e2 #287

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Mouni Feddag

Style

Deputy: Sofia Gymer sofia.gymer@ epigram.org.uk

Deputy: Sorcha Bradley sorcha.bradley@ epigram.org.uk

Online: Jordan Kelly-Linden livingonline@epigram.org.uk

Food Review: Tiffin’s Indian Restaurant Being a North-East Londoner, my relationship with curry primarily centres on the inconsistency of Brick Lane; when its bad hunks of anonymous flesh bathe in a shimmering pool of fluorescent orange ghee, leaving you unsure of whether it’s safe to stand up for at least half an hour.

If Brick Lane resembles somewhat of a crumbling institution for curry, then Tiffin’s is in no doubt a vanguard for the continuation of this country’s long established love affair with the dish. In Indian-English dialect the term ‘tiffin’ carries several meanings, but the embryonic use of the word referred to an alternative to the British afternoon tea, something of an in-between-meals snack and something I feel is embodied in the food that is prepared each morning by Nick Jethwa and his wife Jay. Upon entering Tiffin’s, I can’t help but think that it smells exactly how every curry restaurant should; a fiery blend of fennel, chilli and cardamom liberates sinuses that have forgotten how it feels to breathe freely after a typically miserable Bristol winter. The vibrancy of Nick Walker’s mural is reflected by the rich array of curries in front of which Nick Jethwa, the restaurants thirteen-year owner, proudly stands.

‘Authenticity’ is the word that sticks after Nick warmly welcomes me and I take a seat at the only table in the room. He talks briefly about the daily preparation of the food and, with a dismissive gesticulation, makes sure to emphasise the absence of any ghee.

The Tiffin’s menu is a reflection of western Indian, Gujarat cuisine and by extension, the influence of Jain vegetarianism. The food is freshly prepared each morning by Nick and Jay, meaning that the menu can be subject

to some fluctuation especially in regard to the vegetable curry options, although this undoubtedly adds to the authenticity of the place.

I am almost immediately presented with a feast of everything Nick has, his warmth and hospitality is infectious, as is his irresistible enthusiasm for the food of his homeland.

The saag paneer maintains a perfect balance between earthy, alliaceous notes and a sharpness which I can only assume is chilli. The black-eyed beans provide a robust accompaniment to the delicacy and heat of the courgette curry, which retains some bite and brought a pleasant warmth to the centre of my forehead. It’s when I moved on to the chicken and kheema curry that Nick, with whom I have been chatting away, brings out the big guns in the form of his famed coriander, coconut and chilli chutney.

The lamb keema in particular impressed me; the soft succulence of the mince bore a mere suggestion of infused cinnamon, it was undoubtedly a different species to anything I had previously encountered on Brick Lane. The dish was light, with no excess oil to be seen, and was brought to an entirely new level by the sweetness of the chutney. The same can be said of the chicken curry, whose discernible chunks of meat flaked apologetically with the slightest touch of my fork.

I was further treated to an array of dahls, from masoor to kichadi and urid, all of which supplemented what was already on my plate but could have easily been eaten by themselves.

I’ve eaten good curry before, and was perhaps surprised at just how good Tiffin’s was, but what came as more unexpected was the character and engine room behind it all. Nick is certainly something special; a man who can

Flickr: heatheronhertravels

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Editor: Becki Murray becki.murray@ epigram.org.uk

speak nine languages and justified as a self-professed ‘community man’, in just over an hour I spent in the restaurant he greeted virtually every customer by their first name. Upon my departure, he insisted I take a small pot of the magical chutney, as well as a tupperware full of a dahl I had been unable to try. This is a man for whom food is everything, it is a source of wonder and happiness that he and his wife are only too willing to share. As I make my exit, with a radiant warmth sitting contentedly just below my navel, the small restaurant once again fills and Nick and Jay flit behind the counter like parents attending to chicks in a nest.

Details - Address: 151 St Michael’s Hill, Bristol BS2 8DB - Telephone: 01179734834 - Email: info@tiffins-bristol.com - Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday

Midday- 2.30pm and 4.30- 9.00pm

Sunday Closed -Prices: Large curry (no rice) £7

Small curry (half curry/half rice) £6

What’s On

Meet the e2 team

d fille . r e ast eep n E and sl and Living: Becki Murray, Sofia Gymer, Sorcha a om tflix ines r Bradley and Jordan Kelly-Linden will meet t f ’ ack te, Ne deadl doesn b at 1:30pm on Tuesday 28 April in the la r . it ’re Hawthorns.

You choco ime fo and ember t t, pt r e a S with it’s t s ut ce Style: Maddy Streets, Hattie Bottom, Emma abo y Now ion to ond sin g h in s w i k c Ward and Beth Laverack have finished v e n i e r as th k at tyle e meetings for the year. Please see m r S o e ’ e lo se e, Facebook for more information.

2 w iving st tim dma’s e at e. L e be an the r g e r s th re r He ap Travel: Rowena Ball, Rosie Quigley e l od was thei l explo m i t e g o v and Constance Malleret will meet n h i a l d r chil recyc and T ... at 11am on Wednesday 29 April s are robes t clock in the Refectory. d war d’s bes l wor

Finn Blythe

27.04.2015

14 reasons why childhood was awesome!

I have a two and half year old niece and I love her with all of my heart. It’s not that I’m biased or anything, but she must be the cutest creature to live on this planet. Everything from her messy locks of hair, to her soft, tiny hands, to her adorable laugh – she creates a joy that I don’t think comes from anything other than loving and caring for a little human. Aside from the love I feel for this gremlin, I also feel a hint of sadness. A nostalgia for a time in my life that I didn’t know how great it was until I see the happiness my niece revels in. So I have compiled a list of things I miss about being a child.

8.

1.

Being told what a ‘big girl’ you are and taking it as a compliment.

Disney film marathons! This isn’t to say I don’t still do this now in my twenties, but I just have to be a bit more private about my undying love for John Smith/girl crush on Aurora.

9. Climbing trees in the park. If you flash someone

2.

Thinking 50p was a lot of money. How simple was life before the knowledge of Topshop and Urban Outfitters…

3.

Having a bed time of 7pm. If only uni social conventions allowed it to be acceptable to go to bed before midnight.

4.

Having zero responsibility for your actions, anyone, or anything, for example, breaking your dad’s iPad and innocently puppy eye-ing him as a form of apology.

5.

Being able to have tantrums without repercussions. Can you imagine the reaction if you threw the contents of your bag out on the floor if you got a bad essay mark?!

whilst hanging from a branch, it’s not really as endearing as when you were five years old and didn’t know better.

10.

Chasing your sibling around Ikea and occasionally hiding in the rolled up carpets for long enough to give your parents a heart attack, resulting in them ordering that all the exit doors be closed until you reappear… (true story).

11. Being able to spit out food you don’t like and

not have anyone look at you with disgust. For reasons unknown, whenever my niece does this, we all laugh in approval…

12.

Nap time in school. I’m still unsure why this is not a thing post nursery. Rested kids = happy kids.

6.

Endless compliments about how beautiful/clever/good you are; and being like ‘yeah that’s right, I’m great.’

13.

Having someone dress you every day. The struggle is real.

14.

And finally, having no concept of time and living for the moment. Something we should all remember to do, at least once in a while.

Ana Vujanic

7. Being oblivious to the

Flickr: crimfants

existence of the Kardashians/ Jersey Shore crew. What I wouldn’t give to have a detoxed mind from all of these irrelevant ‘celebrities’.

University? It’s child’s play reminds you of the horror of primary school lunches. Maybe it was the plastic trays, the slightly scary serving staff or the perfectly cubic orange and yellow ‘vegetables’, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was going to come check I’d cleared my plate or ring a bell to say I could go outside to the playground. And we didn’t even get to go up for second helpings! To be honest though, not much has changed in second year. My cooking quite scarily resembles my childhood mud pies and probably doesn’t taste much better!

On another note, it also strikes me that students on a night out are not dissimilar to actual toddlers. Have you ever looked closely, for example, at someone trying to stumble home after a night out at Lounge? They quite simply resemble a child attempting to take their first steps or an infant who is so overexcited that their body can’t keep up with their legs.

It’s funny, but certainly childlike. Then there’s the one individual who manages to get more drink over them than in their mouths and could really do with a bib, as

well as the constant crier who can’t be consoled by anyone because there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with them.

While I’m not suggesting that young children are actually secretly drunk all the time, it’s certainly amusing to see how a student’s maturity disappears almost immediately after they get in touching distance of a pint.

And finally, university is the place which makes you ultimately realise that the teenage freedom you fought so hard for is a lot less important than it seemed at the time. Whether it’s providing your favourite meal or washing your clothes in a machine than doesn’t smell suspiciously of mould, your mum and dad can be life savers at the end of a busy term.

They’re definitely the two individuals who remind you that you will always be their child whether you are five or 25 and whilst I’m glad of the independence living with friends has

Flickr: U.S. Army Garrison- Miami

When I was preparing to go to university, I was frequently told by slightly patronising family friends how quickly time had flown by since I was a child and how grown up going to study away from home would make me. Having nearly approached the end of second year, however, I’ve come to the conclusion that said individuals were wrong. University wasn’t the beginning of my life as a self-sufficient adult but the start of a slow descent back towards childhood from which I fear I will never recover.

Firstly, there’s the stupid amount of time I spend napping. While I survived a timetable that spanned from 8 ‘til 4 throughout the rest of my school career, I now struggle with the concept of more than two hours a day as an English student and the prospect of a 9am is borderline terrifying. I certainly spend more time in bed watching Netflix than is healthy and I am not-so secretly hoping that the University will introduce a ‘napping area’ soon as my bed is always too far away.

Then there’s the food. In first year, I was catered and there is nothing that says ‘you’re an adult’ less than hall food which

brought me, I certainly never mind when my parents come to Bristol and taking me out somewhere nice.

So maybe my lack of maturity at university isn’t such a bad thing after all, as long as I snap out of it before graduation that is!

Becki Murray

Epigram

27.04.2015

28

Eating Disorder Special: Students share their stories Experiences of a fresher only half there The difficulties of starting uni with an eating disorder Anonymous Features Writer ‘It wouldn’t have made one scrap of difference to me, because wherever I sat...I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.’ - Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar. I apologise for being so predictable by opening with Plath, a writer who has become a cliché in the discussion of mental illness. But for me, this sentiment resonates with my experience of being a fresher whilst struggling with an eating disorder. For most, the first year of university is a scary yet exciting time; waving goodbye to parents whilst laden down with IKEA bags, joining strange societies, and clubbing too much. While these new opportunities may lead to some undesired outcomes, (such as listening to someone who believes that the Marxist society can conquer not only Bristol, but the world, and staring into a Bunker toilet wondering what your

life has come to), these are the normal things that students do.

I have managed to do some of these things since coming to university in September, but I did them with the burden of an eating disorder.

“ Adopting the life of a typical first year felt almost impossible as the effects of my illness took hold

I couldn’t fully appreciate all of the fantastic experiences that Bristol had to offer; despite being surrounded by people, I felt alone, trapped in a cycle of depression and starvation.

Adopting the life of a typical first year felt almost impossible

as the effects of my illness took hold. Making excuses for skipping hall meals left me feeling socially isolated, and going to societies became too much of an effort as I conserved any brain power I had for work. Summoning the energy to attend a pre-drinks felt comparable to climbing Mount Everest, but I pasted on a smile and feigned enjoyment while feeling physically and mentally drained, and oh so bloody hungry. It’s important to emphasise that when you see a person with an eating disorder, looking ‘skinny’ is a miniscule part of it, just the start of the physical difficulties.

Others include feeling cold continuously, growing hair all over your body, dizziness, chest pains, hair loss, bed sores and sleeplessness as your mattress rubs against your bones.

So are the joys of anorexia nervosa. Even as I type out that clinical label I feel a spasm of disgust inside my throat. Although I have been struggling intermittently with it from my early teens, I

still find that every time I try to speak those words it feels more painful than retching to vomit. It is so difficult to admit to yourself that you have a problem, let alone reach out for help. For me, the label fills me with shame, which is probably why I have struggled through the year with this albatross around my neck.

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I confided in my university friends; after that, it did feel like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

And this is part of the problem: discussing something like this with a close friend is hard enough, but confiding in people who still feel ‘new’ seemed an insurmountable obstacle. The truth was that friends had noticed and were desperately worried, but they had no idea how to bring it up. For someone ‘normal’, not eating is just nonsensical; if you’re hungry after a night out, you head to Donervan or order a Dominos. This made it harder to admit that I, a rational individual, seemed incapable

of doing what, for others, is instinctive. Despite this, letting others know, even though they were already aware, was crucial.

“ The physical difficulties include dizziness, chest pains, hair loss, bed sores, and sleeplessness as your mattress rubs against your bones

I realize that whatever I choose to write about in this article might only make a small contribution towards the understanding of eating disorders. But I want to say that they are not simple; they are not about size zero or thinking ‘skinny’ is desirable. They are complex illnesses, having the highest mortality rate among mental disorders - the current

prognosis is that one in five sufferers will die from it. I wanted to take the opportunity to describe how difficult it is to maintain a student life whilst struggling with anorexia, and how important it is to seek help. Personally, I have had a rocky year, but am looking to the summer with hope; I am determined that my second year will be one lived to the full, once I am healthier and happier within myself. To anyone who has a friend that they are worried about, don’t be afraid to address the elephant in the room. In all likelihood they will be glad that you did.

If I could speak to my fresher self of last September, and all future Freshers who feel they may have a problem, I would say, ‘reach out and get the right help. Don’t struggle alone. While fighting an eating disorder isn’t easy, giving into it is worse. Don’t waste another second on this illness. Make sure your university days are ones to remember, for the right reasons. Don’t stay stuck in the “bell jar”’.

Mental Health: Mind Your Head week ‘One in four of us will be affected by mental illness in any year’, the website of mental health awareness charity Time to Change states. Mental health problems affect a large number of people, all over the country, and it’s about time that we started talking about them a bit more.

The Mind your Head! campaign will run between Monday 27 April and Friday 1 May, and aims to do quite a few things in a week, including giving out free smoothies.

There will be a number of different workshops and activities, from sessions about male mental health, supporting friends with mental health problems and ‘Train Your Brain’ with the Student Counselling Service, to try-something-new activities like a capella singing with Suspensions, and acting with Dramsoc and Spotlights.

“ ‘Nobody deserves to be alone in a mental health condition’

Bristol SU Undergraduate Education Officer and head of the campaign, Alex Bradbrook, told Epigram, ‘I’m so happy that this week is happening, because students have clearly indicated over the past few years that mental health is an increasingly important topic

to them, I’m also so glad that it’s being run by an awesome committee of students who have brought so many great ideas to the table, and that the University are giving us their support. This topic is one of national importance, and hopefully, this week will help people learn a little more about mental health, learn to look after their own well being and also break the stigma that still surrounds this issue.’

The campaign’s wider aims include encouraging long term progress in treatment and understanding of mental health problems at the University. As part of this, the Students’ Union will sign the Time to Change Pledge, a declaration of future commitment to challenging issues of prejudice around mental health. However, in the short term, the Mind Your Head! week campaign will raise awareness and get people talking about mental health.

Encouraging more open discussion about mental health problems should help

to break down some of the stigma surrounding mental health, helping people to look after themselves and others.

According to Eleanor Martin, President of the recently established Peace of Mind Society, ‘As someone who has suffered from depression for so many years, I can’t stress enough how important it is to discuss this condition and others like it. By talking, we can educate ourselves and others about these illnesses, which can help people learn to recognise their symptoms and others get the help they need. It goes deeper than just education though. Respecting these conditions shows a hell of a lot of love for someone.’

The more discussion about mental health issues there is in campaigns like Mind Your Head! and others, the more people should feel able to seek out (or provide) help and support. As Eleanor aptly says, ‘Nobody deserves to be alone in a mental health condition and talking can make these things so much better.’

Photo credit: Bristol SU

Niamh Callaghan Features Writer

Towards the end of the week there will be a Question Time style discussion about mental health. The campaign finishes with a talk from a representative of Time to Change, about “What next for mental health at University of Bristol?” which should hopefully get people talking more about mental health and give them a few tips on looking after themselves and others.

Epigram

27.04.2015

299

Battling bulimia: an ongoing struggle Anonymous Features Writer

“ I wake mechanically at 6am to scrub, hoover, and clean any trace of my binge

food. But despite all the selfinflicted damage, I dissociate.

It’s a mechanical routine that I’ve perfected over the years, and at this point I’m executing it but I’m barely present.

“ The stranglehold that food possesses is all encompassing, until it clouds you and you’re not sure how to live any other way

every last calorie to perfection, until the thought of actually walking into a supermarket surrounded by food makes me burst into tears, often at the back of lectures.

It’s easy to tell a bulimic to just break the cycle by learning to eat normally. After all, if you can form a pattern of disordered eating, you can break it too.

Being controlled by food almost seems silly – and honestly, it is.

But the stranglehold that food

possesses is all encompassing, until it clouds you and you’re not sure how to live any other way. Liberation for me is recognising that the voice in my head, and the fear that food incites, aren’t real. As much as I feel the victim, there are momentary lapses when food just feels like food, not a demon. There is no grand secret to gaining control over your own mind. Most days I make a mammoth effort to eat

as normally as I can. Some days I’m exhausted and let myself be carried away. Considering I’ve been bulimic since the age of nine, I don’t think it will ever completely leave me, in a way that ex-relationships don’t.

But every effort every day to extricate myself from the cage that my mind has created is a little victory for me, and that’s all I can ask of myself.

After the desire for bingeing and the shame of purging comes the strongest emotion – fear. My fear of food drives a lot of what I do, more than I want to admit even in an anonymous piece of writing. It drives me to starve myself for days, until the light headedness and cravings overwhelm the fear, and the cycle restarts with another three am binge. It’s the reason I can’t focus in a conversation at a restaurant with friends – I’m too busy struggling to stifle the panic rising in me. It’s also the reason I plan my shopping list for days, deliberating over

Photo credit: flickr/Laura Lewis

Most mornings my bed is littered with Twix wrappers and small change leftover from a trip to Park Street Local. I don’t know if anyone would find it odd because I don’t give them the chance to find out – I wake mechanically at 6am to scrub, hoover, and clean any trace of my binge. My eyes can barely open this early in the morning but shame is more powerful than even the most exhausting lethargy. People are always surprised when I tell them I’m bulimic. There’s nothing to indicate I have no control over my food – in fact, I’m the friend least likely to express any fears about my weight or looks.

But my bulimia transcended physical roots a long time ago.

Now, it’s less to do with dress sizes and everything to do with the control that food has over me.

One meal will leave me guessing at imaginary calorie counts for hours while my work lies next to me, forgotten. The soothing thing about counting calories after I’ve eaten is that I can pretend I have a semblance of discipline over what I’ve eaten. I don’t. Once I start eating, I’m filled with what feels a little bit like drunkenness as I escape myself. At some point along the tenth or eleventh shovelful, the escape becomes an abduction. I can’t taste the food anymore and the protest in my head gets weaker and weaker as my hands grab more and more.

I sometimes have to smile to myself when I think about the painful stupidity of purging.

Every time, the toothbrush scrapes me so hard I bleed. I can feel the bristles scour the softest part of my tongue and throat and it always feels like an invasion – my body wasn’t meant for this. As I straighten up to wipe my streaming eyes and nose, my spine and muscles burn. I have been hunching over for half an hour after all. The acid strips my throat, leaving me with a hoarse voice and screaming teeth for a few hours each morning.

Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I’ll pass out and have a few more hours out of my own head – free from

Striving for a positive attitude to food

Emily Faint Features Writer

Eating disorders have been a presence in my life since the age of 13, whether through the struggles of a friend or through my own experience. I distinctly remember learning of the concept of an eating disorder aged nine, when I read Girls Under Pressure by Jacqueline Wilson, a story for teenagers that depicts thirteen year old Ellie’s increasing obsession

with the beauty she sees in other girls around her, and her own sense of comparative inadequacy. In many ways, this was a very close representation of what would happen to me in my early adolescence.

According to the Daily Mail, around 90% of teenagers in Britain are unhappy with their bodies, and unfortunately a survey conducted in 2014 by the Government Equality Office into body confidence reveals that this dissatisfaction rarely improves until midlife and beyond. Young people are facing a self-esteem crisis

and as a result, many are trying to drastically change their appearance through severe diet restriction and a simultaneous increase in their levels of exercise. Something I believe many who have never experienced an eating disorder fail to truly understand is that, although we often associate them with the physical repercussions to the body, an eating disorder is very much a mental illness. Weight loss is only one part of the problem; the real issue is how to address and change the person’s way of thinking.

Photo credit: flickr/Laura Lewis

At one point, the idea of exceeding 1000 calories a day would induce a small panic in me. I would precisely measure out, to the exact gram, my porridge oats for breakfast, using water instead of milk when I realised that this could save me precious calories. I would have one or two pieces of fruit for lunch, or perhaps a salad that I had meticulously prepared the night before at home. Some days I would even make it through the school day with no lunch at all, although the energy slump made Tuesday afternoon Physics class even more intolerable. Once home from school, it would be straight to my room to change for my daily cycling workout.

The deep cold of winter kept me inside, confining me to a stationary exercise bike. I would cycle as hard as I could for an hour, or even for longer during the summer when I could get my real bike out and disappear.

If I could not reach my workout target, I would feel miserable for the rest of the evening, depressed at my weakness and undeserving of my dinner.

Indeed, dinner was perhaps the greatest challenge of the day, given that my family always eat our evening meal together. One of the key signs of someone struggling with an eating disorder is a hatred

of eating with others, for fear of comment or judgement about what they are, or are not, consuming. Consequently, I would tell my family that I had made my own dinner, or that I had eaten with friends from school. Occasionally I would even get into bed and pretend to be asleep when my parents got home from work, hoping that they wouldn’t ‘wake’ me for dinner.

Evidently, a life with an eating disorder takes a great deal of thought. Every single moment is consumed by thoughts of food, exercise and the number on the scales that day. Whatever appeared on my weight scales in the morning had the power to make or break my day and to even shape my mood. It is the deep-set nature of this way of thinking, and the power it can hold over every aspect of one’s life, that makes eating disorders so difficult to recover from and, in the worst cases, even life-threatening. Whilst my case was mercifully mild, and had no long-term effects on my physical health, I knew of someone who suffered such a severe case of anorexia that it even led to hospitalisation.

Seeing someone I cared about so seriously affected by this illness brought me to the realisation that, unless I fought to change my attitudes towards food and

weight, I could be facing a similar future. Thankfully, this friend has made incredible progress in their recovery, and I will forever be inspired by their fight to beat their eating disorder to ensure that my own relationship with my weight, the food I eat and my physical appearance remains resolutely healthy.

However, as students living away from home and the eyes of one’s parents, it can be dangerously easy to conceal issues such as eating disorders from others.

If you are concerned about your own wellbeing with regards to food and weight, or are worried about someone you know, confidential counsellors are available to speak to through the University’s Student Health Service. Call 0117 954 6655 or visit http://www.bristol. ac.uk/student-counselling for more information. The UK’s student mental health charity, Student Minds, also runs a fortnightly support group for students struggling with eating disorders at University of Bristol.

What’sOn

The best pick of this fortnight’s theatre, film, music and more

Travel

Living

30

Editor: Sam Mason-Jones whatson@ epigram.org.uk

What’s On

Style

Flickr: Polarollv

Music

Iceage The Fleece, 05.05

JME Motion, 01.05

And you thought the only things coming out of Scandinavia were grey dramas where a blind protagonist-detective forensically assesses crime scenes using only his sense of smell. When Iceage first ripped out of the heart of Copenhagen in 2008, their four members averaged an age of 17 and still managed to accumulate the punk acumen of a hundred Sid and Jonnys. A trifecta of quality albums followed, each dragging out unfathomed amounts of filth from the froth-corrupted lungs of frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt. And despite leading a second vanguard of (post-)punk bands (and instructing bands from Eagulls and Drenge to Savages and Fat White Family), the band’s most remarkable forte remains in the rambunctious energy of their staggering live shows. Go see them.

Grime is a peculiar medium, relegating fully grown men to protein-pumped, rari-revving joy riders and allowing dullards like Lethal Bizzle to make vapid songs about Addams family members.

However it can, on occasion, be very fun to listen to, and especially when the line-up is as good as that collated for Tropical Rd II, Motion’s Mayday offering. Boy Better Know alumnus JME heads up the list of MCs (Flirta D and C4 also feature) to take the main room, supported by a stellar slew of garage DJs like DJ Q, Preditah and Wookie. Pay As You Go and Novelist have also been announced, supported by ‘very special guests on the night!!!’ (the website’s words (and punctuation)), as well as the likes of Roska and Moony in Room 2. The list goes on, you get the picture, it’ll be quite good.

Comedy

Theatre

Among other things Doc Brown is credited with co-writing David Brent’s 2013’s charity single ‘Equality Street’, which raised a rare smile amid the comedy vintage that was Comic Relief ‘13. His live shows justify such lofty company, combining razor-sharp parody of modern urban culture with reasonable rap capability. He is the latest of a crop of hot young comic talent to hit the Lantern.

We all know the story now, whether from watching the Eddie Redmayne-toting mini-series in 2012, or from, heaven forbid, having read Sebastian Faulks’ novel. Rachel Wagstaff’s stage adaptation last year coincided with the centenary of the start of the First World War, and has been touring the country’s theatres ever since. It stops at the Old Vic for two weeks, Alistair Whatley directs.

Doc Brown The Lantern, 01.05

Birdsong Bristol Old Vic, 27.04

Belle and Sebastian Colston Hall, 04.05

An NME reviewer once used the image of a secret club with an open door policy to describe the early allure of Belle and Sebastian. The conceit worked nicely, the Glaswegians were fervently treasured by an intimate few who fell in love with the quirky song-writing which never sought to exclude. Now nineteen years since the release of debut Tigermilk, Stuart Murdoch’s niche in the cornucopia of postSmiths indie-rock has swelled to quite a size, and ninth LP Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance has done little to thwart the band’s upward trajectory.

It’s a good record too, one which has seen the band finding a surprising electronic tangent while retaining their easy charm. And if you don’t believe me, they’ve sold out Colston Hall- so you probably won’t be able to get a ticket anyway.

Later

Craig Charles Old Crown Courts, 03.05 So it turns out ex-Robot Wars host and notorious crack-fiend Craig Charles has a killer taste in all things groovy, and when he is not purveying some of the finest sounds from here to the seventies from behind his microphone at 6Music, he is doing so from behind the decks on his ‘Funk and Soul Club’ tours.

Expect shapes, colours and Wild Cherry when he comes to the Old Crown Courts in May.

Continued from cover Our top pic picks from our reopening night.

More photos on the Bristol SU

go tag!

Bristol Big Give How much waste do you throw out at the end of each academic year? We bet it’s more than you think.

The Bristol Big Give is an annual student move-out collection and recycling campaign run by the universities which donates unwanted goods to charity. Last summer, we collected 88 tonnes of waste.

That’s about 176 polar bears. These donated items had a combined value of £180,000, raising vital funds for over a dozen local and national charities including British Heart Foundation This year, Big Give will run from 1st May until mid-July. Twenty temporary clothing banks will be placed in publically accessible locations across Bishopston, Redland, Cotham and Clifton agreed by Bristol City Council and local community groups.

Julie Paffett, Regional Stock Generator at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We’re grateful to the Bristol Big Give campaign once again encouraging people to have a clear out for charity. This scheme will be a huge help to BHF shops in Bristol and I’d hope as many students as possible get involved and support the scheme. &RURQDU\ KHDUW GLVHDVH LV WKH 8.·V VLQJOH ELJJHVW NLOOHU \RX FDQ MRLQ WKH ÀJKW IRU every heartbeat by having a clear out and using the BHF donation bins around the city to donate your unwanted items.”

The campaign will culminate in July when an army of conscientious volunteers will collect, sort and distribute the multitude of items left at donation points.

For more information, visit lovewhereyoulivebristol.co.uk/bristol-big-give

Bristol SU awards So we’ve had the Oscars, the BAFTAs, the Grammys and the Golden Globes and hundreds of other awards ceremonies. You probably thought awards season was over already. How wrong you were.

The Bristol SU awards are by far the swankiest, and often the most exciting, night in the Bristol University calendar. More importantly, they are a chance for students who have achieved amazing things over the past year to get the recognition they deserve.

If you have a friend who’s really impressed you this year, or know a fellow student who has done something worth celebrating, you can nominate them for an award at BristolSU.org.uk/about/awards.

WHAT'S ON FEATURED EVENT Election All Nighter. Friday May 8.

Come and see democracy in action WKURXJKRXW WKH QLJKW DV ZH ÀQG RXW how all the parties have fared after all this campaigning. Stand alongside political foes who can now become friends (until the next election, of course), have a beer and watch it all unfold.

MAY

APRIL

Buckle up folks, it's gonna be a long night!

Monday 27. 10am - 5pm. Colston Hall.

Give blood with Bristol Donors.

Appointment only.

Monday 27. 6pm - 7pm. LR1, 3-5 Woodland Road. Mind Your Head Week: An Introduction to the Truth of Mental Illness.

Tuesday 28. 3pm - 4pm. Old Council Chamber, Wills Memorial Building.

Mind Your Head Week: Studying Effectively at Times of Pressure.

Tuesday 28. 5pm - 6pm. Bristol SU. Mind Your Head Week: Society Taster with Dramsoc and Spotlights.

Wednesday 29. 1:45pm - 4:30pm.

Way to Grow! Brandon Hill Community Action Day.

Wednesday 29. 10pm - 4am. Bunker.

Take Pride Compete - Sports Night.

Friday 1. 7:30pm. The Anson Rooms, Bristol SU. Pole Fitness Charity Showcase.

Saturday 2. 7pm - 10:30pm. Wills Memorial Building. CCL Summer Formal - A Midsummer Masquerade.

Saturday 2. 7pm - 8pm. Pegg Studio Theatre, Bristol SU. Gobblefunk! An Improvised Roald Dahl Play.

Saturday 2. 7pm - 11pm. The Anson Rooms, Bristol SU. Purity Ring.

Sunday 3. 8pm. The Balloon Bar, Bristol SU. The Best Sunday Roast in Town!

Monday 4. 8pm. The Balloon Bar, Bristol SU. The Big Fat Bristol Pub Quiz.

Tuesday 5. 6pm - 8:30pm. The Balloon Bar, Bristol SU. Engage Cafe: Volunteering Abroad & Eco Tourism.

Free to attend.

Monday 11 May. 4pm - 6pm. Room 1.11, Merchant Venturers Building. Bristol Green Capital: UoB Green Mingle.

For more information on all upcoming events see BristolSU.org.uk/events