolute nutcase and he’s a born performer, he’s one of these people who it’s like ‘this guy could go anywhere at any moment’”. After the tour, Fat Suit will be focusing on releasing their third album, which will ‘probably be out in either April or June’, and working out how exactly to do so: “We’ve got a few ideas. We always record everything, so we’re trying to work out how to make a bigger deal of that, this time around. “We were just in London at the weekend so we made some contacts there and we might try and have a bit of a launch tour that starts down there and then comes up to Scotland.” If you can manage to co-ordinate everyone in your group chat well enough to make it to a Fat Suit gig, firstly we admire your patience, and secondly we’re sure it’ll be well worth it. Fat Suit are playing Cottiers Theatre on 20 December, tickets are £13.50 (£11 concessions). by Courtney Hendry Online Editor

@courtneysarahx

c.hendry@tsaglasgow.com

GIGS OF THE MONTH A PREVIEW OF THE TOP GIGS GLASGOW HAS TO OFFER IN DECEMBER/JANUARY

s w e i v e r P

MUSIC

LITTLE RED AT TRAMWAY (1 – 23 DEC) One of Scotland’s most exciting and successful contemporary dance companies, Barrowland Ballet, team up with Tramway to bring us a magical retelling of Little Red Riding Hood this December. Little Red, is a fun and a thrilling take on the classic fairy tale for ages 7+, which opens at Tramway on Wednesday 2 December at 7:30pm Little Red reunites the exciting creative team behind international hit Tiger Tale. Co-created by Natasha Gilmore and Robert Alan Evans, Tiger Tale was performed across the world – in venues from Sadler’s Wells in London to Shizuoka Granship in Japan. Barrowland Ballet’s most recent production Whiteout premiered at Dance International Glasgow 2015 to critical acclaim. Little Red is a story about growing up. Reaching the point where we have to make our own decisions. Which path to take? How far to go into the woods? How far can you push a wolf before it bites back? Barrowland Ballet has created a visually exciting, dynamic treat for Christmas with suspense and laughter. Councillor Archie Graham, Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “Little Red will be a treat that all the family can enjoy in the run up to Christmas. This new production from the internationally acclaimed Barrowland Ballet

will entertain and surprise, and give lots to talk about on the way home and in school. I’d encourage everyone to pay a visit to Tramway this December and join us for this fabulous seasonal show.” Natasha Gilmore, Artistic Director of Barrowland Ballet, said: “It has been exciting working on such a well-known tale and have the freedom that brings to explore different perspectives of the story. Dance theatre is the perfect form for creating new interpretations which give the audience the space to complete their own story.” Tramway is a leading international art-space which commissions, produces and presents contemporary arts projects and has been at the heart of the changes that have seen Glasgow re-born as one of Europe’s leading centres for contemporary visual arts. Based in the south of the city and a former tram depot, Tramway has a high quality, agenda setting, experimental and dynamic programme; it is one of the most sought after and prestigious spaces in Scotland for artists to present new work. Little Red performances will take place Wednesday 2 December 7.30pm, and then from Friday 11 – Wednesday 23 December at various times. Ticket prices are £12.50 / £8.50, and family tickets are also available.

SNOW WHITE AT KING’S THEATRE

JERSEY BOYS AT THEATRE ROYAL

Sleeping betty at the tron theatre

Grab your pillar box lipstick and your mirror as The King’s Theatre welcome back Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for the legendary King’s panto. Making his long-awaited return to the panto stage is Scottish comedy legend Gregor Fisher (Rab C. Nesbitt) as haphazard Hector the Henchman. He’s behind you! King’s favourite Des Clarke (Capital FM) takes on the role of lovable Muddles and dishing out the dastardly orders with a big slice of jealousy as the Wicked Queen is Juliet Cadzow (Balamory). Expect plenty of laughs and close calls as Muddles tries to keep his BFF Snow White out of the clutches of the Queen and Hector, but please – no broken mirrors! Featuring spectacular sets, glittering costumes, sidesplitting comedy and all the family fun-filled entertainment audiences expect from the King’s legendary panto. The King’s panto will fun from Friday 4 December 2015 until Sunday 10 January 2016.

The internationally acclaimed stage sensation, Jersey Boys is touring the UK and Ireland for the very first time. The smash hit musical has won 55 major awards worldwide, including the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Jersey Boys tells the remarkable true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks. These four boys from New Jersey became one of the most successful bands in pop history, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and sold 100 million records worldwide, all before they turned 30. The show is packed with their hits, including “Beggin’”, “Sherry”, “Walk Like A Man”, “December”, “1963 (Oh What a Night)”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “My Eyes Adored You”, “Bye Bye Baby” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. Jersey Boys will stop at Theatre Royal Glasgow from Tuesday 8 December 2015 until Sunday 3 January 2016.

It’s Betty Drooper’s 16th birthday party and everyone who’s anyone will be there – her faithful companion Hamish the Hamster, her beautiful fairy godmother Flambonia Plunge and of course the pantosphere’s equivalent of Harry Styles, Handsome Dan, the Fanciest Dancer in All the Land. But Fairly Evil the Evil Fairy hasn’t received an invite. And she is pure ragin’! Rumour has it she’s concocted a spell to put Betty to sleep for a hundred years (I mean, we all like a lie in but that’s taking it too far!). Will Betty foil Fairly Evil’s dastardly plan? Will she be dancin’ when Handsome Dan comes askin’? And just who is that mysterious Ogre lurking about at the back of the party purvey? It’s all happening down at the Tron this Christmas, so get yourself a ticket to Betty Drooper’s party if it’s the last thing you do. Sleeping Betty shows from 27 November 2015 – 3 January 2016.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

MADONNA AT THE SSE HYDRO (20 DEC)

MUMFORD AND SONS AT THE SSE HYDRO (13 & 14 dec)

NELLY AT THE 02 ACADEMY (15 DEC)

With the album launched in March 2015, the queen of pop’s highly anticipated Rebel Heart Tour is coming to Glasgow this festive season! The Rebel Heart Tour is the tenth worldwide concert tour by American singer Madonna, in support of her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart. It started on September 9, 2015, in Montreal, Canada at the Bell Centre and will continue throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania before concluding on March 27, 2016 in Australia. The setlist is sure to be a belter with extracts from her new album and some of her classics like “Vogue” and “Like A Virgin.” The tour has so far received positive reviews from critics, who have complimented the performance of her old songs whilst also embracing the new. If you’re a fan...it’s surely one not to be missed. Madonna comes to the SSE Hydro on December 20!

English folk-rock band, Mumford & Sons formed in 2007, the band consists of frontman Marcus Mumford and his band: keyboard player and drummer Ben Lovett, guitar and banjo player Winston Marshall, and bass player Ted Dwane. The band set out on a huge arena tour in this year, which started in Nottingham on 28 November. Recently headlining Reading and Leeds Festival, they brought in a huge crowd and performed songs from Wilder Mind, their third album. Expect more headline worthy performances on their 2015 tour and a mixture of their old and new hits. Support for the tour is Jack Garratt, the Brit musician and producer who mixes his talent as a singer with the ability to produce bass-heavy tracks Mumford and Sons will be performing 2 events in Glasgow between Sunday 13th December 2015 and Monday 14th December 2015 at the SSE Hydro.

With new single “The Fix” released on 13 November, Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum selling artist, Nelly, is set to bring his incredible live shows to the UK. With a slew of number one singles under his belt including “Hot In Herre” and “Dilemma”, Nelly will kick off his UK tour in London on 14 December. “The Fix” features platinum R&B artist Jeremih and includes a taste of Marvin Gaye’s 1982 classic hit song, “Sexual Healing,” and production from multi-platinum producers DJ Mustard and Mike Free. A recent episode of Nelly’s hit reality show “Nellyville” also captured Nelly and Jeremih in the studio recording the track. The multi-genre superstar brought the 2013 crossoverpop smash to new heights selling over 7 million singles and garnering over 100 million streams. The tour will be coming to the O2 Academy in Glasgow on the 15 December.

GIG OF THE MONTH

A REVIEW OF NOVEMBER’S TOP GIG IN GLASGOW

THE STUDENT ADVERTISER

EZRA FURMAN AND THE BOYFRIENDS AT THE ART SCHOOL 17/11/15 It’s been a while. Ezra and The Boyfriends came to the Art School, to play us some American music. Ezra was extravagant, immense, flirtatious, coy, cheeky, humble and so much more. Without a doubt one of the most charismatic performers I have ever laid eyes on. With pop songs as perfect as ‘Anything Can Happen’, ’Lousy Connection’ and ‘Body Was Made’ plus a stage presence pretty much unmatched in contemporary pop, my faith in humanity would be shaken if he doesn’t become a bona fide international star. I‘m a pretty poor judge of these things though, I thought the Spice Girls were doomed to amateurish obscurity the first time I heard ‘Wannabe’. While I’m name checking, yes there’s Lou Reed,

Bowie, Daniel Johnston, Springsteen and Bo Diddley all in there, all influences. The strutting arrogance of Tim Sandusky on sax created the perfect foil to Furman’s bashful whimsy. While Sandusky stared into the middle distance between parts, trying ever so hard to look in turn disinterested or insincere, Ezra laid it all out and we all believed every word he whispered, lamented or screeched. Any old, it was really good, a fantastic performance that even a slightly ropey cover of Arcade Fire’s ‘Crown of Love’ couldn’t spoil. You ever get to the end of a gig and realise you’ve been smiling straight for an hour and a half? That was it.

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The events listed below were correct and up to date at time of going to print but please check the venue’s own website prior to booking

Gig Guide: Music & Clubbing FRI, 04 DEC

JAMIE COLEMAN, SCOTT MCDONALD Doors 7.00pm, 7.00pm

ICW: FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHT CLUB The Garage, Glasgow, 7.00pm

APE MAN ALIEN King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30pm

TWILIGHT SAD Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm

DEFINITELY OASIS The Garage, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

THE DARKNESS O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm

GUY GARVEY O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm

HUDSON MOHAWKE O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm

ALABAMA 3 O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

GO ON ENJOY YOURSELF W/ CHURCH OF CONFIDENCE (BERLIN) Audio, Glasgow, 7.00pm

CARNIFEX, WITHIN THE RUINS, FALLUJAH, THE LAST TEN SECONDS OF LIFE Cathouse, Glasgow, 6.30pm

ONE OK ROCK The Garage, Glasgow, 7pm

JEFFREY LEWIS AND LOS BOLTS CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm

NOTHING MORE King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30 Pm

THE KOOKS Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm

THE RUTLES O2 ABC 2, Glasgow, 6.00pm

THE DEAD DAISIES Cathouse, Glasgow, 7.00pm

THE XMAS EXTRAVAGLAMZA : THE SENSATIONAL DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE BAND / HOT LOVE (T. REX) O2 ABC 2, Glasgow, 7.00pm

HODERA, COLLEGE, SLOWLIGHT & FLAKES Broadcast, Glasgow, 6.00 Pm

THE ZOMBIES Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00pm

MONSTER-A-GOGO: A TRIBUTE TO TIM BURTON The Riding Room, glasgow, 7:30 Pm LUCIDITY - THE BLACK HEART OF EDEN LAUNCH NIGHT Shadow Sound, Glasgow, 7:30 Pm KILL HANNAH Cathouse, Glasgow, 7.00pm

LEDD ZEPP Ivory Blacks, Glasgow, 7.00pm DEMOB HAPPY Broadcast, Glasgow, 7.00pm HOLY ESQUE St Luke’s, Glasgow, 8.30pm

LIGHT OF DAY SCOTLAND BENEFIT GIG Ivory Blacks, Glasgow, 7.00pm

SALSA CHRISTMAS PARTY WITH TUMBAO SALSA SCHOOL Mango, Glasgow, 8.00pm

STATUS QUO + WILKO JOHNSON The Hydro, Glasgow, 7.30pm

MASKED - FIRE & ICE O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

FLO MORRISEY Broadcast, Glasgow, 7.00pm

C DUNCAN The Art School, Glasgow, 7.00pm

SHED SEVEN AND THE INSPIRAL CARPETS O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7.00pm

THE TWO MIKES LIVE The Garage, Glasgow, 7.00pm

BAHOOKIE O2 ABC 2, Glasgow, 7.00pm

SAT, 05 DEC SOUL TRAIN Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow, 7.00pm BARRY SUTTON (THE LA’S) Old Hairdressers, Glasgow, 7.00pm

ANE BRUN Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00 Pm HOLY ESQUE St Luke’s, Glasgow, 7.00 Pm

SUN, 06 DEC KODALINE O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm ASH O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm

DURAN DURAN, SEAL AND BLOOM TWINS The Hydro, Glasgow, 6:30 Pm

WED, 09 DEC GUANTANAMO BAYWATCH Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, 7.30pm

MON, 07 DEC

STEREOPHONICS The Hydro, Glasgow, 6.30pm

SCOUTING FOR GIRLS O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm

EUROS CHILDS CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm

CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK! Cathouse, Glasgow, 7.00pm

UWS EURO GIG Admiral Bar, Glasgow, 7.00pm

JENNYLEE Stereo, Glasgow, 7.00pm

THE WOODENTOPS Broadcast, Glasgow, 7.00pm

TUE, 08 DEC

F*CK YES (LIVE) King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30 Pm

CLYDE 1 LIVE : NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS, STEREOPHONICS, KODALINE, FOXES, TOM ODELL The Hydro, Glasgow, 7.30pm

LIANNE LA HAVAS O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

NHC LIST OF TRUSTED PROMOTERS NHC MUSIC’s main remit in this musical world is to make life that much easier for the musicians and artists striving to make great music within it. That’s why we feel this list could help you. It’s a regularly updated list of ethically minded venues, promoters and bookers working throughout Scotland. These are people we would work with ourselves, and we guarantee you there will be no scammers, pay to play, or unethical business practices with the people and businesses on the list. So now you know who to safely work with, with your new college band in Glasgow and beyond! More names will be added monthly. PROMOTER AREA GENRES NHC MUSIC Glasgow All genres Promise The Moon Ayrshire All genres STG Promotions Glasgow All genres EVO4Promotions Glasgow All genres/acoustic Daily Dischord Aberdeen All genres Shock City Promotions Glasgow All genres Fortune Promotions Edinburgh All genres Alternative Promotions Glasgow Rock/Metal The Littlest Hobo Scotland Wide All genres Cadaver Concerts North Ayrshire Metal Cadaver Concerts Glasgow Alt rock Rip It Up Promotions Glasgow All genres Red Door Records Glasgow Americana/Roots/Blues Vagabond Social Club Glasgow Americana/Folk The Fallen Angels Club Glasgow All genres Sound And Vision Glasgow All genres Events For Charities Glasgow All genres Dundee Disco Dancer Dundee All genres Dave Ritchie Scotland Wide Metal/Rock Good Grief Glasgow Progressive/Math Rock/Ambient Noizy Indie Social Club Cumbernauld All genres Hashtag Management East Kilbride All genres Rusty Hip Collective Dundee All genres Cut Loose Promotions Glasgow All genres Critical Events Scotland Wide Metal/Hard Rock NDC Promotions / Events North Ayrshire All genres Scottish Tour Collective Scotland Wide All genres Black Reach Promotions Glasgow Metal/Hard Rock Traffic Cone Records Glasgow All genres Kstar Promotions Glasgow All genres Punk Rock Rammy Edinburgh/ Glasgow Punk

THU, 10 DEC

GNARWOLVES, SPRAYNARD & SUCH GOLD Audio, Glasgow, 6.00pm A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 7.30pm TREACHEROUS ORCHESTRA Drygate, Glasgow, 7.30 Pm FEAR FACTORY “DEMANUFACTURE 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR” The Garage, Glasgow, 7.00pm REZILLOS Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00 Pm

SUN, 13 DEC CJ RAMONE + XSLF - HENRY CLUNEY & JIM REILLY (EX STIFF LITTLE FINGERS) Audio, Glasgow, 7.00pm

WRECKLESS ERIC CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm

CHRISTMAS CAROUSAL WITH TREMBLING BELLS, ALISDAIR ROBERTS + OLIVIA CHANEY Platform, Glasgow, 7.00pm

KAGOULE Broadcast, Glasgow, 7.00pm

DOE PAORO Broadcast, Glasgow, 7.00pm

COUNSELLED OUT Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00pm

ACADEMIA DE SALSA’S ANNUAL VINTAGE CHRISTMAS SALSA BALL! The Garage, Glasgow, 8.00pm

FAMILY - ROGER CHAPMAN, POLI PALMER, JIM CREGAN, ROB TOWNSEND + STRAWBS O2 ABC, 7.00pm THE STORY SO FAR The Garage, Glasgow, 7.00pm DEF LEPPARD & WHITESNAKE The Hydro, 6.45

FRI, 11 DEC SPLINTERED HALO XMAS SHOW : SOUL REMOVER, MANIFOLD, WATCHERS GUARD Audio, Glasgow, 7.30pm BLANCK MASS (BEN POWER OF FUCK BUTTONS) Stereo, Glasgow, 7.30pm HO99O9 Poetry Club, SWG3, Glasgow, 7.00pm CARAVAN PALACE O2 ABC, Glasgow, 6pm NEWBORN SESSIONS SHOWCASE Classic Grand, Glasgow, 5.30pm

MAGIC GANG King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.00 Pm FISH - FAREWELL TO CHILDHOOD TOUR O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7.0pm CHINA CRISIS Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.30pm

MON, 14 DEC BARRIE-JAMES O’NEILL King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30pm MUMFORD & SONS The Hydro, Glasgow, 6.30pm

TUE, 15 DEC ORANGE GOBLIN King Tuts, 8:30 Pm NELLY O2 Academy, Glasgow, 6.00pm

WED, 16 DEC THE VIEW O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm

BROWNBEAR King Tuts, Glasgow, 8:30 Pm

LOWER THAN ATLANTIS O2 ABC 1, Glasgow, 7.00pm

PEARL JAM UK O2 ABC 2, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

QUEEN KWONG Stereo, Glasgow, 7.00pm

NAO Broadcast, Glasgow, 7.00pm

THU, 17 DEC

BLACK TONGUE The Garage Attic, Glasgow, 7.00pm

SAT, 12 DEC

BEN MAGGS Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, 7.30pm

MICKEY 9S, SLOW READERS CLUB Classic Grand, Glasgow, 7.00pm

WATSON’S WIND-UP XMAS CRACKER Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00pm

TIJUANA BIBLES, SONIC TEMPLARS Bellfield Tavern, 7.00pm

COURTEENERS O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7.00pm

CLARAMASSA, ILLICIT BOUNTY GANG, BLACK CAT REVUE, VISIONS OF ELLIE Broadcast, Glasgow, 7.45pm

RACHELLE RHIENNE King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30 Pm

BLASTERJAXX O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

DUBMATIX & DJ VADIM Rum Shack, Glasgow, 8.00pm

FRI, 18 DEC

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

Clubbing THU, 03 DEC

MON, 07 DEC

SUN, 13 DEC

WED, 23 DEC

THU, 31 DEC

JELLY BABY O2 ABC, 23:00:00

BARE MONDAYS The Garage, 23:00:00

SUNDAY SCIENCE The Garage, 23:00:00

DISCO RIOT The Garage, 23:00:00

FRI, 04 DEC

TUE, 08 DEC

MON, 14 DEC

THU, 24 DEC

CLUB NOIR NEW YEAR’S EVE BURLESQUE Classic Grand,, 9.00pm

DARKSIDE: ROTTERDAM TERROR CORPS : DJ DISTORTION 69 Below,, 9.00pm SHED SEVEN AFTER PARTY FEATURING RESURRECTION DJS ALEX CARNABAY & GUESTS Audio,, 10.30pm QUEER VEGAN DISCO Flying Duck, 23:00:00 WOUNDED KNEE Flying Duck, 20:00:00 TROPICAL PRESENTS SAMO + HI & SABERHÄGEN. The Art School, 23:00:00

HASH TAG The Garage, 23:00:00

BARE MONDAYS The Garage, 23:00:00

WED, 09 DEC

TUE, 15 DEC

DISCO RIOT The Garage, 23:00:00

THU, 10 DEC JELLY BABY O2 ABC, 11.00pm PVC NATIVITY W/ BREAKFAST MUFF The Vic Bar @ The Art School, 23:00:00 NEVERLAND The Garage, 23:00:00

FRI, 11 DEC

FRESH BEAT The Garage, 23:00:00

THE BEAT SWG3,, 7.00pm

PROPAGANDA O2 ABC, 11.00pm

RETURN TO MONO XMAS PARTY Sub Club,, 11.00pm

SAT, 05 DEC

HASH TAG The Garage, 23:00:00

WED, 16 DEC DISCO RIOT The Garage, 23:00:00

THU, 17 DEC NEVERLAND The Garage, 23:00:00 JELLY BABY O2 ABC, 11.00pm

FRI, 18 DEC STEREOFUNK XMAS PARTY Club G-Town,, 10.00pm NITRIC Flying Duck, 23:00:00

2MANYDJS SWG3,, 10.00pm

FRESH BEAT The Garage, 23:00:00

DEFECTED IN THE HOUSE SWG3,, 9.00pm

COMMON PEOPLE Flying Duck, 9pm3am

PROPAGANDA O2 ABC, 11.00pm

4STRINGS (CLASSICS SET) MICHAEL HUTCHESON (VINYL SET) - LEVERAGE & TAYLOR 69 Below,, 9.00pm

ANTIFREEZE END OF TERM PARTY. The Art School,

G-TOWN 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY Club G-Town, 11.00pm

PROPAGANDA O2 ABC, 11.00pm

SIKTH (CALL STORE FOR AVAILABILITY) Classic Grand, 7pm

FRESH BEAT The Garage, 23:00:00

SAT, 12 DEC

SINGLES NIGHT Flying Duck, 23:00:00

KNOT ANOTHER BOAT PARTY, “LIVE DJ’S, FELIX THE SAX CAT - LIVE!, ON BOARD SANTA, THE KANDI GIRLS, BARE ALL BUTLERS Riverside Museum,, 7.00pm

HEADSTRONG 05 WITH RANDOMER, AND, ANIMAL FARM The Art School, 23:00:00

A LOVE FROM OUTER SPACE : ANDREW WEATHERALL & SEAN JOHNSTON SWG3,, 10.30pm

I LOVE THE GARAGE The Garage, 23:00:00

PISTOLS AT DAWN PRESENT...CRAZY P Berkeley Suite,, 10.30pm

GEORGE BOWIE GBX Savoy Nightclub, 10.30pm

LOVE MUSIC O2 ABC, 11.00pm

SUN, 06 DEC THE ONLY WAY IS ETHICS Flying Duck, 7.30 P.m. SUNDAY SCIENCE The Garage, 23:00:00

SAT, 19 DEC BRYNNY Victoria’s Nightclub,, 9.00pm BOSH! WITH EDDIE HALLIWELL O2 Academy,, MELBOURNE BOZ PRESENTS...TOM FERRO 69 Below,, 9.00pm STEVE LAWLER SWG3,, 10:00 P.m. GIMMIE SHELTER Flying Duck, 23:00:00 ALL CAPS FEAT. HELENA HAUFF The Art School, 23:00:00 I LOVE THE GARAGE The Garage, 23:00:00 LOVE MUSIC FEAT DAFT AS PUNK LIVE O2 ABC, 11.00pm

SUN, 20 DEC

NEVERLAND The Garage, 23:00:00

SAT, 26 DEC COLOURS WINTER PARTY O2 ABC,, 9:00 P.m. A NIGHT WITH DERRICK CARTER (4HR SET) Hillhead Bookclub,, 7.00pm

SUNDAY CIRCUS BOXING DAY SPECIAL W/ BINH (PERLON) & RESIDENTS Stereo,, 8.00pm

ELECTRIC FROG AND THUNDER DISCO NYE TODD TERJE (LIVE), HAMMER + JUBE + MELTING POT SWG3,, 10.00pm

HUMMINGBIRD BOXING DAY WITH GREG WILSON Hummingbird,, 9.00pm DERRICK CARTER DOES DISCO + MELTING POT + DIVINE Admiral Bar,, 11.00pm I LOVE THE GARAGE The Garage, 23:00:00

SUN, 27 DEC THE SOURCE REUNION Barrowland,, 6.00pm DARKSIDE: NIGHTMARE AFTER XMAS, PARTYRAISER, MISS K8, BRAINDRILLERZ, DETEST, NEGATIVE A, ANGERNOIZER, TRAFFIK Classic Grand,, 9.00pm SUNDAY SCIENCE The Garage, 23:00:00

MON, 28 DEC ANIMAL FARM 11TH BIRTHDAY ANSWER CODE REQUEST B2B KOBOSIL (4HRS) Sub Club,, 11.00pm

GARAGE HOGMANAY/G2 CEILIDH The Garage,, 10:00 P.m. I AM_WSHOM_NYE Stereo,, 10.30pm MAD HATTERÍS HOGMANAY HOUSE PARTY Hummingbird,, 10.00pm OPTIMO HOGMANAY, OPTIMO, HIGHLIFE, NOO - LIVE, MR TC LIVE The Art School,, 10.00pm ANGLES HOGMANAY Flat 0/1,, 10.00pm

HASH TAG The Garage, 23:00:00

TUE, 22 DEC

WED, 30 DEC

GARAGE HOGMANAY / G2 CEILIDH The Garage, 22:00:00

LOVE MUSIC O2 ABC, 11.00pm

HASH TAG The Garage, 23:00:00

DISCO RIOT The Garage, 23:00:00

JELLY BABY NYE O2 ABC, 11.00pm

MON, 21 DEC

TUE, 29 DEC

WED, 23 DEC

ICW: FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHT CLUB The Garage, Glasgow, 7.00pm

THE LABEL, STATIC FUTURE / ABORIGINALS / EVEN IN ARCADIA King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30pm

GUN Barrowland, Glasgow,

THE YELLOW MOVEMENT XMAS PARTY 2015 St Luke’s, Glasgow, 2.00pm

BABY STRANGE Broadcast, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

BAY CITY ROLLERS Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm

JOHN BRAMWELL ( I AM KLOOT ) The Hug & Pint, 7.30 Pm

‘BOOM! BAP! SOUP! CHRISTMAS! Siempre Bicycle Cafe, 7.00pm

MIA DORA Sub Club, Glasgow, 11:00 Pm

DEFINITELY MIGHTBE (OASIS TRIBUTE) O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7.00 P.m

COLONEL MUSTARD & THE DIJON 5, THE GIROBABIES, JAMIE & SHOONY, HAVE MERCY LAS VEGAS, SUPA N DA KRYPTONITES & MORE TBA... ,

SUN, 20 DEC

TUE, 22 DEC BAY CITY ROLLERS Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm

DJ YELLA OF N.W.A O2 ABC 2, Glasgow, 11:00 Pm

FAT-SUIT (RUBIX TOUR), JELLYMAN’S DAUGHTER, OSCAR CORDOBA BAND Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow, 7.00pm

SAT, 19 DEC

HERSHEL’S HEAD King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30pm

MARK MORRISS (FULL BAND) Stereo, Glasgow, 7.00pm

MON, 21 DEC

RODDY WOOMBLE’S CHRISTMAS HOOTENANNY Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 7.30pm

THE SILENCERS O2 ABC 1, Glasgow, 7.00 Pm

THE BAY CITY ROLLERS Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm

JOE STRUMMER TRIBUTE NIGHT King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30 Pm

NIEVES King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30 Pm

COURTYARD NYE PRESENTS CALVIN HAGGIS, PAUL ZITKUS & MORE The Courtyard,, 7.00pm

BARE MONDAYS The Garage, 23:00:00

ATOM TREE The Art School, Glasgow, 7.00pm

TEXAS The Hydro, Glasgow, 6.30pm

A SLEAZY HOGMANAY: ESPERANZA (LIVE) PARTY KARAOKE + GERRY LYONS DJ SET! Nice N Sleazy,, 8.30pm

I LOVE THE GARAGE The Garage, 23:00:00

PARADOX Flying Duck, 11.00pm

SUNDAY SCIENCE The Garage, 23:00:00

PROJECT HARDSTYLE: UNCUT 69 Below, Glasgow, 8.00pm

BIG COUNTRY - THE BEST OF Audio, Glasgow, 7.00pm

HOGMANAY CEILIDH The Ferry,, 9.00pm

STREETRAVE NYE 2015, FELIX, BASSHEADS, TOGETHER, K-KLASS, BABY D, JON MANCINI + IAIN ‘BONEY’ CLARK SWG3, 8pm-3am

HOUSE MATTERS PRESENTS...DISCO’S OVER 69 Below,, 10.00pm

KRISTOPHER ROE OF THE ATARIS Ivory Blacks, Glasgow, 7pm

GHOST O2 ABC 1, Glasgow, 7.00pm

ON THE HOUSE & BROKEN DISCO NYE Drygate,, 8.00pm FRIDAY STREET NEW YEARÍS EVE MOD PARTY Blackfriars,, 10.00pm

GARETH MALONE O2 Academy, Glasgow, 7pm

LIFELINES, REGIONS + MISGUIDED ANCHORS The Garage Attic, Glasgow, 7.00pm

I AM A RAVER NYE “MICKY MODELLE - DJ RANKIN VS GARY MCF - DJ BAD BOY VS DJ CAMMY - DJ ZITKUS VS DJ NOGITACLUE 69 Below,, 9.00pm

PRESSURE BOXING DAY PARTY SWG3,, 10.00pm

BIG COUNTRY - THE BEST OF Audio, Glasgow, 7.00pm

ABBAMANIA O2 Academy, 7.00pm

GBX NYE - WELCOME 2016! O2 Academy,, 9pm-3am

VLADIMIR, BAR DOGS, VIDA Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 7.30pm BAY CITY ROLLERS Barrowland, Glasgow, 7pm

SAT, 26 DEC BIG VERN N’ THE SHOOTAHS The Ferry, Glasgow, 8.00pm

SUN, 27 DEC CANDYSTICK Stereo, Glasgow, 8.30pm GALLUS COOPER, TALK OF THE DEVIL, HYSTERIA The Garage, Glasgow, 6.00pm A CHRISTMAS TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL BUBLE & ROD STEWART The Ferry, Glasgow, 1.30pm

NON JOVI, CHEAT LOAF & PLO The Ferry, Glasgow, 8:00 Pm REVOLVING DOORS (CHECK STORE FOR AVAILABILITY) King Tuts, Glasgow, 8:30 Pm CRAIG CHARLES FUNK & SOUL CLUB O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7.00 Pm

MON, 28 DEC CHRIS GLEN & THE OUTFIT Cathouse, Glasgow, 6.30pm ACDC UK O2 ABC 2, Glasgow, 7:00 Pm

TUE, 29 DEC THE BEGBIES King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30pm GENESISN’T Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00pm

WED, 30 DEC DONNIE WILLOW, BETWEEN MOCKINGBIRDS + THISFAMILIERSMILE + AUGUSTA King Tuts, Glasgow, 8.30pm

The events listed below were correct and up to date at time of going to print but please check the venue’s own website prior to booking

Gig Guide: Theatre & Comedy THU, 17 DEC

MON, 21 DEC

SUN, 27 DEC

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.30pm/7.30pm

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.00pm/5.00pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/7pm

SO... THAT WAS DECEMBER? The Stand, 7.30pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/5pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/7pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 3pm/7.30pm

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The Stand, 7.30pm

TUE, 22 DEC

HOOTFEST! The Stand, 7.30pm

FRI, 18 DEC

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 2.30pm/7.30pm

WATSON’S WIND-UP XMAS CRACKER Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00pm

FRI, 04 DEC

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/7pm

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 7.30pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 19:00:00

FRI, 11 DEC

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30pm

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.30pm/7.30pm

THE FRIDAY SHOW The Stand, 7.30pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/7pm

SAT, 05 DEC

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30 Pm

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 2.30pm/7.30pm

THE FRIDAY SHOW The Stand, 7.30pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 2pm/7pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm THE SATURDAY SHOW The Stand, 7.30pm

SUN, 06 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.00pm/5.00pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/5pm MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE The Stand, 7.30pm

MON, 07 DEC MONDAY NIGHT IMPROV WARS The Stand, 7.30pm

TUE, 08 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.30pm/7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 11am/7pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30pm RED RAW The Stand, 7.30pm

WED, 09 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.30pm/7.30pm

SAT, 12 DEC WOODENBOX King Tuts, Glasgow, 7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 10.30am/2pm/7pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm THE SATURDAY SHOW The Stand, 7.30pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/7pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 19:00:00

WED, 23 DEC

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30 Pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The Stand, 7.30pm

MARYHILL FOODBANK BENEFIT The Stand, 7.30pm

SAT, 19 DEC

DEAD MAN FALL Oran Mor Auditorium, Glasgow, 7.00pm

WATSON’S WIND-UP XMAS CRACKER Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7.00pm A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 2.30pm/7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 2pm/7pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The Stand, 7.30pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/5pm

THU, 24 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 2.30pm/7.30pm A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.00pm/5.00pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/5pm

SAT, 26 DEC

SUN, 20 DEC

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.00pm/5.00pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/5pm

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 5.00pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 15:00:00

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 2pm/7pm

THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The Stand, 7.30pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30 Pm

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/5pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 15:00:00 MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE The Stand, 7.30pm

MON, 14 DEC SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 11am/7pm THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The Stand, 7.30pm

TUE, 15 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.30pm/7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 11am/7pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30 Pm THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The Stand, 7.30pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30pm

WED, 16 DEC

COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES The Stand, 7.30pm

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.30pm/7.30pm

RED RAW The Stand, 7.30pm

SUN, 13 DEC

SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 11am/7pm

THU, 10 DEC

A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.30pm/7.30pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm

WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30 Pm THE STAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The Stand, 7.30pm

MON, 28 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 2.30pm/7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 2pm/7pm HOOTFEST! The Stand, 7.30pm

TUE, 29 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 2.30pm/7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 2pm/7pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm HOOTFEST! The Stand, 7.30pm

WED, 30 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 2.30pm/7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 2pm/7pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 7.30 Pm HOOTFEST! The Stand, 7.30pm

THU, 31 DEC A BELTER OF A CINDERELLA STORY Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 1.00pm/5.00pm WINDOW BAYS Theatre Royal, 2.30pm/7.30pm HOOTFEST! The Stand, 7.30pm SNOW WHITE Kings Theatre, 1pm/5pm

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

Sudoku

Quick Crossword ACROSS 1. Saturday and Sunday (7) 5. Boundary (5) 8. Compass bearing (5) 9. Modest (7) 10. Entourage (7) 11. Big (5) 12. Dawdle (6) 14. Polar region (6) 18. Ground meat (5) 20. Considerable amount (4,3) 22. Fiasco (7) 23. Entertain (5) 24. Take unlawfully (5) 25. Phantom (7)

Leo

As fellow Leo Mae West said, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” While we won’t debate the possibility of past lives in this horoscope, this quotable could certainly be your mantra of the month. Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your fifth house of joie de vivre and self-expression, encouraging you to kick up your heels.

2 4 1

4 1

8 2 4 6 1

4 6

9 1

6 2 7

4 EVIL

6 4 3 8

6 2 7

2 7 1

4 25

Place 1-9 in each row, column and 3X3 box How does the cosmos affect your life? Horoscopes can show you how to have fun in love and build lasting relationships!

Taurus

Let’s get this DONE, Cancer. Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your organized and efficient sixth house, helping you tackle the most mundane, practical aspects of your life.

Home for the holidays? Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your fourth house of family and roots, putting you in a cozy, nostalgic mood. You may feel extra sentimental and want to spend more time with your relatives and old friends.

Cancer

Virgo

Twosome time! Relationships are the theme this month, as the Sun visits Sagittarius, your seventh house of partnerships, until December 21. After that, the Sun moves into Capricorn, your eighth house of intimacy and pooled resources, ramping up your urge to merge.

9 7

Aries

Gemini

8 7 2

December Horoscopes Time to make some year-end power moves, Taurus. Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your eighth house of mega-mergers and shared wealth, helping you keep a laser-focus on your partnerships, both emotional and financial.

DOWN 1. Spendthrift (7) 2. Rejoice (5) 3. Heighten (7) 18 4. Avoided (6) 5. In the vicinity (5) 6. Tower on a mosque (7) 7. Aromatic herb (5) 22 13. Dishonourable (7) 15. Bureaucracy (3,4) 16. Host, master of ceremonies (7) 17. Emphasise (6) 18. Legendary king with the golden touch (5) 24 19. Be superior (5) 21. Crouch (5)

Kick up your Lucite heels, Aries. It’s time to celebrate another year well-lived. The Sun is in Sagittarius, your ninth house of freedom and expansion, until December 21, boosting your optimism and helping you dream big.

EASY

Sagittarius

It’s birthday season – throw your hands in the air! Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your first house of self, putting the focus on your most personal goals and desires. Before you blow out those candles, think long and hard about which passion projects deserve your full attention in the coming year.

Capricorn

Unwind your mind, Capricorn. Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your twelfth house of rest and closure, making you crave more downtime. Instead of pushing through a hectic holiday schedule, allow yourself to skip out of a few social engagements, if needed.

Libra

Let the holiday mingling commence, Libra! Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your third house of socializing and communication, making your year-end push light and festive. Spend time the first three weeks of the month chatting up your colleagues, friends and new connections.

Aquarius

Let the merriment commence, Aquarius! Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your eleventh house of group activity and socializing, making you quite the reveler. As the natural ruler of the zodiac’s eleventh house, you’re truly in your element.

Scorpio

Buckle down, Scorpio. Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, your second house of work, money and values, helping you get the job done before the holidays. For the first three weeks of the month, you’re focused on your priorities, possibly sitting down with your budget to crunch some yearend numbers.

Pisces

Make your mark, Pisces. Until December 21, the Sun is in Sagittarius, you tenth house of achievement and success, helping you get ahead as the year winds down.

Crossword and Sudoku results from November’s issue 6 5 9 2 8 1 3 7 4

7 1 8 3 5 4 9 2 6

3 4 2 7 6 9 8 1 5

4 3 1 5 7 6 2 8 9

8 2 6 9 1 3 5 4 7

9 7 5 8 4 2 1 6 3

EVIL

EASY

2 6 4 1 9 5 7 3 8

1 9 7 6 3 8 4 5 2

5 8 3 4 2 7 6 9 1

3 6 5 8 4 1 9 2 7

2 1 8 7 3 9 5 4 6

7 9 4 5 2 6 3 1 8

8 7 3 4 9 2 1 6 5

9 5 2 6 1 8 7 3 4

1 4 6 3 5 7 8 9 2

5 2 9 1 7 4 6 8 3

6 3 1 2 8 5 4 7 9

4 8 7 9 6 3 2 5 1

GAMES & GADGETS

What’s On: Games & Gadgets

by Aidan Scott @bigaidan a.scott@tsaglasgow.com

PICK OF THE MONTH JUST CAUSE 3 (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC)

Everyone’s favourite parachuting, guntoting, regime-toppling secret agent is back. Rico Rodriguez is back for the third time in Just Cause 3. This will be the first entry in the Just Cause franchise on the current generation of consoles and brings an end to the five-year wait since the release of Just Cause 2. The games are famed for their huge open world environments and this one will be no different. Set on a fictional Mediterranean island nation called Medici, Rico can traverse 400

square miles of mountains, cities and subterranean caverns. Just Cause 3’s story sees Rico return to his homeland in order to topple the regime of brutal dictator General Di Ravello. As always, the game will provide the player with destructible environments and indeed, the developers encourage players to make the most of this during their time with the game. Rico will be able to call in weapons and vehicles drops to assist him with this. Rico has an unlimited supply of parachutes and C4 bombs, while he can

use his grappling hook to hook people, cars, containers, anything the player fancies really. Players will be able to make their way around the map in a variety of vehicles including tanks, ships, fighter jets and, of course, sports cars. They will come in especially handy for invading military bases on the map. Just Cause might not always have the best stories but for sheer fun, they are always great games to play. Just Cause 3 is released on December 1st.

Other games to look out for... TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE (PS4, XBOX ONE, PC)

The Rainbow Six franchise returns with its latest entry, Siege. Considered a successor to the now-cancelled Rainbow 6: Patriots; Siege is another game that encourages players to take advantage of the destructible environments on offer. Players can take control of an operator from the Rainbow team, who all have different abilities and perks, such as stunning enemies with electric shocks and being able to use drones. In online matches, players will be able to plan out their attacks before beginning. This can be done by sending a drone to find enemies and targets in the environment. Likewise, defenders will be able to fortify their surroundings. The game is set after the recent reactivation of the Rainbow programme by someone simply known as Six. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege will be released on December 1st.

Gadgets Galore BB8 APP-ENABLED DROID

The release of the new Star Wars movie this month means the merchandise sales move into hyperdrive. Red5 are selling a BB8 App-Enabled Droid. You can control it with your smartphone or tablet, as well as using voice commands to make it do what you want. It also has the ability to create and display holographic images to suit your inner-geek. You can buy one for £129.95.

DUEL COMBAT Everyone loved watching Gladiators when they were younger. One of the best challenges was when the contestants would duel each other atop small podiums. Now you can get the podiums and batons from Red5 and reimagine the show in your own time. You can get the Duel Combat set from Red5 for £19.95.

MARIO & LUIGI: PAPER JAM (NINTENDO 3DS)

The world’s most famous videogame brothers are back with their latest adventure, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. The game is the fifth title in the Mario & Luigi series and acts as a crossover with the Paper Mario games. In the story, Luigi accidentally causes the Mushroom Kingdom to be overrun by the residents of the Paper Mario world after knocking over a book containing them. Bowser allies his army with Paper Bowser’s and kidnaps Princess Peach and her counterpart, Paper Peach. Only Mario and Luigi can save them, of course. Players can play as Mario, Luigi or Paper Mario. Each character has their own unique moves to take on challenges. Mario games are always popular and this one is sure to be no exception. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is released on December 4th.

WALLI Losing your wallet can be a disaster, especially if it’s lost permanently. Replacing a driver’s license and cancelling cards are a pain. Walli Wearables, however, hope to change this a wallet that connects to the user’s smartphone and alerts them when it or some of its contents have been left behind.

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

FALLOUT 4 REVIEW: A POST – APOCALYPTIC TREASURE The wait is finally over; Fallout 4 has hit the shelves. It’s been a long time coming for beloved fans of the franchise as its predecessor Fallout 3 came out just over 7 years ago for previous generation consoles. It’s no secret that in terms of quality, immersive open world games, the PS4 and Xbox One are severely lacking, with only games such as Far Cry 4 and The Witcher 3 really setting the world on fire when it comes to this sort of genre. Fans have been holding their breath anxiously over whether or not this game will live up to the massive hype which understandably follows this title, and quite unsurprisingly, Bethesda Studio’s 2015 epic exceeds all expectations with flying colours, both as an adventure and a survival – based game. In terms of plot, this game starts off quite slow in order for you to learn the controls and how to navigate yourself around the place. The plot of this title is similar to Fallout 3 in that the town you have settled down in has been one of the many casualties of a nuclear bomb attack, in this case Boston, Massachusetts. You find yourself being lowered into an underground vault for safety from the radiation with your family. You are placed in a machine which can preserve humans for hundreds of years. After witnessing a family tragedy, you awaken over 200 years from entry to avenge this loss and find your missing son, Shaun, who is only an infant. One of the game’s real strengths is its

abundance of content. Post-apocalyptic Boston is littered with quests to embark in, from clearing out train stations filled with disturbing Feral Ghouls to donning your very own Power Armour to take out an army of Mutants which have infested the city. The beauty of it is that it’s your choice in terms of what you want to do in the game and not the game restricting you to just the main story missions. It’s something which Bethesda Studios are well known for, and it is refreshing to see that they have stuck to this winning formula. The gameplay of this game is, for the most part, solid with the game usually running very smoothly on the PS4. However, this is not to say that the game occasionally suffers from slipping framerates which do take away from the overall experience at times. Both melee and armed weapons feel a lot more realistic than previous games of this company (The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Fallout 3) and the hit recognition when attacking enemies has improved also. The Fallout team have always prided themselves in attempting to offer a solid gaming experience which feels great and in my view they have succeeded. One of the big standouts in terms of gameplay for me is that the monsters movements run so smoothly in this game. It almost feels like they are real which adds to the suspense when facing up to one of the many creatures in this game. In terms of graphics, the game looks

relatively good for a 2015 console game. There has been some criticism from reviewers about the quality of the graphics and although they may not be the greatest visuals, they don’t need to be. This is because the game more than makes up for this in terms of gameplay and plot. Personally, I think the monsters look especially impressive which makes the game more immersive but at the same time… scary! You really feel like you are in the game rather than playing it, and after a few hours I felt sympathy whenever my character got taken down by one of these mutations. There is a unique and rewarding perk system to be found in this game. At the start of the game you have to fill out an application form which in turn shapes up the way in which your character works. Some of the benefits of these skills include being able to persuade settlers to sell goods at a cheaper price, a better chance of scoring a critical hit on a monster and your overall accuracy. This gives the player more reason to play on because these perks make the game less difficult the further up the levels you get. In terms of replayability I would say this game has plenty of staying power. The side-quests are almost endless not to mention over 200 fully interactive places to explore, each one brimming with secrets and surprises as you continue your journey through the wasteland. I found myself

more than once going back to places to check if I had collected all the loot available from the places I raided with my trusted companion. Your companion can be a range of different characters; from the fierce canine Dogmeat to the bumbling family robot Codsworth, along with many more who you recruit along the way. All of the companions have unique traits and abilities so there is an element of tactics when deciding what partner to accompany you through the radiation-filled Boston. It’s elements like this that really showcase the pedigree that Bethesda bring to their games and quite simply no game developer does it better or even comes close in all honesty. Fallout 4 is one of those games which will make you want to play it day after day. After around 30 hours of gameplay I can safely admit that I’m hooked and whenever I have any spare time I dedicate it to this game. It’s the little attention to detail such as the 50’s soundtrack or the various secrets which can be found around Boston which make the game truly a joy to play. If you can look past the glitches and bugs which can sometimes haunt this game then you have a near-perfect adventure game on your hands. It is close to perfection and quite simply: games don’t get much cooler than Fallout 4. Overall by Ryan McGinlay Rating: Twitter: @ryanmcginlayy 9.5/10 r.mcginlayn@tsaglasgow.com

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

s1jobs.com have been at the heart of the jobs marketplace in Scotland for over 14 years and are very proud to partner with The Student Advertiser here to bring exclusive and relevant job vacancies to the readership. If you’re keen to apply for any particular vacancy, you must follow the established application route through the s1jobs.com website. As there’s usually over 4,000 live job vacancies on the site each week, we’ve collated all the vacancies noted here under a single online address, especially created for the readers of The Student Advertiser. Simply enter the address noted below into your web browser, it doesn’t matter if you’re using a mobile device or a static PC, the s1jobs.com website is fully mobile optimised ensuring you get the best experience possible. If you require any assistance, the customer service team at s1jobs will be keen to help on 0141 302 7510.

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www.s1jobs.com/recruiterprofiles/tsa Glasgow Payroll Executive Salary: £18000 - £20,000 Agent: Nine Twenty Business Services Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow Nine Twenty Accountancy & Finance are currently seeking a Payroll Executive to work for one of our well established clients based just outside of Glasgow. This is a full time permanent role. Main responsibilities: Responsible for start to finish payroll. Dealing with high volume payroll. Responsible for all starters/leavers. Resolve any payroll queries. Managing all aspects of Tax Year end processing. Prepare any adhoc payroll reports. Carry out all month end procedures. Adhoc duties as required . Ideally we are looking to speak to candidates who have Payroll administrative experience or finance administration experience in a payroll environment. Interested please apply now to arrange an immediate interview

NQ Non-Contentious Construction Lawyer Salary: £Competitive Agent: Eden Scott Skills: Legal Location: Glasgow Eden Scott’s client is a leading UK firm looking for a non-contentious lawyer to become part of the team, taking ownership of his or her own workload and working closely with other team members. You will be 0-2yrs PQE with construction experience either through your current position or during your traineeship. The work will involve advising, negotiating and drafting construction contracts, framework agreements, professional appointments and other related documents. There will be a high degree of exposure to clients and contact with colleagues from other teams. The successful candidate will be focused and

commercial aware with a view to develop and grow within the firm. You will be a strong communicator both oral and written. For more information please submit a copy of your CV and cover letter.

Sales Ledger Senior Salary: £20k Agent: HR Consultancy Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow HR Consultancy are currently working with a leading employer in Lanarkshire who now require a Sales Ledger Senior to lead their team. You will be responsible for the following duties; Managing the Sales Ledger team. Monitoring the billing process. Allocating cheques/BACs and CHAPs payments to the system. Managing the suspense account and dealing with unallocated cash. Coordinating timely and accurate closure of the sales ledgers. This is an exciting role for someone who has extensive AR experience and previous supervisory experience. To apply for this position please forward your CV to Linda Currie using the apply online now link or call 0141 353 8377 HR Consultancy acts as both an employment business and an employment agency

Accounts Assistant Salary: £18000 - £19000 per annum Agent: Reed Accountancy Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow An excellent opportunity has arisen with Reed’s client for an experienced Accounts Assistant based in Bellshill. The company are looking to attract a talented individual. Due to the exposure you will receive, we are looking for a candidate who has come from a manufacturing background. Duties will include: *Responsible for all aspects of purchase ledger *Responsible for all aspects of sales ledger *Bank reconciliations monthly *Raising high volume sales invoices *Stock reconciliations monthly *ad hoc reporting & duties as required If you are interested,

please apply today! We are looking to arrange interview as soon as possible. Candidates matching the required criteria will be contacted for further discussion. Reed Specialist Recruitment Limited is an employment agency and employment business.

to me at your earliest opportunity. Please note you will receive an automated response advising you that we have received your CV. Hudson is a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management solutions worldwide.

Chef DE Partie

Graduate Civil Design Engineer

Salary: negotiable Agent: The Burnside Hotel Skills: Hospitality/Catering/Tourism Location: Glasgow We are currently seeking a talented Chef de Partie who is passionate about food. You will assist the Head Chef and Sous Chef with the preparation of food for the restaurant, bar and for the catering required for banqueting events within the hotel, ensuring a high standard of quality at all times. You will ensure that necessary paperwork, administration, controls and records are undertaken and maintained as directed by the Head Chef, to include Health & Safety, Food Safety and any other as requested. Must be able to deal in a fast paced environment. You will be able to work as part of a team and work independently when required. Candidates should also be organised, self- Motivated, punctual and reliable and hold relevant hygiene certificates.

Salary: DOE Agent: Hudson Construction & Property Skills: Construction/Trades/Property Location: Glasgow Are you a Graduate Civil Design Engineer with 2 – 4 years experience detailing groundworks and drainage packages for residential projects? This role offers a great opportunity for career progression, within a well established team, working on developments across the Scottish Central Belt. Our client is a highly reputable Housing Developer with a established place as one of the UK’s most successful private home builders. If you have the drive, skills and ambition to join this progressive organisation please forward your details to me at your earliest opportunity. Please note you will receive an automated response advising you that we have received your CV. Hudson is a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management solutions worldwide.

Graduate Civil Design Engineer

Recruitment Consultant - Industrial Division

Salary: DOE Agent: Hudson Construction & Property Skills: Engineering/Technical Location: Glasgow Are you a Graduate Civil Design Engineer with 2 – 4 years experience detailing groundworks and drainage packages for residential projects? This role offers a great opportunity for career progression, within a well established team, working on developments across the Scottish Central Belt. Our client is a highly reputable Housing Developer with a established place as one of the UK’s most successful private home builders. If you have the drive, skills and ambition to join this progressive organisation please forward your details

Agent: Allstaff Skills: HR/Training/Recruitment Location: Glasgow Allstaff Glasgow Branch are currently recruiting for an additional team player for our City Centre based office in Glasgow. We have some excellent ongoing contracts and require consultants who can service both unskilled and semi skilled roles for our broad client range throughout the central belt. Suitable candidates should have some prior experience of working in a targeted, sales environment with clear, confident communication skills. You must be highly adaptable and flexible as the

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DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16 role includes being on call every 2nd week. If you are looking for a highly challenging, exciting role with an opportunity to gain excellent experience working with a reputable, well established business please forward your CV, including salary information and notice period. Please note candidates must have a drivers license.

Settlements Analyst Salary: £110 per day Agent: PRG Skills: Financial Services/Investment Location: Glasgow We have an exciting opportunity to join this prestigious client in a role as a Settlements Analyst on an initial 3 month contract based in Glasgow City Centre. Duties will include: &bull; High volume diverse and complex settlement processing &bull; Implementing new processes to streamline business controls &bull; Responsible for note coupons payments with minimal supervision &bull; Reconciliation and clearance of daily payable and receivables to market &bull; Data analysis The successful candidate will have excellent attention to detail, be able to work on their own initiative and work to tight deadlines. Financial Services background is essential. Please send your CV to Andrew Beattie stating your current salary and notice period.

Payroll Administrator Salary: £18K Agent: HR Consultancy Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow Fantastic opportunity to join one of Glasgow’s most prestigious companies. My client currently has a requirement for en experienced Payroll Assistant to join the team. Main duties will include: Processing weekly payroll for 1000+ employees. Full process payroll. Processing expenses. Knowledge of SSP, SMP, SPP etc. Payroll year end work reconciliation, P60, P35 etc. To be successful in this role you must have excellent attention to detail and have experience of working in a high volume environment and ideally have experience of an ERP system. HR Consultancy acts as both an employment business and an employment agency. To apply for this position please forward your CV to Linda Currie using the apply online now link or call 0141 564 2335

Accounts Receivable Assistant Agent: Change Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow Change Accountancy and Finance are recruiting for an Accounts Receivable Assistant for a role based in Glasgow. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a respected organisation, in a challenging and varied role. Key duties include; Maintaining the Sales Ledger. Raising and processing invoices. Allocating customer payments via cheque and BACS. Ad hoc duties as required. Qualifications and experience: Previous experience in a Sales Ledger role essential. Highly numerate and literate with strong analytical skills. Demonstrate strong customer service skills. Strong organisational skills with the ability to work to deadlines. Proficient in the practical use of Microsoft packages. Please send your CV to shirleyann.toner@ changejobs.net

Service Manager - Advocacy In A Forensic Setting Salary: £23,000 - £27,000 p/a Agent: Circles Network Skills: Executive/Management Location: Glasgow To effectively lead the forensic advocacy project that provides Independent and Collective Advocacy for people using the services at Rowanbank Clinic and Leverndale Hospital and those who have made the transition into the community. The post-holder will lead on training, professionally developing and managing advocacy workers, administration teams and volunteers to deliver high quality advocacy services for people that will facilitate opportunities for inclusion, empowerment, advocacy and self-determination for people using the service within the legal and statutory framework of Forensic Mental Health Care. The Service Manager will also be responsible for directly delivering a small caseload of direct advocacy provision. Please email us your CV and complete an application form which can be found on our website.

Front End Developer Salary: £200.00 - £300.00 per day Agent: HAYS Skills: IT/Telecommunications Location: Glasgow Job Title: Front End Developer Job Type: Contract Contract Length: 3 months + Daily rate: £200 negotiable DOE Job Description: I am recruiting for a Front End Developer for my client, an innovative organisation in Glasgow City Centre. Due to expansion, this organisation requires an experienced front end developer to join them on a temporary basis to assist with project work. Key Skills Required: HTML 5 CSS 3 Javascript Experience with a .js framework would be beneficial. Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C’s, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk

FTC HR/Recruitment Advisor Salary: £Dep on experience Agent: Syme Drummond Skills: HR/Training/Recruitment Location: Glasgow My customer is seeking to appoint an experienced HR professional with a focus towards graduate recruitment. This role would be for between 9 and 12 months and would be part of a small HR team. To be considered, your CV must demonstrate the following: Working as an in house Recruitment or HR Advisor or equivalent level . Evidence of managing graduate recruitment programmes . Experience of delivering first level HR advice and guidance . Strong stakeholder management experience . Experience gained ideally within professional firm environment . Please send your CV to Katie Drummond, Director. katie. drummond@symedrummond.co.uk

Multiskilled Maintenance Engineer (Dayshift) Salary: Excellent Package Agent: Escape Skills: Engineering/Technical Location: Glasgow Multiskilled Maintenance Engineer required for a growing fast paced manufacturing company based in Glasgow. Main duties in the role will be reactive and proactive Electrical & Mechanical Maintenance of manufacturing equipment and experience in a similar environment will be neccesary. The Role: Fault finding and diagnostics in emergency breakdown or planned situations. Working with a planned maintenance system and reactive maintenance. Modification and improvement of machinery and the plant. The Candidate: Excellent diagnostic and problem solving skills,. Fast paced Manufacturing environment experience required. PLC experience. Apprentice trained mechanical/electrical or equivalent qualification.

General Manager Salary: £ Attractive remuneration package Agent: Genesis Personnel Skills: Production/Manufacturing Location: Glasgow Our reputable client, have an exciting vacancy for a General Manager at their site based in Stornoway. The successful candidate should be a dynamic, driven individual with strong leadership and managerial skills to lead and control all aspects of the operation. Have a proven track record; demonstrate excellent relations and communication skills. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to; ensuring efficiency of factory and supporting resources, managing all operational processes, championing and ensuring best practice at all times and assist with growth plans and KPI’s. Knowledge of the fishing industry would be advantageous. Salary : Attractive remuneration package If you would like to apply for this role email your CV in Microsoft Word format today to phd@ genesis-personnel.co.uk or call 01779 476311

Part-time Payroll Assistant Salary: £22000 - £23000 per annum Agent: Search Consultancy Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow Search Consultancy are looking to recruit a part-time Payroll Assistant to join a growing organisation based just outside Glasgow. This role will consist of working 3 or 4 days per week. The main duties: Processing payroll end to end . RTI submission. Pension administration. Liaise closely with Payroll Manager at all times. Processing SSP, SMP and SPP. Processing all P45’s, P46’s, P11D’s, P6’s and P35’s. Processing all year end duties. Dealing with payroll queries. The main requirements: End to end Payroll experience is essential. Able to work to deadlines. Excellent communication skills. Strong team player. Sage experience is preferred. To apply for this post, please email your CV to lisa.slipchuk@search. co.uk

Customer Service Advisor Salary: £0.00 per annum Agent: Search Consultancy Skills: Call/Contact Centres Location: Glasgow CUSTOMER ADVISORS X 10 Glasgow City Centre location Inbound Customer Advisors The role: Full time - 37.5hrs per week * Fixed term contracts * You will be taking inbound customer service calls for a well known company. * This is a fast paced role with excellent training and development opportunities. * Hours allocated 4 weeks in advance between hours of 8am8pm Mon-Fri & Sat & Sun 9am-4pm - working 5 days over 7, 4 out of 6 weekends * £6.70 per hour / £13,065 annum You: * Excellent customer service experience * Must be available to work shifts * Successful applicants will be credit checked and Disclosure Scotland application will be processed * All successful applicants will have a 5 year vetting check carried out Please apply online with your up-to-date CV

Customer Service Administrator Salary: Competitive plus benefits Agent: Arnold Clark Skills: Admin/Secretarial/PA Location: Glasgow We are currently recruiting at our Finance Department, St Georges Road, Glasgow for the following position ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT You will be responsible for processing vehicle taxation and rebates, MOT

administration, used car warranties, checking MIB insurance data base and general office duties The successful candidate will benefit from excellent working conditions, extensive training, life assurance and private health care making, our package one of the best in the industry. With a turnover in excess of £2 billion, over 160 branches nationwide and an ever expanding portfolio, Arnold Clark is proud to be Europe’s largest independent motor dealer. EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE ARNOLD CLARK GROUP IS OFFERED SUBJECT TO SATISFACTORY REFERENCE AND DISCLOSURE CHECK. Only successful candidates will be contacted for interview.

Internal Sales Executive Salary: £18000 per annum Agent: Manpower Skills: Scientific Location: Glasgow Manpower is looking to recruit an Internal Sales Executive for one of our most renowned clients within the IT sector. This full time & permanent role will be based in Glasgow with a salary of £18,000. We are looking for an individual who is able to meet, or exceed, sales targets, generate new customers and understand Internet and IT services. The successful candidate’s key responsibilities will include: -Contact existing & new customers to introduce a range of products -Cross-sell and up-sell to new & existing customers -Solicit new business from prospects -Handle everyday issues -Make decisions -Meet deadlines The ideal candidate will have the following experience and qualifications: -Understanding of IT security and Microsoft Products -Sales and account management experience -Experience of B2B sales -Good interpersonal skills Interested? Apply here today!

Test Analyst Salary: £350.00 - £400.00 per day Agent: HAYS Skills: IT/Telecommunications Location: Glasgow Experienced test analyst required for exciting project for a leading asset management company based in central Glasgow. Recent testing experience within investment banking/asset management environments is essential to be considered for this role. Will have strong recent test analysis experience within WRAP/ asset management/transfer agency platforms dealing with all aspects of testing. Will be part of a small testing team working on a complex test programme to tight deliverables ensuring all aspects of the testing are delivered effectively. Role is to start asap. Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C’s, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays. co.uk

Credit Controller Salary: £10 per hour Agent: PRG Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow Are you a credit controller with recent high volume experience? PRG are currently recruiting for a long term contract. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a well established company. Working from the Glasgow office you will be responsible for collecting high volume, low value debt. The successful candidate for this role will have experience in: Working in a large credit control team. Chasing outstanding debt over the telephone. Working with low value, high volume accounts. Working to KPI’s and targets. Building and maintaining relationships with clients. Only candidates who are immediately available or available at a weeks notice will be considered. Due to a high number of applications only successful candidates will be contacted. Hourly rate for this role is circa £10 per hour.

Inbound Customer Service Advisor Salary: £6.70 per hour Agent: Search Consultancy Skills: Call/Contact Centres Location: Glasgow IMMEDIATE STARTS Glasgow City Centre location Inbound Customer Advisors The role: Full time - 37.5hrs per week Fixed term contracts. You will be taking inbound customer service calls for a well known company. This is a fast paced role with excellent training and development opportunities. Hours allocated 4 weeks in advance between hours of 8am8pm Mon-Fri & Sat & Sun 9am-4pm - working 5 days over 7, 4 out of 6 weekends. £6.70 per hour / £13,065 annum. You: Excellent customer service experience. Must be available to work shifts. Successful applicants will be credit checked and Disclosure Scotland application will be processed. All successful applicants will have a 5 year vetting check carried out. Please apply online with your up-to-date CV

Claims Handler (Broker office) Glasgow Salary: £25000 per annum Agent: FPSG Connect Skills: Insurance Location: Glasgow The role is to handle a variety of commercial insurance claims, mainly property and liability. Liaise closely with insurance companies, loss adjusters and third parties Provide a proactive claims service to key clients. Assist with claims admin /processing in a compliant and accurate manner Ensuring claims process is cost efficient and meets company regulations and

guidelines. Experience of handling commercial claims essential, ideally property and liability A track record of working within the general insurance marketplace Strong communication and negotiation skills Progression towards insurance exams preferred but not essential. This role offers a competitive salary, company pension, 25 days paid holiday and assistance towards insurance qualifications. For more information on this role please forward your CV to Elaine McCrink.

Customer Service Advisor Salary: £0.00 per annum Agent: Search Consultancy Skills: Call/Contact Centres Location: Glasgow CUSTOMER ADVISORS - IMMEDIATE STARTS Glasgow City Centre location Inbound Customer Advisors The role: Full time - 37.5hrs per week * Fixed term contracts * You will be taking inbound customer service calls for a well known company. * This is a fast paced role with excellent training and development opportunities. * Hours allocated 4 weeks in advance between hours of 8am-8pm Mon-Fri & Sat & Sun 9am-4pm working 5 days over 7, 4 out of 6 weekends * £6.70 per hour / £13,065 annum You: * Excellent customer service experience * Must be available to work shifts * Successful applicants will be credit checked and Disclosure Scotland application will be processed * All successful applicants will have a 5 year vetting check carried out Please apply online with your up-to-date CV

Freight Forwarder - Operations Vacancies Salary: 20-27k DOE Agent: Titan Global Resourcing Skills: Logistics/Distribution Location: Glasgow Freight Forwarder - Operations Vacancies Glasgow Å£20k to £27k DOE Titan Global a leader in the field of recruitment within the Global Freight & Logistics sector currently have a number of new and exciting Operator based positions with leading Freight Forwarders in and around the Glasgow region. Air and Ocean Imports Operator salary to £25k. Multi-Modal Operator Imports/Exports salary to £27k. Air and Ocean Exports Operator salary to £25k. Ocean Exports Operator salary to £23k. We are keen to speak to candidates with proven experience in the Freight Forwarding sector at Operational level, all salaries are dependent upon experience. Please call Claire Neill for an informal confidential chat tel: 0141 202 2949 or send detailed CV to claireneill@titanglobal.co.uk

Training Administrator Salary: £15k - £17k Agent: DP Source Ltd Skills: Admin/Secretarial/PA Location: Glasgow DP Source is currently working with a wellestablished M&E contractor based in Glasgow and they are currently looking to recruit a Training Administrator. Duties – Administering the training programme. Scheduling and dealing with training requests. Sending out joining instructions. Processing probationary assessments and appraisals. Identifying new courses and applying for funding for the training. Assisting with basic HR administration and processing timesheets. Candidate – Experienced as a training administrator. Desirable from an engineering background (not essential). Working towards or holding a relevant training or HR qualification. Good organisational skills. Good communicational skills.

Developer /C#/.NET/ASP.NET Salary: £Competitive + Benefits Agent: PRG Skills: IT/Telecommunications Location: Glasgow PRG have an excellent opportunity for experienced C#/.NET developers to join our client, a leading technology organisation based in Glasgow. You will be joining a well-established team and will have the opportunity to work on multiple projects for a diverse client base. Essential experience: &bull; Experience using C# and ASP.NET and Microsoft .NET framework. &bull; JavaScript, CSS, HTML5 &bull; Microsoft SQL 2005/2008/R2, but Oracle also very useful &bull; Experience in debugging and resolving complex Strong communication skills, a flexible and conscientious approach, and attention to detail are all essential for this role, along with self-motivation and a good team mentality. If you have the relevant experience, please send your cv including cover letter. Applicants that do not meet the above criteria will not be considered.

Technical Manager Agent: Eden Scott Skills: Production/Manufacturing Location: Glasgow Eden Scott’s client is a leading food manufacturer who is looking for a Technical Manager to join their team. Responsibilities Reporting to the Head of Technical you will be responsible for ensuring Food Safety and Quality policies are implemented. Key accountabilities also include undertaking BRC, M&S and all other audits, as well as holding the position as HACCP Team Leader. Requirements Candidates must have past experience in a similar position within the Food Manufacturing Industry. Ideally they will hold a degree in a food related subject, as well as internal audit qualifications. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity, apply now. To discuss this role in more detail, call Rachel Johnstone on 0131 550 1123. If this role isn’t quite what you are looking for, register your

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New IFA Sales Support Role in Glasgow Salary: £18000 - £20000 per annum Agent: Reed Insurance Skills: Financial Services/Investment Location: Glasgow My client is a bespoke financial advisers who deal with high net worth clients. They are looking to expand their team due to company growth and would like an IFA sales support to join them. Your role will be to ensure both advisers and clients are assisted throughout the advisory process by updating the back office system, producing illustrations, processing paperwork for financial products, writing suitability reports and supporting clients with any queries. The ideal candidate will be have : Experience of working in a similar role in Financial Services Great communication skills (oral and written) Experience of using MS Office; Excel, Word & Outlook Ability effectively manage their own time and workload. Previously written suitability reports. If you believe you have the above skill we would love to hear from you Reed Specialist Recruitment Limited is an employment agency and employment business.

Personal Assistants Salary: £7.80 per hour Agent: Enable Scotland Skills: Social Services/Housing/Childcare Location: Glasgow ENABLE Scotland is a dynamic and vibrant organisation dedicated to improving the lives of people with learning disabilities. We are currently looking for Personal Assistants with drive, motivation, flexibility, a strong personality, energy and positive outlook on life, able to adapt to change, reliable and passionate about providing support with independent living skills, and a willingness to work within a team. You will provide support with social and recreational activities, household tasks and personal care. To apply and for further information, please visit our website www.enablescotlandjobs.org.uk by selecting the APPLY NOW button to register and complete your online job application for the area you wish to work in. ENABLE Scotland is an equal opportunities employer. Scottish charity number SC009024.

FTC ER Specialist Salary: £Dep on experience Agent: Syme Drummond Skills: HR/Training/Recruitment Location: Glasgow My customer has an immediate need for an experienced Employee Relations Specialist to join them on an interim basis. Candidates must be able to demonstrat e the following to be considered: Currently working or recent experience of working as an ER Specialist at Advisor/Consultant or equivalent level . Experience of working within a unionised environment . Solid and up to date knowledge of employment law. Experienced in managing complex cases in relation to disciplinaries, grievances and capability. Confident in providing advice and guidance to managers and employees on company policies and procedures. Please send your CV with salary and notice details to Katie Drummond, Director. katie.drummond@ symedrummond.co.uk

Newly Qualified Accountant Salary: £33,000 - £37,000 Plus Benefits Agent: Anderson Knight Skills: Accountancy Location: Glasgow An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a leading and successful company based in Glasgow, our client seeks to recruit a newly qualified accountant for this position. Reporting to the Finance Manager duties and responsibilities will include: - Provide continuous financial insight to the business through operational meetings - Annual statutory accounts - Production of monthly management accounts - Preparation of analysis and reports to support operational functions Monthly financial statements The ideal candidate must be a Qualified CA/ACCA with a proven track record in analysing figures and producing statutory returns.

EMPLOYMENT A strong commercial outlook is key as is the ability to meet strict financial deadlines. To apply for this excellent opportunity, please contact Ryan McGarry at Anderson Knight on 0141 348 7750 or email your CV to ryan@andersonknight.co.uk

French Customer Service Salary: £16,500 Agent: Zebra Appointments Ltd. Skills: Call/Contact Centres Location: Glasgow French speaking Customer Advisor required for established client based in Glasgow city centre. This is a Full time permanent position, and the client is easily accessible by public transport. The role will involve providing first class service to existing customers. Through telephone and email contact you will handle enquires, process orders and resolve complaints. You will be the first point of contact for customers and provide a positive and professional impression. We are keen to speak to French speaking candidates who are immediately available for work. Previous experience of working within a Customer Service environment and computer literacy is essential for the role. In particular experience of working in a Call/Contact centre would be advantageous. Interested? Please apply below. Zebra Appointments are acting as both an employment business and agency in relation to this vacancy

NQ Commercial Property Solicitor Salary: Competitive Agent: Eden Scott Skills: Legal Location: Glasgow Eden Scott’s client is one of Scotland’s leading law firms. They are looking to make an addition to their Real Estate team in their glasgow office with a Newly Qualified solicitor. The successful candidate will have proven experience in real estate work gained at a commercial law firm, have an appetite for building strong working relationships with clients and a real interest in learning and progressing their career in a rewarding and challenging environment. Great drafting skills will be key, as is the ability to partner clients in a pragmatic and strategic way. You will be motivated by the idea of being part of a small but growing team with high expectations and an ambitious nature. This is an opportunity to join a strong team on its upward trajectory, with a unique mix of calibre work for the best clients across Scotland. If you are interested in this position please send through your CV with a cover letter.

**TRAINEE FINANCIAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR** Salary: £14000 - £16000 per annum Agent: Reed Insurance Skills: Financial Services/Investment Location: Glasgow A unique role has been created within a national company who work in outsourcing. This permanent role has been created in the company due to expansion. The successful candidate will be - Working directly with independent financial advisers ensuring that they are fully compliant and adhering to the FCA’s regulations. Ensure they have completed their CPD hours. Conduct research on the products, providers and services they currently use. This role also involves report writing and general administration task. The ideal candidate will be from a financial services background(preferably working within a financial advisers), who has whole of market product knowledge, is motivated, can manage their own workload, is good at relationship building and has experience of report writing. You will be rewarded with a competitive salary. Reed Specialist Recruitment Limited is an employment agency and employment business.

Procurement Advisor - Capital Projects Salary: £37000 - £40000 per annum Agent: Eden Scott Skills: Procurement Location: Glasgow Eden Scott is currently working with a Housing Association based in Glasgow who have a large and developing construction and regeneration programme, to recruit a Procurement Advisor for a 12 month fixed term contract. Working in a strong procurement team you will be leading on Construction Procurement initiatives which includes new-build, FM Contracts, demolition and investment. You will discuss, develop and implement procurement strategies, using sound contractual and commercial skills to grow and build investment programmes. You will be CIPS qualified or working toward CIPS, and have a strong background in Public Sector procurement in construction. As you will be involved in the development of effective processes you must have experience at a level where you have managed mini competitions and tenders under OJEU regulations. Salary circa £37,500. For information and to apply please get in touch with Rona.

C1 (7.5tonne) Driver Salary: £7.50 - £10.75 per annum Agent: Manpower Skills: Logistics/Distribution Location: Glasgow Manpower are looking to recruit 7.5t drivers to work with some of the leading service providers within logistics and distribution in the UK. This opportunity will allow you to work with clients that are committed to investing in its employees to allow you to grow

and develop. Most roles will consist of various shifts (including weekends), meaning that a flexible attitude towards work will be required. Our roles vary based on our clients individual needs, therefore our successful applicants are expected to be motivated, open to new challenges and adaptable. Successful applicants will have a C1 - 7.5t licence, full CPC and a digital tachograph card. For insurance purposes, we cannot accept any more than 6 points on your licence and no DR or DD convictions in the past 10 years. Successful applicants, ideally, must have their own transport. If you believe that this role is what you are looking for, please send a CV .

Clerk of Works Salary: £20 - £22 per hour Agent: Contract Scotland Skills: Construction/Trades/Property Location: Glasgow Contract Scotland is looking for Clerk of Works to work with a major house builder on a two month contract in the West of Scotland. The successful candidate will be required to travel across various sites ensuring the quality of work is to the highest standard and defects are reported immediately to the site teams. It would be advantageous if candidates come from a joinery background and have a high eye for detail. Good communication skills are required as well as being able to deal with customers. An immediate start would be on offer. Do you know someone who can do this job? Please refer a candidate and earn £200. Contract Scotland is committed to equal opportunities and diversity for its employees, temporary workers and work seekers. Individuals are only assessed on their individual merits and suitability to a position irrespective of race, gender, disability, age, faith or sexual orientation.

HR Manager Salary: Up to £37,000 Agent: HR Consultancy Skills: HR/Training/Recruitment Location: Glasgow Fantastic NEW permanent opportunity to work for a very well known, market leading organisation based on the outskirts Glasgow in an HR Manager role This is an operational generalist role working within a highly successful HR team. You will be involved with employee relations case work, recruitment and selection, performance & absence management, delivery of training, annual pay reviews and preparation of HR reports . This is a very fast paced organisation so you will be able to manage a very busy and varied workload and deliver results in a challenging environment. You must have experience of working in a HR Advisory or HR Manager role ideally from a manufacturing, retail or highly unionised environment with CIPD qualification or working towards this Please send your CV to Monica Reid by clicking the apply now link. HR Consultancy acts as both an employment business and employment agency

Quality Manager Agent: Eden Scott Skills: Production/Manufacturing Location: Glasgow Eden Scott’s client is a leading premium food manufacturer who is looking for a QA Manager to join their team. Responsibilities Reporting to the Technical Manager you will be responsible for ensuring all products are manufactured according to customer specifications. You will implement Food Safety and Quality procedures, as well as supervise, train and lead the Quality Control team. Requirements Candidates must have past experience in a similar position within the Food Manufacturing Industry. They will have been a key member of the HACCP team and have extensive experience of carrying out internal audits. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity, apply now. To discuss this role in more detail, call Rachel Johnstone on 0131 550 1123. If this role isn’t quite what you are looking for, register your CV at www.edenscott.com and be the first to hear about our latest opportunities by signing up for our job alerts.

Sales Representatives Salary: £24k to £33k plus new car and benefits Agent: Shades Window Blinds Skills: Sales Location: Glasgow Due to continued expansion we require 2 additional Home Visit Window Blinds Sales Advisors for immediate start to join Scotland’s Largest Window Blind Salesforce. The successful candidates will have a proven track record in B to C sales with a preference given to applicants who have experience selling within a home appointment sales environment. ALL SALES LEADS ARE FULLY QUALIFIED . Full product and in home training will be given to successful applicants. Full Time Permanent Positions. No weekend work. Please click on apply and forward your CV and cover email to Francis Mooney. If you wish further information or to discuss the role please contact Francis on 01236 617 270 of email fmooney@shades-blinds.co.uk Basic plus Commission Package OTE 24k to 33k , plus new car and benefits. Areas Available are Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayrshire.

**TRAINEE FINANCIAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATOR** Salary: £14000 - £16000 per annum Agent: Reed Insurance Skills: Financial Services/Investment Location: Glasgow

A unique role has been created within a national company who work in outsourcing. This permanent role has been created in the company due to expansion. The successful candidate will be - Working directly with independent financial advisers ensuring that they are fully compliant and adhering to the FCA’s regulations. Ensure they have completed their CPD hours. Conduct research on the products, providers and services they currently use. This role also involves report writing and general administration task. The ideal candidate will be from a financial services background(preferably working within a financial advisers), who has whole of market product knowledge, is motivated, can manage their own workload, is good at relationship building and has experience of report writing. You will be rewarded with a competitive salary and full training. Reed Specialist Recruitment Limited is an employment agency and employment business.

Software Tester Salary: £Neg plus Benefits Agent: Hudson IT&T Skills: IT/Telecommunications Location: Glasgow Hudson are delighted to be recruiting for a software tester for their market leading client in Glasgow. This is a fantastic opportunity for the right candidate to join an innovative company that are very keen to develop individuals. Skills Required: Experience of in-depth manual functional testing of multi-tier applications. Ability to design, author and execute tests. Some experience of automated testing of UIs and/or APIs. Dynamic and empowered, with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Broad technical understanding and ability, able to confidently navigate all levels of complex systems. Ability to accurately plan, estimate, monitor and report own progress. Ability to work collaboratively and constructively with developers. Quality and customer focus. Excellent verbal and written communication. Design and generate test data.

Electrician Salary: £11ph Agent: Easy Recruit Skills: Construction/Trades/Property Location: Glasgow We are currently recruiting for a electrician for work in the Glasgow and surrounding areas. Your responsibilities will include: Complete electrical testing to required standards Diagnose faults, identify any parts required and carry out repairs to electrical appliances. To liaise with suppliers and contractors. The successful applicant will Be organised and a committed people’s person Be a team player with the ability to give excellent customer service to internal and external customers. Must be able to work alone and as part of a team. Good communication skills. Good organisational skills. You will be travelling between client sites therefore transport is essential. This is a temporary position but may lead to permanent position for the right candidate. Easyrecruituk.com is acting as an employment business in relation to this vacancy.

WIG CONSULTANT Salary: £salary not specified Agent: Judy Plum Skills: Hairdressing/Beauty Location: Glasgow Judy Plum is one of Scotland’s best known wig suppliers both to people undergoing medical treatment and those who simply want a new look. We offer one of the UK’s most extensive ranges of wigs and hairpieces and we are currently looking for a Full Time Wig Consultant to join our rapidly expanding Glasgow team. All candidates must be qualified hairdressers preferably with experience adding hairpieces and extensions. Wig fitting experience is a bonus however is not essential as full training will be given. What we seek from you above all is that you have a sympathetic and sensitive approach to working with people who are often quite vulnerable as there are few things in life which more directly affect a person’s sense of themselves than losing their hair. If you feel that you have what we are looking for why not contact us with a copy of your CV to: enquiries@judyplumwigs.co.uk.

Compliance Consultant Salary: £25000 - £28000 per annum + benefits Agent: Reed Insurance Skills: Financial Services/Investment Location: Glasgow Our client is a highly successful Financial Services company and are currently looking for a Compliance Officer / File Reviewer to work within their well established business. You will be responsible for dealing with : * Reviewing and assessing compliance work for Financial Advisers * Handling and dealing with complaint cases * Money Laundering and Compliance in promotions such as Advertising * Providing assistance and training to Advisers on compliance where necessary * Keeping up to date with FCA handbook You MUST have Full certificate in Financial Planning and part qualified in the diploma in financial services. You will Financial Services and Compliance experience and have a wealth of knowledge of FCA regulations. This is unique

To apply for any of these vacancies, please visit WWW.S1JOBS.COM/RECRUITERPROFILES/TSA

THE STUDENT ADVERTISER

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

ON THE COURT:

SCOTTISH BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS On 18 – 22 November 2015, Glasgow welcomed 278 players from 37 nations for some intense badminton action. The Scottish Open Grand Prix Badminton Championships 2015 took place at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. This tournament is an annual meeting and part of the Badminton World Federation Grand Prix event series; it featured men’s and women’s singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles. Commonwealth silver medallist Kirsty Gilmour was aiming for her first second Grand Prix win in the space of six weeks. “This is a very good level for me to play

at, in terms of points and good players. We are half way through Olympic qualifications so to put in some good performance here would be a good step on my way to them.” The home favourite, who recently won the Dutch Open Grand Prix in addition to the Prague Open, had wanted to round it all up with the perfect finish to the Championship at home in Glasgow. “The best thing about it is playing in front of a home crowd, everyone says it and it might be cheesy, but it is so true. People come in and there are a few posters around and the crowd get behind you and

really support you – it is so nice.” After reaching the finals, top seed Gilmour was overcome by, on form, Linda Kjaersfeldt. With high hopes from the home crowd after a win in the first game, things turned around as Kjaersfeldt gained victory on her third match point, leading by 21-18. Gilmour added: “I have a couple of weeks of training and then I’m off to the US for the K&D Graphics Yonex Grand Prix and then straight down to Mexico for another grand prix there. There are a lot of Grand Prix’s before Christmas so it will give me a nice little run. “I think I’m 7th seed so it will give me a good chance to get through a couple of rounds before I meet the tougher players.”

by Rhiannon Adele Melrose r.melrose@tsaglasgow.com

Men’s singles went to Hans-Kristian Vittinghuss of Denmark after defeating Rajiv Ouseph from Japan, winning 21-19, 11-21, 21-16. The doubles was fairly heated at the weekend, with men’s doubles Dunn and Josh Neil having a tough assignment against England’s Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis, they lost 21-15, 21-12. Germany’s Michael Fuchs and Johannes Schoettler put down England’s Andrew Ellis and Peter Mills, winning 21-15, 21-18. Julie MacPherson and Eleanor O’Donnell lost the women’s doubles to top seeds Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria, at 21-10, 21-5. Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan went on to win the women’s doubles. Julie MacPherson and Martin Campbell lost 21-14, 21-18 to France’s Ronan Labar and Emilie Lefel in the mixed doubles. The mixed doubles went to Russia’s sixth seeds Vitaly Durkin and NinaVislova, who defeated the French duo. Believed to be the youngest male players to come through the qualifying rounds, Glasgow twins, Christopher and Matthew Grimley, 15, gave it their all to reach the last 16 of a men’s event at a Grand Prix tournament. The world’s best players will be here again. With Scotland being the perfect stage for events, the countdown has started, as we will be hosting the Total BWF World Badminton Championships in 2017. There is plenty of Badminton action to look forward to.

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14 1 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 T C A T N O C , S U V E R T IS E W IT H D A N A C U O Y OW T O F IN D O U T H

THE STUDENT ADVERTISER www.facebook.com/ thestudentadvertiserglasgow

@TSA_Glasgow

SPORTS

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR TABLE GAME If you walk into any student union, you will find masses gathering around pool tables to waste free time. However, interest in this may surge into other table games with people potentially finding inspiration to pick up a cue from the showing of the UK Snooker Championship, taking place until 6 December. The BBC are showing coverage of the UK Snooker Championship throughout December on their iPlayer service.

1. THE PLANT This is a shot quite often used. The idea of the shot is to pot a ball which lies around an inch away from a fellow ball, hitting the former with the cue ball. If successful, the second ball should find it’s way into the pocket. 2. DOUBLES

You may even want to head to one of the snooker clubs dotted about Glasgow to hone your skills. Therefore, it seems apt to suggest some moves to pull if you want to pick up a cue in the next month. Although these are snooker-related shots, similar skills relate to pool tables if you want an extra trick up your sleeve to defeat a friend, or enemy, around the table.

A double is used when a ball is lying near a cushion but not touching, where a player could hit the ball directly against the cushion with the intention to lead the ball into a nearby pocket. The double can be extended to hit a cushion a further once or twice to become a triple or a quadruple and so on. 3. SNOOKER The snooker is perhaps one of the best shots to frustrate your opponent with. The idea of this shot is to leave the object ball behind another so that the opponent cannot directly hit the ball of choice. You will be laughing if they fail to reach it and it becomes a foul shot. 4. CHIP SHOT To execute this particular shot, the cue needs to be positioned downwards, angled at the table to hit the bottom of the ball which may be snookered behind another. Upon hitting the cue ball, it will leap into the air, and come down again, with the idea of hitting a ball to pot it and steal your opponent’s thunder. This shot is transferable across any table game and could help in pool if you need to get to one last particular ball. 5. NUDGING A BALL SAFE

by Cameron Paterson Twitter:

@PatersonCameron

Putting a ball onto the cushion is often used in safety play, to puzzle your opponent. The idea of this shot is to leave the object ball close to a cushion where a player cannot pot the ball on their turn or leave the ball in an easy position for yourself to pot in the next turn. If you pull off any of these five moves, it may move you one step closer to a victory around a table if you ever duel in a union copying the Scottish moves once pulled by the likes of John Higgins and Anthony McGill.

c.paterson@tsaglasgow.com

THE WIDENING DIVIDE BETWEEN SPORT AND SOCIAL MEDIA Sport has long been a place of tension. It usually takes a special event to make most people agree on a common wavelength. These differing views through shouting and swearing and verbal abuse, was just ‘banter’ that nobody could trace. It was fine. However, this behaviour has spilled over to the new age of sporting debate – the ever-evolving digital age. This is the age where even contests between players of video games such as Hearthstone or League of Legends is considered a part of sport. It is an age where sporting comment will be received on the likes of Facebook or Twitter and some journalists deliberately use these channels to reach out to their audience. However, this comes with a certain danger and misuse. Not only is it a digital age, it is an age where sport has moved on a bit. Sectarian laws have been

placed in Scotland – The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 – which specifically states the criminalisation of the communication of threats for religious hatred. A good search of social media usually results in finding two things – stupid, borderline offensive, statements or uncensored abuse. In 2015 there seems to be a lack of cohesive conversations about sport online. Just reading some social media, you’ll find a large amount of abuse. Recently Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling was greeted with abuse on social media and in his recent match against former club Liverpool. Also, Scotland is well known for abuse to and from sides of the Old Firm which could get worse as more games between those two take place in the future. These incidents and similar have

certainly eased the words ‘constructive criticism’ out of the dictionary. It’s not even a stranger to sport outside football. Even when Fernando Alonso started joking around after his Formula 1 car broke down on track, he was no stranger to being called a ‘cock’, and being ‘shit’ for his team’s morale. Many must question what is the thinking behind such statements. What drives such a large number of posts to be generated on social media site that are so hard to understand? Many may believe that it is just harmless dark comedy. Comedians such as Limmy use a tone which they can sort of get away with it because it is their job, and they will go as far as possible to toe the line between decent and

indecent comedy and things that should never be said, however, some of the general public don’t see this line and can mercilessly walk the plank over it. Another argument would be that the urgency of social media could be prompting users to have to write and publish without thinking. The likes of Twitter is famous for being fantastic for breaking sporting news, however, even some publications come under the situation of not checking their tweets for errors before publishing. Too many users are seeing red as they scramble to get the first comments in on a matter that is happening right that second. Or maybe it is just the society we live in, maybe it is unavoidable because of celebrities and trusted figures who

DECEMBER 2015, ISSUE 16

AN EXPANDING SPORT ROLLING FORWARD When the year hits Autumn, and some sports shut down for the year, one sport is hitting its height in and around Scotland. People love Football, five-a-side or even playing in a park with your mates, however, there’s a new version competing with the usual ball games – Futsal. Despite the sport being played in Scotland since 1997, the sport has flourished in recent times, with the sport now looking to reach out to new areas in the likes of Inverness and Ayrshire. However, one of the most recent additions to the Futsal branch was a league set up in Glasgow, currently played at the Tollcross Leisure Centre. The Glasgow Futsal League season started on 23 October, kicking off a highlycontested league which runs until April. As well as this, the teams will play such competitions as the Glasgow Summer Cup. The winners of the regional league then progress to the national finals, the Scottish Championship. The winners of that competition then have the honour of representing Scotland in the UEFA Futsal Cup in the following season. Currently in the Glasgow area, the league consists of eight teams: Adventure Kicks Futsal Club (FC), C.D. Los Pumas

FC, Glasgow Deaf FC, Glasgow FC, North Kelvin United FC, Persian Athletic FC, TJ Slovak Lads FC and TMT FC in an exciting league. But what is Futsal? According to the description on the official Scottish Futsal website: “The game of Futsal is uncannily similar to fives football whereas the emphasis lies in technical progression as a player and learning to think ahead of each pass. For those who are unfamiliar with the game, it is played indoors and with a size four ball containing 30% reduced bounce as oppose to a size five football in the game of fives.” “Each team has five players and with no ball height restriction they are free to play any tactics they like. With only a five foul limit before a direct free-kick is given from the ten metre line, players need to remain disciplined. Besides a few more rules there are few further complications. It is a case of letting the football do the talking.” It is certainly an exciting spectacle, with many scores running into double figures, such as C.D. Los Pumas beating North Kelvin United 10-0 or Glasgow Deaf FC beating Glasgow FC 14-2 in a high-scoring league. TMT were able to give some background

to the sport and the team seemed pleased with their season so far. They said through their Twitter account that: “Well we’ve just started in the past month or so. Futsal is new to us but we are enjoying it. There [are] eight teams and we all play each other twice. The season runs from now and will finish [in] mid-April with a few tournaments thrown in to pad out the season. It’s very competitive.” “As we come from a five-a-side background we are trying to test ourselves at a different style of mini football and Futsal has given us that option. We do enjoy it, but we joined the league for competition.” The team were even able to further highlight how Futsal differs from other ball sports in their style of play. “Futsal is a tougher game as you don’t get much time on the ball and your fitness levels have to be a lot better at Futsal also. [It uses a] hard surface and [is] played with a smaller ball.” The team are not the only ones to enjoy the new phenomenon either, with rivals C.D. Los Pumas recently tweeting that, “With a healthy mix of futsal styles and talented teams, it’s safe to say that the @GlasgowFutsal league is coming along

nicely.” It’s not even just the adult league that’s booming, as youth systems for the sport are in full force training youngsters. The likes of ‘Joga Futbol’ are holding sessions in Glasgow for kids throughout December, advertising footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Philippe Coutinho who grew up playing Futsal. The same can be said for ‘Futsal Escocia’, another Futsal training group focusing on youngsters, based in Fife. The sport even looks like one that could be easily replicable by students as it wouldn’t be that hard to find a size four ball to play with, even replacing the hard surface with concrete if that was all that was available. It doesn’t look like a sport which has the largest fan following, with some teams only having one or two hundred followers on Twitter, however, it looks to be slowly picking up. With this support and excitement evolving, it is clear that the sport should keep rolling forward in optimism around Scotland. Who knows, with the work being put into highlighting the sport, the next big Scottish footballer might emerge from the sport to play in the Glasgow area.

by Cameron Paterson Twitter:

Sporting CP vs ETO FC in UEFA Futsal Cup 2015

deliberately go out of their way to create controversy, something which feeds down to the people consuming it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with freedom of speech, but when someone is replying to a tweet or post sent by a newspaper or a broadcaster, what use is it to send them simple swear words, usually not spelled correctly? You would surely want to send a cohesive argument to them, especially if you disagree with a comment they have made or an article they have written. Sadly there’s probably not a lot that can be done about it. People could be taught about online etiquette from a young age or constantly reminded about it, but it seems these comments will go on. The truth of the matter is that social media has dangerously merged with our

lives. People now just use everyday verbal slang instead of comments. Social media is perfectly suited by the language used in the writing of essays, not the slang of your own language. Otherwise it is just a version of abuse or stupidity, but this version, is nicely saved to your profile for your convenience, and won’t be forgotten like the time you had a confrontation with someone on the street. The safety you have when you say something in public evaporates. It could haunt you. In coming years we will see that sport will probably intertwine with social media even further. Continue with peril as the tension that a spectator gets from sport could change into tension over whether their statements are decent enough to remain on their profiles.

@PatersonCameron

Kairat Almaty wins UEFA Futsal Cup 2015 c.paterson@tsaglasgow.com

by Cameron Paterson Twitter:

@PatersonCameron

c.paterson@tsaglasgow.com