Issue 119 by Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Issue 119

Girl Power

The most empowering women in the music industry Music

p. 30

Video Game Movies

Varsity 2018

Screen

Sports

Get excited for another year of Black and Gold

A look at some of the best and worst attempts

p. 36

p. 44

Students occupy Arts Tower for three days

Ben Warner

The Arts Tower spent three days under occupation by students who were demanding concessions from the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Keith Burnett. Around 20 people, who were members of Sheffield StudentWorker Solidarity, barricaded the doors to the building in the early hours of Wednesday 14 March and issued a list of demands surrounding the UCU strike and wider issues. They faced criticism from architecture and landscape students, who were unable to access the building during the occupation to retrieve possessions or do work. However, the occupiers insisted they were willing to let students in, and it was the University who were preventing access. The University sent an email to all students on the morning of Saturday 17 March saying that the occupation was over and that professional offices in the building would reopen at 7AM on Monday 19 March. The legal action being taken against the occupation is being terminated. Rallies, demonstration and marches in support of the strikes took place across the University campus and city (pic: Ben Warner/Kate Marron)

Phase one of UCU strike action comes to an end Ben Warner

he planned UCU strike action came to an end on Friday 16 March after 14 days of strikes over four weeks. Members of the University and College Union voted to strike against proposed changes to their pensions which would see it based on investment performance rather than workers’ contributions. This has been criticised, as it is

thought that some lecturers could lose up to £10,000 per year under the new system. The strike was announced in January and began on Thursday 22 February, with two days of strikes. The strike days increased each week, culminating in five consecutive days of strikes last week. UCU branches rejected a deal from Universities UK last week which could have seen the strike end early and criticised the deal being offered. During the period of action,

pickets were held outside University buildings every day, and multiple marches took place through the city centre, including one lead by women to celebrate International Women’s Day (read more on page 4). Dr Sam Marsh, Communications Officer for Sheffield UCU and University Teacher in the School of Mathematics and Statistics said: “We are amazed and appalled that vicechancellors have allowed this dispute to carry on this far, especially given the damaging effects it is having on

all concerned. “While the initial wave of strikes is now over, we are entering the second phase of action which will see staff refusing to do more than the hours they are paid for. We are certain students will see the effects of this, given the huge amounts of unpaid work that goes on in the sector, late into the evening and at weekends. “While the dates of further strike action have not yet been announced, we expect there to be further significant disruption soon

after Easter, and possibly even into the exam period, if vice-chancellors don’t listen to their staff and find a way to get them back onside.” The Students’ Union supported the strike in their action, after SU Council voted unanimously to support it in a meeting in December. Education Officer Stuart McMillan was heavily involved in supporting the striking lecturers, leading chanting and giving speeches at rallies around campus during the action. However... (cont. on page 5)

Forge Press Editorial Team Editor editor@forgetoday.com Luke Baldwin Managing Editor Freyja Gillard Deputy Editors editor@forgetoday.com Nick Burke Michael Chilton Web Coordinator Dan Cross Head of News Ben Warner News press.news@forgetoday.com David Anderson Alex Peneva Gethin Morgan Opinion press.opinion@forgetoday.com James Pendlington Josie Le Vay Features press.features@forgetoday.com Katharine Swindells Megan-Lily McVey Elsa Vulliamy

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Editorial

ust when you think winter has passed and we’re on our way to warmer climates, the Pest from the West hits, blighting our warm and friction-filled streets with wet, slippery ice. But worry not, cowering in fear of this frozen menace isn’t all bad, it gives you a chance to read through another barnstorming issue of Forge Press. So stay in, wrap up with a lovely brew and get stuck in to your favourite student newspaper (there’s a strong possibility the ice has melted by the time this goes to print but regardless you should still give us a read). This week marks the start of Varsity and it’s fair to say we here at Forge are raring to get behind Black and Gold, hopefully making it six year of silence from our noisy neighbours. Kudos to my wonderful Sports team, particularly my Head

of Sport Adam May, who have done an outstanding job preparing for Varsity and will undoubtedly do equally well reporting on the various fixtures. We’ll be covering everything from Ice Hockey to Korfball, so make sure to check out our snazzy website at forgetoday. com/varsity for all the latest. In the meantime, get pumped and head over to Sport for the Steel City Darts results as well as a preview of the next few weeks. Speaking of Varsity, every year I’m surprised at the inclusion of equestrian sports. If you, like me, aren’t quite sure how horses can be involved in Varsity then head over to Features where there’s a very insightful interview with the Equestrian team. As we learnt from the SU elections, a certain future welfare officer and member of our Features team has a penchant for

horses, so no doubt she had a hand in this article. Elsewhere in the paper we’ve been celebrating International Women’s Day which was earlier this month. First up is Music, who look at some of the industry’s most empowering female icons from Beyoncé to the Spice Girls. Meanwhile, Games have written a piece on some of their favourite women in gaming. Being privileged enough to work alongside some truly inspiring women throughout this year has shown me that there definitely isn’t a shortage of girl power in the Students’ Union, something I’m sure the all-women Officer team next year will show. Other than that, enjoy your last few strikeless days in Sheffield before you head home for Easter. Whether there’ll be more strikes on your return is yet to be known, but that’s a problem for future-you to

Pic of the Press

Coffee Break press.coffeebreak@forgetoday.com Dave Peacock Lifestyle press.lifestyle@forgetoday.com Harry Gold Ellie Conlon Head of Sport Adam May Sport press.sport@forgetoday.com Josh Taylor Tim Adams

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worry about. Present you has some Easter Eggs that need eating!

Last week the Octagon played host to Steel City Darts, the famous darts match between Uni of and Hallam. With Uni of winning overall, the crowd were particularly lively and energetic. As shown, people remain dedicated to supporting the event. Forge livestreamed the night which is still available to watch back on YouTube.

Want to see your photo here?

Music press.music@forgetoday.com Ben Kempton Florence Mooney

Contact press.photography@forgetoday.com with submissions

Games press.games@forgetoday.com Chloe Dervey Tom Buckland

Get Involved

Arts press.arts@forgetoday.com Laura Mulvey Screen press.screen@forgetoday.com David Craig Joseph Mackay

Want to join the team? Fancy yourself a decent writer or presenter? Then why not get involved with Forge Media! No prior experience is needed and anyone can apply.

Copy Editors Connie Coombs Brenna Cooper Leah Fox Harriet Evans Amy King Charlotte Knowles-Cutler

Join the Facebook group “Forge Media Contributors 17/18”for all the lastest articles or to pitch your own ideas. Like our Facebook page for all the latest news, reviews and features as the location of contributor meetings.

Photography Kate Marron

Photo by Sam Birkitt

Contact luke.baldwin@ forgetoday.com with any questions.

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Tributes to Sheffield student who died in road collision Gethin Morgan

ributes have flooded in following the tragic passing of student Mohamed AlAshry earlier this month. The University of Sheffield student died in hospital on March 1, two days after being involved in a collision with a truck outside the Alfred Denny building. Mohamed, who was just 20 years old, was born in Eqypt and lived in Kuwait before moving to Sheffield to study architecture. The collision happened at 10.30am

on Tuesday 27 February, close to the pelican crossing outside the Alfred Denny building, with the yellow DAF skip truck heading towards the Brook Hill roundabout. Following his passing, the Students’ Union Officers released a joint statement on Facebook. They said: “It is with great sorrow and heartache that we have received news of the passing of one of our own, Mohammed Al-Ashry, who tragically died in a road traffic collision last week. “All of us at Sheffield Students’ Union offer our deepest condolences

to Mohammed’s family, friends and all who knew and loved him.” Matthew Bradshaw from the School of Architecture said: “Mohamed, or Mo as he was known to his friends in the School of Architecture and beyond, was a relatively new member of the first year studio, having only transferred from engineering after Christmas. It is a sign of the young man that in such a short space of time he had formed such strong friendships within the year, and his loss is so keenly felt. “He will be remembered for his relaxed and friendly attitude, his

informality and openness, as well as for his exuberant sense of style. His enquiring approach to his studies and the environment around him would have served him very well in his ambition to become an architect. It is very hard to come to terms with the fact that Mo will not now have that opportunity.” Mohamed had a very active role in Sheffield Volunteering Committee, helping to raise money and dedicating a lot of time to helping the local community and charities in Sheffield. Sheffield Volunteering Committee said: “Mohamed brought a remarkable presence and great energy to every Committee meeting and he will be so very missed by us and the team. He understood the importance of giving to others, and his time on the Committee certainly reflects that. He was an incredibly lovely boy, and our thoughts and

prayers are with his friends and family at this very difficult time.” Egyptian Society came together with the Students’ Union to hold a commemorative service in the Activities Zone on Monday 12 March.

Arctic Monkey hints at album release date Gethin Morgan

Milburn were among a host of new additions to the Tramlines lineup in the festival’s latest announcement

Nick Eagle

Milburn to play “last show for a long time” at Tramlines Brigid Harrison-Draper

Sheffield locals Milburn have been added to this year’s Tramlines festival lineup, and have revealed it will be their “last show for a long time”. If Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Bird’s, Stereophonics and Blossoms didn’t take your fancy, Tramlines announced on Monday 5 March that Milburn, Everything Everything, Rat Boy and ten more acts would be

joining the lineup. A statement from Milburn said: “We are delighted to announce that we’ll be playing the main stage as part of Tramlines’ 10th Birthday celebrations. “The band have enjoyed an incredible couple of years since

£79

cost of a weekend ticket at this year’s festival

reforming but this will be our last show for a long time. We’ve been overwhelmed by the support that the city has given us. “This is a chance for us to say thank you.” The festival at Hillsborough Park will take place from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 July, and is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Chart toppers Clean Bandit and the soulful Nina Nesbitt also join the likes of Craig David’s TS5, Reverend

and the Makers and De La Soul. Being tipped as one of the UK’s most popular inner-city music festivals, Tramlines is bringing the biggest and best musicians across all spectrums of the music industry, whether you’re a die hard indie fan or searching to hear something new. Tramlines’ new home at Hillsborough Park is being advertised as a 13 minute tram ride from the city centre and several waves of weekend tickets have already sold out.

Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders has allegedly revealed the release date of their next album while in West Street takeaway Aslan’s. Student George Evans was in an Uber when he spotted Helders in the takeaway on Tuesday 13 March. He jumped out of his cab and went in to try and get a picture. According to Evans, when asked about AMs long-awaited sixth studio album, the founding member said that it would be out around late May. Mr Evans, who posted a selfie with Helders on Instagram, said: “I used to be a massive fan when I was 15/16, but obviously as they’ve not done much recently it’s hard to stay as interested. Like most I’ve just been waiting for a new album really. “It was great. I’ve always been a fan and to be honest it was nice to have a fairly normal conversation with him. He was surprisingly down to Earth, and very funny.” Fans of the Sheffield band have been waiting on tenterhooks for an official announcement, with the band announcing a number of European concerts and festivals over the summer. They have yet to announce a UK tour, despite heavy rumours in February that a run of four homecoming gigs in Hillsborough Park were being planned for September.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

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Clockwise from top left: Students made placards for the march, the crowd gathered outside the Arts Tower with signs, the march culminated in a demo at Barkers Pool, Women led the march on International Women’s Day. Photos by Kate Marron

International Women’s Day sees women lead UCU march Ben Warner

omen organised and led a march through the city in support of the UCU strike over proposed changes

to pensions. The march celebrated International Women’s Day, and Women’s Officer Celeste Jones says it was to show how the two issues should be connected, rather than campaigned on separately. The march started at 12.00pm outside the Arts Tower, culminating in a demonstration outside City Hall in Barker’s Pool.

The scene was very similar to recent marches orchestrated by the University and College Union in Sheffield. They are in the midst of 14 days of strike action over proposed changes which would award pensions based on investment performance rather than workers’ contributions. At the demonstration, there were speeches from several people including Celeste Jones, the Sheffield UCU branch secretary Sarah Staniland, and Liz Lawrence, the former President of UCU. Celeste spoke about how pensions cuts are a feminist issue and highlighted how Sheffield Students’ Union has made ‘herstory’ in the

past week by electing an all-female SU Officers team for the first time ever.

100

years since the first women in the UK got the right to vote

Talking to Forge Press, she said: “International Women’s Day is still a really important day and we need to celebrate this throughout the world and recognise women’s achievements so far but it’s also important to remember that we’ve

still got such a long way to go to achieve parity between genders.” “Today’s march was really empowering. It’s so important to recognise that pensions are a feminist issue and I think it was such a lovely way to commemorate International Women’s Day by all marching in solidarity because austerity affects minority groups the most.” The SU Women’s Councillor, Charlotte Knowles-Cutler, said: “International Women’s Day is vital, serving as a reminder both of how far we still have to go regarding gender equality here and across the wider world.

“It is a call to action and a rejection of the complacency that our feminism falls victim to within our relatively liberal university environment. I take part because it is my duty and my privilege to stand with women all over the world. “There is genuinely nothing that compares to the solidarity you experience marching alongside people who care as much about gender equality as you do. It is truly energising.”

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Phase one of UCU strike action comes to an end Ben Warner

(cont. from front page) ....many of the other Officers were also present at rallies. Celeste Jones, Reena Staves and Megan McGrath helped to lead the International Women’s Day march, holding banners at the front of the procession. The University of Sheffield was one of 61 institutions which was affected by strike action, due to reaching the 50% turnout threshold which is legally required for industrial action like this to take place.

88% of UCU members support strike action

Vice-Chancellor of the University Keith Burnett said: “You will all be aware that the proposal reached between UUK and UCU negotiators at ACAS was rejected by UCU branches and the UCU’s higher education committee. “We presume this means that negotiations without preconditions with ACAS will recommence. We can only hope that the independent assessment of the USS pension fund that, with others, we called for, will help us resolve this dispute. I am continuing to insist on a fully transparent approach to future consultations on all these aspects. “I don’t underestimate the difficulties ahead of us but hope that we can work together for the sake of all our staff and students.” During the balloting period, the UCU asked its members whether they supported strike action, which 88% did, while 93% supported action

short of a strike – which means only working to contract and not rearranging classes missed due to time spent on strike. Until June there is still the possibility that lecturers could go back on strike, but for the moment they are back in work.

I don’t underestimate the difficulties ahead of us but hope that we can work together for the sake of all our staff and students

Above: Students led marches through the city centre in support of the strike (pic: Ewan Somerville) Below: Members of the UCU hung placards and banners across campus (pic: Ben Warner)

Car crashes on IC roundabout after dramatic police chase Gethin Morgan

A dramatic police chase last Friday culminated in a car crash on the Netherthorpe Road roundabout. The high-speed pursuit saw four police cars, two of which were unmarked, chase a silver Vauxhall Vectra up Weston Street and onto Bolsover Street. They sped past the Arts Tower before mounting the roundabout next to the IC, where the Vauxhall crashed into a sign and came to a halt. One of the unmarked police cars also collided with the Vauxhall, while the others surrounded the perpetrator and apprehended a white man in jeans and a hoodie, who was later taken away in a riot van. Students in the IC looked on at the unfolding drama with a perfect view of the incident. Meanwhile

journalism student Maisie Green was walking towards town when she saw the incident occur. She said: “I heard sirens so turned around and saw four police cars chasing a car. I thought it

was a bit odd but didn’t think much to it. “Then as I was crossing the traffic lights near the roundabout, the car crashed into the roundabout. The traffic was at a standstill and people

walking past stopped what they were doing to have a look. It was a pretty tense atmosphere. I felt quite overwhelmed by it all.” At this time it’s not known what initiated the chase and subsequent arrest, and whether or not the police have charged the apprehended man. Forge will keep you updated as soon as more information becomes available.

It was a pretty tense atmosphere

Fire station open to the homeless during snowy weekend Ben Warner

Seven homeless people avoided the cold weather after the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s headquarters was opened to rough sleepers. It is part of a new partnership between Fire & Rescue, the City Council, British Red Cross and the Street Outreach Team, as an attempt to get people off the streets during harsh weather conditions. The headquarters on Eyre Street was converted into somewhere to sleep starting on Friday 16 March, with Red Cross volunteers offering drinks and snacks while people from the Council and the Street Outreach Team helped them find accommodation and access support. Area Manager Tony Carlin said: “Helping people in need and saving lives is core to our mission as a fire service, so it made perfect sense for us to answer the call for emergency accommodation ahead of winter

warnings this weekend. “This initiative provides comfort, warmth and shelter for rough sleepers and the homeless and is a clear example of public agencies working together to help some of the most vulnerable people in our area.” They say they plan to continue the partnership next winter too. Councillor Jayne Dunn, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety said: “It’s important to us, particularly with the recent cold temperatures, that extra care and shelter is provided for those most in need in the city. I’m grateful to all of the partners involved in this initiative who have planned, organised and worked together to make this happen in Sheffield.”

Wednesday 21 March 2018

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This year, Platform festival raised its highest ever total for charity Harry Fender

Platform festival hosted in SU Ewan Somerville

Organisers have hailed this year’s Platform Festival as inspirational and heartwarming after a record sum of more than £2,000 was raised for a local cancer charity. Staged across the Students’ Union last weekend, events management society Platform raised its highest ever total of £2,173 for Cavendish Cancer Care. Among those involved across more than 20 packed-out events was Jack Young, a Sheffield alumni who ran a poetry workshop and local artist Jack Green, who donated his work for an exhibition. Speaking to Forge on the final evening of the festival, Platform President Jessie Romain said the success of the event “just restores your faith a little bit in people.” Romain added: “I’ve just got such a sense of admiration for everyone that has performed over the weekend, and it might not be direct but the amount

of lives that we’re changing by organising this one event just makes me so proud of everyone who has put in their time. “I’ve just been astounded at the turnout – the amount of people that support each other, it’s just incredible for me. I’ve been standing at the back of events crying because I’m so proud of what’s going on.”

£2,173

raised for Cavendish Cancer Care Harry Carling, Platform’s Treasurer, was also delighted: “I feel a mixture of exhaustion and being drunk on happiness. We’ve done a really good thing this weekend, and I really couldn’t be happier.”

Uni of Sheffield given £600k to research Prostate Cancer David Anderson

cientists from the University of Sheffield have been given £600,000 from Prostate Cancer UK to research how to stop the spread of prostate

cancer. The leading men’s health charity has awarded two grants to the University, to be put towards two separate studies, as part of their £2.7 million Research Innovation Awards scheme. The scheme encourages

researchers to develop innovative, ambitious research proposals which challenge the status quo. The first study will test whether various types of exercise can stop prostate cancer cells from moving into and growing in the bones. It is being led by Dr Ning Wang, Research Fellow from the University’s Department of Oncology and Metabolism. Dr Wang said: “When prostate cancer spreads it will more often than not go to the bones. This is not only extremely painful, it can be

incredibly hard to treat. “We know that exercise benefits bone health and we think that this could have the potential to prevent cancer cells from setting up camp in the bones.” The second study, led by Professors Claire Lewis, and Janet Brown, will investigate whether changing the behaviour of a type of white blood cell in prostate tumours could prevent the disease from redeveloping after primary treatment. This could therefore postpone or remove the need for surgery, which

may prevent the distressing side effects such as incontinence and impotence. Claire Lewis, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Pathology and Head of the Academic Unit of Inflammation and Tumour Targeting at the University of Sheffield, said: “The body has a lot of great defence mechanisms against cancer, but sometimes it needs a nudge in the right direction. “It’s only through years of research into the basic biology of cancer that we’re now in the position we’re in today. This is an incredibly exciting time for prostate cancer research and we’re proud to be part of a movement which could bring about real change for men within our lifetimes.”

The body has a lot of great defence mechanisms against cancer, but sometimes it needs a nudge in the right direction

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Politics festival returns to Sheffield David Anderson

This year’s International Cultural Evening event was the 46th since its inception

Dan West

Thousands gather at City Hall International Cultural Evening 2018 Alex Peneva

Tamil Society have won first place at the annual International Cultural Evening. Thousands of University of Sheffield students and members of the public gathered for International Cultural Evening 2018 to celebrate cultural diversity in the city. On Saturday 10 March the Students’ Union’s International Students Committee, together with national and cultural societies and special guest performers, held the event in the Sheffield City Hall to celebrate the Committee’s fiftieth anniversary. The Tamil Society’s winning piece

Sheffield University Canoe Club weren’t going to be stopped by adverse weather conditions, which saw the annual National Student Snowdeo in Nottingham cancelled. They were set to travel to the freestyle kayaking event, but unfortunately the heavy snow across the country at the time meant the event was cancelled. Not to be defeated, they made the trip up to Bolehills, adorned in their fancy dress costumes, and hosted their own Snowdeo with events such as ‘snowboating’. The original event was themed around countries, so they wore IKEA bags to represent Sweden. Photograph by Naomi Sanderson

involved won first place, narrating the history of the Tamil culture in India and other parts of Asia with a dance. The dances, music and plays performed, accompanied by impressive multimedia and visual effects, represented the variety of cultures, existing together in the University environment and the city of Sheffield and celebrated the ISC’s accomplishments over the years. Professor Gill Valentine, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University, said at the event: “The University of Sheffield has always been proud of its international students, proud to say that we are international. We must work together as talent does not restrict itself to national borders.”

We must work together as talent does not restrict itself to national borders

Participants in the International Cultural Evening included the Indian Society, who were awarded second place for their dances, which took the audience on a visual tour through various Indian regions. Before the winners were announced, the Committee members were welcomed on the stage accompanied by the song ‘We are the World’ by USA for Africa. The participants, all wearing cultural dress, entered the audience hall, waving the flags of their countries and singing. The International Students Committee has run and supported many SU campaigns during the years, including #WeAreInternational.

Ed Miliband leads a line-up of over 75 events this April as one of the largest politics festivals in the UK returns to Sheffield. Festival of Debate, run by Opus Independents, is supported by local partners including the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and Museums Sheffield. Alongside former Labour leader Ed Miliband, this year’s headliners include economist Yanis Varoufakis and bestselling writer and feminist Reni Eddo-Lodge. The festival was founded in 2015, ahead of the general election, to encourage engagement with key issues facing the UK. Ex-Green Party leader Natalie Bennett and Great British Bake Off star Ruby Tandoh are also among the headliners, and the closing party will mark 100 years of women’s suffrage with activist Helen Pankhurst and poet Hollie McNish. Festival founder James Lock said: “Our chance for a better world comes from facing issues head on, learning new points of view, making the effort to listen and being empathetic with one another. “We believe this is everyone’s responsibility and hope that this year’s Festival programme goes some way to furthering that ideal.” The Festival is also being run in collaboration with community and grassroots organisations across the city, including Sheffield Save Our NHS and The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign who will discuss the National Health Service and the Miners’ Strikes. Lock added: “One of the main reasons we started the Festival was to give a wider platform to the smaller campaign groups in Sheffield, which are often run by volunteers but do incredibly important work.” Festival of Debate runs from 18 April until 29 June. For the full line-up and ticket information, see festivalofdebate.com.

One of the main reasons we started the Festival was to give a wider platform to the smaller campaign groups in Sheffield

Wednesday 21 March 2018

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press.features@forgetoday.com

Not to freak anyone out, but the end of the year is fast approaching. Although the two feet of snow may suggest otherwise, it is in fact, March. We’re on the brink of Easter holidays, and at their end looms the spectre of exams and final deadlines. From our part, this is our final solo paper, because as of yesterday we will have elected next year’s Features editors. But there’s still time to get involved - if you want to write for us please do get in touch! Otherwise, consider this the beginning of our

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(rather extended) goodbye. Squash your sadness to the back of your mind however, and focus on the more important business, planning your holidays! And don’t worry about booking those flights and Tramlines tickets on overdraft - student loan comes in a month. Love from your Features Editors Katharine, Elsa and Megan

Horsing Around

Kate Marron speaks to the captain of the university’s Equestrian team to find out more about the unique club. The University of Sheffield is known for having an extensive range of sports clubs and societies to get involved in, but there are some that are a bit more unique than others. With everything from Robotic Society and the Assassins Guild to the Quidditch, there is always something new to try. In order to get to know a bit more about one of these unique clubs we met with Yarrow Chia, Captain of the University Equestrian team, to talk about the club and how it has evolved over the years. Tell me about the club. The club has been going for Ten years, perhaps longer informally, and this year we have 84 members, with over 200 subscribing to our mailing list at the sports fair, the most we’ve ever had. We have weekly fitness sessions and the teams train every other week. What do you think attracts people? I’d say it’s very different for different people. A lot of our members have to sell or leave their horses at home when they come to uni and so joining the club gives them a chance to meet like-minded people and keep riding and competing while at uni. For others, it’s a chance to learn something new, a lot of our members haven’t ridden much before or want to try out new activities like horseball (almost like netball on horseback) and polo. What are the variety of activities you offer across different skills levels? We cater for everyone from complete beginner to the more advanced rider. We have members that had never ridden before joining the club but have also had

riders that compete in events up to international level, and compete in dressage up to PSG level! For beginners we have lessons and guided woodland treks available, and for more intermediate riders we can offer the same as well as polo and horseball. If people want to compete but without the pressure of BUCS, we also have two development teams which compete in exactly the same format but tend to jump a little lower. We then have our A, B and C BUCS teams which are geared towards more advanced competitive riders.

Horse riding is often seen as a sport which costs a lot of money, how do you go about attracting new people to the sport? Although riding can be expensive, we have managed to arrange discounts for lessons from one yard that we use. This, alongside setting our beginner

membership at £10, has meant that we can make it much more accessible to beginner members to have a go. We also get a very generous student discount at the polo venue that we go to. For our teams, training is subsidised by the club so that it’s much more affordable on a student budget. If you are going to learn to ride, it’s probably cheapest to do it at uni! How do you go about arranging horses for people to use and learn on? We have formed good links with several local riding centres, and so generally use them for lessons and hacks (rides out into the countryside). Our beginner and leisure member coordinators go to check centres first for their suitability, and then group people according to ability and send them to lessons in these groups. Equestrian teams compete in BUCS throughout the year, like the other sports. Other than the sport itself, is there anything that is obviously different about the way in which you compete? Yes, the horses do not belong to us and most of us haven’t ridden them before. At a BUCS competition four teams of four riders from different universities compete against each other at the hosting team’s training venue, using that venue’s horses. They pick a horse’s name randomly out of a hat, and then have seven minutes to ride it and get to know it before going out to do a dressage test - think the dancing horses at the Olympics but not quite as flashy. They then have to pick another horse, and get five minutes to get used to it before doing a round of jumps. This means that riders from each team are judged against each other on the same horse, so it’s a real test of the skill of the rider rather than how good the horse is. The scores are combined and individuals and

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

teams get placed, so even if your team doesn’t do so well you can still make the most of your good score. Our A team won their first competition of the season (with riders coming 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th individually). Equestrian is more than just the competitive sport, can you tell me a bit about the volunteering opportunities within the club? We regularly hold volunteering sessions at Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, helping out with educational tours and giving mini talks to those visiting the farm. Sadly one of the organisations that we used to help with has moved right into the Peak District this year, so we are looking to set up voluntary work with a local animal sanctuary in the new year, helping with their ponies and dogs. We also do a lot of fundraising for Riding for the Disabled, including bake sales, and this year we’ve even made a naked calendar! What is your favourite thing about the club? How lovely everyone is. I’ve made so many friends from the club during my four years as part of it. We have such a committed, strong committee this year that have helped the club to continue to develop and grow, it’s great! What would you say to students who want to try horse riding at uni but are too nervous to give it a go? It’s great fun and you’re always in safe hands. It is a sport like no other and you’ll be completely hooked once you try it!

Wednesday 21 March 2018

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Sheffield ban

...the

Sheffield’s music scene has produced some big names over the years, and there’s loads of amazing bands up and coming in the area right now. Laura Turner gives us the lowdown on who to look out for.

hether you like metal, poprock, indie or funk, they’ll be someone for you to see at one of the many venues in the city. Ask someone to name a band from Sheffield and their response will probably be Arctic Monkeys. With three Grammys and seven Brit Awards, they’re Sheffield’s biggest success story. But there’s a lot more to the scene than the mighty AM. Sheffield has a track record of producing amazing bands – members of Pulp, Def Leppard, Bring me the Horizon, The Pigeon Detectives, Reverend and the Makers, LFO as well as Phil Oakley, Joe Cocker and David Bailey all hail from this lovely region. Sheffield also has a history of synth-pop and electronic bands including The Human League, Heaven 17, ABC and post-punk industrial electro bands like Cabaret Voltaire & Clock DVA. The influence of these bands is still pretty evident in the city and the more modern bassline house

has its origins in the here. There’s still plenty of electronic and pop outfits in Sheffield, but more recently the city has become known for its guitar bands and more eclectic sounds.

The modern scene The city’s music scene is alive and well, with bands of all shapes and iterations, if you know where to find them. One aspect that helped bring bands in the city together and help create a more united music community in the city is English Rain Sheffield: a record label, a local music touchstone and social group for bands in the area. In collaboration with English Rain, Café Totem (formerly the Rocking Chair), has become a great café and gig venue. This city has loads of great venues for bands to play. There’s the ever grungy Corporation, The Harley, Plug, Yellow Arch and of course the Leadmill. There’s also a big pub music scene headed by The Washington and The Frog and

Whether you like metal, pop-rock, indie or funk, they’ll be someone for you to see at one of the many venues in the city.

Parrot, offering free live music.

Reyt Metal There’s a strong hardcore rock and metal scene in Sheffield with Bring Me The Horizon being arguably the most successful band to come out of the Steel City. Their music has evolved from its heavier origins but they’ve enjoyed increasing success throughout their career, with several chart topping tracks and awards from Kerrang!, Alternative Press and the AIM. Whether you love or hate their music, you can’t deny that the burgers they’ve collaborated on with the Twisted Burger Company are pretty damn good. Rolo Tomassi are an experimental, genre straddling, post hard-core 5-piece, known for their complex music and odd time signatures, as well as their crazy live performances. While She Sleeps are another Sheffield success story, winning Kerrang! Best British Newcomer in 2012 and signing in the US and Australia since. Their metallic hard-core style is pretty popular with the more punk leaning metal fans but there’s also plenty of might to their sound, and plenty to mosh to. Newer acts continuing to emerge as well in Sheffield. Selfdescribed as ‘reyt metal’, Psython create aggressive, energetic and intelligent music that’s tipped them as a big up and coming band

in the thrash metal scene. Steel Trees bring big riffs and heavy drums, punk and grunge sounds, and some pretty unique lyrics.

More than just Arctic Monkeys rip offs Sheffield is bursting with rock and indie bands, and whilst there are some who definitely draw comparisons to the Arctic Monkeys, there’s much more to the scene than Alex Turner wannabes. There is pop rock and indie bands with radio ready anthems or more unique sounds. The SSS are an emerging indie quintet with a sound that will endear them to fans of the Arctic Monkeys and similar bands. They’ve won Exposed Magazine’s Best Unsigned Band in 2015 and are one of only a very few local bands to sell out the Leadmill since Arctic Monkeys did back in the early 2000s, no small feat. The Sherlocks are a four piece from near Barnsley who have gained a lot of momentum over the last few years, a success story of the region. Their easy, energetic indie anthems sounds like they should be being played on Radio One or being shouted by crowds at sell out venues. Give them a few years, and they will be. The Vellas, with members hailing from Sheffield and Derby, are an emerging band who

produce Placebo-esque indie/ rock anthems that could well have them playing on the radio any day now, and they’ve already sold out the Leadmill too. If the scene were a family, Syrupp would be their slightly odd annoying little brother. They describe themselves as “three Sheffield cardigan enthusiasts” making “their own wonky brand” of catchy upbeat pop/surf/indie rock tunes. They don’t seem to take themselves too seriously, but their music is seriously good, uncomplicated and likely to put a smile on your face Graces are a pop-rock band that sound like they’ve already made it; polished, intelligent music with a stadium filling finish. Their sound has developed over years touring with the likes of the Xcerts and Blitz Kids. Their newest album, produced by Phil Gornell (BMTH, All Time Low), boasts catchy lyrics, distorted guitars and synth layered hooks. And there’s loads more! FloodHounds are a bluesy indie rock 3 piece, who, like the Black Keys, produce a load of noise and energy for a small number of band members. SHEAFS, an emerging five piece, are already gaining a reputation for great live performances with their menacing music, DIY and choppy but oozing confidence and swagger. All photos by D

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Wednesday 21 March

nds

ey’re all reyt tha knows

Darby

And now for something completely different… If you like your music to have a slice of politics in its lyrics, then Mongrel might be up your street. Made up by former members of the Arctic Monkeys, Reverend and the Makers, Babyshambles and rapper Lowkey from Poisonous Poets, their music is a mix of styles underpinned with strong messages. There’s some really funky sounds coming out of the steel city too. Patawawa, alumni of our very own Forge Presents, are one example. With poppy, funk-filled electro/indie delight for fans of any genre. The Derbyshire trio have gained recognition from NME and Spotify playlisters. Another example are Life Aquatic Band. Initially a fun ‘vanity project’ by university students, Life Aquatic Band bring together different musical backgrounds to

create an eclectic mix of funk, folk, indie and soul. Maybe it shouldn’t work, but it does. They’re one of the most talked about bands on the Sheffield music scene at the moment, getting great reviews from NME and Reyt Good Music. They have become a big part of the local scene, playing energetic live shows and collaborating with other musicians to bring even more to their sound. In their recent interview on Forge Radio, they explained how their mix of influences and perspectives adds to their sound. “We don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into one sound we’re trying to cover all areas… Members of the band are all from different musical backgrounds”. They also spoke about and how they love to play venues in the city: “It feels like we’re part of a local group of bands that support each other, it’s a really nice thing to be part of.”

Live music in Sheffield With all this amazing talent, and loads of great venues, Sheffield is a great place to see live music especially smaller bands playing small to medium gig venues. Besides the O2 Academy and Motorpoint Arena, there aren’t many large venues in Sheffield so lots of bands will often skip over the city on their tours in favour of bigger cities such as Nottingham or Manchester. Historically, Student Unions have always been a good place to see amazing bands, but this trend is declining across the country as gigs are replaced with club nights, and bands don’t need to rely on SU tours to build up support with social media and music sharing platforms. Our SU went quiet on the band front for a while, but over recent years has been ramping up their involvement in the Sheffield music scene (don’t forget Slade, last December, everybody). There’s also Forge’s own Forge

With all this amazing talent, and loads of great venues, Sheffield is a great place to see live music. Presents… which hosts up and coming bands (including a few mentioned above). Live and Local on Forge Radio brings bands in to talk about their music and their own favourite bands in the local scene right now. What can you and the student community in Sheffield do to support local bands? First and foremost, go out and see them! Free or cheap live music for

you, and more fans for the bands! Keeping up to date and spreading awareness via social media doesn’t hurt either. There’s plenty of great music out there if you take the time to look and get involved. For more information on what bands to see and where in Sheffield, listen to the Live and Local show and new music shows on Forge Radio.

Top picks: emerging bands currently making noise in Sheffield Patawawa:

a funky, ‘indietronica’ trio from Derbyshire. Alumni of our very own Forge Presents…, they’ve since been recognised by NME and picked up on Spotify playlists. For fans of: Daft punk, La Roux, Friendly fires, Paramore Listen to: What You Want, Four to the Floor, Dare to Disco

Life Aquatic Band: an eclectic mix of psychedelic funk, folk, indie, reggae and soul – music to get lost in, and great to see live in the city. For fans of: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, The Hurry and the Harm, anything a little different! Listen to: Paint it all Blue, The Night Shift, Post-Party Comedown Blues

Graces:

pop-rock with catchy lyrics, sexy guitars and synth layered hooks - polished, intelligent music with a stadium filling finish. For fans of: The Xcerts, Blitz Kids, Don Broco Listen to: Hepburn, Worry, Smile

Steel Trees:

gritty sounds with grungy guitar riffs and beats to groove or head bang to. For fans of: Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age Listen to: Sucker Punch, Awesome Wellies

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Press

Bursting the bubble In this series we go beyond the University to speak to Sheffield residents, from outside our uni bubble, to hear their thoughts on the city in the past and the present, and to see what they think about students.

Thomas Vigar

Jonathan Bagge has lived in Sheffield since he was twelve years old and has been running Pavilion Flowers in Broomhill with his wife since 1990. He enjoys the varied nature of his job, making the most of quiet periods to prepare for the next seasonal peak. A week or so after Valentine’s Day he is clearing up the last red roses still in the shop and is setting up a new window display for Mother’s Day. As well as serving individuals, the business also does corporate work, making big flower arrangements for restaurants and shopping centres. They developed a good reputation for this and in 2014 they got the contract to do the podium flowers for the Tour de France when it came to the area. Jonathan loves Sheffield and sees it as different and unique compared to other big cities. “It’s a city with a village mentality” he says, due to its friendliness and the fact that it has a small centre making it easy to bump into people you know. His favourite thing though is the people, and how honest and welcoming they are. “I can speak as someone who was originally an outsider and was made welcome along with my family when we came up to Sheffield”. He was made to feel a part of the city and says, “I pretty much think of myself as a Sheffielder now”.

In the time he has lived here Jonathan has seen the city change a lot: “in some ways for the better and in some ways not”. He has seen it struggle since the 1980s with the decline in the coal and steel industries. However he believes it is finally adapting to this change and that “we’re kind of dragging ourselves kicking and screaming into the 21st Century”. A very positive development in Jonathan’s view is the multiculturalism in Sheffield: “That makes it vibrant and interesting and it also makes the businesses more vibrant and interesting because they cater for people and their different tastes so it opens up new experiences to the people that live here already”. As someone who moved to Sheffield himself Jonathan understands the value that newcomers can bring to the city and would like to see a greater coming together of students and locals. He is concerned that some people living in areas such as Broomhill are worried only about “preserving what they’ve got rather than embracing the new things that are coming in”, but stresses that this attitude is very atypical of Sheffield generally. “I always think we need to be all embracing, we need to encourage people so it feels like home”.

It’s a city with a village

mentality - Jonathan Bagge, florist

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Opinion facebook.com/forgetoday

Well guys and gals, and anything in between, it’s almost the Easter vacay. For us at Opinion we couldn’t be happier. We’re in the deepest, darkest parts of our overdrafts, we’ve run out of clothes and we’re feeling emaciated from several months of takeaways and meal deals. This is what going home is for. It’s not to see our family, if anything that’s an unfortunate downside of returning from whence we came. It is purely for the benefit of having washed clothes, regular meals with more than one food group represented, and an opportunity to

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ask our banks for an overdraft increase (unfortunately both of our sets of parents despise us and their shares in British Aerospace went kaput). We would also like to apologise for the lack of ‘Tinder gets political’ in this issue. We have unfortunately swiped through everyone in a 160km radius from Sheffield but fear not, once we return to our homes in North Wales (Josie) and Bedfordshire (James) we shall pester the natives with questions about politics. Everything will be fine. JamJo xxx

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Italian election: 5 star rating Arya Damavandy

he results of Italy’s 2018 election can be seen as another product of the recent antiestablishment trend sweeping the Western world. The single most popular party in the Italian parliament is the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, representing around 33% of seats, although the centre-right alliance won a plurality of seats (around 37%) of which the anti-immigration League party is the dominant force. The centre-left alliance on the other hand, led by the Democratic Party, suffered what can

former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. However, unless some kind of coalition is formed, no clear majority will exist, resulting in a hung parliament and a lack of real ruling force from any part of the system. Coming off the back of Brexit, the American presidential election, and even the emergence of the Front National as a serious contender in French politics, means this result may have been surprising a few years ago, but not anymore. A different flavour of what could be called right wing politics has experienced a resurgence in recent years, one more critical of

this result may have been surprising a few years ago, but not anymore

This is a photo of Italy taken from the ISS.

Wesley Wolf

be seen as a crushing defeat, given that they had the clear majority of seats in the previous 2013 election and have lost a total of 292 seats across both parliamentary houses, now making up only 23% of seats. One could argue that this election has decisively pushed the left-wing out of Italian parliament for the time being, an idea framed by the subsequent resignation of its leader,

immigration and big multinational organisations like the EU. It’s pointless to pretend that these are not issues that concern a significant portion of the general public in Western Europe and even America, and Italy’s case is perhaps the greatest recent example of this. Being a Mediterranean country, Italy bears a lot of the brunt of recent migration from North Africa, much

of it illegal, and as such many parts of the nation have seen a rise in antiimmigrant sentiment. The actions of EU politicians such as Angela Merkel, Guy Verhofstadt and Jean-Paul Juncker in marketing the continent as a bountiful safe haven for the downtrodden have likely exacerbated this, given that EU rules state asylum seekers apply for asylum in the first EU country they set foot in, more likely countries like Italy rather than Germany or Belgium. Compounded with debt problems made worse by the Euro, a currency with an inflexible interest rate not specific to Italy’s economy, this has increased Eurosceptic attitudes in Italy and similar situations such as Spain and Greece. Regardless of left-right allegiances, anti-establishment attitudes have been boosted by Italy’s staggering 31% youth unemployment rate, and its national debt soaring to 132% of its GDP. It comes as no surprise that in areas with high percentages of under 30s, such as Palermo and Naples, the Five Star Movement saw great popularity. In these ways, it is not at all shocking that the Italian election turned out the way it did, and it may be expected that the upcoming Greek and Spanish elections in 2019 and 2020 respectively see similar outcomes.

God damn Millennials, can’t look up from their phones to even buy a house David Peacock

was brought up in Isleworth West London and have now realised I take for granted my ability to live comfortably in the capital from the day I was born. My dad is a carpenter and my mum a gardener. I’d personally place us somewhere within the middle-class; where exactly, it doesn’t matter. The point is that three years ago, after around 20 years of mortgage payments, my parents were finally able to become fully-fledged home owners. In late September this year, during the twilight of yet another year at university, I was at the pub with my family before they sent me off the following day. My dad and older brother were in a discussion about the current housing crisis in London. My brother currently lives at home with my parents and likes to remind of us of the fact he’d probably be living somewhere else if the state of housing was not

so miserable in London. He was explaining to my dad the impossible situation that young people now face with regard to property prices, claiming that this was the main reason he was considering moving to Berlin. My dad responded somewhat defensively, declaring

those new to the market are struggling to make ends meet that it was extremely difficult for him to get onto the property ladder too. He is, of course, right. It was a painfully difficult process for him to eventually acquire a house.

However, my dad’s reluctance to fully acknowledge the scale of the problem that young people now face, particularly in London, somewhat demonstrates the problem; the disparity in economic status between that of London’s homeowners and those new to the market. Later on in the debate, the argument lost some of its intensity and became more of a conversation. My dad pointed out that our house was now worth, shockingly, around half a million. When he had bought the property, some 20 years ago, it was worth around 100 thousand. Where homeowners reap financial gratification from the increasing value of their property, accounting for around a third of the population, those new to the market are struggling to make ends meet, let alone get onto the property ladder. This has come to affect not only the most vulnerable in society, but the middle class too. The distinction between homeowners and renters

is becoming increasingly entangled with the generational divide. An unfortunate feature of this arrangement is that those in power, mostly of the older generation, fail to fully acknowledge or take seriously the scale of the problem, as embodied in the discussion between my brother and dad. In 2017, for the first time, private renting overtook mortgaged home ownership in London. What’s more home ownership in Britain has not exceeded the European average of around 70% since the early 2000s. With a complete lack of regulation of the housing market, the result is that housing prices are perpetually shooting into the stratosphere. This may be a manageable and even welcomed development on the part of those who had purchased their property 30 years ago, but for millions of young people, often already saddled with university debt, their prospects of someday owning a property in the London housing

market are pathetically unrealistic. The reality that many young people now face is that London remains the epicentre of job prospects whilst also being one of the most expensive places to live. Nonetheless, weighing up the pros and cons has persuaded an increasing proportion of them to move to another city or area of the country. If the reality of the housing market in London is so bleak that it’s persuading young people to move cities or, in some cases, to literally leave the country, then something drastic needs to change. Sadiq Khan’s pledge to build 66 thousand new homes a year, 65% of which would be considered affordable, offers a new glimpse of hope, but in order for the housing crisis to be addressed fully, and for young people to have genuinely reasonable prospects at eventual home ownership, the government’s housing policy needs to be radically altered.

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Opinion Debates: Lecturers having political opinions

Caelan Reid

ver the last few years, there seems to have been increasing support for the once-fringe right-wing view that university lecturers are ‘indoctrinating’

I challenge anyone to provide evidence that lecturers are biased in their teaching students with left-wing or otherwise liberal views. Unfortunately, this appears to have crossed into the mainstream. This has led to the likes of the bizarre, borderline McCarthyist demand from a Tory

whip that universities give him the names of staff lecturing on Brexit and what they’re teaching, as well as constant arguments being levied that university lecturers shouldn’t be political. Frankly, this argument is laughable. I challenge anyone to provide evidence that lecturers are biased in their teaching (you’ll struggle). Sure, lecturers might have their own views, but why wouldn’t they? It’s only natural that someone who has spent a career studying economics for a living might have some rather political ideas on how to fix the deficit, or that a criminology lecturer would have strong political views on how to reduce crime. It may seem absurd to those who see higher education as a commodity, but teaching staff don’t just spend all day in lecture theatres. They conduct research in their field. They debate with, and review, the work of other academics. As experts in their field, they are perhaps the most entitled to strong political views.

Another reason I find this argument to be a farce is that it does students the disservice of assuming they are unable to think for themselves. There is nothing inherently wrong with a lecturer, or indeed any other teacher, sharing their opinions, political or otherwise, with their students – so long as they don’t teach it as fact. To argue that someone isn’t entitled to even openly have an opinion is dehumanising. It’s quite noticeable that this debate has flared up again following the recent strike action taken by members of the UCU at 61 universities across the UK. It’s also somewhat telling that demands for less political lecturers are surfacing now whilst industrial action is taking place; almost as if some of the more vocal critics of apparent bias are simply just seeking to serve themselves by getting an end to the strike at all costs, rather than fighting for a better education system.

For Matthew Hartill

olitics has never been a hotter topic on campus; it is entirely inescapable following the fourth week of the somewhat divisive UCU strikes. But should you be faced with the same situation in

Against

lecturers should try and distance themselves from political opinion as much as possible your lectures? Personally, no. Lecturers are human beings who are incapable (rightly so) of being objective on a whole range of subjects, from favourite sports to food – and, of course, politics. What I would argue, however, is that in their professional capacity, lecturers should try and distance themselves from political

opinion as much as possible. Nobody would expect this to be totally possible, particularly in turbulent times like these, and if a political debate occurs naturally during the course of a lecture, and students appear willing then it isn’t an issue. After all, politics is about as important a subject as they come, from who’s governing the country, to your local council and everything in between. However, it is because of this importance that a little impartiality remains crucial. I certainly don’t buy into the view of Chris HeatonHarris, a Tory whip who back in October accused Remain-supporting lecturers of ‘brainwashing’ students, but the emotion of politics, plus a pressure-cooker like atmosphere that can occur in institutions like this, is a heady mix indeed. Lecturers are human beings first and foremost and to expect them to have no opinion at all is wildly unrealistic. Put that opinion across too forcefully, however, and it can impede the very reason why political debate is so important across all universities in the first place – the chance to form and express your own opinions in a safe, inclusive environment. Lose sight of that and you’ve lost the point entirely. It’s only politics, after all.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Bland Britain St Davids Josie Le Vay

t Davids is renowned for its beauty, abundance of wildlife and its spectacular coastal scenery. It’s situated in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in West Wales and lies on the River Alun. How could I have a problem with that? Well, I don’t. What I do have a problem with is how this little place is a city. Yes, that’s right, St Davids, with a population of 1,841 is officially a city. It’s laughable that on its Wikipedia

page it’s described as a community, a parish, and… a city. On its own website it embarrassingly admits the truth of the matter: “St Davids is in reality a small attractive village”. It hardly gained city status because of its good looks. It’s all down to the fact that this little village has a cathedral. St David’s Cathedral at that, the final resting place of Wales’ patron saint. However, the village doesn’t require city status for people to admire its historical and religious significance. People would turn up anyway, and now they’re just going to turn up and laugh, because it’s stupid.

Someone did actually come to their senses in 1888, when city status was lost after it was first gained in the 16th century. However, some idiot restored it in 1994. Some idiot in the form of the Queen and it happened at her request. Not only is her existence incompatible with democracy and meritocracy, but she also decides to make tiny villages cities because they contain large religious buildings which don’t pay taxes. If you weren’t previously convinced that we should abolish the monarchy, then you sure are now.

to justify the premium cost of living? Is it Staines (the birthplace and motherland of the ‘chav’) which screams wealth and class? Is it the not-so-thriving nightlife? A mundane Monday night in Guildford is about as good as it gets; you have to have your credit history checked before getting a round. Or could it in fact be the superb access

to Waitrose, found on most high streets, where you could spend your week’s wage on a meal deal. Not to mention the stuckup population with their bizarre sense of entitlement. Despite Surrey’s great efforts to be the best, it remains a horrid, little England, commuter belt county.

Surrey Shaun Perryment

urrey, as of 2017, is officially the most expensive place to have a pint in the UK (an eye watering £4.40 on average). The question that has to be asked is, what actually is there in this ‘stush’ county

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Due to Opinion’s great love of this fair land we decided to find out what some of the worst places in the UK are. The commuter belt does not fare well surprisingly. Enjoy!

Bedford James Pendlington

h, Bedford. Sweet Bedford. Do you know where it is? No you don’t, and people from Bedford barely do either. It falls into a black hole of geography where it isn’t quite in the south, the Midlands or East Anglia. If you were at all thinking of going to

Bedford there is very little point as there is nothing to do or see. Due to the commuter link, the countryside of Bedfordshire is full of affluent villages where those venturing to London live, causing high demand for properties in rural areas that consequently inflates Bedford’s prices. If the actual town itself had notable cultural sights to come visit, or the charm and aesthetic of somewhere like St Albans, then it could potentially deserve that level of commuter

belt pricing. However, these are things that the town lacks greatly. The most noteworthy point of interest is Bedford ‘castle’, where the castle is a mound of dirt by the River Ouse that has been a mound of dirt since the year 1224. This in a way sums up Bedford pretty well, it might have been something once, but now it is just an obscure mound of dirt through which the river Ouse flows.

Crawley Joe Reed

any of you reading this will not have even heard of the south coast town of Crawley, and to you I say: congratulations, try to keep it that way. The issues I have with Crawley are too numerous and detailed to coherently describe here; however, I shall endeavour to do my best to cover its main downfalls.

If you were to look at a picture of Crawley from above, it would be entirely forgivable to assume that there had been a great stinking grey smudge on the camera lens. Unfortunately you would be wrong. Instead, what you are looking at is an endless mass of derelict and dilapidated city buildings. The council has tried to fix this image by constantly revamping the couple of square miles within the town centre that house a few half respectful

shops. Beyond this though, the image is bleak and worryingly reminiscent of a dark, dystopian wasteland. It really is difficult to form any sort of defence for Crawley as the whole place looks as if it has been abandoned by humanity, who on the way out spread the contents of McDonald’s bins around the town and splatted the whole place with as much sub-par street art as possible.

Wednesday 21 March 2017

Lifestyle facebook.com/ForgePress

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press.lifestyle@forgetoday.com

Harry Gold and Ellie Conlon

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Lifestyle Editors

Hi guys, hope you’re all looking forward to the Easter holidays! This week, we have Dominika Kolarova talking about the ways in which we can reduce our plastic usage, including refusing plastic straws, banning plastic bags from your life and buying a reusable water bottle. Next up, we spoke to Minna Raban about the best places to take your parents in Sheffield. Of course, it’s almost obligatory to introduce your parents to the famous Notty House

pies. Flip over the page to find out about how trauma can affect the brain from Jade Le Marquand. Love Harry and Ellie

How to reduce your plastic trash

Dominika Kolarova

f you, like millions of other people watched Blue Planet 2, chances are that you were horrified at the extent of plastic pollution on the planet. For many people, plastic and its damage to the environment was on the radar but watching the documentary really hit home as to just how widespread the problem is. Our over reliance on plastic, especially the single use kind in our hectic lifestyles mean that these items, often only used for a couple of seconds (plastic stirrers, for example) end up in incinerators or landfills where they sit patiently, leaching into the soil and polluting the planet. Plastic is literally ruining our planet. But the good thing is that we can do something about it. The answer is simple, using reusable, durable items instead of those pesky single use items. Products made

from stainless steel or glass are a really good place to start. Yes, you are still using up resources for their creation, but these durable items can last a lifetime. Recycling of these items is a lot better as well as they don’t lose quality in the process. By making some simple changes to your shopping habits you can help produce far less landfill-able waste. This is the Zero Waste movement. By following any of the following tips, you will reduce your trash significantly. Ban plastic bags from your life If you are only going to make a single change, swap your plastic bags for a reusable cotton bag. A bag like this will last you for years and, as it is usually made from cotton, it will even be biodegradable at the end of its life. They fold really small and so they can happily live in your handbag or backpack for

those last minute shop stops or for transporting some extra revision material from the library. Reusable coffee cups For many of us, coffee and tea are worth more than gold. You can see people clutching their cup on their way to 9am lectures as if it was a lifeline. Instead of using a disposable cup, why not bring your own? Not only it will keep your drink warmer (if you can wait long enough to drink it) but you can also feel good that your caffeine habit is not costing the earth by adding to the plastic problem. Plastic stirrer? Ask for a good old-fashioned spoon to mix the sugar into your drink instead. Reusable water bottle This was one of the first swaps that I ever did. I invested it in a stainless steel water bottle and have never looked back. I carry one with me

every day and over the years it has saved so many plastic bottles as I never need to buy one. All I do is fill it from the tap with glorious (and free) tap water and I am good to go. You can use one of the many water fountains all around the University and the SU or alternatively just ask one of the outlets to fill it for you. I have never been refused! Say no to plastic straws These annoying little items have no place in society, full stop! They are sometimes only used for a few seconds and and then head straight to landfill or worse, into the oceans. I do a lot of litter picking around Sheffield, and guess what the number one item is everywhere? Simply refuse plastic straws. If you can’t enjoy your drink without one, invest in a stainless steel or bamboo straw which you can buy online or from the SU.

Make your own lunch If you buy a meal deal every day for the duration of the term, it amounts to a lot of unnecessary plastic trash. Making your own lunch is not only usually healthier, but it often only takes a few minutes and it can reduce your waste dramatically. All you need is a reusable box and a set of utensils and you are good to go! I have had this handy three tier tin which is so useful as I can have a meal, snack and a cheeky dessert in one container. I also carry a reusable stainless steel spork, napkin and the aforementioned water bottle and a coffee cup. This set up works every time and results in Zero Waste lunch every day. If you need to buy something, bring your own container and ask to have it filled. At New Leaf in the SU you even get money off!

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2017

Shop Zero Waste I looked into the content of my bin bag and it was shockingly full of meat and vegetable wrappers, plastic containers and all sorts on non-recyclable items. I knew that if I really wanted to reduce my trash I would have to tackle it and so I plucked up my courage and brought reusable glass jars to the shop and asked for my produce to be put in them rather than in plastic. I now buy most of my food without packaging. The rest I aim to get in recyclable materials. Meat, cheese, fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds and even tea and coffee are amongst the items which I buy weekly without producing any trash in the process. The key here is to buy from local shops. Beeches of Walkey, Porter Brook Deli, Birdhouse Tea, Beanies and Just Natural are just some of the local business which are really supportive of Zero Waste shopping and they will happily let you use your containers. You can also find a ZW section in the Students’ Union shop, which contains things like pasta, rice and lentils! Food shopping is probably the biggest thing that you can do in order to reduce your trash. Check out the Facebook Group The Plastic Free Project Sheffield for more advice on sustainable local shopping. Body Care Instead of buying packaged shampoo and conditioners, I use solid bars which I buy package free. They do the same job and save tons of plastic of the years! I have also stopped using conventional toothbrushes, as they often ‘decorate’ beaches all over the world. Swap to a wooden toothbrush (available in the SU shop) which has a compostable handle. If you want to go all the way, you can also invest in a traditional stainless steel razor. No more disposable plastic razor blades, instead you have a beautiful and functional piece of kit which will last forever. Compost A lot of waste comes from wet food scraps like potato and carrot skins, eggshells and tea bags. It is a lot better to compost them. I store mine in a big (airtight) Kilner jar which is easy to empty. Shop second hand You know the story. You go to a fair as a fresher and you are so excited about all the freebies that you just pile things into your free plastic bag that has been given to you upon entry. Half the time you don’t even look what it is that you are getting as long as it is free. Fast forward a few months when you are moving out of your room, and you wonder, where did all this crap come from? The best thing that you can do is resist to take something just because it is free and think about whether you really need that leaflet or another plastic key ring bottle opener which will be thrown into the bin when you get home. This will not only save them money but it will save precious resources too. So make small steps and if you put a little bit of effort in, you will see huge reductions in your plastic trash at the end of each month. When I talk to people, I often hear the argument that we can’t do anything as an individual and that everything that is wrong with the world is because of big companies. I am a big fan of personal responsibility. We have so much more power

than we think in order to change things. Firstly, we can change ourselves. That is often the only thing that we can control. So instead of trying to control the decisions of a big company change yourself by refusing to use a plastic straw or bringing your own mug to Uni, because if everyone did it, we would have a revolution. To find out more about Dominika’s Zero Waste adventures visit her website - Poppygoeswild.com

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Press

Where to take your parents in Sheffield Minna Raban

With the Peak District on its doorstep, and a whole host of activities to boast of, choosing where to go with your parents will take some careful consideration. Firstly, let’s begin with food. If your parents are visiting you at university, getting free food will be a priority for many students! Making a welcome change from the frequent baked beans or spaghetti dishes that have become almost synonymous with the average student, Sheffield offers a myriad of places to eat. Without a doubt, The Nottingham House in Broomhill is a must. Living less than a five-minute walk from this pub, my flatmates and I have become accustomed to a weekly ‘Notty House pie’. With a crispy pastry casing, rich gravy and thickly cut chips, these pies are certainly deserving of their reputation. They’re the perfect cure for a hangover, a great place to go to bond with your new

flatmates, or a welcome break from studying. With vegetarian and vegan options, Notty House really does suit everyone. Whilst there, make use of their collection of board games and impress your parents with your ‘£9k a year intellect’ during a game of Scrabble as you wait for your pie. For those who perhaps desire a slightly more sophisticated drinking establishment, I recently discovered Veeno, an Italian Wine Café on Ecclesall Road. My friend and I enjoyed a relaxing Friday night there with some good wine, accompanied by a selection of Italian snacks. The delicate fairy lights, jazz music and Sicilian wines make a contrast from a messy student night out on West Street, so certainly investigate this when the bank of mum and dad are present! Another mention has to go to The Steam Yard, nestled slightly off the road in Division Street. I’ve had some fantastic coffee and mid-morning donuts in this quirky little café, and

would have enjoyed it a lot more had my parents paid! Tamper Coffee also sells delicious cakes. I’ve enjoyed many a treat from there whilst studying in the library thanks to a friend who works for them. As far as dinner is concerned, a fantastic find of mine during my first year at university was Cubana, a Latin American bar/tapas bar located in Leopold Square. The prices are certainly eye-watering for the typical student, but, with the arrival of your paying parents, it is a stylish and authentic place to go. Having attended some of their salsa dancing lessons, this bar has a lively atmosphere with staff who seem genuinely happy to work there. Having eaten rather luxuriously, Sheffield has no shortage of activities to undertake with your parents. If your parents drive here, taking a trip to the Peak District will be easy and without the unpleasantly bumpy half hour bus ride. Places such as Ladybower Reservoir offer natural

beauty and tranquillity, giving you the chance to take a break from urban life. Enjoy roaming in some of the most picturesque parts of the British countryside, perhaps as part of a guided walk or by simply following your own route. With a potential car present, I would also suggest a trip to Mayfield Alpaca Farm. Having only good reviews to go on, I am keen to get out there. With adorable looking Peruvian Alpacas, and 45 acres to walk them across, this niche experience would be a shame to miss. Certainly, with decent weather, the Botanical Gardens are a scenic place to visit and in the event of a slightly rainy day the Winter Gardens provide the perfect alternative. If you and your parents are not the outdoor types then I recommend a trip to the Showroom Cinema, right next to the train station. As one of Europe’s largest independent cinemas, it offers a change from the large chains. The smaller size makes

for a more relaxing, cosy experience. Be sure to make the most of their refreshments, by grabbing some of Sheffield’s famous Our Cow Molly ice cream before the movie starts. To showcase more of Sheffield’s independent spirit and give students a bit of love, you could also pop into the student volunteer-led Film Unit at the Students’ Union. If live performances are more up your street, without a doubt head to The Crucible, Voted the ‘Most Welcoming Theatre (Yorkshire & Humberside) in 2015’. They offer a number of immersive performances, gigs and classical music concerts It’s certainly worth checking out their timetable for an evening of entertainment for both yourself and your parents. There are of course plenty more things to do with your parents, so I would suggest taking a look at the Welcome to Sheffield website to discover even more things which I couldn’t fit in this article.

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

What trauma does to the brain Jade Le Marquand

n 13 September 1848, Phineas Gage, among others, was working on the construction of a new railroad line in the town of Cavendish, Vermont. Unfortunately, things soon took a turn for the worst when an unexpected explosion occurred resulting in a tamping iron entering Gage’s face via his jaw, passing through his brain and leaving though the frontal bone located at the top of his skull. Miraculously, Phineas Gage survived, but was left physically blinded in his left eye and with one heck of a story to tell. Soon after his recovery it was noted by his family and friends that they saw significant changes within his personality, he was “no longer Gage”. This infamous event - known as The American Crowbar Case - led to the idea being put forward that there were specific parts of the brain involved in the determination of personality. In this instance, the frontal lobe as this was the area damaged by the iron. This case, although undoubtedly the most famous, is not unique and many people have reported personality changes post head trauma. But why is it that people can sustain extensive brain injuries and yet still survive? And why do people seemingly change afterwards? While there is no one else on record to have had a pole blast through their

brain (and live), head injuries are a fairly common occurrence, often due to motor accidents and falls. Personality and behavioural changes tend to be more reflective of the area of the brain affected and then the severity to which it is. Those who survive sustained head injuries are often fortunate as to the fact that the area of the brain damaged did not have any significant effect on their homeostatic functions (ie breathing/ heart rate). There have been many different reported cases of head trauma, however, behavioural changes associated with trauma seem to share common themes. For example, when we refer to the personality changes people seem to exhibit, more often than not these changes include – but are not limited to – bouts of rage, increased introversion and changes in self-perception. Many studies have been done to investigate these symptoms and it seems that these changes are often permanent, although they do seem to lessen in their extremeness as time passes. As well as changes in personality, there are many other behavioural changes that are associated with head trauma, one example is their susceptibility to substance abuse. There is conflicting data surrounding this, however there is a lot of evidence to suggest that those who were more susceptible to substances, such as alcohol, showed a massive reduction in their drinking habits

post injury while those who were less so did not see much change. There are several areas of the brain known to be important in the development and maintenance of substance abuse: the basal ganglia, the prefrontal cortex and the extended amygdala. One or some of these areas are often thought to be disrupted in some way; so do these head traumas somehow manage to revert these areas of the brain into its more functional form? Does it cause regeneration in those brain areas? Unfortunately, we can’t really know for sure without cutting open someone’s brain, and apparently there are laws against that, so we’ll just have to wait to find out the answers to those questions. Some people also exhibit changes in their sexual behaviour after a traumatic brain injury. This normally includes some form of libido change, which could either be increased or decreased. In some cases people can even start to experience kinks that they did not seem to have before. Our brains are very complex. Basically, they’re the most advanced computer system that will ever exist. Luckily that is why we have a big ol’ skull there to protect it from getting damaged. Although unfortunately it doesn’t always work.… And that, kids, is why you should always wear your helmet when you ride your bike.

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Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

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Sophie Maxwell

@ForgePress

Hello! Since the last issue, we have seen a fortnight full of feminism storm our city’s streets. 2018 marks a particularly significant feminist year for the UK: it is a century since the first women gained the right to vote. International Women’s Day 2018 was celebrated by vibrant student marches and debates. The joint UCU rally and Women’s Day march saw students and striking staff come together to stress the idea that

Arts press.arts@forgetoday.com

Review

Frost/Nixon

Alfie Robinson & Oskar Kaleta

equipments and accessories so authentic you may momentarily be transported to a 70s talk show

fter over ten years of absence, Peter Morgan’s play showcasing the fragility of leadership returns to theatres. Frost/Nixon starts with Richard Nixon resigning from office following the Watergate scandal. Despite the circumstances, we see Nixon still attempting to play it strong and powerful.The production soon shifts to explore the juxtaposing personalities of the two protagonists as they clash in a series of interviews: Nixon acting stronger than he is and interviewer David Frost setting expectations low but unexpectedly finding the strength within. From the beginning, the set design and costumes stand out as well-polished. The play perfectly suits being performed in the amphitheatre-like setting of the Crucible. As the audience gathers around the middle stage, a preset is already on-going, with the outfits,

Sarah Bloodworth

pensions are a feminist issue. In the heat of Women’s History Month 2018, SheFest continues to wash our city in feminist art and performance to creatively champion women’s rights and promote gender equality. These events have pushed the campaign #PressForProgress into new dimensions. In this issue we are channelling the surrounding feminist vibes to review and recommend our favourite political art to you (#ForgePressForProgress). The upcoming Festival of Debate,

at the Crucible

It showcases the familiar fragility of leadership audience. The design makes the experience unique; most scenes are on TV sets, however even those that are not still take inspiration from TV filming. One could argue this emphasis symbolises the conflict between public media and politicians, represented by Frost and Nixon respectively. Jonathan Hyde does a remarkable job of playing President Nixon. His accent, body-language and

Local Archaeologist Decodes Paleo-Art at Weston Park Museum

Arts Editor

ave art may be as hard to understand as the rock it is painted on, but according to local archaeologist Vince Boulter, these paintings may be as simple as a stencil. On Thursday, Boulter took the audience at the Weston Park Museum thousands of years into the past by showcasing art pieces from the paleolithic era, the time of the earliest humans. Early paintings mainly depicted ancient animals that Boulter said our ancestors would hunt. Animal paintings may have been a spiritual symbol to help catch the animal, Boulter added. Or, it may have simply acted as a method of communication. “Maybe painting these animals was their ‘magic trick’ to catch them. Maybe they believed the spirits were on the other side of the walls,” Boulter consideredsaid. “But I’ve got a feeling when they started doing art, it was about passing messages from one generation to the next, although we have no idea what it’s about.” Boulter said some of these primitive ‘Picassos’ made clay stencils animals, held them against a light, and used a red pigment called ochre (which you can find in Brassington, the Peak District) to outline the shadow. Many clay artefacts (or “stencils”)

expressions are very professional, but the highlight is Nixon’s humour. It adds a comic twist to a serious story, but also reinforces that Nixon is not made of stone. When he finally admits “I let the American people down”, it comes as little surprise to the audience as they had already seen Nixon’s journey to truthfulness. While Daniel Rigby’s impersonation of Frost is not as strong, it is still understandable that he is a less in-control and more sociable man. Overall the play is well performed, especially for its early days. In particular the movement of actors and equipment in and out of stage are well planned. The story by The Crown creator Peter Morgan is informative and fascinating. For those who may not be the biggest fans of a political storyline, it is also funny and succeeds in conveying the characters’ contrasting personalities.

Cave paintings may be as simple as a stencil. resembling cave art were found, according to Boulter. He added that many of the paintings in the Lascaux cave of France, for example, have thick outlines around them indicating the use of a stencil. Boulter also presented other paleo-products like tools, beads and sculptures. He noted that the word “art” is subjective, meaning that even an early stone lamp could be considered art. “I don’t know what art is. I’m not convinced that even the paleolithic people called it art,” Boulter said. “Some call it art but I call it a message.”

running 18 April-29 June, is one to look out for! We will bring you coverage throughout the festival of performances and conversations with participants. Make sure you don’t miss out on any worthwhile events by checking the online programme for more details. For now, happy reading! We hope you enjoy your guilt-free, chocolatefilled Easter break. Sophie

Hope is Strong at the Millennium Gallery Laura Foster

hen troubles are constantly emphasised about by the media, it is easy to become thoroughly depressed by the apparent state of the world. As a companion to Weston Park Museum’s Changing Lives exhibition, which depicts two hundred years of protesting in Sheffield, Hope is Strong has collated the works of a variety of artists, from the internationally renowned such as Ai Weiwei (of the sunflower seeds fame), to locals like Conroy/ Sanderson, to collectively celebrate the tradition of protesting and

The exhibition hands the power of representation back to the people involved. change. The exhibit immediately asserts itself at the entrance. Visitors are confronted by a group of snarling stuffed foxes wearing red hats, biting the works of Karl Marx, and circling a bust of the philosopher. Simultaneously, you are greeted by a jukebox blaring tunes from the likes of Neil Young and Primal Scream. This installations clues the visitor up on the exhibit’s purpose: to consider the impact of art on political change. Further on, Keith Piper’s

Seven Rages of Man (a pun on Shakespeare’s “seven ages of man”) features a vitriolic collection of busts with plaques chronicling the timeline of black oppression. As an Englishman, Piper refuses to shy away from the UK’s role in slavery and institutionalised racism, something that is rarely acknowledged in the discussion. Seven Rages ends on a quietly hopeful note, in which black people are able to regain autonomy, something emphasised by the use of third person. While the exhibition includes work that focuses on various causes of protest such as racism, feminism and the working class, it is tied together by a definite left-wing slant. This is hardly surprising considering the political landscape of the local area, also known (particularly in the ‘80s) as the People’s Republic of South Yorkshire. In placing the first set of exhibitions in no apparent order, the curators do not place anyincreased importance on a particular cause. Of course, there is the obligatory Brexit section, but this sits beside Hester Reeve’s work on Britain’s suffragettes. The latter half of the exhibit is dedicated to the Battle of Orgreave, culminating with a screening of Jeremy Deller’s 2001 documentary covering a re-enactment of the battle with the original protesters. In choosing an installation made up entirely of factual documentation instead of an artist’s interpretation, the exhibition hands the power of representation back to the people involved. Much like Keith Piper’s work, the documentary is ultimately positive, choosing to concentrate on the men’s comradery over the continuing fight for justice. This is an exhibit tailored to the inhabitants of South Yorkshire and an absolute must for anyone wishing to immerse themselves in local culture. Fancy checking out this exhibition yourself? Hope is Strong continues in the Millennium Gallery until Sunday 10th June.

Sean Scully, Ghost (2018) © the artist

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Press

heFest

Storms Sheffield

In celebration of International Women’s Day on Thursday 8 March, weeklong fringe Festival SheFest brought feminist art, theatre and film to the heart of the Steel City. Here are some of our highlights.

Wild Woman

orge Press Social Secretary Brenna Cooper reviews a new production at Theatre Deli, compilation of performances at Theatre Deli, devised by and telling the stories women across Sheffield. “Real tales of women breaking the mould, this production is made with, about and for every woman in Sheffield”. This is how the creators of Wild Woman describe the production. The show tells the stories of feminism in modern life and celebrates all the highs and lows of being female.

In collaboration with SheFest for International Women’s Day, the

Multiple voices were used to tell the stories. production consists of performances by ten Sheffield-based artists, including members of the Together

Women Project and Cocoon Co. Framed by Sally Proctor’s piece Stay Wild a tale of one woman’s journey and self-reflection while walking the Pennine Way, Wild Woman follows an unconventional performance style. Multiple voices are used to tell their individual stories and their relationships with modern day womanhood. Allowing a collective contribution certainly benefits the production, aiding its message of personal celebration and allowing creative freedom for the performers to interpret the play’s theme as they wish.

This reminds us to celebrate ourselves, cherish the moments spent with friends and know that even the smallest acts of self-love

The pieces remind us to celebrate ourselves. can hold the most significance. From personal acts of self-reclamation (hair cutting and skinny dipping) to a dance performance celebrating beauty and one’s personal journey to self-acceptance, Wild Woman navigates the ups and downs of life in an honest manner. A humorous standout piece is Emily Thew and Grace Darb’s witchyinspired Domestik, showing two housemates dismay at each other’s lifestyle choices. Alice BoultonBreeze and Florence Simms’s piece From Now on I Write History Books is another, light-hearted yet thought provoking. It explores problematic feminist tropes and how they impact our perception of feminism, reminding us that there is no rulebook for being a feminist. In just over two hours of interactive performances, Wild Woman

manages to highlight all the pitfalls and successes of being a woman in 2018, encouraging us to appreciate all of our highs and lows, to celebrate being wild and to strive for comfort in ourselves.

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Fighting Talk

nya Esmail-Yakas takes a look at an innovative exhibition housed in 35 Chapel Walk Gallery during the festival. ‘My body my choice‘ is certainly Fighting Talk, the name of an exhibition running as part of the third annual SheFest. This year is particularly important, as 2018 marks the centenary of the first women gaining the vote in the UK. One hundred years on, this exhibition looks at the plight of 21st century women and their struggle against a patriarchal system, and comments on where the women’s movement needs to go in the future. Various artists show their interpretation of the movement through the use of digital media, tapestry work, poems and photographs as well as a short film on show. Titled ‘Hysterical Females’, Tracy Satchwill’s short film documents the story of Esther, an Edwardian women oppressed in a misogynistic society.

The film instills hope as Esther transforms into a suffragette, rebelling against societal

Sheffield was the birthplace of one of the first suffragette movements. expectations. It reminds us that Sheffield was the birthplace of one of the first suffragette movements. The exhibition also includes interactive elements. One piece invites attendees to write on postit notes their own experiences of sexism and misogyny. It is harrowing to see some of the comments, but also gives a sense of solidarity,

knowing others have experienced the same things, united in our struggle of oppression; resonating with the well-known saying: ‘The personal is political, and the political is personal.’ The artwork by Leticia Diogo is particularly enjoyable. Inspired by the women’s marches in 2017, it involves text printmaking on protest placards. The series of quotes printed on the placards are truly inspiring and empowering. A lot of the artists are very creative with their interpretations. Sarah Pennington’s piece Revolution in a Teacup is clever and unique. A lot of revolutions and movements start over a drink in small groups where one can share ideas and opinions with friends in private.

Forge Recommends:

Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner?

f you’ve enjoyed the Internaional Women’s Day celebrations, why not continue your feminist education with some subversive literature? Molly Calland has reviewed Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner?, a book questioning women’s place in the economic sphere. Claiming to be ‘a story about women and economics’, there is initial worry that Katrine Marcal’s Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner could be slightly dull. However, the book is incredibly interesting, and written in a manner that is both captivating and witty. Marcal explores and criticises the economic philosophies that dominate our society, claiming that economics currently functions on a system of self-interest promoted by Adam Smith. She uses the character ‘economics man’ to highlight this. Economics man is selfish, independent, pragmatic and, crucially, not a woman. According to Smith, the world functions on economic rewards

and people are only motivated by personal gain. Marcal argues that this model fails because it does not take into account the unpaid work of women who have been confined to domestic labour for centuries. She asks us to consider what economics would be like if women could

Economics man is selfish, independent, pragmatic, and, crucially, not a woman. participate equally. Marcal is critical of the idea that we can just “add women and stir” when it comes to economics. In recent decades women have gained greater

opportunities to work outside the home; however, for many, their lives become strained as they are still expected to carry out domestic work. While women have entered the working world, fewer men have committed to the domestic work of women. Marcal argues that financial crisis and economic inequality highlight how our current economic system is failing us. In reality people are motivated by more than just selfish reward, thus we need a new system that is based on interdependence, opportunity and a desire to help people. Only this can save us from failing economics. Marcal encourages the reader to challenge the patriarchal system of economics and her arguments are incredibly thought provoking, making the book poignant and empowering. Although covering a serious topic, Marcal’s writing is effortlessly witty and satirical. This is an enjoyable read, even for someone who knows little about economics.

Marcal criticises the idea that we can just ‘add women and stir’ Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner is available for free on StarPlus.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

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Chloe Dervey & Tom Buckland

@forgetoday

We’re back back back back again! We have a whole mashup of content for you this issue, and most of the fantastic content has been produced by you guys! Give yourselves a pat on the back, you deserve it. This issue we cover all the important topics that you all didn’t know you needed to read but now you’ll be thanking us. Esports, remakes, women, and indie games! We’re like the FBI and have hooked

Games press.games@forgetoday.com

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Games Editors cameras into every issue so that we can see you as you read, and I can see that you cannot stop shaking because you’re so excited to read what we’ve got for you. The only question we cannot answer by the sight of your beautiful face is quite an easy one. Why are you still reading this editorial when you could be reading all of the stuff in here that is fantastically and beautifully written?

With lots of love Chlom x

Let’s settle this once and for all. Yes, eSports is a sport | Lucas J Mentken

he worldwide market for eSports is flourishing. Thousands of fans fill up arenas to watch their heroes battle it out on their favourite video games. In South Korea, football stadiums that were previously used to host the 2002 FIFA World Cup are now being transformed into live venues, expanding the world of competitive gaming. eSports has everything you would expect from a sporting event: teams or individuals competing on a professional level, mass audiences, commentators who bring the action to life and trophies for the winners. If golf, darts, snooker or even chess are considered sports, why not gaming?

There is no single definition of sport. The closest international agreement is of the Global Association of International Sports Federations. They state that sport should include some element of competition, not rely on luck or on equipment by a single supplier, not be harmful to living creatures and should not pose risk to the health of competitors. eSports fits all of that. They also identify five primary categories of sport: physical, mind, motorized, coordination and animalsupported. eSports certainly qualifies under both mind and coordination. Sure, when thinking of sport, gaming is not the first thing that comes to mind. Football,

basketball or ice hockey are rooted into our culture and we see them every day. Gaming definitely has its differences from mainstream sports and the typical associations of the sporting athlete. That's obvious. Yet this does not mean that it can't have its own distinct category within sport. Professional gamers train no less than athletes, with some of them playing as much as twelve to 14 hours a day. They play matches, discuss strategies with their coach and try to consistently improve their performance. Some games like League of Legends or Starcraft are highly strategic and get updates constantly, requiring players to continuously learn and adapt.

Video games are evolving all the time. Anyone who has seen professional gamers play will be impressed by their reaction time and coordination. In Starcraft, professionals famously reach APMs (actions per minute) of as high as 600. That translates into hitting a key or clicking ten times per second. Even in games that do not rely so much on strategy like Call of Duty or FIFA, gamers need to practice consistently to get that match-winning aim or master that one crucial skill move. Huge live audiences and prize money reaching the millions mean that the pressure is always intense.

eSports is expected to generate more than £1 billion as an industry and reach more than 600 million people by 2020. Big sports clubs like Paris St. Germain are establishing their own eSports branches and signing top players to spread their influence. While it doesn’t fit our expectations of traditional sports, gaming already is one, and will become even bigger in the future.raditional sports, gaming already is and will become much bigger in the future so it can’t possibly be ignored anymore.

Professional gamers train as much as 12 to 14 hours a day

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Games that deserve a remake

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Arya Damavandy

The Battle Frontier and Underground were sorely missed from later games, and these ccould be brought back with even more content than before

I Alexander DW Bruce

This is a wonderful, unique game, and one which had a clear influence on future RPGs such as Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins

nachronox is a weird game. On paper, it’s a standard party-based scifi RPG with turn-based combat and a main character who looks suspiciously like Neo from The Matrix. This is also a game featuring a party member who is an entire planet shrunk down to the size of a beach ball - on which meaningless election campaigns are being run for a public who can’t vote - and, a party member who is an incredibly sarcastic robot. What really sets this game apart from similar games such as Arx Fatalis or Knights of the Old Republic is the fantastic writing, which is told through exceptional cutscenes. This includes a brilliant scene in which your party are stranded aboard a

ship for days, constantly arguing and driving each other crazy. While the game is still playable today, a remaster would certainly improve the experience. The graphics aren’t great even for a game from 2001, the confusing pseudo turn-based combat where you can be attacked for not making a decision quickly enough could do with updating, and reducing the number of dull puzzles would greatly improve the experience. Still, this is a wonderful, unique game, and one which had a clear influence on future RPGs such as KOTOR and Dragon Age: Origins. It would be great if the game was given the modernisation it deserves.

would love a remake of the 4th generation Pokémon games: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum. Soaring onto the Nintendo DS, these games introduced a lot of my favourite Pokémon like Infernape, Weavile, Gliscor, Lucario and Luxray. Many current first and second years grew up with these games. They too have that special nostalgic charm which has already landed remakes for the first three Pokémon generations, the most recent of these being the widely beloved Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Generation four deserves the OR/ AS treatment: a new lease of life by retelling its story through dynamic camera angles and facial expressions, as well as glorious 3D rendering and moving sprites. Segments like the Battle Frontier and Underground were sorely missed from later games and these could be brought back with even more content than before, providing challenging postgame content and fun social features which have sadly been lacking in

more recent Pokémon games. With the Nintendo Switch selling like hotcakes and Nintendo confirming a new mainline Pokémon game for the console in 2018, the likelihood for such a remake to eventually come to the Switch is high considering Nintendo have released remakes for every handheld since the Game Boy Advance. Imagining all of the varied locations of the Sinnoh region depicted on a console capable of rendering The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s breathtaking world is quite exciting, to say the least. A remake like this would be very popular, without a doubt. Not to mention generation four also had the toughest, coolest champion: Cynthia. Don’t lie, she kicked your ass when you were a kid!

Wednesday 21 March 2018

chloe frazer

Chloe Dervey

Back in 2009, Chloe Frazer’s appearance in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves completely toppled the status quo. She presented with an agency and confidence that ensemble characters – let alone female characters simply didn’t usually have. It was like she had just walked straight out of her own game and into this one, and fans were blown away. Seeing the ways in which the facets of her character were delivered in Among Thieves was the first time I truly realised what it meant to have a well written female character in a game. It was also when I began to understand how one-dimensional and stereotypical female characters were while I was growing up. Chloe wasn’t a passive party member mindlessly serving the

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same goals as protagonist Nate. Her self-serving morals and contrast to Nate’s ‘hero’ reputation shows complexities of loyalty and human character. She makes her own opinions on the unfolding of events clear, even if they were opinions that the player disagrees with. Chloe is a scene stealer: she’s witty, fierce and believable. Seeing her finally take centre stage in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy with the quality game her character deserved was an absolute dream. She proves that female characters can have longevity as entertaining, engaging and strong protagonists in games.

Chloe Frazer | Uncharted: The Lost Legacy | Naughty Dog

Paige Olivia Cockbain

Final Fantasy VII subverts many classic tropes, but none so well as Aerith Gainsborough, a beautiful and mysterious girl that protagonist Cloud Strife meets by chance. She also turns out to be the last of the Cetra, but that’s a whole other story. Beautiful, delicate and warm in her appearance, behind the sweet face is a woman unafraid to be independent, optimistic and truly herself. Growing up with Aerith taught me that there is strength in always having hope; that there is charm in being silly, no matter how dark the world becomes. She taught me serenity, warmth and the true meaning of sacrifice. I found her to be the most playful character and also the wisest. She certainly isn’t the most relatable

character for most of the FFVII demographic, but she was one of a kind and taught me that I, too, was one of a kind. It takes idolising a character such as her to teach a child that they are truly special, and for me, I will forever be grateful for that. She knew what she wanted and she knew what she needed to do, and unhesitatingly pursued both, regardless of her fears. She was an irreplaceable importance in Cloud’s life and i mine too. I cannot wait to be reunited with her in the upcoming remake.

Aerith Gainsboroguh | Tetsuya Nomura, Yoshitaka Amano | Square Enix

zelda Meredith Graham

Royalty of both her franchise and of the wider gaming industry, Princess Zelda is irrefutably iconic. It’s true that in many of the games in The Legend of Zelda franchise, Zelda is often used as a tool to encourage main character Link to further the plot by rescuing her from the clutches of Ganondorf. However, as the series has grown, so too has her role and the ways in which she is portrayed as a developed character in her own right. She fights for her people at every turn and

Zelda | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Nintendo

continuously sacrifices her own desires and happiness for the safety and futures of those around her. Even when she’s at risk of being captured, she disguises herself in order to aid Link in his quest, and throughout the series her wisdom and compassion are celebrated. She teaches us that there is always a way to fight for the cause you believe in. Zelda is a character who shows us that there is strength in grace, and that having a heart of gold doesn’t mean you can’t have a core of steel.

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Florence ie s d in

potlig

Meredith Graham

lorence is a moving, charming and delightful interactive visual experience that takes around 35 minutes to complete. The opening screen’s simple animation alone is captivating, all while listening to the gorgeous orchestral soundtrack that plays in the background. To call Florence a game, then, doesn’t quite seem accurate. Created by Mountains, an Australian development team, Florence is a mobile game which is split into several acts that move through phases of Florence’s life, each containing several chapters. The game is presented as a storybook: you swipe and scroll through the pages whilst interacting with specific elements on-screen to further the story along. In the first few minutes, you’ve snoozed an alarm several times, figured out how to brush your teeth and

crunched some numbers at work. This is a story about relationships. We see how different factors in Florence’s life affect her passion for painting, the changing relationship she has with her overbearing mother, and the

beginnings of a relationship with a musician named Krish. Each of these relationships are equally important, and the writers ensure that the player realises this as they play through the story. This game is beautiful for a host of reasons, both in terms of the presentation and music, and the player’s interaction with the story. This isn’t a typical point and click formula: each segment of each chapter has a slightly different mechanic to figuring out how to progress, all using the touchscreen interface on your tablet or smartphone. Some chapters involve tapping away at the screen, while other sections require rubbing away at a picture or dragging and dropping patterns to make a design. It’s the small things that make Florence flourish. When you begin to interact with the new love interest in Florence’s life, you drag and click small puzzle style pieces of a speech bubble until they all fit together to create a conversation. The more you get to know this person and progress with the story, the fewer puzzle pieces there are; Florence no longer has to think about what to say, and this mechanic reflects that. Though simple, it’s incredibly effective, and the entire story is filled with impassioned details such as this. The game’s soundtrack is stunning, matching the narrative remarkably, and the way in which the tone is always perfect for the segment you’re on is just another way that Florence thrives. The only complaints with this game is that one would love to see more of it and some of the interactions become slightly repetitive. It can be easily enjoyed in one sitting, and personally, this writer feels like this is the best way to get the full experience of the story. It is a story about love. Not just in the romantic sense, but in the sense of self-discovery, finding your passions, and connecting and reconnecting with the things and people that are most important to you. Short, sweet, charming and beautiful, Florence is a game which will leave you thinking.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

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Flo Mooney | Music Editor

@ForgePress

In this issue, we have another extensive spread of album and live reviews. Bob Marley’s band The Wailers spent a night at the O2 Academy earlier this month which my co-editor Ben Kempton checked out. Despite the 38 years since Marley’s death, the Wailers are still able to pull in the crowds, but take a look at Ben’s review to see whether they are really worth it. Of the recent album releases, Young Fathers album Cocoa Sugar

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Music

has gained acclaim from Forge. Contributor David Anderson has granted it a rare five-stars for the album’s moving lyrics and atmospheric music. Definitely one to check out. In line with celebrating Women’s History Month, I’ve taken a look at the legacy of one of the most influential female acts in pop history: the Spice Girls. This may be a slight change from our usual more highbrow musical focus, but no one can deny their infectious energy and the lasting influence they’ve had on so many women, both in and outside the music

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industry. And as an added bonus, I’ve had a lot of fun curating a Girl Power playlist of empowering female anthems. I had a tough job cutting it down to only ten songs, but hopefully there will be something for everyone in there. By the time this goes to print, we will have a new editorial team elected, meaning Ben and are soon coming to the end of our time as Editors. However, we still have a few more issues and plenty of new music and live reviews in that time, so keep your eyes peeled to get involved.

Editors’ Picks. Album.

Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers Despite not being the greatest fan of The Wailers’ gig ( as seen on the next page) it reminded me how good this legendary reggae album is. Bob Marley’s voice accompanied by his beautiful lyrics and the raw sound of Jamaican instruments put this tranquil, upbeat masterpiece in the albums hall of fame. If you’re feeling low, it will cheers you up. If you’re feeling good it will get you on your fear and is sure to have you jammin’ along.

Single.

‘Visions of Gideon’ by Sufjan Stevens Call Me By Your Name was easily one of the best films of 2017, and not just for it’s beautiful plot and cinematography. The film also featured one of the best soundtracks of the year, which included Sufjan Steven’s ‘Visions of Gideon’, which he wrote especially for the film. Like everything Stevens does it is perfect, so give it a listen.

The Fratellis

Editors Violence Violence certainly lives up to its name, with this sixth studio album feeling as aggressive and confrontational as any Editors record has to date. Not every track is as overtly violent as the rousing ‘Hallelujah (So Low)’ or as lyrically terrifying as ‘Magazine’, but even in the album’s softest moments, Tom Smith’s vocals feel intense and packed with raw emotion. With two platinum albums to their name and countless headline tours, you could forgive Editors for churning out more of the same. But instead Violence treads into uncharted

In Your Own Sweet Time

territory, with experimental electronic artist Benjamin John Power working with the band to weave a brutal electronic sound around their usual guitar-heavy anthems. In typical Editors style, pain, anguish and death are recurring themes throughout the nine tracks. “I bleed like a millionaire / Cause my bones lay with dust in your care”, sings Smith in ‘Hallelujah (So Low)’. The repetition of the line “We wait in line for nothingness” – in the aptly titled ‘Nothingness’ – would be maddeningly bleak if it weren’t for the uplifting hints of Power’s lighter influence at the track’s end. Not every track deals with violence

itself, but perhaps a dystopian aftermath. “Bury your face in my shoulder / Think of a birthday / The things you put in your head / They will stay here forever”, calls out Smith as he carries a dying loved one in ‘No Sound But The Wind’, perhaps the band’s saddest song yet. The album then takes a positive turn with ‘Counting Spooks’. At first a typical Editors anthem, it spirals into a void of electronic beats and distorted vocals at the three-minute mark, before rising to a climactic finish as Smith defiantly insists he is “holding it together” over and over until the song’s finish. Final track ‘Belong’ falls

somewhere between hopelessly romantic and disturbingly possessive. The distorted vocals of ‘Counting Spooks’ return with an occasional chant of “Welcome home” which sounds like Star Wars’ Kylo Ren. ‘Belong’ is hardly a climactic finish, but ending with a whimper rather than a bang feels apt for a record which is as contemplative as it is stimulating.

himself, her puffy black hair swooping as she flicks her wrists and rolls her eyes along with the track. She smiles warmly at the crowd as the song comes to a close: “You guys are so much fun already”. The band swim through their first few tracks which include ‘The Tide’, featured on their newly released and highly commended EP All the Things I Never Said. It was released only a week after the band won NME’s Under the Radar Award, which recognises new musical talent in the world. Things seem to come to a sombre halt as Baron-Gracie announces “sad song” ‘My Obsession’. The crowd turn into emotional wrecks, holding their hands out toward the band to scream back the lyrics: “And I swear that I’ll never stop loving you, and I’ll

die by your side if you want me to”. Such intense lines hint at inspiration from The Cure, from which they have cleverly crafted their own glossy 21st century take on gothic pop. After taking a small break to tune their instruments, the band continue with more of their EP tracks as the animated crowd bop along to every single one. With as little as nine songs to their name, it’s rather impressive that they have such a vast and faithful following already. It’s also evident that their heart-felt lyrics have a huge impact on their fans, given the smitten smiles on everyone’s faces as they chant along to the band’s latest single, ‘Heavenly’. The band round things off with debut single ‘There’s A Honey’, a catchy pop banger. All eyes were on

Baron-Gracie throughout the whole performance, but this song especially got the biggest crowd reaction as she stood on the barrier to serenade certain crowd members. Tipped for a number one album by the end of the year, Pale Waves are crashing full speed ahead up the charts and into people’s hearts, and they’re not going to hit the brakes any time soon.

David Anderson

Pale Waves Leadmill Heads are currently turning at any mention of Manchester four-piece Pale Waves, dubbed one of the most exciting upcoming bands of 2018. Atmospherically decked out with fairy lights, Leadmill’s second room was packed with eager youngsters awaiting their newest obsession . After a blast of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’, the lights dimmed and cued an ominous yet dreamy synth intro, to which the pop-rock quartet sauntered onstage. The set kicked off with their second single ‘Television Romance’, produced by The 1975’s Matty Healy. In fact, lead singer Heather BaronGracie is a gothic version of Healy

Leah Fox

he Fratellis offer up some of their best singles since Costello Music on fifth record In Your Own Sweet Time, yet once again fail to meet the outstandingly high standards set by their debut twelve years ago. Despite offering more experimentation than their previous records, IYOST thrives through high tempo, big choruses and catchy rhythms, as has always been the case for the Scottish trio. Lead singles ‘Stand Up Tragedy’ and ‘The Next Time We Wed’ are instant hits. Far from the guitarheavy indie sound of the band’s early music, they flourish with a rhythmic, cabaret-like swing. The sultry ‘Sugartown’ combines a typically catchy Fratellis beat with barbershopstyle backing vocals, while ‘Advaita Shuffle’ intersperses catchy riffs and spirited vocals with orchestral break downs. Tony Hoffer returned to produce this record, having worked with the band on both their debut and 2015’s Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied. His influence is a welcome one, as these eleven tracks also make for The Fratellis’ most consistent release since 2006. Yet frustratingly the album’s softer tracks feel less than memorable, similar to the enjoyable yet disappointingly forgettable third album, We Need Medicine. IYOST is undoubtedly entertaining, even if it is not remarkable beyond its lead singles. The Fratellis are clearly still having fun, and a handful of these tracks will make for fine additions to the band’s collection of captivating live performances.

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

A lesson that synth and electric guitars are a knife in the heart of the genre.

The Wailers The O2 Academy

eggae royalty hit the O2 Academy Sheffield on Thursday 8 March. The Wailers are world-renowned for being the band that accompanied Bob Marley from 1973 to 1980 before his tragic death. Under Bob’s own request (“by doing that, you keep me alive through music”), and the fame and fortune that comes with the association to his name, The Wailers have continued to tour. An utterly unbearable warmup performance from a Californian plastic reggae band that were purely on stage to act started the night. The pop band with a Jamaican wannabe up front were caught out when the lead guitarist looked as if he was belting out a bang-average solo, only for a technical difficulty to reveal that he was just pretending to play it. The track over the top stopped yet his guitar was still on, revealing he was not quite as good at guitar as suggested. Very poor indeed. It’s fair to say the tone was set for the rest of the night. When The Wailers walked on stage, looking as if they were dressed in George At ASDA, the anticipation was through the roof. This is after all Bob Marley’s very own original band, though only two of the original seven remain. As they took their positions it was puzzling to see a bald bloke looking like he’d just been pulled from Wetherspoons, had a marijuana cap forced on his head and told to stand

behind a synth keyboard. The Wailers never had an electronic sound. What could a synth be used for? As they got going, with a song of their own which no one had heard of judging by the flat crowd reaction, it became painfully apparent that The Wailers weren’t going to simply play their iconic back catalogue, but instead modernise the reggae sound with a disgusting electro/techno mix. As the face of Bob looked out over the crowd, emblazoned over a Jamaican flag, it felt a little sad. Like Emma Stone watching Ryan Gosling reluctantly perform his electro-jazz on stage in La La Land. Where are the bongos? The organ? The clavinet? The horns and percussion? Only on the background track that the technician simply had to press play for. When ‘Is This Love’ started, is was clear that the authenticity of reggae in the band has been heartbreakingly lost over time. But one thing that will never die is the infectiously joyous lyrics of Bob Marley. When the crowd started swaying and singing ‘I want to love you every day and every night…’ in unison, the spirit of Bob’s music was felt, and for that the band must be thanked. When ‘Three Little Birds’ was finally played, it was ruined by the insistence of the entire to get their phones out and film the whole thing. However, on International Women’s Day, The Wailers made an incredible gesture

in dedicating the song to women’s rights and equality for all. When everyone sang “…Because every little thing is going to be alright” there was an added element to those beautiful lyrics. Unfortunately, The Wailers are now just an example of the westernisation of reggae; a lesson that synth and electric guitars are a knife in the heart of the genre. If you want to enjoy the genre, either stick your headphones in and listen to the Exodus album or go to an authentic reggae gig, which will most likely include having to buy a plane ticket. Ben Kempton

Young Fathers

Cocoa Sugar

David Anderson

oung Fathers have been busy since releasing their last studio album in 2015. The three-piece have supported Massive Attack on a European tour and seen a number of their tracks make it onto Danny Boyle’s T2 Trainspotting soundtrack, even writing an original track which director Danny Boyle described as “the heartbeat for the film.” So it is understandable that the band aimed for something more “linear” with third album Cocoa Sugar, perhaps to attract a wider audience on the back of this growing success. With 12 tracks all around the three-minute mark and no interludes or other distractions, Cocoa Sugar’s structure is quite conventional. But if the Edinburgh trio were shooting for a mainstream record then this effort fell well wide of the mark. And what a relief that is. To be fair, Cocoa Sugar is more accessible than the band’s 2014 debut DEAD and the following year’s sophomore release White Men Are Black Men Two. But the uniquely twisted, lo-fi sound which earned the band the Mercury

Prize for DEAD remains ever-present throughout this urgent yet strangely unnerving 36-minute joyride. Hypnotic opener ‘See How’ stays true to the “linear” assurances the band laid out before the album’s release, but second track ‘Fee Fi’ throws us straight back into a distorted melting pot of rhythmic beats, eerie piano keys and almost hymnal vocals. This sets up the record well, as the remaining tracks all probably fall somewhere between these two sounds. Hymn-like choruses are common in Young Fathers’ music, but no track released to date feels as suited to church as this album’s appropriately named first single ‘Lord’ (first released by the band on Spotify late last year along with a seemingly dishonest promise that “you can’t dance to it”). You could be forgiven for thinking the track was written for a gospel choir, if it weren’t broken up in typical Young Fathers style with frequent, aggressive electronic drones. Follow-up singles ‘In My View’ and the perturbingly rousing ‘Toy’ stand out as highlights, with the

latter at times feeling like a freefor-all battle of vocals. But there really is no low point in this band’s latest work of art; even the 100 seconds of ‘Wire’ are packed with wicked energy and profound lyrics. Cocoa Sugar’s lyrics may be what sets the album apart from its predecessors more than its sound. The lazily spoken words of ‘Wow’ feel like a sardonic commentary on the hedonism of modern society, yet overall Cocoa Sugar feels far more introspective than the band’s previous records, tackling subjects of faith, love and morality. This album is brooding and often bleak, yet its highs retain a blind hopefulness amid the madness, as bright as Young Fathers’ future.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Press

Girl Power

Music Editor Florence Mooney takes a look at how the Spice Girls changed the place of women in music.

hen the Spice Girls came screaming into the public eye in July 1996, they were something new and exciting. Five women with different personalities, speaking their minds and demanding to be heard, they were breaking with rules when it came to women in pop toeing the line set by the male-dominated music business. This isn’t to say there weren’t women making their mark before this – Madonna for example – but the Spice Girls were different. They weren’t presented as the objects of desire, they weren’t trying to please the boys. They were being true to themselves in whatever form that took for each member, and standing up for women all over the world. In the 1960s there were plenty of girl groups, such as the Supremes and Ronettes. They sang soulful pop songs written by male songwriters about love, pain and loss, with one lead singer and a host of beautifully coordinated outfits. This worked for decades. The Supremes had numerous smash hits, with Diana Ross forming a noteworthy solo career on the back of their success.

Fast forward to the 1980s and women’s place in music was growing. Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were writing their own chart-topping hits, and female stars such as Stevie Nicks and Kate Bush were making a mark on rock through their own talent and ability. However, there were still a lot of women following the rules of their record executives. Take Whitney Houston. Despite a questionable private life, her appearance was of a clean cut pop star. She spoke politely in interviews and didn’t ask questions, but kept topping the charts with her label’s choice of hits. Come 1996, there was something more exciting and raw about the Spice Girls. Although they co-wrote their music, they were not the most accomplished songwriters, and their synced dance routines were questionable. Even their vocals were nothing to boast about. Despite this, the Spice Girls had something else altogether: their enticing personalities and ‘every woman’ charm. They each had distinctive characters, being led by these rather than any pre-written rules. The Spice Girls could be who they wanted.s. It was notable when, in their 1996 Top of the Pops performance of

‘Wannabe’, Melanie C was dressed head to toe in her Liverpool FC kit. Not quite the epitome of sex appeal. The subjects of their hit songs were varied, but often paid tribute to female friendship and youth. This whole philosophy was summed up in a single phrase: “Girl Power!” Girl Power was a branch of feminism for girls who were scared

bringing up a whole generation of women on a wave of female potential. The Spice Girls proved that women with personality, opinions and intelligence sells. For all the Spice Girls’ charm and catchy pop songs, their real legacy is of successful women breaking down the boundaries of what it means to be a woman in the public eye.

Girl Power was an idea that women could be just as assertive, bold and confident as any man of coming across as bra-burning lesbians if they claimed to be a feminist. But whatever the label was, Girl Power was an idea that women could be just as assertive, bold and confident as any man,

When ‘Spicemania’ swept the world in the late nineties, it was a phenomenon unlike any seen since Beatlemania in the 1960s. Their songs were everywhere as were their faces, on adverts or in their so-bad-

it’s-amazing film. Scary, Posh, Ginger, Baby and Sporty were the most famous women on the planet, having an influence like no one else. And though with great power comes great responsibility, the Spice Girls took this responsibility and soared with it. Their legions of young fans were taught about the importance of friendship and being true to yourself, the value of determination and hard work, and how women can take so many different shapes and forms but are all just as brilliant as each other. This generation of young fans are now growing up to be in the public eye themselves, such as Haim, Dua Lipa and Lorde, continuing to have integrity and honesty in their beliefs and values. The 21st Century has seen a whole host of successful and powerful women in the world of music. Pop has been ruled by the likes of Rihanna and Beyoncé for over a decade now, with tracks such as Beyoncé’s ‘***Flawless’ explicitly flying the flag of feminism. A pop star shouting about feminism doesn’t seem outrageous anymore, rather something to be proud of. In doing just that, Beyoncé has gained many female fans. She has taken

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Music’s #GirlPower Playlist 1. Wannabe - Spice Girls The ultimate ‘chicks before dicks’ anthem. The future of any man relies on how much he gets on with your friend. Perfect priorities.

2. Run the World (Girls) - Beyonce Shouting at the top of her voice that women are capable of being in charge, Beyonce has created an anthem for women all over the world to prove their worth.

3. Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush This anthem doesn’t just prove the breath-taking vocals and songwriting ability of a British national treasure in Kate Bush, but also celebrates the work of literary legend Emily Bronte. A double female anthem.

4. New Rules - Dua Lipa One of the biggest tracks of 2017, this is a perfect example of the importance of treating yourself with respect. Be good to yourself and don’t keep going back to that same old fuk boi.

5. Just A Girl - No Doubt This tongue-in-cheek 1995 single from No Doubt makes a sarcastic dig at the expectations of women: “all pretty and petite, don’t let me have any rights”. Gwen Stefani is not settling for anything less than she deserves.

6. Respect - Aretha Franklin Despite being written by Otis Redding, Franklin’s female determination comes across in droves in this soul classic. Isn’t this the point of feminism - all we’re asking for is a little respect.

7. Bad Girls - M.I.A Aside from the great beat, ‘Bad Girls’ is also a great song for M.I.A’s refusal to follow the rules. M.I.A knows what she wants and according to the track, when she gets that “you’ll be trembling”. Go sister!

8. Dreams - Fleetwood Mac

a step further than the Spice Girls, discussing racism in her work and fighting for black people. Similarly, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty product line has brought increased attention to the white-washing of the beauty industry. Her status as a pop star has not detracted from her ability to speak out on social issues she believes in. In a post-Spice Girls age it is expected that women in the position of influence stand up for their beliefs and implement and encourage change. In 2017 music seemed to be ruled by women, with exceptional new material from Lorde, Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey, SZA, St Vincent and Wolf Alice. Sadly, this wasn’t expressed at award shows such as the Grammys, where the president of the Academy suggested that women need to ‘step up’. From Rock to hip-hop to alternative to pop, women have been proving their ability in all genres, but are often viewed as less serious musicians. Women still have to shout louder to prove themselves. At the Grammys, the category of song of the year was solely the work of men, despite brilliant songs such as Lorde’s ‘Green light’, DJ Khaled and Rihanna’s ‘Wild Thoughts’ and Dua

Lipa’s modern classic ‘New Rules’. An important way to change this is to increase the number of women behind behind the scenes. Female producers are few and far between, and those in record company executive roles even rarer. 22 years on from ‘Wannabe’, the music industry isn’t quite an ideal Spice World yet (for a better idea of what this reality would be, see the Spice Girls 1998 film, Spiceworld). However, we’re on the right tracks. Women are being encouraged to speak up for what they believe in and be true to themselves thanks to a generation of artists that grew up with the Spice Girls’ positive messages. There is no longer such a strict mould of what a pop star should be. Instead, a diverse range of women from all corners of society, with different styles, opinions and characters are being allowed to stand up for themselves in the world of music, all in the name of Girl Power.

Stevie Nicks is often described as the Queen of Rock, and rightly so. After a varied career of over 40 years, she has earned her place as one of the most respected women in music. This classic 1977 track from Rumours shows her vocals and songwriting at their absolute peak.

9. Stronger - Britney Spears If anyone can give you the strength to get through a bad day, it’s Britney Spears. After years of intense media pressure, Brit hit a low point in 2007 during a pretty public meltdown. Being the strong woman she is however, she worked hard at getting better and was soon on top once again. Also, for more Britney inspiration, follow her on Instagram. It’s life changing.

10. ***Flawless - Beyonce I could have easily made this playlist from just 10 Beyonce songs, but I have tried to add a little variation from the world of pop. However, this track cannot be missed out. It celebrates the most important women to Beyonce, such as her mother and sister, along with the potential of women. The crowning jewel for this already brilliant track is the sample of ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, describing what feminism is.

Wednesday 21 March 2018 facebook.com/ForgePress

David Craig

@ForgePress

Screen Editor

THE END IS NIGH! We are reaching the final few issues of the year, and by the time you read this the new 2018/19 Forge Press committee will have been elected. Truly, there has never been a better time to have an intense existential crisis, but try to stay calm and take refuge in another comforting screen section. This issue we have reviews of creepy Netflix sci-fi Annihilation

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and the not-so-impressive Jennifer Lawrence spy flick Red Sparrow, courtesy of Gethin Morgan and Rachel Towers respectively. Once again, I have abused my power by using Forge Press as a soapbox on which I can promote my weird taste in television! This time the superb dark comedy Search Party is in my sights, and I can only hope that my review convinces at least one person to give it a shot. Also this issue, Screen dips its

Review Gethin Morgan

ollowing his stunning debut Ex Machina, Alex Garland returns with another deeply intellectual and thought-provoking piece of science fiction. Natalie Portman plays Lena, a biologist specialising in cell mutation, who finds herself on a top secret expedition to explore a mysterious geographic abnormality. That’s about all that should be said prior to watching Annihilation. Many won’t have seen or heard much about the plot thanks to Paramount’s lack of confidence (they bailed on a cinema release in Europe and sold the rights to Netflix), but this works perfectly for a storyline shrouded in mystery. The great shame of a cinema-less release is that people will watch this film on iPhones and laptops, when quite clearly it has been made for the big screen. The sound design in particular is so vivid and atmospheric that the experience would be enhanced tenfold with dimmed lights and surround sound. Visually too it feels tailor-made for the cinema. Bold colours and clever lighting along with a hazy focus create a surreal landscape that initially gives the impression of poor set design, but as the plot furthers it becomes clear that it’s all very deliberate and incredibly effective. Most impressive is the film’s

Movie DB

Annihilation consummate pacing. Many modern directors could learn from Garland, who has created a complex, intelligent and well-rounded film that comes in at less than two hours. In fact even at this length it’s quite

this is an intensely original, captivating sci-fi. ponderous, easing you through large parts before ramping up the tension, and then slowing it back down to let you breathe. Garland is so in control that even when the last act goes a bit 2001: A Space Odyssey, he manages to make it work. Truth be told, the climax actually elevates it. Characters are a little thinly served. They’re all watchable, but a lack of depth means there’s no one to latch onto. Although in fairness it is less of a character study than Ex Machina (this time, problems are bigger than a man fancying robotAlicia Vikander). The diverse cast

nevertheless impresses with the material they’re given. Portman does the heavy lifting while the incredibly promising Gina Rodriguez steals whole scenes, and the equally promising Tessa Thompson is unrecognisable from her breakthrough role in Thor: Ragnarok. With Jennifer Jason Leigh and Oscar Isaac on reliable form too, the ensemble is formidable. The biggest flaw with Annihilation is what it will inevitably be compared to. It is not as morally provocative as Ex Machina, and although it shares many similarities with Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, it simply doesn’t have the emotional punch of the 2016 masterpiece. Nor does Garland have the cinematic grasp that Villeneuve possesses (very few directors do). However, not being Arrival is hardly a criticism. This is still an intensely original, captivating sci-fi. It’s the kind of intellectual, challenging and brave filmmaking that should be rewarded. Sadly many studios prefer to churn out simple, formulaic blockbusters rather than trust the intelligence of its audience and deliver a fascinating piece of work like Annihilation.

toe into the murky pool of anime for the first time this year with Arya Damavandy’s review of one of 2018’s more controversial new series, Darling in the FranXX. Last but not least be sure to check out our feature overleaf, where my co-editor Joe Mackay dissects the troubled state of videogame movies in the wake of Tomb Raider’s mediocre early reviews. Another one bites the dust. As always, thanks for reading!

Review

Search Party

David Craig

of exciting new talent. Shawkat earned her stripes on the superb sitcom Arrested Development and maintains the same quick comic timing here, while also proving more than capable of delivering some emotional and dramatic scenes. The supporting cast made up of Meredith Hagner, John Early and John Reynolds are similarly versatile, starting out as somewhat stereotypical archetypes but developing in unexpected and interesting ways over the course of the series. The first season packs countless twists and turns that set the second season on a completely different path. Throughout both seasons, the show continues to go from strength to strength. Where the first season was a quirky mystery story dripping in satirical humour, the second is more akin to a Hitchcockian psychological thriller that doesn’t lose sight of its comedic roots. Search Party is a show unlike any other on television. It tells a refreshingly original, stylish and relevant story with a killer cast and a very sharp script. Each episode has a brisk 20-minute runtime which keeps things moving forward at a breakneck pace and makes it hard to resist going back for “just one more episode”. If you’re yet to discover this hidden gem, be sure to rectify that at the earliest opportunity.

Annihilation boasts a star-studded cast.

Forge Press

series following four egotistical hipsters living in New York City sounds like an insufferable nightmare, and yet Search Party has defied the odds to become one of the best shows currently on television. Debuting on the often overlooked streaming service All 4 last year with minimal publicity, it’s hardly surprising that this show hasn’t received the attention it deserves. But with both seasons still available to watch for free, there has never been a better time to dive into this refreshing and original dark comedy. Search Party follows young Dory Sief (Alia Shawkat) who becomes obsessed with finding Chantal Witherbottom, an acquaintance from her college years who goes missing under mysterious circumstances. Her passive boyfriend Drew and narcissistic friends Elliott and Portia are reluctantly dragged along for the ride, and the fantastic chemistry between them is the heart and soul of the show. What is remarkable about Search Party is its authenticity. Oftentimes, shows about young people reek of desperation and a writing team trying too hard to sound hip and cool. Thankfully, that isn’t the case here. The characters are a sharp satire of the youth of today, portrayed brilliantly by a cast comprised mostly

Please somebody watch this show.

Movie DB

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

I’m honestly not sure what to say.

Movie DB

Review Arya Damavandy

arling in the FranXX is a collaboration between Studio A-1 Pictures and Studio TRIGGER. The former is responsible for shows with a soft emotional tone, clean digital background art and milquetoast character designs, as well as the infamously bad Sword Art Online. The latter created the glorious Kill la Kill, and infuses all their work with a wacky, frenetic and colourful animation style with outrageous, bizarre, sexually charged plots. One would think this a match made in hell, but perhaps in

Review Rachel Towers

he Matron of Sparrow School declares that the Cold War never ended, and director Francis Lawrence makes that clear in this thriller bursting with dodgy hotel meetings, shadowy European streets and characters getting stalked on public transport. The result is an attractively stylised piece which lacks the smarts or emotion to really hit the spot. Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika, a former ballerina whose career is shattered by injury. Forced to go to her powerful uncle (Matthias Schoenaerts) for assistance, she is drawn into the world of espionage and sent to become a Sparrow, an agent of the state trained to sexually seduce and manipulate her targets. Assigned to extract information from CIA officer Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), Dominika finds herself

Darling in the FranXX this case opposites attract? The show is about teenagers having sex. In a post-apocalyptic future, children are selected to pilot mechs in male-female pairings, sitting in the cockpit in a position clearly referencing doggy style sex, with joysticks held by the male mounted on the female’s buttocks. In order to make the mech work, a couple must “sync up” with each other, often accompanied by the girl gasping and the boy asking “Did I do it right?” and “Was that too rough?”. You can see why the show’s been getting some attention this season. Goofiness (amid harrowing destruction) ensues. This creates a bit of tonal

whiplash. A lot of concepts in the show seem to signal that it’s not to be taken too seriously, but at other times the show does the opposite; there is a totalitarian cult whose leader is viewed as a religious figure, and our main hero feels he may as well die if not able to pilot. This could be called “A-1 syndrome” as it’s quite common in their other shows - Sword Art Online’s Kirito the Angsty-Lone-Wolf-AccidentalBoob-Grabber comes to mind. Juxtaposing serious ideas with frequent boob and butt shots without undermining their impact can be done (as shows like Highschool of the Dead demonstrate), but they need to be carefully and thematically woven

Red Sparrow at the centre of a dangerous tug of war between the US and Russian intelligence agencies. Lawrence is the main ingredient holding together the disparate twists and turns of the plot. Her performance is determined and admirable as a character who could have easily felt like a perpetual victim, and manages to own scenes even when the action feels overindulgent. Joel Edgerton does a solid job, but is limited as a CIA agent who seems to have come straight out of the character generator for ‘generic American good guy with muscles and morals’. The pair create decent chemistry at the centre of all the political machinations. However, even with a runtime of over 140 minutes, no relationship, plan or build up of tension is allowed time to have an impact. The film jumps from one mysterious plot to the next, generously

sprinkled with moments of shocking but often unnecessary sex and violence. The scenes of seduction are not so much an issue, but too often we are reminded that almost every character is bloodthirsty or perverted without this adding any real substance to the story. The discussion around women’s bodies being used and abused by powerful men is serious and relevant. If the intention here was to make an empowering contribution to, or critical comment on sexual politics, the result is frustratingly deficient. Red Sparrow is trying to be smarter than it is. Appealing cinematography and an engaging performance from Lawrence are let down by the expected good guy/bad guy tropes which strip away any moral ambiguity or mystery. You won’t leave feeling as intrigued as you would by Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, or as entertained as you would by Bond.

together so as to not be jarring. Darling in the FranXX doesn’t quite manage this. That’s not to say it’s impossible to care about the plot details, just less likely. The first three episodes take their time establishing the concept and characters, so the series’ progressionis likely to follow the relatively slow pace of most A-1 shows. TRIGGER get to flex their muscles in the animation and art direction however: mech action scenes are bright, detailed and action-packed, with shot direction and choreography which is highly satisfying and enjoyable to watch. The mech designs keep up with TRIGGER’s delightfully wacky art

direction, with cute chibi-esque faces, candy coloured palettes and bizarre cartoony proportions. This tonal dissonance is handled quite decently; the mechs fit in well with the deep crimson, white and gold colours of the cult setting, and don’t seem out of place in the surrounding deserts or underground either. These episodes haven’t given the impression that what is to come will be particularly new or interesting plot-wise, but they have at least presented a fun combination of concepts and visuals that will entertain most viewers.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Press

screen

the final frontier ! BY JOE MACKAY INTRODUCTION! “Last but not least be sure to check out our feature overleaf, where Joe Mackay dissects the troubled state of videogame movies in the wake of Tomb Raider’s mediocre early reviews. Another one bites the dust.” - David Craig, two pages ago The reviews for Tomb Raider 2018 are in. They aren’t too bad overall, but aren’t really that good either: An “aggressively boring” take on the source material (Vanity Fair), with a “paint by numbers” plot (The Hollywood Reporter) and a “punching bag” heroine (Chicago Tribune). Jarring essay-style introduction aside, there aren’t many good movies based on video games. In fact, there might not be any at all.

To prove this point, here’s a list of some well known films with some comments from me slagging them off. Just to clarify, this is my opinion. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with liking these films - I like The Room or Troll 2 as much as the next pretentious film fan. But they aren’t good films, so let’s get going.

SUPER MARIO BROS! I wish that this film fell into the category of so-bad-it’s-good. I really do. But it’s just bad, and not only bad but positively bizarre. Instead of being set in the colourful world of The Mushroom Kingdom, it’s set in a pretty grim incarnation of New York City for a bit, and then it’s set in another dimension? Why is this film set in an Orwellian Dystopia? Why is Yoshi an actual

dinosaur? Why is Bowser a tyrannical dictator with a political agenda? You could argue that this film is a masterpiece because it reinvents the source material, but you would be wrong.

ASSASSIN'S CREED! Since the release of the first AC game in 2007, fans have been dying for a decent movie adaptation. The series is full of intelligent storytelling and character building, and creates a perfect genre hybrid of historical fantasy and sci-fi. While it takes the core concept of the series and applies it to an original story, the film really suffers from oversimplification, which could be the crucial flaw in most videogame adaptations. People can spend several hours

or even days engrossed in games, but this film’s sub-two hour runtime isn’t enough to really develop anything. The sections set in the past are slick and interesting, but they do very little to further the plot and if anything detract from it. None of the characters are well-developed or interesting either, especially in contrast to the games. This film is bad.

the resident evil series! I won’t dwell on this for too long, because there are some serious die-hard fans of the Resident Evil movie franchise, including my illustrious co-editor. Not only this, but Resident Evil is a series that proves videogame movies can be commercially successful: on a total budget of $290 million, the films managed to turn over $1.2 billion at the Box Office alone. The most praise that can be given to these films is that they are just a semi-decent set of kind of rubbishy action-horror movies.

Even saying this non-praise to any fan of the games will get you shouted at though, because you don’t get it, and the films are NOTHING compared to the games. So there, apparently.

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March 2018

pixels! In all fairness, the idea behind this film is pretty cool. But this film is bad. It’s a bad Adam Sandler movie. I don’t even have the energy to talk about this piece of garbage, so here’s the particularly scathing verdict of The Atlantic’s Megan Garber: “Everything is wrong here, cinematically, creatively, maybe even morally. Pixels is one of those

movies that isn’t just casually bad, or shoot-the-moon bad, and too-closeto-the-sun bad, or actually kind of delightfully bad. It is tediously bad. It is bafflingly bad… A certain strain of cinematic nihilism.”

warcraft! A modest commercial success, Warcraft was released to mediocre-to-favourable reviews. This film has some very good effects, decent battle sequences, and an interesting plot about war and morality. If you’ve never had anything to do with Warcraft however, this film is awful. It assumes a fairly heavy amount of prior knowledge and does very little to explain anything, no matter how crucial it is to the plot. A significant number of people have played the many iterations of Warcraft

however, so to them it’s an enjoyable affair. However, pre-existing knowledge shouldn’t be a necessity for enjoying the movie. The Lord of The Rings trilogy doesn’t require you to read all the books beforehand, although you can if you want. The discrepancy between book adaptations and videogame movies seems largely to be in the sheer level of assumed prior knowledge.

doom! Doom is a sci-fi action-horror film set on Mars, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It’s based on the 1993 pixely first-person shooter game without much of a plot. This film doesn’t have much of a plot either, even though it tries to. A search-and-rescue mission to Mars goes wrong when there’s these alien/mutant creatures roaming all over the base, and then some nonsense about an alien chromosome, and then a lot of Space Marines die and that’s about it.

Famous film buff Roger Ebert described it as “like some kid came over and is using your computer and won’t let you play,” which is a pretty good summary. 2005’s Doom doesn’t know if it wants to be a movie or a videogame so instead it’s neither.

a rare exception - wreck it ralph! Wreck-It Ralph is a good movie. It’s a self-aware movie about videogames, supplementing this with a variety of intellectual properties and references. The main characters are original characters however, so there’s no danger of anybody complaining about their favourite games being ruined, there’s just a nice slew of references here and there. Wreck-It Ralph takes a variety of videogame concepts and amalgamates them to create a good plot with a variety of characters that would not otherwise

appear simultaneously, and a varied and visually interesting setting. A stellar example.

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Press

Society Spotlight

This week... Quidditch

Society

Let’s start off with who you are and what role you play in the society? My name is Susie Harrison and I’m first team captain for the club.

What does your society do exactly? We act like a sports club, we meet up regularly to do training sessions outside in the mud. We go to fixtures and games as well as larger tournaments across the UK. We compete nationally.

It says on your website page that quidditch is a full contact sport, is it sort of like rugby? And could you very briefly summarise what the sport itself actually involves? In the books and films there are four people on each team who play with a quaffle. They throw it between themselves and have to score points by throwing it through a hoop at the end. Our version of that is very similar, but we use a volley ball. But it is full contact in that you can tackle the ball carrier as hard as you want, much like rugby.

Do you think it’s more of an obsession with Harry Potter or an interest in the sport itself that initially attracts people to Quidditch society? Something that I think is quite interesting is that it definitely started off as a Harry Potter thing. Some people thought it would be interesting to try quidditch as a real sport and set up a game. But over the years the rules have been changed to make it more

suitable to play in real life as a contact sport, and it’s become much more competitive and much more physical, and in my opinion, a lot more fun.

How long has playing quidditch in real life been ‘a thing’?

It’s been about seven year in the UK and a few more in the US. I’ve personally been involved in the society for around five years. It’s now a nationally renowned sport and there are teams in a lot of major cities all over the country, particularly one’s with a large student population.

The society seems quite competitive. As 1st team captain, would you say you have quite a good team? I think we have an excellent team. Our club is actually the largest in the UK, we’re the only one with three teams.

Outside of the sport itself, are you quite a social society? Yeah definitely, a couple of nights ago I marshalled a bar crawl. And of course if you’re going to tournaments together, there’s quite a lot of team bonding going on, you make friends very easily, and we do have lots of socials. We’re an incredibly welcoming society. We get people

from all different backgrounds; we get people that play rugby, and personally I did cross country. It’s a really great way to meet different kinds of people.

Personally, what would you say is the best thing about Quidditch society? The diversity! I meet people that I never would have met anywhere else. And as a coach, it’s nice be be able to teach people in the way that they are

best suited to the sport. The smaller players can play to their strengths, and the bigger players can still hit people. There’s no one way to play.

What are the most notable events that the society is involved in?

I would say definitely the Quidditch UK tournaments, which are regionals and nationals, as well as the development cup which is the tournament for teams that didn’t qualify for nationals. So this year, our first and second team have qualified for nationals. In fact, next Saturday we are taking our teams to Oxford to play at the British Quidditch Cup. It’s a huge tournament, involving 32 teams I believe, and we’re hoping to make the upper bracket.

What marks out Quidditch as different from other sports? It’s the fastest growing sport in the world. One thing that came from the books is that it’s mixed gender. So in real life quidditch, we operate in a ‘for maximum’ rule, so out of your team, you can have up to 21 in the sub-box, and seve on pitch, as you would in the books, but only four people out of the players you have on pitch can identify as the same gender. So, for example, you can’t play six of the largest male players that you can find. And it also means, because it’s a mixed-gender sport, people of any gender identity are extremely welcome to join the society, which is another reason why we have a lot of diversity. In fact, we have all LGBT+ female captains.

How can students get involved in the society? It’s a great question! All of our training sessions are open. We have a social sports session every Tuesday during term time at 5pm on the John Hawley pitch at Goodwin, it’s £2, and everyone is welcome. We also have a Facebook page and group, so feel free to message us.

Forge Press

Wednesday 29 November 2017

When I was a wee nipper, I loved Harry Potter. I wasn’t a super fan or anything, I didn’t dress up as Voldemort, have Potter posters all over my walls, and pretend to use spells with my wand or anything like that. I did, however, love the films, and loved going to see them at the local Odeon with my brother, as much as they scared the crap out of me (I’ve always been a wimp with films).

Break

Crossword Puzzle 1

probably mostly because of childhood nostalgia, my somewhat moderate love for Harry Potter has never truly died. And so in this issue, as well as interviewing QuidditchSoc in Society Spotlight, I decided to devote the theme of this week’s crossword puzzle to the gargantuan legacy of the man himself, Mr Potter. Dave

Sudoku Puzzles

My brother was a more devoted fan, he actually bothered to read the books. I remember his head being practically fixed in position over his precious new Potter book when he was reading them. On one occasion, he even went with my Dad at midnight to get the latest Harry Potter book as soon as it was released from Waterstone’s. I know right, lame! But I guess in many ways,

Easy

5 6 7

9 10

11 12

14 15

Medium

ACROSS

DOWN

4. The name of Hagrid’s pet hippogriff (8). 8. _________ Myrtle (7). 10. The name of the joke shop near the school (6). 11. Headmaster of Harry’s school (10). 12. ____ Lady in portrait (3). 13. House with colours yellow and black (10). 15. The name of Harry’s school (8). 18. Village close to Harry’s school where students go (9). 20. Sirius’ last name (5). 21. Sport played by Harry (9). 22. Half people, half fish (9). 23. The alley that Harry ends up after the floo powder incident (9). 25. Crookshanks is a _____ (3). 27. House with colours scarlet and gold (10). 28. Banking institution of witches and wizards (9).

1. Guards at Azkaban (9). 2. Harry’s owl (6). 3. House with colours blue and bronze (9). 5. The drive that the Dursley’s residence is on (6). 6. Shape shifter takes on what is feared (7). 7. Foul name for someone that is muggle born (8). 9. Sweet shop in village near school (10). 14. Hagrid’s big boarhound (4). 16. House with colours green and silver (9). 17. Alley that has many shops for witches and wizards (6). 19. He who must not be named (9). 20. Monster also known as King of Serpents (8). 24. Leaky _______ (8). 26. People who catch dark wizards (6).

n village near school (10). boarhound (4). colours green and silver (9). s many shops for witches and

t not be named (9). known as King of Serpents (8).

DOWN:

r takes on what is feared (7). or someone that is muggle

ACROSS:

e prison (9). 6). colours blue and bronze (9). at the Dursley’s residence is

Across: 4. The name of Hagrid’s pet hippogriff (8). Wowzas that’s HARD! 8. _________ Myrtle (7). 10. The name of the joke shop near the school (6). 11. Headmaster of Harry’s school (10). 12. ____ Lady in portrait (3). 13. House with colours yellow and black (10). 15. The name of Harry’s school (8). 18. Village close to Harry’s school where students go (9). 20. Sirius’s last name (5). 21. Game played by Harry (9). 22. Half people, half fish (9). 23. The alley that Harry ends up after the floo powder incident (9). 1. Dementors. 2. Hedwig. 3. Ravenclaw. 5. Privet. 6. Boggart. 7. Mudblood. 9. Honeydukes. 14. Fang. 16. Slytherin. 17. Diagon. 19. Voldemort. 20. Basilisk. 24. Cauldron. 26. Aurors.

4. Buckbeak. 8. Moaning. 10. Zonkos. 11. Dumbledore. 12. Fat. 13. Hufflepuff. 15. Hogwarts. 18. Hogsmeade. 20. Black. 21. Quidditch. 22. Merpeople. 23. Knockturn. 25. Cat. 27. Gryffindor. 28. Gringotts.

Forge Press

Wednesday 21 March

Sport Thoughts

Team Sky’s reputation at stake after damning report Tim Adams looks at the breaches of ethics for Britain’s most successful cycling team after fresh allegations. Tim Adams

he first section of the Antidote of Team Sky contains the phrase ‘This is The Line’, regarding the determination and drive needed for success in the never stopping world of cycling. Since the team’s founding in 2007 it has generated an enormous amount of attention for the right reasons since the turn of the decade, with dominance in the Tour De France the pinnacle of the achievements. But now dark shadows cast over a once gilded operation. Questions are being asked at the practices and set-ups instigated by Team Sky in their organisation of major events. The Antidote, written onto the team’s equipment and merchandise, might as well now read ‘This is The Ethics Line’. Ever since Lance Armstrong’s tearful admission to Oprah on his systematic use of doping, saying it would not have been possible to win the titles without cheating, and that drug culture was prevalent in cycling at that time, the sport’s been tainted with this drug abuse crisis. Armstrong was the protagonist at the pinnacle of the sport. Seven consecutive Tour titles won him adulation and accreditation across the globe, and at the time everything seemed the norm, even with faint whispers of wrongdoing in the background. But they were simply outnumbered by the vast amount of support that Armstrong carried. So when the American told the world that he purposely cheated the system and that the greatest success in the history of cycling turned out to be fiction, the reputation of the sport

looked to be in tatters. What would happen next?

It will worsen even more into the abyss and dark times lay ahead For a short period, a few names shared the biggest prize. Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans each carried the yellow jersey across the Champs-Élysées finish line, but in the background, Team Sky was in the process of building a dynasty. Firstly in 2012, Sir Bradley Wiggins stormed to glory in Paris, and now Chris Froome, bar the success of Vincenzo Nibali in 2014, has taken over the mantle as the man to beat, under the stewardship of General Manager of Team Sky Sir Dave Brailsford. Domination unparalleled in recent times, Froome has won four Tours and is just one off from sharing the alltime record. Brailsford’s standing in the sport couldn’t have been higher post-London 2012. But now a recent parliamentary report from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee poses new questions of

Sheffield United held by Forest as Wilder slams afternoon of missed opportunities Adam May

ottingham Forest made it seven matches unbeaten as they held Sheffield United to a 0-0 stalemate at Bramall Lane. With two in-form teams this was always going to be an interesting match-up and, coupled with the blizzard conditions that swept over Bramall Lane, it made the match that little bit more unpredictable, but both outfits ended up cancelling each other out. It was a game that frustrated Blades boss Chris Wilder, with the manager saying he won’t stop his sides from attacking and trying to win games at home. He said: “We didn’t deserve to win it. We didn’t show enough quality in the final third. “It’s a missed opportunity for us. I think there has been a few missed opportunities over the last few Saturdays. “It’s the frustration of not putting these last two games to bed.

“We made so many poor decisions. It is just that decision making and consistency that we need to show week in, week out.” The Blades made two changes from the side that beat Burton on Tuesday with Leon Clarke passed fit to partner skipper Billy Sharp up front while midfielder Ryan Leonard started in an unfamiliar position on the right-side of defence. Manchester United loanee James Wilson and centre-back Chris Basham sat out of the match day squad, with the latter travelling up to Newcastle as his wife is due to give birth. With the snow starting to settle on one half of the pitch, Forest’s defence had to be alert with the ball skipping off the surface as visibility became blurred. Clarke’s header forced Costel Pantilimon into an early save and, despite the former Manchester City shot stopper’s large frame, his reach was tested as he palmed the goalbound effort away. Since Aitor Karanka took over the wheels in January he has constructed

Team Sky on one of the many climbs of the 2016 Tour De France

ethical wrongdoing. The report’s damning conclusions allege that Team Sky cynically abused the anti-doping system to allow the administration of performanceenhancing drugs, with one example in 2012 eye-raising. This is after Chris Froome was found to have failed a drugs test in his victory at the Vuelta a Espana last year, after an investigation by the Guardian and French newspaper Le Monde. Froome is not the centre of attention in the report, but significantly Brailsford and Wiggins are. For the first time publicly it is suggested Team Sky and Wiggins used the powerful corticosteroid triamcinolone not to

them into the side that a club with their history should be. A rocky start yielded one win in five, but since then they’ve been unbeaten in six. The club has clearly benefited from their transfer window strategy and their position in the table is now somewhat deceiving. Spin that the other way, however, and it’s a testament to Sheffield United’s season as the Blades find themselves flirting with the play-off places. A distant dream, of course, from the years in League One. Clarke then had an even better chance when he found himself twoyards out, but he couldn’t direct John Fleck’s pinpoint delivery with his header dropping wide of the far post when it looked easier to cause the net to ripple. Flurries of snow still scattered the pitch and Fleck saw it as an opportunity to test Pantilimon with a shot from the edge-of-the-box which the keeper was equal to. Forest’s last two results have been 0-0, so it was perhaps no surprise that, despite the hype, the score-line was a carbon copy at half-time. Lee Evans’ first-time shot tenminutes before the interval, however, temporarily threatened to loop into the corner but the curling effort had too much on it and dropped onto the roof of the net, before Matty Cash forced Jamal Blackman into his first save of the afternoon. Two point-blanc saves in quick succession from Blackman denied Daryl Murphy the honours of breaking the deadlock after the break, and Chris Wider reacted to that near-

Wikimedia Commons

treat a legitimate medical condition but to improve their chances of winning. The MPs who led the inquiry believe Wiggins used it to improve his power-to-weight ratio in the run-up to the Tour de France in 2012. They also, remarkably, allege that the performance-enhancing benefits would’ve continued after the race. Wiggins said he strongly refutes the claim that any drug was used without medical need. The report went on to say: “Brailsford must take responsibility for these failures, the regime under which Team Sky riders trained and competed, and the damaging

scepticism about the legitimacy of his team’s performance and accomplishments.” Team Sky said: “The report includes an allegation of widespread Triamcinolone used by Team Sky riders ahead of the 2012 Tour de France. Again, we strongly refute this allegation.” What can now be regarded as an illusion of integrity by Team Sky is becoming clearer. This report is compelling yet damning, and it strikes right at the heart of the purpose of the team itself. Questions must be answered otherwise the team may simply not survive.

Groundsmen attempt to clear the Bramall Lane pitch

miss by introducing David Brooks – who scored against Burton in the last match in his return for illness – for Sharp. A Lee Evans slip in midfield gave Forest a counter-attack and, as Wilder looked down at the ground cursing his luck while the visitors bombed forward, Murphy wasted the chance by slicing into the side netting. The Blades then switched to four at the back as Ricky Holmes came on for Leonard in an attempt to take the game to Forest who were playing far too comfortably on United’s home turf, but it reaped no rewards as they searched for a decider. The snow didn’t clear, so much so that the referee called for a break with ten minutes left to give the groundsmen chance to clear the pitch markings.

Adam May

After the re-start, another closerange save from Blackman denied Ben Brereton this time as Forest thought they’d claimed a late winner. An afternoon of missed chances for both sides, then, as the international break beckons next weekend. Forest boss, Karanka, said at fulltime: “We are really consistent. “I think a draw was a fair result but we’re a little bit disappointed as we had some good chances to score, particularly in the second half. We battled hard as a team in difficult conditions but the challenge now is to play as well with the ball as we do without it. “The man of the match was their keeper. It’s a sign he has done really well. When the keeper is a man of the match it shows you had chances to win the game.”

Wednesday 21 March 2018

Forge Press

Sarah Morse talks mental health, sport and dissertations Adam May

aving just sent off her dissertation, the SU’s new Sports Officer for 2018-19, Sarah Morse, can now sit back and take in a whirlwind last couple of months. Since the turn of the year, the workload has been non-stop. From sending off her application to the endless campaigning, coupled with the snow and strikes, it was a test of character and resilience. Despite all the work, however, the process is something Sarah, who studies geography, would do all over again. Speaking exclusively to Forge Sport, she said: “Even if I hadn’t have won the role, there were so many things I had to do and had to deal with, in terms of speaking to new people and different experiences. “I didn’t think when I first came to uni I would go for something like this, I wasn’t even really sure what SU officers were when I arrived. I could imagine myself maybe doing something like this in the last year because I’ve been captain of the tennis club and that has required management, leadership and organisation.

“It wasn’t until the beginning of January that I really considered going for it. I just knew I’d regret it if I didn’t try. “Although I had done a lot of preparation in terms of what I wanted to do, it wasn’t until a couple of days before the deadline where I said to myself, ‘Sarah, you’re never going to get an opportunity to do something like this again’. It’s paid off I guess!” One of the most prominent aspects of her manifesto was highlighting the importance of mental health. While it’s not solely a sports-oriented issue, sport has been proved to improve well-being and helps build social relationships with peers from other walks of life, and the University’s Social Sport and Give It A Go schemes are something that needs to be fully utilised. It was a topic that Sarah said she would love all SU Officers to work on. She added: “Mental health isn’t just something that was in the manifesto for sports officers. I’m excited because I think it might be quite nice if all the SU Officers work collaboratively on a campaign and that we all have our own angles. Sport has a crucial role to play there and a lot of people know about that but it’s about getting that message

across. “Sport is a really good way of reducing stress and academic workloads. I’ve got to try and lead the way on that, and I had to remind myself about my own health during the campaign as well when I was stressed and tired. I had to live by my words and take a break, whether that would be playing tennis or taking a walk. I want to promote that. “You had to be strict on yourself and not talk about the campaign when you got home, although I probably should’ve tried a bit harder to stop that. “It’s difficult because you feel like you can always do more and that the other candidates are campaigning 24/7, but they’re not. The snow maybe helped with that actually because of the logistical issues.” Sarah’s Star Wars-themed campaign gave her 2,185 votes - a win by 448 votes on second-place. Talking to her, it’s clear she’s eager to get started when she takes office in summer. The prospect of being part of an all-female SU Officer make-up is an exciting prospect, too. “I’m not surprised that all the positions are filled by women because the #SheShouldRun campaign obviously worked really

effectively. “The Sports Officer role has been filled by a woman for the last three or four years so I’m not surprised by that. I’m really happy that President went to a woman because the statistics behind the make-up on candidates in the history of the SU

isn’t great, as well as Development. “I think it’ll encourage people to go for the jobs in the future and that it doesn’t matter what person or gender you are. It’s important people feel that if they want to go for it they can.”

Black and Golds claim Steel City Darts crown

University of Sheffield lift the Steel City Darts trophy after a 5-2 win over Sheffield Hallam

Ben Hardy

he University of Sheffield made it four wins out of four against Sheffield Hallam in the annual darts showdown, winning 5-2 to lift the trophy at the Octagon. Hallam beat the University of Sheffield for only the second time in five years in February, winning 7-4 in the Northern Universities Darts League, setting them up nicely for

Friday evening. After a delay of approximately 15 minutes due to large queues, the contest for the Steel City Darts crown kicked-off with Will Sturla of Hallam versus Conall Doughty. Making his debut in these events, Sturla began with a 140 to banish any nerves as he proceeded to win the first match 3-1 against Doughty, nicknamed Loves the Darts. The crowd shared this view, as an early chant of “Stand up if you love

Sam Birkett

the darts” rang round the venue which is undoubtedly quieter when hosting graduation ceremonies and examinations. Indications were for a decent matchup between Hallam’s Joe Berry and Thomas Hogg in the second game, since both players had previous checkouts of 170. With 15 years of experience in the sport, Hogg threw a 140 during his victorious first leg, before sealing a 3-1 win with a double ten to bring the

overall scores level. Hogg said: “‘I thought I held up well, I probably played to 60-70% of my best. I was incredibly nervous – it’s impossible not to be up there. “I played two years ago and lost, so I’m happy to correct that tonight with my first win. The crowd’s support was great – it’s always good to have an evenly split crowd.” Having once reached the quarterfinals of the Greater Vancouver Open, the largest darts tournament in Canada, University of Sheffield’s local from Hillsborough, Tim Close, took to the oche to play Connor Bowler in the third match. Not long after clinching the first leg, Bowler’s arms were aloft in response to the first 180 of the night. He looked unstoppable as he moved 2-0 ahead. Incredibly, Close showcased his 20 years of darts experience as he turned the game completely on its head, sealed with a 68 checkout in the deciding leg. Both players embraced, acknowledging the fact they had taken part in an extraordinary tussle, with Bowler remarking: “I started off well, but then went off the boil. In the end I couldn’t live up to expectations. “The support was decent, although it did put me off a bit, though overall I was quite happy with my performance.” After the close-call between Close and Bowler, the new doubles format was much more comprehensive as Luke Cowling and Matt Roye whitewashed Kieran Fitzgibbon and Curtis Thorpe of Hallam. The University of Sheffield led 3-1, a second 180 of the night coming from Roye in the process. On the back of four consecutive 180s

in last year’s event, Danny Hall is fittingly nicknamed Daddy Cool and he faced Hallam’s Dec Parsons in the eagerly anticipated Captain’s Match following the interval. Signs of mortality were evident however, as Parsons raced into a 2-0 lead. A comeback of Tim Close proportions was required from Daddy Cool, but it was not be as he was defeated 3-0 by a firedup Hallam captain. It brought the overall score to 3-2 with two to play. The Black and Gold’s skipper said: “I feel really good. Things could have gone differently, and I was predicting a close score, a 4-3. “I think it turned on Tim Close, who played really well, and after that we got important wins at the right time. Winning it with one to go was fantastic. “It was the first time I went in as favourite, and the pressure told, as last year I played out of my skin. The team won, though, so I’m happy.” Ritesh Deo from Singapore then took on Hallam’s Eddie Castaldo. Hallam smelt blood after Hall’s mauling. Castaldo took a 1-0 lead but despite a relatively modest two years of experience, Deo responded emphatically. Three consecutive games from Deo secured the Darts Steel City Crown for the University of Sheffield, taking an unassailable 4-2 lead. A dead rubber finished things off, but the crowd remained vocal as Adam Warner beat Hallam’s Charlie ‘Fire Marshall’ 3-1. The final score of 5-2 meant it was the University of Sheffield lifting the trophy.

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Wednesday 21 March 2018

Captain’s Corner | American Football

Forge Sport Team

Captain’s Corner has been on a winter break but for its return we have athletes from a sport that is rising in popularity in the UK. This week we welcomed the captains of the University’s American Football team, the Sheffield Sabres. Answering our questions this week are Usama Mujtaba, a Linebacker who studies Chemical Engineering, defensive back and Mech Eng student Liam Pratt and Wide Receivers Mark Price and Simon Arnold who study French and Economics and Materials Science respectively. What inspired you to play American Football? UM: I joined the American football team in my first year. I was actually wandering around the Sports Fair aimlessly, when I saw one of the players in kit (James Murphy) who was great and convinced me to come to the first session. I wasn’t inspired by the sport; I was inspired by the feeling of brotherhood present at every training session. Five years on and I’ve never looked back. LP: I played Madden 11 on my Xbox before university and really fell in love with the sport. Once I got to uni and wanted to try something new, it was the obvious choice. MP: I saw an NFL game at Wembley on TV a few years ago, Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings. I did not know too much about what was going on at that point but I enjoyed it and began to follow the NFL for the rest of that season. As I watched it more and more I knew it was something I wanted to do when I started university. SA: I used to play regular football at school but had to retire when I was 16 due to injury. After the best part of two years without playing sport I wanted to pick up something new at university and as a fan of the NFL I thought I’d try out American Football with my flatmate. Since then I haven’t looked back and neither has he. I would recommend at least trying it out to anyone. Your best moment whilst playing? UM: My best moment whilst playing has to be from this year. In all the years of my playing career we have never beaten Hallam. Just a few weeks ago we played them for the second time this season and finally won! For anyone who understands the rivalry, waiting five years for a victory like that was so special and nothing will beat it. LP: Beating Hallam this season. We hadn’t done so for a few seasons and were underdogs but managed to get the win. MP: My best moment has to be scoring the game sealing touchdown in our win against Hallam this season. The team had waited so long for that win and not many people believed it would be possible a year ago. SA: There are so many to pick from! I think the best moment was this season when we convincingly beat Hallam for the first time in five years and second since 2008 after being crushed last season in the equivalent fixture.

The University American Football Team, The Sheffield Sabres (And team mascot the VK bottle) Most embarrassing moment whilst playing? UM: I was in my first year and I got hit so hard by one of the linebackers that my helmet came off and I fumbled the ball. I went off to the side of the field and started crying, when one of the senior players came and consoled me. Nobody cared that I had messed up, but everyone cared when I continued on after messing up. LP: Dropping a really easy interception a few years ago. The gif that was created by the other players still pops up every now and then to embarrass me further. MP: I have made many mistakes whilst playing for the Sabres but I cannot say I have ever really been embarrassed. Being out on the field is where I feel comfortable and I just love competing with my teammates. SA: Against LJMU this year when we were behind towards the end of the game and needed to score, I dropped their punt which they recovered giving them the ball back. What’s the society like to be in? UM: The American football club is a great team to be a part of. I feel like I have genuinely found my family. Regardless of whether or not I have played with them on the same field, every Sabre understands the brotherhood. I love that. LP: It’s great. There’s a really great team atmosphere and it makes you really want to play for the people next to you. MP: The Sabres have easily been the best part of my university experience, whether that is working hard training together or celebrating big wins together, we have a lot of fun and my best memories at Sheffield have been with this group. SA: The club is so much fun both on and off the field. We work and train hard in all weathers, both on the field and in the classroom. We watch videos of ourselves so we can improve and of our opponents so we exploit their weaknesses. Training is

intense with no wasted time as we only have limited time compared to other universities (eight hours plus team gym sessions). Then off the field we have a themed Wednesday social to Roar almost every week as well as various non-drinking socials throughout the year. My best friends are from the club, as are the vast majority of the team. Expectations for Varsity? UM: Win. No other options. Next question please. LP: Win. We’ve beaten them once and we’ll do it again. MP: Hallam’s last result was a loss to us and their next one will be too. SA: We have to win.

Hallam’s last result was a loss to us and their next one will be too How has the season gone? UM: The season has gone amazingly well. From being a 1-7 (won 1 lost 7) team to a team that was second in the division and shutting out the top of the division (UCLan) in the playoffs, to beating Hallam for the first time in five years, this year has been unreal. LP: We didn’t start the season too

Sheffield Sabres

well but since Christmas everything has clicked and we’ve been unbeaten in our last five games. Having gone 1-7 last year and narrowly avoiding relegation to being one of the strongest teams in our division is something I’m really proud of. MP: This season has been great, after a very disappointing season last year the team has turned things around especially in the second half of the season winning five games in a row, including a win in the first round of the playoffs. Although the season came to an unfortunate end as Edinburgh were unable to provide a pitch for our game in the second round of the playoffs, meaning we were knocked out as Edinburgh had a better record, I am extremely proud of the team and everything we have achieved this year getting back to winning ways. SA: We started slowly but gained momentum after Christmas only losing one game (in the last eight seconds) then continuing with a five game unbeaten streak and winning our division. Unfortunately, our season was ended by the weather rendering Edinburgh Napier’s pitch unplayable which meant we had to concede the game despite the best efforts of Sport Sheffield to rearrange the game. Plans for the future, will you continue playing? UM: My plans for the future are to play for the Sheffield Giants. I do not know whether I will continue to play for much longer, but football has been a huge part of my life, and I am eternally grateful for every experience I have had. I encourage anyone and everyone to get involved. LP: Despite having been here forever I’ve still got two more years in my PhD so I’ll continue to play for the Sabres. I’m also probably going to join the local senior team, the Sheffield Giants. I’ll keep playing until my body decides I can’t do anymore and then I’ll probably start coaching. MP: I will be playing for the Sheffield Giants this summer in the

Premiership North in the National League. I intend to play for as long as I can and even when I have to stop I am sure I will stay around the game as a coach. SA: I think Varsity this year will be the end of my American Football career. I can’t see myself playing for anyone other than the Sabres and I promised my mum I’d stop for a bit at least - despite the best efforts of a few old boys trying to convince me to join their senior teams!

Victories over Hallam since 2008

Where can people get in touch? UM: You can get in touch with me via Facebook or email. You can get in touch with the club via their Facebook page (Sheffield Sabres American Football Club). LP: You can get in touch with me via Facebook or you contact the club on Facebook or email at usfootball@ sheffield.ac.uk. MP: You can get in touch with me on Facebook or via email,for the club contact the Facebook page, Sheffield Sabres American Football Club. SA: Messaging the club’s facebook page is probably easiest, but if they message me I can forward them to the right place!

Friday 21 March 2018

www.facebook.com/ForgePress

Adam May

@ForgeSport press.sport@forgetoday.com

Sport

Head of Sport

Hello! It’s here! Varsity 2018 is finally about to get underway today as the University of Sheffield look to hold on to their five-year winning streak. The next month will be a test of resilience, determination, defiance, strength, skill and passion. It’s the most hotly-anticipated sporting event on the uni calendar, and we here at Forge Press, TV and Radio are going to bring you as much coverage as we possibly can thanks to our brilliant tech team and countless

contributors. In this issue, then, it seems fitting that we have a preview of the competition ahead of tonight’s opening ceremony at the FlyDSA Arena. We also have a few national taekwondo champions after a successful tournament at the University of Worcester recently. American Football, who play their Varsity fixture against Team Hallam on Sunday April 22, are in the spotlight this time as Josh Taylor speaks to four of the University’s captains. Last Friday saw the Steel City Darts

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success, and you can read Ben Hardy’s report from the night at the Octagon on page 42. We also have a Sports Thoughts piece where Tim Adams evaluates the future of Team Sky amid recent controversy, and a report from Bramall Lane too. As ever, thanks to all our contributors. It’s going to be a busy few weeks for us behind the keyboard at Forge, and we hope you enjoy the coverage we bring you. Here’s to Varsity!

Uni celebrates national taekwondo champions Josh Taylor

The University of Sheffield celebrate a fifth consecutive Varsity win on the ice of the FlyDSA Arena at last event

Dan West

Varsity 2018: who dares wins Adam May

he University of Sheffield are looking to make it six straight Varsity crowns as the opening ceremony takes place at Sheffield’s FlyDSA Arena tonight. Ice Hockey – which has previously closed the sports competition between the University of Sheffield and Team Hallam – is this year’s curtain raiser after the Black and Golds stormed to a 45-35 victory in 2017. The University of Sheffield enter tonight’s Ice Hockey Men’s 1s fixture 3-1 up after winning the snow sports leg of the competition, which was held in the French Alps in December. Tickets for tonight’s match-up, which Team Hallam won 6-3 last year, sold out in just over six hours with each university given a 4,000 ticket allocation. With the past five years swinging in favour of Black and Gold, the pressure is on yet again to bring the trophy home as this year’s

final takes place at Hillsborough Stadium. The Men’s 1s and Women’s 1s take to Sheffield Wednesday’s home turf on April 25 with around 14,000 tickets sold. With 40.5 points needed to win the competition, Black and Gold will be anticipating another successful year after impressing in various BUCS matches throughout the season. Today also sees the cycling crosscountry compete, while April 13 sees equestrian grace the Hargate Hill Equestrian Centre, before a busy week of fixtures begin on April 18. The day will see golf, climbing, football, ultimate frisbee, cricket, rugby league and rugby union contest points at Sheffield Hallam Sports Park, while a mixed Ice Hockey 2s match is the solitary fixture the following day. Sheffield Hallam University City Athletics Stadium plays host to the athletics with two points up for grabs from 6pm onwards. Goodwin Sports Centre is then field of play for hockey and lacrosse

on Friday April 20 with sailing and rowing occupying Saturday’s slot at Dam Flask and Winscar. Triathlon, trampolining, American football and dodgeball - a new fixture to the Varsity calendar take place on Sunday April 22. Monday sees the BMX cycling event take to Bolehills before EIS Sheffield gears up for a busy day of events. Midday sees netball kick-off proceedings before table tennis, volleyball, basketball, futsal and wheelchair basketball - which isn’t worth a Varsity point - take to the venue. As the week draws to a close, hockey will be played at Abbeydale on Tuesday, while squash and tennis are to be held at Hallamshire. Wednesday then sees cycling, korfball, swimming, canoe polo, water polo and badminton play their fixtures, before Wednesday’s football finals close the competition.

The University of Sheffield have celebrated a record haul of medals at the Student National Taekwondo Championships Finals at the start of March. Seven students came out with accolades in six different weight classes to make history for the club at the event held at the University of Worcester Arena. The medals were won in numerous sparring contests set up by the International Taekwondo Federation and the World Taekwondo Federation. In the ITF categories held on the first day the University of Sheffield’s sparrers won the team competition, which is judged by results achieved in individual fights. Richard Pearce was one of the highlights as he won gold at 71kg, Jamie Harrold and Jenny Ferron picked up silvers in both the 64kg and 69kg classes and Jem Arnold rounded off an impressive showing picking up bronze at 85kg. They beat University College London, who have one of the largest Taekwondo clubs in Britain, to the top spot. Bethan Easeman, the club’s secretary, said on the success at the finals: “We couldn’t be any prouder of all of our competitors, and we thank everyone who came down to cheer us all on.” There was even more success for Uni of’s sparrers in the WTF categories. Gus Ranger won the second gold of the finals at 80kg and Mike Harris

added a silver at the same weight class. Adam Richmond also picked up a gold medal at 54kg, beating University of Surrey’s Kobithasan Vasantharajab in the final. The second year journalism student who has been practicing Taekwondo for three years, with last week’s finals being his fourth competition for the University, said: “I had to wait quite a while for my fight, I watched my opponents fight in a semi-final so I could look at their tactics. There was a lot of pressure on me with my team watching but it was all worth it in the end.” He featured in the same event and weight class last year and managed to get to the finals, although an injury to his ankle affected his performance and he could only walk away with a silver. On his success this year, he said: “I have to say a massive thanks to my coach Calum Lawrence. He coached me at the last nationals as well and we found out we were a perfect fit. He was definitely a massive reason I won gold.” The University’s next outing is an inter-club competition held in November.

Golds won by the Taekwondo Club in the finals