Forge Press issue 54

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

Issue 54 Friday November 30 2012 @ForgePress /ForgePress

Games review:

Lego Lord of the Rings, Fuse, p.10

Comment debate: Are the Church of England back in the dark ages? p.9

Lifestyle find:

Winter’s top five biggest trends, p.20-21

‘Smack in the face’ Demo 2012: for future teachers as course scrapped Low turnout, 4Uni’s English course will close next year 477 PGCE places cut by Teaching Agency 4University of Sheffield among worst hit Jonathan Robinson The University of Sheffield is facing its biggest cuts in teacher education for 50 years, after the Department of Education reduced the number of trainee places by 71 per cent.

The number of funded Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) places allocated to the University for 2013/14 has been reduced from 108 to just 31, as a result of the government’s radical overhaul of teacher training.

The Department of Education is transferring responsibility for the training of thousands of new teachers from undergraduate and PGCE courses to individual schools.

It means the PGCE English course at the University is to be scrapped next year, following the cuts made by the Teaching Agency.

Dan Brooks, Union councillor for the School of Education, said the cuts will have a “detrimental effect” on teacher training in Sheffield.

“It’s outrageous that Sheffield is losing funding for its PGCE places. Not only will it mean that future teacher trainees will miss out on the outstanding level of training and support available at the University of Sheffield, but it is also certain to have a detrimental effect on the School of Education’s world class research through reduced funding.

“I think the cuts are indicative of a government that has a totally skewed view on the education system. It shows a complete disregard for the PGCE programme as a whole.”

Nationally, the number of places allocated

to university-run teaching courses will be reduced by 2,000 in 2013.

However, the number of teachers being trained by schools under a new programme called School Direct increased by about 5,000 this year.

Under the scheme, schools can apply to recruit and train their own staff.

Brooks said the PGCE cuts were part of the government’s deregulation of the teacher training industry.

“I think it’s all about giving schools the power to decide who will make it as a teacher based on their individual judgment, rather than a nationally recognised qualification system.

“Frankly, it’s a smack in the face to aspiring teachers everywhere that their teaching qualifications might count for nothing one day.”

When Forge Press went to print, an online petition calling on the Teaching Agency to reverse its University of Sheffield cuts had been signed by 781 people.

A spokesperson from the University of Sheffield said: “The decision made by the Teaching Agency to shift to School Direct will result in a significant cut to the number of places for secondary PGCE students.

“There is the potential for it to have a grave impact on our courses, and those at many universities across the UK. “As a result of the Department for Education’s policy of moving initial teacher training out of universities into schools, universities will still be called upon to support such training but will not take the prime responsibility for it.

“There is the real possibility that years of expertise and experience in centres across the country could be lost.”

Continued on p.3

high cost Full reports on p.4-5

Photo: Tobias Klenze

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A taste of diversity at Sheffield world food festival celebrations Delia Stanway

People of all ages and cultures crowded Sheffield City Hall Ballroom on Saturday November 24 for the 22nd annual World Food Festival.

The excited buzz and mixed aromas of delicious cuisine filled the air as Sheffield students celebrated cultural diversity in style.

The University’s international societies made a stunning effort.

With over 15 stalls presenting a huge array of dishes, from handmade Indian kheez to African kachumbari and syrup bandung to satay sticks, diners were spoilt for choice.

A Bulgarian society member said: “Where else would you have the chance to try international cuisine so cheaply? There is no Bulgarian restaurant in Sheffield so this is a great opportunity.”

Each stall was a cultural representation in miniature and provided a unique opportunity to widen people’s cultural knowledge.

Vibrantly decorated in national colours and displaying mascots and customary emblems, the stalls radiated pride.

Themes ranged from an African marketplace to a depiction of the Brunei Mosque.

The Bulgarian stall represented a traditional Bulgarian home and introduced people to their welcome customs, which involved offering visitors bread dipped in spices.

Colourful costume was

everywhere, from traditional Bulgarian dress to a Kadazan tribal costume of Borneo.

The entertainment for the evening was provided by the University’s dance societies who displayed a selection of international dances.

The audience was treated to a variety of performances such as horo - a traditional Bulgarian dance, a display of Capoeira which is a combination of music and martial arts from Brazil, belly dancing and a Bollywoodstyle display.

Fadi Dakkak, Students’ Union international officer, said: “The event was a huge success. Tickets were sold out a day before the event took place and the demand was high enough that people queued up and we managed to sell some tickets on the door.

“It was a fantastic night.

Seeing diverse and distinguished cultures all under one roof was a scene that was a spectacle to the eye.

“The international students’ committee did an amazing job, publicising and running an event which took place in a new venue for the first time in 22 years, they made us all proud to be part of a diverse community.”

Societies engaged in friendly competition for various awards.

The Indian society was the proud winner of best stall décor and desserts. The Hellenic and Cypriot society won best the cold dishes award, while the East African society the prize for best hot dishes.

Iron Age roundhouse Lecturer wins poetry built in the Peak District translation award Jodie Gadd A new project to build an Iron Age roundhouse in the Peak District has begun, led by the University of Sheffield’s department of Archaeology.

A roundhouse is one of the earliest forms of housing in Britain. It will be built in the Nightingale Centre in Great Hucklow, Derbyshire, and will become a place for the local community to meet and learn about life in the Iron Age. Local schools, groups, and villagers will be making time capsules and burying them in the foundations of the roundhouse.

There will be other Iron Age activities taking place, such as pot making and bronze casting, but also the opportunity to help build the roundhouse.

Centre director Stella Burney, said: “It’s great to see the roundhouse starting. It has already attracted a large amount of interest.

“It will form a really important addition to the centre and provide a peaceful space for individuals and groups to enjoy.”

The Nightingale Centre was originally founded as a home for injured WWI servicemen who were recovering from their illnesses or medical treatment. It is now a holiday centre for underprivileged children.

Dr Roger Doonan, senior lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Sheffield said: “We want this to be a community space used by many groups and it seems fitting to involve everyone, not just in its use, but also in its making.”

Delia Stanway A lecturer at the University of Sheffield has won the Times Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry in Translation.

Dr Kaarina Hollo, a specialist in early medieval Irish literary culture, fought fierce competition with her translation of Derry O’Sullivan’s Marbhghin 1943: Glaoch ar Liombo from Irish Gaelic into English.

Translated as Stillborn 1943: Calling Limbo, the poem is the only translation from Irish to English yet to have won the award which was presented in London on November 13.

Marbhghin 1943: Glaoch ar Liombo remains one of the most widely acclaimed Irish language poems of the 20th century.

“It’s combination of deeply felt emotion and technical control is deeply powerful,” said Dr Hollo.

“I am really glad, from the responses I have been getting from people who have read the translation, that some of that is coming across in my English version as well.

“The poem resonates directly with real life experiences of some older Irish readers, but it also makes emotional sense to other readers.”

The Stephen Spender Trust was established in 1997 to honour

Editor

alisha.rouse@forgetoday.com

Alisha Rouse

DEPUTY EDITOR Rowan Ramsden Managing Editor Mikey Smith WEB EDITOR Adam Harley fuse editors fuse@forgetoday.com Arnold Bennett Coral Williamson Head of Visuals Adam Harley News news@forgetoday.com Lauren Clarke Jessica Pitocchi Jonathan Robinson Comment comment@forgetoday.com Martin Bottomley Hamilton Jones LETTERS & COFFEE BREAK letters@forgetoday.com Holly Wilkinson Features features@forgetoday.com Sophie Allen Lizzy Jewell Nicola Moors Lifestyle & travel lifestyle@forgetoday.com Olivia Adams Laura Davies Sport sport@forgetoday.com Adam Hancock Will Aitkenhead Matthew Smith Music music@forgetoday.com Amelia Heathman Lianne Williams Games games@forgetoday.com Kaz Scattergood Andrew Smith

Spender’s achievements in his writings and essays on social justice.

It aims to widen knowledge of 20th century English literature, and promote literary translation.

Screen screen@forgetoday.com Phil Bayles Dan Meier Arts arts@forgetoday.com Olivia Middleton Amy Claire Thompson COPY EDITORS Ally Christodoulou Ellen Jurczak Lizzie Palmer Matthew Smith Matt Voice Elsa Vulliamy Media Hub, Union of Students, Wes t ern Bank , Shef f ield, S10 2TG 0114 22286 46 // f or gepress@f or ge t oday.com

Forge Press is printed on 100% recycled paper

Kaarina Hollo

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View s expressed are not necessarily those of the Univer sity, the Union or the edit orial t eam. In the f ir s t ins t ance all complaints should be addressed t o the Managing Edit or, although a f ormal pr ocedure exis ts.

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Mass muggings around IC Lauren Clarke Police have increased patrols in student areas after 10 robberies took place in three days.

Two male students were assaulted by two men with bottles in an underpass in Shalesmoor.

One of the students suffered a cut to his head, but no property was taken.

Some victims have been threatened with a knife as a man asks for money.

There have also been a number of robberies on Crookesmoor Road and the Barber Road area of Sheffield where the victims were students.

Jon Gleek, the Students’ Union welfare officer said: “It is always distressing to hear that students are victims of crime. In relation to the recent incidents I would like to stress that it is of course something that the Students’ Union, the University and

the police take very seriously.

Sheffield is famous for being a very safe city and the victim of a crime should never be seen as at fault, but that doesn’t mean that students can’t take some simple precautions, particularly at night.

“Women students can use the women’s minibus, and all students can use the safe taxi scheme if they don’t have cash at hand to pay for a taxi.

“If you are going to walk home, students should make sure they walk in groups through well lit routes. All students can get a free personal attack alarm from myself or from Amy Masson, the women’s officer.”

Extra police officers, both uniformed and in plain clothes, are patrolling the area.

One arrest has been made and enquiries are ongoing.

Photo: Jonathan Robinson

Vice-chancellor Keith Burnett has written to Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, to express his concern at the University’s reduced allocation.

University of Sheffield Students’ Union education officer Richard Alderman said PGCE courses taught students both theory and practical skills.

He said: “Gove seems to be forgetting the pedagogy in teacher training.

“Some superb future teachers need time and the support of a classroom environment to hone their craft, and we need postgraduate students to not only be teaching but advancing critical enquiry on how to teach in the 21st century.”

Universities rated as ‘outstanding’ training providers

by Ofsted face fewer cuts than those rated as ‘good’ such as the University of Sheffield, leading to fears of a two-tier system in teacher training.

London Metropolitan

University, which was also rated ‘good’, had its PGCE places cut by 104 to 55 for 2013.

A Department for Education spokeswoman admitted ‘good’ university departments were facing cuts.

She said: “Our School Direct programme has been overwhelmingly popular, proving that schools see this as the best way to attract the most talented.”

However, industry experts have voiced concern at the loss of university training courses.

James Noble Rogers, executive director of Ucet (the universities’ council for the education of teachers) said there was a risk that more teaching training courses in schools could cause disruption.

Last week, Union council voted unanimously in support of an urgent member’s motion put forward by Brooks, which called on the University to make a strong case to lobby against the cuts.

One in seven University of Sheffield PGCE places to be cut for 2013/14:

PGCE places by year:

0 13/14 12/13

(English places for 2013/14)

31 108

SCIENCE & Technology

UK NEWS Apes can have a midlife crisis

PGCE cuts slammed Uni debate heckled by by industry experts pro-Palestine activists Continued from p.1

NEWS

Whilst they may not have a sudden hatred for their career or dye their silver-streaked hair, research has shown that like us, apes might also experience a midlife crisis.

Headed by psychologist Dr Alexander Weiss, of the University of Edinburgh, a team of zoo keepers and researchers studied 508 chimpanzees and orangutans in zoos and research centres around the world.

The volunteers scored the apes for well being and happiness using a questionnaire that measures similar traits in people. They found that apes experienced a drop in well being during their midlife, mirroring our own pattern.

An ape mid-life crisis can be associated with male apes wanting to mate.

Emily Berry

Vegetative patients communicate

Photo: University of Sheffield debating society Jessica Pitocchi A group of hecklers interrupted speakers at the latest debating society event.

Speakers from the University of Sheffield debating society were “incessantly insulted” as they talked on the topic of Israel’s launch of air strikes on Gaza, during its latest military offensive.

The debate entitled ‘this house condemns the Israeli air strikes’ took place on Monday November 26 at Coffee Revolution at 7pm.

The hecklers aimed their insults at those speaking in opposition calling them “an absolute disgrace” and “liars”.

The debating format is unanimously used across the country and involves five minute speeches by two speakers both for and against the motion.

A floor debate proceeds in which anyone can offer their opinion and the debate concludes with summation speeches.

An observer at the event told Forge Press the speeches almost had to be stopped several times because of the constant insults.

The main criticism was that the debate was believed to be ‘pro-Israel’ and that those condemning the air strikes were

“zionists and didn’t care about Palestine”.

Although the heckles were pro-Palestine, Omar Jadallah from the University of Sheffield Palestine society denied they were members of the group.

The society hold weekly debates in the Union on topics ranging from Marxism and feminism to the American elections.

Adam Hawksbee, from the University of Sheffield debating society, said: “At Sheffield debating, we were incredibly disappointed that certain individuals in the audience decided to heckle and intimidate our speakers due to the content of their speech.

“We’re very aware of how heated and emotional this topic is for many Sheffield students which is why we decided to put the debate on in the first place.

“The temptation in the future for us would be to stay away from this controversial topic to avoid the disrespectful behaviour we witnessed on Monday.

“However, we will ignore that temptation and continue to put these debates on in the hope those who don’t want free and open discussion will just stay at home.”

can

For 12 years car crash victim Scott Routley was considered clinically vegetative and unable to communicate.

However, in a recent breakthrough in brain scanning technology, called fMRI, Scott was able to tell doctors he is not experiencing any pain. fMRI monitors the movement of oxygenated blood through the brain and constructs images corresponding to brain activity.

Using different imaginative scenarios as markers for ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ patients can respond to questions relating to their quality of life.

British neuroscientist Prof Adrian Owen said: “Scott has been able to show he has a conscious thinking mind. We believe he knows who and where he is.”

Victoria Stanway

SHEFFIELD NEWS Big brothers are good for you Those of you with big brothers or sisters will know, at times, they can be a pain.

However, research by the University of Sheffield has shown having an elder sibling can actually increase your chances of living to adulthood.

By studying the church records of 20,000 Finnish people born between 17501900, researchers found young children with no older siblings had a 68 per cent chance of surviving to the age of 15.

In contrast, this increased to 75 per cent for a child with four older siblings.

Emily Berry

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Students throw eggs and beer at NUS president in ‘pointless’ demo

4Frustrated students invade stage 4Turnout 10 per cent of 2010 demo Aidan Phillips Around 4,000 students marched through the rain on November 21 in an NUS demonstration against government education policies and high youth unemployment.

Students campaigned against increases in tuition fees, the scrapping of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and a lack of postgraduate funding.

But many protesters expressed outrage over the route planned by the NUS and Metropolitan Police, with NUS president Liam Burns being booed and chased off stage at Kennington Park.

A group of around 20 protesters threw eggs, beer and food at Burns while he gave a speech.

They broke through the metal barricades and occupied the stage, shouting anti-NUS slogans and calling on others to resume the demonstration outside Westminster.

London City College student Paris Thompson said: “I’m here to fight against all education cuts we’ve seen in the last two years.

“It’s not right that poorer students from a working class background like mine are being put off going to university because of this government’s actions.”

Others marched against specific policies such as MidKent College student Matt Stanley, who said he was against the scrapping of EMA. “Lots of students at our college used to be on EMA, so we’ve really felt the cuts hard.”

Considerable support was also shown for the Palestinian movement in light of the recent conflict in Gaza.

University of Sheffield student Omar Jadallah said: “I’m thrilled that so many people were thinking of Gaza. It’s good to see they feel for the students over there as well.”

On entry to Kennington Park, protesters also chanted “NUS, shame on you, where the fuck have you brought us to?” in response to the route a v o i d i n g Parliament Square and ending in a largely residential area of south London.

Writer for the Socialist Worker Ged Colgan said: “The

NUS today were a disaster. Why were we marching to Kennington when we should have been marching on parliament?”

Burns defended the route two weeks ago, claiming that it would result in minimum disruption for supporters whilst still allowing protesters to get their messages across to politicians. He later hailed the day as a “great success”.

The atmosphere was vibrant at times, with drums and tambourines keeping spirits high outside Westminster and a rousing march by students across Westminster Bridge led by a giant banner spelling out ‘Revolution’ in graffiti writing.

However, by 2pm the atmosphere became more subdued as heavy rain hammered down and the route reverted to quieter residential areas.

Late arrivals due to traffic delays also meant that the demonstration was at times dispersed into separate bands of protesters, with numbers thinning as it reached the end.

By the time speakers took to a stage at Kennington Park only a few hundred protesters stayed to listen.

Author Tim Gee who spoke at the rally said the demonstration was still worthwhile.

“It’s always important to take to the streets and to show that injustice will be resisted.

“Many here today either won’t be affected by the rising fees or know it’s too late for them. They’re not marching for themselves but for the next generation.”

The numbers this year showed a significant decrease from the 50,000 who marched against tuition fee increases in 2010.

Student Lewis Dagnall said: “If you look around here, they’re all the usual suspects, the ones involved in political societies.

“This demonstration hasn’t reached out to the average student and captured their imagination.”

The violent scenes of 2010 were however avoided, largely due to a route designed to avoid trouble and a large police presence.

The only scuffles between protesters and police occured at 1pm when around 40 protesters tried to break through to Parliament Square, but a police barricade blocked their attempt.

4 Union spend £1,715 on 105 minutes at protest Alisha Rouse The University of Sheffield Students’ Union spent £1,715 on sending students to London, for one hour and 45 minutes.

The coaches arrived at the NUS protest last Wednesday at 1.30pm, less than two hours before the demo ended.

Edinburgh, despite being 386 miles from London, managed to organise for their students to arrive at 10am.

225 students from the University of Sheffield took up the subsidised service, of which £5 was paid per student and £7.60 was subsidised by the Union. The NUS had said students were to meet at 11am, to begin the march at 11.30am.

Despite being 30 miles further away, Leeds Students’ Union managed to arrive for 11am, 45 minutes before the demo was due to start.

Sheffield students were forced to chase the demo to its current location, arriving with the protest at 1.30pm, where it had almost finished, having left Sheffield over an hour late.

Jamie Roberts, a fourth-year Town Planning student, told Forge Press: “I don’t think the Union should be paying for the trip.

“The demo was a bit of a lost cause, if people had wanted to go they should have paid for it themselves. The Union should not be used for political causes,

Number of protesters at national student demos by year 2010

2011

50,000

10,000

2012 4,000

but for things that actually help students day-to-day, like activities and events.”

The demonstration also saw a disappointing turnout in comparison to previous years.

In 2010, over 50,000 students attended, and last year it was 10,000, despite the protest not being organised by the NUS themselves.

SU president Abdi Suleiman said: “When the changes to higher education are the biggest for 20 years at least, when our students still can’t afford to do a masters, our undergraduates are being indebted beyond easy imagination, our international students are being deterred and our local MP ignoring us, as a Union our greatest regret is that we haven’t done more and

subsidised more actions.”

The rally at Kennington Park, with guest speaker Owen Jones and the leaders of the NUS, began at 2pm, leaving Sheffield students only half an hour to protest.

During the NUS president Liam Burns’ speech a group of protesters invaded the stage and forced Burns off the stage, having thrown eggs and food at him.

The group have been said by a Union officer from Sussex to be anarchist students from their university.

Two years after the incident at Millbank caused nationwide controversy, the demonstration attracted minimal media attention.

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4200 Sheffield students voice anger at coalition Lauren Archer “We’re from Sheffield, we know Nick. He’s a liar, he’s a dick,” shout the University of Sheffield students as they join the latest NUS protest against education cuts.

Despite the drizzle and dispersion, over 200 Sheffield students marched through the streets of London.

Xavier Bruggen, of the University of Sheffield’s Reclaim Your Education group, said: “The campaign is about standing up for student rights in every context in which they’re threatened.”

Women’s officer Amy Masson said: “I went on the demo because I think it is important that we continue to stress the disproportionate impact of the changes in higher education on women, black and disabled students.

“I also think that here in Sheffield, with Nick Clegg being our MP, we are well placed to remind the government why we are angry.”

Jessica Pitocchi

Large numbers of students took to Twitter to express their feelings.

Tweets using the hashtag #demo2012 received over two million collective views within 48 hours of hitting the social media site.

However, the demo was largely ignored by the mainstream media.

An in-depth Guardian liveblog provided much of the coverage, integrating photographs and interviews with students’ own running commentaries on Twitter.

Despite the serious message behind the afternoon of activism, chants and placards set the stage for student-typical tongue-incheek humour - ‘This is an Eton mess’, ‘Your economics would get a third’, ‘Dumbledore didn’t die for this!’

Speaking about the demo, Labour MP for Sheffield Central Paul Blomfield said: “I think it is important that people raise their voices when they are not happy with government policy.

“Postgraduate courses are being restricted to those who can fund themselves, whereas the government is sending a message to students worldwide that they’re not welcome in the UK. “The actions of this government are foolish, counter-intuitive and restrict social mobility.”

University of Sheffield Students’ Union president Abdi Suleiman said: “This demo was about all the people who couldn’t be there; the 30,000 mature students deterred from applying to university, the enthusiastic and interested undergraduates who couldn’t afford to do a masters, the thousands of international students who have had post-study visas taken away.”

What’s on your mind?

Comment on this article online: www.forgetoday.com

DOT COM

COMMENT

A washout demonstration Photo: Tobias Klenze

Arrival times of universities at demo 2012

Edinburgh 10:00am Demo started at 12:05pm Northumbria 10:40am York 11:30am University of Sheffield joined demo at 1:30pm

The wet weather wasn’t the only reason behind the dampened spirits of many protesters on last Wednesday’s Demo 2012 march.

Of the 10,000 students expected to march the streets of central London, only an estimated 4,000 turned out with many representing student media and others coming in protest for Gaza - a strikingly low figure when compared with the 50,000 students at the NUS’s last demo two years ago.

After a delayed start at Temple Place, the demonstration began at 12.05pm passing through Embankment and onto Westminster Bridge.

Heavy policing and riot vans lined the streets and kept the march at a standstill in an attempt to combat black bloc protestors by the bridge.

By 2.12pm, the march had largely broken up into different groups all making their way toward Kennington Road.

However, diminishing levels of activism was apparent and dissatisfaction was evident amongst the crowds.

Many groups dispersed into local coffee shops and pubs along the route in shelter from the rain whilst those carrying on created weather-related chants: “It’s cold, it’s wet and we’re in loads of debt”, “it’s raining, it’s pouring, the Tories are appalling”.

By the time the protestors reached the rally at Kennington Park, the chant “NUS, who are you? Where the fuck have you brought us to?” had formed amid complaints of the length and direction of the protest.

“No-one can see us” and “This seems pointless” were cries of frustration overheard by Forge Press reporters at the rally.

Before the march, police had handed out the conditions of section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986 which was being enforced on the day, providing explanation for the chosen route.

It states the police will “prevent serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community.”

The students’ anger then

turned toward NUS president Liam Burns.

As he took to the stage at the rally, he was met by mass booing and cries of “sell-out” before eggs, beer cans and fruit were thrown at him.

A group of about 20 protesters then invaded the stage, cutting Burns’ speech short by breaking past the security barrier and taking possession of the microphone.

Burns was forced to finish his speech amongst the crowd with a megaphone.

Despite all this, the march as a whole was described as “lively” and “peaceful” by police and marshals which is more than could be said for 2010, showing the NUS have learnt at least some lessons since last time.

Bangor 11:30am

Infographics: Lauren Clarke

Portsmouth 11:20am

Photo: Tobias Klenze

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National news Manchester ssab offers apology over society funding threat The University of Manchester sabbatical officer who sparked controversy by telling societies they needed to atten d Demo 2012 if they wanted more funding has apologised.

Tommy Fish, activities officer, apologised for telling societies that they would be awarded silver or gold funding if they sent at least ten students to the London protest.

He was accused of imposing his political views on societies, and an online petition was set up condemning the decision.

In a statement, Fish said: “I wrote a stupid email, I backtracked, corrected it, and apologised unreservedly. End of story. There was no ‘bribery’ as the Daily Mail put it.”

Jonathan Robinson

Pictured: Tommy Fish

GCSE exam remarks up Exam results from this summer have seen a 36 per cent increase in re-marking requests to nearly one in 50 GCSE and A-Level scripts.

The rise in challenges has seen 45,000 grades in England, Wales and Northern Ireland change.

Head teachers’ leader Brian Lightman, a campaigner of changes to GCSE English grade boundaries, says these figures show faith in the exam system is at an “all-time low”.

A spokeswoman for Ofqual said: “We are currently conducting a programme of work to look into this area, including exam board practices and processes.”

Eastern European children taken from Ukip foster parents Lauren Clarke Rotherham council has caused outrage by taking three children away from their foster parents who are members of the UK Independence Party.

The council’s strategic director of children and young people’s services, Joyce Thacker, said the decision was influenced by Ukip’s immigration policy and that she had to “think of their longer-term needs”.

However, the council has said that the children were happy and there was nothing wrong with the foster parents’ care and have launched a review of the decision.

Cllr Roger Stone, leader of Rotherham council said: “Membership of Ukip should not bar someone from fostering.

The council places the highest priority on safeguarding children, and our overriding concern in all decisions about the children in our care is for their best interests.

“However, this remains a very complex case involving legal advice relating to the decision in question, particular features of the children’s background and an external agency responsible for finding and providing the foster carers concerned.

“This is a sensitive child protection case. It involves both vulnerable children and the foster carers, so the information the council is able to release publicly is limited by law.

“At all stages however we will seek to be as open and transparent as possible as we

cooperate with the secretary of state.”

Michael Gove, the education secretary, condemned the council and said that the decision was “indefensible”.

Sam Launder, deputy chairman of Young Independence Yorkshire - the youth branch of Ukip, said: “It is an absolute disgrace that these children have been taken away from this couple who have an exceptional record in both fostering and general public service.

“The whole idea that the couple are racist just because they support a party who wants to see an end to the open door immigration policy this country pursuits is absurd.

“Ukip’s policy on immigration is quite clear; of course there are benefits to be gained from immigration, but to be frank, it’s just not sensible to have an open door to the whole of eastern Europe when youth unemployment levels are 21 per cent.

“We in Ukip aren’t antiimmigration, we are procontrolled immigration; in which we want an immigration policy based on work-permits, there’s a massive difference there.”

Launder is calling for the children to be put back with their foster parents.

He said: “From what I understand, the children had built up a fantastic relationship with the couple and the couple’s family. Their lives have now been turned upside down.”

COMMENT Max Bell Three orphaned European children, all under the age of 10, being removed from their temporary foster placement because their parents were members of Ukip unsurprisingly led to widespread condemnation, irrespective of political pallet.

Rotherham children services, and the entire Labour-led council, have some extremely awkward questions to answer.

That said, following recent accusation sagas, it would be wise if nobody jumped to hasty conclusions yet, especially as the staff responsible are unable to put their side across, because the full story is still hidden.

Yet this hasn’t stopped the story raging like a wildfire. Indeed - it has proved even more toxic with Rotherham awaiting a by-election, following expenses cheat Denis MacShane’s resignation.

This sad affair will only add to Ukip’s prospects of having their best ever Westminster by-election result: hoping to push the Tories into third, if not better.

But that must never take away from the fact that, if these allegations prove correct, those

responsible must face serious consequences, with sackings all but inevitable.

This country is already lacking willing adoptive and foster parents – the last thing the system needs to be doing is slapping current ones in the face and discouraging prospective families.

With the purported reasoning that Ukip are a racist party, it is important to differentiate jingoistic policies and two members’ ability to provide a home.

Both parents applied to have the children permanently homed with them, after what they had believed to be a successful temporary foster placement.

And whilst Ukip’s stance on multiculturalism is rather myopic, the idea a potential lack of multiculturalism is worse than not having a home to call their own is absolutely disgusting.

You can’t help but sympathise with Michael Gove’s, (himself adopted), impassioned cry.

Above all else, I hope that these three children end up where they deserve - a loving home.

What’s on your mind?

Comment on this article: @forgepress

Vigil commemorates Gaza victims

Will Bailey

Minimum alcohol proposed by ministers

pricing

Research carried out at the University of Sheffield has prompted ministers to propose a minimum price-per-unit of alcohol.

The research suggests a 45p minimum price would reduce the number of crimes by 24,000 a year, as well as lead to 2,000 fewer drink-related deaths over 10 years.

The proposal has been met with criticism by groups such as the British Retail Consortium, who question whether the proposal will impact responsible drinkers more than binge drinkers.

Martin Harnick-Roscetti

Photo: Omar Jadallah Aidan Barlow Palestine solidarity campaign activists braved the cold and rain to hold a candle-lit vigil outside Sheffield Town Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Around 100 people gathered to commemorate those who died in Gaza during the recent violence.

The activists lit candles, heard speeches and songs, and chanted: “Palestine, we’re with you.”

Musheir El-Farra, chairman of the Sheffield Palestine solidarity campaign said: “Israel

has spread fear among the Palestinian people. These have been savage attacks.

“Despite the destruction, we hold our heads high because the fourth biggest army in the world has failed to bring the Palestinians to their knees.

“The British government has propped up Israel. We have shown William Hague and David Cameron don’t represent us. We say no to the attacks. We remember the victims and say you are not alone in Gaza.”

Ambreen Masud, a fourth-year Urban Studies and Planning

student said the fact Israelis had died from rocket attacks was terrible, but that the people of Gaza were suffering because of the Israeli blockade.

She said: “Gaza is like a massive prison camp. The Palestinian people have suffered decades of oppression in Gaza.

We are fighting for human rights.”

The violence escalated after Hamas began launching rockets at Israel, following the killing of their military leader Ahmed Jabari. The Israeli bombardment has killed 168 Palestinians,

over a hundred of whom were civilians.

Six Israelis have been killed in rocket attacks, including four civilians and two soldiers.

28 were also injured in a bomb attack in Tel-Aviv. A ceasefire has been in place since Thursday.

Dr Abdel Razzaq Takriti, a History lecturer at the University of Sheffield said the ceasefire is fragile.

He said: “Although the bombing has temporarily stopped, Gaza is still under siege. This situation must end.”

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World news

Detectives investigate ‘suspicious’ hit-and-run Jessica Pitocchi The death of a 19-year-old man found seriously injured at the scene of a Sheffield hit-and-run is being treated as ‘suspicious,’ police have confirmed.

The incident happened around 6pm on Tuesday November 27 in Arbourthorne at the junction of Eastern Avenue and Arbourthorne Road.

Travis O’Neill, who was discovered after one of the vehicles in the two-car collision sped away, was taken to Northern General hospital but later died.

The car crash involved a black Volkswagen Golf and a 4x4.

Detective superintendent Terry Mann said: “We are treating this as a suspicious death but it is early days and we need to establish the cause of the death first.

“We need to find out what injuries the man suffered and how he came by those.”

A postmortem was performed the morning after the incident, and detectives returned to the scene later that day to inspect the area.

An Arbourthorne resident who wished to remain anonymous said he was ‘not surprised’ to hear about the death adding: “It’s getting bad around here.”

Winnie Smith of the Arbourthorne tenants and residents’ association also said: “We keep telling the authorities it’s getting worse in Arbourthorne, but no-one will listen. Something like this has been coming.”

Officers are appealing for any witnesses to call South Yorkshire police on 101 quoting incident number 738 of November 27.

BP banned from new contracts, following spill

Pictured: Travis O’Neill

Fake snake escape Council crackdown on posters taken down illegal market stalls Ben Scull Warning posters that declared the escape of 13 exotic snakes in the Ranmoor area have been found to be fake.

Police confirmed that the posters, which warned residents they would need immediate medical attention if bitten, were part of a prank.

The posters were found stuck to street lights across Ranmoor.

It read: “13 exotic snakes have escaped from a local collector’s house in Ranmoor Crescent.

Seven of them are known to be highly venomous and pose a very high health risk.”

The leaflet urged residents to contact the South Yorkshire animal control immediately if coming into contact with one of the snakes.

The telephone number listed on the leaflet belongs to DL Pest Control, a company from Doncaster.

However, a spokeswoman for the company said simply that the warnings are “not true”.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire police has confirmed that they are aware of the posters and have had PCSOs carry out searches in the area.

He added: “We can confirm that up to six posters have now been taken down and there was no evidence to support that there has been any snakes within the Crosspool area of Sheffield.”

The culprit responsible for posting the leaflets has still not been identified.

Tom Vigor Sheffield city council has responded to a number of complaints about unlicensed traders in the city centre by cracking down on the illegal marketers.

With the return of the annual Christmas city market in the Fargate area, there has been an increased effort to rid the area of marketers trading without a license.

The festive period brings with it an increase in footfall, as seen by the large crowds visiting the city centre’s newly erected log cabins.

One of the traders, Helen, said: “Christmas is a very important time for all the shops, traders and crafts people here in Sheffield.

“I am really happy to be using one of the new Christmas cabins this year and hope our customers enjoy something a bit different from us.”

However, the council fear that the shoppers in the area may have been buying shoddy or counterfeit

goods from traders who have set up without attaining permission.

The introduction of the Christmas cabins is one way of differentiating between licensed and unlicensed traders.

The council have also worked with the police who have been removing illegal traders, finding and confiscating counterfeit goods in the process.

Cllr Isobel Bowler, cabinet member for culture, sport, and leisure, said: “We want to help local businesses and temporary traders in the city, so we must make sure that people trade legally.

“I’m glad that with the help of the police we have been able to act swiftly to make sure that everyone is trading legally.”

What’s on your mind?

Comment on this article online: www.forgetoday.com

DOT COM

Democracy2015 on sourcing independent candidates “I heard about the movement from a friend, and its values and aims really appealed to me. It was a once in a lifetime chance to be part of something that really struck a chord.” This is the reason why Richa Naidu

applied to take charge of student affairs for Democracy2015.

Set up last month by the founder of the Independent, Democracy2015 is a political movement which aims to source and support independent candidates for the next general election.

Guided by the belief that too many MPs belong to a political class motivated only be reelection, it aims to push through suitable candidates with real life experience beyond a political degree in every constituency.

The manifesto underlining their policies will be written and voted upon by the movement’s supporters. Ambitious? It has to be.

“For too long something has been wrong with our political system. You have to be ambitious to challenge the resources and influence of Britain’s political-class, and our ambition and active attitude are two crucial factors which appeal to frustrated citizens.

“My ideas and life experiences are largely student-centric, so it’s been easy to relate to the emails we receive from them.

US

The Environmental Protection Agency has slapped an indefinite suspension on BP from entering any further contracts with the US government.

It comes after BP’s record fine earlier this month over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Due to their apparent “lack of business integrity”, the EPA sanction will effectively remove BP from Wednesday’s sale of new exploration fields in the UScontrolled areas in the Gulf.

The ban will not affect any current agreements between BP and the US. The Department of the Interior said they would not grant the company any new leases before the EPA suspension is resolved.

Phil Blackler

Germany to vote on bestiality The German government is calling for a ban on bestiality.

A vote will be held in the Bundestag on December 14, with a fine of up to €25,000 proposed for those found guilty.

Michael Kiok, the chairman of the pressure group ZETA, said: “It is unthinkable that any sexual act with an animal is punished without proof that the animal has come to any harm.

“Animals are much easier to understand than women.”

But Hans-Michael Goldman, the head of the committee investigating the proposal, defended it: “With this explicit ban, it will be easier to impose penalties and to improve animal protection.”

Will Bailey

MEETS RICHA NAIDU

Aidan Phillips

NEWS

“All youths are marginalised and blindsided in today’s politics.

Their lives are affected by it as much as everyone else’s.

“If we succeed, we will have a manifesto in power which - if they volunteer to be a part of our policymaking - they will have helped shape. That’s something no political party can boast.”

She seems keen to reel off the ways students can get involved.

Writing articles for newspapers, putting up posters, setting up societies, joining debating clubs - the list is endless.

Richa’s passion is infectious.

Having ended the interview, I ask if she could reply to any more questions I might have about the movement.

Looking at her response, I wonder if any party politican would have expressed such enthusiasm.

O’Dwyer avoids extradition Sheffield Hallam student Richard O’Dwyer, who faced copyright infringment allegations has reached an agreement to avoid extradition to the US, the high court has been told.

Mr O’Dwyer signed a “deferred prosecution” agreement which requires him to pay compensation but means he will not face a trial.

O’Dwyer, 24, could have faced up to ten years in a US jail for alleged copyright breaches involving TVShack.net, a website which provided links to sites that host TV shows and films.

Lauren Clarke

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Gaza offensive: Israel is a neighbour from hell Michael Owens On November 14, Israel launched a deadly assault on Gaza after persistent Palestinian rocket fire. Israeli Defence Force air strikes hit at least 20 targets and killed Ahmed al-Jabari, the top military commander of Hamas.

He was struck by a precision air strike as he was travelling by car in Gaza. Following the strike, the IDF tweeted, “We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead”.

This is apparently the Israeli equivalent of “Come on if you think you’re hard enough”. Israel, it seems, is the world’s worst neighbour.

With its parliamentary democracy, progressive legal system and extensive EuroAmerican trade links, one would think Israel would be more popular – or at the very least more popular than the hard-line Islamic Hamas government, which in the West is considered a terrorist organisation.

But it’s difficult not to feel sorry for the Palestinians, whose exodus during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War has left 1.7 million people living on a strip of land 25 miles long. This is thanks to an extensive blockade attempting to curb arms imports into Gaza. They lack clean water and electricity.

‘Israel claimed to be acting defensively in response to persistent Palestinian fire’

Photo: Tal King Photography

It’s even more difficult to find sympathy for Israel given quotes such as “There are no innocents in Gaza, don’t let any diplomats who want to look good in the world endanger your lives – mow them down!” coming from members of Israel’s legislative body in the wake of numerous innocent children being killed in Gaza, among them the eleven month old son of Palestinian BBC employee Jihad al-Masharawi.

Throughout the Gaza offensive, Israel claimed to be acting defensively in response to persistent Palestinian rocket fire.

However, when viewed in the larger scheme of things and considering the Palestinian loss of land since the collapse of the British mandate in 1947, it is difficult to view Israel as anything but an aggressor.

It is only natural that fanatical Islamic elements would fester and grow in response to Israeli aggression denying the Palestinian people fundamental human rights.

A two-state solution to the problem of Palestine enjoys popular support in both Gaza and Israel, yet a 2012 EU report found that due to Israel’s continuing forced transfer of the Palestinian population, a two-state solution was unlikely and perhaps unviable.

This is due to continued growth of illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank, which enjoy the support of the Israeli government and greatly reduce the land and resources that would be available to a Palestinian state.

‘Israel will be doomed to play the role of the villain’ Let’s, however, suppose that Israel did not maintain such an aggressive regional foreign policy, would it start to seem like the good guy in all of this?

In short, no.

Even if an independent Palestinian state existed and we saw the end of the effective apartheid in West Bank with its Jewishonly settlements, separate roads, military checkpoints, the Berlin Wall-esque West Bank barrier and the use of Palestinians as cheap labour, the situation would not improve dramatically.

The Islamic world would still see the state of Israel as an unacceptable occupation of Palestinian land and still be viewed by many in Europe as an obstacle to western diplomatic efforts in the Middle East.

Unfortunately it is inevitable that regional conflict will continue and that Israel, even when offering an olive branch, will be doomed to play the role of the villain with any peace efforts being blocked by religious and historic grievances.

Star-no-bucks avoiding tax Lizzie Palmer Ever since the mythical green mermaid in a circle first appeared on the UK’s high streets, I have loved Starbucks. There are few other places where a simple coffee order can have 17 syllables.

So understandably, I was quite depressed to hear that the coffee chain, along with other giants including Amazon, eBay and Google have not been paying much UK corporation tax. In fact, using a series of loopholes Starbucks has paid precisely none in the past three years.

All the companies involved have denied any legal wrongdoing, and

indeed all have large teams of accountants who help them run their businesses in a legal yet ‘taxefficient’ way.

A recent message posted on Starbucks’ website from CEO Howard Schultz says that Starbucks are still very much “committed to the UK”.

By this, I presume they mean they are committed to opening a new branch here every 30 seconds, and ensuring that a good proportion of our disposable income is spent on their sugary treats.

By putting all the profits from their £398 million in UK sales last year into overseas expansion, and importing products from their office in Switzerland, Starbucks’ UK company can legally claim to be making a loss in the accounting

books, and avoid corporation tax.

There is something deeply wrong with a system that allows giant multinational corporations who can afford expensive accountancy services to pay nothing, while small businesses pay tax on all their profits.

This is not fair on people in the UK who empty their pockets in pursuit of a daily £3.25 caffeine hit.

It is also not fair on taxpayerfunded services such as the NHS, which are undoubtedly being impacted by some of Starbucks’ less-than-healthy products. My favourite beverage, a large caramel signature hot chocolate contains over 600 calories. Put that in your mug and drink it.

Photo: Piero Fissore

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COMMENT

Student protests need a new direction

Photo: Tobias Klenze

Benjamin Swift Alongside the organisation of demonstrations in London on November 21, the NUS published figures suggesting that out of 2,025 adults with children under 18, 58 per cent believe MPs who broke their promises should not stand for election again; whilst 62 per cent wouldn’t vote for an MP who broke their election pledge on fees.

With this in mind, the demonstrations also allowed students to focus their anger on the lies and deceit of Nick Clegg, whose ‘I’m Sorry’ parody has over

two million hits on YouTube.

However, what the figures say means nothing next to what the last general election results tell us. Of the aforementioned 2,025 adults, the more pertinent question is “Did you vote for the Conservatives?”

In the last general election, David Cameron’s party won 39.6 per cent of the vote in England, 10 per cent more than Labour and way in front of the Liberal Democrats.

The Conservatives were backing the rise in tuition fees then and so it seems were the general public if you judge by the election result.

When David Cameron talked about the tough times ahead and the ‘New Direction’, this is what he

meant.

The purpose of the student movement against fees is one against elitism. Higher education should not only be given to those who have pockets deep enough to afford it; but for me, the lessons haven’t been learned.

Instead we simply scapegoat a party which sold its soul to its political opposite. The fact is that our Government may be a coalition, but it is led by the Conservatives. Out of 27 members of cabinet, five are Liberal democrat MPs. Yet everyone still seems genuinely surprised that the rise in tuition fees did happen.

We blame the Liberal Democrats for not opposing it properly and

yet fail to acknowledge that the influence of any MP is irrelevant next to that of the voter.

So the lessons are these: why weren’t the same parents who are speaking out against fees now not concerned about the fee rise in the run-up to the 2010 election?

And why wasn’t it brought up in the political debates preceding the election?

Since many students didn’t have a voice then, it is up to us now to rectify that wrong. Demonstrating can only go so far in changing the face of modern day politics. What the NUS demonstrations tell our leaders is that the future electorate will not be fobbed off by listening to empty words and waffle.

Any talk about equality of opportunities is tainted by the £9,000 fee needed to attain them.

As we begin to join the working world, we need to remember the values the student marches stand for and make an alteration for the better to David Cameron’s new direction.

Got an opinion on the topics discussed this fortnight?

Contact letters@forgetoday.com

Father, forgive them for what they have done James Norman-Fyfe The decision taken by the Church of England to vote against female bishops is frankly ludicrous. For an institution that is losing power and influence as a result of rapid secularisation, it’s extremely confusing that they would choose to make such a regressive decision.

Indeed, even in our modern society, it seems as if the laity of the General Synod still believe that women simply are not capable of taking on such an important role.

What makes this decision even more confusing is the fact that the Church of England were pioneers in allowing female ordination back in 1994; why then this regression in female rights within the church?

I’d be able to understand if the

Church of England believed that the furthest women should go in terms of serving the church should be making tea and spreading butter on sandwiches, if they hadn’t made such leaps and strides in this controversial area before. But they have.

‘It seems sadly, as if women are the victim of the stained glass ceiling.’

What does the Church of England stand for? Indeed, some speeches at the General Synod meeting this week even made out that women preaching in the church generated a plethora of unwanted problems and issues; where does this leave female vicars and priests in the Church

of England today?

It seems, sadly, as if they are the victim of the stained glass ceiling.

Women in the church are suffering a problem the rest of society went some way to alleviating decades ago.

In a time when church attendance is at an all time low, can the Church of England really risk taking a decision that will divide them and alienate many potential congregation members for years to come? I think not. The sooner the inevitable is accepted, the better: women deserve equality.

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Photo: BBC

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Looking for a grad scheme?

You may be barking up the wrong tree

Photo: geckoam/Flickr

Liane Lau We have been spoon-fed the idea that a graduate scheme is the first step into the real world after gaining a degree. The lure of ‘onthe-job’ training, a good salary, and the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals is enough to encourage anyone with a decent degree to sign up.

The schemes are designed so that the firms can shape and develop the graduate to a high standard, but what happens if your career plan changes halfway through the scheme?

The schemes are notoriously hard to get onto. For the top companies, there are at least five stages in the interview process:

online application, numerical and reasoning tests, assessment centre, group interview, and then a final partner interview.

There is the obvious prestige of gaining a well sought-after place, but not all graduate schemes are the same, especially schemes in management.

Management graduate schemes seem to be continually thrust in our final year faces and big retail corporations like Tesco love them.

Offering an attractive starting salary for their graduate program in ‘Store Management’, they claim to provide countless opportunities to develop leadership skills and the potential to become a senior manager of a store in three-five years.

Though, no one highlights the fact that you’re going to be a midlevel manager in Tesco when you’re

halfway through the scheme.

Nevertheless, the potential rise in salary is awfully appealing; “Every little helps” when you’re managing school leavers.

There is a general belief that graduate schemes are the only path to post-university success. ‘Get on a graduate scheme, work your way up, and thrive’ they say.

‘If it doesn’t fit into your career plan, you’re essentially stuck’ Extreme competition and endless cycles of applications put the schemes on a pedestal, and graduates may be tempted to accept the first job offer they receive, determining their career path for the next few years.

Getting yourself onto a scheme may look like you’re ‘set for life’, but if it doesn’t fit into your career plan, you’re essentially stuck.

There is nothing wrong with gritting your teeth and finishing the scheme, only to jump onto another career path; unlike the previous generation, we are expected to change career paths.

But do we truly know what we want to do for the rest of our lives at the age of 21? According to the ONS, graduate unemployment figures are on a par with school leavers who left with GCSEs, it’s no wonder graduates feel the pressure.

Alternative options are available, but are only for the financially stable. Postgraduate studies are not for the financially faint-hearted, nor are unpaid internships.

Despite this, some individuals have thought outside the box;

there has reportedly been a rise in entrepreneurially minded graduates setting up their own businesses and David Willetts, the universities minister, has encouraged graduates not to be so old-fashioned as to what constitutes a graduate job.

Which? followed graduates from the class of 2006 and found that that 40 per cent of graduates are in non-graduate level jobs. The tough reality is that not everyone will follow the path of a graduate scheme, let alone find a graduate level job, but there are other options available.

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Not from a red brick? Prepare to be slated Ben Scull

Photo: ginnerobot/Flickr

Employers in the UK are more likely to hire a graduate from a top ranking university rather than a graduate from a polytechnic.

Independent reviewer Alan Milburn, in a government report stated how: “At present there is a vicious cycle as many employers target a relatively narrow pool of universities, which in turn leads to better outcomes for those students.

This reinforces the reputation of the university, and perpetuates the status quo.”

Employers are likely to look at the rankings of the university

name itself rather than the course.

A prestigious university may be seen as ‘better’ overall, but in a certain subject field it may fall short of its reputation. A graduate from a less prestigious university name may have completed a course which could in fact be ranked higher, yet they are ignored as they did not attend a red brick university.

Students from elite universities are somewhat falling back on their Russell Group university name.

However, a student who has got into a top university is likely to have completed a higher quality of course content to a greater degree of difficulty.

Whilst a prestigious university name may be preferred by

employers, the graduates themselves may not be as equipped for the world of work.

Alan Milburn argues: “There is a long way to go before universities are focusing sufficient attention on helping students to acquire the broad range of skills that are nowadays needed to succeed in the professional labour market… universities have to do more to prepare students for the workforce and not just support them to achieve a good degree.”

It is true that it is unfair to give all the top jobs to graduates from elite universities but I think that this stigma has and always will remain.

People choose to go to the top universities as they want to do the

best they can post-education. If a student has the opportunity to go to a higher ranked university they are going to take it.

However, it is important that employers do not just look at the university name, but should spend more time considering the course and its content and what extracurricular activities the candidate has partaken in.

Got an opinion on the topics discussed this fortnight?

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COMMENT Editorial

Gove’s flawed ideology Photo: Paul Toeman/conservativeparty

Adam Riley In an article recently published in the Guardian, Michael Gove is once again portrayed as a right-wing, tradition-thumping, caricature Tory from hell. The reason this time, you ask? For making the claim that ‘tough exams and learning by rote are the keys to success’.

However, just before this particular leftist - and any others reading this article - begins to foam at the mouth in apoplectic rage as a result of reading such a familiar ‘Govian’ trope, it may be well worth taking a brief look at what the idea of ‘learning by rote’, in an ideal world, could actually entail.

‘We are witness to the presence of even more political posturing bring played out’ In making the aforementioned claim that learning facts paves the way for future success, Gove is dependent on advice from one US cognitive psychologist in particular, Daniel T. Willingham.

Gove’s reading of Willingham runs as follows: ‘memorisation is a necessary precondition of understanding’.

Forgive me if I sound too eager to exonerate Gove of some of the fallout from his recent speech ‘In Praise of Tests’; but it seems to me that, when taken out of context, we can see how this particular cliché could actually form the basis which facilitates the learning of skills that would allow students to critically assess various truth-claims, both when in education and in later life.

In short and without the painful, interminable jargon, we must pose for ourselves the following

question: how can it be possible to question and look beyond what is known if we, on the face of it, can claim to know or recall into memory, nothing?

Surely it is important to consider that some subjects more than others could benefit from a learning-byrote system of learning. There is no harm in learning say, that two and two make four. Studies recently reported by BBC Radio 4 have also suggested that numeracy in some Asian countries has actually increased where sing-song rote learning is the norm.

Cause for concern with Gove’s approach really resides with the application of this method to subjects wherein one cannot so easily distinguish between fact and fiction, especially within the humanities.

In an ideal world facts would be committed to memory only so that they could be critically questioned, and jettisoned later upon proof of their inability to stand up to even cursory analysis. I must admit however, that this is not the main reason for my unfortunate inability to remember the peculiar nature of ox-bow lakes.

If, however, Gove intends that certain facts should be committed to long-term memory then we are therefore witness to the beginnings of something altogether more sinister; i.e. the presence of even more political posturing being played out in British educational policy than we should otherwise be prepared to countenance. Now begins the foaming at the mouth.

Gove’s wider track record and treatment of humanities subjects such as history is indicative of the politicised nature of most recent discussions on education. This is nowhere more apparent than in Gove’s implicit assumption that the memorisation of historical facts and narratives will foster the creation of a loyal populace, and help bring back to the societal fold those perceived not to believe they have a stake in the country.

This seems to me a flawed ideology. For example, rotelearning the names of kings and queens, far from really creating better subjects of the United Kingdom, could seriously detract from creating any real understanding of the historical context in which these royals ruled.

In an era of cuts to education and social services, high-powered discussions dripping with populist overtones of how education should focus on ‘toughening up’ exams fundamentally ignore the social, economic, cultural, and political backgrounds of the students and pupils who enter into the British education system.

‘Discussions ignore the social, economic, cultural and political backgrounds’ Learning by rote, that facts and concepts may be recalled into temporary memory in order to develop skills of critical inquiry is crucial. But so is providing basic welfare and suitable conditions of economic growth to allow jobcreation, a crucial responsibility of Government. Lest I be accused of non sequitur, I believe that these two ideals must be pursued simultaneously.

Gove’s analysis of how to deal with the situation from an educative standpoint is not necessarily in its essence completely wrong, if applied prudently it could yield beneficial results for some subjects.

What’s important to remember is that these decisions do not take place in a vacuum and that therefore, for real social change to take place, concordant efforts must be made by government to alter its relationship with pupils and students who enter the British educational establishment.

NUS demo money was not put to good use Last week, Forge Media went down to London for the NUS Demo to cover it in a way student media has never attempted before.

Live TV coverage from the studio in Sheffield, with interviews and analysis all day, throwing to live streams of the demo in London.

From live bloggers, to anchors, script writers, researchers and us soaking lot down in London, everyone at Forge Media showed why we are the best student media organisation in the country.

Unfortunately for us, the Demo turned out to be lacklustre, with the only scrap of lustre coming from the hilarious disorganisation and abuse hurled at a seriously angry Liam Burns.

Watching Burns leap into the crowd with a megaphone in a vain attempt to deliver his speech to the 30 people present who weren’t protesting his leadership, is a memory that will keep me giggling for weeks.

For in depth analysis, turn to p.4-5, where we also reveal the demo cost our Union £1,715. Due to the fact the poor Sheffield crowd were at the demo for less than two hours, and travelled for roughly

five times that, here’s a quick list of other things the Union could have spent £1,715 on: 1) A new coffee machine in the gallery whose sole purpose is not to devour your money and give you no caffeine.

2) Increased vegetarian selection in the Union shop.

3) More safety lighting around the concourse and Octagon, especially given the multiple knifepoint muggings mentioned on p.3.

4) More advertising for vital services, such as the women’s mini bus, the taxi scheme which this year only 14 people have used, and student support groups.

5) Increased budgets for committees looking to expand their output.

6) Paying Union staff the living wage? When ACS pay some casual staff more than you, you know you have to sort yourself out.

But that’s okay, it’s a lot more productive for 225 students to run around London in the rain for 105 minutes, and hang around in a service station in Northampton for half an hour, chain smoking and eating paninis.

Alisha Rouse - Forge Press editor

alisha.rouse@forgetoday.com

D.A.R.T.S.

Forge Press takes its satirical aim

Website of the fortnight:

Quote of the fortnight:

www.theuselessweb.com

“Does anyone happen to have any images of Mark Zuckerberg topless and/or laid across a bed of money?

Asking for a friend. ”

Pre-Christmas deadlines are coming up and you may be feeling down about work. Well fear not, head to The Useless Web and lose yourself in weird and wonderful fun for an hour, or two, or three.

Rogue emu bring chaos to Devon This week officers were called to the centre of Barnstaple, Devon, because a local emu had escaped and was darting between the morning rush hour cars at 8am.

After some time officers were able to shove the emu into the back of a police van. He is now under serious questioning and potentially will recieve an ASBO, maybe.

The origins of the emu are not yet certain, but we at comment found his sprint for freedom highly emusing.

Photo: William Warby

- Rowan Ramsden, deputy editor of Forge Press

Twitter exchange of the fortnight:

@sabblife

“I definitely only use my iPad for work based activities. Oh, and Grindr. #sabblife”

@Jon_Gleek

“@sabblife @richardalderman is very guilty of this ”

@sabblife

“@Jon_Gleek @richardalderman I know. ;) ”

@richardalderman

“Sabbs are allowed a private life, thank you very much! :-) ”

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LETTERS

Your comments on www.forgetoday. com to:

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Uni’s ‘depressing’ pay gap for women It seems strange that this article doesn’t take the usual approach, when demonstrating a pay gap, of comparing men and women in similar roles and their relative pay.

I suspect that this would serve your point less effectively, since the university provides clear guidelines about what kind of job should garner what pay, and then salaries are set by a pay grade which also increases automatically according to experience.

If you’re interested in how the grades are set, look here: http://hr.dept.shef.ac.uk/reward/usgs_grade_profiles.pdf However, since the article concentrates on wages not salaries, I suspect it is instead referencing pay rates for Bank Workers (who are not in the majority of the staff the University employs). Guidelines for pay for bank workers are here: http://www.shef.ac.uk/hr/guidance/contracts/relationships/payrates In fact there is no mention of gender here either. In fact, the lowest wage the university offers is £6.92/hr which is still more than many establishments and a lot higher than the national minimum wage.

It seems that the gist of your article is that University hires a lot of female, low paid staff. This doesn’t demonstrate that the University seeks to repress women – only that they seem to be quite good at giving jobs to females in that particular sector.

Dominic Rout

Sheffield on target in first darts league match DARTS!!!!

Ron Haze

Your comments on www.forgetoday. com to: Nick Clegg’s apologies will never be enough http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_for_Students_pledge – all elected Lib Dems signed the pledge – sorry about that With regards to the number who abstained, 27 rebels and 8 abstentions is too few given the absolute nature of the pledge which they signed.

As much as I love comments, being called ignorant by someone who “can’t be arsed to read the whole thing” seems a bit rich. Nonetheless I am sure you are wonderfully intelligent and I thank you for casting your ever so enlightened eye over my piece. I apologise profusely for being “very ignorant” and offending someone who can neither read nor check the facts they wish to contest.

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Anger after Manchester sabb’s demo threat I’m a student at University of Manchester, whilst there has been an apology for suggesting societies HAD to send 10 members to the demo, there’s been no apology or change in sending society members being a way to get silver/gold status. To suggest that by a student society supporting a certain political stand point/ encouraging their members to do so they can get a benefit from the union is still wrong, and I dislike that everywhere is acting like they’ve totally apologised when they haven’t.

Becky Montacute

Matthew Willmore

Your comments on www.forgetoday. com to: Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Leicester City

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Anti-street harassment day comes to the Students’ Union How on earth is this sexist? It doesn’t deny that men face many and diverse problems in their lives. Just stresses the relevance of street sexual harassment to women. You are perfectly welcome to set up a day for yourself to talk about these issues.

Amy Masson

Sheffield Wednesday were simply outclassed by a team who I reckon will be in the Premiership next year. To be fair, they are the best quality team I have seen us play, although this isn’t an excuse for not putting in 100%.

Me

Your comments on www.forgetoday. com to: Review: A Doll’s House

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: A sofa is not a home’: Homeless campaigners take to the streets Love what you’re doing. Things like this can only help. Next few years will see the problem grow to levels we’ve never seen before as new Gov’ regulations & benefit cuts come in. 1700 people in the 1st 10 months of this year committed suicide after failure of ATOS medical & possibility of homelessness for many.

Current level of suicide is huge. Sadly there are still people out there unaware of what’s coming & it’s scary. Expecting trouble. :( TheOffensiveAtheist

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to:

It was a pleasure to direct this play and I’m delighted with this review and the fact that the reviewer enjoyed the play.

Warm regards GlennStrelok

Your comments on www.forgetoday. com to: Reclaim the Night: Misogynists are asking for it

Cllr Dunn on uni fees and student rights Ah yes, I do feel sorry for members of the Labour party who appear to be suffering from a collective memory loss on the topic of higher education pre-November 2010. Yet they do seem to remember the location of the stable where they keep their high horses which are fed on the hay of mock outrage.

Dissident Crookes Resident of the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Sheffield Indoor Market on the move Is the new market still in development? I’ve just look for some pictures but can only find graphic mock-ups.

If so it’s taking longer than usual to get built or have plans changed?

The Shop

“Only, my body is not a bag and should be allowed to roam where it likes.” The emphasis there is on should, but of course rapes, sexual violence and violence in general shouldn’t ever happen. When I do anything, I consider what the likely consequences are, not what they should be.

Earlier in the article you conflate women “deserving” violence with taking actions that supposedly (I personally doubt it) increase its likelihood.

Finally you seem to imply that for a risk of sexual violence in response to clothing to exist it has to come from “all men”; surely it is a worrying yet small minority?

I actually agree with your most basic message; but I can’t help but see your verbal tricks as deliberate intellectual dishonesty. Why didn’t you use stats to show that clothing has no impact on the probability of violence?

Doc James Rustles

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Friday November 30 2012 FORGE PRESS

Supporting stars of health care “More than one in three people within

the UK will develop some form of cancer over their lifetime, and everybody will be affected by this disease - including students Ginny Atkinson, Nursing and Health Society president

T

he statistics say it all. There are over 200 different types of cancer, with a huge variety of causes and symptoms, and someone is diagnosed with the disease every two minutes.

We are all affected by it at some point in our lives, though we might not suffer from it personally; with one in three people expected to contract some type of cancer, the likelihood that someone we know might suffer is extremely high.

It is unsurprising, then, that after a survey by Cancer Research UK cancer has been named as the number one fear of the British public.

As something we will all encounter at some point, and in some form, it is essential that the facilities in place to help people fight through cancer are supported. NHSoc, the Nursing and Health Society, is working to do just that.

NHSoc has recently paired with Weston Park Cancer Support Centre,

@forgefeatures

”

selecting them as their ‘star service’ for the year.

The centre, located at 23 Northumberland Road, is an appointment free, walk-in information and advice centre.

The collaboration will see NHSoc raise awareness and funds to allow the centre to provide an increased number of services and extended comforts to those suffering from cancer, serving to benefit both students and staff within the University community.

Additionally, while the ‘star service’ scheme obviously helps the centre by raising awareness and encouraging donations, it will also allow those students involved in the health sciences to appreciate and better understand working in the context of a hospital, specifically within a cancer support centre environment.

The primary goal of the centre is to provide comfort and support to anyone affected by cancer, whether directly or indirectly.

It offers cancer patients and their families a friendly environment to meet other people, seek help from

/forgepress features@forgetoday.com

medical professionals, or relax in a quiet space surrounded by those who really understand, first-hand, what they are going through.

There are also several extended courses for patients and their relatives, as well as a support group conducted by health care professionals. Other services offered include practical advice, free legal support, welfare advice services, and emotional support.

“Myself and Rachael Doyle, the vice president, have been to visit the centre and were really inspired by what it achieves and what it gives to those who use it,” says the president of NHSoc, Ginny Atkinson.

“We feel it is a vital support service for both staff and students

Words: Allison Donzati Artwork: Sophie Allen

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FORGE PRESS Friday Novem b e r 3 0 2 0 1 2

“

We are here to help, here to listen; we are here for people when they need us and the extra funding from NHSoc is really great Catherine Anthony, Weston Park Cancer Support Centre information co-ordinator

”

and, as awareness of the centre increases, we think it can really make a difference to the lives of those at the University.”

To raise awareness, NHSoc has already started holding an event, ‘The Back to Work Blues’, once a month. This event asks staff and students within the School of Nursing and Midwifery to wear an item of blue clothing and make a £1 donation to the centre.

“We are also planning a raffle, auction of promises, bucket rattling at the train station, bake sales, glowstick selling, bag packing, etc.” says Atkinson.

“Raising awareness involves us putting up posters, posting on Facebook and Twitter, and basically getting on any social media we can.”

Information provided to patients and their families by the centre includes details about what symptoms are to be expected, treatments and recovery plans, and support guidance.

The centre provides convenient methods of accessing this information by compiling CDs, DVDs, leaflets, and audiotapes to best suit each individual according to their needs.

“We really appreciate the University for choosing us to be their Star Service,” says Catherine Anthony, the cancer information coordinator at Weston Park Cancer Support Centre.

“The centre provides a lot under one roof. Our mission is to provide the best support we can.

“We are here to help, here to listen. We are here for people when they need us and the extra funding from NHSoc is really great.”

Other services provided at the centre include Coffee Mornings, “Look Good…

Feel Better” beauty makeover sessions, and complementary therapies such

as massages, aromatherapy and more, as well as extended courses constructed for both cancer patients and caretakers.

‘Positive About Life’ is a programme designed and presented by health care professionals to help patients who have been recently diagnosed with cancer.

This programme is a support group organised for patients to receive guidance from professionals and encouragement from others suffering from the disease, a relaxed course open to all who want to talk to others in similar situations.

The centre also provides a fiveweek course specifically designed to help family and friends of cancer patients. This is an informal session which gives suggestions and detailed information about how to care for a cancer patient and for those indirectly affected by the disease.

This setting creates a foundation for people in similar situations to share their experiences and communicate with others who understand the hardships of caring for someone with cancer. Experienced health care professionals facilitate these discussions and provide medical insight.

There are also two rooms in the centre which provide safe and comfortable environments for support groups to meet and discuss, with or without professional health care providers.

These kinds of facilities are essential in the fight against cancer, and there are about 600 inquires made at the centre each month.

This number includes walk-ins, telephone enquiries, and council meetings.

Clearly, the centre is already helping a huge amount of people.

With further support from NHSoc,

and other sources, they can only do even more.

The centre is financially supported by the Western Park Hospital Cancer Charity and Sheffield Hospital Charity, as well as some individual donations.

It also depends heavily on volunteers, who provide friendly faces and reassurance, and introduce visitors to the appropriate health care professionals at the centre.

According to the Weston Park Cancer Support Centre’s website, over the course of the past five years the centre has not only continued to provide support to cancer patients and clients but has increased their numbers significantly.

In 2006 the number of clients was about 4,000. In 2011 the centre provided assistance to more than double that number giving over 8,000 clients support and advice.

One of the goals of the support centre is to continue to parallel their patient care with the current advancements of cancer treatments and medications.

NHSoc and the centre are extremely enthusiastic about their collaboration, and hope students and staff will become increasingly aware of the facilities available.

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Friday November 30 2012 FORGE PRESS

T

Real ale is the Bees Knees

here is no denying that students have a reputation for drinking more than most people.

We are constantly seeing ourselves portrayed by the media as out-ofcontrol binge drinkers along with images of vomiting and stumbling youth.

This is not altogether unwarranted, of course. A 2011 survey conducted by studentbeans. com showed that students at the University of Sheffield put away 20.8 units of alcohol per week.

This is compared to the 15.9 units consumed by the average man according to the NHS. But these statistics don’t tell us the whole story: not all students drink for the purpose of getting drunk.

Nathan Rodgers, the president of the Real Ale and Cider Society at the University and his fellow society members seek to show that there is a flipside to bingedrinking culture, that there are still students who are able to enjoy alcohol for the sake of the drink itself rather than with the intention of getting drunk. In an attempt to gain publicity and change people’s perspective of what the society is about, they wrote to Paul Blomfield, MP for the central constituency in Sheffield, which covers the University as well as 10 breweries and 200 pubs, requesting that he join them in a trip to the local Blue Bee brewery to brew a batch of Bees Knees bitter which was already being produced by the brewery.

“It was really nice of them to let us in for the day,” says social secretary of the society, Tim Barnes.

With the help of the MP, the society brewed 360 gallons of Bees Knees. This which is to be sold in the Students’ Union as well as a multitude of pubs across Sheffield including the University Arms and The Place in Broomhill. The beer will also be sold in the Strangers’ Bar in the House of Commons as a speciality ale - a big achievement for the society and for the city of Sheffield as a producer of real ale.

The society was able to partake in the whole process of brewing the beer, and Paul Blomfield himself announced very proudly that he was the one to add the hops to the brew. “It’s not what I do every day,” he says, “but it’s fantastic.”

It will not have escaped the notice of anyone who appreciates beer that Sheffield is at the centre of a craft beer revolution, with locally brewed ales being distributed more and more across local pubs in the city and in surrounding areas.

This is just as well, since it seems that selling mass-produced beers isn’t proving enough to keep many businesses afloat.

The Beer Duty Escalator, which sees the price of beer rising two per cent every year on top of the rate of inflation, combined with the recession, means that many pubs and bars are feeling the pinch.

Research statistics released by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) showed that 12 pubs per week shut down across suburban and

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rural areas in Britain, with 300 permanently closing between September 2011 and March 2012.

But there is hope. Across Britain, and notably around Yorkshire, the popularity of locally brewed real ales is pulling a number of pubs out of the dark as the drinking of locally brewed beers becomes more popular.

Sheffield has repeatedly been called the ‘beer capital’ of Britain: new breweries are still being set up around the city while the city distributes locally brewed beer nationwide.

“People are looking for quality and they are looking to drink local,” said Richard Hough, the head brewer at the Blue Bee Brewery.

“They are looking for something special.” The industry, says Hough, is “constantly growing.”

Yorkshire-grown hops may even start being used by the local b re w e r i e s a s

opposed to the more widely used imports from elsewhere in the world, such as the USA and Australia, thanks to an enthusiastic grower in Hull who apparently saw a “gap in the market”.

Richard Hough doesn’t seem to be at all surprised at the recent phenomenon, and says, “Once you get into real ale, you never turn back.” Local real ales seem to be experiencing a sort of renaissance, with the culture being the most vibrant it has been since the 1930s.

“It’s booming,” says the head brewer.

He also agreed that the Sheffield University Real Ale Society itself is in fact the real deal; they take beer seriously and are certainly not only in it for the sake of getting hammered. “They’re more of a wine tasting society than a pub crawl,” he said, and described the society to have a “civilised air” about it.

Richard Hough and Paul Blomfield both made an appearance at the Bees Knees Bitter launch at the Interval Bar earlier this month, which saw an impressive turnout.

The members of the society seem to be extremely enthusiastic about their achievement.

Paul Blomfield pulled the first pint of the beer, and was met with an enthusiastic applause. “I can recommend it,” he said “it’s a great pint.”

The beer flowed quickly after that, accompanied by a cheerful and accomplished atmosphere, with a definite air of satisfaction

/forgepress features@forgetoday.com

Words: Elsa Vulliamy Artwork: Nicola Moors

“Once you get into real ale, you never turn back

Richard Hough, head brewer at the Blue Bee brewery

”

surrounding society members, who described themselves first and foremost as “relieved”.

Nathan Rodgers confessed that he “didn’t expect to pull it off”, but seemed to be very pleased with the turnout of the event, saying that it was “great that it happened”. Nathan hopes that the launch of the beer will “propel” the society and change the public’s view on student drinking.

“I don’t want to be seen as a dedicated drinker,” he says.

“We’re dedicated to the product.” He also stresses that it is important to know where your alcohol comes from, saying that too many students walk into a pint without knowing the source of their drink.

According to Nathan, the society’s goal to improve the reputation of the student beer drinkers was one of his reasons for getting Paul Blomfield involved. “I wanted to shift away from binge drinking - most people in the society don’t drink beer to get drunk.”

He insists that the majority of members join the society in order to enjoy the flavours of the beer, with the main interest in the quality of the ales themselves rather than the alcohol content.

At the event, it is obvious that the society have a genuine interest in providing civilised place to discuss the mutual interest they all have in the incredibly wide range of real ale that is available in the Sheffield area.

With real British ale becoming such a central part of Yorkshire culture, it seems that the Real Ale and Cider Society have been onto something from the beginning. It is now uncommon for a local pub in Sheffield not to have an enormous range of local and real ale on tap as well as even more in the bottled section. The University Arms itself hosted the second annual Beer Festival earlier this month, which followed a ‘coastal breweries’ theme with 30 different beers from breweries within 20 miles of the coast.

Given the amount of time that students spend in pubs, it seems absurd for some of us not to branch out and try some of these ales, even if it is not something that has appealed to us before.

Perhaps it’s time to change the way we see alcoholic drinks, and ditch the imperial vodka for a quality product that we can genuinely enjoy.

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FORGE PRESS Friday Novem b e r 3 0 2 0 1 2

Nicola Moors is given a guided tour of one of the University’s ‘hidden gems’ by Professor Tim Birkhead

H

idden inside the Alfred Denny building is a room that displays hundreds of animals and insects.

The Alfred Denny Museum – yes, there is an actual museum in the otherwise unsuspecting building – houses interesting specimens from around the globe; all of which are at least 100 years old.

Unless you do a degree in zoology, then you are unlikely to have heard of the museum because, since it has been open in 1905, it has only been open to the public a handful of times.

It wasn’t until recently that the museum began to gain the attention of the public thanks to the Festival of the Mind.

During the festival, the museum was open to the public on September 22-23 and 29-30 and was a huge success.

“The popularity of these two weekends was overwhelming,” says third year Zoology student Hannah Allum, “I wish we could open it more so that everyone can see this hidden gem of the Animal and Plant Sciences department.

“I came to be involved with the Alfred Denny museum during an outreach event last year.

“The outreach event is called ‘Be a Scientist for a Day’ and primary school children get to come into the University and spend some time in a lab and some time in the museum.

“We set up activities for them that are similar to museum treasure hunts where they have to find certain specimens.

“The kids seemed to really enjoy it and we get some great feedback from the teachers - hopefully it inspires some of the kids to get into science.

“To get the museum ready to be viewed by the public at the Festival of the Mind, we dusted and cleaned almost every specimen in there and the cabinets, as well as updated a lot of the labels too.

Professor Tim Birkhead, who has been the curator of the museum since the 1980s, said, “The museum was one of the most popular events during the festival so I think that it has given people an idea what’s here and what we do in the department. Hopefully people recognise the museum as a wonderful and unique resource.

“We are currently in the process of opening up the museum to the public on a monthly basis – people will be able to come for a couple of hours on a Saturday and have a guided tour.”

The Alfred Denny Museum was named in 1950 after one of the most important figures of the University’s history - Alfred Denny.

Denny was a biology lecturer at Firth College (the predecessor to the University of Sheffield) for 41 years.

When the University was granted its charter to become an independent university in 1905, he became the first professor of biology.

However the museum has not always been housed in the Alfred Denny building - originally it was located in Firth Court and spanned three floors at the museum’s peak.

In the late 1960s, the museum moved to Alfred Denny when the building was constructed although it had to downsize by around two-thirds.

While located at Firth Court, the city of Sheffield was heavily bombed during the Second World War and so, much of the information and date from the museum was lost.

Prof Birkhead explains, “The museum is used for teaching zoology practicals - the students come in here and they will look at and draw the specimens so it’s used quite extensively. A teaching museum is a crucial part of a biology degree, largely because biology is about understanding animals so you need examples.”

With over 600 specimens in the museum, there are plenty of examples to draw up. Highlights include ‘half specimens’ - these have a skeleton on one side and the whole body of the animal on the other allowing you to see the cross-section of the animal. Those that you can see in the museum were made by Prof Birkhead’s predecessor, Oskars Lusis.

The museum itself is very compact- although what it lacks in size, it certainly makes up for in beauty.

Hannah sums it up perfectly: “What makes the museum that little bit special is the feeling that you’re stepping back in time when you walk in - it has a Victorian feel to it and all of the locked cupboards and drawers have plenty more specimens hidden away - I just wish we had more space for them!

“Even though it’s more than 100 years old, everything in there is still useful for helping us learn about the animal world today.

“It’s my favourite place on campus.”

The Alfred Denny Museum

The monthly opening hours will be announced soon on the museum’s web site: http://alfreddennymuseum.group.shef.ac.uk

Words: Nicola Moors Photos: Rodrigo Echegoyen

@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com

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Friday November 30 2012 FORGE PRESS

Lifestyle & Travel

Fashion Food & Drink Health & Fitness Travel Giving Back Sex & Relationships Technology

WHAT NOT TO MISS THIS FORTNIGHT

Lifestyle’s pick of what’s on in Sheffield Visit the christmas market

By Hannah McCulloch

STUDENTS’ UNION CRAFT FAIR

Sunday November 18 - Monday December 24

Wednesday December 5, 11-3pm on the Upper Gallery of the Students’ Union

If you haven’t been into the city centre recently, you won’t have noticed the Christmas market that has sprung up on Fargate.

In addition to the expected array of stalls selling pashminas, pickles and preserves, you can find more exotic gifts in the Morrocan market.

There’s also an extensive range of food stalls, as well as a German bar (mid-Christmas shopping Stein anyone?), so it’s completely justifiable to donate an hour or even an afternoon to wander through it.

The Market is here until Christmas Eve, and if you really want to, you can visit Santa’s Grotto as well.

This might be a better place to find Christmas gifts if you want something completely original, or if the last of your student loan doesn’t quite cover that twenty pound terracotta tagine pot.

Next Wednesday, the Upper Gallery of the Students’ Union will be taken over by 20 stalls full of students’ arts and crafts.

It’s a brilliant way to get a unique gift which, if you’re quite vague about by whom it was hand-made, could even be passed off as your own creativity.

REDISCOVER YOUR INNER CHILD

‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOGGING

Friday December 7 to Sunday January 6, the Lyceum

Sunday December 9, Tudor Square, £10 entry fee (includes Santa costume)

December arrives and it’s that time of year again.

Pantomime time! Sheffield’s pantomime this year is Cinderella and the cast is as stellar as any other to perform at the Lyceum.

Well, if you’re a fan of the X Factor 2004’s runners up G4.

The show runs for a month, so get involved in a great British Christmas tradition that involves men dressing up as women, woman dressing up as men, and an endless obligation to give stage directions - if in doubt just shout “he’s behind you!”.

An alternative to shopping (but not to cross-dressing spectacles) is the British Heart Foundation Santa Jog 2012 on Sunday December 9.

The festive fun-run starts in Tudor Square before making a mile loop around the centre of Sheffield. Sign up, get sponsored and do something charitable this Christmas!

The entry fee is £10 but it is paramount to note this does include a free adult sized Santa suit to wear on the run - Christmas fancy dress costume sorted and good deed done. It’s like killing two turkeys with one stone.

Fashion

Student Life

Hannah Thompson It’s that time of the year again when panic starts to set in and you ask yourself “what on earth am I going to get my parents for Christmas?”.

If, like me, you have shamelessly resorted to giving them something you made in resistant materials at school, then why not go that extra mile this year and get them something truly memorable.

For the mums, a trendy scarf from Zara or the Downton Abbey box set would go down a treat, but how about buying her an experience to remember?

Giftexperience.co.uk is a great website where you can find many exciting ideas on experience days for your mum to enjoy.

For £15 why not spoil your mum by purchasing afternoon tea for two and let her indulge in scones, sandwiches and a lovely pot of tea, available at various beautiful locations all over the country.

If like many of us, your mum was hooked on watching the Great British Bake Off this year then let the memory live on by purchasing the bake off book for £8.86 from Amazon.

With it, your mum will be able to recreate the beautiful pastries and cakes seen on the show and best of all you can benefit by eating her homemade creations. Yummy mummy indeed.

Dads will be sure to enjoy the 50 Sheds of Grey book, a hilarious spoof of the shades of grey phenomenon, about an avid gardener and his relationship with his beloved shed.

Available from utilitydesign.co.uk for £9.99, the shed based puns are bound to tickle a few funny bones come Christmas.

Or why not go international and get your dad a gift box of ‘Beers from Across the World’, all for just £5 from Tesco.

The bestselling book 101 Weekends in Europe is sure to be a source of escapism from the

Words: Laura Davies Illustrations: Laura Davies & George Reed It’s winter, the hardest season to stay stylish whilst battling the rain and freezing temperatures.

Lifestyle caught up with Angela Buttolph, editor-at-large of Grazia, who answered a few of the most important fashion conondrums, and let us in on her key trends for Winter 2012, but most importantly, how to wear them.

Q&A

Q: What would be your fashion advice for petite figures?

A:

Fitted clothes. Don’t be afraid to get things tailored. Everyone in the business says that Kate Moss wears vintage ‘so well’, but no, it’s just because she gets everything tailored.

If you’re petite, cropped trousers can work well to show off delicate ankles.

Q: What would be your top tips for budding fashion journalists?

A: Start a blog. The earlier you Q: When packing to go home from start, the more you will learn. Start Uni, or off for some winter sun, what would your top tips be for the ultimate capsule wardrobe?

A:

I always pack a million dresses but only wear three of them, so firstly my advice would be to pack what you normally wear! If you’re lucky enough to be jetting off for some winter sun, maxi dresses can easily go from day to night.

Secondly, minimise your shoes!

Heels weigh an absolute ton, so take lighter shoes such as gladiator heels.

Q:

As students we all love to keep up with the latest fashion trends but don’t always have the funds.

If you could afford one item to see you through the winter, what would it be and why?

A:

Definitely a pencil skirt, because it will see you through not only the winter, but right through until summer.

Get a slightly different one, perhaps in a metallic fabric or with a pattern. You will be amazed how much you can (and will!) wear it.

Dress it down with a little owl motif top Burberry-style, then dress it up with a sombre white shirt.

This is a definite investment!

by blogging about what you know, or a subject that you are passionate about. It doesn’t have to be a huge number of words, use photos and just add your thoughts.

Q:

There’s a massive amount of competition amongst graduates for internships/work experience placements. What would be your top tip for getting one?

A:

This is really difficult, as we get hundreds of applications.

Sometimes it’s a matter of luck and good timing.

There’s a huge amount of pressure on employers to facilitate interns, giving six month placements for a fuller experience. But this means fewer placers. Try getting a foot in the door, via the admin department.

Q:

What’s the role of an Editor-at Large?

A:

It’s kind of like an open marriage, you’re tied to the magazine but you can see other people. I do lots of long-term projects, teaching workshops and trips abroad.

Overall, there’s less time in the office behind the desk, more handson, which I love.

This new style can work for all shapes. If you have the confidence of Kim Kardashian, go for skinny leather trousers. For curvier shapes, a tailored dress with leather panels. But for everyone, a cute leather biker jacket is the perfect accessory.

This look comes back every season and it’s perfect for all weathers! Style khaki jodphurs with ankle boots, or wear with riding boots to channel the Kate Middleton look. Pick up an authentic camojacket from an army surplus store, bargain.

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FORGE PRESS Friday Nove m b e r 3 0 2 0 1 2

Have a very Merry Christmas!

From, Laura & Liv

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

(Your Lifestyle editors)

Pressies for parents

That time of year has arrived once again, but Lifestyle are here to make present buying simple cold winter blues for your Dad and comes at a bargain price of under £13 from Amazon.

Please both parents this year with something for the house like an espresso coffee maker for under £12 from the choiceful.com, or a stunning new set of glimmer wine or champagne glasses from Next for £20, all set for toasting to a great 2013 come New Years Eve. And finally, for those students whose loan has dried up after many nights of Jäger bombing at Bar One, why not do something that doesn’t involve money and make a mixed CD for your parents of songs that defined their student years, a nostalgic and touching idea.

Food

Lifestyle’s Cheap Eat

Baileys Biscotti Milkshakes by Louise Kirby Ingredients (to serve four): -Six scoops of vanilla ice-cream

-10 (25ml) shots of Baileys new Biscotti flavour -A handful of ice cubes -One glass of milk

-Whipped cream for decoration -Chocolate to grate on top

Method: You could also always offer to do as much as you can around the house for them this festive holiday.

You may well find that your presence rather than presents will be much more appreciated in ensuring that your parents have an enjoyable and stress free holiday this Christmas.

1. Throw all of your ingredients (other than the chocolate) into a blender and give it a good blitz.

2. When blended until smooth, pour your milkshakes into four tall glasses.

3. Top with whipped cream and grate some chocolate over the top.

4. Serve with a straw and a sprinkle of festive cheer!

Top Five Trends for Winter 2012

Angela Buttolph, Grazia’s Editor-at-Large, runs us through this season’s fashion trends

This party season it’s all about the glamorous black dresses. Think velvet, sequin, brocade, lace; this trend is big on textures. Team with Marilyn Manson style dark lipstick, for an uber glam look.

This is a very easy-to-wear style. Nipping in at the waist and skimming over the stomach, it emphasizes that hourglass shape.

Top tip: the thicker the waist, the thinner the belt.

You can blame the fashion bloggers for this trend! It takes serious confidence, but you can be sure that no one will arrive at the party in the same outfit as you.

Friday November 30 2012 FORGE PRESS

20

Lifestyle & Travel Sex Column

Food

Fashion Food & Drink Health & Fitness Travel Giving Back Sex & Relationships Technology

Where to take your parents

On the rare occasion when your parents come to Sheffield, be sure to take advantage

for one, chose the cooked salmon fillet on a bed of Thai green noodles with Asian veg and crispy squid – is your mouth watering yet?

I was also fortunate enough to taste the ham hock glazed with honey and mustard, served with sauté potatoes, mushrooms, black pudding and a crispy poached egg, with pea velouté, which I can also

highly recommend.

The desserts don’t disappoint either, a good selection and all homemade.

The food is locally sourced from independent farms and markets, providing the highest quality and fresh produce.

The service is warm, friendly and upbeat and the interior is both smart and cosy.

It is refreshing for there to be a place where nothing is too much trouble, and a genuine passion to provide the best dining experience still exists.

Thyme Cafe has been recommended for lunchtime due to its fantastic offer it holds Monday to Friday 11am-3pm, where a

evident the moment you enter.

Busy even on a weekday night, this is the perfect place to take your parents and fill yourself with a five star meal, safe in the knowledge that Dad is there to foot the bill.

When you arrive, there’s a welcome basket of bread and olives to whet your appetite.

W e ordered a bottle of house wine, which was reasonably priced at £14.95. Or, if the budget is unrestricted, why not splash out on a bottle of prosecco for just £19.95, well, get your parents to anyway.

F o r

starters, along with the regular menus there are ‘specials’ boards, full of fresh treats such as King Scallops (a more expensive but delicious plateful at £8.50).

As well as the scallops, we chose tasty squid, coated in breadcrumbs (£5.95).

The portions were more than generous, and the flavours were exquisite.

Next came the mains, a tricky decision from an extensive menu and enticing ‘specials’ board once again.

After some deliberating, we decided on a whole roasted sea bass with pancetta and shallots, and duck breast stuffed with apricot and ginger.

The fish fell off the bones, while the duck came in a generous serving, with a delicious port and red wine sauce.

If you’ve got room for more, or more importantly if Mum and Dad are willing to keep up the generosity, puddings are £5.25 and range from lemon tart to baklava.

Overall, a fantastic dining experience.

This is the perfect way to take advantage of your parents and also to show them the finer side of Sheffield.

very comfy chairs, you will find yourself swaying to a wide variety of Motown and Swing music played

by the DJ -something your parents would surely enjoy too.

Although there is no dance floor, you will still find some eager dancers e n j oy i n g themselves in the middle.

On another thought, it would also make a lovely place for a date, as the candlelight is romantic and creates a nice ambiance.

The nicely designed cocktails menu offers delicious drinks from

classics like Piña Colada, Mojito and Margarita, which cost between £7-9, to a range of imported beers for around £4.

These are satisfying prices for the quality and brands that you get.

If you fancy trying something new, the friendly bar staff is happy to help and suggest fancy colourful drinks that will surprise you and delight your palate.

The tastefully designed inside will definitely be appreciated by creative people looking for inspiration.

Although the Old House is a slightly hipster place, it is perfect for people of all ages who enjoy Motown music and good drinks.

It is perfect for a small gathering, so if you are thinking of a place to take your parents out for drinks, the Old House is just the place for a great evening.

Yasmin Finbow Deciding when to have sex, especially on a first date, has always been a dilemma.

I'm sure many of you have tried to find the right answer both on and offline. Who hasn’t read one of those articles suggesting when the right time to have sex is, or arguing whether having sex on a first date is a good idea?

Until this time last year, I'd discussed every little dating issue with my friends, and often read Cosmopolitan articles to decide whether I should do what I wanted.

Back then I didn't really think about why I was so dependent on other people to solve private matters.

However, after some unsuccessful dating experiences, I realised what I was doing just wasted my time and energy.

I came to the conclusion that the dilemma of when to have sex, along with all the other dating issues, purely stems from fear: the fear of getting stereotyped and rejected.

Have you ever gone on a first date with an amazing man/woman, strongly connected to him/her and wanted to bring the excitement and energy to the bedroom?

But, all of the sudden, you realised that it could send a bad message that could devalue yourself as a person.

If you're a women, you would probably worry about looking promiscuous and easy, and if you're a man, you would worry about looking like a jerk who only cares about physical intimacy.

This fear often leads us to create lots of specific rules. Don't rush into sex on a first date, don't call him first after the first time you’ve had sex, and so on.

Although I agree that every relationship needs some boundaries, in the end ‘the rules’ mean nothing, and aren’t real. Plus they turn everything uninteresting.

I especially hate them because they make us ignore our own feelings and experiences, keep us analysing the littlest things, and negotiating with ourselves over and over again.

I honestly think we could have much more fun if we just broke the ridiculous rules and try to communicate our desires with confidence.

Also, you know it's hard to find somebody that could make you feel such strong sexual urges. So if you do want to have sex, and your date wants to have sex too, then what is it stopping you?

No matter what others say, it is completely fine to have sex as long as you and your date feel comfortable and ready.

Having sex on a first date, contrary to the conventional wisdom, would not necessarily ruin your chances with meeting him/her again either.

Sex itself is not the problem here. If you feel a strong connection and get to develop deeper feelings for each other, it is totally possible to turn it into a long term relationship.

Remember: what matters is who's involved and what both parties want out of the relationship.

By Chloe Eunhye Lee

The time of year has once again arrived when we students get the opportunity to impress our parents with Sheffield’s gastronomic offerings (whilst experiencing a lunchtime which is beyond our own miserable everyday budget).

Thyme Cafe in Broomhill is not only within walking distance from almost all university accommodation, but it offers that something exceptional.

The lengthy menu satisfies absolutely everyone, with its range from the honest cheeseburger to the tiger prawn spaghetti to the more exotic Moroccan spiced lamb shank.

And for once, there is plenty of choice for even the fussy vegan. I,

Laura Davies Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Ecclesall Road, hides this little seafood-serving gem of a restaurant.

Established over 25 years, the Mediterranean’s popularity is

Kasia Peza Located on Devonshire Street near all the biggest pubs, the Old House welcomes its guests with a purple entrance and a warm inside.

I went on a Thursday night with a group of friends for some drinks, we sat at the table near the bar from where we had a good view and we could enjoy everything that the Old House has to offer.

The first impression is no doubt created by the big wooden bar displaying colourful bottles and fruit ready to be mixed and shaken into delicious drinks.

Side lamps and colourful Christmas lights combined with candles lit on every single table, create a nice and quite intimate atmosphere.

Seated at the table on some

few selected main meals with a wine (or beer) can be purchased together for just ten pounds.

Nevertheless, I would like to stress that Thyme cafe is also a great choice for dinner too.

And finally, please excuse the terrible pun but I think it especially appropriate: if you wish for the perfect ‘thyme’, then this extraordinary restaurant is really the place to go.

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FORGE PRESS Friday Novem b e r 3 0 2 0 1 2

Have a very Merry Christmas!

From, Laura & Liv

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

(Your Lifestyle editors)

Relationships

Dumping Etiquette What are your rules when it comes to a break-up?

Laura Heffernan You may remember Sex and the City: Season 6 Episode 7. Carrie and her then-boyfriend are constantly arguing.

He’s decided he needs space and suggests a ‘break’, which involves him disappearing for a week, only to return and tell her that he loves her and wants to make a go of it.

You can see a break -up coming from a mile off.

Methods, on the other hand, are far less predictable.

The world watched in horror as poor Carrie woke up in an empty bed, in an empty flat, with only one thing remaining from her relationship - a Post-It note.

A post-it note reading, ‘I’m sorry.

I can’t. Don’t hate me.’ Well she did hate him. Not because he ended it, but because she knew their relationship hadn’t been that strong.

Carrie hated him because thanks to him and his lack of courtesy , she would always remember this as 'the day she got dumped with a post-it.'

How humiliating is that?

Break-ups are never pretty, but this is taking it to a whole new level.

And whilst I hope and pray that a nonfictional person would never think the post-it technique is a good idea, here are some other dumping dos and don’ts for you.

Student Life

Kate Lovatt As the nights get darker and we approach the frosty, festive time of year, most people are starting to look forward to Christmas.

Temperatures drop and people begin the hunt for turkeys, presents and crackers.

But with one of the biggest holidays of the year approaching, nobody’s really looking to the New Year yet.

If Bonfire Night is the winter appetiser, then Christmas is the main meal that everyone’s been eagerly awaiting.

New Year is the dessert that is often thought about last.

If you’re anything like me, however, dessert is the course you look forward to the most.

Good New Year’s Eve destinations are hard to come by, and sell out quick. So if you’re hoping for something different to the usual venues or annual night in, here are a few ideas:

First of all, timing is crucial. Once you’re sure you want to end things, it’s best to put your partner out of their misery sooner rather than later, and get it over with.

Nobody wants to feel like they’ve been strung along in a halfhearted

relationship.

However, there are certain times when a break-up might hurt a little bit more than usual.

For example, on their birthday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, the day their cat got run over – you get the idea.

Wait a little longer for a slightly more ‘normal’ day, because your

ex-partner will be far less forgiving on one of these personal events, and you’ll just end up looking horrible.

When it comes to choosing where the deed should be done, it’s best to avoid any ‘special places,’ like somewhere you first met, otherwise you’re really rubbing salt into the wound.

Definitely don’t break up with someone in a busy public place hoping that this means any potential aggression that could follow will be countered.

You might expect that they’d be able to hold it together and maintain composure, but sometimes that just doesn’t happen, and if you’re going to break someone’s heart in HMV, don’t be surprised if you get whacked round the head with the nearest DVD. Also make sure that it is done in a place where they can have their space.

My friend’s ex dumped her in his car, but there was no escape afterwards, and he had to drive her home in floods of tears. They might just want to run away, so allow them that opportunity.

With all the different modes of communication available today, when choosing how to break the

news the possibilities are endless.

Nevertheless, human decency points you towards the traditional face-to-face approach. No texting, no email, no Facebook – it might be easier for you at the time, but give them some respect and just don’t go there.

Doing it over the phone isn’t great either, but I suppose there are exceptions.

My long-distance boyfriend broke up with me over the phone and my mum was furious that he didn’t have the balls to do it to my face.

Despite the circumstances, I was more understanding – 150 miles is quite a trek.

To conclude, let me offer you the staple rules of dumping etiquette: Make sure it is you breaking up with them. Don’t cop out and get a mate in as your messenger.

Disregard any of those pathetic clichés: ‘We need to talk,’ ‘it’s not you it’s me,’ ‘I hope we can still be friends.’ Please, have some dignity.

Also, be very clear you’re breaking up and avoid the confusion of a Ross and Rachel ‘we were on a break’ scenario.

‘Break’ and ‘break-up’ may mean different things to different people, so be explicit with your definitions.

And finally, don’t do the J.D. victory dance when it’s all over (at least not until they turn around.)

The top four places to go for New Year’s Eve 1. London’s South Bank The capital puts on an amazing firework display every New Year and is one of the most popular places to visit, with 250,000 people attending on December 31 2011.

If you want a busy, bustling, and most importantly openair New Year’s celebration the capital is the ideal venue.

Admission is free and there are several official viewing areas, including Victoria Embankment, Westminster Bridge, and the bank directly opposite the London Eye. As it is incredibly popular, and these areas have limited space, it’s advisable to arrive fashionably early, with viewing spots beginning to fill up at around 8pm and closing as soon as the maximum capacity is reached.

The fireworks begin at 11.55pm

and last for approximately ten minutes. Tube travel is free for both New Year’s Eve and Day, so no need to worry about getting the right tickets.

There are also several welllocated restaurants in South Bank if you’d prefer to enjoy the celebrations with a hot meal. Oxo Tower Restaurant and Le Pont de la Tour are both very popular and boast great views.

2. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

If you find London crowds less to your taste, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay

celebrations could be a more enjoyable way to see in the New Year.

The main parts of the celebration are the Street Party and Concert in the Gardens which both take place in the heart of the city, with Edinburgh Castle as the backdrop.

The theme is ‘Be Lucky’ as 2012 moves into 2013, and to mark the 20th anniversary of the celebrations, Simple Minds are headlining a concert, and 7,000 torchbearers will march to Carlton Hill, where Edinburgh’s famous acropolis monument is situated.

This year from 9pm onwards, there will be an hourly minute-long display of fireworks until midnight.

Tickets can be purchased online.

3. Kielder Forest

Perhaps the countryside is more preferable to the city for you.

If so, an idyllic spot for a peaceful New Year is Northumberland’s Kielder Forest.

The forest is the largest manmade woodland in

England with lodges available for rent from £319 per week.

Having spent one New Year there, I would definitely recommend it for those who want a cosier, quieter celebration with owls and fireworks in the distance.

There’s very little light pollution in the forest, and this gives a much clearer view of different constellations in the night sky to toast 2013.

4. Allendale Tar Barrel Festival For those who want more of a traditional way to celebrate New Year’s Eve, Allendale in Northumberland hosts an annual pagan celebration called the Tar Barrel Festival.

This quirky celebration begins with forty five local men, named ‘Guysers’, parading through the town centre streets in fancy dress, carrying flaming whisky barrels filled with burning tar.

The festival is free to attend and steeped in the heritage of Allendale, making it more personal than the Edinburgh or London festivities.

The celebrations culminate at midnight as the Guysers throw their barrels onto the large ‘Baal’ bonfire in the town square with a cry of “Be damned to he who throws last!”.

22

COFFEE BREAK overheard

On Portobello Street: Girl: “I know ‘Call Me Maybe’ is a supposed to be a jovial song, but it is actually rather a sad reflection on society.”

in sheffield

In Interval before the NUS Demo coaches’ departure to London: Girl: “This is futile, utterly futile.”

Friday November 30 2012 FORGE PRESS

@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepress

A bizarre piece of Quote of the Coffee Break’s Word of the Fortnight: Christmas trivia fortnight The ‘12 Days of Christmas’ gifts: A partridge in a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese laying, seven swans swimming, eight maids milking, nine ladies dancing, 10 lords leaping, 11 pipers piping, and 12 drummers drumming form 364 gifts altogether, one for every day of the year except for Christmas Day itself.

“

Catawampus, adjective:

Pronounciation: kat-uh-wom-pus

Come quickly, I am tasting the stars.

”

Dom Perignon, at the moment he discovered champagne

1. Off-center; askew; awry.

2. Positioned diagonally; catercornered.

“Very circuitous, I must saymost sidelong and backhanded, cockeyed and skew-jawed, catawampus and wonky.”

- Candace A. Croft, Annalia’s Simply Splendid Flight: From Another Side of Day

adverb: 3. Diagonally; obliquely: We took a shortcut and walked catawampus across the field.

Origin

christmas cards, stamps and victorian postmen The first commercial Christmas card was commissioned by Henry Cole in 1843.

He ordered 1,000 copies of the card designed by John C Horsley which depict a family enjoying a festive drink together (religious greetings cards came some years later).

The cards were advertised for sale in the Athenaeum newspaper and cost six pennies each thus making t h e m a very expensive luxury item.

The card was

described in the advert as ‘Just published. A Christmas Congratulation Card: or picture emblematical of Old English Festivity to Perpetuate kind recollections between Dear Friends.’

Three of the remaining 18 cards from the first batch produced

by Henry Cole were auctioned

by Sotheby’s in New York in December 2011. One card was sold for $10,500, another one sold for $4,250 and the final card sold for $7,000.

The first Christmas stamp was released in Canada in 1898.

The designs for this year’s special Christmas stamps are based on a poem by children’s poet Tony Mitton.

The stamps which feature

Crossword

festive characters including Father Christmas, a reindeer and a Robin have been designed

by Children’s illustrator Axel Schaffler.

The Royal Mail expected to handle 700 million Christmas cards and 40 million parcels from internet shoppers in 2012, the same figures quoted as for 2010 and 2011.

Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called ‘robins’.

This was because their uniforms were red, and so Victorian Christmas cards often depicted a robin delivering Christmas mail.

Also in the 19th century, the British Post Office used to deliver cards on Christmas morning.

Have you seen it yet?

YouTube it:

The moving snowman

1830–40 for earlier sense ‘utterly’; cata- diagonally (see cater-cornered) + -wampus, perhaps akin to wampish

Random Fact of the Week: Dipsomania refers to an insatiable craving for alcoholic beverages.

Feeling prank-ish?

YouTube search Girl falls downs Prank Scare w/ Funny Moving Snowman Season 2 Episode 4 Across 2. Warm, spicy (3) 3. Christmas (4) 4. Decorative flourish (4) 5. Father Christmas’ helpers (5) 6. Christmas countdown (6) 8. Tree decoration (6) 10. One of Father Christmas’ reindeers (6) 11. Festive song (5) 12. Colour (4) 15. Famous Christmas Character (6) 17. Festive adornment (4) 19. Essential oil (5) 20. Wreath, coronal (7) 21. Christmas animal (8)

Down 1. Red and green festive plant (10) 7. ‘___ the Halls’ Christmas song (4) 9. Opposite of dark (5) 13. Festive bird (6) 14. Group of singers (5) 16. Douglas ___ (3) 18. Colour (3) 20. New, naive (5)

Photograph of the fortnight: Elephant eating a Christmas tree

Photo: Matthias Rietschel/AP Photo

23

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@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepress

COFFEE BREAK

with Holly Wilkinson

Puzzle Page: sudokus E A S Y

M E D I U M

H A R D

24

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FORGE PRESS Friday Novem b e r 3 0 2 0 1 2

@forgesport /forgepress

Matchdebating

sport@forgetoday.com

SPORT

Debate: With SPOTY on the horizon, the Forge Sport editors select their favourite sport star of 2012

Sideburns, Mo-bots and the golden girl: 2012, the year our sporting stars shone

Adam Hancock Victory in the Tour de France, an Olympic gold medal, a rant at cycling cheats and a collision with a transit van. If you want personality, then Bradley Wiggins has provided it.

As the year began, the nation saw Wiggins as ‘that bike rider with big sideburns.’ 12 months down the line and the nation’s barbers are carving his unique style whilst discussing the peloton at the Vuelta A Espana.

Wiggins has dragged cycling into the public’s psyche and made the sport cool again.

Following another gruelling stage of this y e a r ’ s Tour de France,

Select BUCS Tables

All tables correct as of November 30 FOOTBALL

Women’s Northern 2B: UCLAN 1sts ..........................9 Sheffield 1sts........................8 Sheffield Hallam 2nds..........6 Newcastle 1sts.....................3 Leeds Met 3rds.....................0 York St John 1sts.................-1

Wiggins was interrogated about doping rumours circulating the internet.

His response: “It’s easy for them to sit under a pseudonym on Twitter and write that sort of shit, rather than get off their arses in their own lives and apply themselves and work hard at something.”

This sums Wiggins up. After a difficult upbringing, he has dedicated himself to road cycling after victory on the track.

Wiggins picked up gold, shortly after winning a 2,173 mile race after 87 hours of racing over 23 days. Not bad, eh?

The crowning glory of these triumphs is the way which Wiggins maintained his character throughout.

When faced with more mountainous torture at the Tour, Wiggins previewed the final climb of the stage by saying: “It goes uphill like all the others, doesn’t it?”

Wiggins makes a mockery of the robotic champions who dominate other sports. He brings sport down to the simplest level. He’s just a man from Wigan who has worked hard to ride a bike faster than anyone else.

He’s probably the greatest athlete these islands have ever produced, but you couldn’t g a t h e r that from hearing him speak.

He’s just a funny bloke with sideburns, remember.

RUGBY UNION

Women’s Northern 1A: Northumbria 1sts..............12 Sheffield 1sts.......................9 Sheffield Hallam 1sts..........9 Manchester 1sts..................9 MMU Cheshire 1sts.............3 York 1sts...............................3 Liv. John Moores 1sts.........-3 HOCKEY Women’s Northern 1A: Leeds 1sts..........................13 Northumbria 1sts.................9 Durham 2nds........................9 Newcastle 1sts.....................6 Sheffield 1sts........................4 Liverpool 1sts.......................3

Will Aitkenhead Jessica Ennis, the golden girl of our Olympics should be rewarded for her incredible achievement this summer by being crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year on December 16.

Before this summer Ennis had yet to compete at the Olympics following injury in 2008.

She is a World Champion and European Champion but to be considered a true great she needed that one special prize that all athletes dream of: an Olympic gold medal.

The public and press built her up as Team GB’s greatest hope, everywhere you went Ennis’ image was on billboards, newspapers and magazine front covers.

The pressure was immense, fail to perform and history would remember her as the girl that choked.

August 3 2012 finally arrived and after years of training and preparation Ennis settled into her blocks and waited for the gun, 10

AMERICAN FOOTBALL BUCS North West League: Derby............................1.000 Sheffield.......................1.000 UCLAN..........................1.000 Liv. John Moores..........0.500 Staffordshire................0.500 Manchester..................0.333 Huddersfield.................0.333 Manchester Met..........0.250 Sheffield Hallam..........0.000 Lancaster.....................0.000 Bangor..........................0.000 TENNIS Men’s Northern 2B: Sheffield 1sts.....................12 Leeds 2nds...........................9 Northumbria 1sts.................4 Durham 3rds.........................3 York 1sts...............................3

hurdles and 100 metres between her and the finish line. The gun went and Ennis simply destroyed the field, winning in a time of 12.54, a new British record and fastest ever time ran in the heptathlon hurdles.

It would have been quick enough to take gold in the 100m hurdles final in Beijing.

She didn’t look back finishing the first day on 4,158 points, her highest ever first day total.

Another personal best in the javelin, ensured she headed into the 800m with the gold medal virtually round her neck.

She won that final event as well on that famous golden night in the Olympic Stadium when Farah and Rutherford also stormed to victory. By doing so she finished with a British and Commonwealth record of 6,955 points. The golden girl had delivered.

Ennis demonstrated that she is the greatest female athlete on the planet this summer. She would be a deserving winner of the award.

Women’s Northern 1A: Sheffield 1sts.....................12 Sheffield Hallam 1sts..........8 Leeds 1sts............................7 Chester 1sts.........................6 Manchester 1sts..................4 Leeds Met 2nds....................4 TABLE TENNIS Men’s Northern 1A: Sheffield 1sts.....................15 Newcastle 1sts..................12 York 1sts...............................6 Manchester 1sts..................6 Liverpool 1sts.......................3 Durham 1sts.........................0 Women’s Northern 1A: Manchester 1sts................18 Sheffield 1sts.....................15 Leeds 1sts..........................12 Newcastle 1sts.....................9 Liverpool 1sts.............6 Durham 1sts...............3 Durham 2nds..............0

Matthew Smith This year’s shortlist for Sports Personality of the Year is the strongest in years - many times it has been difficult to pick a winner, rarely is this because they all deserve it.

However, after intense journalistic thought, there can only be one man who truly deserves the win. A man who won double the number of golds than Jess Ennis, who has fought through more personal hardships than Andy Murray, and who is just as personable, if not more so, than Bradley Wiggins.

Mo Farah came to England at the age of eight after his family escaped civil war in Somalia, and endured many struggles with school work and the language barrier.

Not naturally inclined towards long-distance running (he prefered football), with extreme hard work he rapidly emerged as Britain’s most promising male distance runner in years.

In London this summer, those promises came true. My most abiding memory of that wonderful summer of sport was bouncing like a maniac on the sofa, screaming at the TV as Mo won the first of his golds VOLLEYBALL Men’s Northern 2B: Sheffield 1sts.....................12 Huddersfield 1sts.................9 Leeds 1sts............................6 Newcastle 1sts.....................6 Hull 1sts...............................0 York 1sts...............................0 BASKETBALL Women’s Northern 2B: Leeds Met 2nds.................12 Hull 1sts...............................6 York 1sts.............................. .6 Northumbria 2nds................3 Sunderland 1sts...................3 Sheffield 1sts.......................3

in the 10,000m, to cap a sensational day of success later dubbed ‘Super Saturday’.

For me, it meant more than when I watched Ennis win her gold, because Mo wasn’t the overwhelming favourite - he really pulled out the performances of his life, not once but twice.

As for personality, Mo has the edge. His ‘Mobot’ celebration provided some of the most abiding sporting imagery of 2012, and provided that brilliant picture of Farah with Usain Bolt, as they posed in each other’s signature celebratory style.

A down to earth, hard working athlete with two Olympic gold medals in two of the most gruelling events in athletics.

Mo is the man.

BADMINGTON Men’s Northern 2B: Sheffield 1sts.......................9 Hull 1sts...............................8 York 1sts...............................7 Durham 1sts.........................4 Leeds 2nds...........................3 Leeds Met 3rds....................0 LACROSSE Men’s Premier North: Durham 1sts.......................15 Sheffield Hallam 1sts........12 Loughborough 1sts............12 Sheffield 1sts........................5 Nottingham 1sts..................1 Manchester 1sts..................1

26

Friday November 30 2012 FORGE PRESS

SPORT

@forgesport /forgepress sport@forgetoday.com

Jones calls for bravery as Hornets sting Owls Football nPower Championship Sheffield Wednesday Watford

1 4

Will Aitkenhead Sheffield Wednesday manager Dave Jones has called on his players to be brave following another abject home performance on Tuesday night.

After the game Jones said, “There’s no hiding place out there, you’ve got to get on with it, be big and be brave, don’t hide.

You’ve got to come back here so why hide from it. We all have a responsibility.”

He also shifted the blame for their fifth consecutive league defeat away from himself.

“People can have a go at me and I’ll accept all that but I didn’t make a bad pass, I didn’t go and hide out there. I’m standing there with them and I’ll fight for them but they’ve got to give me something back.”

Jones questioned the suggestion that replacing him as manager would provide an upturn in fortunes: “If people think that somebody else is going to do a better job then go and get them. And if he doesn’t win a few games then what? Go and get somebody else? Chopping and changing isn’t the right answer.”

Jones went on to say that the fickleness surprises him, “four months ago, we got promoted and I’m the best manager in the world and then four months down the road you’re the worst manager in the world, I can’t figure that out.”

Jones believes that a lack of confidence was the main reason for the poor second half performance that saw them concede three goals, “Is that nerves? Is the place too big for them? When confidence goes you do some strange things, your thought process changes for whatever reason because your confidence is knocked.

“People start to play safe and all of a sudden you get picked off and that’s where you’ve got to be bigger and braver. I can’t get a draw at the moment, I’d take a draw. I said that to them after

slotted passed Manuel Almunia.

Watford’s Fernando Forestieri levelled soon after however, as Wednesday were caught napping from a throw in and the young striker on loan from Udinese fired a low shot in from the edge of the area.

The Owls produced their best move of the match soon after as on-loan Stoke striker Mamady Sidibe played Jay Bothroyd through on goal before he was hauled down by Daniel Pudil in the box. Referee Tony Bates had no hesitation in pointing to the spot but only showed Pudil a

Is Hillsborough too big for the Owls? the game, we start with a point, so if we can’t turn it into a win then don’t turn it into a loss, take the point and then you can build from somewhere.”

Michail Antonio had given Wednesday the lead inside four minutes as he burst through the Watford defence and coolly

just after the hour mark as he was allowed a free header at the back post from a Mark Yeates free kick.

Yeates was again the provider as he found substitute Troy Deeney from another set piece on the edge of the area. With his first touch of the game Deeney controlled before rifling an unstoppable shot passed the despairing Chris Kirkland.

Yeates added the icing to the cake for the Hornets as the ball dropped to him just outside the area and he fired a dipping volley into the top corner.

Photo: yellowbook/Flickr yellow card, much to the surprise of the Wednesday crowd.

Chris Lines stepped up but his poor penalty was easily saved by Almunia diving to his right. It proved to be the turning point as Watford took control of the game from then on. Alexandre Geijo scored his first goal for Watford

Ex-Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola was understandably very happy: “I’m delighted with the result. First half we faced a team that played some very good football.

“To come up with a result like that the performance has to be good.”

Thomas praises Uni sport influence Danny Armstrong The launching of the annual British Universities and Colleges Nationals was held at Ponds Forge last week.

The event, sponsored by Gatorade, will see around 6,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide competing in twelve different sports to be contested in venues in Sheffield and the South Yorkshire area in 2013.

Around 1,700 students are expected to compete in the swimming and karate events held at Ponds Forge on the weekend of February 22 next year. Other venues include Abbeydale Park, Don Valley stadium and the English Institute of Sport.

Former 400m and relay runner Iwan Thomas, who won the BUCS in that event in 1993

equalling Seb Coe’s record of 46.1 seconds, was on hand to voice his support for the event. The Olympic silver medallist stressed his belief in the importance of sport at university.

“If it wasn’t for university sport, I wouldn’t have got into athletics,” he said.

“I won the BUCS at Crystal Palace and then the year after I graduated I won an Olympic silver medal. I didn’t start running until the summer I went to Uni so it was a bit of a turning point.”

Sheffield International Venues (SIV) have organised the event in conjunction with Gatorade who will be sponsoring the event for the first time.

SIV Director of Operations Lorenzo Clarke said “This is our seventh year involved with the BUCs and we run all the venues involved. It is the single biggest

multi-sports event of its type in the UK next year so it matters a great deal to us to get a good look and feel for it. It is important for us to link education and sport.”

Boxing, badminton, climbing, fencing, judo, orienteering, rifle, tenpin bowling, trampoline and athletics make up the other 10 sports in the BUCS.

Photo: BUCS

Iwan Thomas at the launch

Steelers sit second Ice Hockey Matthew Smith Sheffield Steelers remain firmly in the hunt for a place in the end of season championship play-offs, as they currently sit second in the Elite League, with 29 points from their first 20 games.

They trail leaders Belfast Giants by a single point, although the Northern Irish side have a game in hand.

The Steelers are also going well in the Challenge Cup, currently leading their pool with 10 points from six games.

Sheffield have gone through the entirety of November unbeaten in the league, their last league defeat coming in a 3-0 reverse at Belfast on October 27.

Since then, the Steelers have picked up five successive wins in the Elite League, including a 4-3 victory over bitter rivals Nottingham Panthers at the Motorpoint Arena.

The Steelers are in the goals currently too, scoring at least three goals in every game in September, including two 7-2 victories against Coventry and Braehead Clan.

Sharks aiming for cup success Basketball Matthew Smith

Sheffield Sharks are continuing to struggle in the British Basketball League - with only two wins from 10 games, they sit second bottom, with only the winless Mersey Tigers keeping the Sharks from propping up British basketball.

The Sharks have defeated the Tigers, and picked up an impressive 74-58 win over the Durham Wildcats back in October, but their struggles have been exacerbated by a run, at the time of writing, of three successive league defeats.

This poor league form is in direct contrast to successes in the cup, where the Sharks have made the semi-finals.

They beat mid-table sides Cheshire Jets and Glasgow Rocks, and on November 30 will face off at EIS against current league leaders, Leicester Riders, for the first game in a two-legged encounter.

If Sheffield are to turn their season around and pick up more league success, they may need cup success more than anyone.

Forge Sport’s Heroes and Villains of the year TEAM GB Who else? The most succesful Olympics in recent memory, claiming 65 medals including 29 of the gold variety. A truely memorable effort.

EUROPE’S RYDER CUP TEAM Despite being 10-6 down on the final morning, the European team stormed back to claim an amazing win.

JOHN TERRY

LANCE ARMSTRONG

2012 began with racism accusations, and ended with a ban. He lifted the Champions League Trophy - having not played in the final.

It was finally revealed that Armstrong cheated his way to seven Tour de France wins and he still had the cheek to pose with his jerseys.

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Sheffield receive last eight gift Leeds caught up

in Moules trap

Men’s Hockey BUCS Trophy 2nd Round University of Sheffield 1sts Liverpool John Moores 1sts

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Men’s Football Northern Conference Cup

Aidan Phillips Chilly conditions weren’t enough to put off Sheffield as they cruised to a comfortable victory.

With a place in the quarter finals at stake, Sheffield were hoping to see a repeat of their 5-2 victory against John Moores in the league four weeks ago.

The first half was a slow affair as neither team were able to break the deadlock.

Sheffield’s best chance came in the first 10 minutes as John Moores’ defence was forced to clear the ball off the line soon after Tom Phillips skimmed a shot just passed the post.

Liverpool managed to break through soon after with a one-onone chance against the keeper, but Sheffield’s Clem Teagle parried the shot away from goal.

A dull first half ended with an empty scoresheet, with John Moores playing very defensively and Sheffield failing to create many scoring chances.

As the second half started, Sheffield upped their game and went on the attack instantly, hitting the post early on.

The pressure eventually paid off after about 50 minutes when Joe Battman slotted in the first of the match.

That goal proved to be the incentive needed as the match suddenly livened up.

James Wright punished John Moores’ profligacy on the hour mark with a well positioned shot to send Sheffield 2-0 up.

As the pace of the game quickened both sides’ technique started to dip, as scrappy play at both ends saw the ball given away too often.

John Moores kept the pressure

University of Sheffield 1sts 2 Leeds Trinity UC 1sts 0 David Street

Action from Sheffield’s victory at Goodwin. on Sheffield’s defence throughout the final 15 minutes of the game, forcing Clem Teagle to pull off one save low in the bottom corner.

But in the end they couldn’t break through, and Rafael Costello sealed the victory in the dying minutes with a placed shot after some good passing play left him with a wide open net.

Sheffield captain Robert Bloss said: “We started slow and needed a bit of a wake up at times. The weeks coming up will

Photo: Eve Betts

be a lot harder than this, so we need to up our game.”

John Moore captain Nathan Foster said: “We started strong and the first half went well, but after the second goal the game just got away from us.”

Sheffield will play Manchester 1sts at home in the quarter finals. on February 13 next year after they secured a 3-1 victory against Edinburgh earlier in the day.

The University of Sheffield Men’s first team are through to the quarter finals of the Northern Conference Cup after victory against Leeds Trinity.

In truth, Sheffield could have won the game by more, as they produced many more clear-cut chances.

Straight from the kick-off, Sheffield looked lively. James Shields and Stephen Moules combined effectively down the left-hand side. However Moules’ right footed shot across goal just went wide of the post. Minutes later, the same two players combined with Shields receiving the ball in a central position; but again the ball rolled just wide.

Sheffield were becoming increasingly dominant. Alex Brookes and Eric Wedge-Bull in midfield comfortably dealt with any Trinity threat. Sheffield pushed players forward creating several openings, leaving Leeds to make do with limited opportunities on the counterattack. They managed to win a few free kicks in various positions in the Sheffield half, but none of them had any impact.

By now Sheffield were in full flow and playing some great football. The one and two touch passing through midfield left Leeds unable to respond. Will Doyle had a couple of good chances which were blocked well by defenders.

Eventually Sheffield’s pressure produced a deserved goal. Doyle’s delivery from a corner kick into a

crowded penalty area ricocheted off a few heads, before falling to Tam Kitgrave. He powered the ball into the net from close range, to take Sheffield one goal up.

Sheffield continued to press and, with virtually the last kick of the half, went 2-0 up.

Trinity were exposed after pushing players higher up the pitch, nevertheless, the goal was terrific. Kitgrave found Moules with a brilliant pass into his feet.

Moules outpaced his marker and finished superbly from the edge of the box. At times Sheffield’s play had been brilliant and the goal was a fitting end to the half.

After the restart, it looked like the status quo of the first half would be maintained. Moules and Brookes linked up well and the resulting cross almost found Shields in the six yard box. However Trinity refused to be turned over, and even occasionally ventured into the box.

Both teams continued to create chances. Sheffield’s passing may not have been quite as precise as the first half but they still had a few attempts on goal. As the half progressed the game became increasingly stretched, as Leeds pushed more players forward in an attempt to reduce the deficit, yet most of their shots either sailed over the bar, or were dealt with by keeper Adam Seymour and the Sheffield defence.

The game ended with a comfortable victory for Sheffield.

In the first half particularly, they looked composed and played with an attacking flair which proved extremely effective. The team are now only two wins away from the cup final, which on this display might not be such an unrealistic prospect.

Uni next play on Wednesday December 5, away at York.

Sheffield fall just short to Hallam in indoor cricket final Women’s Cricket Indoor Tournament

Will Aitkenhead The University of Sheffield Women’s Cricket Club finished runners up in their North of England indoor tournament on Saturday at Bawtry Road.

Having recorded wins against Manchester and York 1st team, they topped the group but could not beat their intercity rivals Sheffield Hallam in the final.

Hallam had qualified for the final after winning their group with wins over York 2nds and Nottingham. The tournament was being held as a warm up for the next round of the BUCS indoor championship that takes place at Headingley on Saturday.

In the opening game of the day Hallam easily defeated York 2nds. Next saw Sheffield take on Manchester, with the Lancashire side being triumphant last time the two sides met.

Sheffield batted first and despite opening batsman Roshini Navaratnam being clean bowled first ball, veteran Jen Browne and captain Karen Boughton steadied the innings.

Through a combination of excellent placement and good running between the wickets the pair both reached 25 and retired, helping Sheffield to an impressive 96/1 from their eight overs. With the ball the Sheffield side were unstoppable as Emily Dibble and Charlie Parker both picked up two wickets early on to tie the Mancunians down.

Boughton and Navaratnam then picked up a wicket each to complete the innings as Manchester were dismissed for just 42.

In their second game against York 1sts, Sheffield won the toss and opted to field first. Dibble was again in superb form with the new ball taking three quick wickets. York never recovered and wickets for Navaratnam and Boughton again at the end kept York to 50/5.

With the bat the game was never in doubt as Navaratnam put her first game failure behind her to score a composed 21* and guide Sheffield home inside five overs. In the other group Sheffield Hallam had comfortably beaten Nottingham in their final game to set up an all Sheffield final.

York’s 1st team managed to beat their 2nd team in the fifth

place play off and Nottingham saw off Manchester to claim third.

In the final Sheffield chose to bat first and got off to another excellent start through Browne and new opening partner Hannah Fairburn. Browne was run out trying to push the score on; but Fairburn retired for an excellent 25. Vicky Lowden went

Sheffield celebrate another wicket

first ball but the lower order added valuable runs to take them to a score of 79.

With the ball, however, Sheffield disappointed as a stream of extras gave Hallam the advantage. Lucy Buttery took two wickets in two balls to spark hope of a comeback but it was not to be as Hallam reached the

target two wickets down in the seventh over.

Skipper Boughton had this to say after the day; “We’re playing really well with some excellent batting and fielding. The bowling is a bit hit and miss at times but if it all comes together on Saturday we have a really good chance of winning some key games.”

Photo: Karen Boughton

Friday November 30 2012 FORGE PRESS

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Sheffield on top as coach Uni stun eyes grand slam season unholy Trinity

Rugby League BUCS Yorkshire League

University of Sheffield Leeds Trinity UC

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Michael Clegg

Action from the cup match at Goodwin as Sheffield powered past Bradford to reach the BUCS Northern Cup semi-finals.

Basketball BUCS Northern Cup University of Sheffield 1sts 72 University of Bradford 1sts 63 Danny Armstrong The University of Sheffield’s men’s basketball 1sts are through to the semi-final of the BUCS Northern cup after a dominant 72-63 win against the University of Bradford 1sts.

Despite the relatively close scoreline, Sheffield never looked less than dominant after overcoming the loss of Joe Bossley early on in the first quarter.

At the start of the first quarter, quick counter attacks and efficiency from rebounds were enough to force Bradford to call a timeout at 6:12.

At the restart Sheffield continued to apply the pressure with Andy Chiguri muscling his way past the Bradford defence before deftly lifting the ball into the basket.

Bradford were content to play long shots with Romanian Julian Bercea sinking home but Sheffield ended the first quarter 21-13 ahead.

At the start of the second Chiguri again found success as he continued to bustle through

the Bradford defence and Sheffield’s Ewan Page marked his introduction to the game with a shot from a wide, seemingly impossible, angle to make it 3018.

Both sides were guilty of sloppy play and Anthony Odallo converted two free throws after intercepting from centre court and being fouled. Bradford replied right on the buzzer but trailed Sheffield 46-29 at half time.

The third quarter was the most evenly contested of the game but Sheffield still remained in a governing position.

Dan Lovett was tenacious at the heart of the Sheffield defence stifling Bradford attacks, breaking up momentum and forcing them to shoot from range. Bercea obliged and again netted from distance. Bradford closed the gap in the fourth and Sheffield called a timeout at 8:46 with the match more tentatively balanced at 56-48.

After the restart Chiguri put Sheffield further ahead with a quick brace of converted free throws. An impressive slam dunk at the other end was Bradford’s reply but ultimately they couldn’t keep up with Sheffield’s ascendancy as they broke away to finish the match 72-63 winners.

Sheffield coach Jonny Kelly was pleased with his team’s efforts.

“We could have done better but we got the job done” said Kelly.

“We overcame a small speed bump by losing Joe Bossley early to injury but we’re through to the semis now.”

After this terrific victory against Bradford, Kelly is hoping for a cup win, saying: “If all goes

Photo: William King

well we want a good place in the league and a cup win.”

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Sheffield on the attack during the match.

DOT COM

Photo: William King

Fourth-placed Sheffield put in a spirited performance to beat table-topping Leeds Trinity, the undefeated champions of the Yorkshire League last season.

Sheffield faced a difficult challenge in a Trinity team that had beaten them 22-4 little over a month ago. Trinity had won six out of six this season, yet through aggressive starts to both halves, and an organised defence weathering Trinity’s periods of dominance without ever falling behind, Sheffield thoroughly deserved a monumental victory.

Sheffield dominated the first half, loose forward Sam Wilson scoring within five minutes, flying down the wing from deep. Veazey converted, and five minutes later Sheffield added another try after sustained pressure on Trinity’s 10-metre line.

After a poor start, Trinity stuttered into life. The momentum shifted as they repeatedly attacked the Sheffield defence, breaking through to score twice, but missing both conversions.

After 20 minutes the score was 10-8 to Sheffield. Although they seemed to be in danger, the Sheffield defence endured and the team gained ground. Standin captain Pluskota charged through player after player, with Trinity losing precious metres before they could bring him down.

Wilson effortlessly cut apart the Trinity backline to score twice, making his fourth hat-trick in the last four games, and Tom Shannon adding to his try tally as well. Two of the three tries were converted and Sheffield were well ahead, until a momentary lapse of concentration a minute from half time led to another Trinity try right next to the corner flag.

The second half began with Sheffield ahead 26-12. From the kick Sheffield advanced deep into Trinity’s half, and Shannon ended this run of possession by scoring another try, which was followed by Wilson scoring. Both tries were converted.

Trinity over the next 10 minutes galvanised themselves and charged Sheffield’s backline, scoring two tries, and converting one. 38-22 to Sheffield, once again the game was competitive, but with 20 minutes to go, if Trinity wanted to salvage anything they had to gain points quickly.

Yet Trinity could not summon up enough spirit to overcome Sheffield. Sheffield and Trinity scored one try apiece over the next 20 minutes, only Sheffield converting. With 10 minutes remaining the score was 44-26, and both teams were tiring. It was an end-to-end finish, but neither team scored again.

When the whistle blew Sheffield had earned their win, stunning their much more illustrious oppostion.