Issue 100

100.

Friday 11 November 2016. Celebrating 100 issues.

2 FORGE PRESS

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

FORGE 100

Editorial

Forge Press Editorial Team Editor

editor@forgetoday.com

Anna Gillies

Deputy Editors editor@forgetoday.com Dan West Hallam Roffey Head of Online

editor@forgetoday.com

Caro Kyllmann

Head of News

press.news@forgetoday.com

Lisa Latham News

press.news@forgetoday.com

Chloe Coleman Josh Peachey Hope Cunningham Comment

press.comment@forgetoday.com

Will Morgan Michael Chilton Features

press.features@forgetoday.com

Jess Davis Ellena Rowlin Laura Mullan

Coffee Break

press.coffeebreak@forgetoday.com

Sian Bradley Lifestyle

press.lifestyle@forgetoday.com

I

t’s finally here! I’m really proud to be the editor of the 100th issue of Forge Press.

It’s so exciting to think that the paper has been running for so long, under the leadership of different students, each working hard to produce a quality issue.

In case you’re not clued up on the history of Forge, we’ve included a quick timeline pointing out the key dates in Forge history, including the rebranding in 2008 that saw the creation of Forge Press as we know it.

Since then, it’s undergone several transformations, including more recently the redesign that we implemented in September of this year (it looks great I know), but ultimately the essence has remained the same. Forge Press is a unique opportunity for student writers and journalists to publish their work in a completely independent newspaper, run

entirely by student editors. If you’d like to get involved it’s never too late – join our Facebook group or email one of our editors with an article idea, we love to hear from you.

We’ve worked really hard this issue to include your usual Forge favourites but we also had fun reviewing old issues of Forge Press - we were feeling very nostalgic this week looking over what was being reviewed and written about when Forge Press started. Lifestyle even have a feature looking back at the Sex Column that used to be in the paper, I’d recommend checking out what they have to say.

Behind all the excitement of the 100th issue, we can’t ignore the feeling in the air following the result of the US election. Personally, I gave up watching coverage at 3.30am when the swing states looked like they had been secured by Trump and the Democrats were getting

What’s on Event

Time/Venue

Anna Whittaker Joseph Mackay Sport

press.sport@forgetoday.com

Sheena Sidhu Ed McCosh Hugh Dickinson

more and more nervous. I’m trying to get by with the morale that the world didn’t end after Brexit and so hopefully will still be in tact after four years of Donald Trump in power, baby panda pictures also help a lot so I’ve attached one below.

If you’re still feeling down about

Women Leading the Way Conference: A one-day training event exploring how women can become confident leaders.

the result, we have a feature that may help. As for me, I advocate treating yourself to a duvet day, plenty of pizza, and a Netflix binge – it makes everything feel a little bit better.

What to look out for over the following fortnight Event

12/11/16 Discovery Rooms, SU 09:30-13:30 £1 Box Office

Christmas Lights SwitchOn: Choirs, panto, christmas markets and Santa’s grotto will feature at the 2016 Sheffield christmas lights switch-0n.

22/11/16 The Foundry, SU 11:00-15:00

Finance, Accounting & Banking Networking Event: A chance to meet and network with employers from the finance, banking and accountancy sectors.

Time/Venue

20/11/16 City Centre (Switch-on at Peace Gardens) 14:00-18:30 (Switch-on at 17:30)

Music

press.music@forgetoday.com

Harry Chambers Emma Williams Games

press.games@forgetoday.com

Ashfaq Emritte Nick Burke Arts

press.arts@forgetoday.com

Mollie Davidson Laura Mulvey Screen

press.screen@forgetoday.com

Luke Baldwin Beth Andralojc

Copy Editors Harriet Hales Harry Gold Kimberley John Shaun Thomas Katharine Swindells Tom West Holly Overton Molly Kerkham Jessica Green

Smart Move Housing Fair: Looking for a house for next year? Meet reputable landlords and agencies, get advice and pick up a free guide to house hunting.

Want to get involved or got a story to share?

We always welcome writers, photographers and artists to join us here at Forge Press. We don’t ask for any experience, just an enthusiasm for getting involved with the paper.

Come and pay us a visit in the Media Hub situated on Level 4 of the Students’ Union or email our editor at editor@forgetoday.com.

14/11/16 Discovery Rooms, SU 18:00-20:00 Book Online

FORGE PRESS 3

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMEBER 2016

FORGE 100

A History of Forge Press

Where are they now?

In 2008, the University of Sheffield’s student newspaper, Steel Press, became Forge Press as part of the rebranding of the student media. Join us in celebrating 100 issues of Forge Press, your student paper.

Forge Press has been home to many different editorial teams over the years, all with memorable experiences of their time at the paper. We asked them what they remember from their time at Forge and what they are up to now...

1940s

Kate

Darts is set up, the University’s first paper - a sister publication of Arrows, an arts magazine that closed in the late 1980s.

1997

The new editorial team took charge of Darts and decided to change the name. Darts became the name of the Comment section. On 28 November Steel Press was unveiled.

2008

Position: Screen Editor 2013/14, Fuse Ed 14/15 “I loved writing editorials, designing pages and bringing content to life! I’m currently travelling and exploring Japan. I look back on my Forge days very fondly though!”

Nicola Moors

Position: Editor 2013/14 “I loved the whole experience, too many moments to choose from but would defo recommend wannabe journos to get involved with Forge. Student media is great to include on a CV! I’m now reallife features writer for national newspapers & mags.”

Matthew Smith

In 2008, Steel Press merged with Sure Radio and the website forgetoday.com to form Forge Media, consisting of Forge Press, Forge Radio and the more recent Forge TV.

Position: Sports Editor 2013/14, Head of Online 2014/15 “Putting together the 2013 Varsity issue at midnight - Uni were still 1/2 a point from winning for the first time in a decade. That whole week was stressful but incredible fun, and was a brilliant crash course in what to expect from sports journalism.”

Phil Bayles

2016

We’re printing the 100th issue of Forge Press! Yay!

Position: Fuse Editor 2014/15 “Mad Thursday evenings spent rushing to send to the printers by 6pm (which almost never happened) then celebrating at the Harley. I did an MA in Journalism (at Sheffield, obvs), and I’m now working as an editor in Paris.

Wouldn’t be here without Forge Press.”

Jo Gallacher

Position: Arts Editor 2015/16 “I was lucky enough to be involved with Forge Press, either as a contributor or Arts Editor, for three wonderful years. In return, the paper has given me great reason to be thankful. For the buzz I felt when I first saw my name printed under an article. For the experience it allowed me to gain by using professional software, skills I use daily at my current job as a magazine reporter. And for the wonderfully bright, funny and talented people it allowed me to meet, whose friendship has become invaluable to me.”

Lizzie Palmer

Position: Music/Fuse Editor 2010/11 “Battling to the Union through apocalyptic snow of 2010 to get the paper out was a highlight. I def wouldn’t have my national newspaper job now without Forge.”

Alisha Rouse

Position: Editor 2012/13 “Late nights putting the paper to bed, running around like crazy and getting banned by the Uni for 48 hours. Plus we saved some cats (I think), got an award and I have now been at the Mail for two years. The hub was home :)”

Ashley Scrace

Position: Screen Editor 2010/11 “Worked with wonderful @maryannehobbs - learned so so much from her. Also would have never had 1st job without Forge Screen Ed experience 2010-11.

Now am in Sweden writing content for IKEA #varied”

4 FORGE PRESS

Friday 11 November 2016

NEWS

press.news@forgetoday.com

Rough sleepers find watch refuge at ‘Tent City’

politics

Farage offers to help build bridges with Trump Nigel Farage met with Trump several times during his campaign and has since said that the UK need to “get cracking” in conversations about trade and other issues.

Though due to step down as UKIP leader at the end of the month, Farage says reports of a job offer in the Trump administration are a “bit premature”.

He believes the UK has greater prospect of securing a free trade deal with the US postBrexit with Trump as president, and commented: “There is no question that there is going to be big pressure on Trump to deliver. Trump voters, the Brexit voters, want action.”

May working for ‘golden era’ of UKChinese relations China’s Vice-Premier Ma Kai visited the UK after Theresa May delayed approval of partial Chinese investment in Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.

May concedeed to the project after China warned that ‘mutual trust’ would be needed between the two countries. Mr Ma is meeting Chancellor Philip Hammond to discuss further investment in the UK. Mr Hammond, who is hosting the Chinese delegation at London’s Lancaster House, said: “The mutual benefits are clear.

China is the world’s secondlargest economy. “

Post-Brexit trade deal with India threatened

by UK immigration policy A spokesperson for India’s Minister of External affairs has said that May’s policy restricting Indian students from remaining in the UK after graduation will halt progress with trade deals.

May said she wishes to “reboot” the relationship between the UK and India, but Shashi Tharoor, chairman of India’s parliamentary standing committee on external affairs, said May’s anti-immigrant policies were “detrimental” to relations between the UK and India.

Lisa Latham Head of News

•• Tents erected at Park Hill for rough sleepers •• Local residents divided over project Tents have been set up outside flats in Park Hill to provide homeless people with somewhere to sleep this winter and enable charities and local services to find those who need their help.

The campsite dubbed ‘Tent City’ was co-ordinated by 31-yearold father of four Anthony Cunningham, who grew up in Park Hill and is a long term campaigner and fundraiser for the homeless.

He says: “We can blame everyone until the cows come home but unless we are going to solve it ourselves - like a true people power - nothing’s ever going to change.”

Cunningham has not registered as a charity and does not plan to in the future, believing that the implications of being an official organisation will inhibit progress and take focus from those at the centre of the project.

He said: “It’s about the people who are here right now getting the help and support that they need.”

Though largely welcomed by residents of Park Hill, Tent City has

created slight divisions between locals with some expressing concerns over antisocial behaviour and the appearance of litter and discarded needles at the site.

Otheres believe Cunningham should not interfere with the work of established services.

This sentiment is not share by others, however. Resident Rosie Huzzard, who fully supports the camp, said “Tent City residents have actually been cleaning up

the existing rubbish and waste in the balconies. The area is spotless and much better than before they moved in. What’s been amazing is that tent city has really brought the residents of Park Hill together for a common purpose. I’ve met loads of my neighbours who I’d never even spoken to before – it’s certainly a force for good.”

Campers at the site are performing regular clear-ups to maintain the hygiene of the area,

and hope to receive a donation of portaloos to the site soon.

With monetary donations from local charities, groups and individuals and sthe help of Park Hill residents gathering bedding, food and toiletries, Cunningham believes he could accommodate for up to 100 people.

In Brief...

Vader visits police force

Car-park-inspired cheese grater

Police to flood Sheffield streets

Flats renovated to house homeless

A man dressed as Darth Vader has been running around Sheffield.

His appearance sparked rumours that Star Wars was being filmed in Sheffield, though this turned out to be a hoax. He has also attracted police attention after being spotted outside a police station.

He has also been seen in Meadowhead and Clay Cross.

A Sheffield artist has designed a cheese grater inspired by the cheese grater car park.

The artist, Kim Kay won a competition to design a Sheffield souvenir for her project.

The grater features the car park, a depiction of the winter gardens, some cutlery and the word ‘Sheffield’ on its sides.

Sheffield estates will be packed with police officers for three months, in an attempt to remove criminals from the streets, dismantle gangs and improve street safety.

The operation was launched on 7 November after months of planning and undercover work. Police will target suspected criminals in the area.

A homeless charity in Sheffield has renovated five flats to provide vulnerable young people with a safe place to develop independence.

The building, ‘No. 11’ Barnabas Road, will house tenants from the Roundabout charity hostel next door, which offers emergency care and medium-term stay for young homeless people.

FORGE PRESS 5

Friday 11 November 2016

29 Shipping containers to become new leisure complex

NEWS

Lisa Latham are creating a special project for the Head of News site. Expanding Health club firm Be X Fitness are also set to move in along with a barber.

•• New complex built The steel containers will be using recycled shipping stacked in a mixed residential and containers community site on the inner ring and will be ‘predominantly •• Development predicted road dark grey’. completion by January Councillor Chris Roslings2017 Joseph told the planning committee: “There are a number of A unique new leisure complex is developments like this in London.

“Things like this will start under construction in Shalesmoor. attracting more people – it just The four-story venue, Krynkl, makes an area buzzing and bring is being built using 29 recycled more and more people into the shipping containers, and will area.” include a new restaurant, gym, Coda Planning, which has salon and offices, as well as a developed the scheme, previously permanent roof top bar with fire said it would be the first of its kind pits. in Yorkshire.

The containers were hoisted Developers called the scheme a into position six months ago and “mini creative industries hub”, and permission to begin the £500,000 have said that work on the site will development was granted on be completed

by January 2017.

October 20.

The ground and top floors have already been pre-let to the Milestone restaurant group, who

The crooks of Crookesmoor

Hope Cunningham News Editor NICHE nightclub which was demolished earlier this year looks set to reopen at a new location in the city centre.

The new building on Walker Street forms part of the line of businesses under the Wicker Arches.

The former club was located on Sidney Street and opened in 1992.

The club became a globally recognised symbol for musical distinction, opening at midnight and shutting its doors at midday.

After a police raid in 2005, the club was closed.

Popular for garage, underground house and bassline, a spokesperson from the NICHE Sheffield Official Facebook page said “The beast called NICHE is awakening, so watch this space.”

Engineering campaign from Uni students launched in Parliament Student flats

Josh Peachey News Editor

Hope Cunningham News Editor

A group of students who live in Crookesmoor had six laptops and two watches stolen after leaving the back door unlocked on Halloween.

The house on Warrington Road, wasn’t the only house to be burgled on 31 October in the Crookes area, according to South Yorkshire Police.

Ben Swain, a second year student, said: “Someone came in when we were all out and went into six of the seven bedrooms because they were unlocked.

“There was no breaking in as one of my housemates had accidently left the backdoor open. The only things stolen were easy to grab and it no doubt happened on Halloween because people were going to be out house.”

The one resident who locked their bedroom before leaving the house didn’t have anything stolen.

Ben also said: “I know it seems

Last week, the University of Sheffield launched the ‘Engineering is…’ campaign, backed by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield.

It aims to challenge perceptions about engineering among school children with a book written by student engineers as well as online games, lesson plans for teachers and information about various career paths within engineering.

Female engineer and TV Presenter Roma Agrawal, speaking at the launch said: “The UK society needs a concerted effort as a whole to change the perception of engineering in order for it to become an aspirational career for girls and boys.”

The shortage of UK engineers is a widespread problem for the economy, while the shortage of

obvious but always check doors and windows are closed. Including bedroom doors because it could void your insurance if they are left open.”

Ben now locks his bedroom every time he leaves the house but will still have to fork out hundreds of pounds for a new laptop.

“The beast called NICHE is awakening”

women within the discipline sees only 9% of the workforce being female. Filling the demand for jobs will generate an additional £27 billion per year for the UK from 2022.

Paul Blomfield MP said: “Engineering is hugely important for the UK economy and especially the Sheffield city region. This campaign by the University of Sheffield is an important step towards encouraging more young people to study STEM subjects and think about a career in engineering.”

planned for West Street

Lisa Latham Head of News Plans to build an 11-storey block of student flats on West Street have been revealed.

Lexham Properties Ltd aims to demolish an existing block of offices at Mayfield Court as well as the former West Street Ale House to make way for the 284-bed building.

The block will contain a gym, cinema and media room, a laundry, post area and cafe on the ground floor.

A planning statement from Fletcher Rae Architects said: “The iconic shapes from the local area have been used on the elevation as façade massing elements.”

The building will predominantly redbrick, aluminium and glass.

The plans are the latest in a serious of large-scale student developments.

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FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

NEWS

press.news@forgetoday.com

Plans passed for 1,000 more student accommodation rooms Josh Peachey News Editor

•• Two sites will collectively be able to host 1,000 more students •• One building will be on Ecclesall Road and the other will be at Hollis Croft Planning permission for new student accommodation, which will host 1,000 students, has been approved by Sheffield Council.

Members of the planning and highways committee granted permission for two major schemes, in Ecclesall Road and Hollis Croft.

Between the two developments, there will be enough rooms to accommodate 1,000 students, and an extra 144 private residential apartments at the Ecclesall Road building.

According to the Sheffield Star, Cllr Peter Price acknowledged comments from residents concerned with a rise of students in

their communities, but he said the Council had changed their stance on student accommodation.

The Council would rather house students in apartment complexes than shared family homes in residential areas.

Cllr Price said: “This will relieve the pressure on Broomhill, Crookes and Walkley, and those family areas that over the past 10 years that have seen the balance shift towards students.”

The two schemes, approved on Tuesday, will become landmarks on the Sheffield student landscape.

The proposed property on Hollis Croft will be an 18-storey tower, and the Ecclesall Road accommodation will feature an 11 storey-block, a compromise after the council rejected plans for a 12-storey block.

The Hollis Croft site (see picture) will cost Brookfield Student Real Estate, the developers of the complex, £60 million and will include commercial space and new pedestrian links – an element that councillors were keen to implement.

Dan Simpson, of Ecclesall Road flats developer Hallminster Ltd, said he was ‘delighted’ the Council had approved the revised, smaller scheme, according to the Sheffield

Natalie Bennett to speak at Forge Talks Benjy Taylor Forge TV Head of Marketing After the success of last month’s Nick Clegg event, Forge Talks returns on Thursday 17 November to host a live Q&A and interview with former leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett.

Having led the Green Party from 2012 until September this year, this

talk will hold particular importance to University of Sheffield students after the announcement last month that she will contest the Sheffield Central constituency in the next General Election.

This event is an opportunity to listen to one of the UK’s leading political figures at the heart of the Green Party. Attendees can submit

questions to be asked of Bennett.

Sheffield Green Party Election Agent Eamonn Ward said recently: “Natalie made numerous visits to support Jillian Creasy’s campaign in 2015 and our council election campaign last May. With Natalie as candidate, we can build on solid work since our first councillor was elected here in 2004 and elect the first Green MP in the north.”

Similar to the Nick Clegg talk, the event will raise money for Sheffield Mind, with £1.50 of every ticket sold donated.

The event takes place on 17 November at 7.00pm in Foundry in the Students’ Union. Tickets can be bought online via the Students’ Union website or at the SU Box Office.

Star. “We are now looking forward to delivering a standout scheme that Sheffield can be proud of, which will regenerate the site and a wider area,” he said.

Man chops off toe in Wilko’s Elizabeth Day News Contributor Shoppers were shocked to see a man cut off his big toe with bolt cutters and then try to eat it at a Sheffield Wilkinson’s store the day before Halloween.

The toe-eating incident took place in Haymarket, Sheffield.

Emergency services arrived at the store at 11.10am on Sunday October 30 and the man was taken to hospital.

An eyewitness said: “A man went into Wilkinson’s Haymarket, went upstairs to the electrical aisle, picked up some bolt cutters, chopped his big toe off and stood eating it.”

The aisle was taped off and only reopened once police and forensics

had left the premises.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said at the time: “Upon officer arrival, the man was taken to hospital with injuries to his foot, where he remains.

There are not believed to be any other parties involved and the incident is not being investigated as a crime.”

So far a statement has not been issued by Wilkinson’s.

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FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

press.news@forgetoday.com

Sheffield pie prank video accused of being racist Holiday Qian News Contributor

A gang who filmed a “prank” video of a string of custard pie attacks on members of the public in Sheffield city centre have been accused of being racist after viewers pointed out that the attacks were carried out by black and Asian men against white people.

The 90-second video entitled Pie Pranks Sheffield on YouTube has now been watched by more than 10,000 people after it surfaced online earlier this week.

“We made the video with the sole purpose of making people laugh but obviously not everybody shared my views”, one pie thrower posted below the video.

In the clip, a bus driver, tram conductor, street cleaner, shop workers and members of the public all have whipped cream thrown in their faces while a cyclist is sent sprawling from his bike after being

hit.

“When making this video it didn’t even come to mind that the majority of people were of a ‘white skin colour’, because we don’t think like that there were no specific targets.”

The makers of the clip Dank TV have said sorry via video sharing website YouTube and defended

themselves against suggestions of racism.

“We deeply apologise to everyone who had whipped cream thrown at them”, the gang said, “I don’t understand why people would call this a racial assault. We thought the video wouldn’t be a big deal, it was whipped cream which could be wiped off with tissues and water.”

Costa cuppa causes third degree burns Chloe Simpkins News Contributor

A woman was seriously burnt after a cup of tea from Costa spilt on her.

Retail worker Melissa Postello, 23, suffered severe burns while on a date in Sheffield last month when the beverage spill left her in need of urgent medical attention.

Melissa told Forge Press that she was in the passenger seat of her date’s car when the two of them picked up cups of tea from a Costa Coffee drive-through near Meadowhall.

She said: “I noticed as soon as I took them that the cups were extremely hot but at first thought nothing of it. After about five minutes of driving, I gripped them harder as we went around a corner but they were too hot to hold tightly so one of the cups tipped, spilling tea into my lap.”

After asking her date to pull over, Melissa noticed her legs begin to blister within 10 minutes of the spillage. She tried to ease the searing pain when she got home by spending 20 minutes in a cold bath.

When this made no difference, she went to the Accident and Emergency department at the Northern General Hospital where she was treated for third degree burns and sent home the same day.

It was during this visit that she was told she would need to return to have skin grafts done on her left thigh.

Melissa’s doctor also informed her that the burns looked as if they could have been sustained by

a heat of 130 degrees. Yet when she complained to Costa Coffee about this, she was told by staff that 92 degrees was the maximum temperature the water could reach.

A Costa spokesperson has since told The Star: “At Costa we take the health and wellbeing of our customers very seriously, and as such we are looking into this as a matter of priority.”

Unfortunately, Melissa has not seen her date since.

NEWS

SCIENCE & TECH GoPro recalls new drones after power failures Josh Peachey News Editor The action camera company GoPro has had to recall their new drones due to malfunctions.

The company said that there had been a small number of cases where the drone had a power failure during flight.

Priced a £646, GoPro launched the Karma drone in September with two new cameras. GoPro said on Tuesday that the cameras are not affected by the recall and anyone who bought the product would be entitled to a full refund.

GoPro boss Nick Woodman had

high hopes for the drone when it launched.

“These products are the best products we’ve ever made,” he told the BBC in September.

The company announced the recall notice just as polls began to close for the US presidential election, leading some to accuse the company of trying to bury the news.

A trend of people turning to their smartphones to record videos has caused GoPro’s shares to slump over the last year.

In the company’s latest earnings report, published at the start of November, losses of $84m were revealed.

Faeces could be fuel of the future Josh Peachey News Editor The US Department of Energy Researchers have developed a way to turn poop into power.

The process, worked on by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, turns sewage sludge into a form of crude oil by pumping it through a pressurized tube.

The end product is something called biocrude, which is still

classed as a fossil fuel and burning it would still produce carbon emissions.

According to a news release, a company called Genifuel Corporation licensed the technology and is working on rolling out a test facility in Vancouver as soon as 2018.

Brain implant helps paralysed monkeys walk Josh Peachey News Editor A wireless implant that helps stimulates electrodes from the brain and spinal cord to leg muscles has enabled two monkeys to walk.

Without any training, one of the monkeys was able to use its previously paralysed leg again and could walk on a treadmill in under a week.

The implant, created by neuroscientists in France, only uses parts that have been approved for use in human trials.

Grégoire Courtine told Wired UK that “A decade of work in rodent

models allowed us to understand how to modulate the activity of the spinal cord below the injury in order to achieve high precision control over the movements of the paralysed legs.”

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FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

NEWS Centre for Urgent and Emergency Care Research launched in Sheffield Hope Cunningham News Editor

•• ‘CURE’ will undertake research into the organisation and delivery of emergency care.

•• The initiative hopes to combat NHS demand The University of Sheffield launched the CURE initiative on the 3 November with the aim of improving the quality of emergency care.

The research group is based in the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) and believe it is imperative to understand how the

urgent and emergency care systems work in order to improve them, as well as carrying out extensive trials before they are rolled out across the NHS. Demand from patients within the NHS has been on the increase in the last decade, with A&E wait times ever on the rise. January 2016 wait times were reported to be up to four hours long.

Crowded emergency departments and delayed ambulance responses are also major worries for the public.

Potential solutions have included access to phone lines for potential emergencies and putting GPs in emergency departments, but reports are not clear as to whether these have been successful or are

making things worse.

CURE researchers are nationally and internationally renowned as world leaders in urgent and emergency care education.

Professor Steve Goodacre said this NHS problem will be addressed as a ‘scientific challenge’ in order to understand how the system functions.

Currently, their research has changed the way treatment is provided for sufferers of heart attacks and serious injuries. CURE researchers have also allowed paramedics to treat people at home instead of taking them to hospital.

By establishing CURE, the researchers intend to secure Sheffield’s reputation as the leading centre for research in urgent care.

Film Unit voted Best in Britain Anna Gillies Editor The University of Sheffield Students’ Union cinema, Film Unit, has been awarded the title ‘Best Student Cinema’ by the prestigious Cinema For All. The Cinema For All Film Society Of The Year awards, which were presented in a ceremony at Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema on 5 November, celebrate and reward the hard work and dedication of volunteer-led community cinemas and film societies across the country.

Film Unit runs as a working committee and has been operating

since 1949, showing films in the Auditorium at a cost of £3.00 per person. It shows a diverse programme of foreign films, recent blockbusters, documentaries and independent releases on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout University term time, with all screenings open to the public.

Deborah Parker, Chief Executive at Cinema for all said: “Student Cinemas can often provide an entry point into the world of film – taking audiences on journeys to discover classics, world cinema and cult gems. It’s a hard job to balance, but this year’s winner really knows what they are doing

– both engaging audiences in the programming process, and using their own intuition and guidance.

How lucky are the students at this university, who have the chance to graduate with a film education too.”

Film Unit also received a commendation for the year’s Best Single Event, which was a screening of the award-winning documentary They’ll Have to Kill Us First. The documentary is about musicians who united to organise a concert in Timbuktu, Mali, after Islamic extremists banned all forms of music in the country and featured a live performance and talk by the film’s stars Songhoy Blues.

SU Development Officer Michael Kind praised Film Unit’s recognition, "As a Students' Union we're incredibly proud of Film Unit's success - it has a long history of being a part of virtually every student's experience in Sheffield and we're delighted to see that recognised. Film Unit is a testament to the fantastic and boundary-breaking student-led activity we advocate!”

Full details of all Film Unit activities and screenings are available at www.filmunit.org.uk.

Thousands turn up for Sheffield 10K race

Hope Cunningham New s Editor Thousands of runners took to the streets to raise money for charity as part of Sheffield’s 10K run. It was described as a ‘hit’.

The Asda Foundation, in partnership with Jane Tomlinson’s Run For All held the 10K for the first time on the 30 October as a replacement to the Great Yorkshire Run. The race began at Arundel Gate where runners made their way along Charter Row and Ecclesall Road, before jogging around the edges of Endcliffe Park. They continued along Riverdale Road and Endcliffe Vale Road for the grand finish in the city centre.

The streets were full of colourful entrants, decked in fancy dress

costumes including Batman, Spiderman and Peppa Pig among others. Racers were cheered on by enthusiastic crowds including Lord Mayor Coun Denise Fox, who waved off fundraisers from the start line.

Council cabinet member Mary Lea said ‘congratulations to everyone who took part. It was a great atmosphere and very inspiring to see thousands of people of all ages and abilities running for so many worth causes.’

Money was raised for Sheffield Hospitals Charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, St Luke’s Sheffield Hospice, local youth housing charity Roundabout, The Children’s Hospital Charity, Brain Tumour Research and Support amongst others.

FORGE PRESS 9

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

Sheffield divests from fossil fuels James Morrel News Contributor

•• Motion passed by Sheffield city council to divest from fossil fuels.

•• Concerns regarding some major Sheffield institutions Councillor Rob Murphy has set his sights on Sheffield becoming the UK’s first fossil-free city, as a motion is passed cementing Sheffield city council’s divestment in fossil fuels.

The Green Party councillor spoke at the full council meeting last week in a bid to prevent the council from further investing in fossil fuels.

After initial confusion, in which the council claimed such policy was already in place, a renewed pledge was put forward. It read: “The council does not and will not invest in fossil fuels, demonstrating the council’s existing commitment to leading by example on fossil fuel divestment.”

Coun Murphy said: “We are happy that the council has agreed with everything we’ve asked for, and we hope other major institutions will follow suit.”

The bid to make Sheffield a fossilfree city follows the University of Sheffield’s decision last year to divest £39m in fossil fuels.

Sheffield Hallam University has previously stated that it “has not and will not invest in fossil fuels”.

But there are still concerns regarding other major Sheffield institutions, such as the South Yorkshire Pension Authority, who said in a letter to Sheffield Climate Alliance last year that “fossil fuel will play a key part in our energy mix for many years to come” and “the risk of being too early into the wrong technology is a real one.”

Coun Murphy said: “The South Yorkshire Pension Authority deals with larger amounts of money, and so it is more difficult for them to divest in fossil fuels, but they have recently taken steps forward in the right direction.”

Michael Kind, SU Development Officer at the University of

NEWS

Donald Trump

He won, yay, good for him.

JL Advert Fans

The John Lewis christmas advert was released yesterday.

It’s divided opinion in the Media Hub but you can’t deny it makes everyone feel that little bit more festive.

Sheffield, said: “I think it is an exciting and on-point proposal which highlights the value Sheffield as a community places on tackling the climate crisis.

“It’s exciting to see divestment catch on in such a wholesale way in the city, and it’s encouraging to see the social power the fossil fuel industry holds gradually being eroded.

“The climate crisis is already taking lives and destroying

livelihoods at this moment and has gendered and racialized overtones so it is excellent to see it being tackled. I am incredibly proud of Sheffield’s decision to divest having been a part of the campaign that fought for that.”

“However, the council can in many ways still improve when it comes to sustainability.”

Spiderwalk students trek 13 miles through Peaks Sian Bradley News Contributor Sheffield students braved the autumnal night on 4 November for a sponsored 13 mile hike through the hilly Peak District.

Organised by Sheffield RAG (Raising and Giving), Spiderwalk returned this year to raise money for various charities.

The walk began at Sheffield Students’ Union, then led into Endcliffe Park before venturing into the Peak District. After scaling rocky hills with torches to light the way, they were treated with a wellearned hot meal at the Three Merry Lads and a firework display before embarking on the last third of the hike.

The sponsorship goal for each participant is £30, and can be raised individually or with sports clubs and societies through their “Adopt a Charity” scheme.

This means that groups that took part such as Forge Radio and

GOOD WEEK

Forge Follows the Fortnight...

The World

Donald Trump won a landslide victory and was elected President of the US on November 9. Fair to say we weren’t too happy with the result.

Toblerone Fans

The new redesign of a universally-loved chocolate bar caused almost as much chaos as the US election result. Less chocolate for the same price, what is the world coming to.

Hillary Clinton

Sabrecats can choose which charity their sponsorship goes to.

Sylvia Wu, a RAG member who was stewarding to guide walkers in the right direction, said the walk was a lot of fun despite the bitter cold.

She said: “The atmosphere was nice as some people even started to sing old camp songs they remembered!

“After the last person had passed we made our way to the pub, where a hot meal and fireworks felt very

rewarding. We got incredibly lost on the way back but still managed to end up in Broomhill.

“I would definitely recommend this walk to other people.”

Last year, £7,000 was raised by Spiderwalk for multiple causes.

We’re sorry to keep bringing it up but after months and arguably years of campaigning, it wasn’t meant to be for Hillary.

Always the bridesmaid never the bride.

BAD WEEK

10 FORGE PRESS

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

COMMENT To poppy or not to poppy

press.comment@forgetoday.com

The debate over whether or not we should wear a flower, for a few days a year, continues...

I

Jessica Mary Clair Contributer

s wearing a poppy a matter of personal choice or a civil obligation to respect past events?

The poppy is a symbol that has no agreed meaning: to some it is a symbol of war, condoning the horrors that come with it. To others it is a show of solidarity with those who bravely gave their lives fighting for peace.

More commonly it is a symbol of remembrance, remembering those who suffered in the World Wars. Hence it is of little surprise that the poppy is becoming one of the most controversial symbols.

No longer is it customary to see every person on your street wearing a poppy. In fact, the only

place where you will see the poppy still worn year upon year is when watching the BBC or any other staunchly British media outlet, as it adorns the lapel of every news reader and guest.

Many people will be shaking their heads right now, wondering why some wouldn’t want to remember the fallen soldiers of yesteryear. Did they not sacrifice their todays so we could have our tomorrows? Still imagine how many other people will be shaking their heads, wondering why anyone would want to condone conflict and wear a symbol that arguably celebrates war?

Never mind the fact that the poppy is perhaps now more a symbol for patriotism and dare I say it - nationalism than for remembrance. Yet please

understand I’m not condoning war when I wear my poppy, far from it.

There are many reasons why I choose to wear a poppy. The first and foremost is because I would want my Great Grandad to look on my left side and see that I respect the hardships and turmoil he and his family had to go through. Also the Poppy Appeal supports veterans, helping them find employment and housing.

After all, at the heart of it, the Poppy Appeal is a charity.

I wear my poppy to remember because if we don’t remember our history, then how can we try and make sure history does not repeat itself? When I put my poppy on, I don’t want to worry that people might think it’s a political statement or that I’m the kind of

person that revels in the glory of war.

Although I’m not naïve enough to think the poppy has never been used as a political statement, I would like to think that the average person buying into the idea of the poppy is still doing it to remember those who have died due to conflict and not to prove a political point.

“Wearing the poppy in itself should be a symbol of ‘Freedom of choice’.”

Ultimately it’s my choice to wear or not to wear a poppy. I shouldn’t be judged either way. Similarly, it most certainly shouldn’t be an

obligation. Wearing the poppy in itself should be a symbol of ‘freedom of choice’. The majority of soldiers in the First and Second World War, fought for our freedoms.

It is part of an individual’s freedom to decide if he or she wishes to remain silent for two minutes when the clock strikes 11 on the 11 November. Those that don’t want to wear a poppy shouldn’t be harassed but neither should those same people wish to twist the poppy into something to be ashamed of wearing. The poppy and the conflicts that we remember when wearing it has to have taught us one ideal. Never restrict someone’s freedom.

Everything, even wearing a poppy, is a choice.

Tory Home Sec. ignores police accountability In a move that shocked absolutely no one.

H

Hugh Dickinson Sports Editor

ome Secretary Amber Rudd is right on every point, but there should be an Orgreave inquiry anyway.

In setting out her reasons for not holding a public inquiry into the events that have become known as the Battle of Orgreave, Home Secretary Amber Rudd was faultless.

Let’s be clear about the Battle of Orgreave: there were no deaths and there were no wrongful convictions. We would be unlikely to learn anything about the culture of South Yorkshire Police that we didn’t already know from the Hillsborough Inquest, and any officers found culpable of misconduct are likely to be long retired, if not dead.

And an inquiry sure as hell isn’t going to give thousands of miners their jobs back.

South Yorkshire police and policing in general in the UK has changed a lot since 1984, and given that Orgreave included

neither unlawful killing nor sexual abuse of children, it might even be considered a PR triumph for SYP by recent standards.

But there is one fundamental reason why we should have an inquiry, and why Amber Rudd is entirely wrong.

“politicians should

be held hostage to the will of the people they represent.”

Our public institutions should be accountable to the people they claim to protect, serve or represent, and there is clear evidence that in the case of the Battle of Orgreave, this did not happen on a shameful scale.

As much as politicians should be held hostage to the will of the people they represent, the police should not be immune to the laws they uphold. Equality under the law is a fundamental part of British society and when

it is flagrantly ignored in favour of what was at best political point scoring, and at worst an attack on a whole class of people, an inquiry should be held.

We act appalled when we see shootings of unarmed civilians in America yet, while this apparent police impunity causes such disgust from afar, we are happy to let the same principle reign at home.

That is not to suggest that ignoring Orgreave is a step away from police shootings, but principles are our best defence against such escalations. We uphold principles such as freedom of expression so vociferously on the same basis – because we know that to give an inch would be unjust and potentially damaging to the fabric of our society.

So the Orgreave non-inquiry isn’t really about the miners or the police officers involved on the day. It’s about what we consider acceptable in Britain. And Amber Rudd has just given the police acting above the law the thumbs up.

FORGE PRESS 11

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

COMMENT COMMENT DEBATES

THE PULP-PIT the soap-box of the common people

Do you wish it could be Christmas everyday?

W

ARGUING FOR Catherine Horner Sociology Student

e all know there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who love Christmas and those who absolutely do not. Whilst the latter merely continue with their lives as normal at this time of year, the former are already in the full thores of Christmas cheer. Whilst this notion appears particularly strange to all those pre-Christmas haters out there, those of us full of Christmas joy are indulging in all things Christmassy.

For all of the early Christmas celebrators out there, as soon as the Halloween decorations come down the Christmas decorations go up – maybe some bonfire antics, then straight into Christmas mode. As soon as the cold weather hits and the spooky period has subsided, the time for Christmas celebrations is upon us. The shops have been stocking Christmas decorations and gift sets galore for weeks, so really, the rest of us are simply late to the party.

For many, Christmas is a time of joy and happiness that even the wind and the rain cannot dampen. Whilst we’re all wishing to the snow gods for that glistening white covering, even us Christmas-lovers acknowledge that we may be slightly premature so we’ll take what we can get.

Jingles in stores? The best!

Christmas cups? Yes please!

Twinkly lights? We’ll take them all.

Whilst many of us love Christmas, we acknowledge that not everybody out there agrees. There are individuals out there who are not quite the avid

Christmas supporter that the rest of us so gleefully admit to being. For many, the early arrival of Christmas themed goodness signifies an encroachment on what some consider to be the best holiday of the year – Halloween. Some feel that they are bombarded with Christmas themed items earlier and earlier each year, whilst others feel that a month at most will simply do.

And whilst we are more than willing to acknowledge that yes, Halloween may be a great holiday and potentially Christmas goodies do seem to be making an earlier return to our shelves each and every year, can we really complain? Surely Halloween and Christmas can co-exist peacefully? And as for the early arrival of Christmas goodies – the earlier these items arrive in store, the earlier we can begin our hunt for the perfect present, the longer we have to drop hints about your wish list, and the more time we have to remember about that one aunt we were supposed to buy a present for and never did (we’ve all done it!).

Regardless of whether you believe that Christmas should start on the 24th December or that Christmas simply doesn’t start early enough, the reality is that from around mid-October onwards, the Christmas creep is upon us. Stores begin to introduce their products and decorations before the official Christmas period ready for the enjoyment of the masses. For those of you who are entirely anti-early Christmas, there is simply nothing you can do to escape it, so grab your tinsel and revel in the merriness that is the best time of year. And for those of you who are already doing so (just like me) – good job, keep doing you!

T

ARGUING AGAINST Will Morgan Comment Editor

he institution of Christmas is the anathema of progress and change in society.

Every year the western world is led like a flock of sheep towards a month of such hedonism and gluttony that people ruin themselves financially just to satiate the unnatural desire to have a “perfect Christmas”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of hedonism and gluttony. In fact, I will almost certainly spend the festive season hoovering up cake and sherry like Noo Noo hit hard times after the Teletubbies.

This is the aspect we all enjoy about Christmas but, over the last few decades, big business has warped this natural desire to get pissed and eat too much into some weird consumerist frenzy that takes place over a quarter of the year.

From October onwards we are bombarded from all directions with instructions to buy things.

You wake up, bleary eyed, go to buy your weekly supply of pasta and are immediately confronted with Christmas decorations, advertisements and presents.

Your basic understanding of economics leads you to believe that if the shops are supplying, there must be some demand.

Everyone else is getting things for Christmas now, why aren’t you?

This, obviously, is an illusion.

No one needs or wants to buy Christmas presents three months in advance, you’re just being told that you’re meant to be buying these things. This might sound like some tinfoil hat global capitalist conspiracy but we

can see that this is exactly how marketing companies work.

When the famous Betty Crocker cake mixture first came out in the mid 20th century they had a real problem getting anyone to buy their mix, because taking something out of a packet and putting it in the oven didn’t really feel like baking. So, after consulting Freud’s nephew, they told the consumer that they needed to add an egg to the mixture.

Sales skyrocketed.

This is the insipid way that they get you. They distort your normal desires, ie. baking or gift giving, into a consumerist necessity through adding layers of complexity to simple things.

Before the 1970s Christmas was never associated with extravagant gift giving, but with the concepts of peace and love that giving a gift symbolises. However, buying a pair of socks for your dad doesn’t translate into big bucks for big business. So, over time, we were plied with propaganda in films and TV shows about buying the “perfect present” and having the “perfect Christmas”.

I say this as a liberal arts student and as a man under 5’8”, perfection does not exist. The entire concept of a perfect present is just plain ridiculous. There are many things I would be extremely happy to get as gifts, like wine or food, because it is in the act of giving that perfection exists.

If we ever want to have the “perfect Christmas” or give “perfect present” we have to shake off the very notion that they can exist as purchasable things and stop capitulating to our fat cat overlords by buying their crap in October.

Be a true revolutionary and leave it til the last minute.

What do you think about certain subjects getting reading weeks and not others?

“I really needed reading week, I could never have finished the Comment section without it” ‘Tired from being lazy’ Philosophy Student “I’ve never had one, the concept is so foreign to me I don’ t even experience it in dreams. Truly it is a mystical world , full of wonder and not having to wake up for anything” “Confused and distraught” Chemistry Student “What? Reading week? Wait what am I doing here? I’m doing a degree?! But the paper has to be finished in time for print. No I live in the media hub now, it’s just easier this way” New Media Hub Tennant “My university career is a Darwinian nightmare, can’t take a day off let alone a week. I once knew someone who took an afternoon off and by the end of the week had overdosed on performance enhancing drugs after having too many deadlines. I think of him often as what could happen .”

“Terrified to even sleep” Engineering student “I’ve been making the most of reading week. If you only sleep for seven hours a night that is a whole 17 hours that you can spend watching Netflix.

Finally my firiends won’t belittle me for not having seen House of Cards and Black Mirror” History student ignorant to the fact that they still have to watch five series’ of Breaking Bad

12 FORGE PRESS

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

COMMENT

press.comment@forgetoday.com

Why student journalism is crap With it being the 100th issue of Forge, Matt Wickens looks at what value student rags bring to universities.

Matt Wickens Politics and Philosophy student

E

ver seen the 2011 film Beware the Gonzo?

You probably haven’t, with a rating 44% on Rotten Tomatoes it’s not quite cemented a place as a cult hit.

Set in some quiet high school in middle America, Eddie ‘Gonzo’ Gilman is fired by the super popular editor of the student paper and decides to force revenge by setting up his own underground publication.

It swiftly gains popularity throughout the school, who are happy to look over Eddie’s status as a super geek and start treating him like some kind of rock star.

“they enrich life on campus by providing rich and detailed accounts of ongoing live debates which students feel deeply about.”

The movie is like High School Musical, albeit that the choreography was swapped out and The Communist Manifesto switched in. But in spite of the

slightly sickly message, Beware the Gonzo reflects a lot on the power of student papers, standing outside of the mainstream and being a place to seriously critique those around us.

Student journalism continues to be important as the training ground for future journalists and writers, who cut their teeth on the rough paper of publications such as Forge Press. Yet student papers, and Forge Press in particular, all have a far more important purpose than sprucing up the CVs of leading future hacks.

Rather, they enrich life on campus by providing rich and detailed accounts of ongoing live debates which students feel deeply about. They allow for excellent discussion on matters which concern students in a way that is accessible for all.

They credit the opinions of outcasts and unite students around a core message. And though student papers can be victims to corny puns or bad writing (as this article is seeking to demonstrate), student journalism galvanises people into action about issues that matter about them.

Yet student press isn’t just important to get university members aware of the matters

which concern them - it also allows for a far wider ranging appreciation of cultural matters that are local to students. With reviews of live music or the biggest film, from ongoing theatre to the most indie of games, student journalism frames the ongoing university discussion on culture and keeps its finger on the pulse of the cultural scene.

Without a good student paper on campus, it’d be much harder to discover the issues that matter to us. But perhaps what is most ringing about student journalism is what the film Beware of the Gonzo seeks to demonstrate. It’s the ability to be able to comment on issues that matter to students while being able to take any slant on it.

Student journalism provides a platform for members of the student body so that they can comment on issues which really matter to them and allows them to gain coverage which they wouldn’t ever be able to achieve with other forms of media. And just to demonstrate that, I wrote an article titled “why student journalism is crap” simply to show that it isn’t.

Happy 100 issues Forge - here’s to 100 more.

“the best contraceptive is always available to you: abstinence” CONTROVERSIAL OPINION (!) WARNING Matthew Rowland Second Year Physics student

T

his week, many “news” outlets have spun a story about the male contraceptive injection.

They have attempted to phrase it thus: “20 weak willed men reported side effects of a highly effective contraceptive to be unbearable and consequently the study was suspended; but these are the same side effects that women have had to deal with for years!” This is of course a blatant misrepresentation of the facts, as the study was ended due to an unexpectedly high level of reported mood and psychological side effects, by an independent panel of ethical and medical experts. Not because the side effects were there - but because the number was significantly above that which they expected, for the safety of those involved as would have happened in any other drug trial.

This reporting to me wreaks of attempting to fit any story to the ideological narrative that men are somehow simultaneously in control of the entire world, but also emotionally weak and incompetent. Headlines like “Male birth control study nixed after men can’t handle side effects women face daily” “Men Quit Male Birth Control Study Because It Was Giving Them Mood Swings” and “That Male Birth Control Story? Women Are Laughing Because We’re So Fed Up” drip with disdain and misinformation.

There is much talk of “fairness” to women regarding birth control.

If we are going to be fair, let’s start with the participants of this drug trial; they were simply doing the job they were paid to do - take the drug and report side effects.

They should not be mocked for reporting the side effects they experience; this is an important

part of the drug development process. Yes, a number of men dropped out - and they are entitled to do so as no-one can or should force them to take something they don’t want to. It is also important to point out that the side effects were generally in this study more common than the same adverse effects of female contraception.

Plenty of people have called for men to “step up” -as obviously all men had a say in the suspension of the trial - and do an equal part in contraception. Here’s the kicker: you are not obliged to take the pill. Plenty of women don’t, after all someone has to be using the 27 billion condoms sold last year alone. You are also not entitled to consequence-free sex, and the best contraceptive is always available to you: abstinence.

Some might point out that “men pressure women into using the pill” and those men should stop.

Forcing someone to take a drug they don’t want to is wrong, and you should be able to tell them as such because you are a strong independent womyn who don’t need no patriarchy.

I could, had I wanted, painted this as a great step back for men, as we only have condoms or sterilisation as birth control, yet more damning evidence of the gynocentric misandry of the pharmaceutical industry, not only do men die sooner and have less money spent on their gender - specific illnesses, now this! I didn’t however, firstly because I am not an ideologue who feels the need to assert the existence of an invisible and omnipotent conspiracy of one group against another; and secondly because I bothered to read the study. This is but one example of honesty in journalism being corroded by the desire to push a perspective. Stop lying to people, do some research, and don’t worry: in perhaps five years the male contraceptive injection will be available.

FORGE PRESS 13

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

COMMENT

COMMENT COMEBACK

The final nail in the coffin.

F

Michael Chilton Comment Editor

uck you. If you are reading this to find a shared voice in your world view, to garner a shared shock of events, to explain to you why such a horrifying thing could have happened that you can agree with then fuck you. This article is not here to echo your indignation but call you out on it and the damage it is doing.

“How can I be

terrified of one candidate alone when I have such a plethora of failure, ignorance and vitriol right in front of my eyes?”

I had the joy of watching the results come in at Bar One, and while at first I was horrified at the thought of a Hillary or Trump Presidency it quickly focused elsewhere - to those around me.

I came across swathes of people cheering safe states being called for their favoured candidate ignorant of how the Electoral College works. I met selfproclaimed left wingers chanting “build that wall” having become so wrapped up in events they couldn’t see the contradiction in what they believed in compared to what they were saying.

Worst of all I found so many bleeding heart liberals unable to comprehend what had happened, desperately trying to seek affirmation on social media. How can I be terrified of one candidate alone when I have such a plethora of failure, ignorance and vitriol right in front of my eyes?

The truth is, you scare me.

The people that go out and vote at the polls without educating themselves, the people that vote out of racism and xenophobia and other bigotry, and the people that despite all this desperately

believe in liberal democracy as a system of government. Such is this belief in such a flawed system we turn in on ourselves and place democracy on a pedestal that should never be questioned.

This is best understood I think when considering philosopher Slavoj Zizek’s arguments regarding the problem of the refugee crisis but instead applying it to democracy and the electorate. We idealise the electorate, we believe that despite all of its shortcomings and flaws the electorate is somehow benign and good, self-regulating and wise. The electorate may make bad decisions but the electorate itself is not bad.

This isn’t the case, the electorate is full of fickle, uniformed and bigoted people, along with all those that are good and kind.

Of course this doesn’t mean we should ignore or punish them. At the end of the day the electorate are just people, and people don’t collectively form something better simply because they all have a say in something.

Yet people are so desperate to make sense of the situation without implicating ourselves in its creation and propagation, what we need to face is that we are a part in what happens. We are blaming candidates, blaming demographics and blaming political systems so we don’t have to blame ourselves. This is the liberal democracy everyone so passionately advocates for, is it not? We fervently believe that everyone should be allowed to vote, no matter how corrosive their opinion or uninformed their views. We allow our indignation to get the better of us and sweep us away from any kind of blame.

We refuse to accept we are part of the problem.

Consider again the Presidential election, the stage was allowed to be set for a corrupt Wall Street hawk on one side to square off against a complete egoist turned demagogue on the other. It was clear that the only winners of this

election would either be the rich and fringe right wing groups and individuals. But alas we didn’t view it like that. We became too attached to Hillary simply because Trump was so explicitly repugnant and horrendous while Hillary hid it beneath a cold and calculating presentation.

Depressingly people would have even celebrated had Hillary won despite these facts, so desperate are they to cling to a system that clearly does not work for them.

So desperate are they to not even look the electorate in the eye and acknowledge that more often than not the electorate is deeply and profoundly wrong. So wrong that even the choice presented of Hillary and Trump saw no result that would help people in any wholesome and meaningful way.

So let us now go to the heart of the problem: you. You people who bemoan the result of a system that you so passionately support.

Happy to voice your opinion once in a while an election occurs or a referendum is cast yet unwilling to invest anymore time beyond venting your rage and aloofness on social media in

a shared circle jerk of disdain and derision to further envelop you in a self-righteous echo chamber.

And you are worsening in this, and with it so does the problem.

The more people feel that a superficial understanding of how we are governed is enough to decide how we are told to live, the worse the problem gets, and this is exactly what is happening.

Without a doubt people are being people, not great or wise or kind, just being people, warts and all.

“the stage was allowed to be set for a corrupt Wall Street hawk on one side to square off against a complete egoist turned demagogue on the other” To close then, perhaps an answer to a rhetorical question a friend of mine posed in the wake of the election result: what is humanity? Articulated in such a way as though we don’t know the answer.

It’s over, it’s finally over.

Comment would like to thank our readership for struggling through the plethora of articles we (and every other publication on the planet) have bombarded you with. Just remember, we get a full year and a half break before the speculating starts all over again!

Well I dare to suggest that we do - humanity is shit. Most people cannot be trusted to make an informed, educated decision not made out of bigotry or a simplified narrative offered by the rich and powerful.

Once again the Presidential election has proven that democracy is not working, I dare say it is dying. But just because humanity is shit does not mean we have to abandon it to be punished by its own poor decisions.

This article isn’t offering a solution to the result of the Presidential election, or even a solution to the problem we are facing in our democracy more generally. But what is clear is that there is a problem. A problem that is only growing, and that left to its own devices will cause a great deal more harm in the coming decades.

We can no longer afford to indulge in our own indignation at something we barely understand let alone truly want.

14 FORGE PRESS

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

FEATURES

press.features@forgetoday.com

Sheffield

100th Issue Special

through time

Three students of the University of Sheffield reflect on their time in this great city

1967

David Antcliffe

I

consider myself in a good position to compare times in Sheffield then and now, as I am currently a mature student back studying in the city and am now in my 6th (inconsecutive) year. And I originally studied here in 1967. Although most of my work is done from a distance, I visit Sheffield at least four to five times a year and can vividly remember my times as a younger student in this great city.

Coming from a farming community near Lincoln in 1967 and having chosen Sheffield as my first choice, getting in was probably the biggest culture shock and life changing event of my life. I was lucky that a friend of mine had just rented a big house on Endcliffe Crescent so I had cheap housing and it was an easy walking distance to the University. Good for us students, the landlady provided our breakfast and evening meal and it was pretty damn cheap - around

£4/week.

The Students’ Union offered us everything we wanted in our social life: showers (many digs had outside toilets back in the day); the cinema Film Unit; the theatre; and really cheap beer and food (including Pukka Pies, of course). The restaurant and bar were particularly great. The discos on a Friday night and the concerts on the Saturday were out of this world. Big names like The Who, Rod Stewart and Paul McCartney (testing his new band ‘Wings’). The Sheffield Tenpin Bowling Club was formed in 1967 as well, where we went on to win the National Student Championship three years in a row.

RAG week was a fiesta time and eye opening for first year students: Pyjama Jump in a dance hall in town, where we all wandered around Sheffield in pyjama costumes and the procession of floats through Sheffield on the Saturday (decorated lorries

lent by local companies). We spent all the Friday night decorating them with whatever material we could get or steal. Then, of course, the traditional drinking games in the SU bar and the stunts to get us publicity (zebra cross on the M1, breaking into a submarine base and painting Rag on the side of a vessel), which often caused some police intervention [Forge Press does not condone this behaviour. Guys, please don’t do this. - Ed.].

The late 60s and early 70s were times of political change too. AntiVietnam war and Gay Rights were all supported by Sheffield student protests including a major one when Harold Wilson visited Sheffield in ‘68. I sometime wonder how we managed to get our degrees with so much going on outside of the academic area! There is no doubt that it was a very special time in my life.

1975

Richard Chilton

S

heffield and the whole South Yorkshire area has changed significantly since the mid/late 70s. The city back then was built around

primary heavy industry, surrounded by coal mines and the associated mining villages. Huge steel works operated along the whole length of the Don Valley with the forges and

hammers working through the night filling the air with their characteristic thumps as metal beat upon metal.

The Tinsley cooling towers were the dominant landmark by the M1

FORGE PRESS 15

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

FEATURES viaduct (instead of a shopping centre). There was the famous Hole in the Road in the city centre, cheap buses operated by the county council and top league football was shown at Bramall Lane (up until 1996 at any rate when Tony Currie and Alan Woodward graced the pitch).

There was always the core ‘campus’ around the Firth Building, Arts Tower, Hicks Building and St Georges, but it was a smaller and more concentrated community.

From what I can recall, there were only about 8,000 undergraduate students.

Perhaps the lectures and tutorials were more formal: everything was written down, no PCs, iPads or

mobile phones. Think lever arch files, notepads and photocopied lecture notes (if you were lucky). It was very much a work day concept, with no 24/7 facilities like today.

Live music was not as widespread then and instead centered around the Students’ Union. Kraftwerk, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Dire Straits, Hawkwind to name but a few hugely influential bands that played on Saturday nights. Very little took place beyond that apart from the City Hall and occasionally the Top Rank (now the O2 Academy), not the huge choice that is now on offer.

In fact on a number of occasions the upcoming Sheffield bands would be in the bars drinking

and watching gigs! I’ll always remember the bloke with short hair one side, long hair the other (looking for a waitress in a cocktail bar, no doubt.)

Nights out were cheaper, you could get change from a quid for four pints at some pubs. Albeit anything after 10.30pm had to be in nightclubs (Crazy Daizy, Genevieve, Limit) or over the border in Derbyshire.

One thing you didn’t leave university with was massive debt and for that I will always be eternally grateful. The University gave me an education that set me up for the rest of my life, gave me lifelong friendships and some of the best times of my life.

2016

Aisling Power

S

heffield is no doubt a unique city to live in as a student. Not only does our uni have the number one Students’ Union in the UK but the city is extremely student friendly with something always going on for locals & students alike.

The SU is always full of life. On most nights during the week it hosts various different club nights from Tuesday Club, ROAR to the infamous Pop Tarts. If clubbing isn’t your cup of tea there’s lots of other option within the SU: movie screenings in Film Unit; Bar One themed pub quizzes on Mondays and Yo Karaoke! every Thursday; and giving our own student media a go to name a few.

The SU definitely makes it easy for everyone to find something they enjoy and at reasonable prices for us skint students!

In case you can’t find your interest in this fab city, there are over 300 societies and loads of sports clubs. It’s impossible not to find something to join and it’s a great way to make friends with other students with similar interests.

Sheffield is an exciting city with lots going on. You could try The Explore Sheffield card (other cards are available) if you want to see the city more. It gives you offers across independent businesses, including the Leadmill and burger connoisseurs Bungalows and Bears as well as restaurants, coffee shops and clothes shops.

The thriving entertainment scene in Sheffield is also not too expensive for students. The Crucible offers 16-26 year olds a £5 ticket deal. Just Google ‘Live for 5’. This deal makes the theatre an affordable option for students for entertainment.

Another fab option is the Showroom Cinema right by the train station, which shows mainstream, art house and cult films.

Sheffield plays host to a number of prestigious festivals and evets including Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the most important documentary festivals on the planet.

The shopping scene in Sheffield is on point for students and the city centre is scattered with various vintage stores, including Cow, Vulgar and (my personal favourite)

the Thrifty Store. Look out for £1 per item sales run by the Thrifty Store, and LouLou’s Vintage Fair in Sheffield City Hall which pops up from time to time.

One major perk for students in Sheffield is having the Peak District only a 10 minute bus journey away. This makes it easy to take a break from the city and take some chill time to enjoy the countryside, including a mustsee attraction: Mayfield Alpaca Farm. If the peaks seem too far to travel there are numerous parks in the city centre including Weston Park, The Ponderosa and Crookes Valley Park, which are always great places to have lunch or sunbathe when the summer comes around.

Especially Weston Park which has an ice cream truck parked outside during summer!

We can all get excited now that Christmas is coming up. The Christmas markets are out of this world (at least for a student).

I think we can all agree that Sheffield is a vibrant, lively city full of students with so much to do it is unlikely you could ever be bored.

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FEATURES

Beating

the

blues.

mid-term

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Feeling that mid semetster slump? Matthew Wickens gives some advice on how to help yourself combat the effects of the mid-term blues.

H

ow are you feeling? At this point in the term, it’s okay if that answer is “not great”. After the whirlwind of Freshers’ Week and the those heady first few weeks of term, most students start to find essay deadlines piling in and their stress levels beginning to build.

One of the major aspects of the midterm blues is tackling the effects of stress, which has dramatically risen over the past five years for university students. It’s an incredibly negative experience for any

student, but all too often we accept it. But how can we beat it?

The antithesis of stress is having a positive mindset, so adopting ways to achieve that can pay dividends in tackling the burdens of stress. One central tactic is positive journaling.

Positive journaling involves recalling good things that have happened to you over the past day to force your focus back on to positivity and away from stressful worries.

Whether that’s simply writing down three good little things that have happened, or

about one positive experience you’ve had over the course of the day, it helps reshape your focus away from harmful elements of stress which can surround you.

However, there are plenty of other ways to keep a positive mindset. Taking good quality breaks can be one method, whether that’s doing exercise, going to a place which you really enjoy or just spending 20 minutes out in the fresh air.

If I begin to get anxious about a particular issue, I normally end up baking and, whilst I’m kneading dough, I’m able to think a

bit about how I’m going to overcome my particular essay problem. A good run, swim or meditation session are other great ways to be able to overcome stress in the short term and occupy yourself.

One innovative tactic comes from psychologist Kelly McGonica. In a TED talk well worth looking up, she suggests that instead of trying to combat stress, we can harness that emotion and make it our friend.

She suggests viewing stress as your friend is your body’s way of helping you

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get through a difficult period. Your body is preparing you for the upcoming moment.

If you want a fresh approach on tackling stress, her talk is worth a watch.

Good stress management, however, doesn’t only come from managing your mindset: it also helps to manage the way you focus on your work. If you think about that behemoth of an essay which you’re being asked to write, it’s inevitable that stress will loom over.

Writer Anne Lamott sums up getting started on an assignment: “like trying to scale a glacier. It’s hard to get your footing, and your fingertips get all red and frozen and torn up.” Instead of trying to scale the mountain in one leap, break it down into manageable steps that feel more like having to climb a set of stairs than Mount Everest.

Keeping on top of your work whilst at university can be pretty tough. There are a million jobs to get done, spinning round your head in a whirlwind of confusion and you struggle to grasp one and keep on top of it. In my second year, I had this exact experience.

It was really weird. I’d taken time at the start of the year to get some beautiful colour co-ordinated folders and thought that I’d planned out a system really well.

By week 5, I had essay deadlines rushing toward me and it seemed impossible to get myself sorted.

Author David Allen wrote a book called ‘Getting Things Done’ with the aim of getting people out of this kind of organisational mess. His suggestion is to start off by writing a to-do list of what’s going on in your life: the two essays that

you need to complete, the presentation that you need to plan for, the article you agreed to read over for your friend and that you’d also like to send your grandma a birthday card.

He suggests that you should identify the very next action you need to take to move the task toward completion whenver you mark something down on a to-do list.

This can’t be a vague action, like “send Grandma birthday card” or “get ideas for agenda”.

It’s a description of the exact next steps which you have to take to check it off your list. “Buy Grandma a birthday card from WH Smiths” (other shops are available) is much more direct.

By building up a to-do list of the next physical actions you have to take, it suddenly becomes a lot easier to manage your work and put it into context. You can begin to jump between one task and another, and all the jobs you have to complete feel more like a manageable set of achievable tasks.

If this system doesn’t appeal to you, then there are plenty others. A quick Google of ‘student organisation systems’ and you’ll find more than one way to help boost your productivty to keep you ahead of the deadline.

Managing stress also means managing your physical work resources and environment. It can be a nightmare wading your way through pieces of paper, searching for that key quote you need for your essay which you felt was in a seminar not that long ago but can’t find it anywhere.

“Instead of trying to scale the mountain in one leap, break it down into manageable steps.”

If you feel that you’re spending more time looking for resources than actually using them, then perhaps it’s time to get a good reference system which stores things simply and easily.

Having faced this problem in the past, I decided to make an effort to go paperless for my final year studies. Beyond having a paper notebook which I can scirbble in, the rest of my files sit in a Dropbox account that I can access from my phone.

I can easily search across my collection of resources at the click of a button and don’t have to wade through sheets of paper. At the very least, I save a bit of cash on printer credits too.

Not only is it important to keep your resources well organised for a less stressful work style, it’s also important to keep your physical environment looking good as well. Student flats can get pretty horiffic to live in and all of us have heard absolute horror stories at some point.

Nevertheless, making your surroundings a healthy tidy space should be a key priority in keeping yourself in a happy state. Another lamp or some good looking potted plants can make a huge difference in how your room can look and feel for a small price.

Posters are another great way to be able to spruce your room up, or you can get creative and cover your rooms in photos.

Keeping the mid term blues away can be helped by these relatively simple and easy steps.

Of course, it doesn’t help that it gets dark so early this time of year. With darkness

“Force your focus back on to positivity and away from stressful worries.”

covering Sheffield around six, it can be all to easy to retreat underneath a duvet and binge watch a Netflix series rather than getting out and doing something.

But even though it’s getting darker, you can still keep a happy state, just look at how the Danes manage it. The sun will drop below the horizon at half past three during the depths of their winter, and yet this small nation the other side of the North Sea is frequently found to be one of the happiest on Earth! What’s the secret the Danes have worked out for how to keep positive and smiling in spite of dark?

Hygge. The Danish word has no direct translation into English, but generally it refers to the warmth of social interaction: the good feeling of laughing with friends, of sharing a meal with your family, of getting along with a stranger.

Hygge is often cited as the secret for how the Danes keep so happy by prioritising relationships over money, career success and more, they’re able to have a far happier lifestyle. So if you’re feeling a bit blue or stressed, remember the positive effects which social interaction can have. Arrange to meet some friends in a pub or get a pal over for a meal. Go see a movie with some flatmates at the cinema or on your sofa under a blanket. Humans are social creatures, so give yourself some time to be sociable.

Being stressed at univeristy isn’t fun, but it doesn’t need to be an experience we all have to live with. If things do get tough, the Univeristy Counselling Service is there to help you out. But also remember there’s things you can do to make sure that the stress doesn’t get too much.

“Humans are social creaturesso give yourself some time to be sociable.”

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FEATURES

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Yemen Venezuela

Mali

Kashmir

Looking beyond our borders.

When the news is brimming with debates about President Trump, the Syrian crisis and developments about Brexit, it can be difficult to keep up to date with global news.

Abby Suttle looks into some of the lesser reported conflicts happening across the globe.

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o

ne of the Middle East’s poorest countries, Yemen, has been devastated by civil war. The conflict has seen forces loyal to the internationally recognised government of the state fight against those allied to the Houthi rebel movement.

I t ’ s led to a huge humanitarian disaster, with Oxfam stating that 80 per cent of Yemenis are in need of aid.

The conflict’s roots were laid in late 2011 when the long term authoritarian president Ali Abdullah Saleh handed over power to his deputy, Mr Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Mr Hadi had been unable to deal with the problems of food insecurity, corruption and high levels of unemployment. The south of the country was also challenged by a separatist movement, al-Queda attacks and the many military officers who remained loyal to Mr Saleh.

The Houthis trace their origins to the religious tradition known as Zaidism (a branch of Shia Islam). They argue that they want more say in government, better representation of Zaidism, and greater division of Yemeni resources. By January 2015 the Houthis had taken over significant points of the city and surrounded

the Presidential palace.

The Houthis were attempting to take the whole country

by March 2015 and the President of Yemen, was forced to flee. The country increasingly came under the Houthis control. They are believed to be backed by Iran, a country that also predominately practices forms of Shia Islam.

The surrounding countries have reacted to the Houthi’s increase in power by forming a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and other states which mostly practice Sunni Islam. They are supported by the UK, the US and France. Currently it seems as if no side is likely to have a military victory soon.

Despite establishing a peace plan, the coalition has been unsuccessful when trying to shift the Houthis from their northern strongholds.

Matters are further complicated by other groups moving into the confusion of the south, taking territory.

As in most modern warfare, the civilians of the country have taken the brute force of the war, with charities and activists accusing both sides of serious violations of international law. As of October this year, over 4,125 civilians were killed, and as Yemen has a very youthful population (just under half are 18), a third of the deaths have been of children.

YEMEN

B

A

eginning in February, there has been huge antigovernment demonstrations in Venezuela.

Demonstrations first began when students protested for more security after a female student was raped.

The protests soon turned violent and several students were arrested. The demonstrations gained momentum when the students were joined by the opposition group Table for Democratic Unity. They have also gained many middle class supporters and as their numbers have grown, so have their aims. The demonstations primarily call for the release of political prisoners and as the movement has grown, it has also

protested against the record high inflation and food shortages.

These demonstrations have been mostly peaceful. However, at times protests have led to gruesome clashes with the police leaving at least 40 people dead in one occasion. Whilst the protests sweeping across Venezuela are huge it has largely been forgotten by mainstream media. .

VENEZUELA

lthough Mali became independent in 1960, its first democratic election was only held in 1992. The West African country has had several conflicts since then.

Since the early 90s, the nomadic Tuareg in the north have been fighting for independence using guerrilla tactics.

From 2007, the group has gathered pace by utilising the influx of weapons from the Libyan civil war.

They have increasingly grown in numbers alongside some supportive Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and have been in control of north Mali since 2012.

The newly established harsh Islamist laws have led to a refugee crisis, with some estimating that over half of the population in the North of the country have fled.

In January 2013, the rebels captured Konna, a town in the centre of the country. France, the former

colonial power responded to calls for help from the Mali president and sent around 550 troops and air support.

The conflict has led to widespread human rights abuse, and the violence has seriously undermined the provision of aid. The northern rebels have been recruiting children to fight, with some as young as 12. With the lack of a strong judiciary, there is a widespread lack of accountability, as the country struggles to recover. Despite last year’s peace deal giving the north more autonomy, UN peacekeepers continue to be under attack, and with widespread social and economic problems simmering away, it looks unlikely that the conflict will end any time soon.

MALI

T

he border between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region has long been contested.

Disputed since 1947, the border is one of the most militarised regions in the world, with both sides dotted with army checkpoints.

Things have gotten increasingly tense

recently when India claimed to have hit Baghsar and Tanna Pati with surgical strikes.

The Pakistani army played down the size of the attack, and while there are low level talks ongoing, both sides have seen military stockpiling.

KASHMIR

Image: From Lara Mukahirn and Nicolas Raymond at freestock.ca

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LIFESTYLE Travelling on a student budget #2

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LIFESTYLE EXPLORES

TRAVEL

Lifestyle Editor Anna Whittaker shares her affordable travel experiences in and out of the UK. Llandudno Wales might not sound like the ideal location for a sunny summer break, but if you go to the right places you might mistake Wales’s coastline for Greece’s. With beautiful beaches and delicious fresh seafood, Wales is an affordable student getaway.

Tourist hot-spot Llandudno offers a chilled out weekend away with pretty beaches, boat-trips, and fish and chips. The more southern Abersoch is also worth a visit, with a range of watersports adventures in the day time, as well as having its fair share of pubs for the night.

Whether you choose to camp or opt for a hotel, Wales might not be able to guarantee the sunshine, but it can offer adventures a-plenty.

Isle of Wight Only a short ferry journey away, the Isle of Wight is often forgotten as a place to visit. Hope and Shanklin will give you a taste of traditional English beaches, with stripy deckchairs and plenty of ice creams.

And with Bestival becoming bigger than ever every summer, the small island is a fantastic place to visit on a weekend away with friends.

Rome Venturing to Italy can be expensive, but if you book your flights and hotel together you can save a lot of money. A few days in the stunning city of Rome can be done at around £300 if you’re careful with your money. Food in the Italian capital can be expensive, but a lot of the attractions are free with a student card. You can also get fab deals on Viator to visit some of the pricier tourist spots of Rome like the Colosseum and the Vatican museums. Dining by the breathtaking Trevi Fountain is a must.

Dublin Unbelievably you can fly to Dublin from £30 per person if you can squeeze it in out of school holidays.

The animated city of Dublin is the perfect place to visit on a crazy weekend with your friends due to its extensive list of bars and clubs. But hangovers really aren’t an option when Dublin is full of so many sights and attractions: the Guinness Storehouse, Phoenix park and Dublin Castle to name a few. Visit Temple Bar to experience a taste of Irish culture with traditional pubs and a funky market.

by tourists every summer. Flights start at prices as low as £60, and hostels in the Spanish capital are super cheap. Be sure to take a walk around Parque del Retiro for stunning views and a glimpse of the Palacio de Cristal. The city is full of culture, as well as hosting arguably

bus, there is plenty to explore outside Madrid too. Overall, once you have experienced the wonders of Madrid you will never look backit is a stunning city which you will certainly be re-visiting.

TATTOO CORNER

Madrid Often treated as the less exciting version of Barcelona, Madrid is an amazing city which is forgotten

the best nights out in the world. If you are looking for an unforgettable night out, head to Kapital. It might be pricey at 20 Euros entry, but with seven floors (yes, karaoke is included), it is literally unmissable.

Also, with the Gastronomy Capital Toledo only a short trip away by

JOE MACKAY

Lifestyle’s regular section exploring the University of Sheffield’s Best Student Ink.

T

his is a picture of my first tattoo just after it was done in the midst of Summer 2014. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea - because it’s mine.

There’s not the most exciting story behind this one actually. I just wanted a tattoo when I turned 18 and I like tea. I didn’t even realise there was a pun to be had until after the two hours of surprisingly bearable pain and the variety of quizzical glances at my left leg.

I do, however, remember the story of the week I got it done. I took my last A-Level test on the Wednesday when all my friends were still taking exams. I went into Liverpool and passed my driving theory test on the Thursday on the first properly sunny day of the summer (and had enough points on my card for a free burrito). On the day I got the tattoo my friend met me in Manchester because it was the day of his brothers’ Stag

Do; which meant a free lunch at the ALL YOU CAN EAT MEAT BUFFET. And I saw Derren Brown in the evening. And I got my first tattoo. Fin.

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LIFESTYLE LIFESTYLE Is there anything Zanna Van LOVES Dijk can’t do?

By Anna Whittaker

INTERVIEW

Editor Anna Gillies talks to University of Sheffield graduate Zanna Van Dijk about travel, body positivity and thigh gaps.

I

t has been a busy year for Sheffield graduate Zanna Van Dijk. Not only is she an ultimate fitness goddess with an Instagram following of over 100,000, she’s also the owner of a successful blog and YouTube channel, co-creator of the fitness movement #girlgains, a personal trainer, and has her own line of active wear.

At just 23, Zanna has certainly kept herself busy since graduating.

Whilst on her travels to Sierra Leone, she found time to answer some of our questions, cue major honesty about being impartial to a pizza and advice on how to start the fitness journey as a student.

You must have a lot of great memories here. What do you miss most about being a student?

I have so many fond memories of living in Sheffield. I’m not going to lie, I definitely miss the student lifestyle of regular nights out, lazy Sundays with my housemates and chilling in the park - Sheffield has the most gorgeous parks. My life is not quite as relaxed these days.

I well and truly realised that ripped jeans season was over when I stepped out of the house this week and within 0.2 seconds my knees had goose bumps. Oh yes. Winter is here ladies and gents, so put your ripped jeans away, and whip out your waterproof trousers. Maybe.

What has the journey from Sheffield graduate to where you are now looked like?

It has been an interesting journey.

After I graduated I decided to take a year out to travel and see where life would take me. During this time my social media following grew and eventually I just thought sod it and took the plunge. I did a personal training course, moved to London and launched my blog. The rest, as they say, is history.

What are your top pieces of advice for students wanting to stay healthy and happy whilst at university and afterwards?

My top piece of advice would be to rope in a partner in crime, someone to join you on your fitness journey.

You can train together, make meals together and just encourage each other in general. I understand that it can be tough to maintain a healthy lifestyle at university, especially when everyone is trying to derail you with alcohol and pizza but it is so much easier with someone by your side.

In today’s society there is so much pressure placed on women to achieve the ideal body shape. How do you stay grounded?

I think it is all about self-acceptance and education. You need to educate yourself about what healthy really is (spoiler: it’s not abs and a thigh gap) and respect yourself enough to want to look after your body and

FOOD not obsess over your appearance.

Our student years are never famed for being our most healthy. Have you always been interested in health and fitness or was it a passion you developed after graduating?

Let’s be honest here. I certainly wasn’t healthy in my first two years of university. Like any other student I was partial to a Dominoes and a few too many vodkas. My passion developed over third year and grew throughout my final two years at Sheffield.

The Botanist FOOD

Lifestyle Contributor Rachel Sutherland tries out The Botanist in Leopold Square.

N

ewly opened restaurant The Botanist promises delicious food in a magical woodland atmosphere.

The theme inside of the restaurant was breath-taking, with green vines running across wooden beams and along wooden huts. All around the room small lanterns were dotted around, creating a lowlit atmosphere - perfect for dinner.

We came to the restaurant when it was dark outside and this really

added to the experience, giving it a cosy feel. I have never been in a restaurant like it. As soon as we sat down I couldn’t stop looking around and appreciating the décor.

I think it would be a really nice first date idea as it is a very good conversation starter and there is a lot much to take in.

The staff were friendly, welcoming and informed on the food. I had the Malaysian vegetable curry which was delicious, and we absolutely polished our plates!

Dessert was the same deal, and the dishes were presented in a quirky, interesting way.

Towards the end of our meal we had the lovely surprise of some live music, performed by a man with a guitar and a microphone. It was

FASHION

If you want to find out more about Zanna check out her blog zannavandijk.co.uk or her Instagram @zannavandijk.

Partly because I am eating them right now and partly because they are currently £1 in Morrison’s, I have to give a shoutout to Sunbites.

I really hope they’re not unhealthy because I eat way too many of them.

LIFESTYLE REVIEWS

just the right volume as we could still have a conversation between ourselves and enjoy the mellow music simultaneously.

I would recommend the restaurant to anyone I know - the

only downside was the three flights of stairs to get up to the restaurant from the bar!

All in all - Lovely atmosphere, delicious food, and I can’t wait to return.

TRAVEL I know it doesn’t sound exciting, but last weekend I went to Derby to see Catfish and the Bottlemen at Derby Arena. It was an amazing night, aside from annoying fans starting mosh pits at every opportunity. It just shows that you don’t have to travel too far for a good time .

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LIFESTYLE Bringin’ Sexy Back.

100th ISSUE FEATURE

An Ode to the Lifestyle Sex Column The Lifestyle section hasn’t always been the squeaky clean four pages of unaulterated fun that it is today - No, sir. It’s had its fair share of regular features over the years. But none moreso exciting than the now-defunct Sex Column. So, for a 100th issue treat (just don’t tell your mother) here is a fine sample of just a few saucy anonymous articles showcased over the past eight years.

A Presidential Debate “The recent results of the American presidential election (God bless you Obama) have made me think about sexual politics. Power is truly something that can divide or unite us. Power in the bedroom is a topical debate as either he wants it and she’s got it, or he has it and she doesn’t know how to get it.

But in reality can we reach a balance of power in the bedroom?

Yes we can! Speaking for the dominant female, we do enjoy playing the leading lady. So men take note; when a girl initiates the lead do follow, and when she wants you to lead, bloody well do it!

Now, I’m not advocating RedTube material here, so please don’t send them running half way down the street in fear of your porn star tendencies. I’m just saying mix it up a little. There’s nothing worse than being in bed with a timid boy; any girl will admit this. So what’s the solution? Well, there is the old “give and take”scenario, or perhaps role play if you’re into that kind of thing; pupil tonight, teacher tomorrow. Also, be more vocal. Tell him or her (or even ‘them’, if you’re lucky enough) what you want.

Telling each

other what you want and how you want it done is the ultimate power balance. Can we be more vocal? Yes we can! Can we dominate him one night and be dominated the next?

Yes we can! Thus power can be equal if you wish. Though if you are just a one trick dominatrix pony, I wouldn’t see it as a bad thing as there are still innocents out there who need to be shown exactly how it’s done.”

A different kind of dressage “Now I don’t mean to sound shallow, but men can be likened to dresses.

Every girl has an outfit that they may not wear often, but they know they look good in. Unlike flashy new dresses that get designated to the back of the wardrobe after two nights out, the safety dress is always there. You know it fits well and you know that you look good in it. In my case, the safety dress is one particular guy. Let’s call him Harry. We see each other out and about and the conversation is always amazing, especially because I know that at some point it will be followed by a staggering orgasm.

However, we’ve never taken the next step and become a couple.

Like the safety dress, Harry must be rationed and saved for when I’m in need of a lift. When I wear the dress I know it’s with the intention of a good night out. I don’t want Harry to be my boyfriend. The anticipation of bumping into him on a night out adds to the ‘want-todrop-my knickers-thenand-there’ feeling I get when I do see him. To make him a boyfriend would mean losing my safety dress and gaining a pair of pyjamas - even if it is a sexy silk pair. In short, yes the sex is great (my housemates can vouch for that) but it’s even better because tomorrow I know I can put on a different dress.

That saucy red number, i n

man terms, is someone with an exotic accent who’ll push me against the wall and offer me a taste of the unfamiliar. The indie vintage dress is a cerebral type who will play acoustic guitar naked at the foot of my bed. Either way, for better or worse, at least I always have my safety shag.”

the doggy position is about as kinky as she’ll get. So you can probably imagine her horror when he suggested that she tied him up and slapped him.

She was so shocked she swiftly ejected him from her room, and never spoke to him again. Maybe she reacted too harshly, but it does serve as a warning that if you have any unusual turn-ons, it’s probably best to wait a while before you start revealing them to a new partner.”

A sobering experience

Freshers Flu

“I realised I had hardly anything to drink all night so my worst nightmare was about to come true: sober sex. He drunkenly got undressed and we fumbled around in the dark until he pulled out a condom but he wasn’t getting it that easily, I was going to make him work for it. After a lot of teasing I finally gave in and the deed took place. The next morning, we were both in the same mood as the night before and after a lot of sex and general conversation we just lay there in silence. Absolute bliss until he dropped the bombshell that he had boyfriend. So this week’s lesson is: do not go out looking for sex, wait for It to come and find you.

Otherwise karma may just come and bite you on the bum, literally.”

Spank me, Daddy “I have never been one for dates.

There thought of sitting opposite a total stranger for three hours making awkward small talk just doesn’t appeal. There are, of course, the dates that go wonderfully; my friend went on a date with a lovely boy who was funny, kind and intelligent. One date led to several and soon they were somewhat of an item. However, when she decided to take things further she soon realised her man had one flaw. After a lovely night out she brought him back to her house, and it all seemed to be going smoothly.

However, my friend tends to be very straight down the line; for her

“With Uni starting over a month ago, my chances of finding my freshers’ meat was looking very doubtful to say the least. However one wet and windy night in Sheffield changed my view completely. I was huddled in the corner of the smoking area, dressed in my neon blue hot pants for my friend’s 21st birthday shenanigans, when man number one approached. He screeched at me in his camp, northern accent ‘oh my God’ where did you get those fabulous hot pants from?’ Now I’m not fussy when it comes to men, but this particular ‘man’ made me shiver just hearing his voice. So calmly I responded with ‘thanks, my boyfriend leant me them for the night.’ Needless to say he minced off towards his next victim. Once I was back inside, man number two caught my eye. His beautiful blue eyes pierced my drunkenness and more than that, he was a fresher.

Slowly we danced our way closer together before finally making out on the dance floor and 20 minutes later we left, hastily making our way back to his apartment in town. We started stripping down when finally it was only his boxers keeping us from our night of passion. The excitement was building, literally, with his bulging package in my eyeline. With that, I ripped his boxers off to find a very unwelcome yellow wart followed by another one and another one. I froze in shock before hastily getting dressed and making a run for it. I awoke the next morning fuming over the previous night’s disaster on the way to the GUM clinic. After a very

embarrassing set of tests the results came back clear, I promised myself never to set my eyes on a fresher again.”

Aloc - flop “Until about six months ago, my only experiences with erectile dysfunction were the Viagra adverts with Pelé from the 90s.

Then, I became single and dived head first back into the slurring and sloppy world of inebriated, carnal encounters with complete strangers. I don’t say ‘one night stands’ because that implies sex and as I have found out on various occasions, alcohol and sex go together as well as sponge cake and soup.

Oh, alcohol can certainly lubricate the initial interactions on the dancefloor or the pavement outside Balti King (don’t ask) but when it actually comes down to the old in-out in-out, alcohol is more of a hindrance than a help.

As Shakespeare said, alcohol “provokes the desire, but takes away the performance”.

Of course, you can always thumb in a softie, but that’s like saying you’re going to go to the gym every single day when you buy your membership. You aren’t kidding anyone, it’s not going anywhere, and you may as well pull up your trousers, apologise, and leave. And that’s not even taking into account the reaction of the person you’re with, which is unequivocally one of offence. I say this on behalf of the male population of the world, if we can’t get an erection when we’re a little tipsy, it’s not your fault.

Of course, we could always drink less, but unless you’re going on a night out with the intention of waking up with a stranger (in which case, grow up), that isn’t really possible as you tend to stumble into these situations. In fact, it’s only really after your floppy pint that you tend to have more confidence.

There is a solution though.

Instead of taking a girl home, take her number. If you like each other enough when you’re sober, go on a few dates then have sex. You’ll be able to perform and you’ll be able to remember it.

Although if you do put in a less than stellar performance, I’m afraid you won’t have any excuse.”

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FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

LIFESTYLE ‘Don’t Have a Box New’ : The 90s bootleg Bart phenomenon FASHION

Lifestyle Editor Joseph Mackay takes a trip back into the 90s a nd their fascination with simply awful bootleg Simpsons merchandise

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he year is 1990, and there’s a worldwide epidemic.

‘Bartmania’ has hit with full boneshattering force; everywhere you turn people are being struck by ‘The Bartman’.

Every market across the globe is selling knock-off Simpsons shit.

America’s favourite bad boy may be a household staple now, but at the time when he skated onto the scene he was a radical – the breakout Simpsons character.

His

plotlines explored what it meant to be a kid in suburban America. Who can forget the episode where he gets caught shoplifting from Try ‘n’ Save and has to face up to Marge, or his budding romance with Rev. Lovejoy’s daughter, Jessica.

Combine this with a ‘rebellious’ 90s attitude with quips like ‘Don’t have a cow man’ and ‘I’m Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?’ and you’ve just created a cult character.

Such was the popularity of The Simpsons of the time, official merchandise wasn’t

enough.

Independent ‘designers’ eagerly leaped onto the bandwagon, creating a vast array of just really shoddy merchandise – cheaply and quickly produced and completely unlicensed.

Since they were being cranked out so rapidly, designers had to pick the most relevant (occasionally bizarre) reference possible.

Concepts were literally all over the shop: the categorically offensive “I’m Bart Simpson, fuck you Man’; Bart as a Ninja Turtle; Bart dancing to the Humpty Dance; Chicago Bulls Black Basketball Bart… the list goes on.

Whilst they undoubtedly had a certain “quality” at the time they were released, particularly the horrendously misspelt ‘Baet Simpson’ (see right) featuring a grand total of three repetitions of ‘The Simpsons’ and possibly the worst interpretation of Bart’s signature catchphrase ever, the Bootleg Bart phenomenon has only got better with age. The ‘so bad, it’s good’ quality couples with a handy splash of childhood nostalgia of a

happier time where you could stroll over to a dodgy stall and pick up a t-shirt of Bart smoking crack or pissing on a picture of Iraq.

For now you’ll just have to put up with sub-standard Simpsons episodes.

How to beat those winter blues TRAVEL

Lifestyle Editor Anna Whittaker details how to avoid having a blue Monday (and every other weekday for that matter)

W

hether you love it or hate it, cold winter days combined with midterm stresses will always bring on thoughts of ‘I just need a holiday’.

Luckily for you, a quick winter getaway can be super affordable, and a great way of tackling those winter blues. It doesn’t mean you need to find a getaway in the sun, oh no. If you are a fan of cosy nights and big jumpers, there are plenty of places to go where you can enjoy a bit of snow too. Take Iceland for example, a total underdog of the travel world which has so much to

offer: famous hot springs (most of which are free) are a must-do, and if you’re lucky, you might be able to catch the Northern Lights. The best time times are from November onwards. Iceland is also reputable for its yummy food, especially fresh fish. Avoid the Sheep’s Head though. Not so yummy.

If Iceland doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, cities like Barcelona are a great place to visit at this time of year if you’re not a massive fan of heat. With temperatures currently reaching 13 degrees, November is a perfect time to go sightseeing in a big city. Gaudi’s Park Guell is situated in a hilly area, and trust me, you don’t want to battle it in 30 degree heat. Although you’ll miss out on summery activities like boat trips, you can make the most of Barcelona’s range of museums, from the beautiful Museu Nacional

d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) to the slightly more daring Erotic Museum of Barcelona. The Erotic Museum is also a minute’s walk away from La Boqueria, a huge gastronomic market serving everything from fresh fish to homemade fruity smoothies.

If you are looking for a pick me up which is a bit closer to

home, Sheffield’s Christmas markets start on 16 November.

The popular Sheffield Christmas lights switch-on is a few days later on 20 November, with soon to be revealed famous guests. Don’t get too excited though, last year it was Lucy Spraggan. Nevertheless, it is a cute (and cold) night out which will re-vitalise the winter blues

and replace them with Christmassy happiness.

But if your student loan won’t stretch much more than a John’s Van, check out the feature on page 16 and if none of this tickles your fancy, look no further - Sheffield is forecast snow next week.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Fuse.

Up until November 2015, Forge’s Entertainment section was a pullout called ‘Fuse’. Over the years that Fuse was in existence it featured many fantastic pieces of original artwork on it’s front cover. Here are just a few examples from the past few years.

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GAMES

press.games@forgetoday.com

OPINION

Titans fall amidst release glut

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very year around this time, gamers are treated to a frantically launched salvo of blockbuster titles masterminded by an oligopoly of mega-publishers.

Within their sinister corporate confines (probably) marketers and executives bicker madly, hellbent on gleefully cannibalising each other’s business before the festive season (definitely). This has coincided with a period once known as Autumn becoming irrevocably Americanised to ‘Fall’. The ‘Fall Season’. Words increasingly synonymous with a packed release schedule dominated by ever-present industry stalwarts that return year after year: Call of Duty, Battlefield, FIFA. Comfort food for the winter months.

Despite this formidable opposition, no Triple-A game in its right mind would release too far away from the golden promise of Fall’s sales opportunities.

This year it appears this practice has reached some kind of breaking point.

The months

Lessons Learned The original Titanfall made its debut as an Xbox One exclusive.

Though widely applauded for inspired in multiplayer, critics questioned the game’s lack of a campaign. No such issues abound with Respawn’s contentpacked sequel.

Nick Burke Games Editor

of October and November have and continue to play host to an astonishing number of multimillion dollar releases across all platforms.

Throughout this long-winded run up to Christmas the likes of Dishonored 2 are somehow reduced to mere sleeper hits against such titans as Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 2 and Microsoft’s Gears of War 4. Japan in particular has seemingly chosen this year to launch an all-out assault on the industry it once dominated, with brand new Pokémon games Sun and Moon debuting alongside the titanic return of Final Fantasy in a show of utter derision for their competitor’s collective sanities, or hopes of selling anything at all in Japan this Christmas.

“No Triple-A game in its right mind would release too far away from the golden promise of Fall’s sales opportunities” Already gamers’ wallets have been wrung out by their hobby – not unjustly, having been spoilt by some exceptional titles. In this business however, there are always casualties lost in the stampede.

No story represents this sad fact moreso than that of Titanfall 2.

Remember all those cannibalised sales these publishers so love? This year, EA have taken the practice one step further, ripping off any thin veneer of cannibal’s honour to gnaw emphatically on their own arm; namely, the baffling internal decision to launch the

“Anyone left on the fence

by Battlefield 1 will have another impending option to contend with - but EA don’t care, they make both”

comparatively lowly Titanfall 2 one week after their own monolithic Battlefield 1 and two weeks before the venerable juggernaut that is Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

This has been a move derided en masse by the gaming community and sure enough, since release Titanfall 2 has suffered diabolical sales in spite of critical adoration, a horrible position for developers Respawn Entertainment to be in.

Publishers may vehemently assert the importance they give to a strong critical reception, but if a game simply doesn’t sell for reasons selfinflicted or otherwise it is bound to put the future of any franchise in peril.

There is however a very real possibility that EA’s seemingly failed gambit has in fact served to raise Battlefield’s profile at the expense of the Titanfall brand.

Release one shooter and it’s between the two rivals. Release two shooters and suddenly, psychologically, the market is completely different. There’s more choice, more indecision. Factually, EA are now the main supplier of first person shooters this Fall.

Anyone left on the fence by Battlefield 1 will have another impending option to contend with - but EA don’t care, they make both. And with another two weeks left before Call of Duty, the impetus becomes even greater to at the very least pick up one of

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FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

GAMES the two. After all, there are just so many shooters this year!

Titanfall 2, though in many ways a very similar game to Infinite Warfare, was never going to usurp the king of fast-paced shooters.

The futility of such a plan is so laughable that other possibilities have to be considered, and it really isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that the game was simply a scapegoat.

Of further interest is Respawn’s post-launch business model: no Season Pass, no micro-transactions.

Everything post-launch will be free.

What incredible serendipity from a publisher infamous for pioneering countless displays of greed within

the gaming industry. In response to poor sales, some have taken to lamenting that EA will abandon this practice for good, citing financial impracticality. What could they have done? Their hands were tied.

For the developer, a bitter pill comes in the form of a familiar face. Prior to a high-profile fall out with Activision in 2010, it was many of the personnel at Respawn that were at the forefront of the Call of Duty franchise, creating 2007’s genre-defining Modern Warfare. This same game is now remastered and accompanying special releases of Infinite Warfare.

With disenfranchised fans citing this bundle as the defining reason

for sticking with Activision’s ailing franchise, it seems Respawn’s developing prowess is being celebrated at the cruellest of expenses.

With a new Call of Duty released every year, EA needed to make a statement of their commitment to the genre and to their business

practices. They don’t need Titanfall, they need to usurp Activision.

Ultimately, either the publisher has been cruel and devious to a talented team of developers, or they have displayed incredible marketing inaptitude. You’d be forgiven for thinking either. Or both.

“EA don’t need Titanfall, they need to usurp Activision”

REVIEW

Battlefield 1

“The incredible ferocity of war is both hauntingly immersive and absolutely brilliant to play”

««««« Will Bond Games Contributor

N

ot since Bad Company 2 has a Battlefield title brought such a unique and enjoyable experience to both fans of the franchise and Call of Duty mutineers alike. In taking players back in time to a period of conflict previously viewed as too dull to play, developer DICE has created something truly unique in today’s stale FPS genre of futuristic war titles.

Players deploy into environments scarred by the horrors of World War 1, from the terrifying firing ranges of no man’s land to upclose combat throughout Europe’s crumbling cities and chaotic, armoured warfare within an Egyptian desert. The incredible ferocity of war is both hauntingly immersive and absolutely brilliant to play.

The experience is improved vastly by the photorealistic power of DICE’s Frostbite engine, rendering scarily lifelike character models and animations along with excellent sound design using technology

passed on from DICE’s previous work on the audio-visual treat that was Star Wars Battlefront.

Aside from its spectacle, Battlefield 1’s gameplay feels fresh and very appropriate for WW1. The inaccuracy and more challenging controls of the historical weapons is a welcome change from the twitchy gunplay found in its predecessor’s modern setting. Maps force players into scenarios such as trench warfare and encourage players to fight at close proximity, adding a new emphasis to melee combat. Brutal melee animations and mechanics like the bayonet charge contribute nicely to the grisly atmosphere and lead to hectic (though extremely exciting) moments of true chaos.

Whilst the game excels in almost all areas, one or two issues can hinder it. Weapon customisation is nonexistent outside of scope magnification and whether you want a bayonet or not (which you do, they’re great), along with other small hiccups regarding balance

and map design.

Battlefield 3 failed to push boundaries, Battlefield 4 punished players with a hellish launch, and 2015’s Hardline simply didn’t feel like Battlefield. With this year’s title however, DICE more than deliver in visuals, atmosphere, story and gameplay. Everything just works extremely well. A couple of minor issues can barely

Conceptual Warfare Below: Battlefield 1’s concept art is both beautiful and ferociously kinetic.

detract from what is arguably the best Battlefield title released yet.

DICE have successfully brought the franchise back to life.

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GAMES

O

Alex Pinfold Contributor

n first glance it might seem odd to call the latest numbered instalment of Civilisation a sequel.

In many ways, its refinements appear more akin to Civilisation V. But through small additions, VI manages to make a more complex and compelling strategy game than V could ever be.

The premise of any Civilisation game is the same whether you’re playing single or multiplayer. You are the leader of a (you guessed it) civilisation and it is your job to lead your people to a glorious victory.

How is up to you. Do you focus on science and become the first nation to reach the stars? Or do you feed your inner Julius Caesar/ Genghis Khan and conquer the world with military

A

might? The result is a strategy game known for its varied playstyles and matches which can go on for 10s of hours.

Civilisation VI shares the core map layout and mechanics with its predecessor but makes several noticeable changes.

Firstly, builders now have a limited number of uses. Secondly, both Wonders and the new Districts must be built on tiles outside rather than within the city limits.

With workers and tile space having to be constantly managed, forward planning becomes even more important. This particularly benefits the early stages as players now have more options to gain an early advantage

Will Bond Contributor

fter six years, publishers 2K games have finally revisited their acclaimed open-world franchise Mafia, boasting an interesting and engaging new story perspective but forgetting to update gameplay to anything near the modernday standard of the open-world genre.

Mafia III seats you as a revengedriven Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay, hell-bent on taking down the Italian Mafia in 1968 New Orleans.

For the first few hours, impressive cinematics alongside scripted set-pieces thrust you into the game’s narrative, motivated and eager for revenge just as much as Lincoln is. However, this enthusiasm is short-lived and the game descends into monotony.

Quickly, Mafia loses the spectacle of set pieces and pre-rendered cinematics as it sets you on uninteresting quests: go there, kill people; go here, kill people; or even go there, steal some money, making sure to kill anyone there too. These missions make up the majority of the game’s content, quickly becoming stale as you run from place to place

than simply waiting for the next building to be finished. Considering the backlash against Civilisation V’s oversimplification, it is a relief to see the latest instalment bring back deeper strategies without resorting to overcomplicating the game. A similar story can be seen with the presentation and UI which runs smoothly and does a much better job of conveying information.

Another focus has been on diplomacy, an aspect which continues to trouble Civilisation V. However, though the addition of warmongering penalties and new ways of obtaining information on opponents is a step forward, VI has not been as successful in addressing the core issues. You still have a limited number of options for negotiating and the AI, whilst improved, are still too erratic to build a real alliance with.

The improvements to diplomacy are somewhat bittersweet since Civilisation V’s Diplomatic victories have been curiously removed. This links to Civilisation’s continuing

killing and stealing. Story aspects of the game are swiftly exchanged for what becomes mindless murder of anyone wearing a suit and fedora.

The game regularly forces players to play through each location twice: the first to cause damage, the second to kill a boss suitably angry about the genocide of his men. This seemingly lazy system makes the game difficult to play for any reasonable amount of time in one sitting.

The game focuses on cover-based combat that allows the player to enter fights either loudly or quietly.

In the former, gunplay in firefights is fun and challenging, whereas the latter’s stealthier approach is far easier but less rewarding. The same routine of hiding behind cover, whistling at brainless enemies before stabbing them in the neck as they peak the corner, whilst their equally brainless fellow mobsters watched on blindly, completely broke immersion.

Whilst a stellar soundtrack and uniquely remarkable setting should make the world of Mafia III one to want to roam and get lost in, awkward mechanics and illogical gameplay kept reminding me of what Mafia III is: an unfortunately mediocre game.

With Mafia III, developer Hangar 13 creates an interesting cinematic

struggle with making all of its victory options equally fun to play. Though religion is an appreciated carry over from Brave New World, it can effectively boil down to spamming missionaries until you win. Dominating through science and conquering cities continues to be the most consistently fun playstyle despite the efforts made here and future expansions should really focus on these particular problems.

This is definitely not a repeat of Civilisation V’s barebones release. With the changes to city organisation and culture, Civilisation VI has managed to add depth without making the game inaccessible. There may still be some cracks, but the hull of this ship is well prepared to build upon and reach new horizons for the franchise.

journey of vengeance set in a fascinating time of the US postVietnam written, voice-acted and supplemented with incredible cinematics. Unfortunately they have forgotten to create engaging gameplay of the same standard. Mafia III entered an industry spoilt with high quality open-world experiences.

Whilst offering some of the best in story-driven narrative, Mafia III’s all too frequently dull, clunky and nonsensically repetitive gameplay makes it difficult to recommend despite a strong story.

“dull, clunky, & nonsensically repetitive”

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ARTS

press.arts@forgetoday.com

Last week saw the launch event for Sheffield Theatres’ exciting new season, and Arts Contributor Rebecca Lally went along to give us the lowdown.

S

heffield Theatres’ new season launch is one of the most hotly anticipated arts events in the city. Held in the packed Studio Theatre, the evening saw the programme of productions for 2017 revealed for the first time, as well as brand new outreach initiatives.

Robert Hastie was introduced as the new Artistic Director of the theatre group, replacing the well-renowned Daniel Evans. Although this has been public knowledge since March, the launch was his first face-to-face meeting with the theatre members, many of whom had very high expectations due to Evans’ excellent management.

Hastie has big shoes to fill; Evans’ seven-year tenure has been hugely successful, with unprecedented annual attendance figures of 400,000 and a record five wins at the UK Theatre Awards in 2016. He brought Sheffield Theatres to national attention and widespread acclaim, and the audience at the launch were clearly sorry to see him go.

Despite this, Hastie received a warm welcome, heightened by the declaration of his longstanding association with the city’s theatres. While growing up in Scarborough, he often attended productions at The Crucible as a teenager, and his first role on stage was there too. His personal connection to the city was clear, and this must make the difficult

task of following in Evans’ footsteps slightly easier.

After introducing himself, Robert Hastie took the opportunity to outline some of his intentions for the upcoming season. These were obviously the result of listening to audience feedback – the decision to abolish online booking fees actually brought a round of applause! Understandable, seeing as this will quickly pay off for regular theatregoers.

Hastie also revealed fresh initiatives to attract new audience members, with 10,000 tickets being released over the course of the new season for just £15. There was also a definite focus on getting young people to the theatre. Thousands of free tickets have been made available for anyone studying Drama or Performing Arts at school or college in Sheffield, and a new partnership with Meadowhall was announced, which will offer free tickets to children who may not otherwise have the chance to see live theatre. Hopefully, these new ventures will create more engagement with the arts and boost the theatres’ profile both locally and nationally.

Lifting the curtain.

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ARTS THEATRE

The House Behind The Lines «««« Laura Mulvey Arts Editor

I

n a ramshackle house on the brink of the Western Front, a young woman cowers on the floor, shaking and vomiting. Her Madame tuts and turns away. “I can’t run a business with damaged goods, can I?” This is the cold reality of life in a warzone, where human bodies are treated as army commodities.

However, despite its dealings with the gritty truths of exploitation in war, what endures throughout The House Behind The Lines is the power of human resilience.

This debut production from

THEATRE

The Wipers Times ««««

T

Rebecca Lally Arts Contributor

he Wipers Times is a remarkable play and one that, in the words of its creators, “should be required viewing for all children studying the First World War”. The theatre scene has recently been saturated with productions set in wartime, but this play offers a fresh perspective on an overlooked aspect of the war: the humour that developed among the men as a result of the horrors of the trenches.

“There is no shortage of gallows humour.”

The play relates the founding of The Wipers Times, a satirical newspaper created in the trenches of Ypres (pronounced as Wipers by the British soldiers). Written by humourist Ian Hislop and cartoonist Nick Newman, the authors’ personal connection to the story of The Wipers Times is

Buglight Theatre follows the blossoming friendship between two French sex workers, Paulette and Chantal, as they do business with British soldiers on the front line.

Far from romantic notions of fallen heroes and grieving wives, the play deals with the forgotten stories of “mademoiselles” who picked up the pieces of traumatised soldiers. This is a production which speaks out for silenced women, and it does so to superb effect.

“Their laughter drowns out the gunshots” Perhaps Buglight Theatre’s most impressive accomplishment is the vivacity with which Keeley Lane and Kimberley Hart Simpson bring their characters to life. The company collaborated with modern day sex workers to devise the play, and this research really shines

clear. Both have made a career from the kind of political satire that its editors, Roberts and Pearson, forged in the madness of the First World War. After finding an old printing press in a bombed-out trench, the soldiers put it to use and make light of the chaos and horror around them, mocking the higher command as well as their own situation. There is no shortage of gallows humour here; the men’s easy acceptance of danger is almost jarring. It soon becomes clear that the continuation of the newspaper is sometimes worth more to the men than their own safety.

The story is told in rapidfire dialogue, accompanied by a combination of poems, sketches and music-hall songs. Many of the gags are taken straight from the pages of the newspaper itself, yet they translate remarkably well in a modern production, with the audience frequently bursting into fits of laughter.

The lack of sentimentality makes the performance even more affecting. When the boys go over the top at the Battle of the Somme, we know that not all of them will be returning, despite the jovial mood.

Overall, the play makes excellent viewing, giving the audience an insight into the true creativity which sprung from the war.

through. The sex workers are not cartoon “whores”, nor are they onedimensional battered victims. They are real women with their own dreams and rage, whose laughter almost drowns out the gunshots around them.

Slightly less relatable is the brothel-owner, whose character feels a little caricatured as she gloats with the glee of a Disney

villain. However, as events unfold, we realise that Madame represents something much more than the unethical practices of one woman.

Her zealous nationalism, which obliterates any sense of right and wrong, hits uncomfortably close to the bone in post-Brexit Britain.

The staging is exquisite; a few sparse beams serving as a constant reminder that battle is raging just

outside. Two male soldiers provide us with some familiarity, but they’re little more than part of the scenery.

This is not their story.

Buglight have triumphed with this moving production, which gives a much-deserved voice to some forgotten victims of war. The Yorkshire-based company are sure to rise as they prove that theatre really can make a difference.

knew it was important to empower the performers to create their own work.”

“We wanted to work on things that mattered to us.”

Could you tell us a little more about Buglight Theatre, and what we can expect to see in the future?

grandma’s diary detailing her life as a sex worker on the front line, you wouldn’t necessarily want to make it public.

“I’m interested keeping female Laura Mulvey stories alive, in not allowing them Arts Editor to be written out of history. If we ignore the fact that this went on in p-and-coming company the trenches, how can we hope to Buglight Theatre are taking address the rape crises happening on the issues that matter. in war zones today?

We caught up with co-founder Keeley Lane to get her insight on “I’m interested in their debut production.

INTERVIEW

Buglight Theatre

U

The House Behind The Lines picks up on an aspect of the First World War which is seldom addressed.

What inspired you to take it on as a subject?

In the years since the First World War, we’ve been well-equipped with diaries from men on the front line, but heard nothing from the women who were also there. I think it’s a symptom of the incessant romanticisation of the war; people just don’t want to think about the uncomfortable details. It stands to reason: if you found your

keeping female stories alive.”

It certainly seems that the performance is tackling some vital themes. How did you go about bringing it to life?

“From the start, we knew we wanted this to be a totally collaborative process between actor and writer. We devised pieces and improvised scenes, then asked our writer, Lydia Rain, to craft the play from what we’d come up with. We

The idea began to form about five years ago, when I met Richard Galloway on a job. We realised that we both wanted to work on things that mattered to us, and so Buglight Theatre was born. Next autumn, we’re hoping to tour Marching On Embers, a piece about radicalisation in Northern Ireland. We’ve also been developing a physical theatre piece called The Human Movement, which tackles the ongoing, global issue of human trafficking.

What has been the biggest challenge involved in making this project a reality?

The biggest challenge by far for a new company is building the initial relationships. You need theatres to trust that your work is good enough to programme, and actors to have the confidence to commit their time. But it’s just about perseverance. We’d love this show to go national in the future.

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FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

ARTS 100 issue throwback. th

These are some of our favourite pieces from Forge Arts (previously known as FUSE) in 2008.

INTERVIEW

to ruin all the surprises.

Laurence Peacock Mollie Davidson Arts Editor

A

s scary as the thought of Boris is in person for some people, there now comes to Sheffield Boris The Musical.

Writer Laurence Peacock tells us why he’s done such a thing.

How did you envisage a musical setting to tell us something about Boris Johnson?

How could you put Boris on stage and not make it a musical? The character he plays on the national stage is so ridiculous that if you don’t have him dressed as sexycyclist performing a tango called ‘Me and My Johnson’ then people might well go away disappointed.

I guess what the musical tells us is that our new Foreign Secretary might be a clown but it’s partly our fault. We encouraged him all the way.

What is it that you think is interesting about Boris Johnson?

There’s really no one else like him.

Ian Hislop calls him “Britain’s Berlusconi [because] he makes you feel good about yourself”.

I think I was interested in that affability - how he uses it and why we let him.

Can you describe the plot of Boris The Musical, without giving too much away?

Haha. No problem. The show tells the story of Boris’ life from Eton through to the Foreign Office. We see his rivalry with David “Call me Dave” Cameron, his ill-fated partnership with Michael “Psycho” Gove, and his fluctuations in popular opinion during and after the referendum.

There’s also a gospel number called “BeLeave”, but I don’t want

Have you always had this idea to make a musical about Boris?

Oh, god no. What sort of person do you think I am? After the referendum I started writing a song called ‘The Ballad of Boris Johnson’. This was during the two days when Boris was a national disgrace. Everyone could see how opportunistic he’d been.

I was interested in him as a tragic figure. Then Theresa May went and ruined all that by making him Foreign Secretary so I went back to the drawing board and ended up writing a musical.

Have you ever met Boris Johnson to discuss the musical?

No. I assume he’s busy writing obscene limericks about foreign leaders.

Do you not feel as a politician that he has enough publicity given to him?

He certainly gets a lot of attention.

That’s a reflection of how the media works. They respond to spectacle rather than allocate publicity fairly. All we’ve done is shamelessly exploit that public profile in order to make people come and see our musical. We feel bad about that. But not bad enough not to do it. And it is a satire. I don’t actually like the guy...

Boris The Musical is playing Foundry, SU, on Sunday 27 November 2016.

Tickets are £11/£10 available at Sheffield SU Box Office or from boristhemusical.weebly.com

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

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MUSIC

press.music@forgetoday.com

THE BIG MOON “It’s like trying to articulate a feeling in the best way you can and you’ve got six words to say it.”

Lucy Holt chats to the London band ahead of their show at the Picture House Social, Sheffield.

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he Big Moon have recently graduated from a fasttracked apprenticeship as a support band for some seriously notable acts. They first appeared in music’s periphery vision as one of Mac DeMarco's support acts at a Beacons Metro show last autumn. Since then they've moved with style and purpose into our line of vision, performing opening duties for The Maccabees, Ezra Furman, and at almost every alternative music festival of note.

When we sit down to talk to them, it's the Sunday night before Halloween. Despite the awkward timing of the gig there's a strong turnout and, although this isn't technically their first headline tour, it seems like a real watershed as the band are reflective on their rise thus far, explaining how they feel they managed to dodge a bullet with regards to double-edged sword of hype.

Of their headline act status, the band's frontwoman Jules Jackson says that this tour feels "even more special" than anything before because of the new freedoms they have been afforded. "Because the rooms are bigger, because more people bought tickets in advance" she says detailing the small-scale symptoms of their upwards trajectory. Bassist Celia Archer elaborates "You can play all of your songs and tell jokes and make up dance routines".

It's obvious from the way in which the band talk about their live shows that they have a laissez-faire approach to gigging. That is not to say that they're not serious about their work and how they operate as a band. Drummer Fern Ford talks about how, at the beginning, they "got their ducks in a row before releasing anything". From the outside, it might seem that their success has been a serendipitous chain of events - climbing up bills with almost accidental ease - but it was in fact a very focused project.

"We knew exactly what we wanted to do,” she adds.

That sense of ambition and direction has manifested itself as gutsy, emotive indie, crafted into the perfect pop structure and with a keen ear for a well-phrased lyrical sentiment. The band is incredibly tight, both in terms of musical skill and how at ease they are with each other. Their line-up is completed by guitarist Soph Nathan and they take the piss out of each other as frequently as they tell each other they're brilliant. It's a dynamic that could be grating or seem contrived in a different context, but with The Big Moon you feel they genuinely love being in a band. being in this band together.

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FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

MUSIC They haven’t yet released an album, but through a series of single releases on various independent labels they have carved a clear identity for themselves as a band with bolshy but incredibly clever songs that are as cathartic as they are catchy. Songs such as ‘Silent Movie Susie’ and ‘The Road’ explore the complications of messy, imperfect relationships whereas the likes of ‘Sucker’ and ‘Nothing Without You’ are powerfully relatable songs about feeling romantically vulnerable.

‘Sucker’ and ‘Nothing Without You’ are powerfully relatable songs about feeling romantically vulnerable

There’s often an interesting conflict between the lyrics and the way they are sung. “I’m a sucker for you” or “I can’t do the simplest things without you standing by my side” in the hands of anyone else would be disempowering or irritating but with The Big Moon they are quite the opposite. Addressing lyricist and singer Jules, Celia says; “I never feel when I’m listening to it like ‘she’s so (whimpers)’ - you’re always in the position of power”. Jules agrees, explaining how she would always re-record vocals that sounded too shaky or cracking in order to make sure her lyrics about romantic adversity sound triumphant.

Celia draws a parallel between singers such as Etta James and Nina Simone, for whom devotion and vulnerability are a major theme, saying, “You never think she’s an idiot, you think she’s so cool and she’s got great feelings and that guy is obviously a loser and she’ll be fine - it’s quite empowering”.

The Big Moon’s own style of empowerment is very much grounded in humour, self-deprecation, camaraderie and the vocalisation of complicated feelings. “He”, “she”, “girl” and “guy” are used interchangeably in the songs. You’re never quite sure whose semi-fictional point of view you are experiencing, but you’re always in good company. Of her ever-changing narrative voice, Jules says “I often write about people I know and project feeling on to them, and don’t usually tell them”.

The Big Moon are really good at getting inside a sentiment and making it into a pop song. She agrees that even the bluntest of lyrical hooks can capture a nuanced and complicated feeling, “It’s like trying to articulate a feeling in the best way you can and you’ve got six words to say it”.

Music Editor Harry Chambers reviews their show at the Picture House Social, 30/10/16

P

««««

reviously known simply as ‘The Moon’, the Big Moon’s name change seems pertinent. In hardly a year, Jules Jackson and her bandmates, carefully vetted through a process of nights out in an Islington pub, have released a slew of singles and EPs, each one declaring them as more qualified than the last.

As they bring their UK-wide ‘Tourtoise Tour’ to Sheffield’s Picture House Social, they appear excruciatingly close to a full-blown debut album. It suddenly looks like the Big Moon are, well, getting big. Slap-happy, vaudevillian punks Trudy and the Romance are in support, serving an enjoyably sweatdrenched and juvenile performance.

Before long, the Big Moon take to the stage letting the three very loud and unapologetic opening chords of ‘Silent Movie Suzie’ steamroller their way through the sets opening bars. Given the setting of the show its title seems apt but the racket it makes in the Picture House’s nostalgic surroundings is wonderfully jarring with the venue’s former use.

Gladly treating us to their take on Madonna’s psychedelic pop hit, ‘Beautiful Stranger’, the Big Moon contort it from its original shape into another beautifully fuzzy, saccharine romp. What follows is an onslaught of bruising, instantly memorable punk-pop. Numbers like ‘Cupid’ and ‘The Road’ prove themselves as short, sharp gems, trimmed of all fat and full of brazen choruses.

Almost unnervingly tall, Jules can move seamlessly to where she wants to be within a couple of strides. This includes the front row of the audience at one point, mid-song, guitar in hand. Her bandmate Soph Nathan then

lets us know that we are the third audience to ever hear their newest, untitled song. With characteristic spontaneity, we witness them collectively decide it is their favourite in the moments before they play it.

male bulk of live audiences. We are off to a good start tonight, but it’s going to take many more Jules Jackons leading many more Big Moons until this starts to change.

An onslaught of bruising, instantly memorable punkpop Stopping the night short of being completely enjoyable, a frustratingly recognisable routine plays out. The more you try to ignore the blockheaded sexist hecklers at the front, the more you’re reminded of the gaping, embarrassing, and utterly ignored gender gap in the music industry.

It serves as another sad proof that female musicians are still seen as (at best) quaint little oddities on the scene or (at worse) as the providers of nothing more than a perverse, musical peepshow for the gawking,

The Big Moon’s Autumn tour continues through Europe. Their latest single, ‘Silent Movie Suzie’, is out now via Fiction Records.

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MUSIC ALBUM

You Want it Darker - Leonard Cohen

«««««

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Ethan Hemmati Contributer

here’s a moment on Leonard Cohen’s 14th album You Want It Darker when, on the closing track ‘String Reprise/ Treaty’, Cohen takes his last breath and leaves this Earth, his body lying vacant in the light. This is an album that plunges deep into the murky recesses of a relic’s heart. There is no reconciliation, or rampant lust, or cradling lovers, as seen before.

Cohen’s hand, outstretched and cigarette-adorned in the album’s cover, is searching for his maker.

We killed his flame.

On his 2014 album Popular Problems, Cohen warned his cult that he’s “slowing down the tune”. Here, the tune is so slow that it practically crawls past you, dragging its hideous beauty down into the darkness. Cohen’s frequent collaborator, Sharon Robinson, is nowhere to be found, and neither are Cohen’s usual cohort of female voices, “turned my back on the angels”, as he grimaces in ‘On the Level’. Everything is as stripped back as can be, with only a few restrained guitar lines and violins left wandering alone.

“This is an album that plunges deep into the murky recesses of a relic’s heart.”

Instead, this quiet masterpiece is a shuttling conversation between darkened, shimmering frames. Here is Cohen on ‘Treaty’, contemplating about the serpent who was “baffled by his sin” in a postlapsarian paradise. Hot gypsy nights sweep us into ‘Traveling Light’, supported by a minimal choir and a solitary flamenco guitar. ‘Steer Your Way’ plays like an ascension of the tower of wisdom, Cohen urging you to look “through the fables/Of creation and the fall”. There’s a venomous triumph in the way he delivers this line; he’s challenging whatever he’s about to face, undeterred by fear.

Down the river he goes until there’s nowhere left to go, no street left to help validate his wandering existence. There’s an obvious level of finality to these lyrics, maybe not unusual for a legend such as Cohen, but still startling in their definitiveness. It’s in the “I’m

ready, my Lord” he announces on the title track, and in the “au revoir” he murmurs on ‘Traveling Light’. Cohen’s voice and the music collectively swoon as he waits in the dark “for the love that never came”.

In 1967, Cohen requested a lover to “walk me to the corner” in ‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’, in

You Want It Darker, he’s ready to “take my place”. Whispering over luscious strings in the album’s conclusion, and with clairvoyance in his eyes, Leonard Cohen is finally ready to depart alone.

INTERVIEW

Forge talks to GEORGIE

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Forge Turns 100

Molly Finch Contributer

EORGIE is a 20 year old singer song-writer from Nottingham, who’s stunning indie rock sound has seen her have an amazingly successful year, despite her relatively young age.

Georgie has been playing guitar and making music since she was 14 years old, telling me that her Mother had a huge influence on her musical path since she was ‘always playing music around the house’ including ‘amazing records’ from the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Aretha Franklin, and with this being the case it’s no wonder that she was inspired to pick up a guitar and begin expressing her own creative voice.

Georgie remained quiet and almost nervous during the interview showing that despite her success, she is still very much a down to earth person. When discussing how important this past year has been for her, we discussed the fact that she signed for Columbia Records several months ago, an event which she admitted is ‘always what you hope for’ as a musician, citing ‘the heritage’ of a label as big as Columbia being one of the most amazing things about the breakthrough as she knows that she has so many of their records at home herself.

One of the things that helped Georgie’s career beyond her family and talent has been amazing positive press she’s received and her decision to take all of

We take a look back at what we were listening to in 2008, the year when the first issue of Forge was published...

the chances that she can such as posting her music on the BBC Introducing website. It’s the range of music that they accept and the support of the local Introducing managers that makes the platform so worthwhile in her opinion.

At the end of September, Georgie released her first official single ‘Company of Thieves’ a guitar and bass heavy track, oozing with assertive confidence and boosting an extremely catchy chorus.

Interestingly, she also admitted being aware of her position as a female artist in the industry and admitted that this fuelled her desire of come out with a song that could really ‘bang through the scene’ of the female pop world.

Making a video for the track was a wholly new experience for Georgie, who is more comfortable on the stage than in front of the camera. However, being part of the creative process of storyboarding helped boost her confidence and she admits that after a while she began to really enjoy it.

Georgie struggled to categorically define her sound, an admittedly tricky task, but settled upon the loose label of ‘classic songs with a modern twist’. This certainly seems applicable from the music she has released so far all of which has a timeless sound, and all of which have sharp and witty lyrics, including a song which she laughingly confessed was about an ex-boyfriend that ‘couldn’t handle his drink’.

Her tour with Jake Bugg has been ongoing for several weeks now and all in all she describes the experience as ‘amazing’. Having supported him for one off gigs before, she tells me how she was thrilled to be invited by him again, especially as he is someone that she deeply respects as an artist.

Her advice for anyone trying to be successful in the music industry? “Keep it all about the music...write songs all the time, play gigs every night” and most importantly let your passion for music keep driving you on.

“Back in 2008, the stress of SATs exams was high but Girls Aloud were back with what turned out to be their last full studio album and all was well. Out of Control turned out to be the Girls’ most successful album and it isn’t really worth questioning why. No birthday party was complete without jamming out that routine to the chorus of ‘The Promise’ and then, when the teachers were pounding on the spelling tests, ‘Untouchable’ was the go-to chill-out anthem. Frankly, any album that features a track with farmyard sound effects as a result of the song title, ‘Live in the Country’, is one to go down in history.

Magnificent (and I really mean it).”

Florrie Andrew “2008 saw the release of what many argue is Coldplay’s best album: Viva La Vida and Death and All His Friends. five songs were released as singles and ‘Viva La Vida’ was their band’s first single to reach number one in both the US and UK. Eight years later and Coldplay are still producing chart topping albums and touring the world. A bit like marmite, you either love them or hate them but it cannot be denied that the band have done well!”

Charlie Ward

“When reminiscing on 2008 a mention needs to be given to the Ting Tings and their five seconds of fame. Who can forget when ‘That’s Not My Name’ was played everywhere after it reached number one for just a week. Nominated for Brits and Grammys the band certainly made the most of their short lived fame. The Ting Tings might be forgotten but I bet if one of their songs came on in Poptarts you would still know all the words.”

Emma Williams

“Folie à Deux is Fall Out Boy’s least popular album. The so-called ‘Kings of Pop-Punk’ released the album in December 2008, and it was infamously polarising to their fans.

The record came at a time of immense turbulence in the Fall Out Boy camp, preceding their hiatus by just three years. All considered, it isn’t shocking that the album’s sentiment is bittersweet.

Folie à Deux is a skilled haven of collaborations, risks, and carefully placed key changes. It’s a shame more of these tracks don’t make it onto their set-lists today” Faith Ridler

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MUSIC

LIVE

Jake Bugg - O2 Academy

«««« Molly Finch Contributer

T

he atmosphere of the night was undeniably electric at the O2 Academy Sheffield and it’s fair to say that Jake Bugg played to match.

The opening act GEORGIE set the perfect scene with her heavy indie rock vibes and raspy, powerful voice. With engaging, witty lyrics and catchy hooks, she is certainly an artist to keep an eye on as her talent speaks for itself.

Forge talks to Sunset Sons Savannah Kelley Contriibutor Sunset Sons’ Robin Hossegor, formed the band after graduating from Sheffield Hallam University to avoid getting a proper job. After hitting it off with Rory, Pete and Jed, they decided to start a band where they would meet up once a week, writing their own music.

Did you plan to go into a career of music?

I met the other band members in a bar, so it was not really a planned career. We randomly got together and just carried on getting better.

We did our first EP independently and it gained popularity in the Alps.

It was good.

I had aspirations of becoming either a Formula 1 driver or a rock star. When we get chance, Rory and I will compete on the track. It’s childish, but true.

Best crowd?

In general, the North of England.

I went to university in Sheffield and it is a beautiful place, so I’m excited to perform there this year.

Germany is on par with the crowds in the North, always enthusiastic.

What are your biggest achievements so far?

There are milestones. Everything since “Le Sufing” was self released in 2014 and climbed to number six in the iTunes Rock chart. When “She Wants” was added to BBC Radio 1’s introducing playlist, that was another milestone. The most exciting thing was playing at the o2 arena in London, it was bizarre.

Being nominated for the best live act at Aim Awards 2016 was a real pat on the back. It goes to show how much support we have from our fans. Now that we are going on

another tour, we just need to step it up, keep working hard and getting better.

Who is your biggest competition in the music industry?

There’s no shortage of that. It’s the hardest industry in the world and rivalry is everywhere. But we try and make band friends. It’s a funny one that. Bands are very talented. Competition is ridiculous, there are so many bands out there?

In a good way.

“What Bugg lacked in conversation, he made up for with his stage presence.”

In an unconventional move, Bugg’s set began with four acoustic numbers. Spotlight focused, his voice cut through the buzz of the crowd and he certainly made his presence known. On amazing form,

Bugg sounded stunning and the passion oozing from every word was palpable for everyone present.

As his set moved on and picked up pace his intricate and impressive guitar solos matched his vocals and as demonstrated by the bouncing crowd, the atmosphere was buzzing.

“His voice cut through the buzz of the crowd” What Bugg lacked in conversation between each song, he made up for with his stage presence and he truly spoke through his songs.

His raw lyrics were hard hitting when supported by his quality sounding band. Any conversation was full of thanks, he was simply grateful to the audience for coming out, especially since it was a Tuesday night, showing us that he is still a humble live performer.

By including tracks such as ‘I’ve seen it all’ and ‘On my One’, Bugg really kept Nottingham and the North right at the heart of his sound which was arguably what helped fuel the passionate crowd. His subjects are still familiar, authentic and tangible despite Bugg’s

national and international success.

And these tracks were some of the highlights of his performance, as he sang with his eyes closed, fully immersed in his own lyrics.

Bugg married the perfect balance of old and new tracks. Aware of the loyalty of his fans and the success of his first album he confessed that he knew many people would be there for his classics, as they can be called, despite the fact that they were only released in 2012. This being said, the fans sang along almost religiously, cheering feverishly at the opening chords of each song regardless of which album it belonged to.

“The fans sang along, almost religiously.”

Although Jake Bugg’s public presence has been slightly decreased in recent times, this performance made it clear that his talent is still alive and kicking.

How would you describe your other band members?

I’d say Pete is the conscientious, thoughtful one who always thinks of others – if he’s making tea, he’ll always make the effort to ask everyone. Rory is incredibly driven.

He thinks about music the whole time which makes us motivated to write new material. Jed likes to have a nice time, likes to party and if you want to go for a pint, he’s always up for it.

What can we expect to see in the future for Sunset Sons?

We have our UK tour coming up and we are taking a professional approach to touring, but remembering where we came from. Then after that, new music.

We’re thinking about a new album because if there is no new music, then there is no point.

SINGLE

isn’t necessarily a criticism but obvservation as it’s an approach that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

After the afterparty - Charlie XCX

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Emma Williams Music Editor

harlie XCX is known for her experimental style but this single seems to have gone a step too far.

The chorus is very twee with her sugary sweet voice repeating the phrase that is heard throughout the single ‘After the afterparty...’.

The lyrics themselves lack any meaning other than literally talking about an afterparty; this

“The single is there to make sure she seems relevant and stays present on the music scene.”

However saying all of this, the song is written to be a crowd pleaser and the repetative phrases and music certainly makes the song catchy. It’s not hard to imagine hearing it on a night out over the coming months but you wonder whether it’s a song you’ll look forward to hearing or inwardly groan as you hear it start again.

Lil Yachty’s verse adds little to

the song and makes the song easily interchangable with many songs presently in the charts containg one verse of rap with no conversation between the two artists, further disjointing the feel of the single.

Although her previous singles haven’t exactly been filled with musical meaning, ‘After the Afterparty’ seems a step down in comparison with Charlie’s last singles ‘Boom Clap’ and ‘Break the Rules’ and instead seems to be there to make sure she seems relevant and stays present on the music scene.

36 FORGE PRESS

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press.screen@forgetoday.com

FORGE SCREEN ISSUE 100 SPECIAL

FORGE PRESS 37

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SCREEN

press.screen@forgetoday.com

In celebration of our 100th issue, we take a look back at some of Screen’s most memorable articles in Forge Entertainments, formerly Fuse (see left). Below, Hannah Dodd looks at some of her screen highlights of the past eight years.

Twilight (2008)

S

ure bad mouth a fandom after the world has moved on from it, but Twilight was the original moody teen film series. Team Edward vs Team Jacob was a blood sport and every fan had an accessory tagging them to their gang.

When you compare it to the train wreck that is 2016, this was arguably a simpler time. The movie franchise completely re-invented the gothic genre by dragging it into the 21st century and its spirit permeated through every teenage girl’s living room. Shows like True Blood and The Vampire Diaries all piggy-backed off the success of Twilight and it’s fair to say vampires are still coming out of the shadows and onto our screens today. Though the film adaptations of Stephanie Meyer’s literary saga garnered a surprisingly high level of success, it’s fair to say R-Patz and K-Stewart sold eternal love pretty well. With shirtless werewolves, Stewart’s constant twitching and hilarious hair styles, the film is now a sort of guilty pleasure, all be it one that defined a lot of teenage years. You may scoff at this, but at least we favoured gawking at sparkling vampires to attempting the traumatic tasks of talking to real boys.

Avatar (2009)

I

f there’s one film that made you want to leave this planet and start over, other than the second instalment of the Inbetweeners film series, it was Avatar. The movie was unlike anything we’d seen before. Not only did it smash box office records, it also pushed the boundaries of what technology could do for cinema. Pandora was possibly the greatest fictional place cinema had ever visited, and in 3D it was pretty easy to get lost in the story of the Naa’vi. It’s easy to see why you might scoff seven years on from its release: countless

parodies, Halloween costumes, VMA skits, to name but a few cheesy takes on the sci-fi spectacular. Popular culture has tried to tear the movie to shreds but if you can’t enjoy two blue aliens having sex with their tails in front of a Wi-Fi tree there’s just no pleasing you. An absolute solid-good classic.

Sherlock (2010)

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herlock smashed the old rule that big actors don’t belong on the small screen as it took an incredibly witty and well-loved British duo and totally reinvented them. It also gave some much needed rejuvenation to the detective series format and since then we’ve seen a spate of super successful detective shows coming out of BBC and ITV. It was one of the most watched and talked about BBC series of all time and it started a league of cumberbitches. Sherlock was so popular that it spawned fan fictions, memes and angry tweets to Stephen Moffat. It also started a dialogue about screen writing and saw many an American series recruiting British writers *cough cough Westworld*. The success of Sherlock paved the way for the shows you obsess over now like The Night Manager. So, whether you saw Sherlock back in 2010 or stole your ex’s DVD like the savage you are it was a serious game changer for British television.

Game of Thrones (2011)

W

hen Game of Thrones first hit our screens back in 2011 it was affectionately referred to by most critics as ‘sex and dragons’, but when something works it just works. As the first series progressed, we quickly learnt not to get too attached to anyone and not even Sheffield’s finest, Sean Bean, was safe. As G.O.T fandom swept the nation, sadly so did the spoilers and speculation and the show became a huge online talking point. Subreddits and fan theories began cropping up all over the place and with catchphrases aplenty it’s fair to say memes were coming. With its gratuitous reputation and violent disposition, illustrated in overtly shocking scenes like the Red Wedding, G.O.T could make even the toughest Khaleesi choke on her horse’s heart.

The Avengers (2012)

A

s Marvel’s most talked about and ambitious project The Avengers changed everything.

Suddenly one superhero arc was not enough and it all became about the collaborations and team ups. Bigger casts, bigger budgets and more action than doing squats with Sylvester

Stallone spotting you now became the main idea driving Marvel movies.

With the success of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor it was thought that a movie adaptation of the Avengers comics would prove too much of a mammoth task.

When taken over by Disney, many Marvel fans despaired, but who would have thought that a huge multimillion dollar company would be able nail the essence of the comics exactly? You’d never have guessed it. Whether it was the perfect villain in Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, the bad ass that is Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow or just how adorably feeble Hawkeye is, spectators still can’t get enough and the superhero movies just keep coming.

Sadly, the movies getting bigger has resulted in an enormous bout of pressure for Marvel’s superhero movies to measure up to, with some reboots becoming total flops.

But still, it can’t be denied that the uprising of Marvel movies changed screen forever.

The 2013 VMAs

W

hen you think of Miley Cyrus now, what do you think of? I like to think of the inventor of a foam finger crying deeply that his invention was used for evil. The 2013 VMA’s was probably the most talked about award show until Leo got his Oscar. It pretty much catapulted Miley Cyrus from Hannah Montana to a hot mess of a twerking adult. The reason this VMAs changed everything was because it caused absolute outrage, providing millennials with their greatest Martyr. It also proved itself as one of the biggest screen moments to come out of music since Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video. The display certainly proved one thing: Disney starlets shedding their good girl image is definitely a talking point. We hadn’t seen a Disney star try that hard to shed her image since Christina Aguilera’s ‘Dirty’ video was released.

Whilst Cyrus seems to be keeping her tongue in her mouth nowadays, my faith in family television died a little that night.

Fom top going clockwise: Fuse issue 30 (8 Dec 2010), Fuse issue 6 (22 Jan 2009), Fuse issue 43 (17 Feb 2012)

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SCREEN BIG SCREEN

I, Daniel Blake «««

W

Chloe Dervey Screen contributor

hile social commentary is to be expected from director Ken Loach, the award winning I, Daniel Blake caused quite a stir in Parliament last week and it’s easy to see why.

In boldly following the journey of a man battling the benefits system in Britain, this film constructs a refreshing voice for the so-called “undesirables” in society; the benefit-seekers of whom the media is all too eager to label as “scroungers”.

The overriding narrative of the film screams with political undertones, illuminating the real distance between Westminster

SHOWROOM SPOTLIGHT

The Light Between Oceans «««

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Emma Williams Music Editor

omantic drama of the century The Light Between Oceans has been advertised to look like a take on a Nicholas Sparks novel, with the posters showing a couple in a close embrace and the title being very vague, but it is so much more than that.

Covering sensitive issues it would be hard to leave the cinema and not feel touched by at least one of the performances in the film. Set on an island off of Australia, the film follows a WWI veteran who is suffering with adjusting back to daily life.

“The acting from both Fassbender and Vikander is convincing and believable.”

He becomes the lighthouse keeper for a small island, Janus Rock, and falls in love with Isabel (Alicia Vikander) who consequently moves to the island and the couple begin to try for a family. In some very emotionally upsetting scenes, Isabel experiences two miscarriages and subsequently becomes depressed. It is only when a rowing boat is washed onto the island with a dead man and young baby on board that the couple’s lives change.

and those endeavouring to cope within the welfare state.

Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) is a character symbolic of a generation which was not only alienated, but essentially left behind by the technological revolution.

A carpenter made redundant by heart attack, he is computer illiterate. The film accompanies him through his plight to tackle the red-tape structure of the welfare system, in attempts to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Johns’ performance is convincing throughout, despite minor segments where at times his scenes are somewhat reminiscent of a National Accident Helpline advert. The stand out performance comes from actor Hayley Squires portraying the young and impoverished single mother of two, Katie. Her character is used effectively to explore how poverty affects women and also parents, showcasing the extent of Persuading her husband (Michael Fassbender) to keep the child as their own, the couple live what externally seems to be an idyllic life.

The acting from both Fassbender and Vikander is convincing and believable. It certainly makes you view the situation it addresses differently. The movie does an excellent job at balancing the plot and the moral message of the film.

Anyone who watched it would struggle not to be moved by at least one of the themes covered.

Showroom Spotlight brings you reviews of movies shown by our long-affiliated friends at Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row.

press.screen@forgetoday.com sacrifice those in poverty may be faced with, particularly in order to support their children. Squires’ performance is unapologetically devastating. Her scenes are the most poignant in the entire film.

Despite a tendency to be cliché or predictable, the film somehow manages to never undermine the struggle of its characters and is actually at its most effective during episodes of incredulity.

The lack of extensive production sustains a sense of rawness that is present throughout the film.

From being filmed on location in the streets of Newcastle, a lingering and haunting sense of familiarity persists throughout, which instils the sense of reality in a film which is almost wholly based on incredulous hardship and unfair situations.

Additionally, the lack of colour and lack of soundtrack ensures that there are no distractions from the hard-hitting scenes which can be very difficult to watch.

SMALL SCREEN

Humans ««« Daniel West Deputy Editor

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he second series of the family drama that just happens to contain self-aware robots has begun on Channel 4 and we’re now two episodes into it. The initial episode begins in Berlin where Emily Berrington’s Niska is trying to learn about herself as she is flirted with in a nightclub by a German woman, Astrid.

After conversations the next morning, Niska decides to update all of the synths, the humanoid robots in this world, with a program to make them have a conscious like herself. By activating the code the titles start and the series begins.

The show then jumps six weeks as a few synths around the world begin to awaken and have to either flee or be destroyed.

After all of this it makes the drama of the Hawkins’ family life, with a home move, the children growing up and marriage counselling very dull, although maybe it’s necessary to ground them for future episodes.

Either way it made for rather tedious viewing, even if it did allow Josie Lawrence to show off her talents as the synth marriage councillor.

Meanwhile, the half human, half synth Leo Elster and another of the conscious synths, Max, are travelling around collecting the newly awakening. This is by far the most action-packed section as they are being chased by an unknown group who are collecting these now ‘defective’ synths. One of the new

Exuding an atmosphere of reality by drawing upon an aspect of British society which film makers often prefer to keep hidden makes the ridiculously unjust series of events more frustrating to witness unfold. When the credits rolled, no one in the theatre made any significant noise or movement.

This heavy silence lasted for almost a minute, as myself along with the rest of the audience steadily tried to recall that

ignorant bliss we usually possess to forget the social inequalities that are rife within Britain.

But this film thrusts it violently into your consciousness, and its lasting effect is why it is rated so highly among critics.

Take your tissues for this one.

synths in their care is struggling to come to terms with the new morals that she’s interpreting in a more brutal way than others would maybe like - which makes her one of the creepier and therefore more interesting aspects of this series.

There are also other mundane stories about synths and humans trying to work out how to develop a relationship with one another, which feel like they’re there simply to prove a point and bulk out the show, rather than being necessary or engaging.

Finally, this year’s famous actor to please the American market, the show is co-produced with AMC, is the talented Carrie-Anne Moss, best known for her role in the Matrix trilogy. She’s an AI scientist working in an underfunded lab in America, trying to

make a conscious machine herself.

This corporate world feels forced into the otherwise very British and family orientated show.

“Overall the premise for this series is very strong with a few extremely engrossing stories.”

Overall the premise for this series is very strong with a few extremely engrossing stories.

However, there’s also a lot of what feels a bit like filler. Narratives simply there to show all the possible sides in human synth relationships but with no apparent reason to the overall ark, at least at this moment.

FORGE PRESS 39

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

SCREEN SCREEN TALKS

‘Exploring autism in the cinema’ Laura Mullan Features Editor

Forge Press Features Editor Laura Mullan recently attended Hannah Ebben’s talk exploring autism in cinema. Mullan discusses the ideas illustrated during the talk in our mini feature.

BIG SCREEN

The Accountant ««« Ben Kempton Screen contributor

C

hristian Wolff (Ben Affleck) governs a lucrative business as a freelance accountant for dangerous criminal organisations whilst hiding a past of strict armystyle parenting.

As the US treasury run by Ray King (J.K. Simmons) closes in, he takes on a legitimate client, an accounting clerk (Anna Kendrick) who has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars.

The film sees seemingly workaholic Ben Affleck return to our cinema screens again, raising the question: Does the man ever take a break?

Here he does a great job.

Affleck’s portrayal of autism in The Accountant is something to be admired. There is a real attention to detail: lack of eye contact, his compulsive tidiness, his confusion at common phrases and his anger when he can’t finish a puzzle are all portrayed with precision. Affleck

also utilises dry humour perfectly to make the audience laugh in contrastingly serious contexts.

Unfortunately, his performance doesn’t quite hit extraordinary.

Don’t expect to be seeing Ben Affleck with a golden manikin statue in his hand for the role of Christian Wolff. But it is a smart, likeable performance and saves the film from being sub-par.

The film is plagued by inconsistencies. For example, why would a company with everything to hide hire an accountant who sees everything? And why would JK Simmons’s retiring FBI agent recruit a young federal analyst to investigate Christian without revealing what he already knows about him? It is far fetched in places and littered with bizarre coincidences which are eye-rollworthy - but the stylish and intense action sequences recover the lacklustre story.

You get the impression this film is a by-product of a group of people desperately trying to spice up James Bond but The Accountant doesn’t quite shake the screen.

F

rom Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man to Abed Nadir in Community, autism has had a complex and diverse history on screen, that is not always depicted accurately.

“Some contemporary films still continue to cause offence to some people in the autistic community. ” This year at the annual Festival of Social Sciences, Hannah Ebben, a Ph.D. student at The Autism Centre, shared her research on the different ways in which the autistic spectrum is conceptualized in film.

Hannah began in 1969 with the musical drama Change in Habit, starring Elvis Presley and Mary Tyler Moore.

Set in an impoverished neighbourhood, the film depicts a doctor who struggles to treat a particularly challenging patient: a young girl who doesn’t talk, Amanda, has episodes of rocking back and forth, and who shrinks away from human touch.

The film employs an outdated perception of autism by suggesting

DIGITAL SCREEN

that Amanda is autistic because of a lack of maternal warmth – referred to at the time as a ‘refrigerator mother’.

The young girl is later ‘cured’ of her autism when a doctor and nun treat her with ‘rage reduction therapy’. During this treatment Amanda is held firmly as she kicks and screeches, all whilst she is told that she is loved and should let go of her anger.

As Hannah points out, the way autism is presented in Change in Habit has developed and become more nuanced as our knowledge of autism has grown. However, some contemporary films still continue to cause offence to some people in the autistic community.

Indeed, for many people, the 1988 film Rain Man will be the first association they make when they hear the word ‘autism’.

It is by far one of the most recognizable films depicting autism and as a result, some contend that it may create misleading stereotypes of what a person with autism is like.

Hannah suggests that some see Rain Man as offensive because “it is made for an audience who doesn’t know what autism is.”

She adds: “As we know disabilities are not always visible.

But because it’s a film, and it’s a Hollywood film, it serves the audience’s needs so as not to alienate them.

Therefore, disability is made as physical as possible.”

During an audience discussion, a member of the public asked Hannah if she thought films could be truly reflective of the autistic spectrum. She said: “I realise that autism has meant different things, for many different people, throughout time. That is why I didn’t ask the question whether the film is true to reality or not. I think that the answer to this question will always be that it is relative because the lives of autistic people are so multi-faceted and diverse. They cannot be encompassed into one perfect movie.”

CULT CORNER

Gina McKee. The social commentaries it provides on local government and police corruption, the changing role of women in society and the rise and fall of radical left-wing politics, is a worthwhile reminder of a bygone Britain. The episode set in 1984, which focusses on the north of England during the miners’ strike is a hard-hitting piece of television; the scenes in which the police battle with the miners are especially poignant.

The love triangle between characters Nicky (Ecclestone), ‘Tosker’ (Strong) and Mary (McKee) illustrates a consistent undercurrent throughout the series, providing some of its most powerful scenes. It also illuminates the important shift in the expectations placed on women that took place during this era, and demonstrates that this was a period of immense change.

Our Friends in the North

The Crown

«««««

William Stark Screen contributor

Harry Taylor Screen contributor

R

egal themed Netflix drama The Crown follows the accession of Queen Elizabeth II following the death of her father, King George VI. Rumoured to have cost near to £100 million to shoot, the quality of production is evident throughout.

Big budget has been translated into sheer quality, a feat harder than it appears.

The title sequence is reminiscent of both Game of Thrones and House of Cards. The spiralling gold tendrils forming the Imperial State Crown and the soaring Hans Zimmer theme are distinctly familiar and Netflix-esque. The show maintains a strong aesthetic appeal throughout, managing to

G maintain a contemporary pastel palette of colours that works convincingly.

However, the most exceptional topic of note in this production is the casting. Claire Foy manages to pull off a near impossible feat of portraying the queen. Matt Smith provides a captivating choice for the Duke of Edinburgh. The standout

performance is the amazing John Lithgow as Winston Churchill.

From the first two episodes, it is clear that Netflix has managed to develop the noblesse oblige once reserved only for the BBC in dealing with matters of national and historical importance.

ritty is an adjective that has almost lost its meaning through overuse, but couldn’t be better applied to 1995 BBC Drama Our Friends in the North. The BAFTA award-winning drama is one of the best series from the decade. It is worth revisiting due to its powerful social commentary about issues in the period as it charts the lives of four friends from Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The 9-part series takes place in the years between 1964 and the year in which the series first aired, and provided a breakthrough for actors like Christopher Ecclestone, Daniel Craig, Mark Strong and

“It’s suggested that some see Rain Man as offensive because it was made for viewers that don’t understand autism.”

Autism is by its very nature a spectrum disorder, affecting millions of people in various differing ways. Therefore, it seems a somewhat impossible feat to illustrate autism in one neat plotline; it simply isn’t something that can fit into a box.

What this discussion proved, more than anything, is that if we want to truly understand autism we need to listen to the narratives created by people with autism, not Hollywood.

42 FORGE PRESS

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

COFFEE BREAK WEIRD WORLD Bog-standard problem solving

In a novel bid to deal with cracks in its road, the city council in Littleton, Colorado has employed the use of toilet roll. To prevent the tar laid down to seal the streets from sticking to people or cars, the council decided to take an unusual approach by covering vulnerable areas with lavatory paper. The solution seems to have worked as well, leaving Littleton flushed with success.

Mull on this one A cuddly companion

There was a surprise stowaway on a c2c train travelling from Southend – a chinchilla. The furry mammal was found on board in Barking, East London, and was taken into care by an employee who gave her the rather topical name of Poppy.

Surely there are no more ways to commercialise the Christmas season, right? Tesco would beg to differ. The supermarket giant has launched a mulled wine scented toilet roll in a move that could utterly ruin the festive drink for customers.

Yes, that’s two toilet roll stories in a row.

2016 is just one of those years.

press.coffeebreak@forgetoday.com

HOW TIME FLIES

Since Issue #1 of Forge Press came out in September 2008...

Barrack Obama was elected President of the USA twice, serving as Commander-in-Chief for eight years.

Italian football club Palermo have made a whopping 22 managerial sackings, with 18 different men filling the role.

36 US states have legalised same-sex marriage to at least a degree. Only two states had done so beforehand.

Major scientific breakthroughs include the ground-breaking discovery of the Higgs Boson particle in 2012.

The number of Tweets posted has gone from around 100 million posted per quarter to around 500 million per day.

Only 44 days until Christmas!

The world has changed a fair bit!

WORD SEARCH How many times does the number '100' appear in this issue of Forge?

Think you know? Tweet us your answer @ForgePress using #CoffeeBreak.

A) 5

B) 7

C) 9

D) 11

2) What did former deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine admit to doing in a magazine interview?

A) Having sex with Margaret Thatcher B) Strangling a dog C) Accidentally shooting his mother-in-law D) Helping to fix an election 3) Which musician was a surprise inclusion on Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year nominee list?

A) Bob Dylan B) Justin Bieber C) Bono D) Bruce Springsteen 4) An Austrian man has won a court case allowing him to change his family name after a lower court rejected the proposal because the judge claimed the name could only refer to a certain animal. Which animal name did he reclaim?

A) Zebra B) Fox C) Lion D) Monkey 5) A three-metre high inflatable version of what was stolen from the Spanish town of Torrelodones?

A) Dog poop B) Egg C) General Franco D) Sandwich

Images: C2C Rail (Chinchilla) Wikimedia Commons (dogs)

6) Which of these things did a new Philippines police memorandum NOT tell officers to avoid doing when on duty?

A) Picking their nose B) Taking selfies C) Standing on one leg D) Smiling 7) Which university has decided to boycott University Challenge?

A) Lancaster University B) Keele University C) University of Reading D) University of Gloucestershire

NEWS QUIZ.

8) All of these animals were used to ‘predict’ the outcome of the US Presidential election. Which ‘psychic’ animal(s) predicted in favour of Hillary Clinton?

A) Sharks in Florida B) A goat in Scotland C) A monkey in China D) Dogs in Cleveland 9) Which actor is set to become a father at the age of 60?

A) Mel Gibson B) Bryan Cranston C) Tom Hanks D) Andy Garcia 10) Chelsea Under 23s won the longest recorded penalty shootout in professional English football against Oxford United in the EFL Trophy this week. How many spot kicks were taken?

A)30 B) 32 C) 34 D) 36

News Quiz Answers: 1) D 2) B 3) C 4) A 5) A 6) D 7) C 8) B 9) A 10) C

1) Mondelez International has shocked the UK by reducing the size of its Toblerone bars. The larger bar sold previously had 15 peaks – how many does it have now?

FORGE PRESS 43

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

WORDSEARCH

COFFEE BREAK

Capital cities Can you find the 20 capital cities hidden in the wordsearch? And, for an extra challenge, can you name the country each city is the capital of?

BOGOTA CANBERRA CARACAS DHAKA FREETOWN

ACCRA ATHENS ANKARA BANGKOK BELFAST

KATHMANDU KIGALI OTTAWA SEOUL STOCKHOLM

SUVA TALLINN TASHKENT TBILISI VILNIUS

UNSCRAMBLE Rearrange these letters to form a nine-letter word! Clue: Has something to do with a Forge milestone

T U R N

O N

I C E

FILBERT

D H AR

M IU M ED

EA S

Y

SUDOKU

FORGE PRESS 45

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

SPORT

press.sport@forgetoday.com

SportsThoughts.

This week the ICC’s proposed revamp of Test cricket takes centre stage, with Jack Wignall questioning whether any of the options put on the table are the right answer for the longest form of the game.

Don’t change Test cricket until we find a solution Jack Wignall Forge Sport contributor

T

he increasing popularity of T20 and one-day cricket has cast shade and uncertainty over the future of Test matches.

The fast paced, explosive nature of, in particular, T20 has leapfrogged the patient and tactical five day game to become more indemand globally.

With everything in the modern era that is all the rage needing to be fast, (social media, cars, food etc.) it is easy to see why the same is applied to cricket.

For this reason, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been tabling ideas to develop ways to make the test arena m o r e fashionable a n d increase interest.

Personally, I am a Test cricket enthusiast.

I could sit and watch all five days uninterrupted and not get bored. But, at the grand old age of 22, I may be amongst the cricket dinosaurs.

People who do not follow cricket or have limited knowledge of the sport will only be able to excitedly recall some of Chris Gayle’s enormous sixes, rather than be quietly impressed by James Anderson’s ability to bowl consistent line and length.

The ICC has recently refocused on increasing Test Cricket’s popularity, necessary for the sport to succeed in the modern climate.

An original idea was tabled, which was to create a two tier league for test playing nations.

The idea behind this was to increase competitiveness and bring in more of a risk factor in order to make promotion and relegation a serious thought within each round of games.

However, this idea has been rightly shelved in the last month.

If anything, the most recent Test series has proved this

“It is a shame a World Cup style tournament cannot be made” was the correct decision and that allowing all member nations to play each other is the best way forward for test cricket.

Bangladesh’s win against England has shown that the ICC nations who would be classed as ‘second tier’ can still compete with the top nations which is better for all involved, as well as the neutral supporter.

Instead, there has been a new idea to host a play-off game between the top two ranked countries every two years starting in 2019.

Due to the nature and the length of Test cricket, it is a shame a World Cup style tournament cannot be made, but that

doesn’t mean that the current system should be fiddled with.

The pride of being top of the rankings is one that is still sought after greatly by playing nations.

Hence, I don’t feel a one off playoff game would add any greater incentive for countries to try and top the rankings than is already evident in the game.

It would only lead to complications as to when the deadline of games would be to determine who is classed as the top two at a certain time and this could easily lead to scheduling issues.

It is better to just continue with the current system and not add any confusion for the sake of trying to attract a few extra fans for one extra game a year.

looking at the other end of the spectrum as encouraging more associate members to advance into full member nations would be more beneficial to the game in general.

The ICC have taken steps like this in the past to try and make it harder for associate members to have a seat at the top table of world cricket. This can be highlighted by their ludicrous decision to cut down the amount of teams that will compete in the 2019 World Cup to 10.

Test cricket is an historic game with its own identity, value and worth. Despite many things in life and sport needing to adapt to new circumstances, Test cricket will stand the test of time in its own special and unique way.

It is interesting, however, that the ICC are focusing on this issue rather t h a n Image: Wikimedia Commons

Sheffield FC Ladies score successful first WSL season Hugh Dickinson Forge Sport Editor

I

f there are two words that would sum up Sheffield FC Ladies’ first season in the Women’s Super League 2, they are these: learning curve.

Whilst it’s a turn of phrase that is often used rather euphemistically in sport to put a positive spin on failure, in the case of Sheffield FC it is an accurate description of what has been an undeniably successful season.

In the early stages, watching the World’s First football club was at times a struggle. Goals were hard to come by, and on occasion completed passes were too.

By the end, the team was unrecognisable and their meteoric rise up the league in the mid-stages of the season demonstrated quite how quickly that learning curve was climbed.

Manager Mick Mulhern left the club by mutual consent after just two competitive games in March, before the WSL2 season began, and it took new boss Zoe Johnson time to stamp her mark upon the side.

Sheffield FC came into the season off the back of almost a year out after their Women’s Premier League promotion season finished the previous spring, and they came into the new season lacking match sharpness and with the sense of complacency that comes with three consecutive WPL titles.

For many teams, the constant breaks would have been a hindrance. For Sheffield FC it appeared a blessing.

This complacency was swiftly dismissed as they didn’t score an intentional goal in any of their first five fixtures, but as new signings were added and existing players moulded, the team found their feet.

A 3-1 cup victory over Durham was followed by a stunning victory over promotion favourites Bristol City two weeks later for the first win of Sheffield FC’s WSL era.

Zoe Johnson must take a lot of the credit for this, finding more effective roles for well-established players. Jodie Michalska, top scorer in the WPL for six of seven previous seasons, was moved from striker to midfielder, and dangerous winger Ellie Gilliatt moved back to the left back position from which she could bomb forward to devastating effect.

For many teams, the constant breaks of two weeks or more between matches would have been a hindrance, but for Sheffield FC it appeared to be a blessing as they used the time to continue to adapt

to life at the higher level.

The mid-season wins gave the team confidence, and the sense of inflation that a run of league victories gave was only punctured by a disappointing WSL Cup quarter-final defeat to London Bees – the first time that either side had made it to that stage of the

competition.

A fifth place finish has to be considered an excellent achievement for a side full of players that had never experienced WSL football before, and would have been more than the club asked for at the start of the season.

46 FORGE PRESS

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SPORT

press.sport@forgetoday.com

Blades cruise past Orient in Cup Tim Adams Forge Sport contributor

S

heffield United continued their impressive run at Bramall Lane by dispatching Leyton Orient 6-0 in the first round of the Emirates FA Cup. Harry Chapman scored a hattrick, with Chris Basham, Stephan Scougall and Kieron Freeman adding their names to the scoresheet.

It was the O’s who had the first chance of the game, Sandro Semedo firing over from 25 yards after a Gavin Massey cross was cleared from the right.

The away side pressure increased as Ollie Palmer broke free of the Blades defence, only to be denied by a last-ditch Paul Coutts tackle, closing down the angle so Ramsdale could make an easy save.

United responded impressively, probing Orient’s defence, and resulting in Daniel Lafferty’s shot grazing the top of the crossbar.

Mark Duffy continued to cut in from the left, forcing a smart save from O’s keeper Alex Cisak and was unlucky to see a shot cleared off the line.

The home side’s dominance told as the resulting cleared corner led to the opener, Chris Basham heading in at the back post.

“A fine save gave the indication to the O’s fans it would be a long second half”

Freeman to head into the empty net at the back post to make it 3-0.

After the break United’s pressure continued from the off. A fine save from Cisak to deny Duffy gave the indication to the 319 O’s fans it would be a long second half.

And very quickly United scored their fourth. A fantastic finish from Chapman, bursting past three players to place the ball in the opposite corner.

A myriad of stops from Cisak to deny Brooks kept the score-line at 4-0, but it was the youngster’s cross which led to the home side’s fifth

of the afternoon. A wicked delivery from the right was met at the back post by Chapman.

As the heavens opened, Orient incurred another injury as Tom Parkes was forced off, with Jens Janse coming on.

By the 90th minute the O’s capitulation reached new heights when Dunne’s pass to Cisak was too short, allowing Chapman to lob the keeper and complete his hat-trick.

It was a match of great gulf in quality. Orient will go back to the drawing board while United will be quietly confident of a long cup run.

An injury to Ollie Palmer on the half hour mark compounded Orient’s misery and just three minutes later they found themselves two goals down. Duffy’s free-kick looked to be wasteful but a ricochet in the box fell the way for Scougall to score his third goal in his last three home appearances.

Orient could not cope with the home side’s intensity as Chapman’s cross was parried by Cisak, allowing

Image: Ed McCosh

Owls hit by Ispwich sucker punch Adam May Forge Sport contributor

I

pswich Town left it until the 87th minute to snatch a 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

The Tractor Boys led twice with Tom Lawrence’s opener cancelled out by Wednesday’s Gary Hooper before skipper Luke Chambers rose highest in the box to head home a crucial away win for under-fire Town boss Mick McCarthy.

Wednesday almost had a chance

to claim a lead inside the opening two minutes when Adam Reach was set free down the middle by Fletcher, but he could only watch on as his shot was thwarted by Christophe Berra.

The Owls penned back the visitors for the opening 20 minutes – Ipswich’s David McGoldrick had a chance but scooped over shortly after Reach’s blocked effort – but the likes of Barry Bannan struggled to find that final ball to unpick Town’s rear-guard as possession was too often wasted in the final third.

Image:Joe Bamford

Their best chance came from their first corner of the game midway into the first-half but Fletcher powered narrowly over the bar from David Jones’ delivery.

“Wednesday struggled to find that final ball to unpick Town’s rear-guard as possession was too often wasted.”

For all the Owls’ possession, however, it was Ipswich who took a shock lead, with Tom Lawrence netting shortly after the half hour mark. A number of Wednesday players passed at the chance to tackle and were duly punished when he arrowed a shot past the outstretched arm of Westwood and into the bottom corner as Hillsborough became restless with the home side suddenly up against it.

It didn’t take long for Wednesday to hit back as David Jones’ initial effort from range was parried into the path of Gary Hooper by Bartosz Bialowski, and the striker made no error in tapping home from closerange to level.

The momentum was now swinging in favour of the hosts.

It only took Wednesday a minute

to force the first opening of the second-half with Hooper‘s teasing run eventually resulting in a shot that was pushed out, and Kieran Lee could only prod the rebound wide.

It was then Fletcher’s turn to attempt to edge Wednesday in front for the first time but he could only get underneath Hunt’s lofted cross as he glanced over.

On the basis of Wednesday’s dominating performance it looked as though it would not be a case of if they score but when they score, although when Forestieri was introduced in place of Reach the hosts still looked somewhat toothless up front with the final ball still failing to make a telling impact.

The ball rarely broke into Ipswich’s attacking half but when it did in the 87th minute the visitors duly pounced.

Grant Ward’s free-kick from the right was glanced on by Berra before skipper Luke Chambers turned it in from inside the 6-yard box to shock the home faithful in what was an afternoon of missed chances and one that didn’t please Carvalhal.

“We didn’t perform at our level, that was the problem today,” the Wednesday boss said.

“I think the score is very heavy, we don’t deserve to lose the game but we didn’t deserve to win it also.”

Lacrosse 1s fall to defeat Lacrosse

T

Will Moran Forge Sport contributor

he University of Sheffield Lacrosse Men’s 1s fell to an 8-3 defeat against Northumbria University at Goodwin on Wednesday.

Despite coming into the game off the back of impressive back-to-back victories against the University of Leeds and Bangor University, Sheffield were unable to overcome the visitors, who continued their 100 per cent record in style.

It was an exciting start with both teams netting a goal each in quick succession.

The two sides each created plenty of goal scoring opportunities early on, but it was the visiting side that was able to convert them.

Sheffield showed resilient defence, with an especially strong performance from their keeper, who pulled off a string of superb saves over the course of the match.

Despite Northumbria extending their lead over Sheffield at the end of the first half, the hosts continued to give it their all, counter-attacking on a regular basis.

Despite the high work rate, Sheffield were still struggling to find the net, allowing Northumbria to hold on to a lead they would increase to 8-2 in the third quarter.

Unnerved, Sheffield bagged one final goal to spark cheers from the ever-enthusiastic home supporters before the whistle blew.

Though Northumbria had prevailed with a comfortable gap between the two sides score-wise, Sheffield put in a commendable performance as their opponents opened up a commanding six-point lead in BUCS Northern 1A. The result could even be considered somewhat of a success, as 2015/16 Northern 1A runners-up and Trophy winners Northumbria had put 11 goals past Sheffield Hallam University the preceding week.

Sheffield captain Adam Jones told Forge Sport: “We had so many good shots on goal that just went wide.

“The team always try and keep a winning mentality and if we continue to play as a unit we know we can do great things this season”.

Sheffield, who sit third in the division after suffering their second defeat of the season, take on close rivals Sheffield Hallam next week.

There is a score to settle in next week’s fixture, with Sheffield out to avenge the 11-8 defeat they suffered at the hands of Hallam at Varsity in April.

FORGE PRESS 47

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

SPORT

Netball 2s record win to continue cup run Netball

University of Sheffield Women’s 2s

39

Northumbria University Women’s 3s

34

Sam Constance Forge Press contributor

T

he University of Sheffield Netball 2s have reached the last 16 of the Northern Conference Cup after beating Northumbria University 3s 39-34 in a very close match.

Sheffield came into the match on an unbeaten run in the league, while Northumbria are also top of their current league as well, making for a well-matched encounter between two in-form teams.

Once the match began it was

plain to see why both teams were top of their respected leagues, as Northumbria were making some great passing displays, as well as showing off some sublime skill to take the lead early in the match.

Cup ties can be heated affairs, and this one was no different.

However, Sheffield responded almost immediately with some superb shots from very tight angles to level it up.

Both teams went into the break on level terms, at 8-8.

The second quarter started just like the first quarter, with some great end-to-end play and both teams trading goals, but nobody really opening up a secure lead.

However, once the score reached 16-16, Sheffield managed to capitalise on a string of sloppy Northumbria passes to snatch the lead just before halftime, making it 22-17.

Cup ties can be heated affairs, and this one was no different.

The third quarter started off with a few collisions coming from either side, with both sets of players desperate to extend their stay in the cup.

Despite Northumbria getting some more momentum as the half went on, Sheffield’s defence held strong, and they managed to hold

the lead going into the final break with the score at 30-26.

As soon as the sides began the final quarter, Northumbria struck quickly to remind their hosts that they were not out the match just yet.

“We all pulled together and we absolutely smashed it” - Megan Howard

to make them the winners at 39-34.

Sheffield captain Megan Howard, told Forge Sport: “It was a very tough game but we all pulled together and we absolutely smashed it.”

Sheffield Wing Attack Chantal Rees picked up the player of the match award at the end for her amazing work in orchestrating some key Sheffield attacks and even adding to the goal tally herself with some great goals.

After this win, Sheffield 2s will join the Sheffield 1s in the last 16, and will face either York 1s, who they beat recently in the league or Liverpool 2s.

Their next league match will be against Hull 2s, who currently sit in fourth place.

The visitors managed to surprise Sheffield with a very quick offensive display to take the game to 31-30.

However, the quality of Sheffield managed to overcome this pressure, and after some brilliant, incisive passing, they put the game to bed

Sheffield sports stars honoured at ESPS event Tim Adams Forge Sport contributor

T

he University of Sheffield’s finest young athletes celebrated their successes at the Elite Sports Performance Dinner on Tuesday.

Level One of ESPS provides support services such as physiotherapy, free access to the S10Health gym, strength and conditioning training and academic flexibility.

Recipients of Level Two can even gain a one year’s free stay in University accommodation, as well as all the benefits of the previous rank.

Nine athletes won Level Two awards from sports such as Hockey and Para-Badminton while over 50 triumphed at the level one stage.

The event at Inox Dine in the Students’ Union included University of Sheffield alumnus and 2016 Olympic Trampolining silver medallist Bryony Page.

She said: “The past few months have been a bit crazy. I went down to the House of Commons and spoke to Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport.

“After finishing fourth twice at the World and European Championships I was so happy to achieve my Olympic dream. To step on the podium, I can’t describe that feeling.

“Even though I’ve graduated the support I’ve received from Sheffield University has been fantastic.”

Director of Sport at the university Andy Cox opened the night and said: “The athletes here have showcased their talent across their 320 sports. We have some outstanding facilities here and for the last 20 years we have been in the top 20 universities for sport in the country.”

“We never thought we could replicate the Olympic success of Jess [Ennis] but Bryony and Hollie [Webb] have been outstanding and we are so proud of her achievements.”

Level Two award recipients:

Nicole Lamb - Rowing Nicole Lamb is a first-year student who studies medicine. Her lectures take place from 9am-5pm so to perform at training she leaves her flat at 6am and doesn’t return until 8pm.

Speaking to Forge Sport, Nicole said her greatest achievement so far was achieving two silvers and a bronze in the U23 World Championships for Team GB. Her advice to success? Early mornings.

Rosie Wilkins - Rowing Rosie Wilkins studies landscape

and architecture. Her early mornings start on the water, but end the day in the gym and with physiotherapy. Training takes her to the Peak District, where she looks to improve her event, the single sculls.

Rosie made the semi-final of the women’s single sculls at Henley Women’s last year. In the short term her aim is to claim varsity points but rowing championships in Argentina is the ultimate aim.

Connor Byrne - Climbing Connor Byrne is a lead, speed and boulder climber who said it would be truly amazing to represent Team GB at Tokyo 2020. He’s been a five-time national champion and has been selected for the British team. Studying aero-engineering Connor has had to juggle academia and sport, sacrificing social time to work on his course and fitness.

Jennifer Wood - Climbing Jennifer Wood is a lead and boulder climber, but due to the Olympics she’s now starting speed.

Last year she went to the University Open Games and The World University Championships. The latter was in Shanghai, where they practiced the new Olympic format.

Jennifer came fourth in the combined discipline and reached

all of the finals. Her ultimate aim is Tokyo 2020.

Rebecca Bedford Para-Badminton Rebecca Bedford is a gold and two-time silver medallist at Para-Badminton, having achieved the feat at last year’s World Championships in Stoke Mandeville.

Studying history, she takes all work with her on travels. Funding from the ESPS has allowed Rebecca to participate in competitions, take time out for physiotherapy and train eight hours a week with state of the art facilities.

Tommy Horton - Athletics Tommy

Horton

is

currently

studying for a PhD at the University of Sheffield. His schedule is hectic as he goes to the gym three times a week and practices running every other day.

Aiming for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Tommy praised the ESPS scheme and his coach Bashir Hussain.

Steve Bayton - Athletics Steve Bayton won the Manchester Marathon last May in a time of two hours, 22 minutes.

Like Tommy, he’s aiming for the Commonwealth Games in 2018, and with the monetary ESPS award physiotherapy and kit is no problem. Studying for a civil engineering PhD has meant Steve has had to train on the job, running five miles to campus every day.

48 FORGE PRESS

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016 DAY XX MONTH 2016

SPORT

BUCS Weekly Round-up

Anthony Phillips Forge Sport Contributor

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he University of Sheffield continued their impressive form in BUCS with 38 victories, four draws and 18 losses in the fifth week of competition.

The Sheffield Women’s Lacrosse 1s won for the second successive week, beating Liverpool 12-6 to move out of the relegation places in BUCS Northern 2B. It was another successful week for the Sheffield Squash team.

The Women’s 1s continued their unbeaten start to the season, beating Leeds 3-1 to make it five wins from five.

The Men’s Squash 1s also top the table after beating Durham 5-0.

They have four wins from five, with their only loss coming against Liverpool in week two.

Sheffield Men’s 2s are also unbeaten and also top their table after a 3-0 victory over Manchester Metropolitan.

It is the same story for the Women’s 2s, who also remain unbeaten and top their division after beating Leeds 4-0.

And last but not least, the Men’s 4s rounded off another impressive week for Squash, beating Liverpool 4-0 to also top their division table.

In netball, Sheffield recorded three victories and one defeat. The Women’s 2s beat Northumbria 39-34 while the Women’s 4s comfortably beat Edge Hill 62-15.

The only defeat for Sheffield came when the Women’s 3s lost 50-32 against the Sheffield Women’s 1s.

The Sheffield Hockey teams had numerous dramatic contests.

The Men’s 3s beat Bradford 7-4 in a back-and-forth thriller while the Women’s 1s drew 4-4 against Nottingham Trent.

The Hockey Men’s 1s and 4s completed identical 3-1 wins over Liverpool while the Women’s 2s drew 1-1 with Manchester.

Star performers Tennis maintained their dominant start, with the three Sheffield teams in action recording three victories.

The Women’s 2s beat Lancaster 8-4 at home whilst the Men’s 1s and Men’s 2s thrashed Bangor and Leeds respectively 12-0.

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Hockey 1s held in Trent thriller

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Image: Adam Bailey

Adam Bailey Forge Sport Contributor

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Hockey

University of Sheffield Women’s 1s

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Nottingham Trent University Women’s 1s

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he University of Sheffield Women’s Hockey 1s produced a thrilling first-half comeback in an exhilarating 4-4 draw against Nottingham Trent University.

Sheffield were hoping to record back-to-back league wins after recording their first victory of the season against Leeds last week. However, even a point looked unlikely for the hosts after conceding twice in the opening 10 minutes against Trent.

The visitors took the lead inside five minutes after Rachel Malcolm’s shot from a penalty corner was deflected past Sheffield goalkeeper Catherine Powell. It went from bad to worse for Sheffield a few minutes later when Rosario Villagra reacted quickest in the ‘D’ to double Nottingham’s lead.

Sheffield showed great character to come from two goals down and,

although it can be easy to panic in these situations, the home side remained calm and continued to work hard in search of a way back into the game. It was captain Annie Radcliffe’s composure and quickthinking that led to the hosts’ first goal.

“Everyone played incredibly well, we just didn’t put the chances we had away” - Ruth Thomas Radcliffe used her initiative to take a quick free-hit to catch the Nottingham defence off-guard.

Scarlett Heath received the ball from Radcliffe, but saw her shot saved by the Trent goalkeeper. Lucy Ginn was alert to prod home at the

back post to score on her first-team debut.

This goal provided Sheffield with the belief that they needed and it wasn’t long before the hosts were back on level terms. This time it was Heath who pounced upon a rebound after Sheffield’s initial shot from a penalty corner was saved.

Five minutes later, the hosts led for the first time after completing the comeback to turn the game on its head. Sheffield once again took advantage of a penalty corner as Jess Aps reacted quickest to power past the Trent goalkeeper after Ruth Thomas’ shot was blocked on the line.

After completing a three-goal comeback to lead 3-2 at half-time, the momentum was with Sheffield heading into the second half.

However, it was Trent who struck first just after the restart to draw the score back level.

Like they did in the first half, Trent started the second period brightly. Goalkeeper Powell had to intercept a pass from Argentina U21 international Villagra to deny the visitors a one-on-one attack, before Sylvia Rose hit the post.

Sheffield looked to have withstood Trent’s pressure but,

moments after Rose hit the post, Sophie Hall scored the equalising goal, firing high into the roof of the net. The two sides were not back on level terms for long as Sheffield immediately responded from another penalty corner with Rebecca Wood’s low drilled shot finding the bottom corner.

There was to be one more twist in the tale as, despite Catherine Powell’s efforts to stop a low driven shot from the edge of the ‘D’, the ball crossed the line and Nottingham found themselves back on level terms. Both sides pressed in search of a winner, but neither side could score another goal and the game finished 4-4.

Sheffield vice-captain Ruth Thomas told Forge Sport: “It was an intense game, it was end-to-end, four goals each is exactly what you want from hockey; minus the fact we didn’t win. Everyone played incredibly well, we just didn’t put the chances we had away.”

Andy Gibson, the Women’s Hockey 1s coach, said: “It was a pleasing performance; it is the most goals we have scored in a single game and we know where we need to improve. But we carried a threat all game and going forward I thought we were excellent.”

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