FLEX Newspaper 20

iSSUE 20 MAy 23rd

Crysis 2: Despite holey plots and pants checkpoints, Crysis 2 is utter gaming perfection.

Page 16>>

Cornish Comedy: Nicholas Pearson looks t the funny side of Falmouth.

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Death of Bin Laden: Amid the celebrations, Nicholas Barrett asks the difficult question: Did he win?

Page 10 >>

Get set for the Festival Season: Samantha Howard takes us through this years Bestivals and festivals.

Page 23>>

AV Referendum: For AV and against AV... why did the vote fail?

Page 3 >>

Horton Hears A Higgs: Reporter Michael Hawkes investigates the world of physics and The Large Hadron Collider.

Page 8>>

Street Party: “A closer look at a party gone wrong shows consistent cracks in student-local relations.”

Page 4>>

Fast an Furious 5: “it’s every bit as good as the previous four instalments, only this feature is drugged up on ecstasy.” Page 13 >>

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NEWS

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o end of exams are nigh and you’re ready for the summer hols no doubt?! Exciting times! If you’re graduating this year you’ll be excited but maybe doubtful about your future? As I said in my last editorial, you now have the freedom of a person to enjoy life. Whichever road you take, the gap year, the straight into a career, the not knowing route, if whatever you are doing makes you happy, then so be it. A notification from me however is that the time to use your business and entrepreneurial self is perfect. The economy is now in a position that can see you make big bucks if you demonstrate the right skills. Get some interview practice; telephone interviews are big now so get used them! Tailor your CV to perfection, but think on your feet at all times.

This issue of Flex sees the latest news stories, features, reviews and everything else! I hope you like the “Deodorize” advert by student Samuel Evans. He produced his first instalment of how to use a newspaper alternatively. Last issue Samuel introduced us to the shoe freshener. Let’s see what’s in

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xam time is upon us, and we are all neck-deep in paper, books, and highlighters. Not only that, but the world is pretty busy too; death of Bin Laden, the Royal marriage, and the AV vote. The death of Osama Bin Laden was celebrated across the world, and many people voiced a feeling of deaths avenged. However, it is this editors opinion that it’s not all roses and blue skies from now on. Bin Laden was a figurehead, but just because he has gone, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the war. In fact, having martyred Bin Laden, it seems the American government might have invited a more fierce hatred towards the West. No-one can deny the military operation was a success, but as with many ventures, the shroud of “official secrets” means we can never know how he was really caught- did he really use his wife as a human shield, or was he the frail, soft-spoken man there is footage of? Why did the Americans bury him at sea- to prevent the appearance of a monument, or for a more sinister reason? For Muslims everywhere, this is a time when Islam is back under suspicion for no good reason. Ordinary Muslims are already victimised by hate crime

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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.

this issue for the alternative use of newspaper!

Also to note is the opening up of “Rack Em Up”. Falmouth now has a new pool and snooker hall and promises to be a huge hit with us all! Check it out as what student doesn’t like pooling some balls.

Enjoy reading FLEX’s 20th edition, we’re all very proud to be publishing this issue, and big thanks go out to all who help!

Managing director

Ian Pogonowski,

and if the Taliban and al-Qaeda bring a new wave of terrorist attacks, it can only mean more violence against ordinary people. Nicholas Barrett examines the impact of Bin Laden’s death, and I hope his article gets you thinking. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and however good revenge feels, it is only escalating violence and war.

On a lighter note, FLEX needs you! We are looking for some more keen columnists. You’ve seen the film, game, and music column, and we’re looking for people to take over. Email me at ag335@ex.ac. uk and let me know which column you want, or if you just want some more information!

Managing director

Anna Grant-Casey 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

news@flexnews.co.uk

news Bin Laden’s death - A cause for celebration?

Text William Ford

On Sunday 1st May the death of Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, was announced, following a raid on a compound in Pakistan by American Navy Seals. What does this mean for the rest of the world?

Most obviously, it is the death of America’s most wanted and this can bring closure for some. For in-dividuals this may be considered highly valuable, but in the large scale it is relatively insignificant. The implications of the death of Osama Bin Laden on the world as a whole are much more significant.

In terms of the ‘War of Terror’ it is believed it will have very

little impact. Of course Al Qaeda has lost their leader, and this will impact both how they organise themselves and their moral.

However, it is not difficult to bring in new leadership, with many people expected to be able to take this role. There are also fears that, if anything, the death could provoke retaliation, as Bin Laden has effectively become a martyr. This is why his body was buried at sea, so shrines could not be created, however by many Islamic followers this is seen as “a violation of Islamic law, and a violation of his human rights.” It is for these reasons that both Cameron and Obama were cautious of emphasising for the

public to be “vigilant” in the weeks to come.

For Obama the timing was perfect, as he managed to catch and kill the man who evaded both Presi-dents Clinton and Bush, and in doing so increasing his popularity in America. With elections on their way, this could be a major influence on the results.

For Pakistan, this means intense future scrutiny, as Bin Laden was able to successfully hide in their country, near to their military equivalent of Sandhurst, for five years. As the director of the CIA said “Either they’re involved or they’re incompetent”. If it is decided that Pakistani authorities were aware of Bin Laden’s presence in their country the consequences for Pakistan could be severe.

In Pakistan many, including the leaders of Pakistan’s Islamic parties, have been offended by America’s actions. The Vice President has said “An unarmed person was killed. The US has violated our sover-eignty with impunity, with arrogance, and disregard of international law.” Pakistan can only suffer from this as the £350million of British aid and $2billion of Military and Civil aid, sent to support the only Islamic nuclear state, is now at stake.

The death of Osama Bin Laden brings an end to one chapter of the ‘War on Terror’ and will mark a turning point. This may help to accelerate the death of the message of Al Qaeda which has been di-minishing for several years now, but the messengers survive, with Al Qaeda warning “The Killing is a curse that will haunt America.” Inevitably, the legacy of Osama Bin Laden will live on.

AV REFERENDUM Text Tom Burley, Michael Bird and Nicole Winchester

Last Friday, the results for the referendum on AV came out. The vote was 67% in fa-vour of No to AV. This means that the MPs at Westminster will continue to be elected by the First Past the Post system. The vote on AV was the first chance to change from the current First Past the Post system since it began. Many believe that the vote has ended any chance of voting reform for at least a generation.

Michael Bird and Tom Burley voice their opinions below...

clearly working for some of us, David.

Sadly, the results of this referendum will not be left alone.

They will be dredged up by every opponent of every political reform for a generation. The cries of “remember AV!” will ring loud for some time yet. Why would a governing party sanction a referendum again, when over 50% of people do not vote?

I hope this result will not be seen as a sign of national approval of a two-party politi-cal system that dissatisfies the many millions who choose to vote for minor parties and independents, and still worse, the millions more who choose not to vote at all.

I hope it will not reinforce prejudices against voters circulated by political parties, who patronisingly suggested that AV was “too complex” for the British people. YES was comprehensively defeated, a clear result for NO. We should not be bitter or deny such a clear decision from the public. But when 58% of people choose not to vote, there’s still much more work to do for electoral reformers.

Mike Bird on the ‘Yes2AV’ perspective : AV would be a better system. It’s used by both major political parties to elect their leaders, because they know it produces consensus results. It’s used by the Church of England to select Archbishops and in 13 English mayoral elections. Some MPs win with 60% of the vote in their constituencies. Some win with 30%.

We are led to be-lieve that they were both elected with the same mandate.

The last British election in which 50% of the electorate mandated the victorious party was won by Stanley Baldwin in 1931. David Cameron says that First Past the Post works. Well it’s

Tom Burley retaliates with the ‘No2AV’ perspective: The UK’s firm rejection of the alternative vote system has gone some way to restoring my faith in the British electorate. A system in which the second or third placed candidate could win, as well as one which compromised the fundamental democratic principle of ‘one person, one vote’, would have been disastrous for the UK. It would have most likely both exacerbated landslide election victories such as Blair’s in 1997 whilst plunging the tighter elections into the horse-trading and promise breaking we have become all too used to from this coalition government. So who

was to benefit from this system? The electorate? Politics? No. The Liberal Democrats, who would have ascended to the role of the perpetual kingmakers, allowing tuition fees to become the first on a long list of fraudulent manifesto promises.

I believe we deserve a system where candidates stand with integrity and plant a flag in the sand, persuading voters to meet them at it, rather than accumulating an arbitrary amount of 2nd, 3rd and 4th preference votes to take you past an inconsequential marker. Personally, I would not have been comfortable living in a country where the 3rd or 4th preference votes of a BNP voter were counted at the same weighting as my first preference. In over 30 constituencies in 2010 it would have been the BNP voters 2nd preferences that would have decided who won the seats.

I am proud to know that under our current system my one vote and everybody else’s count for exactly that, one vote each.

I am glad that the British public has not lost sight of their ideals of fairness and equality of opportunity. AV was a system that not even the Yes campaign wanted, described by the ever chirpy hypocrite Chris Huhne in 2010 as a system that “Fails to give voters the power they should have” and by Clegg himself as “a miserable little compromise.” Therefore, it is no surprise that we overwhelmingly rejected it, New Zealand has abandoned it and 6/10 Australians want to get rid of it.

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NEWS

Royal Wedding Fever hits Britain Text Stephanie Wheeler

Whether you love the Royal Family or not, there is very little you could have done to escape the mass hype surrounding one of the biggest events of this year. All eyes were on Britain as Prince William and Katherine Middleton tied the knot in Westminster Abbey on 29th April, in a ceremony watched by an estimated two billion people worldwide.

The couple, who met at St Andrews University in 2001 and began dating in 2003, offi-cially announced their engagement in November 2010 after the Prince proposed during their holiday

in Kenya the previous month. As William is only second in line to the throne, many wedding details, including most of the guest list, were left to the couple to decide, generating much speculation about the big day.

The couple were joined in the Abbey by a 1,900-strong congregation, which in-cluded most members of the Royal Family, guests from foreign royal families and dignitaries, as well as several celebrities such as the Beckhams, Sir Elton John and Rowan Atkinson. David Cameron, who recently revealed that he camped

on the street in 1981 for the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, also attended the service with his wife, Samantha.

Meanwhile, it is thought that over one million spectators lined the streets of London along the route that the newly-weds would take from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace; with some camping for days beforehand to make sure they had a perfect view. Other revellers chose to gather outside the Goring Hotel, where Kate spent her last night as a single woman, in order to be amongst the first to catch a glimpse of her dress which was designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen. 500,000 people later made their way to Buckingham palace to see the Royal Family appear on the balcony and, much to their delight, the crowd were treated to not one, but two kisses shared by the newly appointed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

However, the wedding celebrations not only took over the centre of London but also the internet, with the volume of traffic bringing several websites reporting on the event to their knees.

Throughout the day approximately 6.8 million people globally talked about the wedding through status updates on Facebook.

During the morning alone there were 684,399 status updates in just four hours; on average the event re-ceived 47 mentions a second. The focus was not entirely on the happy couple though; David Beckham’s arrival at the Abbey prompted 9,000 updates in only 20 minutes and the fan page dedicated to ‘Princess Beatrice’s Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hat’ gained over 4,000 fans within hours of the wedding. Prince Harry was 3rd in the list of most discussed people, behind Kate and Will, no doubt as thousands of females across Britain decided they wanted to be the next addition to the Royal Family and have their own fairy-tale wedding. Thanks to the flood of Facebook and Twitter updates, as well as the 400 million viewers watching via YouTube’s live stream, the wedding became the 6th biggest web event in history.

Wedding Parties, Christina Aguilera, and the Community Issues of a Student population and a Seaside Town Jay Bhadricha takes a light hearted look at the aftermath of the Marlborough Road Street Party of last month

If you’re anything like me (which you’re probably not), when you imagine a street party you imagine the wonderful video for female solidarity that is Can’t Hold Us Down by Christina Aguilera, during which community values and fraternity/sorority erupt to resolve an argument through the medium of dance and a water hose and a child moon-walking, but the same cannot be said of Falmouth, Oh No!* The Street Party on 29th April located on Marlborough Road was complete with bloodshed and tasers and no moon-walking whatsoever!

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The street party, one of many that took place on the day of national celebration, was advertised online through Facebook and on fliers around the street, and has been prominent in the local media recently. Organised, not as you may think to cause community upset and police intervention, but to celebrate the wedding of Prince Will and Kate on their special day, it has attracted attention through incidents including someone being tasered, a policeman being cut, people being cut by broken glass on the floor, and people kicking a police car with a dog in it. But the question at hand is that naturally the “people” to blame are the students.

Let us not beat around the bush, the number of people that turned up (approximates say around 300) was largely down to the workings of a student community that has the power to amass a crowd pretty quickly. So, fair enough, it wasn’t just the street that was present. However, the negative aspects of the day which have been sensationalised profusely were not solely the actions of a student audience. Importantly, one of the major faux pas of the entire event, one that has angered many students is the Falmouth and Truro MP Sarah Newton having said: “Sadly it’s mostly HMO’s (multiple occupancy) houses here [Marlborough Road] now, chiefly let to students. It used to be a place normal people lived; my great Auntie lived in this road”

So firstly, let’s discuss these ‘normal people’. I understand that most students aren’t conventional at the best of times but we’re mostly normal, aren’t we? To be fair, the tautological inferences of houses is enough to get me riled up. Even if Sarah Newton didn’t really mean for that comment to be taken as it has been, the fact still remains that the starting point of blame seems to be on the students. The gulf between the students and locals has grown wider. Stefan Naumczyk (the tazee) had to be acquitted of his student credentials whilst local press and the police “confirmed” that he was not a student.

This article isn’t designed to bring the university into disrepute in any form whatsoever, but the glaring question is “what is to be done?” How can we change the foundational views of the community we live in when we aren’t considered part of that community? The only option I see is that Sarah Newton compiles a group of locals and the students gather some representatives and we meet at a street and settle our problems through the medium of dance. With a hose. And a child moonwalking. *I understand that Christina Aguilera’s video isn’t really a street party but you tell my imagination that.

news@flexnews.co.uk

A hat trick of awards for the Cornwall Campus Text Danny Simpson

Staff at the Cornwall Campus have faired excellently in the 2011 Exeter University Teaching and Professional Services Recognition Awards, with Jay Pengelly of the Department for Humanities and Social Sciences winning an award (pictured) for Most Supportive Member of Staff, Dr Victoria Basham picking up the Innovative Teaching award for her work in Tremough’s politics department and Wendy Campbell, who works in the ASU Reception, receiving an award for her Outstanding Customer Service.

Given that the awards depend upon the amount of nominations each candidate receives, for our relatively small campus to win anything - let alone three awards - is a huge achievement and very much a testament to the excellent work of the academics and staff. As Bertie Archer, of the University of Exeter Students’ Guild said, “The Teaching Awards are about recognising, celebrating and promoting excellent teaching. This is the students’ way of saying thank you to those staff who go above and beyond what is expected of them”. Jay Pengelly, who has now won the Most Supportive Member of Staff award two years in a row says she “was delighted and humbled to be nominated and thrilled to win...It is always a pleasure to look after you all and I look constantly for ways to improve the service I give”. I am sure everyone will join me in congratulating them all.

Cornwall Beaches Receive Five Blue Flag Awards Text Matthew Davies

This year summer holiday-makers heading to Cornwall will have yet another incen-tive to indulge in a relaxing day on the beach. The charity Keep Britain Tidy has announced this May that five of Cornwall’s beaches have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag award, lagging behind only its neighbour Torbay in numbers, which received six. The beaches in receipt of the award include Porthmeor, Porthminster, Polzeath, Porthtowan and Gyllyngvase.

The Blue Flag Programme is internationally recognised, its awards presented to over 3450 beaches in over 41 countries, with Keep Britain Tidy responsible for the running of the scheme in England. To receive a Blue Flag award, each beach must meet a

long list of strin-gent criteria, from water quality and environmental management to safety regulations and available tourist information. Additionally, any beach previously bestowed with the award that doesn’t meet the requirements second year running will have its award revoked. The chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, Phil Barton, is hopeful that the blue flag status will help increase the amount of people planning a beach visit this summer, ‘traditional beach holidays in this country were always centred on our seaside resorts and we urge holidaymakers to rekindle their passion for our wonderful coastline and quality resorts’.

Mark Agnew, manager of Falmouth’s award winning Gylly Beach Cafe said ‘it’s a fantastic achievement for Gyllyngvase beach to have retained its blue flag status. In times where more and more detail is taken over the condition of our environment and the impact visitors have on the beach and water front, it’s great to know this is one of the cleanest beaches in Cornwall. To achieve this award a massive amount of combined work is required which flows from the council, to Gylly Beach Café, to the beach cleaners, to the very people that make sure they pick up their rubbish as they leave; it’s an accolade to be really proud of’.

The economic benefits that such an award can create are also apparent, Mark goes on to state that ‘England is seeing a great resurgence in people from home and from abroad choosing to holiday in this country, this is particularly true of Cornwall with its possession of beautiful landscapes, wealth of history and picturesque beaches. Families, couples and all types of visitors are looking for more from their holiday, it’s not just about a place to go that’s cheap, it’s about what other amenities it offers. With Falmouth’s best beach, Gyllyngvase Beach, retaining its blue flag status there will be a beneficial knock on effect for all businesses in Falmouth. I do believe that people choose a “greener” holiday experience and will tend to look for places that are accredited with environmental awards such as the Blue Flag status, Green Flag Gardens or businesses that have achieved status under the Green Tourism Businesses Awards, of which Gylly Beach Café possesses a gold award. With the internet being such a key role in our lives it’s much easier for a visitor to make their choices on where they visit from the comfort of their sofa, so the PR that goes with a status of Blue Flag means Falmouth is gaining coverage on a national scale, and long may it continue.’

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NEWS

coRNiSh MP VoicES coNcERN oVER PRoPoSED NhS REFoRM

TOP NIGHT...

Text Louise Jones

Despite a joint proposal from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for NHS reform, cracks are beginning to appear in the coalition government.

A Labour motion to abandon the proposals for NHS reform has been defeated in the Com-mons, by 284 votes to 231, giving the government a majority of 53 but cutting the coalition’s parliamentary majority by more than a third. The parliamentary debate was held after the government agreed to stop the progress of the bill underpinning the reforms. Although the bill had already started to make its way through parliament, the government decided to first consider how the plans could be improved.

Under the proposed Health and Social Care Bill, GPs would gain more control over NHS budgets and the private sector would be given a greater role, whilst a new independent commissioning board would replace existing health authorities and primary care trusts. Prime Minister David Cameron has said, ‘what we want to see is a level playing field for other or-ganisations to come in to the NHS’. However, this aspect of the reform plan is seen by critics as a weakness, as it will increase the power and influence of the private sector.

The plan has encountered criticism from many angles, including the Liberal Democrats, La-bour and the Royal College of GPs. After the blows dealt to the Lib Dems in the recent elec-tions and the country’s refusal to support AV, Nick Clegg is looking to redeem himself in the eyes of left-wingers by opposing the recent NHS plan. This is interesting considering the fact that the proposals were drawn up by Tory and Lib Dem politicians and the foreword was signed by both David Cameron and Nick Clegg. The BBC’s Nick Robinson has described the coalition as ‘all in it together when it comes to the NHS’. Nevertheless, Clegg has stated that the Lib Dems will block the health bill unless it is altered.

Andrew George is the Liberal Democrat MP for St. Ives, Cornwall. He has voiced concerns about the proposed health reforms, calling it a ‘gamble’ and accusing the proposal of ‘giving private companies the easy pickings’. Whether the bill’s section on competition will be rewritten – as called for by the Royal College of GPs – remains to be seen, as a decision on how to proceed will be made within the next month.

BE SMART, BE SAFE AND PLAN AhEAD

Remember to stay TOP NIGHT...

TOP NIGHT...

safe and plan your journey home Top Tips

• Avoid walking home on your own • Make sure you use a licensed taxi • Remember if you look and act drunk you are more vulnerable

STUDENTS are being urged to plan ahead to make sure they enjoy their years at university.

Devon and Cornwall Police is urging students living near university cities and towns to think about what they can do to make themselves less vulnerable.

“By following some simple advice students can dramatically reduce the likelihood of them being the subject of a crime,” said PC John Dukes.

important to give advice and help to these young people as they start out their lives as adults.”

The police advise you to plan ahead by doing the following:

Remember to stay emember to stay safe and plan your “To many people what we are saying is just common sense but common sense is something we all have to learn and it is

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Walk in well lit, well used areas where there are lots of

doesn’t know your name – don’t get in!

have enough credi.

Always stay alert

Think about how you’ll be getting home before you go out

If you use a taxi make sure it is licensed. If the taxi driver

If you look and act drunk you are more vulnerable – drink responsibly

people

Always carry your mobile, make sure it is charged and you

Friends look after each other, make sure your mates know where you’re going

Remember to call 999 in emergencies or 08452 777 444 for non-urgent crimes.

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SCIENCE

SCIENCE Horton hears a Higgs!

By Michael Hawkes Last month a leaked report from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN set the physics world aflutter, the Higgs boson had been found. Well, maybe. The leaked report, an internal communication from the ATLAS experiment, described the detection of a possible Higgs boson candidate and it got people very excited.

“ After the finding was subjected to more robust statistical analyses, the Higgs boson candidate was no more. ” However, almost immediately physicists began to criticise the premature nature of the findings as well as the findings themselves. The leaked report was a type of internal note subject to no peer-review that was used to communicate information between scientists working on the same experiment at the LHC. Generally, the leaked report would

have had to have passed several further layers of scrutiny before the findings were even worthy of serious internal discussion, let alone publication to the outside world.

CERN physicist Jon Butterworth, appearing on Channel 4 News, put the finding in context, “a bunch of people have spent 4 nights without sleep and have made some plots and

got rather overexcited” and concluded “if we got this excited about every single thing, no one would get any sleep”. Still, the media train had left the station as if the finding was confirmed; what would it mean for physics (and inexplicably religion) if the Higgs had been found?

Well, we can now put that exhilarating discussion on hold for a little while longer. The ATLAS experiment at the LHC has released an internally reviewed report based on more data than the leaked communication and it shows a null result. After the finding was subjected to more robust statistical analyses, the Higgs boson candidate was no more.

Whilst there appears to be no Higgs for now, CERN physicist Jon Butterworth, writing for The Guardian, reassures all high-energy particle physics fans out there that “according to the prediction for a Higgs in the Standard Model, you wouldn’t expect to see anything yet, but you should do sometime soonish”. So, put your ‘happy Higgs boson day’ party hats away for now, but be prepared to get them back out, in scientific terms, “sometime soonish”.

Climate change: a meaty issue

By Isabel Cameron A growing body of scientific research has found that animal farming is one of the major causes of climate change. More than 18% of all human induced greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the livestock industry making it even more damaging to the climate than global transport emissions.

Forest clearance for livestock grazing and the production of animal feed crops, soil degradation, and meat processing and transportation all contribute to 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year.

Even more harmful gases, methane and nitrous oxide, are produced from livestock digestion, manure, feed crops and

fertilisers. Methane is 23 times more damaging that C02 and Nitrous oxide 296 times. These make up 37% and 65% of global emissions respectively.

Red meat is the most environmentally damaging because it’s the most resource intensive and the animals it comes from are ruminants (cattle sheep and goats), which produce the highest levels of methane.

Even if available technologies were adopted such as better manure management, improved fertilisers and special modified feeds, livestock sector emissions would still only be reduced by around 4%. The real difference can be made through consumer

choices. In their scientific paper ‘Food, livestock production, energy, climate change, and health’ published in the medical journal The Lancet, Professor Anthony McMichael and his colleagues estimate that the current average consumption of meat globally is 100grams per person per day, this is equivalent to one small burger, although wealthier populations consume considerably more.

“ Methane is 23 times more damaging that C02 and Nitrous oxide 296 times.

These make up 37% and 65% of global emissions respectively. ” To reduce the pressures that livestock farming has on global warming they recommend that meat consumption should be reduced to 90grams per person per day with no more than 50grams of red meat being eaten. They also suggest that nonruminant animals such as poultry, and vegetarian farmed-fish should become the main sources of meat protein.

Suggestions by other experts in the field have included introducing regular meat free days, and laboratory made meat tissue to replace animal farming. To empower consumers to make better meat choices Sweden is setting the precedent by introducing a carbon footprint label onto its meat products.

Meat free days can really make a difference, scientists from the VU University in Amsterdam calculate that if everyone in the UK didn’t eat meat for 1 day per week it would be the same as taking 5 million cars off UK roads. 3 days would see even higher benefits, equivalent to reducing more emissions than the government targets for 2020. Astonishingly, if everyone in the UK went vegetarian for 5 days every week it would negate all the emissions from electricity used in all UK homes.

By following the advice of these experts your consumer choices could play a key role in reducing livestock related greenhouse emissions.

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science@flexnews.co.uk

Wolfing down dinner

By Michael Hawkes There is a saying in Norway, “du skal ikke skue hunden på hårene”, or, “you shouldn’t judge a dog by its fur”. Ecologist Jiska van Dijk and friends took this to heart and instead judged Norwegian wolves by their impact on the diet of native wolverines after recolonisation. We are currently experiencing extremely high levels of species extinction the world over, primarily due to human actions. Never before have the scientific and lay communities been so galvanised in the cause of conservation, but there are still gaps in our understanding of the ecology of interspecies interactions. While studying the impact of reintroduction of species to their native habitat, through either intentional conservation or natural recolonisation, we can learn how to improve future conservation efforts.

Both wolves and wolverines have had a troubled history in Scandinavia. They were both hunted to functional extinction in Norway and Sweden by the start of the 70s.

The wolverine received protection in Norway and Sweden in 1973 and 1969 respectively, and as a result began a slow recolonisation of south-central Norway. In a similar timeframe the wolf also began recolonising some of the same areas. As the two species have spread their territories have overlapped, allowing researchers to study differences in ecology between areas that have only one of the species and those that have both.

The two animals have very different lifestyles. Wolverines are opportunistic scavengers that can also hunt for their own food and adopt different feeding strategies if specific prey species become rare. The bulk of their diet consists of scavenged carrion from large animals such as reindeer and moose, supplemented by hunting for smaller animals such as hares and rodents. Wolves are pack predators that primarily

hunt large prey, especially moose.

The researchers sampled wolverine poop (science!) across several winter periods to determine the average dietary makeup of wolverines that live in territories that have a wolf presence and those that did not. Their results found that a significantly higher proportion of wolverine diet consisted of moose in individuals from areas with a wolf presence than from those

without, and wolverines that lived in the presence of wolves almost completely stopped hunting their own smaller prey.

Accounting for confounding variables such as prey density and mortality, the data overwhelmingly showed that the presence of wolves induced a narrowing of the wolverine’s diet from a broad range of prey to almost only moose. The study concluded that this was a result of the increased scavenging

opportunities provided by wolves extensively predating moose.

The researchers found that there was a distinction between male and female wolverines in their dietary makeup. Many studies have been carried out on the sexual segregation of diet in herbivores and some in large predators, but barely any for scavengers. As such, this phenomenon was anticipated but is not yet fully understood.

Female wolverines have been found to have smaller home range sizes than males suggesting that they may have less opportunity to come across carrion to scavenge than males and would have to supplement their diet with more small prey. This was supported by the study’s data as female diet showed a significant difference in content than male; females hunted more small prey and scavenged less moose than males. However, other possible influencing factors could not be properly accounted for.

Studies of body size differences, differing diet and foraging behaviour in different sex individuals have been inconclusive.

The authors highlight some ways in which species introduction can have indirect effects on other species with which they do not immediately interact (in this particular case how introduction of a top predator can cause dietary shift in local scavengers). Studying a species in the process of reintroducing itself not only educates us in the nature of conserving species, but can also help us infer future ecological problems we may face as our rampant consumption drives even more species to extinction. The implications of these findings are not particularly groundbreaking for conservation as a whole, but this study is just one cog in the greater machinery of conservation research. It serves as a fascinating example of the daunting task ecologists face in trying to anticipate the full ecological impact of reintroducing dwindling or functionally extinct species, and a poignant reminder that while conservation is complex it is ultimately achievable.

The ecological effects of sexual harassment

By Lucie Brown

Sexual conflict is one of the major drivers of evolution and

where levels of male sexual harassment are high.

waters where risk of predation is significantly reduced.

is common in many species. As a result of sexual conflict,

In the streams where the guppies live, predation risk is high

Further research reported disruption to important social

sexual harassment from males often puts stress on females and

in deeper water, and as a result of sexual colour differences,

associations between females as a consequence of sexual

ultimately lowers their reproductive success. In a fascinating

males who are the more conspicuous sex tend to avoid the

harassment. Females exposed to sexual harassment suffered

presentation recently given by Dr. Darren Croft at the

deep water to avoid predators.

more disparate social networks and reduced social recognition.

University of Exeter, he discussed research the role of sexual

Results from the experiments of Dr. Croft indicate a clear

This has significant implications regarding the establishment

conflict in structuring populations. Findings of the research

trade off; in the presence of males, females choose to occupy

of co-operative partnerships, investigated in another study by Dr. Croft.

“In the presence of males, females choose to occupy deep water, despite the increased risk of predation, as a refuge from male sexual harassment.”

Using social network analysis to investigate the structure of co-operative interactions in the context of predator inspection, results demonstrated females prefer having stable social partners to reduce the risks associated with unreliable partners. This disruption to female sociality caused by male sexual harassment illuminates further reductions to female fitness as a result of sexual conflict. Interesting avenues for

deep water, despite the increased risk of predation, as a refuge

future research include investigation of how animals modify

from male sexual harassment. This study supports previous

social networks in the presence of disease, as well as extension

work by Dr. Croft and colleagues who reported the presence

of experimental time periods in order to strengthen current

illustrate how females use spatial segregation as a strategy to

of more females in deep water areas synonymous with high

findings.

avoid sexual harassment from males in the Trinidadian guppy

predation rates, and the presence of more males in shallow

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features

FEATURES

Death of Bin Laden – Who Really Won? Nicholas Barrett offers an alternative take on the big news of the month. Amid the celebrations and congratulations, this article examines the lasting legacy of terrorism, intervention and Western foreign policy.

In the wake of Osama Bin Laden’s death I wanted to ask a question that might upset and depress people. Did he win?

Back in 1997, ABC news showed a short report about a group that would later become known as al-Qaeda. The report profiles a then less infamous Bin Laden: “This guerilla warrior operates as a CEO, funding and supporting violence against the west and its allies. Private planes, Swiss bank accounts, he gives orders via the Internet and is as good a capitalist as he is a terrorist”.

It was clear back then that he was the money man, probably because he used his sizable inheritance to fund terrorist projects.

When we think about Bin Laden’s aims we think of mayhem and bloodshed, but when he spoke about his motivations he would always talk about finance. In October 2001 he told al-Jazeera: “The losses on Wall Street [after 9/11] amounted to 16% and they said that this was a record loss that had never happened since the markets opened over 130 years ago.

Such a collapse has never happened before.

The capital in circulation within this market amounts to $4 trillion. If we multiply 16% by $4 trillion to find out the losses that their shares suffered, we find that it is $640 billion.

This is what they lost in one hour. The gross national income in the US is $20 billion. On the first week they did not work at all because of the psychological shock. Even to this very day some people do not go to work because of the enormous shock.”

It is clear from this interview that Bin Laden cares profoundly about money and the financial damage he has done to the USA. He concludes, “More than $1 trillion in losses resulted from these successful attacks”. What Bin Laden wanted most, it seems, was that his actions be as costly as they possibly could.

In 2004 he recorded a video boasting that: “We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy, as for the economic deficit, it has reached astronomical numbers estimated to total more then a trillion dollars. The real loser is you. It’s the American people and their economy.” Bin Laden did not count body bags; he counted coins. Since 9/11 the historically high US defence budget has doubled and now amounts to over $1 trillion a year. America spends more money on weapons then the next 15 biggest military powers combined. On the morning of September 11th 2001 the U.S national debt was just under $6 trillion. It is now well over $14 trillion and rising. Both the USA and UK, having gone to war in both Afghanistan and Iraq following 9/11, are now in more debt than at any time in

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their history and are facing drastic spending cuts to public services as a result, thus giving Bin Laden a form of victory on his own terms.

Osama Bin Laden did not force America to bail out failing banks or cut taxes on high earners, but he didn’t force them to start two wars either. He did not force America to declare an unwinnable war against a sixletter noun; an uncompromising assault on a tenuous concept. What could have been dealt with by an international criminal investigation unraveled into a series of tortuous and draining occupations. The killing of Bin Laden by a small group of elite solders in a short 40-minute period perfectly undermined the claim that the invasion of Afghanistan was necessary to protect civilians on US and UK soil. By ‘going to war’ against a small group of unpopular terrorists we gave them the gift of importance, giving Bin Laden victory on our terms. The toxic legacy of terrorism in the 21st century was not inspired

by Bin Laden’s grainy home videos but by illegal invasions and illegal interrogation techniques adopted by the West in response to 9/11. If you really think we’ve won the ‘war

on terror’, ask yourself if a society that’s too scared to allow a drink on a plane or a photo to be taken at a train station, is not in fact utterly gripped by terror.

However, while Bin Laden’s tactics may have helped push America & Britain into unprecedented levels of debt, terrorism has done nothing for Muslims and the Middle East in 15 years compared to what peaceful protest achieved in the first 15 weeks of 2011.

Similarly, despite the nine-year occupation of Afghanistan, last year’s shambolic elections proved that intervention by western powers could not guarantee peaceful and functioning democracy. The catalogue of uprisings in the Arab world this year has proved that the interests of people in the Middle East are far best served by peaceful protest than they are by extremist violence or western occupation.

The West now faces a choice as to how it responds to inevitable acts of terrorism. It will always be a tempting option for our leaders to reassert their authority by giving weight to the world’s least sane people. However, if we wish to live in a world that is not shaped by the threats of violent zealots we have to learn

to carry on. To treat terrorists like criminals and nothing more because they only really win when an act of terror changes the way we live. For if the ‘war on terror’ is sold as a war, it must end like one too. And as history has taught us time and again, in war there are no real winners.

“Bin Laden did not count body bags; he counted coins. Since 9/11 the historically high US defence budget has doubled and now amounts to over $1 trillion a year.

America spends more money on weapons then the next 15 biggest military powers combined."

features@flexnews.co.uk

Wait! We can still salvage something from this! Oh, wait…

Text: Mark Burton

…we can’t. Bugger.

Nick Clegg seems to have had a pretty rough month. In fact, the only person in the whole world who has had a rougher month is the late world hide and seek champion. And, like said elusive, beard-toting hate-mongerer, Clegg and the Lib Dems appear to be all at sea.

Evidence of this hilariously predictable turn of events can be found by casual scrutiny of Nick Clegg’s face, available on the excellent nickclegglookingsad.tumblr.com. In a cruel electoral double-whammy, Nick and friends lost somewhere in the region of a billion council seats, and then promptly lost one of the most winnable referendum in human history simply by having their names attached to it.

Not only that, they brought such a toxic stink to the referendum, such a rabid and fervent distrust of the Yes campaign, that usually sane and sensible people across the country found themselves inexplicably compelled to agree with David Cameron. Thankfully, the groggy haze of Tory love appears to have worn off exceptionally quickly, resulting in ‘delays’, ‘extra consultation periods’, or ‘downright, utter, unequivocal rejection’ of every single major policy the government can dream up.

Which is perhaps a good thing given that every single major policy the government has proposed does indeed appear to have been literally dreamt up.

“George, I had this crazy dream last night where I sold the entire NHS to a fabulously

wealthy oligarch called Sergey who was always a dab hand at Operation and fancied trying to take the funny bone out of a real live patient with a pair of oversized tweezers.”

“Oh David, you really need to lay off that fine Stilton before bedtime! That’s crazy, selling the NHS to the highest bidder. Just out of interest, how much did he pay?...

REALLY? You know, maybe I could look into this in a little more depth; I mean who doesn’t have private healthcare anyway these days?

The poor? Ha, that’s a good one. So I’ll have the bill drafted by Monday then.”

Perhaps the whole Clegg-bashing intro to this piece was a little unfair. Objectively speaking, there were maybe three major factors why AV got utterly routed on the 5th of May: The Yes campaign was as effective as the Pakistani intelligence service The No campaign was as effective as the US Navy Seals Nick Clegg said he liked it.

Which is a shame really, and definitely an opportunity missed for something approaching a fairer system. When the next debate about the voting system swings around in fifty years or so, I hope the proponents of change will look back at the way this one

was conducted. And then do the exact, polar opposite. Seriously; you propose a half-arsed version of electoral reform, market it by assuming everybody is going to vote yes so you can save on those expensive leaflets and commercials, let the opposition tell outright lies and respond with a wall of indignant silence while their slimy propaganda sinks into the public conscience, make no attempt to ever explain why FPTP is crap, agree to hold the election on a weekday, when everybody is, y’know, working and have better things to do than worry about voting, agree to hold the vote in the midst of swingeing public cuts when

faith in politics is at an all time low, and then get the most despised political figure in the country to offer very public support for the cause, a man so distrusted that turkeys would vote for Christmas if he told them not to.

“Say, Moira, I see that Nick Clegg on telly telling us not to cut off our own feet. Isn’t that something?”

“Yes, that scarf will make a fine tourniquet.

Thanks, darling.”

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FEATURES

coRNiSh coMEDy: ThE FALMoUTh LiVE ScENE Nicholas Pearson lets FLEX in on the laughs to be had around Falmouth this summer.

Cornwall’s best known comedian, Jethro, says that when he young growing up in St Buryan he had to learn for himself what was funny because there was no local live comedy scene. More than two decades later and the situation was much the same and although Cornwall is still underserved for comedy, in the last year a vibrant comedy scene has sprung up around Falmouth.

After a huge public campaign to ‘Save our Poly’ succeeded, delivering the much loved venue from closure, Falmouth’s first regular comedy night was launched. Since October last year ‘Mirth Control’ has been delighting sell out crowds and gaining Falmouth a reputation among comedians as a place where they can expect relaxed, friendly and receptive audiences.

Last month the Princess Pavilion in Falmouth kicked off the first of their ‘5 Star Comedy’ programme with the stand up Greg Davies, best known for his role as Mr. Gilbert in The Inbetweeners. The show sold out months in advance and the backstage gossip is that both Greg and his support act Ed Gamble came off stage commenting on the quickness and wit of the audience,

before wandering into town to sample a bit of the Falmouth night life.

This week the Princess Pavilion will be announcing their summer programme, starting with the ‘Live at the Princess’ which will see Junior Simpson from the film Love Actually and a regular on Never Mind the Buzzcocks headline; alongside Janice Phayre from Coupling and the brilliant Mitchell and Webb Situation as well as Channel 4's 'So You Think You're Funny' competition winner Alan Francis from Psychoville, Knowing me, Knowing you and Alistair McGowan's Big Impression.

(Wednesday 15th June) Also coming up are World Magic Award winning comedy magicians Barry and Stuart, fresh from causing panic and mayhem on BBC One’s The Magicians where they shot at BBC Breakfast presenter Sian Williams with crossbows and left Martin Kemp tied to a chair on a busy London street. They are best known to TV viewers from their controversial Christmas and Easter specials, The Magic of Jesus and Tricks from the Bible in which they walked on water, raised the dead, and even make a real honest-to-

goodness virgin pregnant (and not the easy way). In their live show, that sold every night at the month long Edinburgh festival the BAFTA nominated magicians promise to “teach you the secret behind magic’s most closely guarded secret and attempt to contact the dead live on stage”. (Friday 15th July) Meanwhile closer to campus, last week saw the recording of a pilot of The Filter, a web-based TV show made as the final project for Broadcasting Students Andrew Cook and Matt Stent. The evening featured American comic Taylor Glenn as well as hilarious Casio Rappers Hedluv + Passman with music from All The Fires and The Oscillation.

Other acts rumoured to be making their way to Falmouth are Stand Up For the Week star, regular Have I Got News For You panellist and brand new 8 Out Of 10 Cats team captain Jon Richardson. Not forgetting radio comedy legend, Blackadder star, Mock the Week and QI regular and one of the grumpiest of the Grumpy Old Men, Jeremy Hardy.

And if all that fails to amuse, Jethro will be at the Princess Pavilion in August.

For all the info on upcoming Falmouth comedy, check out www.princesspavilion.co.uk and www.thepoly.org.

FALSE PREDicTioNS MASk hUMAN TRAgEDy Martin Fraser examines long-feared prophesies and predictions, and uncovers the human suffering which is often hidden from view.

The news on 11th May was punctuated by articles focusing on Rome, and a long-ago prediction by a seismologist Raffaele Bendandi that the city would be hit by a huge earthquake, causing an impromptu ‘bank holiday’, with shops and businesses being closed for ‘personal reasons’ or ‘stocktaking’ so the proprietors could take the day off, ‘just in case’ the worst scenario was to occur.

Mr Bendandi, who died in 1979, held a theory that the movements of the moon and sun exert a gravitational influence on the movements of the earth’s crust. A reporter stood in front of the Colosseum chuckling ironically as he started his report by claiming that all of Rome had been leveled except the great monument.

Meanwhile in Southern Spain, the scenic town of Lorca was hit by an earthquake low in magnitude, but close to the surface, similar

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to that which stuck Christchurch earlier this year, reducing many of the delicate and historic town centre buildings to rubble. Eight people were killed and hundreds injured in a country which is seldom affected by earthquakes.

While this was not ‘the big one’ forecast in Rome, Bendandi’s prediction was pounced on by speculating journalists. While fatal earthquakes in Europe are uncommon, the Lorca earthquake was 5.1 in magnitude (the Richter scale is no longer used). This made it the fourth strongest earthquake in the world that Wednesday, and the second strongest earthquake in Europe that week, after a tremor in the Dodecanese Islands in Greece on Sunday.

In terms of seismic events, the quake was not extraordinary in the least.

Anxieties surrounding predictions, especially concerning the end of a century, are nothing new. At the end of the 19th century and

into the First World War, there was widespread despair at the perception of humanity paying for its opulence, and the prospect of radical change in society and culture coupled with technological advances.

The Millennium Bug, which applied to only a small number of old personal computers, was inflated out of all proportion to encompass air-traffic control, power stations, mobile phone networks, and anything with a chip in it, causing a widespread panic in industry. IT companies made a fortune from approving appliances as ‘Y2K safe’ with the most perfunctory inspections. An estimated £200 billion was spent worldwide preparing for the expected apocalypse, which never occurred. It was described by the Wall Street Journal as the “Hoax of the Century”.

The Mayan calendar, which ends on 21st December, 2012, is another perceived cause

for alarm. While modern Mayans themselves attach no importance whatsoever to the date, films such as 2012, which grossed $770 million, have whipped up hysteria amongst the easily swayed to such an extent that no internet forum is complete without a thread speculating on the fate of the world in 2012.

The tragic thing is, there will be disasters in 2012, as there have been in every year previous. And instead of focusing on the rescue of civilians and relief efforts, the media will instead be concerned with whether the prediction was true, and (with tongue in cheek) whether the world will end. Meanwhile people, like those in Spain recently, who are undergoing traumatic hardships, will be ignored in favour of speculation.

reviews@flexnews.co.uk

REVIEWS

FILM

ARTHUR Text Emily Derry The film also benefits from having a talented support cast: One thing is guaranteed when a film starts with Russell Brand dressed as Batman drives a replica Batmobile through a statue of Jennifer Garner as the bitchy (it has to be said) and very scary and a bull. Absolute chaos. Certainly chaos is a given when the lead power hungry fiancée Susan Johnson, a role which is something character, at least to begin with, is an over grown, lazy, alcoholic, of a departure from her usual repertoire of serious roles or girl extremely wealthy man-child. One might think that given Russell next door characters. Her best moment is when she turns up Brand’s previous track record in films like Forgetting Sarah extremely drunk at Arthur’s apartment, the rest is a sequence of hilarious but unfortunate events. Next Marshall and Get Him To The Greek that to be mentioned is Dame Helen Mirren this part is tailor-made for Brand, sure “This film is a story about as Hobson, though initially portrayed as enough he plays his role with childish finding love and growing stern and intimidating, rather like an old relish. However, this may be a too up (albeit belatedly) and fashioned school matron, it is through simplistic a spin on the film. Behind the standing up for one’s self.” her most of the more emotional scenes hilarity and massive excess of Arthur are played. Though it has to be said Bach there is some sensitivity; this film is a story about finding love and growing up (albeit belatedly) and she has some rather humorous moments also, and because it is standing up for one’s self. Brand conveys all this with aplomb, so refreshing to see her do something different I believe that while delivering wisecracks faster than Lewis Hamilton drives an another Oscar could be on the cards should she get involved with comedies more often.

F1 car.

Finally the young sensation Greta Gerwig, who plays love interest Naomi Quinn, deserves a mention for she is the main emotional character in the story, and in a sense the anti-Susan being kind and sunny, and almost as child-like she is the reason that Arthur grows up. Like most films, in this category, it is love which makes the man. However there are few paths to love and

FAST AND FURIOUS 5 Text Kaylie Elise Finn So what’s good about this film? Well, the comeback of former So, bald men in white vests are cool. We all sort of knew this after Bruce Willis’ hair line receded and he made tank tops butch in Die Fast and Furious cast members does a lot for this movie; all the Hard. But Vin Diesel’s bringing it back to the big screen, with a big episodes are tied together with a nice nostalgic bow. This feature gun, a big car, and a whole lot of cool. Usually I’m not a fan of films isn’t completely bound up in “boy only” tape either. Last time I which run over trilogy status. Anyone remember Police Academy 7? checked, I was a girl, and I still got it; ‘it’ being a muscle fest with Probably not. I feared Fast 5 would equal two hours of my life that pretty cars, motorway pile ups and some nail biting suspense.

Now for the bad parts. There just ain’t enough room two bald I’d never get back. Turns out, it’s every bit as good as the previous hard-asses. Vin Diesel and Dwayne four instalments, only this feature “It’s every bit as good as the Johnson do a good show down, but is drugged up on ecstasy. previous four instalments, only this the orchestrated dialogue which The movie picks up from feature is drugged up on ecstasy.” flits between them does nothing Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) for their acting credibility. In the escape from prison. The ex-con joins forces with former cop Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and a end, only Vin Diesel pulls it off leaving GI Joe caricature Dwayne crew of elite car racers. They take to the streets of Rio De Janeiro on the sidelines. Also, I’m not entirely sure what Elsa Pataky who to pull off one last blag which will see them rich and secure their plays Luke Hobbs’ sidekick was doing in the movie. Apart from freedom. Their plan sees them caught up between Rio’s drug making sex eyes and wearing khaki hot pants rather well, the lord and federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson). Illegal answer is not a whole lot. Overall, some scenes were like low fat shenanigans and bad ass car chases ensue, what more does an mayonnaise; pointless and ruined a good thing.

By and large, realism wasn’t a strong point here- infeasible bus action movie need?

MOVIE MUSINGS Text Harry Woodward SUPERHEROS. Superheroes have been with us for a long time now. They’ve given us good times and they’ve given us bad times. There have been a greater proportion of bad times but you can’t really blame them for that can you? Blame terrible writers, terrible directors, terrible actors and terrible sequels. It’s the good times we all remember: forever and ever. We’re probably never going to be allowed to forget

them. So long as they generate truckloads of cash for studios, there won’t be a comic book left translated to the big screen.

Take Thor for instance. I admit I enjoyed that.

It had humour, good characters and pretty epic effects. Actually epic is an understatement when it comes to representing Norse mythological figures on screen, and since they’ve being transmitted through the super epic amplifier that is the Marvel universe... you get the idea. But I wouldn’t say it was a brilliant film. I’m sure it’s done its job to entertain a lot of people and thus make a lot of money out them. I should know.

I liked it and I paid money for it... or rather my friend did. Don’t worry, I paid him back in beer.

rolls that injure no-one, and fight scenes that involve surfing on the back of a falling muscle car. But who cares? If I wanted realism I’d stay at home and watch Jeremy Kyle. This film is larger than life and provides some supercharged entertainment.

However, I’d rather watch other films. I have enjoyed some superhero films but I wouldn’t go down raving about them like some people.

These people always act outraged whenever I mention I still haven’t seen Iron Man. I’m sure, if I do watch it, even if it turns out to be good, I’ll still be bored of yet another effects laden blockbuster with basic morals and predictable conventions. So why are people fascinated by superheroes?

This brings me back to the Norse mythological figures I mentioned earlier.

In much the same way ancient civilisations had their own muscle bound, supernatural heroes like Heracles (that’s the original Greek

spelling of the name, before the Romans stole Greek mythology and changed the names, so screw you Disney fans!), we need our modern superheroes, whether DC or Marvel. They don’t just live myths or provide CGI-crowded visuals for us to live lives of escapism. They set degrees of morality, achievement and hope even the most cynical of us secretly aspire to. In an ever-darkening world where the imagination we possessed as children is frequently under attack, we still need our heroes. Just don’t think you’re Superman and try to jump off a building.

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REVIEWS

TV DR. WHO

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT & DAY OF THE MOON Text Liam Corcoran Doctor Who is most certainly back. And with the shows return, we have been treated to the best opening episodes to date.

The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon didn’t feel like series openers but rather series finales. This is the first time that a series of Doctor Who has ever began with a two part episode and is due to Steven Moffat and the way he wants the series to flow. The openers followed the Doctor (Smith), Amy (Gillan), Rory (Darvill), River (Kingston) and Canton (Sheppard) as they finally came face to face with the dreaded Silence, an enemy which were the focus of last series, in 1969.

The Silence are the best new enemy that Steven has given us so far. They were truly scary and would have had children, and dare I say it, some adults, hiding behind their sofas.

Their biggest attraction was that as soon as you look away, you forgot them. This is so freaky because in theory, they could be behind you right now and you wouldn’t even know. This is what will make them go down as one of the greatest enemies ever.

Steven’s writing has taken the show to new heights and has drawn fans in by the masses. He knows how to leave you on a knife edge, trying to guess what will happen next, but you’ll never get it right.

The first episode could be a little wordy at times. You had to watch it twice just to take everything in. This was big risk as people want Doctor Who to be full of action and explosions.

This was soon rectified in the second episode though, with more action than you could shake a stick at. Also, rather than starting the second episode where the first finished, it jumped three months forward in time. This was really clever because it allowed everything to fall into place that little big easier.

With the Silence affecting all of last series, it was a little bit of a shame to see them defeated in just two episodes. But they were pushed even further to the side when at the end, we saw a regenerating child, the element that will be the centre of the series arch.

All the actors were fantastic, with Matt Smith showing that he was the right choice after Tennant left. But all the credit does have to go to Alex Kingston whose performance managed to

move everyone with some heart wrenching moments. Her final, yet first kiss with the Doctor was particularly sad. The end is getting so close for her.

With an opening like this, the rest of the series is sure to exceed all expectations and is not to be missed.

CARTOONS FOR GROWN UPS Text Alex Raffle By now we should all be aware that there are cartoons out there that aren’t really for kids. Everyone has seen The Simpsons, and you could throw a stone and hit a fan of Family Guy, and besides these days American Dad seems to be surpassing it every episode.

And yes, South Park still exists; most people had absolutely no idea. You should check out last series three-parter, it’s quite something. Nevertheless today I’m here to tell you there’s a new bunch of animated shows out there for us very grown-up kids to feast our eyes on.

Archer is an absolutely hilarious show revolving around the world of spies, and focused on the ISIS organisation and particularly on titular (heh) character, the brilliant but flawed, Alcoholic spy, Sterling Archer. The show is a strong parody of the spy genre as well as being very funny in its own right due to some stunning writing, as cartoon shows go it’s more risqué than most. The ensemble cast are magnificent and you’re guaranteed to recognise a few voices in there. For these reasons this gets my

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strongest recommendations.

Venture Brothers is an Adult Swim show that has been running for a few years now but for a while it even flew under my radar, but thankfully I’ve now witnessed its wonders. The core plot is a spoof of classic teen adventure shows such as Johnny Quest or Scooby Doo, and intelligently creates its own engaging world while disarming clichés. The cast is great and grows as the show goes on, and a warning, as the show progresses things can get incredibly complicated but stick with it as it’s a rewarding show to watch.

Bob’s Burgers is quite a strange show, visually it doesn’t seem as accomplished as other shows and there is no huge over arching narrative to keep people coming back, it’s simply an animated sit-com about a family who own a burger bar. However, I find it mesmerising, it’s definitely funny and the casting is solid, Kristen Schaal as Louise as the cunning and practically psychotic daughter is brilliant.

And before I conclude I feel it is my duty here to flag up a show which is for kids, but is incredible; Adventure Time. There is honestly no coherent way to explain the premise of the show but visually it’s a treat, and it’s really charming, and possibly the best kids cartoon I’ve seen in years. So go seek out these shows and watch some cartoons, and don’t let anyone judge you for it.

Plus bonus points if you realised H. Jon Benjamin is in almost all of the shows mentioned.

reviews@flexnews.co.uk

TV COMMUNITY:

REMEDIAL TELEVISION CRITICISM 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 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 Text Fenella Parker 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

“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

GAMES CRYSIS 2 Text Oli Haydon I’m not the sort of gamer that takes any particular interest in the storyline of a first-person shooter (FPS), I couldn’t really care less if some fictitious Eastern European country has invaded somewhere with some sort of weird weapon that combines cheese and grenades so long as the guns are big and the explosions are bigger. Crysis 2 was left a giant boots to fill after the 2007 critically acclaimed original, luckily, it fills those boots wonderfully. You play as Alcatraz, a US Marine who is rescued by Prophet (the team leader from Crysis) 3 years after the events of the first game. Prophet is dead and you take his suit and battle your way through deadly virus-ridden New York City to rescue a scientist who holds the key to stopping the bad guys.

Despite the holey plot and the pants checkpoints, this game is incredible fun, it appeals to every aspect of a gamer; there’s problem solving, giant explosions, vehicle elements, decent multiplayer and of course super mega boost jumping...Cysis 2 is utter gaming perfection.

I hate to start with something negative but the plot is hideously slow at the start and when it gradually begins to pick up pace, there are gaping plot holes worse than in the Lion King when Scar seemingly has the power to kill every plant and dry up every river in Africa when he becomes king. One more little complaint is the horrible use of the checkpoint system; they are overused in some places where you simply do not need one and non-existent in others, I was just left begging for a quick save button to stop me throwing my computer out the window.

Frustration and Disney plot failings aside, the game is system

crushingly beautiful but there’s no need to shell out on a new graphics card since Crytek claim the sequel has lower system requirements than the original. The landscapes are vast and breathtaking, and although there are few free roaming elements, the player really has the experience of exploring the crumbling city. The Nanosuit 2 is as fun as ever, featuring an immersive interface and HUD, and the weapons modification is just as enjoyable as in the original. The ability to upgrade the suit has also been added which also plays nicely into the lasting appeal of the game. Much like in Dead Space 2, once the campaign has

been completed, the player has the option to start again, but in the same condition as you just finished (they call it Game+), this adds an entire new level to the gameplay, turning it into a more role-playing experience. Despite the holey plot and the pants checkpoints, this game is incredible fun, it appeals to every aspect of a gamer; there’s problem solving, giant explosions, vehicle elements, decent multiplayer and of course super mega boost jumping...Crysis 2 is utter gaming perfection.

OPERATION FLASHPOINT: RED RIVER Text Scott Melvin

Where to start? With the casual drop-in drop-out co-op, or the not so casual racism from the man with all the rules - Sergeant Knox.

If you’re a solo player there’s probably not much here for you, however the sloppy team AI of its predecessor has gone, as has the medic, replaced by the necessary class customisation system, finally the whole team can use a scope and actually see the enemy!

More highly welcome changes, like being able to take more than one bullet, make this sequel a lot more accessible to those of us that aren’t military masterminds. Although the plotline is serious and so close to current affairs that ex-President Bush wouldn’t recognise it, the dialogue and banter between fire teams will soon have you swinging between fits of giggles at the playground insults from team-mates, and utter shock at the slightly un-PC vocabulary from Sarge.

All of these points lean towards making Red River more of a game rather than a military sim and the shooting backs this up.

Combat still tends to take place at medium to long range making good eyesight and a dark room useful but not a must, as there’s now a COD style aim and lock-on system available on normal

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difficulty. However not all combat takes place like this and there are some moments when, just packing a sniper rifle and an M16, you come face to face with your enemy and start frantically hammering your usual melee button just to find that you’ve changed weapons or crouched. This may make the combat sound slow and uncomfortable but when you pair it with the mission layout and the variety of objectives it seems to fit. It also helps that you get a fair amount of explosives and an unfair amount of fire support such as air and mortar strikes.

The mission layout itself is similar to its predecessor without the four mile trek before you shoot someone and without the half hour hike to the extraction, it has the feel of a military operation and the objectives encountered tend to support this.

All in all this is a solid shooter that’s made for the people that are fed up running around shooting annoying gamers in the head whilst they whine that you’re cheating somehow.

But the unforgivable absence of a competitive multi-player mode decreases the lifespan so much so that not even the additional game modes for co-op can save it.

To sum up this game I’d have to say it’s Battlefield 2 meets Op Flashpoint - Dragon Rising, essentially a good shooter designed for intelligent people to play with friends.

reviews@flexnews.co.uk

GAMES BRINK Text Lawrence Phillips A disappointing game doesn’t necessarily make a bad game.

This is certainly true for Brink. Since playing the game, and thinking back on what was released during those long months of development, I realise that the expectations we had of Brink would be a product of mistranslation and poorly described development documentation. While we were promised through a series of trailers and development diaries from Splash Damage, a gamechanging shooter, what we have been given is in fact a fairly solid team-based shooter, much more along the lines of Team Fortress 2 but never quite making it into the realm of the truly flawless action seen in the likes of Bad Company 2. The premise of Brink is that in a future world, economies and relations collapsed, with the final hope being The Ark, a huge floating haven for humanity.

Having moved out into the ocean to escape the world conflicts, contact with the outside world gradually stopped, and what has been left is years of fighting that has developed between two main forces; the Rebels and Ark Security forces. Straight away you are asked to pick a side, with the clean, futuristic style for the security forces, and a scruffy, recycled look for the Rebels reminiscent of a Mad Max style society. Artwork for the game is superb, with character design clearly inspired from Team Fortress 2 artwork, but with almost Manga style elements, all fused into a ‘realistic’ cartoon style. While a plethora of additions and styles for your character were promised, choices are in actuality limited to a few sets of clothes and accessories, unlocking items as you level up or complete challenges, fairly standard fare if a little uninspired.

Levels range from the run-down steam punk style rebel areas, to the clean-cut futuristic security force controlled parts of The Ark. However, poor level design sees a return to the narrow choke points and stalemate fighting that were thought to have been left behind somewhat in modern shooters.

Moving onto gameplay elements, the new SMART system (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain) was played up in developer interviews, professing an innovative style of gameplay that would allow players to parkour their way around levels, with trailers showing characters running, jumping and sliding around playground levels interspersed with moments of action and subterfuge. In reality, it’s more a case of learning in levels where you can and cannot use it. While the system is useful for sprinting fluidly through an area, jumping over or sliding under small obstacles, there are limited ways of actually utilizing this in order to gain significant advantages. While I was expecting

STU’S GAMING CORNER The online gaming community have been fragging each other on PC for many years now, and with the Xbox, PS3, and Wii getting everyone else in on the party over the last few years, the number of broken controllers and people swearing and shouting at each other online has increased dramatically.

Though console gaming is quite a big thing these days, PC games are definitely starting to have a resurgence, and a most of the credit goes to the online games store known as Steam.

to be able to sneak around behind enemy lines as an operative and wreak havoc using stealth and surprise, in fact what you use it for most is your standard sprint before sliding to avoid taking damage, whilst simultaneously attempting to fire back.

Hardly the innovative gameplay promised, more like the running and jumping controls afforded in Crysis 2, where sliding can get you out of a sticky situation, but no more. The 4 different classes (Soldier, Medic, Operative, and Engineer) are fairly well balanced, however most players seem to favour the Medic class which can be a problem as usually another class is required to complete an objective and you can find yourself short when you most need to progress the match. While the campaign has an over-arcing story line delivered in cut-scenes between matches featuring a good range of voice acting and scripting, you never quite feel involved with the story, and will quickly find yourself

Steam started out as a way for Valve to give its Counter Strike users a way of getting updates as they were released, instead of being blocked by the servers, and then trawling through Google looking for the reason why. But, over time other games developers realised that this was in fact a great way for people to not only get updates, but also for them to get new games and mods as well. Today, Steam is responsible for distributing about 90% of all PC games and as of last year, has made it so saved games can be recovered on many different machines- something that Xbox users would die for.

But with the release of Portal 2, came a new wave of online co-op play that may well break down the barrier between PC gamers and console gamers, players of Portal 2 on PS3 will (once the boys over at Playstation online solve

skipping the scenes to get into the action. It is in reality a series of multi-player matches, either playing with bots on both sides, co-op with a team of players, or player-on-player versus mode; however most of gameplay time will be spent in matchmaking, offering a pretty much identical experience just without the story elements. Crippling online lag can be so bad in certain matches that there is constant host migration and can even drive you to outright quitting the match, however Bethesda have promised these bugs will be fixed in soon to be released updates. While there are some inspiring moments when it feels a team is working together fluidly, with buffs being thrown around and a constant shift in the balance of power, an extremely cluttered UI and a total lack of disparity in the bland weaponry will soon draw you back to a more rewarding team shooter experience afforded from other games in the genre, giving this game a rental life-span if any.

their security issues), be able to play Portal’s exquisite co-op campaign with players on the PC. Now, don’t get too excited as this is not the first time this has been tried, Microsoft’s not particularly popular first person shooter Shadowrun is still seen in bargain bins in games shops across the UK, but the game itself wasn’t all bad; though lacking any campaign at all, the multi-player was balanced class-based fun. so why did it fail? Well unfortunately as any PC gamer will tell you, the mouse is mightier than the controller, and as a result if a team happened to have a PC player on their team, it was an instant white wash.

So hopefully Valve will have learnt a valuable lesson from Microsoft’s complete fail and all will go well, but as with any business only time will tell.

Multi-player games have become the staple diet of the PC and the console gamer to the point that if you don’t have an internet connection you’re only getting half a game, which for the price is a little naff to say the least. All in all, I think Xbox users are currently getting a bit of a raw deal when it comes to multi-player gaming.

No-one else has to pay to play online including PC games and even certain MMOs don’t charge for servers, so why are Xbox still charging for me to play Halo online!

Well that’s my last column, it’s been a blast people! If you wanna find me online, I’m XxrcmonkeyXX on Xbox, and just plain old rcmonkey on Steam. See you in a lobby somewhere soon!

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TRAVEL ST MICHAEL’S MOUNT 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

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

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 among the pictures and blessings.

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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 right.

(Picture copyright Photobrook Photography)

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.

ART&DESIGN

Photography

Art and Design Editor Catherine Durham

Michael Etherington

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art&design@flexnews.com

Untitled.

Photography by Catherine Durham

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ART&DESIGN

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?

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 Wear...

Shorts! Long, Short, it doesn’t matter. Dare to bare!

To Sandsifter for the We are One weekend, starting on 27th May. For more information, see: http://www.sandsiftercornwall. com/events.php

Watch...

Made in Chelsea.

Maybe not as compelling as TOWIE, but please just look at the boys’ hair!

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Whatever you likeyou’ve finished the year! You made it, hoorah!

Karl’s Fairy-Tale

By Hannah Banks-Walker

Karl Lagerfeld is a busy man. Not only has he been perfecting the Chanel Cruise collection shown in Cannes last week, working on his eponymous collection and providing photographs for an upcoming exhibition, Karl has now turned his hand to film. ‘The Tale of a Fairy’ is a short film produced to accompany the Cruise 2011 collection, and was first screened on May 9th amongst the glamour of

Cannes. Featuring Amanda Harlech, Kristin McMenamy and Karl’s head boy Baptiste, amongst others, the film is as provocative and surreal as you might imagine. Chanel poster girl Freja Beha stars as the eponymous fairy, wandering around topless and looking ethereal before proceeding to share a kiss with Anna Mouglais, another Chanel ambassadress. Saucy.

Lagerfeld himself explains that “It is a movie about an ill-advised use of

money which begins with violence and ends with feeling”, but basically all you need to know is that the costumes are amazing, and Baptiste is hot. Coco would have been proud.

Watch it now at www.chanel.com.

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arts@flexnews.co.uk

Boojum– Disco Edits & Balearic Beats

By Samantha Howard.

Where?

Boojum is a new event in Falmouth, kicking off on June 10th in the Falmouth Rugby Football Club.

Under the umbrella label of ‘Disco’, Boojum is night of disco re-edits, electro-grooves, funk, and house music in the eclectic Balearic tradition. Rain or shine, June 10th is going to be a hot summer dance party, bass-rich sound guaranteed care of an excellent Void sound system. As for the tunes, Boojum is proud to present DJs Dicky Trisco and Spinforth.

Dicky Trisco has been running the renowned Disco Deviance label and releasing tracks by, among others, Ashley Beedle, Greg Wilson, Pete Herbert and Cosmic Boogie – not to mention Dicky Trisco’s own tracks and remixes which are credited and played by club and Radio DJs such as Laurent Garnier, Horse Meat Disco and Radio 1’s Annie Mac. Dicky Trisco belongs to the ‘re-edit’ tradition of DJs such as Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles and Greg Wilson, which means his sets are full of reworkings of funk, disco and synth classics that you won’t hear anywhere else. It’s this eclectic and original mix of dance music that makes Dicky Trisco such an in-demand act at UK, European and global club and festival events.

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Falmouth Rugby Football Club, June 10th, 9pm – 2am.

Who? DJs: Dicky Trisco (Disco Deviance / Boogie Corporation) Spinforth (HongKongPingPong / Ghetto Funk) How Much?

Advance tickets from: The Poly (24 Church st. Falmouth), tel: 01326 319461, e: http://oscar01.savoysystems.co.uk/ thepoly.dll/ Check out some of these links to get you in the mood! http://boojumnights.wordpress.com/ http://soundcloud.com/dicky-trisco http://soundcloud.com/spinforth http://ghettofunk.co.uk/

And we’re no less delighted to have DJ Spinforth on hand to get the party started. Part of HongKongPingPong – a DJ team that reached the final five in the Breakspoll international Breakbeat awards and needs no introduction in the Southwest –

Spinforth has also been headlining at Durty Disco’s sell-out parties in Falmouth. Playing on the same bill as Dicky Trisco will have Spinforth playing out of the end of his record bag marked ‘funk’.

Get set for the Festival Season

LIFESTYLE

By Samantha Howard

It’s that time of year when Summer is finally here, which can mean only one thing: Festival Season! Whether you want to attend a small festival or a festival with thousands of people, there is something to suit everyone.

From the renowned student Beach Break weekend festival through to Benacism in Spain, there is much fun to be had. Attending a festival is not only a buzzing, exciting and social experience, it brings people together enjoying music, comedy, delicious food and dancing from noon ‘til night.

Festivals have become very pricey in the last few years, which doesn’t bode well for us students. There are, however, ways around this. For keen festival goers, Reading and Leeds Festival is extremely popular, however it currently costs up to £200 for the four day weekend enjoying indie, alternative, rock and dance music. If this isn’t appealing to you then cheaper festivals are being held all around the country across the Summer including Beach Break Live, aka. The UK Student Festival of which I’m sure many of you already have tickets for. Held in Newquay, Beach Break is amazing value for the entertainment you receive. An amazing dance line-up is spread across all three days, surrounded by thousands of other students from all over the country. There will hopefully be lots of sunshine, and there will definitely be beautiful Newquay beaches, plenty of alcohol, and well, the rest is up to you..

If this still doesn’t appeal to you, Bestival is held in early September on the Isle of Wight, and is becoming just as popular as Reading and Leeds. It is filled with fun, character and lots of glitter. Previous years have included fancy dress themes throughout the whole weekend bringing a lot of fun and laughter to the atmosphere, including some of the most amazing costumes. Bestival is not only good value for money, but you can split payments up throughout the summer starting from £40 which makes the festival even more appealing. As the festival is in early September, it is also close to the new start of a student year, meaning you can most certainly

celebrate in style before another hectic term! Also, rumour has it that Kate Moss is hosting her gypsy wedding themes hen party there this year! I see Bestival becoming the next mini Glastonbury in years to come, so experience it while you can. Plus, who wouldn’t want to dress in fancy dress for the weekend!?

For more details on certain festivals: www.beachbreaklive.com www.readingfestival.com or www.leedsfestival.com www.bestival.net This year’s Bestival line-up

This year’s Beach Break line-up

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arts@flexnews.co.uk

Panic-Free Packing: What To Bring On Your Summer Hols Text: Emma Hayes

Year after year, holiday after holiday, we are still stuck with the same dilemma: What do I pack for my summer trip? Do I bring that heavyweight hoodie just in case the temperature drops below 40 degrees? Or should I bring that pair of 5 inch stilettos, when I doubt I’ll be lifting a finger, or a foot for that matter, whilst sunbathing?

There are lots of variables to consider when packing for a trip – where you’re going, for how long, what you’re doing while you’re there, how you get there – but no matter the destination or purpose, the one constant of travelling in style is packing smartly.

Now, there are two types of extreme packers: those who bring their entire wardrobe for a weekend

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getaway, and those who assemble fourteen days’ worth of outfits in Paris using only the contents of a hand luggage bag. Everyone wants to be the master of the second scenario; not only do you skip the excess baggage claim at the airport, but it’s much easier to get dressed when you’ve thought it through beforehand and pared it down to the essentials. Although wanting to represent England in the fashion stakes is a positive move, we all know that all we’ll be doing for the week is sunning ourselves around the pool and drinking too many margaritas, so don’t over-do it.

For all you over-packers out there, here’s a list of 20 essential items that will keep you looking great for one week in the sun without busting the seam of your suitcase…

Baseball or wide-brimmed hat (for extra sun protection)

Asos.com £17.00

Playsuit – Topshop.com £26.00

Accessoriesonline.co.uk £34.97

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1 pair of shorts (ideally in a bright colour, like coral, which show off a tan well)

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Sunglasses

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1 playsuit (for when you venture out to do some sight-seeing.

Take a look at Topshop and River Island for good quality and inexpensive versions)

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3 swimsuits/bikinis (you’ll live in them, and they take up a minimal amount of space. Try swimhut.com and Monsoon for a great variety)

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1 white oversized shirt (great cover-up once you’ve had too much sun, and cute when belted at the waist for the evening)

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1 pair of flip-flops (rubber and washable, Havaianas.com is an obvious choice)

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1 daytime dress (ideally something you can throw over a bikini)

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1 evening dress (black or neutral is best, so that you can reaccessorize it and wear it multiple nights. Missguided.com and boohoo.com are great for cheap but great-looking evening wear and maxi dresses)

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1 pair of daytime sandals (leather or rope)

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1 pair of heeled sandals/wedges

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2 sarongs (great lunchtime cover-up, plus they double as scarves at night)

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1-2 vintage belts (for the shirt, dresses and skirts)

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3 white, black or grey tank tops (no explanation necessary!)

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Canvas carry-on tote (that can double as a beach bag during the day)

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1 cashmere cardigan (in a neutral colour, like ivory, taupe or navy)

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1 clutch for evening (if you really want to save space, use this as your purse as well)

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2 skirts (ideally cut from pre-wrinkled material like crushed silk)

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1 blazer (it can work as a light jacket to and from the airport, and an extra layer in the evenings)

Jewellery (something colourful and tropical is a good choice, and for more delicate pieces try Dogeared.com)

Do yoU WANT To WoRk WiTh FLEX? coNTAcT: News/Reviews ag335@exeter.ac.uk

Features/Sport pt249@exeter.ac.uk

Science mh317@exeter.ac.uk

Arts/ Lifestyle sa118778@falmouth.ac.uk

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