FLEX Newspaper 19

Garden Party LiveLocal bands, face painting, strawberries and cream! Tickets £20 available from FXU, Tremough Shop and Upper Stannary.

Page 24 >> Here’s the essential facts of the vote from May 5th.

Page 12 >> ISSUE 19 MAY 9th

NUS ConferenceLiam Burns now heads the NUS here in England, bringing his Scottish success with him.

Child TraffickingAn old problem that needs a new solution. Change needs to happen fast.

Page 6 >>

Page 12 >>

Interview with the refereshing work of German based Illustaror Peggy Wolf.

Page 19 >>

Portal 2- If you haven’t played it yet, do so immediately Page 17 >>

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NEWS

news@flexnews.co.uk

news And the Presidents are....

Text Carly Squires

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aster holidays over, term three / exam term begins. More than likely everybody you ask will be stressed out. With world news all doom and gloom, Libyan unrest, Syrian revolts, a new raised fear of Al Qaeda revenge attacks, the decision to vote yes or no to AV, all amidst the heavy recession, seriously, wow what a world! Last week a main news story reported on the BBC was that household income had decreased already since spending cuts were implemented, amongst other depressing stories such as our young now shunning sports for games consoles. No wonder everybody you ask will be stressed!

On a brighter note, sometimes it’s nicer to take a step back and see the good in the world. For the majority of April the UK had glorious sunshine, we were all merry. The Royal Wedding was genuine and pleasant to watch. Studying in Falmouth is a delight so make the most of your time here – see our Travel page in the Reviews section for some inspiration. Everybody’s individual

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his issue, we discuss the weighty topic of Alternative Vote. AV is a political half-way house between First Past the Post (FPTP) and Proportional Representation (PR). Basically, the system works by asking people to rank the parties in preference. Then, until a party has at least 50% majority, parties with fewer votes will be knocked out of the running, and their voters’ second or third choices will be counted. Once a party has more than 50% of the votes- voila! The government is thus set. FPTP meant that “the person with the most votes wins”- a suspiciously optimistic phrase. In reality, if one party had 1 more vote than everyone else, then they would win the election, despite the fact that they only represent a possible third of the nation. FPTP is “the most votes” not “the majority of votes”- a small linguistic difference with massive consequences.

happiness comes from somewhere, so in spite of global and local pressures, find out what makes you happy and balance your life. Your future will be bright no matter what, education is a stepping stone to a better life, but it isn’t the be all and end all. Therefore no matter how stressed you and others are, think to a positive side and see what your bigger life picture can hold for you.

Enjoy reading Issue 19 of FLEX. The next issue will be out and about on May 23rd.

Managing director

Ian Pogonowski,

With the Liberals and Conservatives at loggerheads, we cannot be surprised that AV was the result.

The Liberals want full PR as democratic nirvana, but the Conservatives would rather not, since most of their seats are for life. Is this then, a leap towards PR? Or will we find that having achieved AV, the Liberals will rest on their laurels and stop fighting? I hope this vote brings to the attention of the government the fact that the average British person is interested in the way we vote, and that in future we will see greater changes towards a system of voting where everyone’s votes count.

Chief Editor

Anna Grant Casey

Following a week of campaigning Flex would like to offer congratulations to Rich Pearson-Welfare President, Jamie ClarkUCF President and, Jono Harris- UECC President. This year, eight candidates battled it out to fill the three titles available within the FXU. On 10th and 11th March, at both Woodlane Campus and Tremough campus, the podium was erected once again allowing each candidate to have their say, while answering questions from the voting students. Timothy Port, FXU’s current Welfare President led the event. The first candidates to the podium were the two Welfare President candidates Rich Pearson and Michael ‘The Hare’ Leverett. Rich Pearson, the now elected president, professed a wealth of experience being involved with the University as both a Head Mentor and a Student Ambassador. He explained that helping people and his huge admiration for the University was his motivation to apply for the position. Michael Leverett then followed, posed as his alter-ego ‘The Hare’, demonstrated the importance of creating a stronger relationship between all of the students both on Woodland and Tremough campus by running back and forth from the campuses on both

days of the Presidential questioning.

Then the students were able to meet and question the three UCF candidates; Mabel Slattery who powered through her stutter to deliver her speech that focused on community.

Kalila Storey, a theatre student, mixed up the perfect University experience in the form of a cake. While the winning candidate Jamie Clark simply explained how that although the campus has developed over his time at the University there was still a lot more left to improve.

Following them, the three UECC candidates Owen Hind spoke of creating more of an ‘Exeter Campus experience’ for Tremough campus students. Henry Austick discussed the wellreceived idea of having an ice cream van on campus and Jono Harris, the eventual elected president, spoke confidently of the need for more sports and societies.

Whilst the FXU Elections were a success for the newly elected Presidents, the percentage of votes actually decreased this year in comparison to previous years. In 2010, the FXU received a record amount of votes, totalling 34.9% of the student population. This year the percentage considerably decreased

to 23.2% of students voting- a loss of 11.7%. Some blame can be directed towards the power loss encountered over the course of elections, preventing the possibility students voting online.

However Cal Nowell-Kelly, a first-year Creative Music Technology student disagrees; “I didn’t vote because I didn’t really know how and I didn’t really gather enough information about what would actually change if I voted for anyone in particular.”

Charlotte Amoss, another first-year student studying English with Creative Writing said: “I didn’t vote because I didn’t get any information and I feel as if students were not properly informed.

I knew that the Elections were going on but it was not well publicised, I only knew of the elections because a female candidate jumped on a group of us in the Upper Stannary. They need to think more actively about it and create real exciting changes that could be made, not ‘I promise to bring Woodlane and Tremough together in holy matrimony’. The Americans do a prep rally type thing – they should do something like that that’s enjoyable, students don’t want to be bogged down with boring politics- we want fun!”

However, the newly elected presidents promise to make the University experience all the more memorable for both UCF and IECC students. The FXU End of Term Garden Party ‘Live’, the first FXU event since the Presidential elections, promises a wealth of local talent including Cornwall campus students and is being held in the beautiful Italian gardens. Tickets are priced at £20 and are available from 9th May 2011from both of the FXU offices, Tremough shop and the Stannary bar.

Where do we stand?

Text Charlotte Presland

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isclaimer: The opinions expressed in FLEX are not necessarily those of FLEX Editors or the team, nor FXU Students Union. Every care is taken to ensure information is correct in each issue, but when it is incorrect, FLEX cannot accept any liability for the incorrect information. The publisher cannot accept any liability for loss or damage of artwork submitted.

The content in FLEX is the property of FLEX. If you wish to use any content, please contact the managing director.

FLEX STAFF Managing Director Ian Pogonowski- 07854 087536 imp202@exeter.ac.uk Chief Editors Anna Grant-Casey - ag335@ex.ac.uk Seren Adams - sa118778@falmouth.ac.uk Paul Tucker - pt249@exeter.ac.uk Graphic Designers Omari McCarthy- Design ManagerMorwenna Smith Nadya Pandelieva Guro Lindahl Flåten Lou Robinson Henry Brown Photographers Andrew Guest Eleina May Jack Scott Michael Etherington

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News Anna Grant-Casey - ag335@exeter.ac.uk Rebecca Griffiths - rg121808@falmouth.ac.uk Science Michael Hawkes - Science editor - mh317@exeter.ac.uk Lifestyle Hannah Banks Walker - Lifestyle Editor - hb264@exeter.ac.uk Features Mark Burton - Features Editor - mb349@exeter.ac.uk Sarah Stevenson - Features Editor - SS121826@falmouth.ac.uk Art & Design Catherine Durham - cd122522@falmouth.ac.uk Rhiannon Williams -Illustration Editor rhi_u_williams@hotmail.co.uk Jemma Green - Creative Writing Editor jemmaruthgreen@googlemail.com John-Paul Somerville - Fine Art Editor jpsomerville@msn.com Kayung Lai - Photography Editor - kl119169@falmouth.ac.uk

Reviews Dora Eisele - Reviews Editor - de224@exeter.ac.uk Alex Raffle - Reviews Editor - alex.raffle1@gmail.com Emma Thompson -Reviews Editor - et246@exeter.ac.uk Sports Chris Rushton - Sports Editor - cr267@exeter.ac.uk Proofing Team Charis Bryant - Copy Editor Anna Grant-Casey - Proofing Manager Kathryn Hosking Dominique le Grange Anna Kilcooley Emma Chafer Samantha Webster Becca Hadfield Marketing Kaylie Finn - kf228@exeter.ac.uk

As the FXU Presidential elections swing into motion, we begin to ask ourselves, ‘what do we want from our leader?’, and it is not a question that is isolated to Tremough. Libya’s revolutionary climate has permeated recent news as a great part of the population attempt to depose the dictator of 42 years. Gadaffi, however, is not hearing their cries, and people worldwide have begun to enter into debates on what is expected from a leader.

Even here in the UK we have seen our own, though trivial in comparison, debates on leadership with the recent resignation of Aaron Porter, the NUS President. His resignation came amidst criticism that he was inadequate in standing in the way of the rise in tuition fees, and has met much abuse from students and other members of the NUS. These criticisms came to a climax in December during a rally in Manchester, where he was to discuss the future fee increase.

Student’s made their feelings quite clear about Porter’s failure to prevent the increase in tuition fees and hurled abuse at him, until police officers had to intervene and lead him to safety. The rally

demonstrated to Porter his alienation from the body of people he stands for, and triggered his decision to resign. Having recently been faced a battle on two fronts, one with Government and the other with radical students calling for more militant action, his cautious leadership and discussions with Parliament has caused dissatisfaction in his leadership skills amongst students. It is in this state of affairs that Porter has stepped down, claiming that the NUS is in need of a “fresh start”. However, he hopes that a level of responsibility will remain intact and that peaceful negotiations continue to be made with government. He believes that the NUS need to continue with a “responsible line with credible, evidence-based direct action and a range of appropriate tactics such as lobbying. The alternative – a vision based on street protests – will drive the union into obscurity.” There are concerns however, that with his resignation, radical methods that are already being called for.

Mark Bergfeld, a member of the Socialist Workers party and a spokesman for the Education Activist network, currently

stands in the running for the elections alongside Liam Burns, head of the NUS in Scotland, and Shane Chowen, the current vice president of the NUS. Bergfeld’s outlook on the position of the NUS differs greatly from Porter, and believes that it needs to stop “trying to get their feet under the table with Government rather than making the case for students,” and adopt the more radical approach that students have been demanding.

It is clear that the election in April this year for Porter’s replacement is going to be heated. The NUS’s role in paving the way for the future of higher education is undoubtedly crucial as more and more universities announce plans to raise their tuition fees. Questions of leadership seem to be coming at climatic times, and the FXU elections are not exempt. Changes with NUS leadership could call for changes within university presidencies, as it is becoming increasingly vital to show our demand for our right to an education. http://www.politicshome.com/uk/story/14245/

Garden Party Text Kristy Wallace Last year was the first year that the Garden Party had been held on campus in a few years, and although it was brilliant we can learn from the hard work and effort to make it better this year.

So this year we have chosen to invest a little more time and money into improving the overall quality of the event and have added an extra tweak by going LIVE, to bring that real summer festival vibe home.

So, ‘The Garden Party LIVE’ is the title to our end of year ball.

This year, we shall be hosting some of the finest local bands and performances. There will be lots of free goodies on offer, including: canapés, champagne, strawberries and cream, and face painting. It has also been announced that a carousel has been confirmed for event that is both, free and available for riding throughout the night. The event will commence at 7pm in the

Italian Gardens, here at Tremough. Continuing in The Stannary after the fireworks, there will be more live music and a DJ for your pleasure from 10pm until 2am. The date of the event is 4th June, and tickets will be £20- available from the FXU (both Woodlane and Tremough), Tremough Shop and the Upper Stannary Bar. They should be on sale around early May, but FXU will keep you updated.

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news@flexnews.co.uk

NEWS

April Fool’s Bus Crash Leaves Students Stranded Text Lisa Hallifax On April Fool’s day, a joke was taken too far as one of First’s double-decker buses drove into a shallow bridge on Bar Road in the early hours of Friday morning, crushing the upper deck.

Following from this incident, trains from Falmouth Docks to Truro were canceled, only going as far as Penmere for fears that any pressure on the bridge would make glass on the damaged bus shatter. Delay and lack of communication created problems as students and the public wishing to depart from Falmouth suddenly found themselves in difficulty, as they struggled to find alternative transport in order to get to their destinations. After

taking a moment to photograph the calamity on their phones, eyewitnesses compared the accident to scenes from an action movie. Thankfully, there was nobody but the driver present on the bus, but it is thought that the bus driver was in training or was too used to driving a single-decker bus. Nevertheless, the double-decker was promptly taken from the site at midday and after a structural check, the bridge and Bar Road were opened for use – but not without causing schedules to alter in its inconvenience amidst the confusion, causing awkward beginnings to the Easter holiday for many of Falmouth’s students.

A Student Night Out (With a NeoSteam Twist!)

Access to Learning Fund Text Janice Mitchelson The Access to Learning Fund (ALF), previously known as the Hardship Fund, is to help students who face financial problems, or higher costs that they expected, during their course. Each year, the Government gives money both University College Falmouth (UCF) and University of Exeter (UECC) for this fund.

The ALF can meet course-related costs such as childcare, books/equipment, travel or general living costs such as rent. The money accessed by students does not usually have to be repaid.

All current UCF and UECC students can access this fund, as long as they meet the eligibility criteria. Students must be home

Text Liam Corcoran

TCS An important point raised at the most recent meeting is that Tremough Campus Services (TCS) is a charitable organisation.

Many students feel that the raising of prices on campus, includ-

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Tuke House Heating Issues.

There have been numerous complaints of the heating problems at Tuke House. Many flats’ heating meters have broken, resulting in students paying out a lot of money. This is being investigated and hopes to be resolved by the end of term.

Planning an Event?

Students can also put on their own events at Woodlane Bar for

free! Just email ents@fxu.org.uk for more information or to book an event.

UECC Teaching Awards Kristy Wallace: Overall a disappointing show from the Exeter Students’ Guild on sending out the information so late! However, it appears that our students did manage to get their nominations in and so we might still see some winners in there, fingers crossed! I have forwarded my anger as to how late this information was received, and I have been reassured that things will be different next year, yet I seem to remember this happening last year and will follow it up. However a promising factor is that a contract is in the process of being drawn up to ensure that we get full and equal consultation of things such as this.

ous awarded the Fiskars Excellence in Cutting award for her final graduate collection. She was also regarded as one of Draper Magazine’s ‘Next Generation’. But this competition meant a little more to her. She said: “I was especially delighted to win this competition because it was voted for on Facebook and I was so grateful to everyone who voted.“It amazing to see how such large companies work! My jacket design is also up on my website and I’ve actually been using it on the rainy days too!”

Lecturers from the university were also impressed with the two winners and it will be a big boast for the university. Jane Gottelier, the Performance Sportswear Design course leader said: “It demonstrates that our unique degree course is both in tune with the industry’s leading voices, and also delivering at the highest standard.”

create long term sustainability,” says Odette, organiser of the “Falmouth Fish Fight” campaign.

The campaign gave away free homemade fish soup, cleaned Gyllygvase beach, as well as providing talks from conservationists and Surfers Against Sewage. “People are ignorant of the facts and they need to be educated, which is what the Fish Fight campaign is doing. Cornwall has the best marine life in the UK but methods like pair trawling and bottom trawls destroy the environment. I have seen hundreds of dolphins washed up on Cornish beaches due to bad fishing methods used by European fisheries. The marine environment brings visitors and attracts tourism to Cornwall, so without it some people will lose their jobs,” said Dave, Manager of the Silver Dolphin and Conservation centre.

The main aim of the Fish Fight is to rally the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) for a reform on how discarding fish can be prevented. Currently half of the fish caught by fishermen in the North Sea are unnecessarily thrown back into the ocean dead. The reform will take place in 2012, where it is likely that a system will be put in place to reduce this number. Commissioner Maria Damanaki, recently said; “only a broad societal awareness and public support can bring about real change in fisheries policy. We need effective campaigns like Hugh’s Fish Fight to wake up people to support change.”

Investigating Falmouth, fishmongers Arweneck Fishers has been in business for 108 years and disagrees with the EU,“I don’t think the EU will change anything, the EU have done nothing to our advantage since we joined it,” said David Crowle.

Overall Arweneck fisheries supply a fresher taste, “The quality of the fish is beautiful and it is fresh all the time compared to the supermarket. You name a fish and we will have it, today we have fresh Scottish kippers and I can reassure you wouldn’t get them with this smell anywhere else,” David concludes.

With the campaign also focusing on the great British takeaway, Fergus Coyle Head Chef of Rick Stein’s Fish and Chips can assure customers of sustainability, “Our cod is from Iceland and is imported and all of our suppliers are as sustainable as possible,” he said.

“The question is; are we here to educate? We have to deliver what the customer wants, if the customer asks for ‘fish and chips’ then the perception is that it will be cod but it doesn’t mean it necessarily is. The more open minded the customer is, the better chance we have at selling other types of fish,” he said.

Both Harbor Lights and Rick Stein’s can assure customers of using sustainable sources where possible. Harbor Lights owner, Pete Fraser is passionate about educating his customers about where there food comes from. “We are always thinking about how our operations can become more environmentally friendly and we openly display this to our customers and the more alternative products we can offer the customer, the better,” he said. All three agreed that the choice of what fish to eat is down to the consumer and in order to protect our fish stocks and supplies of the future, we must start to change our habits. To find some alternative recipes or to support the campaign, visit: www. fishfight.net.

Text Bryony Young

Text Janice Mitchelson ing halls rent, is getting ridiculously expensive, however it was brought to light that they do not make a profit from any money that is obtained across campus. Due to the increasing of fees, there will be a huge focus on the improvement of student experience, therefore the rising of rent and amenities on campus will be looked at closely in terms of value for money.

Two students from University College Falmouth have won GorTex’s- ‘build your own jacket with Mammut competition’. Lily Rice who graduated last year and Owen Bennett who is currently in his second year, beat 250 other entrants to take two out of the four titles up for grabs.

As prizes, they were flown to both Switzerland and Italy where they got to visit the design headquarters, putting the final touches to their jackets and seeing the steps of manufacturing for the product.

The original design of the jacket was done in one sitting after they met the head of design at Mammut and it was explained to them. However, there were a few problems along the way.

Lily said: “The main problem was the availability of fabrics and attachments as we only had a selection to choose from, this meant that the original design I had imagined had to be quickly altered!”

Lily is no new comer to winning competitions; she has previ-

Fish Fight

Student Council Falmouth Bus Services There have recently been many issues and complaints on behalf of the student body regarding the bus service and its drivers in Falmouth and the surrounding areas. The Universities pay out a sizable £200,000 a year to provide subsidised travel for its students, and therefore there is widespread distaste to numerous incidents including the rude behaviour of certain bus drivers.

Therefore this is being fully investigated. However students can also contact the email address below with any issues or complaints. buscommentsandcomplaints@falmouth.ac.uk

site www.fxu.org.uk/advice . Either an FXU President or FXU Student Advisor can help you fill it out or check it for you before applying. Completed forms are submitted via Accommodation & Welfare. Applications are then assessed by the universities. It may take a few weeks to hear the outcome from an application, so students are advised not to wait until they have run out of money before applying. Applications can be made all through the year; however, it is a limited pot for each year.

Falmouth Students win GoreTex Competition

Text Lisa Hallifax

For many students, the idea of a themed party is not an alien custom. However recently, the conventions of the Steampunk movement have come to Falmouth- sporting Victorian dress with modernised or futuristic ethics, from bustle to bustier, from gears to goggles.

On the 1st April, ‘Steampunk Kernow’ organised a gettogether through Facebook, summoning all Steampunk enthusiasts to participate in the celebration of’ The Death of the Giant Squid’ (a reference to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). Donning their pre-prepared costumes swept a memorable crowd of NeoVictorians into the Falmouth Watersports Centre to dance to an excellent selection of Alternative and Rock music. The private party began with the many of the like-minded guests meeting for the first time after months of Facebook hype and promotion carrying on into the early hours of the morning.

Dotted around the centre were decorative warning signs of weevils, infections and other nautical related items- Not forgetting the giant squid!

Steampunk, just as the punk movement, a state of mind and feeling which brings enthusiasts together to celebrate, modernise and remember Victorian culture, dress and literature. It is through these three factors which make what the movement may be otherwise be recognised as ‘Neo-Victorian’. In light of how successful the event was, the next ‘Steampunk Kernow’ soiree said to be gracing Falmouth is to be based on ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. Keep updated with all you need to know at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002028032873

fee status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least three years before the start of the course. There is also a list of students who are given priority assistance such as students with children, mature students, students from low income families, among others. See the supporting information document ‘Access to Learning Fund: How to apply’ for full details on eligibility and priority students.

The ALF Application forms for both universities are available from the FXU (Falmouth & Exeter Students’ Union) offices at both Tremough and Woodlane as well as on the FXU web-

The ‘Falmouth Fish Fight’ saw students taking part in a series of events around Tremough and Falmouth. The national campaign featured on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Channel 4 program, ‘Hugh’s Fish Fight’, has generated national coverage- but how is this working in Falmouth?

Nationally there is a high demand for cod, salmon and tuna.

In order for us to reduce this, consumers need to start thinking about eating smaller forage fish instead of the top predators.

Pollock, Mackerel and Scallops are just some of the fish that are more sustainable, cheaper and healthier.

“For students, we want to raise awareness of the issues around buying and eating fish, students are only here for a limited time, but we need to support our local economy because that will

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NEWS

NUS CoNFErENCE 2011 Text Ian Pogonowski

500

First Round

Second Round

Third Round

400 300 200 100 0 The Annual NUS Conference took place in The Sage Gateshead Newcastle between 12th – 14th April.

The purpose of the conference is to elect next year’s National Union of Students Team, the Block 15 members, and also to pass policies for NUS focus next year.

This year, the tooted favourite was Shane Chowen. With the same policy proposals as previous presidents Wes Streeting and Aaron Porter, Shane proposed to continue the fight on tuition fees.

Vying for the same position of NUS Leadership was Liam Byrnes, Mark Bergfeld, and Thomas Byrne. Liam Burns won the election, and his new founded approach is something the student body has been lacking in their leadership. Liam was successful in working with the Scottish Government as his time as NUS Scottish President and secured millions of pounds of funding for Scottish students. Liam will be bringing his fight the tuition fee increase in England. Liam is also an active supporter of student demonstrations such as sit-ins, protests, and direct action.

Liam Burns

Shane Chowen

Mark Bergfeld Thomas Byrne

In response to his elected position, Liam commented that ““I am honoured and delighted to have been elected NUS National President for the year to come “and added that “It’s going to be a hugely challenging year for both further and higher education. I am looking forward to working tirelessly to defend, extend, and promote the rights of students”.

The position of Vice President Higher Education again went to Usman Ali. Usman actively supported the Falmouth Town Takeover 2 years ago now, and having been elected VP HE last year, his dominant, intellectual, and ‘do’ attitude is what secured him his position again Representation for FXU came from Timothy Port, Welfare President. FLEX asked Tim a few questions.

FLEX: What was the highlight of NUS Conference for you?

TIM: Debating and voting for the following year’s campaigning strategy, e.g should we have another National Demonstration, the result being that we would build support form a local level before any national demonstration takes place.

FLEX: What did you not expect to see at NUS Conference?

TAKE ME I’M FREE

TIM: I didn’t expect to see such a large support for anarchist activists and violent protests, which I strongly disagree with. I feel that many of those in favour of anarchist groups and violent protests where just not educated and informed enough, and this should be corrected in future.

FLEX: What do you think is the most important information for students that you took from NUS Conference?

TIM: I learnt and gained a lot from the conference as it not only held debate and voting sessions but had a range of information packs. I had taken away plenty of information on LGBT and religious and political societies, and ways that the FXU can better support them.

FLEX: What direction do you think the new NUS Leader will take?

TIM: The new NUS President, Liam Burns has got an impressive track record in his contribution to the student cause from his work in Scotland, and I am sure he will do his best to bring that to the whole of the UK. He was not my first choice but as long as he keeps realistic and makes calculated decision working with the government instead of against then he will do a great job.

FLEX: Is there anything else you want to add?

TIM: From the National conference I think there is a trend growing in the student population of unrealistic ideologies and establishment bashing. I hear more and more from students the same old trash talk of free education , no cuts and taking to the streets, getting back at the government and the banks through glorified petty violence. These students need to be educated in the facts.

Overall, NUS Conference was a place for the student leadership to change with the politically changing climate. One can wonder what NUS will be able to facilitate through students unions around England in such a harsh climate, but the legacy of Liam Burns will be put to the challenge next year.

Summer School

SCH

O AVA LARSH I ILA BLE PS

IN BEIJING, CHINA 27 JUNE –15 JULY 2011

Another extraordinary opportunity to spend 3 weeks in Beijing, with access to one of China’s top universities and No.1 for Law.

STUdENTS UrGEd NoT To LET A BIG NIGhT oUT hAvE A NEGATIvE IMPACT oN ThEIr FUTUrE

TAKE ME I’M FREE

You are one, two or three years into your Uni course, everything is going well and your thoughts seldom stray further than when and where you and your mates will be going next for a big night out.

So, if you thought that night on the razzle could have a significant effect on your future prospects, you would be daft not to think about how you behaved during it - wouldn’t you?

Top Tips Planning isn’t big in most students’ minds but if you ask what the • Keep your personal belongings close at all times future holds you can bet a large proportion will have travelling

Keep your valuables in a safe place

• Don’t leave your bag, ipod or laptop unattended 6 • Be careful that your mobile, money or keys don’t fall out of your pocket

Keep your valuables in a safe place Top Tips • Keep your personal belongings close at all times • Don’t leave your bag, ipod or laptop unattended • Be careful that your mobile, money or keys don’t fall out of your pocket

or earning money high on their wish lists.

But every year many students put their long-term future into jeopardy by falling foul of the law during their short-term quest for fun. This can have a massive impact on your ability to broaden geographic horizons or get your foot onto the employment ladder further down the line.

Some types of behaviour that can lead you into trouble with the law are:

Violence

Disorderly behaviour and urinating in a public place Vandalism and littering Theft of road sign and traffic cones Drinking in a public place Devon and Cornwall Police is urging all students to think about the ramifications that picking up a criminal record can have when it comes to applying for travel visas or jobs.

“It is important for students to understand what it can mean for them if they get a criminal record,” said PC John Dukes.

“It is really easy for someone to get mixed up in what seems like high-jinks on a big night out and get involved in something they wouldn’t dream of doing in the cold light of day.

“But one person’s high-jinks are another’s anti-social behaviour and that can easily bring a person of previously unblemished character to the attention of the police.

“Fighting, vandalism, being disorderly, drinking or urinating in a public place and theft of road signs or cones are all behaviours likely to result in a written warning, caution, fixed penalty or court appearance.”

Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA are just four of the countries who may turn down a visa application if an individual has any of the above next to their name.

A criminal record can severely restrict an individual’s ability to travel but it’s not just that, more and more employers are insisting on CRB checks for future employees and it would be a great shame for someone’s whole career to fall at the first hurdle due to one night’s stupid indiscretion,” said PC John Dukes.

For the third year running, the University is offering

• Live in China’s capital city Exeter students the opportunity to experience a 3-week • Discover first-hand how China views itself and the world • Establish social links with Chinese students Summer School at the China University of Political • Immerse yourself in one of the world’s most ancient cultures Science and Law (CUPL) in Beijing.

• Learn Mandarin with free language training before you go • Explore the city of Beijing and the Great Wall of China Application forms and information available from • International Exeter scholarships available

Dr Greta Bosch: g.s.bosch@exeter.ac.uk Please note, the application deadline is Friday 13 May 2011, 4pm.

Students from any College may apply, and this opportunity may be of particular interest to postgraduates with research interests in China. Participating students will be expected to make a financial contribution and must meet eligibility requirements.

For a full range of approved Summer School opportunities and scholarships on offer, visit the International Exeter website:

www.exeter.ac.uk/international/abroad/summerschoolscholarships/

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science@flexnews.co.uk

SCIENCE

SCIENCE

A Case of Mistaken Identity

By Michael Hawkes

Reading This Will Change Your Life

By Adam Jones What if I were to tell you that singing could prevent indigestion? Maybe you could live without suffering from an upset stomach ever again, simply by belting out ‘Sex on fire’ after every meal. If that sounds absurd, it’s because it is. But what’s even stranger is that it just might work. Welcome to the thorn in Science’s foot, known as the Placebo effect.

refuses to go away, with new evidence cropping up all the time, such as a recent BBC report on how aspirin only works if you’re in a good mood. So what is it about the placebo effect that is so hard to pin down?

“ How would you feel if your doctor gave you a sugar pill and told you it was an Aspirin?”

Between 1969 and 1982, Valium was the most sold pharmaceutical in the US. It can treat a huge variety of ailments including anxiety, insomnia and epilepsy and is still prescribed in the UK today. In 2003 however, a study demonstrated that it doesn’t actually work, unless you know you’re taking it. Half the patients in the study were given the drug and told it had powerful anti-anxiety properties. The other half were given the same dosage, but without them realising. After two hours, the first group reported a significant reduction in anxiety, while the second group felt ‘no change’.

While studies like this are interesting, they aren’t necessarily conclusive. There are countless other examples where the placebo effect is ‘proven’ to be false. But still, it

Well, most of the strange results produced can be attributed to the complex and often unpredictable nature of the human brain. After all, drugs are tested on animals in labs long before they reach humans, so from a chemical point of view, they must work. Which means experiments into the placebo effect aren’t so much experiments on the effectiveness of a drug, more experiments on the psychology of the participants.

The ability to believe something is working when it isn’t is nothing new. Science would argue that Witch-doctors, Shamans, superstitions and praying, are all examples of the human mind making a connection where there is none. All it takes is probability. If I prayed for sunshine every rainy day, then I would be rewarded with 56 days of solid sun a year. It’s called false correlation and can even be seen in animals (see B.F. Skinners fascinating ‘Superstitious Pigeons’ experiment).

What’s more is that the placebo effect cannot change more objective criteria such as blood pressure or cholesterol.

If you think that because of this the placebo effect is just a useless figment of our imagination, then think again. Because the fact remains that no matter how elusive it is, it does exist.

Isn’t the point of most medicine to relieve pain and discomfort?

If we can ease suffering with nothing more than a sugar pill and persuasion, then why shouldn’t we? Therein lies the real problem with the placebo. It has no future, because it relies on deceit. How would you feel if your doctor gave you a sugar pill and told you it was an Aspirin? Angry would be putting it very mildly indeed.

So, could reading this really change your life? Do singing and Smarties have any health benefits? Well it’s certainly possible, so long as you believe...

may have seen their “It’s only a squid” promotion on

both live in the sea!” - by now I hope you can see where

hippopotamus. It looks a bit like a pig, doesn’t it? A big

Thursdays, where house spirits with a coke mixer only

I’m going with this.

pig that loves water. Or maybe a chubby horse. Yes, some

set you back one pound. Very reasonable, I thought, as I

How can someone be so angry about cephalopods, you

ordered seven rum and cokes, but then something caught

ask? Oh, ok. You got me, I’m only teasing. It is inherently

my eye.

On

all

the

promotional

materials for the deal - directly under the word SQUID - it sat there, staring at me. Taunting me.

An octopus.

Its brazen eyes distressed me

“Evolution makes no promises that closely related animals must look more similar than those only distantly related, though that is often the case. ”

so much I could barely finish my drinks, but I soldiered on.

You may wonder why I care, so let me tell you.

kind of water horse… they should think about renaming it that.

tell

But to lump the noble hippo in with pigs or horses

animal species apart the

would be wrong. Not morally or ethically wrong, (because

more distantly related they

it’s high time someone took hippos down a peg or two)

are to us. There are fewer

but taxonomically wrong. Their closest living relatives

physiological

are in fact cetaceans, the order of marine mammals that

more

difficult

to

similarities

that we can comprehend

includes whales and dolphins.

of

Didn’t expect that, did you? The graceful and powerful

comparison, or worse still

dolphin, majestically breaking through the ocean waves

the points of comparison we are familiar with may be of

as it races beside a speedboat. Closest cousin to a big

no use to tell two species apart.

lump of meat that is incapable of swimming, and instead

and

use

as

points

Confusing a squid with an octopus is approximately 25

can only sink to the bottom of water and walk/ hop to dry

times worse than confusing a human with a chimpanzee,

land up inclines in the riverbed.

Evolution makes no promises that closely related

if you go by the amount of years passed since their last common ancestors (~160.9 million years versus ~6.1

animals

million years, respectively).

must

look

more

similar

than

those

only

distantly related, though that is often the case. Different

It is roughly equivalent to confusing a human with a

populations in different environments may have different

kangaroo, or a cat with an opossum. It just isn’t taxonomic

demands made of them that evolution must shape them to

cricket. And speaking of crickets, confusing one of those

meet, resulting in vastly divergent speeds and directions

with a human would only be 6 times worse than what the

of adaptation.

Whereas hippos and cetaceans have raced apart in

Stannary has done.

terms of physiology due to the massive difference in

squid with an octopus than they would a human with a kangaroo. Because they are uneducated cretins.

This is sertainly not an octopus. This is a squid.

I can hear your objections from all the way inside my rum-fuelled haze.

interpretations of the world and the intentions and beliefs of other people. Most significantly, they also correspond with the

The level of relatedness between species can often

“But they both have tentacles!” - both humans and

be surprising, though. The simple fact that we are more

kangaroos have arms and legs. “But they’re both rubbery

related to some fish than some fish are related to each

looking things without bones!” - both humans and

other raised an eyebrow the first time I heard it.

“Confusing a squid with an octopus is approximately 25 times worse than confusing a human with a chimpanzee” adaptations required for cetaceans to live a truly marine life, other less related animals can become very similar if only their environments ask similar things of them.

Take, for example, marsupial mammals compared to placental mammals. Some marsupials look very unique, like our friend the kangaroo. Others, like the Southern marsupial mole, look a lot more familiar. It walks like a mole, talks like a mole and is, in almost every respect,

“Metaphysical belief systems are simply the attribution of human qualities upon imagined entities. ”

8

As all good stories start: let’s think about the

appreciate why people could be more likely to confuse a

By Jonathan Bates fought their holy wars; science instead was concentrating on what it could prove, no matter how unpleasant the truth may be.

Now, scientists may have an explanation as to why we were so keen to create these quirky explanations for various aspects of existence and it’s called the “Theory of Mind”. You know when your computer crashes; losing you all of your work and much loved Justin Bieber albums? Your natural reaction is to personify your computer; calling it a “very stupid computer” or probably something a little more vulgar. We do this all the time, though we don’t pay much attention to it: you know that the computer doesn’t care whether it works or not; yet because of our innate desire to understand the world through terms we already understand, we have this knee-jerk reaction to personify all sorts of things: inanimate objects, concepts, even the night sky.

Recent research has shown that the “Theory of Mind” (a fundamental human quality which facilitates much of our learning) may also explain the seemingly innate notion that “something” is somehow “responsible” for our existence.

In a recent study performed at the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Maryland, 40 religious volunteers were placed under functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) brain scans and were asked to respond to statements reflecting three core elements of religious belief.

For each statement, they had to say on a scale how much they agreed or disagreed and the volunteers all followed some form of monotheist religion, such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

The results demonstrated that the parts of the brain activated by belief based statements were also those used for everyday

kangaroos are solid looking things with bones. “But they

In case you think I’m being overly pedantic, I can fully

Filling Gaps with Gods Before we had Copernicus’ explanation for the rotation of the Earth around the sun, we had a much simpler way of explaining how sunlight came and went every day; his name was Apollo and he drove a chariot of fire across the sky every single day, just so we could grow some crops and get a sun tan.

The story of Apollo is not particularly unique and there are many others like him; Aphrodite was the Greek and Roman explanation for love and sex, Ares was the Greek God of War, and so the anthropomorphic representations continue; from astrology to Greek mythology to the Holy Trinity, people have always attempted to explain the world through personification. The question is; why?

Well, as human beings we are pretty tiny in comparison to the universe; upon the arrival of our consciousness we looked up at the vast and infinite sky above us and thought “Why are we here?!” and assumed something or someone must have put us here. Our first mistake was to assume we had a purpose; that we had been put here out of some sort of cosmic necessity. This assumption affected our explanations for a very long time as we guessed what it could be that put us here: a God called Allah? A family of Deities led by their father Zeus?

Could it be that the patterns we see in the stars are responsible for our fates? For a long time various explanations such as these were satisfactory, perhaps even logical, but eventually scientific progress changed the game; rather than guessing or trying to prophesize what the sky demanded of us, the more rational minded scientists admitted “we don’t actually know what sparked existence, yet”. While the fanatics clung to their guesswork, screamed “Yahweh/Allah/Zeus did it” and

Those of you who have been in the Stannary recently

a mole. Except it isn’t. It’s as related to the moles you may be familiar with, such as the European mole, roughly as much as a kangaroo is related to a human. Natural selection has resulted in the two species adapting in very similar ways to very similar problems in a process called parts of the brain that have evolved most recently, which have allow humans to possess a deeper intellectual insight than other animals; parts of the brain linked with theory of mind were active when participants tried to understand their deity’s intentions.

In short, metaphysical belief systems are simply the attribution of human qualities upon imagined entities.

Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist at the University of Oxford commented “Religious beliefs engage mainly the theory-ofmind areas, as they are about virtual beings who are treated as having essentially human mental traits, just as characters in a novel or play are”. Grafman further commented that this is “Probably because we would tend to use theory of mind when we were puzzled, concerned, or threatened by another’s behaviour”.

convergent evolution.

So when you consider that evolution can produce both distantly related species that look nearly identical and closely related species that look like nothing alike, one can begin to see how the Stannary could be forgiven for its mistake.

Eventually.

NB: I used the iPhone app TimeTree to work out dates of last common ancestors, so they are probably slightly wrong.

9

features

Tremough’s New Wave Text: Seeta Kadam

“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.” (Aaron Copland)

and we value our Facebook following, who regularly get involved.” (Trevor Thompson).

WEDNESDAYS

What does music mean to you? Is it your wakeup call in the morning, your wind down in the evening, your energy fuel during the day? Every so often you hear a new song, a great song, and it leaves you with a smile. But when was the last time you listened to a different radio station, got completely out of your comfort zone, in the hope you might just like what you hear?

With the range of shows our student-run radio station hosts, you are bound to enjoy listening on more than one occasion. Music indulgence is central to many of the shows, but each is personalised in some way, perhaps providing the ideal radio show for many listeners. Entertainment is the very core of RadioWave, if you have not yet listened perhaps a taster would induce you to tune in?

Bad Boyz for Life 3-5pm: “The main thing we do on our show is play music that isn't very well known but that we have a passion for. My aim for the show is to let people know about bands that they might not know but would love.” (Paul Hardman) The Midweek Mashup 6-7pm: “We basically play rock, electronica, 80s, requests and everything in between, and we regularly hold themed nights...I decided to join the radio because I've always wanted to share my electric music taste with people, and in a way, expose some vanity,-I tend to think I have a kick ass taste in music and know that a lot of people share love for similar songs.” (Aislinn Toye)

TUESDAYS

FRIDAYS

Trev and Dave's All Filler No Killer 7-8pm: “Our show consists of a crazy mix of music with me and Dave essentially slagging each other off and bringing any funny stories we can. While to anyone who hasn't heard this it sounds a bit of a mess, it’s actually quite fun

Frankie Says 10-11am: “It’s all the current affairs and happenings in the news and locally for the week, mingled with some suitable morning style music. The best way to start the day :-) Well informed!” (Frankie Boyd)

The Noontide Show With Dan 12-1pm: “A lunchtime show that features light banter, good tunes and lots of laughter.” (Dan Taylor) Friday Hangover with George and Andy: “Myself and Andy Brimson, both the fully committed individuals that we are, hit Club I on Thursday nights every week to full induce a thorough hangover for Friday. On the show we embrace the drinking culture that the rest of British media seems to shun so readily. Discussions include hangover cures, who got with who, half past one - call your mum, and just general hangover music and banter.” (George Richardson – the head of RadioWave) This is only a small insight into RadioWave - George informed me there are well over 60 presenters! Presenters are “given hourly slots in which they can do whatever they like. To be honest, we do get some really weird stuff sometimes from some people” (George), all the more reason to tune in right?!

The aim is to have something “being played all the time”: “With full time output we can also integrate adverts and get funding to put on events like Battle of the Bands, live lounge acts etc. We also want RadioWave to be listed in the iTunes selection of student radio, to really put Falmouth on the map.” George and his team have worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and there have been so many positive

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FEATURES

comments from presenters and listeners alike: “After my slot in the studio I feel completely buoyed up and ready for anything the week can throw at me. Of course I hope the listeners feel much the same and from what I’ve heard they are enjoying it” (Richard Shepherd).

RadioWave has given so many people a unique opportunity and a chance to boost their confidence, and this is not considering the ‘high factor’: “We love having our radio show, I'd say it’s easily the highlight of my week- getting as many people involved in sending in requests, stories and their opinions on songs, we always leave the studio feeling content and like we've contributed something to the world!”

(Aislinn Toye) The promotions committee recently hosted a BBQ at the helipad on Glasney to “both promote our name and to raise money for a good cause” (George). Paul Hardman informed me “The BBQ was a huge success!” and there are plans for a party in Mango Tango next term, so keep your eyes peeled! Anyone can listen to RadioWave, but there’s something special about listening to our fellow students, some who you may even know! If you have not already given us a listen, tune in and find your perfect show, you won’t be disappointed: Streaming.falmouth.ac.uk/fca_radio

Technology, Literature and our generation’s relationship with entertainment and the Internet Text: Matilda Oswell-Wheeler

Technology is a major part of our generation’s lifestyle. We have to live with it. We have learnt not only to appreciate it but also to accommodate the changes that it has brought on our lives. I say 'accommodate' because technology is not something you can ignore. It is everywhere. Technology, primarily computers, are now considered as making ‘us smarter, or even happier’ according to scholar Jim Holt.

He considers how computers ‘promise to bring us such primary goods as pleasure, friendship, sex, and knowledge.’ Holt’s comments reveal the effects of computers on us, and how much we rely on them. We use Google to get information. We use Facebook to keep up-to-date with friends. We gain entertainment from video games. What are the effects of relying so heavily on technology? What is it doing to us, and our brains?

American literary critic Sven Birkerts was among the first to raise the question of how technology affects our brain functions. In his book The Gutenberg Elegies he argued that ‘computers and other electronic media were destroying our capacity for deep reading’. The brain is malleable and can be changed very easily, a concept known as neuroplasticity, or ‘the idea that experience affects the structure of the brain’. It has been shown in the case of video gamers that their ability for multi-tasking is increased because their “fluid intelligence” is

increased by the repetitive need for “test hypotheses” about the games’ underlying logic.

However, this is just one form of intelligence and it is an intelligence which does not require contemplation or thoughtfulness. Carr, in The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember, argues that video games ‘tend to involve lower-level, or more primitive, mental functions’. On the other hand, reading literature gives the brain ‘the discipline to follow a line of argument or narrative through a succession of printed pages, [and become] more contemplative, reflective and imaginative’. Literature promotes deep reading compared to the “power browsing” of the Internet and the speed that comes with technology.

The dawn of the Internet heralded the arrival of search engines such as Google. Search engines are another form of technology which affects our brains. They affect how we manage information and how we store information. Intelligence and creativity are linked to memory and how often we use our brain. The ability to use Google to dig up any bit of information means that our ability to hold information is decreased. Clive Thompson, a writer for Wired, says that ‘‘I’ve almost given up making an effort to remember anything, because I can instantly retrieve the information online.’ It is the case that when I’m trying to remember

something I have to say mentally that I can find it on the web, and then give my brain a chance to be useful and hand over the information. The internet makes us lazy; even in terms of writing essays you can find almost all the information for an essay online, you do not have to leave the comfort of your room. David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, writes: ‘I had thought that the magic of the information age was that it allowed us to know more, but then I realised the magic of the information age is that it allows us to know less. It provides us with external cognitive servants – silicon memory systems, collaborative online filters, consumer preference algorithms and networked knowledge. We can burden these servants and liberate ourselves.’

When reading Holt’s article I came across a scary idea from a Google executive; the idea of implanting a search engine into our brain.

These ideas are representative of how we as a society depend so heavily on technology.

Ideas of this type are scary, because we should be able to function without technology. Well, maybe not without technology at all, because even the best of us would find that near impossible, because technology is wired into our cultural psyche. However, we should try to understand what technology is doing to us.

I think our generation is losing the ability to read properly. We have become a generation

of ‘mere skimmers and scanners and scrollers’.

Birkerts goes further and says that his students ‘couldn’t lose themselves in a novel the way he could, [and] this didn’t bode well, [he] thought, for the future of literary culture.’ If we can’t read novels because we have lost the ability for “deep reading” then we will have lost a very important part of our culture and an important part of our brain that deals with the contemplative and thoughtful necessities that comes with reading and understanding a book. When I say understanding a book, I mean understanding it for more than just its plot. A novel should require you to follow characters and develop as they develop. This ability is one that requires patience, which is a trait that technology does not develop. Technology works in the realms of instant gratification, whereas literature works in prolonged and delayed gratification, which is a harder to gain but more useful to our mental and physical self.

We need to assess our relationship to technology and what we class as entertainment and how we define entertainment. Whether it should require mental effort or it should just be instant gratification. These are the questions we should be asking ourselves.

Gylly to let it all hang out?

Text: Joella Hawley

Word on the Falmouth grapevine is that Gylly Beach, the favourite student hangout, is turning one day a week into a nudist extravaganza.

Hose Rhuaria, 26, from Valencia, Spain, has lived in Falmouth for the last three months.

He is a member of the Spanish bohemian movement which aims to break the English beach tradition. Hose later went on to say, “We want to give Britain its well-deserved sexual freedom.”

Betty Gregory of Swanpool says, “I think it’s disgusting, a poor attempt at changing our culture. We are England, not Spain! If we were interested in this we would have done something like it a long time ago”.

Rumour is that a nudist beach already exists in the summer, being located between Swanpool beach and Maen Porth. Students like to

10

nickname it the “Secret Beach”. [Editor’s note: We can confirm this beach does indeed exist. A housemate came across it by chance on a semidrunken ramble one afternoon. Undeterred by a sea of less than pert elderly bits swinging in the breeze, he simply stripped off and carried on his afternoon stroll. Commitment.]

Cornwall prides itself on preserving its traditional heritage. The locals have struggled in the past with accepting students into the surrounding area. As such, having a nudist movement try to push its way through will not only rile the residents but also cause offence.

Hose responds, “Come on, we are now past the 1950s. We want freedom and self-expression.

England should be more European in its beliefs. The local people need to accept that a new generation is in form now”.

There have been mixed reviews on the news of the beach plans. Issues raised include concerns about what children would do, and whether a nudist beach makes it impossible for families to visit on a normal day.

Some residents are coming to terms with the idea, however. Tanya Sollowbey said, “I have children, we love going to the beach but I wouldn’t stop going because of this. If I’m notified on what day it is then I shall follow the rules and go on another”.

Safe to say plans haven’t gone into action just yet. As Hose remarks, “We just want change, not to hurt people’s feelings”.

11

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ALTErNATIvE voTE vErSUS FIrST PAST ThE PoST Text: Martin Fraser

One of the more interesting policies to arise from the Conservative coalition with the Liberal Democrats is the referendum for Alternative Vote, which took place at the same time as local elections on May 5th. The bill was proposed as part of a ‘final offer’ by William Hague during negotiations between the two sides prior to the coalition being formed, as part of a deal which also included Liberal Democrat concessions on student fees. While the proposition is not the ideal Liberal choice of Proportional Representation, a change to Alternative Vote would unite the left leaning votes within constituencies and be of great benefit to Labour and the Lib Dems, and devastating in the short term to the Conservatives.

Alternative vote in action:

12

In this instance under the current system the Conservative candidate would win the seat having the most number of votes of all the candidates. Under Alternative Vote however, a candidate needs 50% of the vote to win the seat, so if none of the candidates wins on the first choices, then the second choices are taken into account.

The party with the least number of votes is eliminated from the poll and the second choices of their votes are added to the other parties. This process is repeated until one party has at least 50% of the vote.

After eliminating the three parties with the lowest number of votes, there is still no party with the required number of votes to win. Now the Liberal Democrats are eliminated and

the second choices of their voters are taken into consideration.

In this case, as is plausible in a general election, the majority of Liberal Democrats opted for Labour as their second choice.

Now the Labour candidate has the lead, and has also surpassed the fifty percent of all votes cast required to win the seat. This scenario could be repeated in many constituencies across the country, which could dramatically alter the outcome of general elections. However, there is no provision in the system for changing the number of MPs selected, or the way that parties can be permitted to form governing majorities in the House of Commons. For all intents and purposes, Alternative Vote is First Past the Post with knobs on.

For reasons of self preservation, the Conservatives are against the bill, while the Liberal Democrats, most of Labour, and the majority of other minor parties are in favour of it, with the exception of the BNP and the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland.

For Alternative Vote to be accepted as the choice of the referendum, not only do a majority of the voters have to opt for it, but the vote itself requires a 40% turnout. Currently polls are evenly split between the two factions, but it is fairly unlikely that the necessary numbers of voters will turn up at the polls for the referendum to be declared valid. Most local elections garner turnouts of around 30%. Without a mandate for carry forwards electoral reform, and with the Liberal Democrats in significant danger of losing a large amount of ground in upcoming elections, it is likely that a ‘no’ vote or an inconclusive turnout will bury serious talk of much needed electoral reform for several decades to come.

CAN BrITAIN BE CALLEd A ProGrESSIvE NATIoN WhEN ChILd TrAFFICKING IS oN oUr oWN doorSTEP? Text: Claire Shaw

In early March it was reported that around 80 children have been the victims of child trafficking in Scotland. Many have been exploited through forced labour in cannabis factories, domestic servitude, sexual abuse, slavery in private homes, and used in benefit scams. However, what is more concerning is how these revelations are only the tip of the iceberg.

Britain prides itself as a progressive, democratic, modern, civilised nation. However, is Britain really any different from countries such as China, Kenya, Sudan, and Vietnam who are also heavily involved child trafficking?

It appears our priorities are misplaced, for to be considered a progressive nation human trafficking must be stopped and border control stepped up a notch.

It is not acceptable for children as young as 14 years of age to be exploited in Britain through these sordid and immoral ways. To take away a child’s freedom is criminal. Child trafficking may appear to many as a problem associated with less developed countries, but the truth is, it’s closer to home then you may think.

It was reported by the BBC in 2009 that around 360 children are trafficked into the UK every year, many of whom are taken into local care homes, but then later reported missing. Many fear children find their way back into the hands of traffickers, highlighting the failings of a system which is in dire need of change and improvement.

ECPAT UK, an organization fighting child trafficking, recently published a report which found that over the last 20 years around 120 British nationals have been accused of sexually abusing children overseas. ECPAT UK is concerned with the lack of protection available to children, and believes that the UK could do a lot more to prosecute these sex offenders.

Around 1.2 million children are victims of trafficking each year worldwide. It is believed many families send their children abroad for a better life and to increase their chances of employment. However, unbeknownst to many families, they are sending their children into a dangerous, money-making world where child labour and sexual exploitation await their precious young. The life of a human being, especially a child, is viewed as a way of gaining

capital through infiltrating the law, which appears all too easy to do.

Many children trafficked into Britain have either been stolen or sold and transported thousands of miles from their home towns.

The Guardian commented on allegations concerning a young Nigerian girl who had been trafficked to Scotland where she was gang-raped and held prisoner. The brutal reality of child trafficking is hard to face, but it is essential, in the light of increasing evidence about such exploitations in our country, that something must be done.

Of course these recent allegations about child trafficking in Britain are nothing new, and for many years the government has been aware of such issues encroaching on our society.

But how long is this going to last? It appears Britain is a safe haven for child traffickers, where many are not condemned, or do not face serious charges against them for reasons concerning foreign laws and politics.

On their website, UNICEF estimates that around 1,000 to 1,500 Guatemalan babies and children are trafficked every year for adoption to couples in North America and Europe. Disconcerting as this is, the myth spread around Africa that HIV/AIDS is curable through engaging in sex with a virgin is even more disturbing. Many young girls are victims of sexual abuse due to this fictitious belief.

A lack of education and health awareness is the cause of such myths being generated. Education is the key to protecting many vulnerable African girls from sexual exploitation, ensuring that no man has an excuse for his vulgar actions.

ECPAT UK has joined forces with the Body Shop to launch a petition against child trafficking in the UK. The petition urges the government to ‘introduce a system of guardianship for child victims of trafficking’ to ensure the protection of children so that no child is let back into the hands of traffickers.

Over half a million people have signed the petition which began in July 2010. Help make a difference and give your support by clicking on http://www.ecpat.org.uk.

It is time for our government to act now.

Change needs to happen fast. With your help we can move one step closer to protecting vulnerable children.

13

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REVIEWS

REVIEWS

TV REMEDIAL TELEVISION CRITICISM

FILM SUCKER PUNCH

Text Stan Denning Much like in its native US, Community failed to make a big splash when it first started broadcasting here in the UK, nestled away late at night on the freeview channel Viva. Believe me when I tell you this is nothing short of a crime against humanity.

Brainchild of writer Dan Harmon, co-creator of The Sarah Silverman Programme and writer of Robert Zemeckis’ mocap vehicle Monster House (don’t let that put you off though, Community easily outshines both). The concept is loosely based on Harmon’s own experiences at community college. The show takes place at ‘school-shaped toilet’ Greendale, first described as ‘loser college for remedial teens, twenty-something drop-outs, middle-aged divorcees, and old people keeping their minds active as they circle the drain of eternity’, summing up most the main cast pretty accurately. The driving force behind the plot is the Jeff Winger a charismatic and self-centred lawyer, recently disbarred and forced to earn a real degree. Early on in the pilot, Jeff happens upon the idea of inventing a study group in order to hook up with a woman in his Spanish class; the resulting group becomes the main cast, a small gang of misfits who essentially end up as the titular community.

For roughly the first half of season one the programme skittishly walks the line between great and mediocre, sometimes struggling to find the right balance of character, plot and

Text Liam Corcoran Zack Snyder is not one to shy away from big, action packed, and visually stunning films. 300 and Watchmen are two such films.

But with his new film, Sucker Punch, Snyder seems to have gone too far. By trying to go it alone, doing the writing, producing and directing, he missed out elements that are needed to make a film stand on its own two feet.

Sucker Punch follows the story of Baby Doll (Browning), who is locked in a mental house and then forced to dance and perform other services at the hands of paying men. With the help of Sweat Pea (Cornish), Rocket (Malone), Blondie (Hudgens), and Amber (Chung), she seeks to escape from her prison.

Baby Doll soon discovers that when she dances she escapes into her own world where anything is possible and her guardian angel (Glenn) is there to protect and guide her. When dancing, anyone who is watching becomes completely distracted allowing the others to steal the items they need.

Before going to see this film you know it is going to be far fetched and unrealistic, but the film still goes too far and so many bits just don’t make sense.

There are so many of these visually mesmerizing fight scenes involving dragons and robots and 20 foot ninjas and Nazis but in between, there is nothing holding it together. It seems to be

fantasy after fantasy, straight out of the head of a teenage boy.

The girls attire, apart from making them look stupidly good, didn’t really have a place in the film. I can understand that while dancing, they would be dressed like that. But when she goes into her own imagination, she has no reason to continue being dressed like that, and the others certainly don’t.

This film could have been the big break for all the girls involved but where they didn’t really do any acting, the opportunity passed by. I wonder just how much time they spent not in front of a green screen.

You have to give it to Snyder though, he does know how to make a fight scene gripping. The distinct lack of cuts during the action really kept you locked into the scenes, making you feel a lot more involved, like you could actually be there.

There is talk that some scenes that helped hold the story together, had to be taken out because the film certificate board didn’t agree with them. If a directors cut is released, that may be a step in the right direction, helping bridge the gaps.

Until that happens, Sucker Punch is just an adrenalin shot, put together for adolescence males who want to see nothing more than scarcely dressed girls fighting with everything and anything.

humour, but once the characters return for their second semester Community has cemented itself as one of the most sharply written, well acted, and downright hilarious sitcoms in recent memory. The characters too are some of the finest on television today. Jeff’s unwilling road to redemption is slow, and often subtle, whilst Chevy Chase, who delivers a career-best performance as Pierce Hawthorn, the retired wet-wipe mogul and ‘level 5 laser lotus’ searching for the college experience he never had, and Ken Jeong as Megalomaniacal Spanish teacher Señor Chang are the two stand-outs.

The episodes range from high concept, to relatively grounded, and often parody various genres or even specific films, often utilising Abed, a character with Asberger’s who relates to life through film and television references. Goodfellas for example becomes an absurd story concerning control of cafeteria chicken fingers “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be in a mafia movie”, whilst action movies are parodied as a whole when a campus-wide paintball game goes awry ‘Come with me if you don’t want paint on your clothes’.

With the second season coming to UK screens rather soon, and a third recently greenlit by NBC, there is quite possibly nothing currently on television that is wittier, sweeter, and more deserving of your time than Community.

THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX

NEVER LET ME GO

Text Fenella Parker

Text Seeta Kadham

The much anticipated film ‘Never Let Me Go’ arrived at the Poly recently, but did it compare to the novel it was based on? To my mind the film did do justice to the novel – inevitably some changes were made, but the essence and indeed the message of the book was retained. To recap; Hailsham students are special, they are the clones of ‘normal’ people, bred to support the lives of others.

Their future lies in making organ donations for as long as possible until they “complete”. Human life is successfully prolonged – but at what cost?

The students are viewed as a collective body by most of society.

For some they seem more robotic than human due to the way they have been created, their specific purpose and their programming from Hailsham, disguised in the pure form of ‘education’. At Hailsham school all students are encouraged to embrace their creative side, yet this is revealed to have had purpose beyond expansion of the mind: “We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls...we did it to prove you had souls at all.”Although they are clones, therefore the children of science

MOVIE MUSINGS Text Harry Woodward ALIENS. Sci-fi has reached something of a peak at the moment. Every time you turn to the cinema listings, there’s always some extraterrestrial, apocalypse fest waiting for you.

Spielberg tried to speak up for E.T’s case but clearly no one was listening. We’ve had District 9 (which was interesting) and Skyline (which was bloody stupid) and coming up we’ve got Battle: Los Angeles and Cowboys and Aliens. I’m

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rather than nature, they are still human. The only way society can feel guiltless is to de-humanise individuals of the scheme, to see them as different, separate. In this way clones do not qualify for human life, and more importantly such a project cannot be classed as inhumane: “they tried to convince themselves you weren’t really like us. That you were less than human, so it didn’t matter”. Ishiguro indicates humanity’s fear of illness, disease and death is strong – to the point we can create new life in our own image yet still be detached if survival is in question: “How can you ask a world that has come to regard cancer as curable...to go back to the dark days?” It is not so much survival of the fittest but survival full stop that society seems to crave. Ishiguro makes us question whether we would want to live in this world, and if we could choose, would we prefer to be a clone or an ordinary human?

I had an emotional response to both the novel and the film, although I felt more absorbed by the book – the detail brought the narrative to life. The feeling and emotion of the students brought

not sure the creators of the latter film will be overjoyed when they find out the entirety of the Phoenix erupted with giggles when the film’s title dominated the screen after their dramatic trailer.

This raises a point I’ve been pondering for some time: does anyone take these films seriously? I enjoyed Independence Day but that was the first successful epic invasion film since the 1950s and it came out in the ‘90s! Do we really need any more alien invasion films? I’m sure we get it by now. Yes, when the aliens land they’re going to massacre us for sport and plant embryos in our tummies. But no, the powers that be in the world of film marketing still

First off, let me introduce you to some important lingo: ‘shuttup’, ‘jel’, ‘100 per cent’, ‘shuttup’, ‘babe’, ‘bang out of order’, ‘shuttup’, ‘oh my God’, ‘reem’ and ‘shuttup’.

For those of you who have not yet experienced the delights of Mark Wright and co, I encourage you to do so, purely for some light-hearted entertainment. What I suppose this show is trying to show us, is the glamorous side of life in Essex; with club owners, salons, fake tans and vajazzling. We are now on series two, and if you thought the first series was ridiculous enough, this series has only gone and made itself bigger, faker, and with

tears to my eyes; revealing that in fact these supposed robots felt as much pain as any human. Mulligan, Garfield and Knightley give a touching performance capturing the triangle of Kathy, Tommy and Ruth in the novel. The film did not attempt to veer far from the text but I believe only on reading the novel can one evaluate and fully appreciate the film. I found the story thought-provoking and insightful – why not see what you think of Never Let Me Go?

believe its OK for us to pay for their atrocities.

Take Skyline for instance. Yes, the effects were pretty incredible and the varieties of murderous alien species were fun. However the plot was tripe and the characters made you want to strangle them. It seems that the film-viewing public will forever be cursed with a majority of blockbusters that reserve all effort and thought to their looks rather than plot and entertaining characters, which Independence Day had.

This brings me onto another point. I think the reason Independence Day is up there in the blockbuster hall of fame is because it is purely entertainment. It knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else, i.e. take itself too seriously.

Take Paul for instance, which deserves to be a classic, and is a thoroughly fun film because it has great characters and manages to trash the alien genre as well as providing a gripping, door-die plot. It reminded me of An American Werewolf in London in the sense that I believe the best way to deal with the supernatural on screen is not to take it too seriously, even poke fun, because we’ve all seen it before. There are much more important subjects you could be wasting everybody’s time with.

“And when Amy says: “I ’m actually trained in vajazzling”, then we know we are in good hands.” copious amounts of bling.

The real entertainment comes from the stars of the show: Mark Wright, Amy Childs, Sam Faiers, Lauren Goodger, and Kirk Norcross, to name but a few. From what we have seen of them and their lives so far, they have provided us with hilarity on so many different levels. Entertainment is provided throughout each episode, as we follow all the ups and downs to Mark and Lauren’s relationship, Amy’s vajazzle and botox parties, and all the boobs, bling and babes. And when Amy says: “I’m actually trained in vajazzling”, then we know we are in good hands. We are never disappointed, and there are bigger and better surprises with each episode, like Arg and Mark turning up to the engagement party on horses. Knights in shining armour? Maybe…

But what is the point of this show? Besides us laughing at all the ridiculous things that these people say, it is hard to point out why it is even on our screens. Common to ITV2, ‘real life’ entertainment is a permanent feature, and alongside TOWIE, we get to see how Katie Price, Peter Andre and Kerry Katona live their lives. Yet, surely not everyone in Essex is like this, or leads lives like they do? Is this not just a huge misrepresentation

of Essex as a whole? Who knows…? (Unless you’re from Essex… then the show probably really annoys you).

If TOWIE is your cup of tea, and you don’t mind that, much like The Hills, a majority of the scenes are set up purely for our entertainment, then I think it has brought something new and

different to our screens. Instead of American reality TV shows, we have in front of us, real life people from our own country… people we can relate to? Oh Shuttupppp!

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REVIEWS

books WATER FOR ELEPHANTS Sara Gruen

reviews@flexnews.co.uk

GAMES PORTAL 2 Text Alex Raffle

Text Sarah Connelly Anyone who has been to the cinema in recent months will most that the sequins and the velvet curtains of the circus are merely likely have seen the sparkling trailer for Francis Lawrence’s film a facade that serve to mask the criminal activity and debauched adaptation of Sara Gruen’s novel Water for Elephants, due for lifestyle of 1930s America that lurks underneath the sparkle. The release on 4th May this year. If you can’t wait that long to see the world of the circus becomes ever more dangerous when Jacob falls beautiful partnership of Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon in love with the beautiful Marlena, a talented performer trapped under the abusive control of her husband, a on the screen, pick up the book and give it a read first. It is a fabulous tale of glamour, glitter, “It is a fabulous tale of man that Jacob would do well to avoid at all deceit and love, and one that will stay with glamour, glitter, deceit costs. The glitter and glamour of the circus is you long after the final page has been turned. and love, and one that diminished dramatically in an unprecedented will stay with you disaster that will change the Jacob’s life forever.

Water For Elephants tells the story of Jacob long after the final Gruen paints a sparkling picture of young Jankowski; an old man stuck in a nursing home, who spends the rest of his days reminiscing page has been turned.” love between two people and the dangerous obstacles that stand in their way, obstacles that over his youth as a final year veterinary science student after he loses his parents suddenly in a tragic accident. only true love can overcome. Each new chapter in this book brings Penniless and unable to continue with his studies, Jacob jumps a forth a new emotion; be this tears, excitement, fear or anger; this freight train in the hope of making a new life for himself; a move book is a beautiful tale of love lost, love gained; and a life filled with which will transform his life forever. Jacob finds himself part of the sadness and regret. Most of all, Water for Elephants is a story of a Benzini Brother’s Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a magnificent forgotten time; a time that has been lost forever, yet thanks to this travelling circus show with a dark and sinister background that book, not yet forgotten. gradually exposes itself to Jacob at his peril. Jacob soon discovers

ON CHESIL BEACH Ian McEwan

chambers you were previously in, to find out truly how big the In 2007 Valve released The Orange Box; a bundle of previous Aperture labs are; answer: huge. Elements of the original game favourites (Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2) and along with those still apply, such as puzzles around momentum, and nothing else they snuck in Portal, a short puzzle game which collectively the is quite like dropping through a portal to be fired across a room world lost their mind over, mostly thanks to its wit and unique like a bullet. psychics based gameplay. Well this year, Valve produced their The story is much bigger than before, more realistic too, long-awaited sequel, which promised much more than before. A occasionally subtle and consistently humorous. A large part of much larger story and the addition of co-op mode brought a lot of this is down to the small but exceptional voice cast, Ellen McLain attention, and raised a mass of hype. is GLaDOS once more who regularly flips between psychotic The story, if you’re not familiar, is set within the confines of and hilarious, J. K. Simmons (you know him, the mammoth Aperture Laboratories, a huge you’ve seen him in everything) voices Aperture underground complex where the cutting edges “The game easily founder Cave Johnson, and Steven Merchant of science are being pushed, and then some. lives up to the hype; voices the hapless Wheatley and is possibly the You play as silent protagonist Chell, and are I could not give more put through a collection of tests devised by the of a recommendation stand out character here.

The addition of co-op was possibly the robotic GLaDOS. to something, if you Portal 2 begins with you coming around haven’t played it yet, biggest pull here, and it does not disappoint.

The level of complexity gets to the extreme and after being in cryogenic sleep for possibly do so immediately.” the necessity for teamwork is as high as it gets, hundreds of years. You are awakened by tiny but possibly this is the most rewarding mode, and will probably helper bot Wheatly, who asks you to find the portal gun once encourage more co-op games, which there aren’t enough of these more and get the two of you out of the now derelict Apertrue days. There are also not many mainstream puzzle games around, Labs. after this why not?

Despite being a sequel, Portal 2 feels exceedingly fresh, The game easily lives up to the hype; I could not give more of instantly throwing new kinds of mechanics into the gameplay, a recommendation to something, if you haven’t played it yet, do such as propulsion gels which provide the player with different so immediately. characteristics on contact, or light bridges that create pathways where portals cannot. You also explore outside the testing

HOMEFRONT Text Pete Grafton

Text Graham Barclay Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize of 2007, McEwan’s provocative novel is truly a masterpiece. Set in 1962, On Chesil Beach is a vivid narration of two newly-weds’ innermost thoughts and feelings in the build-up to their first night of marital bliss.

As Edward and Florence anxiously prepare for a night of what is supposed to be hot, steamy, passionate sex, a series of awkward yet immensely humorous events unfold which leaves the reader both surprised and strangely embarrassed as if this sequence of catastrophes was happening right before his or her eyes.

Tragi-comedy is littered everywhere in the novel like scattered shrapnel on a battlefield. Satire is indeed imperative to the purpose of this book, which criticises with vociferous subtlety the institution of marriage and the various expectations held by what McEwan depicts as a farcical society. In fact, the simile I used to describe McEwan’s use of satire is somewhat appropriate as marriage is not portrayed as something holy, romantic or charming, but simply as a force of social sacrilege and biological warfare. I say this because of McEwan’s binary presentations of both Edward and Florence; a man and a woman so alien to each other that they are blind to anything the other feels. Yet, what initiates this ever-developing conflict is not the couple’s emotional dichotomy but their sexual anxiety. The tense and highly uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding the couple that McEwan creates merely preludes the inevitability of war-like failed diplomacy, and in a rather theatrically mundane scene, the couple confront each other on their linen battlefield and begin to

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grapple like two ardent pacifists; entangled with the inexperience of virginity. To the amusement of the reader but to the dismay of both characters, Edward fires the first shot from his fully loaded pistol in the ecstasy of the endeavour and comically, yet tragically haemorrhages his marriage to Florence.

Such an awkward presentation of one couple’s sad, albeit short experience of married life profoundly highlights the injustice of social norms and controversially suggests that marriage is merely an institution of legalised prostitution; an industry of sex that not everyone wants to indulge in. The immense pressures placed on the couple regarding sex is epitomised in the way both characters force themselves to have sex because that is what ‘normal’ married couples do on their honeymoon. Contextually, this is interesting as the 60s was an era of sexual liberation, or ‘free love’, yet McEwan presents us with the antipode of this by portraying sex as an act of social convention and marriage as a means to synthesise love. However, I would emphasise strongly that McEwan’s exaggerated animation of the farce of marriage is exactly that; an exaggerated animation. You do not have to rose-tint it, but I feel marriage can be looked at in two ways: with reproach and pessimism that it is a social necessity or with hope and optimism that perhaps marriage can simply be the cementing of two people’s love for each other. If you are looking for a book that will make you laugh, cry, think and rethink then On Chesil Beach is one of the must-reads of our generation.

with C4, and you’re set loose with Goliath, a remote controlled Just as games and films have done before, Homefront has battle vehicle. Yet, no matter how awesome the headshot, how decided to hit ‘em where it hurts. What is potentially America’s huge the explosion, Homefront is lacking in game feel. Of course biggest fear and has been for some time? The threat of foreign you are drawn to the attention of the brutality and cruelty of invasion. Red Dawn did it with those pesky Russians, as did the invading Korean Army which spurs you to fight but you do Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Homefront has followed begin to breeze through each mission and it does become quite in its predecessors’ Communist-fearing footsteps but with a repetitive after a while. little difference. The writers of Red Dawn decided to produce On top of this the graphics are not up to scratch. Some of Homefront with the twist that rather than being attacked by the weapons look too toy-like and on more the Russians, they would in fact be surprise“As you can tell the than one occasion the game struggled to load invaded and then imprisoned by The Unified writing that’s gone the faces of civilians that you were talking Nation of Korea. into this is pretty to, which for £40 should not happen at all.

The story details the downfall of good. It’s literally Another downside is the multi-player aspect.

America’s economy which leads to invasion Although it has the same engine as and occupation by Korean troops. As you like playing through a blockbuster film.” the Battlefield games the multi-player, it can tell the writing that’s gone into this is is relatively easy to adapt to and is kind of pretty good. It’s literally like playing through enjoyable until you reach level five. Once you make it to level five a blockbuster film. Nevertheless, despite the excellent plot, you have to enter a code in order to continue. Great if you paid the corrupt governments and the discoveries you make along the way extra six or seven quid for the extended edition which includes as part of a rebellion squad, the game always seems to be lacking the codes, not so great if you didn’t. As a consequence the lastsomething. ability is poor. Overall, Homefront does a pretty good job of being It has the majority of aspects every first person shooter encapsulating but like an average looking blockbuster film once has, although this seems like a good thing it comes across as if you’ve seen it once you won’t want to see it again. everyone is trying to top the first person shooter chart. You do, however, get to be a sniper at one point, you get to blow up tanks

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REVIEWS

PEGGYWOLF ST MICHAEL’S MOUNT

Annah Legg

This issue’s Illustrator is Peggy Wolf, an German illustrator living in London. Read on to find out more!

Hi Peggy! Tell us a little about yourself. Is illustration your full time job?

I am a full time illustrator since last year and am working from home, which is in London.

Each day and week is different, depending on which projects I work on. An average day would be filled with answering emails, talking to clients, working on projects and in the end of the day I go out and meet my friends, or see exhibitions, markets and fairs for inspirations.

Text Naomi Racz Entering Marazion, I caught my first glimpse of St Michael’s Mount and I have to admit I let out a “wow” on seeing it. I’d chosen a cold, rainy day in February for my visit so it was a far cry from the promotional images I’d seen on the Mount’s official website. But in a way I was glad of the weather, seeing the Gothic castle shrouded in mist I could certainly see why it was chosen as Dracula’s castle in the 1979 film.

I parked up in Marazion (the car park was free) and made my way to the ferry. At low tide the Mount is accessible from the mainland via a causeway, however it is cut off at high tide and there is a regular ferry across (also free!). Once on the Mount I followed the stream of tourists up to the island café, which doubles up as ticket booth (and tempts you with pasties and tea). The castle is owned by the National Trust, and so is free for members, however non-members like myself have to pay £7 (no student discounts).

Getting up to the castle involves a steep walk up an unevenly paved path, so there is a definite accessibility issue. But on a clear day it would definitely be worth the hike just for the views alone, and the possibility of catching a glimpse of the dolphins that live in the seas around the Mount. However, the mist was so thick around the castle that I was barely able to see the sea but I liked the feeling of being cut off from the world.

The roped off tour round the castle takes you through eight rooms, as well as the chapel and terrace. My favourite room was probably the map room with its beautiful collection of old maps (as well as an Egyptian mummified cat). The castle itself is spectacular and worth the £7, but I wasn’t bowled over by its interior and I felt that there was a lack of information about the castle’s history.

After the castle I returned to the café to treat myself to a Cornish pasty, a pot of tea and a slab of bakewell tart, which came to around £7. The portions were generous and the food tasty, and I definitely appreciated the feel of a warm cup of tea in my hand

ART&DESIGN

Your work is a beautiful mix of found and hand drawn images- how did your style come about? Tell us about your working process! Where do you source your images?

I have always loved the two mediums which are the illustration and the collage, to express my creativity. I like both equally and try to find time to work on both styles. At the moment my clients are asking more for the collage style, which means since two months I am working a lot with collages. I start missing to illustrate and try to get some time on the weekend to create more of them and to get a break from the collages. It is interesting to see how I need to balance both mediums and how the one lives of the other.

I get my inspirations for my work from magazines, design books, movies, exhibitions, traveling, markets, fairs, nature and people I meet. In both mediums (illustration and collage) I always start with a face that inspires me at the moment and the rest goes from there really. My work is mostly about finding the balance between colors, texture and proportions.

The material for my collages are photos I took myself of fabrics, nature and friends which model for me. I also work with an Australian Stylist & Photographer Peta Rudd (www.petarudd.com) which I commission for imagery for the collages. I really love her style and she is a very talented person and great to work with.

You studied Fashion Design, and fashion still obviously plays a massive role in your work. What made you decide not to follow a career as a designer?

After my graduation as a Fashion Designer in 2004, I was working for various companies which made me realize, that some jobs I did were too commercial and I missed the creative part - where you have less boundaries - a lot. I felt like I couldn’t use my own voice and found out that I am an illustrator, not a Fashion Designer. When I designed clothes it always felt like a tough task to me, where else drawing and making a collage feels like it comes so naturally.

If you could work as anything other than an illustrator, what would you be?

I would love to work with animals or work for a charity who helps restoring forests and wildlife.

And finally, if you could give one piece of advice to students of UCF, what would it be?

Follow your instinct and your creativity. It will definitely lead you to a place where you are happy and encouraged to work in that field for a long time. Take your time to find out what you really want to do and try not to think ‘money’ all the time.

Thanks, Peggy!

You can find Peggy’s work on her website, http://www.peggywolf.com/ or buy prints from her Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PeggyWolfDesign?ref=pr_shop_more

after the wet and cold.

By time I’d finished eating, the tide was starting to going out and I thought it looked as though the causeway was safe to venture across. However, half way along I was submerged up to

my ankles in sea water and got very wet feet (note to self: take wellies next time). Despite the wet and the cold I left feeling I’d had a very enjoyable day out and I would definitely recommend it to other students.

“Follow your instinct and your creativity”

KENNALL VALE Text Tim Halpin

Walking through these abandoned gunpowder works is like exploring the remains of a long-gone civilization, but in fact the Kennall Company only shut up shop 100 years ago. It may not be quite as flashy as a rainforest erupting with Mayan ziggurats, but the derelict mills combine with the broadleaf woodland (complete with blue tits and honeysuckle) to charm you with its quintessentially English post-apocalyptic vibe.

The wildlife trust, who manage the reserve, call it a ‘seminatural woodland’. Some trees have been cut down to prevent them destroying the picturesque dereliction, or to keep the well-maintained paths clear, and the blue tits are well-housed in numbered bird boxes, but let’s not get too pedantic. In a few weeks time the woods will be drowning in bluebells, but for now the wood anemones have it to themselves.

Granite for the booming 20th century trade in war memorials was quarried here, leaving a dark lake underneath a sheer cliff.

I can’t see how deep the water is. Despite the premium quality granite steps leading down into the water, I bet you’re not meant to swim here.

A windowsill in one of the buildings is stacked with messages left scratched onto old slate roof tiles. Most are just names and dates (Dizey & Freya 23/02/11), but some are more imaginative, a few are downright artistic. Of course, I leave my own message

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among the pictures and blessings.

The path curls up one side of the river, across a narrow footbridge, and down the other side. I sat on a bench dedicated to Jimmy Mavor (1956-1983), eating my picnic to the sound of birds, water, and the occasional aircraft. On this side of the river, a line of identical wheel-less mills are interwoven with leats and races. You can’t help imagining what it would have been like when the gunpowder works were active. This was a big industry, manufacturing gunpowder for all the mines and quarries in Cornwall and beyond. And it all ran off this rather modest river.

The river flows on regardless of the lack of waterwheels, expending its energy instead slowly carving a new meander through the valley. It’s hard not to wonder, when faced with this natural recolonisation, how long it will be until our current heavy industries are left to the woods. Perhaps I will leave a bench dedicated to ‘Tim Halpin, who loved this place’ at the Longbridge Rover Plant, or Sizewell B. Kennall Vale’s a great place to come and while away the time on a sunny day with a book, or even some revision. If you’re happy to follow a map, it’s within walking distance of Tremough campus (see edina.ac.uk for Ordnance Survey maps), or catch the No. 41 bus to Ponsanooth and follow Park Road up the hill, past Kennall Vale Road, and the entrance is about 100m up on your

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arts@flexnews.co.uk

arts@flexnews.co.uk

Robert Lenkiewicz.

Still Lives.

J P Sommerville

“Anybody interested in the conundrum of existence” The Royal West of England Academy in Bristol is currently displaying the most comprehensive exhibition of Robert Lenkiewicz’s work since his premature death in 2002. The exhibition ‘Still Lives’ is running until the 31st May. Lenkiewicz was born in London, the son of Jewish refugees. He studied at Central Saint Martins College and the Royal Academy but it is in his adopted home city of Plymouth that he is most renowned.

He lived there for over thirty years.

In the City of Plymouth he is affectionately referred to as ‘the peoples painter’. The current exhibition in Bristol, however, should establish him as a significant figure in contemporary art history and serve to spread his name nationally.

A prolific worker, Lenkiewicz left behind a legacy of around 10,000 paintings. Occupying himself with the study of ‘the outsider’: vagrants, addicts, handicapped, elderly and the dying are all explored in his projects. His work is described as appealing to ‘anybody interested in the conundrum of existence’.

The exhibition consists of 70 paintings and, controversially, the embalmed body of Diogenes, a recurring figure in Lenkiewicz’s work. Spanning four large rooms in the impressive mid nineteenth century academy, the exhibition is as stimulating as it is comprehensive. Avoiding the usual division of Lenkiewicz’s work into projects, the curator has chosen instead to arrange the paintings by subject; group portraits, self portraits and self portraits with women, individuals, and of course, Diogenes. Who is indulged with his own room, complete with public warning. The result is a rare opportunity to see the full spectrum of the artists human inquiry.

The stories and myths surrounding Lenkiewicz’s eccentric life are relentless. He faked his own death, illegally embalmed the body of his friend, fathered eleven children with multiple women, and explored virtually every taboo conceivable within his work and life. In fact his life was so colourful that it has always threatened to distract from his painting, to which he was ruthlessly committed. It seems to me that this exhibition, Still Lives, is actually the first opportunity for the work to be viewed without the shadow of his life.

Entry to the exhibition is free. A walkthrough video of the exhibition is available on Youtube, search: Lenkiewicz ‘StillLives’.

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Maker Heights. A New Artists’ Colony in Cornwall?

ARTS

Article by John Paul Summerville

Maker Heights is the highest point on the Rame peninsula, situated in the south east of Cornwall. At present it is home to over thirty creative enterprises, including painters, potters, silversmiths, photographers and designers. The site is blessed with outstanding panoramic views; back in to Cornwall, across the Tamar river to Plymouth, and beyond to Dartmoor. It is a remarkable site, one I have only ever associated with The Maker Sunshine Festival, which runs for a long weekend every July. On my last visit I discovered what’s been happening there the other 51 weeks of the year.

Heath Hearn is one of the thirty or so artists working at Maker. He took the time to describe to me all the developments of the last 15 years, since the Rame Conservation Trust (RCT) brought the site from the Earl of Edgcumbe to prevent it falling into the hands of outside property developers. ‘We are one of the largest creative clusters in the southeast of cornwall, and we’re rapidly forming into an arts colony’. The visual artists working here are mostly full time professionals working independently, though they do form together as the Rame School of Art for an annual exhibition of their work. As it stands the colony is only viable for artists living locally, there is no accommodation available and the location is remote. As Heath describes it ‘the studio spaces here are really conducive for artists who kind of like a little bit of suffering’.

In the winter it is cold and the Napoleonic barracks which serve as the studios ‘just about hold themselves up . . . the place is in dire need of restoration’.

As interest in the colony grows, restoration is fast becoming a real possibility. The RCT is in dialogue with The Arts Council and Cornwall Council about funding for their vision. David Panton, co-founder of ACME studios in London, and Professor Alan Livingston of Falmouth both visited the site last month and were enthusiastic about its potential. A partnership with University College Falmouth is intended and links are being forged with The St Ives School of Painting. A real excitement is being generated from multiple angles.

Obviously these things will require time and energy before they are realised but the essential components all seem to be present. The location, the space, the community, and a serious and dedicated core propelling the whole thing forward – bringing an infectious spirit that can only serve to attract.

Heath shares his vision of the artist colony with me, a place with work to live accommodation in the form of pods (homes which are half underground) artists and artisans working together, rotational studios for postgraduate students, as well as long-term tenancies for established artists to ensure a strong foundation of experience and wisdom.

Equally important to the success of the colony is the harmonious integration with the local community, ‘it’s one of those unique places where it’s not exclusively art, we want to be here because apart from the fact that it’s a beautiful place and the studios are relatively cheap, there is a community here that is in to art. It’s about absorbing and soaking up the realism. The people who work here, the Cornish people, who do their day to day living. It’s not about pushing people who are not artists out because the local community are just as fundamental to this colony as the artists’.

This symbiosis is something Heath and the trustees feel passionately about. Anybody considering the colony should be aware of this, ‘we don’t want to turn it into a sterile collective of artists. We need the local people to be here for that inspiration’. There is no desire to turn Maker into an isolated block of studios for rent. Participation and involvement are key words when creating any future plans. This ethos exists between the artists as well as the local community, ‘what happens in a place like this is I’ll have an art gallery come to see my work and then I can suggest that they go and see the artist whose just set themselves up and see what they think. There’s a little networking thing going on. It works a treat for that’.

This spirit of caring and sharing may serve to improve more than just the colonies chance of good karma. ‘Councils all over the country now have all of a sudden cottoned on to the fact that when a group of artists move into a community, collectively, they enhance the community, they’re brilliant for regeneration’.

Maker is a wise choice for government grants and funding because it has such a positive effect on the surrounding area, ‘if you move a group of artists into an area, or house them, or give them affordable rent, then that does just as much to enhance the community and lift it up as anything’. If this is not enough to make the colony a favourable investment, perhaps its location will. ‘Cornwall Council are very aware that all their money for the arts seems to go down to the west, to St Ives. They’re not spreading it, mostly because there isn’t anywhere else to spread it to. So we might be at an advantage purely because of our location’.

Maker Heights is certainly a place for students and recent graduates to keep an eye on. If it maintains

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its current momentum it will soon become a serious consideration for all graduating students of the arts in Cornwall, Devon and beyond. A place to ‘soften the blow between leaving art college and the big wide world’. If you’re interested in getting a first hand look at the site and perhaps the opportunity to meet some of the artists currently working there then I would strongly recommend The Maker Sunshine Festival, or Rame Dance as it is now known. It runs from the 1st – 3rd July.

Tickets and information are available at www.makerfestival.co.uk. Camping and yurt bookings are also available through April - September, if you would like to visit under calmer circumstances. To arrange this, contact makerevents@hotmail. com. More details are available at www. coolcamping.co.uk/campsite/maker and www.ukcampsite.co.uk.

Or you can contact the trust direct at info@makerheights.org.uk if you are interested in applying for a studio space, but be aware, there is a waiting list.

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LIFESTYLE

LIFESTYLE This Month Listen...

Eat...

to Lady Gaga’s new album. Out in May, but Flex have had theirs on pre-order for some time now!

Watch...

Wear...

The Royal Wedding, obv!

Annabel’s millionaire shortbread- the most delicious distraction to those end of term deadlines!

Drink...

Pimms! The quintessential English refreshment that will get you in the mood for summer.

Super-bright skinnies! Yellow, pink, blue- if only we could afford J Brand!

Spring Treats

By Annabel Charlesworth.

Cupcakes, macaroons and muffins are fading in the food scene - fast and remade old school classics like mars bars, jaffa cakes and bounty are on the rise. Over Easter I thought I’d give it a go myself and follow a new recipe for Millionaires Shortbread – obviously I needed to make the normal version at the same time for comparisons sake. I prefer the new version but I think that the proof is in the trying. The top tip is patience – don’t rush each stage; you don’t want the caramel to burn.

For the normal type; 225g Plain Flour 75g Caster Sugar 375g Butter 397g can Condensed Milk 4 Tablespoons Golden Syrup 325g Chocolate (Could be dark or a combo of White/ Milk and Dark) Line a brownie tin with baking paper and turn your oven onto 170˚c/ gas mark 3. Rub 175g of the butter into the flour and sugar. Bind it into a ball, press into the base of your tin, prick all over with a fork and put in the oven.

After 5 minutes turn your oven down to 150˚c/ gas mark 2 and bake for 25-30 minutes until the surface of the shortbread is golden brown. Take it out of the oven and cool completely in the tin.

To make the caramel melt the remaining 200g butter in a large bowl in the microwave, add the condensed milk and syrup and whisk together to combine. Now microwave on

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high for 6-7 minutes whisking every minute to make sure it doesn’t burn. Hopefully the caramel should boil and as it cooks it should thicken and turn a golden brown. If it doesn’t then keep on microwaving and whisking until it does so. Pour over the shortbread and put in the fridge to set.

When cold and set melt the chocolate (obviously in separate bowls if you are using different types) and spread over the caramel. To make ripples then you can pour it on in narrow rows and using a skewer or a fork lightly draw in your patterns. Leave to set and then you can start cutting it up.

For my re-imagined version; 100g unsalted peanuts, roasted at home 1 egg 50g caster sugar ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda Splash of groundnut/ sunflower oil 400g caster sugar 260ml double cream 1 tsp salt 200g really good dark chocolate (I suggest Green and Blacks Maya Gold) Line a small brownie tin with baking paper and turn your oven onto 180˚c/gas mark 4. Finely chop the nuts or blitz them in a blender or food processor. Add in the egg, sugar, bicarbonate and oil and mix together, it should be wet rather than dry. Pour into the tin and bake for 20 minutes making sure a knife comes out clean (like a cake). Remove

from the oven to cool.

To make the caramel weigh and measure out the sugar and cream and place a

arts@flexnews.co.uk

A Perfect Princess

By Samantha Howard.

Catherine Elizabeth Middleton (that’s Kate to us) is has become Prince William’s wife is has been under extreme spotlight after the 2011 Royal Wedding. Kate has become an icon for women in England since William proposed in 2010, with customers queuing for hours to purchase sartorial items which Kate has been photographed wearing. Although she may not be the next fashion icon, she has gradually adopted her own elegant style which perfectly complements her very slim figure.

Although she may not be the next Alexa Chung, Kate is no stranger to the world of fashion. She worked as an accessory buyer for Jigsaw, and her penchant for our high street’s finest ( Warehouse and Whistles, for example) is refreshing to see.

Kate has been placed on numerous “best dressed” lists, as every outfit she wears has been increasingly scrutinised by the British press, and although she has many critics, she has also been awarded with many accolades.

Middleton was selected by The Daily Telegraph as the “Most Promising Newcomer” in its 2006

list of style winners and losers. Tatler also placed her at number 8 on its yearly listing of the top ten style icons in 2007, whilst she was named as one of Richard Blackwell’s ten “Fabulous Fashion Independents” of 2007. In February 2011, Middleton was named the Top Fashion Buzzword of the 2011 season. Kate has blossomed into one of the most beautiful women in the world, with her classic style highlighting her regal potential!

Kate’s love of a mid-length skirt and knee-high boots is now as sartorially iconic as her engagement ring. The Reiss dress which she wore during her official engagement photo shoot with Prince William sparked a sale frenzy as the dress had to be put back on sale due to high demand, with several runs completely selling out. Whether Kate Middleton will be a style icon is still up for debate but she will be aware that her fashion choices will have an impact on what is sold across the country. What is clear is that Catherine Middleton has the potential to become a hugely important ambassador worldwide for British fashion.

Kate loves a tweed jacket, and this one comes from Katherine

Alphabet Suitcase: Open For Business Text: Emma Hayes

heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Pour in the sugar. As the pan gets hotter the sugar will start to melt and liquidise, push the solid sugar into the melted sugar to melt. Do it gradually so that it doesn’t burn, don’t be tempted to turn up the heat, and if it does start to catch then start stirring to disperse the heat. When the sugar is all melted it should turn a nice golden brown (caramelised) and you should remove it from the heat. After a minute start stirring frantically and pour in the cream, everything will bubble up as the cream boils in the hot sugar. Hopefully the bubbles will subside and you will be left with a smooth dark caramel. Now add in the salt, pour over the cooled base and place in the fridge to cool. When set melt the chocolate and pour over the caramel, set aside to cool. When the chocolate sets you can start digging in.

Can’t afford high street prices?

Then take a look at Alphabet Suitcase. Showcasing the latest accessory trends at half the price and delivered straight to your door, Alphabet Suitcase is a student based jewellery line, run by twin team (and design students) Lucy and Jen Hollidge, with price tags that won’t break the bank. I sat down with Lucy and Jen to get more information on this fledgling company and get a sneak preview of their new line...

So, where does the name Alphabet Suitcase come from and what’s it all about?

Lucy: Well it was originally my concept. Coming from a graphics and design background, I’ve always had a love of typography and basic simple

“When we got sick and tired of going into shops and seeing things that we couldn’t afford, the easiest option was to start making our own.”

William and Kate’s official engagement photos, for which she donned this Reiss dress.

Hooker, the boutique ladies tailor located just off Kings Road, London. For Autumn/Winter 2010 Hooker has produced another set of neutral and demure pieces that will no doubt last in your wardrobe for many seasons to come. So for all you budding princesses out there- what are you waiting for?! Visit KatherineHooker.com for purchase information.

design and I love old memorabilia.

The suitcase part is from our youth, when our dad who was a lawyer carried a briefcase around, and it was quite an iconic thing for us. I love everything about suitcases, what they represent, the history inside them, so we stuck those terms together.

Jen: We’ve always had the wheeler dealer mindset from our parents, so when we got sick and tired of going into shops and seeing things that we wanted to buy but couldn’t afford, the easiest option was to start making our own. Our main aim is for our prices to be affordable, make people happy and not rip them off.

The duo first showed their jewellery at an art graduate showcase day, and had a lot of interest realising that they had a ‘good thing going.’

Lucy: So far we have a Tumblr site and Facebook page, and we already have some of our stuff in ‘Just Like This’ on the high street in Falmouth, opposite Kit home stores. We source our materials from all over the place, from our parents and family, from things we have collected over the years, and from Hong Kong; we just have to have an eye for what’s going to be popular.

Jen: Our dream is to have a proper website, with a PayPal system, where people can buy items, because at the moment it’s just a blog really.

And where do you see Alphabet

The dress Kate wore to announce the engagement is by Issa, one of her favourite brands. Most of their dresses are classic elegance at its best... graduation attire anyone?!

“We source our materials from all over the place... we just have to have an eye for what’s going to be popular.”

Suitcase by the end of the year?

Jen: We have been looking at doing more things like hats, shoes and other larger accessories and have recently opened a ‘pre-loved’ section on our tumblr called ‘BOOTY’. We are selective over the vintage items we sell; we want them to be in good condition, popular, on trend and not just any old second hand rubbish. We find that some vintage stores just use

any old clothes and stick a huge price tag on it, so if we were going to put a larger price tag on an item we would make sure it was worth every penny.

Also we can use our design skills to re-work and embellish pieces.

Lucy: We also believe the act of giving is very important and plan to give at least 10% of our profits to our church charity, the WestCan Uganda Mission.”

With banana earrings to channel this season’s fruity fetish, how could we possibly say no? The future looks bright for Alphabet Suitcaseremember you heard it here first!

Check them out at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ Alphabet-Suitcase/203395469672061 And Tumblr: http://alphabetsuitcase.tumblr.com/

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The Dress to End all Dresses

LIFESTYLE

arts@flexnews.co.uk

Where did all the Wild Things Go?

By Sophie Hives-Wood Text: Michael Swann With the country celebrating the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, every woman is thinking the same thing: what will her dress look like?

As with any bride the dress is ultimately the most important part of the dream wedding and with the whole world watching you it makes that choice of dress even more crucial! As royal weddings come and go, women take notice of the choice of dress, and as far as anyone is concerned the dress has to be fit for a princess, whether they are royalty or not. So with the royal wedding of William and Kate being celebrated we thought we would look at some royal brides who hit the nail on the head with the perfect choice of dress.

We start with the late mother of the groom, Princess Diana. Lady Di married Prince Charles in July 1981 in this £9,000 David Emanuel meringue-like wedding dress. The dress is very elegant and is known as the “most famous dress in the world” as it was made of six different fabrics including silk and lace. It also had 10,000 pearls and a 25-foot train (the longest in history!) to make it even more memorable. So even though some may avoid meringues at all cost, it definitely was created to be a

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fabulous dress fit for a Queen. With many already drawing comparisons between the young Kate Middleton and her late mother in law, the Princess-to-be definitely has a hard act to follow when it comes to her choice of wedding gown.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden: Heir to the throne who married her former personal trainer Daniel Westling in June last year.

The Princess wore a beautiful fitted off-the –shoulder gown which was custom made with ivory silk by a Swedish designer, Par Engshed.

The most gorgeous part of the dress was the 16.5 foot train which took 2 staff to carry as the Princess walked down the aisle to her Prince. For the finishing touches of her dress she wore the tiara and jewels that her mother wore 30 years previously.

That’s the something old and something borrowed sorted, now just for something new and something blue!

The Queens eldest grandchild, Peter Phillips married his princess Sassi Holford in May 2008. The Bride married into the royal family wearing an ivory satin duchess dress estimated to cost around £2000.

She completed the outfit with a cathedral train, a lace bolero over her shoulders and a beautiful tiara which was her something borrowed by her mother-in-law, the Princess Royal.

Her necklace and earrings she wore to accompany the dress were given to her as her something new by her groom as a wedding gift. Her dress definitely made her look like a royal princess!

As we look at these three examples of beautiful royal brides, it just makes us wonder how beautiful Kate Middleton’s dress is going to be. Personally, I am beside myself with thoughts of her emerging from Westminster Abbey in Mcqueen, which would not only champion some of the most exquisite British fashion, but would also be slightly more contemporary than Kate’s usual, classic style. Watch this space...

Last night I went out, for the first time in way too long. Now we’re not talking days or weeks here, I hate to admit that the last time I stepped foot in a club was as many moons ago as January, in Falmouth’s very own Shades. In some ways I feel ashamed to confess this respite but we all have our dark secrets right? It seems, however, that getting down and dirty in a club has become second nature for most people, so much so that no one seems to dress to the 9’s anymore (I say this while also trying to avoid sounding like I’d not seen the flashing lights of a discotheque since the B-52’s were livin’ it large in the Love Shack).

“Hitting up a club had become such a distant memory for me that I felt it should be celebrated.”

Perhaps it was my hiatus from the drink fuelled dance-floor embarrassments that inspired me to dress up with so much vigour that it made me lose my breath and barely stand from the weight of the silver adorning my neck. Hitting up a club had become such a distant memory for me that I felt it should be celebrated through expressive clothing, statement jewellery and an attitude to match. So I dolled up, a slick fusion of monochrome minimalism, James Bond tidiness and accessorised Gothicism, and my partners in boogie based crime adorned themselves in their own way with make-up and bohemian ink drawings on their arms. We were quite a sight, a story of beauty, soldiers of the night ready to fight for our right to party. But little did we know that the youth of today prefer the standard uniform of a checked shirt and straight fit jeans.

We pulled up to the club. To give you an idea of the style of venue we were visiting; as we emerged from the taxi one could feel the gentle bass-y vibrations of ‘YMCA’

travelling through the pavement.

This is not to say that the place would be full of sleazy old men dressed head to toe in a latex cowboy costume, but more that it was comfortable enough within itself to play a variety of music, with a few novelty tracks mixed in. Needless to say, it was clear from the outside that the club was “jumpin’ jumpin’”. But this is where I started to notice an uninspiring trend; as we walked down the queue passing a steady rhythm of checked shirt, fake tan, plain t-shirt, unsettlingly high dress [repeat]. In other words, the noticeable effort was minimal at best. My associates and I exchanged a glance, the general consensus being that “tonight... we would be the centre of attention”.

Of course, we had no qualms about this, but oh how I remember a time when one would make their entrance only to be faced with a flood of individuals dressed in their own styled up quirky way. Maybe this was the folly of youth, the exciting new world of being sweet sixteen and lying our way into a club, dressing to look mature and to give an illusion of confidence. When we were younger and more naive and a night out was a fresh experience, everything seemed bigger and brighter, candy coated and inspiring. We were surrounded by the professionals of nocturnal living. We felt excitement and this influenced how we dressed. So what changed?

be all and end all of student life; sex and alcohol. A night on the tiles for most people is no longer about being independent women or fun loving fellas, it’s about temptations, getting utterly messed up and not leaving alone. I have plenty of friends who claim that they cannot have fun on a night out without getting Sambucca’d up to their eyeballs before leaving the house, making alcohol nothing more than a form of escapism from the mundane routine of nightlife.

“I have plenty of friends who claim that they cannot have fun on a night out without getting Sambucca’d up to their eyeballs .”

But then really what is alcohol besides a way of removing oneself from the real world anyway? Perhaps this is why my friends and I still love to dress up to go out, we use fashion as our escape. “Be perpetually drunk” said Charles Baudelaire, and I most certainly will, but I’ll being doing it in a three-piece suit.

“Going out is no big deal anymore, and really the experience hasn’t changed, we’ve just grown immune to its nature.”

Going out is no big deal anymore, and really the experience hasn’t changed, we’ve just grown immune to its nature. What was once such a thrill has become routine, and routine can get incredibly boring. So what is it that keeps us up at night if it’s not the buzz of being in a club? Well, it’s the

29

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40 Killigrew Street/9 The Moor, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 3PP

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music listings

Opening Hours: 10am – late 7 days a week.

Saturday 7th The Ambassadors of Sorrow Entry £4 (£3 NUS) doors open 8pm Friday 13th Damon & Naomi Tickets £9, doors open 9pm

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Sunday 15th Hedluv & Passman, album launch Free entry, doors open 8pm Friday 20th Seamas Carey Free entry, doors open 6pm

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Saturday 21st Joanna Chapman-Smith Tickets £7 (£6 NUS), doors open 8pm

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