H E R F S E R F S FR H R H E S FR E H S E E ES R S H E ES S R E H RS H F S RS ER F E R F FR F R E R F S S S R F E R ES E H R E S F E S H S R H FR E H E R E H S E R S E R ES S R H S F S E F H R FR E F R R E F R S R S R ES S E E H Free | Issue 35 | September 2017 WeAreTSA.co.uk
G E T
F R E S H
W I T H
SUNDARA KARMA EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS
VITALIC
PLUS:
WHAT’S ON FRESHERS
GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR STUDENT DISCOUNT
GLASGOW & EDINBURGH CITY GUIDE: THE HOTSPOTS AND SWEETSPOTS FAVOURITE STUDENT CLUBNIGHTS IN GLASGOW & EDINBURGH
CLEAN CUT KID
R5
STEP INTO
STUDENT NIGHT THURSDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER 2017 6PM-9PM
Join us for a night of free fun! With beer pong, glitter styling, live music and boomerang photo booth, plus exclusive discounts and freebies just for students! Register now for free on our website for your chance to win great prizes! Or you can register in-centre on the night from 5pm.
@WaverleyMallSC /WaverleyMallEdinburgh @waverleymallsc
waverleymall.com
FREE | Issue 35 | September | WeAreTSA.co.uk
contents A Definitive Guide To Freshers
6
Everything you need to know about Freshers Week 2017 in Edinburgh and Glasgow
The Best Student Discount Deals in Edinburgh and Glasgow
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16
28
38
16
New to the city and want to to spend your newly acquired SAAS on your newly independent lifestyle? We don’t blame you!
Edinburgh City Guide
20
All the hotspots and sweetspots you need to know about in Edinburgh
The Moving Out Checklist
Glasgow City Guide
Our simple guide to make sure you’ve not forgotten anything important when you’re moving out – TV License comes to mind…
22
A list and guide to the best student haunts and landmarks in Glasgow
Let’s Look Ahead
24
Once the novelty of £1 pints, sub crawls, pub golf and stealing traffic cones has worn off – it’s time to prepare for the year adequately with our calendar of cultural events
Favourite Student Clubnights in Edinburgh and Glasgow
28
With over 100,000 students about to descend on our cities, a mid week clubnight will not be hard to come by
INTERVIEW: CLEAN CUT KID
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38
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42
The electronic music scenes in Glasgow and Edinburgh are a force to be reckoned with, and we’ve got the low down right here
INTERVIEW: SUNDARA KARMA
50
60
These are the things you’ll quickly come to terms with once Fresher’s Week is finished!
61
Make the Most Of Your Long Summers
52
53
62
One of the best things about having a long summer break is the infinite opportunities you have to spend time abroad
September 2017 E. info@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk T. 0141 222 2202 Suite 3.3, Station House, 34 St Enoch Square, Glasgow G1 4DF
Get in touch to find out more about how to advertise. E. info@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk
Australia is currently embroiled in a tense, divisive vote for marriage equality. TSA’s Jonny Stone discusses.
4
59
5 ways in which university and college differ from high school
49
The Scottish Queer International Film Festival returns for another year of cinema celebrating all aspects of LGBT+ life and diversity
Ozzy Marriage and Equality
What Makes Uni Different From High School
TSA is the most widely distributed publication of it’s kind in Glasgow and Edinburgh and we work everyday to keep it that way. Our in depth local knowledge means we deliver the right number of copies to all the right outlets, and our regular fresh issue keeps readers engaged.
The Rainbow Europe Index named Scotland as the top country for gay rights in Europe in 2015.
SQIFF is Back!
58
www.wearetsa.co.uk
Every month we collaborate with Glasgow’s very own New Hellfire Club to introduce to you an artist who is doing especially well on the local music scene
LGBT+ FRESHERS WEEK
Scottish Lingo for International Students
46
A comprehensive listing of events and gigs taking place this month in Edinburgh and Glasgow
New Hellfire Club’s September Pick of the Month
56
Issue 35, September 2017
45
English indie pop/indie rock/art rock band Sundara Karma talk about their new album and touring
TSA’s Ultimate Gig Guide
5 Useful Apps You Should Download
Come on, we know it happens – so here’s how to do it right
Californian pop-rockers R5 descend on Glasgow this month, here they talk about the family dynamic and partying in Glasgow’s ABC
Fancy A Rave?
55
Aside from the obvious big costs – there are also several tiny and frequent costs we bet you haven’t considered
One Night Stand: The How To Guide
VITALIC has been announced as the first act to perform a series of events hosted by Electric Frog at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery – we caught up with him to discuss this match made in techno heaven
INTERVIEW: R5
University Costs We Bet You Haven’t Budgeted For
Student Life: Expectation Vs Reality
The pop quartet arrive in the city later this month for both Freshers Week and the Tenement Trail Festival
INTERVIEW: VITALIC
54
Editorial Contributions Kieran Fisher Holly Fleming Sophie McLean Liam Menzies Rachael Procter Managing Director Mark Ferguson Editor Katie Jones LGBT Editor Jonny Stone New Hellfire Club Pick of the Month www.newhellfireclub.co.uk Sales Executives kenny@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk storm@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk
Facebook: thestudentadvertiser Twitter: @TSA_Newspaper This publication is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be printed without the written permission of The Student Advertiser and the publishers. The proprietors of this publication are publishers and not agents, or sub-agents of those who advertise therein. They cannot be held liable for any loss suffered as a result of information gained from this publication. The Student Advertiser takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisements in this publication. We consider our 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.
S e p t e m b e r 1 7 | We A r e T S A . c o . u k
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A DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO FRESHERS
DIARY DATES | FRESHERS’ 2017
DATES TO PENCIL GLASGOW UNIVERSITY GUU 11 SEPTEMBER Ava Love
The Edinburgh five-piece bombastic, and hotly tipped new band Ava Love will get the party started at GUU with their catchy pop anthems. 10pm / Debates Chamber, GUU
Clean Cut Kid
Great Student Offers at
biblos
1 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1HR www.biblosedinburgh.co.uk/student-offers 0131 226 7177
info@biblosedinburgh.co.uk
facebook.com/biblosedinburgh 6
what’s on | FRESHERS
Hailing from the musical hub of Liverpool, four piece Clean Cut Kid are coming to Glasgow Freshers and are bringing their catchy pop tunes with them. 11.30pm / Debates Chamber, GUU
12 SEPTEMBER Headphone Disco
A whole load of giveaways and competitions brought to you by Coors Light for what promises to be a great night. 11pm / HIVE, GUU
14 SEPTEMBER NEIKED
Glasgow get Neiked! Be sure to get down early for this one, kicking off HIVE Thursday this year, Swedish pop producers behind the biggest tunes
of the summer, NEIKED, will be on the tunes for what is sure to be one of the highlights this Freshers’. 11.30pm / HIVE, GUU
15 SEPTEMBER
Freshers Fiesta with João Tropical
Sensual rhythm lovers and other party people behold, Fiesta inbound. The brilliant Steel Strum and the incredible The Mariachis will both provide some absolutely banging tunes in the Debates Chamber, while DJ João Tropical will supply filthy Hispanic bangers in HIVE all night long. 10pm / HIVE, GUU
Faithless (DJ Set)
One of the highlights of GUU’s Freshers’ Week this year. Playing on the final Saturday, HIVE we will be hosting: FAITHLESS (DJ set). 12am / HIVE, GUU
GLASGOW UNIVERSITY QMU 8 SEPTEMBER
Thank God It’s Freshers’
T.G.I.F. just got a whole new meaning. For those of you moving into halls this
7 1 0 2 K E E W ’ S R E L IN FOR FRESH 12 SEPTEMBER Junk Tape
will be your first chance to make some unforgettable (or regrettable) memories with your new flatmates. 9pm – 2am / QMU
9 SEPTEMBER White T-Shirt Party
What better way to break the ice with your new pals than to graffiti all over their clothes? For £5 you’ll get a white T-shirt, a pen, and the chance to let your inner vandal loose! 9pm – 3am / QMU
10 SEPTEMBER Cocktails & Karaoke
Join in for a sing-song and a famous QMU cocktail as you have a slightly more chill night before the proper madness begins. (Free entry). 8pm – 1am / QMU
11 SEPTEMBER Prides
The QMU has always been the proud home of live music at UofG and this year is no different as Glasgow indie boys and local legends PRIDES will be taking to the world famous QUDOS stage for what promises to be a stunning set. 8pm – 2am / QMU
DJ whizzes Junk Tape take your favourite pop and chart hits from across the years, remix them to perfection and combine them with stunning visuals to bring you a night you’ll never forget. 9pm – 2am / QMU
13 SEPTEMBER Alyssa Edwards
Sissy that walk and show your best death drops as you party all night long with support from some of Glasgow’s finest local queens before *tongue pop* the sickening and sensational star of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Alyssa Edwards graces the QUDOS stage. 9pm – 3am / QMU
14 SEPTEMBER Headphone Disco
1 set of headphones + 2 DJs battling for your attention across 2 separate radio channels = the worldwide silent party phenomenon that is Headphone Disco! It’s weird, wonderful and we know you’ll love it. 9pm – 2am / QMU
15 SEPTEMBER Freshers’ Paint Party
To finish up your Freshers’ Week with a colourful splash, QMU are hosting a massive Freshers’ Paint Party! Big tunes, cheap drinks and a whole lot of paint. 9pm – 2am / QMU
MON TO THU DRINKS
FRI TO SUN DRINKS
Bottle Bud £1:50
All draughts £3
Pint Tennents £2
Pint Guinness £2:50
All btls £2:50
House vodka/mixer £1:50 including mixer
All spirits £2:50 including mixer
FREE PIES AT EVERY FOOTBALL GAME LIVE IRISH BANDS EVERY FRI SAT SUN FREE ENTRY FREE WIFI FREE VIP ROOM AVAILABLE FOR BOOKINGS 285 Sauchiehall St • Tel 0141 332 9783 S e p t e m b e r 1 7 | We A r e T S A . c o . u k
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DIARY DATES | FRESHERS’ 2017
14 SEPTEMBER Welcome To Scotland
It’s ceilidh time here at Strathclyde!
Student Anthems
DJs taking you through to the early hours In The Barony. 10pm – 3am / Barony bar. 8pm – 1am / Vertigo
15 SEPTEMBER
STRATHCLYDE 9 SEPTEMBER The Yard
The Yard open for Food, Drink, Pool, Live Sport. 9th September noon – 10th September 3am / The Yard
Karaoke Classics
£100 for best or worst singer. 9pm – 3am / The Yard
VK Nocturnal Welcome Party Kick start your Freshers’ Week at The Union. 11pm – 3am / Vertigo
10 SEPTEMBER
Live Premiership Football
Live Premiership Football at The Yard. noon – 9pm / The Yard
Honey G
Get ready because Honey G is in da house, and it’s for real! 10pm – 3am / Vertigo
Club MTV
Club MTV are back in The Union with their Freshers’ Tour! 11pm – 3am / Vertigo
8
Friday Bud Light Presents
Get into that Friday feeling at The Barony with live music from G33s. Bud Light £1.00 a pint! 4pm – 9pm / The Barony
11 SEPTEMBER Big Monday Quiz
Win Up To £200! 11th September 3pm – 12th September 7pm / Barony bar
Krystyna Lennon And Hypno Dog
The dog that hypnotised Simon Cowell on Britain’s Got Talent is coming to Strathclyde! 7pm – midnight / Vertigo
Jack Maynard
Live DJ set from YouTube phenomenon Jack Maynard (chance to meet and greet after gig!) 10:30pm – 3am / Barony bar
UV Paint Party Rave
A firm Freshers’ Favourite. 10pm – 3am / Barony bar
Does what it says on the tin! Big classic dance tunes and gallons of paint – be prepared to get messy! 11pm – 3am / Vertigo
12 SEPTEMBER
13 SEPTEMBER
Headphone Disco
12 Hour Tuesdays
The legendary student night returns for another year! All drinks £1.50. 12th September 3pm – 13th September 3am / Barony bar
Champions League Football at The Yard
The latest Champions League Football at The Yard. 7:30pm – 10pm / The Yard
what’s on | FRESHERS
Champions League Football at The Yard
The latest Champions League Football at The Yard. 7pm – 10pm / The Yard
RuPaul’s Drag Race Night With Alyssa Edwards
The Barony bar turns fabulous with an evening of music, dance and glamour. 9pm – 3am / Vertigo
We love the 90s
Every week the Barony bar goes back to the 90s. 90p drink promos. 9pm – 3am / Barony bar
Cascada
She’s back, and it’s going to be better than ever! 10pm – midnight / Vertigo
16 SEPTEMBER Free BBQ – Free Pool
Come and grab a Burger/Veggie Burger on us. 8pm – 9pm / The Yard
The View
Dundee’s finest celebrate the 10th anniversary of Hats Off to The Buskers – these boys know how to put on a show! What an end to the week. 8pm – 11pm / Vertigo
The BIG Barony Finale
Let’s make this the mother of all parties! £1.00 drinks. 10pm – 3am / Barony bar
Knowing I had the support of Help Musicians UK was incredibly reassuring during a volatile and unpredictable time. Your support means we can help more musicians like Oli make the transition from student to professional. helpmusicians.org.uk 020 7239 9100
Backing musicians throughout their careers. Registered Charity No. 228089
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10/02/2017 15:21:46
DIARY DATES | FRESHERS’ 2017
THE BAY HORSE EVENTS
FREE HOTDOGS
With Table bookings before 9pm 7 days a week
FREE POOL TABLE on a Mon to Thursday
FRI LIVE DJ TILL 3am
GLASGOW CALEDONIAN 18 SEPTEMBER Lady Balls Bingo
GCU Freshers’ Launch Party with Rujazzle’s Lady Balls Bingo. Union Bar
Freshers’ Fair
from 3pm to 3am
140 stalls over 2 days. Find out more about sports clubs, societies, groups, volunteering and grab FREEBIES from loads of companies. 10am-3pm / ARC
Tribute acts cabaret djs FREE ENTRY
Chris from Love Island; Meet and Greet (FREE)
SAT ENTERTAINMENT
Sunday karaoke from 4pm
CALUM
BEST
meet and greet 9th Sept FREE ENTRY
X Factor ’s Nicholas McDonald singing live 16th Sept FREE ENTRY !!! FREE WIFI • FREE FUNCTION HIRE DRINKS PROMOS Sun to Wed:Pint Tennents £2 House vodka whisky £2 Bottle Bud £1:80 Shots from £1
10
DATES
R O F N I L I TO PENC
what’s on | FRESHERS
Love Island was this summer’s MUSTWATCH TV and GCU are bringing one of the show’s top stars, Chris Hughes onto campus for a FREE meet and greet! Hosted by Capital Radio’s Des Clarke and Amy Irons.
19 SEPTEMBER Bodyworks Night
Get your geek on with the Glasgow Science Centre. Union Bar
Freshers’ Fair
140 stalls over 2 days. Find out more about sports clubs, societies, groups, volunteering and grab FREEBIES from loads of companies. 10am-3pm / ARC
Live Music; Freshers’ Sessions (FREE)
Some of Glasgow’s hottest young musicians will perform an inaugural ‘Freshers’ Sessions’ exclusively for you. So pop along during your lunch break, grab a drink at the union bar and soak up the positive Freshers’ vibes. This event will be compered by Scottish music DJ Jim Gellatly. 12pm / Union Bar
20 SEPTEMBER
Radio Caley: SASSMASS Pre-club night hosted by GCU’s own Radio Caley. Union Bar
21 SEPTEMBER
The EDIT: Welcome Event
Meet the team, test your knowledge with the quiz, make future friends and have fun with The EDIT’s Committee. Union Bar
Crazy Golf (FREE)
To add to the craziness of Freshers’ Week GCU are bringing a nine hole mini golf course onto campus for you to enjoy! All equipment will be provided so simply turn up and give it a go. 10.00am – 4.00pm / Main Concourse on GCU Campus
17 0 2 K E E W ’ S R E H S R FRE GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART 11 SEPTEMBER MASS Sub Crawl
See Glasgow’s boozy architectural underbelly, 12 stops = 12 drinks. 2pm / Meet at Vic Bar
MASS Welcome Party
The Mackintosh Architecture Students Society (MASS) are hosting their annual welcome-back knees-up, all students welcome! 11pm / Vic Bar
12 SEPTEMBER
Sgàiraoke: The Beast with Two Mouths DUETS EDITION
Subcity Radio X Hill 52 Radio: Art School Takeover
Space aliens and darkest demons unite in this unholy union! Hill 52 Radio and Subcity Radio will be entering into a treaty for one big night! 11pm / Vic Bar
14 SEPTEMBER Club Chai
CLUB CHAI is a label, event series and curatorial project by DJs/ producers, FOOZOOL & 8ULENTINA, in Oakland, CA. A friendly place for everyone to dance around and express themselves with their bodiez. 11pm / Vic Bar
15 SEPTEMBER
Our Hangout Could Be Your Life Fundraiser Party!
Crying, binge-eating and extreme sports all cause your body to release endorphins, but so does singing karaoke! 9pm / Vic Bar
Help MESH raise money to set up a new, co-operatively run, feminist/queer/ intersectional multi-use events space in Glasgow. Music and DJs all night long, baby! 11pm / Vic Bar
13 SEPTEMBER
16 SEPTEMBER
Freshers’ Fair
Space for local cinemas, art suppliers and creative businesses to showcase their useful services and programmes to students at GSA. Open to all – freebies are guaranteed. 11am / Assembly Hall
Rhythm Machine & The Art School presents Body Parts
Your Freshers’ Finale, The Art School and Rhythm Machine present a new nightclub by professional DJs and struggling artists. 11pm / Vic Bar S e p t e m b e r 1 7 | We A r e T S A . c o . u k
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DIARY DATES | FRESHERS’ 2017
QUEEN MARGARET UNI 4 SEPTEMBER
Comedy Night – Des Clarke and Support Des Clarke (Capital FM) returns to headline for a 3rd sell-out year in a row and is supported by 6 of Scotland’s best stand-up comedians. 9pm-12am / Maggie’s
5 SEPTEMBER Movie Night
Join in for a relaxed night of free movies in Maggie’s. 7pm-12am / Maggie’s
Bowling
Enjoy a night of tenpin bowling at one of Edinburgh’s best alleys. Strikes or get gutter balls – you’re just there to have fun. 8-11pm / Meet in Maggie’s
6 SEPTEMBER Colour Run
Walk, Jog or Run up to 3 circuits of Campus (up to 4.5km) as SU staff, officers and volunteers cover you in all colours of the rainbow. 3:30-5pm / Campus
Love Wednesdays Pre-Party Whether or not you’re going to Love Wednesday at Why Not head to Maggie’s for some chilled house vibes from their live DJ. 8-10.30pm . Maggie’s
7 SEPTEMBER Ceilidh
A Ceilidh is a big Scottish party so join in for a night of traditional Scottish dancing with a live ceilidh band. 8pm12am / QMU 1875
8 SEPTEMBER CC Blooms
The perfect place to meet new friends in the LGBT+ community. With a designated seating area and queue jump for wristband holders, 10:30pm1am / CC Bloom’s
9 SEPTEMBER Pub March
At QMU they don’t crawl they march! Join your Student President, Student Vice President and Officers on a march to some of Edinburgh’s best student pubs with a couple of surprises along the way. 2-10pm / Edinburgh
11 SEPTEMBER
Freshers’ Fair
12
Lots of exciting organisations will be in the sports hall handing out freebies and information. 11am-3pm / Sports Hall
what’s on | FRESHERS
HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY 4 SEPTEMBER Beach Party
Get your best beach gear ready and surf on down to the Union. Well, we say beach party but they have taken a leaf from Thailand and decided to host a full moon party. 10pm / Union
5 SEPTEMBER
Spontaneous Sherlock
Spontaneous Sherlock – Scotland’s hottest improv comedy show, and one of the biggest improvised comedy shows of EdFringe 2015, 2016 and 2017 – is here! 7pm / Zeros
Sherlock-In
Join us for some after show SHERnanigans in Zeros! 11pm / Zeros
6 SEPTEMBER
Ceilidh (Late)
We wouldn’t be in Scotland if we didn’t have a Ceilidh. Whether you have danced the Gay Gordon’s in your nappies or still working out what the word “Ceilidh” is, you won’t be disappointed. 9pm / Zeros
8 SEPTEMBER Zombie Apocalypse
Oh no! Freshers flu has broken and we need your help! Assist the professors around campus to help save the day. Watch out! You wont be alone… 2pm / Student Union
LGBT+ Night Out
Join the LGBT+ group for a night out in town where they’ll be visiting some of Edinburgh’s gay bars. 18+ 8pm / Meet at the Student Union
9 SEPTEMBER
Freshers Party – Party In The USA!
This year is the biggest Freshers’ Fair ever! Find out about all the societies and activities you can get involved in and maybe bag some freebies while you’re at it! 12pm / Union
The day has finally arrived and they have gone all out this year to make sure Freshers’ Week ends with a bang! This year the theme is going to knock Miley Circus’ country boots off. Three rooms, three states and a celebration to rival that of 4th July. 10pm / Union
7 SEPTEMBER
10 SEPTEMBER
Bring your instrument or just yourself to the chaplaincy and have fun making music. 10am / Chaplaincy
Round off your weekend with our long awaited, eagerly anticipated pub quiz. Many prizes to be won… 7pm / Zeros
Freshers’ Fair
Jam Session
Pub Quiz
DIARY DATES | FRESHERS’ 2017
DATES EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY 9 SEPTEMBER Garden Beer Festival
Enjoy a selection of Scottish and world ales and ciders on offer in the Teviot Garden. 2pm – 11pm / Teviot Row House Garden
The Love Island Big Cheese Beach Party Ft. Sam, Simon And Harley
Kick off the week with special guest appearances from THREE of the Love Island personalities of this year’s series! 9pm – 3am / Potterrow
10 SEPTEMBER The Edinburgh Revue’s Fringe Showcase
A sketch comedy and stand-up extravaganza showcasing the best talent on the Edinburgh scene. 8pm – 11pm / The Pleasance
Juliette Ashby
Juliette’s latest album Build Up The Strong is a sensational mix of reggae, hip hop, neo soul and rock vibes, coupled with stunningly soft and summery vocals and well worth a listen. 9pm – 1am / Teviot
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14 SEPTEMBER
Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair
11 SEPTEMBER Bad Mannequins
Taking inspiration from the likes of Electric Six, The Hives, Television, Ramones and B-52s, Bad Mannequins are a band who don’t take themselves too seriously, without losing their ability to create highly technical garage rock tunes. 8pm – 10pm / Teviot Row House
Rave Of Thrones Ft Hodor
The white walkers and their army of dead descend upon Edinburgh, with little time before the impending apocalypse reaches Potterrow. 9pm – 3am / Potterrow
Mondays Are A Drag Ft Alyssa Edwards
The queen of tongue pops herself and some of Edinburgh’s local queens will give you a night you won’t forget! 10pm – 1am / Teviot Row House
12 SEPTEMBER Jurassic Park Party
Park ranger, George Shelley, who is fresh out the jungle of “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here”, will be there to guide you through our first pre-historic club night with a DJ set so hot that it would end an ice age! 9pm – 3am / Potterrow
what’s on | FRESHERS
The Rising Souls with support from The Deadly Winters and Van Tastik
The night will be headlined by The Rising Souls, a dynamic soulful rock band hailing from Scotland’s capital city. Their music is a punchy and intoxicating amalgamation of rock and soul. 9pm – 12am / Teviot Row House
Meet and Greet With Alyssa Edwards
If you attended the live show in the Debating Hall, head along and meet queen Alyssa in person at our oneoff meet and greet! 11:30 – 12am / Teviot Row House
13 SEPTEMBER 90s UV Party in association with VK
There’s loads of awesome stuff from #DOÜVK to have our very own 90s UV PARTY! Arrive in body paint and they’ll provide the LED foam sticks, glow in the dark straws, and slow stick bracelets. 9pm – 3am / Teviot Row House
Edinburgh’s favourite vintage fair is popping in for Welcome Week. Featuring 20+ stalls of vintage fashion and accessories from 1920s to the 1980s. 10am – 4pm / Potterrow
DNA, Mind Readers
Their unique telepathic ability is known as ‘The Gift’ and has to be experienced to be believed. DNA combine years of experience in both close up and stage performances to deliver a world class act that is unparalleled. 8pm – 10pm / The Pleasance
Superhero ft Jack Maynard
There’s a massive welcome party, and this year it’s all about SUPERHEROES! And joining you on the dance floor will be Jack Maynard and his crew so make sure you don’t miss it. 9pm – 3am / Potterrow
15 SEPTEMBER Edinburgh Zoo Animal Handling
Visit the giant pandas, see the vast range of animal species on show and experience an animal handling session. 9am – 2pm / Teviot Row House
17 0 2 K E E W ’ S R E H S E R F R O F TO PENCIL IN Hot Dub Time Machine
Hot Dub Time Machine is the World’s First Time Travelling DJ, a global festival smash-hit and the Best Party Ever! 10:30pm – 3am / The Liquid Rooms
8 SEPTEMBER Bad Habits
Get into some Bad Habits! Join the team behind the biggest student night in the city, Love Wednesdays, for this spectacular, new and improved Friday night offering at Why Not nightclub. 10:30pm – 3am / Why Not
6 SEPTEMBER
Escape Room Adventure The Van T’s
Glaswegian surf-rock band The Van T’s play Teviot Underground for ‘Through The Wire Music’. 7pm – 12am / Teviot Row House
XOXO
XOXO is a monthly club night at the Wee Red Bar, based at the Edinburgh College of Art. It’s full of love and the queerest of tunes! 11pm – 3am / The Wee Red Bar
16 SEPTEMBER Quidditch Practice
Join Edinburgh’s very own Quidditch club! A full contact, mixed gender sport. 2pm – 5pm / Teviot Row House
Comedians Tom Allen and Tom Lucy
Comedy double act from award winning comedian Tom Allen and Tom Lucy. 8pm – 12am / The Pleasance
The Big Cheese featuring Cascada
The Big Cheese is BACK and this time they’re bringing you the legendary CASCADA! 9pm – 3am / Potterrow
NAPIER UNIVERSITY 4 SEPTEMBER Ghost & Torture Tour
Delve into the dark history of Scotland’s capital with spine tingling stories told on the cobbled streets of Edinburgh’s old town. 8pm – 9pm / The Tron Kirk
Lord of the Rings Pub Quiz
Know your Frodo from your Bilbo? Your Gandalf from your Gollum? Test your knowledge of Middle Earth and the Lord of the Rings with this epic quiz. 8pm – 12am / The Union Bar
5 SEPTEMBER The Freshers’ Fair
One of Scotland’s best student fairs, this is the perfect opportunity to get an idea of all that’s on offer while you’re a student at Edinburgh Napier. 11am – 6pm / The Corn Exchange
Put your problem solving skills to the ultimate test in Edinburgh’s original escape room adventure... Escape Edinburgh is a team game ideally for up to 5 people. 1:30pm – 7:45pm / Escape Edinburgh
9 SEPTEMBER
Open Mic Night at The Union Bar
Love Wednesdays
It’s the biggest student Wednesday in the city at the country’s best nightclub – Love Wednesdays at Why Not – the official #StudentWednesday for Edinburgh Napier students! 10:30pm – 3am / Why Not
7 SEPTEMBER
Harry Potter Walking Tour
Grab a wand and join the robed guide on the only tour in Edinburgh designed especially for Potter fans! 7pm – 8pm / Greyfriar’s Bobby
The Legendary Pub Crawl
Back for an incredible 28th consecutive year…the legend that is the Napier Freshers’ Pub Crawl! 7pm – 9:30pm / The Three Sisters
90’s Neon Night
Finish off the Pub Crawl with this UV trip back to the ‘Old Skool’, featuring a mash up of 90’s classics and current chart toppers! 10:30pm – 3am / Atik
See some of the best undiscovered talent that Edinburgh Napier has to offer at this acoustic event! 9pm – 11pm / The Union Bar
Tinchy Stryder @ Atik
With three chart topping albums, seven top ten singles and over 1 million Facebook followers, Tinchy Stryder is undoubtedly one of the kings of the UK Hip Hop/Grime scene and will be bringing his unique flow to Freshers’ Week with this special set. 10:30pm – 3am / Atik
10 SEPTEMBER The Freshers’ Ceilidh
Join in for a traditional Scottish Ceilidh dance! Don’t worry – No experience is necessary! 8:30pm – 11pm / Why Not
Closing Party feat. The Mac Twins Finish your Freshers’ Week with the Official DJs for ITV’s Love Island! 11pm – 3am / Why Not
S e p t e m b e r 1 7 | We A r e T S A . c o . u k
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T N E D U T BEST S T DEALS N U O C S DI
H G R U B N I ED W O G S A L G &
E
veryone knows that students are not famed for their wealth, but fear not, because here are some of the best places to get the full benefit of your student discount and your limited funds in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Thankfully, if you’re a student in Glasgow, you’ve got it made. Not only is the city one of the cheapest in the UK, it’s also brimming with exclusive deals and discounts just waiting to be taken advantage of. If you’re a student in Edinburgh on the other hand, you have to contend with the high cost of living in Scotland’s capital. But hopefully this article will give you the lowdown on how to make the most of your student discount. Disclaimer: Remember, with a lot of the discounts mentioned here, you’ll need your uni card or NUS to reap the benefits. So don’t forget to always have yours with you!
EATING OUT GLASGOW
THE UNIVERSITY CAFE on
Byres Road is a Glasgow institution and has been serving up cheap and tasty food for decades. Pop in and their glittery retro decor will steal your heart and make you understand why it’s constantly crammed with students and lecturers!
BAR SOBA on Byres Road, Mitchell Lane and Merchant Square 16
offers Pan-Asian street food and fresh cocktails combined with funky décor and friendly staff. With 2-for1 mains for students and some seriously good drinks promos, it’s the perfect midweek treat. There’s one in Edinburgh too.
THE 78 on Kelvinhaugh Street is a student favourite, serving up cheap pints, yummy vegan food and music which ranges from live jazz and reggae to hip hop and open mic nights. Best of all, they offer a whopping 20% off food for students on Tuesdays!
what’s on | FRESHERS
At BLOC+ everyday’s a deal day. On Monday it’s pasta for £3, Tuesday a burger, on Wednesday you get a steak for a Fiver, Thursdays it’s all about the chicken, and on Friday it’s hotdog day. Oh and everyday’s pizza day with 2 for 1 pizza’s all week long. And they’ve got a no bam policy! You can find it on Bath Street.
EDINBURGH
THE MOSQUE KITCHEN is
an Edinburgh institution and its location on Nicolson Square makes it a popular spot for students.
Their ethos is to keep it “fast and simple” which works a treat for busy students who can get a curry and rice from £4.
ELEPHANTS AND BAGELS
on Marshall Street is the place to be during your lunch, it has free WiFi, healthy, filling meal deals and it’s also where JK Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books.
WILDMANWOOD PIZZA also on Marshall Street is for those wanting to up their pizza game. They offer wood-fired pizza crafted by staff trained in Naples.
Edinburgh's Edinburgh's Edinburgh's Tabletop Tabletop Edinburgh's Tabletop Gaming Gaming Tabletop Gaming
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THE AULD HOOSE on St.
A classic margherita in this tasty joint is just £6.60 and the most expensive pizza is still under £10.
NILE VALLEY CAFE is
conveniently located for Edinburgh uni students. They serve up a delicious variety of African cuisine including Sudanese wrap’s, falafel and fuul. Certainly makes a nice change from a generic supermarket meal deal.
Burrito joints seem to be popping up all over the city, but few are as liberal – or cheap for that matter – with their portioning as TAQUITO on Home Street. £4 for a giant burrito sound good to you?
Leonard’s Street serves up the biggest portion of nachos in Edinburgh. Nuff said.
GAMES GAMES GAMES GAMES
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THE THREE SISTERS at
Cowgate is popular amongst students with it’s 2-4-1 main meals, 7 days a week.
FUN & GAMES
Available Available Available Available
GLASGOW THE GLASGOW FILM THEATRE offers a free 15-25
Card scheme allowing you to get standard GFT tickets for just £5.50! You’ll also earn loyalty points for every pound you spend on cinema tickets and get special offers by email. >>
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That’s almost cheaper than a bottle of water. This pub is loud and always rammed with students due to its location – a hop, skip and a jump away from the Garage and the rest of Sauchiehall Street’s favourite student clubs. If you’re a student, you’ll almost definitely end up at this pub simply because Driftwood makes it very easy to get merry on a fiver.
If you prefer to stop by a more mainstream cinema, on the other hand, The Odeon gives students a generous 25% off tickets.
EDINBURGH EDINBURGH ZOO is arguably
one the best in the country. Book online 3 days+ in advance with your student card, and you’ll pay £14.50, and make all small saving on their standard, on-the-day Student Concession entry price of £16.50.
CAMPUS on Sauchiehall Street is billed as ‘Glasgow’s First Frat House’. With a student night on every day of the week, if you’re staying or studying in Glasgow, there’s no doubt you’ll end up in there at one point.
GOING OUT
TINGLE on Mitchell Street offers
GLASGOW THE BUFF CLUB on Bath Lane is the place to be on Monday nights (if, that is, you’re interested in fantastic house, disco and techno tunes, free entry for students and £1 drinks!) The club offers great nights all week long but Monday nights are extra student friendly. HILLHEAD BOOKCLUB is a
student popular bar and restaurant near Byres Road and offers separate meat and vegetarian menus, a strawberry gin mojito for just £3 and DJs five nights a week.
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shots for £1.50 – that’s all you really need to know. The perfect pre-club destination, you can try as many different shots as you could imagine.
DRAM! is prime location for you
‘west enders’ and is located within minutes of Kelvingrove Park, and show live sport, host live music. PLUS they offer pints and spirits from £2.90, cocktails from £4, and food deals from just £5! But if that’s not enough, they also offer a 10% discount card – best get yours at the start of term.
DRIFTWOOD is a student staple pub with drinks as cheap as 89p.
what’s on | FRESHERS
HUMMINGBIRD is the place to
be if you’re feeling on the classy side. With its shabby chic décor and Monday to Thursday half price cocktails, it’s a well-worn student haunt. If you can’t be bothered traipsing to the West End, they also serve delicious Ketchup burgers. For some West End sophistication in the City Centre, fly down to Hummingbird.
EDINBURGH THE HIVE on Niddry Street is
open seven nights and offers drinks from a teeny £1 (not to mention a light-up dancefloor), you’ll walk through every genre of music with its many rooms providing pop, punk, RnB, cheese, indie, rock and beyond.
BAR 50 at Cowgate offers a fabulous range of classic cocktails from £6.00 (£4.80 with student discount) and students get a great 20% off with their student discount
by Katie Jones Editor katie@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk
cards. It’s also worth having a look for them in Snapfax, there’s some cheeky deals in there as well.
THE LIBRARY BAR at the
Teviot is an affordable student hangout. With books lining the walls, it gives a dorm like feeling but with 2 for 1 pizzas and half price nachos.
THE THREE SISTERS has already been mentioned in our ‘Eating Out’ section, but it deserves it’s own mention here as well. It has £3.50 cocktails and student drinks deals from £1.99. THE WEE RED BAR is a
much loved Edinburgh institution in terms of a lively and intimate venue for both up and coming and established bands and DJs. Located in the grounds of Edinburgh College of Art via a secret, concealed entrance on Lady Lawson Street, it’s also home to The Egg (page 28), Edinburgh’s leading alternative nightclub scene.
Glasgow City 0141 954 1000 Paisley 0141 887 3000
www.practical.co.uk Student A5 leaflet GWR
14/8/17
23:25
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The COPY and PRINT Shop
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EDINBURGHCITY GUIDE C
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Biblos - 1 Chambers Street 13. Lothian Buses - 27 Hanover Street Cheynes - 45 York Place, 14. Pure Gym W. Wetherspoons 1,000 square feet of gaming space 1 | BIBLOS 2 | CHEYNES15 Lauriston Place, 5 ce | SCOTTISH 3 Drumsheugh Place, The Booking Offi 17 Waverley Bridge in the basement. Their prices are 2 Bruntsfield Avenue, 1-7 Conference Sq The Caley PictureSTORYTELLING House 31 Lothian Road CENTRE 1 Chambers Street York Place | George Street | Waverley Mall - 3| Waverley Bridge TheisStanding Order 62-66 George Street 39 Lothian Road, incredibly competitive, and there a Drumsheugh15.Gdns | Bruntsfield 43-45 High Street126 George Street Immerse yourself in a world of fun and The Alexander Graham Bell 46 George Street small charge of £2.50 to play all day for Lothian Road good times at Biblos. in Edinburgh’s 3. Games Hub - 101 Set Lauriston Place The Playfair AOmni Centre Home for Scotland’s Culture with an non-members (£1.50 for members) The Foot of Theexciting Walk programme 183 Constitution 4. Town Harmonium - 60 floor-to-ceiling Henderson Street Old area, their Edinburgh’s original student salon, they of live St storytelling, 5. Scottish Storytelling Centre 43-45 High Street Co-op windows are great for gazing out- and offer exclusiveCO. 30% ‘All Day’ student theatre, literature and traditional arts, 4 | HARMONIUM 6. Slug and Lettuce - George Street, 368 Leith Walk, frameOmni views of Edinburgh’s Old College discount. Check out their website plus stirring exhibitions and workshops. Centre 8 McDonald Road,for 60 Henderson Street whilst their sophisticated interiors more student deals 7. The Edinburgh Dungeon - 31 Market Street 28 Fredrick Street, Supported through Creative Scotland Situated in Leith, Harmonium is, 8. The Jazz Bar - 1Arestaurant, Chambers Street 144 Morrison Street, encompasses a bar, www.cheyneshairdressing.com and City of Edinburgh Council. 9. The Stand - 5 York Place 5 Earl Grey Street, “commited to providing animal free separate function venue and a trendy 10. The Mosque Kitchen - 31-33 Nicolson Square 49 South Clerk Street, produce, a better environment and 3 | GAMES HUB live bar and lounge. 114 Dalry Rd, 11. music The Mash House - 37 Guthrie Street a fantastic place to eat, drink, meet 101South Lauriston Place 12. The Village Gym - Village Hotel, 140 Crewe Rd 49 Shandwick Place
A gaming café with a games store and
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what’s on | FRESHERS
friends, whatever!”
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6 | SLUG AND LETTUCE
11 | THE MASH HOUSE
At The Slug they pride themsleves on catering for all occasions – a place to relax and take things easy even if it’s just for a coffee or you want a pre or post-theatre meal. Or maybe you’d like to meet up for drinks – or enjoy a proper night out on the town? Whatever you’re looking for, they aim to exceed your expectations.
The Mash House is a unique venue located within the heart of Edinburgh’s vibrant Cowgate. Three different floors also means the club can feature everything from Techno, House and Bass to Afrobeat Funk and Reggae.
George Street, Omni Centre
7 | THE EDINBURGH DUNGEON 31 Market Street
Here we have the Dungeon, bringing together an amazing cast of theatrical actors, special effects, stages, scenes and rides in a truly unique and exciting walkthrough experience that you see, hear, touch, smell and feel. The Dungeon offers an hilarious yet scary experience for those new to the city. You have to check it out while you’re here.
8 | THE JAZZ BAR 1A Chambers Street
A SIX-time award winning music venue that delivers top quality music seven nights a week, every week. Don’t be fooled by their name, they feature all kinds of music. Head on down and open your lugholes to some of the best musical sounds in Edinburgh.
9 | THE STAND
5 York Place, 101 Lauriston Place
Started by a bunch of enthusiasts as a hobby, The Stand has now become a successful commercial company, but one that is true to its roots of developing new comedy in Scotland.
10 | THE MOSQUE KITCHEN
31-33 Nicolson Square
An Edinburgh institution amongst students due its ideal location on Nicolson Square. Their ethos is to keep it “fast and simple” which works a treat for busy students who can get a curry and rice from £4.
37 Guthrie Street
12 | THE VILLAGE GYM
Village Hotel, 140 Crewe Rd South
State of the art gym equipment, large swimming pools, saunas, spa pools and steam rooms.
13 | LOTHIAN BUSES 27 Hanover Street
Keeping you moving in Edinburgh and Lothians 24 hours a day. Their Hanover Street Travelshop is home to their only Lost Property office. If you think you’ve left something on a bus, this is where to go.
14 | PURE GYM Work out 24/7 at Pure Gyms across Edinburgh. Their no frills fitness clubs are great for newbies, regulars and gym pros to mix equally on their topquality equipment. Check out page 9 for student discount.
15 | WAVERLEY MALL 3 Waverley Bridge
Fashion forward shopping in the heart of the city with three floors of stores and eateries from big names like McDonalds, Superdry, New Look, and Warehouse. The perfect place if you’re looking for somewhere to spend that SAAS.
W | WETHERSPOONS They are offering £100 worth of discouts with their handy voucher book. Check out page 41 for more info.
C | CO-OP Perfect for your home cooking supplies. Check out pages 32 and 33 for student discounts and cooking advice.
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GLASGOW
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Themed cocktails and cracking food deals, it’s also the pre-party destination 78 Queen Street 117 Bath Street Perfect for your home cooking supplies. Glasgow School of Art AFCO - Queen Street 26. The Pub - 283 - 285 Sauchiehall Street before the, Student’s Garage. Association, 20 Scott Check out pages 32 and 33 for student The Forces Careers Independent 27. live music bar offering Street Glasgow G3 6PE The Stand - 333 Woodlands Road AXMArmed - 80 Glassford Street Office Budda Suchiehall Street 28. and TheDJs 78 - 710-14 Kelvinhaugh Street discounts and cooking advice. Glasgow University - GULGBTQ Students Association isBar based just- 408 down from Queen excellent bands nights a 11 | GALLUS Bloc+ - 117 Bath Street 29. Pure Gym - 140 Bath Street, John McIntyre Building University Avenue Glasgow G12 Street station. If you’re looking for an week, completely free of charge. What Hope Street, Buck’s Bar - 111 West Regent Street 80 Dumbarton Road 8 | COPY AND PRINT 8QQ alternative option, pop in for aStreet more could you want? 113 St Georges Road Buchanan career Galleries - 220 Buchanan Glasgow University - GUU, 32over University Avenue Hillhead Bar Gallus has 60 World Beers Co-Op - 132 Union Street, 30. Village Gym - 7 Festival Gate 595 Great Western Road chat. Glasgow G12and 8LXCiders making it a pretty popular 555 Sauchiehall Street, 5 | BUCK’S BAR Pop this in your address book now. Glasgow University Margaret C. Co - Wheels Great Western Road place in- Queen Glasgow’s WestUnion End. Campaigns & 2270 | AXM 111 West Regent Street You will definitely need them for Charities, all 22 University Gardens Glasgow G12 8QN Copy and Print - 58 Gibson Street 80 Glassford your upcoming assignments. They Buck’s Bar isW. a new rock ‘n’ roll bar Wetherspoons Dram! - 232-246Street Woodlands Road Glasgow University - Student Representative Council 12 | IRISH ROVER The Crystal Palace Street and binding at competitive Dritwoodrelaxed - 2 St Georges Road John McIntyre Building University, Avenue Glasgow G12 offer printing specialising in buttermilk fried chicken, 36 Jamaica Sizable, gay venue with 285 Sauchiehall Street Gallus - 80 Dumbarton Road The Sir John Moore 260 Argyle Street 8QQ prices. following authentic southern American eclectic party music, regular events and The Counting House 2 St Vincent Place Irish Rover - 285 Suchiehall Street Glasgow’s Newest Student’s City Centre Irish SU Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Union, recipes. Buck’s features drinks deals stage for guest The Society Room 151 West George King Tuts - 272aperformers. St Vincent Street Office 100 Renfrew Street Glasgow G2every 3DB Friday, Bar, offering live music 9 | DRAM! Kelvingrove Art Gallery - Argyle Street from £2, 7 days aStreet week and hosts live Strathclyde Health Service, Health and Sunday, and Student the Circus 351 Sauchiehall Street - 200 Bath Street 3Moskito | BAR BUDDA 232 – 246 Woodlands Road University of Saturday music and rock nThe rollHenglers DJ’s at weekends. Service, Level 4, Room 436 Graham Hills 50 George Mono - 12 King Street cheapest drink prices around. 408 Sauchiehall Street Street Glasgow G1 1XH National Finalist Student Bar of the FC. Free Condoms Mr Ben - Kings Court, King Street 6 | BUCHANAN City of Glasgow College - City Year Campus, 190 Cathedral Soho - 846Miller Street at Great British Pub AwardsSAUWS (Student Association of West of Scotland) DJ’s play nights a week, celebrity 13 | KING TUT’S Street Glasgow G4 0RF Stereo - 22-28 cracking Renfield Lane Student GALLERIES 2016 and 2017, Dram! is a friendly bar Association, Storie Street Paisley PA1 2HB appearances, drink promos, 272a St Vincent Street St Luke’s - 17 Bain Street City of Glasgow College - Riverside, Student Engagement 220 Buchanan Street offering live music, quizes and fantastic and a prime location. Style City Barbers - 1148 Argyle Street Team 21 Thistle Street Glasgow G5 9XB It’s where Oasis were discovered and drink promos. Sweat! Union - 54 Finnieston Square, Skypark Housing over 90 fashion, electrical, gift ASK University of Strathclyde, The Advice Hub, 90 John it constantly plays host to the best The Bay Horse - 73 Bath Street outlets, and restaurants, it’s a one stop Street Glasgow G1 1JH The Blue Chair - 85 High Street emerging talent around. If you enjoy 10 | DRIFTWOOD shop. Glasgow Caledonian University Students Association 70 The Flying Duck - 142 Renfield Street music, a King Tut’s gig has to be on 2 St Georges Road Cowcaddens Road Glasgow G4 0BA your to do list.
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what’s on | FRESHERS
E
14 | KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY It houses one of Europe’s greatest art collections and it’s amongst the top three free-to-enter visitor attractions in Scotland.
15 | MOSKITO
200 Bath Street
Moskito have been doing their stuff on Bath Street for 16 years, well before the street’s transformation into the bar mecca it’s become. Their cocktails are awesome, made with only premium spirits and half price Sunday to Thursday.
16 | MONO
12 King Street
An exciting bar, vegan restaurant and music venue, renowned for it’s relaxing atmosphere and much loved inbuilt record store, Monorail Music.
17 | MR BEN
Kings Court King Street
Mr Ben Retro Clothing is an emporium of classic, designer, labelled clothing and accessories from some of the most influential decades of fashion.
18 | SOHO
84 Miller Street
New York style cocktail bar and Pizzeria specialising in thin crust classic pizza. Main courses start from £7.95 and there is live music every Friday and Saturday from 9:30pm.
24 | THE BLUE CHAIR 85 High Street
A small business established in 2013, specialising in good simple food, for the body, mind and the soul. Freshers special throughout September where all students get a free brownie with any burger or nachos dish.
25 | THE FLYING DUCK 142 Renfield Street
It’s more than a bar and a club. You’ll see what we mean when you get there.
26 | 02 ABC
300 Sauchiehall Street
Superb gigs on just about every night of the month and home to the fabulously messy Jellybaby club night.
27 | THE STAND
Started by a bunch of enthusiasts as a hobby, The Stand has now become a successful commercial company, but one that is true to its roots of developing new comedy in Scotland.
28 | THE 78
The 78 is a cosy vegan bar and restaurant based in Finnieston Glasgow who are committed to providing quality food and drink at reasonable prices.
A nightclub and music venue built from an old church, a unique in the East End of Glasgow.
State of the art gym equipment, large swimming pools, saunas, spa pools and steam rooms.
21 | STYLE CITY BARBERS
W | WETHERSPOONS
It is not presumed ‘vain’, in fact it is the norm for Turkish men to care deeply about their grooming.
22 | SWEAT! UNION
54 Finnieston Square, Skypark
Whether you see yourself as a ‘newbie’ or a seasoned ‘savvy’ looking for a fresh approach, Sweat’s upbeat environment and expert advice will help you create your own fitness journey.
23 | THE BAY HORSE 73 Bath Street
Live Music, cabaret, karaoke, DJs, Celebrity meet and greats, and open until 3am every weekend.
LIVE DJS 6 nights a week Tues to Sun FREE PIZZAS
WHEN U BOOK A TABLE FOR 4 BEFORE 9pm 7 days!! DRINKS PROMOS Sun to Wed:-
House vodka whisky £1:20 INCLUDING MIXER
Pint Tennents £2 Venom slushes £4
OPEN TILL AM
3
FREE BOOTH HIRE FREE WIFI FREE FUNCTION HIRE POOL TABLE
Bar Budda
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Bath Street, Hope Street, Charing Cross
30 | VILLAGE GYM
1148 Argyle Street
Sept weekend Zandernation!
29 | PURE GYM
20 | ST LUKE’S 17 Bain Street
SEPT 9th MEET AND GREET
10-14 Kelvinhaugh Street
In the heart of Glasgow city centre, they offer a relaxed cafe bar and are a key live venue in the city.
22-28 Renfield Lane
CALUM BEST
333 Woodlands Road
Work out 24/7 at Pure Gyms across Glasgow. Their no frills fitness clubs are great for newbies, regulars and gym pros to mix equally on their top-quality equipment. Check out page 9 for student discount.
19 | STEREO
! s t n e v E a d Bud
7 Festival Gate
They are offering £100 worth of discouts with their handy voucher book. Check out page 41 for more info.
FC | FREE CONDOMS You just never know when you might need an emergency one – that’s why we’ve pinpointed the places for you. Head to page 61 for your guide to a safe one night stand.
C | CO-WHEELS From just £4.50 hourly, you can access one of their hybrid electric vehicles, which are available 24/7 from parking bays across the city and can be booked by the hour, daily or for as long as you require.
OPEN FROM 11am-7pm 7 DAYS A WEEK
FRESHERS for September only all students SPECIAL get a free brownie with any BURGER or NACHOS dish.
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LET’S
LOOK
AHEAD SEPTEMBER
DECEMBER
OCTOBER
JANUARY
NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY
Once Freshers’ Week is well and truly over, it’s time to take a step back and have a proper look at the different things going on in the city you’ve dedicated the next 4 years of your life to, and trust us when we say, there’s lots going on. If you’re Edinburgh based, why not fully explore Edinburgh and get behind the scenes in the city’s annual architecture and heritage festival, Doors Open Festival (23-24 Sep). For the music lovers in Glasgow, there’s Tenement Trail Festival (30 Sep), a music festival taking place over one day in 9 different venues across the city, perfomers include Clean Cut Kid and Louis Berry.
We’re fully aware that October is all about Halloween, but if you want to take a break from planning your kick ass costume, have a look at these events on offer. In Glasgow, the city is having it’s very own Tequila Festival! (21 Oct) Why? Because we love Tequila! The festival takes place at the Barras from 1pm – 11pm (that’s a long day of Tequila drinking). In Edinburgh, the Samhuinn Fire Festival (31 Oct) marks the beginning of winter with this special evening of costumes and fire dancing. If Halloween isn’t your thing but you still love a bit of horror, Physco Live (26 Oct) is on at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Oh – and don’t forget Oktoberfest! Taking place in both cities.
On the 5th November head to Glasgow Green for a top notch firework display, and Meadowbank Stadium or Calton Hill if you’re ‘Burgh’ bound. Also – it’s St Andrews Day (30 Nov), the one time a year opportunity to get into the Edinburgh Castle for free for a cheeky wander. In Glasgow, there’s loads going on, including a Pizza and Prosecco Festival (4 Nov) at SWG3, a Festival of Burlesque (9-12 Nov) at Riding Room, and the grand launch of Glasgow Loves Christmas on 19th November.
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Once the novelty of £1 pints, sub crawls, pub golf, and stealing traffic cones has worn off – it’s time to prepare for the year adequately with our calendar of cultural events.
what’s on | FRESHERS
Edinburgh is the place to be at this time of the year. It goes full hog. You can stuff your face with mulled wine and chocolate crepes at the Christmas markets on George Street then feel a tad nauseous on the carousel in East Princes Street Gardens after. Glasgow is pretty good as well mind you, with it’s Christmas markets at St Enoch Square and the Big Wheel in George Square. If you’re torn between the two cities for Hogmanany though, Edinburgh is where it’s at. The world famous Hogmanay celebrations are a sight to behold.
We’re now entering into the second half of the academic year, which means Dry January can ‘get tae’ as you’ve already had plenty of time to practice building up a strong resilience to alcohol. Instead, look ahead to Burns Night with celebrations galore in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. The people of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and beyond unite for a night of Scottish revelry, nonsense and classic debauchery all in the name of the late, great radical poet, Robert Burns. An evening dedicated to feasting on traditional Scottish foods like Haggis, Neeps and Tatties followed up by some Whisky sloshed tumblers. With authentic Ceilidh jigs and folk music rounding up the night.
February is by far the worst. It’s cold, you’re skint, there’s nothing really on, and if you’re single don’t even get us started on Valentines Day! But if you can drag yourself out of bed for 9am lectures, then surely you can drag yourself into town for the Glasgow Film Festival (21 Feb-4 Mar) or the Glasgow Tattoo (9-10 Feb). Alternatively head along to the Edinburgh Student Arts Festival, a platform for student artists to showcase their work to the artistic community and public. >>
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Now that you’ve managed to get through February, we can all be on top form again as Glasgow really starts to come to life again in March. We’ve got the International Comedy Festival (8-25 Mar), The Glasgow Short Film Festival (14-28 Mar), and the Glasgow book festival Aye Write! Head over to the capital for Scotland’s biggest celebration of reggae, dub and sound system culture, Wee Dub Festival (3-5 Mar), is back for another weekend packed with quality acts and top class vibes. Also, don’t forget it’s St. Paddy’s Day in March. You ain’t been to no party till you’ve been to a St. Paddy’s Party!
It’s time to geek-out in Edinburgh in time for Edinburgh Comic Con (14-15 Apr) and the Edinburgh International Science Festival (1-15Apr). If you’re looking for something a little different, check out Beltane Fire Festival (30 Apr). A fiery modern interpretation of the ancient Celtic celebration of Beltane to mark the arrival of summer. If you’re through in Glasgow you can go a bit more cultural with the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art (20 Apr – 7 May). It’s also the month when Arcade Fire and Harry Styles are performing in the city.
For all you techno junkies, May is the month that brings us the Riverside Festival. With the likes of Sven Vath and Optimo being the highlight of previous years, this is one event you should definitely be adding to your electronic calender (see what we did there). We understand that you’re right smack in the middle of exam and revision season, so we don’t want to distract you away from that too much. But – we do understand you also need a little break now and again, so check out what The Improverts are up to – they are a long-running improvisational comedy troupe, put on yearly by the Edinburgh University Theatre Company. And they usually put on some pretty great shows around exam time to ease the pain a little.
It’s Summer! You’re free! You did it! Hoorah! Crap – it’s raining! Well, fret not, because there’s tonnes going on in the capital this month and festival season is all kicking off. You’ve got the Edinburgh International Film Festival (20 Jun – 1 Jul), Leith Festival (9-17 Jun) and the Edinburgh International Magic Festival (TBC) getting you in the swing of things. With your new found freedom, why not be a true country bumpkin head up to the Royal Highland Show (21-24 Jun) in Ingliston. We also recommed making your way to Dumfries to one of Scotland’s largest festivals, Eden Festival (7-10 Jun)
College and university is completely finished for the summer and there’s some top notch music festivals for you to really wind down to. We have the return of TRNSMT in Glasgow Green which promises to top last year’s debut, or take a trip dow Kelburn Garden Party for some psychedelic adventures. If you’re looking for some smooth jazz, July is the month for the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival (13-22 Jul), or if you want to chill out with a fine beverage, head to the west end in Glasgow for the West End Beer Festival.
It’s the cream of the crop for festival season and cultural events. It’s the month that a lot of people patiently wait the whole year out for, the Edinbugh Festival Fringe. It’s also the month of the Edinburgh Art Festival, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and the Foodies Festival. It would be impossible to have nothing to do. August will fly by, and then, before you know it, would you look at that, it’s September again. Freshers’ are rolling in by the thousands for sub crawls, £1 Jagerbombs and cone heads. We know you’re new to our two biggest cities, but once you’ve found your feet you’ll see that each month is brimming with cultural activities to really sink your teeth into. by Katie Jones Editor katie@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk
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FAVOURITE STUDENT CLUBNIGHTS EDINBURGH & GLASGOW Glasgow and Edinburgh’s student population is a force to be reckoned with. With over 100,000 students about to descend on our cities, a mid-week clubnight will not be hard to come by. Whether you’re looking to live it up on the cheap or going for something a little different, Glasgow and Edinburgh’s student nightlife has a little something for everyone. Here’s a selection of our favourite student club nights well worth looking out for.
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PROPAGANDA
BROKE! FRIDAYS
An unrivalled audio visual mix of the best current and classic indie alternative music with special guests and Propaganda resident DJs. Propaganda’s DJs are some of the biggest and best in the country. They have DJed for the likes of Oasis, at Glastonbury, Reading, Oxygen, Bestival and V Festivals, DJed Ibiza Rocks, New York, Barcelona and across the UK! Drinks offers inlcludes spirits and mixers for £2.50 and £1 shots, and £4 entry for students before Midnight.
Fabulously, arrogantly, unreservedly and indisputably Edinburgh’s best and biggest club night 9 years on the trot – and it’s incredibly student friendly with drink deals fron £1. Silk
THE EGG
TIPSY
An Edinburgh institution for those in the know looking for a quick fix of decent music and attitude-free clubbing. Indie, 60s garage, electro, northern soul, ska, 70s punk and new wave hatch every Saturday at Edinburgh College of Art, catering to a diverse and chilled clubbing crowd. There’s a spectacular mix of styles: be prepared for your Spotify playlists to grow legs when you get home.
As the country’s premier urban party, Tipsy has welcomed a host of impressive artists through its doors including Drake, Taio Cruz, Emeli Sande and Tinie Tempah, and thrown some massive after parties. It’s a Sunday night you don’t want to miss.
The Liquid Rooms
The Wee Red Bar
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what’s on | FRESHERS
LOVE WEDNESDAYS Why Not
Love Wednesdays is Edinbrugh’s biggest student night at one of the country’s best loved nightclubs. If you’re a student in Edinburgh looking for a Wednesday night out – this is where you go.
Atik
TEMPLE
Thursday’s ‘Temple’ club night offers drinks from £1, a student-friendly VIP package and 25% student discount at the pre-bar. Even the chaps on the door are super friendly so go along and pay them some love soon. LuLu
F*CK ME IT’S FRESHERS Walkabout / The Liquid Room
As one of the biggest student events in the UK, you can expect a big welcome to nightlife in Glasgow and Edinburgh. F*ck Me It’s Freshers will be partying hard at Walkabout on 11 September and The Liquid Rooms on 18 September, expect all sorts of surprises from cabaret acts through to fire breathers.
£30
When you book an appoi appo nntment tment at STA Travel GLASGOW
Fancy an Adventure? WE CAN HELP YOU BOOK A TRIP OF A LIFETIME ADVENTURE TOURS • ROUND THE WORLD TRIPS CITY BREAKS • FESTIVALS VALS • RAIL & BUS PASSES V TRAVEL AVEL INSURANCE • £49 FLIGHT DEPOSIT * A PRICE BEAT AT GUARANTEE A GUARANTEE*
GLASGOW RETURN TO MONO
SUB ROSA
Slam’s monthly Subbie residency sees them joined by some of the biggest and best names in international house and techno on the regular. Green Velvet, Pan Pot and so many more have been bringing their electronic battle weapons to the party since RTM was born in 2004. Run by Soma Records who are also responsible for bringing us Pressure, which returns this September. Head to page 42 to familiarise yourself with the Glasgow techno scene.
Sub Rosa is a Wednesday hot little club night for undergrad ravers in Glasgow. Stylish students and discerning dance heads bust a move to a midweek house and techno party. Not your average messy student venue, this is a night for eager beaver clubbing undergrads who are serious about their tunes.
Sub Club
JELLYBABY 02 ABC
Thursday Nights Are Jellybaby. Remember that. One of the most popular student nights in Glasgow, it’s a great night with a packed out ‘up for it’ crowd. The night is spread across 3 rooms. The main hall focusses on classics and charts, it has a huge dance floor and an area at the side for beanbags, YES BEANBAGS! And £1 vodka mixes usually keeps you sorted for the night!
GET LOOSE FRIDAYS Bamboo
No money? No excuses when it comes to Bamboo. Going big across their three basement rooms, five nights a week. The booze starts from ludicrously cheap on Saturdays (get in before 11pm if you want free entry) and Get Loose Fridays offers free entry to students all night long.
Sub Club
Make an appo appointment ntment at your nearest store: GLASGOW GEORGE STREET 01413 879697 GLASGOW BYRES ROAD 01413 879696
JUICY TUESDAYS Kusion
Juicy Tuesdays is Kushion’s flagship student night. This massive student night has been running for over five years and shows no signs of slowing down yet. Cheap drinks, top tunes and a real party atmosphere – what’s not to like? We just hope you don’t have any 9am lectures on a Wednesday.
UNHOLY THURSDAYS The Cathouse
Glasgow’s original rock nightclub is Cathouse, a venue which hosts 5 different club nights throughout the week. Sure – there’s a focus on classic rock and metal – but the nightclub hosts different themed events throughout the week so there’s always a little something for everyone. Get yourself a wristband for exclusive discounts at the bar and check out Unholy Thursdays for the full Cathouse experience, when entry is discounted with an NUS card and the playlist features a mix of metal, punk and rock.
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Competition amongst graduates is getting tougher every year so it’s more and more important to consider all your opportunities early on in your university life. Wanting to get ahead of the pack professionally, make practical use of your skills and potentially even avoid being stuck in an office once you graduate? The RAF could well be your answer! Flt Lt Fiona Padbury explains how she came to decide on a career with the RAF and how it helped her maximise her working potential while keeping an active social life – a pretty rare balance to find.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK After leaving school I studied Computing Science at Robert Gordon University then moved into employment within the Gas and Oil Industry in Aberdeen for 5 years; it soon became apparent that working 16 hours a day was the norm which left minimum time for social or sporting activities. I decided to look at other career options that were physically demanding, diverse and rewarding as well as offering opportunities to further my love for sport. The Royal Air Force (RAF) fitted the bill perfectly – initially joining as a Training Officer my responsibility was to further enhance and develop personnel to better themselves on a personal and professional level. After a short period in this role it was evident that having a technical degree opened the door to other career paths, and the role of Communications and Electronics Officer seemed ideal. The practical application of science and maths to solve problems and see projects from an idea on a page through to completion brings a great sense of achievement. As an engineer you need to be incredibly creative when confronted with challenges of modern life. My team and I work alongside industry partners such as Atlas, HP and BT to provide assured communications to support three Typhoon Squadrons and the day to day running of a Main Operating Base (MOB). It is my responsibility to identifying emerging and existing communication requirements for new builds and projects, allocate resources, plan budgets; all while ensuring the welfare of the 20 personnel I am responsible for. The RAF has not only developed me as an engineer but is presenting me with a rewarding and fulfilling career with a vast number of personal and professional opportunities. I am currently working towards chartered engineering status, leading the RAF Lossiemouth STEM Outreach team and representing the RAF Mountain Bike Team at numerous racing events which is an absolute honour. The pace at which you can develop and gain additional skills is limited only by your own ability level and depth of commitment. I only wish my career as an Engineering Officer had begun at a younger age, and I had taken the opportunity of an RAF scholarship or bursary whilst at University.
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Getting started in the RAF by numbers £30,616 Engineer Office salary after initial officer training
£12,000
Towards tuition fees for future engineer officers in their first to third years of study on the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS) University Air Squadron Bursary Scheme The RAF holds an annual national competition for Bursaries to attract high quality candidates towards a full-time career in the RAF. These Bursaries provide financial assistance towards education and developing your personal qualities. They’re only available for applicants who are currently studying at university. The closing date for applications is early December. Contact us on Twitter @ugsas_1941 to find out more.
Students and Undergrads If you think you’ve got what it takes to be an Officer in the RAF, you could receive sponsorship through university. Competition is tough, so you’ll need to show a real commitment to your studies and a potential future in the RAF. All RAF personnel receive initial training that teaches them about RAF culture and equips them with the basic skills necessary for working in a military organisation.
£6,000
Towards tuition fees for other universities and degrees as part of the University Air Squadron Bursary Scheme
6
Weeks paid holiday a year including public holidays
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FOOD BUDGETS WHERE TO BEGIN?
That fatal morning when the SQA delivered my sixth-year results to me, life didn’t turn up to the show empty-handed. ‘Here’s a student loan. A monthly instalment amounting to more money than all of your birthdays combined,’ it said. ‘But be careful,’ it cautioned, ‘you have to be responsible with it.’ Now, to add weight to the pre-existing argument that we, as school leavers, are still grossly unprepared for the real world, allow me to recite this definition of ‘responsibility’ as found in the Oxford English Dictionary: Capability of fulfilling an obligation or duty; the quality of being reliable or trustworthy. These emotive words like ‘obligation’ and ‘trustworthy’ have deeply rooted connotations throughout history of accountability, commitment and maturity. Qualities, I believe, I have barely scratched the surface of four years on, now out the other side of student life. Agree? Where does one begin to accumulate such accolades at 18?
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HOW TO ‘ADULT’ Overwhelmed by the expectation placed on us, I’ve been researching. Eating, budgeting, partying are all verbs that I am accustomed to and I also found in most advice columns and student handbooks. I eat, perhaps too much. I set aside money for the things I want to buy. I party, and party some more, and some more… I would have been forgiven for saying, ‘phew,’ if only each entry wasn’t juxtaposed by the adjective: ‘responsibly’. It appeared to me on that results day that over the course of six summer weeks, I had unknowingly transformed from being a product worthy of parental surveillance to a fullyfunctioning chaperone for myself. Me. The phoney who still slept with the light on because of one tender Paranormal Activity screening at 16. Me, who chose books over 18th’s and still only got into university by the skin of her teeth. If your experience was anything like mine, it was only when you moved away from home that the gaps in your survival skills became as obvious as a red wine spillage on the living room carpet. ‘I can live on my own,’ I told my mother as we fought while unpacking the village of cardboard boxes in my first flat. ‘At least I can cook.’ I
gestured half-heartedly towards a smallish box at the back of the room with KITCHEN scrawled across it in black marker, unopened. It was during the unpacking process that it became apparent to everyone that my survival depended more so on the incredible volume of stationery I surrounded myself with and not my food preparation skills. Pretty unexpected coming from the girl who once set a toaster alight by forgetting to put the bread in first, don’t you think? WHERE TO BEGIN? I knew from the onset that one of the largest dents in my income was undoubtedly going to come from food shopping. Therefore, weekly shops are something we should take time over. With the Co-op now offering a 10% discount for NUS extra card holders – something which other supermarkets have yet to catch on to – it has become even easier for us to choose home-cooking over the chippy. Additionally, students who also become a Member of the Co-op will gain a further 5% reward on purchases of own-branded products and services – with a further 1% benefitting local good causes, community groups and charities so you can shop in good conscience. Richard Brooks, Vice-President (Union Development) at NUS, said that the Co-op’s new membership proposition, “not only provides a further 5% personal reward, but gives 1% to good causes and charities who make a difference in local communities something that this generation of student cares deeply about.”
And it’s true: we are all part of a student body that cares deeply about ethical, forwardthinking. EMOTIONAL v EFFECTIVE EATING Away from home, my microwave and I enjoyed a fond bond. In fact, I would go as far as saying that its heating properties are accountable for six of the ten hot homemade meals I enjoyed throughout fourth year. Students stopping to think about their food options is precisely what the Co-op are striving to achieve among Scotland’s young population, and this is why their 10% discount applies to Young Scot card holders as well – a completely free scheme for anyone aged 11-25 and living in Scotland. The Co-op’s Director of Marketing Communications Amanda Jennings has said, “With many students living away from home for the first time our partnership with NUS extra aims to support young people trying to balance their budget - eating the right food can bring about a boost to health, wellbeing and even educational achievement.” Now, I will be the first to testify that there are some dilemmas that can only be solved by a big, oily supper. However, the beige-tones of those emotional takeout meals do get old very quickly and you need to reserve their healing powers for the genuinely heartbreaking stuff, like First Dates on a Tuesday night. During times of peril at university, when coursework feels insurmountable and out of
control, cooking is a good way of taking control of your life again. You’re governing what goes into your body, thus, you’re managing other aspects of your life and seeing the bigger picture in the process. University often feels like a bit of a liminal lifestyle but it is only one component of you, as is budgeting. Truth be told, we’re only frightened of budgets because we associate them with limiting ourselves and having less fun than we would have if the money was free-flowing, but budgeting enables you to spend more and feel less guiltily about it in the long run. PLAN TO SPLURGE When your student loan, wages or allowance (if you’re lucky enough to have one of those) come in, I know from experience that it’s tempting to splurge on unnecessary things. What I also know is the guilt which follows, the ‘I shouldn’t have bought those shoes’ phase which plagues every full-price Schuh purchase I’ve ever made. Setting aside a food budget is one of the easiest ways of generating disposable income from your existing resources. A meal planner goes hand in hand with this way of living. If you’re reading this and thinking that you don’t know enough recipes to warrant a meal planner, let me remind you that you are in rapport with the Queen of Weetabix for Dinner and if I can break a food habit literally anyone can. FOOD is the Co-op’s monthly magazine that is dedicated solely to what goes into our tums – and
bonus? There is a designated section specifically for students designed to address the cooking gap between young people and adults. It’s full of ideas and pictures to get you inspired and suitably salivating and completely free to pick up in store. The Co-op’s website www.coop.co.uk/food also boasts a hugely helpful student section full of recipes and even a breakdown of the best in-store deals for students – important stuff – like pizza and fizzy juice. If you attempt to cook with an open-mind and a willingness to learn, it can only be beneficial for you. That’s all that this university lifestyle is about really: learning. If you’re not learning in the classroom, you’re working out what inspires you and how to function on your own for the first time. Be assured that everyone is in the same boat. It’s just that sometimes it feels like it’s caught fire, and it’s sinking, and the one solitary copy of your assignment is onboard but there’s nothing you can do about it…
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VEGAN EASY
There’s no great mystery to going vegan, you just have to be more aware of what you eat. Admittedly this might mean longer standing in supermarkets searching labels for animal sourced ingredients (Hiya Lactose!) but you’ll generally get the hang of it after a couple of weeks. If you’ve just moved out from your parents house and fancy giving veganism a go we’ve a few hints and put together a wee easy vegan curry recipe for you to try.
you can train your taste to like it then make black coffee your friend. Saying that, if 1/ Ifyou’re used to a cappuccino or a flat white you can always substitute almond or soya for your usual cows milk. Tea contains far more anti-toxicants than black coffee. Ideal for keeping fending 2/ Green off colds during the long winter months. It also tastes rank with milk, so that’s one source of temptation to cheat dealt with. Put a wee touch of cold water in the cup with the tea bag before you pour the boiling water and you’ll retain more nutrients. don’t have to be the ‘perfect’ vegan straight away (or ever). If you wake up to find 3/ You yourself in bed with a pizza from the night before, it’s no big deal. Just chalk it up to experience and carry on, no biggie. to hint 3. Don’t feel as though you have to justify your super or not so super 4/ Related veganism to anyone. It’s not a competition and anyone who gives you a hard time for either living a vegan lifestyle or trying and not quite managing to stick to it is quite frankly a dick.
5/
It’s really easy to be vegan and still be incredibly unhealthy. If you get good at reading food labels (or follow Accidently Vegan on Twitter) you can cram all sorts of rubbish in your gob without hurting anything but yourself. With this in mind try to have a couple of days a week where you cook from scratch with fresh ingredients.
you’re not much of a cook then raw veg with hummus a couple of times a week is a 6/ Ifcheap and easy way to make sure you’re getting vital nutrients. Just chop up a carrot, a couple of stalks of celery, a bell pepper and some cucumber crack open the hummus, grab a handful of cherry tomatoes, toast a couple of pitta breads and you’re there.
VEGAN BAR & KITCHEN 12 noon until 1am Mon-Sun
10% off food with matriculation card in September and October!
CRAFT BEER, DISCO DRINKS, ORGANIC WINE, TUNES, GOOD VIBES 34
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SPLIT PEA DHAL AND CAULIFLOWER CURRY FOR THE CURRY 1 rounded teaspoon cumin seeds 1 rounded teaspoon coriander seeds 2 tablespoons sunflower oil 1 onion or 3 shallots, sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped 1 cinnamon stick 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 4 medium size potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 400ml can coconut milk 500ml vegetable stock 227g can tomatoes 1/2 small cauliflower, cut into florets handful of green beans, trimmed and cut into 4cm lengths
FOR THE DHAL 300g yellow split peas 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 cinnamon stick 3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed 2 slices fresh ginger 1 onion, finely chopped 40g butter 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1 garlic clove, sliced 1/2 teaspoon kalonji (black onion) seeds 1 teaspoon caster sugar salt and freshly ground black pepper coriander leaves to garnish brown rice to serve
First make the dhal. Tip the split peas into a large bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak overnight. Drain and rinse the split peas, tip into a saucepan, add the ground turmeric, cinnamon stick, cardamon pods and ginger. Pour over 600ml cold water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer and continue to cook for about 40 minutes until the split peas are very tender and starting to soften at the edges. Season with salt to taste. Melt the butter in a small frying pan, add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over a medium heat until tender but not coloured. Meanwhile lightly crush the cumin and coriander seeds. Add them, along with the chilli, ginger, garlic, kalonji seeds and sugar to the onions and continue to cook until caramelised and fragrant. Serve scattered over the dahl. To make the curry, heat a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the cumin and coriander seeds and toast for 1 minute or until fragrant. Lightly grind using a pestle and mortar. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the onion and cook over a medium heat until tender but not coloured. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and the spices and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the potatoes to the pan and stir to coat. Pour in the coconut milk, stock and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the cauliflower. Cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes until the potato and cauliflower are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. Add the beans and cook for 2–3 minutes. Season to taste, garnish with coriander and serve with the yellow dahl and brown rice. An estimated 40 per cent of Indians are vegetarian, so it’s no surprise that the nation has perfected the art of meat-free cooking. This recipe proves the point.
SAY MACCA CHEESE!!! Everyone loves Mac and Cheese don’t they (and if not, why not!)? Glaswegian food bloggers Foodie Explorers certainly do and here’s why. Macaroni Cheese, is one of the best all-round meals about. Ticking so many boxes – for example, it’s cheap (keep a look out for in-store special offers and grab an armful of them!), it freezes well so you can stock up, it’s so quick and easy to make that it’s difficult to get wrong (just a few minutes in the microwave) and you can add so many ingredients to pimp it up for any occasion. Mac and Cheese need never be boring. If it’s date night, or you have friends that you want to impress coming over, take a tub of McIntosh Macaroni Cheese and go Italian – add a good big glug of pesto, some toasted pine nuts and maybe some crisped cubes of pancetta to make it all fancy so there’s no need to head out to a posh restaurant, instead save your pennies. All you’ll need to do is make sure that you’ve got a bottle (or two!) of wine chilled.
If mum and dad are coming to visit, show them that not only are you eating well, but you can whip up something amazing that is healthy as well. Add some green bits, mums always love it when they see you are eating your greens! Try a couple of handfuls of peas, maybe some diced avocado. You’ll have a healthy and tasty dinner. Or open up a can of tuna for protein and toss in some mixed peppers, maybe even some olives for a Mediterranean-inspired Mac. Macaroni Cheese works well with hotter flavours too – add a sprinkle of chopped chillies or jalapenos; crush some tortillas and a dash of spicy sauce. Bang it in the oven to cook and minutes later you have a Tex-mex style dinner. Just pull out a fork, head to the couch and dive in! Being on a budget doesn’t meal you need to miss out on flavour. Use some McIntosh Macaroni Cheese as your base and go wild with flavours! But if you’re too tired to be a chef for the night, just eat it straight out of the packet! You can
cheat too, using McIntosh’s Mexicana, Applewood & Bacon flavours (remember to cook them first of course, cold macaroni isn’t recommended!). See McIntosh Foods at the Freshers Festival on George Square in Glasgow on 21st – 22nd September.
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CLEAN CUT KID
Liverpool’s thrilling fuzz-pop quartet Clean Cut Kid are one of the most exciting breakthrough bands in the UK. Their inventive take on anthemic guitar-pop is the product of intense writing and rehearsal sessions at the band’s practice space in Liverpool. The group formed after singers Mike and Evelyn were set up on a blind date by a friend – with him writing a song for her on their second date in 2012. The pair soon started writing together and recruited bassist Saul and drummer Ross, then shortly after signed with Polydor. Having recently released their debut album Felt to an incredible response, the record tells the story of the couple meeting and falling in love. Clean Cut Kid are playing at GUU on 11 September as part of Glasgow University’s Freshers’ Week, and at Tenement Trail Festival in Glasgow on 30 September. We caught up with the quartet before they descend on the city later this month for a brief chat about the band’s history and the love story and heartbreak behind their debut album.
We all appreciate a good love story, and we recently read about how singers Mike and Evelyn met, which is also the basis of how the band came to be. Can you tell us more about how everyone came together? We were working on some music and were talking about a guy that I had met years before (Saul), saying that if he was still around he would be perfect for the band. That night we bumped into him busking on the street in Liverpool unbelievably, so hired him there and then! Mike, the song you wrote for Evelyn on your second date – does this song appear on the album in any way? Indeed it does – Track 10! Can you tell us the story behind the name, Clean Cut Kid? Although the songs are wrapped up in fuzzy modern sounds, the inspiration for the songwriting has always come from the classic writers – Beatles, Paul Simon, and Dylan which is where the name came from. Just had a nice vibe to it and felt like it fitted us well. Let’s talk about the debut album, Felt. It has garnered such an incredible response – did you ever expect for it to be so well received?
It’s been a great response, and its been boss for us to hear people singing album tracks that we’ve played for ages but that people didn’t know. Nice to have everyone with us for the whole set now! When listening to the album in it’s entirety, the love story behind it is evident. Can you tell us about the writing process (story) for the album and how long it took for it to come together? Its been a long time in the making, and we felt (wayooo) that the concept in the end was really tight. The whole idea of the arc of a breakup of one relationship, moving into the next relationship was a tricky one to get right, but we’re definitely happy with the final result. How would you describe your music to someone who has never listened to it? Pop hooks, with fuzzy, dirty sonics. You’re playing in Glasgow a couple of times next month – for Glasgow Freshers’ and then again at the end of the month for Tenement Trail. Are you looking forward to the shows and can we expect to see you tearing up Glasgow after? We always love a gig up for the Scottish lot. Great crowds, great vibe.
by Katie Jones
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Editor katie@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk
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P Tis the season for the student body to return to Glasgow and Bloc+ is prepared with a non-academic timetable of eclectic free gigs, clubs, not-to-mention delicious food and drinks deals! The Bath Street cave of delights has become an institution for many and a go-to destination for students.
The Food: Bloc+ has enough on
its menu to cater for almost everyone despite its big neon “Not For Everyone” décor. They run daily deals from Monday to Sunday which range from £3 to £10! You can get a rich and indulgent Mac ‘n’ Cheese on Pasta Monday for only £3 and their infamous Steak Wednesdays at only £5 for a 6oz sirloin with peppercorn sauce and fries draws an impressive crowd. Weekends see a vegan breakfast for only £5 and Sundays are renowned for the mammoth 12oz T-bone steaks for only £10. It doesn’t end there, if you fancy being a bit more flash with your cash, i.e. the first week that student loan comes in (disclaimer: please spend wisely), then Bloc+ has an extensive main menu! It boasts The Mad Mac, Bloc+’s own take on a fast food chain burger that basically went viral in Glasgow, vegan tacos, an Irn Bru boy burger AND Buckfast Ice Cream which has seen fans travel from as far as Russia to try.
The Music: Gigs and clubs are free
7 days a week at Bloc+. Yes, that means no tickets, no paying and more money to spend on food and drink! Blochestra – Bloc+’s own mini orchestra is one-of-a-kind. They are an everevolving collective of sorts. Musicians from all skill levels and all professions come together to perform covers and original tracks. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The National, Arcade Fire have all been interpreted in their own euphoric way so if you are a musician looking to meet new people then this is the place to go. Other musical highlights include the Sunday night Bloc+Jam Open Mic. Led by Admiral Fallow’s Louis Abbot and friends, the venue has seen surprise
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Free Gigs, Clubs and Delicious Food Deals! Bloc+ Has It All
ascal Arbez-Nicolas, more commonly known as Vitalic, has plowed his own furrow with a series of club classics incorporating techno, disco, rock and pop. Tunes such as ‘Poney’, ‘La Rock 01’, ‘My Friend Dario’ and ‘You Prefer Cocaine’ are mainstays in many record collections throughout the world and in many way opened the way of the French sound that Daft Punk, Justice and Etienne de Crécy followed.
performances from high profile musicians as well as local talent. Bloc+ is now also celebrated for the number of touring bands that it accommodates, this has earned them kudos from the likes of BBC 6 Music. With top quality bands from Italy, Spain, France, the US and more, it has given a unique platform for artists. Their club nights have also caused quite the stir. Every Friday and Saturday they kick off at 11pm. Ghost Girls female collective bring the best of 90s & 00s R’n’B, Fantastic Man play all that is good in commercial and hip hop, Gonzo is the best indie disco you will likely attend and Shake Appeal showcase 5 decades of rock and roll. Oh, did we mention they are open until 3am every night?
The Drinks: Bloc+ have recognised that it has a mixed fanbase and therefore they have options to cater for this. Their “From Bloc With Love” drinks board gives you the deals you need to save on cash including cheap white and black Russians! Their craft beer selection is one of the best in Glasgow. With rotating produce, their staff are up-to-speed with their knowledge and always seek a hopportunity (sorry, not sorry) to recommend the best to customers. Rumours of a guest tap coming to the venue will also mean exciting draft beer taking a step up so keep your eyes peeled. Bloc+, 117 Bath Street, G2 2SZ Open Monday – Sunday 11am – 3am www.bloc.ru
“When playing in Glasgow I do appreciate the public for its propension to party but its knowledge about electronic music”
Added to a fantastic body of work, Vitalic is also famous for shows that are visually and aurally stunning – so when he was announced as the first act to perform a series of events hosted by Electric Frog at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery – it was a match made in techno heaven. Vitalic performs in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery on 23rd September, and is joined by rising star – DJ, producer and vocalist Maya Medvesek, aka Nightwave.
Vitalic How does it feel to be announced as the first live performer to kick off Electric Frog’s series of events at Kelvingrove? I am very happy to be part of this project. I think its very exciting when people can actually reappropriate their own city in this way, when the music is a link between the past and nowadays. There is a strong appeal from the public to live those experiences outside the regular clubs and venues. Musically, Glasgow citizens know Kelvingrove Art Galley more as the gigantic ceilinged home of daily organ recitals than techno spined disco, what’s your thoughts on the clash of cultures your show will bring? It’s quite difficult to actually make statements about this but, according to my experience in the past, this clash is very interesting. The fact there is an exceptional dimension to that event gives some more depth to the moment. The decorum is a very important aspect of an event. You’re famous for shows that are visually stunning, so it seems that having a show in a venue as impressive as Kelvingrove Art Gallery is a perfect match – do you have any special plans for the show? Unfortunately my show ODC requires some very drastic conditions in terms of size and weight, for its set up but
UK TOUR 2017
also regarding security. It wouldn’t fit at Kelvingrove Gallery. Nevertheless there is gonna be a light show and I bring all my equipment to perform my new live show, that includes some older tracks from the very beginning as well as the latest ones. You have a deep connection with Glasgow that stretches back to collaborations with Slam and Dot Allison in 2002, what do you enjoy most about performing and coming here? Can you tell us more about your history with the city? Yes, I do have a strong connection with Glasgow that didn’t fade over the years, and I had the confirmation about that last time I came to play. I am also very grateful for that. It all started with the parties at The Arches I think. When playing in Glasgow I do appreciate the public for its propension to party but its knowledge about electronic music. Slam and the Slam team did a fantastic job in Scotland and for this reason I think they are legend. Your new album Voyager comes a decade after your debut album OK Cowboy, but you were already making waves in the music industry way before that. What made you initially come up with Vitalic and start doing something different? I still like techno and I enjoy playing it live, but in the beginning of the 2000’s I thought I did all I could do with techno loops, and tried to find another direction. I found myself making music that would mix energy and melodies, together with a kinky twist. Then I make this project evolve over the years, sometimes searching in the punk rock side, sometimes in the disco side. You released your latest album at the start of this year, so is your main focus at the moment developing the live show rather then working on new material? Since the release of the LP I am mostly touring and I am not enough in Paris to focus on composing. Also I need to work on the show on a regular basis. But as often as I can, I do make a bit of music. I would like to release some new material in the beginning of 2018.
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R5
CALIFORNIAN POP-ROCKERS DESCEND ON GLASGOW Supporting the release of their new EP, New Addictions, pop-rock group R5 have announced the UK leg of their New Addictions world tour kicking off September 14th in Belfast. The European leg, featuring special guest Ryland, will take the band to 27 cities in 15 countries with their final show happening in Warsaw, Poland, on October 22. This marks the band’s third European tour since the release of their debut album in 2013. R5 are earning kudos for their recently released EP, New Addictions (Hollywood Records), which Rolling Stone just praised for being “full of sharply constructed pop confections that ride galloping basslines.” New Addictions, which hit #3 on the iTunes Pop Chart and #10 on the overall chart, marks a bold new
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era for the L.A. based band with R5 taking a greater writing and production role than ever before. The EP finds the musicians refining their song-craft building on powerful grooves and sharply crafted hooks and channels the infectious energy R5 have recently shown playing festivals alongside artists like The Chainsmokers, Panic! At The Disco, Charlie Puth and Weezer. You can catch the Californian group at the 02 ABC on 16th September – and probably party on up with the band after!
Yes Ryland is actually the youngest Lynch. And not only does he DJ and put on an awesome show, he is our lighting director.
How are you feeling about the European leg of the tour later this month? Very much looking forward to it. We’re playing some new cities and coming back to a lot of the places we’ve been before. It’s going to be a really great tour.
Your latest EP, New Addictions is receiving a tonne of praise at the moment. It’s also pretty different from some of your previous work. What inspired the new direction? I think it was mainly inspired by us doing most of it completely on our own. Everything from writing to producing, to recording, we did it all ourselves with the exception of ‘Need You Tonight’.
You will be joined by Ryland for the European leg?
You guys are hitting the ABC in Glasgow on 16th September, have you played here before? We have, yes! The venue turns into a night club after our show and every time after we play we shower real quick and freshen up a bit and then we party it up in the club. We’ve played that venue twice now and it’s always an epic night.
You probably get asked this a lot in interviews, but what’s the family dynamic like in the group? Especially when you guys are touring and spending so much time together? It’s really fun. We genuinely love hanging out with each other and we have a great time. Especially touring. Every once in a while we’ll need some space from each other but it’s not that often. We’ve read that you’re still spending a lot of time in the studio – are you working on more new material already? If so, what can we expect? Yes we have a new single coming out early September, just in time for the Europe tour, and after that will either be a full album, or another EP of all new songs. Catch R5 at the 02 ABC on September 16. by Katie Jones Editor katie@thestudentadvertiser.co.uk
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FANCY A RAVE?
K
evin Bridges once noted that Glasgow is the only place in Europe to be named both the murder capital and the City of Culture. That’s a pretty accurate description of the Toon. It can be rough at times. But for every wee bam with a vendetta and a chib wanting to paint the walls red with your blood, there is just as much art and culture to balance it all out. Sometimes the murder and the culture even co-exist, as cutting edge DJs and receptive punters have been laying waste to dancefloors for decades. And if you’re looking for a hotbed of electronic music, you’ve come to the right city. Some of the best electronic artists in the world have emerged from Scottish shores, and Glasgow has produced a good number of them. In recent years, we’ve witnessed the likes of Gary Beck, Harvey McKay, Jasper James, and Jackmaster inherit Slam’s legacy as linchpins of native techno. That said, Slam is still going strong in their own right. Their label Soma is home to a number of great artists – both homegrown and foreign – tearing up the contemporary scene. Meanwhile, their Pressure and Return to Mono residencies are not to be missed. And with Pressure returning in September, there is no better way to celebrate your newfound student life. Enjoy it while you’re still young. As for the other artists, their globetrotting adventures don’t keep them away for too long. The former will be appearing at the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh later this month. There is no better live act in this world than Gary Beck. The guy knows his way around the decks and into our hearts. Meanwhile, Jackmaster will be kicking off Subby’s September festivities. Earlier this month, Optimo celebrated their 20th anniversary as trendsetters. You’d think that after all this time you’d know what to expect from such an established duo, but that’s just silly. The beauty of Optimo is that you have no idea what surprises they have in store, and if you’re new to the electronic nightlife then you owe it to yourself to get acquainted with them. Their sets incorporate an “anything goes approach” and musical diversity is embraced, which is always refreshing to hear when so many artists (even great ones) don’t step out of their comfort zones. They play in town all the time, so keep an eye out for them.
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ELECTRONIC MUSIC SCENES IN GLASGOW AND EDINBURGH
Elsewhere, Hudson Mohawke’s ascent from playing happy hardcore under the alias of DJ Mayhem to Grammy-nominated artist who’s worked alongside Kanye West is one of the city’s greatest success stories. Mohawke is also a prime example of some of the boundary-pushing artistry the city is synonymous with. He’s a pioneer of the current incarnation of trap music that’s blown up across the pond. Yet, at the same time, his style is too experimental to be placed within a single genre. The same can be said for Rustie, whose rise to prominence coincided with the dubstep boom nearly 10 years ago despite being something else entirely. These artists exemplify how original and genre-bending electronic music can be, which you’ll find is commonplace in the Glasgow music scene if you seek it out. Of course, being a student isn’t always financially ideal. Some weekends you’re going to be skint, living on Super Noodles and MD 20/20. If that’s the case, just bear in mind that George Bowie still has a radio show and he
gives shout outs if you text in. I don’t know why anybody would listen to happy hardcore, but if that’s your cup of tea then Uncle George has you covered. Alternatively, if you’re into good music performed by great local DJs, be sure to jump down to Flat 0/1 on September 16th for Electric Boogaloo’s Freshers Party. It’s free entry, and their monthly events are some of the most fun in town (and cheap). Furthermore, be sure to keep an eye on what’s happening over at the Art School as well. Even though it’s just a train ride away, Edinburgh is less revered on the global scale than Glasgow when it comes to clubbing. But it’s not too shabby in its own right. It’s especially decent if you’re looking for an alternative to the nights we associate with Glasgow’s top clubs, like Subby and SWG3. While venues like Cabaret Voltaire and Sneaky Pete’s host similar nights, sometimes you just want to step out of the house and into the jungle. That’s where Bongo Club comes in, which caters to your drum ‘n bass, dubstep, and dancehall needs. September is when it all kicks off again
too, so if you’re studying in the city be sure to pop along. However, just before Fresher’s Week officially kicks off, Cabaret Voltaire welcomes Glasgow’s own Denis Sulta on September 15th for a night of madness. The lad is rapidly becoming one of the best breakthrough artists in house and techno, so you can bet that this will be an evening worth attending. Furthermore, it’s always worth keeping an eye on the clubbing calendar to see what’s coming up at the Liquid Rooms and Belushis. Glasgow and Edinburgh are both lively cities for electronic music, whether it’s for clubbing or discovering new producers to listen to in between your studying. Once you become a part of the scenes, you’ll find yourself exposed to a lot of wonderful artists the world doesn’t know yet. Chances are you’ll discover them DJing at illegal after hours parties and, when they finally do take off, you can tell your pals you knew them before they were famous. by Kieran Fisher @HairEverywhere_ k.fisher@tsaglasgow.com
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load your ANOTHER WORD FOR ses app TODAY! We woke an eminently patient and slightly groggy Oscar Pollock for a quick 7am Q&A where we talked about their recent album Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect and their musical inspirations.
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Where abouts in the world are you just now? Finland, not really sure if it’s a festival or a club night, something we’re playing but it’s definitely our first show in Finland. We were out exploring a little last night with the crew, so...
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Do you go into a lot of your gigs not really knowing what situation you’re going to be playing in? Yeah, exactly. That can be fun but also it’s nice to have some sort of idea of what you’re going into. You’ve played Scotland a few times in the last couple of years. That’s right, two really really different venues in The Garage and Oran Mor but the exact same vibe from the crowd at both. Both doing the classic chant and a few mosh pits going, the Glasgow crowd is always up for a good time.
SUNDARA
the muscles fresh, ticking over. I try to approach it like that. Then again sometimes if you don’t write for ages it all kind of comes out in one burst. So there’s no real blue print. You mentioned Dylan, is he a particular influence? Who is your go to in a headphones moment? Everything Everything to be honest, their new record is fucking unbelievable. The lyrics are phenomenal. To be honest I’ve listened to that record to death and the one before it as well and even though I’d listened to it so much I still didn’t want to listen to anything else. I like the way it’s 100% pop music, to me there’s really accessible melodies set out
Our hop-on hop-off open top tour operates What was your thinking behind, frequently throughout the releasing the updated version of Youth Is Only Ever Fun In day. Retrospect rather than perhaps releasing the additional songs as an EP?
in a really quirky original way. That and the production is mental. I think it’s the way to do pop. It’s great that bands like yourselves and Everything Everything are getting Radio 1 play because for so long Radio 1 has been pretty staid. Yeah for sure. Definitely for Everything Everything. I’d say that we were slightly more transparent and upfront with the music and maybe a bit more immediate whereas I think with Everything Everything it rewards you the more you listen. Very inspired by them. What’s your favourite place that you’ve played? There’s so many. You know what, we did a show last week in Reading and that was pretty special. We’re from Reading and we played the NME tent. That’s the one we’ve always wanted
to play out of any festival in the world really so maybe that. But that’s pathetic really that we’re from there and that’s the place I’m saying.... we’ve played Japan so that was pretty special. When you were writing the album it was a long time coming together. Was there still a cohesive idea behind it all or was it an amalgam of lots of different things? It was more an amalgam of lots of different things, it wasn’t particularly thought through. When we were starting we knew there was something we wanted to do, it was the only thing we were really confident in. I think the first record it’s like a kind of drunken outcry at a party or something like that, more an emotional thing but not the most thought about thing. But I think that’s why it can connect with a lot of younger people. Loneliness is a key theme to that record and what I guess we love about it is that it documents those years from 14 to 20 for us. It’s like a photo album for our children I guess, if we end up having kids. Sundara Karma bring their Explore tour to O2 ABC Glasgow on 1st October.
Tour starts at George Square.
We did that as the version that’s out now, that was the album that we pushed for originally but we couldn’t convince enough people on our team unfortunately. So we came to a half way house where we would put out those tracks later on... and we had to settle on that and I know it’s a bit of a bummer for people that had bought the album already but it was the only way to get the album out that we wanted to make. and conditions It’s apply. kind of cool that it gave the album ends 30 November. more legs, a spike or a little injection of citysightseeingglasgow.co.uk life further on down the line. Ultimately we just wanted people to hear the album we had in our heads originally.
.
2 off udent icket
Student tickets £13/£14 For one/two days travel.
So what changed that you were able to get that version out eventually? It was just a compromise, we had quite a few meetings with various people and they were pretty adamant about not putting out a 15 track album as that was too long apparently... apparently. So we just had to settle. Are you writing new material for the next album just now or is that still to come? Yeah, kind of. I mean I try not to stop writing for too long cause I feel it’s like a muscle. Bob Dylan had a really good analogy of songwriting, he compared it to going to a gym and keeping S e p t e m b e r 1 7 | We A r e T S A . c o . u k
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Gig Guide: Music
in Edinburgh & Glasgow JACK ROCKS PRESENTS HUXTABLE + FUCHSIA, LITTLE HANDS OF SILVER, ANIMALS TO CREATORS King Tut’s: 20:30 £8.80
SUN, 30 JUL Domestic Exile No retreat from chronic treats Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 £3 (free for students)
MON, 31 JUL Mick Hargan + Panic Anchor + Katee Kross Uncompromising hard graft, no shit and relying on no-one but himself Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £8 adv / £10 OTD
TUE, 01 AUG Acoustic Open Mic Night with Gerry Lyons Some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free! Free beer for performers! Nice n Sleazy: 20:00 Free
Glasgow
SUN, 16 JUL
TUE, 04 JUL Insurgency + Dungeon + Evil Blood + Venomwolf Extreme militant thrashers from Lancaster, returning to Glasgow to kill again! For fans of Aura Noir, early Mayhem, and war. Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £5.00
WED, 05 JUL Words that Burn + Centrilia + Titan Breed Irish alternative metallers hit Scotland for the very first time Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £5.00 TOM MCRAE + LOWRI EVANS King Tut’s: 20:30 £20.50 First Dates w/ Spook School DJs School disco for the pop-punk / nu metal generation! Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free
THU, 06 JUL NHC Presents : Duncan Reid and the Big Heads Along with the Sex Pistols, Clash and the Damned, Duncan Reid of The Boys, was part of the first wave of the mid-1970’s UK punk explosion. Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £8 ADV CIRCUS RHAPSODY + SUNNY SENSE, THE CUT THROAT RAZORS, CALUM INGRAM King Tut’s: 20:30 £7.70
FRI, 07 JUL AARON LEE TASJAN + SUNNY OZELL, GRAEME QUINN King Tut’s: 20:30 £12.00
SAT, 08 JUL MOON STRANGER + FLOSS, THE KALAHARIS, THE VIOLET KIND King Tut’s: 20:30 £7.70
SUN, 09 JUL MEN UNITED PRESENTS JAMES BROWN IS ANNIE + HAMISH STUART, LIGHTS OUT BY NINE with all profits going to Prostate Cancer UK. King Tut’s: 20:30 £16.50
MON, 10 JUL THE MAINE THE MAINE King Tut’s: 20:30
£17.25
TUE, 11 JUL THE RAILS + JAMIE ROBERT ROSS, FLEW THE ARROW King Tut’s: 20:30 £13.20
FRI, 14 JUL SAVALAS + THE METHOD ONE, THE MORNING RETAKES, TRIMM King Tut’s: 20:30 tbc
SAT, 15 JUL JAKE ISAAC + CATTLE & CANE King Tut’s: 20:30 £13.25
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PAUL DRAPER + ESTRONS King Tut’s: 20:30 tbc The Lance Vance Dance Discover Disco anew, refreshed, revitalised Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 £3 (free for students)
MON, 17 JUL THE LIQUID ENGINEERS (Gary Numan tribute ) and MAN MACHINE (Kraftwerk tribute) THE LIQUID ENGINEERS (Gary Numan tribute ) and MAN MACHINE (Kraftwerk tribute) Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £8 ADV / £10 OTD
TUE, 18 JUL Acoustic Open Mic Night with Gerry Lyons Some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free! Free beer for performers! Nice n Sleazy: 20:00 Free
WED, 19 JUL RYAN MCMULLAN RYAN MCMULLAN King Tut’s: 20:30
£10.00
THU, 20 JUL Queer Theory Hosted by the Queen herself: James Primmer Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £5.00 Not Moving Exotic vibes for the discerning dancer Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free
FRI, 21 JUL Mark Mcguire + Ancient Ocean + Pefkin + I a Mark’s first EU tour in sometime. Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £6 adv / £8 OTD KING NO-ONE + FANTANAS, ECHO PARK King Tut’s: 20:30 £8.80 Drugstore Glamour The most tantalising Steamy Disco + Sleazy Hits Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free
SAT, 22 JUL LUCIDS + PLASTIC POETRY, THE PALMIROS King Tut’s: 20:30 £7.70 Go Funk Yer Soul A night of sweaty funky of all varieties to ease the spirit and excite the body. Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 £3 (free entry for students)
SUN, 23 JUL Sunny Sense + Guests Glasgow duo with influences from krautrock to classical to experimental jazz, with perhaps a little bit of pop Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £4.00 SCOPE + SWVN, BUSKER RHYMES, OOKY King Tut’s: 20:30 £10.00
music | gig guide
Shaka Loves You Presents : Joints n Jams! Live Visuals, Percussion, Hip Hop! Joints n jams /// Crucial Hip Hop w/ Visuals + Live Percussion Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 £3 (free for students)
MON, 24 JUL WATERPARKS WATERPARKS King Tut’s: 20:00
tbc
FRI, 01 SEP Ghost Girls Expect the unexpected, your 90’s nostalgic dance classics, your 00s R&B and more! BLOC: 23:00 Free
SAT, 02 SEP Dammit All To Hell Our new clubnight playing the best in Pop Punk, Emo, Indie, Rock and Pop! BLOC: 23:00 Free
TUE, 25 JUL
SUN, 03 SEP
Acoustic Open Mic Night with Gerry Lyons Some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free! Free beer for performers! Nice n Sleazy: 20:00 Free JUANITA STEIN + QUICK, MABEL & THE FREEWHEELERS King Tut’s: 20:30 £11.00
Bloc+Jam Open Mic Weekly Open Mic with hosts Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) and guests BLOC: 21:00 Free
WED, 26 JUL PCL presents : Good Morning + Guests Good Morning are a two piece recording project made up of Stefan Blair (Gemini) and Liam Parsons (Aries) from Melbourne Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £7 adv MICHELLE BRANCH MICHELLE BRANCH King Tut’s: 20:30 £17.25
THU, 27 JUL Lost in Stereo + Guests Like Blink 182 and Panic At The Disco making love. This young Scottish Pop Punk band are celebrating the release of their debut E.P “Famous First Words” 2 days before its release. Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £8.00 FREAK LIKE ME A HOT new night full of steamy sultry vibes, flying in from the surface of the sun. the music flavour looks hot as well, with choice selections of Disco, Soul and Hip Hop tingling it’s way through the air via frequencies made of crushed velvet. Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 FREE ENTRY
FRI, 28 JUL Whenweweredead + Ancient of Days + Guests Fancy an old fashioned gig night – free entry and good alcohol? Like your music metal, loud and fast? Nice n Sleazy: 20:00 free entry Breakfast Club with Gerry Lyons 80’s anthems! Decade specific attire encouraged! Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free TWENTY FOUR + THE SHORES King Tut’s: 20:30 tbc
SAT, 29 JUL Huntleys + Palmers Huntleys + Palmers continues its 10th anniversary celebrations with main man Andrew Thomson playing all night at some of his favourite venues around Europe. Nice n Sleazy: 23:30
MON, 04 SEP Blochestra Bloc’s own mini orchestra - new members welcome to join no matter your experience BLOC: 21:00 Free
TUE, 05 SEP Fangclub Tipped as hard rock’s next big thing Stereo: 19:00 £7 STBF Realadams Bryan Adams tribute act Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 5 Honeygrip + Karin + The Tales A trio of alt-rock Scottish bands for fans of QOTSA, Reuben and Biffy Clyro BLOC: 21:00 Free
WED, 06 SEP Nite Jewel + Apostille + Cucina Povera I’m looking for a real high and a real low, isn’t that the way love goes? Stereo: 19:00 £7 STBF LAWRENCE O’BRIEN BAND Sweet Lilac Perfume’ Official EP Launch Broadcast: 19:30 £5.00 Slippery Nights Presents: DROVES + Kleft Powerviolence, punk, techno and experimental noise from two of Glasgow’s most innovative new bands BLOC: 21:00 Free Lights Out With Jose Permo Italo Disco Funky House Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free
THU, 07 SEP Outblinker + Bridal Shower Hometown show as part of UK tour from extremely loud electro noise rock band with above-average personal hygeine and some cool equipment BLOC: 21:00 Free First Dates w/ Spook School DJs School disco for the pop-punk / nu metal generation! Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free
FRI, 08 SEP First Temple of the Atom + Fvnerals + Yelt Record launch Stereo: 19:00 £6 STBF
Buffleheid + Steve Dunn 5 guys nae burgers or fries just a big raging buffleheid, rip the buffleheid aff it! Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £5 OTD LightsOut w/ Al Kent (BBE/ Million Dollar Disco) Glasgow’s own disco hero; Million Dollar Disco DJ, BBE Records compiler and reedit producer Al Kent Stereo: 23:00 tbc DEATHKILL 4000 Ultra-cutting edge dark electro, hip hop and post punk BLOC: 23:00 Free Anna & Holly’s Dance Party Ultimate rock n roll + 60’s girl group + garage psych beat music Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 £3 (free for students) CHASTITY BELT + GANG + KAELLING CHASTITY BELT + GANG + KAELLING Broadcast: 21:00 £10.00
SAT, 09 SEP Girlpool Girlpool Stereo: 19:00 £12 STBF No One Knows + Nice n Sleazy Presents : Real Mckenzies + Special Guests To celebrate their landmark twenty-fifth anniversary Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £10 ADV KISS THIS: TARBEACH NYC IN GLASGOW! At the end of a night of sweaty debauchery and rock and roll antics. Broadcast: 20:00 £5.00 A Night Of Pulp A night dedicated to the music of Pulp. Sounds and visuals from the Sheffield legends plus the best in indie, electro and alternative from the past to the present with visuals, lights and dancing til 3am. Stereo: 23:00 tbc Monster Hospital Botch meets Beyonce DJ smash, a club night like no other BLOC: 23:00 Free SINGLES NIGHT Celebrate the perfect pop prescription with the 7” single Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 £3 (free for students)
SUN, 10 SEP Dr Sketchy Glasgow Your monthly fix of Dr Sketchy Glasgow! Stereo: 13:00 £7/5 BANFI Promoting their their new single ‘June’ Broadcast: 19:00 £6.00 Faux Pas + support Powerful, polished and by no means timid. Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £5 adv / £6 otd Bloc+Jam Open Mic Weekly Open Mic with hosts Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) and guests BLOC: 21:00 Free
MON, 11 SEP VAGUE REALITY + UP IN SMOKE + BLIND ROGUES VAGUE REALITY + UP IN SMOKE + BLIND ROGUES Broadcast: 19:00 TBC Acoustic Open Mic Night with Gerry Lyons Some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free! Free beer for performers! Nice n Sleazy: 20:00 Free The Blas Collective Celtic Connections glitterati perform a night of inspiring covers, originals and classics BLOC: 21:00 Free
TUE, 12 SEP LOWTIDE + FAIIDES + WHY NO? Australian shoegazers Lowtide weave coarse ribbons of guitar between shimmering melodies and vocal lines Broadcast: 19:00 £5.00 My Secret Safe (FRA) French Metalcore sets to blow the roof off our humble venue BLOC: 21:00 Free
WED, 13 SEP Flakes + Nevermeant + Veto. A night of emo, overdriven sounds that will make you bounce around in every conceivable motion BLOC: 21:00 Free Don’t Be Gutted Patter champs Kiddney and Kedoja don their DJ gear for a night of party jams alongside Bluth and Criss. One to help you forget about impending uni doom and a tepid Glasgow summer... Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free Entry
THU, 14 SEP GoldMold A showcase of new talent from one of Glasgow’s best DIY labels BLOC: 21:00 Free SMALL TALK w/ DJ ADIDADIS Vaporbeat + Eurowave from Cosmic Lewis Nice n Sleazy: 23:30 Free
FRI, 15 SEP THIS FEELING PRESENTS: SHAMBOLICS + MORE TBA THIS FEELING PRESENTS: SHAMBOLICS + MORE TBA Broadcast: 19:00 £6.00 Megalomatic Megalomatic Stereo: 19:00 £7 STBF Ascalon + Enter Obscurity + Vuil + Midnight Force - £5 - 7.30pm Traditional heavy metal from Manchester and poser killing metal from Oslo Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £5.00 Date Night A mixtape of love lust nostalgia, stretching the eras and genres. A night of enigmatic romance, euphoric embrace, and fleeting moments. It’s pop, it’s love drunk, it’s DATE NIGHT. So let’s break up to make up. Nice n Sleazy: 19:30 £3 (free entry for students) Enjoyable Moment Cosmic Dead curated avante-electro psyche-out DJs BLOC: 23:00 Free
SAT, 16 SEP SPIRAL STAIRS Warm, sweetly melodic and soundly honest songs. Broadcast: 19:00 TBC Craig Ward // Little Fire // Chris Greig Craig Ward’s first full, headline Glasgow show since his journey on the Voice UK Stereo: 19:00 £10 STBF PUSH IT: Child of Destiny Are you ready for this jelly? Stereo: 22:00 tbc Fantastic Man Incoherent madness for those with a deathwish, the worst clubnight in the world BLOC: 23:00 Free
SUN, 17 SEP NEVER FORGOTTEN PROMOTIONS PRESENTS: SKYWALKER NEVER FORGOTTEN PROMOTIONS PRESENTS: SKYWALKER Broadcast: 19:00 £6.00 Bloc+Jam Open Mic Weekly Open Mic with hosts Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) and guests BLOC: 21:00 Free
MON, 18 SEP JOHN MURRY JOHN MURRY Broadcast: 19:00 £13.00 Blochestra Bloc’s own mini orchestra - new members welcome to join no matter your experience BLOC: 21:00 Free
TUE, 19 SEP MICAH P HINSON & THE HOLY STRANGERS Modern folk opera Broadcast: 19:00 £15.00 Plastic Crimewave (USA) BLOC: 21:00
Free
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
WED, 20 SEP DIRTY FENCES + THE REVERSE COWGIRLS + FAT BLACK CATS DIRTY FENCES + THE REVERSE COWGIRLS + FAT BLACK CATS Broadcast: 19:00 £7.00 STRATA Enter a world blending minimalism, groove, and unhinged free improvisation (think Steve Reich meets Zu, and The Thing) BLOC: 21:00 Free
THU, 21 SEP CORNERSTONED presents Northern Nightlights Aggressive, heartfelt pop punk BLOC: 21:00 Free House is Home - Hive & Mac, Lloyd Tobin House is Home - Hive & Mac, Lloyd Tobin Stereo: 23:00 tbc
FRI, 22 SEP THIS FEELING PRESENTS: THE WHOLLS The Wholls Broadcast: 19:00 £7.00 RCMS Promotions Glasgow presents... Walt Disco / Olympus / Parliamo / Fauna Stereo: 19:00 £6 STBF Bakesale A night of left-field, experimental and classic Hip-Hop including free vegan baked goods! BLOC: 23:00 Free
SAT, 23 SEP Cee Smith brings poetry back to King Tut’s Open mic from 4pm-7pm. Performers can get discounted tickets to see Busker Rhymes perform that evening.... King Tut’s: 16:00 tbc COG PROMOTIONS PRESENTS: AVEC SANS Dreamy electronic pop music Broadcast: 19:00 £7.00 Riddim Box: Champion + MC Serious Low-end basslines and dazzling rhythmic patterns Stereo: 23:00 tbc SUGO Italian Trash Disco Shake what you got to the sound of the best of the worst Italo/Euro trash from the last four decades BLOC: 23:00 Free
SUN, 24 SEP PSYCH SUNDAY III : BO NINGEN + SWEATY PALMS Japanese fourpiece acid punk Broadcast: 19:00 £12.00 Bloc+Jam Open Mic Weekly Open Mic with hosts Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow) and guests BLOC: 21:00 Free
MON, 25 SEP UK COUNTRY LIVE! PRESENTS: HOLLOWAY ROAD + JADE HELLIWELL Free big in your face country pop music Broadcast: 19:00 £8.00 The Blas Collective Celtic Connections glitterati perform a night of inspiring covers, originals and classics BLOC: 21:00 Free
TUE, 26 SEP Turnover plus special guests Stereo: 18:30 £11 STBF SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB SLIM CESSNA’S AUTO CLUB Broadcast: 19:00 £10.00 Mannequin Death Squad (AUS) One boy, one girl, lost somewhere in between The Melvins and Taylor Swift all the way from OZ BLOC: 21:00 Free
WED, 27 SEP WE CAME FROM THE NORTH + FRANTIC Atmospheric Rock // Math rock combo Broadcast: 19:00 £6.00
THU, 28 SEP Malcolm Bruce + special guests The Andy Gunn Band Toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in music including Little Richard, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Joe Satriani, and his father the late Jack Bruce of Cream. Stereo: 19:00 £12.50 STRETCHED The secret meeting place of contemporary jazzenthused savants BLOC: 21:00 Free
FRI, 29 SEP SOFT KILL Portland Post Punk Broadcast: 19:00 £6.00 Momus + special guests For decades Momus has been confounding a committed following with his songs, books and art, packed full of vexings about what life is and what it could be. Stereo: 19:00 £8 STBF Remake Remodel Back gettin wild in the styles n’ mixin up the medicine again Stereo: 23:00 tbc SHAKE APPEAL 6 decades of rock and roll on under one roof hosted by the ultimate DJ trivium BLOC: 23:00 Free
The Real Mckenzies The Real Mckenzies Bannerman’s: 19:00 £10.00 LUCKYME: The Blessings All Night LuckyMe’s founder on the decks all night. Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 £6.00 ELECTRIKAL Sound system and crew, part of a music and art collective specializing in BASS music. Custom built and comprised of the finest audio components, it operates at a huge 26KW and provides as much deep bass, punchy mids and clear highs as any party could requ The Bongo Club: 23:00 tbc
SAT, 09 SEP
Allman Brown + DAN BETTRIDGE Stereo: 19:00 £7 STBF
Rab Howat Band Join Rab, Roy, Ali and Lawrie, plus special guests, every Saturday for some old-skool rock. Bannerman’s: 16:00 Free Tony Wright (Terrorvision) Tony Wright (Terrorvision) Bannerman’s: 18:00 £13.00 Living Body plus Urvanovic and Gaze Is Ghost New project from Leeds-based Chicagoan Jeff T. Smith (f.k.a. Juffage) featuring longtime collaborators Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin, Wild Beasts, SleaterKinney, Flock of Dimes) and Tom Evans (Vessels). Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £6.00 Teesh – All You Can Eat Mind Buffet – Teesh are back with residents DJ Cheers and DJ Equipment all night on Saturday 9th September. Their ‘all you can eat mind buffet’ includes 6 dimensions of visuals hanging above the dancefloor and music. Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 £6.00 MUMBO JUMBO Night with a mix of musical styles from funk and hip hop to house and electro care of resident DJs Trendy Wendy (The Street) and Steve Austin (Headspin). There’s also live congas and percussion by Bongo Dave and rotating guests from the local circuit ups The Bongo Club: 23:00 £3 B4 12 / £7 after / £5 (concessions)
TUE, 03 OCT
SUN, 10 SEP
SAT, 30 SEP Wolfgang Flür (ex-Kraftwerk) Best known as the electro drummer of German electronic band Kraftwerk between 1973 and 1986 Stereo: 19:00 £15.50 Industrialize presents: Tymon : Stolen Cult : Somniac One Originator of industrial hardcore Stereo: 23:00 tbc GONZO Indie Disco A quest to bring epic nostalgia back in the form of all things MTV2 (pre-trash) and 120 Minutes continues BLOC: 23:00 Free
SUN, 01 OCT SWMRS SWMRS Stereo: 19:00
£9 STBF
MON, 02 OCT
Tim Hecker Ambient electronic and all the rest. Stereo: 19:00 £17 STBF
WED, 04 OCT Denai Moore Denai Moore Stereo: 19:00 £7.50 STBF
Edinburgh
Open Mic Sunday Session Open Mic Sunday Session Bannerman’s: 15:00 Free Pinact plus guests Turn-it-upto-11 guitar sounds, outstanding melodic riffs and crashing cymbals. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £6.00
MON, 11 SEP
TUE, 05 SEP
Amberwood + support Amberwood + support Bannerman’s: 20:00
Tuesday Karaoke Tuesday Karaoke Bannerman’s: 22:00 Free
TUE, 12 SEP
WED, 06 SEP Neon Waltz plus guests Neon Waltz return to play at Sneaky Pete’s but this ones special – their debut LP ‘Strange Hymns’ is released the week before… this will be one hell of a night to celebrate that! Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 tbc
THU, 07 SEP And Yet It Moves + Bluebirds, Steven Thomas, Vermont Billiards A new monstrous group by Dale Barclay formerly of The Amazing Snakeheads. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £7.00 Stevie R Pearce & The Hooligans Stevie R Pearce & The Hooligans Bannerman’s: 19:00 £8.00
FRI, 08 SEP Sugarspun, Aurora Blues, Nasari, Two Minds Starting off as a 2 piece and gaining record label interest and heavy praise from BBC Radio in a short time span, Sugarspun have now became a 5 piece Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £5.00
tbc
Tuesday Karaoke Tuesday Karaoke Bannerman’s: 22:00 Free MIDNIGHT BASS DnB, Jungle, Bassline, Grime & Garage with DJs from Junglism, Big n Bashy, Electrikal, Roots, Witness, 59th Degree + more! The Bongo Club: 23:00 £3 guestlist / £4 otd.
WED, 13 SEP GROOVERS: FRESHERS PARTY Focusing purely upon the tastiest, Groove Infused Underground House / Techno Music. The Bongo Club: 23:00 £5/£4
THU, 14 SEP Ill Fitting Thoughts, Choka, Pretty Villain Transcendent evening of psychedelic blues rock to release their hard hitting single ‘Haze.’ Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 tbc TV Smith + Billy Liar + Paper Rifles TV Smith + Billy Liar + Paper Rifles Bannerman’s: 19:30 £10.00
FRI, 15 SEP David Ford Americana, English melodicism and a touch of rock ‘n’ roll, tied together with finely-crafted lyrics. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £11.00 The Polis (Police Tribute) The Polis (Police Tribute) Bannerman’s: 20:00 £10.00 Onloop with Moxie, Jon K and Telfort Moxie is back with another superb lineup! Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 £6.00 HOTLINE HOTLINE, run by girls, for everyone and anyone, where you can freely dance however the hell you want. Expect everything from disco to dancehall, house to hip hop, and of course lots of RNB. The Bongo Club: 23:00 £3 b4 12 / £5 after (£4 GL)
SAT, 16 SEP Rab Howat Band Join Rab, Roy, Ali and Lawrie, plus special guests, every Saturday for some old-skool rock. Bannerman’s: 16:00 Free Baby Strange, Rascalton, Lucia Razor sharp records with energy and drive, brutal guitars, sinister bass and drench it with excellent vocals that produce a ground between punk and pop. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £11.00 COASTS (LIVE) - THIS LIFE UK TOUR Poppy hooks, rocky riffs and big choruses The Bongo Club: 19:00 £11.00 Scopyons (Scorpions Tribute) Scopyons (Scorpions Tribute) Bannerman’s: 20:00 £8.00 Wasabi Disco Presents Kris Baha (Scottish Debut!) Scottish Debut for the antipodean master of the industrial beat Kris Baha. Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 tbc BIG N BASHY Featuring the best in grime, dubstep, reggae and jungle, with Brother Most Righteous, Skillis and Deburgh. The Bongo Club: 23:00 £3 b4 12 / £6
SUN, 17 SEP Open Mic Sunday Session Open Mic Sunday Session Bannerman’s: 15:00 Free Estrons plus guests Estrons plus guests Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £9.00 GA-GA ZIELONE ZABKI + CZAPA + DJEMBE DRUMMERS (LIVE) The Bongo Club: 19:00 £10 (adv) / £15 (door) Thomas Jack at Coalition Pioneered the phenomenon known as “tropical house,” Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 £11.00
TUE, 19 SEP John Murry plus special guests Two masterpiece albums, a heartbreaking and astounding life story, and help from American Music Club and Cowboy Junkies… Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £13.00 Tuesday Karaoke Tuesday Karaoke Bannerman’s: 22:00 Free MIDNIGHT BASS DnB, Jungle, Bassline, Grime & Garage with DJs from Junglism, Big n Bashy, Electrikal, Roots, Witness, 59th Degree + more! The Bongo Club: 23:00 £3 guestlist / £4 otd.
WED, 20 SEP Micah P. Hinson & The Holy Strangers w/ L.A Salami Old fashioned trouble man who fell pray to drugs and loose women, winding up homeless, destitute and incarcerated by the time most of his peers were filling in college applications. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 tbc Tom Blackwell + support Tom Blackwell + support Bannerman’s: 20:00 tbc
Facta at Witness Keeps his foot steadily in his dubstep roots alongside other treads through garage, grime, UK funky, hip-hop and experimental electronic. Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 £5.00 GROOVERS These nights are all about the music, focusing purely upon the tastiest, Groove Infused Underground House / Techno Music. MUSIC: UNDERGROUND HOUSE, TECHNO, DISCO & FUNK with Ibiza Residents Sesentayuno & Keith Fortune plus guests. The Bongo Club: 23:00 £5/£4
GROOVERS WE ARE GROOVERS! These nights are all about the music, focusing purely upon the tastiest, Groove Infused Underground House / Techno Music. MUSIC: UNDERGROUND HOUSE, TECHNO, DISCO & FUNK with Ibiza Residents Sesentayuno & Keith Fortune plus guests. The Bongo Club: 23:00 £5/£4 (GL: put your name on the FB wall / use promoter name for GL)
THU, 28 SEP
DUDS plus guests Sweaty Palms, “Nice Church” Rather than sounding like a contemporary update of Gang Of Four, Liars and James White, listening to DUDS for the first time seems like finding the original source. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £6.00
The Sea Atlas, Miss Irenie Rose, Fisher & Sunderland Atmospheric folk rock from the isle of lewis drawing influence from the Hebridean winter surroundings, solitude life in a croft house on the west coast of Lewis and the relationships that can stem from that environment. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £6.00
FRI, 22 SEP
FRI, 29 SEP
THU, 21 SEP
Voodoo Six + Skam + JAG Voodoo Six + Skam + JAG Bannerman’s: 19:30 £12.00 HEADSET: UK FUNKY SPECIAL W/MURDER HE WROTE UK Funky Special w/ Murder He Wrote. Room 1: UK Funky Special w/ Murder He Wrote (Roska Kicks & Snares), Witness Residents, Skillis & Crimzon (Shapework). Room 2: Old School Hip Hop & Funk w/ B-Burg, Brother Most Righteous (Big n Bashy) & Jonny Cashback The Bongo Club: 23:00 £3 before 12 / £6
SAT, 23 SEP Rab Howat Band Join Rab, Roy, Ali and Lawrie, plus special guests, every Saturday for some old-skool rock. Bannerman’s: 16:00 Free Monsters On Movie Posters, Gus Harrower, Manchu New additions to the lineup and a more aggresive Indie Rock sound Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £6.00 The Swagger The Swagger Bannerman’s: 20:00 £5.00 FLY Open Air Afterparty w/ Special Guests Fly Open Air are hosting the official after party at Sneaky Pete’s with the special guests announced on the night! Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 £11.30 SOULSVILLE: MR BONGO SOULSVILLE: MR BONGO The Bongo Club: 23:00 £4 (early bird) / MOTD
SUN, 24 SEP Open Mic Sunday Session Open Mic Sunday Session Bannerman’s: 15:00 Free Avec Sans Electro pop band from Manchester and Trinidad. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £7.00
TUE, 26 SEP Tuesday Karaoke Tuesday Karaoke Bannerman’s: 22:00 Free MIDNIGHT BASS DnB, Jungle, Bassline, Grime & Garage with DJs from Junglism, Big n Bashy, Electrikal, Roots, Witness, 59th Degree + more! The Bongo Club: 23:00 guestlist / £4 otd.
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WED, 27 SEP Ashensky + support Ashensky + support Bannerman’s: 20:00 £5.00 DJ Q All Night at Witness Spectrum of UK Garage, House, Grime and of course Bassline Sneaky Pete’s: 23:00 £5.00
Guy Jones, Stewart Mac, Dean Roberts Lyrically captivating and soulful. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £15.00 FLINT & PITCH Flint & Pitch are delighted to present the live performance of two new collections of poetry: Caroline Bird’s ‘In These Days of Prohibition’ and Rachel McCrum‘s ‘First Blast To Awaken Women Degenerate.’ The Bongo Club: 19:00 £10.00 Subhumans Subhumans Bannerman’s: 19:30
£11.00
SUBSTANCE: OBJEKT (PAN, BERLIN) + RIBEKA (MUTE) SUBSTANCE: OBJEKT (PAN, BERLIN) + RIBEKA (MUTE) The Bongo Club: 23:00 £10 (adv) / MOTD
SAT, 30 SEP Rab Howat Band Join Rab, Roy, Ali and Lawrie, plus special guests, every Saturday for some old-skool rock. Bannerman’s: 16:00 Free Sam Brookes One of the UK altfolk’s best kept secrets. Sneaky Pete’s: 19:00 £9.00 Divine Chaos + Forgotten Remains + Kingpin + Iron Altar Divine Chaos + Forgotten Remains + Kingpin + Iron Altar Bannerman’s: 19:30 £8.00 MESSENGER The original roots advertiser The Bongo Club: 23:00 £6 b4 12 / £7
TUE, 03 OCT MIDNIGHT BASS DnB, Jungle, Bassline, Grime & Garage with DJs from Junglism, Big n Bashy, Electrikal, Roots, Witness, 59th Degree + more! The Bongo Club: 23:00 guestlist / £4 otd.
£3
SAT, 07 OCT Cuts & Strings After a selfimposed hiatus, the older and greyer collective are back with a vengeance to add some piss and vinegar to Edinburgh’s musical wasteland. Their classic core recipe (Can to Cannibal Ox to Carl Craig) remains the same, but with an abundance of The Wee Red Bar: 20:00 £5.00
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SeptemberPICK OF THE MONTH
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 Scotland’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’.
SAVAGE CUT Hello there Savage Cut! Great to have you guys in the TSA for the POTM, Finally! Start us off then by telling the readers that are new to you guys a wee bit of band history, who are you... what are you? Great to be here for a start, so thanks for having us! We are a three piece from West Lothian, Brian Kiernan on guitar, Liam Innes on drums and me, John Innes on bass, and have been together for just over two years. What are we? I suppose we are just all music lovers, inspired by everything and determined not to repeat ourselves too much. We don’t have a singer, so started out using samples from
TV and film, which was fun and we didn’t envisage playing live if I’m being honest. The samples thing was wearing thin, so we started pestering people – that we didn’t necessarily know – to come up with vocals for the tunes we were writing. A lot of people must have thought we were a bit mad, but Hextasy – an MC from Arbroath stepped up, and others followed. We have been so lucky to have had the input from so many brilliantly talented people. You guys are pretty unique in the fact that you don’t have a dedicated singer of your own, can you tell us a wee bit
about the writing process of working like this? Do you start writing with particular vocalists in mind, or do you write the track then choose a singer depending on how the track sounds? We basically jam out songs at practice – we can usually get a feel for what might work there and then. It might be spoken word, or a straight down the line pop or rock song. We have a number of people who have expressed an interest in working with us, so will send a phone recorded demo to them, and they’ll ping us their ideas. We are generally rubbish at counting, so will usually need an extra bar or so to make things fit. We’ll then record the tune and get who ever it is, to come over and do their bit. Once in a while the ideas from the ‘talent’ will alter the vibe completely – most notably by a choir of 8-10 year olds who were just so amazing we had to scurry about looking for new parts to complement what they had given us. What is your favourite track to play live? Is it harder for you to get gigs due to the fact that you use so many different vocalists? Have you ever used a stand in vocalist, or is that kind of a no no? I’d say Konsul Miklan is our favourite – a post rock (epic!) where we can just go a bit daft with pedals, mad drumming and volume. It features our late pal Shug O’Neill performing parts of a speech made in 1917 by Glasgow socialist John Maclean. We have Shug on our sample machine and it still sends shivers down our spines – even at practice. We are in the process of getting our vocals onto backing tracks, so that we can do our full set at shows rather than the vocalists having to come out for one song – they have all been gracious enough over the last while to do it,
but it really is an imposition, and fills us with guilt! Hextasy has done more than most, travelling religiously to and from Arbroath to Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond. They all have an open invitation to join us and we are so grateful to them, words can’t express. In any case, we’ve just recorded with Mike Pougounas from New Zero God in Greece (in Greek), so that would be a non starter! Stand-in vocalists…nah. Who are your own favourite acts playing in Scotland at the moment? Anyone the readers should really be checking out, apart from yourselves? There are so many brilliant acts out there…Lisa Kowalski, Bobby Deans and Jim MacKellar (and his group Everywhere) are killer; Hextasy has to be seen to be believed; Gordon Harrow, Drunk Gods, The Gimme Gimme Gimmies, Spectacular Primate Disaster are just brilliant; The Filthy Tongues… we could go on all night…and of course Mogwai, who should be available on the National Health Service! Last but not least everyone should check out Leyla Josephine who did Andy From Finance with us – mind bogglingly talented spoken word artist who’s just finished a run at the Edinburgh Fringe. The floor is yours, anything exciting in the pipeline for the rest of the year? New tracks or big gigs? We are working on a couple of tracks just now including one that will have two versions – a Greek vocal and another version featuring Tommy Sheridan – a kind of update on Konsul Miklan 100 years later, but with a similar message. The other track will feature local legend George Thom doing a re-working of a song that we’ve done about a murder near here – not very cheery but we hope it’ll sound pretty decent. We have plans to release an album of our collaborations with The NHC, and gigging in Bathgate and Wishaw in October. We are also running a project with West Lothian Council to get school kids to form bands and write their own songs – an antidote to the karaoke nonsense that seems to be everywhere just now. 30 kids – 20 weeks……..help! One thing I would ask is that if any of the readers likes the cut of our jib, has any ideas they fancy getting off their chest – words, art, video, mad instruments – ANYTHING, get in touch – we are open to almost anything!
IN PARTNERSHIP WIITH
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LGBTI NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD The last month saw a few small victories towards sexual equality in football, an industry notorious for homophobia. Dundee FC, for example, revealed their “Proud Dee’s” flag for the first time, marking the founding of the club’s first LGBT+-friendly supporters group and becoming one of only a handful of top flight clubs to have a group for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Dundee FC’s spokesperson commented “We want to make everyone who comes to Dens Park feel welcome and along with the Dundee Supporters Association will be happy to offer support and assistance to the group.” The club follows major teams like Arsenal, Manchester City and Norwich in creating a welcoming and inclusive space for their diverse range of fans. Pride weekend also saw an enormous banner reading “A club open to all” in rainbow colours at Celtic Park; hopefully these small steps indicate a bigger move for LGBT+ inclusion in a sport in which no male premiership player is out.
The Indian Supreme Court has passed a judgement that privacy is a fundamental right for every Indian, stating that “The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population cannot be construed to be ‘so-called rights’... Their rights are not ‘so-called’ but are real rights founded on sound constitutional doctrine.” In short, this movement dictates that privacy is a fundamental right, discriminating against anyone based on sexual orientation is unconstitutional and sexual orientation is a part of one’s identity, and it is the government’s job to protect all our identities. While there is always scope to improve gender and sexual equality, this marks a huge step in the right direction and will no doubt inspire an entire country of LGBT+ citizens and allies.
Welsh Olympic athlete Colin Jackson has joined the ranks of Britain’s ever-growing list of LGBT+ athletes to come out publicly. The Welsh 110m hurdler says he hadn’t revealed his sexuality in the past was because he didn’t want it “sensationalised.” He had previously criticised the challenges and prejudice facing gay athletes in 2008, contending “It’s the 21st century. I don’t think anybody thinks about that any more. There might have been a stigma in years gone by.” Jackson joins an elite group of LGBT+ athletes in the UK, including Tom Daley, Kate and Helen RichardsonWalsh, Gareth Thomas and Nicola Adams to name only a few. Seeing out and proud sports personalities can be a huge source of inspiration and pride for LGBT+ people. So congratuwell done to Colin!
Earlier in the year, it was reported that gay men were allegedly being kidnapped, tortured and killed in Chechen prisons. An independent Russian newspaper reported that as many as 100 men have been rounded up by Chechen police with at least three being killed. Things reached new heights as Chechen police were reportedly urging parents to kill their gay children, according to survivor testimony from one man held in a “gay torture camp” in the country. As expected, sadly coverage of this cruel regime has floundered in the passing months; and despite 20 EU countries being briefed on the purge, only France, Germany and Lithuania agreed to work on the relocation of victims of the anti-gay purge. One source close to the Lithuanian government told EUobserver in May that Canada was also working with Lithuania and the Russian LGBT network on the evacuation. Continue to pressure our government to put an end to this purge by contacting your MP or Amnesty International.
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LGBT+ FRESHERS WEEK
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resher’s Week, the first chapter in your new university life, is finally here! This is the perfect chance for LGBT+ students to explore a new part of their life and navigate their way out the closet. Whether you’re out already or are finally embracing who you are, heading to college and university is the perfect opportunity to celebrate LGBT+ life. And there’s no better place to do so than Scotland, which the Rainbow Europe Index named as the top country for gay rights in Europe in 2015.
CAMPUS SOCIETIES Of course, for some
the freedom of a new city and exploring your sexuality can be little overwhelming. Thankfully, most universities and colleges offer excellent support services for LGBT+, and most prominently societies around campus that can make your uni experience even better. Within Glasgow alone, each university has a distinctly gay-friendly society. The University of Glasgow, for example, is a renowned Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champion and boasts several bodies around campus that support and celebrate LGBT+ students and staff. GULGBTQ+ is one of the largest societies on campus and are proactive in promoting inclusivity on campus, running groups like Seahorses Swimming for trans and non-binary students. GULGBTQ+ formed to provide an open and welcoming space for people under the LGBTQ+ banner (the banner includes people from outside the acronym; moreover, the society welcomes everyone from every background). It provides both a welfare and social space so that people can get to know each other. Aside from putting on amazing events and running campaigns throughout the year, the society was shortlisted as Student Group of the Year at the first annual LGBT Scotland Awards. Strathclyde also boasts a great LGBT+ society which runs different events throughout the year including social events, film screenings, political campaigns and trips to local LGBT friendly venues. Events are also organised specifically to coincide with the LGBT History Month. Strathclyde’s LGBT+ Union is an excellent platform to socialise and become active in political activism and get your Harvey Milk on! Last year the society worked together with other liberation societies on the campaign about fighting stereotypes and launched an awareness campaign on different LGBTQ+ identities during Diversity Week. They also wish to collaborate with other Glaswegian LGBT societies on abolishing the blood ban, as well as several campaigns to do with BTQ+ visibility and Trans* health.
Each university and college throughout the country is likely to have groups that cater distinctly to LGBT+ students. Edinburgh University also has its own award-nominated society, BLOGS, as does St Andrew’s University, which boasts a strong sense of community and throws their amazing Glitterball. Other universities in Edinburgh, like Herriot Watt, Napier and Queen Margaret, also have LGBT+ societies welcoming people of all identities. Getting involved with groups like these is a great way to meet other LGBT+ people on campus and the perfect opportunity to become active in student life. Also they will most likely throw stupendous nights out, so you may as well take advantage. And be sure to look into LGBT+ friendly sports clubs like Frontrunners, an all-inclusive running group. Joining an inclusive sports group is a great way to meet people in the LGBT+ community – especially if you’re new to the scene – while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
GOING OUT Glasgow has a thriving and vibrant gay scene offering something to cater to everyone. Odds are your first night out in Glasgow will take you to Polo, particularly popular on Wednesdays for Lollipop Wednesday
which is free before 11pm or with a valid student card. You have not become indoctrinated into Glasgow’s gay scene without having a Polo memory to cringe over. But with cheap drinks and the cheesiest of pop, it certainly has its upside. Also, bars like Delmonica’s and The Waterloo are gay institutions and, again, are pretty cheap for students who have spent their overdraft on everything they shouldn’t have, while AXM is a Glasgow institution that hosts Holy Trannity, a queer collective that runs a monthly drag queen revue show and alt-queer disco featuring special guests from RuPaul’s Drag Race. I can personally vouch for Katie’s, which has cheap drinks and great music. For an alternative to these, however, The Flying Duck hosts a lot of diverse club nights that offer something a little different. Every so often they put on Polyester, an all-inclusive night that plays every genre of music imaginable, offers a safe space policy so everyone can boogie with ease and gender neutral toilets. It’s also a lovely pub – with a Sega Mega Drive – and you should check it out
ASAP. There is also Birdcage, an amazing alternative affair that showcases the best local talent. They put on a great post-Free Pride party and takes place each month usually in the basement of Broadcast. There is surely something to appeal to every LGBT+ newcomer to Glasgow. PS keep safe and make sure you have a taxi company’s number saved and look after your pals. Edinburgh has an LGBT+ nightlife to rival ours; CC Bloom’s, for example, has had a revamp from its iconic disco days to becoming a little more refined – but worry not, they still cater to those craving terrible music and questionable life decisions on the weekend, and it is not to be missed. Our nation’s capital also boasts Planet, and Chalky’s, which features a weekly line-up of nights like Retro Rewind on a Monday and Cabaret on a Thursday. For a less glittery affair, you might want to hit up The New Town Bar or The Regent in Abbeyhill, known for its LGBT-friendly atmosphere and fine ales.
STAYING SAFE There are a few things to keep in mind when going out to make sure you keep safe,
such as ensuring your sexual health is paramount. While some STIs – Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and genital warps – are treatable, the severity of unprotected sex cannot be overstated, especially when it comes to HIV. There are plenty of myths surrounding HIV contraction, but quite simply HIV is preventable with safe-sex practices such as using a condom or dental dam as well as lubricant. And 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. There are excellent facilities that cater to LGBT+ people in need of sexual health services throughout Glasgow; the Steve Retson Project, for example supports gay and bisexual men, offering rapid HIV testing with results in 60 seconds, PEP (Post-exposure prophylaxis for sexual exposure to HIV) and free condoms. The clinic also offers hepatitis vaccinations. Furthermore, the Sappho Service provides care for lesbians and bisexual women, offering cervical screenings, STD testing and treatment and safe-sex advice. The clinic also offers support regarding
fertility, period problems and counselling relevant to any important issues you may be facing. Edinburgh also has a wealth of services available to LGBT+ people through organisations such as LGBT Health and Wellbeing. It’s important to be in complete control of your sexual health, and small efforts like taking responsibility for using condoms and having regular sexual health screenings allow you to stay safe and enjoy sex and dating to the fullest. And it’s not just your sexual health you need to look after; moving out, starting university and coming out can be overwhelming experiences, and you may need someone to talk to. Luckily you can phone the LGBT Helpline Scotland on 0300 123 2523, while your on-campus organisations are an invaluable resource to ensure you keep your head above the water. There are so many amazing LGBT+ events throughout the country to keep your eyes open for. University and college life is the best chance to explore and celebrate your sexuality: Scotland is the best place to get involved and embrace your authentic self. by Jonny Stone @jonny_stone_
j.stone@tsaglasgow.com
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SQIFF IS BACK
T
he Scottish Queer International Film Festival returns for another year of cinema celebrating all aspects of LGBT+ life and diversity in its truest sense. Expanded over five days, SQIFF will host 40 events at venues across Glasgow from Wednesday 27th September to Sunday 1st October. SQIFF’s aim is to get people watching, talking about, and making more queer films. 2017’s festival promises Scottish premieres of latest features from cult filmmakers including Bruce LaBruce and Jennifer Reeder, plus showcases of short films by LGBTQ+ filmmakers from around the world, powerful documentaries, free have-a-go workshops led by industry professionals and two massive dance parties courtesy of Free Pride and Lock Up Your Daughters. The festival organisers have made an active effort to be as inclusive and accommodating as possible. Understanding that not all art events and spaces are especially accessible, SQIFF have decided to use only venues that are fully accessible for wheelchair users and have gender-neutral toilet facilities and content warnings for certain subject matter. The CCA has a hearing loop in the Cinema space. Films screening in this space are marked as having a hearing loop in the SQIFF brochure. All films are screened with English subtitles or captions to make the Festival more accessible for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. Select events will also have BSL interpretation or audio description. It’s pretty great that a festival strives to be as accommodating and conscious of its attendee’s needs when certain obstacles prevent people from attending such great art events. And importantly, SQIFF aims to create a generally safe and inclusive environment; thus people are asked to respect each other and be sensitive to the diversity of identities which exist within LGBTI and queer communities. Real queer stories are pushed to the forefront this year, with SQIFF boasting a handful of unmissable documentaries. My personal pick: Chavela (28 Sep), a fascinating look at the life of legendary
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Mexican ranchera singer Chavela Vargas, who defied all social expectations, revolutionised music and romanced a series of celebrated women, including Frieda Kahlo; Carlos Jáuregui: The Unforgettable Fag (29 Sep), the irresistible story of the first leader of the pioneering Argentine Homosexuality Community and FREE CeCe! (1 Oct), following the fate of trans woman CeCe McDonald, who’s incarceration for defending her life led to support from high-profile activists including Orange Is The New Black star Laverne Cox, who produced the film. One particular highlight comes in the form of a celebration of the life and work of Glasgow-based artist, activist, drag king and educator, Diane Torr (1 Oct), who sadly passed away earlier this year. Includes a chance to see Katarina Peters’ feature-length documentary Man For A Day, filmed at one of Diane’s renowned gender workshops in Berlin. This year also sees the return of the festival’s hugely popular Feminist Porn Night (29 Sep), featuring an awardwinning slice of hot queer Berlin vampire action in Enactone, with director Sky Deep in attendance. This year, they’re also teaming up with the Glasgow School of Art Pornography Society for M4M (30 Sep), a night of vivid, lurid and fluid queer sex on camera, including rare archive clips from prominent gay porn company productions. There are also many workshops for budding film makers, enthusiasts and everyone in between to attend, including a series of free workshops from leading industry professionals designed for LGBTQ+ creatives at any stage in their career, including a full-day master class with Emmy-nominated director Catherine Gund (30 Sep), body positive porn filmmaking with the award-winning Sky Deep (29 Sep) and a guide to collaborative, low-budget filmmaking with Lasse Långström (Folkbildningsterror and Who Will F**k Daddy?, both screening at SQIFF 2017) on 28 Sep Tickets to all screenings at SQIFF Festival Hub the CCA, Glasgow Women’s Library
and Transmission are priced on a new sliding scale from free to £8, an honesty scheme which allows audiences to pay what they can based on their personal circumstances and keeps the festival accessible for all. All SQIFF venues are wheelchair accessible, all screenings feature English language subtitles or captions and many events are BSL interpreted. As a teaser to the 2017 festival, SQIFF will be hitting the road, bringing a selection of fine queer movies to venues across Scotland, including Dundee, Aberdeen and Stornaway from 21st to 26th September. Highlights include an unmissable look at San Francisco’s great chronicler in The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin at An Lanntair, Stornoway on 23 September and Eden Court, Inverness on 24 September and Don’t Look At Me That Way, a revolutionary German-Mongolian romantic drama at DCA, Dundee on 22 September, Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen and Edinburgh Filmhouse on 23 September and CCA, Glasgow on 24 September. The Edinburgh screening will feature a post-film Q&A with programmer Jacob Engelberg and academic Maria Pramaggiore to mark Bi Visibility Day 2017. SQIFF is the perfect platform to showcase queer cinema and culture as a whole; the organisation has created a truly amazing programme that brings the best of queer cinema to Glasgow as well as thoughtprovoking, engaging workshops that celebrate LGBT+ life in its various forms. Our community is lucky to have such a diverse, challenging and entertaining event in our own city.
We caught up with Helen Wright, co-ordinator of the Scottish Queer International Film, to dicuss the upcoming festival.
What are SQIFF’S principles? We work to bring cinema to LGBT+ minorities across Scotland we aim to promote work by LGBT+ film-makers, in particular work that won’t get seen by regular audiences. We try to make sure that we give space to queer people of colour, for example, and queer disabled artists and we host the festival every year.
In its three years SQIFF has snowballed with every season. How did SQIFF come to be? Initially it was a group of us who already had an interest in film culture and queer issues. We built the festival up and had to ask ourselves “what kind of organisation do we want to be?” We spoke to a lot of LGBT+ groups and asked them what kind of festival they wanted. Then the process of funding began, and we were lucky to be supported by Creative Scotland
What do you find most exciting about the programme this year? I’m excited that we have a bisexual strand, because it’s not an identity that is explicitly covered in a lot of queer cinema. I think it’s really good to share the perspective of bisexual people who don’t often get their stories shared or identities explored onscreen. It’s also exciting from an aesthetic point
OZZY MARRIAGE AND EQUALITY
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of view; Jacob Engelberg will host an eye-opening illustrated talk through cinematic invocations of bisexuality it’s interesting how the visual duality is represented through films. As well as screenings of Gregg Araki’s Nowhere and Sheila McLaughlin’s dissection of queer jealousy She Must Be Seeing Things. It’s an exciting selection of films.
I’m especially excited for SQIFF’s celebration of Diane Torr; for the unfamiliar could you touch on Diane’s impact and why you’ve included her in the programme? She’s a legend. She was a well-known performance artist and a drag king in particular. She was doing that quite a bit before anyone else, she pretty much invented the drag king scene in Scotland. She has been a very important part of Scotland’s queer history. She used to do these workshops called Man for a Day, a film of which we’re screening; the workshops were about getting a group of women in drag and to explore gender in a performative way have them dress up as men and go about their day to day life. She sadly passed away earlier this year and we wanted to honour her. She actually performed at our first festival in 2015 and was always supportive of SQIFF and younger queer artists.
SQIFF offers real practical film-making workshops for free throughout the festival.
In your experience; are there still barriers facing queer filmmakers within the industry? Yes, definitely. That’s a big question! I think for LGBT+ film-makers, mainstream culture and film industry aren’t particularly interested in their work. Where there is queer representation in mainstream it tends to be watered-down, inauthentic, like a straight man making a lesbian film when lesbian women really struggle to get funding themselves. The same goes for transgender film-makers. A big part of SQIFF was to address that by hosting workshops, you don’t need to have any prior experience. We want to provide support, resources and networking opportunities, which is particularly important. We grew out of Lock Up Your Daughters Films, and we want to extend that feeling of supporting each other.
Tough question, but what are some of your quintessential queer cinema suggestions? The Watermelon Woman is one of my favourite films, starring Cheryl Dunye. It’s about her status as a black gay woman and how she relates to the world around her and film history. I’m a big fan of Derek Jarman, a queer experimental film-maker who worked a lot in the 80s, anti-Thatcher and sticking two fingers up at the establishment, showing scenes of sex between men. We hope people come to SQIFF and feel welcome and find there is something for everyone.
ustralia is currently embroiled in a tense, divisive vote for marriage equality, and after months of debate and controversy, things are getting messy. Television adverts campaigning against same-sex marriage in Australia have been branded as “ridiculous scaremongering” ahead of a postal survey which could lead to its legalisation. Australia is one of the only developed English-speaking countries not to have legalised same-sex marriage, despite strong popular support, the backing of a majority of lawmakers and being the birth place of Kylie and Olivia Newton John. Citizens will vote throughout September in the non-compulsory postal ballot on whether to legalise same-sex marriage. The anti-gay rhetoric and controversy is stunning, even in 2017, and it reminds us that we really have not come on that far despite all our community has achieved. The fight for equality does not end with marriage. But what do we have left to achieve regarding equality, and have we become complacent? It feels like each week we are served a timely reminder of our privilege as queer Westerners in the news; 2017 has seen Chechen men targeted for being gay and subjected to honour killings by their families, at least 18 transgender people fatally shot or killed by other violent means, (more LGBT+ people have been murdered already than in 2016, including the Orlando massacre) and Trump’s antigay rhetoric confirmed a dismissal of transgender soldiers. GLAAD conducted a survey researching the perception of LGBT+ equality in the US; a significant minority of non-LGBT respondents – 27 percent – thought violence against transgender people was not a serious problem, even though at least 21 trans women, most of them women of colour, were murdered in the U.S. in 2015. Also,
37 percent said homelessness among LGBT youth was not a major issue, when in reality an estimated 40 percent of homeless young people identify as LGBT. And a third of non-LGBT respondents, including some allies, said they had no strong opinion about LGBT issues. While its important to celebrate our victories, clearly much must be done to remind ourselves of the journey ahead of us. Don’t get me wrong: I am completely aware of the significance of marriage equality and am beyond proud and thrilled that so much progress has been made to ensure our civil rights continue to be protected. But complacency kills there are bigger fights on their way, especially with a volatile, unpredictable monster in the White House and a progressively rightwing Europe. While horrific incidents like Pulse rightly serve as a call to arms to promote equality, we should remain vigilant constantly and avoid accepting that everything is fine now. It’s time, for example, that the UN became more proactive. Cedaw is one of the strongest tools protecting women rights, which will inherently improve the quality of queer protection. Or wealthy countries actually intervening in countries that blatantly and vigorously commit human rights violations, like corrective rape, honour killings and female genital mutilation. Join a group like Stonewall, LGBT Youth Scotland or NAT as a volunteer to make a difference on the ground. Hey, get off Grindr and support your local gay bars and clubs, who lose business and close because no-one hooks up in person anymore. Ensure that complacency doesn’t kill our communities and be bold. Marriage equality is an incredible achievement, and I hope desperately that Australia votes correctly, but our rights and the rights of our queer brothers and sisters across the world don’t end at the altar.
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THE MOVING OUT CHECK LIST Moving out is a fun and endlessly exciting prospect with potential written all over it in permanent marker. For many, many people, moving out to study is their first experience of living away from home for a prolonged period of time. The independence promises the opportunity to become your own person, create your own routines, and boundaries, and really learn how much you sound like your mother. On a capital level, the entire thing is made easier by SAAS but something I quickly realised in setting up process was that there were no readily available how-to-guide of things that needed to be sorted once you got there – some by law.
I GOT BILLS... THEY’RE MULTIPLYING
Gas/Electricity Bills: The fear of the telephone is a real and crippling condition, I know. I stand by you on that. However, you quickly realise what is worse between an awkward ten minutes spent sorting out your bill payment schedule with a dodgy understand of the phonetic alphabet and being hit by a fine for breaking the law. You can find out directly from your landlord who provided the electricity in your property before you lived there and it then becomes a matter of registering as the new tenants and paying for what you use from there. Take meter readings every month at least and always make sure you have the most up-to-date ones before speaking to them on the phone. Council Tax Exemption: As a student, you are exempt from council tax – hooray! However, this doesn’t happen automatically. You must register your student status with the council which you do by filling out a short form on gov.co.uk. You may receive a nasty letter in the post between submitting your form and the admin actually getting around to filing it accusing you of owing obscene amounts of money for Council Tax. Do not fear. Simply contact them using the reference number on the letter, explaining. Contents Insurance: By law, you are expected to have contents
insurance but to take the dictatorship perspective out of this: why would you not want to protect your possessions? From as little as £30 for the whole year, you can insure your belongings from theft and damage, which will be particularly useful for those among us sharing halls with several people.
TV License: It’s the law. You cannot use your television without a
licence and not expect to receive a hefty charge. They have your property on a system with your details and anything you use after the termination of your license will be made accountable to you. They will find you.
Smoke Alarms: Such a
small and seemingly insignificant task but perhaps the one with the greatest impact. It is your landlord’s responsibility to ensure that your property is safe from the risk of fire. However, don’t wait for them to approach you to get someone out to test them. As students, we often have many things on our minds at once between deadlines, personal issues and social gatherings, often finding us in a day-dreamy state that makes us unable to fully focus on the menial tasks before us – like cooking. Smoke alarms save lives.
Broadband: We all like to think we can live without Wifi and television, but a never-ending week without Virgin towards the end of my tenancy was enough to show me that this has more ideal implications than practical ones. Sort your broadband out as soon as possible, that way you can study and submit coursework from home with Naked Attraction companionably humming along in the background. by Rachael Procter @rrretro___ r.procter@tsaglasgow.com
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UNIVERS ITY CO STS WE BET YO UH niversity is expensive. AVE That’s great former-highN’T B school-teacher. Tell us something we didn’t know. UDGE Birthday Postage: TED FOR Aside from the obvious big costs
U
– those being rent, heating and electricity bills, and books if you have a lot of them – there are also several tiny and frequent costs which over a year-long course amount to a substantial amount of money, collectively qualifying for a unique “big cost” title in their own right. And we bet you haven’t even considered their magnitude yet.
Here we’ve compiled a list. First things first: do not allow yourself to breathe a sigh of relief at the compact sight of it. Each heading has its own monetary connotations that you will need to fork out for, and trust us when we say that you definitely won’t want anything keeping you inside when your squad are hitting up the vodka mixers in the bar down the road.
When you leave home, believe it or not, you take most of your prior responsibilities with you. Yes, there are memes upon memes depicting how disconnected students come to feel about their home and university lives during term time; you’ll come to laugh at how true they are in due course. However, when sitting down to a family takeout for mum’s birthday “because you were in the house anyway” becomes making the conscious effort to go to the post office and post a gift, there’s an extra cost right there. Times that by the number of your school friends and all your relatives and that’s some hefty pay-out on top of the price of gifts. You don’t want anyone to feel shut out, do you? Therefore, we advise that you allow a small budget for posting. (Or email, if this all sounds a little too WWII for you.)
Bedding – single to double:
One of the most appealing things about moving away from home for me was upgrading my narrow, IKEA, pre-teen
single beast of a bed for a snazzy, kingsize castle of a napping ground. What did this mean, of course? New bedding. You’re going to need to alternate between at least two and our guess is that, given you want to enjoy your new design freedom, you’re going to want them to at least complement your Pinterest aesthetic goals so be prepared to cash up.
Small things with big price tags: Toilet roll in abundance. Empty
toothpaste tubes with the ability to bin and replace themselves. Kitchen bin bags that magically float outside to be disposed of. Sound familiar? Mums and dads are great at knowing what needs to be done to look after you all but these tiny, everyday things cost money and require a certain level of organisation.
Iner-city travel: Living on campus might mean you are lucky enough to be within walking distance of the library, the gym, the supermarket and the pub – and what more could a student need to survive these testing years? However, you will likely become lazy even in these surroundings; the ten-minute hike up the hill to class can be quartered by jumping in an Uber and that’s an extra 7.5 minutes in bed, am I right? Team this with the inevitable number of drunken taxi rides home and bam: there’s a cost right there for you. by Rachael Procter @rrretro___ r.procter@tsaglasgow.com
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5
Useful Apps to Download When You Start Uni
ISCANNER – £4.99
UNIDAYS
One of the annoying and unavoidable problems with university libraries is the limited access to materials. The phrase ‘if you’re not fast, you’re last’ has a poignancy here. iScanner is an iPhone app which enables you to scan pages and turn them into a PDF whilst eliminating blurriness and other annoying ticks. Think of it as copying a chapter from a book without being chained to the scanner to turn the pages every few minutes. It is £4.99 which is substantially cheaper than the cost of a scanner and the entire PDF documents can then be emailed and printed. Easy.
Most of us will have some level of savvy when it comes to swinging a cheeky little student discount in stores. However, taking that cheeky little smile to the web is a little more challenging. In fact, websites now usually require you to sign in to your university account to attain discounts. Downloading the Unidays app will generate your own online student identity and offer a convenient way to view all of the potential savings you could make in one place. See something you like? Simply click on it to be taken to a discount code that is unique to your student identity and enter it at the check-out.
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e can huff and puff, preach and even abstain, but we are products of the technological generation. Throughout your life so far, adults will have likely taken encountering you – a technically competent young person – as an opportunity to promote the preservation of pen and paper. This involves sitting quietly as they delve into their own educational experiences prior to the technological human evolution, when phones were not extensions of our wrists, as if to detract from your hard-earned achievements thus far. You may be subjected to this whilst fighting the creative urge to develop a meme out of the way that they tilt back their nose in the air every time they say, ‘when I was in school…’
AN ONLINE BANKING APP One of the most important things you will learn about throughout your studies is money – how to manage it, how nice it looks just sitting in your bank after the bills have been paid, how it all seems to evaporate at the mere mention of the word ‘town’. Having an online banking app is a genius way of transferring money from your savings, or someone else’s, to your main account when you need it and enables you to completely oversee all transactions, direct debits and standing orders in one convenient place. If you face your problems early, you will avoid those nasty scares.
We millennials are often reprimanded for having an abundant supply of convenience in our day-to-day set-ups, be that with online shopping, e-mail or transport. However, just because we don’t have to walk two miles to get to the nearest shop like your granny once had to, it does not mean that we aren’t contending with graduate job pressure, internships and current parttime employment on top of a blossoming social calendar we are reminded is healthy for us to maintain. So, while there are weekends – quiet ones – where we feel as if you could still live harmoniously without technology, fortunately, there are innovative folks out there who have developed applications so tempting, cost-effective and endlessly useful that we shouldn’t have to.
EVERNOTE Evernote is a huge, free notetaking centre which enables you to write on one device and pick it back up on absolutely any other. It has many cool features for photos, enabling you to take a picture of a piece of paper and edit it, which will save you lots of printing time as well as minimising how many different coloured highlighters you need to transport around if you are that way inclined.
ALARMED – REMINDERS This particular app goes above and beyond the standard Reminders call of duty. Set yourself reminders for weeks in advance that you can repeat hourly, daily or weekly. Sort your reminders into categories like ‘university’, ‘birthdays’, or ‘home’ and view them all at once to know what is coming up. Have specific ringtones for certain alarms and tailor each entry to how often you would like it to appear. There is an option for the notifications on your lock screen to stay put until you manually tick them off, meaning there is a far less chance of you forgetting something important.
by Rachael Procter @rrretro___
lifestyle
r.procter@tsaglasgow.com
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SCOTTISH LINGO FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: A TRANSLATION GUIDE... So you’re an international student who’s just arrived in Scotland: for reasons unknown, you’ve journeyed to the drab, dreich, dour, damp shores of Scotland where the only thing more baffling than the local disposition to deep-frying things in a vat of hot oil is the vernacular. The Scottish language is a complex organic entity; constantly evolving, fuelled by an innate desire to keep fresh. Innovative and intelligent, there is no better reflection of the trademark, quick witted, dark humour of the Scottish psyche; where a turn of phrase that may be originally misconstrued as grossly offensive anywhere else, is simply just a loving, affectionate, term of endearment. To the locals, it’s common practise, but to international students, it may seem confusing, disorientating and even slightly intimidating. However, this short guide should make the transition slightly more comfortable…
“PREE’S” Definition: Pre-Drinking before you go out drinking…, Example: “Where are we going for Pree’s”? Pre-drinking is an absolutely mandatory part of the weekend ritual in Scotland, and while drinking before a night of drinking may seem questionable, the crux of the matter is this: you are a student: you are poor. Whilst sinking a bottle of Aldi’s finest £4 rosé in a friend’s house before stumbling out the door may seem shameful, it’s nothing compared to the soul-destroying utter dread of waking up on a Sunday morning, crippled by the fear, too afraid to check your bank-balance after hazy memories of shot after expensive shot begin to flood back into your fragile little mind.
“WHITEY” Definition: The underappreciated art of projectile vomiting during/following a drinking session, Example: “Tanned half a bottle of wine before going out and hit a whitey”. After about a week of your relocation to Scotland, you’ll come to understand that binge drinking is so shamefully ingrained into our culture, that drinking to the point of projectile vomiting has become so commonplace we’ve assigned a word to it. Derives from the pale, sweaty face of a poor unfortunate soul who’s dispatched that Aldi’s finest £4 rosé wine with some ease, and is about to heave it back onto floor.
“MAD WI IT” (USUALLY ABBREVIATED TO MWI) Definition: Mad with it; extreme inebriation, Example: “Was so mwi last night I whitey’d on myself” Scotland’s favourite past time: getting disgustingly mwi.
“YALDI” Definition: Used to show excitement or joy, Example: “Won £250 on a coupon. Yaldi! Usually screamed in moments of sheer jubilation, few words encapsulate the spirit of Scotland more than the world Yaldi. Bet just came in? Yaldi! Found a tenner on the street? Yaldi! £1 Jagerbombs? Yaldi!
“GAFF” Definition: An afterparty, Example: “Ended up in a gaff ‘till Sunday night”
S E Y AW ? – T E E, N H Y A G I A R , N AW N, H NA HT?, UTTI N G I , T R W L A W A NO H E HE
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Because Scotland’s stringent licensing laws require all nightclubs to shut at 3am, Scotland’s developed a unique afterparty scene, playing out in the flats and homes of complete strangers. Typically sordid affairs, the gaff is a lawless state, unhinged and unfettered from licensing laws, or the watchful eye of the public.
“TAPS AFF” Definition: To remove one’s t-shirt in the rare event of warm weather in Scotland, Example: “Set to be above 20 degrees the day: taps aff!” Occasionally, and I do mean occasionally, Scotland, in rare moments, receive bouts of unusually warm weather. The rarity of such an occurrence appears to trigger a primitive instinct that resides deep within a large amount of the country’s inhabitants; to grab a crate, head down to the nearest green space, howl “taps aff” before removing all items of clothing north of the waist. Fortunately, despite global warming, the chances of it actually being warm enough in Scotland to merit such behaviour is still incredibly slim.
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We know we weren’t the only one’s to have had teachers tell us about how strict life in college and university is, and how you’ll get away with basically nothing. But here’s a spoiler for you all: life in higher education is actually pretty chill (at least at the start anyway). Here are five differences you’ll notice between high school and university.
1. There’s no cliques
The average high school experience wasn’t exactly a scene out of Mean Girls, but there were definitely cliques. So we have the popular girls, the LADs, the book worms, the overachievers, the gamers, the stoners (let’s be hoest), and the moshers (cliques may vary in each high school). But believe it or not, in big kid school, there’s not really any of that – and it’s awesome! Sure, everyone has their own
style and are interested in their own thing, but all that judging that happened in High School, all those opinions we had of each other that kept us all to our own social groups – actually disappears. No-one really judges anyone else for the sake of it, and in most cases you might find that just about everyone gets on with everyone else. Overall, it’s much easier to talk to new people.
2. You can do what you want
You thought you had freedom in sixth year. When you were allowed your own common room, you had free periods, and you were finally allowed to study the subjects you wanted to do. That was prison compared to the freedom you’ll have in uni. What you study in university is centred on your field of education, and what you actually want to do in the real world.
3. You won’t be chased up about late assignments
4. No-one is checking up on you
Good news! That’s pretty much bullshit.
The only person standing in the way of you getting the work done is you – so start getting motivated.
In high school, when you told your teacher you haven’t done your homework, you get torn to pieces. There’s the 10-minute long rant about how you won’t survive in the world of further education unless you get your act together.
We’re not saying your lecturer won’t care if you don’t hand in your assignments, but they do understand that you’re an adult now. Obviously don’t take the piss, if you have the odd assignment that won’t be ready in time due to a legitimate reason, let your lecturer know (spoiler alert, they will actually believe you – I know! Crazy). Which leads us onto our next point...
Unlike high school, no-one will come after you or notify your parents if you are falling behind. In fact, in one way, some lecturers may even like students who don’t do the work because that leaves them with fewer assignments to grade.
Because...
5. It’s not about you; it’s about the work you do. Many new university students are used to getting credit for “having really tried hard.” But professors aren’t grading you on your effort or your sincerity. They are grading the work you do. Many of your professors will never know your name. If you are at a large university, they won’t even recognise you in the hallway. Sorry.
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e f i L t n e y t i d l a u e t R S s v n o i t a t c e p Ex
0 Scottish high 0 ,3 8 2 g in k a re -b Last year a record y to university a w ir e th e d a m ts school studen
In light of this year’s SQA results, I got thinking about why getting into university is as much of a relief to high school students as it is. Is it possible for eighteen-year-olds to comprehend the impact of a degree when here I am a year away from finishing with no clue what comes next? I started to wonder more about why I relentlessly buried my face in SQA past papers little over three years ago in the hope of getting in. Are we all just here because we’ve been advised to be? Is student life everything we hoped it was going to be? My flat mate is lowering onto the couch across from me, cup of tea in one hand and an unstable laptop, notebook and library book pile balancing in the other. I ask her: “What were your expectations of student life?” “I thought there’d be more parties,” she says. I think about this for a moment. It’s absolutely not surprising that the social side of studying is, ultimately, what the
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vast majority of students are concerned about. And the truth is, there are fewer parties than you’d think. No Chad Hogan resides down the hall, fired up and ready to host a get-together at any given moment. He’s in the library cramming for a midnight deadline but only 200 words in. His tardiness likely won’t be due to too much partying like you might expect but probably something to do with the latest Netflix binge. A lot of the time, ‘student life’ can be one part attending classes, another part studying in preparation for classes and two parts lounging around ignoring the groupchat. The blissful reality of this isn’t down to a lack of time or social intrigue, but rather a lack of funds and the inability to organise a get together when everyone works part time jobs at different hours. “And more… picturesque”, she adds. “I thought it’d be prettier here.” Aesthetics are an important factor in the swaying game of university competition. If the prospectus contains
attractive images of students reading beneath trees or travelling to Malawi in summer on a fundraising trip, naturally people will be inclined towards that university. However, just as you learn about most things as you venture beyond the school walls, nothing beyond the Freshers’ Fair comes to you at university. The truth is, so-called ‘student life’ in it’s entirety doesn’t just happen to you. It isn’t a lifestyle handed to you on a plate from the government as a way of saying, “well done for getting into university”. Yes, some of the legends, the things to expect – as passed down from older siblings and cousins – are true. You will drink lots and meet new people. Probably smoke something you shouldn’t and opt for a crate of beer over a decent meal more than once. Of course this is true. That would be the case for just about anyone working part-time and living off of a low-interest loan. What isn’t realistic is conforming to a state of entitlement: I got into
university, therefore, I am entitled to discounts on everything I touch; I can be late or hungover in work and it’s the sign of a good night out; I can get high and post questionable thoughts on social media ‘because I’m young and it happens sometimes’. Fundamentally, your transition from high school to university is a period of growth and, amid all of the amazing times you’re bound to have, the ultimate outcome is a job at the end of all this. It’s a lifestyle change that will find you shedding off old friends you didn’t think you’d ever lose contact with to make room for new ones with similar interests and career goals as you. Soon, Facebook will become a scrapbook for the group holidays your old friends are now going on, only the faces you recognise are sparse and everyone, collectively, looks much happier.
One Night Stand
The How To Guide Let your friends know where you are: If you’re out with your pals, they probably won’t appreciate you just wandering off by yourself without telling them. They’ll be worried, or annoyed, or both. But that’s not the only reason you should let your friends know where you are: if they know who you’re with and where you’re headed, they’ll be able to check up on you and come to the rescue if need be. If they know what the person you’re going home with looks like as well, even better! If things go really-tits-up-worsecase-scenario, knowing what the last person to see you with looks like may do wonders.
Keep some phone battery: Here’s a good idea: when your phone hits 20% battery, stop using it. Put it in airplane mode; put it in your bag or
It happens, right? You’re having a fun night out, having a few drinks when you meet a good looking stranger and something has to be done about this! You have a few more drinks together, you talk, you kiss and suddenly you’re both in a taxi to one of your houses and you’re babbling, “shape of you is totally our song!” Or something like that. No two one night stands are the same, and they can be a good time, but the most important part of every one night stand is staying safe. That being said, here are a few things to keep in mind if ever you find yourself getting involved in a one night stand.
your pocket, whatever. Pray to god you’ve taken enough selfies, sent enough regrettable texts and weird tweets. On a night out where you end up by yourself or with a stranger, a bit of phone battery can do wonders; you can call a taxi, or a friend to help you out and/or come get you. We’re all guilty of it; checking Snapchat and the group chats and updating all your sober friends on your drunken activities is actually really fun, and with a few drinks in your system, self-restraint isn’t exactly the first thing on your mind. But if there’s a chance you could end up by yourself at any point in the night, some juice in your phone will be a huge help.
Be safe!: And I don’t mean in the ways mentioned above; I mean, like, sexually. If there’s any chance of you going home with someone, bring
protection! Bring condoms or whatever your preferred method of protection is! Remember: you can still get them for free from clinics (check our map on page 22 where you can pick up free condoms) so there’s not much reason not to. In any case, why would you not want to? Why take the chance of catching anything or, in the case of the ladies, getting pregnant? Protection takes up very little room and the best way to make sure you have it is to bring it yourself.
Know that you want this: Are you doing this because your friends are insisting you pull? Or because you feel like it’s one of the experiences you have to have? The point is, don’t go ahead with going home with a stranger because you feel like you have to. Sex is only fun when both parties are giving
their full consent. Have a real think about what you’re doing and know that you can always say no whenever you feel like you need to. When it comes to your body, you don’t owe anyone anything and really, you’re here to have a good time, so have one.
Have fun!: We can’t tell you the numbers; we don’t know what percent of people in Glasgow, Scotland, or the world have partaken in one night stands, but it’s part of life if you want it to be. If you decide to go home with someone, have fun with it! Don’t think too much about it and make some crazy, wild and fun memories. Sex is a part of life so enjoy it. by Holly Fleming Twitter: @hol7ly h.fleming@tsaglasgow.com
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MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LONG SUMMERS O
ne of the best things about having a long summer break is the infinitie opportunities you have to spend time abroad. The world has some spectacular destinations to visit, places that you could only ever dream of, so here are some tips and ideas on how to travel on a budget during the summer months.
START THINKING AHEAD
Couchsurfing: A Try these methods on your travels next summer: Home-stay: If you
really want to experience a place, the best way to do it is by staying with a family. This means you will rent out a room in a family’s home and have a unique and authentic experience. This poses a great opportunity to make real friendships with local people and learn about their culture, language and every day life.
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slightly modern and new approach to travelling on a budget. Couchsurfing is an app available on the App Store which allows you to meet new and interesting people willing to let you stay with them during your time abroad. Many are interested in your culture and want to make friends or learn a new language. This can help you gain a real insight into a new place as you spend your time living like a local. Be sure to get to know who you’ll be staying with before-hand and this could make for a unique experience.
Au-pair: Another way
to travel on a budget is by working as an Au-pair. You can be placed anywhere across Europe, Asia and South America – take your pick! This role involves spending time with a family looking after their children as a baby sitter and doing light-house work or even teaching English, you might even learn a new language by doing so! Families will often pay you to look after their children and might even take you travelling in exchange. This is a fantastic way to meet friends for life and on many occasions, host families can become like a real family.
Hostels: You don’t have
to stay in the most luxurious of hotels to still get a good night’s sleep when travelling, why not opt for a cheaper option so that you can save money to put towards other activities or tours during your stay. Despite common misconceptions about hostels – they’re ridden with bed bugs, dirty and risky... The reality is very different for many. Hostels provide an excellent opportunity to meet like-minded people from various backgrounds and cultures. However, before you book a hostel, have a look on sites like Trip Advisor and Hostel World to ensure you choose the right place.
Volunteer: If you’re bored of your current dayto-day life then why not try something extreme and immerse yourself in a completely new environment and help others. There are various volunteering opportunities available online where you can gain new experiences such as TEFL teaching roles, various aid projects, working in hospitals, do your research and find the ideal placement for you. Volunteering can give you a new perspective on life and help you gain transferable skills as you take on different roles and tasks which will help improve other people’s lives and also boost your CV.
by Sophie McLean
sophiemcleanblog.wordpress.com
Planning for a Successful and Responsible Overseas Placement Planning a successful and impactful trip for your summer / gap year is not always easy given the number of voluntourism opportunities out there. You may have seen the stories that more and more young people are travelling abroad to volunteer so that they can fill up their Instagram account with selfies, or the report from Save the Children that states that “an overwhelming majority of children living in orphanages in developing countries actually have a living parent”. Even J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, is campaigning against irresponsible volunteering placements, tweeting ‘I will never retweet appeals that treat poor children as opportunities to enhance Westerners’ CVs”.
So, how can you steer clear of the minefield of irresponsible and purely commercial options out there? Follow our tips below to ensure you don’t fall into the voluntourist trap: RESEARCH THE COMPANY AND PLACEMENT YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON Be sure to look at “development impact”. Does the charity appear to monitor and report on the impact that their volunteers are having in the community? This could form the basis of an impact page on their website or an annual report. If they don’t seem to have a monitoring and evaluation function in their organisation then chances are they care little about the impact they are having and simply want money from their volunteers. Find out how the programme is funded? If the programme is purely volunteer funded then it is likely that once again there is little focus on community impact and creating positive change for the so called beneficiaries of the volunteer placement. When looking at a placement advert ask yourself, “Is all the language geared at convincing me to part with my money, in order to benefit myself?” The existence of a recognised funder, such as a development body like UKaid (UK Department for International Development) or SDI (Scottish Development International) shows that a larger body has a vested interest in the programme and the social impact it has pledged to create. Being expected to pay something towards the cost of the programme via fundraising is usually okay as long as the main purpose of the fundraising effort is to raise awareness of the programme and its aims. What is in it for you? Is there a tangible benefit to taking part in the programme? Will you be supported to overcome new challenges? Is there room for personal and professional growth alongside delivering genuine social, economic or environmental impact? Organisations that run a programme that encourages personal growth will tell you about what previous volunteers have accomplished and what skills they have developed, they may even offer a recognised qualification. Apply for a volunteering placement with International Citizen Service (ICS) International Citizen Service (ICS) is an overseas volunteering programme for 18-25 year olds, it is funded by the UK Government and aims to bring about three things: project impact, volunteer personal development and the creation of active citizens. There are eight different development organisations delivering ICS projects in over 20 countries. Challenges Worldwide, an Edinburgh based International Development charity, runs an ICS programme to support businesses in Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda. The programme includes 10 weeks of training in Professional Consulting paired with a business placement in one of 4 African cities. The programme is split into three stages: Analysis, Recommendations and Implementation. After your placement, Challenges Worldwide will continue to support the growth of the business and you will return home with a chance to complete a level 5 qualification in Professional Consulting with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). To learn more about Challenges Worldwide and ICS visit challengesworldwide. com/ics or volunteerics.org/challenges-worldwide-ics S e p t e m b e r 1 7 | We A r e T S A . c o . u k
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