Forge Issue 77

INSIDE: burlesque/ marking strike/ best christmas markets/ HollIE Mcnish/ film unit

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The independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield. Est. 1946.

Issue 77 Friday November 21 2014 @ForgePress /ForgePress

INSIDE

Sport

Ched Evans: the story so far

Student attacked on way home from SU Page 3

10k attend tuition fees demo

Features

Are we trivialising Celebrities’ mental health?

Comment

The war on drugs is a war on people

Photo: Estel Farell Roig Estel Farell Roig and Elsa Vulliamy 10,000 students marched for free education in central London on Wednesday, making it the biggest student demonstration since 2010, when the £9,000 fees were introduced.

11 people were arrested, including two for allegedly assaulting a police officer, two for alleged affray, one for criminal damage, one for possession of an offensive weapon and one for violent disorder. None of them were University of Sheffield students.

Welfare Officer Tom Harrison, who attended the mobilisation, said: “It has been a really great day with some really committed student activists from Sheffield.

University of Sheffield students attend the demonstration “It has been a good opportunity to see how broad the movement for free education has become and it has left me with hope momentum is building up. It has brought free education forward in the agenda.

“The next thing is to mobilise more students across campuses and make free education part of the general election strategy.

“We have had exciting discussions on how to bring actions back to campus and, despite my bad jokes on the coach back, we all come back feeling energised and wanting to get involved.”

Students’ unions across the country were put in a difficult position after the National

Union of Students (NUS) pulled out their support of the demonstration because of “safety and accessibility concerns”, which then led to the NUS England offices being vandalised.

Documents given to attendees beforehand said that organisers had been “inconsistent”.

They were recruiting stewards until the end of last week and some of the law firms whose numbers were given to protesters on leaflets giving them advice about what to do if they’re arrested hadn’t been contacted.

There was no public liability insurance for the mobilisation, so students were responsible for covering any damage costs.

Continued on page 2

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Editor

elsa.vulliamy@forgetoday.com

Elsa Vulliamy

DEPUTY EDITOR Tom Schneider Managing Editor

j.may@sheffield.ac.uk

Jon May

fuse editors fuse@forgetoday.com Phil Bayles Kate Lovatt HEAD OF ONLINE matthew.smith@forgetoday.com matthew Smith News news@forgetoday.com Patrick O’Connell Neelam Tailor Adela Whittingham Estel Farell Roig Will Morgan Keri Trigg Comment comment@forgetoday.com Lauren Archer Isaac Stovell COFFEE BREAK letters@forgetoday.com Helen Hiorns Features features@forgetoday.com Kemi Alemoru Will Ross Polly Winn Lifestyle & travel lifestyle@forgetoday.com Isabel Dobinson Nikita Kesharaju Sport sport@forgetoday.com Joseph Bamford Edward McCosh Thomas Pyman Music music@forgetoday.com Rachel Bell Rebecca Stubbs Games games@forgetoday.com Samantha Fielding Robin Wilde Screen screen@forgetoday.com Joe Brennan Sophie Maxwell

in brief...

EVENT

CRIME

Estel Farell Roig

Elsa Vulliamy

A feminist ‘reclaim the night’ march is taking place outside the Cathedral tonight (November 21) at 7pm with a rally, open to all genders, at 8.30pm in Coffee Revolution.

The aim of the event is to reclaim the night from “both the fear and reality of male violence”. It wants to spread the message that women are never to blame for rape and abuse and that they have the right to feel safe on the streets.

The marches began in the 1970s as a reaction to the Yorkshire Ripper murdering women across the North of England.

A Sheffield Sainsbury’s employee was threatened with a machete by an armed robber on the night of Tuesday November 11.

Police say the man approached the shop counter and ordered the employee to hand over money from the till, threatening them with a machete.

The robber was handed the money and fled the scene, leaving employees unharmed.

Police are still searching for him, describing a male in his 20s, 5 ft 11 speaking with a local Sheffield accent.

ENTERTAINMENT

ANIMALS

WINTER

Keri Trigg

Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann

After just 2 hours Take That sold out both Sheffield Motorpoint Arena shows on Thursday November 13.

The band, now a trio, will play their only Yorkshire dates at the Attercliffe venue on June 1 and 2 next year.

Fans in Sheffield hope promoters announce an extra date in Sheffield after 13 more shows were added in other cities.

A large emu-like bird has left the RSPCA baffled and thrown motorists into havoc after roaming down a busy Doncaster road.

The young rhea, initially thought to be an emu, was spotted running down Melton Road, a single-lane national speed limit road, on the morning of November 15.

Rheas can reach speeds of up to 40mph, but the RSPCA were able to catch the bird with the help of a local resident.

Pupils have named Streets Ahead’s thirteen gritters servicing Sheffield’s roads this winter.

The names included Snowy Steve, The Gritternator and Melter Skelter.

Streets Ahead is a City Council project to improve road conditions.

Highway operations manager Jim Pursglove said: “We’ve also been into schools and spoken about keeping safe on ice.”

FESTIVAL

CRIME

Matthew Drew

Chiara Vignati

The national festival of beer will return to Sheffield for the third year running in 2015.

The BeerX Festival of Beer will take place at iceSheffield from March 17-21.

Beer experts will attend the events before doors are opened wide for the public on Friday and Saturday.

6,000 people are expected to turn up to taste a variety of 250 beers.

Organisers said the event “promises to be bigger and better than the last.”

Advanced tickets cost £6 for students.

A 52-year-old grandma fought off a robber who was armed with a broken bottle at her shop on Friday November 7.

Sharon Brook used a walking stick to defend her newsagent Sothal News and Booze on West Street, Beighton, from the thug.

Sharon told The Star: “He kept jabbing it towards me and telling me he was going to hurt me. I said ‘I’m giving you nothing’.”

Despite the initial shock, Sharon does not expect any retaliation from the robber and wants to continue her job as usual.

News from the Steel City

Take That sells out Olivia Goddard

Sheffield beer fest returns

Feminists march tonight

Emu at large in Doncaster

Snowy Steve grits streets

‘Super gran’ beats thug

FORGE MEDIA LEGAL STATEMENT

Clarifications and corrections

Arts arts@forgetoday.com Jon May, Managing Editor Chloe Coleman Last issue we ran a story on Joscelin Woodend SmartPig a short-term loan company being invited to COPY EDITORS speak on ‘tackling student Lucy Barnes welfare issues and improving Elizabeth Cunningham student retention.’

Friederike Dannheim Forge Press regrets that Declan Downey SmartPig were not contacted Helena Egan for a comment: Claire Fowler “We’re sorry to hear that Ellie Tudor Paul has dropped out of Karen Wong the Westminster Higher M edi a H u b, U n io n o f Edcuation Forum since a Student s, We s t e r n Bank , Smart-Pig founder was S hef f ie ld, S10 2T G invited to speak on a panel 0114 2 2286 46 // regarding student hardship. f or gepr e ss@f o r g e t o day.co m Smart-Pig works on the front line of student financial issues and has unrivalled experience and data which will be of benefit to attendees Forge Press is printed on of the Forum. In particular, 100% recycled paper and in line with our beliefs, Smart-Pig would like to work Forge Press is published by Sheffield Students’ Union. Views positively towards making expressed are not necessarily student hardship funds more those of the the Union or the available. editorial team. Complaints Our recent research using should be addressed to the freedom of information Managing Editor in the first requests shows that surprising instance, although a formal number of universities do not procedure exists.

Sainsbury’s machete man

operate hardship funds. We believe that process needs centralising and modernising, and are nearly ready to propose a solution that will enable hardship funds to benefit from our technology and intellectual property in a centralised way, without sharing consumer data with Smart-Pig. Smart-Pig was started by a pair of students, one of whom experienced debt hardship at university first-hand. Our voluntary interest cap is half of the that proposed by the FCA, we postpone late payment fees for 10 days, and have very sympathetic procedures for customer whose circumstances change before their loan become due.”

Forge Press ran a story online on Nov 12 regarding MP Paul Blomfield’s condemnation of Ched Evans training at Sheffield United.

We regret the mistake in the headline which has been corrected.

A rhea

Photo: Wikimedia

STUDENT LIVING

11 arrested at fees protest

Continued from front page

Estel Farell Roig and Elsa Vulliamy Harrison said: “We had to balance the desire to support our members and their activism with the risks. The organisers guaranteed us that access and safety issues had been dealt with.

“We have to encourage activism, not least because the Students’ Union has a free education policy. I think it was disappointing that the demonstration was amidst the NUS controversy. We need the NUS to have free education as a priority.”

17 students from the University of Sheffield attended the demonstration, which finished with a political rally outside Parliament and was organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC), the Students Assembly Against Austerity and the Young Greens.

English and History student Georgia Elander, at the University of Sheffield who is part of the Young Greens and was a steward in the event, said: “I am really glad so many students turned up even though the NUS pulled out.

“I was impressed there were no clashes with the police in the actual march, even though there were some afterwards.”

Reports say that the atmosphere was peaceful overall, though there

were some scuffles with police in Parliament Square where protesters attempted to knock down the barriers.

At one point, the police tried to set up a kettle.

Protesters threw paint bombs into a Starbucks near Parliament Square, while others threw paint at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Tom Maguire-Wright, studying Political Theory, was near Scotland Yard when the scuffles took place.

He said: “Around 100 students were outside Scotland Yard, about 75 of them sitting down. It was a sit down protest and people were chanting.

“Police were outside Scotland Yard and by the Starbucks. Apparently, some of the scuffles were outside the café.

“Then, 100 more students joined them. They were followed by about 50 police officers, who formed a kettle around them. The students started chanting and tried to push through, but the police wouldn’t let them cross.

“When walking back to the coach, I saw some students in Parliament Square so the kettle must have been opened.”

See forgetoday.com for exclusive picture coverage.

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CRIME

Student attacked returning from SU Patrick O’Connell A student was attacked by a stranger as she made her way home from the Students’ Union on Monday night.

The University of Sheffield student, a 23-year old woman, was reportedly walking home between 8pm and 8:30pm on November 17. When walking up Roslin Road, Crookes, she noticed an unknown man following her.

After trying to distance herself from the man, he allegedly grabbed the woman around the waist. She screamed and struggled, causing the man to run off in the direction of Crookes Road.

The suspect is a white man in his 20s, described as having a round face. He was of slim build and an average height. He was reportedly wearing a black or dark coloured hooded top that was tied tightly around his face,

with dark trousers or jeans.

Students’ Union women’s officer Miriam Miller said: “It is always distressing to hear that students are victims of crime, and as women’s officer I find crimes like this particularly upsetting. The Students’ Union, the University and the police take these incidents very seriously and will be working together to prevent any similar attacks.

“Students are welcome to collect a free personal alarm from my office or the Student Advice Centre and are encouraged to make use of the Women’s Minibus and Safe Taxi Scheme if they ever feel unsafe walking home alone.

Nonetheless, crime is always the fault of the criminal, never the victim.”

South Yorkshire Police has urged witnesses or anyone with information to call them on 101, quoting incident number 994.

Technology

Vaccine-resistant Polio strain discovered Polio is a viral infectious disease causing muscle weakness and, in severe cases, death.

The number of polio cases has been reduced by 99% in the last 30 years thanks to developments in vaccinations.

However, recently, epidemics have broken out due to two genetic mutations in the polio virus which cause differences in the protein shell of the virus.

These mutations mean that this strain of virus is not recognised by the body’s immune system, even after all current vaccinations.

Clinical tests are being used to target this devastating strain of the virus.

Photo: Patrick O’Connell

Roslin Road

Beth Wild Plans reveal moon base within reach The European Space Agency has recently revealed details on their plan to achieve a permanent human presence on the moon.

Minimal parts will be flown out along with the robots which will 3D print the rest of the base.

The dome-like structure which has capacity for four people can be produced this way as 90% of the raw materials needed are already present on the moon itself.

The base is said to protect against meteorites, radiation and low temperatures and is predicted to be ready within the next 40 years.

4: Crookes Road The attacker, a white man in his 20s of slim build and average height, flees in the direction of Crookes Road.

SCIENCE &

2: Northumberland Road Woman walks up Northumberland Road, before turning onto Marlborough Road, up Elmore Road and then onto Highnam Crescent Road.

Joey Relton

3: Roslin Road

1: Students’ Union

Woman notices unknown man walking behind her. He grabs her waist, causing her to scream.

Woman leaves the SU on her way home at approximately 8pm on Monday November 17.

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Marking boycott suspended until new year

4 Lecturers’ pay unaffected and University and College Union hopeful despite “sell out” accusations

Tom Schneider The marking boycott held by academics in universities across the country has yesterday been called off until after the joint negotiating committee meeting scheduled for January 15.

A statement on the University and College Union (UCU) website said “it is hoped the intervening period can be used to close the differences between the negotiating positions with a view to reaching agreement on reforms to the USS scheme”.

The dispute between UCU and Universities UK was over whether the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) could continue providing a final year pension salary for its members. The USS released a statement saying they

predicted a deficit of £8bn if the current system continued.

However, in emails to members seen by Forge Press, UCU argued that the “deficit was artificial” and was a result of “deliberate over-prudence by the Trustees and Employers”.

Dr Tom Stafford, lecturer in psychology and cognitive science wrote a letter backing the industrial action which said that the proposed changes would “impact on students who will get less from demoralised, underrewarded and over-managed university lecturers”.

SU officers had previously backed the boycott in a signed letter published on the Independent website last week.

“Our anger is aimed squarely at Universities UK who oversee

lucrative salary increases for vice-chancellors while leaving staff out in the cold”.

The University of Sheffield had previously said it was withholding pay from anyone who notified them of their participation in the boycott. However, as part of the settlement, they have since released a statement confirming that they will not apply this policy.

In the hours after the boycott was called off, a disgruntled member posted a comment on the UCU website which said “UCU appear to be selling members out. Why have they already drafted proposals which offer key concessions to the employers with nothing concrete in return other than series of meetings?”

When approached UCU for

comment, they said “before the marking boycott began we were told be the employers that their proposals were the best we could expect.

“We now have a series of meetings to negotiate changes to the USS pension scheme ahead of that meeting in January”.

Sam Morecraft, Sheffield UCU Education Officer said “we hope the employers will use this time to reconsider their disastrous plans for our pension scheme.”

He continued: “we hope that the University of Sheffield will clarify its position on the pension reforms.

Currently, Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick and Essex have publically stated that the proposed changes are unworkable and based on inaccurate projections.”

Photo: Creative Commons Breakthrough research for diabetes sufferers Scientists in Stockholm have uncovered a breakthrough for type 2 diabetes treatment.

Diabetes is caused when not enough insulin, which allows sugar to be removed from the blood, is produced or is ineffective.

The resulting high blood sugar is dangerous. A protein in our body called “adrenergic receptors” has been identified which plays a vital role in sugar uptake.

Triggering these receptors could reduce blood sugar without the use of insulin, solving the problem.

More experimentation is underway before it can be considered for human use.

Oliver Townsend

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YOUR CITY

UniNEWS Utd’s patrons dwindling over Ched saga

Interesting stories from other universities around the world A n-ewe low: student found having sex with sheep

A Computer Science student at Fresno State University, California was caught pantsdown last week releasing “stress” in the university’s barn.

The unnamed 23 year old told police that his romantic midnight escapade in the sheep pen was the result of a night of heavy drinking and a stressful exam period.

Officers arrived on scene following reports made by fellow students of strange noises coming from the sheep’s enclosure, where the animals are bred by the university’s agricultural department.

The sheep, which received treatment from vets, has gained over 550 supporters on a parody twitter account set up in its name. @FresnoStSheep told its followers: “I had the wool pulled over my eyes. Thought students were friends.”

The student was charged with sexually assaulting an animal and has since been released.

Will Morgan

Another Sheffield United patron has resigned over the decision to allow convicted rapist Ched Evans to train with the club on November 11.

Since Evans’ release on October 17 2014, there has been widespread concern that he would be accepted back onto the Sheffield United football team.

Numerous public figures have called for the team to turn away Evans, who was convicted in April 2012 of raping a 19 year-old woman in May 2011.

Paul Heaton, singer, is the fourth club patron to resign

May 30 2011 Police informed of incident October 2011 Both men plead not guilty

May 2 2012 13 arrests made for the victim being named on Twitter

2011

November 5 2012 Nine fined for naming victim on Twitter

2012

November 6 2012 Court of Appeal refused his appeal

August 8 2011 Evans and Mcdonald accused

UEA hopes poo will soon power your phone

The University of East Anglia is harnessing the power of poo in the hope of making longerlasting phone batteries.

Researchers have found that both human and animal waste contains bacteria which breathe in minerals of iron, much like humans breathe in oxygen.

This is then released from the cell, creating an electrical charge which can be harnessed.

Lead researcher Julea Butt and her team hope that this could be used to improve ‘bio batteries’, which could be used to power the next generation of portable electrical devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Keri Trigg University deep clean their library after live sex show Newcastle University in New South Wales, Australia, were forced to steam clean their library this week after catching one of their students broadcasting a live sex show using the library’s facilities, showing that is indeed possible to be too passionate about literature.

Rather than expel the student the university has taken the sensible measures of “counselling” the student and giving her description to library staff, just in case a copy of Wuthering Heights causes a relapse.

Will Morgan

rape threats on twitter which are being investigated by the police.

Ennis-Hill was also slammed

by Katie Hopkins as part of her ongoing campaign to defend Ched Evans. Hopkins’ tweet read: “Jessica Ennis is Supreme judge in the court of public opinion.

Being able to run fast & jump high makes you super qualified.

Who knew?”

Political figures including MP for Sheffield Central, Paul Blomfield, and MP for Sheffield Hallam, Nick Clegg, have also spoken out against the club In an open letter to the club’s co-chairmen, Blomfield said: “So we are considering the case

of an unrepentant convicted rapist. To take him back in these circumstances sends a disturbing message to young people and victims of sexual violence about how we view rape.”

Speaking to LBC radio, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said: “I wouldn’t take him on. Footballers aren’t just any old employee, they are role models.”

There is not yet any indication of when a decision will be made by the team, but Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough said: “We don’t have a timescale on it.

Believe it or not it’s not at the top of our priorities”.

Ched Evans: Timeline of events

April 20 2012 Ched convicted and sentenced to 5 years

Photo: Creative Commons

following Charlie Webster, Lindsey Graham, and Dave Berry who all resigned on November 12 2014.

There are now only seven patrons remaining, all of whom are men, who have had careers in sports except Sean Bean who also remains as a patron.

Sheffield United are yet to indicate whether Evans will be offered a new contract but Olympic heptathlete Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill has asked for her name to be removed from a stand at Bramall Lane if he is offered one.

Following her ultimatum to the club, Ennis-Hill was the victim of

Neelam Tailor

July 2014 Evans launches another appeal

2013

2014

October 17 2014 Released from prison October 22 2014 Evans realeases video statment

November 11 2014 Evans allowed to return to training November 13 2014 Jessica Ennis-Hill threatens to remove her name from Bramhall Lane Nick Clegg speaks out against Evans

November 14 2012 Jessica Ennis-Hill receives rape threat Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones speaks out against Evans on BBC Question Time

November 12 2014 Paul Blomfield writes open letter Charlie Webster resigns as patron Lindsey Graham resigns as patron Dave Berry resigns as patron Sheffield United shirt sponsor threatens to disassociate

YOUR CITY

November 15 2014 Sheffield United condemn attacks on critics of the club’s decision

November 16 2014 Katie Hopkins slams Ennis-Hill and sides with Evans November 19 2014 Nick Conrad rape remark on BBC Norfolk November 20 2014 Nick Conrad apology for rape remark November 17 2014 Paul Heaton resigns as patron of Sheffield United IPFA lawyer defends Evans

Limited edition Henderson’s relish on sale Lauren Archer Special bottles of Henderson’s relish are being sold to help Sheffield’s dogs find new homes.

The famous Sheffield condiment company is teaming up with the Retired Greyhounds Trust to produce 1,000 limited editions bottles with unique labels, in a bid to raise money for the charity.

The label, designed by local artist Victoria Butterell, depicts three retired greyhounds that were staying at the trust at the time, all of whom have now been

re-homed.

The Sheffield Retired Greyhounds Trust works alongside Owlerton Stadium to re-home retired racing dogs. The trust has re-homed hundreds of greyhounds since it opened in 2006.

Sheffield has a long history of working to re-home retired greyhounds, having been rehoming the racing dogs for 80 years, since the racing stadium opened.

John Gilburn, chairman of the Sheffield trust and managing director of Owlerton Greyhound

Stadium, said that retired Manager Roy Cattlin greyhounds make excellent pets, and he wanted the collaboration with the locally loved Henderson’s would help raise awareness of the dogs still in need of homes.

The special edition bottles are now on sale at a number of venues across Sheffield, including Porter Brook Deli on Sharrow Vale Road and in the Endcliffe Park café.

They will also be available at the Sheffield Makers’ Fair at St Mary’s Church on Bramall Lane, on December 6.

Photo: Neelam Tailor

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Ex-Students’ Union president’s evidence used in government report on voter engagement Tom Schneider Evidence from former SU President Ally Buckle, Student Voice members and University academics has been featured in a new report on voter engagement that was released last week.

The report is a response to the phenomenon of low turnout, especially amongst young people, at general elections.

The team gave oral evidence to MPs on the political and constitutional reform select

committee when they visited Sheffield earlier in the year. As well as talking about low voter turnout amongst young people, they were also asked about the Students’ Union’s online voting system and how more people could be helped to register to vote ahead of time.

Buckle said: “The current parties are not really saying much about what they are going to do for young people.”

He also expressed support for making it as easy as possible for

young people to be registered to vote and to vote on the day.

Professor Matt Flinders from the University of Sheffield’s Politics department was also consulted and argued that although people were politically interested, “traditional political structures have no way of tapping into that energy.”

Local campaigners, Sheffield for Democracy stated that there was no “silver bullet” solution to the current issues around voter engagement and broader political

engagement.

“The central issue is one of trust – in the electoral system, in parties and in politicians.”

The report concluded that “the recent referendum on independence for Scotland, where 84.5 per cent of the registered electorate turned out, shows that people will vote if they are engaged. Substantial cultural and structural changes are necessary to convince the public that participating at general elections is worthwhile.”

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UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

CHARITY

‘Political correctness’ could be Volunteers brave rain to raise money for homeless a reason for the rise of Ukip Neelam Tailor Prejudice is being privatised by equality legislation according to new research from the University of Sheffield.

The study, which looks into attitudes towards minority ethnic groups in the UK, identified widespread hostility towards the regulations which limit the freedom of expression of prejudice.

Such findings can go some way to explaining the rise of populist anti-immigration parties like UKIP in government.

The research argues that because people feel unable to express their concerns about minority groups in public due to ‘political correctness’, they do so through the ballot box.

Many of the respondents in the research claimed that their ‘true’ opinions regarding minority groups could only

be voiced in private where they were not constrained by legislation and social expectation.

The workplace was identified as a space where these regulations were particularly prevalent as there were both legal and disciplinary sanctions that people feared before voicing prejudice.

When asked specifically about The Equality Act 2010, the majority of respondents acknowledged they knew very little but dubbed the form and content of the law as ‘political correctness’.

Author of the report, Professor Gill Valentine, Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Social Sciences said: “Equality legislation produces an expectation that the UK has a progressive and cosmopolitan public culture yet rather than prejudiced views disappearing, as a consequence

of the obligation to comply, it is just changing its form.

Blatant public expressions of intolerance are becoming less commonplace but privatised and discrete forms of prejudice persist. A privatisation of prejudice is taking place.”

The research says that the findings cause problems for both those the legislation seeks to protect, because it puts a barrier in the way of challenging prejudice views, and also for those who are against the social expectations that equality legislation fosters because it breeds frustration that their views are being silenced.

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DOT COM

Tom Schneider Volunteers braved the rain and cold to take part in a Sleep Out which raised £11,000 for local homeless charity, Roundabout.

Hardy fundraisers including teams from Evolution Power Tools and Sainsbury’s on Archer Road endured the elements outside St Andrew’s Church on Psalter Lane.

Roundabout is responsible for the only emergency hostel in Sheffield for young homeless people aged 16 to 21.

Roundabout Fundraising Coordinator Amy Casbolt said: “Thanks to Sainsbury’s at Archer Road we had plenty of cardboard to provide some shelter from the rain and they also provided hot drinks, which helped keep spirits up “The conditions were truly dreadful but everybody was determined to stay outdoors and some people did even manage to get some sleep even though they were soaking wet “This is what some young people

have to face in reality, with no choices and no alternatives, so an event like this really did bring it home to our volunteers just what being homeless means.”

The charity is hoping to raise more money at their Christmas Quiz which will take place at The York in Broomhill on December 8 at 8:30pm.

YOUR CITY

Student’s burger creation wins McDonald’s competition Abi Woolston A University of Sheffield student who entered a competition to create his own burger will see his winning design go on sale in 1,200 McDonald’s

The ‘Big Spice Bacon’

restaurants around the UK. Luke Watson, a second year economics student from Lincoln, was one of five people who won the My Burger competition after he entered his design online.

McDonald’s asked entrants to create a unique burger from a choice of over 80 ingredients.

The burgers were then put to a public vote before the best ones were tried by an expert judging panel, which included England rugby legend and Celebrity MasterChef

winner Phil Vickery and the managing director of McDonald’s UK, Mark Hawthorne.

Luke’s ‘Big Spice Bacon’ burger, which beat 98,000 entries, was a beef patty topped with bacon, cheese, peppers, lettuce, onions, jalapeños and piri-piri mayo, sandwiched within a chilli, chive and sesame topped bun.

Luke, who was sent down to the McDonald’s HQ in London to perfect the burger with the help of McDonalds chefs, said: “I entered during summer, it

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

was a less than usual way to procrastinate.

“I’ve had 4 of my own burgers so far, and I plan to go there for tea tonight. My body is starting to fall out with me now!”

Each of the winning burgers was sold for a weeklong period accross October and November, with Luke’s creation available for the final week of the competition, November 12-18.

The public must now vote for their winning burger, to be crowned the People’s Champion.

Watson at McDonald’s HQ in London

YOUR CITY

Study shows students most Taxi licensers say customer’s distracted by social media complaints rarely taken further Tom Schneider A study has found that 76 per cent of students are distracted by the internet to a significant or worrying degree.

Undertaken by the Stop Procrastinating App, the survey asked 1000 students to assess to what extent social media and other websites such as YouTube were affecting their ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

66 per cent said they had lost their chain of thought because they checked and responded to an email or social media alert while they were trying to study.

Over half of the respondents said visiting distracting websites cost them at least an hour a day in lost study time.

Around half of the respondents said that the quality of their work was being negatively affected by rushing. The distraction caused by the internet had directly caused

them to hand in lower quality work which was reflected in a reduction in their grades.

Some 80 per cent of those surveyed believed that the internet was more invasive than anything students have had to cope with before.

Many drew attention to how direct the distraction of social media can be due to the way alerts automatically appear on the computer they are working on.

The survey found that the appeal of social media affected the students’ ability to study more than older procrastination methods.

These included the television, which distracted 16 per cent of respondents and hangovers which affected 17 per cent.

62 per cent said that the internet was a ‘pernicious’ influence as, unlike the TV and hangovers which are passive distractions, the internet required attention which could lead to hours being lost.

Keri Trigg Complaints about Sheffield cabbies are rarely resolved, according to top taxi licensing councillors.

Clive Stephenson, head of taxi licensing at Sheffield City Council, told a meeting of taxi drivers and key community figures that the majority of reported incidents are not taken further “because it’s one person against another”, He also drew attention to the current complaints policies in place, including his decision to refuse complaints made by phone call, and that they only suspend drivers when they have been charged by police.

He said: “We don’t do anything until we’ve spoken to that driver.

Then our officers will investigate, but 99 per cent of them end up in a stalemate because it’s one

person against another and nobody else was there. So a lot of our complainants think we’ve let them down, same as the drivers.”

The meeting, at Nether Edge Primary School, was held to discuss child sexual exploitation in the area in the wake of the Rotherham abuse scandal, and how to move on from it.

Taxi drivers voiced their concerns that abuse against them had increased since the publication of the Jay Report, which highlighted the involvement of local drivers in trafficking children for exploitation between Rotherham and Sheffield.

Mr Stephenson said: “From an assaults point of view there is only so much you can do as a department because the driver in that situation has money on

them, and they are alone.

“We can only give training aspects about how to deal with that situation and aid taxi firms to keep a track on their drivers. What we can do is react to complaints.”

Mr Stephenson added: “We have about 2,400 licensed drivers now. Currently there are none arrested or charged with an offence.

“From 2010 to today, there have been just over 460 complaints made against drivers. That ranges from general arguments, overcharging, state of the vehicles, everything.”

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Comment on this article online: www.forgetoday.com

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YOUR CITY

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

You’re hired! Clegg hails UoS professor beats bed bugs in Sheffield apprenticeship rise new American national guidelines Jack Wignall

New figures released this week

by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg have shown that the number of apprentices taken on in Sheffield is higher than any other city in the North of England.

Over the last four years, 20,420 apprenticeships have been made in the city. This is an 80 per cent increase on the number of 11,330 from 2006 to 2010.

Speaking in Birmingham at the Skills Show, Mr Clegg MP said: “This boosts Sheffield because apprenticeships are all about giving the skills needed so young people can take up vacancies and boost the economy”.

Outside of Sheffield, apprenticeship figures have doubled nationally.

Apprenticeships are becoming increasingly popular in the UK as a way for young people to make it into a career.

This coincides with the

increase in university tuition fees in 2012, which is leading thousands of young adults to decide to take a vocational qualification instead of a post16 academic qualification.

Mr Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam also said: “It’s a tragedy when I meet employers who say we’ve got this great position but we can’t find young people who want to take up the post. It’s letting businesses and young people down.”

Following these findings, the government have announced that they will be setting up a new database for post-16 skills and employerled courses in an attempt to make it simpler for youngsters to seek training and work.

This is to be used in the run up to the start of the 2015 school year in Photo: Creative September.

Commons

Ghaniya Bi The University of Sheffield’s Professor Mike Siva-Jothy has assisted in producing guidelines for controlling bed bugs in the United States (US).

Professor Siva-Jothy, head of the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, has been researching the mites for over 15 years.

He has worked on the Scientific Advisory Panel set up by the US’s Environment Protection Agency, and was involved in producing the firstof-its-kind document concerning the regulation of bed bugs in the US, with guidance and advice in controlling the problem.

He has also assisted in the setting of standards for the testing of products designed to control bed bug infestations.

He said: “Before these guidelines were produced many legitimate urbanpest controllers were using

compounds and techniques designed for other urban insect pests, such as cockroaches or termites, which had no effect on bed bugs.

“More worryingly, because there was no informed guidance on the application protocols, they were being used in a manner that was compounding the problem.”

Bed bugs are small bloodsucking insects which inhabit areas around a bed. Their bites can result in skin irritations and they are also believed to have an effect on mental health due to individuals experiencing a lack of sleep.

Approximately one million people are affected by bed bugs in New York alone.

Litigation charges concerning bed bugs cost the hospitality industry more

than $500M every year in the US, with extermination and management prices often exceeding $6,000 per apartment.

Professor Siva-Jothy is now keen to spread the findings to other countries to help eradicate bed bugs worldwide.

Photo: Creative Commons

POLITICS

Sheffield’s devolution details to be disclosed in December Tom Schneider Significant new home rule powers for Sheffield will be announced during Chancellor George Osborne’s autumn statement on Wednesday, December 3.

Details of what powers will be transferred from Whitehall to Sheffield are still being confirmed but are expected to include greater control over transport and house-building decisions.

Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield Hallam MP Nick Clegg

said “it means more jobs and more control over decisions on things like transport investment.

It is about making sure training and skills provision fit the needs of local businesses rather than done to some sort of Whitehall blueprint that doesn’t fit the area”.

Mr Clegg then highlighted that local authorities should expect further cutbacks after the 2015 general election.

He said: “If central Government cannot give more money, at least

we can give more freedom and more powers”.

However, Council leader Cllr Julie Dore said that there is “no time” to consult local residents on the proposed deal.

Ms Dore was responding to a question from Nigel Slack, a Sheffield democracy campaigner, at the latest meeting of Sheffield Council’s cabinet.

She said: “we just do not have the time to go the public with any suggestions coming up because the Government has set the

timetable. This devolution won’t happen for months but they want to make a statement on December 3, so it is their deadline and timetable”.

Cllr Dore said she hoped there will be opportunities for consultation when it has been worked out what powers Sheffield will get.

The head of the Sheffield region’s business body, James Newman, welcomed the move.

He said: “The move will allow us to get collective decisions,

especially around the economy”.

“I think it’s important that the region understands we are at the front of the queue. We are in the top three of those who are now going to get some form of devolution.”

A £1 billion deal has been signed for Manchester, and Leeds is expected to join Sheffield in having significant new powers announced in the autumn statement.

YOUR UNIVERSITY

CRIME

Figures say campus crime has hit new all-time low this year

Pointless pair settle for second

Joshua Hackett

Keri Trigg

Crime on campus has reached an all-time low, according to the latest figures.

Only 159 incidents were reported in the last academic year (2013/14). This is a halving of figures reported four years ago.

The University credited its strong partnership with South Yorkshire Police for the decline.

The news coincided with annual Crime Prevention Week, which sees representatives from South Yorkshire Police and University security teams set up information stands on campus, in order to share advice on avoiding becoming a victim of crime and to give out free property marking kits.

Richard Yates, head of Security Services, said: “The reduction of student burglary is one of our key priorities.

“Crime Prevention Week is an opportunity to give our students vital information, advice and preventative equipment to ensure they are not easy targets.”

Burglaries in student-heavy areas are a recurring problem.

So far in 2014, 189 burglaries have been reported in Broomhill and 135 in Crookes, according to

police statistics.

On a string of five burglaries which occurred in Crookes last year, Detective Inspector Richard Partridge said: “In these five cases, the offences were easily preventable. All that the opportunist offenders had to do was walk in and help themselves.”

PC Tom Goodhill, the new police liaison officer for the University, noted: “Thieves and burglars like ‘easy’ targets. Simple things like closing your windows and locking your doors are a good start.”

Becca Goldberg, a third year biology student whose house was burgled last September, said: “Don’t leave valuables when you know there won’t be any people staying in the house.”

Sheffield has a reputation as one of the safest university cities in the UK. According to data from the Complete University Guide, the safest campuses include Durham, Winchester and Aberystwyth. Topping the list is the privately-run Buckingham University.

London universities are among the least safe, along with Manchester and Leeds. Sheffield itself is halfway between these extremes.

Two students from the University of Sheffield have put their general knowledge to the test with two appearances on BBC One’s Pointless.

After applying in February, Chemistry student Martin O’Rourke, from Haywards Heath, near Brighton, and friend Sam Gilbert, from Leicester, who studies Economics, were shortlisted for series 12 of the show, making their debut on Thursday, November 13.

“We had three weeks to ‘revise’ but we didn’t,” said Martin, who had his fingers crossed for questions on Sport, Science, and Languages, while teammate Sam was hoping for Music, Geography or Reality TV. Despite being the youngest team on both shows, the pair were confident they could put up a fight. Martin said: “We thought we could get to the head-to-head.

“We were confident we wouldn’t get knocked out straight away, and we weren’t on either show, which we are relieved about and proud of.”

The pair, in their third year, were quizzed on Literature

and Pop Music by Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, with the aim of producing the most obscure answers possible.

After surviving the first round, they were the second of four teams to be defeated, leaving after Round Two as members of the infamous ‘200 Club’.

In their second appearance the following night, they secured a place in the head-to-head round after questions on Comedians and British Geography, but

Martin and Sam on the show

were defeated 2-1 after failing to impress with their knowledge of the Gunpowder Plot, Michael Jackson and the World Cup. Martin said: “I think getting to the head-to-head was the best part,” “Settling for second best was okay for us, we put in a good shift for students.”

Sam said: “Great day out, good food, bad result.”

Photo: Screenshot from BBC iPlayer

7

FO R GE PRESS Fr i day Novembe r 21 2014

@forgepress

NEWS

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YOUR UNIVERSITY

Sheffield students design new sewage system to win gold in international biology competition Sharon Nanuan

The team

Photo: Sharon Nanuan

YOUR CITY

A team from the University of Sheffield have been awarded a gold medal in an international biology competition.

The team of eight biologists and engineers beat 4000 participants from 250 teams by devising a solution that tackles the problem of fat accumulation called ‘fatbergs’ within sewerage networks across the country.

The students pointed out that the ‘fatberg’ phenomenon can cause problems for ordinary water consumers upstream.

The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) is a global synthetic biology initiative

in which student teams are given biological parts used to build new systems and devise solutions to real problems.

The Sheffield team’s method involved designing a simple system within a bacterium which secreted proteins that would be released into the network.

After consultation from University academics and water industry experts, a realistic synthetic solution called ‘the Fatberglar’ was desgined.

The project was showcased at the Giant Jamboree earlier this month in Boston, USA.

Student’s Arts Tower pic wins national award

Alex Grove A former student from the University of Sheffield has won a national award for his photograph of the Arts Tower.

Dan Cook, who graduated in 2006 with a degree in Geography and Town Planning, was chosen as the winner of the Urban View category in the Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year awards for his captivating portrayal of the iconic Sheffield building.

Dan, aged 31, said: “It means a great deal to win this award as it’s one of the most competitive photo competitions in the UK. “Sometimes when searching for good photographs you go to new or unknown locations, however there is definitely more satisfaction getting a good photo closer to home.

“The response from people local to Sheffield has been great and it’s definitely made it an even more rewarding success.”

The competition takes in entries

from across the UK in a range of different categories for both adult and young photographers.

Mark Littlejohn, from Penrith, Cumbria was announced as the overall winner and scooped a £10,000 prize for his photograph of the mountains of Glencoe in Scotland.

The awards, founded by Charlie Waite, one of today’s most respected landscape photographers, have been running for seven years, with the aim of showcasing the work of talented photographers and inspiring visitors to visit the British countryside.

All the winning entries will now be showcased for free to the public on the newly built mezzanine level at London’s Waterloo station.

The exhibition opens on December 1 and will be available to view for a nine week period.

Dan’s photography will also be published in the Landscape Photographer of the Year book.

YOUR UNIVERSITY

New dairy farm deal with The Village Store Hsin-Yu Chin Local dairy farm Our Cow Molly has started to supply fresh milk to the University of Sheffield.

However, their milk can only be found in The Village Store in the Endcliffe student accommodation village.

Located only a few miles away from the University, the farm delivers milk fresh from the herd the same morning, and ice cream made with fresh milk and cream to The Village Store in Endcliffe.

Run by the Andrews family, the farm has recently invested more money into increasing production, and have opened a new dairy to supply milk to the University.

The farm started in 1947 with 10 cows, but now has 80 to produce enough milk for local demand.

When asked where students and staff could purchase their milk in the University, the staff from the farm were unable to provide information.

Their milk cannot be found in the Students’ Union shop which sells milk from another local supplier,

Yorkshire Local.

In fact, many students are not yet familiar with the brand “Our Cow Molly.”

Hayley Freedman from School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) said: “I don’t know them, but I would like to support local suppliers for products with better quality and reasonable price.”

The closest shop to the University which supplies their milk is local caterer, PJ taste, on West Street.

Photo: Creative Commons

National News Amazon to test delivery drones in Cambridge

Amazon will be testing delivery drones in Cambridge soon.

The new service by the world’s largest online retailer could enable customers to receive their orders within thirty minutes of placing them The drones used for Amazon Prime Air could fly up to 50 miles per hour and deliver packages weighing up to 2.3kg.

The US company announced its plans to use drones to dramatically reduce delivery time last year, after Google used a small aircraft to deliver chocolate bars and dog treats to an Australian farmer.

Using over 500 newsagents across the country, sameday collection service is now available in the UK. Estel Farell Roig Dirty Brits prioritise the Internet over showering

British adults would rather not shower than lose the internet, according to research which has found that we now rate wifi higher than washing.

The survey, by Direct Line and Opinium Research, ranked the top priorities of over 2,000 Brits, revealing that web access is now the one thing we can’t live without, pushing personal hygiene into second place.

Over half would rather spend time with their smartphone than friends, while one in eight said they could last longer without food than social media.

Keri Trigg 80 million germs in one kiss

The [cropped] winning photo

Photo: Dan Cook

YOUR CITY

New food bank opens in Sheffield

Isaac Stovell A new food bank has opened in the Manor area (S2) this month.

Based at St Swithun’s Church, the centre has been established to help ease the strain on the Salvation Army’s nearby food bank.

Research from the Share Scheme showed that it had given out food to 651 needy adults and children between January and June this year – compared with 694 food parcels in 2013.

The bank was officially launched by Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield earlier this November. Twenty volunteers have been helping run the bank over the last ten weeks.

Blomfield said: “The fact that growing numbers of people are being forced to turn to food banks says everything about Tory Britain. While the wealthy are getting tax handouts, too many people are being pushed into food poverty by low wages, zero hour contracts, benefit

sanctions and policies like the bedroom tax.”

The opening comes soon after David Blunkett, MP for Sheffield Brightside, voiced his concern over growing demand for food banks across the city.

When talking to The Star, Food bank volunteer Deni Ennals said: “It is the worst area in Sheffield for people being hit with benefit sanctions.

“The working poor is a new category. People are really hungry in Sheffield.”

Michael Kind, Comment, pg. 8

“

People need to be held accountable for their waste - how else can they comprehend the selfish irrationality of throwing away a meal’s worth of food in a societal context?

”

Photo: Creative Commons 80 million bacteria are transferred during a 10 second kiss, according to new research published in Microbiome Journal.

The study also shows that couples who kiss each other at least nine times a day end up having the same communities of mouth bugs as a result.

Author Remco Kort said: “Intimate kissing involving full tongue contact and saliva exchange appears to be a courtship behaviour unique to humans and is common in over 90 per cent of known cultures”.

There are over 700 varieties of bacteria in our mouth, influenced by genetics, diet, ages and the people who we interact with.

Estel Farell Roig

Fri day November 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

10

@forgecomment

COMMENT Spain can’t ignore Catalonia forever /forgecomment

comment@forgetoday.com

Patrick O’Connell The people of Catalonia have made their voices heard – now Spain needs to start listening.

Independence will always be a tense, terse and emotive subject for the people of Spain. Some see it as an acrimonious divorce; others note that Catalonia was once a powerful independent state itself.

There will be those who agree and those who do not. But the government must legitimately recognise the millions who voted yes to independence for Catalonia.

Independence has long been a topic of debate for the citizens of Catalonia, who enjoy a distinct culture and speak their own language, Catalan.

But in the last few years the issue has snowballed at a surprising rate due to Spain’s economic crisis. The fiscal crisis and austerity measures in Spain have angered Catalonia, one of the most economically powerful regions in the country.

A long-standing argument on what Catalonia puts in and what it actually gets

back from Spain is also fuel for the fires of independence.

Catalonia is one of the wealthiest regions of Spain - it accounts for 18.8 per cent of Spanish GDP, compared to 17.6 per cent from Madrid. And this is exactly why the Spanish government are afraid to let go.

The truth is they are scared to lose a prized cog in their already precarious economy.

“The Spanish government are afraid to let go. The truth is they are scared to lose a prized cog in their already precarious economy”

In five years the independence movement, which was once firmly in the minority, now has a firm foothold in polls.

An independence referendum was announced in September, but Spain’s constitutional court suspended the planned referendum just two days after its announcement.

Instead, a symbolic vote took place. On

Editorial

D.A.R.T.S.

Haphazard response to fortnight’s overload of weird news

a. went on uninformed rant at Ed It still upsets me that we live in a society where a crime against a woman isn’t seen as a real crime: what with the Pistorious debacle and this falling so close together, it seems that our legal system is living well behind the times.

Luckily, we all have the privilege of being surrounded by intelligent and educated people, and so we are somewhat (though by no means entirely) protected by the ignorance that runs through society. This is one of my biggest fears about graduating at the end of this year. Shiver.

If further proof is needed, when I looked up Ched Evans news, all the top articles I could find were about him being ‘victimised’.

Well, this is cheery. In better news, everyone’s favourite heptathlon athlete, Jessica EnnisHill has taken a firm stance, saying she will no longer have her name associated with the Blades if they resign Ched. You go girl.

Happy(ish?) Reading!

Elsa Vulliamy - Forge Press editor elsa.vulliamy@forgetoday.com

Miliband over taxing “granny” mansions

b. relaunched unwanted, patronising

and hypocritical charity gig to “save Africa from ebola”

c. baffled audience at Hollywood Film Awards by greeting an actor from Derbyshire with “ey up my duck”

d. family announced intentions to launch global range of marijuana products in his honour

Pat on the back of the fortnight

Allow us a brief paragraph of smug, if bemused, selfreferential boastitude, for we, the writers of DARTS, went viral on Tumblr last week.

We wrote a thing about famed actor Buttery Cockwobble’s engagement in which we deliberately got his name wrong once or twice, and the bizarrely cultish corner of the internet devoted to cackling at anything Sherlock-related sucked it in like a whale would a single krill.

Our lazy joke about Baskerville Crumpetface has as of time of writing been “reblogged” (whatever that is) over 64,000 times, making it possible Forge Press’s most widely read part ever. Internet, you weird.

Quote of the fortnight

“I draw the line at sexy Hitler” Phil Bayles, unamused Fuse Editor

criminal case against Artur Mas. Spain’s Prime Minister any vote would be illegal because Spain’s constitution prevents any region from unilaterally taking decisions that affect all Spaniards.

But in September, 1.8 million people took part demonstrations in favour of an independence consultation.

“The vote was useless – but only because the Spanish government refused to grant the referendum any democratic legitimacy” Spain cannot ignore the issue forever.

The independence movement does not look set to die down any time soon. Polls suggest that the majority of Catalonians want a vote on the region’s future and currently about half of Catalans would vote for independence.

The government must bow to the people’s demands and grant Catalonia the chance to partake in a vote on to decide on their own future.

Forge Press takes its satirical aim

Recently we’ve seen more cringeworthy events than we have space to properly mock. So here’s a challenge: can you can match the occurence to its cause?

Cheditorial...

Hello everyone!

It’s our penultimate issue of the term. It only feels like yesterday I was trembling in my boots at the Forge Press AGM. Time seems to be going a lot more quickly lately, doesn’t it?

There’s a lot of things up for debate in this issue. Arts are looking at the politics of burlesque and Lifestyle are looking at whether fashion magazines do more harm than good. Features are questioning our treatment of celebrities’ mental health problems.

Sport are bringing you a brilliantly informative account of what’s happened in the Ched Evans saga so far, and further discussion whether he should return to football.

If you’re wanting the official Forge Press stance, it’s a resounding ‘no’. Ched seems to be all we can talk about in the Media Hub this fortnight, even though we are all very much in agreement about the whole thing.

November 9 2.3 million Catalans took to the polls in an ‘unofficial referendum’ on Catalonian independence.

Catalan officials said more than 80 per cent had voted to back independence.

Afterwards, Catalan President Artur Mas said he would press for an official referendum. Many of those against independence had refused to vote and dismissed the exercise.

The Spanish government branded it a “useless sham” and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy stressed that most of Catalonia’s 5.4 million electorate had not taken part, meaning it was a “deep failure”.

Naturally, the vote was useless – but only because the Spanish government refused to grant the referendum any democratic legitimacy. This was the real reason why turnout did not excel 50 per cent.

The referendum went ahead despite attempts by the Spanish government and a ruling by Spain’s constitutional court to derail proceedings.

And now, incredulously, Spain’s Attorney General Eduardo TorresDulce has consulted a board of 24 senior prosecutors on whether to proceed with a

Twitter account of the fortnight Mary Berry, marginallyless formidable half of the Great British Bake Off’s judging duo, sadly doesn’t have Twitter.

But imagine if she did.

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if the booze-loving spicehating old cook used it to vent her colourfully opprobrious thoughts?

Wouldn’t such a vitriolic torrent bless the online masses?

Well, good news, some hero has been doing one.

(Disclaimer: Sweary Berry may or may not be the secret alter-ego of a certain former Forge team member)

FOR GE PRESS Fr i day Novembe r 21 2014

11

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Strategic Highlight Week is running from 24th-28th November Check out the Plaza whiteboard display and look for the list of sessions you can join to hear about our activities & have some input into areas of our strategy Have a look at the info around the building to see what we’ve been doing around our strategic plan strategy.union.shef.ac.uk @SheffieldSU #strategy2016 The programme of sessions is also available to view on www.sheffieldsu.com

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Friday November 21, 2014 FORGE PRESS

12

Sent into a maze of darkness...

Filled with undead monsters...

And creepy characters...

No-one knew what to expect from inside

But we could see from the outside that it was gonna suck

We were surrounded on all sides

There were zombies everywhere!

And few survived...

We sustained many injuries...

FORGE PRESS Friday November 21, 2014

Zombie Uprising

13

An airsoft survival event that will loosen your bowels t’s dark. My head torch is weak and my boots are soaked through. It’s cold and we’re lost, a not-so-elite squad of 10 strangers, ammo dwindling and only four pieces of intel collected.

Staircases lead to detritus-stinking toilets and rubble-filled hallways, wooden pallets and draped tarp providing ample hiding places. Keep looking behind. Stay together, don’t veer off on your own – at least that’s what they told us. Like we’re gonna go wandering off alone.

Up ahead. It’s a walker, nothing much to worry about. Just skirt past. Nice and slowly now, no sudden movements. Point leader’s through, keeps his gun trained on the hulking, grunting, blood-soaked zombie. His eyes are bloodshot but deadly keen.

From behind our leader, it’s a runner. He’s been shot before. Came out of nowhere, the stealthy bastard. Panic. Torches spinning about the place. The first zombie breaks out into a

I

n an abandoned warehouse in Chesterfield’s derelict industrial estate, a hoard of walking dead test subjects roam listlessly, protecting their creator and his bounty.

District 26 has been set aside and partially revamped for the sole purpose of scaring people with fake zombies.

It’s practically a cross between the old arcade Night of the Living Dead and lasertag, but much more realistic, and with arguably a better storyline than the retro beast.

It’s dusk, and 30 clueless strangers are waiting outside a heavily guarded and padlocked gate. Suddenly, explosions, gas everywhere, a swat team storms over to the group, shouting and screaming. It’s incredibly hard to believe they’re just actors.

Amid this new pandemonium we’re all shoved roughly into the back of jeeps and jettisoned over tricky terrain towards the nearest checkpoint. Respirators are distributed, though for all we know, it may be too late.

We’re greeted at the other end by a giant of a man with an air of immediate respect about him. He welcomes us to District 26 with the help of a snarling, barking Alsatian, presumably checking for narcotics. One man is taken away, and when he returns he’s sheet white, nothing to say.

The group is soon split into three teams, Red, Blue and Green. Our collective first mission is to collect intel about the warehouse and it’s hidden laboratory, though we wonder what intelligence can be gained from this three-storey shithole.

Pump-action airsoft shotguns are distributed, along with two rounds each containing 10 shots, mesh goggles and a solitary ‘survival pack’ containing a shoddy map, head torches and a radio with which to contact base.

The guns are comfortably heavy in our hands, with stiff pumps. The mesh goggles add about 30 per cent darkness to the already pitch scenery. This is going to be a lot harder than we first imagined.

We set off, floundering about in the near-total darkness at first, but eventually gaining our bearings. We’re all shitting bricks. It’s eerie quiet and nobody’s saying a thing.

Concentration, strained eyes, it’s going to be impossible to find anything in this mess.

A left turn through a short, tight corridor proves to be a bad move. Screams, rifles going off, we’ve made contact.

He’s slow, seems confused by our presence.

We remember our brief training – limb shots disable arms and legs, chest shots down the zombie, but remember to count the 30 seconds it takes for these suckers to regenerate.

We later find that they come back much, much faster each time they’re downed.

We’re careful not to shoot the hulking bastard anywhere too painful - after all, his only real padding against the 300km/h BB pellets is a flimsy mask and a thick jumper.

The walker’s taken out and we skirt up a short set of stairs

run, straight through our squad. Arms wide, teeth bared. Pump-action shotguns going off left, right and centre.

Regroup. Need to regroup. We sound off as we jump over the floored runner. He’s blocking the doorway. The 30-second reprise before regeneration never seems long enough.

They’re both down, but we hear more coming from behind us, walking, running and crawling.

This is their territory. We’re invaders, and they know the secretive passageways much better than we do.

But we’re survivors. Albeit battered, bruised and tired, we’ll make it out.

We are Red Team.

to a maze of tarpaulin, beaten up generator remnants and wooden pallets. The perfect zombie stealth zone.

Five minutes left to report back to base. Classified documents on the floor, two pages in a simple brown folder.

Easy to miss. Round the previous corner on our way back we find a smashed up laptop. Harddrive seems intact, so we pick it up.

Wait. He’s gone. The zombie we shot has disappeared.

30 seconds never seems like long enough. We cautiously make our way back, but turn to pepper-potted running when we realise we’ve been cornered. Shots fired left and right, undead growls cover our panicked reconnaissance. We radio base to open the door. We file in, one, two, three…

Nine. One short. A scream, one left behind. Two Red Team members recartridge their guns, fresh death feeling heavy in their arms. She makes it, much to the bitter disappointment of the hungry zombies.

Regrouped and ammo restocked, we’re told that our collective intel shows a hidden morgue in the basement, a laboratory and the mad professor himself, the sole reason this shitstorm has descended, tucked away in his own personal hell hole.

Green Team set off straight away in search of the morgue.

The Blues are off to locate the entrance to the lab, while we’ve been tasked with finding some C4 to blow the bloody doors off.

The diminishing light and frail head torches aren’t much help, but we soon find our bounty. Hidden in a medipack in the hands of the largest in a trio of recently re-killed zombies is a block of explosive. That was the easy part – now to find Green Team.

Lost. We’re hopelessly, utterly lost. So many of these rooms look identical, their immense size making it even harder to traverse. Wind pokes through the shattered windows, rustling tarp and stirring our nerves.

Flashes of light and a commotion up ahead signals the others, but they’re very much not alone. Together we take out the walking dead, now in search of the lab, using Blue Team’s crackling directions. The professor is a pain, giggling, fiddling and generally doing anything possible to mess up our mission and give away our position.

The second stage opened up a whole new series of rooms and corridors in the far north end of the warehouse. Blue direct us through, all the while fending off the surrounding doorways and running out of shells fast.

We blow the doors and all file in. The zombies are walking away. What is it about this room that concerns them so much?

We soon find out.

We painstakingly get a four-digit code from the professor and the Blue Team leader punches it into a safe. Two vials, one green, the other blue. Both glowing.

We’ve found them, the antidote and vaccine we need

''

''I

By Will Ross

to prevent further outbreaks of the virus that has already claimed so many lives.

Base radios in, announces that the map has changed again, known routes barred off by the explosion. We split once again, each taking a separate doorway out from the lab.

Rain falls through the ceiling, shocking drops of cold shattering the last shards of composure we hold as a team.

Ambush. We’ve been surrounded, stupid fools. Five zombies pelt towards us from all different angles. Pellets flying everywhere. Limbs disabled. Friendly fire strikes us, further putting us off our speedy targets.

They’re down, and according to our map we’re only a short corridor away from base. Our radio crackles, new destination given, we all need to meet at the base of the central stairwell.

Green team are there first. Zombies plaster the surrounding floor and walls. They’re all out of ammo, guess we’ll have to escort them through the last push. The Blues join us as a secret door opens, slowly at first, into the crisp night air.

Smoke, flares, screams of confusion and panic. We’re all siphoned out by shield-wielding, machine gun-firing swat operatives, directed out into a haven of headlights and torches.

We’ve made it out with our lives, with minimal casualties and barely enough resolve left to untie shoelaces. Someone starts laughing. It ripples, relief flowing at varying rates through us. We’ve made it, we’re alive. And soon, once the vials have been analysed, our zombie adversaries can be euthanised.

The dead can finally rest peacefully.

For more information on the event, to book your own adventure, or to apply for a role as a demon walker of the night, go to zombieuprising.co.uk, or check out their Facebook page, /zombie.uprisingx Return tickets to Chesterfield are less than a fiver, and it’s a 15-minute walk to the location.

Tickets range between £20-50

@forgefeatures /forgepress

@ features@forgetoday.com

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Friday November 21, 2014 Forge Press

Are we trivialising celebrity mental health issues?

Jessica Keen explores the implications of the media’s approach to covering mental health issues and looks at why people should be encouraged to think differently about the reoccuring rhetoric surrounding public celebritiy meltdowns.

I

n the media, there is always mention of stars going ‘crazy’ or having ‘meltdowns’, but through saying this we are seemingly saying that their mental health is of little importance. The way the issues are presented to the public is not one of concern, but rather one of mock and judgement.

Take Amanda Bynes for example. There has been a lot of focus upon her twitter rants and how these show signs of her mental instability.

Of course you can delete a tweet or statement, but you cannot delete the memory, or the numerous print screens of it. Instead of trying to help, people are now able to send abusive hate straight to their accounts.

Before social media, celebrities were able to choose whether they read comments about themselves or not, whether it be in magazines or newspapers. However, they now have less choice in the matter and must see the notifications that they receive.

Every paparazzi reporter has an agenda, and will inevitably miss out parts of the story, and as we only ever see snippets of a celebrity’s life, they are truly the only hack who knows the whole story. Sure they can release statements, but these can be changed or taken in a way that was not intended.

Those in the limelight undoubtedly face pressure, and it must be hard trying to keep up with trying to reach that ‘perfect’ state that we seem to expect from them. Let’s face it, we are all human and noone is perfect. We seem to assume celebrities lead a perfect life, and although they may have more material wealth than the average person, they still have to go through everyday life situations such as break ups or bereavement.

Sometimes life can feel as if it is all too much, and it must be even worse when there is so much focus on you. If a star dares to step away from the public eye for a while, there are always rumours about why. Are they in rehab? What is wrong with them? But why must there be anything ‘wrong with them’? Sometimes we all need time to deal with our personal issues yet the average Joe can do so without receiving a backlash because of it.

Unfortunately some people become so fascinated by celebrities that they feel the need to know every single thing about them. They trawl through their twitters to find out where they are and where they

are staying, just to catch a glimpse of them. We seem to place celebrities on a pedestal, where they are different from us. However the only difference they have is their occupation. A little too much is expected from them, and if they happen to make a mistake instead of being supportive, it’s likely that social media will turn against them.

We all remember Britney 2007, the year of the shaved head. Among the media storm there was a lot of talk of how she needed help. The thing is, she did need help, but this was overshadowed by the fact it was a ‘crazy stunt’ to pull. This was clearly a cry for help as it had all become too much for her. What’s annoying about the media is that what is news one day, is forgotten the next.

On the flip side though, as celebrities live on another level, even if we want to, how can we help them? If we saw a friend cry for help, we would be there, every step of the way. But these people that we seem to focus so much on, and who some people do look up to, can become isolated from us. It is hard, if the media did report the process of recovery every step of the way, then people who were suffering from the same type of thing would be encouraged to seek support.

The way celebrity mental health issues are reported is heavily sensationalised and therefore separated from damage that can be caused. It is in this way, that I do think we have come to trivialise celebrities’ mental health, along with the reasons already mentioned. I do not think that it is always intentional because there is a convention on how things are reported in tabloids.

Unless you completely search through the news for brief updates on the progress of their state, the majority of people will just remember the initial ‘crazy’ action that took place. If they then in the future do something else ‘crazy’, the same thing seems to happen; it is just a vicious cycle.

This can also take place a bit closer to home. Take YouTuber Zoella for example, who was brave enough to speak out about her sufferings on anxiety and has inspired others, who like her, suffer from this condition.

She has been able to be a role model to those who thought that they were the only ones, and in turn they have been able to find others who are going through exactly the same thing and have been able to help each other.

However, some have started to trivialise this and have said that she does not suffer from anxiety at all and that it is just a ploy to get viewers in. Within YouTube, again, viewers only see snippets of the lives that they are watching, which have been carefully edited to portray the right message. The fact that people do not actually see a panic attack does not mean that it does not happen.

Celebrities as a whole, who do suffer from a mental health issue, should be role models to others who suffer from it, to remind them that they are not alone.

However, through the media, especially social media, people are able to attack and ultimately trivialise the problem.

Next time you read about a celebrity who is suffering, instead of judging them, just think about how you would feel if it was someone close to you that was suffering.

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If you suffer from any mental health conditions mentioned in this article, you can find friendly, non-patronising help from the following sources: Sheffield Mind Sane Together

0114 258 4489 0845 767 8000 020 7780 7300

@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com

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Friday November 21 2013 Forge Press

Hollie McNish is a poet and spoken word artist, born in Reading, and living between London, Cambridge and Glasgow with her partner and daughter. She won the UK poetry slam in 2009, and came third behind Canada and the USA in the World Poetry Slam finals. She has published poetry book ‘Papers’ as well as two poetry albums. Hollie’s poems cover a diverse range of issues; her experience as a mother, immigration, education, politics and more. Several of her poems have gone viral on youtube, and Benjamin Zephaniah has said “I can’t take my ears of her.” So many people take the view that poetry is a dying art, but watching someone like Hollie perform it is impossible to see it as outdated. The subject matter and the performance of her poetry is so relevant and passionate. This new artistic form of expression is something that should be celebrated and opened up to more people.

Polly Winn chats to Hollie about music, the 2015 election and the significance of Kim Kardashian’s bum.

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How did you first get into writing poetically? Were there any poets in particular that inspired you, particiularly of the older, more classical genre?

I have not read a lot of poetry, I’m just starting to do that now.

I did English Literature at A-Level, but avoided the poetry. I studied French and German literature at Cambridge but chose novels and philosophy, never poetry. I have just always wrote poems. I’ve not studied poetry or creative writing so my poems, to be honest, haven’t really developed in style since I was seven! I loved rhyming poems that I read as a kid. I love the book Please Mrs Butler. I don’t think about the style or the structure, I just write down quickly what I’m thinking and it’s always been in rhyme and written in the way I’m thinking, which I think is fairly straight forward. I’ve just read Carol Ann Duffy’s The World’s Wife and really enjoyed it, although there were a lot of references I didn’t really get. The ones that I did get, I loved.

I really don’t give a crap about Kim Kardashian’s bum

”

”

Adrien Mitchell said that‘Most people don’t care about most poetry because most poetry doesn’t care about most people’. What do you think about this? Do you as a poet write for other people or is your poetry just an outlet for your thoughts? Do you feel connected to your readers/listeners?

It is just an outlet for my thoughts. There is so so much poetry out there, some you can understand on first reading, others you work with for a year and still get new ideas or feelings from. I think there’s space for it all. It’s like music. If someone said ‘I don’t like music’ it sounds odd. I think it is like that with poetry. I feel very connected to my readers and listeners because of course, if I think something, chances are someone else is thinking or feeling it too. I’m not that original!

Daisy Goodwin warned a good few years back that poetry was going to become like morris dancing. Do you think that poetry is a dying art?

No. People are constantly saying poetry is a dying art but it is everywhere you go. As well as poetry books, poetry CDs, poetry shows (which are getting increasingly popular), theatres, festivals (Edinburgh has recently added a spoken word section because of the popularity) it’s also all over the mainstream too.

Flick on the TV, it’s in all the adverts, in the speeches of politicians, in kids nursery rhymes, in football chants. Poetry is all over the place in many, many different styles. Morris Dancing is not seen everywhere. Comparing the two is unfair. Poetry is a whole art form, with a lot of varieties within it. Morris dancing is a type of dance. Poetry should be compared to dance in general. Or music.

Would you ever explore using music combined with your poetry? Do you have any musical influences?

I love music, but I think when I hear music and poetry put together, all I normally want to do is get rid of the music so I can concentrate on the words. But each to their own. I am aware some people prefer poems on their own so I’ve just made a double CD. It has 12 poems put to music, but the other disc has the same poems without music. I loved hearing them with music – all different styles, from dance music to a solo piano. I’ve just done an album too with the Metropole Orchestra scoring music to the poems. That was amazing to hear and I’m really excited by it. But when I watch poetry, I mainly just want to hear the poetry! That said, lyrics are poetry so I guess it just depends how it’s done!

As for musical influences, I don’t have one style or genre I like best. I love some rap, hate some, love some love ballads, hate some. I love Spanish guitar, reggae, zouk, dancehall, indie, rock – but if I hear too much of one style, I get an itch to listen to something else. I’ve always been as interested in the words as the music, so if I think the words are crap, I find it hard to keep listening.

What kind of reception do you get to your more political poems? How do you feel about the state of government politics at the moment in the run up to the election?

Live, I get a good reception in general, because people have come to see me and they know what I write about.

Online it’s mixed, which is obviously going to be the case.

I’m looking into political parties a lot right now. I don’t know who to vote for, but there’s no way in hell I’m not voting. I’m getting annoyed with people bashing people who say they’re going to vote UKIP because I don’t think it helps a damn thing, just adds fuel to fire and patronises people who feel shit about seeing a bunch of white male millionaires stamping their fists. But UKIP is full of them too, despite Farage’s policy of only allowing photoshoots being held with a pint in his hand in a local bloody pub somewhere. I wish Labour was still doing what it was set up to do - to support a workforce of people who need rights and fair pay. I get sick of all the statistics spouted as they are so easily rigged in the way in which our political system turns voting into a choice between labour and conservative.

To be honest, I spent four years studying at Cambridge University and watching politicians banging fists like it’s some sort of debating club they have loved since their Eton days just reminds me of the sort of people that made me really uncomfortable when I was studying there. It is not just privilege that so many of them have, it is extreme. It’s this inability to see that things are harder for people who don’t have what they do. It’s not just a case of working harder, or having motivation in order to get a job or get the grades or whatever. I hate the constant focus on the UK as a meritocracy, because it’s not. I do not think many of them can have a clue what people go through. The views spouted by so many politicians on the working classes, on immigrants, on teenagers especially make me livid. But I am going to vote. I just need to work out who for. Not UKIP or the Tories. After that, I’m unclear.

What are the worst received? Is this because people disagree with you or because they miss the point?

It depends on the place. Online, it’s poems about immigration and women. Immigration because as soon as I say positive things about immigration, then it’s jumped on as anti-white, or anti-white working class, which is understandable because that’s the way the media, as well as Labour, Conservatives and UKIP are trying to show it – divide and conquer and all that. The whole ‘they’ve’ taken all the jobs talk. Because of course it’s nothing to do with global economies, worldwide low wage labour etc. Scapegoating has always worked and it’s always focused away from those in charge or those with all the cash, which is normally the same people. And then anything about women is often jumped on as anti-men, even when there’s nothing in the poems suggesting that at all. But overall, it’s cool. I don’t expect everyone to agree, and I ignore things that just say I’m an ugly bitch or tell me I need more cock or whatever, because that’s just nonsense. But if someone’s got a point to make, I read and listen. People disagree for a reason and I’m not always right!

A lot of your poems have quite an intimate subject matter, how do you feel about writing and performing these poems? What kind of response do you get?

People say that but I don’t talk about very, very personal things. I guess some of the subjects are ‘taboo’ but I don’t think they’re the most intimate or personal. I don’t talk about family or my partner really, it’s more general ideas about things. The motherhood stuff is the most personal but I just couldn’t stand all that being kept taboo. I think taboo subjects are what causes a lot of problems and makes people embarrassed or scared to talk about things that really need talking about honestly.

What is your favourite of your poems? Is there one you enjoy performing most or you find gets the most interesting reactions?

I enjoy performing Wow the most because it makes me most happy. I don’t ‘enjoy’ performing more angry poems, because it makes me pissed off again. So yeah, Wow I think.

Benjamin Zephaniah gave you some pretty high praise, how did you feel about it? You’ve also been shared by pop artist Pink, how does that make you feel?

Shocked and honoured. But no more honoured than I am when a kid from a school workshop emails me about a poem they’ve enjoyed. Or anyone. It’s a real privilege to have people wanting to hear my stuff.

The media seems to be pretty preoccupied at the moment with, like Kim Kardashian’s naked spread, Katie Hopkins on Palestine and typical nastiness, and Dapper Laughs. What are your reflections on these?

I don’t care about bums. I’m bored of talking about female bums, as if they’re the most important issue in the world. I have a bum. I sit on it and walk with it. Kids are being bombed right now.

I really don’t give a crap about Kim Kardashian’s bum. She seems like a nice person. I hope she’s happy. I think Katie Hopkins is a dick and Dapper Laughs I don’t find funny. But the fact that the richest minority is basically stealing all the wealth from most of the people around the world and working people are getting poorer and more victimised is standing out right now for me. More than an arse.

Is there anything you’d say to inspire young people to get involved in poetry?

Just write if you want to. Don’t worry if you don’t think it’s good, it is, just keep writing. Everyone has a story to tell. If you don’t want to do it through poetry, find something else you love to do.

How do you find the use of social media platforms - I first saw you through YouTube, do you see it as a help or a hindrance?

I see it as a help. I can’t go out a lot, I have a job and a kid.

And a lot of people can’t or don’t want to go to poetry shows, theatres, open mics and stuff. It costs money, it takes up time, it can be intimidating too. So it’s that chance to see things you wouldn’t otherwise I find online, and for me, it’s a chance to share the poems with people who want to see them more easily.

You have massively impressive qualifications, and as you’ve said you went to University in Cambridge. What was your experience of university and higher education? Being a poet in some ways seems very different from your degree. Was this always something you wanted to do?

Thanks a lot. I don’t think it’s that different, what I do. If I was writing essays on the same subject matters I write poems about, people would think I was using the qualifications I’ve got. Or if I was writing educational materials based on them or giving TED talks or whatever! But because I’m writing poems in my own voice (not in forced academic language) then it’s not deemed as close to my studies. But it is. I studied lots of philosophy, literature then economics and world trade and immigration and I write and still read about all those things.

I liked university and I also hated it. I love my friends I met there and learning things, I didn’t so much like being laughed at for not speaking Latin, or because my house had a number (rather than being called by a name as bigger houses are) or that I went to a state school full of ‘poor, common people’, as I was told a lot. I didn’t like things like that. But you meet people everywhere that you don’t get on with or that make you feel shite. And then you meet others who support you.

”

It’s this inability to see that things are harder for people who don’t have what they do

”

A

lot of your poems encompass issues like education, and the environment - are these things that are particularly important to you?

I really just write about what I’m doing, what I’m reading about or experiencing. I don’t write poems and think ‘I’ll write a poem about motherhood today’. I’ve never done that.

Since I was seven, I’ve always written all my diaries in rhyme, and still do. I write about those things because that is my life!

I’m a mum who spends half the week working and half the week walking through parks and climbing trees with my daughter.

I love reading and I did my masters in Development Studies with Economics (migration was a part of that). It’s a subject I’ve always been fascinated by. My family is all Scottish except me and my brother, so borders and flags and nationality have been a big and sometimes unwelcome thing in my life.

When I cook, I write poems about food. When I play football, I write about that. I just don’t share all of the poems I write.

I did A Level English Literature, and loved it all the way through school, but at A-level I was disillusioned with the state of poetry in Education.

It’s almost like they pick poetry that seems the most detached. How do you feel about this?

I don’t think that’s true for me – I think a lot of the poetry on the curriculum is great but I think it’s like anything – when you’re forced to do it, you don’t want to. I also never got told about any context for the poems. Like Seamus Heaney, all I remember is ‘Dig, dig, dig’ and me and my friends saying ‘who gives a shit about digging fucking potatoes’. I got told nothing about his background or the importance of this act or the politics or anything, which would’ve given me a whole new meaning for the poem. I also think poetry is not read aloud enough. So many kids seem to love drama and hate poetry, but the two can be used together so much more. Saying that, I know the Conservatives recently changed the poetry syllabus to effectively remove modern and minority poetry from the syllabus so I don’t know if my opinions would fit for the current curriculum. Poetry needs context and a voice. Reading them in your head by yourself in a classroom doesn’t do that.

Performance poetry has changed a lot in the past few years, do you feel like you’re part of a new movement of something completely different? How do you feel your poetry has changed since Papers?

I have no idea! Before I started reading my own poems out I had no idea that any places existed where people read poetry. I did not go to arts centres or poetry cafes. I just went to school, studied, went to friends houses and house parties, then to uni, studied, went to house parties and the local clubs. I didn’t go to see plays or poetry or anything like that really. So I’m not sure it has grown or if I’m just finding more and more out about it. I think it’s a bit of both. And I don’t think my poetry has changed much ever! Different subject matters maybe, but even that’s not really changed.

I didn’t always want to do poetry no, not at all. I worked in an urban planning charity for five years and only quit that because the poetry was taking over. But I’m working on things now that I’ve always wanted to. I’m writing a play at the moment with Sabrina Mahfouz on the history of women’s football within Britains history and doing lots on the elections, so it’s really not so far from what I went to uni for. I’ve just never spoken the way I wrote essays, and never really wanted to write that way either. So it’s nice not to have to do that. It was a voice I was not comfortable with and it was the main thing I got told I was doing wrong at uni - that I needed to make my language more academic. To me that just meant that it was less and less me.

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Fri day November 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

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LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL Lifestyle loves

by Niki Kesharaju

Fashion

Alexander Wang for H&M H&M recently paired up with its first American designer, Alexander Wang. In case you missed it, his sporty collection hit the high street a couple of weeks ago.

The collection, for both men and women, is very monochrome, androgynous and boxy.

Items range from £150 for a parka to a vest for £25. The collection also includes sports bras, rucksacks, boots and other accessories. My favourite piece is this cropped scuba top with ‘WANG’ printed on it for £35. Although this has been Image: H&M sold out now, you can’t help but admire just what an amazing, affordable collaboration this has been. For prices as low as that, it seems like anyone can own a timeless designer gem.

Fitness

Weightlifting for women When magazines talk about getting that “toned” body, what they really mean is building muscle. A lot of women are under the misconception that lifting heavy weights will make them “bulky” or “manly”. However, testosterone promotes muscle growth and women have a fraction of it compared to men, so it’s impossible to reach that level of muscularity. Whether you are looking to lose weight, gain some or just maintain, weightlifting will help you do it in a healthy way and you can (mostly) eat whatever you want. More muscle burns Image: Wikimedia more calories and to keep up with how much you’re burning, you get to eat more often but in moderation. There are plenty of weightlifting routines on the internet to get you started; once you find a suitable programme, try lifting the heaviest weights you can in three sets of eight reps. Lastly, don’t be afraid of the “men’s area” of the gym!

/forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

Technology: BorrowMyDoggy

by Josh Peachey

A new online service called ‘BorrowMyDoggy’ has brought a new doggy dimension to the Internet. This modern ‘pet-sitting community’ allows dog owners to find someone to care for their dog whilst they are away, and allows non-dog owners to experience temporarily caring for ‘man’s best friend’.

Upon investigation, the dog-lending website (www.borrowmydoggy.com) appears to be easyto-use, with a clear layout that enables members to advertise their dogs with pictures and descriptions. But despite the ability to message and meet up with potential carers for the dog, it could still be questioned to what extent a dog owner can trust a stranger that they met online to look after their beloved canine companion.

After creating a free profile, the user can browse dogs in their area.

118 dogs appeared within three miles of the S10 Sheffield area, with profile pictures and descriptions of the dog’s personality.

Image: Wikipedia

To officially become part of the online doggy lending community the user has to pay £9.99 for a 12 month subscription, a reasonable price which also includes third party liability insurance for all subscribed dogs while under the care of the owner or the borrower. Another useful aspect of the subscriptions is access to a 24 hour vet line. To ensure their online community is safe, all members go through a three-step verification process before they can message and meet one another. The process includes validating the address and telephone number the user provides, and an optional video to prove their identity.

The BorrowMyDoggy scheme seems like a good alternative to keeping a dog in a kennel while the owner can’t look after it, or a useful service for people who can’t take their dogs for walks but still appreciate their company. It could also allow families without dogs to decide whether owning a dog is right for them by looking after one for a while. On the other hand, it’s hard to ignore the possibility of people being overly selective when choosing a dog, meaning that people who pay for the service don’t get much interest from potential borrowers.

This type of online community inevitably requires regular participation from all members. There is an element of trust that needs to be maintained between members as well. It may be still in it’s starting stages but it’s Image: Kirstennicoleee a nifty idea; it all depends on the execution.

Britain’s best Christmas markets

by Marad Gruffydd

It’s nearly December already, so what better way to get into the festive spirit than go to one of the many Christmas markets that are all over the UK at the moment? Here we choose four of our favourites.

Manchester Manchester hosts several markets across the city including a German-style market at St Anne’s Square and French themed stalls on King Street. If arts and crafts are your thing, pop over to Exchange Street or explore the jewellery, leather goods and food on offer at Brazennose Street. There are over 300 stalls with mouth-watering delicacies from all over Europe, and of course you can drink some mulled wine and eat mince pies to really get you into the festive spirit.

Dates: November 14 – December 21 To get there: train, 50mins, £11 More information: www.manchestermarkets.com

Edinburgh

EVENTS

Sheffield Does Vintage For an alternative day out, Sheffield Does Vintage is at Cutler’s Hall on Saturday November 22 from 10:30am to 4:30pm. Sheffield Does Vintage draws in vintage traders from all over England to come and sell their timeless pieces at a range of prices. This event draws in pieces from the sixties and seventies sourced from across the world. If last year’s fair was anything to go by, fashion lovers can expect labels like Moschino, Mulberry and Jaeger at discounted prices.

Don’t worry if you’re not entirely into fashion though, you can also find homeware, furniture and accessories here. Pamper Image: Niki Kesharaju yourself at the beauty parlour or maybe settle for a relaxing tea and cake at the tea room with live music in the background. This event a great way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon, just make sure you bring £2 for the entry fee and lots of money for impulse buys.

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Image: Wikipedia

Edinburgh’s Christmas market is unique as the city offers a special Scottish market in St Andrew Square, showcasing the country’s best crafts, foods and drinks such as locally produced sausages, seafood, chocolate, Scottish brewed beer, jewellery and more. There is also a large European market which sells different kinds of crafts and foods from around the continent. Remember to have a go on the ice rink in Princes Street Gardens too, from only £5 a person.

Dates: November 21 – January 4 To get there: train, 3hr 45mins, £52 More information: www.edinburghschristmas.com

London London is probably the best place to go at Christmas time and has the most popular Christmas market in the UK, the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. The whole city has a Christmassy atmosphere and the park has been beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and fake snowflakes. Among the attractions on offer you can ride on the giant wheel, skate on the ice rink, have a festive drink and a bite to eat and browse the stalls. You can even walk through the Magical Ice Kingdom, a fantastical world of real ice and snow. As you are in London, you could also take a look inside Harrods which has a realistic Christmas grotto and many Christmassy treats for sale.

Dates: November 21 – January 4 To get there: train, 2hr 20mins, £29 More information: www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com

Bath Bath is a very beautiful city and you will get a chance to explore the stunning attractions as the Christmas market is situated between the Abbey and the Roman Baths. 170 wooden chalets line the street, offering handmade Image: Wikipedia crafts, Christmas decorations and food. You can also go ice skating and then enjoy a mulled wine in the Après Ski Bar afterwards. Different to other Christmas markets, Bath’s market is distinctively British as over 70 per cent of the stallholders are businesses from Bath and the local region, with 60 per cent of their products handmade in the UK. Dates: November 27 – December 14 To get there: train, 3hr 10mins, £90 More information: www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk

York York’s Christmas market starts off with St Nicholas Market, which is renowned for its Victorian market stalls, roasting chestnuts and carol singers. There is also a Medieval Market where you can have a glass of mulled wine or a pint of traditional ale at the Medieval Bar, and don’t forget to look around the Made in Yorkshire Christmas Image: BlogSpot Market which offers local produce and crafts so you can buy your family a little souvenir from one of the best regions in England. Furthermore, if you like vintage clothes and crafts, ‘York Does Vintage’ is an unique, festive event where you can find all sorts of vintage treasures and even have tea, winter soup or a mince pie at the vintage tearoom. Plus, there will be free vintage workshops, a beauty parlour and live music.

Dates: November 27 – December 21 To get there: train, 52mins, £9.30 More information: www.visityork.org

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@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Charity Spotlight: Oxfam Society

by Libby Gibson

In this fortnight’s installment of our Students’ Union’s best charities and societies to join, Libby Gibson looks at Oxfam Society and why it is worth joining.

Oxfam is a multinational charity, known for its outstanding contributions to the aid and development sector. We work with communities across the globe, enabling unrepresented populations to have a voice and influence their surroundings.

Here in Sheffield, the Oxfam Society is just like any other Society and is a great place to make new friends by attending our events and socials.

Our past projects include the ‘Behind the Brand’ campaign.

This focused on pressuring multinational companies such as Coca-Cola to stop land grabbing in production countries.

We successfully managed to persuade Coca-Cola and Pepsi to stop land grabs from their suppliers, while also forcing companies such as Walkers and Tropicana to adhere to the policy. Here in Sheffield, we campaigned across the University and travelled to London to campaign outside the shareholder’s meeting of ABF (Associated British Foods – one of the world’s largest producers of sugar). It was amazing to be involved in such a successful campaign, which made a real difference.

Our current campaign is focused on reducing inequality and poverty globally. Currently, the 85 richest people in the world earn as much as half of the world’s population and this year there are still 1 billion families unable to feed themselves.

This needs to change. Globally Oxfam is aiming to demand increases in public health and education spending, as well as demanding fair wages for all in a bid to reduce the earth’s wealth gap. Join our ‘Even It Up’ campaign on the Oxfam website and listen out for our upcoming event; our very own pedal powered cinema.

are invaluable skills to employers. As the society’s Publicity Officer, I have really enjoyed developing these transferable skills and look forward to being able to use them in my career.

We meet every other Thursday, check out University of Sheffield Oxfam Society Facebook page for more information.

We hope to see you there.

Choosing to join Oxfam Society has so many benefits, no matter how much you want to be involved. The global scale of our projects will provide you with an insight into some of the world’s most controversial and significant issues. I believe these insights will help you with your degree and beyond, no matter what discipline you have chosen to study. Personally, I have also found that joining Oxfam Society has broadened my mind to other career possibilities. Oxfam Society also provides you with networking opportunities, as I recently experienced for the first time at a supporters conference at Oxfam’s headquarters in Oxford. Being a member allows you to be involved in helping organise and run events, which

Concourse couture

Fashion

Holly Jenkins Third year, Sociology Wearing: Coat from Topshop, shoes from Urban Outfitters, scarf from Monki, dress from Missguided.

All images : Oxfam Society

by Mared Gruffydd and Hope Cunningham

Andreas Grueter Third year, Politics Wearing: Jacket from Rocha John Rocha, trousers from Topman, shoes from Switzerland.

Rose Jeong Third year, English Wearing: Coat from Tate, knit from Zara, skirt from Lap, shoes from Song

by Song (independent Korean shop).

Tom Burns Third year, Music Wearing: Trousers and shirt from Matalan, shoes from Shoe Zone, jumper from Tesco.

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Fri day November 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

@forgelifestyle

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL BREAKFASTS AROUND THE WORLD... /forgelifestyle

lifestyle@forgetoday.com

For the overwhelming majority of Brits, it is fair to say that breakfast is a meal lacking in imagination, often consumed in a rush or neglected entirely. The monotonous cereal or toast routine that most of us follow leaves a lot to be desired in terms of taste and nutritional value. To celebrate World Week at our university, which ran from November 15 to November 23, Lifestyle feature writer Alice Farmery gives you some breakfast inspiration by looking at what people from around the world eat to kickstart their day.

Huevos Motuleños

Nattō

Frühstück

At its most basic, this hearty Mexican dish comprises of eggs served on fried tortillas with refried black beans and sprinkled with cheese. Think of the classic English breakfast with a South American twist. In fact this breakfast is more of a Sunday brunch. If you are feeling hungry, why not add a side of ham, peas, plantain or a spoonful of spicy salsa, all of which are very popular in Cuba and Costa Rica.

Nattō is a traditional Japanese food that is infamous for its slimy texture and pungent taste. This nutritious dish is made from fermented soybeans and is usually eaten with rice topped with a raw egg. Although a authentic delicacy, the smell of nattō is enough to put many people off, with some restaurants even having a “nattō only” seating area. For Japanese children their first taste of nattō is a rite of passage, an experience which has been captured in many hilarious YouTube videos.

A traditional German breakfast usually falls between a deli platter and a continental breakfast. It often comprises of a selection of cold meats along with an array of German sausages. Germany has over 200 varieties of bread, which also makes a tasty start to the day when topped with sweet toppings spreads such as jam, maralade and honey. Of course, pretzles also make a perfect late morning snack. Fun fact: the average German consumes 67 pounds of sausage per year. That’s the average weight of a nine year old boy.

Image: Wikipedia

Image: Flickr

Image: Flickr

Bao

Aloo Paratha

Kasha

Bao, also known as baozi, are soft, pillowlike buns that are either steamed or baked.

In China, these sweet, filled buns are most commonly eaten as breakfast with congee, a type of rice porridge or gruel popular in many Asian countries or simply warm soy milk. Bao are usually stuffed with a variety of meat, spices and vegetables, and are a common item in dim sum shops.

This delicious Indian flatbread can be basically described as unleavened dough, stuffed with a spiced mixture of mashed potato, which is rolled out and cooked in a hot pan with butter or ghee. In one of many regional variations, onions are used in the stuffing (aloo pyaaz ka paratha), and other popular additions include spinach puree (palak) and grated cauliflower (gobi). In Urdu, ‘Aloo’ means potato, and ‘paratha’ is an amalgamation of the words ‘parat’ and ‘atta’ which literally means layers of cooked dough.

In Slavic Europe, kasha is a type of porridge that can be made from buckwheat or any cereal grain, such as wheat, barley, oats, millet and rye. Its importance as a staple food is acknowledged in the Russian saying ‘shchi da kasha – pishcha nasha’ which roughly translates as ‘cabbage soup and porridge are all we need to live on’. At least 1,000 years old, kasha is one of the oldest known dishes in Central European and Eastern European cuisine.

Image: Wikipedia

Image: Wikipedia

Image: Wikipedia

Waakye

Skyr

Appam

In Ghana, Waakye (pronounced “Waatchy”) is a breakfast staple. The basic version consists of rice cooked with beans, oil and onion, and is commonly served with Kelewele which is a dish of fried plantains seasoned with spices.

Waakye originated from northern Ghana but has now gained national status and is loved by grownups and children alike. It can be prepared at home, but is more popular as a street food.

Variations on this dish are also popular in other African countries, including Nigeria, Togo and Benin.

Unique to Iceland, skyr is eaten nearly every day, and is especially popular with fruit at breakfast time. This fat-free product is similar to yogurt, made of pasteurized skimmed milk and a bacteria culture, but is technically a type a soft cheese. Commercial manufacturers often add flavours such as vanilla, berries, etc. to the product, to increase its appeal. Fun fact: Icelanders have also been known to sling skyr at the house of parliament during protests and wrestle in it at nightclubs.

Appam (or palappam) are a type of rice and grated coconut pancake, served in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These white pancakes have a lacy appearance, with a soft centre and crispy base. Appam are traditionally fermented with toddy, a local alcoholic drink made from palm or coconut flower. They are served with a range of sides including vegetable or chicken stew, sweetened coconut milk, Kerala egg curry, korma or chutney.

Image: Wikipedia

Image: Flickr

Image: Wikipedia

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay Novembe r 21 2014

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@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL On a shoestring : Rome

Travel

By Millie Greenwood

Rome - beautiful, historic, a must-see… and expensive.

These are the general assumptions which pop into our heads when thinking of Italy’s capital. Most are true, however this quick travel column by Millie Greenwood will show you why you can do Rome on a small student budget.

I visited Rome this summer as part of an inter-railing trip across Europe. I was apprehensive to begin with due to the extortionate costs I thought I was about to be faced with.

However, I was extremely pleased with just how wrong I was.

The first and probably most important thing I would suggest doing is arranging accommodation before you arrive in Rome.

We stupidly adopted the “chilled-backpacker-just-rock-upit’ll-be-fine” approach, which almost landed us a night in the train station. Arriving at hostels without booking can result in up to €40 a night per person, where us students will definitely feel the pinch. As there was a group of six of us, we rented a small apartment for two nights, which when divided by all of us ended up costing €12 each per night.

Cheaper options are available through larger rooms e.g. rooms of 20 people in hostels. Another highlight of Rome is the fantastic the public transport system.

An underground service and

frequent bus services means you can even find cheaper accommodation outside of the city centre and still get around easily.

In terms of sightseeing, Rome would win first place in any competition.

Being a history student, I am biased because of the amount of artefacts there, but I have a feeling anyone would love it.

It’s very easy to see a lot for very little in Rome. In the area surrounding the Colosseum there are gated ruins you can look at from the pavement.

As well as this, there are boards every few yards with information in Italian and English about what you’re looking at and the history of it.

You have to pay to see the Colosseum and Vatican.

However, out of the two, I would recommend going on a group tour of the Colosseum.

It will set you back around €30 which is still slightly expensive, however for this

Lifestyle debates... Fashion

magazines

Fashion magazines have been one of the oldest talking points from a fashion and feminist perspective.

Lifestyle writers Mared Gruffydd and Alice Farmery give their opinions on whether fashion magazines encourage or contrive female empowerment.

For...

by Mared Gruffydd Personally, I believe there are more good than bad things about fashion magazines. Yes, there are normally various photos of expensive designer clothes which the average women cannot afford, but showing readers current trends from the catwalk helps them know what to buy on the high street. The high street copies designer clothes, so when people buy their products, they feel good about themselves because they know, from reading fashion magazines, that they are in fashion at the moment. Readers get inspiration from fashion magazines and then go and find cheaper clothes in local shops. Also, not all the clothes in magazines are designer.

Some fashion magazines recommend clothes that are available on the high street or cheaper alternatives to clothes spotted on celebrities.

Perhaps some people would be against fashion magazines because sometimes they have thin, size zero models on their pages, but not all are like this. The fashion world is changing and more and more magazines are using plus sized models which look more like the every day woman. In my opinion, fashion magazines actually increase women’s selfesteem as they recommend clothes that would look good on different types of women. This way women know that there are clothes out there for them.

Fashion magazines are great for people who are interested in fashion and who want to work within the industry in the future such as budding journalists or designers. Some magazines feature successful business people to inspire young people with to work hard and follow their lead. Many magazines offer work placements, giving a chance to those young people without any qualifications. They empower women with advice columns on issues outside of stereotypically feminine topics. Many magazines feature tips on budgeting and career advice.

Lastly, fashion magazines are ideal for some light entertainment. There is nothing wrong with them. Just like celebrity gossip magazines, they are something fun for women to read in their spare time.

Against...

by Alice Farmery For many students, flicking though the pages of a glossy fashion magazine is an enjoyable activity that provides a welcome break after a day buried in textbooks. But in my opinion, the vast majority of fashion magazines revolve around a set of ideologies completely out of place in the 21st century.

The effects of unrealistic gender stereotypes are well documented where idealised images of ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ are portrayed as the norm. Feelings of inadequacy can be generated among readers who cannot meet these impossible standards. These magazines fail to acknowledge those members of society who do not fit this mould. It is not uncommon for minority ethnic groups or those with any kind of disability to be completely absent from their pages. While they claim to empower their readers, fashion magazines are instead forcing them into an idealised mould.

It is possible to argue that the promotion of unhealthy female physiques is an attempt to maintain the patriarchal hierarchy, instilling a sense of inferiority into girls from a young age. But despite being portrayed as a feminist issue, the issues surrounding body image are not only restricted to women’s magazines.

Men’s magazines like Esquire contain articles titled ‘6 Style Tips To Make You Look Slimmer’ and ‘16 Things Women Hate About The Way You Dress’.

Fashion magazines prey on the insecurities of our generation, exploiting the ingrained need to ‘fit in’ with our peers. For many young people, the pressure to follow fashion and stay abreast of relentlessly fast moving fashion trends can lead to serious financial problems, and may lead to depression.

By bombarding readers with the message that they too can be successful, glamourous, youthful and popular, if they “invest” in this season’s “essential” alpaca wool coat or neon handbag or turquoise eye shadow, fashion magazines coerce us into spending our money in a way that is ultimately unnecessary, stitching self-worth to a designer label.

Image: Vivian Viola on Flickr

you get a full tour inside and in the surrounding areas. If you’re going to splash out, this is the place to do it.

Inevitably, night life will be an important aspect of your trip to Rome. If you’re a rookie like me and have no clue where is good to go out, the organised bar crawls are such a laugh.

They’re very easy; you have reps looking after you from bar to bar throughout the night, and they nearly always include free drinks and shots along the way. We got lucky and managed to bag free tickets to ‘Ladies Night’ and free pizza in the club.

Each of the bars we visited were busy and vibrant, with good music being played all night. The benefit of going on a bar crawl too is meeting loads of other people your age.

So forget the stereotype that Rome is expensive. It’s easy to do Rome on a student budget.

So many of the amazing sites, such as the Trevi Fountain, are free if you view them from the pavement. Street food is just as good as what you would be served in a restaurant. I would recommend the halved watermelons for €1 and the pizza slices for €2.

It’s a place I would definitely rush back to and highly recommend to anyone looking for a busy and exciting city to visit, regardless of whether it’s a week long trip or just a short stop during inter-railing.

All images : Millie Greenwood

Lifestyle’s DIY Corner The ultimate nail care kit

by Niki Kesharaju

Christmas is approaching and so will the numerous invites to parties.

However, getting a nice manicure doesn’t have to break the bank. A one-off spend of around £20 will give you nice looking nails for party season. Here are a few extra items for your nail kit to spruce up your fingers.

Nail buffer block: Nail clippers and nail files do the job, but a six way buffer block from Boots do a lot more. They can even out your nail surface or even add a bit of shine.

Cuticle pen: Your cuticles need to be kept healthy; dry cuticles in the winter are painful and unsightly. I like e.l.f’s cuticle pen for £1.50, although Sally Hansen and The Body Shop do similar, more expensive pens.

Cotton buds: Perfect tidying up mistakes, just dip the cotton buds into polish remover and swipe the problem areas.

Nail corrector pen: Similar to cotton buds but definitely worth having. Barry M’s nail corrector pen is a very affordable £4.99 and is acetone-free.

Base coat: A base coat protects your nails. Sally Hansen and O.P.I do a whole range of these depending on whether you need your nails to grow, strengthen or harden.

Seche Vite top coat: Seche Vite fast drying clear top coat makes any manicure look glossier. It protects for ages, and prevents chipping.

It’s quite expensive at £9 in Boots, but I think it’s absolutely worth it as it lasts you a while.

Dotting tools: You can create polka dots, florals or what ever you please with these versatile tools. Best of all, eBay sells these very cheaply for under £3.

Make-up sponges: Gradient nail art is extremely easy to achieve with sponges. Additionally, these sponges deal with spillage well.

Scissors and tape: Another party favourite is colour-blocked nails for which there are plenty of YouTube videos. All you need is a tape and scissors.

Image: Niki Kesharaju

22

Fri day November 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

COFFEE BREAK November 21st in History 1694 – FrançoisMarie Arouet, the writer, philosopher and playwright better known as Voltaire, was born.

@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepresscoffeebreak

Did you know...

sworn in as the first woman to serve as a member of the U.S. senate.

1934 – Cole Porter’s musical “Anything 1783 – Francois Pilatre Goes” opened. de Rosier, Francois Laurent and Marquis 1989 – The proceedings d’Arlandes made the of the House of Commons first successful hot air were televised live for balloon flight. They flew the first time. for 25 minutes, five and a half miles over Paris.

1995 – Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong 1798 – North Carolina was arrested and fined became the 12th state $141 for dropping his to ratify the U.S. pants at a concert in convention.

Milwaukee.

1871 – M.F. Galethe 2002 – NATO invited patented the cigar Latvia, Estonia, lighter Lithunania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and 1922 – Rebecca L. Slovenia to become Felton of Georgia was members.

Cat of the Fortnight

Word

of the fortnight:

Spacked, adjective: 1. Clever, intelligent; quick to learn.

In later use, of sound mind.

Heart surgeon Werner Forssmann was so confident that it was possible to insert a catheter into the heart and so tired of people telling him that he was crazy, that he put a catheter in his own heart to prove it. Despite his success… he was fired. He went on to become a Nazi, win a Nobel Prize and eventually died of heart failure.

A ‘jiffy’ is actually a unit of time although, confusingly, this unit denotes a different period of time in different fields. In electronics, a jiffy is the time between alternating current power cycles (about 1/60 or 1/50 of a second).

In computing, it describes the duration of one tick of the system clock. In physics, a jiffy is the time taken for light to one foot in a vacuum, close to one nanosecond. The term is also sometimes used for a 1/100th of a second.

Dates for the Diary

Advent is on the horizon, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to embrace the festivities. Coffee Break has found some important celebrations to add to your diary.

November 23rd is Eat a Cranberry Day! Cranberries are native to North America and grown in bogs, usually in New England. Celebrate Eat a Cranberry Day by… well, eating a cranberry. Maybe even two cranberries.

November 27th is Thanksgiving!

Predominately celebrated in America, the first thanksgiving was celebrated between the Pilgrims and the Indians in 1621. Due to the difficulties the early settlers faced, the autumn harvest was a time for celebration and thinking God for a good crop. Like back then, Thanksgiving is celebrated with a huge feast. Embrace the stars

and stripes, be thankful, and eat.

November 28th is Make Your Own Head Day! This crafty day is very popular in schools and art classes, but there’s never been a better opportunity to make your own head, so don’t let your age stop you. All mediums are embraced and encouraged on his very special day, so put your artist’s hat on.

Maybe it will fit the model

of your head as well.

November 30th is Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day! Everyone enjoys a day off sometimes, so it’s a shame that they usual only occur because you’ve caught a third or fourth round of fresher’s flu. Today is the day to call in well to work, curl up on the sofa and watch copious amounts of day time television.

Sneaky Ginger of the Fortnight Red-haired Richard Macrae, 30, claims to have saved hundreds of pounds by using a homemade ‘ginger discount card’ a friend made him for his birthday.

Richard, a comic book illustrator known to his friends as ‘Fuzz’, turned the joke gift to his advantage and is “going out three nights a week and saving a fortune.”

The discount card, selfproclaiming to be issued by ‘the International

Council of Gingers’ and stating Richard to be a ‘Certified Ginger’, has had a mixed reception. Barmaid Kirsty Davidson, 24 said: “I thought it was really funny and unique as I had never seen anyone try use something like that before.

I gave him a 20 per cent food and drink discount.”

The red-head said his fake ID has also secured him discounts on cinema tickets and taxi rides. Despite this, Richard has also suffered his fair

share of setbacks, reporting to have been asked to leave a bar because the bartender assumed that he was too drunk.

Macrae has also been asked for replica cards, by both gingers and non-gingers alike, although he states that “it’s for VIPs only right now.”

23

FO R GE PRESS Fr i day Novembe r 21 2014

@FPCoffeeBreak

COFFEE BREAK

/forgepresscoffeebreak

Puzzle Page: sudoku Easy

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Quotes of the fortnight

“

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do.

”

Dale Carnegie

“

I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later. ” Mitch Hedberg

“ Happiness is not achieved by the conscious

pursuit of happiness; it is generally the byproduct of other activities.

Aldous Huxley

”

dingbats

Across: 1. Egotistic - canneries do it (anagram) (13) 8. University (7) 9. Harden - temper (5) 10. Manage (4) 11. Type of lettuce (making Titanic fail?) (7) 13. Strain (6) 14. Southern city, notorious for graffiti artist Banksy (7) 15. Tension (6) 18. Damaging (7) 20. Small unit of computer memory (4) 22. Lord - lady (5) 23. Student (7) 24. Reach a required standard - that crude smut (anagram) (3,3,7)

Down: 1. Small unit of distance (4) 2. Abandon (4,3) 3. Female relative (5) 4. European peninsula where Spain, Portugal and Andorra are found (6) 5. Clear (7) 6. Entertain (5) 7. Stimulate (8) 12. Garage employee (8) 14. Update (a web page) (7) 16. Country in Eastern Europe (7) 17. Skiing race (6) 19. Disprove (an argument) (5) 20. Alloy of copper and zinc (5) 21. Frame (4)

Dingbats are visual word puzzles from which you must identify a well-known phrase or saying.

1.

Straw Straw

straw f

2.

DR.

do

24

Fri day November 21 F O RG E P RESS

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25

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay Novembe r 21 2014

@forgesport

SPORT

/forgepress sport@forgetoday.com

Matchdebating

Should double points be awarded in the last race of the Formula One World Championship?

Hamilton’s hopes rest Double points can only add to the excitement on car reliability Jamie Lloyd The double points debacle has somewhat overshadowed what has been an amazing first season of new rules and regulations. A new era of turbo engines and car designs has been nothing but a success, especially when they have smashed the fuel reduction target of 30 per cent that the new rules tried to aid.

For those of you who may not be interested in Formula One, I’ll put it in perspective. Imagine that on the last day of the Premier League, the final games are now worth six points. Would you agree with that?

Ever since it was announced at the start of 2014, the rule has been met with dismay and disbelief.

Head honcho Bernie Ecclestone implemented the rule in order to make the championship go to the last race, “to keep fans interested,” obviously his ulterior motive being he owns the media rights so obviously wanted the TV viewings to stay as high as possible. Yet, the championship would have come down to the final race anyway, with Hamilton 17 points ahead and 25 normally on offer.

Bernie initially intended to have double points for the final three races, and I can’t work out if that’s better or worse, but it is still bonkers. He then went as far as saying the team bosses were ‘idiots’ for not accepting that proposal.

It sounds ridiculous, it is ridiculous. Having been almost invincible, bar odd unfortunate

breakdowns, the championship has come down to the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Rosberg.

Hamilton has won 10 races so far this season, over half of the season calendar, compared to just Rosberg’s five. It’s almost certain that one of these two will take victory in Abu Dhabi. If it is Hamilton, then he will win the championship he deserves. If Rosberg is to win, Hamilton must then finish second. Compare this to the fact that if there were no double points he would of only had to finish sixth.

Having also wrapped up the constructors title with three races to spare, Mercedes have no real team incentive left.

The double points has also cranked up the pressure on the team to make sure absolutely nothing goes wrong on either car. If either car was to stop in the last race, it wouldn’t be fair on either driver, and would leave a sour taste in the mouth over what could have been an emphatic end of season battle.

In a sport where every position in the standings in worth around £50 million, the double points could be a saving grace for some of the smaller teams if they perform

extremely well.

So for the teams such as Sauber and Force India to also express their disinterest in the rule shows that teams are more concerned about this rule than gaining a few million pounds.

In the past couple of days, the teams are in the process of discussing to get rid of the rule, so hopefully this will become a mere blip in history. In such a competitive sport, it isn’t very often teams unite of an issue, so for this to happen now is a good indicator of why this is totally wrong.

Joe Bamford Let’s not beat about the bush here. The fact of the matter is that an entire Formula One World Championship could, for the first time, be decided by double points in the last race. Lewis Hamilton has without doubt been in flying form all season - but Nico Rosberg has hardly been a let-down, with 10 pole positions.

For a long time, the sceptics of Formula One have cried foul at the procession that the seasons of Sebastian Vettel’s dominance turned into.

They used to say Formula One is boring.

Well, not any more.

The introduction of Drag Reduction System (DRS) has changed the sport entirely.

DRS opens opens a gap in the rear wing of a car which is under a second behind the driver in front at particular places on the circuit, allowing more and easier overtaking. It was introduced into the sport in the 2011 season and has cranked the entertainment levels up tenfold. Blimey, cars can overtake each other now!

But that h a s

always been the issue with Formula One. Entertainment.

Sure, the multi-million pound drivers and their film-star lifestyles have always been part of the sport’s landscape, but the level of competition across the field hasn’t always existed.

Now though, anyone can beat anyone. Apart from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, that is.

And if Rosberg does come out on top come the chequered flag on Sunday afternoon, there will be many screaming from the rooftops that he’s nicked it, that he’s pipped Hamilton at the post.

And in a lot of ways, they’ll be right. Hamilton has won 10 races this season compared to Rosberg’s five; Hamilton is a former World Champion and can stake a claim to being one of the great Formula One drivers, whereas Rosberg would need a World Championship win to join that elite group.

Many will argue that Hamilon has been dogged by bad luck this season.

But the crux of the matter is that Hamilton, despite his undoubted talents, still makes criminal errors had he not spun on lap 28 at Interlagos two weeks ago, he’d arguably be in an even more commanding position, and at least 30 points clear of his German counterpart.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ F1 W05 Hybrid

Forge Sport awards

Rosberg, on the other hand, has oozed German efficiency all season.

He hasn’t finished lower than fourth in 2014 and has suffered two retirements to Hamilton’s three - although you have to take into account that Hamilton was leading in two of the races he was forced to retire from.

But the fact that Rosberg is still up there and in the mix is as much a credit to him as it is discredit to Hamilton - the German has kept his head up all season through some tough times, not least taking the blame for the collision at Spa which ended Hamilton’s race.

And this brings me back to the element of entertainment. The fun factor has well and truly returned to Formula One in the last few years, and double points in the last race? That can only raise the entertainment bar another level.

It’s all to play for. Despite being the dominant force this season, Hamilton is far from out of sight. When Manchester City pipped United to the Premier League title in 2012, no one (other than United fans) was complaining at the nature in which the title was won, with City winning it on goal difference in the last minute of the last game.

And the same can be said here. Rosberg deserves credit for sticking with the lightning-quick Lewis Hamilton this season - it’s something which, sadly, has been lacking ever since the incident at Spa. It’s certainly forgotten what Rosberg has achieved in this, one of the best Formula One seasons ever.

Photos: Wikipedia Commons

Forge Sport editor Joe Bamford chooses his heroes and villains of the week Rohit Sharma

üü

The Indian batsman knocked a whopping 264 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata - the first player in history to hit over 250 runs in a One Day International.

Faroe Islands

ü

The minnows made history on Saturday by beating 2004 European Champions Greece in Athens. Ranked 187th in the world, the Faroes also moved above the Greeks in Group F.

Roger Federer

û

Federer pulled out of the ATP Masters tour final in London moments before the match was due to start, with the trophy handed to Novak Djokovic by walkover. A row with Swiss Davis Cup partner Stanislas Wawrinka hasn’t helped either.

FIFA

ûû

Controversy is rarely far away from Sepp Blatter.

Constant allegations of corruption have blighted a fantastic World Cup and now the English FA have been accused of skullduggery, too. Nice try, Sepp.

26

Fri day November 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

@forgesport

SPORT

/forgepress sport@forgetoday.com

Blades dream of cup run repeat Two goals from Ryan Flynn fire Sheffield United through to FA Cup Second Round Football FA Cup First Round Replay Sheffield United Crewe Alexandra

2 0

Joe Bamford Sheffield United saw off Crew Alexandra at Bramall Lane on Tuesday night to set up a secondround FA Cup tie with Plymouth Argyle, as they look to emulate last season’s astonishing run to the semi-finals.

Ryan Flynn scored both goals for Blades, who ran out comfortable winners in an entertaining first-round replay.

Restored to the starting lineup, it was Flynn who set up the game’s first chance, as after a low-key start he crossed from the left-hand side of the penalty area towards Jamie Murphy, whose side-footed shot was easily saved by home goalkeeper Mark Howard.

That led to a change in pace from both sides. Blades were

controlling the game but Crewe were breaking at pace, and in their first attack that the visitors nearly took the lead.

It was only a world-class double save from Howard that kept the scores level, the Blades keeper denying George Cooper before getting up and instantly – and incredibly – saving Callum Saunders’ follow-up effort.

That came as a warning to the home side, but Murphy soon restored some order, beating full-back Oliver Turton with ease before playing a one-two with Flynn. His shot was then acrobatically tipped round the post by Crewe keeper Ben Garratt.

It was from the resulting corner that Blades went ahead. Murphy played in a low cross which wasn’t dealt with by the Crewe defence, and Flynn bundled home on the line.

Blades failed to build on the momentum gained from taking the lead, allowing Crewe back into the game. The away side almost took advantage too, with a fantastic through ball from Anthony Grant setting Bradden

Inman through on goal, who was unfortunate to hit the post.

The sides went into the break at 1-0 though, with chances at a premium during the first 45 minutes.

Blades thought they’d doubled their lead early in the second half, with great work by Bob Harris setting Flynn free to fire over a cross which Chris Basham scrambled home – only for the offside flag to deny the Blades centre-half.

Basham seemed keen to get in on the act, as moments later he brought the ball out of defence before letting fly from 30 yards, with Garratt doing well to catch the ball at the second attempt.

Flynn then finally doubled Blades’ lead. The Crewe defence parted like the Red Sea for Jamie Murphy to play a precise through-ball to Blades’ number seven, who slid home in front of the Kop. Turton was then booked for tugging back Stefan Scougall, who had beaten a couple of Crewe players and was looking to set Flynn away to complete his hattrick.

finals.

However, the 2014/15 campaign got off to a difficult start with a 7-4 defeat ahead of the much-fancied Nottingham.

Despite some accomplished Sheffield performances, including a promising debut for Kai Piercy, Trent scraped through the final two matches of the day to turn a potential away comeback into a comfortable home win in a matter of a few dramatic minutes.

The league defeat aside, the season has started brightly for society President Thomas Wright and the Premier League.

Wright himself has so far recorded the highest checkout,

taking out an impressive 104, but it is Orange that sits atop the embryonic league table.

Orange has recorded one 180 so far, and although opponent Dave Slattery matched his feat on Tuesday it was not enough to prevent a 12th successive win for the team captain.

Thomas Hogg, who finished second to Orange but overcame him in the season-ending Champions League, has started strongly in the title race despite a couple of early slip-ups.

One such defeat came against Ed McCosh, who has also notched up 12 wins on the bounce to start the season, although Orange tops

Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane ground Blades were barely troubled in the second half and ran out deserved winners, a win which could yet be a platform for a cup run reminiscent of last season’s FA Cup journey.

Sheffield United manager

Picture: Joe Bamford Photo: Joe Bamford

Nigel Clough: “They were two great goals.

The build-up for the second goal was great as well. We controlled the game again and that’s how we want to play.”

Darts back in full flight after Nottingham league loss Darts Tom Pyman Darts captain Max Orange stormed to the top of the University of Sheffield Premier League to make the perfect recovery from the team’s defeat in the North East Darts league season opener against Nottingham Trent.

In his first outing as team captain, Orange led ten players on an away trip to Trent as Uni looked to build on the runner-up position in last season’s NEDL

the league due to winning every game by a 2-0 scoreline.

Former and current Presidents George Francis and Thomas Wright follow closely behind, while Jamie Barrington has made up for a late return by flying up to sixth in the 32-strong league.

Next up for the society is the first knockout tournament of the season, with the Specimen Cup taking place for the first time at the Doctor’s Orders.

December will see the first darts ‘derby’ of the season, as Uni take on Sheffield Hallam in the second round of NEDL fixtures.

Premier League table 1 Max Orange 2 Ed McCosh 3 Thomas Hogg 4 George Francis 5 Thomas Wright 6 Jamie Barrington

Sports personality of the week

Forge Sport’s Simon Watters met women’s volleyball captain Melina Li for an interview How long have you been playing volleyball for?

I started playing volleyball when I was about 11 so I’ve been playing for 9 years now. I started at a local club then played for three years at school as well before coming to Sheffield.

What aspects of volleyball do you enjoy most?

Definitely the team spirit. I used to do figure skating where you’re alone on the ice. Team sport is really nice because when you lose you’re not alone but at the same time it spurs you on to win for your teammates. If I make a mistake I know I can count on my teammates to pull me back up. Also, I don’t think people realise how intense volleyball can be, trying to keep a ball in the air for as long as possible!

What responsibilities do you hold as 1st team captain?

“I don’t think people realise how intense volleyball can be” I have to organise transport to games every week, as well as acting as the middle man between the committee and the players. I even have to wash the kit every week! I make sure everyone comes to training on time and even coach practices, all on top of being captain on the court.

What do you enjoy most about being part of a uni sports team?

The social aspect is quite fun, especially the Wednesday socials.

The Black and Gold spirit gives you an instant connection with other sports people. Varsity is more than just a normal match: starting off a huge varsity day last year at the EIS with a win was amazing.

How much interaction do you have with the men’s team?

This year, quite a lot. All of our socials are joint and often we have away games in the same place so share the coach. The women’s team have to score the men’s match and vice

versa so we get to know each other easily and have an instant volleyball connection.

What are the club’s aims for the season?

Last season we reached the BUCS trophy finals so we want to get back there. This year we’ve lost only once so winning the league is a realistic aim. Semipro teams like Durham and Northumbria moving up to a new league means we can now compete this year.

Another aim is to promote volleyball at the University because it’s an underappreciated sport in England. In mainland Europe it’s huge but here it gets confused with Netball and Basketball!

Most of our members are international, showing the lack of interest here, but recreational volleyball this year has been encouraging. We have a solid

turnout each week: more guys than girls are showing up, which is rare. As well as this we’re seeing more British people, which is great to see!

Photo: Josh Rock

This week’s contributors Joe Bamford Ed McCosh Tom Pyman Danny Armstrong Jamie Lloyd Simon Watters Sean White

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Stonham brace sinks Newcastle Women’s Hockey BUCS Northern 1A University of Sheffield Newcastle University

4 2

Danny Armstrong Sheffield women’s hockey 1s ran out comfortable winners against north east rivals Newcastle in a feisty affair at Goodwin.

Sheffield kicked off on a murky evening that bore the slightest threat of mist and immediately applied pressure, pinning Newcastle inside their own half and switching the ball well across the midfield.

The home side’s early tenacity paid immediate dividends as Anna Stonham was played through when unmarked in the area. Stonham lifted the ball delightfully over the Newcastle keeper and into the net after her initial shot was blocked.

However, despite falling behind, Newcastle wasted no time in replying as they broke and against the run of first half play notched a fortuitous goal when a drive across goal was inadvertently turned in

by Sheffield’s Rachel Drohan.

Complaints that the shot was outside the D fell on deaf ears and the two sides were level again.

After the equaliser, the home side put the visitors under yet more pressure. Sophie Akhtar’s diligence and sound control proved instrumental in building attacks from the back and Maddie Wilkins provided a formidable presence in defence.

Sheffield found the back of the net once more but again controversy surfaced and the goal was disallowed as Bexx Woods’ shot was adjudged to have come off the back of her stick. The Sheffield player’s disgust at the decision was more than apparent.

At the other end, Newcastle blazed over from close range and then minutes later forced a rare save from Uni keeper Victoria McDonald but ultimately lacked momentum, something Sheffield soon capitalised on.

With Stonham again involved, the ball fell to Alice Williams in the D. With cool precision she controlled and fired past the felled Newcastle stopper from a rebound to put Sheffield 2-1 up heading into the break.

After the restart, the game developed a blistering tempo with Newcastle finding some cohesion

in attack with tricky stickwork and impressive dribbling.

Sheffield however lost none of their resolve despite conceding momentum and soaked up pressure to play the ball coolly out from the back.

It was then that the inevitable happened. A Newcastle equalizer had looked increasingly likely and the visitors made it 2-2 by working the ball past McDonald to score despite the efforts of the

backtracking home defence.

After the second leveller, intensity flared. The game became dominated by thrilling midfield battles whilst fatigue began to set in and some players were forced to come off ailing from the pace of the match.

Despite the game’s speed Sheffield seemed to find some creativity, especially from Williams, and suddenly seized the initiative. Following a blocked

attempt, Scarlett Heath deftly lofted the ball into the Newcastle net and then in the final five minutes Stonham grabbed her second to put Sheffield 4-2 up and seal the points in a hotly contested fixture.

The win made it two wins from five this season for the 1s heading into their next fixture at home to Glasgow.

Women’s hockey club in action

Photo: Joe Bamford

Victorious Spartans in Carew’s Control after big win Basketball BUCS Northern 2B University of Sheffield University of Huddersfield

92 63

Joe Bamford The University of Sheffield men’s basketball 1s blew Huddersfield away at Goodwin on Wednesday, winning for the second game in a row to maintain pressure on Teeside at the top of the table.

Akin Lisk-Carew was Sheffield’s top scorer, amassing 30 points in an impressive allround display, with George Roddington scoring vital lay-ups and looking strong in attack.

It was a dominant overall performance from Sheffield, who withstood considerable Huddersfield pressure in the first two quarters but eventually ran

out comfortable winners.

Sheffield lost the first tip, with Roddington being beaten in the air, before Lisk-Carew missed the first three-pointer chance.

Huddersfield opened the scoring with a freee throw with Sheffield a bit too heavy-handed in defence.

Both sides traded the lead in the opening quarter, as each time Huddersfield thought they were in command, Sheffield continuously pegged them back, with Lisk-Carew and Roddington providing considerable pace and power going forward and Jake Chilver and Pierre Michelot intercepting the ball well in defence.

Huddersfield were

winning the rebounds well and were dominant a both baskets, ruthless accuracy perfectly complimented by dogged defending.

However Sheffield weren’t going to go down without a fight, and battled back to level the scores at 1313, before taking the lead themselves through Lisk-Carew’s three-pointer.

That set the tone for the rest of the second quarter, with Sheffield beginning to exert their influence on the game and Michelot in particular playing a key role in keeping Huddersfield at bay.

Excellent defensive work from Chris Rodger prevented Huddersfield’s attack from scoring another lay-up on the Photo: Rob Milne

buzzer of half-time - Sheffield led 41-37.

The third quarter opened with Huddersfield winning a freethrow opportunity, but they missed both attempts.

The away side were visibly running out of energy and ideas while Sheffield were growing in confidence, Lisk-Carew showing class to add more points to an already impressive individual tally and 21 and Nehemie Mimbo maintaining relentless pressure on the Huddersfield players.

With 10 seconds left of the third quarter, Sheffield were awarded two free-throws, with Rarnilines Silva missing the first but scoring the second.

Sheffield led 64-51 going into the final quarter, with Huddersfield fading fast. LiskCarew was once again at the heart of Sheffield’s attacks, scoring yet another lay-up after

some fantastic build-up play.

Sheffield were most prolific from lay-ups, scoring time after time whereas Huddersfield failed to break through some stern defending from the home side to score points of their own.

Sheffield rapidly racked up a score of 70, and then 80, Michelot’s sublime three-pointer the pick of the bunch. Some great play between Lisk-Carew and Anthony Odallo lit up the final few moments, with Sheffield’s score closing in on 100. However, the comfortable 92-63 win will do.

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Moores misery for men’s football after defeat Football BUCS Northern 1A University of Sheffield Liverpool John Moores Uni

1 2

Sean White University of Sheffield men’s football 1s let a half-time lead slip to lose 2-1 against Liverpool John Moores at Norton. It was the Black and Gold’s third consecutive defeat by the same scoreline in what has proven a frustrating start to the season.

A frantic opening 10 minutes saw an open, end to end encounter, with both teams failing to test the keepers with long range efforts. However, it

was Sheffield who began to settle the better, Brad Johnston denied by a strong, sprawling save after being presented with a one on one chance.

The home side continued to play positive, passing football and broke the deadlock on 27 minutes. Neat interplay down the right saw Sheffield get in behind the John Moores defence and a low cross found its way to Johnston, who was not to be denied for a second time, slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

Sheffield continued to dominate for the rest of the half and were unlucky to go in at the break only one ahead. A snapshot from the troublesome Johnston was turned over the bar, and from the resulting corner John Moores

allowed a free header which looped onto the top of the bar.

It appeared the half time break was a hindrance to Sheffield, and they had a reprieve straight from the kick off as the visitors broke clear but managed to blaze over the bar from 12 yards. The home side failed to heed this warning though and ten minutes later the Sheffield defence allowed a John Moores winger to latch on to a perfectly weighted through ball to slide past the keeper and level the scores.

The game then descended into a scrappy affair with both teams failing to gain a stranglehold on proceedings and resorting increasingly to long ball tactics.

However, there was still a feeling that one side would grab a

winner, and unfortunately it was Sheffield who were to be on the receiving end. With 12 minutes remaining a jinking run into the box saw a golden opportunity present itself to John Moores, which was duly taken, consigning the home side to their third consecutive defeat.

Sheffield tried to find an equaliser but could not exert any sustained pressure and John Moores saw the game out to claim a 2-1 victory.

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Blades on knife-edge over Evans

Ed McCosh The board of Sheffield United directors must be envious of regular Christmas time stress.

While most people are worried about disappointing a loved one with a poorly thought out gift, a misjudgment on the future of Ched Evans could attract the ire of the entire nation. For the Blades this may not be the season of peace and goodwill after all.

The saga that continues to rumble on reached new levels of outrage on Remembrance Day – while the nation paused to pay tribute to the fallen, United ushered Evans back into training with the club. Club patron Charlie Webster called it “the oldest PR trick in the book,” and shortly after left her role at the club. It began a slow procession out of the exit door, as the Blades’ most famous backers turned their backs on the club. Singersongwriters Dave Berry and Paul Heaton, as well as businesswoman

“I believe he needs to move away and move on, and the club itself needs to lift its reputation out of the gutter.”

Lindsay Graham, have quit as patrons while lambasting the club for its noncommittal stance on the issue. With Graham and Webster departing, the club is left without any female patrons.

For a club weighing up whether to reintegrate a convicted rapist into its ranks, such a fact does not paint a pretty picture.

In April Sheffield United were making national headlines for their actions on the pitch as they became just the ninth side from outside the top two tiers of English football to reach the FA Cup semi-finals. Now, despite climbing to fifth in League One and reaching the second round of the Cup with a 2-0 replay victory over Crewe, Nigel Clough’s side cannot escape Evans’ bad press.

Surely, for Clough, the best solution would be to rid the club of such a poisonous issue as quickly as possible. Yet the Blades boss claimed “We don’t have a timescale on it. Believe it or not it’s not at the top of our

priorities.” The club is tearing itself apart from within while to the public, even those who do not follow football, see a proud and historic club in an increasingly poor light.

And is it even worth it?

Yes, Evans hit 35 goals in all competitions before his rape conviction, but after more than two years out of the game, will he ever hit such a peak again? Also, the Blades have moved on since Danny Wilson was in charge and Evans was at his zenith. Nigel Clough’s youthful side have worked effectively as a unit and Evans may not fit as snugly into the starting XI as he did in 2012.

For all the negative press, abuse and external pressure that would plague the club from the bootroom to the boardroom, there just isn’t enough footballing justification to sign Evans up – even if doing so was acceptable.

For Evans, the only way is down. His friend, the former Walsall and Port Vale defender

Clayton McDonald, stood trial alongside the Welshman and was cleared. Despite that, the 25-year-old has struggled to maintain work, now marooned at Conference Premier side Southport after being released just a month into his time at Tranmere Rovers. McDonald cites the constant negative press as the reason for his inability to find a Football League club, and claims that he will have to find a second job to offset the drop in wages that has accompanied his fall from grace. For Evans, a convicted rapist, it will be worse.

It isn’t just Sheffield United but football as a whole that needs to decide if an ex-convict who refuses to apologise or atone for his crime will ever make a return.

The club’s decision, therefore, isn’t decisive for Ched Evans.

However, with sponsors threatening to walk out on the club, patrons and fans becoming disillusioned with the club’s handling of the situation,

The Ched Evans Saga in Quotes

“According to the law of the land he is entitled an opportunity to resume his career.”

“As a pro you have to try to cope but it’s so hard when you’re accused of something you haven’t done.”

“At no point have Sheffield United acknowledged the extremity of his crime…I don’t believe a convicted rapist as in Ched Evans should go back.”

– Clayton McDonald, who was on trial with Evans in 2012

– Presenter and former United patron Charlie Webster

“I would like a second chance... I don’t believe I have a given right to play again, but for any club to take me on I have learned a valuable lesson. Over time I can prove myself to be a positive influence, not just on the pitch but in the community.

“I believe being a role model to young people is a huge honour and those in positions of influence in communities should...set a good example. If Evans was to be re-signed by the club it would completely contradict these beliefs”

“It is a rare and extraordinary privilege to be permitted to play professional football.

Now that I have served my sentence it is my hope that I’ll be able to return to football.

– Olympic gold medalist Jessica Ennis-Hill

– Evans’ aunt, Nina Evans

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– Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough

– singer and former Sheffield United patron Paul Heaton

“He deserved to go down. He was found guilty, he did rape her.”

and even Jessica Ennis-Hill demanding that the stand bearing her name be renamed if Evans were to return, it certainly is decisive for Sheffield United.

As they have stated many times in official statements, the board must consider the business impact of such a decision. At this pointit is merely a case of damage control.

The debate over the eventual fate of Ched Evans will rumble on. For Sheffield United, the sooner the issue is resolved, the better. The club can only make a move in the right direction when the headlines they make are once again being made on the pitch.

INSIDE: See Page 4 for the latest Ched Evans news

Photo: BBC News

“I am determined to continue the fight to clear my name” - Ched Evans, convicted rapist

Should Ched Evans be allowed to return to football?

Danny Armstrong

From Match Debating in Forge Press Issue 76, November 7 2014

“A prison sentence is designed to rehabilitate as well as obtain retribution for the crimes committed. However, being refused the right to play football again would continue to single him out as a now lesser member of society. It seems that this opposition are happy for him to be released from prison, as long as he is not allowed to make a success of his life, or continue earning a comfortable wage. He should be forced to undertake monotonous low-paid work, almost as a perpetual punishment. While he has shown a reluctance to directly apologise for his actions, it is understandable that as he 100% maintains his innocence, shown by his appeal of the conviction, he may fear an apology to be an admission of guilt.

He has been convicted, served two-and-a-half years of his sentence, and now should be allowed to return to the job he possesses the skills to succeed at.

Much has been made about his position in the limelight and role model to younger generations. However, I disagree with the notion that he will be considered a role model. I find it hard to believe anyone could aspire to his lifestyle, after the vilification he will rightly receive.

So while Evans’ actions were clearly deplorable and all action should be taken to eradicate further instances from society, a ban from football would be a means of punishment all over again.”

Ed McCosh

“Footballers are in a position of real power. They are role models and icons to the people who flock to see them every week. As Evans told the police when under arrest, he and his friend Clayton MacDonald “could have any woman we wanted”, because of their fame and wealth. A convicted rapist being put back in a position of that power is incredibly dangerous.

The 19 year old victim had her identity leaked and became the focal point of a hate campaign for daring to claim Evans had raped her. Now she has moved from her home town and changed her name, with the life she knew ruined. Evans has offered no apology.

So, serving a fraction of his time and without showing any sense of remorse for the impact of his actions, Evans could be allowed back onto the pitch and into his position of prestige. It’s as if we, as a society, are saying that if you’re famous enough you can get away with what you like.

The reputation of the sporting community, who fail to protect homosexual athletes and fail to show that sexual assault can never be tolerated over and over again, is being dragged through the mud.

If Ched Evans set foot on the Bramall Lane turf again, the harmful cycle will just continue. At some point, we have to draw the line.”