Forge Press #137

Lifestyle

Music

Check out all the haunting Halloween events

Games

We’ve put together a spooky playlist

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What is it about a really good horror game?

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THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

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ISSUE 137 | WEDNESDAY 23RD OCTOBER 2019 | FREE

Hongkonger student protesters criticise SU’s lack of welfare support Tevy Kuch News Coordinator

Hong Kong students at the University have voiced concerns over Sheffield Students’ Union’s lack of supportfor their safety and welfare.

This comes after the demonstration held by Hong Kong activists in the city centre was met by counter-demonstrators from mainland China, which quickly involved police and the Council when a glass bottle was thrown at a Hong Kong girl.

Vincent Mak, the President of the Sheffield Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society, said: “Our home is being destroyed and our people are in danger. The Students’ Union is telling us that if we’re sad, we shouldn’t read the news. But how can we not read about the news?

“Some students have taken close up pictures and videos. Some had told me they were voice recorded so this gets to a worrying stage where you don’t really know what they’d do with your pictures.

“The Students’ Union can’t solve this issue since it is politically motivated. But it has a responsibility to protect their students and ensure that we are in a safe environment to study, which they are failing to do.”

There are instances where Hong

Kong students have received threats, with some reportedly being targets of doxxing. Hong Kong students have since admitted to being too scared to attend lectures where they feel that they are a minority compared to the Chinese students.

Another Hong Kong activist, who wished to remain anonymous, added: “Students will start to become afraid to discuss politics or the news, affecting the right to freedom of speech.

“They said that University should be a safe space for everyone and are doing things to combat hate crime.

But this is a hate crime.

“What we’re asking is not to create a slogan for zero tolerance. This is not about politics anymore. We want the Students’ Union to engage in action against discrimination and hate speech to reassure that every student here in Sheffield is safe and sound.”

After being in talks with the Students’ Union since June the group had been offered links to the 24-hour University hotlines. The group expressed that it “simply is not enough” and their lack of support has been “frustrating”.

The President of the Students’ Union, Jake Verity, said: “Following the tensions and protest activities between Chinese mainland and Hong Kong... (cont. on p4)

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Companies at Launchpad careers fair criticised over sustainability record Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

The University of Sheffield has come under criticism over some of the companies who are at the Launchpad careers fair, which began on Monday 21 October.

Sustainability Committee and two of the SU Officer team have come out to criticize the fair, and some of the companies attending.

Launchpad is a three-day careers fair being held at the Octagon, which

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will conclude with its busiest day on Wednesday 23 October.

There are more than 200 companies attending the fair throughout its run, including companies with links to the oil and arms industries, Government departments and various law firms.

Liam Slater-McGill, chair of SusCom, said: “Many of these firms barely have sustainability on their mind, let alone at the heart of their operations.

“The recent recognition and

declaration of a climate emergency by the University has been heard and accepted, but this necessitates behavior changes.

“Firms actively working against our futures are not welcome.”

Education Officer, Charlie Porter, concurred, telling Forge Press: “It’s not right for these companies to be invited to campus. They have created huge volumes of emissions and then hid the change of climate change from the general public in the 80s, and to this... (cont. on p5)

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Editorial

Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief Ben Warner Managing Editor Becky Sliwa Webb Deputy Editor Bethan Davis Deputy Editor Patrick Burke News Coordinator Tevy Kuch Sport Coordinator Michael Ekman LOF Coordinator Jack Mattless Entertainments Coordinator VACANT Entertainments Coordinator VACANT News Editor Lucas Mentken News Editor Georgie Marple News Editor Niall O’Callaghan Features Editor Anastasia Koutsounia Features Editor Bernadette Hsiao Opinion Editor Jack Mattless Opinion Editor Jack Redfern Arts Editor Kate Procter Arts Editor Rosie Davenport Lifestyle Editor Em Evans Lifestyle Editor Taylor Ogle Music Editor Ella Craig Music Editor Dana Raer Screen Editor Dan Cross Screen Editor Josh Teggert Games Editor Catherine Lewis Games Editor Ash Williams Science and Tech Editor Beth Hanson Science and Tech Editor George Tuli Break Editor Luke Baldwin Break Editor Alicia Hannah Sport Editor Alex Brotherton Sport Editor Harry Harrison

Hello again! Halloween is just around the corner and whether you love it or loathe it, there’s no denying it’s a huge part of the student calendar.

Who doesn’t love an excuse to dress up and head down West Street? Well, me, but that’s by the by.

To celebrate the holiday, we’ve got our first themed issue of the year for you, focusing on all things spooky.

Music editor Dana Raer has taken a sojourn into Games as she tries to work out what makes a good horror game.

Meanwhile, Lifestyle have lined up some of the best Halloween and Bonfire Night events for your perusal, so hopefully there’s something you’ll like.

Outside of Halloween, there’s still plenty of content in this issue which will hopefully take your fancy.

Games’ Ash headed down to EGX in London last week, and is reporting back all the cool and funky things he tried out while he was down there, while Music have found some edgy venue options if you want to broaden your night-out experience.

As ever, Features has a great

range of content, including trying to answer the question of what makes us happy and whether women should be in prison for the smallest of crimes.

This is always the hardest part of the editorial for me, as I feel bad singling out particular sections – the paper, as usual, looks amazing this issue, and I’m so impressed with how everyone is settling in.

We’ve been joined by some new faces in the last couple of weeks, following our EGM at which we elected the final few positions for the year, including four new sections editors, whose work you’ll see throughout this issue.

I’ve been absolutely blown away by the interest in getting involved with the paper over the last few weeks, but never more so than at the EGM – we had more than 20 candidates for the six roles and it took nearly two hours, but we came out of it with an absolutely incredible new committee.

It’s especially impressive to see so many first-year’s getting involved too. I was absolutely terrified of

PIC OF THE PRESS

Forge when I arrived in Sheffield in 2016, and never dared put myself out there and write before running for committee, but clearly everyone now is braver than I was then.

If you are one of the students who came along to our EGM and were unsuccessful, I hope you won’t get disheartened. There’s still plenty of opportunities to write for the paper during the year, and although it seems like ages away, in the spring we’ll have our AGM where we’ll be electing a completely new team, so please do run again if you can.

IThis is only our third proper issue of the year, but I think it looks just as good as anything we’ve managed to make before.

The year’s starting to get busy, so I can only thank my editorial team, and particularly my two deputies, Bethan and Patrick, for everything they do on this wonderful paper.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as we love making it.

‘Skyline of Kobe, Japan from Kobe University Campus during my Year Abroad in 2017-2018’

Head of Design Claire Gelhaus Secretary and Social Secretary Tom Buckland Inclusions and Welfare Officer Chloe Dervey Head of Marketing and Publicity Giulia Carleton Head of Photography Chelsea Burrell Head of Online Aimee Cooper

Get involved Want to join the team? Get involved! This year’s committee want to have as many people writing for the paper as possible. No prior experience is necessary, just join the Facebook group Forge Press Contributors and come along to the regular members’ meetings which happen every two weeks.

Contact editor@forgetoday.com or message us on Facebook with any questions.

Image: Chelsea Burrell

Editor’s Picks: Spooky Halloween Flicks The Conjuring (2013) James Wan

A Quiet Place (2018) John Krasinski

Ghostbusters (1984) Ivan Reitman

The first film in the Conjuring cinematic universe, this 2013 flick is the ideal way to start off your Halloween viewing adventure.

Starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the film explores a terrifying house in Rhode Island, with paranormal investigators hot on the tail of any demons or ghouls lurking within.

Ever wondered what living in complete silence is like? Check out box-office smash A Quiet Place, starring a number of deaf children, director John Krasinski and his wife (on-screen and in real life) Emily Blunt, for a bit of something different. Just don’t watch it at night, if you fancy sleeping at any point soon.

This cult classic is seared on the minds of children and adults everywhere. Bill Murray puts in a masterful performance as a lovable, if slightly sleazy scientist, catching ghosts all around New York City with his partners in tow. It all comes to a head on top of an NYC apartment block, and is a perfect way to round off Halloween.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

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v

News in Brief

Got a story? press.news@forgetoday.com

News editors Tevy Kuch, Lucas Mentken, Georgie Marple & Niall O’Callaghan

SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY Division St. closed Photosynthesis to cars at weekend research given €7m

NATIONAL Air pollution straining the NHS

Division Street was closed to cars and ‘open to people’ over the weekend. Between 10am and 4pm the street was pedestrianised to allow cyclists, skateboarders and shoppers to go safely in the road in a move that some groups hope will become permanent.

Figures show that numbers of people are being rushed to hospital on days of high pollution are significantly higher in comparison to lower pollution days. The figures show the additional strain that high pollution levels are putting on the NHS emergency services.

Division Street

Biochemistry Professor Neil Hunter from the University of Sheffield is among a team of professors who have been awarded over €7 million by the European Research Council to continue their research into collection and storage of solar energy for photosynthesis.

Professor Neil Hunter

UNIVERSITY Vitamin D spray as effective as tablets

SHEFFIELD Oli McBurnie drink driving charge

NATIONAL Calls for pacer train compensation

New research from the University of Sheffield has found that taking vitamin D in oral spray form is as effective as taking it as a tablet.

Scientists have stressed the need for UK residents to take vitamin D supplements in the winter to regulate calcium and phosphate.

Oli McBurnie, the 23-year-old Sheffield United striker, was arrested in the early hours of Friday 18 October, in Leeds following an incident. He was charged with drink driving and is due in Leeds Magistrates Court on 6 November over the charge.

Northern politicians, including Sheffield’s Dan Jarvis, have called for reduced fares on Northern Rail’s pacer trains. The trains, which are old British Leyland buses on train wheels, were meant to be eliminated by the end of this year but have no replacements.

Addiction stigma still rife in the UK Tevy Kuch News Coordinator

The stigma surrounding addiction is commonly thought to be a problem that is brought on by addicts themselves, new research has suggested.

Research carried out by profitfor-purpose insight and marketing agency NGI Solutions, in partnership with QuMind, found that although public perception varied towards the type of mental health concerned, there remained stigma towards certain groups of illnesses.

38 per cent of people said they believed addiction was brought on by the victim, unlike other illnesses like depression and anxiety. However, over a third of respondents had stated that they were reluctant or unsure about keeping in contact with someone with the diagnosis.

Almost one in three respondents linked addiction to poor lifestyle choices and lack of willpower, compared to four per cent when

asked the same about depression.

It also discovered that the same stigma applied to those with schizophrenia, with almost half the respondents sharing the same sentiment. This follows after 95 per cent of respondents had identified schizophrenia as being an illness, instead of the fault of the person experiencing it.

Actress Denise Welch, who has been open about her struggles with addiction, said: “Addiction is a frightening place to be, and these figures show that people struggling with the illness are more likely to become isolated and feel ashamed.

“Addiction often goes handin-hand with other mental health problems or experiences of trauma.

It’s not the fault of the person experiencing it and we need to show more compassion.”

Alcohol Concern Ambassador, Alastair Campbell said: “It is true that every time we raise a glass to our lips, that is a choice we make.

But nobody chooses to be afflicted

Alastair Campbell Image: Nick Harrison

with the disease of alcoholism.

“Nobody imagines on taking their first drink that they will be the one who ends up on the streets, in jail or in hospital because of their drinking.

“We will never properly tackle addiction in this country until we accept that it is an illness more

than a lifestyle choice. Just as nobody would set out to choose to be cancerous, asthmatic or diabetic, nobody would set out to be addicted to alcohol or drugs and it is in that spirit that we should approach this issue, as individuals and as a country.”

Paul Blomfield MP

Sheffield MP twins toilet with Central African Republic Richard Green News Contributor

Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, has ‘twinned’ one of the toilets in his office with one in the Central African Republic.

It comes as part of a campaign

by Sheffield Soroptimists, who are using the ‘Toilet Twinning’ initiative as a way of funding community projects around the world, in order to pay for basic toilets and access to clean water.

Toilet twinning is where you choose a toilet that you use and ‘twin’ it with one that has been given to a community in another country that need, and do not have constant access to, a safe place to use a toilet.

The aim of the campaign is to raise money for these communities to ensure they have access to toilets and running water.

Blomfield spoke enthusiastically of the campaign, saying that: “This is a small way to make a big difference.

“We take clean water, toilets and soap for granted, yet 2.3 billion around the world can’t.”

Eva Lamb, of Soroptimist International Sheffield, said: “Bad sanitation is one of the world’s biggest killers.

“Paul’s twinned toilet will be one of many across Sheffield, and will help to flush away poverty and sickness, one toilet at a time- just in time for World Toilet Day on 19 November.”

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forgetoday.com

News

Alcohol duty cut linked to increase in deaths Yash Raveendra News Contributor

Nearly 2000 deaths have been caused in England since 2012 after cuts were made to alcohol taxes, according to new University research The Sheffield Alcohol Research Group - based at the University of Sheffield - want to reintroduce the alcohol duty escalator, a policy which had previously seen alcohol price rise by 2 per cent.

Colin Angus, a senior researcher from the group, said: “We found that the cuts to alcohol duties since 2012 led to a one per cent rise in

We modelled what could happen if the escalator was reintroduced and found this could lead to over 4,700 less deaths alcohol consumption in England.

“Due to the complex relationship between alcohol and health, the effects of government duty policy since 2012 will continue to be seen for many years into the future, estimated to be as high as 9000 additional deaths by 2032.”

Colin Angus Image: University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield Alcohol Research Group would like to highlight to policy makers the impacts of cuts to alcohol duties and its effect on public health.

He added: “We modelled what could happen if the escalator was reintroduced in 2020 and found that this could lead to over 4700 less alcohol-related deaths and a reduction in alcohol-related hospital admissions, which could save the NHS £794 million in total by 2032.”

Sheffield MPs turn out to postpone Boris Johnson Brexit deal Paul Blomfield Sheffield Central Labour Party

Clive Betts Sheffield South East Labour Party

Voted FOR

Voted FOR

Angela Smith Penistone & Stocksbridge Liberal Democrat

Louise Haigh Sheffield Heeley Labour Party

Voted FOR

Voted FOR

Jared O’Mara Sheffield Hallam Independent

Gill Furniss Hillsborough & Brightside Labour Party

Voted FOR

Voted FOR

Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

All six of Sheffield’s MPs turned out to vote for an amendment which postponed Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal on ‘Super Saturday’.

The Prime Minister tried to bring his renegotiated deal, which would see the United Kingdom leave the European Union, in front of the House of Commons, but former Tory frontbencher, Sir Oliver Letwin, proposed an amendment which meant the Commons wouldn’t consent to a deal before all complementary legislation had been put in place.

Effectively, this forced Johnson

Hong Kong students getting little support off the Students’ Union Tevy Kuch News Coordinator

(cont. from front page) ...students, the Students’ Union has been working with the relevant student groups to prioritise their safety and maintain their freedom of expression on campus.

“This work has included holding meetings with the relevant student groups to ensure that all are aware of behavioural expectations, as well as their right to protest, freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

“We have been working in collaboration with the University Security team to respond to the concerns raised by our students from Hong Kong. The Security team have reiterated their commitment to prioritising the safety of and support for all students, as well as taking reports of hate crime seriously in all instances.

“We’re aware that this is an ongoing issue, and SU Officers continue to meet regularly with senior SU and University staff to represent these students’ concerns at the highest levels. We’ll continue to work closely with the relevant student groups to hear their concerns and act accordingly.”

Solutions that the Hong Kong activists are hoping the Officers will take on board include issuing a more stringent code of conduct which encompasses the condemnation of

discrimnaton, hate crime, cyberbullying and physical assault.

Shaun Ho, a Hong Kong activist, said: “We have already suggested that they should put out a public statement condemning any hate crime or discrimination to send a message to all students to deter this from happening again. This is not just for us but for all students who need to seek help.

“Having a dedicated team of experts who understand the severity of this issue and can create a risk assessment will better help in providing us legal and mental health support because at the moment, who can we ask for help? Advising

We’ve already suggested they they should put out a public statement condemning any hate crime or discrimination us to stop watching the news when we start to feel sad is just not acceptable.”

At a pro-democracy protest on Saturday 5 October, Hongkonger students were backed up by politicians from around Sheffield, including Paul Blomfield MP and Councillor Anne Murphy, who represents Crookes.

to ask for an extension of Article 50 past the end of October, until the end of January 2020.

The Labour Party whipped their MPs against the amendment, meaning their four representatives in the city all voted against.

Angela Smith, who has joined the Liberal Democrats since the last election, also voted again, while independent Sheffield Hallam MP Jared O’Mara made a rare appearance in Parliament to also vote in favour of the Letwin amendment, which passed 322-306.

Johnson did eventually write to the EU asking for an extension past the end of the month, but refused to sign his letter.

Protests at the demonstration earlier this month Image: Jasmin Deans

Union release food app for Bar One and Interval Lucas Mentken News Editor

The Students’ Union has launched its latest app called ‘Food Union’ , enabling students to order food from Bar One and Interval straight to their doors.

The menu includes a selection of fan favourites such as burgers from Bar One and pizzas from Interval, which app users will be able to mix and match.

This year, the menus for both outlets have seena revamp, with the introduction of gluten free buns and chicken goujons in Bar One as well as

loaded chips and poutine at Interval.

The SU has partnered with City Taxis to deliver the food, who will charge a £4.99 fee, while there is also a £10 minimum order requirement SU Development Officer, Harry Carling, said: “This innovation we have undertaken at the SU is incredibly exciting! Now students are able to order the very best SU meals right to their doorstep, whether that be an Interval pizza or Bar One burger!”

The app is free and available to download for Apple’s iOS and Android in their respective app stores.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

Sheffield City Region starts interactive bike maps John Campbell News Contributor

A new interactive map has been launched by the Sheffield City Region as part of continued efforts to encourage healthy, low-carbon travel.

The map, launched by Active Travel Commissioner Dame Sarah

Storey, will enable pedestrians and cyclists to offer their feedback on travel infrastructure across South Yorkshire.

Feedback tagged on junctions, pavements and cycle lanes will be combined with the advice of travel planning experts to inform future infrastructure spending.

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News Dame Sarah, a 14-time gold medal winning Paralympian, encouraged those using adapted bikes, wheelchairs and mobility aids to offer their critiques of current travel infrastructure in order to meet their specific needs.

Labour’s Sheffield City Region Mayor, and MP for Barnsley Central, Dan Jarvis gave his full backing to this new map, saying that the City Authority was committed to offering ‘a network which will provide people with a genuine alternative

to driving’, chiming with their ongoing campaign to enable walking and cycling rather than simply encouraging it.

The map is launched as concerns over the global climate crisis, the UK’s obesity epidemic and urban air quality continue.

Data from the European Environment Agency’s Air Quality in Europe report this week linked poor air quality to 412,000 premature deaths across the continent last year.

Dan Jarvis and Dame Sarah Story Image: Sheffield City Region

SU app set to be developed in coming months Lucas Mentken News Editor

The Students’ Union has announced the development of a new app which is envisioned to allow access to the SU’s services, ticket sales, voting, loyalty schemes and more.

The development of this app is one of SU President Jake Verity’s manifesto promises made in the Students’ Union Officer Elections back in February.

Jake said: “I’m delighted that the SU have agreed to bring another one of my manifesto policies to life. I’m really excited to see how the app takes shape over the forthcoming weeks and months!”

Image: Ben Warner

University defends itself against Launchpad criticism Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

(cont. from front) ...day lobby governments to pollute further.

“And not only that, many of the companies invited to Launchpad are arms manufacturers whose weapons are being used in horrendous military operations and occupations in Yemen, Kurdistan and Palestine.”

However, the University of Sheffield were keen to stress that the companies who had booths at Launchpad were not invited, and had to apply to be at the careers fair, which has been organised by the Careers Service.

A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: “We’re committed to providing our students with

information about a wide range of organisations offering placements and graduate jobs.

“Our recruitment fairs offer students an important and effective opportunity to meet with potential future employers so that they can make informed choices about their future careers.

“We recognise that the climate emergency facing us demands urgent action and that many companies need to change the way they operate. By embedding Education for Sustainable Development in the curriculum, we want to equip our students with the knowledge, skills, values and attributes needed to drive sustainable change wherever they choose to work.”

Sustainability Committee have

set up a stall of their own outside the Launchpad careers fair, and are encouraging students to ask the various employers inside questions about their record on sustainability, ethics practices, and so on.

“It is our responsibility to students to represent their interests, and our duty to them to hold the University to account,” Liam said.

“There is a clear gap between the University promise and practices, which necessitates student action.”

The action was supported by two of the SU Officers, with Charlie Porter saying direct action was “absolutely necessary to challenge the power of these companies”, while Harry Carling, Development Officer, who was involved in the committee as a student, credited the action.

“I personal had a real issue with this as a student and it has been refreshing in this role to see the passion from students in wanting to protest against these platformed on our campus,” he said.

“It is vital that the student voice is heard this week, not only for freedom of speech, but to ensure pressure is put on the University to re-analyse their decision-making process in allowing these mass polluters onto our campus.”

However, he did add that he is aware, through his work with the University, that they’re committed to sustainability through their operations and teaching, but as a caveat is disappointed to see “mass polluters and arms traders” being platformed at Launchpad.

I’m delighted that the SU have agreed to bring another one of my manifesto policies to life. I’m really excited A beta version of the app will be tested by students early in 2020. If the tests are a success it is expected that the app will go live in the app stores before the end of the 19/20 academic year.

The SU’s Director of Digital Transformation Richard Copley said: “There’s nothing more exciting than being able to work with incoming Officers.

“I think this is a really exciting development going forwards. The SU would be really interested to hear from all students what they would want an SU app to do.”

Jake’s other policies include bringing back £1 bus fares and launching an SU music festival, called ‘Underpass.

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News

FemSoc to begin weeklong consent campaign

Forge TV named ‘Station of the Year’ in York awards ceremony

Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

The Students’ Union’s Feminist Society is to run a week-long Consent Week campaign in association with a number of other societies.

It’s the first time the society has done a campaign of this scale, and the week of events will begin on Monday 4 November.

The president of the society, Anya Esmail-Yakas, said: “FemSoc has always brought consent to the forefront of their campaigning, but to see it become a weeklong campaign with a range of events is an exciting prospect.

“I’m proud to have got so many societies and organisations involved, especially collaborating

The conversation about consent should always be as accessible and inclusive as possible, because of who it affects with the Women’s Officer to set up an anonymous forum.”

The first event being run throughout the Consent Week is a screening of the Louis Theroux documentary The Night in Question at 7.30pm in the SU Auditorium.

On the Tuesday, FemSoc are hosting a discussion on why consent is a feminist issue at 5.30pm, while on Wednesday an Information Fair is being held at the Activities Zone with a number of organisations discussing their work and raising awareness on the notion of consent.

A bake sale is being held on Thursday to raise money for the Sheffield Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre.

Finally, the week concludes with a panel discussion chaired by the president Anya about the issue of consent on campus.

“The conversation about consent should always be as accessible and inclusive as possible, because of the scope of people it affects,” Anya said.

“Every student should be a part of the conversation, not so we can judge one another, but so we can talk honestly and openly about the issue at hand.”

Forge TV committee in York Image: Edwin Barnes Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

Forge TV have been named ‘Station of the Year’ at the People’s Choice Awards of the National Student Television Association.

The awards, which were hosted in York, pitted student TV stations from around the country against each other in nine different categories. The stations then voted for the winners in each one.

Forge TV put together a joint bid to

host the awards, alongside YSTV, as well as putting themselves forward for a number of awards too.

As well as being named ‘Station of the Year’, Forge TV won an award for ‘Content Innovation’ thanks to their series Forge vs The World, which sees committee members from across the three Forge outlets (including Forge Press) take part in societies’ and sports club’s events which they wouldn’t normally do.

Ximena Burns-Hunt, station manager of Forge TV, said: “I’m

really happy with the wins and I think it’s a great way to celebrate the amazing work that so many people have put into Forge TV over the last year!

“Co-hosting the awards was a really good experience, being able to collaborate with another student TV station was such a good opportunity for us and being able to broadcast the PCAs to all the other student TV stations was a lot of fun! Co-hosting the PCAs was a lot of work but it was worth it!”

Forge TV is the student television arm of Forge Media, which also includes the fortnightly newspaper and the 24-hour radio station, broadcasting from the Students’ Union.

The NaSTA People’s Choice Awards are just one of the awards which the organization runs throughout the year.

In spring, Forge TV will be heading to Salford for the national conference and awards, which is being hosted by Quays TV. Ximena said the station are likely to put themselves forward for a number of those awards too, having won two of the PCA’s.

“The full NaSTA Awards should be a great event later in the year and I’m really looking forward to them, they’ll be a great way to celebrate the efforts of everyone at Forge,” she said.

“I think the results of the PCAs bodes well for the NaSTA Awards and if we keep producing amazing content like we have for the last year then hopefully we can come home with an award or two!”

This year’s awards were held in Nottingham in April, however Forge TV sadly came home emptyhanded, but have been recognised a few months on.

SU Council results set to be announced, including two new councillor positions Georgie Marple News Editor

The new set of Students’ Union councillors are set to be announced at a revamped ceremony in the Raynor Lounge on Thursday 24 October.

Voting opened on Monday 21 October, and closed on Wednesday, allowing a day for votes to be counted.

Students at the University had three days to choose their representatives for the coming academic year, with a councillor being elected for each department as well as to represent the many liberation groups at the University.

The new councillors will be trained up in their new roles, taught the regulations and by-laws of the Students’ Union before taking their seats for the first Council meeting of the year on Thursday 7 November.

SU Council is the highest decisionmaking body at the Students’ Union, holding even the SU Officers to account on their policies and actions in the role.

The group is made up of 46 departmental councillors, nine representative councillors, and following a referendum in spring, a Societies Councillor and a Sports Councillor. Students voted overwhelmingly to create these roles in a referendum campaign run alongside the SU Officer elections, and this is the first time they’ve been voted for in the autumn SU Council elections.

Students also had the opportunity to elect the delegates for the NUS National Conference next April.

Education Officer Charlie Porter and Activities Officer Martha Daisy Evans are two of the several candidates who have stood to be one of the eight elected NUS delegates.

Disappointingly, this year saw the number of candidates drop by nearly 100 from last year, with 158 confirmed candidates in 2019 as compared to around 250 in the 2018 elections.

However, the Students’ Union are determined to increase engagement

Image: Ben Warner

with Council among students, and this year have allowed societies to endorse candidates in the elections for the very first time.

The increased publicity and glamour for this year’s results ceremony also plays into the idea of increased Council promotion.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

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News

Sheffield XR activist pens open letter prior to arrest over protest Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

A Sheffield Extinction Rebellion activist penned an open letter to the organiser of a conference that she was arrested for protesting outside.

Lana, as she is known, was protesting at the 6th Government Oil and Gas Fiscal Summit in London alongside a number of other activists.

They glued themselves to the doors, and managed to block all entrances to the two-day summit.

The letter was written shortly before her arrest, and was addressed to Graham Kellas, who was organising the conference and to whom Lana has a personal connection.

It implores him to focus his knowledge and abilities in a positive way, instead of building up the industry built on fossil fuels.

“You won’t know this, but we both attended the same school, granted a few years apart. Jordanhill consistently ranks at the top of the league tables for state schools in Scotland.

“It is a school that has the Motto of ‘Ad summa nitor’ meaning strive for the highest. In your case, that meant becoming top in the oil and gas sector,” the letter says.

“When we are given the opportunity of success and money in this competitive economy-driven

The University of Sheffield is back up to a full complement of libraries, after Western Bank reopened on Monday 14 October.

The silent study library has been shut throughout summer, as the University has been doing some work on the air conditioning system, but it’s now back open for use by students.

Western Bank is popular among students who want a quieter atmosphere than the Information Commons or the Diamond, and is conveniently located next to the Arts Tower, to the north of the campus.

As well as an extensive collection of physical books, Western Bank also houses newspaper archives from throughout the years.

Image: Terry Robinson

environment, it is not easy to turn away.

“I understand that the capitalist system that governs us is most prominently to blame for bringing you to where you are now and not you as an individual but at this point in time, I want to ask you to embrace your role.

“In the past, the media and our government have not been telling the truth about the severity of the situation. Instead, they have sheltered us from it to enable the few at the top to get richer and richer. So, perhaps it is easier to turn a blind eye.

“Today, however, it is not; we are outside your ‘summit’ and we are telling you that our house is on fire.

“We are sitting within a very small window in terms of time left to act. We are at a pivotal moment in history, the IPCC report determined that we need to see “unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”. The exact work you are doing is to the absolute detriment of those changes.

“We do not need more oil and gas.

We cannot survive if we have more oil and gas.

“Your current job role is helping these industries to strive, which means destroying our planet and the people that inhabit it – particularly the people who are not to blame for this mess. You have a choice, just like all of us.

Protesters in London Image: XR Sheffield

“Please, invest your skills and experience in industries that will help turn this situation around. We desperately need you to help us get onto the path to global justice.”

Protests have been taking place in London for nearly two weeks, led by Extinction Rebellion. The protests have seen a number of people arrested, including at least 10 members of Extinction Rebellion Sheffield, who have been held in custody for up to 24 hours.

Despite her personal

disagreements with Kellas, Lana says she understands why he made the choices he did in working in the industry, due to the nature of the school they attended.

It also played into her chosen degree subject of chemical engineering, due to the same reasons – success – she says she believes led Kellas to take up his career path.

She’s now one of many XR activists calling for societal change to tackle climate change.

The Harley reopens under new sports guise Niall O’Callaghan News Editor

Iconic Sheffield venue The Harley reopened its doors on Thursday 17 October.

When it closed suddenly on 5 April, the venue’s lease was put on the market less than a month later.

However in a statement released in early August, owners Mitchell and Butler announced that they would be transforming the Harley and reopening later in the year.

The company said they would offer ‘craft ales and lagers, gin and cocktails and great food’ when they reopened. They also have several screens showing live sport.

The Harley said: “6 months of planning, hard graft and training has gone into this amazing place.

“We are so excited to throw open our doors to you, our fantastic guests.

“The Harley has had all the love it deserves and it looks off scale beautiful.”

Stagecoach brings back £1 bus fares Niall O’Callaghan News Editor

Bus company Stagecoach have reintroduced £1 bus fares, following First Buses’ move to reduce the price of a student single after negotiations led by SU President Jake Verity.

Verity, who promised the return of £1 bus fares in his manifesto, negotiated the initial deal with First Buses just before Freshers’ Week.

Now Stagecoach have followed suit and lowered their prices by 20p per single ticket for Sheffield students.

Stagecoach have now returned to £1 for a single student ticket as of Thursday 10 October.

“I’m really pleased to see that students are getting brilliant transport deals in Sheffield,” Verity said.

“Agreeing the return of the £1 bus fare last month was a landmark moment for Sheffield Students, and I think going into the future, it’s a really exciting time for students to be able to get around the city with cheap tickets.”

£1.50 le g for a siney, journ for or £10 ten

RUNNING 7 NIGHTS A WEEK DURING TERM-TIME.

The Women's Minibus takes you from outside the Students' Union building, Western Bank Library or Information Commons, directly to your door.

For full timetable please visit sheffieldsu.com/womensminibus

ank y B n ter rar Wes Lib

nion e U ' ents ntranc d u t S ain E M

I.C.

t fron r! r u Yo doo

• Call City Taxis on 0114 239 3939 and quote ‘Safe Taxi Scheme’ • When the taxi arrives, give your UCard to the driver instead of cash • Visit the SU Welcome Desk the following day to pay your fare, and collect your UCard.* *most UCards will be returned within 24 hours

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

9

Features

Anastasia Koutsounia Bernadette Hsiao Features Editors

Hello folks, welcome back to the Features section! In this issue, from research and data, we examine the issue of whether women should be put in prison when convicted of minor crimes. Next we have an interesting topic on how Airbnb and tourism is related to the immigration crisis. Also, we look at the work of

the Happiness Research Institute to find out if happiness is science or just a type of emotion. Last but not least, don’t forget to check out our Halloween piece on the Forge Media website!

If you want to write for us, stayed tuned to the ‘Forge Press Contributors’ group on Facebook, and if you have any article ideas for features, don’t hesitate to give us an email at press.features@forgetoday. com. See you next time!

Women in prison: is jail the solution?

Isla Robertson Features Contributor

Last week, news of the death of a newborn baby at Bronzefield Prison, Ashford had the nation doubting the current prison system after reports surfaced that the mother gave birth alone in her cell, unassisted. The situation raised huge concerns for the safety of incarcerated women, and how the imprisonment of mothers can have devastating consequences.

Bronzefield, the UK’s largest female prison, had already fallen under scrutiny for the death of Natasha Chin in 2016. Natasha had been in the prison for less than 36 hours, when she started vomiting heavily, for around nine hours. She was taken to the specialist drugs and alcohol wing of the prison, but was found unresponsive in her cell.

An inquest into her death concluded in 2018, and it was ruled as neglect by the prison authorities. A recent report from The Independent shows that the number of deaths in female prisons across the UK is on the rise with 98 reported since 2007. There are almost double the amount of suicide attempts made by women than men in prison, and they also account for a majority of self-harm incident reports.

The majority of women in prison in the UK are non-violent offenders with low income, little education, and histories of abuse. Baroness Jean Corston issued a report in 2007 arguing that non-violent female offenders pose no threat to society, and that prisons need to be improved for the women that do. She argued that the repetitive use of strip-searching in women’s prisons is “humiliating, degrading and undignified and a dreadful invasion of privacy.” It could also be a reminder of previous sexual abuse that many of the women were subjected to in their lifetimes. This raises the question of whether these women belong in the same prison system designed to keep criminals away from the world

who are deemed a danger to society.

Women are made vulnerable by the penal system as they are disproportionately affected by something designed for men. As of July 2019, it was reported that a total of 3,831 women were incarcerated in the UK. Making up only 5 percent of the overall prison population, women comprise a small minority with no chance of being considered in the way the prisons they stay in are run. As history has taught us, minority groups do not get the better end of the bargain in the world we live in. The majority of these women are currently serving short sentences of 12 months or less for non-violent crimes. However, despite the small percentage of female convicts and the gory tales of sexual assaults against male inmates, three quarters of all reported sexual misconduct in prison takes place in female prisons; predominantly involving the women being assaulted by correctional guards.

Imprisoning mothers for nonviolent offences has a damaging impact on their children Last year, Richard Burgon MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice since 2016, told The Independent that investigations were going to be opened due to emerging evidence that prison brings more harm to women than men. He had called for ‘emergency action’ to provide these women with the safety they needed in their vulnerable state. However, nothing has been done as of yet.

The death of the new born baby at Bronzefield also raises the important question of the safeguarding of pregnant female inmates and the effect that incarceration has on mothers. 60 per cent of women imprisoned in the UK have dependent children, and the limited number of female prisons

means that mothers are transported miles across the country away from their homes. In addition, only nine per cent of children whose mothers are in prison are cared for by their father in their mothers absence. The rest are relocated to other family members or, in many cases, placed in temporary Government-funded accommodation, otherwise known as children’s homes. Imprisoning mothers for non-violent offences therefore has a significantly damaging impact on their children who are ripped away from their familiar surroundings and separated from their parents in an abrupt, potentially scarring manner.

In an article released in 2014 by The Washington Post, Patricia O’Brien proclaimed that the incarceration of women should be stopped altogether; she argued that prison is a disproportionate response for women who have committed non-violent crimes, advocating instead for alternatives to prison, such as behaviour institutes, to prevent the disruption of families and ensure the safety of offenders.

She argued that community based rehabilitation centres for offending women would work far more effectively than incarceration, as it means that dependent children

aren’t left motherless, and women are less likely to reoffend.

A key purpose of prison is to rehabilitate inmates so they are able to rebuild their lives and integrate back into society upon release. However, it has been proven that sending women who have committed nonviolent crimes to the perpetually violent environment of prison is an ineffective way of rehabilitating these women.

In June 2014, Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill argued in the House of Lords that the short term prison sentences that the majority of women serve have ‘the worst reoffending outcomes’, as ‘more than half of all women leaving prison are reconvicted within 12 months.’

This is primarily due to the fact that many women are released into homelessness, left with no other choice but to try to survive through criminal means. Specifically, over 70 per cent of women who serve short term sentences reoffend.

For non-violent female offenders, prison simply does not work as a deterrent.

Despite the debates and promises surrounding the controversial and lesser known subject, there are facilities that work daily to change the status quo. Women’s Centres all

around the country are advocates for these women’s rights and are able to offer support for a range of issues affecting women in the current criminal justice system; including mental health, substance abuse, domestic and sexual abuse, and even parenting. The UK currently has a network of around 40 specialist Women’s Centres, enabling women to rebuild their lives after prison, as well as offering support for those that need to complete community sentences while caring for their families.

Despite statistics and morbid example cases, women’s needs are not being considered in the criminal justice system, and here in the UK we still have a long way to go until they do. No woman should have to face forced strip-searching. No woman should have to go through the violent environment of prison without mental health services.

No mother should be forced to give birth alone in her cell. Slowing down the expansion of female prisons and providing safer alternatives such as community-based rehabilitation centres would allow women ta safer space to serve their sentence, with both their children and their sanity intact, and access to mental health care.

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Features

The ethics of tourism: Should you be booking Airbnbs?

John Campbell tells of his experience in Athens as an Airbnb tenant John Campbell Features Contributor

Firework displays are rarely organised in the claustrophobic streets of a city, nor are they typically accompanied by the militaristic chanting of slogans; their meanings unclear, their emotion undeniably one of anger and defiance. Curious, I slid open the door to the balcony of the small studio flat my girlfriend and I were staying in to get a better view of the commotion below.

Stepping out of the enclosed space I was overcome by a sense of relief to escape the flat’s dull atmosphere, weighed down by the overwhelming colors of chrome and white from an IKEA spree gone boring. Arriving at our accommodation in downtown Athens it quickly became clear that our temporary accommodation was a part of the ‘new breed of Airbnbs’.

Advertised as a radical, liberating platform that offered affordable spaces of all sizes to those unable to attain their dream of traveling due to the heavy price tags, the service is cluttered with flats primarily offered to tourists. One could argue that this

was their initial purpose, however a closer look at the residents living in the areas surrounding the Airbnb flats can give you a better idea why that should not necessarily be classified as a good thing.

The process is straightforward.

Well-off residents buy up flats in cheaper, trendy areas and rent them out to travellers. While they make decent money, strain is put on the local economy as the rents for locals, and students, are pushed up by landlords that take notice of the profit of Airbnbs. The idea is that if tenants in small Airbnbs rooms or flats can pay such ‘high’ prices for a few days, why shouldn’t theirs? This births a phenomenon of gentrification but on steroids, and a priority given to passing tourists rather than the residents who make up and retain the life in these areas.

Failing to identify the hoax charmed by genuine old-style house listings and restricted by a budget, I became part of the problem. We never met our flat owner, and he will not be moving back to live in the flat after a work trip or family event when we leave. He actually never

lived there to begin with. His final correspondence via the app was to tell us to give a five star rating, leave our key in the security box on the landing for the cleaner and reserve any criticism for a private message not a public review. Checking the

Charmed by genuine old-style house listings and restricted by a budget, I became part of the problem Airbnb map verified my suspicion that there was stiff competition in this part of town. This flat, like many others, was part of a business that cannot afford to have a single blemish on its reputation.

Out on the balcony, the loud, protesting voices led me to Twitter, searching for their cause of anger.

A few scrolls later the pieces fell into place and realisation dawned me. The fireworks had been set off in celebration by local activists who had stormed a derelict building

that had been home to refugees until their eviction in August. Their removal and repositioning to tented camps in the outskirts of the city had sparked outrage from the locals who had set about reclaiming the building that evening. Photos on twitter revealed a huge red and black flag draped over the front of a block of flats, captioned: ‘Comrades take control of the building, Spirou Trikoupi. Squat was evicted at 27/8 #Exarcheia_resist #Antireport’.

As the refugee crisis, caused by the ongoing Syrian Civil War, meanders in and out of the news cycle, here was the irrefutable reminder that the search for safety in Europe was as dubious as our leader’s neverending promises to solve the issue.

In this case, the evictions were regarded as the ‘power move’ of a newly elected, conservative government trying to prove its dedication to restore law and order.

The New Democracy party-turnedgovernment had, like many others before it, singled out and proclaimed the most vulnerable residents in Athens as a security threat and an aberration that must be isolated and

contained. An article on the Moria camp in Lesbos by the Guardian in the beginning of October revealed the awful reality of the violent and poverty-stricken community living in the Greek refugee camps.

However, there are no such prospects for tourists like ourselves with an EU citizenship and paper bills to spend in the local economy.

Tourists are housed comfortably in Athens, asylum seekers are dealt with like nuisances.

A few minutes of further internet research was enough for me to fully grasp the extent of our ignorance at our surroundings. Exarchia, the district we chose to stay during our visit, was actually infamous in Greece for its political anarchism.

Online, local activists raved about the Greek state, its history of right-wing totalitarianism, the threat of globalisation, the military rule, and the country’s subjection to EU-forced austerity.

Anarchist symbols, Communist Party posters, ‘Airbnb Supporters Go Home’, denunciations of police violence, pro-refugee graffiti, and a commemoration for the murdered

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

11

Features

‘No Land for the poor’, Emmanouil Mpenaki Street, Exarcheia Image: Dimitris Kamaras

LGBT+ activist Zak Kostopoulos; that was the mise-en-scene of the streets around us. It dawned on me that I knew close to nothing about the country I was visiting other than its ancient history of gods and mythological creatures. I consider myself a supporter of refugee rights, the LGBT+ community, economic democracy and the freedom of the individual from oppression of the state. Yet, despite these views, my consumer choices placed myself on the other side of the political and ethical divide.

Our presence felt part of the problem, a helping hand to invigorate the economic a n d social

trends that turn communities into tourist spots. I was a member of the class of people that capture defiant street-art in photographs intended

Tourists are housed comfortably in Athens, asylum seekers are dealt with like nuisances to decorate Instagram feeds.

Proving my cultured, well-travelled nature but commodifying the world around me and undermining the crucial issues that

Exarcheia’s activists were fighting for.

We thought that we deserved the holiday; we had worked and saved for it, and as tourists we were a benign, profitable presence to the world. It became obvious that this wasn’t a justification for what we were part of. My role as an oblivious consumer had serious consequences. My conscience had already mitigated the environmental impact of our flight making it an afterthought due to its invisible and not-immediate nature. Here, however, in this unique socio-political environment, our impact was tangible and our privilege clear.

We have a responsibility to consider the impact of our travels and how we interact with the places that we visit. In an age of mass tourism the impact of the traveller can be colossal, transforming entire neighbourhoods and economies.

European capitals open their arms to the selfie-taking, cash-carrying Westerner who ogles at the wonders of Periclean Athens and stays in properties denounced to those who need it most. As an oat milkconsuming, bicycle-commuting social liberal, I believed that I made ethical choices. Maybe I am a fraud. A return flight to Athens International can undermine months of environmentally savvy decisions in eight hours flat. My holiday had

Image: Badseed

visibly precipitated an economic model that pushed out locals and took up luxurious space that could and should be occupied by people with far more pressing needs than relaxation and a penchant for culture.

What felt like a regenerating, well-deserved break from reality quickly turned into a reflection of what it means to be a tourist.

Maybe my experience should be a re-evaluation opportunity for all planning their future travel plans.

We often distance ourselves from the countries we visit, feeling like a spectator to an alien world, there to

view the art and beauty, but only willing to take a small glimpse of the problems, protests, and injustices taking place in the same land. That cold, summer night on the balcony of my cheap Airbnb flat my pretence broke. Greta Thunberg’s reminder that ‘No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference’ should never be far from our minds when we make choices as consumers, not just at home but wherever we go.

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Features

The pursuit of happiness Is it science or simply a state of mind?

Caelen Reid Features Contributor

Happiness is one of those elusive, vague concepts that is fiendishly tough to pin down. Both its nature, and how one can achieve it have been the subject of fierce debates for almost as long as society itself has existed. The ancient Epicureans thought reaching happiness was the goal of life. The Stoics taught it was achieved through virtue and accepting that we don’t have total control over our lives. Boethius’ masterpiece The Consolation of Philosophy dealt with how happiness can be obtained despite the capricious nature of fortune.

A more contemporary and perhaps less esoteric view of happiness can be found through the work of Meik Wiking and his think tank, the Happiness Research Institute. You might have heard of their work – they’re partly behind the viral sensation of hygge, a Danish word without an exact English translation, but which embodies a sort of coziness, conviviality and contentment.

It’s perhaps of little surprise that this importing of foreign ideas has begun to happen just as the veneer of the stiff upper lip has started to crack among the British public.

As well as the famous hygge, the Happiness Research Institute is also responsible for another Danish word making its way onto British shores: lykke, which in Danish means happiness.

Based on their analysis of the UN World Happiness Report, Wiking and the HRI

break this down into six categories – togetherness, money, health, freedom, trust and kindness. I’m

The ancient Epicureans thought reaching happiness was the goal of life not too convinced that happiness is something that lends itself to scientific study and analysis, simply because of how subjective and multifaceted it is. I would argue that the main thing missing from this characterisation is eudaimonia, the ancient Greek word for ultimate happiness and fulfillment that is achieved when a person has fulfilled their purpose in life.

An interesting area in the study of happiness is how some uniquely modern phenomena can significantly affect our societal wellbeing. There has undoubtedly been an increasing mention of ‘ecoanxiety’ in the media lately – anxiety caused by fears of impending environmental and ecological disasters - this seems like a selffulfilling prophecy, destined to keep happening, and for people to keep fretting about it, until the world and its leaders begin addressing its root cause.

Similarly, social media has continuously been criticized for its negative influence and consequences for their young users.

From body image issues, online bullying, an obsessive habit to stay on the app for long periods of time endlessly scrolling, social media has

undoubtedly been a controversial addition to people’s daily lives. An HRI study proved that taking a break from social media can in fact lead to a significant improvement in one’s happiness.

After all, as author Stefan Mohamed eloquently put on Twitter, our mood “is probably in some way influenced by spending hours a day on a website that alternates at lightning speed between detailed accounts of mind-melting atrocities and statements like ‘imagine if bananas had zips lol’”.

Wiking also calls us to reevaluate and question the social comparisons we tend to make because of social media and the way they can affect our mental health. We have absolutely loved the quiet little birthday drink with our friends at the pub, or the nice, hearty meal we made in the privacy of our home

Some uniquely modern phenomena can significantly affect our societal wellbeing the previous night. However, the moment we log in to Instagram we quickly come face-to-face with a story by one of our coursemates who decided to throw an absolute rager of a house party for their birthday.

Suddenly, that warm feeling inside

us dissolves into a cloud of selfdoubt and jealousy. It is fascinating to see how platforms designed to bring us closer together instead

It is fascinating to see how means that are designed to bring us closer instead bring out all our insecurities bring out our insecurities.

When so many elements are designed to bring us stress, what are the secrets to happiness in the modern age? Perhaps, as a philosophy student, I find that having a positive worldview is as good a starting point as any. Personally, I’m quite drawn to the ancient Stoics and their reminders that we are not all-powerful and need to make peace with this. Their philosophy was that knowledge and use of logic is the highest virtue and one that we should aim to achieve, and actually one of the main influences behind cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT. We are also often too quick to dismiss the importance of friends and family, believing that we are strong enough to endure all the hardships and achieve our goals on our own. We need to acknowledge that something as simple as a ‘how are you’ text from a friend goes a long way when we’re having a hard day. Surrounding ourselves with people we care about and can have a

laugh with helps us remember that we are loved and supported. And, sometimes, that is all we need.

Ultimately, though, we can’t simply come up with a recipe for happiness, as ‘happiness’ can be interpreted differently for each individual. Many of the anxieties and issues that hold us down and prevent us from feeling fulfilled are actually systemic. Mindfulness and support networks are important, sure, but they do little about worries regarding rent, putting food on the table, or being overworked – and often giving time to something that ultimately won’t help you a lot can feel all the more overwhelming.

Lastly, we need to make a collective effort as a society. We should aim for better living conditions, a better work-life balance and better mental health support provision for those for whom thoughtfulness and chats over a cuppa are not enough. We must push for the identification of the root causes of our unhappiness and tackle our stiff upper lip mentality, because to do anything other than that, and naming it a science, is simply papering over the cracks in our lives.

The University and Students’ Union has a number of services available if you need some advice or any help. Call the Student Advice Centre on 0114 222 8660, or email advice@sheffield.ac.uk. Nightline is available to all students: please call 0114 222 8787 for listening, and 0114 222 8788 for information.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

13

Jack Mattless and Jack Redfern Opinion Editors

Opinion

Hello readers, with so much going on lately in Westminster, we at Opinion wanted to reflect the varied outlooks and responses students have to it all.

We’ve got two pieces each on the looming Brexit deadline 31 October and on the legacy of the House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow.

Also a piece in response to the Government’s approach to tackling

Tackling racism is a shared responsibility and we can all play a role Sheffield SU Officer Team Guest editorial It doesn’t matter what the colour of your skin is. We all have a part to play

never be the case.

email address so students can raise

students

from

A focus group is by the very

nature of its name intended to do

something clear: there is no ‘ban’ on

planned focus group specifically for

focused group of people. We wanted

race equality work.

misrepresented

white students contributing to our But what is important is that, as

these students has been deliberately in

the

press,

with reports suggesting we were

what it says on the tin – target a

We’ve already done lots of work

creating a dedicated Report Racism

any issues, from uncomfortable

“banter” or overheard comments to incidents that have left students

The offensive fake sign ups and

in.

for student societies and sports

Our staff have attended race

inclusion clubs.

racism

training,

We’ve

including

organised

workshops

and

anti-

forums

with dedicated discussions on race equality.

We’ve

held

anti-racism

voices. Nothing more, nothing less.

campaigns to raise awareness of

fact that this work is part of a wider

seriousness of it and shared new

What hasn’t been reported is the

race equity audit that Sheffield Students’ Union is one of the first in the country to be doing.

We’re

really

proud

to

be

partnering with the NUS on this in

what constitutes racism and the

as a backlash from the misleading this has unnecessarily caused our BAME

community,

just

further

demonstrates why this work is so important.

As a Students’ Union, we only

exist because of the student body

we represent and that includes all

130 nationalities and all creeds and colours.

We all have a part to play in making

anti-racism videos and talks which

our community a safe, inclusive

all new students.

are proud of. We’ve said it before

are timetabled into the schedule for We’re

working

to

decolonise

the curriculum and are holding

University sustainability strategy is a great statement of intent

comments such as: “Stinking hypocrite, they all are! Did you know that more gasses are produced by the oceans and volcanoes than we ever produce, and all claims otherwise

this.

coverage, as well as the upset

they felt comfortable talking freely

about listening to a focused group of

Frankly, something this important is worth being inconvenienced for

BAME students is a crucial part of

equality training and we’ve held

This wasn’t about a ‘ban’. It was

The University’s plan to integrate ‘sustainable development’ education into all undergraduate degrees within the next five years has predictably been met with a mixed response.

A brief scan of The Daily Mail’s comment section on a piece criticising the initiative reveals

in. Listening to the voices of our

experiences of racism in a forum

to hear our BAME students’ lived

presented it as a case of exclusion.

are fear mongering. Greta is a mouthpiece and anyone supporting her is a lazy lemming.”

The fact that misinformation like this is still widely supported within some circles only serves to justify and validate the decision made by the University.

Policies like this will ensure that all students who pass through Sheffield are properly educated on climate change and the challenges our generation will face to create a sustainable future. Hopefully this will lead to a generation who aren’t so intent on sleepwalking into extinction.

Boris Johnson’s recent dismissal of Extinction Rebellion protesters in London as “uncooperative crusties” echoes a belief that only smelly, soy-drinking hippies care about the planet.

Increasingly this is far from the truth. School and university strikes reflect just how eco-conscious this

our students feel safe and welcome

social media trolling that has come

of students, but the media has

Joshua Bolton Opinion Contributor

of our ongoing commitment to

feeling upset and vulnerable.

It was about inclusion for a group

Image: Sheffield Students Union

But there’s always more we can

ensuring our campus is one that all

campus. This was not and would

Sadly, the intention behind a

productive setting.

race-related

in this space. This has included

white

community.

in stopping it, so it’s crucial we make

be a trailblazer and encourage many other Students’ Unions to do the

where

issues can be discussed in a safe and

our efforts to create an anti-racist

tell us are likely to have experienced

Asian and minority ethnic (BAME)

workshops

our organisation and we hope we’ll

do. Focus groups like this form part

‘banning’

racism in their lifetime – our black,

a bid to improve race equity across

same.

part of this work, we really listen to

the voices of those who statistics

obesity.

As well as this, we wanted to give an insight into recent updates here at our own University. The measures taken to help tackle racism and achieve sustainability are hot topics at the moment and students had a lot to say about them. So thank you to all our recent contributors and enjoy reading!

campus and one that our students

and we’ll say it again: combatting racism is a task for everyone.

Image: Paolo Margari

generation is. In many ways this university initiative is preaching to the choir, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t all benefit from it.

Sure, it will be an inconvenience that means extra contact hours, which might seem like a nightmare during the busy term time.

Frankly, something this is important is worth being

inconvenienced for.

The critical part is how exactly the University goes about this.

The suggestion so far is that the education will be fully integrated into the course, rather than just oneoff lectures that students might not turn up to.

If the University gets this right it could have a huge impact on

students awareness and actions concerning sustainable living.

Instead of realising the fears of the older people that ours will be a generation of brain-washed ‘crusties’, we can bring issues such as sustainability to a mainstream audience and to the forefront of politics, scientific research and industry.

14

forgetoday.com

Opinion

Image: Diliff (spoookey additions by Jack Mattless

The Nightmare before Brexit: two contributors predict what’ll unfold on October 31st...

John Campbell Opinion Contributor

On 31 October there will commence a pan-Atlantic celebration of colossal proportions. Parties will be seen in the streets, singing and dancing will ensue as both the UK and Mexico revel in La Dia de Muertos, the festival of the dead: Halloween, Latin America style.

In Mexico City, people will be dressed as calacas and calavera, skulls and skeletons, parading down the streets, remembering the dead in an idiosyncratic mix of native Mexican and Roman Catholic celebrations.

In the UK, the festival will have

a different meaning; the revellers will be those sensible enough to be celebrating the death of a No Deal dystopia.

La Día de Muertos teaches us that death is part of life, that it is something to be accepted, even embraced. On Thursday 31 October Johnson will become one of the shortest serving PMs of all time and his career in politics will be over.

God knows he has had sufficient opportunity to take an honourable exit before now, whether over potentially fraudulent use of public money (see Arcuri Scandal), lying to the Queen, illegally shutting down parliament or over his penchant for

racist language.

However, it is only his commitment to Brexit, no matter the cost, that will cause him to resign from office. Make no mistake about it, this will be a moment of hubris, not humility. There isn’t a deal that can maintain the integrity of the EU Single Market and get passed the DUP/ERG coalition in parliament, never mind convince a cohort of Labour rebels to back him. The Benn Act will do its job, an extension will be sought and the ‘World King’s’ disastrous reign will be over. His afterlife as a martyr of the political right however, will only just be beginning.

Let them eat cake: Why the government’s obesity reccomendations are deeply troubling Ryan Smith Opinion Contributor

Far be it from me to suggest most government authorities are out of touch with wider society, but most government authorities are out of touch with wider society.

The outgoing Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, has suggested guidelines to tackle child obesity, such as: ‘phasing out advertising of unhealthy food and drink’ (good idea, but ‘banning’ would be a bit sharper), ‘banning food and drink on local transport except for water, breast-feeding and medical conditions’, ‘regular carfree weekends to encourage physical activity’ (what?) and ‘changing planning rules to make it harder to open fast-food takeaways’.

It’s a blame game we often see but it’s worth explaining: policing food and drink on local transport will generally affect people who don’t have cars. Outside of London this

tends to be people on lower incomes.

Other suggestions include ‘extending the sugar tax to include milk-based drinks’, and ‘adding VAT to other unhealthy foods such as cake’, both of which only make sense if you also assume telling people who are severely depressed to ‘cheer up’ will change their life.

If it isn’t already clear, the sugar tax only punishes the working class. (‘Louder for the people at the back!’ I hear you cry).

By taxing people over something which has proven to be chemically addictive numerous times, in areas filled with fast-food takeaways and sugar-filled shops, it is so blatantly obvious that this is just another punishment for the working class.

If you want to help, education is the way forward. Teach good food education in schools rather than how to make a quick stir-fry. Teach the dangers of sugar and fast-food.

Invest in youth community

It is so blatantly obvious that this is just a punishment for those that live in poorer areas of the country centres, instead of reactively having expensive gym memberships thrusted in your face everywhere you go.

These passive policies have the same effect as handing a drowned person a life jacket – the damage is done.

If you want to help, look at the wider context and help, don’t condemn. This is not a difficult concept. It just takes nonsensical ideas like those proposed to make people see it.

Ryan Smith Opinion Contributor

Morning, 1 November 2019. All across the land of stiff upper lips on the faces of 17.4 million people start to twist in a momentary collapse of unparalleled patriotic stoicism.

Knuckle tattoos spelling out ‘B-RE-X-I-T-4-E-V-A’ are proudly held around pint glasses of Carling.

Meanwhile, crumpets buttered by Hereford cows are nibbled at in recently-even-wealthier-thanbefore-2016 estates, culminating in a short toast to a framed picture above the fireplace of a dishevelled blonde-haired man who is now also even wealthier than before 2016.

Across Britain, celebrations are being prepared for the third national day of British victory in just over 100 years. Champagne, croissants, bananas, Nestlé and Müller are all thrown out at first sight, with French toast forever being banned due to unpleasant political associations.

In addition to this, any words containing ‘eu’, such as amateur, museum, queue, entrepreneur, have been replaced in Orwellian style, and

now must be addressed as ‘amatr’, ‘musm’, ‘que’ and ‘entreprenr’.

Having by now become accustomed to having no money for doctors, in an ironic twist of events, the NHS is thriving, taking in patients who are overcome with ‘Blighty Enlargement’. An equally large number of people freeze France and Germany’s VISA application page, for which the only rule is that ‘Applications are welcome as long as you don’t mention the Brexit’.

As midday arrives on Britain’s first ever Proper-Storming-Outof-Mam-and-Dads-House-ForRealsies Day, the exciting new possibilities of what we can now achieve come rushing to the heads of its young children, giddy and sugarless, dancing round the largest maypole ever erected made purely from the last remaining British steel.

And just on the horizon, striding towards the White Cliffs of Dover, millions of ruddy-faced men scream ‘SOVEREIGNTY’ at each other, before turning to France to belt out ‘ROOL BRITTANYER’.

Prof. Dame Sally Davies.

Image: FCO in Japan

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

15

Opinion

John Bercow: love him or loathe him?

Love him...

Caelen Reid Opinion Contributor

Harold Wilson once said that a week is a long time in politics, and I’m sure this sentiment rings true to anyone who’s given even the most cursory glance to news headlines over the last decade.

Earlier this month, John McDonnell drew criticism from sections of the Labour Party for being too moderate. The Conservatives, so long the ‘party of business’, now seem hell-bent on driving the economy off a cliff against all reason. Also, a reality TV star is the president of the United States. If you went back to 2009 and told any pundit this would be the state of the world in 2019, you’d be laughed out of the room.

Yet one figure has managed to remain a constant through this turbulent decade, a symbol of order (or should that be orrrrrdurrrrrr?)

A figure amidst the absurdity that seems to have run rampant in our political culture – the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.

Frankly, I’m the last person who would heap praise upon a former

... or loathe him?

– even the decision to remain impartial - is a political decision, because every decision and stance is innately political. What Bercow has done has simply been to allow Parliament to assert its sovereignty.

In countries such as ours with no written constitution, parliamentary convention changes organically in order to stay up to date. The Parliament of the early seventeenth century would be unrecognizable to an early twentieth century observer just as the parliament of the early twentieth century - with its powerful House of Lords - would be unrecognisable to us. Bercow has done an excellent job both modernising Parliament and ensuring British democracy continues to flourish. His successor will doubtless find themselves with big shoes to fill.

Gwynnie Naylor Opinion Contributor

John Bercow is a well-known figure in British politics, already held up as an icon for his bellowing chants of ‘Order’ which echo throughout the Houses of Parliament.

In fact, his reputation precedes him to such an extent that it’s easy to overlook some of the issues clouding his tenure as House of Commons Speaker. The most obvious being the bullying allegations brought forward by Angus Sinclair, alleging that Bercow had repeatedly bullied him while at work. Although these allegations are denied by Bercow, the fact that Sinclair was also forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing him from speaking out about the issue hardly suggests Bercow is a man comfortable with criticism.

More broadly, it’s a signpost to the lack of action taken by Bercow as Speaker to tackle the deep-seated issues within Parliament, of abuses of power and bullying.

Bercow has done an excellent job both modernising parliament and ensuring British democracy continues to flourish hard-right Tory frontbencher. But as Speaker, it’s hard to deny that he’s done a stellar job. Whether it’s making us all chuckle with his interventions in the chamber, staunchly defending the mother of parliaments or strengthening backbenchers positions through granting regular “Urgent Questions”, and opposing what he saw as the demotion of parliament to a rubber-stamping body for the Government of the day.

There are those who suggest that Bercow has overstepped boundaries and ‘politicised’ what is meant to be an impartial role, but I fail to see how this is the case. These critics fail to understand that every decision

If the speaker himself takes part in such actions, as the allegations claim, it could be argued that he would be against the unrooting and managing of in-house abuse claims and accusations, like the kind that have been brought against him.

A report published by Dame Laura Cox QC stated that under Bercow’s speakership a culture of “subservience, acquiescence and silence in which bullying, harassment and sexual harassment have been able to thrive and have

In fact, his reputation precedes him to such an extent that it’s easy to overlook some of the issues clouding his tenure as House of Commons Speaker long been tolerated and concealed”.

The report claimed that officials, which would include Bercow, have let down and allowed such a culture to develop and was failing to protect workers within the Government, with women being failed the most in this regard.

Controversy also seems to follow Bercow often. During the 2009 expenses scandal it emerged he had avoided paying capital gains tax by changing the designation of his second home on more than one occasion.

Just this month it’s emerged he’s clocked up more air miles than the queen during his tenure as speaker at a cost to the taxpayer of £250,000.

His interventions in the Brexit debate

£250,000

of taxpayer’s money spent on air travel during his time as speaker

Speaker of the House, John Bercow Image: Wikipedia

can be interpreted as a defence of parliamentary sovereignty, but they’ve also made it increasingly difficult for government to legislate and undeniably deserve part of the blame for the current stalemate we find ourselves in.

forgetoday.com

16

Em Evans & Taylor Ogle Lifestyle Editors

Lifestyle

Welcome to issue 137 with Lifestyle.

This time we have an array of different autumnal pieces to get you feeling cosier on these colder nights.

Check out which herbal tea is best for you - there are so many different types out there so it’s worth looking at the perks of each one.

But don’t get too cosy, as Halloween and Bonfire Night are

right around the corner, so make sure you’re getting your costumes ready as we have a list of some events taking place in a few weeks’ time!

Sheffield has lots of hidden gems when it comes to vintage stores.

With most of them being within the city centre, it’s never been easier to get all sorts of unique styles on our doorstep. Julia Kearns has given up some pointers on where the best places are to visit.

A novice’s guide to herbal teas

Tea is a quintessential part of British culture, but when you’re not reaching for a large cuppa of Yorkshire Tea, you have a whole range of other options waiting! Herbal teas can offer fantastic health benefits for a wide array of situations. From the standard caffeinefree chamomile to spiced turmeric, here are five herbal options to shake up your tea routine.

Taylor Ogle Lifestyle Editor

Chamomile Perhaps the most well-known herbal blend is chamomile tea. This brew made from the flowering plant Matricaria chamomilla has been associated with the management of anxiety symptoms and insomnia relief. It has also been linked to soothing menstrual cramps.

Turmeric Turmeric is a spice used for hundreds of years in traditional Indian medicine, is brewed into a tea with a vibrant yellow color and health benefits to spare. It is known to contain antioxidant properties that may help give your immune system a much-needed boost. There have been studies suggesting a link between turmeric and pain receptors in the body that may allow reduction in menstrual cramping and muscle soreness.

Peppermint Peppermint tea is another reliable caffeine-free blend, has more on its side than just a sweet and cooling taste. The herb has been known to help reduce migraine and headache symptoms as well as calming upset stomachs. It’s sweet and refreshing taste is a great pick-me-up and useful for freshening breath as well.

Lemon and Ginger Lemon and ginger tea is a popular choice as a rejuvenating drink, but also has well-established links with easing upset stomachs and assisting digestion. Consuming the drink may also help to reduce nausea, making this tea a strong contender for a hangover-soother. It has also been claimed that the tea may lead to improved concentration as well as a boost in mood.

Cinnamon Cinnamon tea is a classic for it’s warm and spiced flavour that especially seasonal throughout autumn and Christmas. The soothing drink may help to fight the common cold as well as reduce pain. Cinnamon bark was traditionally used to treat upset stomachs, and the tea today can be used for the same health problems.

Halloween and Bonfire Night events Bethany Thomas Lifestyle Contributor

Autumn brings the cold, rain and the dark, so it’s important to fill your diary with celebrations to keep your chin up and your social life buzzing.

The main events naturally centre around Halloween and Bonfire Night, and below are a few ideas of what might pique your interest in the upcoming month.

For the film fanatics amongst you, the Film Unit is putting on at least two spooky movies for your enjoyment. The first is Donnie Darko on Wednesday 30 October at 6.30pm in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium in the Student’s Union.

Rated a 15, the film is described as ‘a cult-classic of the sci-fi genre, surreal, mind-bending and timebending...’ Tickets cost £3.30 and

are available on the SU website.

If Donnie Darko doesn’t satisfy your spooky cravings, Film Unit and Horror Society are working on a collaboration to present What We Do in The Shadows on Saturday 2 November at 730pm.

The immersive screening also costs £3.30 and is described as “the best horror comedy since Shaun of the Dead”, so, if you deem Halloween to be as much about laughter as it is about fear, this might be the film for you.

For many, Halloween means partying, and Sheffield does not disappoint. On 31 October, Area Sheffield is hosting Fright Fest from 10.00pm, which promises three rooms of horror ‘playing all your favourite tracks’, a free Trick or Treat sweet tuck stall, ‘eerie’ confetti drops and a fancy dress competition,

with a prize for the winner. It promises to be the ‘biggest, scariest, craziest, loudest and most terrifying date of the year’.

Or perhaps you would prefer a Ghostbuster-

themed

night

of

80s

Pop

and Disco anthems? Leadmill’s Halloween Club Tropicanna includes

silly string, confetti cannons, themed ghostbusters costumes, and –above all – an appearance from the Stay Puft Marshmallow man. Tickets are available online for £6.60 and are expected to sell out before the 11.00pm start.

Or, for something completely different, the Birdhouse Tea Bar and Kitchen are hosting a ‘Harry Potter Halloween Pudding Club’ on 29 and 30 October from 6.00pm. Tickets must be bought beforehand in order to experience five courses of treats with magic tricks and themed cocktails. From Mrs Weasley’s pear and ginger pudding with Triwizard cup custard, to a white chocolate golden snitch with Bertie otts lemon and black pepper truffles, the Birdhouse Tea Bar and Kitchen is an unmissable

experience for any Harry Potter fan this Halloween.

If the post-Halloween blues are a daunting prospect, why not focus on embracing the next opportunity to celebrate? 5 November marks Guy Fawkes Night, and The Greystones are merging the celebration with their ninth birthday to provide you with the opportunity of food, drinks, a birthday cake and – most importantly – a firework display from 6.00pm.

If one free firework display doesn’t satisfy, the Sheffield Transport Sports Club is hosting the Meadowhead Gigantic Free Pyrotechnic Firework Display from 6.00am on Monday 1 November.

The event promises a bonfire, entertainers, free face paint and a DJ, along with food and drink available to buy.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

17

Lifestyle

China Red Review: an underrated restaurant A review of a student-friendly place to eat has limited candidates for me as a first-year student. However, my flatmates and I visited China Red for dinner and I believe it fits the bill perfectly.

We sat at a large, round table, admittedly typical of most Chinese restaurants, but this small detail made the event far more sociable, and really did help us bond together as a group. Akin to the seating, the interior was plush and very welcoming.

The food itself was a true high point, but this is no surprise as everyone loves a good Chinese.

Much like what the katsu chicken curry is to Wagamama, the special fried rice was the clear favourite,

ordered by most of our group – myself included. The menu is very diverse and offers all other Chinese classics, perfect for if you’re a little more adventurous than our flat.

The portion sizes were another highlight; I was the only one to finish their meal! The food was somewhat healthy, which after a Freshers’ week filled with copious drinking and daily Pot Noodles really was a pleasant change.

However, the main aspect of China Red that has led me to label it as student-friendly is their price for a tasty and filling meal. For the first time since I left home, I felt properly fed, and it came only at the cost of £8. I’m only a few weeks into Uni, and I find myself budgeting more

than I have ever done before, and so reflect positively on the place monetary-wise.

Despite all this positivity, there were a couple niggles with the whole experience; the service was quite slow and the vegetarian of the group wasn’t too impressed with her meal. However, these didn’t overly affect what was a very enjoyable evening out.

Overall, I would recommend China Red to any other Sheffield student based on my own experience. I definitely see our flat going back there for another meal in the near future.

China Red can be found at 3 Rockingham Gate in the heart of Sheffield city centre

Sheffield’s vintage favourites For anyone interested in vintage clothing, you came to the right university. Sheffield has a great range of hip and independent stores; many of which appear on Division Street and within Sheffield’s city centre.

Julia Kearns Lifestyle Editor

Vulgar

Vulgar can be found on Division Street. It has a really colourful and youthful vibe with an array of ontrend vintage clothing. They have many individual pieces that have been up-cycled whilst still stocking a range of designer labels across the store. It has a great variety of vintage items such as dungarees, plaid trousers and denim jackets.

The prices are reasonable with some designer labels being sold for a steal!

However, if you are strapped for

cash you can still pick up one of their homemade scrunchies with every colour imaginable for just £1.

Syd & Mallory’s Vintage Stores

Also off Division Street, this small vibrant shop has a lot of personality.

With many punk inspired vintage pieces it is certainly unique. This store really stands out from the crowd, having its own fashion label that you can purchase in-store or online. Whilst most stores have a till behind the counter, this boutique has a sewing machine as many of the pieces are altered or made in store.

These hand-made designs mean

that nothing is mass produced, allowing every item to feel as if it is unique and one of a kind. As well as clothes, the fashion label also has a great range of accessories and vintage jewellery.

While you’re there you could even check out the independent record shop downstairs.

COW

You might have come across COW in your own hometown as they have stores all over the country and even an online shop. If you are new to vintage shopping and don’t know where to begin then COW is a great

place to start. You’re bound to find something you like as this shop sells a lot of major brands, however it isn’t as cheap as other stores. If you’re looking to go really unique then COW might not be for you, it can seem to follow the trends rather than showing true vintage pieces.

Saying this though, you can always trust them to produce good quality pieces that have great durability – so at least you know that you’re getting what you paid for.

MOOCH

Mooch is a big contrast to COW as it has a quirky and fun vibe. It feels really personal with the owner being in six or seven days out a week. Not only will you find some really interesting fashion items in here, but you’ll also get some great fashion tips from the owner himself and possibly even some free sweets!

This shop has a huge variety of jackets with sections dedicated to leather, denim, windbreaker and many more. If you have an item in mind, this store will have 50 different varieties of just that. It’s definitely one to spend longer in as you have to sift through a lot to find the hidden gems, but I can promise you that it is in there.

Of course there are loads more amazing vintage stores that Sheffield has to offer, many of them being charity shops. Don’t rule these out as they have some great vintage rails and it all goes to a good cause!

18

forgetoday.com

Lifestyle

Fighting freshers’ flu

With shorter days and longer cold nights, finding the motivation to stay fit is incredibly tough. Due to that, our immune systems are weakened making us more prone to illness. So let’s beat those winter blues and follow these healthy winter habits that will boost your immune system during this time of the year.

Yash Raveendra Lifestyle Contributor

1

Eating Healthily... ..is just hard. As a student, all we want is a quick takeaway or a ready meal but these meals never provide us with the right nutrients. By eating more fruits and vegetables, you’ll be on the right track to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As well as this, adding mushrooms into your dishes is a bonus as they have naturally occurring antibiotics that help us

fight illness. Avoid cold meals like cereal and instead cook up a hearty breakfast - it’ll set you up better than colder options.

Make sure you pack yourself full of loads of proteins and fibre such as apples and oats. Lastly, cook with spices! Add more heat and flavour to your dishes with onions, cumin and turmeric. Turmeric is a spice traditionally found in Asian cuisine and it helps to combat many conditions including heart diseases.

2

Exercise Finding the willpower to go to the gym is even harder than eating healthily. So why not just stay at home and exercise? To help you get more organised, write down a quick exercise schedule for the week.

You can use Pinterest to help you keep up with your work out. A quick 30-minute workout a day will keep the doctor away.

3

Dress well and stay warm This is the most vital part of winter! Make sure you are always dressed well for the cold weather outside. Thermal tops and bottoms are a great way to layer up as they lie upon your skin. Then, with the extra warmth from your normal clothes on top, there’s no way you’ll be feeling the cold.

Consider buying an extra big

and fluffy duvet that is bound to keep you warm and make sure your heating is working for those really chilly nights!

Or, for those who don’t have bills included in their accommodation, going to bed dressed in extra layers to compensate will help you out whilst keeping the bill costs low.

Another idea is to invest in a portable coffee cup so you can keep warm on the go. See Taylor’s herbal tea article on page 16 for inspiration.

How supermarkets take your money Em Evans Lifestyle Editor

The minds behind supermarkets are nothing shy of cunning. From the way that stores are laid out, to the positioning of items on shelves, each decision made has had a thorough plan set in place, all with the aim of making you spend more money. According to the BBC, the average person in the UK makes 221 trips to the supermarket per year, making so many people prone to succumbing to the ploys that are ready to make your bank figures fall.

Check out the following pointers of how supermarkets catch your eye, and hopefully make you think twice before thinking that ‘deal’ is worth it.

Layout methods The ways in which stores are laid out is the main trick into encouraging consumers into spending more money. Generally, the eggs and bread are positioned further away from the front door as these are items which people tend to ‘pop in’ for, yet pass through other aisles

which could potentially catch their eye on an offer.

In the larger supermarkets that have in-house bakeries, they are generally situated at the back of the store to make the smell of freshly baked goods circulate, enticing you into having a craving for something tasty, and therefore spending more money and time in their stores.

In terms of the positioning of the fruit and vegetable aisles, they are often found near the entrance so that when you move to different aisles, you feel less guilty about picking up that tub of Ben and Jerry’s that is half price, or getting a two-for-one offer on cheese.

More expensive items will always be put on eye-level shelves when 30p sweets tends to run along the bottom. The Guardian states that 90 per cent of parents who have shopped with their kids have given into the last-minute begging of chocolate bars, and spent that little bit more when paying for their shop.

Although this isn’t directly related to many university students, it gets you thinking about times where you might have spent the extra cash.

Is it really a good deal?

Watch out for the deals which are plastered left, right and centre.

The more often you go to the same supermarkets, the more aware you will be of the original price of items, so when a pizza that is usually £2 gets put on promotion to ‘get 2 for £4’, you’ll know it’s all a scam. It’s sometimes difficult to pinpoint which deals are a bargain and which are a ploy, but by taking time when doing your shop you will begin to notice that you spend less money compared to others. Do also note that certain supermarkets

purposefully leave up out-ofdate promotions on their shelves.

This means that the two crates of Stella for £16 isn’t actually on offer anymore, and they’ve actually gone back to being £10 each. It’s all done intentionally in the hope that you don’t double check your receipt and walk away having spent more money that you were told you’d need too. Always check your receipt.

Converting online Doing your shop online will limit the chances of you being drawn into deals that are plastered over

shelves and stands. Clubbing together with a few housemates is advised as there is usually a delivery charge, but by doing this you’ll ensure that you will be left with more money to spend after your weekly shop is done!

Get the Bar One and Interval Kitchen & Bar food you love delivered to your place.

forgetoday.com

20

Luke Baldwin and Alicia Hannah Break Editors

Break

Boo! Did I get you? Of course not, how can you be shocked or scared by a simple word.

If you hadn’t already guessed, this week’s Break is centered around the other dreaded ‘H’ word. No not hangover, we did that last time: Halloween!

I love horror. Goblins and ghouls.

Creepy crawlies and things that go

Crossword

You never know when you’re going to be hunted down by flesh eating zombies, intergalactic killer goo or supernatural demons from the other side. So stay clued up and watch plenty of scary movies! Want to test how much you already know? Try this horror film themed crossword.

FUN FACT

Across

Down

The origins of horror Fiction made with the intention of inspiring fear has been around since ancient folklore. Horror became a legitimate genre in the form of Gothic Horror literature, specifically Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole.

The story included elements of romanticism, as well as fantasy and supernatural. This was unusual for the time, as most writers strived for realism.

The first ever horror film, La Manoir du Diable (1896), was only three minutes long and included bats, devils, witches and trolls. Horror wasn’t used to describe films until the 1930s. Prior to this they were known as Spooky Tales.

4. Before infesting the American Arctic Research Base, the creature in The Thing (1982) decimates another research base of which nationality? (9) 5. The Shining (1980) takes place at which hotel? (8) 6. Nickname of the masked killer in Scream (1996) (9) 9. In the third Evil Dead film, Army of Darkness (1992), Ash refers to his shotgun as his what? (9) 11. What crucial item is lost in the Blair Witch Project (1999)? (3) 12. Carrie (1976) uses her abilities to spoil which event? (4) 13. In The Exorcist (1973), the power of what is used to compel the demon to leave Regan’s body? (6) 14. In Psycho (1960) where is Marion Crane killed? (6)

1. The killer in Friday the 13th (1980) is what relation to Jason? (6) 2. In what American state might you find Leatherface and his trademark gardening tools? (5) 3. Pennywise the Clown uses what form of mystical energy to subdue and consume his victims in IT (1990/2015)? (10) 7. According to Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs (1991) what drink goes particularly well with human liver? (7) 8. What is the name of the commercial towing vessel featured in Alien (1979)? (8) 10. Finish this line of the nursery rhyme from Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): “five, six, grab your….” (8)

23 October -Walt Disney’s animated film Dumbo is released (1941) -Adele releases the single ‘Hello’, which becomes the first song to receive more than one million downloads in its first week (2015) 24 October -World’s oldest football club, Sheffield FC is founded (1857) -’Black Thursday’ marks the beginning of the stock market crash and the Great Depression (1929) 25 October -Henry V defeats French forces at the Battle of Agincourt utilising the longbow (1415) -Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, is released. Also debut for star Jamie Lee Curtis (1978) -Luke Baldwin is born and goes on to revolutionise student media. He’s also pretty fit (1995)

26 October -The English Football Association forms, standardising football and splitting with rugby (1863) -Last natural case of smallpox was discovered in Somalia, marking the most successful vaccination in history (1977) -James Cameron’s Terminator is released, starring Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger (1984) 27 October -Singer Ben E. King releases the song ‘Stand By Me’ (1960) -China’s population reaches one billion (1982) -Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 86 years (2005) 28 October -Police in St. Louis try a new method of solving crimes - fingerprints!

(1904) -The Volstead Act marks the beginning of prohibition in the US. Sale and import of all alcohol was banned for 13 years (1920) 29 October -Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, has his first professional fight, beating Tunney Huskey (1960) Images courtesy of Wikimedia and the moviedb

Did you Know?

Happy Halloween! Hopefully this year is extra spooky for you! Not as spooky as Halloween 1918, when 21,000 people were killed in the US by Spanish flu. But still pretty spooky.

1.Mother 2.Texas 3.Deadlights 4.Norwegian 5.Overlook 6.Ghostface 7.Chianti 8.Nostromo 9.Boomstick 10.Crucifix 11.Map 12.Prom 13.Christ 14.Shower

On this day

bump in the night. And scariest of all, the realisation that we’re on a dying planet which is slowly cooking itself from the inside out and that everything we do is futile as we’ll all be dead soon, doomed by the generation before us...

BOO! Get you that time? Still no?!

Shit, how does Stephen King do this?

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

LONEly Hearts Agony Aunt Hello and congratulations to you for making it to the best page in Forge Press.

Agony Aunt is two weeks old this week! Thank you to everyone that submitted a problem so far. We’ve had the good, the strange, and the well known England captain, Sir Harry Kane.

You can share your problems, clear your conscience, or just have a laugh with us by using our anonymous form. You can find it on Facebook at Forge Break Agony Aunt and Lonely Hearts Club.

21

Looking for love can be a huge part of university life. You’re at the peak of your youth, figuring out who you are and what you want to do with your life. So why not share this incredible experience with a significant other?

Alternatively, seen the love of your life on a night out or in the library? Who knows? Maybe they felt the same way and happen to read Forge Press. What have you got to lose?

If you’re wanting to put yourself out there, head over to the ‘Forge Break Agony Aunt and Lonely Hearts Club’ Facebook page, fill in a short form and we’ll publish your description. Don’t worry, all contributions are completely anonymous!

See someone you like, either in the paper or on the Facebook page? Email us at press.break@ forgetoday.com and we’ll help put you two lovebirds in touch.

From Russia with love 18 year straight boy from Moscow, first year Journalist. Looking for friendship and more. Want to meet someone caring and kind to talk and trust, try to build long relationships. My hobbies are sport, films and music!

A man with experience 21-year-old male, final year English Lit student. Looking for someone to listen to vinyl with. Let me take you for a pint x

Do you wanna see my test tube?

19 year-old, Chemistry student who’s hoping to find someone who I can mix with and create that special spark. I can promise you that our love will be the bomb. Do you wanna get out for a brew of yeast and grain? (i.e. a pint)

super-yikes

Breakdown pending I’m a 22 year old Biomed student having a crisis. Everyone I know has a girlfriend and I’m worried I’ll end up dying alone. I’m into getting pissed and disappointing in bed.

Pathetically desperate.

Looking for a Player 2 I’m a 19 year old male computer science student looking for a nerdy partner (any gender!) to chill out and play Mario Kart with. I’m quite introverted but would love to get to know someone special.

Chalk to me 23 year old male climbing enthusiast.

Into a good weekend in the Peaks or climbing at the Foundry. If you’re outdoorsy and like a bit of techno hmu. My mums getting worried.

love on the rocks Dear Break, When me and my boyfriend started dating he always complimented me on my looks lots, but now he doesn’t anymore :(. How do I get him to compliment me more often?

Dear Break, I think my boyfriend might be cheating on me. I saw he had Tinder on his phone last year, and when I confronted him he said he was using it to find girls for his psychology project. At first I believed him, but he handed in his assignment well before the summer and he still keeps buying superlikes from our joint account on Monzo. Please help!

Alicia You deserve better. You are strong, you are beautiful, and most importantly, you do not need a man’s validation to feel you are worthy, my queen. However, after the honeymoon phase, things tend to simmer. He probably still thinks all of those lovely things about you, but may have just got used to your absolutely stunning and breathtaking presence. These things happen, but with saying that, don’t settle for any less than you deserve.

Tip to try: Listen to Lizzo - Good as Hell

Luke Maybe you need to work harder? I’m talking pedicures, manicures, sunbed, new nails, maybe some fresh garms. The full shabang!

The sad truth is that the average male brain is similar to that of a small dog. It needs regular stimulation and excitement, otherwise it drifts onto other things.

Tip to try: Vajazzles

KANE INSANE Alicia Take all of the money out of the Monzo account and run.

Tip to try: Eat some fruit. Let that mango.

If you are experiencing issues like these, please seek expert advice from your GP, or speak to an advisor in the Student Advice Centre by calling 0114 222 8660, or emailing advice@ sheffield.ac.uk.

Nightline can also be contacted on 01142228787 for listening, and 01142228788 for information.

Luke Set up a tinder of your own, but catfish as his ideal match. When he inevitably takes the bait, lead him on. Be witty, be complementary, be sexy.

After chatting for a bit, drop the killer question: do you want to meet up? Imagine the look of shock and shame when he walks in and sees, not his dream match, but you, drenched in tears and armed with enough ammunition to dump his ungrateful arse.

Tip to try: Get a portable charger

Dear Break, I am having trouble with recurring dreams. Every

night, I dream that Sir Harry Kane is my father. When I wake up, I feel a strong sense of disappointment when I remember that my dad is in his late 50’s and has knees made of silly string. How can I get over this strong parental bond I have with the captain of the Three Lions? #ItsComingHome

Alicia You’ve got the classic case of Kane Brain. But, sadly, he’s not coming home for you. I’d suggest a full Kane detox, and possibly some family time. Also, maybe ask your dad for a kickabout soon. Sounds like you have daddy issues.

Tip to try: Clear your search history, you may get done for stalking.

Luke This is a problem I myself can sympathise with.

Many a night I dream of Cristiano Ronaldo holding me in his muscular arms. Whispering sweet Portugese poetry into my ear whilst we watch compilations of his best goals on Youtube. And then we make love into the early hours. Hmmmmmm. Wait, what were we talking about?

Tip to try: Do you want to start a fanfic on the back page?

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Spotlight

What’s On Halloween freaks festival1819 31 October 11:30pm-4am Teleport back in time to the Age of Enlightenment and experience the most hair-pricking night of your life!

Tickets £8.80 online on the SU/Foundry website.

Wednesday 23 October - Wednesday 30 October

The oral history of joy division

and Record, Play Pause 24 October 7:30pm-9:30pm

Image: Wikipedia

cadbury’s world spooktacular 27 October, 7:45am-5pm This Halloween, head down to Birmingham and enjoy a fun-packed day at Cadbury World.

Learn about the history of making the delicious confectionary and after the tour, explore Birmingham city centre itself.

Meet outside the Glossop Road entrance, by Bar One at 7.45am for an 8.00am departure.

Ticket prices includes coach travel there and back. £29.15 Student £23.65 (Res Life)

Meet journalist Jon Savage and Joy Division’s Stephen Morris as they explore the distinctive sound and journey that made Joy Division international stars.

Morris will also discuss his book, Record Play Pause: Confessions of a PostPunk Percussionist, which describes the creation of his iconic body of music.

Tickets £8 general, £7 concessions (inc. students) from SU/Foundry. website.

Harry Potter Studios

Purchase tickets from the SU website or Box Office.

Image: HunMelissa_Glee

3 November, 9:30am-6:30pm Celebrate Halloween in Hogwarts this year with its new Dark Arts theme. £77.55 Student £72.05 Res Life This trip will run with a 9.30am departure from Oakholme Road (near no. 8 Oakholme Road) Purchase tickets from the SU website.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

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Spotlight

Society Spotlight Getting to know...

Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

When Halloween rolls around, you might be looking for a group of people as interested in horror and gore as you, and Horror Society might be just the ticket.

The society, which is currently in its fourth year of operation, runs weekly film screenings among many other things, and is the go-to place for anyone and everyone wanting to get their horror fix.

We caught up with Ramona Howard, Archie Gold and Dylan Bocking ahead of this year’s spooky goings-on. They run a lot of events during the period, including a yearly immersive film screening in collaboration with Film Unit. Last year they showed The Rocky Horror Picture Show, while this year they’ve opted for 2014’s What We Do in the Shadows.

Horror Society

“We’ve got a lot of events [during Halloween],” said Ramona, the secretary of the society. “There’s the immersive screening, we’ve got pumpkin carving, a baking social where we’ll be decorating cookies, horror prosthetics.

“We’re doing a film screening, Evil Dead. We volunteer at Freaks Fest too - we get in costumes and scare drunk students for a couple of hours – it’s a lot of fun.”

We show more big films than small films, because we realised that while we may like the hipster films, it’s not as popular The society is just £3 to join for the year, and that includes entry to

every film screening – they reckon if you attend every one, it works out at about 16p per film, which is a blessing to a student budget.

Plus, there’s a new extra bonus for the 2019/20 academic year: the society has now secured Bar One sponsorship, which means members can get discounted food and drinks in the SU bar.

HorrorSoc also show a lot of highend films, which they’ve realised appeal better to students who want to come along.

Archie, social sec, said: “We show more big films than small films, because we realised that while we may like the hipster films, it’s not as popular.”

“Low budget and black and white aren’t really a thing you can advertise and catch the eye as much as stuff with big names and cool DVD covers we can post online,” added Dylan.

Throughout our chat, the society make sure to emphasise the work they do on inclusivity, work for which they were awarded ‘Commitment to Inclusions’ at the Activities Awards in May this year.

It’s just a chill thing where you can come along and talk, it’s a more conversational environment “We use the phrase ‘wholesome horror’. We have lots of systems in place, such as a buddy system to make sure no-one walks home alone at night, the Café Wednesdays, full content warnings before all our films,” said Ramona.

“Horror Society might not sound

like the kind of place where people are friendly but we genuinely are all nice.”

Dylan added: “We see it as ‘everyone gets scared together’ rather than people getting frightened on their own. It’s a group of you sat together who you can talk to.

“That’s what a society is for, to find a group of people with the same interests as you.”

The three of them have just come from one of the afore-mentioned ‘café socials’, and Dylan goes into more detail about: “[It’s something] which our inclusions officer started last year.

“It’s just a chill thing where you can come along and talk, it’s more friendly. We’re friendly normally, but it’s a more conversational environment rather than in a film where some people might not want to talk.”

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Rosie Davenport & Kate Procter Arts Editors

Arts

Welcome back to the Arts section.

Two of our pieces revolve around everyone’s favourite item… the mobile phone. From the ‘Instagramfication’ of exhibitions, to the growing popularity of sleep podcasts, our smartphones can now contribute to our appreciation of Arts too! Our exhibition review this issue features the Millennium

Gallery’s new installation exploring temporality with its collection of artwork and cinema. It is on until 19 January so you have plenty of time to get yourselves down on a cultured weekend. In our final piece we look at the lack of BAME characters in children’s books and why it is so important to increase representation in publishing. We encourage you to read the piece and join us in celebrating diversity and equality within the Arts and beyond.

The rise of made-for-Instagram exhibits: How social media is shaping art and the way you experience it Image: George Tuli

Alex Boulton Arts Contributor

We live in a world where social media is hard to escape. Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, amongst countless other platforms, have rapidly transformed the world in which we live. With this, the way we consume, experience and perceive art and museum collections has also changed.

Traditionally spaces have banned photography for fear of damaging precious pieces, violating copyright or to simply protect the atmosphere.

It is now not only allowed, but often actively encouraged by museums and galleries. While many of us may still feel awkward whipping out a phone in the middle of such a space, industry marketing strategies have evolved to not only capitalise on visitor posts, but actively curate shows with social media in mind.

But what do museums and galleries look like in this digital

age? The desire for content has contributed to the recent success of ‘experiences’ within the industry, where exhibitions are judged for their ‘Instagramability’ and how well they photograph. The general rule appears to be the more aesthetic or interesting the exhibition, the more traction it receives, with the worldwide success of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms (there are currently 838k photos with the tag #yayoikusama on Instagram) or the Guggenheim’s America (a golden toilet recently stolen from Blenheim Palace after 100,000 people waited to use it) often used as prime examples.

Even more interestingly, made-for-Instagram museums are gaining in popularity (and perhaps notoriety). The Museum of Ice Cream, which has spread to four US cities, takes advantage of the contemporary obsession with content creation and that, according to their website, aims

to design “environments that foster IRL interaction and URL connections” that “cater to the appetites of our generation”. Owing to the dominance of millennial pink, unicorns and sprinkle pools, as well as the brand’s 393k Instagram followers, MOIC is arguably more of a Willy Wonka-style museum of photo opportunities than of ice cream education.

More traditional museums and art galleries have also evolved into sites of social media innovation and are developing exciting digital marketing strategies or inserting it into new or permanent exhibitions to enhance the storytelling process. As well as simply allowing photography and posting engaging promotional content (check out the Museum of English Rural Life’s Twitter account), curators are now considering how exhibits can be engaged with to allow for maximum social media impact, such as through interactivity, aesthetics and

photo opportunities. One example of this is #SocialMedium by Seattle’s Frye Art Museum, who asked their followers to curate a show by liking their favourite artworks across its social media channels. Engagement was high, and comments from a number of the ‘citizen curators’ were displayed alongside each piece.

But should curators be planning exhibitions for maximum social media impact and hype, and what are the pros and cons of society’s social media addiction in the cultural world? In the current climate, funding decisions are very much a numbers game, with the success of each exhibition judged by how many visitors it receives. The more online traction a museum or art gallery gets, the more people are exposed to what it has to offer, hopefully translating into an increase in visitor numbers and securing the venue’s funding future.

Similarly, social media has the power to break boundaries by bringing a museum’s mission, messages and content to an audience that may not be able to physically enter the building. I lived vicariously through social media during the V&A’s Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, which sold out unprecedentedly quickly, and during the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Wonder, where attendance posed some obvious logistical issues. By sharing a piece of art that made you think, or an artefact with a history or story you found interesting, social media also allows visitors to connect with art and collections in a meaningful way.

But perhaps social media is just another burden that stretched budgets and staff have to consider when planning exhibits. Many would argue collections should always be at the centre of these spaces and by putting too much emphasis on attracting social media attention, audiences may be pushed into thinking about getting the perfect

picture rather than experiencing the exhibition in real time.

Perhaps we are at danger of sacrificing education, engagement and storytelling, which may change the meaning of these spaces too dramatically. We’ve all experienced the annoyance of entering a gallery or exhibition to see only camera phones or people posing, and there are many reported stories of visitors taking selfies or trying to find the perfect photo opportunity, only to end up damaging priceless artworks or artefacts.

Perhaps we are at danger of sacrificing education, engagement and storytelling, which may change the meaning of these spaces too dramatically.

Social media has undoubtedly changed the way we interact with art and museum collections. It is clear that while some caution should be taken when considering social media’s place within the cultural sector, museums would be foolish to not actively think about it when planning, curating and marketing exhibits in our current age.

Yes, visitors should be respectful when using social media to avoid negatively impacting the experiences of others, but how people decide to experience art and museums should be at their own discretion. Judging the digital habits of others justifies accusations of snobbery and elitism towards the sector, and if social media encourages the participation of those who may not traditionally engage with the industry, then surely it’s a step in the right direction.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

25

Arts

EXHIBITION REVIEW

The Time is Now Millenium Gallery

Sarah Jay Arts Contributor

Does time work with us or against us? Should we be living in the here and now? Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery aims to challenge our ideals of past, present, and future in its latest exhibition The Time is Now. Millennium stays true to its roots as The Time is Now maps Sheffield’s evolving infrastructure and community across the last two decades. The lifelike oil paintings of ‘Nathaniel’, a nine-year-old child, and ‘Ivy’, a 94-year-old woman, depict the diversity of people working at and visiting the Moor Market. Taken from Andrew Hunt’s larger collection Portraits from the Market (2018), these two faces reveal how our local histories remain grounded in how our personal histories are connected to the changing human body. Berris Conolly’s striking photography takes us on a seasonal journey of Leppings Lane, Corporation Street, and Lady’s Bridge from 1989 to 2011. Whilst definitely one of the exhibition’s more traditional installations, Conolly tells a beautifully transparent story on how time affects urban spaces.

The most aesthetically impressive piece of the exhibition, Katie Paterson’s Totality (2016) superimposes over 10,000 images of eclipsed suns onto the face of a rotating mirror ball. Its mesmerizing effect pulls most visitors straight towards this dreamlike corner of the gallery upon their arrival. Paterson’s work considers the staggering infinity of outer space, providing a truly immersive experience through its revolving shards of light.

For some spectators, the deeper meaning behind this shimmering mirror ball is rendered lost or nonexistent, with a couple of onlookers murmuring “it’s very pretty… but I don’t get it”. This might just be the answer Paterson wanted from her eyebrow-raising audience.

In a different vein, Matthew Weir’s Self Portrait (dead) (2012) offers a darkly comic twist on traditional portraiture. Originally showcased amongst the 16th to 18th century works at Graves Gallery, Weir pokes fun at the unnerving reality of a portrait outliving its subject through his stark depiction of a skeleton sporting a shrivelled top hat. Despite its visual subtlety, the cutting social commentary

Image: George Tuli

Audio before bed: The sleep podcast boom Kate Procter Arts Editor

At some point in their life everyone has struggled to fall asleep. You know the drill: it’s 3.30am. You roll over for what must be the hundredth time. You went to bed before 11.00pm but haven’t slept a wink.

You need to be up in less than four hours.

You’re not alone. According to the World Health Organisation, we are facing a global “sleep loss epidemic”. Insomnia is on the rise in the UK, with the most recent Great British Bedtime Report finding a third of us are getting poor sleep at night, citing stress and worry as the most common reason.

of this piece makes it one of the exhibition’s strongest installations.

This Could be a Place of Historical Importance by Braco Dimitrijević (1972) also makes a bold statement about how we decide which sites are historically significant enough to become memorialised.

A gold-tinted marble plaque lies at the entrance to the exhibition, a reminder of the potential for any physical spot to represent a personal history. Dimitrijević’s and Weir’s pieces work particularly well together, undermining cultural assumptions about the hierarchical relationships between art and time.

Even visitors to the gallery can contribute their own reflections on the question “what does time mean to you?”. This is perhaps the most revealing part of the exhibition; the pinned-up scraps of paper display an incredible array of responses varying from existential angst (“waiting and waiting and waiting”) to the lyrics of High School Musical.

One particular respondent perfectly captures the impossible task of pinning down time to any sensible conclusion: “Time is a squirrel”.

‘The Time is Now’ is on until 19 January 2020.

Yet, while it’s advised to avoid using your phone before bed, many people are turning to them to provide a useful resource: sleep podcasts. In the last few years there has been a boom in podcasts, not aimed at entertaining or informing their audiences, but to help them fall asleep.

Watching TV or browsing social media are not recommended before bed because they create visual stimuli for our brains to process, causing a distraction and preventing sleep.

In much the same way, listening to most podcasts, in particular those about current affairs and other heavy topics, stimulates our auditory system, making it difficult to drift off to sleep.

Sleep podcasts, however, are specifically designed to be so relaxing or boring that you basically forget to listen. One of the longest running is Sleep With Me, a twiceweekly podcast hosted by ‘Dearest Scooter’ as performed by Drew Ackerman.

Since it began in 2013, the podcast has been downloaded over 70 million times, with listeners tuning in to hear Ackerman’s low and mumbling voice. In the hour-long

Image: Katie Paterson

episodes, he rambles his aimless and “humourish” narratives on all manner of things, including TV recaps such as his ‘Game of Drones’ series for Game of Thrones.

Speaking to The Guardian, Ackerman explains that his podcast “offer[s] an alternative narrative to the one that might be running in the listener’s mind.

“They might already be telling themselves a story, about their day at work, getting their taxes done, the chronic pain they are experiencing, or about some traumatic event that impacted them. A bedtime story, where ideally there are no personal stakes, can shift their thoughts or disengage the gears, just enough to drift off to sleep,” he says.

Like Sleep With Me, other podcasts have been created with the core idea of telling bedtime stories to distract listeners from their thoughts.

Kathryn Nicolai created her podcast, Nothing much happens; bedtime stories for grown-ups, after struggling to find stories she could relax to without becoming too invested in the action.

Listening to her podcast, it’s unsurprising to discover that Nicolai is a yoga teacher; her voice has a meditative quality as she tells her

simple stories that often have a seasonal connection. However, unlike other sleep podcasts, Nicolai also aims to train listeners to develop a better sleeping technique.

Taking bedtime storytelling more literally, Otis Gray reads chapters from books, novellas, and poetry in his podcast Sleepy. Gray’s rich baritone voice is profoundly soothing, and the stories he chooses are comfortingly familiar, including British classics such as Alice in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, and Pride and Prejudice.

Still, not all sleep podcasts choose to tell stories the same way. You may already be aware of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) from its popularity on YouTube, but there is also a whole host of ASMR podcasts online too.

Sleep Whispers features 40 minutelong episodes of a man whispering, sometimes reading stories but also Wikipedia pages (known as ‘Whisperpedia’ episodes).

Ultimately, sleep is important for both our physical and mental health. So regardless of what type of podcast people choose to listen to, if it helps them fall asleep, we’re one step closer to a healthier planet.

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Arts

Where are all the BAME characters in children’s books?

Elisha Lundin Arts Contributor

In 2017, a shocking report was made by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) – it found that only one per cent of British children’s books featured a main character who was black or minority ethnic. It was the first study of its kind looking at diversity and representation in children’s publishing. The report looked at all children’s literature in the UK and quantified the information to reveal the number of times a BAME character was featured.

Since that report in 2017, this figure has only increased from one per cent to per cent. The increase of books featuring a BAME character generally has risen from four per cent to seven per cent. This shows there is still a long way to go before representation reflects the population as the percentage of minority ethnic pupils in UK schools stands at 33.1 per cent.

So why is the publishing industry failing to accurately represent BAME characters?

The answer is simple, we don’t have enough creators of colour who are willing to identify, write and represent using voices that these audiences can relate to. How can we create potential authors and writers if minority children are growing up with books that do not represent their appearance or ethnicity?

How are they expected to grow into confident individuals who see themselves as equals?

Reading stimulates the imagination and develops understanding – especially in children as it shapes the way they see the world and find their place within it. A lack of representation in something as minor as a storybook can lead to the internalisation of a distorted image of identity.

The CLPE report found that 10 per cent of the books that were published with BAME characters contained ‘social justice’ issues such as war and conflict. In an article for The Guardian, Alison Flood posed an important question: “do minority backgrounds only have a platform when their suffering is being explored?”

We should not be presenting minorities in a way that is culturally stereotypical or negative, nor should we be assuming that war and conflict is a normalised concept amongst minority children.

Ultimately, we need to dismantle the structures that convey BAME characters in this way and offer a more positive and authentic way of communicating genuine stories and voices.

Authors such as Hena Khan are working towards stabilising these cultural differences. Her children’s book Under my Hijab, released this year, is aimed at helping young people overcome prejudice, celebrating modern Muslim women who choose to wear a hijab. Khan even employed Aaliya Jaleel – a university student, to illustrate the book. Jaleel explained that she wanted to illustrate the diversity

of hijab-wearing women in order to “give confidence to the young girls who don’t see themselves represented”.

Matthew Cherry also released Hair Love earlier this year, a children’s book about an African American dad who styles his daughter’s afro hair for the first time. He explains that he wanted to challenge gender norms and represent a “modernday idea of a father, but especially highlighting African American fathers who so rarely get depicted in mainstream media in this way”.

After an overwhelming response from audiences, Cherry paired with Sony to bring the book to animation.

Hair Love is simply a representation of a typical interaction between father and daughter, but it is powerful because it is an interaction that hasn’t been seen on these platforms before. Not only does the book promote individuality, but educationally it promotes perseverance, collaboration and hard work. Its success suggests a real desire from readers that more literature and film ought to be conveying a more diverse and representative picture of the world.

Last year, I worked with children aged five to seven in a local primary school in Sheffield. I read to them weekly, and observed the unsettling disconnect between the literature produced by the educational syllabus, and the children in the classroom consuming it. The children were predominantly of a BAME background – with 85.8 per cent of them speaking English as

their second language. I noticed that in almost all the books we read, the story had white characters and culture at the centre. Both development and engagement are less likely to occur if we cannot connect or resonate with the material in front of us.

In England, 64 per cent of children meet the expected standard in reading and writing, but in this school only 21 per cent of them reach that average. It is no surprise, as these children are challenged and academically judged under an education system and curriculum that is predominantly tailored to a

A lack of representation in something as minor as a storybook, can lead to the internalisation of a distorted image of identity. ‘white’ standard.

Both development and engagement are less likely to occur if we cannot connect or resonate with the material in front of us, The Letterbox Library is a leading children’s bookseller that is offering a solution to this. As an education supplier, they aim to provide teachers, librarians and parents with inclusive children’s books.

Their ‘No Outsiders book pack’ supports primary schools to develop a curriculum in response to the 2010 Equality Act. Partnerships like

this display an active response and challenge to misrepresentation which hopefully will help motivate children to read – improving academic figures and increase aspirations of becoming an author or illustrator in the future.

Harnessing representative change is uncomfortable. Author Swapna Haddow points out that whichever way we talk about diversity, “if it comes from a white voice it’s patronising, if it comes from a brown voice it sounds like we’re shouting”.

This rings true across several sectors of media politics and education.

Underrepresentation is a result of complex social, geographical, cultural, historical and economic barriers – but it is the duty of government officials and influential companies to recognise and maximise the space for ethnic minorities to ensure a sense of pride and understanding around identity.

Diversity is not just a buzzword that employers should respond to in order to fulfil a quota, inclusivity should come naturally, but the publishing industry needs a revolution. There have been a number of recent launches of new imprints by publishers to address the lack of diversity in books, including Stormzy’s #Merky Books.

However, real change can only occur with a dramatic cultural shift across industries and in daily life – whether this be parents, teachers, employers or role models, we should all make the commitment to recognise that this is a critical issue that still has so far to go.

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Make Yours a

Smart Move

Welfare

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Dana Raer & Ella Craig Music Editors

Music PLAYLIST Top Ten Songs for Halloween Dana Raer & Ella Craig Music Editors

1. Ray Parker Jr - ‘Ghostbusters’ 2.

Rockwell watching me’

- ‘Somebody is

3. Michael Jackson - ‘Thriller’ 4. Imagine Dragons - ‘Demons’ 5. AC / DC - ‘Highway to hell’ 6. Billie Eilish - ‘Bury a Friend’ 7. The Cranberries - ‘Zombie’ 8. David Bowie - ‘Super Monsters and Super Creeps’

9.

Arctic Monkeys - ‘Perhaps Vampire is a Bit Strong But...’

10. Jamie T - ‘Zombie’

Credit: Frankie Fouganthin Edits by Ella Craig

Hello and welcome to the Music section of issue 137. We’re jampacked this issue with reviews including Elbow’s Giants Of All Sizes, Big Thief’s Two Hands and Harry Styles brand new single ‘Lights Up’, and live reviews of KAWALA and Ibibio Sound Machine.

What’s more, we have an interview with King Nun’s lead singer ahead of

their sell out Leadmill gig supporting The Struts.

Our Opinion Editor, Jack Mattless, gives us an insight into Sheffield’s underground music scene and the upcoming DJs and events that they host.

It’s almost Halloween and as Ella loves Halloween, we’ve put together a spooky playlist. In Romania, Halloween isn’t a very popular holiday, however since being in the UK, Dana has grown to love it too.

Sheffield’s underground clubs & DJs

FEATURE Jack Mattless Opinion Editor

Sheffield’s nightlife is incredibly diverse and vibrant. If you ever tire of the Hallam students that swamp CODE, or the incessant renditions of tracks from The Greatest Showman at Pop Tarts, perhaps it’s time to try something a little different.

The music played at the following venues is all specifically designed with dancing in mind, and you won’t get a VK chucked over you.

The Tuesday Club You don’t even have to venture outside the comfort of the university bubble to experience some of the UK’s finest selectors in action. Based at Foundry in the Students’ Union, The Tuesday Club’s roster tends to alternate between different genres of electronic music week by week.

Line-up highlights this autumn include a three-hour set from Artwork on 12 November, and some drum and bass ridiculousness from

Unglued on 3 December.

Hope Works A staple of Sheffield raves for many years now, Hope Works is the goto location for house and techno events throughout the academic year. Having just rounded off another successful rendition of their now world-renowned No Bounds Festival, the Kelham Island venue shows no sign of resting on its laurels. Boiler Room are throwing a much-anticipated event on 25 October with Doncaster-bred warehouse specialist Mella Dee, promising to raise the roof towards the end of November.

The Night Kitchen Famed for its intimate vibe and rabbit warren of a smoking area, The Night Kitchen has become famed for its exciting line-ups and willingness to host events from across the electronic music spectrum. The past year has seen killer sets from DJ Boring, Romare and Cromby among others. Since September, events have been a little thin on the ground

but there’s an opportunity to catch some wobbly bassline, UK garage and drum and bass at the Tekkers Halloween Special on 1 November.

Trafalgar Warehouse Located just around the corner from the sticky dancefloors of Corporation, this scarcely used space is being brought to life on 1 November for Pretty Pretty Good’s final party in Sheffield. The promoters have been behind some of the biggest underground club nights in the city over the past few years and it looks like their swan song may just top them all. A succession of headline performances showcasing the best in house, UK bass, techno and electro come from Avalon Emerson, Pearson Sound, Shanti Celeste and DJ Stingray.

Yellow Arch Studios If Dub and Reggae are your thing then there’s no better place to be.

Famously boasting the loudest sound system in the city (earplugs are available upon request), the laid-back atmosphere and

extraordinarily low entry prices make this venue well worth a look.

Dryad Works One of a few exciting new spaces to be opened up this academic year, Dryad works had already played host to Midland, Roi Perez and Dr. Rubenstein before its official opening on 18 October featuring Spectrasoul, Halogenix and Displace.

There aren’t many other parties on the books here at present but keep an eye out for more announcements in the near future; it’s one to watch.

Café Totem With the sudden and unexpected closure of The Harley as the go-to late night venue of choice for many students, the Sheffield scene was left with a gaping hole. Café Totem seems to be doing a pretty good job at plugging said hole. DJ sets now frequently follow the live music acts at the venue, with gigs often in aid of charity. 30 November sees the premiere party from student techno collective In The Deep with proceeds going to the Movember charity.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

REVIEW Elbow: Giants of All Sizes

Music

King Nun’s lead singer, Theo, talks touring, tattoos and snowball fights

Edie McQueen Nusic Contributor

INTERVIEW

Elbow’s latest offering, Giants of All Sizes, see-saws between sinister and innocent in an almost breathless manner.

The opening track and lead single, ‘Dexter and Sinister’, a Brexit ballad, is derisive and decisive; renouncing Jesus and boldly setting the darker tone of the album, it has an almost menacing edge to it.

Giving way into the sweetly cinematic ‘Seven Veils’, the album segues into something more mellow, though the marching beat underpinning the melody retains a vague air of tension that goes on to be amplified in the epic sounding ‘Empires’. Even the desperately melancholic ‘The Delayed 3:15’ has a sense of anxiety to it, Guy Garvey’s guileless vocals providing us with a peculiarly sincere performance.

The album’s second half seems to return more to old school Elbow, ‘Doldrums’ standing out as the gorgeous blend of their current darker grooves and early melodies, whilst ‘My Trouble’s’ tender tendencies and orchestral indulgences wouldn’t be out of place on their debut. The album closes on ‘Weightless’, an ode to Garvey’s infant son, a song that resists sentimentality, residing instead in an easy charm that can’t help but make you smile.

The album isn’t perfect, ‘White Noise White Heat’ failing to quite hit the mark, sounding more like Coldplay’s rebellious older brother than an Elbow track, and ‘On Deronda Road’ being simply a tad boring.

Overall, the album is a success, dancing in the darker, more experimental creases, and framing Garvey’s angel-sweet, unaffected vocals as something ominous in an irresistible way. Gently expansive and creepingly morose with an uncanny edge, it’s one to be listened to again and again.

Ella Craig Music Editor

Credit: Polydor Records

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So what’s the story behind Mass?

In retrospect now it’s all done and finished I think it’s a coming of age story about myself. In our personal lives we were experiencing some pretty horrendous stuff, so I think that something inescapable, that darkness, would be in the music.

And I’m happy and proud of it in the end because it means that there was a degree of transparency and people can relate to things.

One of my favourites was ‘Sharing A Head With Seth’. What’s that

King Nun Credit: Ian Cheek Press

REVIEW Big Thief: Two Hands Alex Morgan Music Contributor

In a seminal year for Big Thief, the band has delivered two albums that are different sides of the same coin. Their critically acclaimed first, U.F.O.F., recorded in rural Washington state, showcases their sound through carefully crafted production, leaving a beautiful and ethereal listen. Two Hands takes a contrasting approach, opting to leave the imperfections on show to provide a more raw and intimate album, allowing the natural beauty of the song writing to speak for itself. The quick succession of these releases is a bold move that could lead to criticism that the latest album was rushed, but Big Thief have

song about?

Wow thank you! I’ve had that song for years. I think when our first few singles came out they were really really heavy and being in the studio for the first time, I felt like I was putting on a personality and pretending to be like this - I don’t know nutter, depressive with an American accent. I was kind of pretending to be the kind of artist that I really loved and in retrospect I was getting kinda worried that’s the person people would end up thinking that I was. And it’s not me. I’m not American. So the song is a conversation between me and Seth, which is the person who I was pretending to be at one point in my life. I’m saying thanks for my career because we got quite a lot of

success based on the singles from the personality that I was trying to be, but at the same time you know, I’m going away.

So if Mass is really a mix of genres, how would you describe it?

I know, and I don’t know why, it’s mainly rock really. Proto-rock? It’s not really heavy it’s actually quite clean. I mean Lord knows you can’t call yourself alternative because you get blacklisted from alternative so I’ve gotta say rock.

Which artists inspire you?

I think the first artist that really got the ball rolling for us was Richard Hell and the Voidoids - this American band - Richard Hell was in loads of bands in the 70s New York scene and we were just so inspired by the kind of freedom. He just seemed like he was on another planet and we wanted to be on that planet.

So you’re touring with The Struts, how’s that going?

We got the opportunity and we were like ‘yeeeahhh we’re gonna do it’ and they’re really nice guys. This tour’s been exactly what I needed. I need to just be able to walk into the room and be like “hi you alright’ and have some hot chocolate.

So what’s next for King Nun?

instead used this to their advantage, throughout, giving the songs a capturing the songs at their most sense of weight amidst their beauty. immediate and emotional.

The album progresses by mixing the Two Hands makes its intentions slower songs of ‘The Toy’ and ‘Those clear from the first song. The folkGirls’ with quicker, but equally tinged indie rock which the band has haunting tracks ‘Forgotten Eyes’ been perfecting throughout and ‘Two Hands’. The rawness their career shines of Lenker’s voice is through in the on full show; it opener ‘Rock and comes across as Sing’. This slow tortured and and heartpowerfully breaking desperate. s o n g This is showcases seen in lead singer ‘Forgotten Adrianne Eyes’, which Lenker’s culminates e m o t i v e in her voice and eerie cracking as she vocals, with the delivers the line Credit: 4AD instrumentation “Everybody needs subtly giving life to the someone and deserves track. Instruments gently drift in protection”, heightening the and out of the song, interplaying emotion of the already anguished with the simple but deliberate lyrics. drumming.

The two centrepieces of the This production process is used album, ‘Shoulders’ and ‘Not’, are

Ooh, the next big thing I think, [sings], more tunes like this every day. I mean you can’t have expectations or everything will fall flat that way. Getting on and doing the work and having a good time, so i’m expecting nothing.

Can you tell me the story behind your tattoo. (Theo has a circle tattoo on his hand) We called our EP ‘I Have Love’ so I have that on my arm. My mate did it with a tattoo gun. I had this scar on the back of my hand since I was really young and I really liked it, it was the closest thing I had to a tattoo so i just circled that. So to me it looks like I caught the sun in my hand and it just burnt out the back.

I really like it.

Finally how did you guys meet?

I met James in school because I was a loner and the teacher made him sit with me and I was like ‘hey I wanna be in a band’, but I didn’t know how to play guitar or anything so I recruited him. Then we found our bassist later when we got stuck on one side of the train tracks and we were having this ferocious snowball fight with these kids a lot older than us. Because we went through that warfare together we became very, very close, the three of us.

both visceral and heavy. They have become staples of Big Thief’s live shows, and this comes through in the songs’ immediate and unfiltered energy. Clocking in at over six minutes, ‘Not’ is driving and explosive, powered by Lenker’s gritty vocals and climaxing with an explosive guitar solo, reminiscent of Neil Young.

The intimacy and sparse production of the songs creates a listening experience that puts the listener at the heart of the band.

This leaves the feeling of watching the band perform in a small, dimly lit room as they carefully craft their songs. The final stretch of songs plays off this sparsity, showing the beauty that defines Big Thief’s sound. It’s a fitting end to an album full of reality and life. In Two Hands, Big Thief have demonstrated that when stripped back to its core, their sound remains brimming with beauty.

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REVIEW Harry Styles: ‘Lights Up’ Sahar Ghadirian Music Editor

After more than two years without any new music, Harry Styles makes a triumphant and influential return to the music scene with the ethereal sound of ‘Lights Up’.

The singer proudly opened up his dialogue by stating he is ‘sorry’ but is ‘never coming back down’.

The striking first few lines of the song showcases the individuality of the singer. His flair is more than inspiring for anyone who has ever

Music feared to truly be themselves.

It’s not just a coincidence that after so long, he decided to drop his latest single between two important days - World Mental Health Day and National Coming Out Day. The singer has always been an advocate for promoting a positive space for all. His shows are inundated with the slogan ‘Treat People With Kindness’, and as he’s an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, he has always encouraged fans to be themselves.

The fact that the singer himself ponders on how fame and desirability still ‘couldn’t put out the dark’ running through his heart, we are opened up to a whole other realm regarding his mental health and the downfalls that unfortunately

come with growing up in such a demanding and problematic (yet rewarding) industry.

The epic video, at almost three minutes long, accompanying the single serves as an extension to the many interpretations the song offers. We see Harry staring down at an older version of himself in the water, and the gender fluid and inclusive, steamy sequences which dominate the mesmerising music video reflect what is essentially the fundamental theme of the track: change.

What is striking and most relatable about this song is the fact that he is just like any of us, any of you reading this article. We all change, evolve, grow and have to go through questioning our identity.

LIVE KAWALA at Record Junkee Alex Morgan Music Contributor

This past year has seen Kawala caught in a bit of an updraft, finding rapid success with their infectious brand of indie folk. It seems the band are taking this in their stride, as their latest gig at Sheffield’s Record Junkee saw a confident and professional performance beyond their years.

Formed at university in Leeds before moving to north London, this five-piece band were able to stand out in the saturated London market.

After finding support, Kawala moved quickly, releasing two EPs since 2018. Both found considerable

KAWALA image: Chuffmedia

LIVE Ibibio Sound Machine at O2 Academy Freya Wood Music Contributor

Fresh from the Avalon stage at this year’s Glastonbury Festival and the release of their third album, Doko Mien, Ibibio Sound Machine are embarking on a 12-show tour, bringing the ‘African party’ (frontwoman Eno Williams’ own words) to all corners of the UK. It’s not enough to describe Ibibio as a ‘band’, they are more of a collective.

Each member stands alone and excels at their part, of which there are many. As an eight-person group, they masterfully create a mindmelting mix of west African inspired

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funk and disco, modern post-punk and electronica with a generous helping of traditional elements from African music and language. Yes, you read that right, and it works, it really works.

This doesn’t feel like a gig. It feels like a celebration, of culture, of music, of playing together and sharing an experience.

From the get-go, the energy in the room is

Ibibio Sound Machine Credit: Brace Yourself PR

palpable and relentless. Songs would often spiral into a perfect chaos of guitar, percussion, saxophone solos, chanting and dancing.

As a front-woman, Williams is commanding and has the aura of a future icon. Her

‘Do You Know Who You Are?’ hits hard, especially if you’re at university. A lot of us lose ourselves, and this song assures us that it is normal, encouraging us to be unashamed in the fact that we can be anyone and anything we desire to be, unapologetically.

Some fans may argue that this song is not to the standard of Harry’s dreamy soft rock infused debut: demanding the return of his more alternative sound.

Whilst I didn’t expect Harry to go down a more poppy route, I welcome it wholeheartedly, having found myself falling in love with every aspect of it.

Contrasting with the beloved and equally meaningful longer debut single ‘Sign of The Times’, ‘Lights

Up’ also offers both meaning and irresistible catchiness. Both the singer and his fans’ constant promotion of inclusivity and respect can only be a source of inspiration, at a time when compassion and understanding are so desperately needed. This concept, alongside the song’s growing popularity is a testament to the amount of radioplay it has already received, exposing to the world a punchy, fresh-sounding, soul-tinged single.

Whilst Harry has described to Rolling Stone Magazine that the general theme of his album is about ‘having sex and feeling sad’ (and getting high on a lot of psychadelics), we can only imagine what the other songs and music videos will look and sound like. Get ready for HS2.

popularity, allowing them to already acquire a dedicated fan base.

The set starts catchy and up-beat with ‘Funky’, which showcases their signature blend of indie-folk and afrobeat inspired rhythms.

This is quickly followed by their recent single, the atmospheric and danceable ‘Play It Right’.

Frontmen Jim Higson and Daniel McCarthy execute impressive vocal harmonies throughout, a common feature of their music that has drawn comparisons to Simon and Garfunkel. This shines through most on slower tracks ‘Mighty River’ and the unreleased ‘Animals’, which are emotive and stay true to their acoustic routes.

The tenderness of the songs are given space to shine in the live setting, seen in powerful versions of songs ‘Kept In The Dark’, ‘Small Death’ and their latest single ‘Heavy

In The Morning’.

This said, the band doesn’t lose the sense of fun inherent in their music, which is only enhanced by their playful and welcoming stage presence.

As their set comes to an end, Kawala delve into their most popular material. The bands range is on full show, with the shimmering beauty of acoustic song ‘Moonlight’ coming just before the joyful closers of ‘Do It Like You Do’ and ‘Runaway’, which prompted the crowd to sing along.

It is clear that Kawala have occupied a niche for themselves in the saturated market of indie music, successfully blending genres to make music that feels genuine and fun. With the new songs living up to the quality of the old, there is no reason to expect anything less than the continuation of the band’s upwards trajectory.

voice cuts through the noise, powerful yet soulful and captivating.

It’s clear the band love nothing more than to perform for people who love music as much as they do.

Giving the audience a welldeserved break halfway through the evening, Ibibio slowed it down for the captivating tune ‘I Know That You’re Thinking About Me’, before promptly dialling it all the way back up for ‘The Chant (Iquo Isang)’, an electronic anthem, packed with bass, woven around a traditional Nigerian chant.

It’s clear that Williams revels in sharing her culture, willing the audience to repeat after her in the Ibibio language and encouraging African chants and dances. Eno reflects on the inspiration for their powerful song ‘Give Me A Reason’, asking of the recent kidnappings in her beloved Nigeria, ‘Give me a reason why?’ It’s not just Nigeria that is championed here, the band also represent Ghana, Brazil, Australia and Trinidad.

If you weren’t already convinced, the eclectic audience that gathered at the O2 really proves this is music for everybody. It’s inconceivable that after three dazzling, genre-defying albums, Ibibio aren’t more well known.

Following a feature on BBC Radio 6 Music and the scope of this current tour, perhaps they will soon lead the charge of world music into the mainstream.

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Dan Cross & Josh Teggert Screen Editors

Screen

As the nights continue to get colder, the film and TV industries are preparing for what is to be a jampacked winter schedule. There’s still two months to go until Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker concludes the Skywalker Saga, but in the meantime, we’re being treated to a plethora of tentpole releases and exciting new projects alike.

REVIEW REVIEW

Aaron Paul is fantastic as Jesse; for a leading role his dialogue is surprisingly sparse and yet Paul conveys so many ideas and emotions through his body language

Film: El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie James Turrell Screen Contributor

Breaking Bad ended with its protagonists in two utterly disparate states of clarity and ambiguity.

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) lay dying on the floor of a crystal meth lab, the only place he now seemed to love with any sincerity. Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) sped off into the night, laughing maniacally at a future that was completely unknown.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie begins where the original show ended: Jesse driving away in the titular car, with the film following

REVIEW Film: Joker Harry Cottle Screen Contributor

It’s safe to say that this isn’t the first review of Joker that you’ve read.

Since Todd Phillips’ film debuted at this year’s Venice Film Festival, the internet has been cursed with endless discourse about DC’s standalone Joker origin story. After initial critical praise, Joker has been met with a moral panic about the

Despite the poor script, its central performance brings the film to life film’s use of violence and supposedly sympathetic portrayal of its lead character. Despite the plethora of hot takes and controversies, Joker fails to offer anything deep

Jesse’s back for one last blast. Image: MovieDB the next 48 hours of his life as he tries desperately to salvage a future with a tiny glimmer of hope.

Yet, that is only partially what El Camino focuses on. Written and directed by Breaking Bad showrunner Vince Gilligan, the film is as much about Jesse’s time in captivity at the hands of Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons) and his Nazi gang as it is about the present.

Gilligan depicts the humiliation and torture Jesse suffered during his enslavement with subtlety and a surprising lack of violence.

Instead, we’re shown how the casual

indifference Todd and the gang felt towards Jesse, and his suffering slowly crushed his resolve to tiny fragments.

The film weaves a delicately complex narrative and shifts seamlessly with great confidence between past and present. Gilligan’s love for expansive direction is on full display - with some gorgeous, bravura wide-shots of the Albuquerque landscape, and a stunning time-lapse which features six Jesses in one shot. Aaron Paul is fantastic as Jesse: for a leading role his dialogue is surprisingly sparse

enough to merit the discussion that surrounds it.

Gotham City, 1981. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a struggling stand-up comedian and part-time clown who lives with his mother in a run-down apartment. He idolises the talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro) and fantasises about one day achieving a great level of fame and adoration. The only problem is that Arthur suffers from a condition which causes him to laugh uncontrollably in often inappropriate situations, which leads to him becoming s o c i a l l y isolated. As tensions

interested in taking risks either. At the start of the second act, Joker is wonderfully ambiguous, but by the end of the act, all has been revealed and the answers it gives are the most formulaic ones possible.

Despite the poor script, its central performance brings the film to life. Joaquin Phoenix completely captivates as a man unable to fit into the mad world around him.

His skinny body shuffles limply around the grim and dirty streets of Gotham; his physicality evolves throughout the runtime as he becomes emboldened and freed by his horrific new persona.

in Gotham But most grow, a importantly, spontaneous Phoenix nails act of violence the laugh, each changes Arthur’s one showing Put on a happy face. life forever. a different set of Image: MovieDB The weakest aspect of emotions yet the same Joker by far is the script. Within underlying pain. This Joker doesn’t minutes, the direction of the film need a ‘damaged’ tattooed on his is so clear that at points it feels head to tell you how broken he is. like a slog to get through. It isn’t Joker doesn’t just wear its

and yet Paul conveys so many ideas and emotions through his body language. As Jesse’s situation becomes more desperate and frenzied, Paul seems to become steadier – as if Jesse can only now exist in the chaos he so badly wants to escape. There is also a star supporting turn by Jesse Plemons as Todd, he brings a grounded realism to the childlike, utter sociopathic nature of his character.

However, El Camino does not feel remotely like a film. It feels like the feature-length next episode of Breaking Bad and elements of its narrative are too fragmented for inspirations on its sleeve, it shoves them in your face. Joker is trying its hardest to be a Martin Scorsese (who incidentally produced this feature) film from the 1970s, practically plagiarising Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy whilst failing to capture their nuances and brilliance.

$234 million Worldwide gross for Joker’s opening weekend

Hildur Guðnadóttir’s masterful score elevates the material, allowing you further into the tragedy of the character. But the score is far from subtle, practically telling you how to feel at points, but it perfectly suits the tone of the film.

Whilst Joker goes out of its way to give Fleck the most sympathetic backstory possible, it never gives his motives or even his beliefs the platform some are suggesting.

Any political message the film has is messy, with parallels drawn to today’s climate so superficially, you’d have thought this film was written and directed by the guy that made The Hangover. Oh wait.

In the past two weeks, two of the years’ most hotly-anticipated films have come out, El Camino and Joker.

We have reviews of them both, as well as our very own Editor-In-Chief Ben Warner reviewing the comedy series Scarborough, an article on the recent BFI London Film Festival from someone who went, while Dan writes a piece on indigenous storytelling through film. Enjoy!

anybody who hasn’t seen the TV series to understand. This leaves the film feeling slightly trapped, tethered to Breaking Bad when it seems Gilligan wants it to be seen as a stand-alone story.

El Camino is a surprising and expertly crafted coda to one of TV’s most important dramas. Paul gives a career-best performance as a character who is broken, who’s scars from his past may never heal, but still clings to the notion that his future can be drenched in sunlight rather than wreathed in shadows.

REVIEW TV: Scarborough Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

Scarborough is a lovely little town, and the ideal place to set a British seaside comedy (admittedly, quite a niche description). However, the show of the same name, written and directed by Benidorm’s Derren Litten, fails to live up to what little hype it had.

Despite this, it has a reasonable cast and isn’t let down by poor acting, including Jason Manford playing Mike, and Jake Canuso teaming up with Litten once again as the town’s mafia boss Tony Peroni.

The show manages to last six episodes, yet several storylines begin and fizzle out with no real conclusion, and any conflict seems largely manufactured.

But the main issue is how blatantly stereotypical it is. Marion Norris (Stephanie Cole) comes across as Derren Litten’s impression of how all northern grannies are, and though he may not be far wrong in some people’s eyes, it still smacks of lazy, formulaic writing.

But you know what? Despite all this, I still think the show is fine.

It’s far from good, and won’t be remembered, but there’s something heartwarming about it. Surely that makes it worth giving a go in itself?

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

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BFI London Film Festival Review: A Celebration of Cinema in London and Sheffield with Sheffield Doc/Fest FEATURE

Annabel Goldsmith Screen Contributor

BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival which has showcased national and international films since 1953, and it is a surreal experience to participate in. The fact that a festival exists where you just sit in the dark for a couple of hours is staggering, but it is an experience like no other: walking around Leicester Square and the South Bank seeing red carpets pave the way up to the cinemas; cameras everywhere along with your favourite actors and directors just walking around casually and getting absolutely drenched by the rain feels like you are in a film yourself.

I have never been to a film festival before so being able to ask questions to the creators and actors of these films proceeding the screenings in intimate Q&As made me feel closer to the film, and incredibly special to be one of the first few audiences in England to see the film.

I was fortunately able to obtain a ticket to see the Australian director Mirrah Foulkes and actress Mia Wasikowska present Foulkes’ directorial debut Judy and Punch on premiere night, and the atmosphere was vibrant; people bonding with each other over their shared excitement of seeing what Foulkes does with this classic piece of 16th century puppetry. This excitement only heightens the importance of festivals such as BFI’s with showcasing independent cinema

and filmmakers debuts.

The festival enables filmmakers to access the film industry on a larger scale. This can happen through submitting their short films into BFI’s competition, and allowing debuts from new directors to be discussed and promoted in the wider media. London Film Festival draws attention to independent and international cinema and broadens the horizons for festival attendees with a discovery of a variety of film genres and understanding of cinema. Celine Sciamma, the director of BFI’s front-runner for the Flare Gala, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, discussed in the preceding moments of the screening of her film that attending film festivals is the most exciting part about the press tours

LFF draws attention to Independent and international cinema and broadens the horizons for festival attendees with a discovery of a variety of film genres and understanding of cinema for her film.The space of a festival that is dedicated to film enables a small community of individuals who have a passion for film to share their thoughts and feelings, and enables

Image: Doc/Fest

Image: BFI

local promotion of the film before it is released to cinemas.

The opportunity to watch these films, along with seeing and talking to the creators and stars behind each feature, made me develop a deeper understanding of how much love is put into the creative process, and allowed me to come away with a newfound appreciation for film festivals and a greater excitement for the upcoming festival we are fortunate to have in Sheffield, Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival.

To save you a trip to London (which adds up to an extortionate amount in travel prices alone), Sheffield’s Documentary Festival provides an outlet to documentary film that you may have not seen before, as documentary films are rarely screened in many cinemas from international to local features.

Every year, Doc/Fest delivers inspiring pieces of non-fiction cinema to Sheffield audiences and this year is like no other. The festival is based in the heart of the city with a wide range of feature topics and, like London Film Festival, it is a notorious festival worldwide that features many famous filmmakers, journalists and much more. Doc/ Fest will run from 4-9 June next summer, and this festival just entices you, encouraging you to volunteer or just to attend and be a part of it. The programme includes talks with documentary filmmakers and sessions with people from all different industries along with screenings from local and international documentary pieces, with 54 per cent of the

new submissions being created by women and from over 50 countries around the world. It’s a film festival that is hard to miss.

Sheffield Doc/Fest has some exciting new additions coming next year. The recent inclusion of the spotlight strand since last year’s film festival allows the experience to share a connection with the London Film Festival, as some screenings will be followed by extended conversations about the film. If you are passionate about the documentary film scene and would like to be a part of the film industry one day, the Doc Society will also attend the festival to offer one-to-one advice for filmmakers, including presentations and advice about funding. A further exciting aspect of Sheffield’s Doc/Fest is that you can participate in live events and live documentary pieces with showcases in documentary across a wide range of artistic mediums; from music to live performance, social experiments with your phone, Doc/Fest aims to spread enjoyment through extending a focus on the non-fiction narrative.

So, if you don’t particularly enjoy sitting in the dark for a couple of hours, Sheffield Doc/ Fest has a wide range of activities and events capturing the ‘real’ in both film and the festival itself.

Doc/Fest is unique also in its self awareness of the restrictions and lack of representativity, not only in the film industry but in documentary film, holding talks such as last years ‘Breaking The Class Ceiling’ which explored the continued lack of working class

representation across the film and TV industry, with panellists including filmmakers Carol Morley and Paul Sng and producer Mia Bays.

If you are a filmmaker and want your work to be established in a public setting, Sheffield International Documentary Festival is open for submissions for 2020, which can be made via their website along with passes to the film festival.

The opportunity to watch these films, along with seeing and talking to the creators and stars behind each feature, helped me develop a deeper understanding of how much love is put into the creative process Both BFI London Film Festival and Doc/Fest present an excellent array of films from established filmmakers to filmmakers making their debut. They both keep interest in cinema to a great level whilst also providing a platform for people to share their love of film in a communal way.

Each festival encourages aspiring filmmakers to produce something themselves, and volunteering opportunities are a fantastic way to gain a preliminary understanding of the field of festivals and films a little bit more.

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Indigenous Storytelling Through Film: Giving communities an unaltered voice and educating future generations Dan Cross Screen Editor

As a geography student, I study a subject which encompasses an enormously wide selection of topics.

Ranging from volcanoes and glacial retreat, to political landscapes and developing nations. There is also one module I’ve been made aware of despite not actually studying it. This is called ‘Decolonising Geography’ - part of which focuses

Stories around the world have usually been told from the perspective of western ‘experts’ on how films and filmmaking are being used in teaching and research at the University to both empower indigenous voices and tell stories with as little manipulation as possible - with particular research focusing on indigenous Austrlian communities.

Richard Phillips is a professor in human geography at the University of Sheffield, and currently leads teaching for this particular thirdyear module.

He explained how film is used to teach students about indigenous cultures and why it can be used as more beneficial technique in studying this area: “The point of departure for the module, is that stories about people around the world, especially colonised peoples and indigenous peoples, have usually been told from the perspective of western so-called ‘experts’ and white people essentially talking about the people who’ve been colonised and dispossessed. That’s

Rabbit-Proof Fence focused on the dispossesion of indigenous Australians Image: MovieDB

something that cuts across what you see in newspapers and on the screen - there’s a big proportion of the world which is what we call Eurocentric so there’s been a large movement to decolonise our curriculum, to make sure we have voices from outside to challenge us.

Sometimes that involves speaking in similar ways but from different perspectives and sometimes it involves speaking from different perspectives and in very different ways.

“So, work with Aboriginal people has involved a lot of storytelling, listening and different kinds of atmospheres for talking and so there’s some really interesting work about storying as research. But the point of the module is to try to work with that principle and we could have worked in a number of media.

“We could’ve worked with oral storytelling; we could’ve worked with film; we could’ve worked with song; we could’ve worked with visual art or indeed with academic writing but we chose to work with film because that’s a form of storytelling which is obviously quite accessible and universal in terms of its potential reach.

“We wanted to give films a chance to breathe, so we had two lectures on post-colonialism and on reading film, but then the rest of the module is all about watching films and taking the time to listen and watch.

“The films that we are using include a wide variety of voices - if you think about what a postcolonial film is, it’s sometimes a film which is from an indigenous person’s voice and sometimes a film from a more western source where there’s more critique of the tradition that’s become dominant. Therefore, what we’ve tried to do is to focus

on listening to indigenous voices.

I’ve got one (in my section of the module) which is not purely what you’d call an indigenous voice but it definitely opens up ways of seeing from indigenous and colonised perspectives; that’s The Battle of Algiers. A really well-known film.

“We work across different genres so there are some historical dramas, Rabbit-Proof Fence is an Australian film about

the s t o l e n generation and dispossession of people,even though it stars Kenneth Branagh. I also reach across to look at action-adventure films, because decolonising cinema isn’t all highbrow, very, very difficult cinema.

Some of these films blur lines and expectations and they’re not quite as clear-cut as you might think hearing an indigenous voice might be.”

It’s not only in departmental teaching that films are used to examine indigenous populations; several staff members use films and filmmaking as part of their academic research.

Professor Jenny Pickerill is Head of the Department of Geography at the University and she explained how her research has taught her

the ways in which film is used to tell the stories of indigenous Australian populations as accurately as possible, and also the reasons why the ‘Decolonising Geographies’ module

exists in the first place: “I have long-worked with environmentalists in Australia and that led me to work with indigenous Australians, basically because a lot of environmentalists are trying to ‘save’ the Australian environment, but of course, all of Australia is indigenous. So through that, I’ve learnt a great deal about indigenous Australian culture, about race and colonialism, and crucially the different ways in which indigenous Australians communicate and share knowledge - where their knowledge comes from and a lot of that is oral-based.

The Australian indigenous culture is all about sharing stories and communicating through stories and that’s how big life lessons are passed onto the next generations.

The thing for me that makes that really interesting is that as a white, English woman, I have no cultural authority to tell those stories. So even if they get told to me - which is a real honour - I can’t then use them in my publications or my teaching because that’s disrespectful.

“So the reason why I set up a module which is deliberately using film was not just because the films are the ways in which they’re telling their own stories, but it means it’s not filtered through a white voice.

All the films I have picked for the module are indigenous written, run, acted so that it’s absolutely

indigenous people having full control of the narrative. To me, that is vital in academia where we still end up interpreting, black particularly, materials for others.

“There’s no way of doing that without bringing in your own biases and assumptions and I think that as academics, we’re still far too keen to ignore the

problems of how we tell other people’s stories and share o t h e r people’s knowledge and we can co-opt it too easily - we can cherry-pick the bits that work for whatever argument we’re making. So to me film is crucial to how indigenous Australians communicate their stories beyond the one-to-one, but it’s also crucial to us to then hear and watch those stories as indigenous people telling their truths and

The films are the ways in which they’re telling their own stories actually understanding what they are saying and why.”

Clearly there are huge benefits in using film to tell the stories of indigenous communities. The fact that these techniques are already being used in teaching shows that the process of decolonising our curriculum is something which is not only achievable, but also vitally important to educate future generations.

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Wednesday 23 October 2019

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Catherine Lewis and Ash Williams Games Editors

Games

FEATURE Dana Raer Music Editor

I was only 11 when Amnesia: The Dark Descent first appeared. It was also during that time when my brother gave me permission to be in full control of the fearsome 17-rated game with the curtains closed and no light on. In complete darkness, I (a formerly uncultured horror disciple) played to my heart’s content one of the most frightening games ever created.

Surprisingly, my brother’s intention to get a good laugh out of me being scared (which I undeniably was) turned out to become an all-consuming passion for the gruesome horror genre.

What made Amnesia such a colossal reference for following horror games was not the ‘ghosts’ or creatures lurking around, which to be honest had no grotesque characteristics that made them too frightening to look at. No, it was the realism of how experiences of loneliness in an unimaginably huge fortress played with sanity, as well as how the tension of opening passages, and hiding in closets from potential dangers, formed a vicarious thrill of

excitement. All of that formed what we now call ‘a good horror’.

Ever since then, I started enjoying more of the genre; Slenderman, Outlast, The Walking Dead, The Last of Us and Until Dawn being some that brought the most pleasure. I can say I reached a point where a horror game doesn’t fascinate me if it only has jump scares every two seconds, or the villain of the story simply has an appalling appearance.

The storyline matters so much more. For example, the whole plot of Outlast is so immersive that by the end of every section, you feel the exact same disgust the main character feels; it is a depressingly good playthrough that exhilarates through conversations with psychiatrists or patients with mental health issues.

Other games such as The Walking Dead offer the possibility of choosing where you want the story to go.

It overuses the concept of the survivalist world filled with zombies that attack and infect humans, but in an

Boo! Don’t worry, it’s just us at Games saying “hi” on this spookfilled issue of Forge Press! In this issue we have a fright-tacular feature from Music Editor Dana about what makes a good horror game, so you know exactly what to avoid if you’re easily spooked. Ash has also been shipped off to London (albeit not in a coffin) because EGX

imaginative manner, with moments of tension where you must wait to make your choice. The entire series is interactive and provoking, with scary intense moments.

In the exact same manner, my brother let me play Slenderman when I was around 12; to my own pride, I found

five of the seven papers before succumbing to the never-ending fear that something was behind me. I gave in to that fear of not knowing what was following me in the game and turned around to understand what was happening (and therefore killed my character in the middle of the game). If at any point when playing a horror, you feel as if you can’t take it anymore, it means the game is well made and thought through.

What’s more, Slenderman revolutionised the world of horror after only showing the most simplistic background and storyline. All the creators did was use an amazing soundtrack to induce tension and fear of the unknown. This gets to my second point; the background songs which are continually intensified to set up a ghostly atmosphere – that combined with walking alone in the woods during the dark can only bring tension.

H o w e v e r , there are some

is back, and we’ve got some great highlights of this year’s event. Make sure to watch out for an even more in-depth online EGX feature coming soon too. So turn off the lights (but make sure you can still read this) and have a good Halloween! There’s nothing out there… or is there?

instances where sound effects are overused to create jump scares. For example, Five Nights at Freddy’s is a simple yet undeniably popular game amongst the general public. It revolves around pressing buttons to avoid creatures designed as toys, knowing very well that they are still going to appear at some point. The thrill of this game relies upon the moments of surprise. Once you turn down the sound, the scare is non-existent.

Overall, a well-made horror game focuses on tension before scaring the player, or on soundtracks which amplify the feeling of desolation.

To be honest, the worst horror I’ve played this year was not Layers of Fear 2 - no matter how highly anticipated and acclaimed it was - but Rides with Strangers really creeped me out.

For a very plausible reason, I find real-life situations so much scarier than ghosts or zombies especially because I am a student of journalism, the same profession as most of the characters in horrors (Outlast and Rides with Strangers, for example).

Hopefully that’s just a coincidence.

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forgetoday.com

Games

Forge Press heads to...

Ash Williams Games Editor

Last weekend, Ash Williams went to the EGX Gaming Event in London for Forge Press. This runs across four days, offering gamers the chance to try out some of the hottest unreleased games. Here’s what he got up to...

Image: BagoGames, Flickr (cropped)

Flotsam Possibly the best indie game of the show. Flotsam, in the vein of games like Frostpunk and Oxygen Not Included, is a city building game set out in the big blue. You start from a central node, and it’s up to you to decide on how to expand your territory, manage your workers and chart your course for strange new lands. Because what makes Flotsam stand out from other city management games of its type is that the floating vessel itself is able to be moved around to explore new territory. Doing so unlocks new features from level to level, like the ability to capture seagulls to help with fish collection (as yes, managing your workers needs are also a priority), and cleaning up oil spills to help out local narwhals.

It’s executed superbly, and I’d recommend checking out their early access page on Steam if you

were interested. I was continually astonished at how polished and well made it was, even considering it was still an early access game. I saw gameplay footage of it at EGX Rezzed a few months ago, and considering how much seems to have changed since then, it might be one to keep

The highly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake is shaping up to be worthy of the original’s legacy an eye on when it launches on PC in September.

Final Fantasy VII Remake What seemed like a pipe dream a few years ago is now on the verge

of releasing. Showcasing a public demo ahead of its 3 March release date, Square Enix’s (arguably) most anticipated game of all time is shaping up to be worthy of the original’s legacy. From playing the almost-half-an-hour long demo, the remake might finally turn me around.

It took us through the opening part of the game where Cloud and Barrett enter the Mako reactor.

Almost instantly, we notice the drastic shift in gameplay. Gone is the active-time-battle of the original, and replaced with a hack and slash system more akin to the recent Final Fantasy XV, with a twist. Twist being, with a push of the X button, everything pauses. It gives you the opportunity to plan out your next move and cast spells, use items, or perform super attacks. It’s a decent blend of old and new, which will make the inevitable grind to max level a little bit more fun than usual.

Because of the system change, battles are more involved now, incorporating directional weak spots, cover mechanics and dodges, and the demo’s boss fight against the Scorpion Guardian incorporated all of these. It went on much much longer than the equivalent fight in the original, but it made for one hell of a spectacle. With the release date slated for 3 March next year, we’re looking at a strong start to 2020.

Cyberpunk 2077 My game of the show so far. Getting almost an hour out of a behind closed doors session gave us a good taste of how the game is looking ahead of it’s 20 April release date. Finding the underboss of a Haitian Gang called the Voodoo Boys, we are given a job to take out the leader of another group that had taken over a mall within the Hatian-controlled area.

During negotiations, the choices that you can make as protagonist V impact on the way things go, and the theme of player choice is ingrained in Cyberpunk’s DNA. Based on the tabletop game, it continues the trend of allowing characters to be built in any way imaginable to suit the player’s style. We were taken through two choices, a male

hacker character who preferred to linger in the shadows and silently eliminate enemies, and a female powerhouse… who didn’t. From the demo we saw, there were tons of options to handle a situation, and

With betrayal, subterfuge and player-dictated story choices, Cyberpunk 2077 was my game of the show tons of options when it goes wrong.

Hacking a turret to turn on its allies, or just ripping it off and making a makeshift minigun, the playing field really is open to you.

The story is still an unknown concept, given how secretive CDPR are being about it, but teaming up with Keanu Reeves as chainsmoking Johnny Silverhand seems like a pretty okay way to rope me in. There’s betrayal, subterfuge and player-dictated story choices, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it next year.

Avengers The Marvel Cinematic Universe has produced many blockbusters over the years, and the biggest compliment I can pay to Square Enix’s Avengers game is that it feels like watching a film. While that comes at the detriment of feeling overly linear, the demo level we got to play through was a blitz of flashy action, Hollywood set pieces and carnage that even Michael Bay would be proud of.

Taken on a whirlwind tour playing as the five main Avengers, we get a small taste of the structure of the game. Blending cutscenes into gameplay and back again seamlessly, we barely have time to breathe as everything falls apart around us.

After a brief intro cutscene, we’re into combat as Thor, and it’s here where the excellent combat system reveals itself. Borrowing elements from the Arkham series and 2018’s Spiderman game, it feels amazing to throw Mjolnir at an enemy, and have

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

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Games

Cyberpunk 2077

it come back and take out another guy. There’s not a whole lot of combo potential, but every hit feels appropriately weighty, so a Hulk Smash for example, really does feel as devastating as it looks.

It seems a bit too early to assume the game will keep its seamless pace throughout, but as long as it offers enough action to match up

Final Fantasy VII Remake Image: Marco Verch, Flickr (cropped)

to the MCU, you won’t find us too disappointed when it releases in May. Mario and Sonic Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 We got an opportunity to sample

some of the new sports in 2020’s edition of the Mario and Sonic Olympic series, as well as the new

retro-style 1964 mode, where you can play as sprite versions of Mario and Sonic, as well as some accompanying characters from their respective series. In truth, this is the best addition to the series in a long time, a breath of fresh air that makes this game worth playing in my opinion. With easy to understand controls, it’s pick up and

play goodness that is perfect for that party setting, when that bottle of vodka isn’t going to drink itself.

Also new to this year’s game is skateboarding. Now, it’s no Tony Hawk, or Skate, but there is a degree of skill involved here. Like with

many of the other games in the series, timing button presses to rack up a higher score plays a huge part here, with the better presses filling up a super meter quicker. When filled, pressing A and R together nets you a large points boost and a flashy animation.

Surfing follows much the same principle, while incorporating balance mechanics when riding the tube of a wave. Point is, a lot of these games are fairly simplistic, aimed at breadth of content rather than the depth of it. But that’s okay.

This series has always had its place among other seasonal sports games as a fun party game, and the small tweaks and additions like Retro mode add value to a title that already has an incentive for buying it. It’s no gamechanger, but it’s still a good time.

Table Manners Dates. They’re important right?

Big events; ones you don’t want to mess up? Well try telling that to Echo Chamber Games, the devs behind Table Manners. Inspired

by YouTube smash-hit Surgeon

Simulator, you control a floating hand (with difficulty) on a date with responsibility of pouring drinks, ordering food, seasoning plates and setting the mood by lighting candles. Using your mouse and the keyboard to interact with the many

physics objects on the table is a hilariously clumsy task with equally as hilarious outcomes, from setting the table on fire to drowning your date’s steak with champagne.

It’s all geared towards getting the biggest laughs from its audience, a task this demo at EGX passed with flying colours. Every screen I looked at something was going horribly wrong, and everyone was having a great time with it. The best part is, the game knows. It doesn’t push the humour too far, but it’s aware of the right combinations of tasks to get the craziest possible outcomes. It hasn’t got a solid release date, but whenever it does get here, it’ll be one to check out.

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Science & Tech

Beth Hanson & George Tuli Science & Tech Editors

Ten years ago I read about the Cold War space race of the 1950s and 60s in NASA astronaut David Scott and Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov’s book, Two Sides of the Moon. Leonov was the first human being to leave a spacecraft and walk in space, a milestone moment in the history of mankind.

I was saddened to hear the

Image: Land Rover MENA (CC BY 2.0)

Virgin Galactic to take first tourists to space Do you have a Spare £250,000 in your back pocket? Why buy a house when Virgin Galactic can take you to Space!

Wesley O’Callaghan Science & Tech Contributor

Exploration has always been at the heart of what the human race does.

Once upon a time, there was simply no way to take a boat from country to country and air travel was a distant dream. For most of history, travel into space has been an impossible reality. Today, more than a billion people drive cars, millions fly around the world on planes and soon hundreds - eventually thousands - will be blasting towards the stars upon what is perhaps Richard Branson’s most extravagant venture yet: Virgin Galactic.

Founded in 2004, Virgin Galactic is set to become the first private organisation to take paying tourists to the very edge of Earth’s atmosphere. Currently 600 people have signed up to ride the pioneering ‘spaceline’, each person agreeing to pay an astounding £250,000 for their adventure of a lifetime. To

put this into perspective, as of 26 September this year, only 565 people have gone to space, travelling above the 62 mile-high Kármán line (the internationally recognised border of space).

For both America and Europe, the development of a commercial spaceliner is important to say the least. Since the termination of the Space Shuttle program, the only way for NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts to reach space has been aboard Russia’s Soyuz Spacecraft, with the two agencies paying up to $70 million per seat. Although Virgin Galactic won’t take future astronauts as far as the International Space Station, it will allow them to experience a few minutes of weightlessness before they plummet back towards the Earth’s surface. In 2014, NASA awarded a relatively small contract to Virgin Galactic, as part of which they will provide research flights to the agency.

As well as Virgin Galactic, other private companies are competing to be the first to put paying adrenaline junkies into space. The most ambitious is Elon Musk’s SpaceX, who last year announced they would send Japanese retail billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, along with eight artists from different fields, on a trip around the Moon aboard their awe-inspiring Starship.

Each artist will produce a piece of work, be it a piece of music, a painting, or a film, that will aim to inspire an entire generation to fall in love with the idea of space travel.

Meanwhile, Amazon founder and current richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, is using his billions to fund Blue Origin in the hope it will soon use its own ‘New Shepherd’

spaceship to take paying customers into suborbital space. These space tourists will be able to experience weightlessness and view the blackness of space in a similar way to those onboard Virgin Galactic’s flights. Many people believe that this three-way ‘battle of the billionaires’ is leading to greater advancements in space technology than NASA or ESA can themselves produce.

Private companies are now simply far more efficient than the large

government-funded and politically controlled organisations that have previously sent humans to the Moon, and probes beyond our solar system.

Despite there being strong competition between organisations to provide human space flight, how Virgin Galactic will send humans

recent announcement of Leonov’s death, and felt compelled to write an obituary in this week’s issue.

In other news this month, the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded for the discovery of how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism and physiological function.

And researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered a compound in tomatoes that boosts sperm quality. (George Tuli)

into space is perhaps the most innovative. They will use a system consisting of a carrier plane, White Knight 2, which will carry their rocket, VSS Unity, up to a height of 50,000 feet before releasing it. The VSS Unity will then fire its rocket engine and almost immediately begin a near-vertical climb up to the edge of the atmosphere.

After approximately 90 seconds, the rocket engine will cut out, and passengers will experience weightlessness for a matter of minutes before the spaceship begins its descent towards Earth. A unique feathering system will then act as an air brake. Once enough velocity has been lost, the feathering system will rotate into a more conventional configuration. The ship will function as a glider until it safely lands back on the runway of Virgin Galactic’s home base, Spaceport America.

As with any project of this ambition and scale, there are setbacks. In the case of Virgin Galactic, there have been far more than average. When he revealed the company in 2004, Branson stated that the first launch would take place in 2007. However, three workers died during an engine test that year. Since then, there has been a repeating pattern of delays slowing down the project. Another tragedy also hit Virgin Galactic in 2014, when a flight test led to a midair explosion which killed one pilot and seriously injured another. After that, engineers adjusted the craft’s design, and flight tests resumed in 2016.

In February this year, Richard Branson stated that he would go to space aboard his spacecraft within six months, another deadline that has since been missed. A year ago, Branson suggested that the timescales involved were months and not years. The reality is that the extreme complexity of suborbital space travel makes any prediction of the first commercial launch date impossible. However, there is no doubt that in the coming months and years, the number of people that do go to space will increase exponentially. Perhaps, one day, Virgin Galactic, along with its competitors, will make jumping on a spaceship and blasting towards the stars as routine as driving a car.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

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Science & Tech

Mendeleev’s periodic table at 150!

It’s 150 years since Mendeleev created the periodic table of elements, but what actually goes into organising the building blocks of the universe?

Saskia Lee Science & Tech Contributor

Dmitri Mendeleev’s work in constructing the modern periodic table is one of the most vital pieces of work in chemistry. The periodic table of elements compiles all the known chemical elements in a concise format. This format allows chemists to quickly look at the chemical and physical properties of the elements and even predict

the characteristics of undiscovered elements. But Mendeleev wasn’t the only one working on this puzzle.

Who would’ve guessed that

the origins of the periodic table of chemical elements lay with the (attempted) creation of a Philosopher’s Stone in 1669? In this pursuit, German amateur alchemist, Hennig Brand, discovered ‘cold fire’, a glowing white substance produced when heating residues of boiled urine. This was the first scientific discovery of a chemical element.

We now know this element to be phosphorus. This discovery was later supported in a publication by British chemist Robert Boyle in 1680.

Antoine Lavoisier made the first attempt to classify the known chemical elements in 1789. In this classification, elements were grouped simply by their basic properties: ‘gases’, ‘non-metals’, ‘metals’, and ‘earths’. In 1829 the German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner’s studies led him to formulate a system of ‘triads’ – four groups of three ‘chemically analogous’ elements arranged in increasing order of their atomic weights.

33 years later, Alexandre Béguyer de Chancoutois, a French geologist, came up with a three-dimensional arrangement. The elements were plotted in order of atomic weight around a cylinder – one complete turn corresponded to an atomic

weight increase of 16. In this model, elements with similar properties appeared in a vertical line. This model was the first periodic arrangement of all the known elements at the time.

British chemist John Newlands had noticed similarities in elements with atomic weights that differed by seven. He proposed this ‘Law of Octaves’ in 1865. His arrangement of the periodic table did not leave any gaps for undiscovered elements (notably, the noble gases). He sometimes squeezed two elements into one box of the table to maintain his desired patterns. Unsurprisingly, the Chemical Society refused to publish his work.

Julius Lothar Meyer was another German chemist who worked on developing the periodic table between 1864 and 1870. He arranged elements in columns by their increasing valency (the combining power of an element to other atoms).

Mendeleev published his periodic table in 1869. Mendeleev’s periodic table was the basis for the one we see plastered over classrooms and coffee mugs around the world today. Meyer’s arrangement was very similar to Mendeleev’s, but he did not publish his work until 1870 – a year too late. Mendeleev

incorporated the most significant findings of previous scientists’ work to produce a table which arranged the elements by their increasing atomic weights whilst allowing some flexibility to ensure the elements were still correctly grouped by their properties. He even left spaces in the table in anticipation of the discoveries of new elements.

Since then, the periodic table has had some revisions. When William Ramsay discovered the noble gases during the 1890s, they were soon added to the table as group 0. The final piece of the puzzle was added in 1913 when Henry Moseley determined why there were

exceptions to ordering the elements by atomic weight. Moseley studied atomic structures and realised that Mendeleev had inadvertently put the elements in order of increasing proton number, rather than atomic mass.

It may not seem so, but the importance of the periodic table within chemistry is huge. Anyone who’s ever done any chemistry in the last 150 years will have used it.

Without this seemingly simple tool, knowing the complex characteristics of each chemical element and the relationships between them would be so much more difficult. Thank you, Dmitri Mendeleev!

Space pioneer Alexei Leonov dies in Moscow, aged 85 The legendary Soviet cosmonaut, writer, and artist became the first human to walk in space 54 years ago.

George Tuli Science & Tech Editor

On Friday 11 October, Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, announced the news on their website. No cause of death was stated, but it is known through Russian media that Leonov had health issues for several years.

Leonov became the first human to walk in space, conducting a 12 minute and nine second spacewalk on 18 March 1965. He was joined on the mission by fellow cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev, who remained in the spacecraft for the mission’s duration.

90 minutes after launch, Leonov put on his space suit and left the capsule via an inflatable airlock.

Having completed his only tasks of attaching a video camera to the end of the airlock to record his spacewalk and photographing the spacecraft, Leonov tried to operate the still

camera on his chest. He found that his suit had ballooned and was unable to reach the shutter button on his leg.

After his twelve minutes and nine seconds outside the spacecraft, Leonov’s suit had ballooned so much that he could not fit back inside the airlock to re-enter the capsule. He was forced to bleed off some of the oxygen inside his spacesuit to below the safety level in order to get back inside.

Leonov’s second trip to space was as the commander of the Soyuz capsule in the first joint space mission between the Soviet Union and the United States.

In July 1975, the Soyuz 19 capsule docked with an Apollo command and service module. This mission, named the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), marked the end of the Cold War space race which began with the USSR launching Sputnik 1

in 1957.

Following the ASTP, the US didn’t launch another crew into space until the first Space Shuttle flight in 1981.

Leonov is remembered as the first person to walk in space, but had things gone differently, he could have been the first human to walk on the Moon.

While NASA was pushing towards President Kennedy’s goal of “landing a man on the Moon” by the end of the decade, the Soviet Union was developing its own Moon landing programme in secrecy.

Having proved he was made of the “right stuff”, Leonov was selected to command the Soviet Union’s first Moon landing attempt. However, the Soviet space programme lost momentum after its chief designer Sergei Korolev died in an accident in 1966. On top of this, the Soviets couldn’t get their N-1 Moon rocket to work.

Leonov aboard the ASTP with a sketch he made of one of his American crewmates, 1975.

When Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon in July 1969, the Soviet Union cancelled its lunar programme.

As well as a pioneer in space, Leonov was an inspiration to science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke, who named a Soviet spaceship after Leonov in 2010: Odyssey Two, his

sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

NASA paid tribute to Leonov by pausing live coverage of a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Friday 11 October, to report on the cosmonaut’s death.

Mission Control in Houston said, “A tribute to Leonov as today is a spacewalk.”

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Science & Tech

forgetoday.com

Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for hypoxia research

Kaelin, Ratcliffe, and Semenza have solved the mystery of how cells adapt to changing oxygen levels.

Their work provides a base for further research into treating anaemia and cancer.

Saskia Lee Science & Tech Contributor

On 7 October, scientists William Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza were awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine for their exciting research into how human cells sense and respond to varying oxygen availability in the blood. Until now, these exact physiological mechanisms weren’t fully understood – but independent research from Kaelin, Ratcliffe and Semenza over the last 20 years has been pieced together to solve the mystery.

Oxygen is vital to life. Animals require oxygen for respiration – the conversion of the food we eat into the energy we can use to maintain the multitude of metabolic processes that keep us alive.

Research by Corneille Heymans outlined how the carotid body, a concentration of specialised cells located near the carotid arteries of the neck, responds to oxygen availability by communicating with the brain to regulate respiration.

When the body experiences low oxygen availability (hypoxia), it can react rapidly to cope with this change. The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Heymans for this work in 1938.

Another important physiological response to hypoxia is the rise in levels of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO). EPO stimulates increased production of red blood cells to carry more oxygen around the body. This response is controlled by regulation of the EPO gene.

Semenza studied this gene and found that just one proteincomplex, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), both controls how the EPO gene works and responds to changing oxygen levels. This protein is abundant when oxygen levels are low but virtually disappears when they are high.

Both Semenza and Ratcliffe’s independent research found that this oxygen sensing mechanism is present in almost all tissues, and not only in the kidney cells where EPO is normally produced. Another protein, called VHL, was identified

by cancer scientist Kaelin, and was found to be responsible for destroying HIF when oxygen levels are high. The combination of these findings outlines the molecular ‘switch’ that exists for responding to varying oxygen levels.

Randall Johnson, Nobel Prize committee member, commented

on the significance of this research – expressing how “this is really a textbook discovery”. He also predicted that this “basic aspect of how a cell works” is something that biology students will soon be learning about from age 12 or even younger.

The significance of this year’s

prize-winning research is that it highlights the mechanism for oxygen sensing on a cellular level, whereas before the details were much less clear. There is no doubt that this discovery will benefit the development of promising new strategies in tackling anaemia, cancer and many other diseases.

antioxidant, it could be preventing oxidation of the sperm – a known cause of infertility in males.

However, he notes that although we now know Lypocene affects sperm quality, we do not yet know the mechanics behind it. He hopes that further study will provide more

answers.

Dr Williams is already planning to conduct a further study with her team, which consists of Madeleine Park, Aisling Robinson, and Sophie Pitt. Their plan moving forward is explained by Williams:“We do need to repeat the work in bigger trials,

but the results are very encouraging.

“The next step is to repeat the exercise in men with fertility problems and see if LactoLycopene can increase sperm quality for those men and whether it helps couples conceive and avoid invasive fertility treatments.”

Compound found in tomatoes boosts quality of sperm Eve Thomas Science & Tech Contributor

A recent study by the University of Sheffield has provided good news for the issue of male fertility.

A compound most commonly found in tomatoes has successfully increased the proportion of healthyshaped sperm and the speed of ‘fast swimming’ sperm by 40 per cent. Although there is still further study to be conducted, this could be an answer to the 40-50 per cent of ‘male factor’ infertility cases.

The compound at the centre of the study is Lycopene, a hydrocarbon found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, but primarily in tomatoes. However, dietary Lypocene is poorly absorbed by the human body, and so LactoLypocene was used instead during the trial.

It is commercially available as a product to improve bioavailability.

The study was led by Allan Pacey,

Professor of Andrology Reproduction and Head of the University of Sheffield’s Department of Oncology and Metabolism, and Dr Liz Williams, a leading specialist in human nutrition, also at the University. They conducted the double-blind randomised controlled trial over twelve weeks, with 60 healthy volunteers between the ages of 19 and 30. Sperm and blood samples were collected at the start and end of the trial, and the results compared.

The results of the comparison were unprecedented. Professor Pacey, a world expert in male reproduction explained that “we didn’t really expect that at the end of the study there would be any difference in the sperm from men who took the tablet versus those who took the placebo.

When we decoded the results, I nearly fell off my chair.”

Pacey theorised that because Lypocene is known to be a powerful

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Wednesday 23 October 2019

41

Sport Thoughts

press.sport@forgetoday.com

Forge_Sport @ForgeSport

Rugby shines in the Land of the Rising Sun as athletics is left in Doha darkness Henry Clark Sport Contributor

As a little girl growing up in Orpington, Kent, Dina AsherSmith would’ve dreamt of a day like this. She appeared more machine than the mere humans she was up against as she powered to gold in the women’s 200 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.

After years of sacrifice, Dina was on top of the world. However, with less than 1,000 people there to embrace the new queen of the track on her lap of honour, it seemed as if the world wasn’t there to watch.

5,000 miles away in Japan, who are hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Wales were greeted by a kilometre-long queue to watch their open training session at Kitakyushu Stadium. 15,000 locals piled in to embrace their new visitors, even serenading them with the Welsh national anthem, co-ordinated and learnt to perfection.

Japan are no strangers to the game which shot to national attention following their shock win against

giants South Africa in the 2015 tournament, but there was still work to do to get it to the masses. A total of 630,000 fans have reportedly flocked to watch the games with an average crowd of 35,000.

French winger Yoann Huget, fresh from his side’s 23-21 win over Argentina in front of a sell-out crowd, told the Rugby World Cup website: “I sat down on the pitch after the match to savour it. I could have been in any great stadium in the world and you can tell the public are responding. I didn’t expect that.

It’s a special atmosphere.”

The mood in Doha, where just 50,000 tickets had been sold across the 10 days, was much quieter.

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), headed by former Great Britain Olympian Lord Sebastian Coe, has been on the PR defensive as to why the event limped across the line, blaming TV scheduling. But when just 11,000 people turn up for the showpiece Men’s 100m final, the issues clearly lie deeper.

Denise Lewis slammed the

Kotaro Matsushima playing for Japan against Russia.

Image: Edo Village, Wikimedia Commons governing body who have “massively let our athletes down”.

She said: “I didn’t expect it to be this bad. The athletes deserve people, an energy and an atmosphere to thrive on.” Fellow BBC colleague Darren Campbell said from the outside it looked as if the sport was “dying”.

Despite the current hardships brought by Typhoon Hagibis, Japan has welcomed visitors with open arms and has in return been rewarded with some scintillating rugby. The IAAF and Qatar on the other hand?

At a time when athletics is

rebuilding in the post-Bolt era, the sport has hit a flat note. The heavy-handed management of criticism has been as shambolic as the Championships themselves. As a result, you can only feel for AsherSmith and co; their dreams have become their sporting nightmares.

Manchester United must give Solskjaer time to rebuild Charlie Jewers Sport Contributor

Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Image: Tor Atle Kleven, Wikimedia Commons

There is no two ways about it – Manchester United are a hot mess from top to bottom. Their poor performances run deeper than just the manager, and if they are to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season, they’re sucking themselves back into the familiar managerial cycle responsible for their recent troubles.

There are plenty of problems at hand, and the most prominent of these is the board’s inability to start a long-term footballing project and stick with it. The squad inherited by Solskjaer tells all – an unorganised mish-mash of individuals with no clear philosophy or coherence between them.

Having five managers in less than six seasons has left an abundance of deadwood at Old Trafford and sacking Solskjaer will only pile the

misery onto a team crying out for identity.

Ole is not a world-class tactician, but this comes with experience and the Norwegian has made a good start on his rebuild. The summer signings of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were expensive but essential, and signify Solskjaer’s intent to build a solid team spine starting from the back.

There is already evidence of an improvement – United are forecast to concede 38 in total this season, whereas last season they conceded 54. The problem now lies in attack, and Solskjaer needs time to address this.

The recent lack of goals can be pinned primarily on sub-par finishing. At the time of publication,

United have scored just 10 goals, the lowest out of the traditional ‘top six’ sides. An expected goal total of 12.93 indicates that they should have

scored more goals given the quality of the chances they have created.

Improved attacking depth is still needed but will require more than one transfer window to implement.

Sacking Solskjaer would not change this. The imminent return of Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial will be a huge boost offensively and it is likely that we will see United’s goal scoring exploits pick up in the near future.

In the long term United have every chance of turning results around if the right areas are addressed. The upcoming transfer windows will be crucial – it is clear that Solskjaer needs to strengthen in attack and continue to offload those who have no business being at the club.

Unless United are dragged into a relegation scrap there is no need to dismiss the manager. If the board are consumed by delusions of shortterm success over a sustainable model, their woes will only continue.

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“We’re on track so far!” - former Blade, Kevin Gage, weighs in on Sheffield United’s PL hopes Harry Robinson Sport Contributor

27 years ago, Kevin Gage was sat in the changing room at Bramall Lane - lacing up his worn boots and donning his red and white strip before the first match of the inaugural Premier League season; a match that saw Sheffield United defeat heavyweights Manchester United 2-1. Fast-forward to the present and the Blades are once again in the coveted top-flight, with the once stalwart defender now cheering on a club that he has a strong affinity with.

So Kevin, as someone who grew up in the south, you now class yourself as an adopted Blade and live in Sheffield. What is it about the club and the city that makes you feel so at home over other clubs you’ve been at?

Obviously living here since 1991 is a major factor as I’m in and around the fans and the people of Sheffield.

I think the real attachment to the club was formed after being here a few years and winning the Player of The Year award in 1995, which meant that the fans really appreciated me as a player. I think in my case the bond was strengthened when I was invited back to represent the club on match days as a compère in the function lounges, a role I’ve now

been doing for nearly 20 years!

You spent 5 years at Sheffield United and made over a century of appearances, are there any special moments that stand out?

I will always say my first goal for United was extra special as it was against Aston Villa, the club I’d just left! Nothing personal against the club, but I didn’t get on with Ron Atkinson (to say the least) so to score against them in such spectacular fashion was very sweet. The other occasion has to be the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley in 1993; even though the result went the wrong way and we didn’t play well, the whole build-up and day itself was very special.

You’ve been amongst the fans during the success of recent years. What was it like witnessing the Blades’ meteoric rise to the Premier League?

It’s been astonishing to be honest, it’s been a real privilege to be involved with the club during this incredible period. I thought Chris Wilder would do an excellent job for Sheffield United, but I’d be lying if I said I expected to see two promotions in three years!

I’ve been fortunate to have spent a bit of time with Chris at media events and it’s been fascinating to chat and listen to him. He is

Kevin Gage made 98 league appearances for the Blades, scoring seven goals utterly driven to succeed, and we are fortunate to have him as he will go on to be an outstanding Premier League manager in years to comehopefully with us of course! I’m already on record as saying he’ll be the England boss within the next decade.

What are your thoughts on United’s start to the season? Have any players stood out for you?

We look like we’ve been playing in the Premier League for years, not weeks! Everyone has shown that they can make the step up in quality and pace. Collectively we look a strong unit, although going

forward might be the only issue.

Despite spending over £40m on attackers, I wonder at times if we have enough individual ability to create those pieces of ‘magic’ that will win games. We’ll create chances with our team play and our passing movements, but it’s the ‘extras’ on top that will make the difference in finishing mid-table or merely just surviving.

Both wing backs [Enda Stevens and George Baldock] who have been quite superb, together with John Egan who has been quietly and effectively brilliant. Both Bash [Chris Basham] and Jack O’Connell have picked up where they left

off last season and I think they’ll get even better as the season progresses.”

What are your predictions for the rest of the season?

I see us being a very good defensive unit and difficult to break down, as the Liverpool game proved. Noone is going to cut us to shreds and spank us! If we continue to progress the way we are as a team, and the forwards find their top form, I can see us being quite comfortable in mid-table. The average points needed to stay up in the Premiership has historically been 38.4, so we’re on track so far!

Water Polo Club make a ‘Splash For Cash’ with charity tournament Alex Brotherton Sport Editor

The University of Sheffield Swimming and Water Polo Club will host a charity water polo tournament next month to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The ‘Splash for Cash’ tournament will see university teams from across the UK battle it out in the name of fundraising at Maltby Leisure Centre on Saturday 16 November.

Macmillan means a lot to the club’s members, none more so than event organiser Rebecca Lee, who was entrusted with choosing which charity to support.

Rebecca, a third-year chemistry student, said: “It is a charity that is very close to my heart, I’ve lost both my grandad and dog to cancer.

“With my grandad, Macmillan

were constantly there throughout his last few months, providing support to my family and ensuring that he was as comfortable as possible at the end.”

With university students from across the country coming together to raise money in memory of loved ones, Rebecca, along with the club’s social media officer Sarah Carson and charity officer Rosie Rudin, have come up with a unique way to honour those lost to cancer.

Rebecca said: “The event programme will include a memory page for all those participating to remember those they have lost to cancer.”

Rebecca, a former junior England team captain, hopes that the event can have a lasting impact beyond this year’s tournament.

“As a club we have always wanted

to include our sport within a charity event, similar to other clubs at our university.

“Our new committee decided that we were going to turn this idea into an event, so since summer I have been working tirelessly to make it possible.”

With Sheffield’s Lord Mayor Tony Downing set to be in attendance, the event will begin at 2.00pm and will also include a charity raffle and cake sale.

Rebecca stressed that you don’t have to play water polo to help fundraise: “We are asking anyone, from friends and family to total strangers, to kindly donate to the gofundme page to maximise the amount we raise for this worthy cause.”

You can find the donation link on our website forgetoday.com.

Forge Press

Wednesday 23 October 2019

Got a sports tale to tell? press.sport@forgetoday.com Michael Ekman Sport Coordinator

Hey everyone!

In this issue, we’ve got loads of exciting stories to read up on! In Sport Thoughts, we have one piece comparing the ongoing Rugby World Cup with the Athletics World Championships as well as an article taking a look at the recent troubles of Manchester United.

More on football, we also have an interview with former Blades player Kevin Gage where he gives his thoughts on Sheffield United’s start to their first Premier League season since 2007.

Additionally, organisers from water polo club are set to host a water polo tournament with universities all over the UK for Macmillan Cancer Charity.

Women in Sports is also featured

43

Sport in this issue, highlighting the tough away game the team faced against Newcastle.

Lastly, our backpage talks about the remembrance event for Mathilde, who sadly passed away recently. The event was a lovely day and loads of people turned up at Goodwin to take part in basketball games organised by her friends and former teammates.

Results board

Upcoming fixtures

Watford 0 - 0 Sheffield Utd

Sheffield Utd - Arsenal

Cardiff City 1 - 1 Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday - Stoke City

Aston Villa 3 - 1 Sheffield Utd Women

Sheffield Utd Women - Charlton

Sheffield Tigers 27 - 18 Luctonians

Huddersfield - Sheffield Tigers

Sheffield Steelers 4 - 2 Dundee

Sheffield Steelers - Coventry

Newcastle Eagles 80 - 83 Sheffield Sharks

Sheffield Sharks - Newcastle Eagles

Women in Sports: Plenty of positives to take from Newcastle volleyball defeat Michael Ekman Sport Coordinator

Despite suffering a defeat, Volleyball 1s could still draw loads of positives with them after a demanding away encounter against Newcastle.

The team got off to a shaky start even before the game, as transportation issues caused them to arrive late up north, not affording them the time to warm up properly.

This caused a snowballing chain of events, where the team not being in the best condition resulted in Newcastle scoring three points in a row and the mood within the team increasingly deteriorating.

Additionally, several Uni of players were either not able to travel or were sick, meaning Newcastle had more chances to swap out tired players.

Player Chloe Chioy said: “Volleyball being a team sport, it

is up to each person to keep up the morale.

“The initial loss made the mood of our entire team extremely sombre.

“We believe that people play better when they feel better, and because everyone was feeling defeated, we kept losing points off simple mistakes.”

Even though the team had to call for time out twice in the game in order to boost morale and discuss tactics, it was not enough to motivate the group to recover from the first set loss.

Chloe said: “The other team just had more synergy. Most of them had come from the same high school and so knew exactly how to work around each person’s strength and play style.

“We were a fairly new team so still have much to learn.

“Their team did dominate ours, but we played very well considering

the circumstances.”

The two remaining sets were fairly even but Newcastle just had the edge on the Uni of side.

Despite the loss, Chloe still praised the other team’s performance.

“They moved like clockwork and would always yell encouragement to their teammates. Their receives,

spikes, sets, and serves were all impeccable.

“They definitely were strong opponents because even when they lost a point, they wouldn’t be phased and would operate just as well as if they were winning.”

Reflecting on the importance of the game, Chloe said it is vital to

start the semester on winning ways.

“This game was important not because of the location or the opposition, but because of how early on in the semester we are. The more we win games and play well, the more confidence we have going into future games.”

Michael Ekman Sport Coordinator

basketball and her love for helping others and it was one of my favourite moments of her.

Meanwhile, Mem said: “Mathilde was the most motivated and kind

I think about her I think about this day. One day Mathilde drove herself and me to officiate a couple of games over at EIS.” She added.

“We had a nice time during the game just chatting and on the way back went to tesco and bought some snacks and chilled a bit.

“I don’t think I’d ever spent that much time alone with her and we weren’t super close, but I remember coming home and saying to my housemate what a nice chilled evening I’d had and how I wanted to become better friends with her.

“Don’t know why I remember that so well but it just reminds me what a lovely person she was, and how lucky we all were to know her.”

Tributes paid to basketballer Mathilde during emotional afternoon at Goodwin (cont. from back) ... Varsity game at the end of first year.

“We had just played against Hallam and had the best score we had ever had and I remember being on court and looking at Mathilde and ran over to her and she picked me up and swung me around.

“It was nice to connect with her through a sport.”

Bethany recalls: “Last year on Halloween we went together as zombie basketballers, and she helped me with my zombie makeup because I wasn’t very good at it.

“It summed up her love for

£3,258

raised for Teenage Cancer Trust after a £2,000 goal

hearted person you’d ever meet.

“It is pretty inspiring when your friend is able to achieve everything she sets out to do and still make so much time for her friends and family, that it makes you realise how great she was.

“It sounds a bit silly but whenever

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Sport

press.sport@forgetoday.com

Forge_Sport @ForgeSport

Huge turnout to honour former basketballer who passed away from cancer Michael Ekman Sport Coordinator

Basketballers, both amateur and experienced, turned out in droves at Goodwin Sports Centre to honour passed away fellow player Mathilde le Toquin.

It was an event of joy, sweat and bittersweetness, as the memory of Mathilde was celebrated with an activityfilled day organised by three of her former teammates and friends.

The organisers, Mem

Swanborough, Nikhita Chandar, and Bethany Rutherford set up the event and were joined

by Mathilde’s friends from swimming and basketball, coursemates and family members.

Mem said: “It’s been really exciting, I think we were all a bit nervous but we’ve had a great turnout.

“Having so many people feels really nice, it reflects that she was just a great person, even though not everyone here plays basketball.

“Seeing everyone else try would probably mean quite a lot to her.”

The day consisted of several

I’m really proud of us actually because we’ve organised a really good event and I think Mathilde would be proud of us too. basketball games and practices

followed by a drinks reception and raffle at Interval Cafe Bar in the evening.

Nikhita said: “ I’m really proud of us actually because we’ve organised a really good event and I think Mathilde would be really proud of us too.

“It’s been such a good turnout, there’s people that knew her that were coursemates, her friends from home, her family came to Sheffield for today, so it’s really nice to see everyone come together.

“She would be really proud of

us and be so happy that she’s touched so many lives, which I think is a really nice thing.

Nikhita’s feelings were echoed

by Bethany, who said: “It’s really exciting because Mathilde loved basketball so it’s a great way to celebrate her memory.

“It’s just a really fun day for everyone that knew her to get involved and get together to celebrate her life.

Reflecting on their fondest memories of her, Nikhita said: “It was definitely the... (cont. on p43)