Gair Rhydd 1006 - 13 May 2013

gair rhydd Monday May 13th 2013 | freeword - Est. 1972 | Issue 1006

ASSL prepares for petting zoo p4 >>

Measles

p4 >>

outbreak in Cardiff Sport report Korfball Opinion discuss first Science show how 3D success at BSKA club date mistakes printers could make p25 p8 invisibilty cloaks p15 championships

2 / Editor’s Note

gr News 4–5 Opinion 7–9 Politics 12–13 Science 14–15 Societies 16 Taf-Od 17 Puzzles 18 Listings 19 Sport 21–24

News in brief

Words by Max Eshraghi, Ashley Bebington, Georgia Hamer

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Fox Network commissions US Gavin and Stacey "NFSJDBO 57 HJBOU 'PY IBWF BO OPVODFE B OFX WFSTJPO PG QPQVMBS ##$ TJUDPN (BWJO BOE 4UBDFZ GPS UIFJS TMBUF 5IF TIPX GPS merly set in Essex and Barry has been relocated to New York and TNBMM UPXO 1FOOTZMWBOJB GSPN where leads Gavin and Stacey will IBJM ‘Parenthood’ star Jason Ritter BOE A.BE .FO BDUSFTT "MFYJT #JF del have been cast in the titular roles and series Ruth Jones and +BNFT $PSEFO XJMM FYFDVUJWF QSP duce alongside Brit comedian Steve $PPHBO +POFT XIP QMBZFE /FTT JO the original show is reportedly ‘very excited’ about the ‘excellent script’ XSJUUFO GPS UIF 64 BEBQUBUJPO ME

EDITOR Chris Williams $0 03%*/"503 Elaine Morgan CREATIVE DIRECTOR Luke Slade 46# &%*503 5PN +BSSZ 1POFT NEWS Kendal Archer Tom Eden Anna Hickman Bethan Jones OPINION Alice Briggs Nick Evans Alex Greig

In this week’s issue...

COLUMNIST Liam McNeilly POLITICS Thom Hollick Rachel Lewis

Cardiff Athletics compete at BUCS event in Bedford p21

Are conventional lectures outdated? p7

SCIENCE Rhiannon Davies Alexey Underwood SOCIETIES Beth Lyons LISTINGS Beth Gregory 5"' 0% Tomos Lewis SPORT Ross Martinovic James Shapland

GAIR RHYDD AND QUENCH MAGAZINE ARE PUBLISHED BY UNIVERSITY UNION $"3%*'' 1"3, 1-"$& $"3%*'' $' 2/ t REGISTERED AS A NEWSPAPER AT THE POST 0''*$& t ("*3 3):%% 3&4&37&4 5)& 3*()5 50 &%*5 "-- $0/53*#65*0/4 t 5)& 7*&84 EXPRESSED ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE 0' 5)& 16#-*4)&34 t ("*3 3):%% *4 83*5 TEN, DESIGNED, TYPESET AND OUTPUT BY STUDENTS OF CARDIFF UNIVERSITY

Law Society ask Union for funding for a new website p5

Queen’s speech lays out Cameron’s plan for the year ahead p14

3

Monday May 13th 2013 | @mediacsu

Cleveland Fans denied entry to kidnapper Vaccines gig for not knowing album titles makes first court appearance Ariel Castro, 52, the man accused of imprisoning three women in the US city of Cleveland appeared in court last Thursday, just three days after the victims were freed. Castro is set to face charges of four accounts of kidnap and three accounts of rape. Bail was set at $8m (£5.1m), meaning in effect that he will remain in custody.

Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 30, were held against their will in Castro’s home for about a decade. The women had only ever left the house twice, when Castro allegedly forced them, in disguise, to the garage.

Their ordeal ended last Monday when Berry saw a chance to break free from the house and alert neighbours, carrying her six-year-old daughter who was born in captivity.

GH

Fans of British indie rock band The Vaccines were left outraged after they were refused entry to their show at Venue Cymru in Llandudno – because they didn’t know the titles of the band’s albums.

Arena security were made aware that pickpockets were planning to operate during the gig, so carried out random checks in the queue. As a result six people were refused admission and a further two people ejected from the building.

Venue Cymru admits their mistake and has apologised to outraged fans, offering a full refund. GH

Bandladeshi building collapse approaches one thousand deaths The death toll from a collapsed building near the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka has reached 912. The eight-story building collapsed on 24th April, with most of the victim garment factory workers. Authorities claim about 2,500 people were injured in the accident and 2,437 people were rescued.

The collapse has sparked mass protest, as many of the workers claim that they were forced to work by the owners despite large cracks appearing in the building.

Rescue workers are planning on abandoning their work within the next few days, with one claiming, “we’ve only got to search the basement. Most of the bodies are now like skeletons as they are so badly decomposed.”

A number of officials, including the owner of the building, have since been arrested and charged with causing deaths by negligence. AH

A note from the editor...

Could the sun’s blood pressure benefits outweigh cancer risks?

Following last week’s rare sunny spell, you may be pleased to hear Edinburgh University researchers have found that when exposed to UV rays skins releases a compound which can help to lower blood pressure, cutting heart attack and stroke risks. Benefits that far outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer.

In the UK, heart disease and strokes linked to high blood pressure are estimated to lead to about 80 times more deaths than those from skin cancer.

Researchers have confirmed more studies will be carried out in order to determine whether it is necessary to reconsider advice on skin exposure. GH

Want to help make the paper?

As we move into the last term with exams, essay deadlines and dissertations, we’ll still be printing gair rhydd and need people to write articles for us! If you’d like to get involved, come to one of our meetings below or send a message to editor@gairrhydd.com.

May 13th, 5:10pm, SU fourth floor

Proofreaders wanted!

Got a keen eye for grammar?

Or just enjoy free pizza on Thursday nights?

Come up to the office every Thursday for free pizza and proofing.

S

o that was summer. Admittedly, it was brief, but that seems to pretty much be it, for now.

For me, like many students at the moment, for me, it was spent largely inside, getting angry at my computer screen before relenting and watching rubbish tele before enjoying the sunshine.

As much as I love the sun (and, honestly, I do – don’t let my almost ghost-like complexion make you think otherwise) I couldn’t help but moan about it being too hot. I mean, it was really hot.

Of course, it didn’t help that I was going for a run… nor did it help that I was going for a run during the hottest hours of the day, but still – I wanted it to be hot, but not that hot.

And of course, as I write this, it’s been pouring with rain and has been for the past few days and all I want is for it to return to the frustratingly hot sun of a few days ago.

The sun has led to an eerie silence around the union, particularly up in media. With the end of Quench last week, my office has been resolutely empty up until deadline night and it’s with that that I know my year is definitely coming to an end.

It’s an odd feeling, knowing that your job is going to end and that your year’s worth of work is almost over. You’re sort of in this weird purgatory where it’s difficult to start anything new, but you don’t want to just sit there doing nothing.

gair rhydd would like to thank the following for their articles and help in making this issue: Contributors Georgia Hamer Max Eshraghi

Fortunately, you’re reading the penultimate issue, so for the next week or so I have a decent clue of what I’m doing before the summer hits and I’m into handover documents and trying to leave a bit of a legacy.

The other odd feeling is the fact that, after this job, and in just a few months time I’m going into the real world. My close association with students is gone and I reckon I’m going to miss it.

Working with students for the past year has made every day different and made the job a lot more fun. Everyone’s here because they want to be here, they have a genuine passion for what they do.

In the real world, however, it’s not the same. Most are working for a pay packet and few are truly waking up each day and rushing into work because they love what they do.

But, on the plus side, in the real world people live in decent housing, they buy food from the premium-value range and see meat as a necessity, not a luxury.

I’ll miss the people I’ve worked with, but I won’t miss the lifestyle.

Ashley Bebbington Rowan Whittington Arthur Russell Jonny Goode Jemima Walker Greg Landon Gareth Evans David Mason Scott Davies Anna George

Matt Harding Matthew Bull Claire Blakeway Proofreaders Anne Porter Emilia Ignaciuk

4 / News

House fire Residents in Ruthin Gardens had a rude awakenng Monday 6th May as two fire brigades attended a house fire.

According to a University spokesperson, one of the University owned student houses suffered a cooker fire, no-one was injured.

An alarm panel had to be reset by the University’s seecurity control and an on-call electrician attended to make sure the cooker was safe.

Championship Champions Thousands of fans took to the streets to celebrate Cardiff City winning the Championship.

The Bluebirds were promoted after a 0-0 draw with Charlton on 16th April and won the league the following week after a 1-1 draw with Burnley.

About 25,000 fans took to the streets of Cardiff, many of whom following the team’s coach as it made its way through the city.

The day ended with fireworks at the bay.

Get it out for Cardiff Get it out for Cardiff, a scheme which has been going on for the past few years has just started its 2013 campaign.

The scheme encourages students to drop off any unwanted electrical items and kitchen utensils, to the union or the bins in their halls.

The items are then sold back to students during freshers week, with money being made for local charities.

Meg David, Welfare Office, said of the scheme, “I think this scheme is something we should be really proud of, tons of bric-abrac would thrown away were it not for this scheme.

Measles on the move: Cardiff case confirmed Arthur Russell

Number of measles notifications by age during time period: 1 November 2012 - 12 noon 07 May 2013

News Writer

It has been confirmed that a Cardiff University student has contracted the MMR virus, which has lead to calls from the University for all students to safeguard themselves from the potential Mumps threat.

In a letter to all Cardiff students, University officials have said, “as the outbreak of measles continues, the University has been advised that a student studying at Cardiff University has a confirmed diagnosis of measles”.

As a result, students are now at risk of both contracting and helping to spread the highly infectious disease. They have therefore been advised to confirm with parents or guardians whether they were vaccinated as a child, to establish if it is necessary for them contact their GP or Cardiff’s emergency clinics and get the jab.

The University has been advised that a student studying at Cardiff University has a confirmed diagnosis of measles Following the spread to Cardiff, the University is in the process of making arrangements to mitigate the spread of the illness.

They are exploring the possibility of having the vaccination available at the University’s Health Centre, located on 47 Park Place.

The nearest clinics that routinely administer the emergency vaccination in Cathays are at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary and at the children’s centre at Llandough hospital.

Notifications of measles in Wales by age 50+

in years Number ofAge measles notifications

Cardiff Column

40-49 30-39 20-29 15-19 10-14 05-09 01-04 0-<1 0

£4.99

*

Collection only Available until 5pm

100

150

200

250

300

350

Age in years Number of measles notifications

The MMR virus (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) has recently raised considerable attention following the worrying outbreak and noticeable spread of the disease. There have been over one thousand confirmed cases in the Swansea area, eighty-five of which have caused individuals to be hospitalised, and one death caused by the virus. Following this outbreak in Cardiff it would appear that the disease is spreading throughout the rest of South Wales.

Symptoms of Mumps include painful inflammation of the neck glands, typical fever and headache symptoms, a dry mouth and sore neck. The virus spreads through such acts such as sneezing, coughing or kissing, sharing food and drinks, and survives on food surfaces.

Measles can, in very extreme cases, have life changing side effects; the virus can lead to blindness and sterility and in the worst cases, death. It is believed the virus was responsible for the death of Gareth Colfer Williams

FEED YOUR MIND STUDENT SPECIAL ANY LARGE CLASSICS OR FAVOURITES PIZZA

50

from Swansea, who passed away last month.

Health authorities have also been alerted and are paying much attention to the outbreak. Public Health Wales have advised that all students should be vaccinated against Measles. PHW say that individuals should first “check your immunisation status, and if you have not had two doses/ immunisations of MMR vaccine you are advised to contact your GP and make an appointment as soon as possible”. The outbreak has seen a total of thirty-three thousand non-routine MMR vaccinations given out nationwide.

Young people are believed to be particularly at risk. The disease can result in complications for males such as infertility. As well, rubella can cause complications for pregnant women. Up to twenty per cent of people infected do not show the symptoms so it is possible to be infected and spread the illness without being aware of doing so.

The incubation period usually lasts between sixteen and eigh-

teen days. One dose of the MMR vaccination will only give you around ninety per cent immunity, whilst two shots will equate to full immunity.

Given the highly infectious nature of the disease and the high levels of contact students have with one another, the student population is prone to both spreading and contracting the virus. gair rhydd therefore urges fellow students to take caution and act sensibly because of the serious potential threat posed by Mumps, both for themselves and others.

Welfare Officer, Megan David has advised all students to check whether or not they are vaccinated by contacting their GP. For those who might be believe they have contracted the mumps or are want to know more information, contact Cardiff University Health officials a: mmrhelp@cardiff. ac.uk or on 02920874810.

Cardiff 02920 471 222 208 City Road CF24 3JG

papajohns.co.uk ‘Papa’ John Schnatter Schnatter, Founder of Papa John’s

*Add £2.50 for each Stuffed Crust pizza ordered. Classics or Favourites pizzas only.

Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Valid at participating stores only.

Terms and conditions apply. Ask in store for details. Offer valid until 31/10/2012.

5

News 4–5

Monday May 13th 2013 | @gairrhyddnews

“I’m hoping to get a llama...”

Rowan Whittington News Writer

Our Elected Officer team will be travelling around the University campus during the exam period, giving out help, advice, free food and drink as well as other freebies to nervous students.

This year, exams will be held from May 13th to June 14th and this time of year is known as one of the most stressful. Revision Aid, a new scheme, aims to benefit Cardiff students who are feel-

ing the pressure. In partnership with the Advice and Representation Centre (ARC), the team will be there to help in any way they can with support, free gifts and a petting zoo, which is to be located outside the Arts and Social Sciences Library.

A recent study has shown that petting animals reduces stress, so Union Development Officer, Kieran Gandhi, wants to use this to benefit Cardiff students. He said he wants to “get a llama, maybe a goat, maybe some rabbits to

stroke.” The idea has been approved, with the Arts and Social Sciences Library agreeing to host a petting zoo outside. Students will then be able to play, stroke and de-stress with the animals.

A recent study has shown that petting animals reduces stress Other universities across the country have brought in similar schemes. Aberdeen University has introduced a ‘Puppy Room’ to help students relax during revision time and Leeds University will also be hosting a few days of ‘animal fun’ including animal handling, feeding and petting.

Gandhi has been working hard to get this scheme off the ground in time for this year’s exams and, having obtained permission, he is now in the process of sourcing the animals that will be part of the petting zoo.

Law Society’s website woes Kendal Archer News Editor

The Union has recently decided to move Campus Groups to a new system called MSL. This will mean that each society will have to move their website across to the new system.

After spending a considerable amount of time and money creating and developing an impressive site last year, the Law Society are concerned that their current website will be lost as a result of the transfer.

Current President of the Law Society, Isaac Paine, has stated that, “our ideal situation (assuming Campus Groups is going for good) is that the IT department at the SU can transfer our current website across to the new site when the switchover is made.”

If this cannot be achieved, he has asked that the Union fund the development of a new website.

The society have justified this request by stating, “the SU encouraged us to drop our external website in favour of Campus Groups”, and at this time they were unaware that there would be a system change after just one year.

They have also complained that during exam period there will be precious little time for students themselves to create a new website.

The President has emphasised the importance of the website when securing funding for the Law Society, and has said that since its launch in August 2012, it has been visited over eleven thousand times. Paine said, “A professional-looking website (such as the one we have right now) is vital to securing sponsor-

ship because firms are making a commercial investment in publicity. They simply will not invest in a platform that nobody is going to visit.”

He has said that this has saved the Union a considerable amount of money; they have not had to fund the Law Society because of the sponsorship they have secured, partly as a result of their website.

The strength of feeling behind the Society’s demands has been demonstrated as almost three hundred members of the society have signed a petition in favour of the Union compensating the development of a new website if the current website cannot be successfully transferred to the new system.

Societies Officer, Adam Curtis, has responded saying, “The

Union is doing all it can to help and support societies in the move.”

He said, “I understand totally that for the few societies who have spent a long time updating their current campus group site” the move might seem frustrating.

However, he maintains that Campus Groups “has had its day.

It is hard to use and in all honestly very ugly. For ninety-five per cent of societies their individual pages are unused and full of out of date information. By deciding to move over to MSL we will be moving into an exciting new era.

This website provider can do far more than campus groups, is easier to manage for societies themselves and I believe will be far more effective at encouraging students to sign up to societies.”

Students and staff recognised at ESLAs Tom Eden

News Editor Students and staff who go ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ were recognised at the Enriching Student Life Awards on Thursday night.

Organiser Beth Button said, “the awards were a fantastic celebration of the incredible staff and students that make this University great. These awards are a true testament to the dedication of those staff, whether academic, support, or administration, who go above and beyond to ensure the students they meet have the best time at Cardiff possible.”

Vice-Chancellor Colin Riordan presented the awards in the ceremony held in Aberdare Hall.

Announcing the inaugural winner of the Vice–Chancellor’s Award for Commitment to the Student Experience, Riordan said of the winner, Sarah Williamson, that she had “been a pioneer for the University in the ways in which she has involved students as partners in Student Business.”

Giuseppe Vatalaro, winner of Most Uplifting Member of Staff received over thirty individual nominations from students.

Button added that the awards were also a chance to celebrate the student academic representatives “who put so much time and effort into gathering student feedback and improving their courses for their peers.”

The Winners...

Vice–Chancellor’s Award for Commitment to the Student Experience: Most Helpful Member of Staff Award: Most Effective Member of Staff: Personal Tutor of the Year: Most Uplifting Staff Member: Most Innovative Member of Staff: Enriching Student Life Award: The Endsleigh Employability Award: Rep. of the Year: Individual Contribution: Student Rep. Co-Ordinator of the Year:

Sarah Williamson Denise Davies Luke Sloan Rob Thomas Giuseppe Vatalaro Ralph Fevre Kath Foot Elliot Pill Ollie Wannell Louise Paramore Keren Williamson

7

Opinion 7-9

Monday May 13th 2013 | @gairrhyddop

For & Against

Are conventional lectures outdated?

Following Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales’ claim that lectures will die as more university courses move online, Jonny Goode and Chris Williams assess whether this move would be a positive thing

For

‘

Lectureslidesareonline?...I’llsee you f****s at finals’ everybody’s seen the meme of the ‘lazy college kid’ but I genuinely am that kid. I attended perhaps fifty percent of my lectures this semester for one simple reason, they bore the proverbial tits off me.

Out of the roughly ten lecturers I’ve had in University, I’ve had two who inspired me and only one who I felt was truly dedicated to the moulding of bright young minds. It always seemed to me that lecturers couldn’t wait to run back to their little hidey-holes and get on with their research.

So basically, we’re left with a scenario where nobody wins, lecturers are drawn away from their precious research and I’m sat there, hungover (or possibly still inebriated), bored and losing a little bit of faith in humanity. The question is then, how do we remedy this situation?

It’s easy, get rid of lectures. If Jimmy Wales is right and online University lectures are the future of higher education then I welcome it with open arms. If you think about it logically, it’s the perfect format to promote a ‘the more you put in, the more you get out’ attitude, if your commitment to your education is left entirely up to you then as I said, you’ll only get out what you put in.

Also, it would allow students to

work at their own pace, rather than having pre-designated, narrow timeframes which they may miss due to sickness or personal issues.

You could argue that going to lectures is the one thing that unites all University students and that the tradition of living together and the social aspect of lectures would be lost and would fragment the University experience for all. You could even go so far as to suggest that there would be no point in moving away from home if University lectures were put online.

I would argue that nearly all of that is irrelevant. Firstly, I know very few people who live exclusively with coursemates, the fact is we need space from coursemates when we’re not in lectures/revising with them. Secondly, we don’t move away from home to go to lectures, we move away from home because by eighteen we’re sick of our parents and want a little independence. As for lectures being the one thing we all have in common, I’m sorry but no, everyone goes out, everyone loves a night out with friends, whether for a drink, a rave or a casual shisha session. I’d argue that that’s the one thing that binds all students together (among things such as sports teams and societies). So where’s the petition to put all lectures online? Just let me grab my pen.

I

“

It would allow students to work at their own pace rather than having pre-designated, narrow timeframes

Against

paid a lot of money to go to University. Not as much as people are now, but I still paid a lot.

Whilst many others would miss lectures due to hangovers and not wanting to go, my thoughts were always with the amount that I was paying to be there.

In fact, considering I had only seven hours a week of lectures I pretty much would’ve had nothing else to do if I didn’t go to lectures.

Of course, some of the lectures I went to were useless - it’s an unfortunate fact that some of them just are - but, for the most part, going to the lectures made everything a whole lot clearer than being sat a home reading the notes up on a computer.

By going to lectures I was also receiving the information in three ways. I’d have the slides in front of me that I’d skim beforehand (don’t judge me), I’d hear the lecturer explain those ideas and I’d then be able to clarify and understand what they were saying by asking questions if I didn’t get it.

Speaking to someone in person is far easier than trying to do it online.

The first argument that I feel should be quickly dismissed is the idea that students can learn at their own pace if they can do it online. Having signed up to a total of five online courses, I know for a

fact that online lectures are actually a very good way of putting off doing anything.

In the five courses I signed up to, I decided that my pace was to remain stationery and never even bother to go on the website.

If I didn’t have that structure of actually attending lectures, then I wouldn’t have done any work.

Equally, if you don’t have lectures, then what on earth are you paying for by attenidng university?

Whilst I understand that people see eLearning as the future (Harvard launched there’s fairly recently and hundreds of websites exist speicifically for eLearning) as a student, I want to see that I’m getting value for money.

If everything moves online then all I’m paying for - effectively - is for someone to update a website to get my lecture slides / videos / recordings off of and to sit at home and do ‘on my own time’.

There is a lot of value in having a lecturer at the front of a room telling you information. It gives you the opportunity to learn in the way that you want: if you learn by hearing, you can listen and if you learn by watching you watch.

It seems quite brazen to suggest that you can substitute a University education with the internet. Call me old fashioned, but I think you need structure and someone there telling you information for you to actually learn.

8 / Opinion

Welcome to Costa del Cathays

Jemima Walker looks at the startling effects the sun has upon Cathays

C

osta del Cathays, and we’re reaching highs of...

Well, 14 degrees. At best.

As the sun comes out and the aroma of warm bins wafts through the streets, Cathays seems to undergo some bizarre transformation, with some equally bizarre behaviour to match...

If you weren’t already aware of the moderate temperatures outside your bedroom window, you need only turn to Facebook.

The sun comes out, and the already avid status updater and picture uploader goes into overdrive. This is great for them, what better way to let everyone know what an absolutely, brilliantly fantastic day you’re having!? Because, you know, it’s not like they’re almost definitely doing exactly the same thing as you... By early afternoon your newsfeed is saturated with instagrammed photographs of their #BBQ in the #park with their #friends because its #summer... #morons.

The most baffling thing about the ‘summer’ (sorry, #summer) is the outfits which seem to appear, which people really seem to think are kosher. Largely, they’re offensive. Firstly, an obvious gripe, flip-flops. Yes, rugby players/males involved in similar other testosterone driven team sports, I’m looking

at you. You, and your hairy little toes. For nearly all of this year, your feet have been cocooned in your socks. They’ve seen little to no sun, and you’ve developed a minor vitamin D deficiency.

Your toenails are looking yellow, a little soft, and we’d all like you to put them away.

This talk of toes leads me on

to one of life’s greatest problems (providing, of course, you have the good grace to refrain from wearing flip-flops)... You’ve put your trainers on, (maybe your deck-shoes, if thats what you’re into), and you’re faced with the age old ‘sock, no sock’ dilemma.

A real nightmare. Aesthetically, the answer is no, you don’t wear

them. But your feet are going to get really sweaty. Blisters will happen, and frankly, having been wrapped up in your jeans all year, your ankles aren’t looking their best. You put them on, and comfort is greatly improved. But, you run the risk of looking like a bit of a dork. You will look like a total dork. Maybe the rugby

players are on to something...?

No, they’re not.

Aside from footwear, I take issue with vests. Example a) A man in the library who had taken the baffling decision to wear a vest emblazoned with ‘TUBING VANG VIENG’. Vest in Wales?

No. Vest in library? Absolutely not. TUBING vest in library?!

Someone help him. Migrate to the park, and people seem to forget why they needed their vests in the first place. As footballs and disposable BBQ’s come out, so do an army of dazzlingly white chests and stomachs which have been kept in the dark for far too long. Ladies, on the other hand, seem generally to have opted for their bikinis. To where are you swimming? I assume you’re planning on taking a quick dip in the Taf? Enjoy getting polio.

People LOVE beer gardens, and I get that. Beer gardens are nice. So is sitting in your actual garden, if you have one of them.

Many on the other hand, do not have gardens, and choose to take literally all the furniture in the house, outside the house. It is here that they sit and bask in the sun, amongst their pungent bins.

Please don’t do this. It’s not nice, and you look weird. For today, everyone will continue to bulk buy burgers from Sainsbury’s as if cows are going out of fashion.I hope you’re hungry... Forecast is rain tomorrow.

when this girl was described to me as ‘bubbly’ - a word which, in reality, invariably means either ‘chubby’ or ‘more boring than a plain cheese sandwich’.

I lied earlier, the worst thing you can do actually comes in three parts - the third being that you don’t shut up about the epically mundane existence known as your “life”. When I’d nearly reached the end of my meal and my date had hardly begun to munch her way through

hers, I knew things wouldn’t work out. The only way to shut her up was to kiss her, and hope that she was a better kisser than she was storyteller.

Sadly I proceeded to drown in a sea of saliva, and thus discovered that bad kissing is the second worst mistake you can make on a date.

First date mistakes

A list of worst first date mistakes has recently been compiled.

Opinion asked two writers to share their experiences with us

I’m in the theatre Darling! Éponine’s Understudy Opinion Writer

The worst mistake you can make on a date is to lie. Fabricating a lifestyle can prove to be very entertaining, especially if you’re not looking for any commitment, but it can pan out horribly, horribly wrong.

Once, on a night out in Mahiki (a very posh, very rich nightclub in London) I got talking to an extremely attractive guy at the bar and we ended up sitting in a booth and talking for ages. He began reeling off facts about his amazing life, from his famous friends to his successful job as a property developer. So when it came to my life story, rather than telling him the truth, that I was a penniless student who’s jet setting lifestyle went as far

as an all inclusive to Magaluf, I told him that I was a successful musical theatre performer.

It’d always been a dream of mine to be in the musical Les Miserables, and as I’d seen it in the West End about ten times already, I felt well equipped enough to pretend that I was a member of the chorus. Oh, but I hadn’t prepared myself for the shocked face that greeted me. The guy’s brother just so happened to be one of the choreographer’s for the show and he knew a lot of the cast and started reeling off names and asking me whether I liked them or not… I panicked, and the drunker I got the more I wanted to convince him of my budding musical theatre career.

So my worst date ever ended up me serenading this poor bloke in the middle of a nightclub with my rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream.’

Let’s just say – we most definitely did not swap numbers.

Like watching paint dry A Bored Man Opinion Writer

What’s the worst mistake you can make on a first date? It comes in two parts. The first is being painfully please-let-itend boring. The second is not realising that listening to you is the aural equivalent of watching paint dry.

I ended up on a date with a girl who upon first inspection was quite a catch. I thought to myself: ‘I’ve done alright here’.

She was pretty, and friendly and we seemed to have things in common. Unfortunately I fell for the age old trick of having a friend telling me how ‘absolutely lovely and beautiful’ her best mate was.

Men, beware, rarely is this true.

In my desperate dry patch I didn’t even see the warning signs

Opinion 7–9

Monday May 6th 2013 | @gairrhyddop

Y

ou might be forgiven for having missed the official state opening of parliament last week. The annual ceremony, in which The Queen outlines the government’s plans for the coming year, was somewhat overshadowed by the announcement of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. This hijacking was epitomised with the latter taking the lead slot on the BBC 6 o’clock News, with some suggesting that it was no coincidence that the staunch Labourite Glaswegian chose Wednesday to make his announcement.

Nevertheless, this ceremony did occur last week. The speech, essentially the government’s legislative to-do list, raised important questions of its own.

Amongst the fifteen points, the most telling were the plans to curb immigration, simplify the pensions system as well as the ever-present yet unfulfilled promise to build a stronger economy. The anti-immigrant sentiment of the government didn’t quite sound right when coming from the lips of a woman, sat next to her Greek immigrant husband, with the blood of her German immigrant ancestry running through her veins, yet the gov-

ernment didn’t pass up the opportunity for the Queen to echo their message.

Despite this speech being drafted prior to the recent local elections, it will no doubt be seen by some as an attempt to quell the rise of UKIP, a suggestion picked up on by Ed Miliband who told the Prime Minister, “You can’t out-Farage, Farage”.

However, it isn’t the plans of the government that I took issue with upon my viewing. After all, it was much of the same from a government that shows no sign of compromise. It was the irrelevance of this ceremony to the every day lives of the public, the public that parliament is elected to represent, and the glorification of an unelected head of state that once again brought out the republican in me.

We are part of a society where an unelected head of state ordering a man with a black rod to summon the House of Commons is deemed an acceptable part of democracy. Are we really, as a nation, so apathetic and accepting of the status quo that we think this is a suitable process? Thank goodness for the annual jibe of Bolsover MP Dennis Skinner which brought a sense of normality to the proceedings. This years offering was “Royal Mail for sale,

Twitter

Queen’s head privatised”.

Upon the Queen’s arrival at parliament, the pomp and grandeur shone, almost literally through the hordes of jewels with which she was decorated, a frankly embarrassing light on our so-called democracy. I don’t dislike the Queen, in fact from what I have seen she seems quite pleasant, but as I sat watching the ceremony I couldn’t help but feel that her position is completely untenable in a modern democracy.

As the monarch took her place in the House of Lords, her heir Prince Charles and wife Camilla also took their places on respective thrones. Their inclusion alongside Elizabeth for this occasion was reason for further eyebrows to be raised in relation to the Queen’s health and subsequently her suitability for the position. It would appear to some that the Prince of Wales is being readied for when his time as King comes. This of course, in a week where it was announced that Charles would replace the Queen in attending the Commo1nwealth Summit in Sri Lanka, with Palace spokespersons claiming that they are looking to cut down the amount of long haul flights The Queen makes.

Perhaps it is reasonable to allow an elderly lady to restrict the number of long haul flights she takes in order to maintain her health. But ask yourself, in what other job would you be permitted to maintain your post if you were no longer suitable to carry out the duties that go with it? I began this column by mentioning the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager whose genuine achievement means he is largely considered the greatest manager in history. It’s an apt comparison to note that his deteriorating health was part of the reason for his resignation, as he could not fulfil his duties to the same high standard as the rest of his decorated career.

Here, we saw the misplaced

authority that the Queen has at her disposal displayed through her rhetoric, and the hypocrisy of her position outlined through her speech. With numerous references to a ‘fairer society’ and one of ‘aspiration’, these were words served up with a painful irony, with the Queen’s position being achieved through no aspiration whatsoever, and a monarchy being perhaps the greatest epitome of an unfair society.

With her majesty’s constant referencing of ‘my government’, the speech then had me asking the q u e s -

9

tion, just what makes this your government? What have you achieved, who has given you the authority to assume ownership of our elected members of parliament? Of course, the answer is nobody, and for all of the many arguments that are put forward in defence of the monarchy, ones about the tradition and history which is supposedly embodied through our monarchy, I find them heavily outweighed by the argument for democracy and taking a progressive approach to our political systems.

12 / Politics

Queen’s Speech lays out Cameron’s plan for year ahead Greg Landon recaps how her Majesty outlined immigration, spending and social changes

I

didn’t grow up in Britain, so maybe that is why I don’t fully understand the concept of the Queen’s Speech.

Watching it last week, I couldn’t even figure out why it is called the Queen’s, when Elizabeth II clearly didn’t write any of it, or even attempt to add her own opinion on its content. Basically, the Queen sits on a throne like some sort of jewel-encrusted town crier, and reads a list of things the government says it will do in the next 12 months.

Maybe its the in ner foreigner in me that is missing something, but I really couldn’t understand why a mostly golden room full of redcoat officers was necessary to read out a typically vague and run-of-the-mill set of political promises. To be fair though, if I was David Cameron I would have loved the opportunity. You get to publicise all your ideas without having go into any great detail, and without having to deal the animosity of the Commons, or the insistence of the press. Everyone, all the country’s biggest media outlets and political figures just sit there, respectfully and quietly, before going out to give their analysis of proceedings. Bizarre is the word mmmmmm

UKIP’s rise makes immigration all the more prominent that springs to mind.

Anyway, onto the actual content. The most noteworthy announcement came in the form of a proposed immigration bill which would regulate migrant access to the NHS, force landlords to check the immigration status of tenants and allow foreign criminals to be deported more easily. All these are tougher immigration measures, and should frankly come as no surprise. While the speech’s content was finalised before last week’s unprecedented electoral surge from UKIP, Nigel Farage’s party has been growing steadily in the last few years, mainly thanks to disgruntled Tory voters.

UKIP took a 23% share of the national vote across 34 local elections, only 2% less than the Conservatives. They are known almost exclusively as an anti-EU and anti-immigration party, so their strong showing at elections were national issues should theoretically take a back seat, will clearly be enough to force a Tory rethink. Expect Cameron’s party to continue taking harsher mea-

sures towards both immigration and the EU from now until 2015’s general election.

Elsewhere, there was renewed support for the controversial HS1 and HS2 rail lines that will attempt to connect the North and South of England in record time.

The Queen announced a bill that if given parliamentary permission, will begin phase one of the £16 billion project. The bill almost means construction of HS2 could begin much quicker than expected.

The speech also included a series of less glamorous proposed social changes such as bringing

others of this government. Austerity and reduced spending will continue be to be major principles, with the exception of the High Speed Rail; small social changes will continue to be introduced to fix “Broken Britain” as Mr.Cameron has called it; and the government keeps trying to

appear tough on immigration and Europe. The UKIP threat makes that last point all the more prominent, but immediately, the Queen’s threw up few things we couldn’t have already guessed, and certainly nothing extraordinary.

There was renewed support for the controversial HS1 and HS2 rail lines forward the rise in retirement age, cracking down on “dangerous dogs” and increasing customer protection, all of which seem fairly solid. The most ambiguous, and potentially controversial social measure, was the announcement of a cap on social care costs in England, although no actual figures were mentioned.

It appears then that this next year will be very much like the

The Curious Case of Nadine Dorries

Politics writer Greg Landon looks at the reinstated Tory MP with an intersting political past To say it’s been an eventful year for Mid-Bedfordshire MP Nadine Dorries would be a bit of an understatement. Last April she was in hot water with her own Conservative Party after she labelled David Cameron and George Osborne “two arrogant posh boys who don’t know the price of milk”. Being on the right of her party, Dorries has also been informally linked to UKIP on several occasions, which has undoubtedly further upset Tory leadership.

In November, she controversially appeared on the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity….Get me out of Here without the permission of then-Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell. Dorries argues Mitchell had given her permission for a holiday, but he maintains he had no idea of her intention to take part in the show. As a result, and potentially because of previous clashes with the leadership, she was dismissed from the Conservative Party and has had to stand as an Independent since.

Despite all this though, Dorries is being welcomed back

by the Tories, with chief whip George Young allowing her to return imminently. A Conservative spokesperson said, “The chief whip has restored the whip to Nadine Dorries with immediate effect for the start of the new parliamentary session.”

There are a number of reasons that could have inspired this Tory change of heart. UKIP’s recent strong poll showing is likely to generally push Conservatives slightly to the right, and Dorries is very Euro-sceptic. Also, their general showing in local elections last week suggests they can use the help of any experienced MPs they can get. Finally, Dorries own assertion of “arrogant posh boys” is seen as quite a commonly held view in regards to the party elite, so having a former nurse as an MP, may go a small way to changing this perception.

Ultimately, the Tories could simply have decided Nadine Dorries has served her punishment, but it does seem slightly coincidental that this previous party critic has been so quickly reinstated following a disap-

pointing local election showing.

All previous animosity seems to have disappeared remarkably quickly with the Conservatives saying “Nadine has apologised”, while the MP herself said she was “delighted”. Whatever the reasoning, it seems unlikely this will be the last bit of controversy surrounding Ms.Dorries.

“

All previous animosity appears to have disappeared remarkably

13

Politics 12-13

Monday 13th28th 20132013 | @gairrhyddpol Monday May January | @gairrhyddpol

Former Tory Chancellor adds to Eurosceptic debate Nigel Lawson has added to the flames of the Europe debate by stating Britain would be better off outside of the EU causing a reaction from Cameron and Clegg. Matt Harding reports

N

igel Lawson once again made his position on Britain in the EU known this week by stating “I strongly suspect that there would be a positive advantage to the UK in leaving the single market.”

A former Chancellor of the Exchequer and long serving member of Margret Thatcher’s cabinet, Lawson once voted to join the European Union during the UK’s entry in 1975, however his recent comments have detailed mainly economic factors as to the reason for leaving the EU. Lawson has previously made comments saying, “In my judgement the economic gains (of leaving the EU) would substantially outweigh the costs.” However, this carries little weight in the way of fact. In a study taken in 2000, there is a suggestion that in the long run, the UK’s GDP would actually be 2.25 per cent lower, if Britain were to leave the European Union.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg have both been quick to come out and defend Britain’s current position with Cameron saying, “I want to give people a proper choice between Britain remaining in a reformed EU or leaving that EU. That’s the choice that people will have. That is the choice that people want. And there is only one way to get it and that will be by supporting the Conservatives at the next

election. Frankly, I welcome the attention that is being put on this very clear promise.”

Clegg has also taken an approach of dismissal, claiming that the comments were just adding to an already fiery debate in the conservative party and claiming that they should focus on more important issues.

Clegg was also seen to be towing the Coalition line, stating, “he was not in favour of a referendum for nothing” but if it were important to British People, then a referendum would be supported.

There is additional pressure on the Conservative Party as a result of UKIP’s success in the local elections. This result has caused growing calls for the Conservatives to provide tougher measures for Europe, and lead David Cameron to reconfirm their commitment to provide a referendum on Europe in the next parliamentary term, should the conservatives be successful.

Nick Clegg has openly been opposed to leaving the European Union in the last, one suggesting that there would be 3000 jobs at risk if Britain were to leave.

However, a study conducted in 2000, showed that whilst there 3000 jobs indirectly connected to membership, it is unlikely they would disappear if Britain exited.

The labour Party will greatly benefit from the growing fractions in the Conservative Party.

With the Tories splitting between

The son of former Pakistan President Yousuf Raza Gilani was kidnapped at a political

the Eurosceptic group, and those supporting Cameron’s line of remaining in the EU. With the electorate support moving away from the Lib Dems and towards Labour in marginal seats, and the growing move of the conservative voter towards the UKIP party line on Europe. Labour could see unexpected gains in tradi-

tionally Conservative Seats.

The controversy is likely to be on going for the next two years, as to whether Britain will move towards a nation which no longer want to be a part of the wider European Community. Largely the information, which has come out of recent studies, is that Britain is likely to remain in a simi-

Berlusconi convinction upheld

lar, if not slightly worse off, position to its current situation if it were to leave. The issue comes when politicians use minor facts to support their positions over membership, as its likely to be a key talking point for the 2015 general election.

Politics world Boston bomber buried

Former Italian PM handed four year prison and five year public office ban for tax evasion

The election may well be cancelled

Tamerlan Tsarnaev gets laid to rest at an undisclosed location in Massachusetts to avoid uproar

14 / Science

Bristly tongues help bats feed Alexey Underwood Science Editor

A study due to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has demonstrated that a species of nectareating bat is capable of engorging its tongue with blood to inflate bristles on its surface to help mop up nectar.

This extremely bizarre evolutionary adaptation, found so far in the Glossophaga soricina species of bat, has been termed as the ‘haemodynamic nectar mop’ and is believed to significantly increase the surface area and reach of the bats’ tongues.

Bats of these species were previously believed to have moplike structures on the tips of their tongues, which passively soaked up nectar droplets. However, this is not the case; the suspected mop strands, after detailed scrutiny with an electron microscope, were actually found to be closer in structure and function to inflatable and retractable Velcro bristles. Callie Harper, a biologist involved in the study, was notably surprised by the development, and explained: “we don’t know of any other mammal that uses blood to inflate bristles on the top of their tongue during feeding – this is a novel discovery!”

The research took place at Brown University, USA, and it is hoped that the findings could provide biological inspiration for cutting-edge medical and industrial applications. Such developments are known as biomimicry, and some well-known examples include robotic arms inspired by elephants’ trunks, the COM-BAT bat-inspired military spy drone and the famous kingfisher beakaping Japanese shinkansen bul-

let train. For example, the inflatable bristles could be applied to medical endoscopes in order to keep blood vessels or intestinal sections open and clean during surgery.

The tongue bristles are believed to inflate and perk up

when muscles in the tongue contract during feeding. This contraction and squeezing of the muscles pushes blood into the tip of the flying rodent’s tongue, which causes the bristles to extend and fan out, dramatically increasing the tongue’s potential

access to the nectar. It is thought that the bats have the same extensive amount of control over their tongues as squids have over their tentacles.

Although the Glossophaga soricina is the first mammal to be discovered using tongue bris-

tles, Harper and the other Brown University researchers speculate that other animals may also employ similar as-of-yet undiscovered mechanisms while feeding.

Possible candidates include the honey possum, as well as other nectar-feeding bats.

Measurements of brain anatomy found to predict academic potential Alexey Underwood Science Editor

A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that children with the largest hippocampuses (brain structures that play a role in memory formation and learning) and most profound brain structure interconnections showed the most improvement after an intensive maths course.

These findings suggest that children struggling with their maths lessons might not necessarily be slacking off, but may simply not have the appropriate brain structures for intensive mathematical learning.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 24 third-graders were taken, and the relative dimensions of brain structures and intrabrain connections were compared within the group. Following this, the children underwent intensive maths courses, and any improvements in mathematical abilities were correlated with differences in brain anatomy.

The researchers at Stanford University found that children who had larger and more active hippocampuses responded much better to the tuition and demonstrated improved maths grades compared to the children with smaller hippocampuses.

The hippocampus, which

in Greek literally means “seahorse”, named as such due to its similarity to the tiny fish, is predominantly associated with spacial memory and navigation.

In a similar study, the worldfamous neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire investigated the hippocampus sizes of London taxi drivers, whose lives depend on efficient navigating skills. They were found to have far larger hippocampus structures than agematched non-taxi drivers. However, this brain structure’s role in mathematical and academic learning has not been extensively investigated until now.

The study also found that the usual measures often used to predict academic improve-

ment, such as prior maths abilities and IQ scores, were, in fact, not reliable means of prediction.

At least, compared to the MRI scans. “It wasn’t the case that the kids who were good at math were the ones who learned the most”, explained study collaborator Miriam Rosenberg-Lee. He added: “at all different levels of ability, it was how big the brain area was that predicted how much a student was going to learn.”

However, research assistant Anna Swigart was more cautious about the implications of the study. She warned against assuming that hippocampal size was an effective predictor of how much students would benefit from all types of maths learning.

The Standford research focused solely on memorisation, so, for example, in-depth understanding of mathematical concepts was not tested.

“There are no implications other than saying that there are individual differences in learning and we can predict from the brain which children will benefit from this particular memorisation training more than other children,” Swigart explained.

“But it could be that there are other types of training that other children would benefit more from, and that’s something that we don’t know.”

Science 14–15

Monday May 13th 2013 | @gairrhyddsci

InSight

Cardiff and partners launch catalyst

15

3D printers could create invisibility cloaks

David Mason Science Writer

Cardiff University has strengthened its international reputation by becoming one of the major partners behind the establish0ment of the new UK Catalysis Hub. The hub, which is a £12.9 million pound investment by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), is tasked with providing strategic direction to catalytic research in the UK. A catalyst is a material that speeds up a reaction and plays a major role in taking a reaction from the small scale laboratory into the large scale industrial process. The most well-known catalysts are enzymes but catalysts are also present in car exhausts reducing the pollution cars produce.0Prof. Hutchings FRS of Cardiff University will support the UK Catalysis Hub in this area, as0the0inaugural director and principle investigator of e0nvironmental c0atalysis.

Prof. Hutchings is best known internationally for his work on gold catalysts. He was one of the first to show this noble metal was not quite so noble, exhibiting extraordinary reactivity when formed as nanoparticles.

He is also director of one of the largest catalysis research groups in the world, based in Cardiff University. Regarding the Catalysis Hub, he said “This is a wonderful opportunity for UK catalysis to work together and tackle really scientific challenges. The launch meeting gives us the opportunity to show the potential we have for society as a whole”.

0The UK Catalysis Hub is based in the Research Complex at Harwell (RCaH), Oxfordshire. Thirty Universities are involved in a multidisciplinary approach to catalyst research and design. RCaH has access to the Diamond Light Source synchrotron and ISIS neutron source,0instruments not many institutes have access to, but which are0invaluable to catalyst research.

Scott Davies Science Editor

Seemingly a work of fiction, invisibility cloaks able to camouflage the wearer completely have long been the subject of fantasy. However, thanks to the developments of a research team at Duke University, technology may be one step closer to making this a reality.

Despite being relatively new, development in 3D printing technologies has been advancing rapidly in recent months. Recent notable productions, aside from this development, include a working gun from a defence group in the US. The breakthrough in cloaking technology at Duke University comes from a team led

by Assistant Research Professor Yaroslav Urzhumov. They have produced a plastic ‘invisibility cloak’ with a standard 3D printer.

Unfortunately, the ‘invisibility cloak’ presently only masks microwave beams rather than visible light, hiding shadows rather than the objects themselves. While the team had announced technology similar to this back in 2006, the most recent announcement, within the last week, has shown development of technology capable of shielding three dimensional objects of up to one foot in diameter from microwave beams, hiding their shadows.

Urzhumov stated that: “The design of the cloak eliminates the ‘shadow’ that would be cast,” adding that “In effect, the bright, highly reflective object, like a metal cylinder, is made invisible.”

Created using simple technology, Urzhumov has announced plans for the device in Optics Letters that are functional on any standard 3D printer and printable in three to seven hours.

While this may not make the design a distinct possibility for many of us, 3D printing appears set to become commonly used technology within society.

The device itself appears to be a plastic disk with many holes. The location of these holes has been devised through an algorithm to allow optimal placement for deflecting microwave beams.

When an object is placed in the centre of this disk, the ‘cloak’ deflects microwave beams transmitted at it.

Whilst Urzhumov claims to have successfully simulated cloaking technologies able to hide objects from visible light, making them truly invisible, such technology requires further research at present. It is hoped that this microwave cloaking device will however pave the way for further advances in the field.

19 / Societies

M

ay 4th saw Cardiff University hold their annual Societies Awards. The evening celebrates the hard that work that goes into the development of societies and the people who help the process along the way. One of these people is the current Societies Officer, Adam Curtis, who said of the event, ‘everything went to plan and it was an excellent and emotional round off to the year’. Approximately 250 guests entered the Great Hall in the union where a singer with acoustic guitar accompaniment was playing for the arriving guests.

A three-course meal was served, while the hosts, former Cardiff University students Luke and Ed, provided entertainment.

Luke and Ed have now moved on to work in TV and recruitment, yet they founded their comedic double act right here on Cardiff’s Xpress Radio.

After the meal, the winners of the awards were finally announced. There were 14 awards to be won, each with a runner-up and a winner. The awards included Best Newcomer for the Arab Society; Most Improved Society, which went to the Maths Society; the Law Society won Best Big Society, and Best Small Society was awarded to the Duke of Edinburgh Society.

2012–13 was only the second year for Student Run Self Help (SRSH), which was runner-up to Nightline in Student Led Service of the Year. Catherine Lenain, this year’s coordinator of SRSH, said she was so proud SRSH has been recognised as a student led service.

Ellen Green, 2012–13 president of Act One Drama Society won Best Committee Member and gave an insight to the importance of committees for societies to be able to function; “I was so surprised and touched that my committee had nominated me, and that the Union appreciates the work that goes into running a society like Act One. It’s essentially a full time job, and I’ve loved every minute, so it means a lot to have an award which recognises it.”

Overall, the evening was judged a massive success by all present. Elliot Howells, incoming VP Societies and Campaigns, praised his predecessor and all those involved with societies this year. “The evening was a massive success and Adam and the team deserve every credit. It was fantastic to see societies and their committees being rewarded for their hard work and dedication over the past year. The humbled passion displayed by committee members was overwhelming and I cannot wait to work with such a committed group of people next year!”

The Societies Awards 2013

And the winner is...

Best Newcomer: Winner: Arab Society Runner-up: New Entertainment Most Improved Society Winner: Maths Society Runner-up: Law Society Best Society Activity Winner: Pole Dance Society – Pole Core Runner-up: Jazz Society – Weekly Jam Sessions RAG Award for Best Fundraiser Winner: STAR Runner-up: Healthcare Music Society

Words by Grace Cole

Go Global Award – Best Event:

Committee Member of the Year:

Student Led Service of the Year:

Winner: Malaysian Students’ Society – Festival of Diversity Runner-up: Jazz Society – 1940s Night

Winner: Ellen Green (Act One) Runner-up: Rebecca Gardner (Jazz Society)

Winner: Nightline Runner-up: Student Run Self Help.

Best Small Event:

Best Small Society:

Best Go Global Performance:

Winner: Slash Hip Hop – Workshop Weekend Runner-up: RAG – Lost

Winner: Duke of Edinburgh Society Runner-up: Green Society.

Best Big Event:

Best Association of the Year:

Winner: Real Ale and Cider Society – Beer Fest Runner-up: Sports and Exercise Medicine – Olympic Sports Conference

Winner: International Students’ Association Runner-up: Women’s Association.

Winner: Arab Society Runner-up: YUVA Indian Society and Pakistani Society Most Committed Society Member: Winner: Holly Rostill (Expression) Runner-up: Ruth Munday (Christian Union)

Best Big Society: Winner: Law Society Runner-up: Psy Cardiff

Societies 16

Monday May 13th 2013 | @tafod

16

Maes B 2013; Yr hen a’r newydd Anna George Taf-od

Ar raglen radio Lisa Gwilym ar yr 8fed o Fai, cyhoeddwyd pwy fydd yn chwarae ym Maes B, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru Sir Ddinbych a’r cyffuniau eleni. Yr uchafbwynt fydd gig olaf Dafydd Iwan a’r Band a gynhelir ar y nos Sadwrn olaf. Meddai Guto Brychan, Trefnydd Maes B: “Mae hwn yn ddiwedd cyfnod i ni yng Nghymru a’r teimlad oedd y dylid nodi hyn trwy gynnig y slot olaf ym Maes B eleni i Dafydd a’r Band. Bu Dafydd yn gefnogwr brwd o Faes B ers blynyddoedd, ac mae’i ddylanwad yn dal i’w weld yng ngwaith nifer o berfformwyr heddiw.”

Yn cefnogi Dafydd Iwan yn ystod y dathliad arbennig a’I noson fawreddog fydd Y Bandana, Al Lewis a’r Bromas. Ymateb gymysg a gafodd y penderfyniad I gyflwyno prif noson ieuenctid yr yl I Ddafydd Iwan ar wefan Twitter. Wrth gwrs, mae’n hawdd deall hynny wrth ystyried na fyddai dilynwyr y sîn heddiw o bosib yn ei gatagoreiddio fel rhan o artistiaid cynhyrchiol Sin Roc Gymraeg y presennol. Ond, ni ellir gwadu cefnogaeth Dafydd Iwan I Faes B dros y blynydd-

oedd, a pharhau mae ei apêl I gynulleidfaoedd hen ac ifanc Cymru. Yn sicr, fel y dywed ei hun; “Yma o Hyd” y mae Dafydd Iwan ac edrychaf ymlaen I weld sawl cenhedlaeth yn mentro I Faes B ar Sadwrn olaf yr Eisteddfod i’w glywed yn canu rhai o’I eiriau chwedlonol am y tro olaf.

Dathlu artistiaid hen a newydd fydd Maes B eleni felly a disgwyliwn I fwynhau amrywiaeth o fandiau ifanc ac amrywiol yn ôl eu genres. Mwynhau noson o fandiau byw amlycaf y sîn a wnawn ar y nos Wener. Yn arwain y noson fydd Yr Ods ac yn cefnogi fydd y Candelas, Gwenno, Gwyllt ac Y ffug – cyfuniad o’r hen stejars a bandiau fydd yn profi gwefr llwyfan Maes B am y tro cyntaf.

Noson llawer mwy gwerinol ac ymlaciol fydd y nos I a u gyda Cowbois Rhos Botwnnog yn arwain a Colorama, Sen segur, plant duw a’r triawd gwerinol Plu yn cefnogi. Mynd nôl at ei gwreiddiau y mae Maes B ar ei noson agoriadol sef y nos Fercher trwy eto gyflwyno rhai o fandiau byw gorau Cymru gan gynnwys Hud, Swnami, r.seiliog, violas a Y Reu. Yn ystod y blynyddoedd diwethaf mae Maes B wedi profi beirniadaeth chwyrn am yr arlwy gerddorol a gynigir ganddi, tref-

niant y gigiau ac yn bennaf oll y gynulleidfa a dargedir gan yr yl.

Yn sicr, mae Maes B yn denu ystod oedran eang o ieuenctid Cymru gyda’r oedran o bosib yn ymestyn o 14-24 ar gyfartaledd.

Tasg anodd yw plesio pawb felly ac anochel bron yw’r cwynion a’r hollt rhwng ieuenctid dan ddeunaw a dros ddeunaw sy’n honni nad oes darpariaeth ddigonol ar eu cyfer. Mewn gwirionedd, ymddengys nad yw’r broblem yma’n deillio o Faes B a’r gigiau ei hun, ond yn hytrach o’r maes ieuenctid sef safle campio maes B lle gwelir yr ystod oedran eang hwnnw’n campio yn yr un cae.

Yn sgil cwynion syrffedus cynulleidfa Maes B flwyddyn ar ôl blwyddyn, eleni cynhaliwyd adolygiad gan drefnydd yr yl

Guto Brychan er mwyn gwella’r ddarpariaeth.

Gofynwyd I ieueunctid Cymru o bob oed I lenwi holiadur ar sail eu barn hwy am un o ddigwyddiadau cerddorol mwyaf y Sîn. Meddai Guto Brychan: ““Ond nid da lle gellir gwell, ac fe gododd nifer o bobl rai pethau yr hoffent eu gweld yn cael eu datblygu neu’u gwella, ac rydan ni wedi gwrando ac wedi mynd ati i geisio gwella’r ddarpariaeth ar gyfer pobl ifanc o 16 oed i fyny. Gobeithio y bydd y newidiadau hyn yn cael croeso eleni yn Sir Ddinbych, ac fe fydd rhagor i ddod y flwyddyn nesaf pan gynhelir yr Eisteddfod yn Sir Gâr.”

Beth yw’r newidiadau felly?

Creu gofod arbennig ar gyfer pobl ifanc ar y Maes dan y teitl Caffi Maes B, gyda rhaglen o weithgareddau yn ystod yr wythnos, gan gynnwys sesiynau cerddorol, sgyrsiau a gweithgareddau anffurfiol. Bydd hefyd yn lle i bobl ifanc ddod i ymlacio a chymdeithasu; Ystyried cynnig mynediad rhatach i Maes B ar gyfer unrhyw un gyda thocyn Maes dilys am y diwrnod hwnnw; Defnyddio fflagiau, baneri a ‘bunting’ er mwyn addurno’r ardal a chreu rhagor o ymdeimlad o yl;

Parhau i gynnal Maes B ar y Maes ddechrau’r wythnos gyda’r yl yn symud i Faes Pebyll Maes B o’r nos Fercher ymlaen; Defnyddio pabell ‘Big Top’ heb ochrau ym Maes B yn 2013.

O taf D

Heb os y mae addurno’r yl â fflagiau a defnyddio phabell “Big Top” yn swnio’n addawol. Y gobaith yw y bydd yn creu mwy o deimlad eich bod yn rhan o yl safonol. Er hynny, yn bersonol a tybiaf y bydd llawer ohonoch yn cytuno â mi, byddai gwella’r ddarpariaeth hylendid gan gynnwys y toiledau a’r cawodydd yn gwneud gwahaniaeth aruthrol i fwynhad ieuenctid Cymry o Faes B ac arlwy gerddorol y Sîn! Ond am r an, edrychaf ymlaen am gyfuniad o gerddoriaeth gyffrous sy’n amrywio o don y Swnami I’r g r chwedlonol hwnnw, Dafydd Iwan.

Straeon OD o bob rhan o’r byd... Wythnos yma, bag tê mwya’r byd...

M

ae’n debyg fod gan tafOD rhyw obsesiwn rhyfedd gyda siocled yn ystod yr wythnosau diwethaf, gyda mwy nag un stori yn ymwnued a siocled yn cael sylw. Dyw wythnos yma ddim gwahanol, wedi i gwmni o’r Iwerddon gyhoeddi eu bod yn creu bar o siocled gyda blas caws a nionyn.

Mae’r cwmni yn barod wedi gwerthu 100,000 o’r bariau.

Mae’n debyg fod y siocled gyda darnau o greision caws a nionyn ynddo, gan mai cwmni creision

‘Tayto’ sy’n eu creu.

Newyddion da i werthfawrogwyr o dê wythnos diwethaf, wrth i gwmni The Planet Organic ddadorchuddio bag tê mwya’r byd yn Queensland, Awstralia. Yn 3 medr o daldra’ ac yn pwyso 151kg, buasai’r bag yn gallu darparu gwerth 100,000 o gwpanau o de. Er y cyffro ynglyn a’r bag, nid yw’n debyg o gael ei ddefnyddio’n fuan, wrth i’r chwilio am gwpan ddigon mawr fynd yn ei flaen...

18 / Puzzles

Sudoku

kakuro

Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached Fill in the grid so that each run of squares adds up to the total in the box Kakuro #1 15x15 Kakuro Puzzles by KrazyDad, Book 39 Easy Sudoku Puzzles by KrazyDad, Volume 4, Book 9 logically. Enter numbers into the blank spaces so that each above or to the left. Use only numbers 1–9 and never use a number more row, column and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 to 9. than once per run (a number may recur in the same row, in a separate Easy run).

Sudoku #1 3

7

16

23

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19 41

7

24

8 36

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25 18

3

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41

12 30

9

19

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9 16

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11 4

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22 20

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7

Progress is made on alternate Fridays.

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6 11

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7 31

7

14

6

3

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5 28 24

18

21 12

5

9

11 19

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20 9

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33

15

More Intermediate Sudoku Puzzles by KrazyDad, Book 28 © 2012 KrazyDad.com

10

15

14

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12

23

3

28

The earth is like a tiny grain of sand, only much, much heavier.

6 2 4 7 5 3 4 8 3 6 1 5 1 2 3 5 9 1 2 6 6 7 5 1 3 5 9 8 5 4

32

16 10

3 8

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17

6

More Intermediate Sudoku Puzzles by KrazyDad, Book 19 © 2012 KrazyDad.com

Sudoku #1 Intermediate

Sudoku #1 Intermediate

Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9.

If you use logic you can solve the puzzle without guesswork.

1 8

2

Need a little help? The hints page shows a logical order to solve the puzzle.

Use it to identify the next square you should solve. Or use the answers page if you really get stuck.

6

© 2012 KrazyDad.com

6 3 4 2

8 5 4

2

7 3

3 9

1 3

1 9

7

7 5 3 4

4 1 6 9 5 © 2012 KrazyDad.com

A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a couple of hours in the library.

6 2 7 3 8 6 5 5 3 2 9 7 4 3 2 9 8 5 6 7 5 4

2

Need some help? visit krazydad.com/kakuro

The Finagle Factor is characterized by changing the universe to fit the equation.

5

5

Kakuro puzzles are like a cross between a crossword and a Sudoku puzzle.

Instead of letters, each block contains the digits 1 through 9. The same digit will never repeat within a word. If you add the digits in a word, the sum will be the number shown in the clue. Clues are shown on the left and right sides of “across” words, and on the top and bottom sides of “down” words.

Listings 19

Monday May 6th 2013 | @mediacsu

MUSIC

Dick Valentine(Electric Six) Friday 17th May at Clwb Ifor Bach. 7.30pm. Tickets £8 Jealous Lovers Club - Fight Like Apes Saturday 18th May at Clwb Ifor Bach. 8pm. Tickets £6 The Blims Saturday 18th May at Bufallo. 7pm.Tickets £4.

Lucy Rose Sunday 19th Mayat Cardiff Glee Club. 7pm. Tickets £12

THEATRE

Cadfael: The Virgin On Ice Thesday 14th - Saturday 18th May at the New Theatre. Tickets from £8.50

CLUBS

Listen Up! Wednesday 15th May at Clwb Ifor Bach, 10.00pm - 4am, Free Entry.

Comeplay Saturday 18th May at Solus, 10pm - 3am, Tickets £5

ART & CULTURE

Lindy Hop Cardiff - Swing Dancing Class followed by Social Tuesday 14th May at Buffalo.8pm.Tickets £4 - £7.

Eddie Izzard - Force Majeure Tour Friday 17th May at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff.

8pm. Tickets £40.25.

PLUS...

WE MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO GET YOU A PLASMA SCREEN TV THROWN IN!

Sale We’ve negotiated reduced rent on a handful of properties. Book your viewing today because once they’re gone, they’re gone! cpshomes.co.uk/salenowon

34 Woodville Rd, Cathays

Sport 21-24

Monday May 13th 2013 | @gairrhyddsport

Benson takes second BUCS title Matthew Bull Sport Writer

Cardiff University Athletics Club kicked off the 2012–13 academic year on a glorious Welsh day in October with some promising performances in the Cardiff Half Marathon.

Fast-forward to May and the sun was shining once again, but this time in Bedford. 24 athletes made the trip for the third and final BUCS event of the year.

The headline event of the university athletics season, which, last year, was held at the Olympic Stadium, proved to be one to remember.

After winning gold in February at the BUCS Indoor Championships, Sarah Benson went into the women’s shot put final as a firm favourite. However, due to a recent injury scare, it was clear that she was going to have a challenge on her hands.

After a slow start, Sarah’s experience started to show when she snatched the lead in the fifth round from her closest competitor, the talented Brunel athlete.

Benson, with her final throw of the competition, produced an ever-bigger 13.79m effort, just 1cm off her PB set in Sheffield, to become a double BUCS goldmedallist.

In the women’s pole vault, Great Britain and Cardiff University athlete Sally Peake soared over 3.90m to take Cardiff’s second gold medal of the championships. Second-year student Lucy Stickland finished a creditable seventh in the same competition, another strongly encouraging performance to add to her fourth indoors.

Sport Editor

Cardiff University women’s hockey team have been promoted into BUCS Premier League South after Canterbury Christchurch University forfeited the second leg of their promotion playoff last Monday.

The Kent side opted not to host Cardiff after suffering a humiliating 10–1 thrashing in the first leg, in which Sarah Barratt scored four goals, at the start of the month, leaving the Welsh team celebrating a return to the top level after a four-year absence.

And departing captain Grace Pigott believes that she leaves her squad standing in good stead to be competitive in the Premier League next year.

“The majority of the girls are staying on next year so I think

Cardiff Korfball excel at BSKA Champs Claire Blakeway Sport Writer

Elsewhere in the field, Toni Wells came agonisingly close to a medal in the women’s hammer.

Her effort of 52.77m placed her in fourth, less than half a metre away from the top three.

Other finalists included Hannah Thomas in the 100m and Dani Cocking in the 800m, each finishing sixth in hotly contested races. On the track, the women’s 4x400 quartet produced a stunning team effort in the final to take fifth place.

The championships became a Parallel Success event for the first time and incorporated events for eligible student athletes with disabilities.

First-year English language student Nick Marsh, paced by team captain Matthew Bull, produced two superb performances in the 200m and 400m, breaking his PB in the latter by over two seconds to take him back to the top of the UK rankings.

The event brought together a truly unforgettable year for the Athletics Club, who broke into the top 10 in BUCS points for the first time ever.

The success in Bedford, together with the team performances during the Cross Country and Indoors seasons highlight how much the club has grown this year.

This season has truly provided a solid starting block for the club to achieve greater successes in years to come.

CARDIFF: Jenny White, Makoye Kampengele, Antonio Cirillo, Elysia Pearson, Sarah Benson, Hannah Thomas, Lucy Stickland, Megan O’Sullivan, Dani Cocking, Jemima Osborn, Naomi Prosser, Sian Harry, Jenny McLoughlin, Alaw Beynon-Thomas, Beth Hawling, Callum Court, Matthew Bull, Dan Nash, Matt Lasis, Nicholas Marsh, David Moore, Elliot Hardee, Toni Wells.

All-conquering hockey girls storm into Premier League Ross Martinovic

21

they’ll remain a solid team,” Pigott predicted.

“Getting into the Premier League doesn’t mean you’re a faultless team, though. There are definitely things to work on which will improve our play.

Cardiff returned to BUCS Premier League South after a four-year absence “But I know the girls are willing to work hard, and with that work I have no doubt that they will do well.

“At this point, I would like to thank Sarah Barratt and Nicole Morrow, who are two of the three girls leaving this year, myself being the third.

“They’ve been key players for the team for four seasons now,

where they’ve consistently put in quality performances and I’m sure they will be missed.”

Pigott’s girls overcame tough competition from Cardiff Metropolitan and Southampton to top Western Conference 1A, with a nail-biting win over the latter on the last day booking their place in the playoffs at the expensive of their city rivals.

The promotion caps a wonderful season for the Hockey Club, in which both genders cruised to comfortable Varsity victories over Swansea and claimed their respective Welsh Cups, while the women qualified for the European Championships.

The men almost sealed a perfect campaign as they finished second in Western 1A, only for a regulation change to snatch their chance of gaining promotion through the playoffs.

The girls’ achievements mark

the end of a long journey for Cardiff, which saw them lose out agonisingly in the playoffs last year, and the prospect of Premier League hockey next season is of great excitement to Pigott.

“To be playing in the Premier League next year will be an amazing experience for the girls,” she said.

“It’ll require a huge amount of work, but from what I’ve seen this year, I have no reason to believe that will be a problem.

“In general, Cardiff Uni Hockey plays at an incredibly high standard – the boys’ XI unfairly lost their opportunity to potentially reach Premier League also due to a new regulation, but it just demonstrates the quality of hockey within our club.

“For the girls to finally reach the Premier League is absolutely incredible and something to look forward to.”

In March, Lancaster University hosted the BSKA Club Championships. Twelve universities were fighting for the top position and Cardiff proved to be stiff contenders.

Although the tournament got off to a slow start with a 0–0 result against Sheffield University, Cardiff did not let the result hold them back as they triumphed with a 6–1 win over Kent in the following game.

Despite Manchester University being possible tournament favourites, Cardiff managed to hold their solid defence and keep the score down to a respectable 2–1 defeat.

A draw, a win and a loss meant that Cardiff needed a strong win over Bristol to secure themselves a place in the last six of the tournament. Star player Sarah Goring responded well to the pressure of the game, as she not only scored a hat-trick but also a nail-biting penalty to seal a win that saw Cardiff through to the last six.

The final six teams proved tough competition for Cardiff and they almost pinched fifth place from Sheffield Hallam University. They were leading for most of the game, but Hallam fought back to send the game into a tense sudden death penalty shoot-out. Unfortunately, it did not go Cardiff’s way and they were made to settle for a respectable sixth place.

The korfball fun continued as Lancaster hosted a social for all the teams who competed during the day.

The night saw Seb Sieroslawski and James Smith find the uni korfball anthem, which incredibly turned out to be Taylor Swift’s Trouble. In other news, Filip Silvestre took a rather keen interest in the number 16.

Although Cardiff weren’t the BUCS champions on the court, they did manage to bust out some seriously tactful moves to seal the title of korfball dance-off champions.

CARDIFF: James Smith, Sebastian Sieroslawski, Filip Silvestre, Matt Morgan, Will Stratton, Dai Lowe, Sarah Goring (C), Claire Blakeway, Maria Clements, Niki James, Harriet Roach, Ellie George

22 / Sport

Focus

Team Talk: SOCSI In the final Team Talk of the season, Ross Martinovic speaks to SOCSI’s Eddie Woollaston

A

s another IMG season draws to a close, teams across the competition will be celebrating exceeding expectations or mulling over where it all went wrong.

One team that are pleased with their season’s work is SOCSI, who pushed on from Division Two last season to finish fourth in the Premier League this time around.

Captain Eddie Woollaston describes their rise to prominence this campaign.

majority of the game. Our centre midfielder Stu Hall scored possibly the best goal I have ever seen on a football pitch and we ended up winning the game! After that, the belief was there and although

With no more games looking likely to be played, it seems like SOCSI will finish fourth in the Premiership. How does that compare to what you were expecting at the start of the season?

To be completely honest, I didn’t expect us to even get into the Prem at the start of the season!

We lost the majority of our team at the end of last season and, in recent seasons, we have never been in the Premiership so it was a bit of a surprise. I think we showed that we deserved to be up there with all the best teams as the season went on. I’m pretty happy to come fourth as it’s higher than I had ever predicted and, for a lot of our boys, it was our final chance to play in IMG’s highest league.

we rode our luck at times, we won the next couple of games.

Despite our start to Phase 2, failing to win any of our last five will leave a sour taste in the mouth.

Our game against Pharm AC will haunt our left-back Josh Rudge for years to come – we were 2–0 up at half time but, after a dire second-half performance, we ended up losing the game 3–2 and it was all downhill from there!

You won the first three games of Phase 2 and were flying high at the top of the table, but failed to win any of your last five. What do you put that down to?

We had an absolute dream start to Phase 2 when we beat Roath Park Rangers 2–1 in our first game, despite being on the back foot the

Any potential stars in your team? Who have been your standouts?

We have had a few stand-out players this season. Our back four, led by Scott Gregory, have

been exceptional all season and, without our starting back four, it may have been a very different season. Our right-winger Ben Geeson-Brown was also outstanding at times. As for po-

Who have been your toughest opponents this year?

I think CARBS were probably the toughest team we have played this season. We lost 2–0 to them in Phase 2 and I think, overall,

tential stars, we have a couple of freshers who I think will take the league by storm next season.

they were deserved winners of the league. Saying that, Law A weren’t bad either.

How would you describe the SOCSI style of play? Are you a Stoke, like most of the rest of the league describe themselves, or a Barcelona?

I would say that we are probably more like Wigan. We always seem to pop up and beat the teams that maybe you wouldn’t expect us to, but then when it comes to the games we should be winning, we make it hard for ourselves! Given the luxurious pitches at Pontcanna, we like to pass the ball around a bit and get the ball out wide.

How easy was it to recruit this year? Are you an old team or will you have many returning next year?

I was left with about five or six players from our team last season, so it was important we got recruiting early. The majority of the recruiting was done through flyers and Facebook messages, after which we held a small trial session. We got some good players through this year which was encouraging, but I think next year’s captain Sam Kaye has a

task on his hands to get a new team together as the majority of our team will be leaving.

Do you have much of a social scene? What do you get up to on a typical Wednesday night?

We have had a pretty wild social scene this season! SOCSI have been regulars at The Lash this year and we have had some pretty big socials, which will always end with a team meeting at Mama’s kebabs. To be honest, I’m not sure why they weren’t our sponsors, we were there enough!

One of the freshers, Serb, is an absolute animal on a night out and always looking to get on the sauce! We had our awards evening recently and I think I speak for everyone when I say that it is a bit of a blur.

What have you thought of the organisation of IMG this year?

Anything that could be improved?

Having played IMG for the past three years, I would say the organisation has been vastly improved. I think the difference has been that the AU are now showing an interest in IMG such as attempting to organise transport to other pitches to help out where they can. The reffing situation is also better, but there are still a few moany teams who ruin the process when they don’t send refs to games.

Lastly, could I ask for your tip for the upcoming Champions League final?

Can’t see past Bayern, to be honest! The way that they beat Barça in the semis has really shown that, this year, they are ready to go the whole way. I can see Bayern being top dogs of Europe for a while now.

Division Two Premiership 1

CARBS FC

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7

0

0

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21

1

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C-PLAN AFC

8

7

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1

19

21

1st XI

7

5

0

2

9

15

2

JOMEC FC

8

6

1

1

13

19

Engin Loco FC

7

4

1

2

8

13

3

Time Team

8

5

1

2

3

16

Division One

P

P

2

Roath Park Rangers

8

5

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3

7

15

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3

Psycho Athletico

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5

0

3

6

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Cardiff Mets

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Engin Auto FC

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3

8

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SOCSI

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3

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Cardiff Uni IMG 1st

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4

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4

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12

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Law B

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Law A

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Inter Menan

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10

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OPSOC

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10

CHAOS FC

7

3

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-8

10

7

Gym Gym

7

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6

Momed AFC

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6

7

EarthSoc

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7

AFC Dentistry

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3

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8

Chemistry FC

7

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8

Pharm AC

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8

Cardiff Uni IMG 2nd

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1

0

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–13

3

9

Computer Science FC

6

1

1

4

–10

4

9

FC Euros

7

1

1

5

–16

4

9

History AFC

6

0

1

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1

10

Too Big To Fail

8

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8

–27

0

23

Sport 21–24

Monday May 13th 2013 | @gairrhyddsport

The Tip-Off: URNU In this week’s Tip-Off, Sport editor James Shapland speaks to URNU captain Steph Gadd

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through?

I think Sophie Abel, our new captain, and Katie Price earned the most ‘player of the match’ awards as they performed exceptionally throughout. Both adopted new positions this year as well which was an added challenge.

Our freshers Emma Shillabeer, Helen Hill, Claire McKay and Alice Sheppard have shown immense commitment and are integral to our team. Claire Jenkins

n what is normally a rather male-oriented environment, the girls of the University Royal Naval Unit seek solace on the court in IMG netball.

This season’s captain Steph Gadd had the tricky task of replacing a well-established side with a group of enthusiastic freshers. Despite struggling in Division Three this year, the future for URNU is looking bright.

ing teams in this area. Our regular centre court players Emma, Helen and Katie work really well together.

How did you go about attracting new players at the start of the season? Any schools in particular where URNU are popular?

We recruited this September for the University Royal Naval Unit as a whole. At the freshers fayres,

Marine Geographers and we also have many students from Humanities and the Sciences.

How is the social scene for the URNU girls? What would a typical night out see you doing?

We go for cocktails and things as a team but our main nights out are with the rest of the unit on a Thursday. This tends to start with a few drinks in our bar at

So, the season has come to a close. How do you reflect on your performance this year?

I think we have generally performed really well this year, we have definitely gelled as a team. We were unlucky in a few matches and we struggled in the first half sometimes. However, when entering the second half of matches we were generally much better and fought back a lot harder, especially against some tough teams. We may not have won as many matches as we hoped, but our team this year played with a lot of passion and spirit.

There are some strong teams in your division. Any opponents that have given you a really tough game?

JOMEC were a really tough opponent and gave us a really good game. The standard of the teams in IMG has just massively improved during the three years I have competed in it. Teams seem to be training harder and taking it much more seriously.

So, you will be handing over the captaincy reigns to Sophie Abel. How do you see the team getting on next season?

Sophie is a very capable leader and captained our last few games this season. The team is only losing myself and Claire Jenkins, so they have a solid foundation to build on. I have every faith they will have great success next year.

Were there many changes in the squad from last year? Lost many key players?

We lost quite a few players this year. The team we had last season had been playing together for around three years so were very confident and established.

A main issue at the start of term was the loss of our regular shooters. We had some very keen freshers this year though. Many of them hadn’t played since school but they have improved immeasurably. It has been great to get some new girls in the team.

also took on the new and important role of shooter this year, which she has excelled at.

Where do you think your strengths lie? Any particular areas where you have been consistently good?

I would say we have a very feisty team in the centre court. We are generally successful in centre passes and at intercepting oppos-

Who have been the top performers for URNU this season? Any girls really shone

1

We also had formal events such as our Christmas Ball and Martinique Annual Mess Dinner, as well as nights out during our Summer and Easter Deployments around the UK and in Europe.

Division One

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Pts

ENCAP A

5

5

0

0

15

1

due to the nature of the unit, the kind of girls we tend to attract are quite outgoing and most of them are sporty, which is ideal for our netball team.

I think the girls in the unit were interested in joining the team as it gives us a bit of escape from the boys!

The schools that URNU recruits from are hugely varied.

There are medics, quite a few

Division Two

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ENCAP B

5

4

0

1

12

1

the base, followed by many songs on the bus back to town where we pretty much always end up in the infamous Live Lounge for two-for-one cocktails and dancing on the stage until close.

Some nights are fancy dress themed and a particular favourite was the traditional post elections night out. Everyone, including the boys, dressed up as school girls.

Division Three

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Pts

SOCSI B

5

5

0

0

15

1

We have heard some pretty positive things about the running of IMG netball this year.

What are your thoughts? Anything you would improve on?

IMG have been great this year, rearranging matches has been very easy through the captains’ Facebook page and Mat has been great at reorganising playing space.

However, it has been challenging to book regular training slots as Talybont has been busy this year. This has made training more difficult, especially in bad weather.

The team photos organised by Cari Davies were a great end to the season.

Division Four

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W

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Pts

Cardiff Dental

6

5

0

1

15

2

CARBS A

5

5

0

0

15

2

SOCSI A

6

4

0

2

12

2

JOMEC

6

5

0

1

15

2

Cardiff Medics B

4

3

0

1

9

3

Law A

6

4

0

2

12

3

Pharmacy A

5

3

1

1

10

3

OPSOC

6

3

0

3

9

3

HistorySoc

6

3

0

3

9

4

Cardiff Uni A

6

3

0

3

9

4

Cardiff Uni B

5

3

0

2

9

4

Chemistry

6

2

1

3

7

4

Bioscience

5

2

1

2

7

5

Law B

6

2

0

4

6

5

Engin Auto

6

2

0

4

6

5

Psychology B

6

2

0

4

6

5

EUROS

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2

0

4

6

6

Psychology A

6

1

0

5

3

6

Cardiff Medics A

3

1

0

2

3

6

CARBS B

6

2

0

4

6

6

Pharmacy B

5

2

0

3

6

7

Engin Loco

6

0

0

6

0

7

EarthSoc

6

0

1

5

1

7

URNU

5

0

1

4

1

7

Gym Gym

4

0

1

3

1

Cardiff Athetics sprint to success in Bedford << page 21

cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk /gairrhydd

Sport Monday May 13th 2013 | Issue 1006

Ladies’ Hockey promoted

Cardiff University Hockey Club have enjoyed a superb season, which culminated in the women’s squad’s promotion to the BUCS Premier League last Monday.

Ross Martinovic speaks to captain Grace Pigott on page 21.

Team Talk: SOCSI << page 22

The Tip-Off: URNU Netball << page 23