Exeposé issue 624, May 20th 2014.

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EXEPOSÉ THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

‘A Culture of Thinness’

Tuesday 20 May 2014 • Issue 624 • Twitter: @Exepose • www.facebook.com/Exepose • Free

• Ex-sufferers claim eating disorders at University are “rife” • Experts warn they are placing “huge burden” on students • 66% of students worry about their peers’ eating habits

Photo: Edwin Yeung

EXCLUSIVE Senior Editors Hannah Butler, Harrison Jones, Gemma Joyce, Emily Leahy, Vanessa Tracey AS medical experts and former sufferers warn of the “huge burden” eating disorders are placing on Exeter students, an Exeposé survey has suggested widespread concern amongst the stu-

Comment: The many bene�its of eating from a skip Page 7

dent population about the problem.

Of the 306 students surveyed, over two thirds answered that they were concerned about a friend’s eating habits, with more than half of these students suspecting someone they know at the University of suffering from anorexia or bulimia.

Doctor Vic Mohan, a GP at the Student Health Centre, said: “We are very experienced at supporting students

suffering from eating disorders...We know that large numbers of students suffer from an eating disorder and even more of them are affected by witnessing the impact of the eating disorder on their friends and housemates.”

Dr Mohan stressed that it was “dif�icult to know exactly how many” students suffer from a related disorder, which covers a far broader spectrum than just anorexia and bulimia, but

Features: “Do I think Osborne screwed up?” Evan Davies interviewed Page 9

added: “As well as having serious and potentially long term effects on physical health, eating disorders can impact on every aspect of a student’s life, from performance, to mood, to social life, to relationships.”

Of the survey’s respondents, 44 per cent said that they would not know where to go if they needed support relating to an eating disorder, implying that many students struggle to access

Lifestyle: Is shopping on a student budget fuelling unethical practices?

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the University’s facilities.

Colum McGuire, NUS Vice President Welfare, highlighted fears surrounding eating disorders amongst university students nationwide, stating: “Many students don’t feel like they are getting adequate support from their institutions. NUS is concerned about cuts to services that support...

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Email: editors@exepose.com Call: (01392) 723513 Editors Print: Harrison Jones & Gemma Joyce Online: Callum Burroughs & Meg Lawrence Deputy Editors Callum McLean & Vanessa Tracey depeds@exepose.com News Editors Print: Hannah Butler & Emily Leahy Online: Rachel Gelormini & Laura-Jane Tiley news@exepose.com Comment Editors Print: Callum McLean & Vanessa Tracey Online: Rachel Brown & Matt Wilcock comment@exepose.com Features Editors Print: Rory Morgan & Emma Thomas Online: Kayley Gilbert & Fran Lowe features@exepose.com Lifestyle Editors Print: Eamonn Crowe & Jack Wardlaw Online: Alice Belton & Harriette Casey lifestyle@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Kate Burgess & Tristan Gatward Online: Pavel Kondov & Lewis Norman music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Josh Mines & Ciaran Willis Online: Will Cafferkay & Emma Sudderick screen@exepose.com Books Editors Print: Natalie Clark & Chloe Glassonbury Online: Sophie Harrison & Christy KU books@exepose.com Arts Editors Print: Sarah Gough & Bethany Stuart Online: Laura Christopher & Stephie Wilson arts@exepose.com Games & Tech Editors Print: Josh Creek & Adam Smith Online: Rosie Howard & Harry Shepherd games@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: James Beeson & Sophy Coombes-Roberts Online: Alex Bonner & Freddie Turner sports@exepose.com Photography Edwin Yeung photography@exepose.com Copy Editors Sabrina Aziz, Isobel Burston & Flora Carr

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The opinions expressed in Exeposé are not necessarily those of the Exeposé Editors nor the University of Exeter Students’ Guild. While every care is taken to ensure that the information in this publication is correct and accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information printed. The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to artwork or material submitted. The contents of this, unless stated otherwise, are copyright of the Publisher. Reproduction in any form requires the prior consent of the Publisher.

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Pfizer has made a multibillion bid to buy AstraZeneca, which critics claim could affect jobs in the UK.

potential consequences to the wider environment. The research will involve using zebra�ish to study where pharmaceuticals act within the body and the effects they have on health. It will also monitor the effect any potential new medicine will have on the environment as a signi�icant proportion of all medications contaminate the environment.

The research will take place in the £9 million Aquatic Resources Centre, which is one of the largest centres of its kind in Europe and will provide a signi�icant boost for the local economy, securing highly-skilled jobs on campus and keeping valuable scienti�ic knowledge within the region. Under the terms of the agreement, four scientists currently employed at AstraZeneca’s Brixham Environmental Laboratory will be joining the world-leading research staff in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, along with a scientist from Sweden and two PhD students. AstraZeneca has been the subject of a controversial deal worth over £63 billion with US drug giant

ARTS 24-25

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Hannah Butler & Emily Leahy news@exepose.com

Uni partnership with AstraZeneca to benefit research THE UNIVERSITY has entered into a new partnership that will pioneer world-leading research, boosting the effectiveness and safety of vital new drugs for both patients and the environment.

Exeter’s burgeoning reputation as a world-leader in ecotoxicology research will bene�it from the £2 million partnership with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca as together they study the effects that potential new drugs for treating major illnesses like cancer and respiratory complaints may have on patients and thereby help combat

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P�izer which should serve to lower research expenditure for both companies, enabling both to remain compe -itive in an increasingly tough market.

This partnership with the University will build on their global expertise Steve Rumford, Global Head of Environment, AstraZenecca

Professor Nick Talbot, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University said: “This innovative new partnership will strengthen Exeter’s reputation as a vibrant centre for ground-breaking ecotoxicology research. Our research is already making a difference across the world, in ensuring that we understand the fate of chemicals in the environment and how to manufacture safe and environmentally responsible products. This new partnership with AstraZeneca will ensure we remain at the forefront of ecotoxicology and sustainability research with a recognised leader in the �ield.”

Steve Rumford, Global Head of

This new partnership will strengthen Exeter’s reputation as a centre of groundbreaking ecotoxicology research Professor Nick Talbot, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research

Environment for AstraZeneca, said: “This partnership with the University of Exeter, will build on their global expertise in �ish biology to provide early screening tools allowing AstraZeneca to assess its development compounds.”

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Exeter remains in top ten Connor McGovern News Team THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER has kept hold of its position of tenth in The Complete University Guide for the second year running.

The guide, published last week, also ranks Exeter in the top ten for 22 of 36 subject areas, including Archaeology, English, Computer Sciences, French, History, Medical Technology and Sports Science. The Business School’s subject groups – Accounting and Finance, Business and Management Studies and Economics – were also ranked as some of the best in the country. Improvements were also made in various categories including employability, good degree achievement and student-staff ratios, which contribute to universities’ overall Photo: Edwin Yeung

rankings.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Sir Steve Smith, said: “This is excellent news, and a testament to the enthusiasm, dedication and hard-work displayed by everyone associated with the University of Exeter, reinforcing our position as a rewarding environment in which students can truly �lourish.”

Exeter has ranked consistently highly in all university ranking tables, and has featured in the top ten since The Complete University Guide began. The University’s internationally-recognised research, student satisfaction and investment in student facilities have all been factors in its success in the tables.

The UK’s top ten universities are, in order: Cambridge, Oxford, the LSE, St Andrews, Durham, Imperial College London, Warwick, Bath, University College London and Exeter.

Initiative changing local attitudes to begging Hannah Butler News Editor BOURNEMOUTH CHURCH HOUSING ASSOCIATION (BCHA) has backed a campaign by Exeter City Council to change attitudes towards begging in Exeter’s city centre.

The #ExeHelp initiative – which involves the use of messages sprayed onto pavements at key spots in the city centre – aims to spread awareness among the public as to how those begging on Exeter’s streets can be most effectively supported.

Through temporary, biodegradable messages bearing statements such as “change is about more than a few pounds” the initiative hopes to encourage people to donate to charities supporting vulnerable people in Exeter, rather than simply giving to those on the streets.

The #ExeHelp campaign - carried in partnership with Devon and Cornwall Police and BCHA - has also received support from other Exeter-based charities and support agencies.

The BCHA - one of the charities of which the initiative is hoping to increase awareness - offers support and

advice to those sleeping rough in the city.

Adrian Staegemann, Co-ordinator of BCHA’s Street Homeless Outreach Team, said: “We are pleased to be supporting Exeter City Council with this campaign, and hope it will help those people who want to support the homeless to know the many alternative ways in which they can do so.”

Cllr Rob Hannaford, Lead Councillor for Housing and Customer Access, said: “We recognise that those begging do need help but paying them direct could be doing more harm than good.

If anyone wants to make a difference they can make a donation to one of the support agencies that help the homeless in Exeter.”

Inspector Tanya Youngs, of Devon and Cornwall Police, added: “Exeter is fortunate in that it has numerous charities and supporting bodies who help homeless people and those in need.”

A Guild spokesperson commented “We would always encourage students to give to recognised charities to ensure that their donations and support have the maximum impact.”

Those wishing to �ind out more about the initiative are encouraged to visit www.exeter.gov.uk/begging.

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An Exeter-exacerbated problem? 44% of us fear friends have serious disorders

There seems to be a certain ‘look’ perhaps because we’re sporty - that people try and conform to Anonymous former sufferer

Representatives of the Sports Park told Exeposé that despite their efforts to promote mental and physical wellbeing, they also feel there is confusion and a lack of awareness about the support services available at the University.

All members of the gym staff have undergone training sessions with the

Sports Park encourages a culture of athleticism, saying it is “positive” to see so many students in Exeter take part in sport.

However, an anonymous former sufferer disputed this statement, claiming that the gym does not provide any form of health check and that some members who “clearly have an eating disorder are still exercising non-stop,” without intervention.

They also reiterated concerns about the pressure upon University-wide services as a whole, adding: “wellbeing is way overstretched, the Uni need to expand that.”

Another student and former sufferer said: “It isn’t the girls dieting in order to squeeze into that dress for TP, it’s the ones that may have struggles back home, traumas in their past, the people who strive for those perfect grades and may be too scared to walk into a club. It’s not about your body,

Voting website launches ahead of EU elections Rachel Gelormini Online News Editor

TICKBOX is a new website which gathers information about voting into one place, making the decision about how to vote simpler and easily accessible.

Founded by Exeter student Matt Morley, TickBox seeks to match personal preferences with candidates, based on the most important issues that affect individuals. By outlining party policies and summarising key aims, the website endeavours to encourage more young people to vote.

Speaking to Exeposé about the initial idea, Matt said: “I was sat in my halls of residence and I couldn’t understand why no one was voting. I made a spreadsheet for my friends to help them work out who to vote for but then I realised we could do so much more if

It makes voting easy to understand for a group of people who are used to doing everything else online

Matt Morley, Founder we built this into a full programme.

“From that moment our focus was on design. We wanted our site to look and feel like something we would want

to use. That has been our guiding principle and we think that if we like it and we’re ‘young voters’ then other people will want to use it too.”

After TickBox was �irst used in the Student Guild elections in February, the team found that there was a signi�icant rise in the number of students voting.

During the week, the website had over 1000 unique users. Speaking about the rise in numbers, Matt said: “That can’t all be down to us but we like to think we had a part in it. Fundamentally, we believe that if we make everything to do with voting simple, searchable and online, it makes it easy to understand for a group of people who are used to doing everything else online.”

As well as Matt, the TickBox team includes Nick Hass, Sam McShane and Alex Scott-Malden. Based on the perception that young people as a group are apathetic, TickBox was designed not with the aim of telling people who to vote for, but to provide the information and tools required, so that individuals can make an informed voting decision.

The TickBox website was of�icially launched on Thursday 8 May. Ahead of the European elections, students will be granted free access to the website using PCs in the Forum on 21 and 22 May. The team hopes to receive thousands of users, with over 3.32 million people expected to vote across the South West.

A University spokesperson said:

“We’re absolutely delighted that the University has been able to help these amazing students launch such an innovative concept. It’s been a great example of how the Guild and University staff have been able to come together and provide both advice and practical

Given the depressingly low turnout in European and local elections anything that helps get people more interested and informed is welcome

MP Ben Bradshaw support to help get this excellent idea off the ground.”

Local MP Ben Bradshaw said: “It’s great that a group of local students have set up this initiative to encourage people to get more engaged in politics and the forthcoming elections in particular.

Given the depressingly low turnout in European and local elections anything that helps get people more interested and informed is welcome. In both the local and European elections we are choosing people who have real in�luence on decisions that affect us every day of our lives, so it really is important for everyone’s voice to be heard.”

supporting students in need.”

Any students who are concerned by the issues raised in this article can contact: The Student Health Centre (01392 676606); The Wellbeing Centre (01392 72 4381) and Beat (08456341414).

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Is body image to blame?

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it’s about your mind.”

In the words of those we spoke to, a sport-centric “hierarchical” social structure, a lack of diversity and a pressure to strive for perfection at Exeter seem to contribute to a culture of thinness - with a lack of awareness for where to turn when things get out of control.

Chris Rootkin, VP Welfare, said: “I’m always available to provide support if anyone feels they are suffering with an eating disorder. Wellbeing are fantastic and I know both the Guild and the University are committed to

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A former sufferer suggested that the problem may be more prominent at Exeter than elsewhere. The anonymous student said: “It’s rife here. It’s nothing to be ashamed of but there’s a stigma attached to it and people are too afraid to talk about mental health, because at Exeter there’s so much pressure to act in a certain way. I don’t know if it’s because there’s not much diversity here, but there does seem to be a certain ‘look’ - perhaps because we’re sporty – that people try and conform too.”

Former and current Presidents of BodySoc, Lani Landsman and Laura Payten, also expressed concern at the social pressure Exeter students are under. They believe that sport at Exeter dominates a social “hierarchy,” whilst implying - as former sufferers

Wellbeing Centre in an attempt to create a safer environment.

Paul Mouland, Sport and Wellness Development Of�icer argues that the

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Exeposé investigated ‘The Wait for Wellbeing’ last term, finding that some students waited three months for treatment.

have - that both sexes and not just girls, are affected by eating disorders.

They argue that BodySoc relies on its promotion of “making people feel safe and comfortable” when exercising, stating, “we want healthiness, not obsessive �itness.” The pair also noted the dif�iculties of balancing intervention if they are concerned about particular members, and being too intrusive, suggesting that there is not enough awareness about where students can go and who they can talk to.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ...students facing these challenges, particularly around poor referrals to outside services, and whether those services themselves actually have adequate resources to help students.”

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Of the 306 respondants, 211 said they were concerned about a friend’s eating habits and 136 suspected a friend had anorexia or bulimia.

Cracknell standing in upcoming elections Photo: Edwin Yeung

Harrison Jones Editor DOUBLE Olympic Gold medalist James Cracknell is hoping to become a Conservative MEP for the South West when he stands in the European elections on Thursday 22 May. The former British rower, who is also notable for television appearances with Ben Fogle and a cycling accident which left him brain damaged, is third in the Tories’ closed party list.

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Students can vote twice in the local elections, but only once for MEPs.

With six MEPs being elected in the region, Cracknell may face a difficult task as the Conservatives would require half of the available seats for him to be elected.

Labour or UKIP are expected to win

nationwide, as the elections use a form of proportional representation which sees voters choose parties and not individuals.

Nigel Farage’s UKIP have been installed as bookmakers’ favourites, despite a trend of only attending the European Parliament sporadically and voting no to virtually all motions, including a recent move to crack down on the illegal ivory trade, which the South West’s incumbent William Dartmouth was heavily criticised for rejecting.

The elections take place on the same day as local council elections, in which at least six Exeter students are standing.

Daniel Richards, Labour Students’ outgoing president, is standing for the Pennsylvania ward.

He told Exeposé: “It is a privilege to run in this election. The vast number of student candidates shows the developing links between the University and the local community - a very positive trend.”

>> Cracknell is tipped to run in the 2015 general election. Photo: Daily Telegraph

EXEPOSÉ

Sports Park investment: a review National Student 4

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Sarah Gough Arts Editor

Newcastle students to sit exams at Premier Inn

STUDENTS at Newcastle University are being forced to sit exams in a Premier Inn. The University is paying the establishment £13,500 for the hire of the venue as they cannot accommodate all exams on campus.

This is not the �irst year Premier Inn has been used. The University stated that one of the reasons for hiring external venues was in order to reduce noise levels during exams.

Academic Registrar Lesley Braiden explained that “the use of external venues is not related to the current student population size.”

Whilst some students appreciate the exam venue being closer to their housing, many have expressed concerns over the nearby traf�ic noise and the added stress of being in an unfamiliar environment.

English Literature student Kate Dewey highlighted the added personal costs of external exam venues: “Some of my �latmates last year took taxis as their location was pretty far away […] but this just means extra costs for us students.”

Oxford Union President faces questioning over rape

THE President of the Oxford Union has been arrested following allegations of rape made against him.

Of�icers arrested Benjamin Sullivan, President of the Oxford Union and third-year History and Politics student on Wednesday morning while investigating allegations of rape made by two undergraduates.

The two allegations have been made by second-year Oxford students.

One is understood to have been made in January last year following a “crewdate” organised by Mr Sullivan’s drinking club and a women’s sports team.

It is understood that the other alleged rape victim met the Union President in a nightclub in April last year and claims to have been attacked when she went back to his room.

He was replaced by his deputy, Mayank Banerjee, at a recent historic debating meeting. Banerjee, a PPE student from St John’s College, told the Union Chamber: “In light of recent events I am now acting-President of the Oxford Union until further notice. The Oxford Union believes in the premise of innocence until proven guilty and fully supports Ben Sullivan at this time. However, if found guilty, the Union believes (Sullivan) should of course face the full force of the law.”

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Emily Leahy News Editor

• 8.5 million pounds invested • Percentage of gold and platinum memberships increases • Projected income of £1,328,000 this year

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FOLLOWING the 8.5 million pound investment and development into the Sports Park last summer, Exeposé have investigated the effect the expansion has had on membership �igures.

Information obtained through a freedom of information request showed that the number of gym members has remained largely the same between the 2012/13 and 2013/14 academic years. However, gold and platinum memberships have seen a signi�icant increase whilst the number of standard memberships has de-

Photo: Edwin Yeung

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GAMES & TECH

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creased.

In the 2012/13 academic year, standard memberships made up around 58 per cent of all staff and student gym memberships, while in 2013/14 this �igure fell to around 31 per cent.

Paul Mouland, Sport and Wellness Development Of�icer, and Chris Beltcher, Health and Fitness Manager, explained the decrease in proportion of standard membership as the result of the Athletics Union and Sports Park incorporating facility fees into AU joining fees. Previously, students had to buy Sports Park membership separately to train with their club at the Sports Park facilities, but this year agreements were made to include the fees in club membership.

However, gold memberships saw an increase from 29 per cent of total memberships last year, to 51 per cent this year. Additionally platinum memberships rose from 13 per cent in the 2012/13 academic year to 17 per cent in 2013/14.

The increase in the more expensive membership options means an overall increase in the Sports Park’s total income: growing from last years £895,000 to a projected £1,328,000 this year.

20 MAY 2014 |

Plat.

12.88%

Gold 28.65%

Standard 58.47%

In 2012/13 standard memberships made up 58 per cent of total staff and student memberships

Plat.

17.39%

Standard 31.39%

Gold 51.22%

This decreased to 31 per cent in 2013/14, while percentage of gold memberships increased significantly

Questions raised over validity Student takes film to Cannes of teaching standards survey Angharad Joseph Owen Keating News Team THE University and Students’ Guild have questioned the validity of a survey by module review site Student Hut, which suggested that one in �ive students nationwide feel that teaching standards at their university are poor.

The survey, which took in the opinions of over 3,400 students across the country during April 2014, found that 19.6 per cent of students felt the teaching standards were poor, with 24.6 per cent of Exeter respondents within this survey agreeing that their own teaching standards were poor.

Across the survey as a whole, 20.8 per cent felt that tutors do not offer enough support outside of timetabled hours, and this rose to 23.1 per cent when solely based on Exeter respondents.

The survey also named several universities across the country as being particularly culpable for poor teaching provisions. 27.9 per cent of respondents from the University of Manchester felt their teaching was poor, in contrast to 3.4 per cent from King’s College London who were dissatis�ied.

Student Hut claims: “We’re aiming to be like TripAdvisor for universities. Our users help each other out by leaving reviews on course modules, allowing others to make more informed choices. This pooling of information also highlights problem areas, so that universities can take measures to improve the quality of course modules.”

A third year English student commented: “These statistics are very interesting in terms of understanding the nationwide student landscape

regarding the quality of teaching they receive. As student fees rise (and could be uncapped in the near future), we are increasingly keen to receive good value for money.”

A University spokesperson said: “The Times Higher Education Survey of student satisfaction published this week placed Exeter seventh. This is in line with Exeter’s consistent position in the NSS survey, where we have featured in the top ten in the UK since its inception,” adding: “The very small sample of 65 Exeter students that the Student Hut based its survey on, resulting in 16 students expressing dissatisfaction was too small to be in any way reprentative of the views of our student body, but we are never complacent and always striving to do better.”

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•3,400 students surveyed across the country • 24.6 % of Exeter respondents found teaching standards poor

Alex Louch, Vice President Academic Affairs commented: “I’m concerned over the validity of the Student Hut survey, considering that the Times Higher Education Survey recently found that Exeter is �irmly in the top ten in terms of the student experience.”

He added: “Although I fully recognise that the University must be held to account in offering a value for money education, I am deeply concerned that a TripAdvisor type evaluation of Exeter is being developed, as it stands against the principle of a shared community of learning between students and staff and is potentially dangerous for Higher Education.”

News Team

DIRECTOR’S FORNIGHT will showcase Exeter student Aygul Bakanova’s �ilm at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, Théâtre Croisette, on Thursday 15 May. Bakanova collaborated with esteemed Danish director Milad Alami to produce Void - which takes place on a ferry from Køge to Bornholm, a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, and is synopsised as a journey telling the story of a middle-aged man trapped in his memories.

The �ilm features an outstanding cast, with stars including The Killing’s Lars Mikkelsen, and Game of Thrones actor Dar Salim.

The international creative duo responsible worked as part of ‘The Nordic Factory’; pairing budding directors

and challenging them to create an entire �ilm under strict budget and shooting/editorial time constraints.

Bakanova described Void as a “True experiment […] shot in two days on a ferry in the Baltic Sea.” She evidently rose to the challenges posed, equipped by her PhD Film course which enables “ambitious �ilmmakers” to “develop their ideas and innovate form without conventional limits.”

Bakanova herself is paradigmatic of the course aims, according to Ben Gibson, director of Exeter’s doctoral partnership with London Film School.

Dr Hanson, Bakanova’s PhD supervisor, said “It is great to see Void recognised at Cannes” and praised Bakanova’s current PhD project and �irst feature length �ilm Drifting Snows which “subtly explores the shifting experiences” of women in contemporary Kyrgyzstan.

Photo: Exeter University website

Research developing Devonshire House set for malaria treatment summer refurbishment

EXEPOSÉ

Laura-Jane Tiley Online News Editor

RESEARCH undertaken by Jonathan Gosling, the University of Exeter’s Professor of Leadership, has discovered measures that could wipe out malaria from developing countries.

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and based at the University of California San Francisco, the study found that targeted investment from governments would be able to break down “roadblocks” to eradicating the disease. Limited resources, inadequate training, and reduced funding are currently making it impossible to eradicate malaria entirely.

Analysing requirements of different malaria management programmes, the academics produced a list of practical recommendations that targeted investment could enable. These include leadership and management development, workshops to assess the practices of best malaria elimination and improved government accountability.

A risk to half the world’s population, malaria can also be combatted through regional collaboration and further research into management, the study shows.

Professor Jonathan Gosling said: “Approaching malaria elimination

with ‘business as usual’ attitudes and expectations is untenable. Malaria elimination is a long-term, focused and technical process that requires effective management and communication at all levels. The investment options we describe have the potential to achieve widespread results at country and regional levels which, cumulatively, could have a global impact on progress

The fight against malaria is far from won, but both medicine and management have a role to play in the goal of eradication Professor Jonathan Gosling

toward malaria elimination and eradication.”

Professor Gosling concluded: “The �ight against malaria is far from won, but our report identi�ies that both medicine and management have a role to play in the goal of eradication.”

Professor receives major climate award Kitty Howie News Team

PROFESSOR Geoff Vallis, part of Exeter’s Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences Department, has

I like to think of my work as an example of how basic, fundamental research can address problems of great practical importance to society.

Proffessor Geoff Vallis

won a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.

The award scheme is designed to reward outstanding scientists by providing up to �ive years’ funding. This funding serves as a salary enhancement, usually between £10,000 and £30,000 each year, and ties the award holder to a permanent post at the host university.

The awards are dispensed after a rigorous application process, which involves a round involving independent referees and also another with a selection panel. Only 28 scientists nationwide received the honour in 2014.

Professor Vallis’ research is concerned with understanding the large-

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scale circulation of the atmosphere and ocean, such as the weather patterns and the ocean currents, and how these might change as the climate warms.

He said: “I like to think of my work as an example of how basic, fundamental research can address problems of great practical importance to society,” adding “the award mainly attests to the intellectual environment here at Exeter. I cannot think of a better place in the world to do research in �luid dynamics and climate.”

The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award is jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The Wolfson Foundation is an independent charity that awards grants to support and promote excellence in multiple �ields, including: science and medicine, health and disability, education and the arts, and the humanities.

Photo: University of Exeter website

Gemma Joyce Editor

• £776,000 refurbishment • Large extension planned • Sabbs of�ice to be relocated AMBITIOUS plans have been unveiled detailing the future of the downstairs of Devonshire House. The £776,000 refurbishment will be funded by the University and Students’ Guild and will include a large extension.

Work on the 125 square metre site will begin on 14 June, the last day of term, and end on 31 August in time for Freshers’ Week.

The project aims to inspire a sense of ownership of the building for students who, according to focus groups, highlighted the need for a fun, social meeting place on campus. The colourful space will include numerous power sockets for laptops and a variety of seating designed for both small and large groups.

A second year History and Politics student said “Devonshire House currently has a lot of potential but looks and feels out of place with the more modern buildings in the University, like the Forum. It’s dull and needs some colour to brighten it up.”

The project will also see a relocation of the Sabbs of�ice, currently located in the Guild corridor above the A&V hub, that will move to the downstairs �loor, in a bid to improve their connections with the student body.

A separate £300,000 investment into improving study spaces announced earlier this year will also mean the second �loor of Devonshire

House, above the Terrace restaurant, will gain over a hundred new study places for students to use next year.

Lack of study space has been an increasingly visible issue on campus this year as the University continues to grow.

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Work will take place between 14 June and 31 August .

The second floor of Devonshire House will gain 117 study spaces as part of a separate project.

The improvement of both social and study facilities over the summer will be a welcome change for many frustrated students struggling to �ind spaces to meet and work on campus.

“This seems like a really exciting pro-

ject,” said one second year English student, “anything that gives us more space would be great. Spending half an hour trying to �ind a seat in the Ram or the library is no one’s idea of fun or productivity.”

Olivia Gale, a second year Business student who works at the Kitchen Deli, commented: “I’m concerned that the smaller kitchen space may make food preparation more dif�icult and I would also be interested to �ind out more about how the new queuing system would work practically. I am glad, however, that the space is being reinvented and I think the plans are very creative.”

The �inal contract signing is expected to occur this week, at which time images of plans will be made public, and details of the relocation of shops and service bases are under discussion.

University scores badly on sexual health in national report Rachel Gelormini and Laura-Jane Tiley Online News Editors AN investigation carried out by DrEd. com has granted the University of Exeter a 2:2 based on its sexual health services.

Partnered with the Superdrug Online Doctor Service, a Sexual Health Report Card was created featuring the top 50 universities in the UK. Each university was graded between A-F in nine different categories.

Exeter was granted an ‘A’ grade for ‘sexual health information services near or on campus,’ ‘clinic drop-in availability’ and sexual health information which is ‘easy to �ind on website.’ Exeter’s lowest grade was a ‘D’, which was awarded for ‘sexual assault service’ and ‘sexual health information on website.’

Overall, Exeter came 33rd in the rankings, with Bristol University taking the top spot. According to the Report Card, Bristol “stood out for its forward-thinking delivery methods, setting up dedicated social media pro-

�iles to deliver a range of accessible information to help its students make informed choices about their own sexual health needs.”

With a score of 38, Cardiff University scored the lowest and therefore did not reach the requirements for a third class grade.

The results were calculated using a combination of methods, such as mystery shopping, web research and

É:

Exeter came 33rd in the rankings, with grades ranging from an‘A’to a‘D’

online surveys.

Speaking to Exeposé, VP Welfare and Community Chris Rootkin said: “The sexual health of our students is important to the Guild and we’re lucky to have the NHS walk-in centre that is so accessible to students. While our score on campus appears quite low, I’m con�ident that students have quality sexual health support available at Exeter.”

Recent studies have shown that STI infection rates are on the increase

5

and with cuts to public services across the UK, the Report Card aims to raise awareness and show universities where improvements can be made.

Colum McGuire, NUS Vice President (Welfare) said: “NUS represents seven million students UK wide, and sexual health is a reality that each needs to be aware of. We recognise the importance of providing easy to understand, accessible information like the sexual health report card to safeguard sexual health.”

Dr Vik Mohan, GP at the Student Health Centre, commented he was: “a little surprised at the scores we received through this survey.”

He added: “We will be taking this feedback seriously, and in particular will be reviewing the areas in which the feedback was suggestive of low levels of student satisfaction. This is not a survey instrument we have seen before, and will want to ensure that the areas highlighted for improvement re�lect the priorities and needs of our students before making any changes.”

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which eating disorders can �lourish. It’s not the University’s fault – many high performing institutions in the country harbour the same problem; but what it does mean is that more support needs to be provided. As our predecessors eloquently and courageously revealed, the Wellbeing Centre needs expansion because waiting times are simply too long.

Just from talking to friends, it quickly became apparent that virtually everyone ‘knows somebody’ affected, and respondents to our survey con�irmed this fact emphatically. Sufferers suggested that even the throwaway language used by both sexes implied an underlying issue.

Through talking to medical experts, charities, national bodies, sufferers and fellow students it nonetheless became clear that vast numbers of students are coming forward – a positive step in an otherwise dark set of revelations.

We don’t claim to be mental health experts, these are complex issues academics have spent years studying.

We’re merely reporting an issue we deem important and hope we have not triggered any negative responses or caused offence in doing so. Nonetheless, given our research, we can urge anyone concerned about their wellbeing - or that of a friend - to seek professional help. And we can advise University to do all it can to stem this culture of thinness. *** This week’s front page is somewhat downbeat. We think it’s important to highlight serious issues like this one, but maybe you have other ideas.

We’ve always valued knowing what you, our readers, want from Exeposé. A survey devised to do just that is available below (with cheeky incentives of Ram goodies, Noel Fielding tickets and more thrown in).

So if you care about what we cover, have strong feelings about certain sections, love a good rant, or simply fancy your chances at seeing Noel, then we’d like to hear from you here:

Thanks to those who helped proof this issue: Isobel Burston, Sabrina Aziz, Flora Carr, Evan Jones, Isabelle Elliott, Rob Harris, Emily Tanner, Megan Furborough, Owen Keating, Niklas Rahmel and members of the Exeposé editorial team

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Mind over matter LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE Exeposé Comment

“There is more focus on body image than ever before. I think that for this to change, it is all about reflection.”

Sophie Harrison

Our silent culture

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EDITORIAL

WE have a problem at University of Exeter. It’s a problem causing huge damage to huge numbers of students, but one which goes largely unmentioned in daily student life.

When we began thinking about the University’s ‘culture of thinness,’ it was this ‘taboo’ which we wanted to help break. Eating disorders are clearly a highly sensitive topic, but given the potential and actual damage they in�lict, we felt it important not to ignore the issue. Indeed, despite the shocking nature of our coverage, few of us can genuinely say we are surprised by it.

One article on the front page of a student newspaper is not going to solve this problem, at this University or nationwide. What we hope it can do is help sufferers by highlighting just how commonplace their problems are and showing that they are not alone.

We’ve talked to so many people who want to support those with eating disorders: help is available. But we were also told that if support is not taken, the repercussions are numerous and serious. Doctors warned of long-term health implications; former sufferers of the impact on housemates, family and friends.

Perhaps it’s the thought of those suffering in silence which is most sinister. Diagnosis is hard even when people come forward, due to the sheer range of eating disorders, but sufferers often don’t acknowledge the problem and therefore don’t even come into contact with professionals.

These conditions can cause feelings of guilt and shame, or denial seeking help can be the last thing on a sufferer’s mind.

This is why it was so dif�icult to get any statistics from the medical authorities on and near campus: they simply can’t provide any fully accurate data.

What they can and did say was that the problem is concerningly large in scale.

Whether it is more prominent at Exeter is dif�icult to say, but our research implies that it is, albeit not on a quantitative basis. Eating disorders can be caused by in�inite factors, but what we’ve seen is that the high-pressure environment of an elite university, coupled with a sport-centric student body and comparatively limited diversity, creates a toxic combination in

ARTS 24-25

TEENAGERS are impressionable. They read the magazines that employ Photoshop like weed killer on plants, trying to create this image of ‘perfection’ that is tarnished. We see this and, inevitably, we do react. Diet talk – body image talk – is a prevalent topic at University.

More mealtimes and social occasions than not, some comment will be made on someone’s appearance.

One thing I do want to emphasise: I do not believe that body image causes eating disorders. Speaking both as a previous sufferer and from a wider knowledge of the illness, I can state that it is �irst and foremost not �ixed on the body, but on the mind.

Self-worth does not lie in what you look like, your life is not shaped by the size of your thighs, but by the size of your mind – or, rather, how you choose to act with that mind. So when I sit at a pre-drinks, and I see comments passed on a girl’s out�it, or I am at dinner and I hear a remark on a girl’s appearance, I do wonder, “why is this remark needed?” At the same time though, I know I am as guilty as the next person.

Particularly in the university environment, I have seen more focus on image than ever before: people constantly in a state of labelling food as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, ‘fattening’ or ‘healthy’, formulating a new gym plan every week, lamenting in the mirror how ‘fat’ they look in those jeans. I have actually been accused of lying about my jean size in the last few months, ironically claiming to be a bigger size than I am.

It has taken going down a rather hor-

rible road for me to realise that this number says nothing about me, but to many students a trip to the changing room, an insensitive remark in TP, could stay with them long after. When told “you can’t be an eight, you must be a six”, and being able to snap back with, “I had the satisfaction of throwing out my six’s a year ago”, does feel oddly satisfying now. But I know I am in the mi-

Your life is not shaped by the size of your thighs, but the size of your mind

nority here. Others will see that number as a de�ining thing in their life.

Exeter is often assumed to have quite a rari�ied image, and as I have no experience of other universities I don’t want to perpetuate this reputation. Nevertheless, it is apparent to me that, in general, students place far too much importance in what they look like, their associations with image and food. For someone in recovery from an eating disorder, it is easy to forget what a healthy attitude to food and body is.

Consequently, you look into the ‘real world’ for guidance, but what emerges is a picture that is strikingly distorted in itself. On a couple of occasions, I have been given the ‘compliment’ that I am “skinny as”… nothing else. Thinness has become the aspiration. And as past experience and magazine culture has shown me, this can lead to admiration of unhealthy thinness.

Exeter is also notable for its heavy focus on sport and �itness. I think this is great – university is the time to get involved. But I also feel that this could

be utilised to make health a focus - emphasising healthy eating through visual media and promotion, for example. Obviously we don’t want a police state, but on one occasion I was in the �itness centre and couldn’t help but notice a girl kitted out in gym gear who looked pretty unhealthy. BodySoc could also incorporate more holistic exercise classes, following on from their yoga class in Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

I think that for this to change it is all about re�lection. Looking hard and thinking, why does that girl’s out�it demand comment? Why does this piece of cake warrant justi�ication? Why does the size of her body - or my body for that matter - necessitate an important place in the crazy maze of life? If you’re going to �ind your way through it, it is fruitless (excuse the food pun) to put up these barriers, these conditions, and these judgements.

You live once. You don’t just get given a body, you get given a mind.

In the grand scheme of things, which one will get you your university degree? Friends and work both enable

Unhealthy thinness has become the aspiration

you to explore the world and lead you to a Prince Charming/Cinderella who isn’t a shallow, spineless idiot. When you are caught up in life the answer to this, ultimately, is not always obvious.

So sometimes spelling it out from this new perspective can help. We did get into Exeter after all, our minds can’t be completely insigni�icant.

De�lated hopes for 3,600 would-be-�loaters down the Exe

Cartoon: Emily McIndoe

Skip ahead - to the dumpster EXEPOSÉ

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“I will continue to be disgusted by the frivolous nature of many when it comes to resources, and will do my part to divert what I can to my own stomach rather than leaving it to fester in landfill.”

Henry Care

FROM a young age I was taught not to be wasteful. I was expected to have my plate cleared, especially if I wanted any pudding. Leaving crusts of bread was completely bizarre, not licking the lid of a yoghurt was just a shame. So maybe I had a slightly unconventional upbringing, which was probably what drew me to skipping, or, as it is sometimes known, dumpster diving: the process of removing perfectly edible food from shop bins once it has been thrown out.

It started for me on my gap year, however, prior to that, my sister who was at university had found her local M&S to be very pro�itable for high

My sister found her local M&S’ bin very profitable for food and even a case of port

quality food and even a case of port. On my gap year I was working in an of�ice based in a small town, it had a number of shops which closed early and produced vast amounts of waste. Throughout the whole year I think I spent about £5 on jam. There were always copious amounts of vegetables, fruit, bread, cheese, yoghurt, pizzas and everything else you could imagine. Instead of taking dirty washing home I was taking my surplus skipped food.

When I came to Exeter three years

ago I always had the intention of continuing. After my �irst couple of forays my new �latmates were largely skeptical of the practice. That was until I returned one evening with two bin bags full of store baked cookies. This convinced them that there was some merit to it. Throughout my �irst year the �lat usually had �lowers (shops seem to throw out lilies when the �irst �lower which opened starts to die), an incredible supply of (good quality) bread and I probably ended up spending around £10 a term on food. This was mostly pasta, tinned beans and tomatoes and cheese. To end the year I liberated a huge number of cakes and cheesecake from a well known store near St. Luke’s; to say they went down well with the block (by this time it had gone beyond the �lat) would be a massive understatement.

First year seemed to be the golden year. It was easy to convince the new housemates we found online that this was a great thing. The house was rarely out of bread (for �ive people, who ate a lot of toast, this was quite a feat).

Whether I simply got lazier or more people were looking at the reduced section meaning there was less waste I am not sure, but this past year I have skipped less. These days I have bumped into others haunting the same spots, and there are usually de�inite signs of people having been there beforehand.

Rather than being bitter about this, I see it as an accomplishment on behalf of the shops, with less waste being available to people like myself, they are getting better with their waste man-

agement and ordering schemes.

There have been numerous articles on the practice over recent years, from arrests to people using it for ‘pay what

I have been stopped three times by the police

you feel it’s worth’ cafes. I have been stopped three times by the police. On one occasion, they could not understand why I was doing it, and were just checking that nothing was being damaged. On another they simply asked me to wear gloves in case there were discarded needles, and once they warned me that if they had any complaints

they would have to pursue it, but that they had no call to do so at the time.

From these experiences it is clear that as long as no inconvenience comes of doing it to anyone, why should anyone else care? Legally (and I am no expert here, being an engineer and not a lawyer) trespassing, which is what would usually be cited, is a civil law, so cannot result in prosecution. However, the removal of items that one could argue still belong to the store would count as burglary or theft. Although I am yet to encounter a supermarket which actually cares, a smaller German one (near St Thomas) gave me permission as long as I did not make a mess. At the end of the day, I am reducing their waste disposal bill too.

Make ‘em pay (as-you-go) “The real problem with food waste lies in the method of payment for catered halls” Tom Wright

EXEPOSÉ’S recent headline news about food waste at Exeter University reignited the frustrations I had whilst living in Holland Hall last year. I don’t want to explicitly point the �inger at Holland Hall for what is a university wide issue, as I

can only speak from my experience.

But during my �irst year it would be a daily occurrence to witness multiple main meals go virtually untouched by students.

It was a daily occurence to witness main meals go virtually untouched by students

Besides students’ lack of gratitude and consideration, the real problem lies in the method of payment for catered halls.

Students of catered halls pay for their accommodation and food via one �ixed bill

at the start of each term. This enables students to abuse the amount of food that they take. Instead, I suggest that students pay for their food using a payas-you-go meal card, as is employed by many schools and is proven to be a far more ef�icient method of catering. This idea would likely go a long way to resolving the issue of food waste, as students would feel its cost more directly.

Due to an overwhelming feeling of guilt felt just living in such an inconsiderate environment, let alone being a part of it, I wrote a letter to the Food Manager of Holland Hall during my �irst year. His eventual reply did seem to genuinely share my resentment upon the scale of food waste and evident ignorance of many students. I was told that a pay-as-you-go system was being considered but that there were dif�iculties in implementing such a change, as it would have to take place across all halls on campus and be approved by “incoming students, parents and the Student’s Guild.” He suggested in the meantime that if students were made to scrape their plates away (as opposed to currently just placing them on a rack), the guilt of wastage would

perhaps be felt more signi�icantly and thus go at least some way to cutting waste.

Crucially, however, nothing has been done and heels are evidently being dragged at the management level.

As Exeposé acknowledge, their limited �indings on three halls within an entire campus have merely touched the surface of what is probably a far more worrying degree of waste. In an age when developed countries enjoy watching luxury cooking competitions while developing countries suffer from

I defy anyone not to have some conscience around the issue of food waste

starvation, I defy anyone not to have at least some conscience around this issue. Food waste of student halls is of little to no economic concern for the University as, regardless of how, students will continue to cover the bill. We must therefore pursue the University along environmental and moral arguments for any change to take place.

Also, from my experience working in catering, the amount of food waste from people’s plates is abhorrent. Even more disheartening are the limitations on the action that I can personally take. I will continue to be disgusted by the frivolous nature of many when it comes to resources and will do my part to divert what I can to my own stomach rather than leaving it to fester in land�ill.

The amount of food I have diverted away from a hole in the ground - let alone the money I’ve saved - and the vast amount that I know still goes to waste, keeps me trying. That, and the high quality free food I get.

More comment online: Our new columnist summarises the week in Exeter in ‘Sandbach on Sunday’ The ins and outs of student society politics after this year’s batch of AGMs Read a floating voter’s open letter to student societies about the EU elections and much more Search ‘Exeposé Comment’ on Facebook or scan the QR code below:

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Celeb drug culture: a Class A problem?

After the revelation that drug paraphernalia played a role in Peaches Geldof’s death, David Bissel explores the romanticism associated with substance abuse and celebrities THE recent death of Peaches Geldof is one of a number of celebrity drug-related deaths occurring over the last few years. February of this year saw the great Philip Seymour Hoffman also die from a heroin overdose. 2012 saw the demise of Whitney Houston at 48 years old, the result of heart complications and cocaine use. Prior to this, we have seen Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, and Amy Winehouse all reach drug-related ends. The substances used in each case vary, as does the wider social environments which surrounded, or did not surround, these individuals.

Fundamentally, these were human beings who died from drugs.

But we cannot deny that there exists a certain culture of romance around celebrity drug use. Amy Winehouse’s death made her the latest addition to the infamous ’27 Club’, a group of popular musicians, artists and cultural icons who have all died at age 27 - its proudest members include Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Jim Morrison. Peaches Geldof was herself purportedly obsessed with cult singer-songwriter Elliot Smith, also a heroin user and also now deceased (albeit from a self-in�licted stab

The truth is people are always going to take drugs, whether they are famous or not

wound as opposed to an overdose).

The romantic association between musicians, actors, celebrities and drug use can be viewed as a modern incarnation of the age-old association between intoxication and creativity.

Nietzsche famously said that “for art to exist, a certain physiological precondition is indispensable: intoxication.” A more recent thinker, the late Christopher Hitchens, perhaps in defence of his own alcoholism, pointed out the large numbers of writers who were “three sheets to the wind” when they created their best work. The roots of this cultural association are very deep and complex, but it is a key part of our society; the famous cultural �igure, often musicians, overdosing on drugs, is a key part of our cultural landscape, and is considered a valid and accepted (although nonetheless sensationalised) way for such �igures to die.

And even without fatality, drug use amongst famous �igures still stimulates and fascinates us as a society – the drug escapades of Charlie Sheen or Pete Doherty are notable examples of this.

The truth is people are always going

to take drugs, whether they are famous or not. The use of drugs, and the existence of drug-related deaths amongst celebrities should not be treated any differently to those in the non-famous masses. Thus to demand that celebrities go drug free is as pointless and

to swear by some oath of teetotalism or cleanness - why should they? Yes, many of them are idols for the younger generation, and thus open endorsement of drug use, as with anyone else, should not be encouraged. Yet they cannot and should not really be ex-

moral panic and a complete misunderstanding of the problem. People are seldom ‘inspired’ to take drugs, and if they are it is by their friends and those in their immediate environment, not high-�lying cultural �igures. To argue this is also to make the crucial mistake

bility instead is with the policy and law-makers of our society, and more importantly with the rest of us, to ensure that young people get open and true information about drugs. This is not the reality today; famously, British psychiatrist and neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutts was dismissed from the ACMD (a government body with the aim of recommending drug classi�ication) in 2009, in the wake of his comment about horse riding being statistically more dangerous than ecstasy. He was dismissed because his scienti�ic research collided with government policy. Whatever your opinion on ecstasy, horse riding, or Mr Nutts himself, this is an example of scienti�ic reasoning being overridden by political philosophy, which is not the mark of a healthy, open society.

The problem lies neither with

The responsibility instead is with the policy and law-makers of our society, and more importantly with the rest of us

Photo: dixiesunnews.com

nosensical as demanding everyone else to. The question as to whether or not notable public �igures have some kind of ‘duty’ to be drug free, or at least drug-discreet, is another one.

In the 1960s Paul McCartney explained his admitting to LSD use by saying that he felt that he should not be expected to lie to the media, as that would only complicate matters.

Indeed, there does come a level of responsibility with certain professions in the public eye. Politicians are notable examples, as use of illegal drugs on their part would be entirely contradictory to policies they uphold, hence why David Cameron has gone to lengths to avoid admitting to his use of cannabis at Eton, and he can hardly be blamed.

Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford is an instance of somebody who has failed in this �ield, videoed in 2013 smoking crack cocaine. These people, as policy makers, have some level of civic duty not to indulge in such illegal activities (or should at least keep it very, very discreet). However, their reasons, too, for taking such substances are probably identical to those of everyday people.

But how can we realistically expect famous musicians, actors and artists

pected to refrain from such activity in their private life any more than anyone else should. The use of drugs among celebrities is not a separate phenomenon to drug use among everyday people, and expecting them to refrain for fear of youth mimicry is an example of our society placing more importance and in�luence in the hands of celebrities than they rightfully deserve.

Justin Bieber’s marijuana use, or the Miley Cyrus MDMA reference in ‘We Can’t Stop’, rather than actually

But how can we realistically expect famous musicians, actors and artists to swear by some oath of teetotalism or cleanness - why should they?

in�luencing young people, is surely a re�lection of contemporary youth culture. And even if this is not the case, to argue that celebrity drug use leads to any direct, tangible rise in drug use among the youth is an example of

of assuming that people have less free will than they actually do, or are far more stupid than they actually are.

Everyone knows that drugs are dangerous. In today’s society, probably all young people of a certain age know about drugs. The reasons for taking them, if not from simply broader environmental in�luences as discussed, likely come from within. Russell Brand states: “when I was a kid the reason drugs �irst became attractive to me was because I felt kind of lonely and felt sad.” Richard Ashcroft’s reasons echo similar sentiments: “out of boredom and frustration you turn to something else to escape.” These reasons for drug use will resonate far more with the modern youth, as opposed to being inspired by famous musicians or actors.

Or perhaps, God forbid, there doesn’t need to be a prescribed ‘reason’ for drug use in each particular case, just as there doesn’t need to be a reason in place for people’s indulgence in alcohol.

Whatever the reason behind modern drug use, the responsibility cannot land on famous individuals, who are typically as �lawed and riddled with personal issues as much as everyone else, if not more so. The responsi-

celebrities, nor drug smugglers, nor immigrants or any other singled-out group, but rather in the way we perceive and treat drugs and drug abusers as a society - with stigma, shame (which the kind of tabloid sensationalism that surrounded Peaches’ death only serves to worsen), and often prison sentences. This must be challenged in order to tackle drugs in a progressive and compassionate way. Whether the correct way of going about this is decriminalisation, or even full legalisation, we can start by taking the spotlight off our adored celebrities. There should be no line drawn between celebrity drug use and regular drug use. And in a similar way it would probably be helpful for the misleading legal line between ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ drugs, and the subcategories in the latter, to be dimmed if not removed. Whether alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, heroin, or any other drug, they are all complex and potentially very damaging substances (though some obviously more than others).

Like it or not, drug use is here to stay. Society needs to exercise a level of both acceptance and caution towards all drugs, legal or not, and most importantly, offer information and compassion over sensationalism and lurid criminality.

Evan Davis, ‘London-centric’?

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Rory Morgan, Features Editor, and Kayley Gilbert, Online Features Editor, met with Evan Davis, Dragon’s Den presenter and BBC journalist, to talk all things economic SITTING across the table from half of the Exeposé Features editorial team is a man typically found amongst Dragons with large sums of money, or heard presenting the BBC Radio Four Today programme, Evan Davis.

The BBC economics journalist and presenter is in Exeter to give a talk (as part of the SEE Talks Programme) about London pulling away from the British economy, but �irst of all he has stopped by to discuss this issue and all things economic and more with Exeposé Features. Evan �irst enlightens us as to what exactly his talk will entail…

“It’s about the divided nation we live in, in which you have one city absorbing way more than its population’s share of the nation’s graduates, the nation’s talent, of the nation’s budget for infrastructure and capital spending, so you have a city that is, in a sense, pulling away.”

For those of us that live in London, it’s pretty noticeable how different other bits of the country feel

Re�lecting on his words, Evan is quick to stipulate that he does not necessarily regard this issue as a complete problem. He does however reinforce his belief that there has been a transformation in recent times, both economically and socially.

“I do start from the premise that it has some problems and some downsides, and we want to be sure that it is the best way for the country to operate. For those of us that live in London, it’s been very noticeable how much the capital has changed and it’s pretty noticeable how different other bits of the country feel when you visit them out of London. It does feel a bit like two nations.”

We ask if these problems can be solved with the establishment or promotion of a second big city for the UK, but Evan is quick to highlight the problems that would come with such a method. Re�lecting on the idea of the Manchester area �illing this void the BBC Economist ponders over the dif�iculties.

“I don’t hide from the fact that there would be a lot of pain for people to accept that. We might all stand around and say that, ‘yes, what Britain needs is a big, powerful second city.

Now let’s just try to agree on which is going to be that big, powerful, strong second city.’ That’s

quite a tough choice. Every time you talk to people in Liverpool, they don’t really want Manchester to be it and certainly nor do Leeds and certainly nor does Birmingham.”

Evan then goes on to tell us just why he wants another ‘hub’ for the U.K. It eventually transpires that he feels the need for a ‘national hub’, something he states London does not deliver with its growing multicultural identity.

“I think it would be helpful to have a place where a Chinese tourist who wants to spend a third day in Britain and has done the Tower of London and the British Museum and one or two other things in London, for them to know where the next place you go is in Britain, and at the moment it’s a bit disparate. I kind of do think that it would helpful to have a big second city. I also incidentally think that Britain lacks now a national hub. London has turned into a very international city; it’s not really, I think, doing its job as a national hub as well as its doing its job as an international hub.”

‘London-centric’ is a criticism not alien to Evan, and at this stage of the interview the label did not seem to be entirely unjusti�ied. It is also a phrase various critics attributed to Evan’s recent documentary Mind the Gap: London vs the Rest. Answering our question on whether he considers himself to be ‘London-centric’ he expressed slight disdain at the label.

“I’m a Londoner and in that sense I am London-centric but I was disappointed when I did the television programme on this subject that people interpreted it as a glori�ication of London. I can see great advantages and great disadvantages to this model. I don’t start from the presumption that it’s wrong and I certainly don’t start from the presumption that it’s right.

I love London and I love living there, it has huge advantages over other parts of the country and has some disadvantages. As someone with a dog now, I’m aware that it’d be better if I lived somewhere where there were more green spaces to let the dog run around, to get outside somewhere green.”

Ever the inquisitive and eager to probe, the Features team try our best to delve into his thoughts on the running of the British economy, but sadly we are caught out.

“Well, you’re really asking me ‘do I think George Osborne screwed up by going too far too fast on the de�icit.’ Obviously it’s better for me not to venture an opinion on that as I work for the BBC.”

Photo: The Guardian

But ever the diplomat, Evan does venture the opinion that the debate about the ruing the British economy is inherently wrong in itself.

“It’s a debate about how far you should twist a dial of economic policy, do we stimulate or de-stimulate? It’s dial twisting. And those are important debates on �iscal policy and monetary policy and how fast are we going to push this or reduce that. But I think that the much more important debate in the British economy isn’t about twisting dials to increase spending to reduce spending, it’s much more about what economists call the supply side which is how you take activities that are wrong and replace them with activities that are right.”

Well, you’re really asking me ‘do I think George Osborne screwed up?

Probing him on what methods he thinks should be introduced to create more production, the answer that Evan gives is simple and succinct: “Our economy has been a bit too good at consuming and not quite good enough at the selling. Now there are different routes to that, I don’t really proclaim to be the expert on how you do this but I think that that is the kind of question that we might want to be thinking about rather than some of the odder ones that we do think about a lot.”

With time running against us, we are quick to ask Evan the burning question that is

on everyone’s mind: which Dragon would he choose if he was a budding entrepreneur on the show?

“Deborah is my favourite dragon because she’s very grounded and she’s very bright and she is very easy to work with. I think I would probably say Deborah if you twisted my arm. They all do have something. If I’m honest, I think Duncan’s intuition is maybe the strongest about ‘is this going to sell or not.’ I don’t know how much maths he does when he makes offers, but I think Duncan sees the reality of the situation quite well.”

The Features team were also eager to learn what were the craziest and strangest inventions that had appeared on the show. Re�lecting on the question, Evan began to laugh even before he spoke.

“What’s interesting is you get some crackpot ideas. Really bad ideas.

Terribly bad ideas. But they’re quite well thought through and I don’t like to mock the people that come up with them. The one of the guy selling the one handed glove to remind you what side of the road to drive on! So if you’re in France you put the right hand glove on to remind yourself to drive on the right side of the road. It never seemed like people would buy it - if they wanted to wear one glove while driving, it didn’t seem like it would be necessary to buy a separate one. So I didn’t think it was a very good idea, but he had executed it well. There are some very bad ideas. There was another one, which was a bed, a kind of sun bed, which you could take to the beach, which folded out of a suitcase. And the thing was the suitcase

weighed about 70 kilograms. You’re only allowed to take 22 kilograms on most planes so you really didn’t have any weight left for your actual luggage.”

And just before he leaves he provides a sound nugget of advice on how best to exploit higher education and a last thought on the hub concept.

I would encourage you and people who read Exeposé to make sure they take the opportunity to learn about and engage with issues

“I would encourage you and people who read Exeposé to make sure they take the opportunity to learn about and engage with issues. Riff with people and bounce ideas of them. Get good at something, self-improvement, I think that’s really what university is about. It’s about networking. Interestingly that brings me back to the topic about London, because the whole theory about why London is attracting so much business, so much investment and people is that squashing people into a crowded area kind of offers you the advantage of spotting what everyone else is doing, improving on it, arguing with them, competing with them, collaborating with them.

That’s the source of a lot of human improvement.”

Image: iwallpapersfive.com

Let’s get satirical: Kent ‘seeking’ minority status 10

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Cornwall may have minority status, but Fran Lowe, Online Features Editor, discusses why Kent should be granted the same right...

FOLLOWING on from the recent declaration of the Cornish as a minority group, it has emerged that other counties in the UK are demanding the same status. Feeling undervalued and unloved by the nation, counties such as Kent have begun to make moves to be recognised for their individuality, and even to pressure to have their own Kentish Assembly, which would be held in the charming town of Maidstone, ’Jewel of the Weald’.

So, what exactly is it about Kent that makes it so distinct and unique, and worthy of recognition as a minority alongside the likes of the Welsh and the Scottish? Why do Kentish people need that special help to be seen as important?

Firstly, the language. Speaking Kentish is a skill that can only really be learnt from a lifetime of growing up there. It is a language that develops as one gets older, to the point where an outsider speaking to an Old Kentishman might wonder if he had accidentally slipped across the channel into a whole separate country. For example, it was only when I came to university that I discovered that the word ‘jank’ doesn’t mean the same thing outside of Ashford. Kentish is a distinct language which, unlike Cornish, is actually spoken by the majority of the Kentish population.

Outsiders should be forced to take a Kent Driving Test to be able to pull out, recklessly, in front of each other

Why else is Kent distinct? Well, apart from the smell, there is clearly such a rich history and culture there among the green �ields, small towns and countless branches of Waitrose.

The Garden of England, Kent, is home to the

Canterbury of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and has spawned such important national �igures as Orlando Bloom and Lee from Blue. Surely a region of the UK home to such champions of the nation deserves recognition for that

more importantly the powers that be, really do not understand the struggle that it is to live so near to exotic climes.

Furthermore, you might consider living a half hour’s train ride a w a y

holidaying Kentishmen are forced to miss to show the world that Britain isn’t as small as they would like to believe.

This surely must have a psychological impact on the Kentish people. Off on their exotic, expensive holidays, only to return with an innate sense of failure.

Should Kent be granted the minority status that it clearly deserves, I believe that extra government funding should be given to psychological treatment, to help Kentish people get over the

Minority status will help the poor, suffering residents of the most expensive houses outside of London really get the aid they need

alone?

What’s more, Cornwall has declared that this minority status will allow them to get the government’s help to deal with Cornish issues. But so what if Cornwall is of�icially the most poverty-stricken region of the UK? The South East has problems too. It’s a hard life living in commuter-belt Britain, let me tell you.

For one thing, Kent is the nearest county to France. While you may think it is a good thing being able to get to Paris in less time than it takes to get to Exeter, believe me, living so accessibly close to the vineyards of the Loire Valley does have its downside. While you’re sitting on the beach enjoying that Sauvignon Blanc that you picked up on your most recent booze cruise, packing the back of the Volvo thanks to the knock down prices, you might be forced to use French phone signal. The horror. The people of Britain, and

from central London to be a bene�icial reason someone might want to set up home in the South East, but again Kent is faced with challenges that regions like Cornwall, with their four hour trek to the capital, really don’t understand.

If, like a great many Kentish residents, your highly paid job in London allows you to �ly on a spectacular holiday to, say, New York, you will at some stage on the trip be asked by an American ‘So where are you from?’ Your response of ‘Royal Tunbridge Wells’ will almost undoubtedly be met with an ‘Is that near London?’

Unlike the majority of the rest of the British population, who are able to use this moment to re-educate our American friend about the fact that no, Cardiff isn’t really that near London, and yes, there is more to Britain than the Queen and PG Tips (although admittedly not much), our Kentish resident will be forced to respond to ‘Is that near London?’ with a mumbled ‘Well, yes, actually.’ Think of all the opportunities that

trauma of their two-week holiday in the South of France.

Though I am fairly sure you have already been convinced of how desperate and deserving a case Kent is for this much-needed minority status, I have one more piece of persuasion to offer. This is the truly unique being that is The Kent Driver. These drivers are not found anywhere else. They are a distinct breed, native to towns like Margate and, dare I say it for fear of being run over, Tenterden. The Range Rovers that non-working mothers so desperately need in order to drive their darling child to and from school every day require more room than the average road allows. If Kent gains its minority status, I will request that the roads be widened throughout the county, in order to make room for Kent drivers to be able to pull out, recklessly, in front of each other without causing harm to health. Alternatively, outsiders should be forced to take a Kent Driving Test, in order to �it in with the norm, covering important skills such as indicating the wrong way, stopping without warning, and unparallel parking. This is, in my opinion, one of the most desperate needs of the government’s money.

Well, there you have it: Kent’s case for recognition. Minority status will help the poor, suffering residents of the most expensive houses outside of London really get the aid they need.

Please give generously to this worthy cause.

20 MAY 2014 |

EXEPOSÉ

Stats & Facts The combined wealth of Britain’s super rich is now greater than in 2008.

For the first time the number of billionaires living in the UK has risen to more than 100, according to the 2014 Sunday Times Rich List. The combined wealth of the 104 billionaires is now over £301bn compared to the £201bn of 2008. The UK now has more billionaires per capita than any other country in the world. London has more billionaires (72) than any other city in the world. Moscow is closest with 48. To qualify for the top 50 you now require a fortune of at least £1.7bn, increased from £700m a decade ago.

Josh Creek, G & T Editor

The Burning Question With recent media coverage of the death penalty and Egyptian protestors being sentenced to death, our burning question this week is: “Do you think the death penalty is a correct or humane form of justice?”

“Recently an Iranian execution was stopped at the last minute by the victim’s mother. Afterwards the two mothers – the killer’s and the victim’s – wept together and hugged.

We should all show compassion. ‘A life for a life’ belongs in the Stone Age.” Flora Carr “The death penalty is not justice, it’s revenge. Justice is objective.”

Alice Elliot-Pyle “There is no fair. There is no justice.

There is just me.” - Death, from Terry Pratchett’s Mort.”

Adam Smith “Regardless of whether you think it’s morally right to sentence someone to death for committing a certain crime, the fact that our judicial system could wrongly sentence an innocent person to death should be enough to convince anyone to never have it as a possibility.”

Olivia Luder “Surely in exceptional circumstances it is justified. Surely we can’t ever let that man walk the streets again.

As long as these people are alive, they spread fear and hate. No the death penalty may not be humane, but then nor is cold-blooded murder.”

Fran Lowe “No.” Liam Trim “The notion that murder should be punishable by further death is illogical.”

Emma Thomas

EXET E RG U I LD.C O M/SG U SHOWC ASE

SHOWCASE FRI 30 MAY 10:00 - 13:00

ALUMNI AUDITORIUM | FORUM STREET Presentations from keynote speakers Displays from all of this year’s student projects Refreshments provided

12

LIFESTYLE

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MUSIC 15-16

LIFESTYLE Fancy getting your name in the paper?

Tweet us @ExeposeLStyle EDWARD @edward_would A barbershop group of urologists called Urethra Franklin.

HANNAH @Hannah_Butler94 ..this morning, two guys in a car rolled down the window and shouted ‘pussaaay’ at me. I am THROWING THESE RUNNING SHORTS AWAY. BEX @bexxeh This time next week I will be drunk. And I will continue to be drunk until I can no longer remember I went to university. #finalyearproblems LUCY @couls_ The problem with tea is that you want to enjoy it slowly, but if you enjoy it too slowly you forget about it and it goes cold.

HARRISON @HarrisonJones7 And I still haven’t gone out in weeks. #PidgeSoc SARAH @sarahgoughy Sometimes I forget I have a snapped knee and then I bend down and am very BRUTALLY reminded #stillcantslutdrop PHOEBE @Phoebe_Weaver Nearly just ruined my dinner and had an emotional breakdown.

Thank god for housemates willing to get me food so I don’t cry #exams #dying BELLA @bella_jolly i am allllllll about playlists entitled “hillbilly bbq” #country ESZTER @ejendruszak English lecturer casually comparing dissertation introductions to stripping #missingunialready JAMES @jamespidduck93 overheard: “are you still going on your 2nd gap year?” #soexetah VANESSA @vanessatracey Exam freedom coinciding with half naked builders next door.

The noise they are making is definitely well timed. #summerishere GEMMA @GLJoyce Pringles: a dangerous revision snack

BOOKS

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20 MAY 2014 |

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EXEPOSÉ

LIFESTYLE EDITORS

Eamonn Crowe & Jack Wardlaw lifestyle@exepose.com

Are you Primark and proud?

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Tweets of the week

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Fiona Potigny and Jack Wardlaw, Lifestyle Editor, talk fast-fashion WE all know her: that one friend à la Girls’ Jessa: the pre-Raphaelite waves, that Woodstock vibe “I-could-go-barefoot-forever-and-no-one-would-batan-eye” dress, the casually-strewn satchel replete with Salinger, Kerouac – “just a few old favourites I dug out from a little charity shop in London.

So cheap! And �irst editions, would you believe?”

No, I wouldn’t actually. My last venture into the depths of Sidwell’s �inest charité boutiques saw me retch my way through rail after rail of funky throwbacks (and I mean fetid, not fresh) from a temps passé that most certainly warranted no resurrection rights. How the hipsters manage it, I’ll never know. I suppose it’s something to do with suffering for one’s art, but then I’d be wary of awarding a “vintage” ski jacket paired with high-waisted skinnies such a label. Call it “retro” all you want, you’re still one moustache away from looking like a 1980’s pervert.

So I leave empty-handed save for a 50p copy of Amélie (could be worse, I suppose), but with my dreams nonetheless dashed

IN a world with an ever growing population, with rocketing consumerism, and with environmentalists gaining louder voices, we all have a duty to do our bit to protect mother earth.

I’m not talking about maintaining a compost heap or spending hours stressing over which bin you put your plastics in, I’m talking about the double F-word. Fast Fashion. Every time you go into Primark or H&M it’s impossible not to be excited by the giant signs advertising tiny prices. 99p for six tops and a pair of jeans? Who can say no?

But we must say no. As tempting as those prices are, and as stretched as our student budgets may be, we’ve got to change our attitude towards spending. The majority of people who love fast-fash-

of conquering the cheap charity chic.

But with a restrictive student budget, it’s off to Primark. No internal thumbsup for me today - I didn’t buy someone a new kidney, provide clean water, or

You’re still one moustache away from looking like a 1980’s pervert

give a dog a bone. Instead, I funded the sweatshops of the egregious garment trade. I am a terrible human being.

Not only have I contributed to a company associated with the 1,129 dead after 2013’s Rana Plaza disaster, but I’ve knowingly helped fuel and sustain the obsolescence-based fast

ion are the kind of people who will go shopping as much as they can, they will impulse buy because it’s cheap and because they can, but it is this obsession with instant grati�ication that has caused so many problems for the fashion industry and the wider world.

Vivienne Westwood has recently started advocating a new fashion philosophy: “Buy less. Choose well. Make it last.” The

fashion beast, sustainability’s biggest enemy, with my four-week �lats, which will ensure my return to replace the previously just soulless and now soleless slip-ons.

But does this really make me a contemporary Cruella Deville, cold and uncaring as to who of the 60 million-strong labour force furnished my SS14 wardrobe? Of course not. It scares me that of an industry worth $2.5 trillion, 61 per cent of brands don’t know where their garments are made, and it should scare you too. No knowledge means no accountability.

No accountability means no justice.

Yet with my morality constrained by the restrictive student purse strings, I, as a consumer, feel tortured in the purgatory between the affordable and the ethical; my only hope of absolution:

queen of punk has hit the nail on the head with this. If you buy a crop top and a pair of leggings from Primark, you may have a new out�it for your next night at Arena, but honestly, can you really say you love them? Would you be upset if they got damaged and would you think twice about throwing them away? My guess is not particularly. Would you care if you knew that the fast fashion industry uses approximately 70 million tonnes of water every year?

Or that the majority of fast-fashion is created using polyester, a material made from oil and hence is depleting our already dwindling supplies of oil and in doing so contributes hugely to air pollution?

One thing that

a hashtag key.

Whilst Clicktivism might initially appear somewhat synonymous with

61 per cent of brands don’t know where their clothes are made

futility, #SaveTheBunnies’ success led to Zara and Gap’s ban on angora fur and encouraged other brands to examine their supply chain.

There’s always donation, too. Better stocked charity shops will allow the non-Jessas among us to gain and �lourish into the vintage fashionistas we secretly aspire to be, whilst adding to H&M’s garment collecting initiative could see your dreary denims transformed into next season’s net-à-porter. Ethical style doesn’t have to be about buying green or highend, but simply helping to create the closed-loop system that will offset our fashion footprint. We don’t have to feel guilty if we are aware and active.

FIONA POTIGNY can be said for buying more expensive clothes is that they are made properly, out of natural materials like silk and leather, which are much less damaging to our environment. Yes, as students we can’t always afford to buy them in the same quantities as we buy Primark clothes, but that is why we need to change our attitudes. More expensive clothes tend to last a lot longer, are kinder to the environment and create much less waste. Buying less of better quality items may not give us the instant buzz we get from buying fast-fashion. However, from

last

Buy less. Choose well. Make it

personal experience, I love every single thing in my wardrobe because all of the items were special purchases that will be able to be passed down to my children. Ten pairs of Primark shoes will decay much faster than one pair of high-priced ones, and you’ll get much more wear out of the higher-quality pair, which after all, is what fashion is supposed to be about - quality not quantity.

JACK WARDLAW LIFESTYLE EDITOR

EXEPOSÉ

LIFESTYLE

www.exepose.com

13

Blends with benefits Greenhouse Kitty Howie shares her recipes for super-satisfying smoothies I INVESTED in a smoothie maker at the beginning of the Easter holidays in a desperate bid to up my vitamin intake and up the word count of my dissertation.

Smoothie making or juicing (and also dodging the glares from your housemates after you’ve woken them up with all the noise) is a �ine art.

Here are a

Cuckoo Coconut Juice Ingredients: 1. One banana, peeled and chopped 2. ¾ can of coconut milk 3. Splash of milk or almond milk drink to slacken 4. One chocolate Weetabix 5. One squidge of honey

Method: 1. Check your tangerines, if they’re not juicy you’ll have problems later on.

2. Place ingredients in the blender and recite some classical poetry at them.

3. Blend - surprise, surprise.

4. Drink upside down for added health bene�its.*

Green Ingredients: 1. Handful of �lat leaf parsley, chopped 2. Four - �ive cubes of frozen spinach 3. One apple, cored and chopped 4. Two kiwis, halved and chopped 5. Juice of ½ a lime

Method: 1. Put in a baking tray and heat at 200 degrees for two hours.

2. Take out of the oven and put it in a blender - blend. Duh! 3. If you followed step one, you’re an imbecile.

* Exeposé takes no responsibility for any personal injury claims that may result from following this method. If you do manage to sustain any injuries, may we suggest that Plymouth University is only an hour away from here.

G&T Editor Josh Creek tells us why his family decided to go green

BACK in 2006, my family stumbled across a BBC series about the Strawbridge family who were trying to start living an environmentally friendly, low impact life. A ‘green’ life. And they weren’t �inding it easy.

Unsurprisingly, the show was called It’s Not Easy Being Green. The Strawbridge family, led by dad, Dick, didn’t want to sacri�ice their creature comforts to be green. In Dick’s own words, “I don’t want to wear a hemp shirt and hairy knickers, I want a 21st-century lifestyle with a coffee machine.”

Over the course of three series the fami-

I don’t want to wear a hemp shirt and hairy knickers

ly planted crops, built an aqueduct and water wheel, kept pigs, installed two wind turbines and made a composting toilet. Inspired by the Strawbridges, my family decided to try and live a greener life. Operating on a signi�icantly smaller budget than the Strawbridge’s meant we couldn’t install wind turbines or build a water wheel. Instead we

looked to ways we could waste less.

A really easy way to do this is to try and conserve water. When washing your hands you can reuse that water to �lush the toilet or water plants (so long as the water doesn’t include any harmful chemicals). We use natural soaps, which enables us to use the water for a variety of additional purposes.

We have a small vegetable bed that we made from reconstituted wood, which is an ideal place to utilise our saved water by watering vegetables.

Cutting down on the amount of energy we use was also a high priority for us.

Turning the heating off or down and donning jumpers or using an ef�icient wood-burning stove when there’s a few people in the house also means reduced energy bills, likewise reducing water wastage saves money on the water bills too.

There are clear �inancial incentives to being green but it does take a little effort to get going. Once you’re used to it, though, saving water and energy becomes habit and if everyone did it we’d all be much better off.

Make love, not war. Bag yourself a hippie hottie!

Olivia Pane explains why she’s turned on by tie-dye... Groovy baby!

I’VE been having something of an existential crisis this week. I think it’s partly because I’ve �inally realised that I’m �inishing university and that I need to grow up. However, I think the main reason is that last weekend I went to a friend’s birthday party in Cornwall and had the most wonderful time away from all the day to day cares of the city (not that Exeter is par-

ticularly city-ish). I spent the weekend relaxing on the beach and getting drunk in a barn with the people I love most. When I came home I felt utterly despondent with my life and found that I was questioning the very foundations of Western society. I suppose that being surrounded by a) hippies and b) people that I love, made me feel very disillusioned with our consumerist culture and ask what the point of it all is when ultimately the only things that matter in life are o u r re -

lationships with other people.

I’ve always been a bit of a hippy at heart and before I came to uni I genuinely considered doing an agricultural

I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for hippy(ish) men

course rather than an English degree.

(On re�lection I think I made the right decision as the early starts would not have suited me - I am frankly frightening in the morning).

I’ve also always had a bit of a soft spot for hippy(ish) m e n .

When I came h o m e on Monday I decided that I no longer want to be a driv-

en career girl, instead I want to marry a hippy and live on a farm. I want to spend my days sur�ing, building yurts and looking after ducklings. Basically, I’m jealous of my friend’s life. I don’t think this is just a whimsical fancy, I think it speaks of a deeper yearning for a life which is not dictated by working nine to �ive just to buy more stuff. There is something so life-af�irming about being surrounded by nature; stargazing, seeing the tide come in and watching the sunset.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that my perception of living in the country is very romantic. But I reckon that’s all part of the fun. Fancying hippies taps into this desire for a different life. Their freedom, spontaneity and willingness to just see where life takes them is so attractive because it represents something which many of us will never have.

Not to mention their chilled out manner, great tan and excellent slackline abilities. Graduating into an increasingly competitive and career driven environment can make the best of us just want to run away and who better to run away with than a hippy.

I’m sure that this existential crisis of mine will pass; and I’m hoping that I will eventually grow out of my ongo-

ing hippy crush because I can’t date men whose wardrobes consist primarily of tie-dye forever. It’s important to remember what we �ind attractive though. It’s not just the tousled locks and fabulous knitwear, it’3s freedom, love and the ability to simply live. I might have to put off my dream of a farm and a hippy husband for a few more years, but in the mean time I’m going to plan some travelling, listen to Joni Mitchell and avoid reality.

EXEPOSÉ

MUSIC Wednesday 21 May Eska Exeter Phoenix Thursday 22 May Beverley Macca, Saudade + others Exeter Cavern Saturday 24 May Joanna Graham Quartet Exeter Phoenix Sunday 25 May Paul Heaton + Cherry Ghost O2 Academy Bristol Sunday 25 May Arts on the Move Festival Poltimore House, Exeter Sunday 25 May Marc Ford Bristol Fleece Monday 26 May Awolnation Bristol Trinity Wednesday 28 May Quantic Live Exeter Phoenix Thursday 29 May White Denim Anson Rooms Friday 30 May Oliver Wilde Exeter Phoenix Friday 30 May Damon Albarn Bristol Trinity Saturday 31 May Pendulum BathFest Sunday 1 Jun Ruby Turner Bristol St. George’s

One to watch

Oliver Wilde @ Exeter Phoenix “… Downer pop? Tinsel rock maybe?

Lo-fi glitchtronica?”

- Oliver Wilde, on himself “ . . . like a stately home made out of papier- mache” - The Guardian

15

MUSIC EDITORS

Kate Burgess & Tristan Gatward music@exepose.com

A Space Oddity

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Kate Burgess, Music Editor, quizzes Paul Thomas Saunders on his celestial debut album

PAUL THOMAS SAUNDERS produces a wonderful cerebral sound that rede�ines pop. April saw the amalgamation of his musical offerings of the last �ive years transform into a glistening debut.

Everyone is raving about him, and it’s no wonder, considering Paul’s hauntingly beautiful vocals and the cosmic sound that threads the album together into a delightfully coherent piece.

After seeing Paul play Bristol’s Louisiana over Easter, I caught up with him to talk about his debut album Beautiful Desolation.

KB: How would you describe your sound to those who haven’t heard it?

PTS: I like to think of it as vibrating bugged out sounds.

KB: You’ve cited Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen as in�luences, has this changed with your music?

PTS: I’d say my inspirations and in�luences are always evolving. There are musicians that in�luence me like Vangelis and Serge Gainsbourg, but as far as the album goes, we used a lot of images from the Nasa archives as a source to create sounds. It was an interesting way to work as it meant we’d create sounds we hadn’t heard before, rather than trying to recreate sounds we’d heard in other recordings. I also �ind Jim Jarmusch really inspiring, I love the

relaxed, uncompromising pace of his �ilms. It’s pure creativity, untarnished by commercial prospects. I wanted to create something that adhered to something other than what is known to sell.

KB: Your tour has you playing some neat venues, what has been your favourite place to perform, or see live music?

PTS: We played in an old theatre near Montmatre in Paris last year called La Cigale, it was a perfect setting for a really intimate show. I’d love to go back and play there again. I think my favourite venue to watch live music has to be The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, it’s hard to explain, but if you’ve been there, you’ll get it.

KB: I was pleasantly surprised at hearing ‘Starless State of the Moonless Barrow’ on the album, its changed quite a bit. How has your sound matured EP to album ?

PTS: When we recorded Four Songs in Twilight we had a prehistoric laptop and an awful live microphone. That was it, so we were so limited in what we could realistically achieve. One of the main evolutions is that we actually know how to record and produce now, before we were the very essence of novice. That’s why I wanted to release a few EPs before starting an album. It’s

good to develop on your own. It’s too easy to be partnered with a seasoned producer who’ll discover your sound for you. DIY, that’s the only way.

KB: Which track would you say is your personal favourite of the album?

PTS: ‘Wreckheads and the Female Form’ I think. I like it because I can’t trace where that songs from, I can’t hear what I might have ripped off or “appropriated” to get there. My old friend and drummer Ali Thynne also really laid it down on that track too. He turns the tribal factor up to 11.

KB: What would be if you couldn’t be a musician?

PTS: I read Amtrak trains in America are offering residencies to writers. You

Live review: Iron Chic

Joe Stewart catches the Fe-nominal punk outfit at The Exchange Iron Chic Bristol Exchange 8 May 2014

REVISION is boring. Day after day is eaten up by the mind-numbing attempt to force your brain to accept more and more information, and it becomes dif�icult not to question your degree when you write a page of notes on the political meaning of erotic vomiting. So, aiming to change up my method of wasting time, I decided to see a band known for, well, singing about wasted time (Inception, anyone?) Revising is for schmucks anyway.

Although unfortunately missing openers Grand-Pop, we caught Iron Chic’s UK touring partners Bear Trade, a band made up of, according to their Facebook page, “some men who have played in lots of other bands (and still do).” Whilst apparent that the members were a little more ‘lined’ than their peers, this didn’t stop them thrashing out a set of melodic punk reminiscent of late 90s/early 00s legends Hot Water Music. Honesty and good, clean

fun seemed the watchwords for Bear Trade, who managed to light up a few faces in the relatively static crowd.

After a Red Stripe or two, the time came for headliners Iron Chic. The band have a certain pedigree in the punk scene, with members previously playing in New York legends Latterman and Small Arms Dealer, and

Iron Chic need a singer who is under the influence

as a result tend to pull pretty decent crowds. While The Exchange could have �itted a few more, it soon became clear that most had come for the headliner. Blasting into their trademark gruff punk sound with fan favourite ‘Cutesy Monster Man’ from their 2010 album Not Like This, �ists began to punch the air as lyrics were shouted back. Playing a mixture of older tracks such as ‘Timecop’ and the blisteringly quick ‘Know What I Mean, Jellybean?’ alongside newer cuts such as ‘Bogus

Journey’, Iron Chic looked for the most part like the masters they are hailed to be; it became increasingly clear the vocalist Jason Lubrano was pretty inebriated, but luckily managed to hold it together. Iron Chic are one of a small number of bands who can play with and kind of need a singer who is ‘under the in�luence’: it’s all about having fun.

The crowd certainly appreciated the sentiment with an increasing number of stage dives. Unfortunately a few arguments broke out when a minority who thought they were above it all and others who were a bit too clumsy with their drinks clashed. Disputes were soon ironed out, however, and the band reached a triumphant climax with ‘Time Keeps On Slipping Into The Cosmic Future’, a song that features one of the best outros I’ve personally ever heard.

Lubrano could’ve left his microphone with the crush of people in the middle of the front row and walked off stage with no problem: they knew every word.

get a private room with a desk in one of their sleeper cars and just live on their long distance trains for a while. That’s enough to make me want to start penning my �irst novella. Realistically though, I’d de�initely be a recruitment consultant. Everyone else is.

KB: Finally, after the album release (7 April) what can we look forward to from you?

PTS: I’ve got a new video for ‘In High Heels Burn it Down’ online and keep an eye out for tour and festival dates from now until Summer.

You can catch Paul playing Beacons, King of the Mountain and Fell Foot Sound Festivals, after you’ve googled that Amtrack thing.

Best of the West Proving that more can come out of Devon than Will Young and haybales...

THE DUSTBOWL CHILDREN

Formed of three school friends now studying at Falmouth Uni, English Skies, their debut EP spans the genres of Folk Rock, Roots, Storytelling and Blues. Evoking themes of Dartmoor legends, fictional sea-faring stories and an on-going vane of patriotism prepare, to hold your cider in the air and stamp your feet!

(We’re thinking Mumford & Sons: The Musical?)

Check them out on Soundcloud.

16

MUSIC

P.K.’s Korner Pavel Kondov, Online Music Editor, discusses how to listen to music.

Now, I think we can all agree music is pretty great. But, like every form of art, everyone likes to experience it differently. I doubt there is a wrong and a right way to do it. Allow me to tell you about mine.

I listen to music in albums. The way I see it, it’s a bit like reading a novel.

You could take a single chapter and it could be really good on its own, but you lack context.

The really good albums are ones that make sense as a whole – they are a snapshot of a period in the musicians’ lives, a diary of the state of their mind and their art at the time. How could anyone not listen to White Pony or Meat is Murder in their entirety?

These albums have an almost linear feel to them – breaking them up in chunks feels wrong.

If an album is little more than three great singles with some ten yawn-worthy filler tracks in between, then the band should find another way to package their stuff, just like some authors release short stories (singles) or novellas (EPs).

Myself, I prefer the novels. But that’s just me.

How do you listen to music?

For more reviews and features, scan the QR code for Exeposé Music online

Singles:

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tUnE-yArDs Nikki Nack 6 May 2014

IT is not until the fourth track of Nikki Nack that Merrill Garbus properly establishes her agenda. An extended crescendo of electronic noise and tribal drums is broken by the words “Oh my god I use my lungs / Soft and loud, anyway feels good”, words which, whilst serving to aide the song’s loose motivational message, come to exemplify the tUnE-yArDs aesthetic more than any other.

Put simply, this is a record which aims to celebrate the power and variety of the human voice, with Garbus adopting a diverse approach from the start. The album is peppered with hushed whispers, roaring chants and banshee like shrieks, all of which make Garbus sound unlike any other artist on earth. However, Garbus is just as capable of producing self-indulgent garbage as she is genuine poetry, and it’s the albums more sybaritic tendencies which ultimately prevent it from being

Jake Bugg Messed Up Kids 24 March 2014

anything other than a curious exercise in musical experimentation.

If I were given only the �irst half of this album, I would say that it was a roaring success. The �irst seven tracks, before the excruciating yet mercifully short ‘Why Do We Dine on the Tots?’ represent some of the �inest pop songs Garbus has ever produced. I use the word ‘pop’ not because the songwriting is simple - it isn’t - but because it is direct and sincere, often referencing similar popular artists of the past decade.

Despite all the Graceland comparisons that have surrounded tUnEyArDs perhaps the closest point of comparison to Garbus’ vocal trickery is Destiny’s Child. This seems strange given that, upon �irst listen, tUnE-yArDs share little in common with �ine-tuned urban tracks of Beyoncé and the gang, other than the fact that the voice you hear is recognisably female. However,

Garbus sounds unlike any other artist on earth

what both artists share are ambitious vocal harmonies and a love of Rhythm and Blues – the oldest and purest form of music. Garbus frequently harmonises with herself across several octaves creating devastatingly powerful vocals, and although it seems strange to compliment a solo artist on their harmonies, this is the best use of multitracked vocals since Bjork’s voice-only album

The Antlers Hotel 5 May 2014

Medulla. Whilst Bjork used studio wizardry to render already experimental music even more isolating, tUnE-yArDs pushes pop music into new-found places. ‘Hey Life’ in particular, sounds like

The demented repetition of ‘neck’ is as much supported by schoolyard games of Pat-a-cake as it is African rhythms a choice cut from a Miguel album, if it weren’t for the fact that it effortlessly manages to include both a reference to ‘Rock Around the Clock’ gospel claps that sounds like they came straight from South-West Africa.

This brings me to the Graceland comparisons I mentioned earlier. From the opener ‘Find a New Way’ it is clear that tUnE-yArDs owes a lot to Paul Simon’s 1986 masterpiece. It is not that the two records sound necessarily similar, but that both take a major inspiration from the sounds of Africa, with Garbus utilising obscure percussion, call and response vocals and repetitive chants to mostly fantastic results.

Both ‘Sink-O’ and ‘Time of Dark’ sound like they are waiting to be adopted by church choirs, with the latter’s lyrics of emancipation proving particularly powerful. ‘Water Fountain’ stands as one of the album’s best tracks, the demented repetition of ‘neck’ is as much supported by schoolyard games of Pat-a-cake as it is African rhythms.

Morrissey World Peace is None of Your Business 14 May 2014

CHRIS FILSELL

Musical Metaphors Bringing you the best lyrics of 2014’s Eurovision: more vacuous than Holland Hall’s finest songstress dressed in mink, finding meaning in a mini.

4. “My life is on a string when I see you smile, our love will last a thousand miles” - Russia 3. “I told this story, but I’m so sorry, I lost my train of thought when you called me ‘your sweet cheesecake!’”

- Belarus

Shunkan Dust From Your Eyes May 5, 2014

Sylvan Esso Coffee March 25, 2014

Even when Garbus adopts more conventional instrumentation, such as the minute piano chords that colour ‘Look Around’, the results are always surrounded with a percussive �lair and angular rhythms, which prevent any one song from falling into the trap of being generic.

Alas, whilst none of the tracks can be criticised for sounding tired, many suffer from an overemphasis on experimentation, which sometimes means that the melodies become lost in the mix. ‘Left Behind’ sounds like a poorer relation to the earlier ‘Look Around’, with a squelching TB-303 emulator doing little to add any interest to the proceedings.

Likewise, ‘Manchild’ sounds very much like a /\/\ /\ Y /\-era M.I.A, sharing that album’s penchant for sounding more like an improvised bootleg than a full grown song. These problems all come to the surface in the form of album nadir ‘Stop That Man.’ Featuring a chorus so infuriating that I was almost forced to stop the record, Garbus’ vocals are deliberately over-compressed and surrounded with dissonant synthesisers all playing seemingly random melodies.

These issues would not be so detrimental were it not for the sequencing, which places all of these tracks on the album’s second half. In bookending the record with the album’s worst tracks, Garbus manages to smash the memory of her earlier glories in half.

5. “What am I? Am I human? What am I? Am I emotion?” - Moldova

Nick Mulvey April May 11, 2014

Röyksopp ft. Robyn Do It Again April 30, 2014

EXEPOSÉ

Exeposé Music exam-ens the best and worst during this stressful time

Suddenly the world seems like such a musical place

Iggy Pop ft. Nick Drake Nobody’s City May 2, 2014

20 MAY 2014 |

New releases: pick of the week 21-22

People seem to assume that an acoustic guitar is itself evidence of depth and authenticity. Another misconception: that subject matter is somehow an index of quality. Singing about juvenile delinquency is neither clever nor cool if your voice is nauseating and uninspiring, and your insight extends no further than: “All you hear’s the cold wind blow and get stoned”. Bugg’s acoustic guitar is equally devoid of imagination. The chorus, meanwhile, ends on the following gem: “The sky all pastel shades / Under breeze block palisades.” I think he must mean “over”. Messed up kids indeed.

BILLY WILSON

Introduced to us as the second single from the forthcoming studio album Familiars, The Antlers’ new single ‘Hotel’ continues their mind-numbingly waiflike sound established in Uprooted and Hospice without losing any of the electronic experimentation in Burst Apart.

The horns are still drunk and woozy, Pete Silberman’s voice still sounds like a shouting chorus of pre-pubescent seals and his lyrics are still some of the most underrated poetry in the the current music scene. ‘Hotel’ deals perfectly with the concept of mortality: “when I check out it won’t matter how my name’s spelled.”

TRISTAN GATWARD

Classic Morrissey. Bitter about social inequality with lusciously crafted orchestration. ‘WPINOYB’ has an anti-capitalist subtext (much like Britney Spears’ ‘Work Bitch’ – probably not intended) talking of how you are a “poor little fool” if you “work hard and sweetly pay your taxes.” The song builds slowly, introducing rhythmic percussion and then sudden instrumentation barely a beat before the singing. It’s a chilled yet triumphant song with the refrain getting gradually louder and more forceful throughout. This is a song to de�ine the summer.

JOSH CREEK

2. “I talked to a unicorn last night, took me up on a lonely star, did the moonwalk on the milky way. Realised I’ve gone too far.” - Latvia 1. “Moustache, moustache, moustache. I wanna have a moustache, moustache, moustache.” - France

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Miyazaki’s final flight

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A set of commemorative stamps of ‘Britain’s best loved films’ are now on sale to the general public.

The collection, which costs £8.99, features six stamps that pay tribute to the films that have had particular cultural significance for the UK. The pictures range from Stanley Kubrick’s legendary sci-fi movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as Peter O’Toole in his full regalia in Lawrence of Arabia. Andrew Hammond, spokesman for the Royal Mail, said: “We hope they are enjoyed by anyone with a love of British film-making at its very best.”

The Cannes Film Festival rolls into town Stars from around the world will this week descend on the French Riviera for the Cannes festival of film. The annual event, taking place from 14 to 21 May, will showcase an impressive array of films, with actress Nicole Kidman unveiling new work Grace of Monaco, whilst Carey Mulligan and Timothy Spall will also appear on the guest list. The event, which celebrates its 67th anniversary this year, has also hired an additional 700 police officers in the region to protect the belongings of those attending the event, after a spate of robberies at last year’s event.

Homer, meet Peter: TV comedies to crossover It has been confirmed that the two giants of TV animation, The Simpsons and Family Guy, will collide this September in an hour long special being shown on Fox. Images of the two families co-starring in an episode have already been released and are sure to get fans of either programme excited. The pick of these include Bart teaching Stewie how to skate, as well as Homer and Peter fighting over their favourite brand of beer. Chairman of Fox entertainment, Kevin Reilly commented on the long anticipated mash-up saying: “generations of fans will be talking about this one.” Fans of the programmes in the UK may have to wait a while before the episode airs on British televison, but judging by the details we know about now, it should be well worth it.

Ciaran Willis, Screen Editor Editor, reviews the illustrious animator’s swan song The Wind Rises Director: Hayao Miyazaki Nishjima 2014 Studio Ghibli

THE WIND RISES is said to be Hayao Miyazaki’s farewell �ilm; and if that’s so, it would be an unusual choice. The creator and animator of Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro often portrays charmingly cute or wonderfully weird worlds, often conveying a child’s sense of strangeness and possibility. But The Wind Rises is about a man who designs planes in the years preceding the Second World War. Planes, invariably, that will hurt people.

The �ilm is a biopic of Jiro Horikoshi, who designed many Japanese �ighter planes, including the Mitsubishi A6M

Zero �ighter. Jiro is a dreamer: the �irst time we see him he is teetering on the roof of his house, clambering into a plane and then weaving through the sky. He is dreaming. And he realises, then, that he wants to design planes.

Planes, as his imagined hero and mentor Giovanni Caproni tells him, are beautiful dreams. But they are also cursed dreams.

We see the gap between the dreams of art and the reality of its conception

Planes allow Miyazaki to paint rich beautiful backgrounds, skies iridescently shaded with blues, pinks and oranges. They allow him to portray his own imaginative �lights of fancy and

the beauty of both his and Jiro’s creations. But then planes also show the destruction that the �ilm foreshadows; the wind sweeps the �ields and cities and beneath the beauty the sense is one of impending destruction.

Jiro lives through social unrest; his train is uprooted by the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, where he helps save his future wife Nahoko. And he sees poverty and tuberculosis and the rise of the Nazis. Through this social malaise he calmly and dreamily wanders his own path, inspired by �ishbones or his dreams, throwing paper planes, coolly smoking cigarettes and thinking. He endeavours to turn his dreams into reality.

The �ilm inter-weaves this con�lict of dreams and creativity and the realities of life. Reality is harsh and full of sadness: Jiro’s wife is ill; and a German expatriate envisions how everything is

going to blow up. We see the gap between the dreams of art and the reality of its conception. Though Jiro knows that his planes will not be coming back from �ighting, he has to appreciate the beauty of his creation and keep living and dreaming; as he and Nahoko say: ‘The wind is rising…we must try to live.”

The �ilm is a rich and beautiful work. In numerous ways we can see Jiro as Miyazaki himself; he has a similar love of �light, his father worked at a plane factory, and Ghibli – the name of his production studios – comes from an aircraft. Giovanni Caproni says, an ‘artist only has ten good years’; Hayao Miyazaki, though, has had many great years. But, if he does retire, his creations will not falter like Jiro’s planes.

They will keep soaring for many years to come.

When whales kill: keeping animals in captivity

Abigail Polding looks at the documentary that makes us re-think who the real killers are A DOCUMENTARY that sparked a lot of controversy when it was �irst released, Black�ish tells the story of Tilikum, a male killer whale currently residing in the popular amusement park of SeaWorld Orlando, and the events and circumstances that led to him killing a trainer there in 2010.

There is haunting footage of wild killer whales being captured by crews

There remains a lot of debate concerning whether we should keep

animals in captivity. This programme looks at Tilikum’s early life, as well as how he was treated at SeaWorld to try and gauge why he has now killed three humans.

It is a hugely interesting documentary – the viewer learns a great deal about the physiology and natural behaviour of killer whales, as well as how they are treated in captivity and how this may have an effect on them. For example, we learn that killer whales are highly emotionally intelligent, possessing an extra part of the brain devoted to emotional intelligence that is

not present in humans. We also learn that that babies never leave their mothers and that they travel in large families that have what could be described as their own ‘languages.’

It can be highly emotional at times – there is

haunting footage of wild killer whales being captured by large crews, as well as clips of several trainers being attacked by the whales themselves. There are interviews with former SeaWorld employees and the general consensus

among them is that they foolishly believed that what they were doing was ok, but now feel differently.

Whether you already have an opinion on places like SeaWorld or not, this is well worth a watch.

Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that the �ilm’s purpose is partly for activism; but based on the evidence shown in the video, it’s hard to argue that large animals like killer whales can be happily kept in captivity.

There is also the issue of exploiting animals for pro�it – having watched this documentary I �ind it hard to condone what SeaWorld do.

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Movie friend: can sitcoms work on the big screen?

Josh Creek, Games and Tech Editor, debates whether a TV show can successfully move from the living room to the movie theatre

DAD’S ARMY, one of the greatest sitcoms to ever grace the small screen (it was voted fourth in a 2004 BBC poll to �ind Britain’s Best Sitcom), is soon to be hitting the big one. Set during World War II, it followed the lives of members of the Home Guard who were mostly ineligible for military

service due to age or profession for an astonishing nine series (80 episodes) from 1968 to 1977.

Some people are wondering whether making a �ilm version will simply tarnish the memory of Dad’s

Army; as a general rule, remakes of classics (whether they be sitcoms or some other genre) are abject failures, for example The A Team which was not only unfaithful to the original characters but also suffered from overly quiet dialogue compared to all other sounds in the �ilm.

What these people don’t seem to realise, however, is that there has already been a Dad’s Army �ilm made.

In 1971 it was made into a feature �ilm, featuring purely arbitrary cast and location changes. It was so bad that the director Norman Cohen, the man who suggested

making the �ilm, was nearly �ired by Columbia Pictures. The screenwriters, Jimmy Perry and David Croft, campaigned for changes to be made to try to reproduce the style of the television series but were largely unsuccessful.

I think a Miranda movie would be ‘such fun’

There have been sitcoms that have been very successfully made into �ilms.

Take The Inbetweeners, another immensely popular British sitcom that is soon to have its second �ilm incarnation hitting the big screen. It is clear that there are no inherent problems with adapting sitcoms for the big screen, merely that it is crucial to remain true to the original series, as has been done with The Inbetweeners Movie.

There are other British sitcoms I’d

personally love to see �ilm versions of - a Miranda Movie would be ‘such fun’ and a �ilm version of The IT Crowd would ensure that people everywhere learned the new emergency number (it is of course 0118 999 881 99 9119 725 3) and to appreciate their poor, downtrodden IT department.

Personally I have my doubts about the new Dad’s Army �ilm. Whilst I fully expect it to be an improvement on the last �ilm which was made a mere quarter of a century after the events it purported to describe, I suspect too much effort will be made to try and either be ‘faithful’ to the events of the home front in 1940 or to make it more ‘relatable’ to a modern audience 75 years later.

What we’d much rather see, especially truly committed fans, is something which remains faithful to the original and continues the relationships we built up with the characters and settings all those years ago.

Locke drives towards his problems Get drunk, get even Carmen Paddock reviews Tom Hardy’s latest �ilm vehicle, as he plays a Who doesn’t love a rowdy chick-flick? man trying to amend past mistakes over the course of a car journey a taxi, I was in stitches at the sheer Locke Director: Steven Wright Cast: Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Olivia Coleman 2014 Shoebox Flms, IM Global

THE GREATEST testament to the incredibly high quality of Steven Wright’s latest �ilm is the pure fact of its existence and critical acclaim. Locke is set entirely in one location, features only one on-screen actor, and merely spans one (almost real-time) car journey. The single �igure is that of Ivan Locke, an Irish construction worker in charge of the largest ‘pour’ in his company’s history. Although this event is set for the next day, Locke leaves the site against the wishes of his employers. He then calls his family to tell them that he’s missing their party because of a one-night-stand he had several months ago; that the baby is due and he wants to be there to own up to his mistake. The drama unfolds as Locke calls the con�licting parties, attempting to solve the problems his decisions have created; we see his life evaporating around him as he drives towards London.

Tom Hardy delivers what may be the performance of his career thus far – a believable, human character caught

in a dif�icult con�lict. Whilst taking control of the situation, he shows glimpses of vulnerability, uncertainty, and regret. He is a man sincerely striving to �igure out the best solution to the mess he has made, admitting his mistakes, but knowing he will pay for them. We know he will not be able to neatly solve these problems, but we are rooting for some small victory.

Hardy’s voice, however, is not alone: he is joined over his car’s speakerphone by his boss, his employee, his sons, his wife, his mistress, municipal politicians and hospital staff. These are all characterised very well despite the lack of physical presence. Tom Holland and Bill Milner, who play Locke’s sons, are especially good. Andrew Scott (of Sherlock fame), as the employee left in charge, proves equal to Hardy’s charisma and provides some of the best moments.

We see his life evaporating around him as he drives towards London

Possibly the �ilm’s major weakness, however, is its portrayal of Locke’s two love interests – both his wife and his mistress come across as

rather hysterical, which seems to skew sympathy away from their respective plights. However admirable Locke’s earnest attempts to rectify his mistakes are, he still cheated on his wife and impregnated an acquaintance, and performances which seem irrationally emotional lessen the gravity of his

Tom Hardy delivers what may be the performance of his career thus far

mistakes and make his victims less relatable.

While billed as a thriller, Locke is more of a psychological character study. Yes, there is plot suspense created by the highly charged atmosphere, however, the fascination comes primarily from Hardy’s mesmerising performance. Equally brilliant are the tight, smart script, the minimal yet effective score, and excellent cinematography. The audience is engaged for every one of its 85 minutes, and totally invested throughout. Despite minor character �laws and the limited milieu, Locke is an intelligent, captivating, and possibly even brilliant piece of cinema.

The Other Woman Cast: Kate Upton, Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann 2014 LBI Productions

AFTER dissolving into �its of giggles at the mere trailer of The Other Woman, I was expecting big things from this sundrenched anti-rom-com, directed by Nick Cassavetes.

Carly (Cameron Diaz) thinks she’s found the perfect man in Mark King (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). As one might expect, though, things turn sour when a Mrs King arises – enter Woman Two, the bubbly but slightly neurotic Kate (Leslie Mann).

In a bizarre, almost Shrek-andDonkey style friendship, Kate latches onto professionally-minded Carly.

Forced to soften up, Carly joins Kate on a mission to track down Mark’s third woman – the upsettingly beautiful Amber (Kate Upton).

United in disdain for three-timing Mark, the women exact revenge – anyone familiar with John Tucker Must Die will quickly get the gist. Things turn sneaky, cringey, and by the end, fairly brutal.

Much of the humour relies on a cocktail of quick wit and slapstick, but you know what? It works. Watching Cameron Diaz desperately trying to bundle a plastered Leslie Mann into

letting-loose of both actresses. It really feels like both Diaz and Mann put everything they have into these roles, and the result is hilarious.

It struck me as a shame that a mixture of wine and vodka seemed to trigger most of the “female bonding” witnessed – but the same could be said for most of the deep meaningful conversations I had during Freshers’ Week with people I’d just met. In any case, the routines of dressing up, dancing and doing each other’s hair may have been terribly stereotypical, but they left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

The Other Woman provides a refreshing take on female friendships that, despite feeling slightly forced and over-the-top at times, manages to both induce hysterics and offer up something a little different.

HANNAH BUTLER, NEWS EDITOR

What’s hot and what’s not in this week’s film news?

AVATAR - James Cameron reportedly wants to make three sequels to the 2009 hit. Personally, I have no great desire to watch those elongated smurfs on screen again.

Financial Ruin

GODZILLA - the monster stomped into London on Sunday, wreaking havoc and tearing the city down. No one survived. Well, alright, they had the �ilm premiere and a bunch of celebs walked on a red carpet. Catch the �ilm - it’s out now.

MORRISEY - the maudlin Mancunian singer is set for a biopic - a pre-Smiths portrait of his early life; expect gloomy northern skies and poetic preciousness. With the producer of the Ian Curtis biopic Control working on it, it may not be terrible. If it is – what difference does it make?

POWER RANGERS - �irst Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, now the Power Rangers are set for a movie, with studio Lionsgate, of The Hunger Games, working with creators Saban. A group of teenagers will gain unique powers including the power to wear incredibly tight spandex.

MOVIE STAMPS - Royal Mail are releasing six stamps to celebrate British movies, including Chariots of Fire and Bend It Like Beckham. I’d like to see Withnail on a stamp, how about you?

Answers on a postcard.

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If you liked...

LOOKING for an alternative to a favourite novel? Why not try our suggestions for similar reads?

Dracula - Bram Stoker...

Why not try The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde. Immerse yourself in the wonderfully gothic story of a beautiful man’s downfall.

Packed with seduction and corruption, it is an intense study of beauty and desire. Dorian Gray retains his youth, whilst his portrait collects the traces of his corrupt, double life.

The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith…

Why not try The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – Agatha Christie.

If you liked Rowling’s move to crime writing then you’ll love Christie’s first Poirot book, first published in 1926.

Roger Ackroyd knew too much, he knew his wife had murdered her brutal first husband, and had just received the news she’d taken her own life. But before he could finish a letter containing a vital scrap of information, he is stabbed to death…

The Bell Jar – Sylvia Path...

Why not try The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky Charlie is a shy, introspective freshman in high school, attempting to navigate his way through a world of dates, sex, drugs and family drama.

He is a wallflower, standing on the fringes of life, but soon he’ll have to take the plunge and move on to the dance floor. Perks is a coming-of-age story that will take you back to your tumultuous teenage years.

The Amazing Spider-Man – Marvel Comics...

Why not try The Gospel of Loki – Joanne M. Harris From the first person perspective of the trickster Loki, we are told of his many exploits and adventures under the rule of Odin moving through to his betrayal and the fall of the kingdom of Asgard. Harris tells the story much as it unfolds in the medieval Icelandic texts, her accuracy reflecting her long-running passion for Norse legends. If you love the Marvel universe, you’ll love The Gospel of Loki.

Harry Potter series - JK Rowling...

Why not try The Magicians – Lev Grossman If, like the rest of the world, you adored the series, try out Lev Grossman’s take on the wizard-school novel. Set in a magical world within this one, it also has definite Narnia-esque elements, and is well worth a read for anyone looking for an adult update to their childhood favourites.

NATALIE CLARK AND CHLOE GLASSONBURY, BOOKS EDITORS

BOOKS

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21

BOOKS EDITORS

Natalie Clark & Chloe Glassonbury books@exepose.com LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE Exeposé Books

The road to independent publishing

Sophie Harrison, Online Books Editor, interviews children’s book publisher Neil Trigger

SH: What made you decide to go down the self-publishing route?

NT: My daughter wanted a story so I wrote one on my iPhone. It got too long so I started uploading it to my blog. People started reading it and commenting, making suggestions and asking for the printed version. I then decided to print a batch and I guess that’s how I started as a self-published author.

SH: What motivated you to then establish an entire publishing company, and how did you go about it?

NT: I took one of my remaining selfpublished books into Waterstones to ask if they’d buy them. It was daft naïveté that led me to do it, but it led to some great feedback. I was told that everything from the font, paper stock, cover, typesetting, height, width, and blurb needed changing, but that the

story was good, so I decided to change it. My brother’s girlfriend’s best friend (tenuous perhaps) recommended getting an agent, so I started there.

Initially I went to the London book fair and started touting my book to agents and publishers. I gave one to Barry Cunningham (who discovered JK Rowling) and he gave me some great feedback. I used this to change my own book and select others for my new publishing company.

SH: Is it hard developing a business outlook, while maintaining a literary one? How important is it to have a strong business mind in this industry?

NT: It’s very hard maintaining the balance between creativity and business because I �ind myself having to have editorial meetings with myself, which is a little weird, but I’ve not written anything for publication

recently. I’m trying to ensure that I focus on business development so I don’t have much time to write commercially.

My daughter wanted a story, so I wrote one on my iPhone

SH: How do you strike the balance between being a writer and a publisher?

NT: To be totally honest, I don’t strike a balance at all. I’ve got a few books out but I am totally a publisher and barely think of myself as a writer any more.

I certainly use my own experiences when dealing with authors. We’re a sensitive bunch and I have to deal with authors delicately to avoid a clash of egos.

Marvel mania

Adam Smith, Games and Tech Editor, discusses �ilm adaptations and their comic origins SINCE 2008, when Iron Man and The Dark Knight hit cinematic screens, Hollywood has become obsessed with comic books. Marvel Studios (owned by the Disney Corporation) is currently in the midst of what is possibly the biggest �ilm crossover ever, while DC has a Justice League movie in their sights; and all of these billion pound productions originate from short cartoon narratives.

But how strictly should adaptions stick to the source material? The Amazing Spider-Man �ilms have been criticised for changing Uncle Ben’s iconic line, “With great power comes great responsibility”, and reimagining the villains. Electro is now no longer a yellow and green criminal, but looks more like an electric Na’vi in a Primark hoodie. Comic book fans are notoriously dedicated to their canon, so this did not go down well. In fact, so dedicated are comic book fans that in 1994 when Hal Jordan a.k.a Green Lantern became the villain Parallax in the plotline Zero Hour, fans took out advertisements in newspapers to protest the �ictional events of the comic book (and won).

Moral of the story? Unless you have a damned good adaption idea, don’t mess with the canon.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to rest on the comic book narratives. Unless a studio knows what is well and badly received by the fans (which, as shown by X-Men 3, both Amazing Spider-Man �ilms and the atrocious Green Lantern, they do not) the �ilm will fail.

Why? Because fans know exactly what

is coming; Bane in the Dark Knight Rises? Everyone knows that he is going to ‘break the Bat’ because that is all his character does.

Gwen Stacy (SPOILER ALERT) dying in The Amazing Spider-Man 2? We’re all expecting

it because she is there for nothing else in the comics. But the Mandarin actually being a bumbling actor in Iron Man 3, to leave Aldrich Cillian to come to the fore as the true villain? That’s an inspired move – it removes what would otherwise be quite a racist Asian stereotype from rearing its head in the �ilms, allows the Cold War era subtext to be replaced with a fusion of all of America’s modern fears in one delicious Osama Bin Laden/An-

SH: What advice would you offer students with regards to selfpublishing a novel?

NT: I write a regular writing blog on www.ghostlypublishing.co.uk which gives a lot of information and tips for wannabe writers, but I suppose the best advice I can give is to write and write often. Lots of people say to write every day, but I recognise that not everyone will �ind this practical.

Carry something you can write on.

I use my iPhone for everything. You need a way to record your thoughts as they happen. However you do that, it doesn’t matter, just make sure you do.

Go online to read the rest of this interview! archist/Cyberterrorist cocktail and makes the whole thing funny. If you’re going to make a superhero �ilm work from its comic origins, you have to take risks and change what is ultimately a plotline steeped in a culture that could be about 50 years old (in the case of Spider-Man) and modernise it. Peter Parker as a bullied nerd wouldn’t work in the age of the Internet, of Tumblr and YouTube vlogs, hell, even in the age where a comic book adaption sells for billions. Today, the geeks are cool.

Like all great literature, comic books are being made con-

t e m porary.

Classics like The Great Gatsby, Cloud Atlas and Heart of Darkness (which became Apocalypse Now) all jumped into the modern world.

Graphic novels like Watchmen and V for Vendetta or comic book arcs like Knightfall and the Age of Ultron have no reason to not follow suit.

It is their duty to update, to make the old relevant once more.

After all, with great power comes great responsibility.

The need for speed-read 22

BOOKS

NEWS 1-5

COMMENT FEATURES LIFESTYLE 12-13 8-10 6-7

MUSIC 15-16

SCREEN 18-19

BOOKS 21-22

ARTS 24-25

GAMES & TECH

27-28

SPORT 30-32

Josh Creek, Games and Tech Editor, surveys the latest speed reading software BEING able to read quickly has always been perceived as a sign of high intelligence, but as someone with an abnormally high reading speed I’d say not only does it not denote intelligence but is also something of a double-edged sword. While it is indeed immensely useful to be able to read in less time (Homer’s Odyssey is signi�icantly more bearable when it takes a third less time to read!), it means you blaze through books y o u really enjoy so fast t h a t y o u m i s s out on savouring each word, each precious moment of the narrative.

That said, if you wish to learn to read more quickly, or even just to force yourself to read at your maximum speed for a speci�ic article or text, there are some truly superb tools out there enabling you to do exactly that.

The �irst of these is Spreeder (www.spreeder.com) - free online speed-reading software designed to improve your reading speed and comprehension.

Speed-reading is the art of silencing sub vocalisation, the articulation of words silently to oneself when reading. Most people read at around 200 wpm (words per minute), which is about as fast as they can read aloud.

The majority of readers are limited by their silent reading voice as they can only read as fast as they can speak. If you can silence this voice, however, you can read at a speed drastically faster than the norm.

Using software like Spreeder you are forced to read text at a given speed as the software brazenly ignores your

protestations of it going too quickly for you to read and forces you to keep up. To begin with you should �ind a comfortable speed, then set Spreeder to double it and try to read several articles at that speed, slowly increasing until you reach your fastest possible pace. You can also set the software to

Eye movements are the most time-consuming part of reading

display more than one word at a time in a ‘chunk’. This will allow you to further increase your reading speed but, of course, this cannot be applied to the normal printed page and so your speed gains will only be of use to you if you read using the software. Within a few days of use you may be able to reach reading speeds of over 1000 wpm.

If your reading speed on computers and other electronic devices is what is most important to you then there is another option

besides using the chunks on Spreeder.

Spritz (www.spritzinc.com) is another piece of software made by experts in reading methodologies and software engineering. It’s based on the concept that the most time-consuming part of reading is the eye movements from word to word and sentence to sentence, so it does away with them, instead giving you only 13 characters worth of space to view and read content. Using the ORP (optimal recognition point) of each word, the point within any given word that your eyes automatically seek out, Spritz removes the 80 per cent of reading time that is spent physically moving our eyes between words and scanning for the next ORP. This means you can drastically augment your natural reading speed, and in a matter of minutes and hours rather than days and weeks. Even for fast readers like myself there are phenomenal speed gains easily available. All other bene�its aside, Spritz also takes up very little screen space and, most importantly, makes your eyes signi�icantly less tired, meaning you can read for longer, faster, and using less screen space.

Condensed Classics

WHILE not the ‘first’ vampire novel, Bram Stoker’s gothic thriller redefined the genre, making it a classic of the nineteenth-century Romantic movement. Due to the fact that the story is told entirely through firsthand accounts – letters, diaries, phonograph recordings, telegrams, and newspaper clippings – plot information emerges slowly and incompletely but soon creates a detailed, albeit mysterious, picture. This clever storytelling technique quickly draws the reader in as several seemingly unconnected characters are drawn into a net of schemes hatched by Count Dracula, a nobleman whose odds habits, mannerisms, and interests soon reveal that his powers reach into the supernatural realm. A trail of death follows Dracula as he leaves his ancient Transylvanian abode to extend his influence in London, and the rest of the characters must join forces to end his reign forever.

CARMEN PADDOCK

EXEPOSÉ

Any Last Words?

This week we asked for literary quotes that sum up the despair of revision...

“But there was one other thing that the grown-ups also knew, and it was this: that however small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance is there. The chance had to be there.”

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl ROB HARRIS “All’s dark and comfortless” - I have my eyes though, so it offers perspective!

King Lear - Shakespeare SOPHIE HARRISON “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” - Fitgerald emphasising the futility of it all; whether you’re Gatsby or just in the Law Library.

The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald TOBY CRADDOCK “I’m in the depths of despair.” - For once, I don’t think Anne was exaggerating!

Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery LIANA GREEN “We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on” Dumbledore.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - JK Rowling EMMA CROSSEY

Dracula Bram Stoker (1897) “I on my part give up the uncertainty of eternal rest and go out into the dark where may be the blackest things that the world or the nether world holds!”

20 MAY 2014 |

Pretty much everything in Beckett’s Endgame, but particularly, “Will this ever finish?”

EMMA THOMAS

The Cuckoo’s Calling Robert Galbraith (Sphere £16.99) WITH just a month to go until the release of Robert Galbraith’s second foray into the world of detective �iction, I thought it �itting to return to the �irst in the series, The Cuckoo’s Calling.

I am not a reader of detective �iction, but after reading this novel I certainly started to question why not!

The Sherlock of Galbraith’s series is Cormoran Strike, an ex-soldier who has established himself as a private investigator, although it must be said not an entirely successful one when the novel starts. Struggling to make ends meet, and recently single, this is a Byronic hero if there ever was one.

Fate strikes when John Bristow, the brother of Strike’s deceased childhood best friend, walks into the PI’s of�ice with an expectedly shocking case: his beloved sister Lula Landry, the renowned supermodel (visualize Jourdan Dunn/Cara Delavigne), fell to her death from her top-story London apartment. The police declare it suicide, but Bristow thinks differently.

With the help of newly recruited assistant Robin, an unpaid intern whose shrewdness and passion make her an endearing character, they enter into the world of fame and celebrity that is both glitzy and garish, strikingly contrived beneath a mask of sycophancy. It is a brilliantly sharp insight into the corruption of celebrity, the disloyalties of ‘yes-people’ and the tragedies of young fame. For a character that never spoke a word in the entire novel, Lula is incredibly well developed and you form a strong connection to her.

I really engaged with Strike as a character. At the start he is bordering on pitiable, living in his of�ice, overweight and uninspiringly disengaged, but Galbraith places his ‘light-bulb moment’ at just the right time. For some readers, this might come too late, but I personally found the author paced it really well. By the end Strike is realised as a character who is both complex and highly endearing; Robin helps this process, but so too does Galbraith’s skillful interspersion of a backstory for both characters, which adds a further dimension to the story.

At times, the novel is a bit ‘adjective-heavy’, but I would rather that than a complete absence of description; the author gives you such

a crystalised view of the world, it really heightens the novel’s readability, making it a great beach-holiday read.

I am de�initely looking forward to

A brilliantly sharp insight into the corruption of celebrity

the release of The Silkworm in June.

P.S. Yes, I know the ‘real’ author is JK Rowling. Of course, when you do know, it is hard to read little descriptions such as “face the colour of corned beef...” and not visualize an Uncle-Vernon-esque character.

I thought I’d at least try to keep the magic alive. That being said, ultimately, Robert Galbraith’s The Cuckoo’s Calling does this on its own.

The second Cormoran Strike novel, The Silkworm, is due to be published on 19th July by Sphere.

RRP £20

SOPHIE HARRISON, ONLINE BOOKS EDITOR

“For it is easier to shout ‘Stop’, than to do it”- Treebeard in The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien SAM BREWER ”Oh horror, horror, horror” Macbeth - Shakespeare FRAN LOWE “I am alone and miserable. Only someone as ugly as I am could love me.”

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley SARAH GOUGH “They glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them” it’s about dementors, but it applies pretty well to exams.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling CHLOE GLASSONBURY “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho KITTY HOWIE “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.”

Dune - Frank Herbert TOM FFISKE

24

ARTS

ARTS

NEWS 1-5

COMMENT FEATURES LIFESTYLE 8-10 12-13 6-7

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @ExeposeArts

Arts Diary Art Marie Von Heyl @ Exeter Phoenix 23 May - 5 July

Theatre TWT’s Under Milk Wood @ Exeter Courtyard 23 - 24 May EUTCO’s Enron @ M&D Rooms 21, 23, 24 May Arts on the Move Festival @ Poltimore House 25 May

Dance EDge Dance @ Exeter Phoenix 27 May TWT’s Dirty Decadence @ Exeter Phoenix 3 - 4 June

Comedy Alfie Moore @ Exeter Phoenix 22 May

T3 Festival In Bed With The Bennetts @ TS3 (Thornlea) 20 May The Institutionalised @ TS3 22 May Delusion @ TS2 23 May Titus Andronicus @ Cellar Door 26 May Lovesung @ RS1(Roborough) 27 May Yellow Tulips @ TS3 30 May Yes Sir, No Sir @ TS3 31 May God of Carnage @ RS1 31 May

MUSIC 15-16

SCREEN 18-19

BOOKS 21-22

ARTS 24-25

GAMES & TECH

27-28

SPORT 30-32

20 MAY 2014 |

EXEPOSÉ

ARTS EDITORS

Sarah Gough & Bethany Stuart arts@exepose.com LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE Exeposé Arts

Paint vs pixels: the future of art?

Josh Creek, Games & Tech Editor, discusses how technology is changing art, starting with Andy Warhol’s recently revealed digital creations IT’S the 1980s and computers are mainstream. Andy Warhol, hand drawer, print maker, painter, photographer, silk screener, sculptor, �ilm maker and musician, adds another skill to the list – digital art. A little over two years before his death in 1987 he was commissioned to create digital artworks to help launch the Amiga 1000 computer. The artwork itself is nothing too special, mostly just recreations of his other artworks using the Amiga, but after almost 30 years artworks have been recovered from old Amiga �loppy disks by student hackers (sorry, I mean ‘researchers’) and made available to view.

Warhol had a �lirtatious relationship with technology and machinery, even wearing a metallic silver wig and pretending to be a machine, apparently in order to better capture the way the world was changing. But what’s going on under the metal wig? Is our reliance on technology changing the way we create and even perceive art?

Well, in my opinion it’s something of a double-edged sword. A lot of classic art, created using such things as oil, pencil, acrylic, pen and charcoal on linen, paper and canvas is now mainly viewed using technology, particularly amongst younger generations, and really loses something through being viewed in that medium. A truly superb painting, for example, can look just like a photograph when viewed on a computer but when viewed physically, by actually visiting the artwork, subtleties like stroke and texture make the

artwork exactly that, a work of art, rather than a �lat, two-dimensional image.

That said, for more contemporary art forms technology is enabling a whole new breed of artwork. Take, for example,

98-yearold Hal Lasko, better known as The Pixel Painter or s i m p l y,

Grandpa. During World War II he was a graphic designer working in the military drafting maps. Following his military career he was involved in various creative projects for multiple companies before

event u a l ly retiring in the 1970s.

Throughout his life Hal painted at home to satisfy his artistic

urges. Unfortunately Hal now suffers from wet macular degeneration, an age-related, chronic eye disease which severely limits the centre of his �ield of vision. The older he got the harder it became for him to paint.

Technology is enabling a new breed of artwork

That is, until his 85th birthday when his family gave him a computer with Microsoft Paint installed.

Fast forward to the present day. Hal is now world-famous for making paintings resembling classic 8-bit video games crossed with �ine art. To make them he painstakingly nudges a mouse around in Paint, watching his progress out of the corner of his eye. Paint may now be decades-old but it is a favourite with many other modern artists like ‘Jim’ll Paint It’ whose painted-on-request graphics on Facebook are legendary.

Whilst many would argue that we are over-reliant on technology nowadays, I think it has enabled a greater range of artistic expression. It’s made it possible for those who, like Hal, would not have been able to continue creating art without it. In his own words, “When I got the computer and saw what the Paint program offered, I started a whole new career almost and every time I paint on it, I’m trying to do something that’s approaching �ine art.”

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change

Sarah Gough, Arts Editor, spoke to Shotgun Theatre about their exciting new production on 29-31 May ON the back of three wins at the National Theatre Awards, Shotgun Theatre are justi�iably enamoured about their upcoming production I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. I spoke to director Hollie Morgan and producer Joseph Scho�ield about the show.

SG: Tell us about the show: ST: Well, it’s the longest running off-Broadway show of all time. It’s a show about love and relationships in different parts of your life. Rather than a continuous story, it’s structured in a sketch basis of different characters and the various situations they �ind themselves in.

There are lots of hilarious, awkward moments as well as really endearing scenes.

You’ve got the awkward �irst date where no one says anything, right through to two single OAPs meeting at a funer-

al. It’s quite Love Actually-esque really.

SG: Why is it different from any other musical?

ST: It’s not a typical jazz-hand type musical with a dance troupe, it’s quite intimate.

There’s no big end-of-act-one number or big choreographed sections. We have a cast of eight who are multi-rolling and a student band we’ve put together. Most of the show is sung; there’s only three scenes that are purely dialogue. A song called ‘Stud and a Babe’ is really hilarious, more commonly known as the awkward pause song.

SG: How are rehearsals going?

ST: We only started a couple of weeks ago but it’s going really well. The small scenes mean we can really go into detail and explore characters, despite the short turn around period

we’ve got to get the show together..

SG: Hollie, have you had any directing experience?

HM: I did in Sixth Form but not at Uni. I’ve been in shows but not directed. Now I’m a third year, I thought I better grab the opportunity. I knew and loved the musical before it was announced as a Shotgun show and was already thinking of ways to stage it. I’m quite an active director and I’m enjoying this project so much already.

SG: Where are you staging it?

ST: It’ll be in the M&D Rooms. As it’s not a massive dance show, the small space won’t be an issue, we’re having quite a minimal set and multi-functional props so we can really focus on the cast. We’ll be showing difference of character through costume, props and dialect and they’re all such great

actors that a big set isn’t at all necessary.

SG: Where can we get tickets?

ST: Tickets will be available on the Guild website soon.

Scan the QR code to read more about Shotgun’s recent success.

EXEHIBITION

EXEPOSÉ

Every issue, Exeposé Arts features a student and their art. This week, it’s the photography of �irst year Law student, Bartosz Wozniak

“I’VE been interested in photography for around four years now, taking all kinds of photographs, but recently my involvement has become much more professional.

I’m hoping to extend my hobby into a small part-time business. I recently

Khovanskygate: A National Enquiry Canon Hill Park 2 May 2014

THERE is nothing quite like Birmingham Opera Company. Made up of local volunteers from the community and globally recognised opera singers, they celebrate a dynamic mixture of amateur and professional performers which is at the heart of the company’s ethos.

An enormous tent in Canon Hill Park hosts Khovanskygate: A National Enquiry, the �irst UK production of Mugorsky’s �inal opera. Renowned for their unorthodox performance venues, from disused industrial warehouses to canals - far from the traditional grandeur of an opera house - they utilise the unconventional spaces and create highly immersive performances. The performances are generally promenade and the audience walk through the space amongst the performers, with actors interacting directly with them - not what you typically expect from an opera.

Graham Vick, esteemed opera director and founder of the BOC, creates an extremely topical performance in Khovanskygate: A National Enquiry, particularly in light of the recent political turbulence in eastern Ukraine. Set against a backdrop of the Tsar dictatorship; religion, conservatism, political corruption and inequality shape the narrative that drives this dramatic opera.

Ideological con�lict and a battle of ideals

Arts in the news

ARTS

www.exepose.com

embarked on a ‘365 Project’, which means taking a photograph a day. This shot is originally from a shoot I did for Rubik’s Cube. The photograph was edited and made up of around eight shots and then selectively coloured.

If you would like to see more

carry the performance, and the amateur performers operate both as supporters and anarchists for the different political ideologies. The production truly is harrowing, with the only solution to the political mayhem being mass suicide The professional opera singers are awe-inspiring, each commanding the attention of the audience with their stunning vocals which are guided under the musical direction of Stuart Startford and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Keel Watson, the extreme religious leader Dosifei, is particularly impressive in this role and creates a bold performance with his powerful vocals and deep, bellowing voice. Claudia Huckle, Dosifei’s daughter, also created a deeply emotional performance of her unwavering love for Andrei, the son Khovanksy, which is really at the heart of the opera.

Though the story was sometimes dif�icult to follow, the emotional intent behind each narrative was so palpable that it didn’t matter. Khovanskygate: A National Enquiry proved once again the artistic merit of Vick and his creative team and the company created an unforgettable experience where the audience became part of their world. This has become BOC signature style: they don’t just create a performance, they create an experience - an experience not to be missed.

of my work please visit: www.facebook.com/bwozniakphotography.”

Interested in getting published?

Contact us at arts@exepose.com

The Fanny Hill Project v2.0 The BikeShed Theatre 9 May 2014

UPON arrival we were handed a drink and told it would be part of a “game” they would be playing -little did I know this would be the old classic ‘Never Have I Ever’. Naturally, huge pangs of anxiety and fear struck as I looked round the very intimate seating of the BikeShed theatre and noted I was the only one under 30, and that the majority of the audience looked closer to picking up their pensions rather than their student loans. Indeed things, somewhat inevitably, took a nosedive from “I have never �inished a packet of custard creams in one sitting” (I drank) to “I have never had sex with so many men I’ve lost count” (I did not drink, thank you very much). Whilst hideously uncomfortable, the use of the game did bring to the fore our innate self-consciousness and concern with what people think of us. This experience of awkward confession was continued as, in slightly reserved and nervous tones, Tess began to tell her story.

The per-

VICTORIA BISHOP

Virginia Woolf ballet set to lead 2015 summer season at the Royal Opera House

Under Milk Wood The Northcott Theatre 29 April 2014

IN Dylan Thomas’ centenary year, Terry Hands’ stage adaptation of his best-loved work Under Milk Wood is a loveable, laughable triumph. Plus it’s entirely relayed in Welsh accents - need I say more?!

Dubbed the best radio play ever written, the stage show is both a pacey play and melodic poem. Now 60 years since the play’s British premiere, Thomas’ poetic prowess remains just as powerful on stage as in print.

As we’re toured around the Welsh village of Llareggub we become acquainted with the diverse faces that shape it. Reading the village name backwards gives an insight into the sleepy subversiveness of this production, ‘bugger all’ happens but very little plot is needed with such a dynamic display of humanity. In its microcosmic depiction of people politics, we’re introduced to the loveably naïve Polly Garter singing sweetly to her newborn child, right through to Mr Pugh who dreams of poisining his tyrannical wife.

Narrated effortlessly by the dulcet tones of Owen Teale and Christian Patterson, the entire production is very consciously a crowd pleaser. Saturated with songs and sound, all devised by the Clywd Theatr Cymru cast onstage, it is a real delight to watch. Martyn Bainbridge’s gravity defying, circular set allowed the cast to slip and slide around the sides, keeping the action swift and �luid. It proved just as mul-

formance was structured by chapters in which Tess and Fanny exchanged snippets of their stories. Even though “womanity” has gained so much since the period in which Fanny Hill is set there was an uncomfortable recognition of the same experience of poverty and unwilling entrance into prostitution in both characters. As the play went on their interaction became increasingly competitive and aggressive, and things began to spiral out of control. By the performance’s conclusion the stage was plastered with alcohol and the debris of props and costumes that had been stripped off and broken – much like the performers. Paradoxically the play ended on a positive note with Tess declaring her independence, leaving the key questions unanswered and the audience to think of it what they will. Whilst initially frustrating I think it was a poignant way to end as it certainly left an impression and forced you to come to your own conclusion.

The plot is wholly original and convincing and there were sparks of genius in the methods they used to get the audience to the emotional levels they wanted. It was just a shame that the audience was not larger and more cooperative as the Fanny Hill Project does have the potential to be a really thought-provoking show.

BETHANY STUART

Controversial Banksy picture removed and taken to Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery

YouTube artist Duncan Campbell shortlisted for the Turner Prize

25

ti-purpose as the cast, as the birdseye projection of the village leaning over the unfolding action doubled up as a beautiful moon at night-fall.

It’s entirely relayed in Welsh accents - need I say more?!

It is a real ensemble piece, with the entire cast multi-rolling and omnipresent throughout. However Steven Meo stood out for the sheer hilarity he in�licted, best-known for his appearance as Owain Jones in Gavin & Stacey, his portrayal of Nogood Boyo’s troublesome toilet habits sent the entire house, including the cast, into a glorous giggling �it.

Under Milk Wood is a funny, heartwarming piece of theatre, showcasing how picturesque poetry can be.

Exeter’s Theatre With Teeth are presenting their own production of Under Milk Wood at the University Courtyard (by the Student Health Centre) on the 2324 May. Naomi Turner and Helen Craig commented on why they’re co-directing the production: “the characters are so beautifully created with Thomas’ words and it made us want to recreate these intricate characters on stage. Amongst the cobbled greenery of the University’s campus, together with our talented cast, the show is sure to be beautiful.”

SARAH GOUGH

Artistic Licence With news of both Jeremy Paxman’s one-man-show ‘PAXO’ and a new play inspired by the career of supermodel turned politician, Boris Johnson, set to hit Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, we asked you whose life you would turn into a hit Broadway show and what you would call said show.

BETHANY STUART: Tristan Gatward: The Secret Life of Harry Potter’s Understudy JAMES SMURTHWAITE: Stephen Hawking. Daft Punk can write the score.

MARCO ROBERTS: The Walking Dead: an audience with Keith Richards GEMMA JOYCE: Twerking 9-5: A Day in the Life of Miley Cyrus SARAH GOUGH: ‘All Hayle’ Matt Hayler the Musical CHRIS FILSELL: Eton Mess - The Premiership of David Cameron CARMEN PADDOCK: Steve Jobs: The Apple of his Eye

Renowned performance artist Maria Abramović set for first UK appearance in June

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GAMES & TECH EDITORS

Josh Creek & Adam Smith games@exepose.com

What about the gay-mers?

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Adam Smith, Games and Tech Editor, examines the recent controversy of homosexuality in Nintendo THIS week is an important week for homosexuality, in Exeter and in video games. Last Saturday the Exeter Pride Parade took place as a celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities; the day before, Nintendo released a statement saying that homosexual relationships will not be available in their game Tomodachi Life. This begot the social media campaign #Miiquality, in an attempt to have the game changed.

For many gamers, it seems to be a dif�icult question: How should same-sex relationships be portrayed in games? Or even, should they be

Homosexuality would have required the game to have been coded in such a way from the start

portrayed in games? Nintendo seems to have a mixed answer. Tomodachi Life, a game about players creating ‘Mii’s and sending them to an island where they can interact with other characters to form a band, play cards or “fall in love”, did not have same-

sex relationships in its Japanese version. While it will not in its European version, because a post-purchase patch would not be able to change the game, Nintendo will try to be “more inclusive, and better represent all players” in its next instalment.

That would be acceptable, except that the Japanese version of the game allowed homosexual relationships through creating a male Mii but assigning it a female gender. However, this was marked as a ‘bug’ by Nintendo and a patch was released to ‘�ix’ it. There we have the issue – the ability to have a homosexual relationship in the game was deemed as something faulty and removed, and the language of coding sends a subliminal semantic message that same-sex relationships in games are an error.

Secondly, although Nintendo is desperate to avoid making any sort of statement that would be read as “social commentary”, the decision not to provide inclusion of homosexual lifestyles for a “quirky fantasy world” game is social commentary. Inclusion in a

game is much easier than exclusion.

However, there are quite a few gamers who would agree with the Nintendo statement that to include homosexuality in Tomodachi Life is indeed an error. Unfortunately, the community is still

vocally homophobic, racist, sexist and full of white male privilege.

Most well known was the backlash

against the homosexual relationships in Mass Effect 3 (even though the player could choose their sexuality). However, every medium has its share of unpleasantness, and while that in no way lessens the effect the gaming has on its games, it’s not the most interesting issue. The most interesting aspect is back in the code.

According to an interview the editor of Pocketgamer Keith Andrew had about including homosexual footballers in New Star Soccer, the answer came back that in order to include gay players, it “required the game to have been coded in such a way from the start.” Without considering the inclusion of homosexuality from the beginning, it is dif�icult to add it in later. And since the game industry is trying to focus on more ‘realism’ in games, even in a fantasy game like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim where it is possible to kill dragons and be homosexual, this is something that all developers should be considering when making their games.

Eventually, it won’t be noticed. Before writing this article, I wasn’t even sure whether Skyrim had allowed same-sex relationships; eventually the notion of homosex-

uality in anything near an RPG will become the norm and won’t even

The community is still vocally homophobic, racist, sexist and full of white male privilege.

peak my interest. Because when you do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.

Read more Exeposé coverage of recent controversies in gaming online with Sam Brewer’s discussion of sexism in the industry

The gems for the new Pokémon gen

Do Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire have the stones to put in what fans want?

WITH Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire set to be released in November, Rhys J. Jenkins looks at the elements of the third generation that fans would most like to see returned to the 3DS reboots.

New Mega Evolutions This mechanic was introduced in the latest Generation of Pokémon games, shaking up the world of competitive play.

By means of a special stone, Po ké m o n could ‘Mega Evolve’ for a limited period of time to reach levels of extraordinary p o w e r !

Popular candidates for Mega Evolution include the starter Pokémon, and the legendary mascots.

Pokémon Contests and The Battle Frontier Whether you’re into showing off your Pokémon’s cuteness or their power, the Hoenn Region has something for everyone. The toughest of trainers gather at the Battle Frontier to test their strength and battling wiles, and I’m sure we’re all secretly looking forward to mixing PokéBlocks at the Contest Halls once more!

Legendary Pokémon This never ceases to be a popular topic. Generation Three saw an iconic clash between the game mascots - Groudon, an Earth Titan and Kyogre , the Ocean Leviathan - both wielding cataclysmic powers of weather-attributed destruction. In the original games, the feud was quelled by the player. I’m sure the end of the world looks even better in 3D… Secret Bases Through use of a move called ‘Secret Power’, players could construct their

own hideout in a treehouse, shrubbery, or even a cliff-face. These were completely customisable with a variety of goods including furniture, toys, and carpets possessing unusual qualities… By connecting with other games, you could uncover your friend’s Secret Base and explore it.

The closest we got to this was the Underground in Generation Four, which was an improvement. Logic tells us that this should be even better!

Nostalgia Yes, the one thing that players look forward to the most is revisiting an old haunt from the golden era of the Game Boy. Whether you look forward to adventure and battles, or Professor Birch being chased around by a rabid Zigzagoon, the return to the land of overzealous fanfare music will be well-met. Sapphire was my �irst ever Pokémon game, and personally, I can see huge potential for these remakes.

RHYS J. JENKINS

Favourite Generation Pokémon Games

Gen 1

Gen 2

Gen 3

Gen 4

Gen 5

Gen 6

Red, Blue and Yellow: 3 Gold, Silver and Crystal: 26 Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald: 14 Diamond, Pearl and Platinum: 2 Black, White, Black 2 and White 2: 1 X and Y: 4

Results taken from the University of Exeter Pokémon Society

28

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Heeding the call The key to good notes Gemma Joyce, Editor, reviews the new CoD trailer

READYING myself for the trailer of the latest instalment of the Call of Duty series, I was prepared for a bore fest. Recalling the awe with which developers introduced the reactive �ish and play-

If Call of Duty is crying out for anything it’s a change in its over-used mechanics

able dog in Ghosts at E3 I wondered what could be next. What possible innovation could justify the emergence of yet another CoD title? Perhaps leaves would crunch under foot with greater de�inition. Perhaps pesky insect bites would jeopardise trigger sensitivity. Perhaps the fullness of the moon would affect the protagonist’s mood... and perhaps not.

But what I did not expect to see amid the obligatory scenes of explosions and destruction was a Frank Underwood-esque soliloquy on the �laws of democracy by the man himself, Kevin Spacey. Who’d have thought the �ictional newly elected President of the United States would also star in the shoot-em-ups he plays in secret in the basement? To be fair to Sledgehammer Games, if anything is going to reinvigorate the war-weary franchise it will be a big star playing a compelling villain - and who better? House o f Cards addicts will no doubt be interested since the next installment of Netflix bingery isn’t ex p e c t ed for a

good while yet, and few would deny Spacey’s ability to bring a great character to the forefront.

But what else is new? Sledgehammer Games have described Advanced Warfare as “ambitious,” and have so far inspired a healthy amount of hype around its new features. It will be played in third person, breaking from other games in the series. Gamers have become increasingly excited by this, since if Call of Duty is crying out for anything it’s a change in its over-used mechanics.

The trailer hints at some potentially awesome sequences, including jumping from car to car, pulling a man through a windscreen and throwing him off a bridge. If this isn’t just an over-hyped cut-scene, players can hopefully expect a change from the enter area, clear area, follow computerised characters and start again gameplay that has haunted the series for far too long.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be the �irst in the series developed from the ground up by Sledgehammer Games, who co-developed Modern Warfare 3 and Ghosts. It was con�irmed earlier this year that the franchise will be split between Sledgehammer, In�inity Ward and Treyarch studios, each releasing one game over the next three years. It is hoped that the extended time each studio will now have to work on their contribution will result in creative improvements that break the Call of Duty mould that has become infamous in the industry. Perhaps, despite early scepticism, there is hope for the Call of Duty franchise. We can look forward to a game that looks incredible on next gen consoles with new features and a massive star heading it up.

However, it’s early days yet and the built up frustration with poor quality rehashes mean the next instalment could be make or break for the series.

Josh Creek, G&T Editor, calls out the best mobile keyboards

WE students are a strange breed. Eschewing the pen and paper note-taking methods of our predecessors, we almost exclusively use digital equipment to record lectures and seminars.

A sea of faces screwed up in concentration, laptops and a few netbooks greet anyone arriving late into a lecture. In Exeter the machine of choice for taking notes seems to be a MacBook, whether that be an Air or a Pro, but there is a new breed of note-taker creeping in.

Tablets such as the iPad, Nexus

A survey of the Exeposé team quickly revealed a level of impassioned loathing for typing on iOS devices

7 and Kindle Fire are now more affordable than ever before and many students are keen to get their hands on these small, light and in�initely ‘funer’ devices. They are great for reading e-books, playing games or watching �ilms but how do they stack up against the laptop as a note-taking device?

The two main devices used by students are the iPad and a generic Android tablet. A survey of the Exeposé team quickly revealed a level of impassioned loathing for typing on iOS devices. Freddy Wordingham, Technical Manager, said of the iOS touchscreen keyboard “It’s de�initely the best I’ve ever used but if I was going to spend hours taking notes I’d want a physical keyboard as if you’re going to type fast enough you need to be able to feel the keys.” Gemma Joyce, Editor, shared Freddy’s concerns. “The touchscreen is

really annoying,” she said. “I use a bluetooth keyboard with my iPad for taking notes.”

Clearly the iOS touchscreen keyboard is rather too slow and unwieldy to be used for any serious length of time. Fortunately for Apple, the plethora of bluetooth keyboards available are immensely popular so iPad student sales shouldn’t be hurt.

For Android users the stock keyboard is very popular and, again, there are an abundance of bluetooth keyboards available. However, thanks to being able to install new touchscreen keyboards there are a couple of truly excellent other options available.

Swiftkey has plenty of features which make it an absolutely invaluable part of your digital life. The �irst of note is Flow which enables you to write whole phrases without removing your �inger from the touchscreen. The best feature though, the one responsible for Swiftkey being one of the best-selling Android apps in the world, spending more days in 2012 and 2013 as Google Play’s top paid download, is its award-winning prediction engine.

Learning in real time a s well being able to scan things like past emails and tweets, it learns how you write so that after only a short time it can consistently predict your next word while you’re

typing so that each word only takes a single key-press to write. Being an Android app, Swiftkey is available for use in all apps on your Android phone

A sea of faces screwed up in concentration, laptops and a few netbooks greet anyone arriving late into a lecture

or tablet. For iOS users there is now a Swiftkey Note app available which largely replicates the prediction features of the Android app but using the standard iOS keyboard.

If you’re taking notes on a phone rather than a tablet you’ll probably notice that the keyboard takes up rather a lot of space on the screen. Well there’s an Android keyboard for that. Minuum needs to be seen to be believed. If you’re a little short on screen real estate simply hold down two �ingers on the keyboard and it shrinks down to less than a third of its normal height.

It takes a little while to get used to but can be as fast, if not faster, than the stock Android keyboard but taking up signi�icantly less space on the screen.

Nostalgia Hit: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were super effective Were the third generation’s second halves a Gyarados of gaming, or more of a �lop than a paralysed Magikarp?

HOW do you get unlimited parent points? Score an advance copy of Pokémon Ruby for your nine-year-old kid. Wrapped up in a blanket with a juice box beside me, I immediately fell in love with Nintendo’s exciting, bold and downright beautiful �irst outing on the GBA.

I think I spent half an hour once just watching the screen on a rainy route, thinking ‘Wow. This is awesome’

Hoenn boasted a ‘cool’ professor that did �ield research, and little-me

hooted with laughter as he was chased by what I later discovered was a Zigzagoon. I saw through the designers’ little trick right there – “Save Professor Birch, quick! Pick your starter as fast as you can!” Urm. No. With three new starters that were equally as awesome as each other, I really couldn’t decide, and the old dilemma sprang up again.

Of course, apart from reinventing those ‘classic’ Pokémon moments, Ruby and Sapphire brought a whole bunch of great new things to the table.

Double battles were, no doubt, one of the best things to happen to the series. Let’s be honest, after two games’ worth of one-on-one, battles were getting a little stale. Double battles were a perfect way to rejuvenate gameplay.

The Contests– though not for everyone– were de�initely a highlight of the

game. None of this dress-up stuff that we’ve been given in later games, Ruby

Let’s be honest, after two games’ worth of one-on-one, battles were getting a little stale

and Sapphire contests were serious business. Team Magma and Team Aqua were also a welcome addition to the series, spicing up the plot as they tried to awaken Groudon/Kyogre. Creating and customising my own secret base was also another standout point of the game, and I spent ages picking out the right decor for the right location.

Everything just looked and sounded stunning too. I think I spent half an hour once just watching the screen on a rainy route, thinking: “Wow. This is awesome.” Visually, the game was astounding, from the soot-covered Mt. Chimney, to the waters of, well, pretty much everywhere, really. There was so much water, which really wasn’t a problem as Ruby and Sapphire introduced the diving mechanic. (I know it wasn’t just me who couldn’t work out how to get to Sootopolis City!) The music in the game was brilliant, especially the battle themes (albeit a little trumpet-heavy).

With the surprise announcement of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, I am so

l o o king forward to rediscovering all of those wonderful things again.

Nine-yearold me, just you wait. You will never grow out of Pokémon, and if you think Hoenn looked good then, you’ve got something special coming. Bring on the trumpets.

SHERV CHEUNG

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Captain’s Corner This week we caught up with EUAC Captain, Ollie Garrod, to talk commitment, cross country and captaincy HOW does it feel to lead the team this year?

I feel very privileged to have had the honour of leading the Athletics Club, rising through the ranks from cross-country captain last year, to the full club captaincy this year has been a great way to �inish my time at Exeter.

What is your favourite part about the sport and the club?

There’s no other sport like athletics in the way that it’s a test for both the mind and the body. It’s very individual in that way, there’s no luck involved on the whole, no-one to blame but yourself

and everything that is gained is grafted, its all about getting out on the cold, wet evenings and getting on with it! The club here is quite unique in terms of its comradery, at BUCS we may not be the best team but we’re certainly the loudest and most supportive. I think that shows what EUAC is all about.

How is the squad shaping up this year?

It has been a transition year with many of our key athletes departing, so it has been a baptism of �ire for the freshers �illing their boots! However, now the squad should remain the same moving

Crossword No. 62 by Mishka

forwards.

Who are the athletes to look out for this year on the EUAC team?

There’s obviously plenty of great talent in our squad, but a personal stand out would be Joe Perkins who recently pipped me to the post in the London Marathon. I’d like to see him make a push to break the long-standing club record of 2:40:02. Over the shorter distances, Joe Saissle is one to watch and Joe Bamford with the javelin. There are two stand out distance performers for the women in Steph McCall and Vicky Budd, and I’m hoping for big things

What was the biggest event for you this season?

In my view, coming from a cross country background, the BUCS Cross Country Championships are the biggest for the club. Held in February, this event has an astonishing history, won by greats such as Paula Radcliffe and Seb Coe, as well as more recently the Brownlee brothers. However, our next big competition to look out for this term is the Devon Track and Field Championships, on 25 May.

Who is your sporting hero?

Paula Radcliffe, in a sport dominated

by East Africans her marathon record of 2:15:25 is pretty much untouchable.

Do you have any pre-race rituals?

I always eat blueberries before a big race.

What motivates you to get up and train every day?

To be honest, I’m only motivated by a desire to win. At the end of the day there are few better feelings in athletics than coming across the line �irst!

EUMCC 3s upset 2s Cricket 3s storm to derby victory to top BUCS table

9

M��� C������ Freddie Turner Online Sport Editor EUMCC 3s EUMCC 2s

Down:

1. Draw on glass (4) 2. Hospital chemical (10) 3. Talk and talk and talk (6) 4. Heads alternative (5) 5. Solitary (3) 6. Fish accompaniment (4) 7. One at a time (6) 9. Consumed (3) 10. A pulsation of cardiac muscle (5,5) 13. e.g. milky way (6) 15. Cookware (3) 16. Large lizard (6) 17. Swahili for "lion" (5) 18. Natural satellite (4) 20 Hawaiian dance (4) 21 Lung protector (3)

from fresher Kelly McMahon over the sprints.

Across:

1. Students Test (11) 8. Galileo's birthplace (5) 10. Rabbits Jump (3) 11. Fishing Gear (4) 12. Lacking in Quantity (6) 13. Forest clearing (5) 14. Way in (5) 15. Fly planes (6) 17. Its a long story (4) 18. Waterproof coat (3) 19. Operating System (5) 22. The magic word (11)

Solution:

237 - 9 171 - 9

EUMCC 3s upset the apple cart to comprehensively defeat the 2s by 66 runs in their BUCS Western 1A encounter at a resplendent Topsham. Shockingly, the win over their university counterparts was not too much of a surprise following their victory over the same team in a pre-season match a few weeks earlier.

Some late resistance gave the 2s some reason to be cheerful but they were eventually all out for 171

Batting �irst the 3s got off to a less than ideal start, as their top order were blown away by the 2s fast pace attack.

The impressive South African fresher Andrew Turner was the pick of the bowlers taking 3-36 in his 10 overs giving his side the early ascendency.

With the 3s stuck on 38-4, the task of rebuilding was left to Toby Ward and Sam Goodwill and it was a task they did

superbly. After stemming the �low of wickets, they began to counter-attack with aplomb, increasing the run rate.

Their game-changing partnership soon passed 100 as both batsmen reached well deserved half centuries.

Goodwill eventually fell for 50 and moments later he was joined in the hutch by Ward for 65 from the bowling of Will Sensecall, who ended with �igures of 10-3-51. Fresher Alex Hughes added some late impetus to the innings with some effective lower order hitting, ending on 39 before the 3s were eventually bowled out for 237. A very respectable total that would take some chasing.

In reply, the second innings began in much the same manner as the �irst with early wickets a plenty. Owain Phillips was the destroyer in chief as he picked up 4-34 from his 10 wickets, as his off-spin bamboozled the top order. Jamie Wynne-Grif�ith was the only top order batsmen to survive the onslaught as he offered some stability for his side. However, wickets continued to tumble around him as a superb direct hit from Abhi Singh ran out Oli Rendell.

Once the dangerous Scott Weddell was out sweeping, the 2s were 90-6 and staring down the barrel of a humiliating defeat.

Matt Nicholls joined Wynne-Grif�ith at the crease, with the two knowing that they needed to build a big partnership to give themselves a foothold in the game. They got off to a steady start,

beginning well and managing to rotate the strike, puttting away any loose deliveries. However, just as the momentum appeared to be shifting Nicholls (18) was expertly bowled by Fraser Moon. Once Hughes had Wynne-Grif�ith (41) stumped by the impressive Rob Newman victory was all but sealed. Some late resistance gave the 2s some reason to be cheerful but they were eventually all out for 171, as 3s captain Harry Chalk ended the game in style with a superb diving catch.

A well deserved victory for the 3s who remain unbeaten at the top of the table.

It was a well deserved victory for the 3s who remain unbeaten at the top of the table. More importantly they have gained the EUMCC bragging rights for the season. However, the result has certainly raised eyebrows throughout the University, leaving some questioning the legitimacy of the 2s.

Both sides return to BUCS action this Wednesday with the 2s playing at home against Cardiff 1s and the 3s travelling away to Cardiff Met 2s.

Across: 1. Examination, 8. Italy, 10. Hop, 11. Nets, 12. Meagre, 13. Glade, 14. Entry, 15.

Pilots, 17. Saga,18. Mac, 19. Linux, 22. Abracadabra Down: 1. Etch, 2. Antiseptic, 3. Natter, 4. Tails, 5. One, 6. Chip, 7. Singly, 9. Ate, 10. Heart throb, 13. Galaxy 15. Pan, 16. Iguana, 17. Simba, 18. Moon, 20. Hula, 21. Rib

New Golf Centre unveiled EXEPOSÉ

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The Final Whistle Here is your guide to a few upcoming sporting courses, classes and events: 3 May-21 September Cornwall House Outdoor Pool Open 08:00-20:00 Platinum / Summer Membership: Free Standard / Golf: £2.50 Contact: 01392 724940

5 May – 7 September

Summer Membership Offer £35.00 Includes: The Russell Seal Fitness Centre St Luke’s gym Fitness classes Outdoor pool Indoor pool Badminton Squash Outdoor tennis Table tennis www.exeter.ac.uk/sport/ join/specialoffers 01392 724452 exetersport@exeter.ac.uk

23 May

Rowing Varsity Exeter Quay 18:30 01392 723573 au@exeter.ac.uk

Communications Of�icer, Toby Crewes, reports as The Vic Ambler Golf Centre opens its doors EXETER golfers past and present celebrated the of�icial opening of the University of Exeter Vic Ambler Golf Centre on 15 May. The event of�icially unveiled the new, purpose-built, short-game practice area at the Sports Park which features the latest golf green technology.

Designed by market leaders Tour Greens Europe, the 50m x 30m area consists of a 250m2 pro-tour standard practice green, 120m2 putting green, and two golf zones.

It’s been quite a journey and it’s impressive how much the Sports Park has changed

Bespoke landscaping combines synthetic greens with natural rough areas to create an incredibly varied array of challenges on the 250m2 practice green, including a tricky sweep past the specially designed eco-bunker. A contoured putting green also provides

a variety of complex challenges for players.

Players can practice an almost limitless number of shots in any weather

Exeter Alumnus and former Exeter Golf Squad Manager, Vic Ambler was central to the project, which follows hot on the heels of the £8.5million re-development of the Sports Park.

He commented: “It’s been quite a journey and it’s impressive how much the Sports Park has changed.

The things that Phil [Attwell, Director of Sport] has achieved here in the last ten years are remarkable, and this is the icing on the cake. Golf will ever be a strong programme at Exeter, and it’s brilliant to have the facilities to match the talent that we have coming in.”

“Putting and pitching are always important, as these are the areas where you can get stuck. This facility will take Exeter a step further on the University gol�ing ladder and help with

participation.”

Primarily designed for the Student Golf Club, the Centre provides an onsite training area where players can practice an almost limitless number of shots in any weather.

High Performance Golf Manager Craig Townsend is excited by its potential. He said: “From the University’s point of view, it’s great that our students will have somewhere on campus where they can practice. We plan for our performance squad players to be practicing here three to four times a week, but the facility will be available for all of the student body to come and use. Short-game can make up to 7080 per cent of golfer’s shots, so it is a crucial element of the sport, and this is undoubtedly the best way for us to improve a golfer’s course performance in a controlled environment that we can use at any time of the year.”

“Up to six players will be able to use the facility at a time and we are in the process of hiring a new golf coach who will be able to provide instruction to anyone from complete beginners to elite county golfers. Students will be able to use the facility on a pay-as-you

go basis from £5.00 per hour, or buy a membership for the academic year for £40.00.”

The University of Exeter Golf Club has long established itself as one of the best in the UK. Last season the club won both the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Premier League and National Championship, and has this year seen scholars Laurie Potter and Katie Bradbury selected for GB students of the World University Golf Championships in Switzerland.

Students will be able to use the facility on a pay-as-yougo basis from £5.00 per hour

Speaking about the new facility Katie said: “It’s incredible, until now there’s been nowhere really local where we can go and train in all weather. The new facility will be much easier for everyone to get to and we’ll be able to train up there as a squad, which is really important.”

26 May Cricket Varsity Exeter Cricket Ground 11:30 Raffle tickets are available 01392 723573 au@exeter.ac.uk

28 July – 1 August

ASA Level One Teaching Aquatics / Level One Coaching Aquatics St Luke’s Sports Centre 09:00-17:00 UofE Student: £295 01392 724940

Every Wednesday

Boot Camp Birks Grange 17:00-18:00 FREE 01392 722039 p.d.mouland@exeter.ac.uk

32

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Photo credit: Josh Creek

>> Exeter wicketkeeper Amara Carr goes in for the catch

W����’� C������ Josh Creek Games & Tech Editor EULCC Birmingham

99 - 1 96 - 9

EULCC 1s had their �irst BUCS �ixture of the season against Birmingham last Wednesday at Topsham Cricket Club.

The team went in con�ident of victory and ready to play a great game in the intermittent sunshine.

Captain Butcher lost the toss so our girls began in the �ield and had Birmingham on the defensive right from the start. After nine overs the opposition had scored 28 for 2 and the Exeter girls began to relax. However, Birmingham seized the opportunity and made multiple attempts on the boundary line. Each time the opposition was foiled by our �ielders until, �inally, amid

In this issue of Exeposé Sport...

calls of “that has to go” from the spectators, the ball rolled speedily over the line.

Birmingham continued to try and break Exeter’s net, but our quick �ielding shut out any chances the Midlands side had to steal runs. Getting desperate, their batter lifted the ball high and was caught out in spectacular style. This seemed to give Birmingham renewed vigour and they went at the game like a whirling maelstrom, sending the ball wide out towards the boundary line while stealing plenty of runs.

Birmingham put on a good show but Exeter were playing at the top of their game

Nevertheless, the girls came back

Meet EUAC Captain Ollie Garrod Page 30

strong with a change of play, a new over and a change of bowler. Fast bowls straight at the wicket, interspersed with slower, low balls kept Birmingham at bay, playing safe shot after safe shot. By the 20th over they were on 63 for three and still playing defensively.

Once again desperation reared its head and Birmingham lifted the ball only for Exeter to narrowly miss the catch and allow them to steal several runs. Their con�idence renewed, Birmingham then knocked out a couple of solid fours and a cheeky rear shot that sent the �ielders scrambling to intercept the ball.

It was after the 23rd over when Birmingham were on 72 for 3 that Exeter stepped up their game again, catching out an exceptional trick shot from the batswoman. Birmingham followed up by sending more shots behind the wicket, each time catching the �ielders off-guard but never managing to steal more than a few runs. Exeter really

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stepped up their game again, taking the score very quickly to 81 for 6 after 26 overs. Birmingham kept making attempts on the boundary line but, with only a couple of exceptions, Exeter intercepted very quickly and prevented them from ever stealing more than a couple of runs. By the 30th over the score was 96 for 9 and the innings ended with Birmingham having scored 96 runs.

Fast bowls straight at the wicket interspersed with slower low balls kept Birmingham at bay

The second innings was a very quick affair. Carr and Butcher went out to bat and after only six overs Exeter were on 56 for 0. Hitting long shot after

long shot and stealing runs wherever they could, the girls quickly closed the gap on Birmingham without taking a single wicket.

Eventually, though, disaster struck as Carr took a risky decision to leave her crease and didn’t quite make it back in time, leaving the �ield having scored a very respectable 43 runs.

In came birthday girl Macleod, full of beans. More great batting from Butcher, however, meant that Macleod never got the chance to score a run, as by the 16th over Butcher had scored 53 runs and Exeter had beaten Birmingham, scoring 99 for 1.

Birmingham put on a good show but Exeter were playing at the top of their game and their passion and teamwork carried them to victory.

EULCC will be back in action on Wednesday 21 May, hoping to replicate this performance against local rivals Bath.

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