FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
Issue 102
INSIDE THIS ISSUE... Comment The Alternative Review of the year p. 12
Features
Lifestyle
Sport
YOU are being watched
Festivities in your flat
Sports Thoughts: Sports Personality
p. 18
p. 20
p. 45
SU President slates ‘clearly inadequate’ counselling provisions Barclays banned from Sheffield Students’ Union Hope Cunningham News Editor On Thursday last week, SU Council voted to ban Barclays from the Students’ Union. The bank has been added to the list of organisations that have “no dealings” with the University of Sheffield’s Advertising and Sponsorship Policy.
The proposal, put forward by University of Sheffield Development Officer Michael Kind, received the required 100 signatures to take it to Council and passed with in excess of the 2/3 majority it needed. The boycott was part of a wave of...
...continued on page 6
Lisa Latham Head of News Students’ Union president Dom Trendall has blasted the current provisions for counselling at the University of Sheffield. Responding to a recent The Tab report and current understaffing in the Counselling Service, Trendall said to Forge Press: “This is absolutely not good enough, current provisions are clearly inadequate and the Student’s Union considers this a matter of utmost priority.” The report followed a Freedom of Information request that found the University to be 28 out of 40 of UK universities for spending on the University Counselling Service (UCS). According to the data the University allocates an average of £17.01 per student. Oxford spends the most at nearly £50.00 per student, and UCLan the least at £4.64. The University highlighted that the list was compiled with a sole focus on spending within counselling services and excludes support staff from other internal departments, such as Disability and Dyslexia Support Services (DDSS)
or Health Centres. These alternate support systems are provided by the University and offer students various methods of reporting difficulties they may be facing. The DDSS is intended for use by students with disabilities, and the Health Centre does not offer official treatment for mental health issues beyond referral to the Counselling Service. At a time where there is an influx in students seeking help in line with a nationwide increase of mental health problems in students, some students worry that the UCS is understaffed. Reena Staves, President of the Mental Health Matters society, explains: “Our counselling service is incredibly overstretched.” In September 2016, The Guardian released figures stating that the number of university students across the UK who seek counselling has rocketed by 50 per cent in the last five years, with such problems cited as monetary stresses and pressure to achieve good grades. Staffing of the UCS is already under strain following
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Forge Press Editorial Team
Editor editor@forgetoday.com Anna Gillies Managing Editor Freyja Gillard 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 Josh Peachey Rachael Bunyan 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 Lifestyle press.lifestyle@forgetoday.com Anna Whittaker Joseph Mackay Sport press.sport@forgetoday.com Sheena Sidhu Ed McCosh Hugh Dickinson 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
W
ith one week to go till the end of term, the finish line is in sight! In our final issue of the semester, it’s fair to say we’re embracing the festivities here at Forge Press. Christmas is hands down my favourite time of the year, even if the bombardment of assessments I have due in next week is attempting to dampen my festive spirit. If any of you have deadlines in the next week I wish you luck. Remember that it’s not long until the Christmas holidays and a well-deserved break for all of us. In the Hub this week there’s been some controversies over which Christmas song warrants the title ‘Best Christmas Song Ever’. Arts Editor Mollie loves the slightly leftfield choice ‘A Wombling Merry Christmas’ while Deputy Editor Dan’s favourite is Jona Lewie’s ‘Stop
the Calvary’. My personal favourite is the ever timeless classic ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ – obviously the original 1989 version, anyone that even considers the 2004 remake a credible Christmas song is not a friend of mine. Whatever your festive music favourites, don’t forget to take some time out from studying; whack on a cheesy tune, grab a mince pie, and help yourself to a glass of mulled wine – it is nearly Christmas after all. For this issue, the team have done their best to deliver your usual Forge favourites alongside some Christmassy-themed content. Comment have put together an alternative review of the year, Features have reviewed the advertising campaigns of the year, while Lifestyle have a great selection of Christmas recipes to tickle your taste buds. Games have an interview with a huge board
What’s On
Editorial
game review website, Arts have an interview with SUTCo showcasing their new original show, Music have a best of 2016 review and Screen have the Forge Screen Extravaganza 2016 (complete with very impressive photo-shopping skills from our Screen Editor Luke). Last but by no means least, Sport have taken a look at the contenders for Sports Personality of the Year which is sure to be a nail-biting contest. The team have worked really hard as usual, we hope that you love reading the issue as much as we enjoyed making it. Now comes the time to say farewell to you all for a short Christmas hiatus. We will be back in February for another term of cracking (get it?) issues, including our Varsity and SU Election specials! For now though, I’m off to enjoy the holiday period and turn myself into a glorified pig-
What to look out for over the festive period
This Christmas
Sheffield Students’ Union Christmas Night Market Bringing you a selection of street vendors, gift stalls, mulled wine, German beer, hot chocolate and live music. 9 Dec. 16:00 - 00:00. Bar One and SU Gardens. Free.
Outdoor Winter Cinema Wrap up warm and watch enjoy Elf and Love Actually on a big screen outside. 12 Dec. 16:00 - 23:00. Bar One and SU Gardens.
Christmas Presents for the Homeless I Wish it Could be Pop Tarts Every Day St. Wilfrid’s is a day centre open to homeless, The legendary Pop Tarts Christmas party - get your vulnerable and socially excluded adults. They have tickets as soon as you can, this one is always quick to gathered gifts to give to socially isolated people and sell out! 10 Dec. 23:30 - 03:30. Foundry, Studio & Fusion. need volunteers to help wrap them. 15 Dec. 12:00 16:30. Meet at SU. Forge Presents: Winter Wonderband Bar One’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year! Start your holidays in style. Forge Presents bring you Testing all of your knowledge of everything 2016. their final jam before you head home for the holidays, There’s going to be some massive prizes for this quiz! 11 with three carefully curated Winter Wonder-bands. 17 Dec. 20:00 - 23:00. Bar One. Dec. 20:30 - late. The Nottingham House, Broomhill. Christmas Ceilidh Scottish / Irish folk dancing with tunes from a live band and a secret interval spot...come along to find out who will be performing! 9 Dec. 20:30 - 00:00. High Tor, The Edge. Members £2 before midnight, non-members £4.
Medics’ Orchestra Christmas Concert Christmas concert with a Fairy Tale Theme Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty Suite, The Hansel and Gretel Overture, The Adventures of Robin Hood and more. 10 Dec. 19:30. Firth Hall. £7 (£4 concession).
Family Christmas Fun Families welcome into the Activity Zone to do Christmas arts and crafts whilst watching Arthur Christmas. 10 Dec. 13:00 - 15:30. Activity Zone, SU. Free.
The Tuesday Club Xmas Special: Jungle (DJ Set) It’s the annual TTC Xmas Special and this year they have invited none other than Jungle to perform a very special DJ set! Full line up to be announced. 13 Dec. 23:00 03:30. Foundry. £8 / £10 / £12.
Christmas Dance Showcase Dancing in a Winer Wonderland, DanceSoc’s christmas class dances and competition routines from this semester. Get into the festive spirit with an exciting display of tap, ballet, modern, street jazz and contemporary. 15 Dec. 19:30 - 21:30. Foundry. £3.
Bar One Christmas Jumper Day Dust off your best christmas jumper and come down to Bar One, who have goodies for everyone wearing a christmas jumper. 16 Dec. 11:00 - 21:00. Bar One.
in-blanket, I hope you enjoy the Christmas break too.
Feelin’ Christmassy
Want to get involved or got a story to share? We always welcome writers, photographers and artists to join us here at Forge Press. Come and pay us a visit in the Media Hub situated in the Students’ Union or email our editor at editor@forgetoday.com
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Universities to implement medal ranking system next year Hope Cunningham outstanding learning and teaching. Universities will be given a News Editor year’s grace period before rankings A new Olympic-style rating dictate their ability to raise tuition system has been announced by fees in 2018 by the rate of inflation. the Government in order to rank The first stage of TEF allows universities. As of May 2017, universities to raise their fees institutions will be awarded bronze, from next year, with Manchester silver or gold ratings based on and Durham among institutions teaching quality, where they were listing undergraduate fees as originally named “outstanding” raising to £9,250. All participating “excellent” and “meet expectations”. universities will be able to raise The initiative forms part of them again the following year. the Government’s Teaching for Professor Wyn Morgan, ProExcellence Framework (TEF), vice-Chancellor for Learning which aims to recognise and reward and Teaching at the University
of Sheffield, said: “Any proposed change to tuition fees would only be taken following a lengthy process of considerable debate and discussion - which includes student representation. We recognise that students have genuine concerns about government policy in relation to teaching metrics and student finance.” At present, 2017-2018 fees are at present listed as “TBC” on the University of Sheffield website. Universities from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be able to participate if they wish, however this exercise will have no effect on funding. According to the Department of Education, the TEF panel will award gold ranking to universities that offer “outstanding levels of stretch that ensure all students are significantly challenged to achieve their full potential.” This will also require students to be “frequently engaged with developments from the forefront of research, scholarship or practice”. Silver ranking will be awarded to universities offering courses
with “high levels of stretch that ensure all students are significantly challenged,” whilst bronze rankings will be reserved for universities where “provision is of satisfactory quality” and where “the provider is likely to be significantly below benchmark in one or more areas.” Bronze status will automatically be given to universities that already have a Quality Assurance Agency judgement. QAA is an independent body entrusted with monitoring and advising on standards and quality in UK higher education and so these universities will be able raise fees in line with inflation from September 2018. Rankings, which will last up to three years, will be based on data and statistics including student satisfaction survey results, dropout rates and graduate employment rates including the percentage of graduates who go on to work in high-skill jobs. Professor Wyn Morgan said: “The University has not yet decided whether to take part in the second stage of TEF.”
In Brief... Octagon turns into seaside for local science lesson
Amazon launch cashier-free shop
Over 1,000 South Yorkshire schoolchildren were given a unique opportunity to experience life under the sea as part of an annual Christmas time lecture hosted by the University of Sheffield. As part of the day, the Octagon stage was transformed into the seashore with a rock pool filled with anemones, starfish, and hermit crabs to investigate as part of the interactive science lesson. ‘Ocean Quest’ was held at the Octagon auditorium on Thursday 1 December. This event forms part of the University’s commitment to bring its world-class research to life to inspire the next generation of scholars.
This week Amazon revealed a grocery shop without lines or checkout, and it goes by the name of Amazon Go. A 1800-squarefoot store has opened in Seattle, Amazon’s birthplace, and allows customers to walk in, scan their phone upon entry, and walk straight out without having to even think about reaching for a wallet or purse. Amazon Go works by using computer vision and sensors to detect what items you’re taking out of the store. Apparently it feels like shoplifting, but in reality, you’re being watched and tracked by a lot of cameras.
Tour de Yorkshire will finish in Sheffield It has been confirmed that the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire will start in Bridlington on Friday 28 April and finish two days later in Sheffield. The first stage will be a 173km trek to Scarborough on the Friday, followed by a 122.5km journey to Harrogate, finished off with a 194.5km stage from Bradford to Fox Valley, Sheffield. The women’s Tour de Yorkshire will be held on the same stage as the second stage of the men’s event, with the women starting in the morning and the men in the afternoon.
South Yorkshire ‘Sexploitation’ on the rise According to The Star, the number of young men in South Yorkshire who are victims of ‘sextortion’ is on the rise. The 21st century crime involves people being tricked into performing sex acts online and then blackmailed, usually over webcam. At least a dozen cases of the growing phenomenon have been recorded across the county this year, according to local police, who believe that figure is just the tip of the iceberg They are backing a national campaign to encourage more victims to come forward by assuring them they are not alone and need not fear judgement.
“Cash for kids” calls for Xmas donations Lisa Latham Head of News Hallam FM are appealing for donations of toys and gifts as part of their Cash for Kids Mission Christmas programme, which aims to ensure every child receives a present on Christmas morning. With one in three children now living in poverty, Mission Christmas collects public donations and were able to help over 21,000 children last year. Over 300 drop-off sites in Sheffield and South Yorkshire have have been installed to encourgae donations and raise public awareness, including car parking giant APCOA and award-winning estate agents Morfitt Smith.
Oxford grad sues University for awarding him a 2:1 Lisa Latham Head of News A 38-year-old Oxford graduate is suing his former University on the grounds of “negligent” teaching, which he claims cost him his first class degree and a successful career as an international commercial lawyer. Faiz Siddiqui attributes his underperformance in a course on Indian imperial history to “appallingly bad” and “boring” lectures. He claims that his underachievement on the module has lead to a personal loss of earnings of up to £1 million. The University is arguing that the claim has little support or viability, since Siddiqui graduated 16 years ago in June 2000. There is concern that this case will encourage thousands of students across the country to sue their universities based on the degree they receive.
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NEWS politics watch
Brexit campaigner denies accusations of bribery
Senior Brexit campaigner Arron Banks has been accused of offering a bribe to a major political party in exchange for support for his LeaveEU Brexit campaign, according to The Independent. Arron Banks, who was UKIP’s biggest donor has denied accusations that he offered a bribe. The Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party have said that Arron Banks offered them a financial sum, amounting to roughly six figures, if they chose to back the UKIP dominated LeaveEU campaign, rather than its rival Vote Leave.
Tim’s on the Naughty List
The Liberal Democrats may be facing a police investigation after being fined £20,000 by the Electoral Commission for failing to declare all their spending in the 2015 general election campaign. The Commission found that 307 payments totalling £184,676 were missing from the Liberal Democrat’s spending return. Additionally, the investigation found that invoices supporting 122 out of the 307 payments were missing from the party’s documentation. A Lib Dem spokesman has said that this was a result of “human error and failures of process. We are taking steps to ensure these mistakes are not repeated in future.”
Another Brexit controversy?
All 3.2 million EU citizens living in Britain will need new documentation after Brexit under a new Government plan, reveals Home Secretary Amber Rudd. Rudd has said that the programme would be introduced with a “phased approach”. Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesperson Tom Brake has claimed that the process would increase the Home Office’s workload by 10 per cent, costing at least another £100 million a year and would require 3,000 extra staff.
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SU President slates “clearly inadequate” counselling provisions Lisa Latham Head of News ...the unexpected loss of two staff members earlier this year. Despite the service being made exempt from the recent University-wide recruitment freeze, showing recognition for the importance of the service, they have still been unable to fill the necessary positions. The Service has consequently been hit by high student demand from the start of the academic term. Staves explains: “During busy periods it can mean you might be waiting a lot longer than the proposed response time of 10 days to be given a triage appointment after registering online. What worries me is that it’s likely there’s going to be a rise in demand for UCS over the exam period.” Staves also noted that information on mental health and wellbeing services can sometimes be difficult to find or unclear. She recommends: “For students who might be feeling anxious at the prospect of waiting months on a waiting list, the Sheffield Mental Health Guide at sheffieldmentalhealth.org.uk is a really useful directory highlighting the different mental health services dotted in and around Sheffield. “Nightline also offer a wonderful e-listening service which, although is closed outside of term-time, has an email e-listening service that is open 24/7 all year-round.” On 21 November UCS was forced to temporarily close online registration services when
appointments hit maximum capacity. Following this, SU Welfare Officer Anna Mullaney released an online statement discussing the recent closure of online registration in the Counselling Office. In it she explains that the online service has closed several times throughout the term, causing difficulties for students attempting to access counselling for the first time. She wrote on 8 December: “Last week I was made aware of a significantly longer suspension of Online Registration, beginning on 21 November and ending on what I was informed to be 23 January [Mullaney later notes that this information is incorrect, and that the service is due to reopen on 3 January as normal]. I found this information very alarming and immediately contacted Shearer West, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and Wyn Morgan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching to express my frustration and concern at this situation. The Vice-
Chancellor was also rapidly made aware and is treating the situation as a matter of high importance.” “Since then they have acted quickly to set up a Counselling Service Working Group, which I attended on Monday. The UCS Online Registration has also since re-opened, although it is clear that they are experiencing extremely high demand and may not be able to make new triage appointments within 10 days as would usually be expected.” Mullaney notes that online registration will close during the University closure period from Friday 23 December until Tuesday 3 January. Though both Mullaney and Trendall sympathise with the UCS staff and have faith in their hard work during this exceptionally busy period, Mullaney writes: “I do not believe it is acceptable to be in a position where services are forced to close due to a loss of two members of staff. As such, I will be looking towards
fighting for sustainable and high quality solutions to mental health provision in the University that reflect a prioritisation of the issue.” The response of University staff to the recent exposure of University spending on counselling services and the long-term strain on the UCS indicates that treatment of mental health at the University of Sheffield will be prioritised more highly in the future, to avoid further deficiencies. Pro-Vice Chancellor for Learning and Teaching Wyn Morgan said: “We are continuously looking to strengthen our services and we are working with the Students’ Union to further develop our mental health support in the future. Last year, the University’s Counselling Service was one of only seven organisations nationally to be recognised through the qualityassured Accreditation Programme for Psychological Therapy Services (APPTS).”
Anger at plans to fell war memorial trees Jasmine Lee-Zogbessou News Contributor Plans to cut down the Crookes war memorial trees have been met with anger by residents. Nearly 100 trees were planted on Western Road in 1919 to commemorate former pupils of Westways Primary School who died during WWI. Currently, 60 trees remain and 23 bear poppies and ribbons pinned onto them by campaigners from Sheffield Tree Action Groups (STAG) to save them from destruction. STAG member, Dave Dillner received over 4000 signatures for
a petition against the destruction of the trees. He said: “As you can imagine this is a matter of great frustration when councillors consistently talk of extra cost.” However, Labour Councillor for Crookes and Crosspool Ward, Craig Gamble Pugh explained the Council’s aim behind removing the trees. He said: “The work relating to trees is part of a scheme to renew all road and pavement surfaces in the city and rid us of our reputation as pot-hole city.”
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Young smokers are eight times more likely to have heart attack Rachael Bunyan News Editor Smokers under the age of 50 are eight times more likely to suffer a major heart attack than nonsmokers, a new study has revealed. Researchers drew on data from 1,727 adults undergoing treatment for a severe type of heart attack. This type of heart attack, known as ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) causes a large proportion of the heart muscle to die.
The research was led by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation in partnership with the University of Sheffield at South Yorkshire’s regional specialist cardiothoracic centre. Almost half of the 1,727 patients (48.5 per cent) were current smokers, with roughly a quarter (over 27 per cent) former smokers, and a quarter being non-smokers. The researchers noted that current smokers tended to be 1011 years younger than ex or non-
smokers when they suffered from a STEMI heart attack. Ex-smokers are also twice as likely as non-smokers to have experienced coronary artery disease, according to the research. The research also revealed that young smokers were the most vulnerable to peripheral vascular disease, with smokers being three times more likely than nonsmokers to have this disease. Peripheral vascular disease is a condition in which blood vessels restrict the blood supply to the legs due to a build-up of fatty deposits. The researchers also used data from the Office for National Statistics Integrated Household Survey (ONS-HIS), for the South Yorkshire region, which collects information on smoking prevalence and other aspects of perceived health. The much higher risk of a heart attack among younger smokers is not easy to explain since this age group typically doesn’t have many of the other contributory risk factors that might be seen in older smokers, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, according to the researchers. Smoking may therefore be the most important risk factor,
researchers suggest. The studies also show that the fatty deposits furring up the arteries of smokers differ from those of non-smokers and seem to be more vulnerable to rupture. Dr Ever Grech, Consultant Cardiologist at Sheffield Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, said: ““All smokers are at much greater risk, but younger smokers are particularly vulnerable and are over eight times more likely to have a major heart attack than their non-smoking peers. An awareness of this strikingly higher risk is an essential public health message and could allow effective targeted intervention.” Dr Amelia Lloyd, the lead author of the study from the University of Sheffield, said: “This study will hopefully increase the awareness of the much higher risks to young smokers, and will help to change their health beliefs, who may well think that the devastating consequences of smoking are unlikely to affect them. “Stopping smoking as an early intervention will undoubtedly prevent a large number of major heart attacks which are associated with significant morbidity and premature death.”
Plans to ban smoking outside public buildings in Sheffield
Rachael Bunyan News Editor Smokers could be banned from smoking outside Sheffield’s public buildings, under a new proposal put forward by the Sheffield City Council. The outdoor smoke-free sites across the city would include outside NHS buildings, hospitals, universities, council buildings, sport and leisure centres, and at events. The proposal is put forward under the Sheffield Tobacco Control Strategy 2017-2022, which aims to create a smoke-free city. The City Council is proposing to move £220,000 from stop smoking services and into prevention work. According to the Council, this would involve working with secondary schools and some primary schools in Sheffield It would also involve increasing the number of outdoor smoke-free sites and events, as well as investing more in communication and media campaigns targeting those finding it difficult to quit smoking.
Man hit by bus on West Street Lisa Latham Head of News A man was hit by a bus on West Street on 6 December. The incident occurred at around 1:35pm, when the man hit the windscreen of a 120 bus, leaving a large crack. The man was rushed to Northern General Hospital in an emergency vehicle, though the extent of his injuries are currently unknown. The site, near Tesco Metro, was cordoned off while police investigated the incident. A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Officers are currently dealing with a collision in West Street, Sheffield. “At about 1.35pm it was reported that a bus had been involved in a collision with a male pedestrian. “The man has been taken to hospital although the extent of his injuries is not yet known. Part of West Street is currently closed, close to the junction with Eldon Street.”
Photo taken from The Star
Sheffield council leader ignores calls to resign Rachael Bunyan News Editor A Sheffield council leader has ignored calls to resign over the 5am tree felling operation on Rustlings Road, in which five people were arrested. At a Council meeting on Wednesday 7 December, the Labour Leader, Julie Dore, did not respond to a motion by the Liberal Democrat Joe Otten calling for her to go. Campaigners say 4,000 trees across the city have been chopped down since a private finance deal was signed with private contractor Amey in 2012.
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Barclays banned from Sheffield Student Union Hope Cunningham News Editor
•• Boycotter’s oppose the bank’s environmental dealings •• The Barclays cash machine in the Interval will not be renewed ...continued from Front Page ...anti-Barclays protests in Sheffield that were held outside the Pinstone Street branch of the bank as well as nationally throughout 2016, for their part in financing fossil fuel extraction. Michael Kind explained: “The boycott is aimed to socially stigmatize Barclays and build up resistance ideally beyond Sheffield. The ultimate aim is for Barclays to cease funding fossil fuel extraction both in Yorkshire and globally.” Barclays owns 97% of Third Energy – a company based in the Cayman Islands with the first drilling license in the UK that will enable the corporation to frack in Sheffield and within North Yorkshire. Natalie Bennett, former leader of
the Green Party approves making Sheffield fossil free with divestment from universities. Joining her party outside the Sheffield City Council in their campaign to make the city fossil free, she said: “we want to see Sheffield absolutely leading the way in going forward in getting out for fossil fuels, coal oil and gas”. Peer-reviewed research highlights a number of severely debilitating health effects of fracking on local communities, and its emissions are likely to make the UK’s commitments to tackle global warming more difficult. Globally, Barclays have £15.6 billion in fossil fuel assets including in the Dakota Access Pipeline. Kind believes climate change as a phenomenon has racist, sexist and classist connotations. On the ban, Michael Kind said: “As an SU, we place emphasis on values including sustainability and liberation at the centre of what we do. Organisations which contradict these should not be allowed to profit from our space, either financially or in recruiting students.” In practice, the Barclays cash machine in the Interval will not be renewed when its contract runs
out in February 2017 and Barclays will no longer be able to pay for advertising on SU premises.
Sheffield pub-goers raise over £200k to buy their local pub Elizabeth Day News Contributor A total of 382 local investors pledged £237,600, in just 49 days when they learnt that the landlords were looking to sell. Edd Munnelly, and Pat Wilson, landlords of Gardeners Rest pub in Neepsend, said they would be happy to sell to The Gardeners Rest Community Society, if they matched the commercial bid. Gardeners Rest Community Society reached their upper funding target. With community’s offer looking like it will be accepted, the locals hope to change hands at the end of January. The community share appeal, from The Gardeners Rest Community Society, was led by Mark Powell, 67, of Lodge Moor.
Mark Powell, said: “Failure was never an option as far as we were concerned. The exciting thing is that so many people have pledged to put their support into keeping The Gardeners Rest as an independent pub.” Pat Wilson, said: “The area’s changing and there’s a lot going on in Neepsend with regard to regeneration. It seems the perfect time to move on and for someone else to take over the pub.” When the owners announced their desire to sell Gardeners Rest in the summer, to live on a narrow boat, they were approached by the pub’s locals. The regulars were keen to club together, to try and purchase the pub as a community. A particularly keen local drinker was Mark Powell, an experienced
entrepreneur, who appealed to the wider community to raise funds. Shareholders were able to pledge anything from £100 to £20,000 and by 28th November had received more than double of their £100k target. Pat Wilson, said: “The pub needs to move on a bit and this is the best way of doing it – with fresh eyes.” There is a growing trend of community owned pubs popping up all over the country. The Gardeners Rest Community Society propose to turn the establishment into a community hub supporting local businesses, creative and community groups. Pat Wilson, said: “It’s fantastic really, the spirit of community feels like a really positive thing, especially these days.”
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UKIP Representative “unbelievably offensive” in council library debate? Lisa Latham Head of News
•• Future of central library discussed between councillors. •• UKIP representative makes “unbelievably offensive” and “outrageous” comment.
An online petition calling for the rejection of a deal with a Chinese company, Sichuan Guodong Construction, which will see Sheffield’s central library turned into a five—star hotel has received over 10,000 signatures. The petition and outcome of the building was debated at Sheffield City Council on 7 December, during which UKIP representative Jack Clarkson made an overtly racist remark. Councillor Clarkson said he was sceptical about how the building would be used following the deal, commenting: “It could be the biggest Chinese takeaway this city has ever seen or it could be a fivestar hotel, who knows?” Labour councillor Jack Scott, cabinet member for libraries, said the comment was ‘unbelievably offensive’ and ‘outrageous’ and asked Coun Clarkson to withdraw it. Clarkson said: “No, I won’t. It could be the biggest Chinese
takeaway the city has ever seen.” When asked to withdraw the racist remark by Lord Mayor Denise Fox, who chaired the meeting, Clarkson said: “I didn’t intend it to be a racist remark. I don’t feel it is a racist remark. There was no offence intended to the Chinese community or anybody. “It is what the majority of Sheffield people talk like. If that is offensive, then I’m sorry. I think because I’m a UKIP councillor, you are making a meal of this.” Creator of the petition, Rebecca Gransbury, said the situation should be treated with sensitivity and care to “avoid the kind of horrible comments from this gentleman”. The future of the building is still uncertain as more negotiations are to be held before finalising any decision.
‘Sheffield Needs a Pay Rise’: Protest in Devonshire Green Dan West Deputy Editor On 17 December, a protest will be held, beginning in Devonshire Green, before marching to Barkers Pool, down Division Street. This is in support of the ‘Sheffield Needs a Pay Rise’ campaign to raise minimum wage, among other issues. The campaign is being run by the Sheffield Trades Union Council with the support of Unite, Usdaw and GMB trade unions. They are campaigning as Sheffield City Region with the largest percentage of people on low incomes. Between 2010 and 2014 the average wage for Sheffield was £50 lower than the national average. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP was present to launch the campaign back in October. Other socio-political points that the campaign aims to highlight are a ban on zero hour contracts
and to recruit more people to trade unions. Getting in the festive spirit, they are also reportedly focusing on
low wage Christmas shop workers. Watch out Father Christmas.
SCIENCE & TECH Cassini spacecraft sends back images from Saturn Hope Cunningham News Editor Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft has successfully made its first series of dangerous close-up dives past Saturn’s rings. The new photos show a hexagonshaped storm in Saturn’s northern hemisphere. The spacecraft started what is known as its “ring-grazing” orbits on the 30 November, which are a week long and lift the Cassini
University solar research wins industry award Hope Cunningham News Editor Sheffield Solar, based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was awarded the Smart Solar Industry Award from Smart Solar UK. The awards recognise excellence in the solar
high above Saturn’s Northern hemisphere before sending it crashing past the outer edges of the planet’s main rings. Last month, the Nasa probe began a new phase of its mission that will end with the Cassini being destroyed in the atmosphere of the planet it has been studying for 12 years. Cassini will continue to collect samples of particles and gasses, as well as viewing the hard to spot moons near the rings.
industry. Part of the University’s Energy 2050 institute and Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, the group has been active since 2010 and operates the UK’s largest database of electricity generation data from rooftop solar panels. It promotes the sharing of knowledge and data between industry, society and academia.
New radio therapy equipment to help cancer patients in Sheffield Hope Cunningham News Editor The Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of 15 across the country to receive new equipment in the fight against cancer. Announcing the investment at the Britain Against Cancer conference, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens, said: “Across the country, the NHS is now making great strides in upgrading modern cancer radiotherapy equipment and ensuring faster access to the most promising new cancer drugs”.
NHS England also announced a £200 million funding pot for health authorities with the best ideas for stopping potential cancer patients being passed repeatedly between healthcare providers.
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FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
University archaeologists discover Black Death ‘Plague Pit’ Josh Peachey News Editor
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University of Sheffield archaeologists have discovered an extremely rare collection of skeletons at the site of a 14thcentury monastery hospital at Thornton Abbey, Lincolnshire, which suggests the area was hit hard by the Black Death. The mass burial site, known as the ‘plague pit’, contained 48 skeletons including 27 children who are thought to be victims of one of the worst pandemics in human history. The Black Death devastated European populations from 13461353 and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people. The presence of such a large burial site, containing both male and female adults, as well as 27 children, suggests the local community was overwhelmed by the Black Death and was left unable to cope with the number of people who died. Dr Hugh Willmott from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Archaeology, who has been working on the excavation site since 2011, directed the excavations and explained why the find is of national importance. “Despite the fact it is now
estimated that up to half the population of England perished during the Black Death, multiple graves associated with the event are extremely rare in this country, and it seems local communities continued to dispose of their loved ones in as ordinary a way as possible,” he said. “The only two previously identified 14th-century sites where Yersinia pestis (the bacterium responsible for the plague) has been identified are historically documented cemeteries in London, where the civic authorities were forced to open new emergency burial grounds to cope with the very large numbers of the urban dead. “The finding of a previously unknown and completely unexpected mass burial dating to
this period in a quiet corner of rural Lincolnshire is thus far unique, and sheds light on the real difficulties faced by a small community ill prepared to face such a devastating threat.” Teeth samples from the skeletons found at the Thornton Abbey site were sent to McMaster University in Canada where ancient DNA was successfully extracted from the tooth pulp. Tests on the DNA revealed the presence of Yersinia pestis, which is documented to have reached Lincolnshire in the spring of 1349.
Poetry Soc host famous poet for spoken word night Josh Peachey News Editor The University of Sheffield Poetry society is excited to host Mark Grist, a spoken word artist who has worked for BBC Radio 1, Radio 1 Xtra, Channel 4 and Google. The event takes place on 12 December and will be a collaboration between Poetry Society and Ark Teacher training, which is an educational charity with “a mission to tackling educational disadvantage.” Grist is a part spoken word artist, part educator from Peterborough who also has a YouTube channel. His teaching involves working on behalf of The Prince’s Teaching Trust and The Roundhouse London.
Jess Timperley, a thirdyear English literature student organising the event, said: “Mark Grist is a fantastic inspiration not only for poetry performance, but for his insight into the teaching profession and innovative ways of tewaching. We are really excited to host such a high profile spoken word artist at a Poetry Society event, and we’re hoping it will be a fresh way of looking into teaching as a career. “Poetry Society host a number of open mic and performance events, which are usually very popular. But this is the first time we have hosted someone as high profile as Mark Grist, or collaborated with an outside charity so closely.“ The night will be held at
Harrison’s 1854 Bar, just off West Street, and there is the option for attendees to have a go. Jess added: “The event will be a great night for all students, and an opportunity to see some great poetry and spoken word. “It will be especially interesting for people interested in going in to teaching, or passionate about tackling educational disadvantage, and will be a relaxed opportunity to explore the option of teaching after graduation.” For any queries, email jtimperley1@sheffield.ac.uk
FORGE PRESS 9
FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
University electoral model is one to copy Josh Peachey News Editor
•• Minister of the Constitution visits University of Sheffield and commends it for getting a high number of students on the electoral role The Minister of the Constitution attended the University of Sheffield last week to learn about the ‘pioneering’ voter registration scheme, which has ensured three quarters of students are on the electoral roll. The initiative has since been cited in Parliament as an example of best practice, and the ‘Sheffield model’ is one other universities may copy. Chris Skidmore, Minister for the Constitution, said: “In particular, the work that the University of Sheffield is carrying out is making a big difference to how young people are engaged in politics. Their
innovative project has seen a huge increase in registration rates. I am excited to see how all communities, schools, colleges and universities across the UK can all learn from their approach. “This government is determined to build a democracy that works for everyone and it is heartening to see different people across communities in Yorkshire engaging their friends, neighbours and colleagues to ensure they remain an active part of our democracy.” The initiative sees students register to vote as part of the startof-term registration process and attempted to boost the number of students registering and partaking in elections. The University piloted the scheme at the start of the 2014/15 academic year with Sheffield City Council, and in the first year, 75 per cent of students (14,481) joined the electoral roll and in 2015-16, that number rose to 15,352 (76 per cent of students). Universities with a similar capacity have figures as low
NEWS
The University of Sheffield Engineering Faculty has advertised a job vacancy for a part time beekeeper worth £29,000 per year. The beekeeping role involves working as part of this team to develop robotic controllers for aerial robots that will be inspired by the navigational and adaptive abilities of a honeybee. The job advertisement reads: ‘The Department of Computer Science has a position available for an experienced Beekeeper to work on an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded project.’ The EPSRC granted a figure of £4.8 million to the project’s main investigator, Professor James Marshall at the University of Sheffield, who has called it: Brains on Board: Neuromorphic Control of Flying Robots. Professor Marshall told Forge Press: “It is essential to our work
that we are able to observe the behaviour of individual honeybees and attempt to reproduce this.” “In Sheffield we intend to put bees in virtual reality flight simulators, and get them to navigate and behave in the same virtual environments that we can then present to our models of the honeybee brain.” The job of the beekeeper includes “weekly inspections of 3-4 bee colonies as well as triannual health inspections, pest and disease management and honey extraction.” In return, it offers “a flexible working role and the satisfaction of establishing and maintaining a healthy set of hives.” Applicants are required to have evidence of a British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) diploma as well as previous beekeeping experience and a flexible work ethic. The post offers a salary ranging from £25,298 to £29,301 pro rata per annum with the potential to reach £32,004 in the case of ‘sustained exceptional
Scarlett Moffatt Crowned ITV’s Queen of the Jungle, the Gogglebox superstar beat all of the other celebs and won the competition. She is now set to pocket £1 million from endorsements and TV deals, which she said she will spend on a new boob job.
Apple Music
as 13 per cent. Professor Shearer West, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, met the Minister with President of Sheffield Students’ Union Dominic Trendall and representatives from Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Hallam University. Dominic Trendall, President of Sheffield Students’ Union, added:
“As a Students’ Union, we are really proud to have been part of the effort to ensure that the voices of students are heard in Sheffield. “Students do want to engage with the community and with the democratic process and it is so important that we break down artificial barriers to participation in elections.”
Buzz on campus for new £29k beekeeping job Chloe Simpkins News Contributor
GOOD WEEK FOR
contribution.’ The successful candidate will be expected to work seven hours per
week from 3 January 2017 with no fixed end date. The offer closes on 9 december 2016.
Arguably Spotify’s biggest competitor in the music streaming industry has just hit 20 million subscribers in only 18 months. Kanye West said that the battle over exclusives is ruining the industry. However, Spotify is still in the lead with 30 million paid subscribers.
Forge Follows the Fornight... Pfizer
The drugs giant has been fined a record £84.2 million by the UK’s competition watchdog for overcharging the NHS for an anti-epilepsy drug. With 48,000 UK patients using the drug, the NHS spent about £50 million in 2013.
UK Schools
British schools aren’t keeping up with international competition, and have made little progress since three years ago. Tested on 15-year-olds in over 70 countries, the UK is ranked 27th in maths and 22nd in literacy. Singapore ranked first in both.
BAD WEEK FOR
10 FORGE PRESS
FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER2016
COMMENT
press.comment@forgetoday.com
A New Hope for the SU Council
BME Councillor Sarah Deria makes a stand against the right.
O
Sarah Deria SU BME councillor
ne thing that is evident from the article published in the previous edition of Forge Press [25/11/16, p.10], is that the writer is sorely in need of an education. But, firstly let me offer some advice – views that are based on ignorance are best left unsaid.
The suggestion that environmental issues are not racial is not only completely absurd, but completely undermines the experiences of BME people, who are disproportionately affected by climate change. Your suggestion otherwise is not only indicative of a fundamental lack of knowledge on the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), but completely misses the point. So, let me provide the background to the DAPL situation. Action against the pipeline by the Native American people began in the summer of this year, with thousands of protestors
gathering on Sacred Stone Camp. They also marched with a signed petition to Washington and filed an injunction to stop the building of the pipeline. While this was going on, the protestors at the camp were attacked with pepper spray and water cannons, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dug up the part of the pipeline route that was believed to be a burial site, as it contained what were believed to be Native American graves and burial artefacts. The court ruled against the Native Americans, which is when governmental agencies stepped in to halt construction until further assessments could be carried out. The Native people are protesting against the pipelines construction on the grounds that it threatens their only water supply (the Missouri River) as well as having a negative impact on their health and welfare. In case you’re thinking a carefully built pipeline can’t leak, in September 2016, the Colonial Pipeline in Alabama leaked 350,000 gallons
of gasoline. There have actually been over 25 pipeline related incidents this year alone. The pipeline was initially meant to cross the river north of Bismarck, but the route was altered to pass the Standing Rock Reservation as they felt it threatened Bismarck’s water supply. Bismarck is a predominantly white city and, unfortunately, this isn’t the first time the Native American people have been mistreated. The Standing Rock Reservation once covered North and South Dakota, and in 1874 General George Custer began unlawfully mining in the area after finding gold. The US government offered to pay the Sioux Tribe so they could mine too but the tribe leaders refused, and so began the Great Sioux War of 1876. The government destroyed the people’s homes and drew up an agreement that divided the land, so they could take the gold without having to pay the people anything. Then in 1890, they broke up the reservation into
five smaller ones to make room for the white settlers from East America and divide the people to conform them to the “white man’s ways” (Wallace, 1956). Fast forward to the Dakota Access Pipeline and the reasoning behind its relocation evidently holds its foundation in this core contempt for America’s indigenous people, and a refusal to appreciate the value of their sacred lands. And you’re trying to tell me this is not a racial issue? Racism describes a system of disadvantages based on race, therefore you cannot experience it as you are the key beneficiary of such a system, and a person of colour cannot be racist as they don’t stand to benefit from the system. In fact, it’s your privilege that lets you think you have the right to decide what racism actually is. So, to address the previous writer, society works to your advantage. You do not need a “card” to experience privilege, as being a white, heterosexual,
cisgendered male are really the only qualifications required. The only reason why equal right opportunities exist is because it gives BME people and women EQUAL RIGHTS. Racism is institutionalised; you think that because you don’t hate black people you aren’t racist. But you benefit from racism just by the colour of your skin, the opportunities you have. You are privileged in ways that you might not even realise because you haven’t been deprived of anything. Telling a POC they have never experienced oppression is like a man telling a woman childbirth isn’t painful. The discomfort we find in a roomful of white people is not because they are white; it is the lack of people who understand us. It is the fact that we have to constantly explain ourselves, and educate others because nobody in the room shares our experiences and doesn’t value our viewpoint. Let’s get down to the real matter at hand here, you don’t want to discuss race because it makes you
Dickens is important outside of the classroom? In this most divided of years, Matt looks back to the classic Christmas Carol and the lessons it bears.
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Matthew Wickens Politics and Philosophy
verybody loves a good Christmas story in the festive season, and there is not a more classic tale of the time of year than the famous novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The miser Ebenezer Scrooge famously learns his lesson from three ghosts, showing him what his past Christmases were like, how lonely his current Christmases are and how depressing his future ones will be. Scrooge has a change of heart which made A Christmas Carol one of Dickens’ most classic hits, and it has been re-adapted for screen, stage, opera, animation, musicals and ballet.
But Dickens’ didn’t just write his work for its commercial success or its feel good message. It was his attempt to highlight his concerns about poverty in Victorian Britain. Dickens himself had grown up with his father imprisoned and having to work in a factory to maintain
his keep. He’d travelled up and down the UK and was disturbed by children working in appalling circumstances in Cornish tin mines to urban poverty in the heart of Manchester. He wrote A Christmas Carol to remind the Victorian wealthy the condition of those they lived around. The book certainly had the impact that Dickens was hoping for. The phrase ‘Merry Christmas’ was popularised from the story, but it led to wider charity: a Mr Fairbanks of Boston, Massachusetts was so moved by the tale that he closed his factory on Christmas day and sent every employee a turkey. In the spring after it was published, newspapers noted a new trend of charitable giving spurred on by Dickens’ book. Indeed, according to Ronald Hutton, one of the principal reasons we celebrate Christmas today is because of the Victorians reviving the holiday thanks to A Christmas Carol. But what does this have to do with modern day Britain? It seems that we are a long
way from the dark days of the Victorian world of workshops and child labour. A welfare state and national health service promise to avoid children facing the plight of Tiny Tim. Yet our national conversation has become steadily more Scrooge-like in nature. Scrooge would be insisting child refugees should have their age assessed using dental x-ray checks or that Britain has a “surplus population” (that’s Scrooge’s phrase- not the Daily Mail’s!). The refugee crisis has brought back a snarling selfishness into our national conversation that rivals the attitudes of the Victorian business owners, concerned about their own security as opposed to the poverty of others. Yet it’s easy to sit, comfortably at a desk, and just write about how mean and ill spirited right wing columnists are. A Christmas Carol provides a challenge for the left as much for the right. Dickens understood the mentality of Scrooge (the character was based, in part, on his own father) and the attitudes of the Victorian upper
classes. He used that to reach across the benches to pull them to creating a more compassionate society. Dickens’ work was by no means saint like, and provides the basis for charitable giving that has pestered development programmes in an international setting. But the power of A Christmas Carol is to make somebody want to give to charity, and Dickens understood that was a driving force in shaping our future. This presents a challenge to us in 21st century Britain. Our
politics is at the most divisive and poisonous it has ever been, and it feels that, as a nation, we are shrugging off the need to help others, such as refugees, using arguments founded on a lack of space, housing, resources and so on. How can we create a case for compassion that isn’t based on our particular ideological beliefs, but reaches across the wide gap between those on the left and those on the right? How can we build, like Dickens did, a space to re-discover our national charity?
FORGE PRESS 11
FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
COMMENT
COMMENT DEBATES
Po l i t i c i a n ’s corner A word from Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central
An artist’s interpretation of 2017
We should look forward to 2017. The future is bright.
Will and Michael fight over the future in an attempt to stave off the waking nightmares that haunt our days. ARGUING FOR Will Morgan Comment editor I’ll be the first to admit that we have had a bit of a corker of a year. From the political success of nationalist movements worldwide to Toblerone changing its shape, this has undoubtedly been a fairly devastating year for humanity. However, I think we should look on the positive side. After all, there can’t be many more likeable celebrities left to die. I would like to say, as a disclaimer, that 2017 does look set to be a particularly bad year for: the working class, women, minorities, the environment, the left, the liberals, the middle-east, the economy and Europe. As this looks set to affect pretty much everyone, my argument is going to base itself around separating yourself from the gradual decline of the Western
“ we can look
forward to being interviewed in 40 years about “how we never saw GODEMPEROR TRUMP coming”” World, pulling up a chair and becoming a spectator. This might sound like a fresher’s understanding of nihilism, but the events of the past year do seem to have proved that youth
participation in politics is about as effective as video evidence of a presidential candidate saying he has grabbed women’s genitals and got away with it. From this detached perspective next year looks like a humdinger. Parliament has made 2017 the stage for the epic heavyweight Article 50 boxing fight between the European Union and Theresa May, mortality looks set to give Trump two Supreme Court Justices to elect, and the rise of far-right politics in Europe means that we can look forward to being interviewed in 40 years about “how we never saw GODEMPEROR TRUMP coming”. Most importantly of all this political pantomime looks likely to be the death of globalism and popular faith in capitalism. Even the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, reflected that global inequality is leading the public to become “disillusioned” with capitalism. Let that sink in, one of the leading capitalists in the United Kingdom has stated that the end of capitalism is not only possible, but not far off. It’s not hard to see how, global inequality has only risen since the financial crisis of 2008 and, following the Panama Papers, it has become apparent that those with money are allowed to operate outside of the limits of the law. So sit back, grab some popcorn and flick on the news. 2017 should be one hell of a ride.
ARGUING AGAINST Michael Chilton Comment editor There is a fascinating phenomenon in nature where army ants, usually blind, find themselves separated from the foraging party and colony as a whole. What ensues from here is a death spiral. The ants follow each other in circles until they inevitably die from exhaustion, unable to change their course. We pay no heed to this, after all we aren’t ants, we are human beings, unchained from such primitive biological coding. For me however, when contemplating this year and what is yet to come, I cannot help to see the humble ant as an illuminating example of our own plight. I grant you it is perhaps a slightly simplistic account of our current predicament but it has a certain je ne sais quoi about it. Much like the aforementioned army ants we now seem to be in our own death spiral. A constant circular motion that only has a downward motion. We propagate it, popularism, racism, xenophobia, dwindling resources, climate change. None of these are new, they have been here for decades if not centuries. The past decades of decadent indulgence lead us now to this descending spiral. The only thing that we can see to solve our current problems is more of them. More racism, more xenophobia and so on. And inevitably once a certain point has
been reached the nosedive cannot be avoided. With the resurgence of right wing popularism, inaction on climate change and an increasingly volatile geopolitical climate I think it is a modest suggestion that this point has been reached and long since passed. To suggest that 2017 will bring a change of tone is therefore desperately out of touch. The election and normalisation of aggressive and alienating politics will not go away. Nor will the ice caps suddenly stop receding and prevent the rising sea levels. And at this late stage in our grand experiment it is no longer a case
“To suggest that
2017 will bring a change of tone is therefore desperately out of touch.” of whether we change our ways. It is too late, now physics takes hold as we collapse under our own weight. We profress to be more than the army ant but the more the years play out the more I realise we are the play thing of our own biology and death drive. So here is to our continued death spiral, take a certain reassurance in it. That we still answer to the whim of the universe and her laws, everything is going as planned. Happy New Year.
“Donald Trump’s election has left the United States a more divided country. When people wrote him off during the campaign, he cited Brexit as his inspiration. And his tactics came straight out of the UKIP campaign manual. While Nigel Farage exploited the refugee crisis, with his disgraceful ‘Breaking Point’ poster, Trump turned on minorities from Muslims to Mexicans. Just as civil rights groups have reported a “barrage of hatred” across the US since Trump’s election, we saw racial and religious hate crimes in the UK rise by 41% in the month following the EU referendum. In Parliament I’ve called for the Government to act decisively to tackle the rise in hate crime, and I’ve asked Ministers to press newspaper editors on their responsibility for building social cohesion, not undermining it. Nobody benefits from a divided society. The victims of racism suffer most, but everyone loses out from the politics of hatred and fear. Communities are stronger and better when we recognise and celebrate diversity, building on our differences and not being divided by them. Sheffield has done it well as a city. We’ve welcomed people from around the world to work, to study and, as the country’s first ‘City of Sanctuary’, to escape from war and persecution. The University does it well too. I was delighted to join students from lots of countries at the end of World Week in October, and the #weareinternational campaign has won national acclaim and backing from over 100 organisations. Let’s ensure that intolerance doesn’t win out – and we can all play our part.” If you’d like to be part of Politicians’ Corner then please get in touch about getting a column of your own! (Looking at you Clegg).
press.comment@ forgetoday.com
12 FORGE PRESS
FRIDAY 09 DECEMBER 2016
Jan 1, 2016
CO
M
T ’ S N E
M FEAR AND
LOATHING ‘16 By almost anyone’s metric, 2016 has been a fairly awful year. In fact, if every year from 1980 to 2016 was transformed into a human being, put in a room and asked to arrange themselves in order from best to worst - 2016 would be at the back, covered in faeces, beating the 1990s to death whilst screaming “Liberal scum!”. However, this is obvious to anyone with a TV set. Every time we switch on the news it either resembles a rerun of Hitler’s Rise to Power or Diana’s Final Moments, with contemporary celebrities edited in. As such, we at Comment have decided to provide you with an alternative review of the year, looking at some of the major stories of the year that couldn’t quite beat the ratings of the round-table discussions on how wrong Donald Trump is. The Truth is out there.
The Panama Papers proved that Russia is a kleptocracy run by Putin’s friends Remember the Panama Papers leak? That release of millions of files linking major politicians from nearly every country to immoral and sometimes illegal financial practices? You could be forgiven for letting this slip from your mind, after all the only consequences of one of the largest financial leaks of all time was that Lionel Messi received a fine and the Icelandic Prime Minister resigned. I guess an equivalent situation would be if a group of bankers, through idiocy and arrogance- destroyed the world economy, caused millions of home/job losses AND THEN awarded themselves giant bonuses after receiving a massive bailout from the public. At the time the media focus was largely on David Cameron and whether or not he’d profited from his father’s offshore bank accounts, ignoring the real story of the Panama Papers. The indisputable evidence that Putin runs a neo-feudal mafia state. If you want to imagine how the
political process in Russia works, picture the opening scene of The Godfather. Now replace Don Corleone’s petitioners with pretty much every wealthy Russian individual, including Chelsea F.C owner Roman Abramovich, and you actually have a surprisingly accurate understanding of politics in the Russian Federation. Through shows of patronage, like Abramovich presenting Putin with a $25 million yacht, Russian oligarchs are allowed to operate in a monopolistic and corrupt manner with no fear of prosecution. The leak showed that Putin’s inner circle, a group of supporters who have gained billions in tandem with Putin’s rise to power, runs a series of shell corporations and offshore accounts that process hundreds of millions of dollars. Beyond merely hiding their own money there is evidence that large amounts of this cash could in fact be Putin’s, channelled through proxies so as to disguise his ransacking as the
by Will Morgan Russian state coffers. In the leak the most obvious example of this was the musician Sergei Roldugin who, despite no obvious income beyond playing the cello for Putin, had billions of dollars flowing through businesses held in his name. The evidence that this money belongs to Putin lies in the many palaces, cars and expensive watches he has purchased whilst in office, despite officially earning only $135,000 a year. Despite the very clear links to the Kremlin, the Panama Papers were barely discussed in Russia, as Putin has set a precedent of intimidating or simply expelling journalists for looking into his finances. Forge Press is making a stand against such authoritarianism, and would direct any potential assassins to Sheffield Hallam University Students’ Union, 6 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2QQ.
FORGE PRESS 13
FRIDAY 09 DECEMBER 2016
COMMENT The Snoopers Charter passes whilst the media focus on Trump
by Will Morgan
Last month British citizens gained the dubious honour of becoming the most monitored country on the internet with the passing of the Investigatory Powers Act, also known as the “Snooper’s Charter”. Strangely, there was very little visible opposition to this. No neckbeard-clad fedora wearer came on the news to argue for “muh rights” and no one was even heard to say the classic fascist zinger “you have nothing to fear, if you have nothing to hide”. Now, I’m no tin-foil hat wearing, 9/11-was-an-inside-job spouting, conspiracy theorist. However, I am a firm believer in the existence of shady political manoeuvring and this is definitely an example of that. In the week following Trump’s election, when people were still shitting the bed that an election had taken place, the British news cycle was eaten up entirely by discussion of Farage’s trip to America and whatever happened to be spewing out of Trump’s James Joyce-esque Twitter feed. Now I enjoy my fair share of passively watching the world go down the pan, but the media has a far greater level of responsibility than the individual does to ensure that the structures of power don’t act against the
interests of the people. Instead, the media decided to participate in what can only be described as a Bacchanalian blood orgy of Trump reporting, blasting every one of his negative characteristics as if the scrutiny that had failed to stop his candidacy could change anything now. In this blood frenzy the media managed to completely lose all sense of perspective, continuing to do the same thing that led to the rise of populism. The real irony here is that the news organisations that sipped from the poisoned chalice of Trump’s populism by giving him news cycle after news cycle, are the exact same ones who were surprised when he rose to power, because the other candidate seemed less-relatable and distant. To put all of this into perspective, the Snooper’s Charter was first proposed under a Labour government but never gained traction because it was such an obvious impediment to everyone’s civil rights. So it being passed in the middle of such a huge political shitstorm is evidently attempting to obfuscate the democratic process, an (almost) understandable desire when the electoral sheep keep picking the wrong ideological shepherd.
AN A LTER REVI EW O NATIVE F THE YEAR
What happens when the dust of a coup settles The failed Turkish Coup was a vintage throwback to the height of Cold War paranoia proxy politics. For the uninterested, apathetic observer it was a brief confusing blip in their lives that was best avoided, a far flung event to their mundane ordinary lives. After all it did sort itself out, right? That mentality is violently opposed at Comment of course, I would even go as far to actively support my Comment compatriots and readers to launch a violent and brutal guerrilla war against such people, much like the sheep who unwittingly support the populist Erdogan they are a threat even to themselves. It is this that worth discussing to you sacred few. You that are truly “woke”. I won’t cry out at the injustice of the short lived insurgency in the echelons of power in Ankara it is far more insightful as a blueprint for future political manoeuvres. Yes, we could pretend it was a just
by Michael Chilton
a botched job but we would be lying. The opportunity arguably it gave Erdogan was phenomenal, a purge of the highest order and a consolidation of power off the back of the naïve lambs who support him. The insinuation here, in case missed, is that this was far more calculating than a simple coup. A pre mediated political takedown by a smooth political operator fits the bill far better. Unlike the other political upheavals this year this one was planned and executed with precision, and that should scare us far more than the fickle electorate electing some boisterous ballooning ego or deciding to pull the proverbial middle finger to the establishment. The chaos that this climate of uncertainty will create is exactly the type sought after and profited of by individuals like Erdogan. Turkey is proof of that. Do not fear chaos my children, fear the order that comes out of it.
Today
14 FORGE PRESS
FEATURES
FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
press.features@forgetoday.com
On the phone with:
Holly Tett. S
he used to churn out papers for the University of Sheffield’s Psychology department and now Holly Tett is set to be the UK’s new High Commissioner of Malawi. Current student James Pendlington gets on the line with her to talk about her career in diplomatic relations and what her work as ambassador of Malawi will involve.
FORGE PRESS 15
FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
FEATURES How did you first get into foreign affairs? A friend who I lived with went to work in the Home Office and she had also studied Psychology at the University of Sheffield. It sounded like she had a really interesting job. She was getting lots of training opportunities and meeting lots of interesting people, so I thought I should give it a go. On the application form, I had to pick my top three government departments and I chose the Foreign Office as my top choice. To be completely honest I didn’t know that much about it but I liked the sound of travel, learning languages and working on international affairs. I completed the civil service exams, had an interview at the Foreign Office and then managed to get the job. I remember one of the questions was “If you had two empty seats on the UN Security Council who would you give them to?” and I remember I was so unaware of global affairs I didn’t even realise the Council was made up of countries. It was lucky I managed to scrape my way in! It’s been quite a steep learning curve since then but I think I know much more about foreign affairs now.
What will your day as High Commissioner of Malawi be like? My main role is to act as an intermediary for UK and Malawi. In London, it’s the ministers who decide whether we provide aid to Malawi or not. They decide the real priorities and our job overseas is to put that into practice. So a typical day as High Commissioner will involve meeting with my team in Malawi to work out what our priorities are for the week and I’ll also be meeting with ministers and the President of Malawi. Our main objective is working on our funding relationship with Malawi to try to make the country less dependent on aid. We actually spend quite a lot of money in Malawi and at the moment there’s a real humanitarian crisis so we’re spending extra money to try and help them navigate the crisis. The Malawi elections are in 2019 so a big role will also be finding out who the key players are and ensuring that they are peaceful and stable. We also work on issues that are a bit more regional such as the illegal wildlife trade. Generally, a typical day is some interaction with the team and then a lot of work with Malawian partners and also writing quite a lot of emails!
The UK still funds projects in Malawi, but direct aid to the Government has been stopped because of human rights and corruption concerns. Does this make your job harder? No, I think it’s important to have a frank and honest relationship with the Government and I definitely will be hoping to have that with my counterparts in Malawi. We have a responsibility when we spend a large amount of money in a country. We have a responsibility towards the taxpayer to make sure that that money is being spent effectively and is delivering for Malawi and for the UK. We spend that money because we want Malawi to become a more stable and more prosperous economy because that obviously makes them a better partner for us to work with. We want to work together on issues such as security and prosperity, so we need to make sure that that money is being spent accordingly. We weren’t confident of that before which is why we stopped giving them direct aid. There were issues with corruption in Malawi so we now spend that money on a range of other areas, like education or health. So the money is still being spent in Malawi, it’s just not going directly to the government.
What is the UK and Malawi’s relationship like? There’s a very strong and historical relationship between the UK and Malawi actually. A big part of this has to do with the relationship between Malawi and Scotland. This is partially due to David Livingstone, a famous missionary and explorer, who traveled there many, many decades ago. He established a lot of community-based organisations in Malawi so the country now has a very warm and very friendly relationship with Scotland to this day. Scotland has a small development budget, around £7 million, and the majority of that is spent in Malawi, so the kind of historical ties that underpin our relationship is going to be quite exciting to work on. The challenge is trying to get the aid that we spend in the country to really deliver. Malawi is still one of the poorest countries in the world and we’ve got a long way to come on most of the indicators for development.
We heard that a leopard got into the embassy compound? Yes, that’s right! We had wild leopards living on the compound, which was quite concerning as domestic animals were disappearing. Quite a few of the people who had kids were quite worried, understandably. At the time I was only 24 so I didn’t really understand that concern and I found it quite funny. A guard spotted them at first and told everyone but no one really believed him. People were saying ‘Oh it’s probably just a cat’, and then slowly one-by-one people in the embassy saw them. I remember the first time I saw them. Two huge leopards just walked right in front of my car. It was really amazing.
You’ve lived in Argentina, Tunisia, and Ethopia. Which has been your favourite? Ethiopia was probably my favourite country because I traveled at least a week every month around the country. Ethiopia’s a huge country, very varied. I got to do lots of amazing things. The explorer John Blashford-Snell came to the country to recreate an expedition he did going down the Blue Nile and I managed to go along with him on that expediion for a few weeks. When we travelled down the Blue Nile we passed through areas of Ethiopia that have absolutely no infrastructure. I saw tribes that really were untouched as there was no way of reaching them except by river (which obviously most people don’t ever travel down). I was also there for elections. It’s always quite a privilege to see a young democracy in action like that. I really liked Ethiopia. It was probably my favourite country, which is why I really want to go back to Africa.
What will a day in the life as High Commissioner to Malawi look like? 05:30 I’ll be up early in Malawi as work and school start at 7am and I have four kids to get ready for the day.
07:00
Arrive at the office. Meet with the heads of other government departments and partners on our platform. In Malawi this includes the Department for International Development and the British Council. Discuss priorities for the week and deliver messages to the team.
08:00
Staff meeting to deliver any corporate messages, and to discuss priorities for the week against our strategic objectives for Malawi. The UK is a major donor to Malawi and long-standing development partner.
08:45
Meeting with communication team to discuss communications priorities including social media outreach.
09:00 - 12:00
External meetings with Government Ministers, British businesses, civil society organisations and other partners who help us meet our objectives.
12:30 - 14:00
Working lunch e.g. with other members of the diplomatic community to discuss aligning our work for maximum benefit to Malawi.
14:00 - 16:00
Catching up with policy officers in London to ensure a clear understanding of latest ministerial thinking and to discuss issues of the day.
18:30 - 20:30
Three times a week I’ll be at receptions or dinners, networking and promoting further British objectives in Malawi.
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FEATURES
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Check the batout of the x tle m ads on as pg 39
Tis’ the season to be
commercial Samuel Ross reviews the Christmas crackers of the 2016 festive advertising season
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here’s a nip in the air, the spruce trees are up, and fairy lights twinkle in the streets, which can only mean one thing - time for mass public consumerism. In between stuffing down festive sandwiches and cramming into retail stores on Black Friday to snatch a
cheap TV from the hands of a poor trampled infant, there has been the usual yuletide hype surrounding the Christmas advertising scene. From Olympic standard canine trampolinists to elderly teddy bears lost in Heathrow Airport, this year’s Christmas ads have been on point, as our favourite high street companies
gamble millions on jumping upon the festive bandwagon, and maybe even in the process capturing the nation’s hearts. Admitedly, even I have been sucked in. So, without further ado, here are some of my favourites from this year.
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FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
FEATURES This year’s highly anticipated John Lewis advert has been either a breath of fresh and entertaining air from the regular tearjerkers or a slight disappointment depending on your view [for the latter opinion check out Ellena Rowlin’s comment piece at Forge online Ed.] In my mind however, this charming short featuring the eponymous dog, Buster the boxer, who longs to reach for the skies (or at least over the garden fence) is at times whimsical and warm-hearted, with an enchanting cover of “One Day I’ll Fly Away”.
If you thought that Santa did all the work, then this gem proves otherwise. With Saint Nick off on his rounds, his wife receives a letter from a little boy named Jake, who’s relationship with his sister Anna is somewhat strained. Even more so after the family dog takes a nibble of her favourite yeezys. Cue secret spy wardrobe, kickass ice cave and a chopper as Mrs Claus rides to his rescue. This empowering short certainly reaffirms who runs the world.
My favourite ad this year comes from Waitrose and features the nation’s favourite bird in the starring role (no, not Orville the Duck). This epic tale enlightens us to the lengths robins go for love and family. It follows our hero from a sleepy winter barn across hills, valleys and mountains, shivering in soggy winter rain and even caught up in an ocean storm. And all for the wholesome benefit of a Waitrose-brand mince pie. And a girl as well, but mostly the pie. With an accompanying storybook by Michael Morpurgo, the advert also has a touching emotional twist at the end which is almost certain to melt your heart.
Nothing new here. Same old, same old. Boy rings bells. Christmas lights spontaneously illuminate as a large carbonemitting truck goes by. Boy misses truck. By the way, if you want to catch the truck yourself, your closest stop is Doncaster on December 8th.
This year’s Sainsburys offering is a musical stopmotion animation telling the story of an overworked father (voiced by James Corden) trying to find the perfect present for his family. Although not the most moving Sainsbury’s advert ever, it is zany, witty and very relatable, with lines such as “there’s a queue for the queue”. What is nice is how it reflects today’s society with a mixed raced, gay and lesbian families represented.
It’s directed by Wes Anderson, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Starring Adrien Brody as a train conductor person on a delayed cross-country train (*insert relatable anecdote here*), this advert has all the quirky, symmetrical and self-aware features of a Wes movie. And fashionable clothes. And a cracking soundtrack
It may not be a company Christmas advert, but it’s still an honourable mention. This video from social pressure group ‘Stop Funding Hate’ has attracted so much attention it went viral, especially after LEGO pulled their adverts from the Daily Mail newspaper. It features clips of some of the most memorable adverts from John Lewis interspersed with some of the most hate-filled headlines from papers like the Daily Express and the Mail. Band members from Vaults (see John Lewis ad) have already come out in support of this campaign, which aims to convince companies to stop printing their ads in such papers.
To the surprise of most, and slight bitterness of those living on the third runway flightpath, the airport has released a sweet advert this year. The emotional tale involves an elderly Paddington bear and his wife as they make their way through Arrivals, getting a lift on an airport buggy, struggling with a luggage carousel and dodging falling packets of shortbread to make their way to their loving family.
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FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
FEATURES
press.features@forgetoday.com
Someone watching your every move sounds like the makings of a horror film. In fact, now that the Snoopers Charter has been given Royal Assent, giving Security Services the power to watch and spy on your every move, this is just everyday life. Think you have privacy in your own home? Sian Bradley investigates.
YOU are being watched.
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FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
FEATURES
M
Sian Bradley Head of Forge Radio News
ost of us have dreamt about quitting our job, moving to the woods and leaving the mundane slog of the rat race behind. It’s a fleeting image of freedom from the constant information overload of our consumerist society. Life off the grid is the much needed escape from government surveillance. Quietly, and with only a murmur of resistance, a law known colloquially as the ‘Snoopers Charter’ gave police and intelligence agencies in the UK surveillance powers beyond that of any other Western country. After a year of debate over the delicate balance between privacy and national security, the Investigatory Powers Bill was given Royal Assent on November 29, giving Security Services the power to spy on us. “The UK has just legalised the most extreme surveillance in the history of western democracy. It goes further than many autocracies,” whistle-blower Edward Snowden tweeted. Under the new bill, Internet Service Providers and phone companies like BT,will store their user’s browsing data for a year and pass it on to the government. They will know what web address you visited and at what time, without the need for a warrant or any inkling that you’ve done anything wrong. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), European Federation of Journalists(EFJ) and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) all condemned the bill. They see it as a threat to the liberty of journalists as their sources won’t be protected, which could be a discouragement to whistleblowing.
“Life off the grid is the much needed escape from government surveillance.”
The NUJ said in a statement: “The bill is an attack on democracy and on the public’s right to know and it enables unjustified, secret, state interference in the press.” With a warrant, security services can now bug computers and phones. Authorities can listen to your phone calls, access your emails, documents, diaries, contact books, photographs, messaging chat logs and GPS location records. They have the ability to see what is typed into a device, including login details and passwords. It means that what you say to a journalist or a doctor may not be as private as you imagined. Privacy lobbying had little success in blocking the bill, even in this post-Snowden era, as it is drowned out by the fear of ISIS attacks and the need to protect the country from them. The Snoopers Charter is important because it changes what a government can legally do. This legalisation is beneficial because it means we know what’s going on.
The abilities of government surveillance is explicitly exposed, yet it’s the possibility of the constant monitoring and tracking that puts some people on edge. The record of websites we visit will also include which apps we use on our phone and the metadata of our calls. Known as internet connection records, this information doesn’t include the exact URL of the site. So they will know which news site you visited, but not what you did on there.
“We feel safe when we know cameras can catch criminal activity in back alleys”
Individual pages would be classed as content, which isn’t legally allowed under this law. It may not quite be the dystopian future imagined in Orwell’s 1984, where Big Brother monitors your thoughts and defiance of the regime means imprisonment and torture, but this is increasing the reach of blanket surveillance. It’s nothing really new though, as security agencies MI6, MI5 and GCHQ have been illegally collecting massive volumes of confidential personal data for over a decade. Senior judges in the investigatory powers tribunal ruled that information such as web use and financial data had been monitored secretly and without proper safe-guarding for 17 years. So, essentially, if you did want to go off the radar, you already have a history of monitoring to dispose of and internet use is a no go. With reliance on Google to find out everything from the definition of an unusual word, to why eggs go cold so quickly, switching solely to old-fashioned, non-digital means would probably prove to be quite a tiresome affair. Technology is not only useful, it’s become totally ingrained in our lives. You only have to go on holiday to a 4G dead spot to realise that. If by some long shot you did manage to sever your ties to the virtual world, you might leave quite the trail. Facebook gives you the option to deactivate or delete your account. Deactivation just hides the account,
but deleting removes it permanently. Sounds ideal, but your photos, status updates and data can take up to 90 days to actually be removed. We depend so heavily on social media, smart phones and search engines to stay connected. The the idea of simply disappearing is not only slightly unnerving, but also pretty difficult. Contestants on Channel 4’s programme Hunted could tell you just that. On it, 10 people play adult hide-and-seek with a team of retired police, members of the intelligence services, counterterrorism officers, analysts, profilers and cyber security wizards. They try to avoid capture for 28 days by going completely off the radar. Emily Dredge told The Guardian last year that she risked dying of pneumonia to avoid capture. Disappearing from society would be no easy
feat. A simple internet search for “how to go under the radar” shows that you would need to bide your time, as you would have to plan three months in advance for your adventure. It also showed that you would need to shave your head or dye your hair. Also, you would have to delete your bank accounts, so wave goodbye to the ease of a debit card and deal in cash instead. Change your name, destroy computer files, move city, leave your iPhone on a train and wear sunglasses in public.
“We like to think we have privacy behind closed doors.”
Is this constant awareness of where we are and what we are up to anything to fuss about? We feel safe when we know cameras can catch criminal activity in back alleys, signifying an acceptance or a normalisation of being watched and monitored by security services. At least the bill increases transparency around how we are being monitored, because the story of how our data is stored isn’t always readily known. Not everyone knows that location services on Apple products have a feature that logs exactly where you’ve been and for how long. Forget a diary, with this you have a detailed description of your activity over the last
month or so.
“Authorities can listen to your phone calls, access your emails, documents, diaries, contact books, photographs, messaging chat logs and GPS.”
Therefore, how long you spent at that person’s house, when you arrived at university that day, is all tracked. Apple say the data collection helps them to “learn places that are significant to you” and that the information is only stored on your iPhone and not shared with anyone else. If you fancy turning that off, you might want to visit Google Maps too, who store a similar timeline of the location history. It’s quite scary to think that we are under surveillance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We like to think we have privacy behind closed doors. This kind of law could have massive implications: in keeping our communications to ourselves, in blackmailing, in how much power the government has but also in sniffing out the criminals or terrorists. I’m not a massive fan of the government knowing that I did spend some time finding out that sugar daddy dating sites are actually a thing, (solely for research purposes that is), but I can deal with that if it means I don’t have to fork out for blonde hair dye and a VPN.
If you don’t fancy this for yourself, you can use various VPNs to avoid being tracked. This is because Virtual Private Networks (which weren’t mentioned in the Snooper’s Charter) encrypt your data and hide your IP address for all internet connections. The internet is filled with information on how to protect your privacy, but you’ll need some money to do so because good VPNs aren’t free. Tor, originally from the Onion Router project, is a free project. It conceals your location by redirecting internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of relays, so you can hide your internet activity from snoopers. This anonymity may be essential if you’re a hacker, a black market user, a journalist living in an oppressive country or for life under a dictatorship, but not so much for the average university student.
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LIFESTYLE Festivities on a budget FUN, FRIENDSHIP, FROLICKS
Lifestyle Contributor Rebecca Lally shares her top tips for a stress free, festive Christmas meal with your pals.
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aking Christmas dinner with your housemates always seems like such a nice idea in mid-November, when everything’s just starting to feel festive and you’re overcome by affection for the people you live with. Seeing as you’ll leave Uni before the day itself, you decide to hold a ‘House Christmas’ so that you don’t have to spend the year’s biggest celebration entirely without them. It’s not set in stone what these kind of meals involve. Everyone does it differently, whether it’s with a tree, Secret Santa, or tinselling every inch of available space. Of course, some will be celebrating something else altogether. But one aspect is indispensable and unavoidable: you’ve absolutely got to have a celebration dinner. If you’re not careful however, this can cause arguments and great ideological divides in your home, until you’re left miserably wishing you’d all just gone to the carvery. But all hope is not lost. Follow these tips for making the whole operation run smoothly, and you’ll be left counting down the days until you can do it all over again. Negotiate with your housemates and plan in advance. Boom, no one’s disappointed. Talk about exactly what you want
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- what is absolutely essential in a Christmas dinner? What could you do without? Cranberry sauce, stuffing, Brussels sprouts. Are all the trimmings really necessary or are they just extra hassle and cost? Is it worth forking out for a turkey, or can the cheaper option of chicken be just as festive? Do you need to factor in food allergies, vegans or vegetarians? It’s important to discuss all these questions and figure out exactly what your dinner will involve, so that no one’s complaining on the big day. Do your research and reap the rewards. There are loads of deals and discounts to be found out there that can help you to save money on your Christmas dinner. Try some of your local shops, your independent greengrocer might be miles cheaper for veg than the nearby supermarket. Or go online. Try moneysavingexpert.com or hotukdeals.com - you’ll be surprised at what you can find. Consider doing your food shop online, as this will help you to control your spending by thinking about what you’re buying. Use mysupermarket. co.uk to compare prices across different supermarkets and get the most bang for your buck. And never underestimate the power of Aldi or Lidl. Make it yourself. It might seem like more effort, but putting in the effort rather than buying everything pre-made or frozen will really pay off. Chop your own veg, roast your own potatoes, make your own gravy
using stock, even make your own Yorkshire puddings. This will save you pounds and pounds, as the cost of ingredients is often significantly less than the ready-made products. All that’s required is for you to put in a little more effort. Not only is
it cheaper, it’s also much more satisfying. When you look down the table on the big day, the sense of pride at seeing your own golden, well-risen Yorkshire puddings will be hard to beat. And there you have it.
Enjoy, relax, plan ahead, and don’t forget the festive spirit of the whole thing!
EMILY BAKER
tattoo at a particular time in your life will always grow a meaning for itself. From a young age, I’ve had bad eczema all over my body. And, for a long time it’s been my biggest insecurity.
Tattoos have got me through it more than I could ever have imagined.
Tattoo Corner Lifestyle’s regular section exploring the University of Sheffield’s Best Student Ink.
I
’ve loved tattoos ever since I can remember and I’ve always planned on having a lot of them. I guess as someone who appreciates illustration, having art on my body permanently has always been a pretty cool idea. It was one week after my 18th birthday that I got my first and favourite tattoo. I’d seen a design of a dot-work rose on Tumblr and had been dreaming of getting something similar for over a year. I got it done at home in Plymouth’s Living Art studio. Despite what you might think, I wasn’t nervous about it at all, as the adrenaline and rush of getting your first tatt is truly indescribable. It doesn’t have a deep meaning behind it, as in my opinion, a tattoo doesn’t have to have some bullshit message attached to it for you to get it done. Having said that, mine all do mean a lot to me, as getting any
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FORGE PRESS 21
FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
LIFESTYLE LIFESTYLE LOVES (CHRISTMAS)
Tech the halls
By Anna Whittaker
CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS
Lifestyle Contributor Adam Richmond shares his favourite tech gifts for under £50. Can’t figure out what to get that special someone for Christmas? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with some great gift ideas that won’t create a black hole in your bank.
ArtVinyl
Contigo Autoseal West Stainless Steel Travel Mug
Well it would be wrong not to say Christmas jumpers, wouldn’t it? Wrap up warm with a garish jumper and be proud of it. Take a look at our Christmas jumper article on page 24 for tips on buying the best jumper for you.
Loop
Yes, we know not very exciting but it is very useful. It will keep your favourite hot drink toasty warm for up to 4 hours and if you’re not the hot drink type of person it will keep your cold drinks cool for 12 hours. The best part is that you can drink it one-handed. No more having to struggle twisting it open whilst your hands are freezing cold. It has Autoseal Technology which allows you to press the button to sip and release the button seal it. The mug is stainless steel inside and out to keep your drink just way you like it. (£23.55)
FOOD Oh yes, it’s finally mince pie season. Coffee revolution are giving away a free mince pie with every Christmas hot chocolate, and I’m very happy about it.
Xiaomi Mi Powerbank Do you have that certain record collector in your life? If so, this is gift is absolutely perfect. They can select their most artistic cover and frame it like art. ArtVinyl is a frame for a vinyl record sleeve. I know what you’re thinking. What if I want to play that vinyl? Just press the easy release catch at the top and its hinges open, which means you can even switch it out for another one. (£38.99)
Perfect for someone who is always running out of battery on their phone. (There’s always one, and if you don’t know anyone then it’s probably you.) No more begging your mates for a charger. The Xiaomi Mi Powerbank gives you two full phone recharges when you need it the most. All for the price of a night out. (£15.90)
NINJA Nutri Ninja BL450 Blender If the person you’re buying for is a certified health nut then they’ll love this. This NutriBullet Blender will whizz your favourite fruit and vegetables at 21,000 RPM to give you a tasty smoothie to get you energised in the morning. This model gives you 900 watts of blending power to make sure your healthy smoothie is blended to perfection. (£44.99)
Upshot Espresso FOOD
Lifestyle Editor Anna Whittaker reviews Glossop Road’s Upshot Espresso.
A
fter months of eyeing up Upshot Espresso, I finally found the time to take a trip there this week. I was not disappointed. The interior of the café with its small tables in a long room creates a comfortable, cosy atmosphere. Sat on a table up a small staircase tucked away in the corner of the café, it was easy to tell that the cafe had a great atmosphere. The assam malt tea, which comes with an infuser and tea leaves was really warming
and a different take on an English Breakfast tea.. At £2.50 it is quite expensive for a small mug, but you can get free refills. The latte lived up to my coffee expectations, presented nicely with a little heart on the top. I also recommend
FASHION
the salted caramel brownie - it’s delicious. Just as the experience couldn’t get any better, in struts resident French Bulldog Margaret. She has a little bed in the middle of the café and wanders around getting a
There you go. Four great gifts to get someone just in time for Christmas. And all under £50. So go on, get spending.
LIFESTYLE REVIEWS TRAVEL lot of attention and cuddles from excitable customers like myself. Overall, I loved Upshot Espresso and I will definitely be going back. It is a little pricey, but if you fancy a cuppa in a cute and friendly café, it is definitely a fab place to go.
Anyone else excited to go home for Christmas? Although Uni festivities are fun and you can make your house all cute and homely, there’s just something about going home for Christmas which does it for me. [Cue Driving Home for Christmas playing repeatedly]
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LIFESTYLE All I want for Christmas is Food... Money can be tight. Buying presents can be hard. Food and drink, however, can be good. Unobjectively so. With that in mind, here are five relatively simple and affordable recipes, that conveniently all double up as gifts. Just make them, throw them into a nice looking container from B&M (other budget shops are available), and Santa’s your uncle. He might as well be anyway. Chocolate Bark As far as ‘recipes’ go, this is by far the easiest to pull off, and also the most customisable. Gently melt up some chocolate in a bain-marie (a bowl sat on top of pan of boiling water, to non-French speakers) and pour it onto a lined baking tray. It can look particularly nice with a few different types of chocolate tastefully swirled together.
Homemade Fudge Nice little cheats recipe this one still tasty as heck. Ingredients: 400g tin of condensed milk 150ml milk 450g demerara sugar 115g butter Throw everything together (and any other flavours you fancy) into a non-stick saucepan and bring it to the boil, stirring continuously
After that’s all been said and done, hurl whatever your heart desires at it: marshmallows, nuts, dried fruit, digestives, candy cane shards, copper coins, acid… whatever. Whack it in the fridge to set up for a couple of hours, take it out when it’s set, SMASH IT THE FUCK UP, and put it in nice cellophane bags with ribbon.
for around 10 - 15 minutes. You can check if it’s done by taking a small amount on a spoon and throwing it into a jug of cold water – if it forms a solid ball, then it’s about done. Take it off the heat, and beat VIGOUROUSLY for about ten minutes to thicken it up. Pour it into a lined tin and let it set up before cutting it into squares and presenting as desired.
Flavoured Olive Oil
Mulled Wine Is there a better classy present to give than a bottle of wine? (Yes, it’s the infused olive oil directly just to your right). BUT PEOPLE STILL LIKE WINE DAMN IT. Ingredients: A bottle (or a few) of pretty much any red wine Clementine, Lemon, Lime Spices – Star Anise, Vanilla Pod, Cinnamon Stick, Cloves, Bay Leaves, Nutmeg Peel up the citrus and whack the peel into a saucepan, alongside the sugar and the clementine juice (honestly any orange variety will probably do). Start cooking on a medium heat
Add in the spices (amount varying dependant on personal taste) and just enough wine to cover the sugar. Boil it all up to create a syrup. This is to make sure you get the flavour without burning off too much of the alcohol. After you’re happy with the flavour base, turn the heat down real low and add the rest of the wine. Gently heat it for around five minutes.
Buy a decent olive oil, a decent looking bottle, pick your weapons of choice, and that’s pretty much it. Wash all your flavourings thoroughly and leave them to dry overnight, put them in your bottle, and leave it in a warm, dark place for a week or two to infuse. Some flava ideas: Garlic & Rosemary, Basil, Chilli, Lemon.
Suggestion: Funnel it back into the original bottle, get an aesthetically pleasing bottle stopper, and make your own label. Classy AF.
Coffee Rev’s Winter Hot Chocolates: Our Thoughts Chocolate Orange
White Christmas
Winter Spice
The overall favourite.
This one divided opinion the most of the three and could potentially substitute a meal for being so rich. Not the overall winner, but definitely my personal favourite.
Unanimously the worst of the three, this one was particularly strange and threw most people off guard. Not for everyone, but compliments the free mince pie very well if that’s your kinda thing.
- “Delicious. Chocolatey, Orangey, Rich.” - “Really sweet but moreish.” - “The chocolate orange flavour was a delight in layers. You are first met with a thick layer of chocolate sprinkled cream that is soon followed by a succession of different mouth-feels that can only be summarised as ‘zesty velvet’.” - “Orange and chocolate is a classic combo. I don’t get it, but I appreciate that others do.”
- “Bit different from your average hot chocolate, but very warming and Christmassy.” - “Quite unique, maybe not quite enough different about it though.” - “Incredibly rich. Probably couldn’t drink more than one mouthful.” - “Unique but nice taste.” - “Rank.”
- “Very clove-y and a bit strange at first. Probably the drink of choice for fans of Chai Lattes” - “Weird and flowery” - “Not sure if these spices were ever meant to go in Hot Chocolate.” - “Overwhelmingly unusual”
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FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
LIFESTYLE An article about a man and his jumper. FASHION
Lifestyle Contributor James Pendlington lays down what it takes to find the jumper of your desires.
I
t’s the post-Christmas dinner haze, you’re sitting there with a glass of some godforsaken liqueur, (probably Cointreau) wearing a crumpled Christmas cracker hat, staring listlessly at the TV as if it were a mirror. This my friends is where the Christmas jumper excels. The loose folds of wool piling up across you drift you into gorge induced delirium, with the incessant itchiness of the fabric making the slightest movement unbearable. Ah, magical. The trick these days though, is to find a jumper that can not only be used for such Yule related events but also throughout the rest of the year. The recent trend for vintage clothing has helped make this a possibility. There are however some key criteria for these universal jumpers. 1). Patterns. Much like the
jumper from my own personal collection (pictured), the jumper needs to have some kind of geometric pattern going on for it to be perennial, a Christmas pudding or a reindeer with a wino’s nose won’t do at any other time than Christmas. A simple pattern like the one pictured can pass for a Christmas jumper as well as an average day-to-day jumper for the rest of the year. 2). Weird colour combinations. Who ever knew that orange, brown and purple could work together that well? Spoiler: they don’t. Such colours should only be seen together in a garish jumper or when Velma, Daphne and Scooby Doo are all in the same room. Weird colour combinations do somehow work on old patterned jumpers though, allowing you to pass for someone who’s a pseudo-Indie kid for most of the year, and a festive junkie over Christmas. 3). Thick and itchy. Like George Bush with chicken pox, your jumper needs to be uncomfortably itchy and near bulletproof in its thickness for it to tick both boxes of
being festive and an all year round item of clothing. It wouldn’t be Christmas without dozing off in the living room from being overly snug, and the itchiness, well, it builds character. Sheffield’s many vintage shops dotted around Division Street (Freshman’s and Mooch Vintage are the best) and in the city centre (Brag Vintage and Thrifty’s) have rails full to the brim of this wonderful woollen knitwear, usually pricing them at about £15, which is a much better investment than going to a high street shop and paying the same for an item you will use one day a year. These jumpers always seem like they don’t look quite right, but that’s the point. You pull them on for going to the shop whilst making a statement. People will look at you and wonder whether you’re colour blind or demented, but they will respect that. The fact that you’re willing to go out in public wearing something so potentially gaudy, genius, or both, merits a level of respect and admiration. Well, either that, or they’ll think you’re an arse.
Put this in your journal and smoke it LEISURE
Lifestyle Editor Joseph Mackay says you should start keeping a journal. So there.
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hen people ask me why I bother keeping a journal every day I refer them back to Duke of Edinburgh in Year 11. Hours upon hours of walking, dull fading conversation, rain dripping down the back of your coat, trying to share an increasingly disgusting tent with somebody you barely knew, blister patches, pot noodles and ultimately three awful days of being miserable in Wales. My journal that I brought along with me affirms this. My friends’ recollections of this trip do not affirm this however, as they look back through their Rose Tinted glasses. They had a great adventure with great friends in the sunshine, no low points whatsoever. So what if little Timmy got mauled by a raging Bull – it was all great fun! It’s all too easy to think back on
a certain time or a certain year as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and completely gloss over the details. Which is why I take a certain pleasure every evening in sitting at my desk, putting my phone down, turning on some music, and just writing about my day for ten minutes: events, thoughts, feelings, whatever. Hey, it might not seem the most interesting thing to read about at the time, but I constantly find myself reading back over old journals and finding pleasure in the smallest details – going to the shop with an old friend, or going to the petrol station for the first time when somebody passed their driving test. It can be quite a mindful exercise, however much that term cringes me out. It can also be incredibly revealing when you read an entry from when you got in from a night out blind drunk and somehow managed to write something you didn’t even know about yourself. Am I in love with my Renaissance seminar tutor? Do I hate my housemate who steals my milk with a burning passion that threatens to consume me? I don’t know, but I
apparently did when I wrote it. New Years’ resolutions are easy to make and easy to break. Don’t delude yourself, you aren’t giving up cake in 2017. You’ve aren’t going to go to the gym every day, and you aren’t going to quit smoking. So why not start keeping a journal?
Any old book will do. Buy one and write as little or as much as you want (but aim to do it at least every day.) It’s no effort, it’s quite fun. And when you’re a bored 70-yearold with nothing left but to cling to your past – you will thank me.
P.S. If you’re looking for a really solid journal check out penheaven. com. They sent me a delightful leatherbound journal with my initals embossed on it and it’s legitimately very good #sellout.
Get ready for the release of Rogue One with this early christmas present from Forge. Artwork by the wonderfully talented Chloe Dervey
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ENTERTAINMENT
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Nick Burke chats to SU&SD co-founder Quintin Smith about board games, passions, and pears.
T
he board gaming industry is booming. Where once our shelves were filled with ornaments, books and storage boxes, now they groan under the weight of weird and wonderful miniatures, boards and rulebooks. Contained within each is the promise of endless evenings together, kicking back with a beer and some good friends. But it wasn’t always like this. Enter Shut Up & Sit down, the world’s largest English-language board game review website.
“We try to be the best at what we do... it’s just about the best job in the world” Co-owned by Quintin Smith, Paul Dean and Matt Lees, these are the companies who champion the cause of the night in with cardboard and dice. Luckily for them, in SU&SD’s short five year life span the hobby has exploded. “It’s nuts. Big board games always popped up once every year or two ”, Quinns recalls. “But now we’re in a situation where we’re getting a good board game every week. In the last 10 years, the industry has grown between 20 and 40% every year, which is completely insane.” Thankfully, and crucially for a company plying their trade on their connection with their audience, board gaming is not
so big as to have forgotten its roots. From designers to reviewers, the medium remains accessible to its growing worldwide fan base. To this new wave of board gaming fans, Shut Up & Sit Down needs no introduction. “We try to be the world’s best at what we do,” says co-founder Quinns. “We employ a few people and we are very lucky because it’s just about the best job in the world.” He means it, too. Such enthusiasm is easily found within any of SU&SD’s video reviews or articles, each one representing five years’ worth of zany humour and meticulous design in microcosm. It’s a combination that has proven very successful, the whimsicality cutting a lighter tone against the analysis and opinion. “That’s the heart of Shut Up & Sit Down; people who are very passionate but kind of idiots, living in this magical realist world,” Quinns says. “Once you leave behind the laws of physics, for example, you can have a lot of fun.” This brand of humour is personified by the ‘reference pear’: a recurring piece of fruit used to compare the size of objects. It’s completely unnecessary and useless but adds another layer of viewer interaction to the usuallyformulaic review format. Maintaining this unique style isn’t without a lengthy planning process. “It takes longer than anyone else, I’m pretty sure,” he laughs. “We actually play three or four board games for every one we cover on the site; we only want to put in front of people the games that are exciting or different, or that they’ve heard of. Then you write the script, and you probably redraft it to try and make it funnier or punchier, and then you have to film it.” On top of this, the process applies years of experience to eke out that extra bit of quality. “Even stupid stuff, for example we never use the same camera angle twice in a review because it’s boring to the eye. We put in a lot of time, but I think we’ve proven that’s a smart business decision.” Quinns knows that SU&SD is neither the fastest nor the most exhaustive reviews website, but it doesn’t have to be. “We know we can’t compete with that,” he admits, “so instead we do something else, which is putting out the highest quality reviews. We’ve got a built-in audience right there.” This connection to their audience is key to the website’s success. Without the ability to incur empathy for their opinions or gain people’s trust through consistent content, the brand would suffer. “The best thing you can do is find a critic you agree with,” he says. “It’s not like we’re correct about everything, we have attitudes and we have a house style. The most valuable thing people look for in a reviewer, whether it’s in board games, films, music, is to find a critic who thinks the same way you do.”
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For both Quinns and co-owners Paul Dean and Matt Lees, the road to creating SU&SD led straight through the “warzone” of paid journalism. Quinns reminisces over the skills this gave him: “Having editors and writing for magazines and websites, it instils in you a desire to entertain people and to provide the best criticism in the world. If you’re paid to write about stuff, obviously lots of journalists want those jobs. If you screw up or don’t work hard or you’re not good enough then you will be replaced.” Even within the realm of board games, the skills gained simply by writing, engaging the reader and explaining a point with coherence cannot be undervalued. Musing on the future growth of the industry, Quinns says “I don’t see any one kind or size of board game
Something for everyone It doesn’t take long to start a board game collection. From humble beginnings, the boxes soon pile up in a daunting-yet-beautiful visualisation of the human imagination. The more people you play with, the more ideas for new games you’ll have. It’s insanely addictive - but in a good way (promise).
dominating... What I foresee is what we’re seeing right now: every year millions of people realise the truth, that there are board games out there for them. The fact is that board games are as broad as humans are, because humans can be creative, aggressive or competitive, we can lie, we can build, we can draw. Board games cover this whole spectrum of stuff.” It is this variety that ensures the industry’s survival and growth, and it now encompasses a wider range of game designs than ever before. You might don your deerstalker for some cooperative murder mystery; act out a ‘Russian Nesting Doll’ using only your head behind a sofa; throw some dice and barrel roll to victory in tense 1v1 space combat; or employ threats and grand strategy to claim the Iron Throne across a fierce campaign. The possibilities are as broad as the human imagination. For developers though, it’s these possibilities and the desire for variety that creates the challenge. Board games are as much defined by rewarding tactility and the people you share them with as they are by
strong design and aesthetics. For those within the industry, new and innovative concepts underline the hobby’s true potential. “Personally, after playing God knows how many of these things, I look for something I’ve never seen before,” Quinns says. “Whether it’s a setting I’ve never seen before, or a new way of playing. What I want more than anything is to be given a new lens through which to see my friends.” Perhaps more than anything else, what Shut Up & Sit Down do best is prove that the most unassuming of passions can create completely unexpected opportunities. Just one unique idea can metastasize into something new and all-consuming in the best possible way. At its heart, Quinns sees this process as a result of jumping in headfirst, no questions asked. “If you’re the sort of person that asks the question, then why are you asking that question instead of just doing it?” he asks, defiantly. “I don’t care how smart the teacher, there is no person who will be able to teach you faster than just getting out there yourself, making your own mistakes and screwing everything up.” “I got into reviews because I was writing for fun when I was 14 - they were bullshit. But I paid a lot of attention to smarter people telling me why they were bad and it let me learn very fast,” he continues. “Obviously you have to work hard and you have to care deeply, but you also have to identify something that no one else is doing”. To those looking to create content within their hobby, there can be no better advice than that. Equally, to those unsure about board games, quietly hoping to find something for themselves and their friends to experience together, there can be no better advice than to just jump in. Go to your local hobby store, find a new lens and embrace new worlds, frenzied competition, and the hilarity that ensues. Quinns summarises this journey, recalling a recent purchase with fondness. “It let me see my friends act in ways I’d never seen before. It let me fall in love with them again.” Surely, there can be no nobler goal than that.
To get involved, check out shutupandsitdown. com, or head down to your local hobby store this Christmas.
Right: Quinns Smith
“What I want more than anything is to be given a new lens through which to see my friends”
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THIS GAME IS GODLY.
HOLY FUCKAROO.
GAMES
T
Ash Emritte Games Editor
welve years ago, Fronteir released the next step in the evolutionary tree of theme park construction and management games. Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 robbed many of their lives, sparing them from witnessing more of a George W. Bush presidency, immersing them in a game that teased your creativity with a buttload of content and a mode that allowed you to ride your creations. On top of that it was mod friendly, so if the game didn’t have what you were looking for, you could always make it yourself and add it to the game. Barring some constraints in the form of angle and height placements being locked at certain intervals along grids, the game offered almost limitless potential. And now on the eve of Donald J. Trump, Frontier is knocking once again at our doors with a product so seductive it would be hard not to let them in once more, as they promise to drop you into a simulated
reality where all constraints have been ripped away. This is Planet Coaster the spiritual successor of Rollercoaster Tycoon 3. And this time, through some magical fuckery, it really is limitless. The game is astoundingly beautiful and beautifully detailed, and instead of one lonely singular buttload of content, you are faced with a plurality of buttloads. Furthermore, a lot of these can be customised to your hearts content, placed anywhere you desire, at any angle, or location or height. No longer is it incremental. You are given full mastery, to the minutiae. Following in the footsteps of the latest city building sims with their curvy freeform roads, Planet Coaster introduces freeform rollercoaster track design, allowing for more complex coasters, precise to what you have imagined. There is no more compromise. You may be wondering about accessibility. Surely these advanced features require some form of expertise to navigate? For the most part, Planet Coaster is easy to read
and manipulate. The interface is incredibly user friendly. The one part where it does fall down is the paths. Building paths in Planet Coaster can be a bit of a nightmare. They have a tendency to lock on to nearby paths, and in a game full of such surgical precision, it is sad that you can never get the paths exactly how you want them. Another area in which this game suffers is its career mode. Granted, many people will opt for the sandbox but for the few that would actually enjoy being the head poncho in the everyday management of a theme park, career mode can feel a little bland, as if you are going through the motions. Then again, is that not the definition of a career in management? For all of its two minor flaws, Planet Coaster is a super-duper fantabulous, Grade A theme park simulator. No, this review was not paid for by Frontier. Yet, Holy fuckaroo. This game is godly.
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ARTS.
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n the face of it, the premise of Blackbird, S u T C o ’ s final autumn semester show, seems absurd at best - two people have their hands stolen by the titular bird, which then uses them to become a worldfamous pianist. It begs the question of where the idea originally came from. “I wrote a short story a couple of years ago about a hand running away from someone, and then that just developed,” says Miriam Schechter, the writer and director of the play. Was she inspired by any theatrical work in particular? “I read a few plays that were sort of absurd: Waiting for Godot and Rhinoceros, and a couple of others. The images conjured by the play certainly seem absurd, so what are its core themes? “I’d say the play is about several different
An interview with the cast and crew by Samuel FK Ross things. Mostly loss, quite simply through the loss of two people’s hands,” replies Miriam, “but that is a representation of losing lots of other things - even something as simple as your childhood - and thinking that you can get it back when you can’t. When you lose something important, you question why was it taken from you, and there’s never really a reason. The blackbird is a symbol of the force that takes something away from you, like death or growing up or just time.” One of the play’s main features is an original live soundtrack provided by an onstage pianist (playing the Blackbird), which was composed by Musical Director Olivia Doust. Discussing her influences when composing the music, she explains: “From a musical perspective I think there are a lot of themes of torment in the play. The music is used throughout as a reminder of something or as a torment, so it’s
quite haunting in its nature, quite disruptive and uncomfortable. As the score continues, it musically reflects the mood of each scene. So if it’s more of a frustration-led scene it will become frustrated, and if things are resolved or things become more sensitive it will represent that as well. “There’s a lot of symbolism in the play as a whole through things being not quite as they seem, so I chose to use a lot of thematic musical ideas to represent the characters. When certain characters are introduced or talked about, that is the basis of the music that’s going on. It may not be the focus of the scene, but a small part of your brain as an audience member will recognise something.” This play will not be staged at SUTCo’s usual haunt, the Drama Studio, but within the no less evocative space of the Foodhall. “Foodhall is not a theatre, it’s just this big warehouse room,” Miriam
explains. “It actually used to be an embalming parlour for dead people.” This idea complements the gothic nature of the play. Another benefit of the space is that it’s very adaptable: “Foodhall has been set up to be this moveable room in which lots of different things can happen, so we just have to put some rigs up. The set is very minimal; Blackbird could be put on anywhere.” The group is fairly unsure about what they will do after the play has finished its production. “I have no idea what I’m doing in the next three hours, let alone any idea for the play,” Miriam confesses. “[The] NSDF (National Student Drama Festival) are coming [to watch us]. If they like it, we could perform it there.” This prompts a discussion about the state of the theatrical landscape. Something that concerns Jack Solloway, one of the actors, is how everything is centred
around London. “It’s a shame that things are so centralised there.” Miriam agrees: “If you want to do something in theatre, you can come to Sheffield and you’ll be able to do it.” So what should audiences expect with this fascinating and peculiar show? “The unexpected,” riffs Miriam. “A horse,” answers Jack (Miriam confirms this). “A caterpillar on top of a cheetah. Mundane tasks like tying your shoelaces becoming problematic. Some nice music. A banging electronic track. Blood stains. I guess some screaming.” “A lot of screaming,” Olivia asserts.
Blackbird is playing at Foodhall from Friday 9 Saturday 10 December. For tickets, visit the SU Box Office or sutco.org.
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ARTS LITERATURE
The Nuclear Culture Souce Book
«««« Mollie Davidson Arts Editor
I
t appears that we are living in a post-Fukishima society. This has not been made clear in the news nor is it being snapchatted ad infinitum. The book’s introduction to nuclear culture gives it to us left, right and centre and explains what has been right in front of us all along. The nuclear sites, the Anthropocene and the concept of radiation as a hyperobject are
SUPAS
Urinetown
««««« Laura Mulvey Arts Editor
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hat’s in a name? In the case of Kotis and Hoffman’s dubiously entitled Urinetown, the charmingly clumsy pun leads us into an evening of razor-sharp humour. The latest on-campus performance from Sheffield University Performing Arts Society (SUPAS), Urinetown has already made its mark as a highlight of this year’s student productions. Raucous laughter from the audience and a definite buzz around campus have ensured that this show will not easily be forgotten. Unlike more traditional musicals, Urinetown goes beyond catchy tunes and predictable endings to deliver punchy humour with some tongue-in-cheek political commentary thrown in. Set in a dystopian not-so-distant future of chronic water shortage, the show sees public bathrooms fall under the malevolent control of ‘Urine Good Company’. With revolution rising around Public Amenity #9, the set-up has all the makings of a familiar, feel-good tale of the underdog saving the day. What makes this production so special, however, is the unprecedented smashing of the fourth wall. David Snelling is outstanding as Officer Lockstock, the part-time law enforcer, parttime metatheatrical narrator, whose frequent outbursts have the audience in stitches. While the anti-
disected to reveal what lies ahead in the future. Editor Ele Carpenter has spent four years working on curatorial research that responds to the nuclear. 60 contributors comment, rage and exhibit work from anti-trident protests to Pazuzu, the Sumero-Assyrian demon of contagion, epidemic and dust (pictured).
“Art representing the nuclear economy is not a new thing but it has not been given the attention it deserves. ” The sourcebook reads like a sublime atomic spectacle that baffles with every turn of the page. Art representing the nuclear economy is not a new thing but it has not been given the attention
Corporate satire is well-delivered, and at times genuinely thoughtprovoking, the target of the show’s funniest punchlines is the farcical nature of musical theatre itself. As such, SUPAS deserve to be truly commended for their production of this complex and demanding show. Every joke hits its mark, and the cast is lively, talented and engaging. Katie Coen gives a particularly hilarious performance as the Public Amenity’s formidable keyholder, Ms. Pennywise, who drives the gleeful melodrama throughout the evening.
“The target of the show’s funniest punchlines is the farcical nature of musical theatre itself.” Despite the show’s subversive mockery of its own genre, the creative team are not deterred from the task of producing a dazzling spectacle of song and dance. The choreography, masterminded by Phoebe Phillips, is visually stunning, bringing a fresh dynamic to the performance. Equally impressive is the quality of music, with a talented chorus and live band supporting a strong cast of leads. SUPAS have taken a risk with this little-known show, and it has absolutely paid off. With real humour, great music and a contemporary relevance, this is a promising sign of things to come.
Photos by Dan West.
it deserves. In about 100 pages we traverse across the world from the highways of North America to the Energy Coast of the Northwest where artists Bryan McGovern and Robert Williams’s work ‘Cumbrian Alchemy’ explores the relationship between the nuclear mining and renewable energy. In their eyes, all we need is an Atomic priesthood to guide us through this society. This book delivers to the reader the unthinkable and the unexplored. It is advisable not to expect solutions or any form of hope from this sourcebook but what it aims to give is a cultural understanding that things can and will get a lot worse. So, brace yourselves, allow it to hit you and think about coping. Ele Carpenter’s The Nuclear Culture Source Book is published by black dog publishing at £24.95
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ARTS Photo by Joseph Samuel Priestley.
THEATRE
Boris the Musical
«« Matt Wickens Arts Contributor
I THEATRE
The Great Gatsby
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T
Abi Herbert Arts Contributor
he Great Gatsby (taking place this month at Theatre Delicatessen) is not a traditional theatre production. There is no stage, there are no seats and yourself and other ‘guests’ comprise the majority of the cast. If you enter this mysterious venue not knowing the story of The Great Gatsby you will probably leave still not knowing the story of The Great Gatsby. But if you have ever entered into Gatsby’s world and have dreamt of attending one of his parties, conversing with Nick and dancing with Daisy put on your best flapper skirt, pin up your hair and get down to the Moor this December. The show’s advertising gives nothing away about its format; you arrive in your 1920s attire and are guided through the back entrance knowing little more than this being a show with a twist. While the word interactive has the ability to evoke fear in even the most confident of theatre lovers. But, much like Gatsby himself, this air of mystery and intrigue is most definitely part of the appeal. The abandoned Woolworths’ winding, derelict passageways seem as though they were almost built just for this kind of experimental theatre.
“If you have ever dreamt of entering Gatsby’s world, pin up your hair and get down to the Moor.” As with most improvised theatre, the show is not at all polished which is as charming as it is reassuring; it is interactive
but far from intimidating and everyone is able to decide on their own level of involvement. The drinks are flowing, both for the guests and the characters, lines are muddled and American accents slip but it’s hard to take issue with this, seeing the cast having as much fun as the audience creates a refreshingly relaxed and unpressurised atmosphere. If a word-by-word rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is what you seek this is not the show for you. The Moor’s production explores the spaces between the lines, the gaps in the story we all know and love, putting you at the forefront of the action in some of its most exciting,
“Seeing the cast having as much fun as the audience creates a refreshingly relaxed atmosphere.” vibrant and heart-breaking scenes. Immersive theatre does have its problems and serving champagne meant that the script was lost to audiences conversations. A mid-week viewing would most likely receive a much tamer crowd, but this might well reduce the level of participation. It’s a delicate balance to strike, but the performers handle it well, engaging with and introducing themselves to everybody as if old friends. Whether studied years ago at school or read every night before bed, the Moor’s Great Gatsby performance is a truly grand evening for fans of the legendary novel. And, playing every night throughout December, it’s the perfect Christmas gift for your favourite English Lit student. The Great Gatsby is at Theatre Delicatessen until 31 December.
t was going to be made sooner or later. A musical about Boris Johnson. His political career has been built out of being a figure of fun, a clown bumbling through the London mayoralty, a person one might never quite take seriously. Boris the Musical covers the life of the blonde ape from when he started out at Eton to swinging his way through the political jungle of 2016 into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The musical centred around Boris and two key figures in his life: David Cameron and Michael Gove. It charts his first meeting with Cameron at Eton and their time in the Bullingdon club together. His short career as a journalist, a quick flash over his time as mayor of London, and a sudden dash to focus on the referendum campaign and its repetitive after-shocks, peppered with juicy references to his sex life. It played on themes that anyone who’s watched a satire show knows: that Boris has an incredibly posh background, a desire for the
highest office in British politics, a bitter feud with David Cameron and a propensity to sleep around. Whilst all of this is, yes, funny, it doesn’t touch any new ground on Boris. It just makes him out to be a posh twat either shagging whoever moves or having a petty fist fight with his mate Dave. Boris has built a career out of
“Less sex, please - we’re already fucked.” being the clown of British politics, so portraying him as one seems a little pointless. He’s become famous as the man who rugby tackled a 10 year old boy, got stuck on a zip wire and fell into a river. These are just a range of bumbling gaffes that have made us laugh throughout his career. Which makes us overlook other things, like how he ‘held back’
a report on how London schools in deprived areas were being affected by the toxic air. Boris the Musical successfully demonstrates the frenzied, furied, spinning world that British politics has been over the past 12 months. With Michael Gove memorably dressed as a pastor of a gospel church, urging his congregation to believe in Brexit, the musical portrayed the madness of the Referendum campaign in a funny yet poignant way. It marked the beginning of what will be a range of art on the political cycle of 2016 with laughter yet hard questions as well, what has happened to this country and where can we go from here. Boris the Musical, it’d be funnier without the man himself in it. A statement you might say about British political life more generally.
THIS JUST IN. Sheffield University Theatre Company (SUTCo) announced their new season this week. Look out for these exciting performances next semester. The 24 Hour Musical A full cast. 24 hours. One big production. What will it be? (Week One)
The History Boys Alan Bennet’s modern classic follows a lively set of grammar school boys in pursuit of success. (Week Three)
Doctor Faustus SUTCo take on Marlowe’s famous tragedy. (Week Five)
Mary Stuart The Queen of Scots as you’ve never seen her before. (Week Seven)
Pictured: The 24 Hour Musical Wed 8th to Thurs 9th Feb 2017
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MUSIC
Best of
2016.
Forge Press contributors pick their favourites from the past 12 months
press.music@forgetoday.com
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FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER 2016
MUSIC Kate Tempest @ Plug A Spoken-word artist, playwright and poet: Kate Tempest boasts a compendium of talents. Following the 2014 Mercury-prize nominated debut Everybody Down the 30-year-old workaholic returned with Let Them Eat Chaos this October. Playing at Sheffield’s Plug, the South-London creative performs the album in its entirety. 2016 has been yet another busy year for Tempest. After releasing her debut novel ‘The Brick that Built the Houses’ in April and now touring the new album, it is a huge feat that she retains any energy at all. Stepping on to stage however, Tempest seems in high spirits and genuinely astounded by the raucous crowd, commenting “I haven’t even done anything yet.” Opener ‘Picture a Vacuum’ is largely spoken word which sets the scene: commencing from space looking down on the Earth, to becoming engrossed in the hectic urban city. “Let’s call it Sheffield” she says, playing on the original lyrics of “London”. A nice touch, which would have any northern audience feeling smug.
Elgar: Symphony No 1, conducted by Daniel Barenboim
Like with 2014’s debut, Let Them Eat Chaos is a concept album, based around urban character studies to address conformist social issues. It was notable that Tempest doesn’t make much direct interaction with the audience. She acts as both the narrator and the characters to her own story. ‘Lionmouth Door Knocker’ sets the foundations of the narrative. “It’s 4:18am, on this very street, seven different people, seven different flats are wide awake.”
2016 has been, I think we can all agree, quite the year. It’s been an excellent one for classical music in many ways. As for the classical album of the year, there is no better piece than Daniel Barenboim’s recordings of Elgar’s First Symphony with the Berlin Staatskapelle on the Decca label.
The following tracks are performed with such passion, at times Tempest seems disconnected to the audience, but her passion is unmatched. Some of the crowd seems entirely lost, while others are impassioned with her. Each track on the album runs through a different character on the street and why they are awake at 4:18am. Ranging from Gemma in ‘Ketamine for Breakfast’ who is running away from her dark past, Ester the tireless care-worker in ‘Europe is Lost’, to Pete in ‘Whoops’ scraping by on basic wages, living for his drug-induced weekends. As a storm hits the street the seven characters come out and are “cleansed” by the rain. The general conclusion is that we should all love and connect more. Kate Tempest’s vigorous delivery is feverish as she hammered this message to the audience.
It has been two years since Barenboim conducted Elgar’s Second Symphony with the same orchestra, and this recording extends Barenboim’s understanding of the composer from Worcestershire. The symphony was first performed by the Hallé Orchestra in 1908 under the heady closing days of the Edwardian era, and those sentiments flow through the piece. Written in A Flat Major, the symphony gushes with influences of Wagner and Bruckner, which Barenboim is well acquainted with.
Perhaps it was all rather preachy but Tempest makes for a perfect urban messiah, in a year which has seen segregation like no other.
Barenboim’s genius in this recording is manipulating these hopeful sentiments and allowing other, more complex forces to muster below the work. By subduing the work slightly, he opens up the symphony to darker emotions: doubt and insecurity. In doing so, he portrays a picture of romanticism that is ebbing, of optimism fading, of nationalist sentiments that are somehow full of doubt. He leaves us waiting for the Elgar who, after a decade filled with brutal war, would write his Cello Concerto. This disturbed hope seems apt to this year of politics, making it my disc of the year.
- Will Fisher
Benjamin Francis Leftwich – After the Rain
- Matt Wickens
Although 2016 has seen a huge variety of music released, a notable contribution has come from Benjamin Francis Leftwich. It’s impossible to ignore the lyrical brilliance of the highly anticipated After the Rain. A pure treat to all ears, After the Rain reflects the personal struggle of the past five years between 2011’s Last Smoke Before the Sandstorm and this year’s album, yet complete melancholy is successfully avoided. The opening track ‘Tilikum’ sets the scene for a beautiful, charming album worthy of a five year wait. Quiet, soothing vocals set the tone for an album of delicacy held together by a created intimacy between singer and listener. The fragility of the songs continues through to the likes of ‘Some Other Arms’, a song that every human with feelings can relate to, lyrics including: “some other arms are holding you down a I wait at the gate / Some other charm is making you stay as I make my escape.” Elegance is remarkably executed in ‘Groves’, a heartfelt song surrounding the passing of Leftwich’s father in what seems almost a tribute to him: “I will follow in your footsteps / When I walk away the sadness in the snow.” Not all is laid back and acoustic, however, and arguably Leftwich explores different avenues of his sound. Tracks such as ‘She Will Sing’ offer input of synths, whilst the last title on the album – ‘Frozen Moor’ – sounds very similar to previously produced material. It appears to be a signature almost on an album that the York born singer-songwriter is openly proud of.
Catfish and the Bottlemen -The Ride Coming back in 2016 with the famously difficult second album, it’s fair to say that Catfish did an excellent job. Reaching number 1 in the UK album chart, compared with their debut album, The Balcony, which reached number 10, it is evident that their fan base has rapidly grown over the last couple of years. Winning a Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act, Catfish definitely put themselves on the musical map this year releasing four singles from the album, ‘Soundcheck’, ‘Seven’, ‘Glasgow’ and ‘Twice’, with their intermittent releases making the band very hard to forget across the year. It’s not only with the release of their music that the band have been successful this year but also in the festival circuit, playing festivals of a variety of festivals from Glastonbury to Tramlines both very different in size and audience. Their ability to reach such broad crowd across the country is a testimony to Catfish’s success, and with the release of such a promising album, fans are already eagerly awaiting the release of the third.
There’s something eerie, yet calming about this album and it reminds us (warning: cheesy) of the power that music has.
The Ride is very hard to get bored of. I would definitely place it as one of the best and most successful albums of the year.
- Amelia Shaw
One Dance Drake We couldn’t talk about the best music of 2016 without acknowledging Drake’s ridiculous reign at number one, breaking the record for the longest running chart topping single since legal music downloads began. Even if you love it or you hate it, you cannot deny that at some point or other you’ve got the song stuck in your head, and that means Drake has achieved his goal. And now, as the most used song attached to Tinder profiles, Drake is helping people find love too. So well done Drake, when we look back on 2016 we will definitely remember this track, even if we don’t necessarily want to. - Emma Williams
- Charlie Ward
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MUSIC “He reinvents himself as a lover, but fails to learn how to trust.”
ALBUM
Starboy - The Weeknd «««« Ethan Hemmati Music Contributor
T
he short film ‘M A N I A’ that accompanies the Weeknd’s new album Starboy is an array of all the images and aesthetics that we’ve come to expect with a new Weeknd album: fast cars, pulsating club nights, violence, dripping blood, and silent, gorgeous women. His third studio album isn’t much different. Featuring moments of gimlet-eyed magnificence and some fantastic guest vocals, Starboy
expands on the Weeknd’s damaged, 5am reputation whilst staying true to the artist’s own twisted style. On ‘Party Monster’, the Weeknd finds himself trapped in a punishing, narcotic cycle of numbed fulfilment, all the while assuring himself “I’m good, I’m great”. On ‘True Colors’, a passive aggressive torment of his love interest’s fidelity, he attempts to reinvent himself as a new lover but fails to learn to trust. He gives it all up on ‘Die For You’, darting female attention left and right, and then picks it up again to “trade it for a halo” on ‘Ordinary Life’. There’s a brilliant moment on the mocking and sexy ‘Reminder’ when he holds a middle finger to his fame, crying “goddamn bitch/I am not a teen
choice”. Kendrick Lamar shows up for a powerful verse on the fullfrontal ‘Sidewalks’, but really it’s the electrifying Lana Del Rey who haunts the Weeknd’s heart. Her voice cracks with submission on ‘Stargirl Interlude’, promising she loves it and tempting him with her company – the Stargirl to his
“As an artist, the Weeknd seems to have a sort of piñata effect” Starboy – before she slips away and he spirals back into depravity again, and the cycle continues. Although for the most part this is an assured, classy affair, it’s not long before the numerous drugs and mind-blowing sex starts to feel a bit repetitive, something that isn’t helped by the album’s overlong
running time. By the time he plans to confront his thirteenth love interest’s intentions on ‘Attention’, you’re too numbed to care. Equally, when he tries to garner sympathy for his soul “buried in low Ferraris”, you start to wonder why he’s complaining at all. As an artist, the Weeknd seems to have a sort of piñata effect on his critics: he delivers a complicated, indulgent album like Starboy and everyone seems to swing in every opinionated direction. There are some gems in his music – its relationship with his own mythology is absolutely fascinating, although maybe not as elegantly constructed as, say, Del Rey’s, whom it’s clear he shares a great affinity with. However, as a sly, hallucinogenic character study, Starboy is arresting and fresh.
Laura Mvula - The Leadmill «««««
Beans on Toast - The Leadmill ««««
J
Harriet Evans Music Contributor
ay McAllister, selfprofessed “drunk folk singer”, takes to the Leadmill’s packed out Steel Stage on his annual UK tour promoting his new album, Spanner In The Works. Despite becoming a name on the festival scene in 2005, his debut album Standing on a Chair was released on December 1st 2009, on his birthday. Since then he’s always released an album on that day. The alt-folk singer’s albums have been produced by some of the genre’s biggest names such as Mumford and Sons and Frank Turner, however he still has a chilled out, low key vibe. He’s greeted on stage by a warm round of applause. It’s like seeing an old friend for the first time in months. Opening with ‘2016’, a
satirical ode to the sombre mood of the country this year, he pokes fun at Brexit, celebrity deaths, terror attacks and the new Prime Minister. He stands up for liberal values and a fairer society. Reflecting on this, he says “it wasn’t the cheeriest of songs but it’s got to be said.” This theme continues from the get-go. His song “Robin Hood Costume” attacks the growing class divide and the greediness of bankers. Telling a humorous anecdote about stealing all the money from the banks to feed the homeless and help the poor, he throws the crowd into a chorus of anti-establishment chants. Not all his songs are politically driven. ‘I’m Home When You Hold Me’ is a beautiful song that he dedicated to his wife Lizzy Bee that changes the politically charged atmosphere and chills the crowd out, lighters in the air, arm in arm and singing together. This doesn’t last long. When he plays his best-known song ‘M.D.M Amazing’ the crowd sings along to every word. It really does feel like you’re back at a festival, sat around a campfire with your mates and a
guitar at 5am. In the middle of the song he stops singing and offers the crowd a choice of two stories from previous gigs. Beans tells us how a girl at a gig in Manchester came and told him her ex-boyfriend claimed he had written the song and it was about her, and how it turned into a full-blown relationship. When a friend told her the songs were by Beans on Toast, she went to see him, and Beans called the guy and left him a voicemail calling him out on originality. The story and how he tells it is hilarious and has the crowd in stitches. The gig is so much fun from start to finish, and feels more like you’re down the pub with some old mates having a drink and a laugh. With songs about censorship, porn, drugs and the corruption of the government and big corporations, Beans gets straight to the point, he doesn’t hold back and that raw brutal honesty is what makes him so loveable and different from other artists.
Rachel Lewis Music Contributor
R
emember that biology lesson at school, when you tapped the tendon in somebody’s knee as they dangled their legs over the desk, and their legs jerked out in an involuntarily reflex? As the lights drop in Leadmill, the vibrations from the drum beat do the same to your feet. For a couple of seconds, the drummer is in complete control of your limbs, forcing them to dance to his rhythm, sending them jerking every time the vibrations reverberate around the room. There’s no grand intro. A simple stage, pitch black. Her five band members wander quietly on. She’s wearing a baggy green sweater, a pair of jeans and some gold hoops. And then, she sings. During ‘Overcome’ she asks us to identify with her heartbreak, to put our hands in the air if we’ve been down in love luck. Her second album, The Dreaming Room, told her story of heartbreak and anxiety. On stage, she sings “I’m flying
without you” right at somebody only known to her. It’s nice to be at a gig with someone so chatty. Her whole performance is an ode to those who love her music, from telling people to stop talking because the music matters to a lot of people, to cueing us all to sing “lay the breadcrumb down” in a Leadmill-wide harmony. Unable to afford a grand piano, she plays a wearable white keyboard guitar. Mid-way through ‘Father Father’, it breaks. So she stands with her tiptoes just off the front of the stage and sings ‘Diamonds’ completely acapella. No band, no background. Just voice. Come to think of it, she’s probably the best female voice to be heard recently since London Grammar’s Hannah Reid. For the last twenty minutes, she turns up the carnival, speaking of Jamaica, warm weather, and grooving through a medley of ‘Green Garden’, ‘See-Line Woman’, and ‘Phenomenal Woman’. “Just gwan with it, dance with me, take off your clothes and run round naked if you want to”. The party had arrived, but it left too early. Oh well, she promises us we’ll find her on the dance floor at GAGA.
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one’, we met Danny at a house party and drunkenly invited him to a rehearsal the following week. He came and fitted in perfectly. We subsequently released ‘Sun Dance’ which was immediately picked up by BBC Radio 1 with Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens, and HBO American show ‘Ballers’.
Forge talks to CLAY Emma Willaims speaks to up and comers from Leeds CLAY to find out about their summer and any new tips they would give to bands trying to break into the industry How did you first form the band? Me and Joe are brothers, so we naturally gravitated towards one another when writing to varying levels of success initially. Almost without noticing though, we had amassed this plethora of material, most of which was drivel,
admittedly; but there was this one ‘Sun Dance’. We knew that song was special so we pursued it. Rob was a childhood friend who we had lost contact with for a few years, but was subsequently recruited when we discovered he was handy on bass. After auditioning several drummers and not finding ‘the
Forge talks to Tom Grennan
Who do you take inspiration from when writing music? Our tastes are almost consciously diverse. Jack tends to write the majority of the music and takes inspiration from a lot of hip hop stuff. Joe writes the vocals and thats kinda influenced by more 80’s style pop stuff. Inspiration is everywhere though, and sometimes certain words will evoke a feeling and become songs. It varies constantly. Where was the first venue you ever played, what was the gig like? Our first ever show as a band was a tiny bar in Leeds called Verve. In hindsight we were probably pretty terrible, but I remember at the time thinking it was great for a first show, and knowing that, despite being the only ones who believe it at the moment, we were onto
Thomas Myers recently got a chance to speak to singer songwriter Tom Grennan. Based in London, originally from Bedford, Tom is currently riding the wave of success that follows his signing to Sony’s Insanity label and being featured on the Chase and Status track ‘All Goes Wrong’. 2016 has been a big year for you: you’ve released your EP, your track with Chase and Status has come out, appeared at Wireless festival and on Jools Holland. What stands out as your high point of the year so far? Probably playing at Wireless - I went from playing to about 100 people to playing at Finsbury Park in in front of 65,000 people, it’s mad! How is the tour with Chase and Status going? It’s been wicked man, the shows have been cool. We’ve done Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester and then Birmingham tomorrow. There have been loads of jokes, lots of hard work and the crowds have been wicked! How did the collaboration with Chase and Status come about? My record label and my publishing
something special.
MUSIC
Best gig you’ve ever played? We embarked on our first headline UK tour in August this year, and we played a sold out show in Birmingham. We’ve played some huge shows i.e. Leeds and Reading Festival, Isle Of Wight, but to sell out a room full of people in a different city solely to see your band is so special. How was it playing locally over summer at Live at Leeds and at Reading? How were they different? Incredible, they’re both festivals we’ve all gone to religiously before we started the band, so to return to play them to enormous crowds is insane. We love it though and it’s everything we work so hard for, so it wasnt unexpected. Live at Leeds I suppose is a slightly smaller scale to the bigger festivals, but still incredible nonetheless. What’s the biggest problem you face as a new band? It’s a strange one. Obviously, the world we live in now is interactive in every way, so even though social media can help a band in
some amazing ways, it can also be incredibly frustrating. You get these sort of ‘virtual bands’, who have every accolade under the sun e.g. ‘global viral chart number 1 on Spotify’, ‘top of the hype machine charts’, ‘most blogged about band of the year’ etc. yet they never seem to play shows. They never seem to release music. On paper they’re the hottest artist in the world but they put a show on in their hometown and can’t sell ten tickets. Mind boggling.
What tips would you give anyone in a band wanting to break onto the music scene? Never let anyone dictate your art. A fat middle aged man with a drug problem who lives miles away and has never written a song in his life, shouldn’t be telling you what music you should be writing. The best music is honest, innovative music, so try and hold on to that for as long as possible. What are the next steps for CLAY? After our December UK tour, we’ll be going on tour in January with Declan McKenna, and after that... We shall see...
label got wind of one of my songs - this was when I was just about to get signed. My publisher sent the song to Chase and Status and they loved what they heard and they were like “we want to write a song with you!”
the new year.
Do you notice a difference between your solo gigs and the shows you do with Chase and Status? Do you prepare differently? Yeah, there’s a big difference because my music isn’t like the song I’ve done with Chase and Status, it’s not drum and bass. But I love high energy anyway so I don’t prepare myself in different ways, I go into a show the same way I would go into any show.
Who inspires you as a singer or a musician? Amy Winehouse, Solomon Burke, Timmy Thomas, Ray Charles, and Alex Turner. I grew up on grime music so Boy Better Know and all them lot. Obviously American hip hop so Snoop Dogg, Eminem and the Game. I take influences from different things but really I’m trying to make my own sound.
You come across confidently on stage but do you ever have an issue with nerves? You mentioned you were playing in front on 65,000 people for Wireless. I was shitting myself when I left home in the morning but as soon as I got there man I was like, “this is what I want to do so put me in the deep end and lets see how I get on.” And luckily, I got on alright. When will we be seeing more music from you? February time there’ll be another EP and then hopefully an album in
What can we expect from the album? Expect an epic sound… expect strings, expect horns, expect epicness!
If you could work with any artist who would it be? I’d like to collaborate with Adele, that would be a big one. What drives you as a singer? what makes you go out and perform? Just the love of it, its not a chore or anything - its love. That’s the drive, the love behind it. Thanks for chatting with us. Best of luck with the album and best of luck with the tour. Nice one, big up Sheffield and big up Bedford!
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THE
FORGE SCREEN EXTRAVAGANZA 2016
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Screen Editors Luke Baldwin and Beth Andralojc sit down with Forge TV’s Tom Mason and Forge Radio’s Josh Roberts, Head of Production, to discuss our thoughts on the past year in TV and film. Here are some snippets from our hour long chat. Initial thoughts on the Year? L: So I’ve spent about an hour going through month by month of all the films that have come out and a lot of these I completely forgot about, which brings me to my first point: I’m actually very disappointed in this year in film. T: There’s not been that many that have stood out as spectacular films. There’s been a few alright films but I feel a little bit disenchanted, because I feel that nowadays a lot of films are very safe. L: Yeah, I completely agree, looking at this list there’s a lot of guaranteed money spinners. On the other hand, TV has been absolutely on it. Some incredible TV. T: Especially online, like Amazon Prime and Netflix. L: Definitely, and there’s a lot of shows, like Mr. Robot, which didn’t necessarily start this year but had incredible second seasons. J: Another thing that’s been a lot better with TV this year has been comic book based series which have really overtaken their film counterparts. I feel like comic book movies this year have been all hype and then not really delivered but in TV there’s been DC’s Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow which could be films in themselves and they manage to do it on a TV budget. Then there’s also the Netflix ones like Daredevil and Luke Cage which were absolutely amazing. Favourite and least favourite films and tv shows? J: Favourite film for me was probably Deadpool. Favourite TV show? Anything from the Arrowverse and/or Luke Cage. Worst film for me was a Netflix original that I watched last night but I don’t know the name of it. It’s got that guy from Paul Blart Mall Cop in it. L: Kevin James? Why we’re you watching a Kevin James film?! J: I just thought I’d give it a watch, what was it called? Memoirs of an International Assassin. Oh, it was awful. Don’t think I had a worst TV show, because if I thought it was bad I just wouldn’t watch it. T: I think I agree, Deadpool was up there as one of the best films and also Zootopia. I’ve watched it so many times and it’s still fantastic. TV shows: I think The Crown has been brilliant, they’ve done a really good job of that. Least favourite is much harder, I don’t know, I’ve blanked them out. B: My favourite TV show was Stranger Things and my favourite movie was Everbody Wants Some!! and for least favourite, I’d say Batman vs Superman. L: I was so bored during that film. B: I didn’t think it was bad, it was just the one I liked the least. L: For me, again, best film was Deadpool. I love the whole genre but even I thought it was going
stale and that film gave it so much new life and was just so different. I adored Deadpool. TV, definitely Game of Thrones. The first 10 minutes of the last episode of season six is, in my opinion, some of the best telly I’ve ever seen. As for films there’s been a couple. I’m a big Cloverfield fan, I really love that whole universe and that film but 10 Cloverfield Lane was just dreadful. But the film that disappointed me the most is a film that no one will have heard of, Lazer Team. It was a Kickstarter from an online production company called Rooster Teeth, who I’m a big fan of. This was their first feature length film and I spent £80 on it. I got the DVD in the post, one of the first people to watch it, dead excited. And it was absolutely awful. It felt like such a waste of money, and it put me off crowd funding for life.
J: I don’t think that was his fault though, I think that was down to editing. L: I really wanted to like it, and put it down to problems with the film and production. I think it could have been really edgy, but instead it just came across as pretentious. That might have been down to editing, but I just don’t think it was right for the film.
Best and worst performances?
We hope you’ve enjoyed the past year of Screen and are as excited as us for what 2017 has in store. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
T: I actually thought Eddie Redmayne in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was quite good and J.K. Rowling says it’s very accurate, she was thinking of him when she wrote it. But I thought a lot of the other actors in that film let it down a little bit. So I think that film has both some of the best performances and some of the worst. J: Christoph Waltz in Tarzan, he was really good. L: That’s quite impressive for a film that’s not received much recognition. J: He’s excellent no matter what role he’s playing it’s just a shame that the rest of that film wasn’t very good. Ben Affleck as Batman wasn’t very good, I just think it was the wrong fit. But there isn’t much, other than maybe The Revenant, thats stood out for me this year. Films that have been good have been good as a whole, not just necessarily because of one performance. T: I think Clare Foy in The Crown as the Queen has been very very good and there’s been times watching it where I’ve forgotten she’s not the Queen, because it’s just so realistic. Same with Matt Smith as Prince Phillip, because there’s always the risk with actors like him that people watching will just go “Oh, it’s the old Doctor Who”, but it’s a very good performance. B: I would say my favourite was Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl and my least favourite...I can’t really think of any. Probably a couple of the actors in Black Mirror. It is a really good series, but theres some performances that aren’t great. There’s one in particular. I don’t want to give too much away but, it’s the third in the series and it’s set in a fictional American coastal town. I just don’t think the acting was very Black Mirror. L: I loved Lena Headley in Game of Thrones as Cersei Lannister. I think for a show that was so dominated by Peter Dinklage for so long, it’s really nice for someone else to take centre stage and she does it amazingly. Worst, Jared Leto’s Joker.
Most anticipated film of 2017? T: It’s not 2017, it’s now but Rogue One. J: Guardians of the Galaxy 2, for me. B: Yeah, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for me aswell. L: Trainspotting 2, very much looking forward to that.
Screen Editors Beth + Luke x
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SCREEN DIGITAL SMALL SCREEN
Gilmore Girls: ‘Winter’
Westworld
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Danielle Martin Screen Contributor
Dan West Deputy Editor
T
he treasured girls from Star Hollow return for the final time with a Gilmore Girls four-part series, checking in almost a decade later, and following the changes through seasonal, short movie-length episodes. ‘Winter’ depicts Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) radiant from her invigorating journalism career, which has her jumping on the next plane before she’s had chance to touch down in Stars Hollow for little more than a day.
“Expect the same everimportant, difficult issues of family, trust and friendships to be explored. ” Her mother, Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) appears hazy, mellowed, and somewhat despondent, remaining in Stars Hollow to continue running her own inn. Lorelai’s relationship with her mother, Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop), continues on its bumpy path, as they confront challenges both new and old. Expect the same ever-important, difficult issues of family, trust and friendships to be explored. They are
BIG SCREEN
Allied «« Sophie Maxwell Screen contributor
Z
emeckis is known for the 80s cult classic Back to the Future, and the iconic, oft-quoted Forrest Gump. It’s a filmography of strangely juxtaposed passions - ambitious special effects and weepy melodrama. Allied sits uncomfortably on the fence between the two, unpredictably veering from intense conversations to bizarre action scenes, and failing to satisfy either. Brad Pitt plays stoic Canadian Max Vatan sent undercover to Casablanca to play husband-andwife with a member of the French Resistance, in order to assassinate the German Ambassador to Morocco. Their romantic pretence doesn’t stay fake for long, and they end up in London with the threat of lies hanging over their relationship. The Moroccan preamble takes
H heightened by not only their maturity but also all of the characters who have surrounded them for the past seven seasons.
“Notably, it’s interesting to see how the characters move through the ages in culture and The feminist vibe continues as both Rory and Lorelai are depicted as stronger than ever; these girls have always known what they want, and how to get it, something that thankfully hasn’t changed. Fans are given more of this inseparable mother-daughter bond. Inspirationally hard working and
up the first third of the film, and must have given Zemeckis a great excuse for a holiday, since its dramatisation is inexplicable. It’s a long, slow, way to set the scene, and it fails completely in its job to establish the relationship between
independent, the girls are also famously no strangers to vulnerability and honesty in always trying to convey their true feelings. The difficulty in attempting to get the balance right is continually explored, showing that no matter how much the characters have matured, there is always room for growth. Bledel and Graham retain their trademark witty remarks. Notably, it’s interesting to see how the characters move through the ages in culture and technology. There has been some criticism of the supposedly ‘depressing’ ending to the series, but what other than heartache can be expected at the end of this wonderful era that is the Gilmore Girls?
Vatan and his partner Marianne Beauséjour (the ever-capable Marian Cotillard). Soon Casablanca becomes a romantic whirlwind in their pasts. It would have been more effective to allow us to imagine this history, since its details become quickly irrelevant. W h i l e
ow to describe Westworld? Well, it’s a science fiction drama that’s mainly set in a wild-west theme park, populated by artificial people, called hosts, that have storylines with which wealthy visitors interact however they see fit. At first anyway. Ish HBO’s latest tv blockbuster is filled with a web of interwoven stories that impact upon each other. The further into the world the park’s guests delve, the further into their hard drives the hosts delve. At times it’s just enough to get lost in the visually sumptuous universe which it takes place in. Revelations arrive time and again, all reliably unexpected and utterly shocking, each changing your view of the worlds and the stories told within. The real star of the show is the park itself, with its vast plains and staggering landscapes which are shot with such a level of authenticity you get lost in it, forgetting that the world of glass, offices and laboratories is supposed to be the real one in this long and twisting story. The look of the series elevates it over all other TV series, with its celluloid image feeling deep and real. The music, composed by Ramin Djawadi, never ceases to raise a smile with its soaring strings and amazing wild west versions of classic music from the likes of the Rolling Stones to Radiohead. The anachronistic covers act as a constant reminder that the park isn’t real and you shouldn’t always trust it. Westworld is a sublime masterpiece filled with what feels like hundreds of characters you get to know over the ten episodes. Not all of the characters stick; Sizemore the head of story is interminably annoying. But you can’t help but get excited about the best characters and what you think might happen to them. You are also repeatedly surprised when yet another unexpected twist shunts the story a different way, making you unable to relax and let it just happen. It constantly demands and deserves your attention.
Beauséjour slips effortlessly into all her required roles, Vatan is apparently a bad spy, whose poor Parisian accent is a potential problem for the mission. It is simply unbelievable that anyone so inept would ever find themselves in his position, let alone that Beauséjour would find him alluring. Perhaps Cotillard simply out acts Pitt, but the problem also lies in Zemeckis’s wrestling with history to suit his concept. The Second World War setting is irrelevant, serving only to let Pitt heroically slaughter
Hollywood’s favourite villains, the Nazis and throw a jazzy party. Zemeckis has tried so hard to make an iconic film, full of memorable scenes and majestic shots, that he forgot to include a believable plot or render an effective atmosphere. Allied has the same gaudy, anachronistic glitz as the adverts for Audi and Armani which ran before it, and the temporal and geographical leaps only make its scenes more disjointed. Cotillard’s performance is an evident redeeming feature as is Steven Knight’s script when his rewarding subtleties aren’t obliterated by Zemickis. Allied is an exhausting farce, and offers us nothing that a cosy rewatch of Casablanca couldn’t offer, plus some.
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SCREEN EXPLORES
The Battle of the Christmas Ads Nick Cassidy Forge Press Treasurer
Forge Press Treasurer Nick Cassidy discusses the Modern Christmas fixation on Christmas adverts, and gives his opinions on what constitutes a great festive advert.
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verywhere you go there is annoying and over the top festivities, making you want to hide till January. Christmas adverts are no exception to that. From John Lewis and Sainsbury’s, all the way to M&S and Heathrow Airport, the
FESTIVE BIG SCREEN
Bad Santa 2 «««
O
Adam Richmond Screen Contributor
ver 10 years ago the first Bad Santa came to our screens. Now the whiskey-fuelled gang are back with a new mission. Willie Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) is forced to put the santa suit back on one more time. This time they are stealing from a charity. Doesn’t get any lower than that does it? The film is filled with swearing, sex and any kind of offensive joke you can think of. Fans of other comedies of that style such as Ted will enjoy this film. But I definitely wouldn’t take my nan to see it. The material in the film is so crazy you would not think it would be legal to have such filthy jokes. But it works. More out of shock but nevertheless it still works. There is an abundance of short jokes in the filming thanks to the inclusion of Marcus Skidmore (Tony Cox). The height abuse is
battle for the best Christmas advert is just starting. Having the best Christmas advert has become a tradition that most companies compete every year. It helps promote their business during this busy time of the year. Each year Sainsbury’s and John Lewis typically claim the title of best ad, however, this year has seen a large rise in Christmas advert. This makes it difficult to judge. Firstly, John Lewis’ Advert follows the story of a little girl waiting to see her Christmas present. However, foxes, a badger, a squirrel and a hedgehog also show their passion for the present, revealed to be a trampoline. The family dog, Buster the Boxer, also shows an interest in the trampoline by beating the little girl to the gift and bouncing, a surprise to the family. The advert ends with a slogan about there being a gift for everyone. This expensive ad contains CGI to show the animals and an excellent cover of ‘One Day I’ll Fly Away’ by Vaults. This advert lacks excitement in the main storytelling as it is just about a girl waiting to open her present, but a dog likes her present too.
However the special effects, cinematography and music really makes this as a contender. Sainsbury’s advert is also just as grand as previous years with a special stop motion animation and a story that has a true meaning of Christmas. It tells the story of Dave, a father, who goes out of his way to make his family happy at Christmas when he forgets that sometimes the best present at Christmas is himself. This theme is shown throughout and makes the viewer really question the meaning of Christmas, however, the whole advert is let down by the endless vocals played by James Cordon. In addition, the meaning of “the best gift is you” is let down by Sainsbury’s saying to go buy their stuff. A surprise addition to the Christmas line up is Heathrow Airport. This advert tells a story of two teddy bears trying to make it home for Christmas at Heathrow. The couple go through the airport till they are reunited with their family. The meaning behind this ad is that coming home for Christmas is the best gift of all. This is similar to Sainsbury’s with the idea of you being the best gift. This advert also uses CGI, similar to ‘Buster the
absolutely relentless and it is even used by the director when Marcus has to jump to get to everything. Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly) is also back on the team. The loveable Thurman shares the role with Marcus of getting comically abused in almost every scene. Also, for some reason he cannot feel the cold because he never wears a jacket in most scenes, even though it is constantly snowing. Now that’s dedication. No gag in the film escapes from laughter. The comedic delivery from the characters in the flick is impeccable. You will laugh without anybody talking which takes great cinematographic skill. Bad Santa 2 is not completely full of vulgar humour. It has quite touching moments as well. As fleeting as they may be, they still make an impact. It gives a break from the laughs and brings you back into Willie’s world. What lets it down though is the lack of dimension from the characters. It feels there is something missing. They feel soulless. If they fleshed out each character more and perhaps humanised them, it would have been a welcome change. However, the characters do have interchanging relationships and the film has a great way of displaying that
throughout. The small cast works perfectly. It allows you to not have to remember reams of characters like Game of Thrones. Its definite saving grace is its simplicity. That and Willie’s ludicrously funny one liners. Bad Santa 2 is superbly funny and will have you gasping in shock over and over again. It has a long way to go before it reaches the legendary comedy heights of White Chicks, Norbit and Scary Movie but if you want a different type of Christmas cheer this year, then this film is absolutely perfect.
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boxer’ from John Lewis, and has a nice soundtrack along with subtle humour. There are no faults with this advert and therefore it beats both John Lewis and Sainsbury’s because of the excellent story, music and effects. However, M&S has won the overall battle for best Christmas advert with their fantastic ad called ‘Christmas with Love from Mrs Claus’. The story is excellent and perfect in every way. It follows a boy who wants to repay his sister after breaking her shoes.
soundtrack and special effects, this advert really connects to the viewer unlike John Lewis and Sainsbury’s because of the use of real actors and little CGI. M&S wins the title of best Christmas ad this year beating the typical winners of John Lewis and Sainsbury’s. Another important mention is the rise in adverts from Charities. Alzheimer Research UK, for example, has produced an excellent advert about how Santa forgets Christmas, a real hardhitting ad showing the real issues people face at Christmas. This shows that Christmas adverts aren’t that bad after all and that we can probably cope with non-stop festivities for a few months. Maybe.
Instead of the traditional method of writing a letter to Santa, the boy instead contacts Mrs Claus and she delivers the gift. The meaning is fantastic and a refreshing approach to Christmas by using women to deliver the gifts, rather than the typical male Santa. The story also looks at a typical household which most viewers can relate to. Along with the perfect
CHRISTMAS CULT CORNER
The Greatest Store in the World Beth Andralojc Screen Editor
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ather Christmas takes on an entirely new persona in the most underrated Christmas movie of all time, The Greatest Store in the World. Starring Ricky Tomlinson as a deadbeat Santa, Sean Hughes as his idiot elf companion and a pre-Malcolm Tucker Peter Capaldi as humble security guard Mr Whiskers, this film is one thoroughly British Christmas spectacular. Adapted from Alex Shearer’s children’s novel for television in 1999, it follows single mother Geraldine (Dervla Kirwin) as she seeks refuge for herself and her two daughters in the world’s greatest department store, ‘Scottley’s’, during the run up to Christmas. Their story is relayed by eldest daughter Livvie in a police station on Christmas Day as she renders flashbacks of the trials and
tribulations that come from trying to live in a store. It may not sound it, but it’s both heartwarming and hilarious. Ricky Tomlinson portraying the Father Christmas of the store is a particular highlight, with the same dryness of his most celebrated screen character, Jim Royle, seeping in at points. His oafish elf companion, played by former Never Mind The Buzzcocks team captain Sean Hughes also provides a huge helping of comedy. Also keep an eye out for a certain Brian Blessed, bringing a spectacular turn as the exuberant Mr Scottley. But the real gem here is Capaldi’s charming Mr Whiskers, who offers a hand wherever he can to the struggling family. Yes, it sounds rather bizarre but it also highlights the troubling issue which the movie begins with: homelessness. Particularly with scenes between Geraldine and her daughters, its script hammers home the fact that Christmas is about helping others. And that’s why this is my Christmas pick - it’s funny and a little weird but at it’s heart it remembers that Christmas is about joy and all the forms in which it comes.
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SportsThoughts.
After another spectacular year of British sport, Jack Wignall examines the contenders for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. Alex Pinfold reacts to a question of sportsmanship arising from the thrilling end to the F1 season.
SPOTY 2016: The most impressive one yet? Jack Wignall Sport contributor
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ith the Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony taking place in Birmingham next week, can either of the Sheffield nominations possibly stop Andy Murray from claiming a record third SPOTY trophy?
Jack’s Top Five 5) Gareth Bale Sport – Football 2016 achievements – Spearheaded Wales’ run to the Euro 2016 semifinals, scoring three goals at the competition. He also won the Champions League with his club side Real Madrid as well as winning Welsh Footballer of the Year for the sixth time and fourth time in succession respectively. Chances of winning – Just like Wales, a strong showing throughout the year but will fall just short of the top three.
4) Mo Farah Sport - Athletics 2016 achievements – Famously became a double Olympic Gold medallist for the second time when he sprinted to victory to secure both his 5,000m and 10,000m title’s in Rio. Undefeated throughout the year in the 3,000m as well as in six races in the 5,000m and 10,000m, and was also the fastest European in all those distances including the half marathon. Chances of winning – Could well ‘Mobot’ himself onto the podium after another stellar summer.
3) Laura Kenny Sport - Cycling 2016 achievements – One half of Team GB’s Cycling Image: SimonW92 on Flickr
power couple, alongside husband Jason, Laura Kenny won two golds at both the Olympics and the World Championships. Her Olympic golds made her the most successful track cyclist in Olympic history and GB’s greatest ever female Olympian. Chances of winning – might sneak it on the line to gain a podium spot but a top five finish looking likely.
2) Alistair Brownlee Sport - Triathlon 2016 achievements – Defended his Olympic triathlon title this summer beating his brother Jonathan who won silver. Claimed the hearts of the nation when he helped his brother complete the final race of the of the World Triathlon Series after Jonathan struggled with exhaustion and fatigue, showing the true spirit of sport. Chances of winning – His show of brotherly love (along
with his gold medal) will earn him a podium finish.
1) Andy Murray Sport - Tennis 2016 achievements – Finishing the year as World Number One has been the icing on the cake for a quite remarkable year for Murray. After winning Olympic Gold and Wimbledon, he finished the year by winning a career high 9 ATP Tour titles. He then saw off Novak Djokovic in the season’s final competition, the ATP World Tour finals, to win his 24th game in a row and cement his place as the best player in the world. Chances of winning – Nailed on to become a three time SPOTY winner. Is there going to be a knighthood in the New Year for Mr. Murray? As for the Sheffield duo...
Jamie Vardy Sport - Football 2016 achievements – The Sheffield-born striker has lived a
true rags-to-riches story in 2016. His monumental year was crowned by winning the Premiership with underdogs Leicester City after eclipsing Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record by scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games at the end of 2015. Chances of winning – Outstanding year for the striker but a slow start this season scuppers his chances.
Danny Willett Sport - Golf 2016 achievements – The second Sheffield representative in this year’s nomination list became the 2016 Masters champion and the second ever Englishman to win the competition. Chances of winning – Unlikely to be adding another award to his Green Jacket but it has been a very progressive 2016 for the golfer. For Jack’s thoughts on all the nominees, visit the Forge Sport website.
Hamilton disobedience could lay down a marker
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Alex Pinfold Sport Contributor
efore the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, much of the discussion centred around whether Lewis Hamilton would back Nico Rosberg up in the German’s bid to win the Formula 1 World Championship. By now it appears the consensus is that his actions, while not gentlemanly, were acceptable and understandable. The constructor’s championship had been decided in Mercedes’ favour at October’s Japanese Grand Prix and Hamilton clearly had pace in hand to deal with the threat of Ferrari’s Sebastien Vettel. But with the furore having died down, I think it is worth considering whether (as Toto Wolff has hinted) a precedent has been set and if this might in fact be a positive. Above all else, sportsmanship
matters in Formula 1 because, like any form of motor-racing, it is a sport which carries additional risks. Be it drivers, crew or spectators, safety takes top priority and good driver conduct goes a long way to preventing accidents.
“Drivers aren’t just machines, but personable individuals.” There’s a reason drivers like Maldonado and Verstappen can be looked on pretty harshly. But in reacting to Hamilton’s actions, it is worth remembering what other drivers have done and gotten away with. Formula 1 revels in the idea of a glorious past, perhaps more so than other sports and when it comes to legends, none come to mind faster than Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
Senna in particular has been given a mythical aura about him. Let me be clear that this isn’t the problem I want to address. Stories like these are a big part of why I find Formula 1 so enjoyable to follow. But it is worth remembering that these two both won world titles by crashing into each other at Suzuka, putting themselves and others at risk. Like Senna and Prost, Hamilton acted as an individual competitor. The radio communications ban which perpetuated the first half of this season was designed to make the driver a more important component in running the car. Though that particular attempt fell through, the continuing popularity of drivers like Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonnen show a desire for drivers who aren’t just machines, but personable individuals. Hamilton’s actions were tame compared to other instances of
Image: Wikipedia
drivers going against their teams. It may not have been gentlemanly, but to call it outright bad sportsmanship is stretching. More importantly, he found a near perfect balance. He drove fast enough to keep Rosberg behind him but slow enough to give Vettel and Verstappen at least a chance of overtaking. In doing so, he also struck a chord between handing Rosberg the championship and attempting
to take him out Prost/Senna style, making for an overall more satisfying conclusion. The bigger criticism I have is that both Hamilton and Mercedes were naïve enough to claim before the race that it wouldn’t happen. Now the question arises of what other boundaries need to be more formally defined for similar situations.
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Owls beat Preston in hot-tempered tie
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Tim Adams Sport contributor
heffield Wednesday moved into the play-off places after a fiery 2-1 victory over Preston North End. Preston’s Jermaine Beckford and Eoin Doyle were sent off for fighting each other in stoppage time, after Wednesday’s Fernando Forestieri earlier received his marching orders. The red cards tainted an incredibly entertaining game. After Forestieri put Wednesday in front in the first half Steven Fletcher doubled the Owls lead when he converted a second half penalty for the home side. Doyle then pulled a goal back before his and Beckford’s moment of madness. After last week’s 2-0 win over Wolves, Carvalhal picked an unchanged side, while Grayson made one change to his in-form Preston side. Forestieri was denied early on by Chris Maxwell and then Alex Baptiste but he would soon get his revenge – a scuffed Adam Reach shot bounced into his path and Forestieri headed in. Preston’s response was nearly emphatic. After winning the ball on the edge of the Wednesday box Callum Robinson found space and scathed the post with his 25-yard strike.
Reach, lively on the left, had a shot well blocked by Bailey Wright at the near post. Preston’s most dangerous opportunities emerged from set pieces. A wicked delivery from Daniel Johnson fooled the home defence but they were fortunate that Jordan Hugill’s volley nearly bounced off the roof of the net. Ross Wallace and Glenn Loovens limped off in the first half, to be replaced by Will Buckley and David Jones. Neat play from Reach and Lucas Joao created a chance for right back Jack Hunt, but he blasted his wild shot wide of the goal. Then both sides wasted golden opportunities. Firstly, Preston’s Aiden McGeady had a timid effort that bounced off Westwood after the winger cut in from the left, Wednesday’s Will Buckley was left with his head in his hands after managing to miss a header from just four yards out. Grayson brought on Beckford for Browne and Vermijl for McGeady at half time in an attempt to change the game. An early free-kick in the second half, fired over from Johnson, emphasised Preston’s will to equalise quickly. Buckley had a header disallowed for offside, before the voices of dissent towards the officials grew
even louder. In an off the ball tussle between Forestieri and Beckford the linesman noted that the Wednesday striker raised his hands towards Lilywhites midfielder Ben Pearson and was subsequently given a straight red card. Carvalhal brought on Steven Fletcher for Joao, and soon after Wednesday were awarded a penalty. Buckley raced clear of the defence but Maxwell brought him down inside the area. Fletcher had only been on the field for five minutes but calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to double the Owls lead. Grayson brought on Doyle for Baptiste, a successful attacking change which resulted in a goal when Doyle scored with his first touch. Tension from the away side boiled over as they looked to
equalise and resulted in a moment of madness from Doyle and Beckford. After a poor ball from Doyle, Preston’s number 10 then raced over and held his neck. Both were sent off. Much to the delight of the home fans, who had waved both players off the pitch, Wednesday held on to move into the play-off places. For Preston, the repercussions of onfield actions have just started. Grayson said: “Both players are an embarrassment to the supporters of the club. In my 30 years in management I have never seen anything like that. “No doubt both players will be reprimanded by the club.”
Image: Joe Bamford
Steelers secure derby double
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Josh Minchin Sport contributor
fter a 5-4 win away in Nottingham, the Steelers were looking to mount a charge on league leaders Cardiff Devils when the Panthers returned to Sheffield Arena on Sunday, and did so with a 6-1 thrashing. Mid-table Nottingham would be no pushovers however, and with the Steelers missing some key names Sunday’s fixture certainly had banana skin potential as well as the traditional rivalry. The home side were very quick out of the traps, with a second minute goal from Robert Dowd
following a lightning speed break from the Steelers. The Nottingham Panthers’ penalty killing unit was soon on the ice however after Jeff Brown was penalised for fighting. The Steelers made the advantage count, going one for one on their powerplay. A patient build up led to Ben O’Connor setting the puck back for Levi Nelson, who duly dispatched from near the blue line. It was one way traffic after this and one feared for the Panthers, who had barely made it across centre ice. The Steeleers missed a few gilt-edged chances before Davey Phillips made it 3-0 to the Steelers in the thirteenth minute.
Image: Adam Bailey
They should have taken four back to the locker room when an open net went begging, but a dominant first period display had put the Panthers to the sword.
“The Nottingham goal remained under seige in the second period” Levi Nelson did find Steelers’ fourth, and his second, soon after the first interval. The Nottingham goal remained under seige in the opening minutes of the second period. Mike Ratchuk made it 5-0 eight minutes into the second, seemingly securing another two points for the men in orange. However, Logan MacMillan had other ideas, responding in the best way possible and getting the Panthers on the scoresheet. Nottingham found themselves back in the game, but Steelers goaltender Ervins Mustakovs kept the Panthers at bay. The Steelers held firm, and a late Ratchuk second finally killed off the Panthers and secured a four point weekend for the Sheffield Steelers over their arch rivals. In a way the score line flattered
both sides – Sheffield could have arguably been more clinical in front of goal, while the Panthers bossed the game at times. The visitors missed a few opportunities to make the Steelers more uncomfortable. As Steelers coach Paul Thompson told Forge Sport afterwards, preparation was key to both victories over the weekend. The gap between the Steelers and the Cardiff Devils at the top of the Elite League remains large, but with several games in hand there is all to play for. When Levi Nelson was asked if the Steelers could catch Cardiff, his response was a resounding one: “Yeah, absolutely!”
Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge
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Katy Sandalls Sport Contributor
port Sheffield’s Social Sport programme is in its third year, and one of the biggest successes to date has been dodgeball. Launched in 2014 at the suggestion of Social Sport leader Jacob Atkinson, the group’s success led to the eventual creation of a University team that competes in an exhibition Varsity event and other national competitions. Social Dodgeball also boasts Wales internationals Lewis Diggins and Katie Howard, who started the sport through the club. The initial 20 Social Sport members has grown quickly to around three times that number, with many moving on to the University team. Atkinson is proud of what has been created, telling Forge Sport: “it’s been a real success.” He emphasises just how inclusive dodgeball is, with University team members helping new players to get involved and mini games helping to build up skills and provide variety to matches. During the Social Sport session, Atkinson introduces a beach ball into the mix, testing the patience and skill of even the most experienced players at the session by forcing them to get the ball to hit the opposing team’s wall with only dodgeballs, a challenge that the players quickly step up to with amusing results. Though some still have misgivings about the sport, mostly thanks to the Vince Vaughn movie Dodgeball, Atkinson explains that new players pick up the rules quickly. Describing his love for the game, Atkinson says that there’s something cathartic about being able to blow off steam at the end of a long week at university, describing the games played by the team as “three minutes of adrenaline”. And his best advice for rookies? “Don’t be worried about getting hit”.
Get involved in 2017! Next semester we will be at the centre of the University calendar when Varsity turns the campus (and fingers crossed the city) black and gold! You can help with Varsity and all our regular Uni and Sheffield sports coverage by joining the Forge Sport Team. Write, commentate and film by visitingthe ‘Forge Sports Team’ Facebook group or emailing sport@forgetoday.com
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Kirkup display inspires Tennis 1s triumph Tennis
University of Sheffield Women’s 1s University of Manchester Women’s 1s Tim Adams Sport contributor
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he University of Sheffield Women’s Tennis 1s completed a comfortable 10-2 victory over the University of Manchester 1s on Wednesday afternoon to gain ground on their BUCS Northern Division 1A rivals. All but one of the first team were injured, so the convincing scoreline against a side three places above them highlighted the strength in depth at Sheffield. Starting the day in the relegation zone, the Women’s 1s needed
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to prove a point, especially with Sheffield Hallam University already well clear at the top of the league. Without the likes of Carla Bâceanu and Ashy Foster, Isabel Schrapler and Natalie Youhana had to set a positive tone at the start of the tie. A powerful display of hard hitting, which culminated
“The convincing scoreline highlighted the strength in depth at Sheffield.”
in a 6-4, 6-3 victory, gave Sheffield an early advantage, and when Anna Fedenko and Aimee Kirkup won a gruelling doubles rubber 6-4, 4-6,12-10 the home side were 4-0 to the good. An injury to one of the Manchester players meant a bye which put Sheffield 6-0 up on the scoresheet. Dangers of losing from such positions would’ve been in the players’ heads, despite the comfortable advantage; just two weeks ago, the Women’s 2s lost a 6-0 lead in the Northern Conference Cup match to go out to the University of Leeds 1s. The manner of Kirkup’s second win of the day proved the same outcome would not occur again. A 6-0, 6-0 victory gave Sheffield an 8-0 lead, and even when Schrapler lost her singles by the same scoreline, the overall victory was never in doubt. Youhana’s 7-5, 7-6 win added the cherry to what had been a very large cake for Sheffield. Elsewhere, the Men’s 2s recorded their first league point of the season
after a spirited, gritty display against Leeds 2s. Throughout the tie, neither side could break away. The first doubles match of the day went the way of Jack Kearton and Josh Mitchell, 6-1, 7-6, to put the home side in front, before Leeds levelled up at two apiece when Alex Wood and Adam Lane were defeated 7-6, 6-4. Kearton’s singles loss, 6-4, 6-1, put Leeds back in front, but Sheffield levelled again when Wood triumphed 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an
extremely tight match. After Mitchell failed to win his rubber, falling to a 6-4, 6-1 defeat, it was up to Earp to secure Sheffield’s first point of the season. And a 6-2, 6-3 win for Earp did just that. The Womens 1s’ next match is at home to the University of Liverpool 1s on January 18, while the Men’s 2s play the University of Sheffeld 1s a week later. Image: Tim Adams
Sheffield to host Tour de Yorkshire finale CYCLING Adam Bailey Sport contributor
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heffield will host what promises to be a thrilling and action-packed finale to the 2017 Tour of Yorkshire. The three-day race will conclude on Sunday 30 April with a 194.5km stage from Bradford to Fox Valley, near Sheffield. Riders will have to negotiate what has been described as the toughest stage in the race’s history before the finish in Fox Valley, including over 3,000m of climbing and eight categorised climbs (four of which are in the final 20km). The third edition of the race will take teams to all four corners of the county. Stage one begins on the east coast of the county in Bridlington, before heading inland for the first intermediate sprint of the race in Pocklington. Climbs up the Côte de Garrowby Hill and Goathland are followed by the second sprint of the day in Whitby. The route then continues to Robin Hood’s Bay for the third and final climb, before the stage finishes in Scarborough. The second stage from Tadcaster
to Harrogate, which shares the same route as the Asda Tour de Yorkshire women’s race run earlier on the Saturday, sees the riders face an intermediate sprint in Knaresborough, before they tackle the days only categorised climb, the fearsome Côte de Lofthouse. The riders will then head to Ripon to contest the second sprint of the day, before an undulating approach to Harrogate.
“2017 should be an exciting, unpredictable race”
and Shibden Wall follow, before intermediate sprints in Clifton and Stocksbridge. Once the final intermediate sprint has been contested the riders will then embark on a tough – and likely race defining - 22km finishing circuit that features no-less than four categorised climbs. The Côte de Deepcar, Wigtwizzle, Ewden Height and Midhopestones all come in the final 15km of the race, before the finish at Fox Valley. Speaking to Forge Sport, Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Sir Gary Verity said: “It is certainly the most brutal stage
three we have done, but I like stage two with the climb in it. I am sure this will be the best edition yet.” Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, told Forge Sport: “The Tour de Yorkshire is about pure passion, huge crowds, stunning scenery and steep climbs and this edition will feature steeper climbs than in previous years. 2017 should be an exciting, unpredictable race.” Commenting on the route, JLT Condor cyclist Tom Moses said to Forge Sport: “I think there will be a lot of people happy to see the finishing line on stage three,” while
Drops Cycling Team cyclist Annie Simpson said the profile for stage two “is quite misleading”. “There is one big climb that everyone will focus on, but actually I drove around it a few months ago, and the run into Harrogate is actually a lot tougher than it looks so it will be exciting racing.” For more on the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire route, including extended interviews, listen to Forge Sport’s cycling podcast, ‘The Cycling Ramble’, which you can find via the Forge Sport page.
- Christian Prudhomme
The stage will finish along Parliament Street, just as it did on the opening stage of the 2014 Tour de France. The final stage, nicknamed the “Yorkshire Terrier” by the race organisers, will start in Bradford and the first of eight categorised climbs comes when the race reaches Silsden. Climbs of Haworth, Leeming
Image: Adam Bailey
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Hockey 3s thrash Leeds
Sophy Crane Sport Contributor
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he University of Sheffield Women’s Hockey 3s beat the University of Leeds 3s 4-0 in a heated game at Goodwin. The last time Sheffield played the Leeds team, they lost 3-1, but this time the home side’s efforts were rewarded with a comfortable triumph. The game started with a push back for Sheffield, but with a few unfortunate passes, the ball ended up with the Leeds side early on. The away team started strongly and it looked to be a tough game for Sheffield, but after some great defensive play from Sophie Graham and Ellie Whistlecroft, Sheffield made some strong comebacks. The first goal came from a fantastic attack from marathon runner Emily Young resulting in a cross to Lizzie Hall, who tapped in a reverse hit goal. Buoyed by taking the lead, the home team stepped up and continued with some intense play. Leeds, seemingly low on enthusiasm, lost their attacking play when Sheffield bombarded them with strong attempts at goal. In one such attempt, Rachel Sladden took the opportunity to work the ball around the Leeds keeper, tapping in to make it 2-0. The second half saw an unfortunate knee injury force off Sheffield defender Whistlecroft. But the home team continued to play with confidence, resulting in two brilliant goals from Young and Megan Morgan. The former was a rebound from the Leeds goalie, and the latter from Morgan was the result of some strong play along the left wing from Hattie Carr and Annabel Fawcett. Sheffield vice-captain Lottie Thomas, told Forge Sport: “The team once again stepped up and demonstrated fluid hockey, a very well deserved win and promising for the rest of the season”. Captain Rosie Walker looks forward to her return after Christmas following a bad ankle injury early in the season. The Women’s 3s next play in February, when they take on second-placed York St John’s 1s.
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Perfect farewell for Coulson
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Image: Adam Bailey
Adam Bailey Sport Contributor
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he University of Sheffield Men’s Hockey 1s ended 2016 on a high with a second home win over Manchester Metropolitan University in as many games, prevailing 9-3 at Goodwin. The win was not only the perfect end to the calendar year, but it was also a fitting farewell to club veteran Jack Coulson. This is Jack’s fourth year playing for the University’s hockey club, but Wednesday marked his last appearance for the side after deciding to leave the University at Christmas. In honour of this, Jack was named the Sheffield captain for his final game and it was a fitting finale to his Sheffield hockey career as he scored a hat-trick. It took Coulson just 16 seconds to score after redirecting Steve Palmer’s shot into the net. Sheffield
were not ahead for long as MMU , who had lost all six of their BUCS Northern Division 1A games before this tie, drew back level less than two minutes later with a rebound after Matt Fetzer saved the initial shot. Palmer scored his first of three goals to put the hosts back ahead with a reverse-stick shot in the 8th minute. He scored again just four minutes later from Freddy Gurney’s pass. Gurney was the provider once more, this time for Coulson’s second goal of the game. The MMU goalkeeper came out to narrow the target Gurney had to aim at, but he passed to Coulson, who had an empty goal to shoot into. Coulson completed his hattrick in the 25th minute after a well-worked goal. Nick Hale was involved in neat play in the centre
of the pitch, before the usual BUCS captain Jack Culmer found honorary captain Coulson. The latter had his back to goal, but on the turn, he fired past the goalkeeper into the bottom left corner of the net. Gurney then showed great instinct to force a defensive error from MMU; intercepting a pass from the goalkeeper to one of the defenders, before hitting the ball home.
“It is a wonderful way to finish the year and my time at Sheffield” - Jack Coulson
MMU scored their second goal five minutes before half-time, but Sheffield took a comfortable 6-2 lead into the break. As in the first-half, Sheffield dominated the play in the secondhalf, but MMU remained a threat on the counter-attack. A clinical attacking move saw the visitors pull a goal back 10 minutes into the second-half, but from this point onwards, it was mostly one-way
traffic. Gurney restored Sheffield’s fourgoal advantage after Gavin Haseler unselfishly played the ball to him, who was in a better position to score. Sheffield’s eighth goal came after good work from Joe Kopka on the right, who played the ball to Coulson in the centre. Coulson passed to Jack Culmer, who hit his shot first-time past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. Sheffield could have extended their lead further as Steve Palmer saw his shot hit the inside of the post, before the hosts were unable to capitalise on a series of penalty corners. Palmer did extend the hosts lead with five minutes left on the clock as he rounded the goalkeeper, before firing into the net to complete his hat-trick. Jack Coulson told Forge Sport: “It is a wonderful way to finish the year and my time at Sheffield. Celebrating a win as the captain and scoring a hat-trick it couldn’t have gone much better today. I am going to miss it because we are such a good team. “When we raised all the money after the bus fire that just showed what we can achieve when we come together.”
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886 Ecclesall Road, Sheffield S11 8TP
Delivering 24hrs a day, 7 days a week Closes for carryout from 4am - 11am.
Delivering 24hrs a day, 7 days a week Closes for carryout from 11pm - 11am.
01142 787878 01142 669988