Fortnightly 12th December 2016 Issue 308
University of Bristol’s Award Winning Independent Student Newspaper
www.epigram.org.uk
Uni to review mental health services Emily Faint News Editor Mark Ames, Director of Student Services at the University of Bristol, has pointed to the issue of increasing numbers of students who ‘seem to be struggling to have sufficient levels of resilience’ in the wake of the recently reported student suicides at Bristol.
The University has announced that it would be conducting a review of its mental health services following national coverage of what Ames described as an ‘unusual number of student deaths’. In an exclusive interview with Epigram (page21), he discussed the expansion of student numbers and a level of inconsistency in pastoral support as issues to be addressed in the University’s review of its mental health services.
‘The support needs of students have been changing quite markedly over the last few years,’ he said. ‘Clearly, over the last few years, the number of students coming has increased […] and we have an increasing number of students who have enduring mental health difficulties.’ He explained that the University has recognised that these changes in the student body mean that ‘there are now increasingly
occasions where staff feel a little bit unsure on how to respond, particularly to some of the more complex mental health issues.’ One student told Epigram, ‘I emailed the senior tutors saying that I’m really struggling with university and never got a response. The only reason I contacted them was because last week they sent out a message saying, if anyone needed help, to contact them.’ Continued on page 4
‘Invest in a decent vibrator’
Johnny Thalassites and Amy Finch Living Editor and Deputy News Editor An Epigram survey of more than 650 students has revealed that 53 per cent of Bristol students broadly agree that they are ‘satisfied’ between the sheets - with a full 47 per cent left wanting
more from their lovers. Students were responding to the statement, ‘I am satisfied with my sex life.’ 21.3 per cent strongly agreed and 32.1 per cent agreed. 19 per cent remained neutral, but 21.2 per cent disagreed and 6.4 per cent strongly disagreed. A follow-up question asked students to give sexual advice to their pre-university selves, with
Features A look back at how Donervans broke student apathy to protests
some of the more graphic responses offering fullblooded tips (!) on how to improve performance. The 6.4 per cent might well heed the advice of one grizzled, veteran student, who encouraged his younger self to ‘thrust hard.’ Another respondent, clearly underwhelmed by her experiences, suggested that students ‘invest in a decent vibrator.’ Meanwhile, a female Arts
Comment Arts
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Helena Raymond Hayling tells us what it’s like to be a life model
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Myla Lloyds makes the case for a fun Christmas in Bristol Highly Commended for Best Publication and Best Use of Digital Media 2016
Epigram/Charlie
Nearly half of students unsatisfied with sex lives Full sex survey results on page 3
student, presumably once bitten and twice shy, implored herself to ‘use more lube’ in future. The majority of comments, however, took on earnest and equivocal tone. ‘Don’t worry’, ‘relax’, and ‘chill’ were sentiments oft-repeated. ‘It’s no big deal’, and ‘do what you want/do what makes you happy’ were also characteristic responses.
Style Veg Soc’s Natasha Healy takes a look at vegan fashion
Epigram
12.12.2016
Editorial Inside Epigram Letters Page 16 - Dear you... settling in isn’t easy Wellbeing Page 21 - Interview with director of Student Services Film & TV Page 36 - Winning films of a losing 2016
2 Editor: Ben Parr: editor@epigram.org.uk Online Editor: Hannah Price: hannah.price@epigram.org.uk Deputies: Caitlin Butler; Stefan Rollnick
Online Deputies: Sophie Hunter; Phoebe Jordan
A note from the editor... 2016 is nearly at an end! Or, if you’re reading this after the Christmas break, it already is. I suppose it’s even possible that you’ve saved all my editorials and are reading this in 20 years’ time, but I reckon the only person sad enough to do that is me (hello future-Ben, sorry for screwing up your degree by spending too much time on Epigram, buy yourself a pint on me... if you can afford it that is... sorry again). This year has been a rocky one, whatever your views on the big political events are. From David Bowie to Andrew Sachs, from Donald Trump to Brexit, it’s certainly been controversial. Perhaps it’s unhelpful to focus too much on these things as a way of defining 2016 though. Instead I thought I’d take a quick look at the year from Epigram’s perspective and see if it’s any cheerier. Regular readers of my editorial (mum? No, not even you?) will be excited to see my revival of my attempt at doing ‘a listicle’. Here are some Epigram 2016 highlights: 1. We won at the SPA awards! Well we actually came second, but second place for best student publication in the entire UK is basically a win isn’t it? Either way it was a great awards evening, made complete by a member of the Epigram team getting so tired that they fell asleep on the floor of the Gent’s loos (alcohol might
have played some part). Either way, Loughborough University security had to drive them back to their room. They were, of course, swiftly promoted to a senior position on this year’s team (and no, it wasn’t me). 2. We went national! This happened a few times. Be it our coverage of #Benjiegate, or our exclusive on the escaped convict in a Bristol student’s flat (yes OUR exclusive), it’s been an exciting year in Bristol student news. 3. We got a TV and a fan in the Epigram office! The TV then stopped working, but it makes us feel professional still. 4. This term we’ve introduced a Wellbeing section, changed our logo, had more hits on our website than ever before, brought in a new ‘From the archive’ section, started a fortnightly round-up video, had our front page appear on BBC News, and generally had an amazing time. So, despite seeing my degree taking a backseat for my final year, despite ending up in A&E from an Epigram social, despite eating a dry baked chicken in a panic from having too little time to cook properly, despite the looming world war Trump, it’s been a pretty damn good year for Epigram. Thanks to my amazing team and to our readers. Here’s to 2017!
Ben Parr, Editor in Chief
Write for Epigram: join our writers Facebook groups or email editor@epigram.org.uk
Bristol firsts...
Lots more puzzles on page 45!
With 2016 at an end, and a new year begining, here’s a look back at things that began in Bristol The University of Bristol was the first uni in England
Ribena was first invented in Bristol
Quick Crossword
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to admit women on an equal basis to men
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The first ever chocolate bar was produced in Bristol 6
A Bristolian invented blankets
Epigram was the first student newspaper in the 7
country to be printed in colour and the first in Europe to go online
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www.epigram.org.uk For the latest news, features and reviews
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DOWN 1. Serendipitous (9) 2. Confuse (9) 3. Making bigger (9) 4. Become dimmer (4) 5. Hot sauce (7) 10. Requirement (4) Webmaster Josh Jones Chief Proofreader Lowri Daniels Sub-editors Anna Lezard, Zuzanna Needham Jess Cselko, Lucy Thompson Sarah Roller, Elly Brett, Samuel Wong, Daisy Dowding, Megan Frost Managing Director James O’Hara Director of Communications Issy Bull Head of Finance Alfie Smith Business Team Calli Keane Amelia McWhirter Ellie Elstub Aravin Skantha Lucy Ellis-Keeler Megan Aldridge Helen Salter Joe Jones Lucy Roe
From the archives... ‘The truth behind first year’s virginity auction’ ‘REVEALED: The truth behind first-year’s virginity auction media scam. Friends and lovers provided ideas for publicity’, Epigram’s front page in 2004 read. Maybe it was unsurprising given the style of front page he chose to run that the then Epigram editor, Craig Woodhouse, spent most of his future career as a hack at The Sun. The story itself was pretty explosive though. Receiving international attention, the media had been carrying a story about Bristol student, Rosie Reid’s apparent intention to sell her virginity on the internet to cover the costs of her university education. However, following an exclusive interview with Epigram it was revealed that the whole thing was a stunt that had gone way out control. ‘The first-year Social Policy student first attracted controversy after she appeared in the News of the World claiming to be selling her virginity on the internet through popular auction site eBay’, the story read. It continued: ‘After receiving bids of up to £10,000, the 18year old lesbian was eventually removed from the site but continued soliciting on her own website’. However, the story heavily implied that once the story became big, the money that Ms Reid was making from interviews with newspapers and on TV, including £5,000 from CNN, was so much that she might only be advertising herself as a publicity stunt to make money. The story was also significant around the university campus locally as some saw the stunt as a way of linking her willingness to take cash from newspapers to the issue of top-up fees. The SU president at the time, Can Okar, commented: ‘We would never condone prostitution as the answer to financing the debts we all face’. Epigram Editor at the time, Craig Woodhouse, commented in his editorial: ‘Rosie was simply being used as a pawn by her friends in a scam to make money at the perfect time as
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ACROSS 1. Legend (5) 4. Be the right size for (3) 6. Creased (7) 7. Unit of geological time (3) 8. Possible alien spaceship (3) 9. Grown without added chemicals (7) 11. Gifted (8)
In 1957 Bristol SU had the first ever black president of an SU
newspapers and television took her story’. He continued: ‘I also refuse to believe that her parents – no matter how religious or opposed to her lesbianism – would not have supported her financially if it had actually come down to their daughter having sex with an internet pervert’. Given the style of both the paper and his editorial, perhaps it is no surprise that Woodhouse eventually went on to become the Chief Political Correspondent for the company that owned the paper he described in that same editorial as the ‘nation’s favourite Sunday red-top’. Story first published in Epigram on 2nd February 2004
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Bristol in the bedroom: sex survey results Bristol
more than fifteen people since first donning their waviest garms in the West Country’s capital.
Johnny Thalassites and Amy Finch Living Editor and Deputy News Editor
Fewer than 3 per cent of respondents counted between twelve and fifteen notches on their bedposts - while upwards of twice that number (6 per cent) have slept with
Infogram / Johnny Thalassites
Infograph of modal words in survey responses. On gender, students also proved themselves far more gender non-conforming than the general population. Almost 3 per cent of respondents described themselves as ‘nonbinary’ or ‘genderqueer’, catch-all terms for identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine. The same proportion also identified as ‘Transgender’, but the two were not mutually inclusive. For every student who reported themselves in the ‘stratospheric zone’ of 15 or more partners, over two respondents had had no sexual partners at all. At 2.5 per cent, over twice as many respondents identified as ‘asexual’ as national estimates. Advising their
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You don’t have to look at the mantelpiece to stoke the fire
6.3 per cent of us felt shamed because of the ‘individuals’ we’d had sex with, with one respondent vocally warning her younger self ‘jesus, don’t have sex with HIM!’. News editors were warned off some students specifically, being told ‘don’t sleep with that guy Andy from Lounge, seriously’, ‘no-one from the Triangle’ and perhaps most ardently, ‘always, always, stay away from ***** ****’. Some comments, however, just left us mystified. We’re not sure whether ‘you don’t have to look at the mantlepiece to stoke the fire’ is good advice, but one respondent felt the need to pass it on.
cent
— Average student has 4.5 sexual partners at university
— Only 65 per cent of students identify as straight — Girls (24 per cent) are twice as likely as boys to define as bisexual. — Engineering students have the most sexual partners of any faculty (more than Results from an online survey of more than 650 people on the Epigram website
Number of sexual partners
V i ce - C h a n ce l l o r admits Brexit could lead to university closures Malik Ouzia Online News Editor
Infogram / Johnny Thalassites
Epigram’s poll revealed plenty of diversity within the student body when it comes to our sexuality. Interestingly, only 65 per cent of students now identify as straight, as compared to estimates of 93 - 95 per cent the national population, according to Stonewall. A full 24 per cent of women now describe themselves as bisexual, twice the proportion found in male students. These women also had some particularly solid advice: ‘stop listening to what your mum told you growing up, for fuck’s sake’ and ‘do it for yourself, and get what you want out of it’ were highlights. What’s more, 8 per cent of students couldn’t define themselves in the categories offered: straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual, queer or asexual, and instead opted for ‘other’.
younger selves, all of these students offered comfort and encouragement, such as ‘don’t worry about what other people think of your low sex drive’ and ‘no-one else cares’. Asexual students were fairly evenly split between those in relationships or wanting to be and those who were ‘not interested’. Respondents showed themselves to be pretty open-minded about what the BBC has termed the ‘future of relationships’ polyamory. A meagre 10 per cent of students believed this break from the norm to be ‘wrong’, with almost four times as many open to the possibility - or already in one. Just over 50 per cent of us though identified as accepting of others but unwilling to break the shackles of monogamy yet. The feedback on the student body’s acceptance of other sexual lifestyles, however, were less promising. 61 per cent of us reported feeling ‘judged’ for our sex lives at some point - and for several reasons. Symptomatic of our ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ sexual culture, approximately equal numbers of students reported feeling stigmatised for having too many and too few partners - 15 per cent and 17 per cent of students respectively.
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— More than 6 in 10 students have felt judged because of their sex lives
35 per cent of students identify as LGB+ Amy Finch and Johnny Thalassites Deputy News Editor and Living Editor
— Shock poll finds 47 unsatisfied with sex lives
— Over a third of students are open to polyamorous relationships
Sex life satisfaction results
Infogram /Amy Finch
“ never kiss a Tory
Uni isn’t a massive orgy, mate. Or maybe it is, but you won’t be invited
Among faculties, Engineers lead the way, with Health Science students also averaging more than five partners at university. At the other end of the scale, Biomedical Science students have just three partners on average. Student attitudes towards sexuality varied significantly in tone, also, however. ‘Uni isn’t a massive orgy, mate. Or maybe it is, but you won’t be invited,’ lamented one world-weary student. Meanwhile, ‘lower your standards’ and ‘choose your partners wisely’ were consecutive responses. Some students went political (‘never kiss a Tory’). Others channelled Lil Wayne (‘pussy so wet, ima need goggles’). And finally: one male student claimed that ‘boys aren’t complicated.’ A female student confessed that ‘girls want sex too.’ In which case...
brief:
— Fewer than half always use protection with casual partners (6.7 per cent never do) Infogram / Amy Finch
Epigram can exclusively reveal that Bristol students have more sexual partners than the national average amongst universities. Our shock poll – conducted on a four per cent turnout across the university - found that Bristol students most commonly have 14 sexual partners at university, with 53.9 per cent of respondents in this category. The full figures show that with 53.9 per cent in the 1-4 bracket and 13.5 per cent of students abstaining from sexual intercourse for the duration of their time at Bristol, just one in three have had five or more unique encounters.
in
Breakdown of sexual identification amongst students.
Protection use low as student thrill-seekers enjoy the ride Fewer than half of students (48.3 per cent) always use protection when having sex with casual partners. More encouraging, however, is that over three quarters (76.4 per cent) of respondents do usually wear protection. This includes the number that ‘most of the time,’ ‘nearly always,’ and, indeed, ‘always’ use protection. 4.7 per cent confessed, exclusively to Epigram, that they ‘rarely’ use protection with casual partners. Meanwhile, 6.7 per cent never use protection. Comments ranged from ‘get on the pill ASAP’ (!) to ‘don’t get STD’s like you did, you idiot,’ (!) and ‘do yoga, use protection.’
Professor Hugh Brady, the University of Bristol’s Vice-Chancellor, has claimed that some UK universities could be forced to close without EU funding and called on the government to give EU staff and students greater assurances on their post-Brexit status. Brady, who has been VC since September last year, said that Bristol is well positioned to ‘weather the storm’ because of its international reputation, but worried that ‘the lower one third of the sector would be under threat very, very quickly’ if EU funding drained away. In the interview with Sky News, Brady insisted that the government would have to step up and fill the void left by any loss of international funding or else universities would be forced to increase tuition fees. He also said that whilst Bristol’s existence would not be threatened, it would be much harder to compete with top US universities and emerging Asian institutions without EU funding. In September a survey found that three quarters of university vice chancellors saw Brexit as a threat to the international standing of British universities. Brady also demanded that the government avoid using EU students and staff as ‘bargaining chips’, claiming that the public are clearly aware of the value of international academics, ‘economic or otherwise’. Tuition fees are fixed for current EU students and those who will begin studying in the 2017/18 academic year but no guarantees have be given beyond that. ‘We need these academic leaders from Europe,’ he said. ‘They are up there working with our UK academics, driving the research agenda.’ According to Sky News, Bristol currently receives 15 per cent of its funding from the EU and 20 per cent of its staff are from EU countries, as well as five percent of students.
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Mark Ames: ‘it’s unsettling and very upsetting, but there is a lot of support available.’
In response, Ames admitted: ‘With the current model that we have, where we ask all academic staff to act as personal tutors, inevitably some are more comfortable in that role than others. Maybe there is a greater need now for more staff that have got more specialist training and more specialist experience.’ He also addressed the reported accusations against the University for not raising greater awareness of the student deaths outside of the University itself. ‘In order to respect the privacy of family and friends and not to unnecessarily create anxiety
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Continued from the front page...
in those who have not been directly affected, the communication around student deaths tends to be quite focused,’ he said. ‘Now that it’s become a much more public matter, our key message to parents and students is: we understand that this is unsettling and very upsetting, but that actually there is a lot of support available.’ One of the most important messages to students, Ames said, was for students to actively look out for each other’s mental health. ‘We will try and monitor people as best as we can, and we will try and notice if somebody appears to be struggling, but we are also dependent on people reaching out for support. ‘Even if they’re not sure whether they’re approaching the right person or the right office, ask somebody. If that person can’t help, then they
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Epigram/Flora Doble
Emily Faint News Editor
should be able to direct you towards someone who can.’ Epigram has received multiple comments from students which have highlighted the issue of access and waiting times for appointments, despite the University being one of only two universities in the UK with its own in-house NHS practice. Mr Ames responded: ‘Generally, what students say to us is, when they get access to the services, the quality of them is generally very good. But sometimes it feels difficult to get access. ‘To put it into context, […] the waiting times for a student patient here are now probably a lot less than they may be in health practices generally.’ ‘If the individual is struggling to get help, then I would say don’t give up. Go back, present yourself at reception and I’m sure an appointment can be found.’ One Arts student, who wished to remain anonymous, told Epigram that their experience of seeking help from the Student Health Service took months. ‘You normally go to ask for help from someone as a last resort,’ they said. ‘And then it takes seven months!’ Despite these criticisms, Mr Ames was keen to emphasise the variety of existing resources that are available to students and the University’s ‘very strong commitment to student wellbeing’ moving forward. ‘ ‘To be fair to the University, they have been, year on year, investing additional money into those services. They’ve also invested additional money into provisions such as Big White Wall, which offers online support 24/7’, he said. However, in a panel discussion for the University’s mental health awareness campaign,
Mind Your Head, in April 2016, Epigram reported that Dr Dominique Thompson, Director of Service for Student Health, had made comments explaining that the counselling service was ‘already at maximum capacity and services such as the White Wall don’t reduce demand but merely soak up the excess [of those] who had never been able to receive counselling in the first place.’
The University’s new strategy has ‘earmarked’ a significant amount of additional funding’
Ames did impress that the University’s new strategy has ‘earmarked’ a ‘significant amount of additional funding […] to spend on enhancing support in schools’. ‘The purpose of the review is for us to decide as an institution […] what the most effective way of spending that additional funding will be. It is quite a substantial amount.’ Students will have the opportunity to contribute to the decision of how these resources will be spent as part of a ‘consultation for students’ that will be launched by Bristol SU. The consultation will be focused on how students want to be supported both in their academic schools and in their residences. Of the University’s approach to improving support for students in the future, he commented: ‘There is investment, and there’s an openness to learn how we can do it better.’
University passes motion to divest funding from fossil fuels companies Mairead Finlay Deputy News Editor The University of Bristol Court has passed a motion to divest its funding from fossil fuel companies at its annual meeting, after a previous motion on the issue was narrowly defeated by 71 to 65 votes last year. The motion, proposed by Bristol Green Councillor Carla Denyer, asked for the University to ‘recognise the moral duty that the University owes to its staff and students to support more sustainable forms of energy production to avoid catastrophic climate change for generations to come.’
This would be achieved through gradually phasing out of investments from fossil fuels, with this fully completed by the end of 2021. After today’s judgement, the University of Bristol Court has now called for the Board of Trustees to take ‘immediate action’ to ensure that this will be implemented. Members of the Fossil Free University of Bristol group campaign gathered outside with placards and banners outside the Wills Memorial Building
‘Bristol has the responsibility to make sustainable investments’
In the letter, it highlighted the wide scale impact of climate change, including that the equivalent of one person every second in the last six years has been displaced by climate related disasters, and urged that as an international institution like Bristol it ‘has a responsibility to make sustainable investments for the better of their students – as the learning we receive at this institution will only be as good as the world we inherit from today’s decision makers’. Speaking about today’s result, a ‘delighted’ Carla Denyer said, ‘We have heard loud and clearly today that the university’s own advisory body recognises that investing in fossil fuel extraction, the major driver of climate change, is simply unacceptable.’ Additionally Bristol’s Green MEP, Molly Scott Cato also commented that Bristol University Court ‘showed the university’s pioneering spirit to pass a motion that was both forward thinking and ultimately evidence based’.
Fossil Free University of Bristol
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‘avoid catastrophic climate change for generations to come’
where the meeting was taking place this morning to show their support for the motion. They also put together an open letter in collaboration with environmental campaign group Healthy Planet UK, with over 250 student signatures.
Members of Fossil Free UoB group graffitied the side of a Bristol road earlier this year calling for divestment
Epigram 12..12..2016
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Employment successes for Bristol Uni Ellen Jones Deputy News Editor The University of Bristol has been celebrated over recent weeks for its success relating to employment, being ranked 6th in employability rankings and winning Best Employer at Bristol Pride Awards. In the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2016/17, announced on 23rd November, is an annual ranking of universities, ‘celebrating institutions which are committed to and effective in preparing students for the work place’.
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Bristol’s high ranking is a result of its partnerships and reputation with employers, as well as its strong graduate employment rate, which was 79.5 per cent in 2015. Not only does the University produce employable people, it has also been recognised for its achievements as an employer, winning Best Employer award at the annual Bristol Pride Gala Ball on 19th November. The award was presented to representatives
of the university by Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, having been voted on by the public. Bristol University’s Diversity Manager, Tracy Brunnock stated ‘It’s great to receive this award as it shows that our efforts over the past year have been recognised’. However, Tracy maintains ‘there is still work to do’ and that the university will continue to strive to foster inclusion and promote diversity amongst its workforce.
Zoe Thompson, second year English Literature student told Epigram that the recent successes for the university were very positive for the student body as a whole. ‘It’s always reassuring to see that employers do value degrees and students from your university’.
‘Recognition of minority groups in the higher levels of an institution is essential’
‘It’s always reassuring to see that employers value students from your university’ Flickr/ Staff Bi News+Views Twitter/ UoBEandD
Of the 300 institutions considered, the University of Bristol was ranked 39th in the world, and 6th in the UK. The rankings are based on a ‘score’, which considers five indicators of employability: employer reputation, alumni outcomes, employer partnerships, employer-student connections and graduate employment rate.
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Members of Bristol University’s Equality and Diversityy team holding their ‘Best Employer’ award
‘Also, seeing that the university has made such efforts to foster inclusion for its LGBT+ staff is always promising. Recognition of minority groups and issues of discrimination is essential in the higher levels of an institution in order to make differences amongst the student body’. All proceeds from the Bristol Pride Gala Ball went towards Bristol Pride 2017 and the charity lifeline for vulnerable people who identify as LGBT+, Switchboard.
New student campus location announced Noa Leach Deputy News Editor
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Flickr/Alistair Campbell
The University has released details of its new campus, called the ‘Temple Quarter Campus’, which will be located on the derelict former office site near Temple Meads. It will be in the heart of the city’s ‘enterprise zone’, an area set up in 2012 which Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees intends to become a ‘sustainable and f lourishing new urban quarter for Bristol’, according to the site, Bristol Temple Quarter. ‘Located in an enterprise zone and major transport hub,’ says Professor Hugh Brady, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol. ‘The campus offer[s] the opportunity to position Bristol as a global leader in digital and educational innovation’. The project is a collaboration between the university, Bristol City Council, the government and local businesses. They have released information of their £300 million budget, which will fund the ‘transformational’ project aimed to ‘boost UK economic growth’, according to university representatives.
most technologically advanced city-region and one of the world’s leading digital cities’, said Rees, who described the former office site as an ‘eyesore’. Bristol Temple Quarter will be an investment in Bristol’s future as a ‘world class city’, while simultaneously giving the ‘prime city centre a new lease of life’, according to the University. It is an area of 70 hectares and is projected to add £100 million to Bristol’s economy over 25 years. 30 per cent of Bristol students aim to be entrepreneurs when they graduate, according to the university, who hope this campus will ‘support and foster enterprise’. Leader of the Bristol development centre for Oracle, one of the university’s leading industry partners, describes Bristol as ‘one of the world’s best universities’ who they are ‘delighted’ to be working with. They hope to ‘co-creat[e] new technologies with students and future users and bring new ideas to fruition.’
‘New degree programmes are also being designed to complement the new campus’
Instagram/uniofbristol
New degree programmes are also being designed to complement the new campus. The completion date is currently set at the start of the 2021/22 academic year. The university hopes that it will ‘secure the university’s future growth for generations to come’. The development of this neglected area, which currently welcomes passengers arriving at Temple Meads, will be one of the largest urban regeneration projects in the UK. The former sorting office site has been abandoned since 1997. ‘This news confirms our place as the UK’s
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In conversation with some of Bristol’s religious students Epigram speaks to a variety of Bristol students about their relationship with their spirituality at university
Scarlett Sheriff Features Writer As a liberal and loose Catholic, who went to a Catholic school, I often miss Church. I view myself as a socialist, and certainly far removed from the conservative and traditional stereotype. Nevertheless, I see an important role for God, so have attempted to shine a light on the differing and varied perspectives of religious students within our university. Religion and spiritual experiences are varied and complex - especially for the millennial generation who practice in a globalised and increasingly more integrated and connected world. I spoke to Helena Raymond who views Judaism as something that is cultural to her and brings her closer to her family but also who practices her faith as a way to gain discipline.
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Some students in our University see religion as a way of coping with the twists and turns of life
why I believe what I believe. Living with a real faith in Jesus in today’s world is a fairly radical thing when so much of the church is dying, and that alone is often enough to start people asking questions. People are curious, challenging, but ultimately loving, and it’s been a joy to see how faithful God has been, but also how faithful my friends are in encouraging me in something which is so important to me. My faith to me is so much more than just a Sunday thing, and I want to live a life that reflects my belief in a living, active, passionate God. Choosing to do that every day is much easier because I feel like I live in a place where that is totally acceptable.’
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‘To me, Judaism is mostly cultural - I would definitely call myself more ‘liberal’ than ‘conservative’. I absolutely adore all the Jewish festivals and family occasions; Passover definitely trumps Christmas in my opinion. I take issue with aspects of the Old Testament, as many others do too. But I think there are some lessons to be learned from it. Belief in God is really personal, and I think it varies person to person wildly. Personally, I have a less defined position on who or what God is than what traditional Judaism dictates. At university I have found people to be mostly understanding of my practice and not ask too many probing questions when I refuse to eat bread for a week in April, or participate in a 25 hour fast for Yom Kippur. As a Jewish student, you are forced into being some kind of spokesperson for Israel unfortunately. People can get very hostile about that, unfoundedly conflating Judaism and Zionism. Aside from that, I have found Bristol to be very welcoming and accepting.’ I spoke to Andy Slater, firm Protestant, fresher and member of the CU at Bristol, about how he feels his faith has been received at the university. ‘I arrived at Bristol in September this year, knowing that my faith was really important to me. I was unsure what believing in Jesus would feel like whilst being at university. Because I’m living in halls this year with so many different people, it’s been amazing to chat about faith, hearing what my friends believe, and sharing my thoughts with them. People are so accepting, and curious to hear and understand more about
Flickr / Matthew Fearnley
At university I have found people to be mostly understanding of my practice and not ask too many probing questions.
If I am feeling low there are a few chants that I usually turn to, saying them in my mind gives me a sense of peace. All human beings are social beings and Andy, like all the other students I spoke to, is neither insular nor closed off, rather warm, welcoming and extremely willing to talk about his faith as well as crack a fantastic joke. For Srishti Jain, her Jainism is a connection with her home of Chandigarh in India and gives her a sense of calm.
‘Jainism isn’t really recognized by the university as an official religion. But my practice of Jainism is such that I don’t really get into the rituals. If I am feeling low there are a few chants that I usually turn to, saying them in my mind gives me a sense of peace. Jainism is a way of life and an ideology that preaches peace and non-violence to all forms of life, so maintaining my vegetarianism and wishing good on everyone upholds my belief in Jainism. It is quite subtle as there is no society or recognition because it’s a rather niche religion.’ Religion doesn’t have to be organised or shown off - it can simply be a discipline and a way of life. Religious practice for many people comes above all in how they act. Some students I spoke to take note of the dangers that happen when religion becomes too political and also talk about the charitable role that religion can have. Katie Hall told me of her experiences growing up in Northern Ireland and the perspective that this has given her. ‘Growing up in a religious society (Northern Ireland) taught me the importance of separating religion from politics. LGBT and women’s rights continue to be denied using Christian theology as justification. For example, our politicians fail to understand that legalising gay marriage doesn’t mean they’re required to have a marriage. It has
also taught me how wonderful people acting out their faith can be, for example homework clubs, food banks and many other community projects are run by churches. However, I worry this provision has made our government apathetic about the fact that is their responsibility to ensure children have a good education and families are able to have food on the table.’
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Despite the fact that I have distanced from the routine practises, I feel my intrinsic spiritual belief ... has remained strong
Lastly, I spoke to Aadil Hakim who grew up in a Muslim family but feels his faith has changed and evolved, as well as withstood some testing throughout his time at Bristol. ‘I found that living in Bristol has been far less accommodating regarding Islam. During my first year I often wanted to pray on Friday lunchtime (Jummah namaz- the most important prayers of the week), but was not aware of any Mosques or local prayer rooms for Muslims. I feel because of this I may have fallen into a routine of not praying as often as I would have at home in London, where there is not only greater accessibility to prayer rooms, but also halal food and generally a greater Muslim population which only encourages
you to be a Muslim. ‘When I was younger I feel my approach to Islam was very much routine based, I did it because my family did it at home, or it was something I could do with my Muslim friends. As I grew older, going to university in London and now in Bristol I feel my approach became less diligent, I feel this is probably happening because I am spending less time with family and friends who are actively Muslim. Despite the fact that I have distanced from the routine practises, I feel my intrinsic spiritual belief that there is one God (Allah) and his prophet (Muhammad) has remained strong’ Interestingly, in all of the interviewees in some sense their religious views and their personal lives and upbringing seem to intersect. Each person was influenced by their personal experiences, which serves to suggest that religion for students is spiritual, deeply felt and individual.
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Epigram
12.12.2016
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‘Feminist’, not ‘feminine’ leadership WILPF, the feminist non-governmental organisation set to take over Bristol’s campus
Adele Momoko Fraser Online Features Editor For those who are interested in feminism and international human rights, there’s a new movement on the block. The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has launched their new Bristol branch, run by third year Bristol University student, Isabel Bull. WILPF is an international feminist NGO, with national sections across every continent. Established in 1915, they are the oldest women’s peace organisation in the world. WILPF’s raison d’être is to create a world free from violence and armed conflict, in which human rights are protected and women and men are equally empowered politically. At the international level, WILPF has its own seat at the UN, enabling the organisation to influence UN policy and monitor their practices.
They focus on an integrated holistic approach and seeking key goals including peace, security, development and human rights through the means of women’s participation and empowerment. Last month, in an event entitled ‘#BristolFemaleLeaders’, WILPF Bristol
‘Women should not feel the need to be masculine in their drive for power or influence’
Thangam Debbonaire MP gave a beautifully frank and honest account of her rise into politics, and her initial feelings of inadequacy and ‘imposter syndrome.’ Debbonaire made it clear, however, that it is her values, which were crystallised through her brief and humbling fight against cancer, which allowed her to persevere and cast aside self-doubt. She also discussed how she felt strongly about the positives of all women shortlists, and that it is vital for us to elect women to parliament to ensure our views are adequately represented. Debbonaire stated that it is key that we show solidarity for all women attempting to climb the greasy pole. She told students about how in the wake of the US election, the Women of the Parliamentary Labour Party decided to personally send a formal note of support to Hillary Clinton, as they felt ‘a moment of solidarity’ for her defeat ‘as female politicians, particularly on the left of politics where women tend not to be elected to high office’. The MP told the audience that as feminists, we should not feel total despair that a man such as Trump, ‘who hasn’t even denied that he
has sexually harassed women and is a misogynist’ has been elected, and that we should galvanise our emotion into action. Diane Bunyan, the first ever female leader of Bristol City Council, also spoke to the students about what is it that defines leadership. Through describing the ways in which internationally there are various iterations of what ‘good’ leadership looks like, she made it clear that women should not feel the need to be masculine in their drive for power or influence, as there is no real prescription to be found. She also stated
that due to this variety in definitions for leadership, ‘it is difficult to be a female leader anywhere in the world’ and we should feel solidarity with other women seeking positions of power. Professor Harriet Bradley from the department of SPAIS also spoke. As a specialist in the study of women’s employment, she took us through her experiences and difficulties in rising to the upper echelons of university hierarchy in her professional past. She explained that in past decades, her identity as a feminist held her back from gaining higher positions due to others’
perception of her as ‘aggressive’ and ‘unfeminine.’ Professor Bradley insisted that instead of shying away from this description, women should adopt ‘a feminist style of leadership’ rather than a ‘feminine style’ in order to catalyse change. In the final week of November, WILPF also hosted a coffee afternoon where activists came together to discuss a cause that Bristol students would like to fight for this year. The deliberation process is still ongoing, and WILPF is always looking for more people to join the cause.
Twitter / UKWILPF
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‘WILPF has as its own seat at the UN, enabling the organisation to influence UN policy and monitor their practices’’
hosted guest speakers, representing different parts of Bristol’s local society to talk about their experiences of and thoughts on female leadership.
Speakers Debbonaire, Bradley and Bunyan at the WILPF launch event at Bristol SU
Charities aren’t just for Christmas Niki Peach points you in the direction of some great charities that might need your help over the holiday period and beyond
Nikki Peach Features Writer
1. Above & Beyond, Blackfriars, The Abbot’s House, Avon Above & Beyond raises funds to make a real difference to patient care in local hospitals. Their work improves the lives of more than 500,000 patients cared for in Bristol’s city centre hospitals each year, as well as the millions of friends and family who visit them and the 8,000 dedicated NHS staff who care for them. The projects they fund improve the hospital environment, support ground breaking research to deliver the modern treatments, provide specialist medical training and recognition for
2. Volunteer Bristol, Royal Oak House, Royal Oak Ave, Avon They are the city’s only Volunteer Development Agency. For more than 40 years they have been helping people from all walks of life to make a difference to the lives of others through volunteering. They offer a range of services for volunteers and volunteerinvolving organisations. Despite dealing with over 15,000 enquiries about volunteering every year they are able to offer over 600 volunteering opportunities across Bristol. They are looking for people to get involved all throughout the year to ensure local charities are consistent and able to fulfill their aims.
“ ‘Charities in Bristol need donations all year round, not just during the festive period’
3. The Rainbow Centre, 27 Lilymead Ave, Avon At The Rainbow Centre for Children, they strive to meet the needs of local families affected by life threatening
illness or bereavement. Currently, they can provide bereavement support for just 2% of the children who lose a parent each year in Bristol. They would like to help the lives of more families and children but need more volunteers and donations; the great work they do can only expand with regular help and support. 4. Young Bristol, The Station, Silver Street, Avon They are recognised as one of Bristol’s leading providers of community based youth services and are situated in some of Bristol’s most challenging communities. They offer outdoor activities, creative arts, instructor training and informal educational programmes for young people during their critical non-school hours. They are committed to contributing to the healthy development of young people, ensuring they are able to build confidence, skills and self-esteem. Their work is essential in improving the lives of less privileged teenagers in Bristol. 5. Jessie May, 35 Old School House, Kingswood Est., Britannia Road Jessie May is a Children’s Hospice at Home service caring for local terminally ill children. The nurses provide vital respite care, emotional support, end of life care, and bereavement support. They work with families throughout
Wikimedia Commons
Christmas is often a time when people feel an urge to donate to charity and help those less fortunate. With an atmosphere of kindness and an abundance of gifts and food, it is no surprise that this time of year is one of the busiest periods for charitable organisations. However, there are many admirable charities in Bristol that need donations and willing volunteers all year round, not just during the festive period. Here are some outstanding charities in Bristol that need more than seasonal generosity.
staff in many hospitals in Bristol.
Charitable acts over christmas are as popular as ever, but Epigram asks whether we do enough for the needy throughout the year?
Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset. In order to carry out the remarkable work they do, they need donations and charity fundraising to help children and their families every month. 6. Penny Brohn UK, Chapel Pill Lane, Pill Penny Brohn and her friend Pat Pilkington founded the Penny Brohn charity in 1980, known then as the Bristol Cancer Help Centre. Their aim has always been to offer support to
people living with cancer. They ask for one off donations towards their work or for people to become ‘Friends’ and make monthly donations. They stress the message that by helping in any way you are making a huge difference to the health and wellbeing of people living with cancer. It is understandable to want to give more at Christmas time. However, it is worth looking into how you can help incredible charities such as the ones listed throughout the year to come, as the issues of the most marginalised in society aren’t just for Christmas.
Epigram
12.12.2016
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The Bristolians for Gambian mothers
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Big in Gambia 2016: the cultural music event raising money for Gambian maternal care
On 26th November, The Station hosted ‘Big in the Gambia’, a cultural music event raising funds for The Gambia Maternity Foundation, a small grassroots charity working to better the poor state of maternity wards across the Gambia. The highlight of the event was the wonderful ACD (African Cultural Development), a lively ten piece Ugandan drumming band. All the DJs, including
Keeno from Hospital Records, played for free to help generate maximum profit.
Gambia is the seventh worst country in the world for maternal death rates.
Founded by Bristolian Jess Farmer, the charity was sadly inspired by personal tragedy: two friends, travelling in the
Gambia, both lost new-born baby boys overnight. After researching further, Jess discovered that the Gambia is the seventh worst country in the world for maternal death rates. This event was the second in what now promises to be an annual fundraiser. BIG 2015 raised just over £3500 – with that money, Jess and his girlfriend Lara brought their first batch of medical supplies to the Gambia in January. By contacting medical experts and talking with relevant charities, they were able to provide just the equipment required.
They were inevitably shocked by what they saw: the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital lacked such basic necessities as mosquito nets and hand sanitisers. They heard one story of a nurse contracting HIV after puncturing her arm with a scalpel she was using to cut a patient’s bandages, since their only scissors were too rusted. They returned a week later to find everything in use and an extremely thankful staff. The benefits of being a small grass roots organisation is that they are able to specifically impact where they want to impact; they were at the biggest and best hospital in Gambia and could see the effects of their work. To put it into perspective, Gambia is the size of Cornwall and contains only 2 million people – it is “relatively easy to make a tangible difference there”.
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Bella Talia Features Writer
“if a child dies in a community, it has a ripple effect.
Flickr / Tostan
A facilitator leading a class on maternal health in Basse, Gambia.
Jess says their focus is maternity because babies are the foundation of any society: ‘if a child dies in a community, it has a ripple effect. It hurts the family, then it hurts the community, and then it hurts the country’. For a shocking point of comparison, within the UK there are approximately four maternal deaths in
every 1000 births. In Gambia there are 7 in every 100.
Off the back of BIG 2016, the foundation intends to fill a shipping container of supplies to send over in February.
These deaths are often caused by women bleeding out in labour. At another clinic they visited, the maternity equipment consisted of forceps, reused latex gloves, and a crackpot stove they would sterilise water on. Originally intended to be just a one-off fundraiser, the turning point for Jess was meeting a Gambian woman who held in her arms her eighth and only surviving baby, which she called ‘the lucky one.’ Off the back of BIG 2016, the foundation intends to fill a shipping container of supplies to send over in February and it seems they are well on their way. One Cambridge hospital is donating a ward’s worth of equipment. They are also working towards a teaching exchange, where Gambian doctors would spend some time being trained by UK doctors in order to bring back some much-needed expertise to the Gambian medical profession. Jess recognises that education is key and though their focus now is on providing essential equipment, within ten years the GMF hopes to build their own fully functioning health centre in the Gambia to make a lasting impact.
Jason Donervan: the only saving grace of 2016?
El Commandante himself, Ben Parr takes us through the most inspirational comeback story of our generation Ben Parr Editor in Chief Bristol students are known for being a bit apathetic when it comes to taking up a cause, but two years ago, when their true hero was under threat, they did not sit back. Word of university management expressing ‘worries’ over the kebab vendor, Jason Donervan, trading close to the University’s upcoming project - eventually becoming Beacon House - sparked outcry. A University management figure admitted to Epigram that the possibility of moving or removing Donervan had been brought up informally in senior management discussions. This led to one of the last issues of Epigram in 2014 being a front page screaming ‘Donervan in danger?’ A Facebook page entitled ‘Save Donervans’ was created and the number of likes quickly reached quadruple figures. #SaveDonervans started trending on Twitter. As Bristol SU officers were photographed outside Senate House in protest, it was clear that never before had Bristol SU’s causes resonated so profoundly with the student body. Then the man himself spoke. ‘They can’t do something like this behind our back… I will go there and sit outside in protest, I will take them
to court, to the High Court, to the European Court of Human Rights if need be’, Mr Donervan said. Social media went wild. The thought of losing Mr Donervan – real name Mustafa Durdu – was too much for students. ‘Over my dead body’, one student tweeted. Another student commented: ‘A night out without Jason Donervan is a night wasted!’
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begging Mr Donervan not to leave them. To that, Mr Donervan, the people’s hero, would raise an arm and triumphantly declare ‘I’m not going anywhere!’ A cheer would then erupt from the crowd. Applause. Hugging. Tears of joy. Okay, so the above telling of the events of that time might be a little jazzed up – although probably less
exaggerated than it might seem to someone reading this who is only in their first year and wasn’t aware of any of this. The fiasco did show one thing though. There are things Bristol students care about. Looking at turn outs to recent protests though, or even flicking through old Epigrams, it is clear that as a demographic, Bristol
Social media went wild. The thought of losing Mr Donervan – real name Mustafa Durdu – was too much for students.
The news even reached ex-Bristol students, with one commenting on an Epigram article saying: ‘that van has been here longer than I have. It would be very heavy handed of the university to decide to play havoc with the fate of a popular small business that has been on that site for 15 years.’ Epigram’s story was picked up by The Bristol Post and it became a talking point. It was even possible to witness inebriated students, in between their screams of ‘chicken nuggets please’,
2014 Bristol SU officers, Sorana Vieru and Tom Phipps campaigning for Donervan.
students are less interested in causing a riot than most. Take Epigram’s front page story, ‘What march?’, from 1994 for example. This story led with the line: ‘Last week over 4,000 students gathered in London to attend a national demonstration to protest against cuts to student grants. Not one was a Bristol University student’. It’s not just student issues either. Another Epigram front page from the 90s revealed how the large protests that were taking place all over universities throughout the UK over the war in the Balkans wouldn’t be happening in Bristol due to students wanting to concentrate on their exams instead. Just last year there was a protest organised by Bristol students that can’t have had more than ten people attending- was it about a war, or cuts or even badger culling? Who knows? It’s probably not even worth thinking about the poor turnout at the SU’s Annual Member’s Meetings and their various votes and referendums. Two years ago though, something special happened. Students, SU officers, even some university staff members, were brought together by a common cause. Apathy was put aside and people really cared. And, as we now know, Donervans was saved.
Comment
Epigram 12.12.2016
@epigramcomment Editor: Abbie Scott
Deputy Editor: Ed Fernyhough
Online Editor: Sarah Williams
comment@epigram.org.uk
ed.fernyhough@epigram.org.uk
sarah.williams@epigram.org.uk
Christmas: humbuggery or festivity? Cameron Scheijde argues that Christmas pudding is the salvation to an otherwise bleak midwinter Cameron Scheijde Comment writer
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This is the season that can turn even the most fervent social progressive into a staunch conservative
Christmas isn’t about Jesus any more. At least we’re not Americans, who lose their head at the idea of a secular Christmas Starbucks cup. Is this a reflection of Americans’ dedication to the Christian holiday, or Starbucks? I suspect
Comment’s new column from our very own Ed Fernyhough! The UK’s supposed to be leaving the EU but might not do so on
Flickr / Donkey Hotey Epigram/ Harry Plowden Flickr / Roger Blackwell Flickr: 4rank Flickr / Richard Harrison Epigram
Bah. T’is the season for miserable megamaterialism and dismal dinner parties. Failed family reunions that almost always coincide with the worst weather you’ve probably ever seen. The rain beats on the windows as you try not to choke on some desperately dry Turkey or the brussels sprout you just swallowed in one. Oh, Christmas. The most ‘wonderful’ time of the year. I should specify: ‘oh, English Christmas’. Christmas in England is facing an enormous identity crisis. Corporations would have you believe that Christmas starts in late September, revolves around a dog jumping on a trampoline (‘isn’t it cuteeee’), and is an excuse to buy everything and anything. Would you ever buy this in normal life? No? Get it for someone else for Christmas! Churches would have you believe it’s all about the birth of the baby Jesus, with an idyllic nativity scene complete with the young Messiah, shepherds, Mary, the Kings et al. Of course this is what Christmas was. No more, however. As Church congregations fall, the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Queen fall increasingly on deaf ears. To the majority,
Ferny’s Huff
the off-chance that one of these hypothetical second referendums actually does undermine every democratic principle we seek to protect. Trump’s
becoming
president
of the USA, an entrepreneur who suggested building an actual 2,000 mile wall stretching all the way
Students watching the US election night in the Balloon Bar. Should liberal-left students consider Trump voters ‘racist’ or is this an unconstructive dialogue?
across the Mexican border to the
the latter. ‘Why don’t you just run back into your Dickens novel and leave us to enjoy Christmas, then?’ I’m glad you asked. One thing you must understand, is that when I moved to this country from South Africa in 2008, the idea of a Christmas in temperatures less than 20 degrees was bizarre. Even more disappointing was the lack of a Braai (or barbecue, as you insist on calling it) on Christmas day. In England, if you leave the house you are being brave. Festivities in the sun and the heat are so much more enjoyable. I’ve heard the argument that not having the cold, or snow, is somehow less festive. Of course, it never actually snows on Christmas day in this countrycertainly not in the South. It is just wet. And miserable. In the Southern part of the globe, time spent out-doors, kicking back with a beer in one hand and a burger in the other, is time not spent indoors fighting over the remote and trying to digest an incomprehensible amount of food. It’s far better.
who said he would date his own
Of course, unfortunate though it may be, we’re stuck in the Northern hemisphere and, for now, winters are cold and wet. So why is Christmas so miserable, aside from the weather? Tradition, of course. This is the season that can turn even the most fervent social progressive into a staunch conservative. Would an Englander kindly explain to me what the purpose of Brussel Sprouts is? And why we’ve been held back from moving onto a tender, juicy or tasty meat, so we have to continue to pretend ‘mm this new way of cooking the Turkey really makes it taste a lot better?’ Every time I ask an Englander these key questions they can provide just one answer, ‘because tradition’. ‘And God looked down on the Turkey, awkward social gatherings and tiny overcooked cabbages, and he saw that it was good’, said no book of the Bible, ever. Without being held back by this bizarre traditionalism, Christmas would be so much more enjoyable. I’m not all Scrooge, though. Christmas pudding is a gift from heaven.
public that voted for him, a husband
daughter, a ‘politician’ who thinks global warming is a lie conspired by the Chinese in order to profit. For the benefit of her husband’s political career, Melania Trump plagiarised speeches,
Michelle wife
to
the
Obama’s current
president of the USA, and managed to ‘get away with it’, whatever that means. Would it be possible to contrive such farces? Python have been truly outdone.
Caption competition: Christmas special
This week’s edition of Epigram celebrates the end of a year to remember
Flickr / JDLasica
@BenjaminJParr
@StefanRollnick
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Spot the lie: sending us memes will a) make us smile, or b) increase your employability. @EpigramComment is waiting for your submissions.
Epigram
12.12.2016
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Rising tuition fees perpetuate social divisons This response to Ed Southgate’s article argues that rising tuition fees present a financial obstacle for some families Anonymous Comment writer
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The assumption that all these people attended marches and protests just to look edgy and cool is an idea I find baffling and insulting fees this will mean that the rich will continue to study and the poor will be priced out. And I would like to note the already scrapped bursaries from last year’s budget only amplifies this. I feel that equal opportunities for all children should be a priority for any government, left or right. It’s important that children of a ‘hard-worker who wants to support their family’, as Ed puts it, are able to achieve their potential, not just for their own benefit but also for society’s. A better education leads to a better job and skills, which leads to greater economic output, which leads to greater economic growth for society. I feel the argument that the price of everything is rising due to courses costing more is a very valid one. However, with the government spending millions of pounds on other issues and cutting the taxes of higher earners, this is a massive kick in the teeth. I feel that telling those who
are concerned about people from disadvantaged backgrounds being able to achieve more through education to ‘jog on mate’ is not just disgusting, but also purports a certain ignorance towards people from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially when those from the higher income population have university readily available to them. A further good point made by Ed and one I want to emphasise is that there are many different pathways to getting a job, especially with apprenticeships. Two of my best friends from home are currently doing them, as did both my older brothers, and I truly believe that they made the correct decision to do so. My friends had the grades to attend a university but chose not to. But I think that’s what’s crucial. They chose not to, they freely had the choice, which is not available to all people, especially some of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The choice to be
able to maximize your learning and skills should not just be a choice for the more advantaged. It should be for everyone. As an engineer and STEM ambassador, I find it almost baffling that the government can consider making it more difficult for more students to attend university to graduate into professions such as engineering where there is a shortage of people in such sectors. You want a good education to get yourself a ‘good job’? Well I think everyone deserves that chance too and that the government should, as a moral and economic obligation to this country, make sure everyone has such an opportunity. Rising tuition fees take this opportunity away from people. If that makes me an antiestablishment socialist, who is looking for a buzz of moral satisfaction and superiority trying to look edgy and cool, then I will happily oblige such a stereotype. But not before expressing why rising tuition fees are a problem.
Epigram/ Abbie Scott Eu Gov.uk / Official
‘Stop complaining about rising university fees’, at least according to Ed Southgate. I find this statement and his article frustrating for many reasons, as I’m sure many other students, who are already paying nine thousand pounds a year to attend their respective universities, would too. I have tried to write this response free from political affiliation, for the reason that I think it makes the article a ‘this and them’ argument, and so takes away from the genuine points I am trying to put across. However I admit that I am from a ‘lower income’ background in Bristol terms, which gives me a certain bias. When tuition fees rose four years ago from three thousand pounds a year to the current nine thousand, there was mass opposition from the student population as documented in the media. The assumption that all these people attended marches and protested against this idea just to look edgy and cool is one I find baffling and insulting. From a basic level of economic understanding (I study engineering, I am no economist), by increasing tuition fees three fold, families that have a lower income will be much more affected by the increase in fees, as quite simply with less income the added cost would take up a higher percentage of their salaries. Even with a full maintenance loan, a part-time job, a bursary and working for the university for particular events, my parents still have to try and make up a deficit for my tuition and living costs, especially in Bristol where accommodation is so expensive, as well as funding my sister who also currently attends university. Furthermore, when I graduate from university I will be in debt of more than 50k, meaning for the majority of my life I will be paying my loan off, if I ever actually pay that debt off, that is. This acts as a massive deterrent to lower
income families with children who are more than capable of attending university and achieving great things, because this burden of debt just seems incomprehensible, thus decreasing social mobility. This isn’t the case for all students. Some are lucky enough for their parents to be able to pay for their accommodation and some even all of their tuition. I won’t call this unfair, as it’s always been a fact that some people have more money than others, and everyone wants the best for their offspring, but I will call it sad as it means that children from lower income families have less opportunities than those from higher income ones. By further increasing the tuition
Rising tuition fees is a common theme that has enraged students over the past few years
Banning newspapers simply proves their point Joseph Draper argues against censorship and City Uni’s controversial ban on tabloid newspapers Joseph Draper Comment writer Every so often, my generation does something that makes me want to shove my head into an exhaust pipe. So, you can imagine how I felt when I heard the news that students at City University of London voted to ban the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Express on campus. According to the university’s Student union, there is ‘no place,’ for the newspapers ‘in their current state.’ The motion, which was passed during the Student Union’s annual general meeting, is more than a shovel-tothe-head embarrassment; it’s a failure of logic. Press censorship as a means of ‘combatting fascism’- part of the motion’s title- is an empty contradiction, and part of a growing paradox amongst our generation. What the motion has helped to do is to highlight
Flickr / Ben Sutherland Flickr / Flik
a growing issue in our society, where to go against the leftist grain is to run the risk of being strung to a tree as a hoard of affronted students hurl organic cabbages and vacant insults at you. I doubt that the student body - that is the 200 or so students who
For many youngsters nowadays, expressing a moderate-right opinion is up there with punching cats and feeding a toddler dog biscuits. We see the emergence of a near-dystopian character, the leftist youth who claims to trumpet diversity, as long as diversity agrees with her. Just days after Brexit, I was on a trip to London where I was forced to grit my teeth at a protest march in Trafalgar square as it stamped its feet for a second referendum. I should have been amused, except I couldn’t help but think that my generation had descended into some kind of maddening paradox. How can you claim to uphold democracy by throwing a hissy fit if the result doesn’t go your way? And the older generation who supposedly ruined our future? They’re democratic citizens whether you like it or not. In substance their vote is equal, and if you consider the fact that 64 per cent of us didn’t even bother to vote, the complaint is even more childish. Maybe Brexit isn’t a move towards an immigrant’s nightmare. Maybe it’s just a lot of disillusioned people pushing back against a system that has for too long choked their ability to express themselves. The City students who voted for the ban can only hope to perpetuate this, and with Bristol’s own dubious censorship history- the case of Benjie Beer back in May to be specific- I can only hope that we don’t make the same error. What City has achieved is nothing more than an embarrassing blunder, an empty act by people who feel like it’s their place to decide who gets an opinion. Well, here’s my opinion, and if you don’t like it then you know exactly what you can do; censor me.
Flickr: Antony Bennison Facebook/ Bristol is the New Black
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The motion to ban the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Express on the City University campus is more than a shovel-to-the-head embarrassment...
even bothered to show up to the meeting - quite understand the implications of their decision. In an act of moral self-righteousness, they have wandered gormlessly onto the minefield produced when one undertakes to define who and what has a place in the arena of ‘free speech’ and expression. Freedom of speech is a two-sided coin. There should be room for the ugly as well as the beautiful. By wrapping up those opinions that make you feel uncomfortable and burying them in the ground, you end up with the face of Donald Trump sprouting from the earth. Controversy is healthy; it stimulates real discussion and brings things like discrimination into the light. Disagreement is good. As collective contributors to democracy we deserve to argue and be argued with, to contradict and be contradicted, to mock and be mocked. Simply to brush aside opposing views is defeatist and dangerous and allows existing problems to ferment. Take Clinton for example. She deserved to lose the election the second she was stupid enough to label a sizeable portion of the U.S. electorate as ‘deplorable.’ And as for Trump? He won the election as soon as people decided that he couldn’t. In fact, we should thank our trans-Atlantic friends for this timely wake-up call. A loose comparison between Hitler and Trump isn’t some historically enlightened foresight. This kind of rhetoric is a new kind of divisiveness, and the political debate is becoming cheapened by it. We’ve seen this problem on our own shores. Swathes of our generation are moving towards adulthood, blinded by a moral superiority complex.
City’s SU voted to ban the selling certain tabloids.
Epigram
12.12.2016
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Polyamory: Alluring in theory, tricky in practice
Sarah Wilson thinks that, although an exciting and tempting prospect, emotions could get in the way Sarah Wilson Comment writer One person’s greed is another person’s sexual freedom. Nothing makes this clearer than the controversial topic of polyamory. A quick scroll through Urban Dictionary and merely three definitions down contains negative connotations about polyamory, describing it as ‘selfish’. Indeed, the idea of having more than one relationship at the same time can seem alien, confusing and impractical.
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Polyamorists often describe loving each of their partners equally. This concept is possibly uncomfortable to those in long term monogamous relationships who cannot imagine loving anyone other than their partner. It is also tricky when considering the much loved notion of soul mates which offers certainty to the idea that there is just one person for each of us. However, for me, loving two people at the same time is perfectly possible and in fact, quite likely. Most of us fall in love more than once in our lives. What’s to say that for some, these two people (or even more than that) cannot come at the same time. It would be impossible to choose between them and, what’s more, there is no real reason why we have to. For centuries the necessity to marry and the link to family life, especially for women, has been inescapable and suffocating. Finally now, social barriers have started to crumble enough so that we are able to be in emotionally and sexually liberated relationships. For me, polyamory is attractive because it
Flickr/ Daniel Zimmer University of Bristol Flickr / HorsDeOuvre
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Loving two people at the same time is perfectly possible and in fact, quite likely
An artist impression of jealousy how Tyndall could Sarah Wilson says that is a Place natural andlook. unavoidable human instinct, and this must be quelled before a polyamorous relationship could work.
opposes social constructs and seems to equate to a type of freedom and excitement that a monogamous relationship would not allow. Therefore, if I was to practice polyamory it would be consciously. That very fact means that I never could. I do not think that polyamory is a choice but an instinct like sexuality. Some people may realise this preference after a long history of cheating in monogamous relationships. Therefore, consensual polyamorous relationships can prevent cheating and lying in attempted monogamous relationships. It is for this reason that polyamory has been hailed ‘ethical non-monogamy’. But, practically, I struggle to understand how it would work. Polyamory which equates to more than one sexual relationship makes perfect sense. These sorts of relationships can be devoid of feeling and offer
the opportunity to experiment. Being sexually involved with more than one person prevents the potential mundanity of monogamous
However, being emotionally attached to more than one person could be difficult in practice...
relationships. While some are repulsed by the thought, others of us take the opportunities that a society of sexually liberated men and women offers. However, being emotionally attached to more than one person could be difficult in practice.
How can time be divided equally between two or more people? I believe that jealousy is a natural and - unfortunately - unavoidable human instinct. Surely, for polyamory to work, this instinct must be quelled. Otherwise, it would become a complicated and potentially heart breaking entanglement of dysfunctional relationships. Furthermore, as time went on, surely you would become fonder of one person than the rest. At this point, would you move to monogamy or does this defeat the whole purpose? Perhaps then, polyamory cannot work in the long term. Is it a short term solution to the longer term problem of finding the ‘right’ person? If this is so, society’s expectations have remained the same: despite the fact that polyamory is accepted and endorsed by many it is not necessarily an end goal or an ideal outcome.
Staying in Bristol this Christmas? Here’s some advice Myla Lloyd shares her firsthand experience of how to make the most of an unconventional winter break Myla Lloyd Comment writer Students often get so wrapped up (excuse the pun) in Christmas cheer that they forget that this glitzy holiday is not universally celebrated. While we can all appreciate the three week break from lectures, not everyone is as full of joy for the birth of Jesus as you may think. Be it religious beliefs, international study, work commitments, or a dysfunctional family, there are many factors that come between students and Santa. Whatever your reasons for staying in Bristol, here are some pros and cons from someone with practice…
DO call your friends. Friends are the family many people wish they had. There’s a lot to be said for spending the festive season with people that make you feel good, rather than those with whom you share little but genetics. DON’T feel sorry for yourself. There can be a lot of pressure to emulate the perfect John
Epigram/ Ella Kemp
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Whatever your reasons for staying in Bristol this Christmas, here are some pros and cons from someone with practice...
Lewis family model at this time of year, but remember, perfect Christmases are a lot rarer in reality than they are on TV. DO look on the bright side: it may be the only time of year you’ll be able to get a seat in the ASS library. DON’T mourn your housemates’ absence. Run around your empty house pretending you’re a young Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone. DO enjoy the silence. All the students have gone home and you can now walk down the Triangle without being shoulder barged. Enjoy the shortened queues in Co-op whilst you can. DON’T spend it alone. If there’s one thing Crimbo is good for its community spirit. Whether you fancy volunteering at a homeless shelter, or attending midnight mass at a local church, there are plenty of sociable activities to get involved in. DON’T forget to stock up on food. For those who aren’t used to spending Christmas in the UK the closure of all major shops can come as a shock. Make sure you get your mince pies and mulled wine well in advance, or risk a disappointing pot noodle on the big day. DO make the most of the lack of distractions. Catch up on study time, smash your January exams, chuckle smugly at fellow students as they return from their holidays with an extra few pounds and an untouched revision to-do list.
Enjoy the quietness of Bristol at Christmas- especially the shorter queues in Co-op.
12.12.2016
Science & Tech
@EpigramSciTech Editor: Matt Davis Deputy Editor: Katie Coates Online Editor: Gina Degtyareva
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Epigram
mdavis@epigram.org.uk katie.coates@epigram.org.uk gina@epigram.org.uk
The week I decided to switch off
Sam Belknap Science Writer
Look around you; how many people walking by are tapping away at a smartphone? Do you have yours in your hand right now or within arm’s reach? If you answer no, you must be lying! I am amazed by how smartphone technology is used by almost everyone I know. But is it too much? I took a week off all digital technology to find out if the modern student could survive without a smartphone or laptop. This has only been a recent thing – only in the last decade have we even had the concept of smartphones where
the knowledge of the world is at your fingertips. How lucky are we; if you wanted to play Beethoven’s fifth, find out what the Da Vinci code is or what really happened in area 51 you can find out. And aren’t we all better for it? Well, no. How much fake news did you see over the recent US election? I certainly swallowed a fake Trump quote: ‘If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News.’ I was in an echo chamber for the European referendum. Europhile friends and the dreaded mainstream media filled up 80% of my newsfeed. So I wanted to try it, no digital
technology for a week. For two reasons: one, to get out of the bubble of social media, and two, to see if my work was any better or worse, and three to see if I could do it. Armed with a paper diary and print outs for my first day, I would have liked to have said I got in to university in record time, but I just used the time on social media to stay in bed. I realised the only library catalogue was online. My lectures were on PowerPoint. I couldn’t buy lunch as I needed to use a chip and pin - who carries cash anyway? Several group meetings were left uncompleted as I couldn’t access the Google Drive where we store all our data, Google
anything relevant to the product or share my work with my groups. My intramural team couldn’t let me know if the game was cancelled on Wednesday, and I heard a bit too late about a sailing social so I couldn’t quite plan around it. But on the other hand, as I couldn’t be contacted, I could focus on tasks like never before. I could go through scenarios and just let my brain tick over. Bliss. I had no one bothering me, group chats binging away or silly Facebook notifications. The best bit was the face to face interactions with people about the experiment I was doing, working and expanding on what can often get lost in group chats on Facebook.
“ I couldn’t buy lunch because it required chip and pin
John Levanen-Flickr
It was also an excellent excuse to get out of former bad habits. For example, with a close former flatmate, we would either see each other by going round to watch a football match, play FIFA on his XBOX, or at a social event. This time I saw him in the street and spontaneously spent the night having debates about things we had never talked about in our three and a half year friendship.
I went home on the weekend and had conversations with my parents uninterrupted by a phone for the first time in years.
I had the first conversation with my parents that wasn’t interrupted by my phone in years
I was relieved to get back on technology, but the first day back ‘on’ was far worse than the first day ‘off’! I had 12 Facebook messages and 92 notifications to read and deadlines rapidly approaching. I almost reached breaking point getting all the loose ends back together and the meetings with my groups weren’t cordial, as I struggled to get up to speed with the group plans and deadlines. I had little knowledge of the social events going on in the coming week. Overall, a mixed experience. I lost out on larger community events like societies and friends who were further away, but I gained valuable thinking time and felt properly relaxed for the first time in months. So if you do leave your phone at home this week, don’t panic. Enjoy time off from the virtual world and take a break. Just don’t use a typewriter like I did, it’s one step too far.
Big Hex machine is simplifying computing for Bristol Emma Isle Science Writer
Shair Barzilay-Flickr
Academics at the University of Bristol have developed a giant see-through computer designed to try and make its working more transparent. As Bill Gates once said ‘I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.’ Most of our generation have been lucky enough to grow up with them around to aid us, both at home and at school, but for many of us the way they function remains quite a mystery. Enter the Big Hex machine. The University of Bristol Computer Science Department’s new tool helps students understand exactly how the inner workings of a computer function. The Big Hex machine is essentially a giant 16-bit computer designed by staff and students to teach first year students the fundamentals of computer architecture. It measures over eight square metres and is made out of over 100 four-bit circuit boards, which should allow students to see exactly how a computer works from just a few basic components. The machine is not the equivalent of your trusty Mac and its interface is very different but it is still powerful enough to run useful programs. It is designed to allow students to get creative with a traditionally difficult subject, and has
a complete toolchain for them to write, build and execute their own software as part of their learning. Building the machine was no small task either, as the Senior Creative Teaching Technologist Richard Grafton said ‘It’s a result of great collaboration between students and staff and a real testament to persistence, commitment and teamwork. Most importantly, it’s an achievement of thinking a little bit differently.’ It was built as a tool for the computer architecture unit, as Professor David May, who designed the architecture of the machine and programming language to accompany it, states ‘it is impossible to understand a computer by taking one apart!’, referring to the dismantling of a computer hard drive that has long been a main staple of many Computer Science courses. The machine was designed to solve this problem, allowing students to be able to visualize the concepts that they are being taught in an easier manner. In the Big Hex machine all the component parts are clearly visible, and every program run on the machine can be followed clearly, as the movement of information is also visible. This allows students to see their programs working, and therefore better understand how an ordinary computer would do the same. It allows students to visualise the basic principles of general purpose hardware being controlled by a stored program that is the fundamental underlay of all computer function. You can even write your own
programs to run on the machine. On the website for the machine there are pages with instructions detailing how you can do this, using the language X, which was written by Professor David May specifically for the Big Hex machine, and has a definition and instructions teaching users the nuances of this unique language.
“ All the component parts are clearly visible and every program run on the machine can be clearly followed
It’s not just for Bristol students. Local school children will also have access to the machine to hopefully engage the next generation of computer scientists. Sam Russell, a third year Computer Scientist that worked on both the prototype and the final machine, likened the designing and building of the machine to problems encountered by the original computer engineers. He described the final machine as ‘an artwork, an educational tool, a gigantic toy, a spark to reminisce the old days, but most of all, something that demystifies the magic to something that everyone can understand.’ So if you want to explore the inner workings of a computer or have a play with the machine you can find it in the Merchant Venturer’s Building, and who knows? You too could understand the magic.
Epigram 12.12.2016
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‘Bad Science’- the pressure to publish Betsy Herbert Science Writer
Worryingly, only 39 out of the 100 yielded replicable findings – and while this reflects, to an extent, the inherent variability and uncertainty in scientific conclusions, it is interpreted by some as part of a growing problem of ‘failed’ reproducibility in research.
In searching for the cause of this phenomena, many point the finger at the current system of funding and merit, which has bred a ‘hypercompetitive’ culture providing little incentive for replicating findings. In order to earn respect and prestige, and therefore be more successful in grant applications, a scientist must publish his research in those journals which are most respected and prestigious – for example Nature or Science. However, the most prestigious journals only publish novel, ‘breakthrough’ findings; the research which ‘goes where no man has gone before’. This pressure to publish in leading journals has therefore caused researchers to abandon the (albeit noble and correct) task of carrying out confirmatory studies to check and validate their findings, in favour of pursuing small, exploratory studies which may yield more surprising results. The psychologists involved in the
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“ The research, published in the journal PLOS Biology last month, suggests that up to 60 per cent of psychology studies are irreproducible
Flickr/Desktop Sketching
Science in the modern age is more ubiquitous than ever before. Approximately 2.5 million research papers will be published in 2016 – and since the global scientific output doubles every nine years, this value is only set to increase. While much of this growth is due to the increasing number of people entering research, there is a growing concern that the researchers of today are publishing too much, too quickly, and that as a consequence, their results are flawed. A recent study carried out by psychologists from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter implies just this. Their research, published in the journal PLOS Biology last month, suggests that up to 60 per cent of psychology studies are irreproducible – and therefore putatively incorrect. It was part of a larger effort known as ‘The Reproducibility Project: Psychology’, in which 270 scientists from across the world aimed to reproduce the findings of 100 psychology studies and put their validity to the test.
Reproducibility Project created a mathematical model to emulate how a researcher who is trying to maximise his impact and reputation may behave, and to discover which proportion of time he invests in looking for exciting, novel results rather than confirming previous findings.
The most prestigious journals only publish novel, ‘breakthrough’ findings; the research which ‘goes where no man has gone before’
They discovered that the best tactic for career progression is to carry out many small-scale experimental studies, identify the ones that produced the most surprising results, and publish these alone, to stand a chance of making it into a high-end journal. The problem here is that the smaller the sample size, the less reliable the experiment
– so small-scale studies are likely to be ridden with false positives and are not at all likely to deliver any truthful observations. Dr Andrew Higginson, one of the authors of the study, laments: ‘So much money is wasted doing research from which the results can’t be trusted; a significant finding might be just as likely to be a false positive as actually be measuring a real phenomenon.’ So how might these unhealthy habits be overcome? Professor Marcus Munafò, the second author of the study, believes a short-term solution lies in the hands of the journal editors and reviewers, insisting: ‘They should be much stricter about good statistical procedures - they should insist on large sample sizes and tougher statistical criteria for deciding whether an effect has been found.’ And indeed, a number of journals and grant applicators have begun introducing ‘submission checklists’ which require authors to explain their methodology and provide evidence of good scientific
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practice, including a justification of their chosen sample size.
‘A significant finding might be just as likely to be a false positive as actually be measuring a real phenomenon.’
Ultimately, however, change needs to occur on a grander scale: we must address the manner in which merit is endowed. ‘The best thing for scientific progress would be a mixture of mediumsized exploratory studies and largescale confirmatory studies,’ advises Dr Higginson. ‘Our work suggests that researchers would be more likely to do this if funding agencies and promotion committees rewarded the asking of important questions and good methodology rather than surprising findings and exciting interpretations.’
Under the microscope...Surveillance, gene-editing and nuclear waste e T h ers act, w o P atory ooper’s Investig wn as the ‘sn Both its e kno al cently. otherwis e into force re re heavy in equ d te a m n y a e c rs d , e e charter’ es and controv is the unprec suspect, c t c n e e d p u n s a q conse iggest a nocent d to store their . The b oth in measure f citizens’, b will be require he measures o P’s s. T storage ata. By Law, IS for 12 month e police legal d th g ta s a in e s d o giv llecting sing brow rs brow storage. It als nd phones, co , 48 e m to s t a cu od puters p at jus nt peri don’t sto s to access com a post-warra llowed to a d In o be ectly. meth raises ns will ore dir data m t organizatio demand. This n re n re o tu fe if fu ta d bout the da access tions a wer. s e u q deep ent po governm
r c h e r s to Resea a way covered non-dividing . is d e v ha und in the first time to DNA fo r modify g animals fo not been able in bra vin ve li , a e h y in s e r e s t, cell search in hear is based on this, re ations Prior to netic modific chnique, HITI becoming ge kly w te have l, is quic perform ssues. The ne ing too . Researchers to ti it r d e -e v e li n g e n g in and io 9 it s is d a v PR/C gene e lly restore nitis the CRIS standard for tia by reti to par ld o e g u aused c sly iq u n the s h s io c e v n e is te blind eat pr used th ering from ed to tr ue types s u e b ff s ese tis rats su ITI could tosa. H nditions in th significant pigmen o c e b le b l to a untreata s the potentia ent. a h em c d an l advan medica
Oliver Cohen
of storage ajor The een a m b g s y a lw a neratin s e a g h waste ever, despite w , o y H rg . e nuclear ls en ssil fue fo nuclear a group n a y r b th fo l issue veloped stol e g of fue d k n r e e e p y of Bri sb nergy d niversit logy ha U o e n w more e h o th c p ere t g te rking a nuclear-breakin mond ists wo ity in a ic ia s ic d y ground tr e h c d p le a an-m d ists and create e ts of a m in the diamon of chem clear waste to e d consis rg o u f a n o th h s e t c e n a s m e s that u roduce movem neering . This p ut any lfThe pio o ld a . h e h ry it fi e d e w tt v e n ba ioacti rolong neratio in a rad . The p ar waste icity ge placed roducts ct electr cle -p e y u ir b n d d g in allowin topes unwante ttery, tive iso ery or of a ba c a e in h io c im d a -t ra m fe li e e m g o th s lo y f tionise techno lives o o revolu l of this ls a a ti n ld te u o co g the p meanin ss. is endle
Cyrus Arthur
summarises the new UK surveillance laws
Alex Scorror
tells us about the new gene modifying technique : HITI
explains how a new invention could solve the nuclear waste problem
Flickr/thellr
Flickr/thellr
Flickr/thellr
Epigram 12.12.2016
14
Student wellbeing at Bristol: feeling good, studying and living well
Your wellbeing matters – you are not on your own and we are here to help. We’ve revamped our health and wellbeing web pages (www.bristol.ac.uk/students/wellbeing) to help you find out what support is available, who to contact, and how to access our services. Whether for yourself or someone else, we can help you with academic issues, course concerns, money worries, homesickness or relationship issues, and more. We want you to talk about mental health and wellbeing. As well as the contacts listed here and on the web pages, all University staff will be very happy to help you or point you towards someone else who can provide help. We are currently consulting on the way we support students in academic schools and residences. If you would like to feed your thoughts into these reviews, please email Bristol SU on bristolsu@bristol.ac.uk.
Who can help? Personal and senior tutors Peer mentors SU’s Just Ask service Students’ Health Service Wardens and Halls staff Multifaith Chaplaincy Disability Services Student Counselling service
Out of hours telephone support
Nightline University security
Visit www.bristol.ac.uk/students/ wellbeing to reach these contacts.
Help yourself The online support network Big White Wall is available 24/7 and guided by trained professionals. It’s completely anonymous so you can express yourself freely and openly and connect with others experiencing similar things. You can also download the Expert Self Care (ESC) student app (www.expertselfcare.com/health-apps/esc-student), which was codeveloped with the Students’ Health Service and Bristol students. The app provides reliable advice on health and wellbeing issues, including mental health, and will help you identify warning signs and know when to seek medical help.
Drawings of Dogs
Henry Garrett is an MPhil student who has currently suspended his studies due to mental health problems. He has since launched a greeting cards business, ‘Drawings of Dogs’, available online and through retailers like Watershed and St Nicholas Market. Here is Henry’s inspiring account: The project started as some drawings I posted to adapt to the very civilized world they find on Facebook whilst procrastinating for my themselves in. Philosophy finals. Last year I started an MPhil in Philosophy at UoB but sadly had to suspend my studies due to anxiety. The Philosophy department wasere very Whilst seeking treatment I decided to use the supportive of me in suspending for mental suspension time to expand Drawings of Dogs. health reasons. Without this suspension, I don’t I’ve always loved dogs, and dreamed of selling know where I’d be. something that I made with my own hands. The University is a brilliant one in many ways This project has allowed me to combine those but perhaps its greatest feature is that it’s in passions. Bristol, a vibrant and inspiring city that makes one feel lucky to be alive. And with lots of dogs.
An inspiring environment
Man’s best friend
Following your dreams I admire those with the gumption to have a crack at their dreams above all others. So I’m trying to be one of them. It can be terrifying to give something a try. But if you’re passionate, people will get excited by your passion. It’s contagious. And be kind to everyone, because that’s contagious too. You can see Henry’s designs at www. drawingsofdogs.co.uk and facebook.com/ drawingsofdogs.
Henry Garrett
The comics are a bit silly but I think dogs make a great subject for art because they’re an interesting reflection of us. They are a product of coevolution or domestication depending on who you ask. They were selected to be companions so they give an indication of what humans look for in a friend. We can laugh at their neediness but they’re needy because we made them that way; because that’s what we wanted from them. Dogs are also interesting because they, like us, are struggling
Canine Halitosis
University Sponsored Content
Epigram 12.12.2016
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Students inspire during the launch of our strategy Last month we officially launched the University’s Vision and Strategy at the National Gallery in London and at the Wills Memorial Building in Bristol. Attendees of both events were privileged to see Bristol students in action. Guests were welcomed to the National Gallery by a gypsy jazz duo from Bristol University Music Society, while History of Art students led personal tours through the gallery, lending a special quality to the evening. Attendees also enjoyed performances from Bristol University Latin American Ballroom Society, Creative Writing and Spoken Word Society and the Bollywood Society, who closed the evening. Medical student Gus Mensah shared his poetry at the event; you can read his poems at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/ university/strategy/launch.
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University of Bristol
But in this field, I found mine. That one dream that was made for me, like this one thing I was meant to be. So I held this dream so faithfully. Unaware of what was awaiting me. - Gus Mensah At our Bristol launch, Bristol Hornstars kicked off proceedings and later the a cappella group Bristol Suspensions gave a stunning performance in the Great Hall. All the performances and help from students helped create a wonderful atmosphere for our guests, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their time, talent and energy.
Have your say: What would you like to see on Tyndall Avenue? As part of the University’s new strategy we plan to establish a welcoming heart to our main campus on Tyndall Avenue by providing new student facilities, remodelling and integrating existing facilities, and creating a safer, more pedestrian friendly outdoor space. The exact scope of the programme may still change, but anticipated developments include: • A new University Library • Bristol Students’ Union facilities, services and social space • Enhanced and more accessible sports facilities • A student resource centre (incorporating
support for student enquiries, increased study spaces, IT & accommodation advice, careers services and facilities for the Bristol Doctoral College) • A new Bristol Institute for Learning & Teaching • Enhanced public spaces on Tyndall Avenue and Woodland Road We want your views on the Tyndall Place project and its potential facilities. What services and facilities do you use most and what would you like to see more of in Tyndall Avenue and in the new library? What would make Tyndall Avenue feel more welcoming to all students? How do
you envision using the space and accessing the support available? Your input will be valuable in ensuring the project is centred on your needs. Caroline Boughton is the newly appointed manager for Tyndall Place project, and one of her first jobs is to begin student and staff consultation on the project. We hope to start student consultation before the holiday break in December and continue into the New Year. In the meantime, if you have any specific comments or observations to make on the proposals for Tyndall Place, you can email them to Caroline: clifton-campus-info@bristol.ac.uk.
Teaching Excellence Framework
University of Bristol
The government is introducing a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) to enable universities to assess how they can best support students in acquiring the knowledge and skills for future employment or further study. It provides a framework through which we can assess our infrastructure to ensure it best enables students to develop their skills and excel in their independent study. The framework will also better inform students’ choices about what and where to study while recognising excellent teaching. Participation in the pilot provides an opportunity for us to evaluate our provision in these areas, and to further enhance our own performance. We appreciate that there are various concerns about this framework, including the nature of the metrics used to evaluate teaching quality and the link to tuition fees. However, it is important to note that the TEF will measure performance relative to institutional benchmarks (which are set to reflect expected performance of equivalent institutions) rather than actual performance. Our ranking in other league tables which measure actual performance is extremely strong: 19th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, 8th for firsts and 2:1s (Times and Sunday Times), 23rd for Graduate Prospects (Times and Sunday Times), 9th for Academic Reputation (QS - UK ranking), 10th for Employer Reputation (QS - UK ranking), 10th for Teaching (Times Higher Education, UK ranking). In January we are applying to take part in the pilot year of phase two of TEF. We welcome the focus on teaching quality and the learning environment, and the commitment to ensuring positive outcomes for students.
University Sponsored Content
12.12.2016
Letters
Editor: Claire Hargreaves letters@epigram.org
An alternative letter to Father Christmas The time is ripe for children to send their letters to Father Christmas, outlining their every wish and whim. And it is also at this time of the year that we are called on to ‘reflect’ on the year gone by and the year to follow. With 2016 forcing us to expect the unexpected, here at Bristol and beyond, I want to share with you what’s on my letter to Father Christmas this year. Don’t worry, what follows is not a list of all the recipe books and fluffy pyjamas I admittedly do have my eye on, but an alternative to a letter to Father Christmas. Here is my wish list for 2017: 1. With the opening of Beacon House and the extension of study spaces in the ASS library, how are we all still jostling for somewhere to work at uni? I’m definitely wishing for more seats (and functioning power sockets, too) in libraries and study spaces. 2. Bus drivers, please don’t be so grumpy! Of course, there are some delightfully cheery bus drivers, but why are so many so abrupt and irritable when you (reluctantly) hand over your £1.20 and politely state your destination? 3. Less contact time with my phone. Please, I need some intervention to stop my eyes being glued to Facebook or Snapchat for hours on end.
Dear you... Ellie Chesshire Letters Writer
‘While people may be smiling on the outside, they may not be smiling on the inside’
You may be good at putting on an act; lots of people are. Good at pretending that everything is okay, that you love life at university, when actually it feels like you are sinking deeper and deeper into that black hole. Where you feel so desperately alone and where everything seems hopeless. If there is one thing to take away from this, it is that everything is not hopeless. That you are not alone. And things will get better. Starting university can be tough. For many it is their first time away from home, and as well as contending with academic pressures, you also have to manage money, social circles and living independently. It’s a lot to take in. While you may feel like the
9. A warmer house. Having the luxury of steaming hot water and burning radiators all year in halls, I now sit here writing this in my bitingly cold
student house, my breath showing in the air and my hands wrapped up in gloves. EVERYTHING IS SO COLD! 10. And finally, 2017, please don’t
take away any more of our heroes. Ultimately, though, 2017 has already won: it surely can’t get worse than Brexit and Donald Trump, can it?
5. I wish that the word ‘yah’ could disappear from the Bristol student lexicon. Yes, we know you spent your Gap Yah ‘doing’ South East Asia and that you can actually afford nicer clothes than the ones you’re wearing, but please at least settle on ‘yes’, ‘yeah’ or good old ‘yep’ to respond to my questions. 6. Graduation caps. Bristol is one of the few universities whose students don’t wear these at graduation and while they may not be the most flattering accessories, who can honestly say they don’t want a photo of them throwing them up in the air on the big day? 7. Student campaigns. Students have an incredible potential to cause a stir and raise awareness of issues affecting them and the rest of the world, so we definitely need more campaigns like Reclaim the Night, EU referendum activism and protests against Digs. 8. More appreciation for the Refectory. It is easily the best meeting and eating place and the cheapest yet tastiest food at uni, so why aren’t we raving more about the Refectory?
only person in the world who feels the way do, so many people struggle with settling in to university in one way or another. You are not alone. While people may be smiling on the outside, they may not be smiling on the inside.
‘Everything will be okay in the end, if it’s not okay it’s not the end’
You may also feel like there is no one there to help you, that no one understands or even that no one cares. But people do. The Student Counselling Service at Bristol is there to do everything in its power to help you. It is there and you can go it at whatever time you want for whatever you need. Never think that what you are feeling doesn’t matter, that it’s not a big deal, because if it matters to you then it matters. No matter how small that problem may seem. If you don’t want to talk to someone face to face, then the Big White Wall – a Bristol student counselling service which provides 24/7 peer and professional support - could also be an option for you. Nightline is also a confidential overnight telephone service providing information and listening – call them on 0117 9266 266 between 8pm and 8am during term time. You should never be embarrassed
about struggling with mental health - one in four students at Bristol do. Do not tell yourself that you’re being silly, if you feel that you need help then reach out and take it, it is there for you. Everyone is equally as important and everyone needs a little bit of extra help sometimes. There is nothing to be ashamed about in that. You could be anyone. People are very good at hiding what’s going on inside, it’s very easy to hide what cannot be visibly seen. But you, whoever you are, are not alone. There is help there for you and there are people who want to help. No one should feel like they have nowhere to turn to. And no matter how bad things seem, they will get better. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel and nothing lasts forever. “Everything will be okay in the end, if it’s not okay it’s not the end.” - John Lennon.
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We know it’s hard. Suddenly, you have been thrown into a brand new environment with new friends, a new lifestyle and new responsibilities – it’s hard. Maybe it’s not what you thought it would be. Maybe it’s taking longer to settle in than you hoped.
4. Fewer hangover days and better hangover cures. I estimate I lose as many as two days per week to a hangover and this is time I definitely need to be putting to better use. I therefore need the ultimate hangover cure - there’s got to be a magic formula out there somewhere, surely?
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Claire Hargreaves Letters Editor
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ht:
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Living Well Being Travel Style Food What’s On
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Chill out
12.12.2016
Editor Johnny Thalassites
Online Editor Erin Beesley
Deputy Editor
living@epigram.org.uk
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Saskia Hume
Epigram Living Section 2016/17
Winter in Bristol Living writer, Jasmin Perry, runs through a few of the best wintry activities available to students in Bristol Ice-skating
Festive Theatre
Ice-skating is a perfect winter opportunity to wrap up warm, don some skates and spend an hour making a fool of yourself with your friends. There’s a rink in Millennium Square and at Cribbs Causeway and, although the former is more central, it is well worth the bus journey to experience the festivities at Cribbs. Ice skating tickets are 2 for 1 on Tuesdays, making it really affordable, too. Finally, the rink is accompanied with a myriad of stalls selling everything from hot chocolate to churros to see you through your skating experience.
‘Ice skating tickets are 2 for 1 on
This winter there’s some great performances to see including the Snow Queen at the Bristol Old Vic, a beautiful 18th Century theate and Cinderella at both the Tobacco Factory and the Bristol Hippodrome (after all, who doesn’t love a good pantomime?). If you’re not a fan of theatre, perhaps one of the winter films in the cinema will better take your fancy – The Orpheus is a really cute one that will serve you mugs of hot chocolate.
‘Indeed, who doesn’t love a good pantomime?’
Christmas Markets and Fairs
Tuesdays, making it really affordable, too’
Illuminations Nothing says winter like twinkly lights brightening up the darkness. Visit Tyntesfield, Bristol’s local National Trust property, where on selected evenings the house and grounds are colourfully lit up. A bit further afield, the Beatrix Potter themed Festival of Light at Longleat is another perfect opportunity to take some great photos and spend an evening outdoors. This would be perfectly coupled with a hot chocolate and a Christmas film afterwards, to help thaw your fingers!
‘Christmas lights are one of the best things about winter!’
Winter fairs are a lovely way to soak up a Christmassy atmosphere, and maybe some mulled wine, while buying some unique gifts and supporting local sellers. A lot are advertised on the Visit Bristol website so check there to find one local to you. Although not in Bristol, the Christmas market in Bath is definitely worth a visit. With over 100 cute wooden cabin stalls, it’s a great way to get out of the city. We would particularly recommend St.Nicks Christmas market and Bristol Christmas market in Broadmead, both of which are open every day in the run up to Christmas.
Christmassy atmosphere’
Epigram/Jasmin Perry
Epigram/Jasmin Perry
‘Winter fairs are a lovely way to soak up a
In defence of: a festive frown Living Writer, Chloë Moloney, defends her well-worn festive-frown this holiday season
Now, before I become the victim of holiday hatred, I’d like to clarify that I don’t hate Christmas. It’s just that the wintry frost of early December no longer stirs up any yuletide enthusiasm in me: it simply leaves me with a festive frown. I understand that this is a vastly unpopular opinion to hold, but I haven’t harboured this grudge since my very first festive experience, as my calendar whipped through December, and I would buzz uncontrollably with exhilaration when the 25th rolled around. However, having become case hardened to this jollity, my naïve and youthful excitement seems only a distant memory - yet still in some measure endearing.
But when does Christmas actually begin? Much to my dismay, the festive season rears its ugly head at an alarming pace every year. The minute that the clock strikes midnight on October 31st, people trade in those scary masks for Christmas hats and the festivities begin. The real starting date of Christmas appears to be a topic of heavy contention. I couldn’t possibly describe the horror that spread over
Flickr/RIchard Sandoval
‘As a child, the thrill of St Nick’s arrival kept me up night after night’
my friends’ faces as they learnt that, for me, Christmas begins on the 22nd. At the earliest. The tree goes up on the 23rd and everything’s packed up and shrouded in a layer of dust again by the 27th. That’s all the time you need. Let’s not drag a five-day affair (at best) over a gruelling and wearisome month and a half. Possibly one of the worst aspects of this festive season is the music. The tinny, repetitive tunes which leave me wanting to sequester myself anywhere that’s soundproof. Those irksome and second-rate melodies linger in your head like a bad dream, the only escape being the back end of January when it is deemed acceptable to mute these musical atrocities. And this is all before the day actually arrives: young nieces and nephews drugged up on copious amounts of sugar, sending them into such a frenzied tailspin that they are exhausting just to look at. Those garish and lurid Christmas jumpers that scratch away at your skin are the perpetrators of intolerable discomfort. Additionally, the ceremonial giving of Christmas cards from relatives whose names you last heard around five years ago, who suddenly want to shower you with all the love and affection in the world – usually tinged with guilt on their part. So, after having shed light on my most favourable aspects of this festive period, I’d like to go back to my opening point. Christmas is certainly not my favourite holiday, but tradition is tradition and for the foreseeable future, I’ll continue to suffer through it.
12.12.2016
19
Under the mistletoe
Maya Wheeler-Colwell searches under the Christmas tree for the most elusive present of all - a warming winter romance Winter is undeniably the trigger for hundreds of saccharine, romcom induced fantasies of cable knit jumpers, hot chocolate and snowball fights. However, in reality, the jumpers get sweaty, the hot chocolate is too sweet and has powder clumps in the bottom, and the snow is either grey or non-existent. You have a whirlwind in the early weeks of December and end up spending Christmas day resenting your family. Meanwhile, you’re wishing that the newest object of your affections was cuddled up with you watching the Bake Off Christmas special. To many people (myself sometimes included), romance in winter is just a very elaborate ruse to use other people to keep you warm, as opposed to shelling out on heating. The kindest thing to do, is therefore to share my winter romance tips that won’t leave you with Christmas day blues.
Promiscuity is preferable
Get warm in da cloob A surefire place to get warm without the effort of millions of layers, dancing and inebriation offer the perfect antidote to the freezing cold winter months, and all for the low price of £4 (if you plump for the Thursday night Lounge trip). In fact, the décor of Lounge is such that dancing in the carpeted corner, you could easily convince yourself that you are in fact in the comfort of your own home, bar the noughties pop and drunken mess of sports men with their tops off.
Flickr/Sam Wood
If heating bills are your main concern you have two clear cut options: the first, convince your flatmates that their main joy in life would stem from getting into your bed and keeping you warm, the second: casual hookups. You can still be in possession of a human space heater, but if you get creative, that space heater can be exchanged daily, and the effort of cooking an elaborate breakfast serves only as an afterthought… Ideal, surely?
Powdered hot choc - suck it up If your entire search for winter romance is motivated by the desire to get a free hot chocolate at the end of a cold walk, then pull yourself together, march yourself down to Sainsbury’s, and grab a tub of Nesquik and some fancy coconut milk. It’s not as if anyone will judge, given that solitude has led you to this point in the first place. For even more of a treat head to Costa where they’ll even warm the milk for you first - if that’s not a Christmas treat then I don’t know what is.
As helpful and informative as this guide may be, if winter romance does float your way, don’t dismiss it because you’re too busy warming yourself in the sweaty furnace of Lizard Lounge. Similarly don’t turn your nose up because you’re now addicted to Baileys/Coconut hot chocolates. The secret to their sickly sweet success is that they taste just the same enjoyed with another person. Just because your Christmas holidays aren’t a scene from Love Actually, it doesn’t mean you can’t wrap yourself in an amorous embrace under the mistletoe.
Winter warmers: more than just a jumper Living online editor, Erin Beesley, shares her top tips on keeping warm over the winter holidays
Seasonal warmers Mulled wine or cider. Admittedly this costs money, but it’s cheaper made at home than bought at the pub, adds some seasonal cheer and an alcohol blanket is always effective. Another festive idea is the purchase of candles. They smell great, the ones in Wilko are cheap (£1-3.50), and they generate a surprising amount of heat.
The oven is your friend Try having more regular flat meals of slow-roast dishes such as a hot pot, roast or casserole. They may take a few hours to cook, but by cooking together you can take money off the food bill. Study in the kitchen while it cooks, then you can make the most of the heat coming from the oven. Final tip: leave the oven open after turning it off to continue keeping the room warm.
Have sleepovers A) Spoon with a housemate and share your body warmth. B) See this as a time to declare your love for someone and finding a sleeping partner
Exercise To clarify this does not mean go for a 5k run. Do some hoovering or clean the hob. This will make your flatmates happy, make you warm and help you shed rather than gain pounds over the christmas period.
Walls
Epigram / Victoria Dobbie
December is here. This means Christmas, advent calendars, chocolate, jumpers and the cold. This week the temperature has plunged into the minus’. We are poor students and having the heating on for more than a few hours a day adds up. So, here are some inventive ways to keep warm without plunging further into your overdraft:
Radiators are attached to walls, so when you pop the heating on you also heat the wall behind it. Is this useful to you? No. Therefore, the idea to put tin foil behind the radiator to prevent the walls from absorbing heat and reflect it back into the room has been circulated. This does work, but, don’t go crazy and make your room look like a crack den.
Editor Tianna Graham tianna.graham@epigram.org.uk
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Online Editor Flora Doble flora.doble@epigram.org.uk
Need some help? Student counselling service: 0117 954 6655
12.12.2016
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Looking for help? We’re here. Sleep, precious sleep Carmen Alfonso (Student Counselling)
Interview with Mark Ames, Director of Student Services Q: The University has recently stated it will be reviewing its mental health services in the wake of the recent tragic events, including a focus of students’ ‘personal resilience’. How will this be accomplished? A: We want to help students develop a toolkit, a way of thinking about that which informs the day to day choices that they make. Now clearly, we can’t really do that if it’s delivered centrally because we just don’t have the staff to do that. In many ways, we don’t think that’s necessarily the best way to reach the majority of students. What we’re doing with Student Services, and what we’ve been doing for the last couple of years, is working with colleagues in the schools and in the residences to try and offer a variety of interventions, including workshops that help people to think about and learn how to develop their resilience.
initial assessment with them. Then they will talk with them about the kinds of support that are available. Also, there are all sorts of support that students can actually access straight away. For example, we’ve got a lot of self-help resources and we can provide guidance to students and meet with them on an occasional basis. Other things we offer are workshops, which we call Psychoeducation Workshops. They’re really designed to help people understand a little bit more about issues that are impacting upon their studies, like managing stress, perhaps, or procrastination.
What we’re really keen to understand is student perspectives on what would make a difference to them in terms of how they would like to be supported. We need to also understand from staff what their thoughts are, bearing in mind that the needs of the student body have been changing. Maybe there is a greater need now for more staff that have got more specialist training and more specialist experience.
Q: Are we going to see a retraining of staff? A: That’s to come out of the reviews. We’re in the first stage of consultation amongst staff in relation to how we support students in schools, which has been running for a couple of weeks now, and there’s one that’s about to be launched in relation to staff supporting residences. Bristol SU are also going to be running a consultation for students on both of those areas as well. Flickr / petalouda62
Q: What is the order, or the process, that students should follow if they recognise that they have a mental health or wellbeing issue? A: It depends on their circumstance, to be honest. For many students, joining peer-led activities is really beneficial because, not only is it a chance to focus with other students on particular issues that they may be experiencing and may be concerned about, but it often helps to develop some sense of community. But also, we do have an increasing number of students who come to the University who do have enduring mental health difficulties. Often, they’ve been diagnosed years before they arrive here and they’ve been receiving treatment that enables them to be successful, and to make the most of their time here. So, they are in a slightly different category. One of the things we need to be doing for those students, in addition to general wellbeing, is we need to make sure that they have continuity of care in terms of the kind of specialist support and treatment that they might need. One of the things our services try and do is try to meet with students and undertake an
weeks, can increase your ‘sleep drive’ and impact positively on the quality of your sleep. In the spirit of learning and research that is so much part of being a student, you may want to find out more about your sleep pattern, read further about sleep hygiene and make some gentle changes. Keep a record of what you are doing and what the impact has been. This will help you to notice more closely what is happening and what changes work for you. It’s not possible to anticipate what thoughts and emotions will arrive at any given time, or what changes, difficulties and challenges may come your way, affecting your sleep. However, you can decide what to do about it, the key is to make sure that it is helpful.
Flickr / Klimi
During sleep, amazing and wonderful things happen inside our body; tissues repair themselves, muscles grow, proteins synthesize. While this is happening, our brain consolidates memories, and processes all the information that we are exposed to during the day. But most importantly when we sleep, we rest. If we are sleeping well, our physical health, our mental health and our general wellbeing benefit. We have a spring in our step. We can feel more positive, energetic, alert, focused, emotionally stable and more connected with ourselves, others and the world around us. But sometimes, it can be difficult to sleep well or enough. The transition, pressures and lifestyle that come with being a student at university can mean that you sleep less while you are revising or trying to meet deadlines. A night out with friends may mean a night without sleep. Sometimes, it may be a challenge to switch off from thoughts and worries so you may find it difficult to fall asleep or wake up often in the night. So, if you are not sleeping well or enough, what can you do to improve this? And if you are sleeping well, what can you do to maintain good sleep? There is lots of practical advice out there about sleep hygiene which are easily accessible. Here I want to mention briefly some aspects of sleep that have caught my attention: Light greatly influences your sleep-awake rhythm, or what can be called ‘the master body clock’. Inside the eye there are photo-receptors that charge up when you are exposed to light. Enough light means that the likelihood of regular sleep-awake cycles increases.
Being exposed to morning light for 30 minutes is ideal, and light therapy boxes can be helpful in the winter months. It is easy to think that more hours working in front of the computer or in the library translate into good quality academic work. This is not always the case. If you are significantly sleep deprived or too tired, your focus, stamina, and memory are negatively affected. Be gentle and kind to yourself; protect your sleep time. Give yourself a chance to replenish emotionally, physically and mentally for enough hours every night. After you get into bed and switch the lights off, the mind goes over the day’s events pondering on images and memories. Relaxing and lying quietly for a while is exactly what needs to happen in this pre-sleep period. Sleep is a natural process, do not try to force it. If sleep takes a while to arrive, re-frame this in a positive way - you are getting some much needed rest. You sleep in cycles that are one and a half hours long and most good sleepers will have four or five cycles a night and thus four or five awakenings per night. These are believed to have evolved across time to check for impending danger, change body position, or go to the toilet. Although it sounds simple, if you wake in the night, it may be helpful to remind yourself: ‘it is normal to wake’, ‘I am safe’. It is normal to respond sometimes with stress and anxiety when you can’t sleep. However, this can make the situation worse because it makes you more alert. This happens because your amygdala (the emotional brain centre) releases stress hormones like adrenaline or too much cortisol. Instead, try to notice and accept your thoughts and emotional responses and do a mindfulness practice that will help you connect with your breath, disengage somewhat from your thoughts and soothe distressing feelings. Keep practicing until your breath deepens and slows. There is some evidence that suggests that going to bed 30 minutes later and getting up 30 minutes earlier for just a few
If you are experiencing on-going sleep problems that are independent or concurrent with low mood, anxiety or other mental health difficulties or if you suspect you have a sleep disorder, please visit your GP.
Q: What would your comment be on the waiting list situation that a lot of students face when they are actively seeking help of a much more serious nature from these services? A: If the individual is struggling to get help, then I would say don’t give up. Go back, present yourself at reception and I’m sure an appointment can be found. Be prepared to prioritise your health over missing a class. One of the difficulties we experience sometimes is when students come to us asking for help but also say that they are timetabled, for example, for twenty or thirty hours a week. What we then struggle to do is match the student’s availability with our availability.
Q: What do you want students to take away from this? A: There is a very strong commitment to student wellbeing, which runs right from the top of the University through to all of the staff working in the schools and here. We know there will be times when we don’t get it right for an individual but we are committed to getting it right the first time as much as we can. Where we sometimes make mistakes and cannot deliver, we want to work hard to improve and learn from those times. That’s really the key message from me, the commitment to support students effectively. There is investment, and there’s an openness to learn how we can do it better. To read the full interview go to the Epigram website: epigram.org.uk WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW WRITERS! IF YOU WANT TO WRITE FOR US THEN PLEASE JOIN OUR WRITERS’ GROUP ON FACEBOOK OR IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS THEN EMAIL WELLBEING@EPIGRAM.ORG.UK
Editor Ellie Donnell
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Online Editor Jane Cowie
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Join us at: Epigram Food Section 2016/17
12..12.2016
Follow us at: epigram_eats_out
Why Christmas is the time for gluttony
Flo Williams shares some indulgently decadent recipe inspiration to ensure that your christmas meal this year is a real feast!
Flickr: Sarah Abnett
Flickr: omefrans
Christmas is undoubtedly a good time to celebrate family and the end of the year whilst relishing those cosy comforts that protect us from the depths of winter. For me, the food that surrounds Christmas festivities is possibly more memorable than the actual day itself. Christmas conjures up images of warm chestnuts and the zesty smell of orange zest, deep dark leafy vegetables simmered in sumptuous butter and topped with crispy bacon and almonds. Christmas, too, always seems to bring a good excuse to splash out on something a little more decadent than the typical student budget would allow, and with that comes the inevitable bit of heft around our tummies (we have to entertain ourselves in January doing something anyway, so it might as well be losing a bit of weight!). If Christmas is the time for decadence, then I want full fat everything: gold top milk, full fat brandy sauce and pure melted chocolate with cream stirred through to drink out of teacups for pudding.
Flickr: Sales
‘‘If Christmas is the time for decadence, then I want full fat everything’’
want to retain a bit of bite), then laced with melted butter, crushed garlic and flaked almonds. Try adding some crispy bacon pieces for an extra salty kick! New potatoes, considered by some to be the most crucial aspect to the entire meal, cause controversy wherever they go. Possibly due to the potentially endless forms in which they can come: mashed, roasted, boiled, or baked, it is vitally important to get them just right for the meal. After a lot of speculation, I have concluded that they are best enjoyed par-boiled in salted water, lightly crushed and then roasted
Flickr: jslander
Flickr: Andrea Goh
It seems that each part of the Christmas meal could, with a little twist, become even more exciting. Consider the traditional turkey centrepiece. Personally I don’t quite see the attraction - it has less flavour than chicken and is frequently overcooked due to its tremendous bulk. How about swapping it for the severely underappreciated goose? It’s more sustainably farmed than turkey whilst its dark and succulent meat is beautifully complemented with celeriac and cranberries, and the scraps can provide a perfect base for winter stews come January. For sides - and I don’t really think that vegetables should be considered as ‘sides’, I prefer ‘unsung heroes’ each vegetable should be celebrated for its different texture, flavour and carrier of spice! Root vegetables are in season during the winter months which makes them very affordable. Beetroot, carrots, parsnips and pumpkin taste incredible roasted in maple syrup, butter and garlic. Sprinkle over some fresh thyme, rosemary and sage before proudly placing your majestic masterpiece in the centre of the table, steaming and colourful. Green vegetables can also be celebrated in all their dark and leafy glory. Courgettes and dark green varieties such as spring greens or kale are amazing steamed until only just cooked (you
in goose fat with thyme, rosemary and salt. To get superbly crispy potatoes, roast in a hot oven - 200 degrees is good. To finish the meal, a fruit cake is very traditional. The cake’s ingredients and longevity are part of its lasting charm, but with its peculiar combination of candied fruits, nuts and alcohol, it isn’t always to everyone’s taste. However, if you break chunks of dark chocolate into the cake, it somehow becomes a lot more appealing to a modern audience. Whatever you choose to eat this Christmas, it should be enjoyed with family and friends. Indulge! Flo Williams
How to make: Hot Mulled Cider Whenever I go to my Nan’s in the Lake District for Christmas, we always stop off at a little café in Keswick that sells this. I have used their delicious version as my inspiration but added a little twist of my own. To me, hot mulled cider is the perfect Christmas drink that warms you up in the frosty weather! Hot Mulled Cider
2. Add the spices, juice and rind to the cider and bring to the boil. Reduce this to a simmer and leave for 10-15 minutes.
Ingredients:
1. Warm through the cider in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
4. Ladle the warm cider into glasses or mugs and serve with a cinnamon stick and an orange segment.
Flickr: rpavich
Method:
3.Taste the infused cider and add sugar until the cider is as sweet as you would like it.
Flickr: premierphoto.com
2 litres good-quality Scrumpy cider Juice and rind of 1 orange 6 cloves 2 cinnamon sticks 3-4 star anise 4-5 tbsp brown sugar
Immy Birkett
12.12.2016
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Get her to the Greek
This week, Sasha Semple expounds the virtues and versatility of Greek Yoghurt, explaining why this refreshing ingredient is the food she couldn’t live without. Covered in fruit, drizzled in honey or overflowing with granola; yoghurt easily takes top spot as something I couldn’t live without. From an early age, the supposedly harmless Petit Filous built strong bones and with it an even stronger addiction that would act as a gateway to a crippling compulsion I fear I will never lose. It pains me to admit the levels I have gone to in order to satisfy my yoghurt cravings – years of ripping of heads and sucking of guts for the creamy goodness.
‘‘Feeling down? Pass me a Müller Corner. No wall will prevent those tiny chocolatey balls
Young people struggle with the constant conflict of drinking responsibly and dedicating time to work – however, a trusty Actimel or loyal Yakult will always provide the perfect panacea to a stressful deadline or late night study session. Breakup? Grab a spoon and a tub of frozen yoghurt and you’re
Flickr/ Marie Kare
Flickr: J. Annie. Wang
set for the night. Feeling down? Pass me a Müller Corner. No wall will prevent those tiny chocolatey balls of joy crossing the border into an already brimming triangular pouch of heaven. Very little comes close to the satisfaction felt by an individual who manages to remove the silver film in one swift movement, leaving a perfectly untouched blanket of white behind. Alternatively, just admit defeat and lick the lid - either way you’re still left satisfied. Yoghurt’s versatility is endless; for those weak individuals like myself who cannot handle spice, pair it with cucumber for the perfect escape from the heat of a salsa. Pour it in the blender to
Flickr: Thomas Strosse
brimming triangular pouch of heaven’’
Epigram/ Flora Beverley
of joy crossing the border into an already
enhance the flavour of a mango and banana smoothie or use it to jazz up a bland salad. Add it to pancake mixture to provide an extra fluffy texture, then lather the top with your remaining yoghurt and add blueberries for a delicious - slightly healthier - alternative to syrup. Even a generic, Instagram worthy piece of ‘avo’ toast doesn’t replace a bowl of greek yoghurt. Simply add a handful of granola and any fruit you can think of (although most likely a few browning slices of banana considering the burden of a student loan), and you have yourself a surprisingly balanced breakfast or post dinner dessert. Sasha Semple
Granola Wars: When cluster met crunch...
Jake Barwood and Ellie Donnell go head to head with their alternative takes on this classic breakfast treat. Try your hand at each recipe and decide whose side you’re on! Pecan, Cranberry and Seedy Granola
Banana and Cinnamon Granola Flickr/ Isabelle Boucher
Method:
Ingredients: 250g jumbo oats 100g almonds 100g pumpkin seeds 3 tbsp sunflower oil 3 tbsp honey 1 large banana, mashed 1 tsp cinnamon Method: 1. In a food processor, whizz the almonds until crushed but don’t yet resemble a flour. You want a mixture of whole pieces and small crumbs. Combine the almonds with the oats and pumpkin seeds. 2. Melt the sunflower oil, honey and cinnamon over a low heat until liquid and completely blended. 3. Mix with the mashed banana until you have a caramel coloured liquid, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Tip: I like to use my hands for this to make sure everything is thoroughly coated! 3. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees (200 fan) for 20 - 25 minutes, but make sure you check on the granola every 10 or so minutes to give it a stir and ensure an even bake. It’s ready when the oats are a deep golden colour. Tip: It won’t be completely crunchy at this point because it’s still hot, but it will gradually crisp up as it cools. Remember you can add in or substitute so many different ingredients! Try hazelnuts, cashews or pecans, swap in sunflower seeds for pumpkin or add raisins for added sweetness. Only add these at the very end though or they’ll just burn! Ellie Donnell Epigram/ Jake Barwood
Jake Barwood
Flickr/ Marie Kare Epigram: Ellie Donnell
Epigram/ Flora Beverley
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and boil the kettle. 2. Once the kettle has boiled, pour the water into a saucepan. Turn the hob on so that the water is simmering gently and place a heatproof bowl on top of the pan, creating a ‘ban marie’. 3. Pour all the dried ingredients into a big mixing bowl. If you think the pecans are slightly too big, give them a bit of a smash. 4. Pour your honey (and coconut oil if your using it) into the bowl (ban marie) and once runny pour over the granola mixture. 5. Give it a stir, mixing evenly. Try to get a few clumps forming from the setting honey. 6. Pour the mixture onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a light, golden brown. Keep an eye on it as it can easily over cook. 7. Take out the oven, leave to properly cool and store in a kilner jar.
Epigram: Ellie Donnell
Ingredients: 500g good quality jumbo oats 100g pecans 100g flaked almonds 75g desiccated coconut 100g dried cranberries 75g pumpkin/squash seeds (I just dried the seeds from a butternut squash in the oven at the lowest temperature) A good pinch of sea salt 125g honey (warm in a ban marie so its runny) Glug of vegetable oil (or alternatively coconut oil, warmed in the same pan as the honey)
12.12.2016
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Blogger’s Event: Cakes to Nourish
Food Editor and blogger, Ellie Donnell, gives us the inside scoop on a blogger’s event in Bristol, where she learnt how to make deliciously guiltless free-from cakes whilst catching up with some of the city’s young and influential foodies.
Epigram/ Ellie Donnell
Epigram: Ellie Donnell Benjamin Lebus/ Mob Kitchen
Epigram: Ellie Donnell
Marianne is a regular tutor at Squire’s Kitchen International Baking School with an extensive background in London based bakeries and schools, including the prestigious Peggy Porschen Academy. She has taught over 1000 students in various cookery schools and is now setting up her own baking school at Bakesmiths to pass on her culinary wisdom. Indeed, Marianne’s vibrant and friendly character ensured that each demonstration was performed with effortless confidence, whilst clearly demonstrating her extensive baking knowledge by answering every question with ease.
Epigram: Ellie Donnell
Cooking with a wide variety of vegetables has become something of the norm. Perhaps it is owing to Deliciously Ella’s sweet potato brownies, or even the person who invented the spiralizer, that we are now more inclined to fill our plates with as many colourful vegetables as possible. The rise of sweet potato fries, kale crisps and courgetti has perpetuated a new health trend, in which normal junk food is being reinvented and replaced with nutritious alternatives, encouraging us to indulge in our favourite foods without the guilt of gluttony afterwards. Cakes to Nourish, a bloggers event hosted by pastry chef and cake decorator, Marianne Stewart, and food and fitness blogger Flora Beverley, demonstrated how to create stunning free-from, vegetable-based cakes that not only look spectacular but taste delicious! The event was held at the wonderful Bakesmiths café in Bristol where I was lucky enough to meet some of Bristol’s best food and fitness bloggers whilst learning how to make, and eat, some deliciously guilt-free cake. I mean, it definitely made for a fairly dreamy Tuesday morning. With matcha lattes in hand and cameras at the ready, Marianne guided us through two personally developed recipes: gluten free and dairy free chocolate beetroot dome cakes with a dairyfree chocolate glaze and gluten-free and dairy-free lemon and parsnip cakes with a lemon glaze and candied parsnip strips. Honestly, all ‘free-from’ labels became superfluous upon tasting each sweet bake. The dairy-free glaze was more of a decadently rich ganache which yelled ‘pick up the bowl and eat me’, whilst the unusual combination of lemon and parsnip (not one that I had come across before) produced a beautifully moist sponge that mimicked the classic sweetness of a lemon drizzle cake. As I’ve said time and time again in an effort to convince family and friends, adding vegetables to your bakes does not affect the taste! They simply make any recipe incredibly gooey and moist and yummy – which is exactly the point when it comes to dessert.
She first began introducing healthy swaps into her baking in order to cater for her gluten and dairy intolerant sister. As an avid baker who always wanted to feed her family and friends with delicious treats, Marianne set to work creating winning cakes that compromised on certain ingredients, but not on flavour. During the demonstration, for example, regular flour was substituted for buckwheat flour, ground almonds, baking powder and psyllium husk (a form of fibre that helps to bind cakes and ensure they’re not too crumbly). Butter was replaced with sunflower or coconut oil, whilst the sweeteners used were unrefined and included rapadura cane sugar (it smells like caramel!), honey and xylitol. Although the idea of making a cake out of xylitol, sunflower oil and psyllium
husk did render me a little sceptical at first, one look at the shiny glaze that enraptured each chocolate dome - as well as the waft of chocolate that edged its way around the room as they baked in the oven - was enough to convince me. Once everyone had snapped their picture perfect cakes, we were sent home with a goody bag of baking ingredients! I am now the proud owner of psyllium husk – along with the knowledge of how to actually use it – as well as a large box of rapadura cane sugar, white chia seeds, buckwheat flour, xylitol and two beautiful golden beetroot! A controversial baking concoction, but one that I know has the potential to be utterly delicious!
‘‘I am now the proud owner of psyllium husk – as well as the knowledge of how to actually use it’’ As is the case for many, but not all, lovers of healthy food, the emphasis should be on enjoyment, whilst embracing nourishing food without feeling you have to compromise on taste, texture or decadence! Marianne ensured that we were able to see, smell and taste the ingredients at numerous points throughout the workshop and this, for me, was one of the most exciting aspects of the entire event– being in a room full of people who love food, whether it be in the form of a simple vegetable or an elaborately decorated cake. Cakes to Nourish not only cemented my belief that vegetables can be enjoyed in sweet as well as savoury recipes, but has also supplied me with the knowledge and scope to play around with my own baking endeavours and create incredible cakes that really are just as good for the body as for the soul. Ellie Donnell
Epigram: Ellie Donnell
Epigram: Ellie Donnell
fresh
TUESD AYS
EVERY TUESDAY Hip Hop, House, Dance, Pop Party and Student Anthems
26
Editor Nia Price nia.price@epigram.org.uk @e2travel
12.12.2016
Online Editor Izzie Fernandes izzie.fernandes@epigram.org.uk @epigram_travel
Epigram Travel Section 2016/17
The Instagrams of Christmas
Editor Nia Price selects some of her favourite Instagrams sure to get you into the festive spirit.
Epigram / Haylie Duff
Epigram / Cosmopolitan
Epigram / Lowri Daniels
Epigram / Vanessa Hudgens
Epigram / Red Elephant
Epigram / Luke Morris
Epigram / Asos Marketplace
Epigram / Ashley Sky
Epigram / Hangout
HIRING:
The role will include:
Deputy Travel Editor
To apply please send:
- Writing content
- CV
- Commissioning and editing articles
- Covering letter
- Helping design the sections for the fortnightly newspaper - Attending editorial meetings (and socials!)
- An ideas sheet with your vision for the section - Three examples of your writing to getinvolved@epigram.org.uk
12.12.2016
27 27
Christmas cheer close to the equator Julia Grace Benedict gives us Christmas with a Malyasian twist
Another factor that somewhat relates to the weather is that Santa Claus doesn’t play a substantial role in the lives of Malaysian children. His role is within the realm of promotional material, but that’s about it. As a child, I was never under any illusion that a bearded man from the North Pole squeezed down a chimney and dropped off my presents. For starters, there are no chimneys in Malaysia, because we have no need for a fireplace. Second, to ask children from a country where there’s no winter to believe that a sleigh-driving man brings them their presents is a little far fetched - even for a child.
”
”
Naples’ oldest bakeries - Antico Forno delle Sfogliatelle Calde Fratelli Attanasio; rich and warm spiced ricotta is encased in flaky, buttery pastry, freshly baked in front of you. Take some time to explore the curious obsession with death that permeates Neapolitan life. Visit the excavated catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso for a glimpse of underground Naples that dates back to 200AD, as you head beneath beautifully ornate churches that reveal the eccentric shrines of the rich - their skulls embedded into the walls and decorated with frescoes. Alongside these are the plain, characterless graves of the poor, a symbol for the inequalities that still exist in the city today. All the bones from the catacombs were recently transported to Fontanelle
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We often hear ‘see Naples and die’, but truly, to see Naples is to live
”
Epigram Evie Essex Barrett
sight to look up at its peeling walls scattered with barred, shattered windows and vivid, menacing graffiti. Lighten your spirit with a visit to Castel Sant’Elmo with some of the most breathtaking panoramas of the city, or Castel dell’Ovo for a wonderful skyline adjoining a dazzling cobalt ocean. Find some peace in the silent Cloister gardens of the Santa Chiara monastery, where all you are surrounded by is a scattering of lemon and olive trees and brightly painted baroque columns. If you decide to escape Naples to visit Pompeii, prioritise climbing Vesuvius. From the exit of Pompeii, pay €5.50 for a winding, rocky return bus trip up the dormant volcano, which allows just enough time to race to the top to see the crater. From the top of Vesuvius indulge in the splendid landscape of the surrounding towns that lie below the clouds, illuminated by the afternoon sun. Once back in Naples after a stuffy train ride home of sandy and sunburnt families on their way back from a day spent in Sorrento, treat yourself to what will without doubt be the best, and cheapest, pizza you will have ever eaten. The best places to go are Di Matteo, Pizza Starita, or Sorbillo, where you will be served a fresh, doughy pizza, coated in only the best tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, drizzled with locally sourced olive oil. Pair with an Aperol Spritz and finish the night off with fresh gelato or tiramisu, and you’ll never want to leave To really bring your trip to life, read renowned author Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan four-part family saga. Writing under a pseudonym, Ferrante communicates a painfully true account of Naples. The two intelligent protagonists - Elena and Lila - experience poverty, oppression brought on by the clash between fascism and communism, and of the struggle of independence under a male-dominated society. Set from the 1950s to present, Ferrante refers to multiple areas of Naples that conjure up impressions of the city, enticing the reader into even deeper exploration. Before the end of your journey, hunt down the baroque Palazzo dello Spagnolo, a gaudy staircase built in 1738, hidden behind a typical market street of inner-Naples. Wander around the intricate churches of Naples, visiting Capelle San Severo, the Catedral de Nápoles, and Gesú Nuovo, a church whose bizarre, grotesque concrete exterior reveals a delicate and ornate gold-finished interior. We often hear ‘see Naples and die’, but truly, to see Naples is to live, and amongst the morbid sentiment is a fascinating history waiting to be discovered. Epigram Evie Essex Barrett
Flickr, Wohin Auswandern
The main thing that sets Christmas in Malaysia apart is the cuisine. There’s no such thing as a typical ‘Christmas day meal’, because the definition of that phrase differs from home to home. More often than not, families have a fusion meal prepared with a turkey/roast taking center stage, but surrounded by local dishes such as spicy curries, lentils, fish ball soup and fragrant rice. The food we eat is an obvious indication of how Western culture has integrated itself into our Malaysian culture over the years. We embrace it, but still hold on to our own cultural identity. An additional unique feature of celebrating Christmas in a country where Christianity isn’t the main religion is the fact that for most Malaysians, Christmas is just another public holiday. Only about nine per cent of Malaysians are Christian, but that in no way hinders our private celebrations, neither does it stop our friends from other religions of celebrating with us. It’s not uncommon to find family friends of different faiths (i.e. Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist) gathered at the home of a Christian friend around Christmas-time. To sum it up, climate may not seem to play a substantial role in Christmas celebrations, but indirectly it does. It steers our taste in food, holiday practices, and many more. Often, there is a generalised perception of what a ‘traditional’ Christmas celebration is but ultimately, there is none. Christmas is what you make of it and as long as you’re surrounded with love and happiness, it doesn’t matter if you’re celebrating it on a beach or in a ski lodge.
Epigram Evie Essex Barrett
Christmas is what you make of it, be it on a beach or in a ski lodge
Epigram Evie Essex Barrett
Flickr, Cecil Lee.
Tired after a long journey and being dropped in the wrong place by our taxi driver was not the best first impression we had of Naples. Fed-up and hungry, we navigated our way through the winding passageways of the city, dragging our suitcases amidst the echoes of gossiping neighbours and mischievous children, while dodging rusty, buzzing scooters. Eventually reaching the historic centre, we were enticed and rejuvenated by authentic, freshly cooked pizza. When thinking of Naples, it is easy to merely imagine a city of grime, crime and dilapidated buildings. But this only adds to its unique charm. Instead, picture ornate courtyards, baroque churches, underground labyrinths, morbid rituals and a medley of rich pastries and pizzas. Largely overlooked, Naples is free of the swarming tourist masses that are inescapable in cities such as Rome and Venice. Be sure to spend at least a weekend in Naples — you definitely won’t regret it, and it is sure to not break the bank. Leaving the apartment in the morning you are met with the sound of church bells ringing and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Start your day off well with warm sfogliatelle from one of
cemetery, which leads you inside a cave overflowing with cobweb coated skulls. Continuing your macabre journey, visit the church named Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco. Here, Neapolitans used to adopt and pray for skulls that they believed were in purgatory. Adopting skulls is now illegal, but you can still visit the shrines, the most famous being dedicated to the skull of a young girl named Lucia. It only gets more obscure with a nearby Doll’s Hospital where old china dolls are ‘operated’ on. Make sure to get a glimpse of ‘Jesopazzo’, an abandoned mental asylum; it is a rather chilling
Epigram Evie Essex Barrett
It’s early in the morning. Instead of being awakened as you usually are by the unholy screech of an alarm clock, you’re awakened by the pungent aroma of spices. You get out of bed, stretch, and throw open your curtains. Sunlight streams through the glass, bathing your room in light and forcing you to open your eyes fully. It’s Christmas morning. Christmas closer to the equator is quite far removed from the stereotypical Christmases on holiday cards. There is no snow in Malaysia, so weather doesn’t signify Christmas over here; the inherent holiday cheer in our hearts and Christmas sales do. It’s always hot in Malaysia - the thermometer rarely dips below 22 degrees in most parts of the country. Due to the heat, you would be hard-pressed to find a Malaysian drinking mulled wine during Christmas. Rather, a glass of icy cold juice would do the trick.
See Naples and live!
Evie Essex Barrett tempts us to splash some Christmas cash.
12.12.2016
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Editor Jessie Onion style@epigram.org.uk @e2style
Online Editor Alex Boulton alex.boulton@epigram.org.uk @epigramstyle
What is the enigma that is vegan fashion? VegSoc
guide
to
vegan
fashion
What is vegan fashion? Where can I buy it? Aren’t vegans those crunchy hippie types? Well you can get your answers here. Vegan fashion and make-up products are cruelty-free and do not contain any animal products. Yes, stylish vegan products do exist, and are easier to find than you think. With the rise of the veganism movement there has been a surge in companies catering to vegans with fashionable clothes and affordable make-up. Also, many brands that are not completely vegan, including many high street stores, have been busy developing vegan ranges that mean being a ‘fashionable vegan’ is not the oxymoron it once was. This list covers the best vegan picks on the market at the moment.
Too Faced is a make-up company that is trying to make the cosmetic shopping experience fun and easy for vegans by listing their numerous vegan products in the FAQ section of their website. One of the best is their Better Than Sex, Voluptuous Volume Mascara, £19.00, which is raved about in the beauty blogosphere and honestly, how can it be bad with a name like that?
LUSH
Dr. Martens
Inika Lipstick £18, Black Score ‘Kate Mouse Tee’ £30, Skinnydip ASOS clutch £14.
Fashion Conscience
ASOS
This all-vegan brand is exactly what you need for those days when you want to stay comfy but look cool as you commit to a day at the library. They sell a range of funny, outspoken printed t-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the likes of Kanye West and Kate Moss. T-shirts are priced at £30 and sweatshirts are upwards of that.
Make-Up: Beauty Without Cruelty
This cosmetics site is completely vegan and affordable, and trust me, those two don’t mix that often. Beauty Without Cruelty sells everything you could need in vegan make-up from foundation to nail varnish, but the stand-out product for me was the Fine Blender Brush, a gorgeous eyeshadow brush which is a snip at the price of £6.00!
LUSH is often known for their Instagram-worthy bath bombs… and not much else. Yet the stores carry a surprisingly large range of make-up, a lot of which is vegan. Jump onto the trend for coloured eye make-up and try out their deep inky-blue liquid eyeliner – not only is it vegan but it is made from natural ingredients ensuring it is perfect for those with sensitive skin too. LUSH’S products are priced at the lower end of the scale and the eyeliner is just £14.50.
Inika Organics
Inika Organics is one of the few make-up brands that boasts the Certified Vegan symbol meaning this company is a stress free option for vegan make-up shopping. The range of products is extensive and noteworthy are the lipsticks that come in a generous 14 shades; there’s something for every taste and at £18.00 they make a great present for any vegan buddies.
Epigram/ Giulia Loregian
ASOS is great for vegan accessories and bags as their site includes a ‘non-leather’ option which cuts down on a whole lot of material checking. They sell hundreds of cheap and cheerful synthetic bags and this £14.00 Skinnydip Exclusive Iridescent Clutch Bag, complete with fetching pom pom, is sure to add a little sparkle to a night out.
Black Score
Dr Martens, 2976 Vegan Chelsea Boots £120, Fair + True Contrast Knit Jumper £55.
beauty
Too Faced
A perennial fashion favourite and a formidable opponent for the constant Bristol rain, Dr. Martens carry a vegan range of shoes made from synthetic materials that feature some of their most iconic styles. The price mark may seem scary but these boots last years and are well worth investing in. This site is a haven for fashion-seeking vegans and hosts a huge range of vegan brands and products which appeal to any age or style. Fair + True is one brand which creates bold, stylish vegan clothing including comfy knitwear ideal for any freezing student house.
and
Too Faced ‘Better Than Sex’ Mascara £19, Beauty Without Cruelty Eyeshadow brush £6, LUSH Cosmetics Liquid Eyeliner £14.50.
A
Natasha Healy VegSoc member
Top four Bristol Instagrams to follow..
Let the procrastination commence... by online editor Alex Boulton
Instagram/ @topshop
Instagram/ @alexachung
@porthjess
@camillaackley
@bristoljj
@bristoldoors
12.12.2016
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Your guide to Christmas party dressing
Sophie Hunter shares her top picks and tips for the party season Christmas time is all about eating, drinking and being merry- but doing it all in a posh frock and heels. Student life does festivities very well; we have hall formals, society dinners, house parties and the occasional black tie ball. They all provide the perfect opportunity to get into the yuletide spirit and dress to impress. With advent just around the corner, here are some style inspirations, whatever your do!
Miss Selfridge, £34.30
Asos, £95
Vila, £50 Warehouse, £59
Asos, £65
Asos, £25
Accessorize, £45 A nice clutch or bag can add so much to formal wear and shouldn’t be disregarded as simply somewhere to store your phone, purse, keys and lipstick. Especially with a simple dress, a stand out clutch can provide the wow factor. Embroidery and sequins are everywhere this winter and look great!
In terms of sparkle and shine, the same rules for dresses apply for shoes: anything goes! If you’re going to be boogying all night to Mariah Carey, you’re going to need some solid dancing shoes. A chunky heel will be far more comfortable and easier to walk in while a classic black court shoe will serve as a huge wardrobe investment and will save any last minute panics as they go with literally everything.
Asos, £12.50
Millie Mackintosh, £150
Asos, £35
If you’re heading off to a fancy black tie event, you might be on the lookout for a floor length gown. Whether you opt for a timeless black number or something light and angelic, long dresses are always a classy look.
Accessorize, £35 Asos, £40
The velvet revolution
Sophie Hunter Deputy Online Editor
Marina Warr looks at the hottest trend of AW16 that we just can’t get enough of When flicking through style magazines, browsing the shops or simply scrolling our newsfeeds there is no way to escape the fact that velvet is the hottest fashion trend for AW16. What better way to counteract the winter gloom than by injecting a note of glamour with an item in this season’s key fabric, be it flares, a slip-dress or a slouchy velvet sweatshirt? Velvet is uber-versatile, can be worn day or night, and can be dressed up or down – it is the must-have staple in every student’s wardrobe this autumn and works equally well with grunge or metallics. It seems that the Velvet Revolution has been brewing for a while. Since its Renaissance high-point, velvet has traditionally been associated with luxury, the church and the nobility, and more recently it has been hugely popular with the icons of pop-culture of the ‘70s and ‘80s – think Mick Jagger, David Bowie and the New Romantics. For the past few seasons, velvet has been slinking back into our wardrobes in the form of simple velvet chokers or the velvet scrunchie on stand-by on the wrist of every girl. Now this luxurious textile is back with a vengeance, and this time it is rocking a seventies rockstar vibe with a nod to the psychedelic sixties.
Channel the seventies in a pair of velvet platforms for dramatic impact by night while a pair of crushed velvet, block-heeled boots will immediately update your daytime look. In its present reincarnation velvet is too luscious to be relegated to the night – it is an essential part of daywear too. The velvet jacket, for example, once reserved for formal evening wear, is making an appearance everywhere and even better, it doesn’t have to break the bank. Zara has a great selection of embroidered velvet jackets while men can get in on the act with a velvet bomber jacket from ASOS which would look equally at home in Beacon House as on the streets of Clifton. What makes this season’s velvets so enticing are the plethora of gorgeous colours and textures available. The deep yellow seen on the catwalk at Valentino and Alberta Ferretti’s crushed rose are being rivaled by the rich reds, deep navies and bold statement pinks available on the high street at far more affordable prices. Be warned, however, it seems we are unable to resist the lush, tactile appeal of this most luxurious of fabrics. I recently wore a pair of forest green, crushed velvet trousers to a party and the reaction I got was overwhelming. Other guests were inexplicably
drawn to the fabric, so much so that I had complete strangers coming up to me and asking ‘sorry, really weird question but would you mind if I touched your trousers?’ The good news is that it couldn’t be easier to incorporate velvet into your existing wardrobe. Girls, think velvet flares teamed with your favourite trainers and a laid back cropped T-shirt. I can recommend the velvet flares from The Peachy Den, a great student run online company featured on New the runway at Fuze last year. This summer’s Look, slip dress can be reinterpreted in velvet with £29.99 a long-sleeved T or fine knit underneath. Mix things up by pairing a crushed velvet jacket with your go-to ripped mom jeans, while guys feeling daring should think loose velvet bomber jackets and oversized sweatshirts. Velvet can be really informal Zara, this season too and for those looking for £79.99 a more casual look should opt for velvet joggers - Topshop have a great selection. If you really can’t get enough, they have also just released socks with a velvet trim that are sure to add a subtle touch of luxury to even the most casual of outfits. Here are my top velvet picks guaranteed to transform your look...
The Peachy Den, £48
Topshop, £26
New Look, £29.99 Marina Warr Style Writer
Keep going on & on with Reon. Each pack contains 4 sachets with caffeine and Vitamin B12. Go to Reon-energy.com and enjoy 3 for 2 on all packs plus free shipping.
*Valid from 23/11/2016 10.00 GMT until 31 December 2016 23.45 GMT. Not to be combined with any other discount or promotion. Valid only online. This voucher has no monetary value. See Facebook.com/reonuk for full terms and conditions.
Epigram 12.12.2016
Editor Anna Wyn annawyn.epigram@gmail.com
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MUSIC
Trevor Nelson 02 Academy, 17.12
The only DJ I believe is worthy of an MBE, is back in Bristol. This iconic urban/hiphop/soul DJ is playing the set of a lifetime in the O2 Academy, and this radio legend is bound to bring some classy-warehouse vibes to one of the least edgiest places in Bristol. For fans of Charlie Sloth and Mr Jam.
In Motion/Crack Magazine Motion, 10.12
You probably will have never have heard anyone on this line-up, because honestly I haven’t. But with a line-up curated by Crack Magazine, Bristol’s staple alternative music magazine, it’s bound to be a seriously decent gig.
THEATRE
The Coral 02 Academy, 15.12
Remember The Coral? With tunes like “In The Morning” and “Dreaming of You” on their back-catalogue, these nostalgic-alternative favourites will make your heart soar. The band first emerged during the early 2000s and found success with their debut album The Coral and follow up Magic and Medicine. For fans of The Zutons and The Courteneers.
Rocky: A Horror Show The Wardrobe Theatre, 1.12-1.01
The Wardrobe Theatre has once again conspired to bring you an original alternative comedy this Christmas, the follow-up to Goldilock, Stock & Three Smoking Bears and Muppits Die Hard. This Rocky Horror Picture Show/Rocky hybrid is probably 100 per cent better than any panto your Nan will take you to see, and though not festive, is a sheer delight and a perfect way to end your term.
FILM
JFS Xmas Blowout: Featuring The Hornstars & Wasabi Mr Wolfs, 13.12
I can’t say how much I enjoy these Jazz Funk Soul nights, and the promise of a christmassy shin-dig makes my jingle-balls tingle. Combine it with the groovy atmosphere of Mr Wolf’s with some tinsel and christmas tunes, this is sure to bring your term to a festive end.
Meet Me in St. Louis Cube Cinema, 21.1222.12
For the old souls like me, nothing is better than a Christmas film. ‘Meet Me in St.Louis’ (starring oldHollywood favourite, Judy Garland) is screening at The Cube Microplex for a short but sweet run. For those who aren’t keen on a 1940’s Musical, do yourself a favour and instead of watching ‘Elf’ for the 488th time and come watch this treat.
Christmas Movie Club Bristol SU, 12.1216.12
Though the SU has only been decorated with a few measly fairy lights and no gargantuan tree is in sight, the SU are offering some Christmasy delights (if ‘Meet Me in St. Louis isn’t your cup of mulled wine). From Home Alone to Love Actually, all your favourites will be screened... before you’ll have to watch them multiple times with your relatives over Christmas.
Best of bristol TERM 1 WRAP UP
what's happened at bristol this term IN PHOTOS
Reclaim The night bristolsu.org.uk
VARSITY RETURNS
help us beat uwe again in 2017
9 things we did in term1 1. Welcome Week Our headline night 2. Secured more space for at Motion was our biggest yet and was Postgrads Postgraduate Education pretty spectacular, but we also enjoyed the huge variety of smaller events: from vintage kilo sales to international food festivals to comedy nights, it really felt like there was something for everyone.
2IĂ€FHU /DXUD +R DQG RWKHUV VHFXUHG new spaces for Postgrad Students and protected space in the libraries and the Brambles.
4. Worked to protect Higher Education The government is about
5. Lobbied lettings agent Digs to improve the way they treat student tenants Digs are known for
to bring in a lot of changes that will see fees rise, and the poorest students pushed out of the best Universities. Visit bristolsu. RUJ XN WHIRII WR ÀQG RXW PRUH DERXW ZKDW we're doing.
7. Secured accommodation funding for the poorest students We pushed for an accommodation bursary in the face of rising hall prices and as a result there will be ÂŁ120,000 available for students in 2017/18.
3. Campaigned to get a more diverse range of students involved in sport & activity This Girl Can saw over 850 self identifying women taking part, our Fit and Fab classes sold out in record time and Get Active continues to be hugely successful roll on Varsity in term 2!
6. Continued work to improve the experience of Black & Minority Ethnic students In addition to our
their especially bad treatment of student tenants. Following a demo and extensive press coverage, we persuaded Digs to look at improving their services.
ELJJHVW %ODFN +LVWRU\ 0RQWK \HW ZH DUH working towards a research project into the experiences of BME students. This will provide evidence to help tackle the disadvantage BME students face.
8. Made it easier for sports club and societies to run We've put in
9. Began work on improving wellbeing support provided by the uni in halls & schools We are
place a new website which is easier to ÀQG \RXU ZD\ DURXQG DQG ZH YH SXW LQ SODFH D QHZ ÀQDQFH V\VWHP WR PDNH LW easier for societies and sports clubs to see their accounts.
sending a survey to all students about how to improve pastoral support in schools and halls. This will feed into the University's work on wellbeing and will inform the biggest change to student support in years.
In pictures: Reclaim the Night
VARSITY RETURNS Varsity is the annual sporting competition that takes place between University of Bristol and UWE. Sport and Student 'HYHORSPHQW 2IÀFHU -RKQ +RXVH WHOOV XV a bit about the series as preparations for Varsity 2017 start to ramp up. In March 2017 UWE and University of Bristol students will come together in a sporting competition to prove once and for all (or at least for 12 months) which University is the best at sport. The series will be made up of a number of standalone events, including Rugby, Football, Friday Night Lights: American Football & Lacrosse, Basketball, The Boat 5DFH 'DUWV )LJKW QLJKW DQG IRU WKH ÀUVW time ever a Varsity Colour Run. The contest is launched with Varsity Ignition: a charity day. The peak of the series will be Varsity Day, featuring a huge range of free sports events across loads of venues on one day.
Varsity dates back to 1995 when Bristol challenged UWE to a boat race. One VWXGHQW ZKR ZDWFKHG WKDW ÀUVW UDFH ZDV so impressed he approached the two Students’ Unions about staging a Rugby 8QLRQ À[WXUH IRU 2[IDP $ \HDU ODWHU VDZ the inaugural Varsity Rugby Match at the Memorial Stadium. Varsity football followed and since then the series has been steadily growing year on year. In 2017 around 40 sports and 2000 athletes will compete across 2 weeks. Support is just as important as competing, and tickets will go on sale for all the events at the beginning of term two. Varsity is an incredible chance to celebrate our sporting students and also unite as a University. Bristol are the current holders of the Varsity trophy, let’s make sure it stays that way!
best of bristol - nominate your most inspiring lecturer Christina Tran from the Best of Bristol Team tells us more about the innovative lecture series.
in mind, this is a unique opportunity for everyone, regardless of their academic background, to learn something new.
Although the university is driven by some truly inspirational lecturers, the vast majority of these will never share their teaching beyond the same lecture hall every week. The Best of Bristol lectures are an opportunity to change this.
If you would like a sample of things to come, the fascinating lectures from previous years are available on Youtube for all to see. (Titles include ‘Should I fear my death?’ and ‘Is there life on Mars?’) Remember, the scheme is entirely driven by students, so it is vital that we hear your voice on who represents the best of Bristol."
Run by a team of dedicated students, the initiative aims to give everyone a FKDQFH WR H[SHULHQFH WKH EHVW WHDFKLQJ the university has to offer. Throughout weeks 11 and 12, students will be given an opportunity to nominate their favourite lecturer. Nominations can be made online, or through one of the PDQ\ QRPLQDWLRQV ER[HV GRWWHG DURXQG campus. Successful nominees will go on to give a lecture open to all students, staff and general public. As the lectures will be drafted with a beginner’s perspective
Nominations are open between now and this Friday 18 December. 7R QRPLQDWH D OHFWXUHU ÀOO LQ WKH IRUP at bristolsu.org.uk/bestofbristol or on one of the voting cards dotted around campus. Read on below for more information about the project.
WHAT'S ON happy holidays
Tuesday 13 & Wednesday 14 December. 9am - 12pm. Winston Theatre, Bristol SU.
Happy Holidays is a three-part morning session supporting you to remain stress free and healthy over the holiday period. Sessions include: -Advisors from Just Ask supporting you ZLWK VWXG\ VNLOOV DQG KRZ WR UHVW DQG UHOD[ - Laughter workshop with Zoe Pither OR another therapy (TBC) - 1 hour stress-relief hypnotherapy session with Aubrey Dye-Welch Book your free ticket: bristolsu.org.uk/ Christmas Movie Club: Home Alone. Monday 12 December 7.30pm. Winston Theatre, Bristol SU Get cosy with us in the Winston Theatre and enjoy this Christmas classic that follows the adventures of 8 year old Kevin who is mistakenly left behind by his family when they go away for Christmas.
Christmas Movie Club: Love Actually. Tuesday 13 December 7.30pm. Winston Theatre, Bristol SU. Nine intertwined stories examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love.
Postgraduate Network Christmas Party. Wednesday 14 December 7.30pm. Bristol SU. With the end of the term coming up and lots of people heading home for the holidays, come have one last party with us. We will be running a small treasure hunt made up of a range of Christmas themed party games.
Curryoke: hosted by Bristol RAG. Friday 16 December, 8pm. Balloon Bar, Bristol SU. It’s karaoke, it’s curry - it’s curryoke. The Balloon's wildest night guaranteed. Belt out a classic, or force a mate to do it for you. Our legendary karaoke is hosted by Bristol RAG each week, plus our weekly curry night will add some extra spice.
A Cappella Society's Big Christmas Show. Wednesday 14 December 7.30pm. Winston Theatre, Bristol SU. For one night only, all of A Capella Society's groups will hit the stage together. Songs will include everything from the latest pop tracks, barbershop classics, to epic theme song renditions.
Get Active Kabaddi & Kho Kho Saturday 17 December, 7.30pm, Anson Rooms, Bristol SU. Come along and get active with these traditional Indian sports. have fun and meet new people. 7KH ÀUVW ZHHNV VHVVLRQV DUH )5((
Christmas Movie Club: Elf. Friday 19 December 7.30pm. Winton Theatre, Bristol SU Buddy is a man who was adopted and raised to adulthood among Santa's elves. Unable to shake WKH IHHOLQJ WKDW KH GRHVQ W ÀW LQ WKH adult Buddy travels to New York, in full elf uniform, in search of his real father.
For more information on all upcoming events see bristolsu.org.uk/events
Epigram
12.12.2016
Film & TV
@epigramfilm Editor: Ella Kemp
Deputy Editor: Josh Spencer
Online Editor: Phoebe Graham
ekemp@epigram.org.uk
josh.spencer@epigram.org.uk
phoebe.graham@epigram.org.uk
@ella_kemp
@_joshjs
@phoebe_elise19
The winners of a losing 2016: The watches that made it worthwhile We’ve seen the some of the worst in the world, but 2016 wasn’t all bad. Here are Epigram Film HQ’s top picks of the year.
Captain America: Civil War The Missing
Hail, Caesar!
James Turnbull Rose Brown
Michael Murphy
BBC One’s eight-part drama was the second instalment of an anthology series about missing children. The show included the return of detective Julien Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo) and stand out performances from Keeley Hawes and David Morrissey as the parents of the missing girl who returns in the first episode. The tense atmosphere and jumping between time periods and locations leaves you guessing until the last episode, despite the writers taking huge risks with the reveals and twists of the story. The Missing had incredible character development, stunning locations and an incredibly compelling mystery which made it one of the best shows of 2016.
Planet Earth II
Swiss Army Man
Poldark
The crown for my favourite on-screen nugget is snatched with no competition by the delightful return of the immensely ambitious nature documentary feature, Planet Earth. This sentiment will no doubt chime with readers – I have never seen a programme so reliably dominate Sunday evenings among the busy student body, and it’s not hard to see why. Gorgeously filmed (and narrated by perennial national icon David Attenborough), the series reinvents how we consider the planet we live on and has a heart-warming quality that is unmatched in contemporary television. The large lapse of time between each series is clearly justified by the levels of intrigue and wonder involved in each and every segment – some sections of the program are so otherworldly and fascinating they almost seem fixed, a testament to a lot of cherry picking and a lot of patience on the side of the documenters. Awe-inspiring, beautiful and educational, there’s little to take issue with here. If you’ve somehow missed out, catch it on iPlayer.
So Daniel Radcliffe plays this multi-purpose corpse who slowly comes back to life, thus helping a stranded, suicidal man come to discover the beauty of existence through farting. Now if that doesn’t sound like an original premise in a time of Hollywood rehashes, then what on earth is? Radcliffe fully commits, making Manny the sweetest dead guy you’ll ever meet; he yearns to discover more about the world he’s lost and imagination is the key back in. As Paul Dano’s Hank teaches Manny with sets of the world created from junk and woodland foliage the soundtrack and visuals fuse seamlessly, losing you in an ethereal space of pure storytelling. Also Manny’s boner acts as GPS. Frequently. Reviews ranged from 1 stars to 5, but this film about embracing your unique weirdness surely doesn’t really care what others think?
This show is remarkable because it surpassed my expectations. Period dramas with a ruggedly handsome rogue with the weight of the world on his shoulders? Sign me up. Ross Poldark, however, is more than just a rogue. He has compassion, kindness and more pride than is good for him. His wife Demelza is an inspiration and their marriage is far from a fairytale which makes it more rewarding to watch. They go through the ups and downs of life, from imprisonment to the loss of a child, to Ross never getting over his childhood love. Poldark was my favourite find of the summer and the second season – that I luckily didn’t have to wait too long for – was a worthy sequel. It brought to head all of the things set up in the first season as well as introducing new ones. All in all, this show gets a standing ovation from me.
What’s your pick of 2016? Join the discussion @EpigramFilm
Ashley Yonga
Tim Bustin
Adam Stanford
Make sure to vote for your favourite pick in our online poll! Find it at www.epigram.org.uk
Everybody Wants Some!! Arrival
Captain Fantastic
Phoebe Graham Jacob Povey
Any film that dares to don two entire exclamation marks possesses the post-ironic gusto that I always look for in my top film of 2016. Richard Linklater only went and literally knocked his title of anti-drama antagonist straight out the park yet again. A film about nothing much can often make for the most thoughtful watching; Linklater epitomises this in Everybody Wants Some!! by nostalgically nudging us into the autumnal colour codes of 1980. Tight jeans and misshapen haircuts are sported by bright eyed and bushy tailed baseball playing freshmen on their wild weekend before their college term begins (sound familiar?) Spending the duration of the screen time hitting on bats and chicks, there’s no curved ball thrown their way to change the course of their lives or anything too seriously dramatic. But a set of fresh faces sipping on a refreshing script keeps conversations and character interactions raw and real, even when the banter borders on bizarre!!
In this issue...
Vanessa Hill on Gilmore Girls Page 37
‘Squint against the grandeur!’ one actor is directed in Hail, Caesar!, a film that commands the same through the Coen brothers’ cinematic brilliance. Set in the 1950s, the plot follows Capitol Pictures fixer Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) as he tackles a communist plot involving the kidnap and ransom of a major star, Baird Whitlock (George Clooney). Added to this, Mannix deals with issues including an actress pregnant out of wedlock, an exasperated director, as well as his own personal troubles. These nebulous sub plots provide a sideways glance at the eccentricities of Golden Age Hollywood. Surprisingly the film was released in March, a time when studios traditionally dump their weakest films. Yet Hail, Caesar! was a diamond in the rough. With magnificent set pieces, an excellent cast and wit sharper than a gladius, it demonstrates the Coen brothers’ continuing ability to provide entertainment and intelligence in equal measure. BFI/LFFPRESS
Captain America: Civil War, unlike some other films in the Marvel canon, truly shines because of the fact that it is part of a vast Cinematic Universe. International politics may be the driving force behind the controversial Sokovia Accords, but the real conflicts within the Avengers are far more personal. The action is as exciting as ever – the airport scene glimpsed in trailers is more glorious than you could possibly imagine – but there’s an extra emotional weight to each punch and kick because of the time we’ve spent getting to know these characters in previous films. The ‘main event’ is even harder to watch at times; Captain America and Iron Man are two good people who want to do the right thing, but they’ve been torn apart by forces they can barely control. Civil War is a film where the wonderful camaraderie of the previous films crumbles into dust – and I love it.
Ella Kemp
Arrival is an outstanding science fiction film and a wonderful antidote to the noisy and brash blockbuster disappointments of the year. The story of a linguistics professor, beautifully played by Amy Adams, tasked with communicating with aliens is told with supremely assured intelligence and technique. The cinematography is stunning, the score is spellbinding and writer Eric Heisserer has brilliantly adapted Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life for the screen. The movie forgoes action and instead deals in atmosphere, ideas and emotions. The process by which Adams’ character develops an understanding of the alien language is enthralling and surprising. It ultimately leads to one of the most moving endings of any film I have ever seen. Director Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario) has cemented his status as a major Hollywood talent. He has created a film that demands cerebral engagement from the viewer, and one that in return delivers sublime emotional closure.
I went to see this film very much on a whim to just pass an afternoon - and yet when reflecting back on this year in film, it remains the one that affected me the most. From the brief, Captain Fantastic does not seem like it has anything new to offer. Many are the road trip movies, and multiple are the studies of a ‘different’ kind of family. However, prepare to be surprised. Focusing on Ben Cash and his six children raised outside of society as we know it, the film shows the family’s journey to save their mother, while discovering a different world altogether. What Captain Fantastic succeeds in is its ability to convey good, honest and extremely powerful waves of love and loyalty. Through unique storytelling and heartbreaking performances, it raises questions about the way we lead our lives without overtly condemning or mocking any particular choice. I genuinely feel like it has shifted my everyday mindset more than any other film has before - take it for a spin and see what it can do for you.
Charlie Harrison on This year’s Christmas adverts
Josh Spencer on Arrival
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Epigram 12.12.2016
Epif lix and Chill: Episode 6
film-length episodes, it still feels a little rushed. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino understandably attempts to fill the viewers in on the past nine years of the Gilmore’s lives, whilst continually moving the narrative on, a difficult task in a relatively short amount of time. Elements such as the Stars Hollow musical are laboured on too long at the expense of other scenes feeling rushed. In order to focus on Rory, Lorelai and Emily, other characters become side-lined with not enough time allocated to explore their lives or give them the closure they deserve.
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Having been recently released to a huge amount of hype, Film & TV Writer Vanessa Hill tells us why we should be watching the Gilmore Girls revival. Nine years after the seventh season finale, Netflix has created four new Gilmore Girls episodes allowing viewers to return to Stars Hollow, home to some of the quirkiest characters on television. For years, fans have questioned the futures of their favourite characters, passionately arguing for different outcomes. Will Rory end up as team Dean, Jess or Logan? Will her mother Lorelai get the happy ending she has been so close to many times in the past? This revival is clearly directed at pre-existing Gilmore Girls fans, filled with references to the original series that would likely feel confusing to a new viewer. However, with Netflix now streaming all seven seasons there are no excuses not to enjoy the show in its entirety. The town, the music and the fast-paced dialogue quickly immerse the audience back into Stars Hollow, a comforting feeling of being surrounded by old friends. Viewers are treated to new town meetings, music from the town troubadour and while the pop culture references are updated, the tone is consistent to that of the original series.
Although most of the fan favourite characters are back, the focus is very much on the Gilmore girls themselves and the often turbulent relationship between daughter, mother and grandmother. Each at a crossroads in their lives, the revival explores the difficulties of adjusting to change and the realisation that achieving your plans does not necessarily bring fulfilment.
Each at a crossroads in their lives, the revival explores the difficulties of adjusting to change
Kelly Bishop gives a nuanced and heart-breaking performance as the ever-stoic Emily who must reevaluate her life after the death of her husband, finding herself out of place in her carefully constructed world of privilege without Richard
by her side. Previously played by the beloved Edward Herrmann who sadly passed away in 2014, Richard Gilmore’s presence is missed within these episodes, however his passing is dealt with in an appropriately saddening but also nostalgic way. Nine years on, Lorelai seemingly has everything that she has worked towards. She is still running the Dragonfly Inn and is in a stable relationship with Luke, but finds that she has an underlying sense of unfulfillment. For Rory, the main focus is professional difficulties. Having seen her graduate from Yale and head out into the world of journalism at the end of the seventh season, we find that she is finding it difficult to sustain the successes she has had in this highly competitive world. Through the narratives of these three central women, the audience is assured that it is normal to feel lost, that it can happen at any point in your life but it might just lead you to exactly where you were meant to be. Although this short four-episode series has
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The revival gives them a fitting storyline which is not perfect but realistic and true
The main problem facing Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was the varied expectations of the viewers which have left many fans of the original series disappointed. However, although it may not be the future you had envisioned for Rory and Lorelai, the revival gives them a fitting storyline which is not perfect, but realistic and true to the difficulties of family, relationships and growing up. Despite a hope for closure and a definitive answer to the question of what happened next, the shocking cliff-hanger ending leaves the show open to return and will surely have fans begging for more. Whether this will be possible, either as a full series or as another group of specials, is yet to be seen, but will certainly be hoped for so that we can keep returning to the unique escapism that the world of Stars Hollow provides.
Have you seen the return of Gilmore Girls? How does it compare? Get in touch @EpigramFilm
The Battle of the Christmas Adverts: Heathrow, John Lewis or Wes Anderson? With the festive season fast approaching, Film & TV Writer Charlie Harrison gives an insight into the best and worst of Christmas adverts this year. vaguely dips its toe into the risky waters of comedy, while still keeping an unwilling grasp on a contrived emotionality. The final product is kind of confusing. It feels somehow lazy, especially compared to the aforementioned Sainsbury’s animated extravaganza. It’s more of a faintlystrangely-smelling leftover-turkey sandwich than a succulent feast this time round. What could certainly not be described as lazy is the Burberry advert. The fashion company apparently interpreted ‘Christmas advert’ to mean an ‘excuse to spend 10 million bloomin’ quid’ (yes, it did cost that much). This enormous and quite honestly incredible advert is essentially a trailer for a film that will never be, although one that does look rather good. Depicting events from its founder’s life, the advert is fantastically shot and Domhnall Gleeson is great. However, similar to John Lewis’ attempt, it’s hard to see what the point of it all was. Christmas is more of a faint reference than a theme and, rather than making you want to buy their products, it seems more like very expensive fanfiction from the biggest Burberry fan ever (i.e. themselves). Burberry is evidently like your grandpa: far too much money for his own good and when accidentally provoked, will launch into a hazy and romanticised tale of war that you didn’t really ask for. It’s interesting to hear, sure, and you love him so you put up with it. But, in the back of your mind, all you’re thinking is if anyone
else going to have that last mince pie. From the barely Christmas-related to the soChristmassy-it-makes-you-feel-like-wrappingyourself-in-tinsel, Amazon’s advert is actually lovely. I don’t have an awful lot to say about it; it is simply lovely. It isn’t as in-your-face Christmassy as Sainsbury’s, but it’s a really wonderful expression of what the holiday and the whole concept of gifts is all about. It’s like the hug you get from the vicar on the way out of church on Christmas morning. It’s heartfelt, comforting, and with a little too much communion wine. M&S achieves a similar atmosphere of total Christmas, with a kid whose cuteness is practically weaponised. The advert manages a really nice portrayal of Mr and Mrs. Claus. The whole thing is akin to watching someone open a present that you were exceptionally excited to give them which you know they’ll love, and when they open it, they do. It feels as warm and Christmassy as Santa’s beard. Before I reveal my personal top pick, here’s a few quick mentions: Argos has gone the total opposite route of Amazon and presents a far more cynical view of the commercialisation of the holiday that every aloof person likes to express when they catch that first whiff of a mince pie. That is: it exists to spoil children with shiny electronic things, rather than to bring families together. Not particularly fun or accurate. Boots, on the other hand, feels like a bit of a Youtube
We all know it’s Christmas time when suddenly every advert becomes distinctly snowier than usual. Yes - it’s time for the Christmas adverts. It’s that time of year when all advertising companies compete to see who can be the soppiest. Let’s grab a glass of mulled wine, pull a woolly hat on, see how many mince pies we can fit in our mouths and forget about everything bad in the world, because it’s time to get Christmassy. Without a doubt the most popular, and the one that will stick in your head no matter how hard you try to get rid of it, (even after five rounds of Mariah Carey) is the Sainsbury’s advert. This advert achieves some of the highest praise possible; when it came up before a YouTube video, I didn’t immediately skip it after five seconds. It features some utterly gorgeous animation combined with an unashamedly catchy and sing-along-able song, perfectly capturing the happy warmth we associate with Christmas. The Sainsbury’s advert is like when a relative hands you your first glass of buck’s fizz. It’s when you’re all still hyped enough on Christmas spirit to pretend you like each other. It’s when, even though you’re definitely too old, you still wake up early in a surge of excitement. The morning is hopeful, lovely and if you’re especially lucky, featuring James Corden. That is the Sainsbury’s advert. Now to the usual show-stealer: John Lewis. Usually that one advert that YouTube is always playing somewhere in the world at Christmas, it’s met this year with a resounding ‘meh’. I think we can all agree that #BustertheBulldog is unlikely to take the interweb by storm, as some out-of-touch CEO no doubt expected it to. This year, they decided to eschew the traditional heartwrenching Christmassy tale accompanied by an atmospheric and beautiful cover of an emotional song (like their 2011 one, which should not be watched without a box of tissues nearby). Instead, John Lewis went for something that
desperate attempt to relive the glory days of their ‘here come the girls’ adverts. H&M was directed by Wes Anderson and is fantastic. Aldi is fairly lovely, if bizarre. McDonalds is, frankly, quite disturbing and I haven’t slept comfortably since. However, a substantial quantity of fir trees, mistletoe and slow piano music later and there is just one that I know is my favourite. And that is the Heathrow advert. This advert actually manages the rather bizarre achievement of making me want to leave the country just so that I can fly back to it. It is completely adorable and somehow feels perfectly Christmassy even though it isn’t very obvious about it. It also came the closest out of any of them to making me tear up. The advert is like on Christmas evening, when everyone’s too drunk or too sleepy to move and the fire is crackling and the dog is recovering from an affection overdose and you’re watching the Emmerdale Christmas special even though you never watch it and only vaguely recognise
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I think it’s fair to say that it’s been a damn good year for adverts. Let’s make it a good year for the actual thing
one of the actors and your grandpa is snoring in time with the cold breeze outside and the room is coated in discarded wrapping paper and everyone is faintly smiling and warm and then someone offers you a glass of Bailey’s. That is the Heathrow advert. I think it’s fair to say that it’s been a damn good year for adverts. Let’s make it a good year for the actual thing. Merry Christmas!
Epigram 12.12.2016
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Villeneuve’s deeply imaginative take on the sci-fi genre - Arrival review
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After storming box offices and impressing critics around the globe, Deputy Film & TV Editor Josh Spencer reviews Dennis Villeneuve’s alien epic Arrival. the vast majority of the action centres on smaller, more personal scenes between the Heptapods and the human characters - instead of grand battles with thousands of explosions. This personal focus allows Renner and Adams to offer up understated and genuine performances, though the writing occasionally ventures into the realm of being slightly too Hollywood or forced. Banks is in herself a powerful character, displaying great intelligence and formidable strength. This is truly the superwoman saving the world, with Donnelly acting as capable backup; a welcome sight in the film industry.
The important message about cooperation and the distinct possibility that aliens might not be out just to destroy us has not been used enough BFI/LFFPRESS
From the off, it’s clear that Arrival isn’t your average aliens arriving to earth, resulting in an enormous intergalactic battle film - which we’ve regrettably seen so many times before. This is not Independence Day II or a similar alien disaster flick, following a paint-by-numbers formulaic plot and inevitable ending. While the film undoubtedly exists in this world, Arrival successfully circumvents the traps set by previous works in the genre. Amy Adams stars as Louise Banks, a linguist who is selected to lead a special team to enter one of the twelve mysterious ‘shells’ that touchdown on earth. She is joined by theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and US Army Colonel Wever (Forest Whitaker), who aim to communicate with the aliens on board and find out why they have come down to earth. The Aliens themselves are called Heptapods,
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comically nicknamed Abbott and Costello by Donnelly. Huge, hulking, spider-like creatures, they are awe-inspiring and terrifying, yet in a way gentle and deeply complex.
The film portrays an inner confidence with belief in its vision by introducing left-field concepts into a genre recently lacking in originality Fascinating concepts in Arrival draw immediate comparisons with Christopher Nolan’s masterpieces Interstellar and Inception. As well as the mind-bending ideas of seeing the future and warping time that are ever-present in this feature, the focus on language and communication is something not often seen - if at all - in the genre,
which makes for such an imaginative film. As well as its refreshing originality, Arrival is not lacking in action and excitement. It includes all the best parts of films of this kind, whilst reinventing the wheel to some extent at the same time. In particular, the thundering sound is exhilarating and truly blows you out of your seat, complemented by a haunting soundtrack from composer Johann Johannsson. Denis Villeneuve is a masterful director, proven by his by previous work with Sicario and Prisoners. Arrival, however, signals his transition into becoming one of the best filmmakers on the planet. The film portrays an inner confidence, with belief in his vision, by introducing leftfield concepts into a genre recently lacking in originality, which is set to be continued when he directs the Blade Runner sequel. While Arrival is huge in scale in many ways,
What’s On?
Sully
Silence
Ballerina
In cinemas January 1st 2017
In cinemas December 19th
Having kept quiet since the underwhelming American Sniper, Clint Eastwood sits proudly in the director’s chair at the helm of Sully, the quietly anticipated biopic set to comfortably go down a storm. Tom Hanks plays Capt. Chelsey ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, the pilot who managed an emergency landing and became a national hero.
The trailer drew a huge response and anticipation will keep building for Martin Scorsese’s historical epic. Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson star alongside Adam Driver, who can be expected to continue his excellent recent work, in Silence which follows two priests facing persecution when travelling to find their mentor in seventeenth century Japan.
Ballerina tells the story of a poor orphan girl who dreams of becoming a twinkle toed twirling girl. When she leaves Brittany to attend dance school in Paris, we watch her face many challenges until she can achieve her dancing dream. With stars such as Elle Fanning, Maddie Ziegler, and Carly Rae Jepsen, this is sure to keep you on your toes.
On Netflix
Hip-Hop Evolution
Dance Moms On Lifetime UK
On Netflix
Now that I’ve finished Black Mirror, it’s about time I caught up on the other Netflix sensation this side of 2016. Giving a young Queen centre stage on the small screen, The Crown has won over audiences and remains at the top of the most watched on Netflix. To the top of the Christmas break watching list it goes then.
This series follows the evolution of the genre from the 1970s to 1990s through a series of interviews with MCs, DJs and moguls. Charting the beginnings of Grandmaster Flash through to N. W. A. with interviews with Ice Cube, these documentaries look to be filling a real niche and have secured some huge names from the hip-hop world to appear on them.
The reality TV show that brought up stars such as Maddie Ziegler returns to our screens this December. With leotards and smiles as stretchy as ever, but without the likes of the Ziegler sisters, will the music and mayhem ever be the same? Tune in to see if the Abby Lee Dance Company can stay en pointe for yet another series.
Flickr/Recon Cycles
Phoebe Online Editor
In cinemas December 2nd
The Crown
Get in touch @EpigramFilm
Father Christmas
Youtube
Wikimedia/Adam Bielawski
Flickr/BagoGames
Josh Deputy Editor
What did you think of Arrival?
Films to Faces
Editors’ Picks
Ella Editor
The important message about co-operation and the distinct possibility that aliens might not be out just to destroy us is one that has not been used enough in the genre – and Arrival utilises it expertly. Jeremy Renner spoke in a press conference at the London Film Festival about his belief in the beauty of a united humanity, a crucial concept underpinning the plot. Sadly, he was also forced to admit that fear is the most powerful human emotion. This could not be more pertinent in a time of such widespread division and hatred in the world, especially in the US. America is also not the hero as is usual in a film of this type, which is an excellent added twist. This is fitting in a film which defies tradition and convention throughout, providing both a welcome renewal in the film industry and bringing a critical collaborative message.
1. Juno Although I deliver presents to children all over the world every year, I cannot help the yearning I feel for one child of my own. Juno is a film that really understands me more than the elves ever could. 2. Mrs Doubtfire I know what you’re thinking - don’t worry, I would never be unfaithful to Mother Christmas. I admire Doubtfire’s resilience and tough love with the children she takes care of. She is a true inspiration and warms up the coldest of nights in the North Pole... 3. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas Ever underrated, Mickey is a mouse who shares the same values as me and cares about nothing more than making his loved ones happy. Take care of your loved ones and enjoy the festive season, take it from the two of us. Who should we interview next for Films to Faces? Tweet us @EpigramFilm
Arts
Epigram
@EpigramArts
Editor: Ed Grimble arts@epigram.org.uk
Helena Raymond-Hayling bares all on her experience modelling in the nude for Fine Art Society
When I arrive, I clumsily get changed in the art supply cupboard (which has a window but no blind - my most sincere apologies to any residents of Queens Road who may have experienced an unexpected splash of midafternoon nudity).
A book I discovered as an undergraduate that has stuck with me since… Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie
The fifteen faces sitting before me in this moment are on a creative pilgrimage, an artistic mission. They are here to study the human form and reduce my body - now running on nothing but adrenaline and sheer gumption - to lines, shapes and contours, and have no intention of passing judgment on me whatsoever. Suddenly, I feel at ease, and get down to business. The duration of the poses get progressively longer, starting with five minutes. I take the opportunity to assume a standing posture to begin, one hand outstretched and resting on a chair. My Spotify playlist for the session is queued with two albums I know back to back Amy Winehouse’s Frank and Currents by Tame Impala, so I can have a little sing-along in my head to curb boredom. Unfortunately, it proves difficult to refrain from tapping my fingers and toes, or to actually sing aloud to ‘Fuck Me Pumps’. Perhaps choosing a less catchy album might serve me better in future. The session continues, and I move from pose to pose with ease. Cross-legged, lying on my back, on my side, on a chair - each time entertaining myself by singing in my head, counting back from 400 in sevens – even for a physics student excruciatingly difficult – and observing the attendees’ quizzical and concentrated expressions. The chaise longue provided for the more lengthy poses is exceptionally comfortable - I am halfway to planning some sort of heist in order that I can sneak it home when the session finishes. Rising slowly, I re-robe myself and walk
around the room to investigate the drawings from the session. This part I’ve been dreading - what if the angles from which I had been drawn prove to be devastatingly unflattering? Would my ‘english rose’ (read: unfortunately blotchy and pink-ish) complexion come off awfully on paper? But I soon realise that I have nothing to fret about. I do not wince at any of them naturally it is peculiar to see myself reduced to pencil lines and pastel smudges, which seamlessly recombine to build a twodimensional image which resembles me, but I manage to see myself through the eyes of the producers: a figure of artistic interest, novelty and of a unique condition. Each person’s take on the same pose is very different, the unique creations form an array of colour, style and artistry. Everyone is timid and some even apologetic about the quality of their work, but I make sure to let them know how impressive and original they are. Walking home, I contemplate why as a society we are so uncomfortable with nudity, and feel satisfied with how pleasant and manageable life modelling was. As I enter my kitchen, I spot the toast I had made for the walk to the SU and had forgotten in a frenzy. Looking back, I have no idea why I was so apprehensive, having discovered first hand that the human form is neither shameful nor vulgar. I had emerged empowered and enlightened and my bucket list is one satisfying step closer to completion. Helena Raymond-Hayling
Thoughts from around campus... Epigram/ Kimi Zoet
I emerge and sheepishly drop my kimono, and here I am, standing totally naked in front of a room of strangers, who are all looking at me expectantly. By some miracle, all of my apprehension suddenly melts away and is replaced by a warming sense of clarity about the nature of the task upon which I have embarked. The fifteen people sitting before me at high desks, eagerly clutching their pencils and charcoal are unlike those who featured in the awful night-terrors of my childhood: turning up to school having forgotten or misplaced our clothes.
Lecturers on Literature Dr. Helen Heath, lecturer in Physics, gives Myla Lloyd her top reads in our popular Lecturers on Literature column.
Epigram/ Kimi Zoet
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Walking home, I contemplate why as a society we are so uncomfortable with nudity
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Deputy Editors: Myla Lloyd & Online Editor: Helena Raymond-Hayling Georgia O’Brien deputyarts@epigram.org.uk artsonline@epigram.org.uk
Life modelling laid bare
Being a life model has always been one of those half-serious things on my bucket list. It has been stagnantly nestled between running a marathon and writing a play, two other things I have been convinced would never actually come into fruition. However, after attending many a life drawing session courtesy of the University’s Fine Art Society, I realise my time has come and, as someone who is generally quite comfortable in their own skin and with nakedness generally, I could not really see a reason to hold back any longer. On the morning of the class, I pace around my house frantically only stopping occasionally to experiment with different poses. Some are far too ambitious, and most that usually prove comfortable seem to ache after a while - I begin to panic. What on earth have I agreed to? How am I going to sit still for nearly two hours in silence? Lunch is strategically brought forwards to 11am to avoid any kind of food coma mid-class, but I am famished by 1pm and make some emergency toast to eat en route.
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‘Life modelling is pretty much as you would expect, unnerving at first but when you start to realise that the people staring at you are there to draw you and not judge you, you get over it yourself quite quickly.’ Joel Hooper, 2nd year Philosophy ‘I was really uncomfortable at first, but about five minutes in I felt very relaxed and even managed to meditate for most of the hour and a half I was there. I loved looking at the finished products and some people let me put theirs on Instagram. By the end, I felt very relaxed and empowered and I felt like my body had been really appreciated by the artists’ Rosie Solomon, 3rd year English ‘The experience was not exactly liberating in a ‘I never want to wear clothes again’ kind of way, but more brought on a renewed sense of ease and comfort in my own skin. I was not being judged for my imperfections; the misplaced stretch marks or curves in the ‘wrong’ places. Instead my body was essentially a pattern of light and shadow to be copied onto paper in whatever way the artists’ imagination took them.’
At University I had four particularly good friends and we would pass books around. We still meet up once a year over 30 years later and still discuss books. One of my friends raved about this or that book, and this would normally ensure I’d read it…but somehow I’ve never got around to it with Midnight’s Children. I’m stuck with a slightly guilty feeling whenever I hear the title.
A book that inspired me to do what I do today… Asimov’s Guide to Science Isaac Asimov I won a prize at school and this book was it. It wasn’t a huge surprise as they asked you what you wanted. I’d loved Asimov’s science fiction – particularly the Robot stories – and this seemed a more ‘serious’ book that the school would approve of. I enjoyed reading it just as much as his science fiction.
A book that I read when I want to unwind… The Ibis Trilogy Amitav Ghosh I only read to unwind so this is an example of the sort of book I enjoy. I love thick books with complex stories, lots of characters and that span long periods of time. A good trilogy that has all that is a delight. This one drove me mad because I made the mistake of starting it before the third book was written and had to wait a long time to find out what happened.
The book writing…
I
most
enjoyed
Write a book!? I edited a conference proceedings once… that looks like a book. Physics in Collision 17 in case you’re interested.
If I could only save one book from a burning library it would be… Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen This is the one book unless I’m allowed the complete works of Jane Austen. I loved it when I first read it 40 years ago although at that point I didn’t realise how funny it was.
Freya Savage. 2nd year Biology Myla Lloyd
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@EpigramArts
Spike Island Novelists: Adam Biles’ Feeding Time Chloë Moloney reports on an evening at Spike Island with novelist Adam Biles
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fantastical Captain Ruggles. Biles’ readings unveiled his natural ability to string together eloquent lexis with the most ingenious threads of his imagination, nudging the audience towards enlightenment by degrees. When asked about influences, Biles touched on topics such as deregulation and the grisly state of some institutions. Throughout the six-year period in which he wrote Feeding Time, Biles remarked that the conditions of
such institutions have remained severe and execrable. This sparked inspiration in Biles and, by writing on this subject matter, he has crucially shed light on pertinent aspects of society which deserve infinitely more attention than they currently receive. Nevertheless, Biles made sure to note that Feeding Time is not just a novel which casts a long and gloomy shadow over the reader, but includes elements of humour which allow for a jocular slant. Biles mentioned that his novel
At the event Biles graced the audience with two readings from his novel, displaying the unquestionable talent of this wordsmith. His words undisputedly enthralled the audience, drawing them inescapably into a chaotic and troubled world of elderly care, and into the labyrinthine minds of characters such as the
Spike Island/ David Grove
When asked about influences, Biles touched on topics such as deregulation and the grisly state of some institutions
The Novel Writers programme of talks provides invaluable exposure for new writers...
contains a ‘real darkness, but also humour’, and from the conversation it was clear that he cleverly and successfully marries both the shocking and the funny. After Biles had humbly set forth his literary excellence, the floor was open to questions. One audience member made an apt remark about the novel: that with such a plethora of three-dimensional characters with which Biles provides us, it would have been easy for this book to be convoluted. However, even from the small snippets that Biles indulged us in, it remained evident that this novel runs its course with indisputable ease and excellence. During this question time, it became even more apparent that Biles’s writing has struck an emotional chord with his readers, with gracious thanks to the wordsmith for his astounding literary crafting, some saying that the story intensely and personally resonated with them. Biles modestly credits his success to his editors at Galley Beggar Press, but it cannot be denied that a leading factor in his recent literary triumph is his formidable talent. It is undeniable that Adam Biles will have a most fruitful and prosperous career, and we await his future works with eager anticipation.
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Adam Biles: a man with a prodigious imagination who oozes intelligent creativity by the bucketful. His soul-stirring writing is profoundly exhibited in his debut novel Feeding Time. At Spike Island on 24th November, Biles disclosed the ideas and process behind his recent book to an intimate crowd of fervent listeners. Biles’ novel Feeding Time tells the story of a rebellion in an old people’s home, or as the description asserts, ‘more pertinently, about a rebellion of people who just happen to be old.’ The conditions in the care home, Green Oaks, are presented by Biles as utterly appalling and abhorrent – thus sparking up protest by the home’s senior residents.
Chloë Moloney
The Dysfunctional Domestic Christmas Dinner
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Arts Editor, Ed Grimble, takes a look at two quintessentially chaotic family Christmas dinners in literature
Two writers piqued my interest when thinking about this piece. James Joyce, champion of avant-garde modernism, pen behind the greatest forays into the novel form of the 20th century and the Dubliner.
Flickr/ SteHLiverpool
Joyce standing proudly on North Earl Street in his beloved Dublin...
Sir Alan Ayckbourn, staggeringly prolific British playwright – frequently claimed
Who doesn’t follow midnight drunken snakes and ladders with a clumsy attempt at sitting-room sex? as the second most performed of all time after Shakespeare – and a man who once suggested that ‘if you are flattering a woman, it pays to be a little more subtle. You don’t have to bother with men, they believe any compliment automatically.’ Both have made a massive written contribution to our culture and canon, and their works subject the human experience of the domestic and the societal to rigorous scrutiny. It is the former to which I wish to draw attention. Whether you’re Christmas Day traditionalists, or a bunch of Christmas Eve mavericks, Christmas dinner is the apex of the festive period. Advent builds up to it, and the post-25th twelve days are nothing but a wrapping paper strewn come-down; that day of the year where extended family come together to eat, make mirth, and wear
stupid hats. And argue. There’s always an argument. A tragic display of alpha-male dominance over who has right to carve the bird, a pseudo-despotic dinner à la Peep Show’s ‘Merry Christmark’, or simply the fact that gran’s a bit of a racist – festive conflict seems sadly unavoidable. The first chapter of Joyce’s 1916 novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, sees young Stephen Dedalus pressed into his best clothes for his first Christmas dinner sat with his adult family, rather than confined to the nursery with the other children. Food is brought to the table and, barely a page after the first mouthful of turkey has been wolfed down, disaster strikes as Stephen’s pater and provocateur Simon turns to discussing religion and politics. The following exchanges see the aforementioned Simon and the stoically pious Dante Riordan trade blows as the flustered Mrs. Dedalus struggles to preserve order and decorum, and the young Stephen is repeatedly dished up comically large portions by various diners to keep him out of the verbal crossfire. Who knew silently shovelling a roast potato into one’s mouth could be so unheimlich? While the Dedalus’s luncheon disintegrates following John Casey’s table pounding declaration of, ‘No God for Ireland!’, piety
Ayqa Khan
WHO
Artist 1995-
chances are your Christmas Day festivities will also descend into wine-fuelled familial infighting
infighting and outlandish behaviour of the family and their guests. Who doesn’t follow midnight drunken snakes and ladders with a clumsy attempt at sitting-room sex? The sheer amount of unhappiness, misfortune (and, thanks to a dose of Beckettian Schadenfreude, audience amusement) that Ayckbourn manages to tease out of three days of supposed yule tide cheer is devilish. If Oscar Wilde was right, and ‘Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life’, then chances are your Christmas Day festivities will also descend into wine-fuelled familial infighting, with fissures emerging that no amount of Bublé will fix in a hurry. Sorry… Merry Christmas. Ed Grimble
WHAT Instagram/ ayqakhan
Photographer and illustrator Ayqa Khan juxtaposes Pakistani and American culture in her digital art work. As a first generation woman living in New York, her work displays combinations of South Asian tradition with American pop culture, exhibiting the 21-year-old’s struggle with her cultural identity. Khan’s work deals with the alienation she feels in having grown up in a space between two cultures.
seems of little importance in the English suburban sphere of Ayckbourn’s 1980 Season’s Greetings. A black comedy, much of the play’s dark farce arises from the increasingly erratic
Khan’s digital prints challenge traditional beauty standards for women. Her bold colours and minimalist illustrations depict tranquil women who make no effort to hide their body hair. It is an open, bodily display of South Asian women that Khan seeks to make common. She says ‘it is important for me to normalise body hair because it is […] natural and the removal of it is a social construct’. She replaces any appearance of shame in these women with carefree glamour.
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Debate: can art ever be called criminally obscene?
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Ed Grimble and Hannah Wakefield attack the thorny issue of the validity of obscenity laws surrounding works of art are not always pleasant to look at, and many would find them offensive to modest. Once again, I would urge you to plumb the depths of your own artistic awareness and, in doing
calling oneself an ‘artist’ cannot be a loophole for the fetishist and the deviant to foist the products of their mind on the world so, to understand that the sexually explicit does not equate to the obscene– obscenity is not a legal fig leaf that allows sexual suppression. In presenting these very brief overviews of religio-political and sexual issues, I hope to articulate the point that obscenity does
come ipso facto because a work of art forays into these often socially shocking arenas. Common to all of the examples I have given, however, is an undeniable artistic merit, and it this which holds the key, in my view, to the obscenity debate. In 2012 Sruli Recht filmed a short documentary film for his work, Forget me Knot. Unsedated, Recht allowed a plastic surgeon to cut a 110 millimetre by ten millimetre strip of skin from his abdomen, which was tanned and attached to a jewellers ring. For those with a strong stomach, the film is watchable on YouTube. This was from the mind that brought the world A Lasting Impression, gloves with barbs on the inside so when worn could they were impossible to remove without either careful cutting or severe maiming; and the Carradina, an autoerotic asphyxiation belt made of Atlantic
NO
whole. However, this is by no means a reason to increase censorship, and further sanitise our art and expression. In fact, arguably it is through discussion and transparency that taboo issues can be dealt with, for in what world is pandering to the demand of terrorists considered the correct thing to do?
Flickr/ fmpgoh
What exactly constitutes obscenity in art? Is it simply things we find uncomfortable? Things that we would rather not think about? It is things that are taboo or often regarded as obscene? Taboo surrounds ideas and concepts of sex, sexuality, race, religion, and conflict, yet I doubt that simple censorship is the answer to the fear and anxiety that is near-universally felt upon discussion of such topics. Rather, as a society, we should be able to rationally deal with and talk about these issues. The ‘obscenity’ that first springs to mind when thinking of censorship of art is the taboo regarding sex and sexuality. Nudes have had long and tempestuous history with censorship. Two such paintings from the nineteenth century are Hokusai’s The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, in which a woman is shown receiving oral sex from an octopus, her head thrown back in ecstasy, while another kisses her mouth, and Gustave Courbet’s L’Origine du monde which includes a realistic depiction of a woman’s vulva – pubes and all. Hokusai’s work focuses on the idea of female pleasure, which is rarely brought to such a level of importance. This painting was not created for the viewing pleasure of men, which is so often the case with female nudes. While the presence of the octopus may justify some in considering this to be a work of obscenity, there is no such creature in Courbet’s work. It is simply a
Gustave Courbet, L’Origine du monde (1866), oil on canvas realistic portrayal of the female body, which as the title highlights, is where life, and by extension the world, originates. What could possibly be considered obscene about that? The censorship that Courbet’s work faces is by no means a thing of the past – in 2011 it was removed from Facebook after another artist posted a picture of it, on account of its apparent obscenity. In today’s world, the realistic representations of women who are not simply there for the pleasure and enjoyment of men is considered offensive. It is not the sexually explicit and exploitative advertising industry that is censored, an industry that promotes unrealistic and heavily photoshopped images, that cause issues of body image and self-esteem throughout society, and lead to the earlier sexualisation of children as a result of being surrounded
by images of this sort. Rather, it is instead images of women who have body hair or cellulite that are deemed ‘inappropriate’ and shameful. This seemingly contradictory message only serves to feed into the culture of shame that surrounds sex and sexuality, which benefits no one. It is, of course, not just sex that suffers at the hands of censorship in art. Some things, such as religion, are censored for other reasons. This is where the subjectivity of obscenity becomes more problematic, bringing to mind the terrible Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in 2015. Islamic extremists responded to what they considered offensive portrayals of the Prophet Mohammed with terror and violence. In this case, what is considered obscene to some actually poses a threat to the welfare of society on the
WHEN
WHERE Instagram/ ayqakhan
With a Tumblr, Instagram and personal website, Khan’s work is available to look at anywhere. This online accessibility makes her work available to young girls who may be struggling with racial identity, puberty or the general self-consciousness of body hair. These platforms also enable forums for discussion where other women share their own personal struggles.
white-sided dolphin skin. I would ask you to question whether any of the above have anything even approaching artistic merit. Consider also the films of self-proclaimed ‘shock artist’ Ira Isaacs. His ‘artistic’ oeuvre: a series of bestiality and scatology pornographic films like Gang Bang Horse ‘Pony Sex Game’, or a video of Isaacs having sex with two women while eating faeces. Shocking though they may be, this in and of itself is surely not sufficient to elevate something to the status of art. Instead, instances like this devalue and tarnish the reputation of what can be, and is considered, art; calling oneself ‘an artist’ cannot be a loophole for the deranged fetishist and deviant to foist the products of their mind upon the world. These works do not gesture outwards to the community which will receive them; they have no depth and have nothing engaging or interesting to say to us. They are nothing more than the unfettered articulation – be that in film, literature, or fine art – of the darkest and most perverse aspects of the psyches of their creators. There is no discernible effort to channel these interests into anything resembling a worthwhile piece of art – why bother when anyone can just label themselves a ‘shock artist’? If the idea of ‘the work of art’ is to have any currency, then the criteria for judging the obscene must be upheld. Ed Grimble
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YES
Arguing ‘for’ this motion is spectacularly tricky if one is, as I am, not someone who would ever condone a practice of aesthetic censorship based on the offensive potentials of a work alone – be they political, sexual, religious. A notable example here is that of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy back in 2005. A dozen editorial cartoons were published which depicted and satirised the prophet Muhammad, causing uproar from many in the Islamic – and, it must be noted, secular – community, with their fervent views on aniconism and the like. In the literary world, the glaring example is Salman Rushdie’s 1988 novel The Satanic Verses. Look to history, then, and it is easy to find countless instances of religio-political offence in art. Evidently, this cannot constitute legal obscenity. The same is no less true with the sexual. Adjectivally, obscene is usually understood to mean something along the lines of provoking strong feelings of disgust and revulsion regards explicit sexuality or over indulgence. Paintings like Gustave Courbet’s L’Origine du monde put the proverbial two fingers up to late nineteenth century standards of decency and how one should paint nudes. It is the same totally un-airbrushed view of the body and of human sexuality seen in the works of contemporary artists like Jenny Saville. They
Khan’s work pushes forward a new acceptance for women and race. She says ‘I have received criticism from my past friends and family members about the thickness and length of my hair and how it’s “gross” and “unfeminine”, so this attitude is one that I’m constantly trying to break’. She defies the commercial tendency to represent South Asian people with lighter skin and European features and introduces a new celebratory attitude to natural bodies.
Art is a form of expression, and the right to the freedom of expression is considered a human right [...] both universal and inalienable
In short there really is no legitimacy in, or benefit to, the labelling of art as criminally obscene. Art is a form of human expression, and the right to the freedom of expression is considered a human right; it is both universal and inalienable. Undoubtedly some art will offend some people, but individual sensibilities or immaturities are no grounds for being considered obscene, in particular with regards to images that include naked bodies or explicitly sexual imagery. It is surely better for everyone involved if nudity and sex are seen in art as natural and portrayed in a realistic manner, rather than the only depictions of nudity and sex coming from porn, which is certainly not realistic nor entirely natural. Hannah Wakefield
WHY Breaking taboos and ignoring the pressure of Westernled beauty ideals, Khan is redefining the image of women - especially for ethnic minorities. Her work openly displays the usually hidden secret of women having body hair and celebrates it. Her bright, clear figures are happy, healthy and supremely unconcerned. They promote female liberty and personal self-acceptance, while exploring the experience of a mixed cultural identity. Lucy Jackson
Epigram
12.12.2016
Music
@epigrammusic Editor: Sam Mason-Jones
Deputy Editor: Ellen Kemp
Online Editor: Georgia Marsh
music@epigram.org.uk
ellen.kemp@epigram.org.uk
musiconline@epigram.org.uk
Albums of the Year
Forget Pitchfork, who cares about NME... Epigram presents the only end of year list that matters: our favourite records of 2016.
22, A Million - Bon Iver
Lemonade - Beyoncé
The Hope Six Demolition Project - PJ Harvey
III - Moderat
Bon Iver’s star has been in the ascendant ever since the door swung shut on his cabin in north Wisconsin, though the rapid absorption into superstardom took a toll on Justin Vernon. Bound up in the production of third album 22, A Million is this tension: on one hand the sample-happy maximalism bears the influence of new friend Kanye West, while on the other the record’s discordance seems to reflect the breaking up required to make such progress. Indeed, strip the lyrics of opening track and lead single away from its major progression, apply them to the context of their inception and they become the whispers of a potential suicide: ‘it might be over soon.’ Having stepped back from the edge, the rest of 22, A Million is the sound of Vernon finding meaning in the life which had once appeared so empty.
Lemonade is the sonic castigation of Beyoncé’s allegedly adulterous husband. Among the cries of ‘if an ethereal goddess like Beyoncé can’t get a loyal man, what hope is there for us mere mortals?’ (and subtle scepticism of whether or not this was just a part of an elaborate publicity narrative) emerged the magnum opus of a cultural icon. From the pixie-dust-spangled James Blake production, to the tropical beats of tracks like ‘Hold Up’, Beyoncé gifted the world a masterclass in pop music. Whether inciting flames with Jack White on the bluesy ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’ or echoing the rallying cries of the Black Lives Matter movement with partner-incrime on the stormy protest anthem ‘Freedom’, Beyoncé showed the world that although we’ve lost a whole tribe of pop legends, we thankfully still have her to fill their shoes.
The Hope Six Demolition Project hasn’t got the same ghostly charm as Let England Shake, but it’s still a gorgeous excursion into Harvey’s weird brain. It feels very self contained, and is an album that requires you to delve deep into the vision hidden beneath stark, brutalist lyrical style. But when you do, it is truly rewarding. The album provides a reflective outsider’s perspective on the state of American society and its relationship with the wider world, evoking themes of dystopia, alienation and profound anxiety through powerful imagery and frankly unsettling music. This is developed by experimental song structures that are purposefully jarring; even, at times, quite un-musical. It is perhaps an acquired taste and requires patience, but personally I find it fascinating, challenging, unique and truly artistic – and for that reason deserves a place on our list.
The third and final instalment in Moderat’s album trilogy, III concludes the project fittingly with a perfect balance of melancholy and intensity. Electronically produced tracks form the foundation of the album, with vocals overlain. Vibrant without over-indulgence, the album’s highlights include opening track ‘Eating Hooks’, ‘Finder’, and ‘Intruder’. Their respect for the dancefloor is evident firstly from ‘Running’, a track driven by a 4/4 kick but balanced with simple vocals, heavy reverb on the claps and explosive synths that I would welcome in any club. ‘Answer Code Request’s remix stays truer to the original and is probably the more effective version. Strictly speaking, the album is probably not the best of the year, but credit must be given the band for their seamless integration of electronic, often club-ready instrumentals with vocals, rendering the album marketable to wider communities.
A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
Coloring Book - Chance the Rapper
Blackstar - David Bowie Adam Becket
Alexia Kirov
‘True to form’ is a phrase rarely attributed to Radiohead. Scanning through their discography, you’re met with a sequence of works whereby one album seeks to entirely subvert and disfigure the one that preceded it. A Moon Shaped Pool, however, is only subversive in its effort to be cohesive; it is a work comprising and defining the sound that Radiohead have sought to make theirs over the last two decades. From the blisteringly aware ‘Burn the Witch’, to the abstract, episodic narrative which weaves itself through ‘Daydreaming’, Radiohead’s ninth album very much felt like the band’s tour-de-force. Straying for the first time from unapologetic ingenuity, they craft and mould their sound in front of the listener’s ears, Yorke’s whelping vocals taking on the very modern anxieties which have only become more prevalent throughout the year’s course.
Chancellor Johnathan Bennett, Chance the Rapper, smashes high expectations with his fresh take on a traditional gospel album, infusing the bold sounds of ‘No Problem’ and ‘All We Got’ with many understated gospel tunes, showing Chance’s mastery of a number of different moods. As an album, Coloring Book makes remarkably fluid listening, not only showcasing the lyrical quality and distinctive vocal scope of Chance but also his ability to complement this with dramatic backing tracks. Gospel vocals and trumpets coalesce to give each song an ethereal glaze and the album a sense of continuity and direction. Highly acclaimed, Chance’s third album has stamped his name on the hip hop scene indelibly and reaffirmed him as one of the best in the business.
I reviewed Blackstar for Epigram earlier this year. When I first listened to the album, it was David Bowie’s 69th birthday; it was a shock that the album appeared at all. By the time I had finished writing my review, Bowie was dead. It is, quite simply, the album of the year. It affected me like no other record, allowed me to mourn his death and celebrate his life. Undeniably, it is Bowie’s best album since at least Scary Monsters in 1980. The jazz influence on the album was unexpected, but it was the last decision of Bowie’s career, and a fantastic one. My favourite track is ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’, a sombre but uplifting track that upsets me every time. In a good way. Bowie was the best, and with his last album he finished it all off. Blackstar is perfect.
Vulnerable, exultant, brooding, celebratory. Suede’s Night Thoughts sees the band at perhaps their most cohesive and tenacious yet. Seemingly emboldened by 2013 comeback Bloodsports, the band’s seventh offering is sonically complex but not obtuse, from the very opening bars of ‘When You Are Young’. Night Thoughts is a masterclass in track order; each song melts seamlessly into the next, as if they are linked by an underlying silk thread. Although it is almost easier to see the album as a single, triumphant entity, what makes Night Thoughts so special is the way in which the anthemic ‘Outsiders’ and ‘Like Kids’ lie so comfortably alongside more tender and vulnerable material, like ‘Learning to Be’ and ‘I Can’t Give Her What She Wants’.
Sam Mason-Jones
Ollie Megson
Georgia Marsh
Nick Kramers
Ellen Kemp
Ed Fernyhough
Night Thoughts - Suede
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Telefone - Noname
Let Them Eat Chaos - Kate Tempest
We Got it from Here... - A Tribe Called Quest
Ellen Kemp
Sam Mason-Jones
Chicago’s Noname (the artist formally known as Noname Gypsy who found fame on Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap) flips the rigid gendered dynamic of hip-hop on its head. With a flow not dissimilar to that of a spoken word poet, her carefully composed and silky smooth wordplay individualises her role as a rapper. Beautifully flavoured by delicate soul, Telefone is an absolutely exquisite addition to a collection of some of the best hip-hop we’ve heard in years. Combining the glittering breathlessness of Solange’s A Seat at the Table with the ultra-cool serenity of the likes of Isaiah Rashad, she marries organic acapella with stunningly subtle instrumental arrangements to create a soundscape as gorgeous as it is her own.
People around me are probably sick of hearing me rave about this album. But it is, basically, a masterpiece. Though her debut was impressive, it is this record which proves Kate Tempest is something of an artistic revolutionary. Music is not really put at the forefront of this record, yet instrumentation is still crafted in such as way that each song complements each segment of the story, each pocket of a different perspective, a different insight. The album is a fable, as well as a furious social commentary and a bloody amazing thing to listen to for the sheer beauty of its expression.
Q-Tip, Shaheed and the late Phife Dawg have a knack of leaving us to our own devices and only returning when they are most needed. And boy are they needed now. On We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, whose title nods to the hatred which has boiled over in the 18 years during which Tribe have remained silent, Tip’s withering wrath is aimed squarely at Donald Trump, an arbiter of this hatred, criticising him on tracks like ‘We The People’ and ‘The Donald’. On these songs the boys have never sounded so good, with their flows fresher than ever before. This album, didactically conceived through complaints with a truly fucked-up world, is an example of that which makes it worth living in.
Glass Animals have a unique quality of creating a sense of tangibility with their music. Expanding from the tangibility of nature with their psychedelic sound in their first album ZABA; How to be a Human Being evolves into a more urban tone, revolving around the eccentricities of humanity and life itself. Flitting between genres of indie, electronic and hip hop, the album maintains a sense of continuity with their distinct sound of an assortment of percussion and lyrical storytelling. The album cover alludes to the narrative nature of the songs themselves. It is an evolution from the blissful vibe of nature to an urban essence of a diversity of misfits in a city scape.
Everything You’ve Come to Expect – The Last Shadow Puppets
Ruminations - Conor Oberst
Skeleton Tree - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Junk - M83
It will always be impossible to separate Skeleton Tree from the context which it wears with such blistering honesty. Nick Cave may have once played with death, but the loss of his son last year forced him to confront it. The resultant eight tracks were never meant for us, but represent the externalisation of the artist’s bereavement process, with the progress from the arid opener ‘Jesus Walks’ (on which Cave gives his grief myriad guises, including the ‘African doctor harvesting tear-ducts’) to the final, titular song, whose relative repose sounds as close to acceptance as it is possible to. It is the ultimate catharsis.
I’m firmly of the opinion that M83’s Junk is 2016’s album that most deserves a re-listen. While very M83, don’t listen expecting another ‘Midnight City’: the album is Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories for slightly trashier ‘80s music. However, what really marks the album out for me is its sheer (and often bizarre) eclecticism. Junk progresses from electropop anthems and overblown pastiche to French love ballads and wistful remembrances of youth. Give the album a couple of listens and you should not disagree that the title is not representative of the music within.
Georgia Marsh
Matthew Hayherst
Serena Basra Eight years of tantalising murmurs and cryptic comments ensured my expectations for this album were higher than Alex’s newfound love for flares. The album doesn’t fail to disappoint. Turner and Kane create an indulgent feast of sparkling, sharp lyricism as they play with a 60s and 70s inspired aesthetic. The duo are at their finest; charming, witty and, most notably, reflective, as they deviate from expectation and embrace experimentation. My favourite track has to be ‘Sweet Dreams, TN’ and crooning along to this with the crowd at Bristol Summer Series reminded me just why this album is so very special.
Were you at any point miserable during 2016? Probably. Well luckily for you, so was Conor Oberst. With Ruminations, Oberst offers some the most beautifully poignant tracks of the year. Lyrically morose and accompanied by only a sparse arrangement of piano, harmonica and guitar, this is him at his most isolated and vulnerable. Think Dylan, but living through a time of hate rather than one of hope. Need a way to see in 2017? You can’t go wrong with sticking on Ruminations and thinking about just how awful 2016 was.
Wilderness - Explosions In The Sky Ed Fernyhough Probably my more viable, genuine contender for album of the year, Explosions in the Sky’s Wilderness lives up to the band’s reputation in style and innovation. Famed principally for their evocative use of dynamics and end explosive climaxes achieved usually by layers and layers of guitars, Wilderness does not buck the trend. That said, it does differ from previous releases through a more pronounced use of electronic textures. The usual criticism still applies – indulgent and symphonic – but credit to a band that actually pulls their intention. My favourite track is probably ‘Logic of Dream’, but picking a winner is always a hard task with Explosions in the Sky. The band continue to mesmerize; seriously, go and see them live.
Sam Mason-Jones
How To Be A Human Being - Glass Animals Ellen Kinsey
Joe Gorecki
Blonde - Frank Ocean Georgia Marsh Frank Ocean – one of the music world’s most reluctant superstars – had a lot riding on his second album, Blonde. His 2012 debut Channel Orange is one of the most heavily lauded albums of this century. No wonder the Internet heaved with their ‘FRANK IS DEAD’ memes – how could he live up to something as spectacular as Channel Orange? By crafting an understated, intricate record that spewed painfully intimate poetry and an audible lightness that stemmed from a distinct lack of percussion. Sit down, curl up, listen to the likes of ‘Self Control’ and ‘White Ferrari’ – for this is an album to embrace the chills of winter with, to wake you up on early summer mornings and to cradle you during awkward comedowns.
Epigram
44
09.12.2013
Mistletoe without the Whine So here it is, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. The kids start singing and the band begins to play - you guessed it, Christmas songs. Joe Gorecki considers why we shouldn’t be so dismissive of the festive musical marmite. It’s that time of year again. People are opening up the little doors on their advent calendars, presents are being bought and the radio is blaring out nearconstant merriment in the form of Christmas hit after Christmas hit. Some are classics, held up as exactly what Christmas music should aspire to be, like Nat King Cole’s rendition of ‘the Christmas Song’ or the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s ‘Fairytale of New York.’ Others are the target of popular derision, essentially empty Christmas tunes of little discernible quality, like Macca’s ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ or whatever boyband or teen heartthrob has decided in the past couple of years, probably for commercial reasons, to attempt to contribute to the Christmas canon, like Justin Bieber’s collection, Under the Mistletoe. It is easy to deride such songs as being phoned-in and of little artistic merit and while this may be true, this shouldn’t necessarily preclude them from being included in our conceptions of Christmas. It’s hard to conceive anything written here will convert anyone into being a latent fan of ‘bad’ Christmas music, nor do I think that is even actually possible. I tend to take the view that US comedian John Hodgman’s adage “people like what they like” generally holds true: it is often a fool’s errand to attempt to cajole someone into liking something they do not. That being said, the opposite of this argument is perhaps why we shouldn’t be so hasty in our dismissal of bad Christmas pop.
Part of Christmas’s resilience as a holiday, why we still celebrate it, is its ability to adapt and change with the times. With the days so short and cold this time of year, it is no wonder Pagans thought it appropriate to have a mid-winter festival. This was then appropriated and rebranded as a Christian holiday with a mythology and spiritual meaning behind it, but the very human (and as a student, relatable) desire of “let’s have a party!” endured. Most of our ideas and conceptions of Christmas as an essentially secular holiday are really quite modern. It is one of those smart-alecky things to repeat to people in December about how it was Coca-Cola who made Father Christmas red. Whether or not this was actually the case, it serves to demonstrate Christmas’ ability to change and be commercially exploited. It was around middle of the twentieth century that popular Christmas music had firmly transitioned from hymns and carols to the jolly, tin-pan alley style of songs we now associate with some classic Christmas. This in turn gave way to the poppy Christmas of the ’60s and ‘70s before continuing to evolve to the present. Christmas music generally followed and sought to keep pace with the holiday as celebrated. What you can claim is that in the face of ideas around Christmas songs needing to be ‘timeless’, modern Christmas pop, including the bad kind, is not treated as the most authentic musical representation of Christmas today that it increasingly is. Hymns while pleasantly representative of the tradition religious narrative don’t fit so well in an increasingly secular culture and the ‘classic Christmas’ songs of the 1940s and 1950s, while by all accounts classics, rely upon a nostalgic historicism that seeks to remind of a perfect Christmas from the past that never actually existed. However, with modern Christmas pop much of our modern world obsessed by reality television and the cult of celebrity is authentically reflected back. Indeed with some of this music, driven by commercial considerations, quality is often unimportant.
What can help to explain the Christmas of today’s continued abilities to evolve is that is not rigidly fixed and traditions can be made by us. Despite similar trappings, Christmas to an extent is what you make of it. There is nothing enforced and so we and our families, can have our own rituals and ideas about Christmas that would be utterly alien if explaining to another. And isn’t that part of the appeal? Every Christmas, every year and in every family is different. Because of this, if your Christmas involves cheesy pop songs, who are we to poohpooh? If you happen to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’ or dig the retrospectively impressive super group assembled for ‘Do They Know Its Christmas?’ or even just because you simply like the unquestionably jolly Christmas message of José Feliciano’s ‘Feliz Navidad’, just have fun with it: Christmas should be a time for joy. While they might not be to all of our tastes, there does exist a place for the bad Christmas song. Perhaps this year instead of complaining we should let them be. After all, what does it matter? It’s Christmas.
Joe Gorecki
Youtube / Rhino UK
Epigram
Puzzles
@EpigramPuzzles
Editor: Suzie Brown
Solutions will be posted online at www.epigram.org.uk before the next issue is released.
puzzles@epigram.org.uk
Quick crossword 1
2
3
4
Cryptic crossword
5
6
ACROSS 1. Result of the obstruction of light (6) 8. Not honourable or worthy (7) 9. Courageous (6) 10. Seeing organ (3) 11. One term in a quantitative study (9) 14. Containers (7) 16. Shrewd (6) 18. Return to a worse state (7) 21. A unit of land area (4) 22. A rapid stream (3) 23. As a consequence (9)
9 10 12 13 14 16
17
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21 22
23
Numerator
Word grid
Decode the clues to work out what things the numbers represent. E.g. 7 D in a W = 7 days in a week.
How many words can you find including the middle letter, with at least four letters per word? 23= Average 29 = Good 35= Excellent
9 L and C 22 D in A T Y 25 of D is C D 5GR 6 of D is S N D
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0 0 0 0 0 Codeword
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Each number represents a letter. Decode the grid to find the words. 9
13
11 12
3
10
24
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11
7
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17 9
4
26
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21
8 15
14
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4 17
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8 24
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17 24
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26
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3 19
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23 29 35 40
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ACROSS 1. Decorates Biblical tower with you (6) 4. Presents talents (5) 6. Vegan gelatine contents are heavenly (5) 7. Boss loses axe head while constructing Average makeshift cot (6) Good 8. Perhaps nitrogen surrounding setter Very could good be fun (5) 10. Present deliverer confused Satan (5) 12. Trio without
hospital at plant (4) 13. Precitpitates currently between poles (5) 14. Reminder to swap mass for energy in subarctic animals (8) DOWN 1. Strangely dry banter, but pair it with Christmas pudding (6,6) 2. Condiment to cause havoc after being mated? (5,5)
Find the word which can come before each of the three words given, in each case giving a common two-word phrase. E.g. CAR park, CAR stereo, CAR alarm.
1. Feet, Sore, Turkey 2. Pudding, Card, Party 3. Drift, Ball, Man
Sudoku
In this Christmas sudoku the numbers have been replaced by nine pictures, but you solve it the same way as a normal sudoku.
8
6
1
2
9
5
6
7
2
8
24
6
15
14
24
R
4
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6
7
8
9
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13
D
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Word ladder
Can you get from top to bottom, changing only one letter from one rung to the next?
BELL
SNOW
TREE
CAKE
6
4
11 16
3. For example, reverse gong to announce cocktail (3,3) 5. Bird endlessly turns key (6) 7. Missed saying the French digit to kiss below (9) 9. Promotion at end of event in run-up to Christmas (6) 11. By the sound of it, a few returned to Intensive Care for songs (5)
Just a phrase
0
4
9
10
1
17 4
10 5
24 16
15
5
7
24
1
3
0
3
6
Want to set a puzzle for the next issue? Get in touch via email or tweet @EpigramPuzzles
16
11
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24
6
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11 11
20
12
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24
25 4
24
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14 17
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DOWN 2. Unfeeling, cold (9) 3. Small and delicate (6) 4. Head covering (3) 5. Hostile opponents (7) 6. Woodwind instrument (4) 7. A bar on a pivot, used to move a load (5) 12. Great or intense in a negative sense (6) 13. Tightly-packed group of similar things (7) 15. Mineral spring or hot bath (3) 17. Open sore (5) 19. Ogle (4) 20. A 0/1 unit of information (3)
15
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1
Set by Jade
7
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12.12.2016
8
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5 9 4
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Epigram
46
12.12.2016
Hetty Garnier: Bristol’s curling prodigy Rory Macnair Sports Reporter
Flickr: Alasdair Massle
Last week, Epigram caught up with Hetty Garnier, a high performance athlete and current captain of England Women’s National Curling team. Having represented England at international level from the age of 13, she has had her fair share of success, such as guiding the national team to their first Junior World Championships in 2015.
Facebook/ /UoB UoBBoat Polo Facebook Club / Hetty Garnier Facebook Club
Firstly, how did you get into curling? I got into curling when I was eleven: a friend of mine from school recommended it to me and we both now play on the England national team. How popular is the sport in the UK? It’s not hugely popular in England, there’s only one rink which is in Kent where we grew up playing. But in Scotland it’s much more popular with about 15 rinks. It’s currently the fastest growing winter sport though, and after every Olympics there’s always a huge uptake. Do you get much time to train whilst you are studying at university? I don’t get very much time to train on the ice. I’ve had to make seven trips up to Scotland since August as there’s nowhere near Bristol where I can play. I tend to train in the uni gym a lot during the term: being part of the performance squad means I get Strength & Conditioning sessions three times a week as well as yoga and physio. Do you agree with the perception of the sport being a slow game? I think it depends on who’s playing. It
is a very tactical game so that lends itself to a slower game sometimes. But a lot of the games you play at a high level can get pretty heated, especially amongst the men. What has been your best memory or achievement in curling? My best memories are winning the European Junior Curling Challenge last January as we were the first English girls team to do that and qualify for world championships, and winning a bronze medal in the Women’s European B Group in 2013.
How demanding is curling as a sport, do you have a strict diet or specific training regime? It’s as strict as you make it. The last few seasons we’ve been making an increased commitment to our health and fitness as the sport becomes increasingly professionalised and we need to keep up with the bigger teams. I have access to a nutritionist through the uni sport squad so I have meetings with him a few times a term. In the run up to the Europeans last week, the whole team even gave up alcohol for a month!
Playing any sport to such a high standard requires a great deal of commitment. What to your mind makes all that effort worthwhile? Being part of the team is a big motivator; we all get on so well that we enjoy training and playing in competitions together. It’s really satisfying just to see your hard work paying off and to play at a high level, and being able to look back at the times we’ve won medals is amazing. It’s also a welcome distraction from work sometimes as you can completely separate yourself from uni stress when
you’re away training. What are your aims for the rest of the season? Are there any competitions you in particular you’d like to win? We’re hoping to get a promotion from the European B Group to the A Group, something we’ve been really close to achieving the last few seasons. I’ve recently been promoted to skip of the England Women’s team so I hope to keep that success going and lead the team to championships in the future.
UBSC shred up the slopes in Scottish Championship Chris Mathias and Lucy Troman Sports Reporters
Facebook:/UoB Facebook UoBArchery Volleyball Club Facebook / UBSC
As the Alpine season gets underway, Chris Mathias and Lucy Troman reflect on a record breaking start to the competitive snowsports calendar. November started off with the annual trek to the BUCS Dry Slope Championships in Edinburgh where, with their largest ever squad, the UBSC team shredded some plastic and brought home crucial BUCS points. With over 2000 competitors, the racing standard was higher than ever. The weekend began with the women’s ski race, which saw Abigail Partelides, Devin Henderson and Lauren Beattie finish 9th, 10th and 18th respectively. They were shortly followed by the men, resulting in Jasper Taylor, Jamie Serjeant and Louis Latham all qualifying for the finals. There were similar successes in Sunday’s slalom, as Partelides notched an impressive fifth place finish. With the racers narrowly missing out on podium finishes, it was time for the snowboarders to tighten their boots and get to work. They did not disappoint and, leading by example, board captain Lucy Troman bagged herself a silver medal in the slalom.
This success was replicated in the Boarder Cross event, as Charlotte Reid and Nic Raffell placed highly in both the men and women’s events. Reid soon built up a head of steam, once again making the podium with a third place finish in the Big-Air freestyle discipline. After similar successes in freestyle skiing, the team returned to Bristol with an impressive 50 BUCS points. Their attentions soon turned to the second competition of the season: the Southern Round of the Dome Series in Milton Keynes, which would determine qualification for the National Finals. Coming off the back of a promising start in Edinburgh, the team improved on their results in Scotland, notching a number of podium finishes across multiple disciplines. With huge individual results, the women’s team came out on top overall,reinforcing their continued development within UBSC. With Dome Series finals and the BUCS Alpine Championships in March, there has never been a more exciting time to get involved with UBSC. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced competitor, the club welcomes all abilities and provide professional coaching throughout the year. Check out the University of Bristol Snowsports Club on Facebook for more details about how to get involved!
Epigram
12.12.2016
47
Judo Club throwing their weight around Sam Underwood Sports Reporter
Bristol 1st 3-1 Exeter 2nd Women’s Fencing: Bristol 1st 135-41 Aberystwyth 1st Men’s Water Polo: Bristol 1st 10-9 Oxford 1st Women’s Futsal: Bristol 1st 12-2 Marjons 1st Men’s Basketball: Brstol 1st 102-46 Marjons 1st Flcikr Facebook / Siralextuan / UBJC Epigram / Quidditch UK (Sam Instone)
“ There aren’t many sports where you can throw your opponent to the floor and have a pint afterwards
competitor, and cornerstone figure in modern British Judo - joined and later captained the club. Since then, UBJC has continued the long-standing tradition of British Judo practice in Bristol, growing year on year. 2009-2014 saw something of a renaissance for the club, with 12 club members receiving their Shodan (1st Dan) and an incredible 19 members taking home BUCS medals during the same period, with 8 in 2010 alone. The club finally took its rightful place in the Students Union and was granted six hours a week of room bookings, since previously the club had been relegated to other dojos around Bristol. Since then, 2015-16 has seen two more 1st Dan grades awarded to ex-captain Marcus Jones and current captain Reece
Hustwitt, over a dozen red belts awarded to UBJC freshers, and many medals awarded to club members for competing in such competitions as the Warwick Invitational, USIST, and the London Areas Open, including a haul of 13 medals in the first term of 2016-17 alone. However, UBJC isn’t only about the glory: the club makes a very strong and recognisable presence on nights out, with highlights of the last year including the inauguration of the Martial Arts Bar Crawl (at which UBJC turned out in higher numbers than the rest of the clubs put together). UBJC aims to foster an environment in which every member can be supported and encouraged, whether a returning 1st Dan or a totally fresh player, and this means regular socials, nights in, pub
trips, and post-competition celebrations. Reece Hustwitt, current captain, says: ‘Judo to me is all about the challenge. I’ve not found anything that combines endurance,explosive power and strength with technique and competitiveness quite like Judo does. There aren’t many sports where you can throw your opponent to the floor and then go and have a pint with them afterwards. You’re never finished learning, there is always something that can be perfected. UBJC is like my second family. The club is always so welcoming, always looking to help everyone and progress. That carries over on the road to competitions around the UK and on the nights out’. For more information and happennings about the club visit facebook.com/bristoluniversityjudo
Make ‘Get Active’ your NY resolution Nicky Withers Sports Reporter
residences. Launched in September this year, classes such as yoga and insanity are now available in the comfort of halls, allowing you to exercise with flatmates at no cost at all. Timetables are available on the Bristol Sport website. For those who identify as women, the ‘Fit and Fabulous’ scheme could be a great option for you. It has been incredibly popular this term, with memberships selling out in a matter of weeks, but the opportunity to purchase one (for £19.99) may be available again in January. Like ‘Get Active’, no experience is needed. Instead, the emphasis is on getting fit and healthy, whilst having fun at the same time. Classes available include water aerobics and Zumba, making it a great way to make new friends as well as get fit. If this sounds like it might be for you, then check out the Bristol SU website for more information. After all, don’t we all deserve a guilt free feast this Christmas? If you want more information on the individual programmes, have an explore of both ‘Fit and Fabulous’ and ‘Get Active’ respective websites.
Facebook / Conor Bannister Facebook / Get Active
Planning on a food-filled Christmas? Looking forward to a bit too much booze at New Year’s? Pre-emptive exam stress got you comfort eating? If this sounds like you, then January could be the perfect time to take part in the ‘Get Active’ scheme, which is run by the Student’s Union. ‘Get Active’ is a catch-all term that includes a variety of different sports and classes, without the cost or commitment of joining a sports team. It is inexpensive to get involved, with sessions averaging at £2 a time, or a yearly membership totalling £50. There is something for everyone, from badminton to tai chi, and it is a brilliant opportunity to try something new in a social environment. Most sessions are held in the SU or SEH, making it easy to go and destress with exercise after a library session, or start your day right with some Pilates. If, however, you would rather exercise a bit closer to home, there are a number of classes available in halls of
Wednesday 30th November (select results) Men’s Football:
Bristol’s Students’ Union is always so packed with clubs, societies, and gatherings both formal and casual that one could be forgiven for overlooking any single club that meets there.Yet three times a week, if you were to be nosing around the various practice spaces, you may run into one of Bristol Sport’s best-kept secrets; the phenomenally successful and annually expanding University of Bristol Judo Club. The largest and most active martial arts club in Bristol, UBJC has been fostering a high pedigree of judo talent for over 60 years at the university, and its members regularly meet to train, compete, socialise, and foster the spirit of this relatively new and evolving martial art.
Judo is a martial art and combat sport involving grappling, throwing and submission techniques. A Judoka will learn to fight at a grappling range, developing avenues to end physical conflict without delivering striking blows. Developed by Professor Kano Jigoro in the early 20th century, Judo, meaning ‘gentle way’, has since developed into a major recreational and competitive sport. Competitive Judo combines the explosive strength and speed of boxing with the strategic impetus of chess and the technical finesse crucial to any martial art. The University of Bristol Judo Club has been running since at least 1956, when Tony Sweeney - 9th Dan Judoka, 3-times European Championships medallist, twice British Olympic Judo
BUCS Wednesday
Women’s Volleyball: Bristol 1st 3-2 Southampton 1st Men’s Lacrosse: Bristol 1st 11-7 Oxford 1st Women’s Lacrosse: Cambridge 1st 11-10 Bristol 1st Men’s Hockey: Bristol 3rd 3-1 Swansea 2nd Women’s Football: Bristol 1st 1-0 Exeter 1st Men’s Squash: Bristol 2nd 3-2 Cardiff Met 1st Men’s Ultimate Frisbee: Bristol 1st 15-1 Winchester 1st For a complete list of BUCS fixtures and results, head over to www.epigram.org.uk/sport!
Fantasy Football
Epigram Sport is running its very own Barclays Fantasy Premier League. Feel free to join! Liga de Epigram Code: 808585-362510 Good Luck!
Epigram
12.12.16
Sport
@epigramsport Editor: Jonathan Harding Deputy Editor: Jack Francklin
Online Editors: Oscar Beardmore-Gray & Dan Reuben
sport@epigram.org.uk
oscar.beardmoregray@epigram.org.uk dan.reuben@epigram.org.uk
jack.francklin@epigram.org.uk
Bristol Hockey embroiled in racism allegations Oscar Beardmore-Gray Sports Reporter
Facebook / UoB Hockey
The University of Bristol Men’s Hockey Club have asked for the University of Gloucestershire to drop allegations of racial abuse., The row erupted on the 19th October when Bristol’s 2nds travelled to the University of Gloucestershire 1sts, which resulted in a 5-4 victory. In a heated affair, Gloucestershire’s captain was sent off for violent conduct, allegedly incited by a racist remark aimed towards him by a Bristol player. Bristol Hockey Club has since apologised for their part in the event and have subsequently completed a thorough internal investigation alongside the Bristol University Students Union and Sports, Exercise and Health Department. This investigation concluded that a Bristol player was guilty of using ‘inflammatory language’, however maintained that any comments made were offensive, but not racist. UBMHC have now requested that Gloucestershire Hockey Club will ‘publicly acknowledge this result and revoke previous statements that they have publicly made about [the] club’. However, Gloucestershire’s hockey club have taken to Twitter to publicly announce their unwillingness to do so, and their dissatisfaction with the results of the investigation: ‘still no clear action from @BristolHockey. It seems racism is acceptable now!?’, while starting the
hashtag #justice4artur. An anonymous source from UBMHC told Epigram: ‘no Bristol player used racist language. Their captain totally overreacted and acted in aggressive manner towards our bench, which resulted in him being sent off for violent conduct, something that’s very unusual in hockey’. In a public statement, the club said, ‘The University of Bristol Men’s Hockey Club does not condone any form of discrimination on or off the pitch, and are committed to removing racism from the sport that we enjoy so much. As such, an allegation of racism against a UBMHC player during a game against the University of Gloucestershire was addressed with the utmost seriousness and respect. Following the incident, statements were taken from players involved and, alongside the complaint received, were used in a thorough investigation undertaken by the club alongside Bristol University Students Union and Sports, Exercise and Health Department. The investigation found that the player involved did not racially abuse the University of Gloucestershire captain. However, we are aware that the player did use inflammatory language that incensed the University of Gloucestershire’s captain, and we apologise for the offence and distress caused.We are aware of how easy it is to overstep the mark in the heat of the battle, and resolve to improve our
behaviour on the pitch. We will be implementing selfpolicing strategies and increasing the responsibility of senior committee and team members in moments such as these. We look forward to working alongside Bristol SU and Sports, Exercise and Health once more to continue the great progress this club is making.
We hope that our counterparts at the University of Gloucestershire will publicly acknowledge this result and revoke previous statements that they have publicly made about our club. We are extremely satisfied with the manner and detail in which this investigation has been carried out and therefore confident that this is
the correct outcome to an unpleasant situation. We look forward to extending our hospitality in the return fixture’. Despite this incident, the Men’s 2nds have maintained focus, and remain top of their BUCS league following an unbeaten streak of five matches, including a 6-0 capitulation of local rivals UWE.
BUCS Star Team: Invincible Men’s Volleyball Grace Youell Sports Reporter
Facebook / UoB Volleyball
Welcome back to BUCS Star Team, our feature that showcases the very best performances from across Bristol’s competitive sports teams. Every fortnight, we cover the heroics of one winning side, who have all been put forward for the honour by the Sports Executive. This week the Men’s 1st volleyball team were clear winners of the prestigious prize, as their nail-biting 3-2 win against LSE has topped off an unprecedented victory streak of 3 years in the BUCS 1A division. This incredible achievement comes down to the exemplary performances of the players. Team captain Chris Sherfield was quick to stress their importance to the club: ‘every new player contributes to an already fantastic team spirit and positive winning mentality. It’s amazing to see the development players have made throughout the years I’ve been at this club, helping us reach the level we have’. After the team’s successes last season there was always going to be question marks over whether they could replicate their impressive form. Needless to say, they have not disappointed. With solid wins against South Wales, Bournemouth, Bath and Cardiff already this season, all eyes were on their match against LSE in the first round of the cup on November 23rd.
The match started off unusually slow for Bristol, as LSE made some impressive blocksandmanagedtopickupthefirstset. Unshaken, Bristol were much improved in the second set, and began to gather momentum in the match, culimating in a 23-20 lead. Despite this, LSE retaliated on the attack, and managed to nick the second set.Their form continued into the third set, and UoB were left in a perilous position, as LSE had several set and match points. However, the experience of team shone through. With their backs against the ropes, every player on court kept a cool head. Fuelled by dreams of a cup run, Bristol soldiered on, putting their bodies on the line for victory with several impressive serves and blocks. Sensing victory, Bristol continued to put pressure on LSE, staging an impressive comeback. Soon, they were ahead, and managed narrowly see out the game 30-28. The side’s strength and team spirit paid off in the fourth and fifth sets, and they came away with a fantastic 3-2 win. Following this dramatic comeback, Club Captain and senior member of the men’s 1sts Michael Wilsher has high hopes for the rest of the season, with his sights set firmly on achieving premiership status next year: ‘I think that this is the best team we’ve ever had and I can see this record going to the end of the season and help us to become a premiership team for the first time ever’.