Issue 1144 - Monday November 4 by Cardiff Student Media

rhifyn 1144 issue 1144

gair rhydd

18 tachwedd 2019 18 november 2019

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Strikes set to hit Cardiff University this term

Siôn Ford Contributor

embers of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) have voted to once again take industrial action following an on-going dispute with 60 universities across the UK. This latest action comes in the wake of last year’s Spring strikes, which lasted for four weeks. Union members then voted to take action - the largest industrial action in the history of UK universities - following proposed changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), despite the findings of an independent joint-expert panel. UCU announced its members’ decision two weeks ago, confirming that 79% voted in favour of strikes in response to further proposed changes to the USS, while 74% voted in favour of strikes with regard to working conditions, staff wellbeing, and pay. Universities across the UK have been given notice by UCU that the industrial action will take place from Monday, November 25 until Wednesday, December 4, lasting for eight days. The changes would have had a major impact on the pensions of university staff, with staff set to lose tens of thousands of pounds. Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, described the effects of the proposed changes: “A typical USS member will be around £240,000 worse off because of the changes made to the scheme since 2011. The latest round of increased contributions backed by universities represents another pay cut for staff.” Union members fear that the pension scheme is under constant threat and that the proposed changes will lead to a drop in members, eventually leading to an unsustainable deficit. Alongside this, university staff across the UK have seen their pay devalue by approximately 20% since 2009, a result of successive low-inflation pay rises. In spite of the action taken last year, members feel that UK universities have failed to take action on the issues raised previously, and now growing concerns over working conditions and staff wellbeing have led to a mandate for further action. “Pay is a big part of [the dispute] for sure, but there’s all these other things we really need universities to

start talking to us about,” said Andy Williams, Cardiff UCU Spokesperson. He described how the Union wants to ensure that all university staff are employed on secure, fulltime contracts which reflect their positions as recognised employees of universities, something Universities UK has allegedly refused to negotiate on. “Workload and staff mental health, that’s a real problem for us. We see the mental health of our students being prioritised more and more, and that’s a good thing - that’s a necessary thing. But we’re going through similar things. The modern university is an unhealthy place in many ways for students and staff.” Casualisation among the workforce has been cited as a priority issue, given that UK PhD students are required to teach whilst being treated as a student and without being recognised as full employees. While some small measures have been taken to address these imbalances, not enough has been done in the eyes of the Union. PhD students are expected to teach without being given full-time contracts; in some cases outside of Wales, some university staff are being employed on zero-hour contracts.

Election looming: Cardiff residents are preparing to head to the polls next month. Source: Sam Tilley

Cardiff residents prepare to head to the polls for General Election

s the December 12 general election approaches, Gair Rhydd politics takes a look at two of the University’s local constituencies, Cardiff Central and Cardiff North. Find out how constituents

voted during the 2017 general election, whether the seats are likely to change hands this time around and which candidates will be asking for your vote next month. We also spoke to the presidents of Cardiff University’s po-

litical party societies to find out what each one thinks about their party’s chances of winning the most votes and taking control of the seats in the UK’s first December election since 1923. To read more, turn to page 10.

We’ve had col- Dementia: Science Warnock yn Mixed netball leagues in the & Society hosted gadael Clwb tournament a university kill at Cardiff Uni Dinas Caerdydd great success themselves beeputy Head of Sport George he School of Biosciences at ae rheolwr Clwb Dinas Willoughby spoke to fundCardiff University hosted five Caerdydd, Neil Warnock, cause of the presraising executives Georgia of Wales’ leading researchers in wedi gadael wedi dros dair Summerill and Briallen Taylor of Dementia and Alzheimers last week. blynedd wrth y llyw. Ein hadran sure of workload. The event highlighted the developCardiff University Netball. The Gymraeg, Taf-od, sy’n adlewyrchu Andy Williams Cardiff UCU Spokesperson

“We’ve had colleagues in the university kill themselves because of the pressure of workload over the last few years. We all know colleagues and friends who’ve left the profession because they feel it’s just not worth the toll on their mental health. This is not good for us, it’s not good for our students, it’s not good for the university as a whole,” said Andy Williams. Story continues on page 3.

ments the scientific community are making in understanding the condition and the options being investigated for future treatment. 850,000 people in the UK suffer with dementia, equating to 1 in 75 people, and yet it consumes 20% of the annual NHS budget. Leading the work to tackle this problem of gross disparity are speakers Dr Matthew Clement, Dr Tim Hughes, Dr Owen Pete and Lesley Butcher from Cardiff University, alongside Professor Andrea Tales from Swansea Univerity. To find out what they had to say on alzheimers and to learn how their research is transforming the face of the condition, turn to page 22.

ar ei gyfnod fel rheolwr y clwb. Mae nifer yn ystyried ei gyfraniad i’r clwb yn allweddol, gydag uchafbwyntiau’n cynnwys achub ei glwb o syrthio i’r drydedd haen yng nghrynghreiriau Lloegr a sicrhau dyrchafiad i dîm Caerdydd i Uwch Gynghrair Lleogr yn haf 2018. Ond, ers hynny, mae Clwb Dinas Caerdydd wedi dychwelyd i’r Bencampwriaeth dan ei ofal. Cymysg yw’r ymateb iddo ar ddiwedd ei gyfnod fel Rheolwr, ond yn ddi-os mae ei gyfraniad wedi bod yn un pwysig a bydd gwaddol ar ei ôl. Ewch i dudalen 8 i ddarllen rhagor am y sefyllfa. 8

netball team, who raise money on a regular basis for charities, held another event with a focus on raising awareness for meningitis. The club finds an excellent way of being able to combine sport and charity, and this tournament was an example of just that. Their work has not gone unnoticed with other teams wanting to get involved with fundraising initiatives. Read more on page 30 to find out how the mixed tournament was organised, who the chosen charity was, and what events the Cardiff University Netball Club have planned for the future.

EDITORIAL

Gair Rhydd 2019/20 Coordinator Elaine Morgan

Editor-in-Chief Tomos Evans

Deputy Editors

Charlotte King George Willoughby

News

Charlotte King Olly Davies Anna Dutton Zoe Kramer

Features

Mustakim Hasnath Sam Tilley

Taf-od

For more content, head to gairrhydd.com

A note from the Editor Nodyn gan y Golygydd Register to vote! Ymgeisiwch i bleidleisio!

Llion Carbis Aled Biston Rhodri Davies Deio Jones

Politics

Lowri Pitcher Hallum Cowell Tom-Henry Jones Maisie Marston

Comment

Harry Clarke-Ezzidio Kat Smith

Column Road Indigo Jones

Advice

Molly Govus Rhiannon James

Satwik Speaks Satwik Shivoham

Science

Holly Giles

@Caerdydd

Tirion Davies Natalie Graham

Five Minute Fun Michael Ash

Sport

Reece Chambers Olly Allen Ella Fenwick Luke Wakeling George Willoughby

Head of Digital Media Aliraza Manji

Social Media Manager Ashley Boyle

Digital Media Editors Matt Hancock-Bruce Daniel O’Callaghan Tom Walker

Graphics Editor

Oli King

Copy Editors Muskan Arora Boadicea Dowd Dewi Morris Tehreem Sultan

Write to the editor editor@gairrhydd.com

At Gair Rhydd we take seriously our responsibility to maintain the highest possible standards. We may occasionally make mistakes, however if you believe we have fallen below the standards we seek to uphold, please email editor@gairrhydd.com. You can view our Ethical Policy Statement and Complaints Procedure at cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints. Opinions expressed in editorials and opinion pieces are not reflective of Cardiff Student Media, who act as the publisher of Gair Rhydd in legal terms, and should not be considered official communications or the organisation’s stance. Gair Rhydd is a Post Office registered newspaper.

Your say: Make it count. Source: John Mounsey (via Pixabay) Tomos Evans Editor-in-Chief

lection fever is upon us and the UK will head to the polls on December 12 for the third General Election in just over four years. After heightened speculation in recent months, the campaign is now in full swing. As young people, we are one of the demographics which are least likely to vote. Recently, the Welsh Assembly has voted in favour of reducing the voting age to 16 in elections for the Senedd from 2021 onwards. However, the minimum voting age at UK General Elections is currently 18. In this General Election, you have a great opportunity to make your voice heard on the matters that are important to you. Some of the subjects which have already dominated discussions during the campaign thus far include Brexit, the climate emergency as well as the NHS. According to YouGov, 58% of 18-24-year-olds voted in the 2017 General Election. However, this was considerably lower than the 84% of those aged 70 and over who voted. This year, despite the midwinter poll date, it’s imperative that you make your mark by voting for what you believe in. If you’re unsure about what the parties stand for, don’t despair. Try to inform yourself on the parties’ policies, have a glance over their manifestos when they’re published and, most

importantly, make sure that you register to vote! The deadline to register to vote is November. 26 It’s a quick and simple process and you can do so by visiting the ‘Register to vote’ page on the UK Government’s website. If you’re unsure where you’ll be on the day of the poll itself, you are able to register both at home and at your termtime address. However, it’s illegal to vote twice. If you’re unable to vote in person on polling day, you have a couple of options. You can either apply for a postal vote (deadline: 26 November, 5pm) or a vote by proxy in which you can elect a trusted person to vote on your behalf (deadline: 4 December, 5pm). With a period of political flux, the power to choose the future lies in your hands. If you’re a first-time voter or a seasoned electoral expert by now: remember to cast your vote on 12 December. As part of the General Election campaign, Cardiff Student Media has many exciting plans, including a special election pull-out in an upcoming issue of Gair Rhydd, so keep an eye out for that. This week, starting Gair Rhydd’s election coverage on page 10 our Politics desk takes a look at the local constituency of Cardiff Central, speaking to the presidents of the main political societies at Cardiff University about their thoughts on their respective parties’ prospects.

Codi llais: Cyfle rhy dda i’w golli. Tarddiad: John Mounsey (via Pixabay) Tomos Evans Prif Olygydd

ae’r etholiad ar y gorwel a bydd dinasyddion y DU yn bwrw eu pleidleisiau yn eu trydedd Etholiad Cyffredinol mewn ychydig dros pedair blynedd. Wedi cryn dipyn o ddisgwyl yn ystod y misoedd diwethaf, mae’r ymgyrch bellach yn ei hanterth. Fel pobl ifanc, rydym ni ymhlith y grwpiau oedran sydd lleiaf tebygol o bleidleisio. Yn yr Etholiad Cyffredinol hwn, mae gennych chi’r cyfle i godi eich llais ar y pynciau sy’n bwysig i chi. Mae rhai o’r pynciau sydd eisoes wedi dominyddu trafodaethau yn ystod yr ymgyrch hyd yma yn cynnwys Brexit, yr argyfwng hinsawdd a’r GIG. Yn ôl YouGov, pleidleisiodd 58% o bobl rhwng 18 a 24 oed bleidleisio yn Etholiad Cyffredinol 2017. Er, roedd hyn yn llawer llai na’r 84% o bobl dros 70 oed a bleidleisiodd. Eleni, er gwaetha’r dyddiad pleidleisio ganol gaeaf, mae’n holl bwysig eich bod yn gwneud gwahaniaeth drwy bleidleisio am yr hyn rydych chi’n credu ynddo. Os ydych chi’n ansicr am yr hyn mae pleidiau yn cynrychioli, peidiwch â phoeni. Ceisiwch i addysgu eich hunain am polisïau pleidiau, darllenwch dros y maniffestos pan y cawn nhw eu cyhoeddi ac, yn fwy na dim, gwnewch yn siŵr eich bod wedi cofrestru i bleidleisio! Y dyddiad cau i gofrestru i bleidleisio

yw 26 Tachwedd. Mae’n broses gyflym a syml a gallwch ei chwblhau drwy fynd i dudalen ‘Cofrestru i bleidleisio’ ar wefan Llywodraeth y DU. Os nad ydych chi’n siŵr ble fyddwch chi ar ddiwrnod y bleidlais, mae’n bosibl i chi gofrestru i bleidleisio adref ac yn eich cyfeiriad yn ystod y tymor. Ond, mae hi’n anghyfreithlon i bleidleisio ddwywaith. Os nad ydych yn gallu pleidleisio eich hun ar ddiwrnod y bleidlais, mae gennych gwpwl o opsiynau. Gallwch naill ai ymgeisio am bleidlais drwy’r post (dyddiad cau: 26 Tachwedd, 5yh) neu bleidlais drwy ddirprwy lle gallwch ddirprwyo oedolyn arall i bleidleisio ar eich rhan (dyddiad cau: 4 Rhagfyr, 5yh). Gyda chyfnod o newid gwleidyddol, mae’r pŵer i ddewis dyfodol y wlad yn eich dwylo chi. Os ydych chi’n pleidleisio am y tro cyntaf neu bellach yn hen law ar y busnes pleidleisio ‘ma: cofiwch bleidleisio ar 12 Rhagfyr. Fel rhan o ymgyrch yr Etholiad Cyffredinol, mae gan Gyfryngau Myfyrwyr Caerdydd llawer o gynlluniau cyffroes ar y gweill, gan gynnwys rhifyn estynedig arbennig o Gair Rhydd dros yr wythnosau nesaf, felly cadwch lygad amdano! Wythnos hon, ar dudalen 10 mae’n hadran Wleidyddiaeth yn edrych ar etholaeth Caerdydd Canolog a siarad gyda llywyddion y prif gymdeithasau gwleidyddol ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd am eu disgwyliadau am berfformiad eu pleidiau.

Siôn Ford Contributor Continued from front page. “What we’re asking for isn’t massive, just a non-derisory offer on pay and the willingness to talk to us on a national level about casualisation, about workload, about the gender pay gap

and the BAME pay gap.” Last year’s strikes came about after 88% of union members voted for action in the face of proposed changes to the pension scheme. The action lasted four weeks and, as Gair Rhydd previously reported, Cardiff University made a saving of £909,341 during that time. The funds were subsequently re-invested into education budgets, though some have questioned the

transparency of this process. Members of Cardiff ’s UCU branch described how the solidarity and understanding shown by students during last year’s action was overwhelming. Union members say that while nobody wants to put students in this position again, they hope that students will understand the necessity of these strikes. Cardiff University issued a state-

ment last week: “Whilst we fully respect the right of staff to take part in legal industrial action our priority is providing education to students. The University cannot solve the pensions dispute on its own. That’s why we welcome the fact that Universities UK have said that they remain open to further talks with UCU to discuss how the dispute can be resolved without industrial action.”

Upcoming AGM: Will it be the year of the Welsh Language Officer?

Cardiff University Students’ Union proposal to remove VP Postgraduate or merge VP Education and VP Welfare to make way for the new role has been met with mixed responses Charlotte King Head of News

Fadhila Al Dhahouri, former Students’ Union President

However, it has since come to light that creating an eighth Sabbatical Officer role, which would be VP Welsh Language and Communities, is not possible because of funding limitations. On the Students’ Union website, a statement has been issued which states that the Board of Trustees, the

This is effectively removing our representation within the Union. Rachel Beaney, Postgraduate

For the 2017/18 academic year, Cardiff University reported that out of its 31,935 students, 8,455 were postgraduates. This means that just under 27% of Cardiff University’s total student population were postgraduates. With 69 ‘thumbs down’ votes, the proposal to merge VP Welfare and VP Education has also been met with comments from students online. One student said: “Of the proposals I think this is the best. We can’t

just submit it for review and go another x amount of years without full time Welsh language and community representation….But at the same time, I can’t see how scrapping postgraduate representation would work either.” However, another said that they thought the proposal to have three different people working on student welfare and “splitting tasks...isn’t very efficient.” The final proposal, to keep the current Sabbatical Officer team and conduct a year-long review, has proved the most popular on the Students’ Union website with 101 ‘thumbs up’ votes from students.

Following the Students’ Union’s consultation process, which closed on November 11, here is a list of the proposals and motions that students will be able to vote on at this year’s AGM on November 21:

To contact our news desk, drop us an email at news@gairrhydd.com

It is important that Welsh speaking students’ voices are represented and heard.

is supposed to be working for us too, we should be treated the same as other students and should not have our voice taken away.” Another said: “The mandate of the Students’ Union is to represent the student body at Cardiff University. Postgraduate students are part of this student body” and whilst they face the same issues as other students, they also face issues that are “particular” to postgraduates. One postgraduate student, Rachel Beaney, approached Gair Rhydd to express her dissatisfaction at the proposal to remove VP Postgraduate. Speaking to Gair Rhydd News, she stated, “This [proposal] is effectively removing our representation within the union” since postgraduate research and taught representatives attend meetings with the Postgraduate Officer to “make changes to course structures” and to represent postgraduates’ views in meetings with management staff.” She continued, if postgraduates are to “continue receiving their rights and representation, this role is vital...We must not lose our voice.”

NEWS

ardiff University Students’ Union’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is coming up soon on November 21 and is described by the Union as a forum where any and all students can come together to “debate and determine the direction of Cardiff Students’ Union”. In recent years, the AGM has seen over 600 students in attendance and has voted in favour of motions which have influenced the structure of the Students’ Union, such as voting to create the Vice President Postgraduate Sabbatical Officer position. In 2018’s meeting, a motion was put forward to create a full-time Welsh Language Sabbatical Officer to join the current team of seven Sabbatical Officers. This motion was voted through. Former Students’ Union President, Fadhila Al Dhahouri, at the time, said that she welcomed this motion, believing that “As a Students’ Union in the Welsh capital it is important that Welsh speaking students’ voices are represented and heard.”

group responsible for managing the Union’s finances, deemed that it was financially unfeasible to implement an eighth Sabbatical Officer which would cost the Students’ Union £24,000 per annum. The Board of Trustees stated that the only way the Union could create a VP Welsh Language and Community Officer would be through either removing an existing Officer role or merging existing posts. From this recommendation, three proposals were put forward for consultation with students: One option is to remove VP Postgraduate to make way for a new Welsh-language Sabbatical Officer. This would see some of VP Postgraduate’s duties be taken on by VP Education and support for postgraduate students would continue through a Campaign Officer position for postgraduate students, instead. The second option is to merge VP Education and VP Welfare and their respective Campaign Officer positions to allow for the new post. This would result in VP Welsh Language and Community being created, whilst the Education and Welfare Officer role would be allocated to three individuals, one to represent undergraduate students, one to represent postgraduate students, and one to represent Heath Park students. Finally, there is also a proposal to keep the current Sabbatical team structure and spend a year reviewing how to embed the Welsh language across the Union’s activities to ensure greater representation of Welsh speakers and learners through “active consultation” to better understand their needs. These proposals have been met with hostility from a number of students who have expressed their dissatisfaction on the Students’ Union website. Regarding the proposal to remove VP Postgraduate, there were 283 ‘thumbs down’ votes expressing dissatisfaction with the proposal and over 20 comments from students. One student commented: “As a postgrad I find it quite shocking that you would propose removing our representation. The students union

NEWYDDION

Universities across the UK may be facing strike action at the end of November

For more content, head to gairrhydd.com/news

Strikes set to hit Cardiff University again

Sabbatical Officer review:

Remove VP Postgraduate Merge VP Education and VP Welfare Stay the same and conduct a review

Make the Students’ Union a Living Wage Employer Commit to tackling institutional racism at Cardiff Support the UCU strike action Adopt a radical environmental policy Adopt an official pro-choice stance

Your news desk Charlotte King Olly Davies Anna Dutton Zoe Kramer

4 NEWS

What is the Regrow Borneo project? Zoe Kramer News Editor

egrow Borneo, a new organization started in September works as a partnership between Cardiff University’s Sustainable Places Research Institute and the Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo. It is a treeplanting project located in the Lower Kinabatangan rainforest, Sabah, Borneo. The purpose of the project is to encourage donations towards planting trees as a counteraction to carbon emissions from flying. The trees take carbon out of the atmosphere, reducing the heavy ecological footprint that planes create. The project also has a research component. The Regrow Borneo team will monitor the impact of planting the trees on carbon sequestration as well as on wildlife, ecosystems and local communities. This region in particular is currently at high risk. According to a UN report, by 2022 all but 2% of its lowland forests will be gone. With increased deforestation comes an increasing number of species dwindling in numbers because their habitat is shrinking. The main endangered species in the Kinabatangan is the orangutan, whose population in the area has decreased by almost a third in the last 16 years. Additionally, Borneo as a whole is home to several endangered species including the pygmy elephant, the Borneo rhino, and the Borneo bay cat, according to WWF. Borneo has for a long time been a model of biodiversity, with approximately 15,000 plant species and 222 mammal species as well as hundreds of others. However, under current conditions, this diversity could be under threat. The region has lost 75% of its forests since the 1970s, in large part due to palm oil plantations. The palm oil industry now inhabits 82% of the island and plays a crucial part in Malaysia’s economy. Palm oil is used for products ranging from margarine to lipstick. Regrow Borneo hopes to help combat this problem by re-establishing the island’s natural rainforest. It costs £2 to plant, grow and maintain a tree for three years. The organization will monitor the number of trees planted and report back to its donors. While it doesn’t guarantee lasting reforestation, Regrow Borneo will continue to plant trees so long as it continues receiving donations. While it promotes avoiding flying, Regrow Borneo acknowledges that some flights are necessary especially within the academic world. The project offers a simple way to counteract the ecological impact of flying, particularly for longer-distance flights. The organization hopes to raise £15,000 within this academic year, and claims that every penny will go to planting trees. Its partnership with Cardiff University makes Cardiff the first UK-based university to have a project balancing its carbon emissions.

Cardiff may be the UK’s first ‘Living Wage City’ It is the first city on track to provide the new £9.30 living wage

Olly Davies News Editor

ardiff is on course to be the first ‘living wage’ city in the UK. This is due to a threeyear partnership between Cardiff Council and local businesses which aims to double the number of living wage accredited employers in the city. There are presently 100 accred-

ited living wage employers based in the capital. The plan aims to increase this number to 150 by 2022. This would result in a rise in the number of job roles protected by accredited living wage employers from 27,250 to 48,000 whilst also encouraging iconic employers in Cardiff to become accredited living wage employers. The Living Wage Foundation is a charity which encourages busi-

A Living Wage City: Cardiff is on track to be the first city in the UK to have the new living wage of £9.30. Source: Jon Candy (via Flickr)

nesses to pay employees a minimum wage which is calculated according to the basic living costs across the UK and London. Currently, the Government’s National Living Wage is £7.70 for workers aged 21 and older, and £8.21 for over 25s. However, the real living wage, which applies to all workers over 18 rose to £9.30 per hour nationally, and £10.75 in London, on Monday, November 11. This went up from £9.00 per hour nationally and £10.55 in London. The new real living wage provides at least £1.09 per hour more in pay. The charity believes the difference between the real living wage and the Government’s living wage amounts to £2,000 per annum. According to the Living Wage Foundation, 7,000 employees have benefited from the increased wages which amount to roughly £32.2 million since 2011. The changes to the living wage will also mean those already employed by accredited living wage employers, around 27,250 in Cardiff, will receive a pay rise in the month before Christmas. Professor Rachel Ashworth, Dean of Cardiff University Business School and Chair of the Living

Wage for Wales leadership team, commented to Wales Online: “We are delighted that Cardiff has been recognised for its plans to become a ‘living wage city’ – and it is testament to the hard work and commitment of Cardiff Council and the team of employers, including my own, who helped to devise the application that we are leading the way.” Across the UK, there are roughly 6,000 businesses which have signed up to provide the real living wage, including over one third of FTSE 100 brands. According to Citizens UK, there are 222 of these companies in Wales alone, including University of Wales Trinity St David, Cardiff Council, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Cardiff University. Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, hopes these measures will help to free “many more families from the low pay trap”. According to El Bashir Idris, a Leader with Citizens Cymru, “it is easy to think of Cardiff as a prosperous place...in Butetown, almost half of the children grow up in poverty.” By making Cardiff a Living Wage City it is hoped that hard work and study will provide good jobs.

Originally postponed until 2020, Cardiff Bay zip wire cancelled

But organisers pledge it will go ahead after improving the attraction’s plans Charlotte King Head of News

ormer plans to install a zip wire across Cardiff Bay, running from the top of an apartment block, Voco St. Davids, to the Norweigan Church across the water in Mermaid Quay, have recently been cancelled. The news comes after City Zip Company Ltd, the firm co-ordinating the plans, withdrew. In July 2019, it was originally announced that the zip wire would be postponed until 2020 to allow Cardiff Council taking more time to decide on whether it would grant planning permission for the experience or not. In the original plans, City Zip Company Ltd requested permission for the zip wire to be operational between July 9, 2019, and January 5, 2020. Following this delay, the company hoped that the attraction would be up and running by March 24, 2020. The attraction planned to see people jumping from almost 150ft from the apartment complex and travel at speeds of up to 59km per hour down a 1,180ft-long zip wire to the waterfront by the Norweigan Church. However, it has now come to light that the entire proposal has been scrapped. The proposal has been deemed controversial by residents of Cardiff Bay from the get go, with 62 objections being lodged against the idea. The Labour candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth in the upcoming general elec-

tion, Stephen Doughty, was an individual who publicly voiced concerns with the scheme, insisting that the plans be scrapped following “significant opposition” from Cardiff Bay residents, as did Labour AM Vaughan Gething and Labour Party Councillor Saeed Ebrahim who were concerned about the experience disturbing nearby residents of Mermaid Quay. Moreover, Doctor Who and Years & Years writer, Russell T Davies, and House of Cards writer Andrew Davies, who have apartments in the complex from which the proposed zip wire was supposed to run, also objected publicly to the plans. Speaking about the proposals, Russell T Davies said: “I write for a living. I’m a television scriptwriter; I brought Doctor Who to Cardiff in 2005...but now you’re suggesting that I sit, in my Cardiff home, and write, with 48 people an hour flying past, screaming, for six months of the year.” He continued, “That equates to 64,512 people. Whizzing past my flat. Screaming.” Additionally, Andrew Davies suggested that the scheme was a “reckless” idea and as a screenwriter, he needs “peace and quiet” for his work. The firm behind the attraction also faced controversy earlier this year when their advertising allegedly misled customers and they sold tickets, at the cost of £30 each, for the original launch date which then did not go ahead. What’s more, it was reported that City Zip Company Ltd also began selling tickets for the attraction’s open-

ing date in 2020, despite never having been granted permission. However, some thought the attraction was a good idea. Notably, Waterfront Partners, which is a network of businesses in the Bay, supported the scheme because they thought that the unique attraction would increase the number of visitors to the area and in turn would be beneficial to the Bay itself. Waterfront Partners are a not for profit organisation which sees over 30 public, private and non-voluntary businesses in the Bay pay a yearly fee to invest money into events for the area. The zip wire project was expected to create 60 new jobs, it is reported. However, Chief Executive of City Zip Company Ltd, Barry Shaverin, has expressed that the company still intends to resubmit its plans for the attraction

“as soon as possible.” He says that rather than the company simply pulling out of the proposals, they withdrew the plans because saw an opportunity to improve them. In light of this recent development, Stephen Doughty has further commented, saying, “I am delighted to hear that this ill-thought-out application has been withdrawn. “I had serious concerns about this scheme ever since speaking to its proponents and have been very happy to stand on the side of local residents in opposing it. “This company have serious questions to answer about why they continued to sell tickets - for both last summer and next year - for a proposal they did not have planning or other relevant petitions for.”

St David’s Hotel: Will we see the zip wire proposal go ahead in a different form? Source: National Assembly for Wales (via Flickr)

NEWYDDION 5

Has there been a rise in freak weather events across the globe? From California to Cardiff, the East Midlands to Australia, there has been a perceived rise in extreme weather. Why might this be and what has been the response to these freak weather events?

Tegan Evans Contributor

eather, and particularly freak weather events, have hit headlines like a storm in recent years. From raging wildfires in Australia and California to perilous floods and storms in Britain and France, it seems that the world is in weather-induced chaos. Tragic losses of life and damages to livelihoods across the globe have shown the impact of extreme weather, which many believe to have been caused by anthropogenic climate change. There have been increased calls to question what may be influencing extreme weather and if parts of the world could become too dangerous to inhabit.

[Some fear] that parts of California are almost too dangerous to inhabit.

The San Fransisco Chronicle

Down under, Australian bushfires have been raging in Queensland and New South Wales, causing the Australian Government to temporarily elevate the national threat level to ‘catastrophic’ for the first time since 2009. It has since been downgraded again. It is thought that tinder-box conditions, caused by an unusually warm and dry winter, have caused these bushfires which now span 970,000 hectares.

Yosemite National Park, California, 2013. Source: US Department of Agriculture (via Flickr) mains uncertain when, and if, they will be able to return home. At least three people have died and hundreds of homes have been affected. Moreover, weather conditions are also anticipated to worsen in Australia as they head towards summer. Federal Greens MP Adam Bandt has stated that the fires are caused by climate change, suggesting that a lack of action by the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has worsened climate change’s effects on the country. At the time of writing, the Australian Government has officially refused to comment on whether they believe climate change has caused or contributed to the fires, but have offered their thoughts and prayers to the families impacted. The US has also suffered wildfires recently in California, with the San Francisco Chronicle recently reporting that there are “intensified fears that parts of California [have] become almost too dangerous to inhabit”. This came in light of recent fires across the Hollywood Hills.

This is a response from the people, not the authorities. Phil Bedford Stainforth Town Councillor

Toowoomba, Australia, 2011. Source: Kingbob86 (via Flickr) The two Australian states have declared a state of emergency in a move described as “unprecedented”, and fires have even begun to break out in some suburbs of Sydney. The bushfires have ultimately seen thousands being evacuated and it re-

At the end of October, thousands of residents in Los Angeles evacuated their homes and California’s governor declared a state-wide emergency. Northern California have also been facing wildfires with hundreds of thousands being ordered to evacuate just north of San Francisco. What’s more, the fires have left a million across California without electricity.

Closer to home, severe floods in parts of Yorkshire and the East Midlands have left English communities vulnerable and angry after what they are calling “government inaction” to effectively warn and prepare people. At the time of writing, over 400 homes were flooded in waters up to three metres deep, with a total of 43 active flood warnings and 103 flood alerts issued in total across the country. Severe torrential rain, which some have described as “Biblical”, have caused the River Don and Derwent to flood local communities. Residents of Fishlake in Doncaster are continuing to be rescued by fire service boats as homes and businesses remain flooded. Communities remain worried as the deluge is forecast to continue, with floodrisk warnings persisting over parts of England and Wales. It is thought that Fishlake residents could be homeless for “weeks”. Perceived inaction of local councils has left communities and local authorities to fend for themselves, some are saying, with Stainforth Town Councillor, Phil Bedford remarking, “This is a response from the people not the authorities.” Damage is currently estimated to have cost £400m in the Lower Don Valley alone.

Powys, Wales, 2007. Source: Alan Bowring (via geograph) At a national level, Jeremy Corbyn has condemned alleged inaction by Boris Johnson in light of the UK’s extreme weather in the north, stating, “If this had happened in Surrey, not Yorkshire or the East Midlands, it seems far more likely that a national emergency would have been declared.” Johnson previously said that the flooding was “not looking like something we need to escalate to the level of a national emergency”. However, the PM then chaired a Cobra committee meeting to discuss a response to the flooding. Understanding the causes of these cases of extreme weather is vital in understanding how best to plan and mitigate them in the future, some argue. It is believed that the increasing global temperature is partly to

blame for the intensity and ferocity of more recent storms, such as Storm Amelie which recently battered the French coastline and left an estimated 55,000 without electricity.

I know there will be people who will be worried about the insurance situation, about the losses they face. All I want to say to those people is that there are schemes to cover those losses. Boris Johnson

It is thought that increasing temperatures force the jet stream to act erratically and unpredictably. The jet stream is a high-altitude fast wind that shapes and influences weather and causes some of the most extreme weather events by causing areas of high pressure and low pressure to persist in one location. This increased atmospheric temperature is also thought to lead to increased water retention in the atmosphere, so also contributes to a greater number of, and more intense, torrential downpours, as seen in northern England recently. It appears that more extreme weather events across the globe may constitute the new normal, some are arguing. From ‘catastrophic’ Australian bushfires to devastating floods in England, freak weather events are occurring at home and away. Understanding the causes of these events may be the next step in ensuring the crises can be dealt with.

On an unrelated note... New Zealand to hold referendum on legalising euthanasia

ew Zealand’s Parliament plans to hold a national referendum in 2020 on legalising euthanasia after Parliament voted in favour of the idea. The Bill passed with 69-51 votes in support, with New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, also supporting calls for euthanasia reform. Since 2017, New Zealand’s parliament has debated eight times over the End of Life Choice Bill, and it is reported that 72% of New Zealanders support assisted dying in some form.

Jacinda Ardern. Source: Ulysse Bellier (via Flickr)

Saudi Arabia issues apology after labelling feminism as extremism

ne of Saudi Arabia’s state security agency social media accounts labelled feminism as extremism in a promotional video. The video also categorised homosexuality and atheism as “dangerous ideas”. The agency has since issued an apology and in a statement admitted the video contained multiple mistakes and says it will be investigating the video.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Source: apriltan18 (via Pixabay)

Thousands of charities in Uganda ordered to stop work in light of new regulations

ver 10,000 charities working in Uganda have been ordered to stop work immediately until they ensure they comply with new regulations issued by the Ugandan Government. A directive issued by the Government recently discovered that less than 4,000 charities out of 14,000 operated in the country had valid permits to work.

Riverside, Cardiff, 2018. Source: Jeremy Segrott (via Flickr)

Kabale, Uganda. Source: Charlotte King

taf od

Barn y Bobol

Wedi i Gymdeithas Bêldroed Cymru ryddhau ei chit newydd, Taf-od sy’n gofyn myfyrwyr Caerdydd am eu barn ar y crys newydd?

Elin Lloyd

Myfyrwraig ail flwyddyn Ffrangeg a Sbaeneg Gyda dwy gêm dyngedfennol yn wynebu tîm pêl-droed Cymru yr wythnos hon, un newid amlwg yn y gêm yn erbyn Azerbaijan nos Sadwrn, Tachwedd yr 16eg fydd y crys fydd y chwaraewyr yn ei wisgo. Er bod rhai yn eithaf beirniadol ohono gan ei fod yn debyg i grysau pêl-droed Sbaen a’r Wlad Belg, yn bersonol, dw i’n ei hoffi’n fawr. Mae’r lliwiau wedi eu hysbrydoli gan liwiau tarian Owain Glyndwr yn ogystal â lliwiau cefnogwyr y Wal Goch, ac felly mae’r crys yn plethu cysylltiad hanesyddol a chyfoes ar yr un pryd. Mae’r crys eisioes wedi bod yn rhan o ymgyrch gemau rhagbrofol Ewro 2020 y merched nos Fawrth (12 Tachwedd), pan gawson nhw gêm gyfartal yn erbyn Gogledd Iwerddon, a does ond gobeithio y bydd y crys hwn yn dod â lwc dda i dîm y dynion nos Sadwrn a nos Fawrth. Gobeithio hefyd y byddwn yn gweld mwy ohono yn yr Ewros y flwyddyn nesaf.

Tom Moore

Myfyriwr ail flwyddyn Fferylliaeth Yn fy marn i, mae cit newydd Cymru wedi hollti barn ymysg yr holl wlad. Dywed rhai fod y cit yn edrych yn anhygoel, gan ei fod yn cymryd ysbridoliaeth o Owain Glyndwr a traddodiadau Cymru. Mae’r defnydd o felyn yn wych, ac yn selio’r cit fel cit Cymru! Ar y llaw arall, mae nifer yn meddwl fod y cit yn edrych yn debyg iawn i cit tim rhyngwladol Sbaen nol yn 2007-09, a mae hyn yn mynd yn erbyn hanes diddorol Cymru o gael citiau unigryw. Ond, wrth ddod i gasgliad, mae’r cit newydd yma yn un sydd yn denu sylw, a hynny mewn ffordd dda. Gall y cit fod lot waeth, ond dwi’n credu bod hi’n cit fach neis ar y cyfan.

Rhys Green

Myfyriwr ail flwyddyn y Gyfraith Yn bersonol, rwy’n hoff iawn o git newydd Cymru er fy mod o’r farn bod y crest newydd yn ddiangen ac yn edrych yn waeth na’r un blaenorol, a oedd yn cynnwys y geiriau ‘Gorau Chwarae, Cyd Chwarae’. Mae’r cit yn wahanol iawn i’r arfer ac mae cyn lleied y wyrdd yn od iawn ,yn fy marn i. Mae’r cit wedi cael ei gymharu i git traddodiadol Sbaen ac rwy’n medru gweld hyn yn glir hefyd. Wedi dweud hynny rwy’n falch bod yna gwahaniaeth unigryw rhwng y citiau gan ei fod yn rhoi fwy o reswm i’w brynu.

Eich unig gyhoeddiad myfyrwyr wythnosol trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Sefydlwyd: 2003 Am fwy o gynnwys, ewch i gairrhydd.com/tafod

Eich adran taf-od Llion Carbis Aled Biston Rhodri Davies Deio Jones tafod@gairrhydd.com

NEWYDDION

Galw am wybodaeth gyffredin am Hanes Cymru A ddylai hanes Cymru cael ei blaenoriaethu yn ysgolion?

Rhodri Davies Golygydd Taf-Od

ae’r hyn sy’n cael ei ddysgu mewn ysgolion yng Nghymru am hanes Gymru yn “anghyson,” yn ôl Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chyfathrebu. Daw’r canfyddiad hyn wedi i’r pwyllgor gynnal ymchwiliad i’r pwnc wedi iddo ddod i frig y rhestr o bynciau trafod posib gafodd eu pleidleisio amdanynt mewn pleidlais gyhoeddus. Yn yr ymchwiliad, darganfyddon nhw bod yr hanes oedd yn cael ei ddysgu mewn ysgolion yng Nghymru’n amrywio o ysgol i ysgol. Oherwydd hyn, penderfynwyd bod angen dysgu gwybodaeth sy’n gyffredin i bawb am Hanes Cymru er mwyn bod disgyblion ysgol yng Nghymru yn gwybod am “ein stori genedlaethol.” Y pryder ynglŷn â hyn yw y bydd gormod o amrywiaeth o ran dysgu Hanes Cymru yn mynd i barhau i fod yn broblem o dan y cwricwlwm newydd sy’n dod i rym yn 2022 ac sydd heb ganllawiau clir ynglŷn â’r pynciau craidd. Fodd Bynnag, ymatebodd Llywodraeth Cymru gan ddweud. “Bydd hyblygrwydd y cwricwlwm newydd yn gwella dysgu hanes trwy adael i athrawon ddysgu gwersi mewn ffyrdd mwy creadigol sy’n fwy addas i’r dysgwyr rydym yn dysgu.”

Yr her nesaf yn ôl yr ymchwiliad yw darganfod ym mha ffordd y dylid dysgu’r gwaith yma. Er mwyn dod i’r penderfyniad gorau, maent am gynnal adolygiad i’r sefyllfa bresennol. Soniodd y Dr Elin Jones sef hanesydd ac academydd wrth y pwyllgor am eu rhwystredigaeth am y diffyg cynnydd yn y maes. Yn 2013, cyhoeddwyd mewn adroddiad argymhellion i hybu’r elfen o Gymraeg o fewn dysgu hanes. Dywedodd Dr Jones bod “dim hyder” ganddi y byddai gwellhad yn cael ei wneud i wersi hanes oherwydd y cwricwlwm newydd. Maes Dysgu a Phrofiad y dyniaethau yw enw’r rhan o’r drefn newydd y bydd y pwnc Hanes yn ymddangos ynddi. Mae hwn yn un o’r chwech o feysydd eang sy’n cymryd lle pynciau cul. Pwysleisiwyd y dimensiwn Gymraeg yn y fersiwn drafft gan ddweud y dylai dysgwyr ddatblygu “ymdeimlad o hunaniaeth, ymdeimlad o’u cynefin eu hunain, a dealltwriaeth o Gymru a’i lle yn y byd ehangach” Bydd y cwricwlwm newydd yn fwy cyffredinol ac o’r herwydd, ni fydd yna restr benodol o bynciau. Mae’r cwricwlwm cyffredinol yn rhoi’r hawl a’r gallu i athrawon benderfynu ar y cynnwys manwl eu hunain. Mae fframwaith a phwrpasau yn galluogi i hyn i ddigwydd. Rhoddwyd tystiolaeth ger bron y pwyllgor gan grwpiau gweithredu a

Castell Coch: Ydy Hanes Cymru yn cael sylw digonol o fewn addysg? Tarddiad: Jon Baker (drwy Flickr). oedd yn poeni gallai hyn arwain at ormod o amrywiaeth rhwng ysgolion yn y pynciau hanesyddol sy’n cael eu dysgu. Pryder Cymdeithas Owain Glyndŵr yw gallai arwain at sefyllfa ble mae disgyblion yn ffocysu yn ormodol ar hanes eu milltir ac yn hepgor datblygiadau pwysig hanesyddol mewn ardaloedd arall yng Nghymru. Yn ôl BBC Cymru Fyw, dywedodd y grŵp, “Fe allai disgyblion sy’n byw yng

nghymoedd y de ddatblygu gwybodaeth ddwys o’r diwydiant glo, ond fe fydden nhw siŵr o fod yn gwybod braidd dim am y diwydiant llechi yng Ngwynedd.” Mae hanes Cymru mor eang ac iddi sawl haen. Golyga hyn felly bod y dasg o ddewis a dethol yr hyn sy’n cael ei ddysgu yn mynd i fod yn ben-tost anferth i’r rheini sydd yn penderfynu pa ddigwyddiadau sy’n haeddu eu lle yn yr ystafell ddosbarth.

Enw llawn Llanfairpwll yn cael ei honni’n ‘dric parti’

Damcaniaeth diweddar gan John Humphrys ar raglen Mastermind Deio Jones Golygydd Taf-od

ywed gan gyflwynydd Mastermind John Humphrys ar Dachwedd y 9fed fod y gallu i ddweud ‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch’ yn ‘dric parti’. Roedd y cyflwynydd yn siarad gyda Sean Fletcher, sef newyddiadurwr sydd erbyn hyn yn dysgu Cymraeg. Mae Sean Fletcher yn briod â Luned Tonderai, merch yr Athro Robert Owen Jones, cyn-athro’r Gymraeg ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd. Gofynnodd Humphrys i Sean Fletcher geisio ynganu enw’r dref cyn iddo gyfaddau nad oedd eto yn gallu. Atebodd Humphrys ‘Dw i ddim yn eich beio chi, Dw i wedi gwastraffu tipyn o’m bywyd yn ceisio’i ddysgu fe. Dyw e ddim wedi bod yn ddefnyddiol iawn heblaw nawr, ond dyna ni. Pam Cymraeg?’ Dywedodd Fletcher ei fod wedi gaddo i’w wraig dros ‘gwydryn neu ddau o wîn’ ar noson eu priodas y byddai’n mynd ati i ddysgu’r Gymraeg. Clodforwyd hyn gan Humphrys a dywedodd ‘Ar wahân

i unrhyw beth arall, a dw i ddim eisiau sarhau’r iaith Gymraeg sydd, wrth gwrs, yn hardd ac yn rhyfeddol ac yn y blaen, ond dyw e ddim yn dric parti drwg, nac ydy?’ Mae gan yr enw 58 llythyren yn ei chyfanrwydd, ond mae trigolion y pentref erbyn hyn yn ei alw’n Llanfairpwll neu Llanfair PG. Fel unigolyn sydd wedi cael magwraeth yn yr ardal, mae’n rhaid dweud fod yr enw yn llawer mwy na ‘tric parti’ yn unig. Mae’r enw yn wahoddiad ar gyfer twristiaeth draw yn Ynys Môn. Ers blynyddoedd mae pobl ifanc wedi bod yn mynd i’r ganolfan dwristiaeth i hel pres wrth ddweud yr enw yn ei chyfanrwydd wrth dwristiaid yn gyfnewid am bunt neu ddwy. Creuwyd yr enw yn yr 1900au mewn ymgyrch i ddenu fwy o dwristiaid i’r ardal gan grydd o Borthaethwy, ac mae’r enw wedi gwasanaethu ei bwrpas hyd at heddiw. Mae sector Twristiaeth Sir Fôn yn dal i dyfu, ac wedi cynyddu 63.7% rhwng 2006 a 2017 wrth fynd o £185.89miliwn i £304.23miliwn, yn ôl Adroddiad Twristiaeth Cyngor Sir Fôn.

Diwylliannol neu’n dric parti?: Mae Llanfairpwll yn dennu nifer o dwristiaid bob blwyddyn. Tarddiad: Jonny Hughes (drwy flickr) Nid dim ond yr enw yw unig ffocws y pentref at gael twristiaid i fynychu, gan fod y pentref yn ddiweddar wedi ei enwi yn ‘bentref di-fwg’. Ymgyrch ar gyfer lleihau nifer ysmygwyr yn y pentref yw’r teitl ac mae’n gyfraniad tuag at unigrwydd yr ardal. Yn ôl amcangyfrifon, mae’r gost o drin effaith ysmygu yng Nghymru dros £350 miliwn y flwyddyn ond mae costau eraill hefyd ynghlwm wrth yr arferiad.

Un o’r rhain yw’r gost o lanhau’r llanast sy’n cael ei achosi gan nwyddau tybaco - £25 miliwn arall bob blwyddyn. Mae’n deg dweud fod hyn yn sicrhau fod pentref ‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch’ yn llawer mwy nag dim ond pentref gydag enw sydd yn ‘dric parti’, ond yn golofn hanfodol ymysg beth sydd gan ddiwydiant twristiaeth Cymru i’w gynnig.

TAF-OD

Cytundebau etholiadol yn domiynddu’r Etholiad Cyffredinol

Pryd o Daf-od Tomos Topps

Wedi agoriad Winter Wonderland Caerdydd yr wythnos diwethaf mae’n bwysig gofyn os mai ffordd dda o ddathlu’r Nadolig yw ymestyn y dathliadau i ddechrau mis Tachwedd ynteu teclun marchnata defnyddiol i gymryd mantais ar haelioni a hapusrwydd pobl dros yr ŵyl ydi o? Mae nifer yn credu mai 24 diwrnod

Trafod gyda’r

Yn Trafod gyda’r Taf-od wythnos yma mae...

taf-od

Anest Eurig

1. Pwy wyt ti a beth wyt ti’n astudio?

9. Beth oedd y diwrnod gorau iti ei gael erioed?

Anest Eurig. Dw i’n astudio y Gyfraith a Gwleidyddiaeth.

Mae ‘na lawer o atgofion melys yn dod i’r cof

2. Beth yw’r digwyddiad sy’n codi’r mwyaf o embaras arnat?

10. Beth yw dy gas beth?

Crôl teulu!

Sambuca

3. Beth oedd dy air cyntaf?

11. Beth fyddet ti’n gwneud yn ystod dy noson ddelfrydol?

Dim syniad i fod yn onest.

Clwb!

4. Pe fyddet ti ar yr X-Factor, pa gân byddet ti’n ei chanu a pham?

12. Pe taset gallu bod yn unrhyw anifail am ddiwrnod, pa un fyddet ti’n dewis, a pham?

Hallelujah, Alexandra Burke. 5. Beth fyddet ti’n ei archebu o’r bwyty Indiaidd lleol?

gerdded i ddarlithoedd a diolchwch fod ganddoch wely i’w gysgu ynddo a thô uwch eich pennau. Mae cynnifer o bobl yn gallu colli eu ffocws ar y pethau sydd yn bwysig yng nghanol holl gynnwrf y Nadolig wrth feddwl am yr anrhegion lu sydd angen eu prynnu a’r holl fwyd sydd angen ei fwyta a dydi dod a’r dathliadau ynghynt yn y flwyddyn yn gwneud dim i helpu hynny. Mae’r Nadolig yn gyfnod costus i bawb ac mae’r Bank of England yn dweud fod y cartref arferol yn gwario £500 yn fwy dros fis Rhagfyr nag unrhyw fis arall yn y flwyddyn. Gan ystyried fod marchnata nawr yn fwy gweledol nac erioed gan i hysbysebion ymddangos ar y teledu ac ar gyfryngau cymdeithasol, mae’n naturiol fod rhagor o bobl yn mynd i’w gweld. O ganlyniad i’r ffaith fod yr marchnata yma yn dechrau ynghynt bob blwyddyn mae’n ychwanegu at y pwysau sydd ar rieni gan fod y plant yn swnian yn fwyfwy am eu teclunnau gwerthfawr ac gan eu bod efallai yn cymharu ei hunain i’w cydweithwyr neu eu ffrindiau ac yn teimlo eu bod yn gorfod gwneud cystal ymdrech a nhw. Mae’n annheg i bwysleisio gymaint ar bethau materol megis yr holl iPads a’r iMacs pan fod nifer

Pysgodyn, er mwyn profi’r gallu i anadlu o dan dŵr.

Allan ar ôl addysg: Anest yn mwynhau adloniant Calan Gaeaf. Tarddiad: Anest Eurig

13. Disgrifia dy hun mewn 3 gair.

Chicken Korma (dewis diflas iawn) a digon o peshwari naan

Cymraes, procrastinator a hapus

6. Pwy oeddet ti’n ffansio pan oeddet ti’n iau?

14. Pwy fydd yn trafod ‘da’r Tafod wythnos nesaf?

Zayn o One Direction

Magi Tudur

7. Pwy yw dy hoff fand/artist? Lizzo! Yn enwedig pan dwi ‘di meddwi 8. Prosecco neu champagne? Pam? y ddau?!

Clwbio yn Clwb: Dathlu yng Nghlwb Ifor! Tarddiad: Anest Eurig

o deuluoedd yn poeni fwy am sut fod y pryd nesaf yn mynd i gael ar y bwrdd ac yn gorfod ymweld a banciau bwyd. Mae’n bwysig dathlu’r Nadolig er mwyn dysgu y gwerthoedd mae’n ei gynrychioli. Digon hawdd yw canolbwyntio ar yr anrhegion gan anghofio fod nifer o bobl dal yn dioddef dros yr ŵyl. Cymerwch funud dros y Nadolig i ystyried os yr ydych yn dathlu’r Nadolig yn ei wir ystyr neu os yr ydych yn canolbwyntio ar y pethau materol. Mae’r byd yn gallu troi’n le annifyr ac unig iawn i bobl yn hawdd iawn ac efallai mai chi fydd y llais cyfeillgar yna fydd rhywun yn ei angen i godi eu hwyliau ac i’w ysgogi i gario ‘mlaen.

Dathliadau’r Nadolig: Ydyn ni’n dathlu’r Nadolig yn rhy gynnar? Tarddiad: Neil Schofield (drwy Flickr)

Aled Biston Golygydd Taf-od

n sgil yr etholiad cyffredinol, a fydd yn digwydd ar Ragfyr 12, mae nifer o bleidiau wedi cytuno ar gytundeb fydd yn golygu na fyddent yn sefyll yn erbyn eu gilydd mewn nifer o seddi. Mae Plaid Cymru, y Blaid Werdd a’r Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol, wedi cytuno i ddim sefyll yn erbyn eu gilydd mewn 60 o seddi dros Gymru a Lloegr, gyda’r bwriad o gynyddu’r nifer o AC’au o blaid aros yn yr Undeb Ewropeaidd (UE). Mae’r Blaid Brexit hefyd wedi datgan nad ydynt am sefyll yn seddi enillwyd gan y Ceidwadwyr yn yr etholiad 2017, sef 317 sedd. Mae’r cytundeb rhwng y pleidiau o blaid aros o fewn yr UE yn un sydd yn bwriadu cynyddu nifer yr AC’au yn erbyn Brexit yn San Steffan. Disgrifiwyd y cytundeb gan Heidi Allen, Cadeirydd y grŵp ‘Unite to Remain’ fel cyfle i newid cydbwysedd y pŵer o fewn gwleidyddiaeth. Bydd y cytundeb hwn yn gweld ond un ymgeisydd o’r tair plaid yn sefyll yn y 60 sedd. Nid oedd Llafur ‘na’r SNP wedi cytuno i’r cytundeb, gan nodi eu rhesymau dros eu gwneud. Nid yw’r fath o gytundeb yma yn newydd o fewn gwleidyddiaeth Prydain. Gwelwyd cytundeb rhwng union yr un pleidiau yn yr isetholiad ym Mrycheiniog a Faesyfed cwpwl o fisoedd yn ôl, lle roedd yr ymgeisydd dros y Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol wedi ennill yn erbyn ymgeisydd y Ceidwadwyr. Ar yr asgell dde, mae’r Blaid Brexit wedi creu cytundeb gyda’r Ceidwadwyr sydd yn golygu ni fydd y Blaid Brexit yn sefyll yn llefydd enillwyd gan y Ceidwadwyr yn 2017. Golyga hyn felly, bod y Blaid Brexit yn targedu 40 sedd ‘allweddol’ daliwyd gan y Blaid Lafur neu bleidiau o blaid aros yn yr UE. Bwriad y cytundeb yma yw ceisio cael digon o AC’au o blaid Brexit o fewn San Steffan er mwyn cyflawni Brexit, ac wrth dargedau’r seddi o blaid yr UE mae’r Blaid Brexit am gyflawni’r hyn sydd yn ei enw. Mae Brexit heb gael ei basio o fewn Tai’r Cyffredin, ac mae Boris Johnson yn awyddus iawn i basio Brexit cyn gynted â phosib, felly mae’r cytundeb yma yn gweithio i’r ddwy blaid wrth gyflawnu eu nod. Hanfod y cytundebau yma yw Brexit, nid oes amau hynny. Mae Brexit felly yn dominyddu’r etholiad yma, ac wedi dominyddu gwleidyddiaeth Prydain dros y tair blynedd diwethaf. Mae’n anodd iawn ceisio rhagfynegi canlyniad yr etholiad yma, gan fod nifer o ganlyniadau posib. A fydd y Ceidwadwyr yn cael mwyafrif, neu bydd angen iddynt gyd-weithio gyda’r Blaid Brexit? Os yw Llafur yn ennill, a fyddent yn cael mwyafrif? Os na, a fyddent yn cyd-weithio gyda Nicola Sturgeon a’r SNP? Beth bynnag y canlyniad, bydd y cytundebau yma rhwng y pleidiau yn cael effaith fawr ar siâp gwleidyddiaeth Prydain wedi’r etholiad a sefyllfa Brexit.

taf od

Tomos Topps sy’n gofyn a ydy’n cymdeithas yn dathlu’r Nadolig yn rhy gynnar?

yr Adfent yw’r cyfnod priodol i baratoi tuag at yr ŵyl ond erbyn heddiw fe welwn nifer o siopau yn dechrau marchnata cynnyrch y Nadolig yn syth ar ôl Calan Gaea’. Mae’r Nadolig yn gyfnod pwysig iawn i siopau’r Stryd Fawr gan iddynt weld cynnydd enfawr yn eu gwerthiant ond ydy hynny’n esgus i ddod a dathliadau’r Nadolig yn gynharach bob blwyddyn? Yn draddodiadol mae’r Nadolig yn achlysur i’w ddathlu ac i fwynhau yng nghwmni’r teulu ond fe ellir dadlau fod yr holl gynnwrf annioddefol am ddeufis cyn y Nadolig yn rhoi pwysau annheg ar yr unigolion yno yn ein cymdeithas sydd methu fforddio gwario’n helaeth ar anrhegion a trimmings. Mae’r Nadolig hefyd yn amser i fod yn ddiolchgar ac i rannu gyda’n cyfoedion felly oes na bwysau ar y rhai yno o fewn cymdeithas i gefnogi y rhai llai ffodus? Yma yng Nghaerdydd fe welwn nifer o bobl ddigartref yn crwydro ac yn cysgu ar Heol y Frenhines a St Mary’s yn fwyfwy yn ddiweddar nac erioed. Efallai eich bod yn meddwl dim ohonynt wrth gerdded heibio yn brysur wrth eich busnes ond cofiwch amdanynt pan yr ydych yn cwyno am fod yn oer wrth

TAF-OD

Gwaddol heb ei ail: Warnock yn gadael Caerdydd

CHWARAEON

Cymru yn erbyn y byd, a fydd llwyddiant? Mae gan dîm Ryan Giggs cyfle i gyrraedd Ewro 2020

Llion Carbis Pennaeth y Gymraeg

ae un o benodau mwyaf diddorol a ddramatig yn hanes clwb pêl-droed Caerdydd ar ben wrth i Neil Warnock gadael yr Adar Gleision wedi dros dair blynedd wrth y llyw fel hyfforddwr y tîm. Yn ystod ei gyfnod fel yr hyfforddwr, achubodd Caerdydd o gwympo i drydedd haen cynghrair pêl-droed Lloegr, arweiniodd y clwb at ddyrchafiad i Uwch Gynghrair Lloegr ac, wrth gwrs, deliodd â chyfnod tywyllaf Caerdydd wedi trasiedi Emiliano Sala. Fel hyfforddwr sy’n hoff o ddatgan ei safbwyntiau yn benderfynol, roedd Warnock yn aml yn hollti barn ymysg cefnogwyr, chwaraewyr a hyfforddwyr eraill; ond o’r cychwyn cyntaf, roedd ymdeimlad bod Warnock yn ddewis delfrydol i Gaerdydd. Roedd nifer o’r farn, a soniodd Warnock ei hun wrth ymuno a’r clwb, ei bod yn hyderus o ennill cefnogaeth cefnogwyr Caerdydd. Dyna’n union wnaeth yn ystod ei gyfnod yn y brifddinas. Etifeddodd tîm a oedd yn preswylio’n druenus yn yr ail safle o waelod y tabl yn y Bencampwriaeth ym mis Hydref 2016. O fewn blwyddyn a hanner arweiniodd Warnock yr Adar Gleision i Uwch Gynghrair Lloegr yn haf 2018 gyda chyfanswm pwyntiau o 90 – yr wythfed tro i Warnock ennill dyrchafiad, record i’r hyfforddwr hynod brofiadol. Nid oedd arddull chwarae Warnock yn eithriadol o gyffrous, ond hynod effeithiol ydoedd. Ar y cyd gyda Wolves, roedd gan Gaerdydd y record amddiffynnol gorau yn y gynghrair, ond yn ildio 39 gôl mewn 46 gêm. Dyma oedd sylfaen arddull Caerdydd, amddiffyn cryf a chorfforol gydag ymosod pwrpasol a chlinigol. Nid yw cadw’r bêl erioed wedi bod yn flaenoriaeth i dimau Warnock ar hyd y blynyddoedd, ond gosododd Warnock pwyslais anferthol ar sut roedd ei dimau yn uchafu meddiant. Wedi dechrau heriol yn Uwch Gynghrair Lloegr – roedd rhaid i Gaerdydd aros am ei nawfed gêm o’r tymor yn erbyn Fulham am ei buddugoliaeth gyntaf – daeth yr Adar Gleision o fewn trwch blewyn o aros yn y Gynghrair, ond cwpl o bwyntiau oedd yn gwahanu nhw a Brighton. Yn amlwg, yr her dwysaf oll oedd delio a cholled Emiliano Sala, ac wrth i glwb wynebu trasiedi o’r fath, nid yw’r pêl-droed yn teimlo gymaint o flaenoriaeth. Ni fyth unrhyw un sy’n gysylltiedig â’r clwb yn anghofio’r bennod hunllefus yna. Ers i Gaerdydd ddychwelyd i’r Bencampwriaeth, nid yw Caerdydd wedi llwyddo i berfformio yn ôl disgwyliadau’r clwb â’r cefnogwyr. Mae cwpl o golledion yn y gemau dderbi yn erbyn Abertawe a Chaerdydd wedi gweld yr Adar Gleision yn disgyn i’r 14eg safle yn y Gynghrair, gyda Warnock a’r clwb yn gytûn bod Caerdydd angen arweiniad newydd. Yn ystod ei gyfnod fel hyfforddwr Caerdydd, mae Warnock wedi uno clwb a oedd yn hynod doredig a bellach yn gadael y brifddinas ag gwaddol heb ei ail.

Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd: Lleoliad y gêm allweddol. Tarddiad: Llion Carbis

Llion Carbis Pennaeth y Gymraeg

yma ni, gyfeillion. Mae Cymru ar drothwy dwy gêm anferthol, gemau sydd am benderfynu ein ffawd. A fydd y garfan yn atgyfodi ysbryd Haf 2016 a chyrraedd pencampwriaeth yr Ewros am ond yr ail dro yn ein hanes? Yn nodweddiadol i Gymru, nad ydym yn wynebu sefyllfa hynod gyfforddus. Gyda Chymru yn ennill ond dau allan o chwe gêm yng ngrŵp E hyd yma, rhaid i dîm Ryan Giggs curo Azerbaijan a Baku a Hwngari yng Nghaerdy-

dd – gan obeithio hefyd bydd Croatia yn curo Slofacia – er mwyn sicrhau ein lle yn Ewro 2020. Yn ffodus, mae’r posibilrwydd o gyrraedd y gemau ail gyfle yng Nghynghrair y Cenhedloedd yn cynnig ffordd amgen o gyrraedd Ewro 2020; onid sicrhau ein lle trwy’r ffyrdd arferol bydd y modd fwyaf pleserus o gyrraedd pencampwriaeth arall? Wedi cwpl o gemau cyfartal yn y cyfnod diwethaf o bêl-droed ryngwladol – canlyniadau sydd wedi cymhlethu’r her o gyrraedd Ewro 2020 – bydd nifer yn disgwyl y byddaf yn teimlo’n nerfus ac yn bryderus

am obeithion Cymru, ond nad wyf yn teimlo fel na o gwbl – nid o bell ffordd! Er gwaethaf ein bod yn y pedwerydd safle yng Ngrŵp E ac ond wedi ennill chwarter o’m gemau; roedd y perfformiadau yn erbyn Slofacia a Chroatia ym mis Hydref yn rhai calonogol. Dyma oedd y tro gyntaf gwelsom hunaniaeth ganfyddadwy i chwarae Cymru, gyda phresenoldeb Kieffer Moore yn galluogi Cymru i ymosod yn uniongyrchol ac yn bwrpasol. Mae anfodlonrwydd Giggs o beidio chwarae ag ymosodwr traddodiadol wedi gwylltio nifer yn y Wal Goch, ond, ymddengys bod yr hyfforddwr yn barod i addasu. Yn wir, cafodd yr ymdeimlad o sefydlogrwydd ar sail arddull Cymru ei atgyfnerthu gan benderfyniad Giggs i ddechrau’r un 11 a chwaraeodd i ffwrdd yn Slofacia yn erbyn Croatia yn Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd. Yn y ddwy gêm, penderfynodd Giggs i flaenoriaethu disgyblaeth a’r gallu i greu cyfleoedd dros awydd i gadw meddiant. Profodd y penderfyniad ffrwyth wrth i Gymru efelychu arddull wedi seilio ar wrthymosod, meddylfryd a oedd yn ganolog i lwyddiant

Chris Coleman fel hyfforddwr y tîm cenedlaethol. Yn amlwg, nid oes gan Gymru hanes arbennig o ennill gemau hollbwysig. Hyd yn oed wrth i ni gyrraedd Ewro 2016, fe gollodd Cymru 2-0 i Fosnia yn y gêm dyngedfennol, ond buddugoliaeth Cyprus yn erbyn Israel a oedd wedi cadarnhau lle Cymru mewn cystadleuaeth ryngwladol am y tro gyntaf ers 1958. Erbyn yr amser bod yr erthygl yma yn cael ei gyhoeddi, bydd Cymru wedi herio Azerbaijan yn Baku – ac o bosib, bydd y canlyniad yn tanseilio fy ngeiriau, ond credaf yn gryf fod Gymru am lwyddo y tro yma. Gyda’r posibilrwydd o weld Ramsey yn cynrychioli ei wlad am y tro gyntaf mewn blwyddyn, a gyda Ben Davies yn adrodd fod Gareth Bale yn ymddangos yn ffit ac yn holliach; mae digon o resymau i fod yn obeithiol. Yn annisgwyl i gefnogwr Cymru, rwyf lawn hyder bydd y tîm cenedlaethol yn curo Azerbaijan a Hwngari a chyrraedd Ewro 2020. Mae gan y garfan cyfle arbennig i gyrraedd cystadleuaeth ryngwladol ac ail-sgwennu pennod euraidd pêl-droed Cymru; dyma’r amser iddynt ddisgleirio.

Diolch Warren: talu teyrnged i arwr rygbi Cymru Roedd Warren Gatland wedi trawsnewid rygbi Cymru yn llwyr

Owain Ap Myrddin Cyfrannydd

ae’r llen wedi disgyn ar yrfa Warren Gatland fel hyfforddwr Cymru bellach ac mae cyfnod o newid ar droed ym myd rygbi Cymru. Ond mae hi’n amser i edrych yn ôl ac asesu pa mor llwyddiannus oedd cyfnod Gatland yn gyntaf a pha ddylanwad y mae o wedi ei adael ar rygbi yma yng Nghymru? Er mwyn asesu cyfnod Gatland mae’n rhaid asesu sut oedd rygbi Cymru yn edrych cyn iddo gyrraedd. Roedd y tîm yn llawn o sêr byd megis Shane Williams, Gavin Henson, James Hook a Lee Byrne ond gadael Cwpan y Byd yn y grŵpiau wnaeth Cymru yn 2007 gan golli i Ffiji yn Nantes. Ond yn 2008 roedd Gatland wrth y llyw ac roedd y tîm yn nôl yn chwarae rygbi cyflym gyda’r chwaraewyr a enwir uchod yn dangos sgiliau rhagorol a Chymru’n sgorio ceisiau o bob man ar y cae. Ennillodd Cymru’r Gamp Lawn a churo Lloegr oddi cartref am y tro cyntaf ers ugain mlynedd ac roedd pawb, bron, wedi anghofio am fethiannau’r tîm yng nghwpan y byd ychydig fisoedd ynghynt. Parhaodd y llwyddiant cynnar hyn wrth i Gymru guro Awstralia yng ngêmau’r Hydref i gwblhau blwyddyn anghygoel. Yn raddol bu i’r tîm cynnar hwn gan Gatland, a oedd yn llawn chwaraewyr cyflym gyda sgiliau, i fod yn dîm gyda chwaraewyr llawer iawn yn fwy o ran maint ond o bosib heb y sgiliau rhagorol hyn. Newidwyd Byrne am Halfpenny, Henson am Jamie Roberts a Martyn Williams am Warburton, a gyda hyn yn raddol bu i’r antur difflannu o’r tîm ac roedd llawer mwy o bwyslais ar amddiffyn a chicio, yn hytrach na rhedeg a

Diolch Warren: Bydd Gatland yn cael ei hystyried fel un o arwyr rygbi Cymru. Tarddiad: National Assembly for Wales (drwy Flickr) phasio. Er hyn parhaodd y llwyddiant rhai ifanc cyn hyn ac felly roedd rhwng Camp Lawn 2019 ac yr holl ffordd i gan gyrraedd rownd gyn-derfynol Cw- 2014-2017 yn gyfnod o chwarae nifer o rownd gyn-derfynol Cwpan y Byd yn pan y Byd yn 2011, Camp Lawn yn 2012 chwaraewyr di-brofiad. Oherwydd hyn 2019. a’r Bencampwriaeth yn 2013. Yn ogystal ni fu llawer o lwyddiant i’r tîm a bu nifer Gellir rhannu cyfnod Gatland yn 3 bu i dalp helaeth o’r tîm fynd ar daith fawr o gefnogwyr Cymru yn galw am rhan yn fy marn i. Y llwyddiant cynnar lwyddiannus y Llewod gyda Gatland, i hyfforddwr newydd yn enwedig wrth rhwng 2008-2013, y cyfnod caled rhwng Awstralia yn 2013. weld y Scarlets yn cael llwyddiant wrth 2014-2017 tra’r oedd yn ail-adeiladu’r Yn dilyn 2013 daeth cyfnod caled chwarae eu brand anturus nhw o rygbi. tîm hwn, ac yna’r llwyddiant diweddar i Gatland wrth y llyw, roedd nifer o Ond ar daith yr haf 2018 bu newid i rhwng 2018 a nawr gyda’r tîm hwn. Mae hoelion wyth ei dîm megis Mike Phil- rygbi Cymru, wrth i fechgyn ifanc me- Gatland yn bendant wedi dod a phroflips, Adam Jones a Gethin Jenkins gis Tomos Williams, Elliot Dee ac Owen fesiynoldeb i rygbi Cymru, wedi dod a’g yn heneiddio ac roedd angen gwaed Watkin sêrennu mewn buddugoliaethau agwedd well i’r tîm ac wrth gwrs wedi newydd ar y tîm. Y broblem oedd nad dros yr Ariannin a De Affrica. Parhaodd dod a llwyddiant. Felly a’r ran Cymru oedd Gatland wedi rhoi digon o gyfle i’r y llwyddiant drwy gêmau’r Hydref 2018, fedrai ddim ond dweud, diolch Warren.

Tuesday 19th November

Film night: The Perks of Being a Wallflower 18:30, The Lounge

Monday 25th November

Student Led Services Fair 10:00-16:00, Y Stiwdio, 1st floor

Wednesday 27th November

Suicide Prevention Workshop hosted by Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Staff, 12:30-16:30 John Percival building P/1.19

Thursday 28th November

The Taf Quiz takeover on male mental health 20:00, The Taf

For more content, head to gairrhydd.com/politics

GWLEIDYDDIAETH

A look at Cardiff Central and Cardiff North An introduction to two local constituencies and whether control of the seats may change on December 12

Hallum Cowell Politics Editor Cardiff Central 2017 Results Turnout: 40,367 (68.1%) Labour Party: 25,193 Conservative Party: 7,997 The Liberal Democrats: 5,415 Plaid Cymru: 999 The Green Party : 420 UKIP: 343 Majority: 17,196

Central North 2017 Results Turnout: 52,022 (77.4%) Labour Party: 26,081 Conservative Party: 21,907 Plaid Cymru: 1,738 The Liberal Democrats: 1,714 UKIP: 582 Majority: 4,174

ardiff is divided into four main constituencies, Cardiff; North, South, Central and West. All of these are part of the larger South Glamorgan region of Wales alongside the Vale of Glamorgan constituency. All of the Cardiff constituencies elected Labour MPs while the Vale of Glamorgan had a Conservative MP who was until recently Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns.

Cardiff Central Cardiff Central is currently a comfortable Labour constituency, with Jo Stevens holding a majority of 17,196. During the 2017 general election the Conservative Party came second with the Liberal Democrats coming third. In this election many of the parties that held under 1,000 votes each have not stood candidates for the seat and have opted instead to join the Unite to Remain alliance. Plaid Cymru and the Green Party have agreed to step aside and ask voters to vote for the Liberal Democrat candidate, Dr Bablin Molik, to represent Cardiff Central. Jo Stevens is hoping to keep her

seat in the upcoming election as the candidate for the Labour Party. Also announced as contesting the seat at the time of writing are the Conservative Party’s Meirion Jenkins; the Brexit Party’s Gareth Pierce, Ein Gwlad candidate, Siân Mair Caiach, Brian Johnson for the Socialist Party and Akil Meslim Mahamad Kata as an Independent. Cardiff Central voted ‘remain’ during the Brexit referendum with 68% of the area voting in favour of the UK’s membership of the EU. The constituency which covers Cathays, Roath and Cardiff University itself is home to many students. It is estimated that nearly 50% of the constituents are between the age of 18 and 35. Therefore the student vote could prove highly significant on December 12.

Cardiff North

The constituency of Cardiff North was won by the Labour Party in the 2017 general election, electing Anna McMorrin as its Member of Parliament. The seat is considered marginal as McMorrin’s majority is only 4,174

with the Conservatives following a close second. Historically, the constituency has been split between Labour and the Conservatives, being held by Labour between 1997 and 2010 when the Conservative Party gained control which it maintained until the 2017 election when Anna McMorrin was elected. Whilst the Labour majority in 2017 was a little over 4,000 votes, the Labour vote share had however increased by 11.9% after the 2015 general election. The constituency voted to remain in the European Union at 60% - 40%. Cardiff North encompasses areas such as Thornhill, Old St. Mellons, Birchgrove and student residencies Talybont Gate, Talybont Noth and Talybont South while Talybont Court is part of Cardiff Central. The current candidates for Cardiff North are Anna McMorrin for the Labour Party, Mohamed Ali for the Conservative Party, Steffan Webb for Plaid Cymru, Rhys Taylor for the Liberal Democrats, Michael Cope for the Green Party, Christopher John Butler for the Brexit Party and Richard Jones as an Independent.

What do the presidents of Cardiff University’s political party societies think? “In the constituencies of Cardiff Central and Cardiff North, I think Labour will retain the seats. This is because both of the Welsh Labour candidates Jo Stevens in Cardiff Central and Anna McMorrin in Cardiff North have been hugely outspoken on the issue of Brexit.

To contact our politics desk, drop us an email at politics@gairrhydd.com

POLITICS

Leo Holmes Labour

“We’re campaigning right across Cardiff. We’ve got two fantastic candidates in Cardiff North and Cardiff Central, Mo Ali and Meirion Jenkins. We’re out every day, whether that be on the phones or on the doorstep speaking to local residents and listening to their concerns.

James Wallice Conservative

We’re campaigning hard in Cardiff North and Mo’s a fantastic candidate who deserves to be our MP. The response has been really positive and we’re seeing former Labour supporters who voted to leave the EU, fed up of Corbyn’s second referendum rhetoric switching to the Tory Party. The choice in Cardiff is clear, delay, dither and a second referendum under Corbyn or leaving the EU and getting on with the issues that really matter like policing, the NHS and the environment under Boris Johnson and the Conservatives.”

“I’m confident of a win in Cardiff Central. There is recent polling by FocalData putting us neck and neck with Labour. That was before Plaid Cymru and the Greens courageously entered into a Remain Alliance with us. Coupled with that our candidate Dr Bablin Molik knows the area really well. She’s lived in Cardiff Central since moving from Bangladesh as a child. She studied at Cardiff University and now she runs a charity preventing sight loss in Wales. Matthew Morgan: Liberal Democrats

Your politics desk Lowri Pitcher Hallum Cowell Tom-Henry Jones Maisie Marston

Although many of us in the Labour Party wished to have an election not dominated by Brexit, the ‘remain’ voices of Jo and Anna have resonated with people in Central and North, and this is clear to see on the doorstep whilst campaigning so far. Both of the candidates also hold true socialist values at the core of their beliefs, standing up for their constituents at the Westminster level in the wake of the privatisation agenda of the Tory Party.”

Wiliam Rees: Plaid Cymru

In Cardiff North we’ve been picking up support from disaffected Conservative voters. I’ve knocked on a few doors in Cardiff North and one man really sticks in mind. He is a veteran who’s voted Conservative all his life. Well, he’s fed up of the Conservative’s views on the European Union and he’s voting Liberal Democrat in the next election.”

“This general election is our opportunity in Wales to reject a dangerous and damaging Brexit and send Westminster a message that Wales can’t be ignored any longer. As part of the Remain Alliance, Plaid Cymru has stood down in Cardiff Central, in order to not split the Remain vote. In the seats where we are standing, such as Cardiff North, I’m confident that Plaid Cymru will secure some of our best ever results as people are waking up to the fact that Westminster is no longer working for Wales.”

GWLEIDYDDIAETH 11 Resignations on both sides of the divide A recap of all the events that happened in the campaign this week

Weekly general election round up

Maisie Marston Politics Editor t exactly 00:01 on Wednesday, November 6, Parliament was dissolved and the campaign period for the general election on December 12 began. The first order of business for Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to visit Buckingham Palace to tell the Queen that, despite the fact she had only just opened a new parliamentary session, the election was now on and Parliament would consequently be dissolved.

ty, the Liberal Democrats came under fire for misleading campaign materials. Among these are leaflets which suggest large media outlets think the party is ‘winning’ when in reality the outlets were quoting party leader Jo Swinson, this is in addition to using bar charts in key seats suggesting the party is neckand-neck with the Conservatives.

The Conservative Party Aside from the loss of a number of MPs and the resignation of the Welsh Secretary, the Conservative Party faced some controversy after Jacob ReesMogg suggested that victims of the Grenfell Tower fire lacked common sense by following the ‘stay-put’ advice given by the fire service. The Party was also accused of fake news after an edited a video of Labour Party politician Keir Starmer was published on the Conservatives’ social media accounts which portrayed Starmer as unable to answer a simple question about Brexit.

Steve Bray: The ‘Stop Brexit Man’ as he is known has been selected as a Lib Dem candidate. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Labour Party Labour did not get off to a smooth start either. As is traditional with Labour’s campaigning, the party promised to vastly increase public spending was consequently heavily criticised by various economists and Conservative party politicians who deem the plans unaffordable and damaging to the economy. Last week, the Party also announced that it had been hit by two different cyber-attacks; one on Monday, and another on Tuesday. The method used is known as the Distributed Denial

of Service (DDoS) attack, which swamps a computer server with traffic with the aim to make their software crash. Hacker group Lizard Squad has since claimed responsibility for the attack. The Liberal Democrats As for the Liberal Democrats, it was announced that they had selected Steve Bray as their parliamentary candidate for Cynon Valley. Bray is more commonly known for sporting a Union Jack tuxedo, ‘Stop Brexit’ top hat, and shouting through a megaphone outside of Parliament. Just like the Conservative Par-

The Brexit Party The Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage dominated the news earlier last week after announcing his party will not contest the 317 seats won by the Conservatives during the 2017 general election. He stated that the Party would, however, contest in every seat won by Labour during the last election. Farage is now urging Johnson to stand Conservative candidates aside for Brexit Party candidates in constituencies they are unlikely to win. Farage himself will also not be standing to become an MP at the upcoming election. With less than 4 weeks to go, parties are expected to release their manifestos to set out the full range of proposals they will be campaigning on.

The ‘Unite to Remain’ alliance to contest 11 Welsh seats

The Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Plaid Cymru agree to election pact in 60 seats across the UK

Emily Withers Contributor

uring recent weeks, there has been much talk across the UK about alliances or electoral pacts between rival political parties. It has been said that these alliances are established to prevent diluting the vote between parties with similar views on Brexit. It was announced last week that a pact between Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats means that they will not stand against each other in 11 Welsh seats, and in 60 across the whole of the UK. In practice in the 11 Welsh seats, the pact means that Plaid Cymru will not compete against the Liberal Democrats or the Green Party in seven seats, the Liberal Democrats will not compete against the Green Party and Plaid Cymru in three seats, and the Greens will not compete against the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru in one seat. The parties believe that this will increase the chances of pro-remain MPs to be elected in Wales. They will target key seats like Cardiff Central in a bid, as they argue, to put the country’s future before party politics.

The leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price, said: “In these deeply serious times we need grown-up politics that puts our countries before parties. The single most important thing in this election is that we return as many pro-Remain MPs back in Parliament as possible.” Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville-Roberts said she hopes the parties coming together gives “some credibility” to politics. ”Our message is clear. This is what matters to us and this is why we’re acting this way,” she told the Unite to Remain press conference. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader, Jane Dodds said: “This coming election will decide the fate of our country for generations to come and that’s why the Liberal Democrats have worked with the Green Party and Plaid Cymru to put the national interest first. This historic cross-party initiative gives us the best chance to return more Remain MPs to further the fight to stop Brexit and I would like to thank Plaid Cymru and the Greens for taking part in these talks.” However, there has been a debate within the alliance parties as to whether this is the right decision. Some candidates, who have been asked not to stand in the upcoming

election, are ignoring the advice. Instead, they will stand as independent candidates, throwing a spanner in the works for the three-party alliance. The alliance, known as ‘Unite to Remain’, said it had approached Labour about being part of the process, but had been unsuccessful. When asked about the pact, the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, said: “We will never enter pacts, coalitions or deals like that. Ever.” Welsh Labour remain unphased, saying the election pact is “nothing more than Plaid and the Lib Dems propping each other up in seats they’re worried about losing.” However, it is not only the pro-remain parties who are entering into election pacts. After Conservative Leader Boris Johnson rejected the idea of forming a pact with the Brexit Party, Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage told supporters that “we now have a leave alliance. It’s just that we have done it unilaterally.” Farage announced that his Party not would contest the 317 seats won by the Conservatives Party during the 2017 general election. Nevertheless, the Brexit Party will focus all of its efforts on targeting seats which hold a Labour majority.

It was later reported that the Conservatives approached the Brexit Party offering a pact whereby the Brexit Party would only target 40 key seats, however, this offer was rejected by the party.

We will never enter pacts, coaltions or deals like that. Ever.

John McDonnell, Shawdow Chancellor

Overall, the use of election pacts has proven to be relatively successful in the past with the Liberal Democrats winning the Brecon and Radnorshire thanks to an alliance with Plaid Cymru and the Green Party, Change UK and the Renew Party. However, it remains to be seen whether such widespread pacts will bear fruit when voters face the ballot boxes this December 12.

Tom-Henry Jones Politics Editor

he high-profile resignations of Alun Cairns and Tom Watson disrupted both the Conservatives and Labour as they kicked off their general election campaigns ahead of polling day on December 12. These resignations were followed by a Tory candidate having to withdraw his candidacy due to previous comments during a discussion about rape and also two Labour candidates who stood down due to anti-Semitic comments said in the past. Alun Cairns resigned as Welsh Secretary after reports he had prior knowledge of a collapsed rape trial. Cairns’ former aide Ross England was implicated in the breakdown of the trial. Mr England, a Conservative Welsh Assembly candidate, was not the defendant in the trial but had been giving evidence. Cairns, despite his resignation still holds that he was unaware of the details. Cairns still remains the Conservative candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan seat and is defending a majority of around 2,000 over Labour. The Conservative Party was forced to replace prospective candidate Nick Conrad in Norfolk, after Conrad was criticised for saying in 2014 women should “keep their knickers on” in a discussion on rape. Conrad, who previously worked for BBC Radio Norfolk was selected as the candidate for a Conservative safe seat Broadland, a seat with a majority of almost 16,000. The selection caused large outrage and alongside Cairns’ resignation it meant the Conservatives started their campaign amongst controversy. Tom Watson announced he is to stand down as Labour Deputy Leader after the general election and that he will also not stand as an MP. He cited “personal not political” reasons for his decision to resign. The decision was widely received with shock due to his prominent position within the party. Watson had only recently fended off attempts within the Labour Party to abolish the role of Deputy Leader. He has been a long-standing critic of the Labour leadership’s position on Brexit and has been a strong advocate for the ‘remain’ cause within the party. Two Labour candidates in Aberdeenshire and Clacton have quit due to separate anti-Semitism rows. Kate Ramsden stood down in the Gordon constituency after the Jewish Chronicle highlighted a blog post from her. The blog post compared Israel to an abused child who becomes an abusive adult. Gideon Bull the previous Clacton candidate pulled out of the election race over using an anti-Semitic slur towards a Jewish councillor. Bull denies calling the councillor ‘Shylock’, a Jewish Shakespearean character, during a private meeting. A complaint about the use of the term was submitted to the party back in July. The anti-Semitic row continues within the Labour Party however leader Jeremy Corbyn has repeatedly defended his record on tackling anti-Semitism. Labour therefore like the Conservatives began the campaign with a rocky start due to the numerous disruptive resignations.

12 POLITICS In other Spain news...

holds fourth general election in four years

A preliminary agreement to create a coalition has been decided upon by socialist party PSOE and anti-austerity party Unidas Podemos Dewi Morris Contributor

President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro will leave his current right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL) and start a new one by March 2020, according to two of the party’s lawmakers. The PSL has been split over the party’s future with its founder reluctant to hand over power to the current president. A meeting will reportedly be held later this month to discuss establishing a new party.

n Sunday, November 10, Spain held its fourth general election in four years. Spain has not had a stable government since 2015. However, following a general election in April, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez attempted to form a coalition with the left-wing Unidos Podemos party. The failure to form this coalition by September resulted in calling yet

another general election. While this election aimed to bring unity and a stable government, this has not transpired as the Spanish electorate still appears divided. The Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) won the most seats during the election, winning 120 seats, a loss of three since the previous election. Anti-austerity party, Podemos, lost seven seats meaning a coalition between the two parties would now fall short of the majority needed to form a coalition.

In Germany, the Bundestag has legislated to make measles vaccinations compulsory. If parents do not inoculate their children against the disease, they could be fined up to €2,500 (£2,140). The leader of the German health ministry, Jens Spahn, has said the law is “child protection”. It will come into force in March 2020.

Election Results: The results of the Spanish 2019 election. Source: Wikimedia Commons Italy has declared a state of emergency after the city of Venice suffered the second-worst case of flooding it has witnessed since records began in 1923. The state of emergency will make available sufficient funding to allow a flood barrier project to be completed as soon as possible.

The international criminal court has decided to allow investigation of Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority, examining acts such as crimes against humanity and persucution on ground of ethnicity and/or religion. Since 2017 over 500,000 Rohinga Muslims have fled across the border with Bangledesh after a crackdown by Myanmar’s armed forces.

I would like to make a call to all the political parties because they need to act with generosity and responsibility in order to unblock the political situation in Spain

Pedro Sanchez Spanish Prime Minister

What does the result mean for Spain? The most recent general election, held because the last government could not form a majority, now means the Spanish government is further from a majority and is even more fragmented. Sánchez addressed his supporters following the election results saying: “I would like to make a call to all the political parties because they need to act with generosity and responsibility in order to unblock the political situation in Spain.” It was later announced on Tuesday, November 13 that Pedro Sanchez, PSOE leader and Pablo Iglesias, Podemos leader had “reached a preliminary agreement to create a progressive coalition government that combines the experience of the PSOE with the courage of Unidas Podemos.”

Bolivian ex-president granted asylum in Mexico

His decision to run for a fourth term sparked a wave of protests across the country Jonas Jamarik Contributor

The impeachement inquiry into US President Donald Trump continues in Washington. Bill Taylor, the acting ambassador to Ukraine gave evidence to the inquiry, stating the President directly asked about a Ukrainian investiagtion into his democrat rival Joe Biden. Trump denies any wrongdoing and says he does not recall making the remark, claiming the inquiry is a “witch-hunt”.

The conservative People’s Party also increased their seats from 66 in April to 88. This surge of support to the right may be a result of voter frustration with government deadlock, or a reaction to the unrest in Catalonia. Contrastingly the results were indeed a strong victory for the far-right populist Vox party. Vox secured 52 seats, from just 24 in April, meaning it is now the thirdlargest Spanish party. Vox was founded by its leader Santiago Abascal in 2014, describing itself as a party of ‘extreme necessity’. Vox appeared in Spain’s mainstream politics in 2018, campaigning for strong anti-immigration and antiIslam policies in light of increasing African migrants arriving on Spanish shores. Vox has also campaigned for rolling back legislation against gender violence by claiming this discriminates against men. Dominating the election was the unrest in Catalonia which has exploded following the sentencing of nine Catalan separatist leaders to prison terms of between nine and 13 years, only a month before the general election. It is no surprise that the ERC (Catalan Republicans) won overall in Catalonia gaining 13 seats, however, this is two less than in April. Despite this, the ERC celebrated becoming the fifth-largest party after Ciudadanos suffered a catastrophic loss of 47 seats since the April election.

olivian ex-president Evo Morales has been granted asylum in Mexico following his resignation and the subsequent political unrest in the country. The unrest commenced after a 2016 referendum where people voted against Morales ruling the country for a fourth consecutive term. Regardless, he decided to run for a fourth term sparking a wave of protests, despite ruling the opinion polls. On November 13 right-wing opposition senator Jeanine Anez declared herself the country’s interim president in a speech before the country’s Congress. This led to clashes between the police and Morales supporters, some of which allegedly called for a civil war. Evo Morales is Bolivia’s first democratically elected indigenous president. The former cocoa farmer was a popular but polarizing figure, whose government was at times described as socialist by outside media. He has been praised for providing 14 years of stability and steady economic growth to the country, increased social spending, as well as championing indigenous rights and opposing the capitalist influence of

the US in the region. Some critics, mainly the US government, have labelled Morales as leftwing radical, a narcotics trafficker and a terrorist. He was also criticized for not fully delivering on his promises, especially the promised material benefits of his economic policies such as the nationalisation of the country’s gas industry. He was also known for his opposition to the previous government’s firm stance against cocoa farms, acting against the plans to shut down many such farms across the country. His policy was met with resistance from US investors, but Morales held his stance saying he wanted “zero cocaine but not zero cocoa”. The cocoa leaves later became a symbol of freedom in Morales’ successful presidential campaign. Morales was first elected in 2005, later winning a referendum that allowed him to make changes to Bolivia’s constitution. He next ran for president in 2009, winning by a landslide. He ran for a third time in 2014 when the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that his first term didn’t count as it happened before the 2009 change to the constitution which previously only allowed two terms for politicians. In 2016 Morales tried to change the constitution

Evo Morales: Previously the president of Bolivia is now seeking asylum in Mexico. Source: Wikimedia Commons which would allow him to run for a fourth term. The people voted against this, prompting Morales to nullify their decision and run again. This has sparked a wave of unrest, with protesters clashing with the police on multiple occasions, and burning down an electoral commission office in the city of Santa Cruz. Morales ran for president for the fourth time in October and declared himself winner. The opposition accused him of manipulating the votes

after the US-based Organization of American States found irregularities in the votes. This started another wave of violent protests, resulting in the head of Bolivia’s armed forces Cmdr. Williams Kaliman asking Morales to step down in order to restore peace to the country. Morales did so, and shortly after fled to Mexico asking for political asylum. Even though he’s no longer the country’s president, he vowed to stay involved in its politics.

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Your comment desk Harry Clarke-Ezzidio Kat Smith Columnist Indigo Jones

Politicising the poppy?

Does the colour of the poppy really make a difference? Bethany Hall Contributor

oppies and November 11th go hand and hand, both a salute to the other. Since 1918, we have taken a moment out of our Sunday to reflect on the people who valiantly gave their lives for their country in the First World War. At the eleventh dong we stand, pacified, celebrating armistice and just remembering. In this world of political uncertainty, us British people, for two minutes, are silent and thankful…which makes a change. And how do we remember? Well, we don our 20p paper poppies to show respect for those who loved and were loved. In recent news - and outraged Facebook posts - a rainbow poppy that surfaced from an online marketplace started gaining interest. There was an outrage among many: Why do the LGBT community need to make everything about them? Why do we need to stick a rainbow on a poppy? Can’t we just have one poppy to remember everyone? Well that seems like an ideal world. But we don’t live in an ideal world. In my utopia, Beyoncé would be president of the world, but unfortunately we’re as far away from that as we are from dinosaurs being reborn. Instead, we live in a world where outrage about the colour of

a poppy is a justification for homophobia. Where was the outrage in 2010 when the black poppy was released to celebrate the lives of black, African and Caribbean soldiers that suffered in the war? Where was the outrage when in 2015 a purple poppy was released that commemorated the lives of animals that suffered in the war? Why is it that we can accept a poppy specifically celebrating animals that were affected by the war efforts, but we can’t accept a poppy that pays tribute to the LGBT+ community?

The poppy should represent every single soldier, regardless of race, gender or sexuality. If a poppy for Chelsea F.C can be sold online by theRoyal British Legion for £2.99, then so should a rainbow poppy. And what about the people who use the poppy to justify war and violence? We should be encouraging remembrance and learning from our mistakes; reflecting on why they put the guns down, not why we should pick them up again! We also need to recognise that a lot of those mistakes included the mistreatment of homosexuals. Take Alan Turing, for example, a man

Poppy problem: Much debate has been centred on the types of poppy people wear to pay respects. Source: Pete (via Flickr) who was highly influential in the success of the war efforts yet endured horrific abuse because of his sexuality. Or Wilfred Owen who, without his harrowing war poetry, would leave GCSE English teachers with nothing to talk about but ‘Lord of the Flies’. At the heart of it all, however, it doesn’t matter what the poppy looks like, as long as it’s there and visible. I think the poppy should represent every single soldier, regardless of race, gender or sexuality. It should be unifying us in

these divisive times, not widening the gap between our communities. Every soldier, pilot, navy officer and medic had their lives turned upside down by war, so the least we can do is show the same amount of camaraderie that they did. They gave their lives so we could sit around drinking over-brewed tea, watching the news and worrying about who’s going to be on ‘I’m A Celeb’ this year. Our mundanities were made possible by their sacrifices and we have Remembrance Sunday to reflect on that, rainbow poppy or not.

Election pacts and tactical voting

As key factors in the 2019 Election campaign, are they tafctful or tactless? Emily Withers Contributor

n the upcoming December 12th election, it is clear to see that a major factor affecting voters is the existence of electoral pacts. In Wales, Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party will not stand against each other in 11 seats. The number of pro-remain alliance seats across the whole of the UK is 60. Unite to Remain say that they want to avoid splitting the remain vote, putting the future of the UK before party rivalries. But will this work? Though electoral pacts are not common in British politics, they are certainly not new. The first Labour government entered parliament in 1906 after a pact with the Liberals. Over the years, several alliances have been seen to be effective in electing particular candidates and parties. For example, an alliance in Batley and Spen after the murder of Jo Cox succeeded in re-electing a Labour candidate for the constituency. Heidi Allen, who chairs the Unite to Remain group, said that “The single most important thing is that we return as many pro-Remain MPs as possible”. This, she explained, was an opportunity to “tip the balance of power”. It is not only the remain camp that have some sort of electoral alliance. Though the prospect of a deal with the Brexit Party was turned down by Boris Johnson, Ni-

gel Farage has this week announced that his party will not contest seats won by the conservatives in the 2017 general election. This deal, dubbed “unilateral” by

For young people, particularly 18-21-year-olds that were too young to vote in the 2016 referendum - this vote stands out as a chance to make your voice heard. Farage, will endeavour to unseat Labour MPs and provide one proBrexit candidate on the ballot paper. However, voters are not this simple. People cannot be herded into Remain and Leave camps. There are more complex party-allegiances in place, along with longstanding beliefs which will not be changed due to the existence of a pact. For young people, particularly 18-21-year-olds that were too young to vote in the 2016 referendum - this vote stands out as a chance to make your voice heard. Despite the December 12th date, by which time many university students will have returned to their family home for Christmas, there is still a chance for a high student

turnout. The option of postal voting and for many a choice between two constituencies, means that young people have a chance to shape the vote. For many, the question of tactical voting is unethical. You should just vote for who you believe in, in the constituency where you live. However, there is an argument that tactical voting can be positive and can allow individuals to make their vote more worthwhile. For example, voting in a marginal seat could be more beneficial than voting in a

constituency with a large majority for one particular party. Whatever the consensus on tactical voting, it is imperative that young people, the most underrepresented demographic in every general election, use their right to vote to get their voice heard. We must push past the noise and ask - what do I stand for? How will I use my vote to represent my views? Whatever the outcome, the success or failure of electoral pacts will become clear in less than a month’s time.

A very real danger: Tactical voting and electoral pacts can have a significant imapact on the election. Source: Secretlondon123 (via Flickr)

Politics: A social media storm

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How much can we trust our social media feeds to tell us the truth? Kat Smith

Comment Editor

he said: “So, you won’t take down lies or you will take down lies? I think that’s just a pretty simple yes or no.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s grilling of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg may be pretty iconic on her part, but it’s undeniably concerning on his. Zuckerberg, the CEO of the most-used social media site in the world, consistently dances around questions about disinformation and political advertising. It is indeed a simple ‘yes or no’ question, and the fact he cannot confirm whether or not Facebook will take down lies is a major red flag. Social media can be a democratic force for good in many ways: it opens up discussions between those with dissimilar views, allows us hold powerful people/organisations to account, and can give a voice to those who otherwise wouldn’t have one. But, in the run-up to the UK General Election in December and the US Presidential Election in 2020, it’s more important than ever to approach the content we consume with caution. It’s become clear that political adverts have the potential to poison democracy by targeting the ‘influenceable’ and selling information that is, at times, questionable at best. In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, we are beginning to under-

stand the full extent of social media’s influence on voting. Cambridge Analytica worked for both the Trump presidential campaign and the Vote Leave campaign, harvesting the data of voters on Facebook for the purpose of creating targeted political advertisements. They are credited by many as having swung pivotal votes in both, with social media now considered one of the most crucial campaigning battlegrounds.

It’s more important than ever to approach the content we consume with caution. Advertising from political parties and lobbyists does not cover the full extent of the problematic relationship between social media and politics. Social media can become an echochamber even with our ad-blockers activated. For both left and right-wing users, it’s easy to exclusively engage with those whose views align with your own. Going off my Twitter feed, you would think that the entire world is liberal except for the occasional Tweet that slips through the metaphorical net in the form of a mocking quote-Tweet. Of course, I don’t want to see heavily right-wing content, but

Plurality is key: It’s important to get our information from a variety of sources. Source: Steve Buissinne (via Pixabay) it’s easy to assume that no one holds those views when you don’t see them. I’m worried this makes people feel safe enough to not exercise their right to vote. It’s important that this caution isn’t exclusively exercised with social media. We must relentlessly scrutinise all the sources of information, such as news publications, with which we engage. The choice of interviewees, sources and facts used can all paint a certain picture; the same story could be presented in different ways in the Telegraph and the Guardian respectively. The best we can do to ensure we

have an informed vote is to keep questioning what we read, hear and watch. While the lines are still blurry between what is and isn’t permissible on social media platforms, we have no choice but to combat disinformation and targeted advertising ourselves. Don’t allow your knowledge to be at the mercy of your Facebook timeline; understand policies and manifestos for yourself through research and engage with a range of news outlets. And most of all, make sure to vote on 12th December, no matter how many people on your Twitter feed support the same party as you.

With a CGI James Dean returning to the silver screen, has Hollywood taken it too far?

ctors are considerably the most significant part of modern cinema. A correctly cast actor can represent the nuances and personality of a character in ways that would otherwise eclipse mere words on a page. However, our collective investment in Hollywood’s actors may have to adapt around the recent technological developments which have made it possible to include deceased actors in films, placing them in roles through intensive Computer-Generated Imagery.

In recent cinematic history, the character of Grand Moff Tarkin, originally played by the legendary actor Peter Cushing in Star Wars Episodes IV and V, was ‘resurrected’ via means of computer imagery in 2016’s Star Wars Rogue One; sparking major outrage by fans of the franchise. Although Lucasfilm received no formal permission for the recreation of the character from Cushing, his character was placed in the film as a prominent villain. John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, commented on the choice in an interview with Yahoo Movies, he noted that: “We

Back with a cause: In anticipation of Dean’s digital return to the silver screen, many are concerened about the precedent that may be set. Source: Warner Bros (via Wikipedia)

Should we ‘cancel’ cancelculture? Harry Clarke-Ezzidio Comment Editor

Are CGI remakes a new low for film?

Jack Stacey Contributor

weren’t doing anything that I think Peter Cushing would’ve objected to. I think this work was done with a great deal of affection and care”. Other notable examples are the revival of Paul Newman as the prestigious race car Doc Hudson, in Disney’s Cars 3, Paul Walker in Furious 7, and Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. With all of these examples of CGI remakes of actors, it is important to discuss the moral dilemmas of this new practice. The CGI revival of James Dean’s character in the upcoming Vietnam War action-drama ‘Finding Jack’ has been heralded by Travis Cloyd, CEO of Worldwide XR, as “James Dean 2.0”, noting that “There is a lot more to come for James Dean”, despite the fact that he has been deceased for 64 years following a fatal car accident. Dean’s family are supportive of the decision, with the attorney and business agent for them saying that: “They are excited to be part of keeping his memory alive”. In opposition to this move, however, actor Chris Evans raised the satirical point that “Maybe we can get a computer to paint us a new Picasso. Or write a couple new John Lennon tunes. The complete lack of understanding here is shameful”. Perhaps the significance of this moral dilemma and its backlash over social media by cinemagoers demonstrates that this practise is immoral and should

be avoided entirely. However, the multi-faceted and creatively diverse nature of modern media production proclaims that this is not merely a one-sided choice with aims of generating revenue. It is equally understandable why producers intend to revive these iconic actors on the silver screen, attempting to retain the narrative continuity of expanded franchises and/or introduce beloved actors to modern audiences. This debate, not dissimilarly from modern media production, is a matter of personal choice. World-renowned actors and actresses are now incorporating certain stipulations into their contracts, clearly presenting their acceptance or disapproval of the recreation of their likeness via Computer-Generated Imagery after they have passed. This concrete proof, as stated in the legally binding contract between production company and actor, is to be consulted before attempting any facet of digital reconstruction, respecting the personal choice of the actor and preventing this indirect exploitation. While acting on behalf of deceased actors, attempting to somehow interpret whether or not they would accept the use of their likeness, could be perceived as immoral; on the other hand, it is a matter of personal choice and freedoms shouldn’t be compromised.

ebates around ‘cancel-culture’ and whether it’s a tool for good that holds people to account for their wrongs, or an unforgiving beast that unfairly ruins the life of both celebrities and everyday people have gone on for ages. Recently, former US president Barrack Obama gave his thoughts on the issue. The former president described the world as messy and full of ambiguities, noting that good people have flaws and make mistakes. The idea that everyone is ‘pure’ and that “you’re always politically ‘woke’ and all that stuff” should be disregarded. He added that he gets the sense among some young people – which has been accelerated by social media – that “’The way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people, and that’s enough”’. He’s seemingly referring to cases where someone has said something in the past that has come back to haunt them, when they aren’t the same person now as they were then. For example, comedians who told old ‘problematic’ jokes which they wouldn’t tell now; or a more active and present example is the daily Twitter battle Piers Morgan has with people on LGBTQ+ issues. These are the types of cases Obama (and I) are referring to, the less serious cases; of course, those caught up in the worst of the worst offences aren’t able to be forgiven by the masses. Overall, I agree with Obama’s sentiment - I’ve seen this same example countless times across social media. It’s beneficial in lots of ways to portray ourselves online as bastions of everything that is good and right; calling out others for their mistakes and wrongs. When, in reality, we aren’t perfect and have said and done some stupid things that we would hate to be discussed on social media. But because our mistakes aren’t there, and because we genuinely care or are upset about something – whilst also wanting to be seen as ‘good’ for calling it out – we chastise those called out, and call for the cancellation of those who made a mistake, or those who hold different views to us. It’s really difficult to talk about ‘cancel culture’ in broad terms – it can’t be summed up in bold sweeping statements. Creating a ‘one size fits all’ rule to deal with those called out by cancel culture is impossible as each individual case is different, and the offensiveness of each case differs from person to person. But I feel those who just label ‘cancel culture’ as inherently bad are wrong. Holding people to account for their wrongful actions is a good thing, but the way those caught up in the backlash react to criticism is also important, and of course, time is also a key factor in all of this too. I’m not trying to excuse people for their terrible words or actions, nor are people entitled to your forgiveness just because they said sorry or are trying to make amends, that’s completely up to you. But for those who have apologised and have changed their behaviour, the least they probably deserve is to not be ‘cancelled’. People won’t automatically vanish because you cancelled them; debate those you disagree with, and know the power your words and actions hold.

COLUMN ROAD COLUMN 16

Indigo Jones

Expression or oppression?

Stick to the status quo: When it comes to certain beliefs and opinions is it better to self censor? Source: Clem Onojeghuo (via Unsplash)

o begin this column, I should probably clarify that I am aware how hypocritical it is to say to not push your opinions on others, whilst stating my own opinion continuously. I would also like to personally apologise in advance if anyone feels offended, that is not my intention at all, I am just speaking from personal experience. Having an opinion and something to be passionate about is something that everyone wishes to achieve, whether it is a religious opinion or whether it is an opinion on a certain music artist. To voice your opinions and create light-hearted debate is what leads to a true public sphere within society. Although, these opinions that people have can turn negative and spawn violent reactions if others go against them. For example, fandom culture, and those who are fans of certain TV shows or bands have a tendency to send unfavourable messages to those who disagree with their opinions, and in some cases death threats are sent. When people have an opinion that they are very passionate about, or perhaps have an agenda they would like to push and emphasise then they will go to extreme lengths to reach this. Public protests on a large scale are a brilliant example of extreme lengths, although this form of expression is usually the best way for certain groups to get their message

across. Protests and riots such as Stonewall are what paved the way for the increase in LGBTQ+ rights, and this is the form of expression that will carry on inflating those rights. Protests give a voice to those who usually struggle to speak, and it shines light on issues that people struggle to discuss whether this be climate change or period poverty.

Protests give a voice to those who usually struggle to speak, and it shines light on issues that people struggle to discuss. Social media is also a very valuable tool to voice necessary worries, although social media is what can often turn opinions from something valuable and necessary in society to something negative. The Stop Online Abuse website states that, “Abusers often hide behind the idea that all they are doing is expressing an opinion or a belief, but if the content or manner of the communication is threatening or intends to cause distress, then it may be against

the law”, which begs the question to what degree should you keep your opinion to yourself? As stated earlier with the rise of fan culture many people receive hate messages online for disagreeing with others, yet on the other hand with the rise of online activism this has also increased the likelihood of online hate. As someone who studies the media and intends on being a journalist in future, in my eyes, impartiality is key, and I usually apply that to showing my opinions on certain topics. As a result of the aforementioned, I prefer to keep discussions relating to politics and religion, subjects that spur very heated discussions, at a minimum. I’m not saying that everyone should apply to this, if nobody was to state their opinion then we wouldn’t live in a democracy or certain human rights wouldn’t be achieved. My biggest pet peeve personally is when opinions are thrust upon me, often through social media, through direct messages and general statuses. As stated earlier I keep my personal opinions relating to religion to myself to shy away from arguments or discussions, yet when I use the likes of Facebook opposing opinions are often interjected throughout my timeline. This often leads me to question myself, “If I don’t mock their beliefs, why should they mock mine?”. An example of where I found many

people often disregarded my opinion was when I was a Vegetarian. For three years, I very rarely mentioned that I didn’t eat meat although when it was brought up due to stating dietary requirements before going to restaurants, I was often flooded with questions. The same questions were always asked, “Why are you a Vegetarian?”, “Don’t you miss meat?”, “Why don’t you just have a steak?”. It never failed to surprise me when I was asked these question as I believed the stigma surrounding Vegetarianism and Veganism had slowly gone away, as the amount of people who eat meat or animal products had decreased. Although, saying that I was constantly met with people whose aim was to make me eat meat, rather than the supporting me and my beliefs.

But how exactly can you regulate freedom of speech if freedom is in the title? Sometimes, opinions can be expressed in different ways which can hinder people’s abilities to go about their daily lives. Some protestors believe that the greater the disruption they can cause, the greater the

publicity afforded to their respective causes. This use of freedom of expression could cause delays in traffic, making people late for work/school and as result creating more emissions from the cars that are hindered. Protests also lead to the necessary hiring of more police enforcement to ensure the crowds remain safe from possible violent protests and costing the council more money that they could possibly put towards nurturing the environment. This line between protesting for a cause and aggressively protesting for that cause is very small, and perhaps this is what deters many people from joining the rallies, because they are scared of what they entail. It’s important for rally groups or online activists to realise where there is a line, and to not cross it when protesting, as it could worsen certain situations; yet this also applies to most people in everyday life. Although, this right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression is vital within society, it creates multiple platforms for people to fight for what they are passionate for. However, when those opinions threaten others and their beliefs, or even the status quo then that’s when there should be some sort of regulation. But how exactly can you regulate freedom of speech if freedom is in the title?

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Why do we read?

The psychological and mental health benefits of reading Molly Govus Advice Editor

eing an English student, I am aware that 99% of my university life revolves around books. Who knew that little boxes of paper pages could mean so much? For some people, reading stops after high school where it is no longer necessary or compulsory, and I get it. For students like us, at university, it’s fair to say that we are constantly surrounding by reading. It could be an article, an email, or a whole research essay; as much as it may feel like a burden right now, there are a whole load of psychological and general well-being benefits as to why we read. As humans, we have been reading for only 5000 years or so. It may seem like a small time frame in regard to our evolutionary spot on Earth right now – but take a second to think about it. Shouldn’t there be some significance to reading if it has been around for so little time and yet shaped our world and society so majorly? Think about the mundane writing and reading that we come across daily. Think about the street signs, the restaurant menus, the instructions of your super noodles; have you ever wondered why street signs use imperative verbs, or how Wagamamas menus use lower case for de-

Why is reading special?: Read for pleasure, not just for your work. Source: Freestocks.org (via Unsplash) viation and your attention? There is an art behind it all, trust me. In 2011, neuroscientist Stanislas Denhaene of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research scanned the brains of 63 volunteers with different reading abilities. 31 had learnt to read in childhood, 22 learned as adults and 10 were illiterate. Those who could read, regardless of what they learned, exhibited more response to written words in several areas of the brain that aid what we see and help spoken language, showing how reading utilises the brain circuits involved in human communication.

Dehaene goes further to suggest that reading may contribute to the completion of other tasks without our knowledge, such as facial recognition. This places a huge significance on reading, as researchers have long thought that the brain becomes less flexible and able with age. This experiment shows that the particular area of the brain is responsive to learning throughout life. What about the mental health benefits, though? I think it’s fair to say that most of us have experienced that little spark of happiness when reading.

The nostalgia when you pick up your favourite book, the tears that come when the inevitable end of a character finally arrives. Reading is an emotional experience, there’s no doubt about it. You get to create a little world in your mind for as long as you want, and for some people, this can be an escape. In 2018, the National Literacy Trust wrote a report based from their Annual Literacy Survey of 49,047 children and young people aged 8-18 within the UK. To do their analysis, they used a mental wellbeing index to quantify the child’s response to their life satisfaction and their literacy engagement score to quantify how much they enjoy reading and writing. Shockingly, children who are the most engaged with literacy are three times more likely to have higher levels of mental wellbeing that children who are the least engaged. Reading may seem significant to some, but it clearly has its benefits. It is also important to note that when children transition from primary to secondary school, their levels of literary engagement and mental wellbeing both begin, and continue, to decline. It’s not a flaw to like to read, it’s a benefit to your whole body and yourself. Remember, there is no shame in picking up a book and enjoying it. It will be doing a lot more good than you initially think.

Is online dating the key to improving your love life? Online dating isn’t for everyone, but it might be the one for you

Laura Dazon Contributor

Your advice desk Molly Govus Rhiannon James Columnist Satwik Shivoham

ouldn’t it be nice to go to Winter Wonderland with someone special? You could eat churros and try to impress them with your ice-skating skills (even if it is by falling an impressive amount of times.) The festive period is a romantic time of year, but is your sentimental life as blank as this essay you are yet to start? Let’s evaluate if online dating could be the solution for you. Online dating apps can be an amazing tool if you know how to make the most of them. There are many benefits to online dating, they allow you to broaden your social circle and meet people you wouldn’t have met otherwise. Dating online is especially good if you are an introvert and struggle to approach people in every day life. Some apps like OkCupid ask you questions and then propose you profiles similar to yours. Some apps even specialize in a specific field: from matching people with disabilities, to sexual interests, or just

Love at first swipe: Many people are turning to dating apps to find love in the digital age. Source: Pratik Gupta (via Unsplash)

common hobbies. There is a fit for everyone. And the best part is: you only get to talk to people you like and who are interested in you in the first place. Online dating is not perfect, there are many downfalls to it. The choice of people can quickly become overwhelming, daunting even. If you don’t set your intentions clear regarding what you expect out of it, you might get yourself emotionally drained and hurt in the process. Online dating makes you lose that

sense of spontaneity that you have when you unexpectedly bond with someone. Addtionally, many people whom you seemed to appreciate online will be different in person and the chemistry might not be there, this can lead to some awkward dates. To feel more relaxed, you should at least take some precautions safety-wise. Not to sound like a naggingparent, but you should in fact be careful when meeting people from online. After some time talking on

the app, it a good idea to have a look at a person’s social media and when meeting for the first time, a public place is a must. Let at least one of your friends know who you are seeing, where and when, and keep them informed during the date. Unfortunately, I don’t have any life changing story to share with you about online dating. I didn’t meet a soulmate on there, and the only relationship I got out of it is a lovehate relationship with dating apps themselves. Therefore, does online dating actually work you may wonder? Well, first, as I said, it depends what you expect out of it. A perspective I could propose, however, is that maybe, online dating is not only about meeting others. Maybe it is about meeting yourself a little more, and getting to know what you expect of dating and relationships. By meeting all sorts of different people, if you don’t find your perfect match, you will at least understand what you don’t want, and what doesn’t work for you. For some, online dating is not about the end but about the journey.

CYNGOR 19 Embracing your Life with an invisible illness that makes you permanently exhausted independence

Chronic fatigue and me

Holly Giles Science Editor

First things first, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is so much more than “being tired”. The exhaustion you feel after a day of university is not the same as what I feel so it’s not helpful to say things like “well we’re all tired” as it’s not the same, it doesn’t compare and it makes people with CFS feel like failures. Sorry, rant over. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome affects 250,000 people in the UK and an estimated 17 million people worldwide. It is a poorly understood condition with symptoms and triggers that change from patient to patient. The best way chronic fatigue was once explained to me was through an analogy with money; imagine you wake up with £100 for the day and every activity you do costs money so you end the day with about £20 left, but for me (or anyone with CFS) I start the day with £60 and each activity costs me more money, meaning I have usually spent my £60 by lunchtime and always finish the day in debt. That is the constant battle of chronic fatigue syndrome, we don’t have enough energy to do everything so we have to learn to prioritise activities for what we can and can’t do that day. For me, my education has always been my priority so everyday I go to my lectures and do my work before coming home and collapsing in a heap. But for other people they prioritise social life or a mix of the two. It is a game of balance and one that I’m still mastering despite being in my sixth year of the condition.

I got CFS in year eight of secondary school but was not diagnosed until year ten. CFS is a very hard condition to diagnose and is mainly an elimination exercise. I was tested for everything under the sun to try and explain my exhaustion, my muscle weakness and ultimately my bouts of loss of consciousness (which were later explained as my body forcing me to sleep). This was a really scary year of having no idea what was going wrong with my body and my doctors, who you grow up thinking they know everything, being unable to tell me.

Don’t confuse my bad days as a sign of weakness. Finally, I was diagnosed with CFS; this was a bittersweet moment of being told I have a chronic condition which will affect me for the rest of my life but also thinking at least I know what I’m dealing with now and I can work with this. I was a bit overwhelmed by this news but my mum took it completely in her stride and started searching for all the techniques and devices out there to overcome CFS, I drank fermented milk, I took a million supplements, I had injections, I had a glowing light on at breakfast, I did tailored exercises, I had therapy, I meditated, I tried everything and it’s fair to say that

some things helped and some things didn’t The thing with CFS is that, other than complete physical and mental exhaustion, everyone has different symptoms so it is difficult to find a clear cut programme that will help everyone, but if it’s out there I’ve probably tried it. Other than the fermented goat’s milk (thanks for that one mum), the main thing that helped me was changing my expectations of myself and learning to be proud of myself for small achievements. My boyfriend is very active, and a bit exercise mad if you ask me, so for him running a 10km or cycling 25km is an achievement, but for me if I manage to get up, pay attention in all my lectures for the day and walk home from university that is an achievement I can call home about and celebrate all evening. I had to change my daily goals and to learn to stop comparing myself to others; running a 10km with my boyfriend would be completely impossible for me but managing to do a food shop after a day of uni is an achievable goal that I can be really proud of. Living with an invisible illness is about stoping the practice of comparison and reminding yourself that while you may look the same as everybody else, you’re not the same; your body is constantly fighting to keep you going and to keep you functioning so your goals have to reflect that. That is how you stay sane with an invisible condition. Learn that you’re different and that’s ok. It’s so important to raise awareness that anyone around you may be strug-

gling with a condition you have no idea about but also to help people understand some invisible conditions better. Owing to this, I want to tackle the most confusing part of CFS, that it is a wave condition. This means that some days I feel okay and can go to the gym or go on a dog walk but other days the wave rises and I can barely walk around the house yet-alone leave and do activities. I understand that it’s hard for people to understand that my ability is so different day-to-day but you have to imagine how frustrating it is for the person trying to deal with that and process it. My main message is: try and take what CFS sufferers are saying at face value and trust that they are trying their best and any frustration you are feeling is tiny in comparison to the frustration they must be feeling. I am trying my best everyday and when I ask my friends to walk slower or when we have a movie in as I can’t walk to the cinema, or when we meet for coffee as I need an early night so can’t do drinks, please know that I am trying my hardest so I am really grateful that my friends listen and understand and do their best to accomodate me. I’m sorry that my body is complicated and that you can’t see it so it’s hard to understand but thank you for sticking by me and helping me know it’s okay to be tired. You remind me that I have chronic fatigue syndrome but that it does not define me or limit me. My message to you is please don’t confuse my bad days as a sign of weakness; they’re the times when I’m fighting my hardest and trying my best.

The power of Hygge

The Danish style of life that contributes to happiness and well-being Molly Govus Advice Editor

n 2016, Mike Weiking blessed the world with his New York Times Bestseller, ‘The Little Book of Hygge’, with over one million copies sold worldwide. This tiny book is deceivingly small as it packs the nationwide lifestyle of the Danish - Hygge. Pronounced like ‘hoo-gah’ (not ‘higgy’ like ‘jiggy’), even the word itself bursts a sense of joy and calm into our crazy lexicon. There is bound to be a reason as to why Denmark ranks in the top three happiest countries consistently, according to the annual World Happiness Report, and I believe the cultural construct of Hygge is the answer. Now, there is no instruction book on how to be a Hygge-like person or how to have a hyggelige home. It is all subjective, with a few main points that everything revolves around. For instance, a common definition of Hygge is ‘intentional intimacy’, but this can be interpreted in as many ways as you want down to any experience that you can describe as safe, harmonious and balanced. Since the boom of Hygge began through Weiking’s insight, there has been lots of research into how it makes

Comfort is key: Hygge is all about feeling content and cosy. Source: Stella Rose (via Unsplash ) people feel content and balanced within their lives. It has been found that it is integral to people’s sense of well-being, acting as a buffer against stress whilst bringing people together in the coziest of ways. At it’s most basic definition, Hygge is all about building intimacy and trust with others, and bringing this into your daily lifestyle such as your relationships and your home. The word itself can be traced back to around the 1800s, and its meaning has

grown more than ever in modern society. Looking back to the Middle Ages, a similar word in Old Norse meant to be ‘protected from the outside world’. Think of Hygge as your own little peaceful bubble, covered in fairy lights, of course. Despite this, as much as it may be about making your space pretty and cosy with candles, low lights and fleece blankets, there is a much more serious message that runs through the mean-

ing of the word. It can be perceived as a meeting of equals, even if there is an imbalance of power. It doesn’t take much to realise why Danes are some of the happiest people in the world; they value respect and camarardarie towards others and they receive the same respect back. To put it simply, Hygge can be implemented into four aspects of your life: home, company, hobbies and mindset. For your home, think of a fire, warm textures, minimalist and causal decor. Company is arguably the most important, as this is where most people experience the most Hyggelige feelings. When reading the book, the one thing that stuck out to me was the mention of having a meal to share, such as soup or a stew, or a tear-apart bread. In our society, we are all guilty of sitting on our phones with meals on laps; what ever happened to sitting around and enjoying food and sharing it? Cards and games are also great ways to feel Hygge without technology. Hygge-like hobbies include journalling and being outdoors, and the mindset of gratitude and savouring the moment have proven to be greatly beneficial to the Danish. As the weather gets colder and the nights get darker, maybe it’s time to introduce a bit of Hygge into our lives.

Muskan Arora Contributor

o you remember seeing two people kissing and holding hands on the street? I am sure all us single people out there wish that for a mini second that it was us. This is until a second later reality bursts our bubble and we realise that most relationships are hard-work and aren’t the happy, perfect image we see in films. I have been single for a long time, and I am completely in love with myself. I am satisfied and happy being independant at this point in my life. Being in a relationship can put you in a box where eventually you end up making decisions according to your partner in order to make them happy. Somewhere we forget to love ourselves and listen to our selves, as we are so busy in making it work.

Being single helps you take ownership of your own actions. Two people in a relationship can eventually lose their own sense of identity because they adapt to each other’s habits and styles. I have nothing against people in a relationship, but my personal experience hasn’t been positive, which has made me cynical. After questioning multiple friends of mine that are in relationships, the common conclusion that I drew is that relationships are full of expectations and this can lead to a lot of disappointment. Whilst reading Cosmopolitan recently, I came across an amusing yet interesting article that argued; being single gives you freedom. For example, you can take your own time getting ready without being bothered or nagged and you can happily binge watch any show you choose without being in guilt that the other one is lagging behind. Being single helps you take ownership of all your actions and gives you freedom to make all your decisions based on you, and yes, you can make out with anyone you like! Only having to think of yourself helps your mind to be filled with more productive thoughts. I completely agree that there are good times whilst being in a relationship, but for me personally, it doesn’t compare to the independence of being single. Most of us often forget to cherish ourselves, being single allows us to realise who we truly are and what we want out of life. We are not stressed about remembering anniversary dates or about choosing the right gift, instead we are focused on ourselves. To everyone currently, “self-partnered”, as Emma Watson calls it, just remember to live each day for you, take the time to grow as an individual.

COLOFN

SATWIK Speaks

Satwik Shivoham

Finding your housemates

Housing season: It can be a stressful time, but remember to stay true to who you are. Header: Jon Candy (via Flickr), Left: Tierra Mallorca (via Unsplash), Right: Cytonn Photography (via Unsplash)

hey say your company can make or break you. It’s especially something to consider when looking for people to live with. A lot of students are already preparing to move out and find a home for next year, and while where you live is an entirely personal choice, who you live with needs some careful thought. When you step out of your university dorms, a lot of factors come into play. Suddenly, we begin to think about privacy, cleanliness, lifestyles, and not just ours. Living in a house is like living in a small community. It’s different from living alone. You may decide to live with your closest friends and think you know them well enough, but always give it a second thought, because, in a house of four or five, shared responsibility comes into play. Everybody would be bound by the same contract and it is crucial that everyone holds themselves accountable for the property. Simple errors in judgement on one’s part could hurt everyone’s interests (or wallets) So, think about these few things. Firstly, get with your potential group and talk about what kind of a household you’d be. Does everyone prefer a social or a private one? If they’re a social bunch, to what extent? If private, is there something you need to keep

in mind to ensure they feel comfortable? Does the household wish to be environmentally conscious? Does the household wish to keep expenditures to the very minimum? Such questions seem absurd at first, but it only takes a second to think about them. If one of you loves taking long showers, the household can neither be budget-friendly nor environmentally-conscious. If even a few members are very extroverted and social, the other members in the household may not feel comfortable having their privacy invaded. The reason I advise you about this is because we students often end up

Live comfortably, thrive in the process and respect each other. opting for houses in a rush. We consider the price, location, size of the rooms and the general look of it, and think our housemates just need to be people we “get along with”. I’d say there’s a lot more you must consider before choosing your final partners, because housemates don’t just live with you. Households are interplays

of personalities and situations. You will be influenced by others and vice versa, so choose wisely. You must make sure your own interests, be they safety-related, academic or social, are not impacted, all while you have loads of fun. Whether you’re just a bunch of friends deciding to move in together or partners, it’s crucial to think over your own lifestyle first, and equally important to consider theirs. Your decisions shouldn’t lead to “I can’t stand my flatmates”, or “They’re so noisy”, or “My house is always so dirty”, because a few of my friends are in these situations, and they’re unable to do anything about it. There’s a contract they’d have to deal with, and the added trouble of finding a new home, should they decide to move out. Secondly, I’ve seen this on a few rare occasions and as unconventional as it may seem, it’s worked wonders for people. They decide to ask around, at random, and conduct interviews (not really interviews per say, but general meetings as discussed above). It’s something you can surely consider if you don’t have anybody yet to move in with. You can ask them about their life in general, what interests or hobbies they may have, or if they have any particular needs. This

is convenient (because you could do it over text if you wanted) and surely sensible because it’d enable you to find the right crowd. It’s okay to ask very specific questions because it’s an important issue you’re dealing with, so don’t hold back if something concerns your mental and physical wellbeing, and the integrity of the house you’re going to be in. Thirdly, say none of these things are an option because you’ve found a house really late. Say you feel like you have no option, what should you do? In such a situation, talk to them, nevertheless. If you can’t change the situation, let your housemates know a little about you and how you can contribute to keeping the house in order. It’s quite easy to start afresh and make new friends. Talk to them, offer to cook for them occasionally, help them study, take the bins out and be considerate in general. I’m sure you’d agree that group-chats come in handy when dealing with house-related affairs because it’s very easy to organise bin rotas, cleaning days, social activities and ask for assistance if you’re not well. Your housemates may have completely different lifestyles, but that’s okay. Adapt, and let them adapt. Overall, the only main concern is

everybody’s well-being and every other issue lies on the peripheries and I’m sure everybody at university is mature enough to understand that. The only idea to work around is that you, along with your housemates, live comfortably, thrive in the process and respect each other, everything else will fall into place. We often don’t realise what a big role our company plays in shaping

It’s crucial to think over your own lifestyle first. our personalities and careers, and every bit contributes to shaping who you are. A year spent with the wrong crowd is enough to cause you stress, or perhaps even change you for the worse - we tend to “share” traits with each other without realizing. It’s very often that we hear about our fellow students not being comfortable in the environments they live in, and this should be the last thing you have to face away from home. Discover who you are, who others are, and then discover what you need in your relationships with others.

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Dementia: Science & Society

Cardiff University & The Royal Society of Biology hosted five leading researchers in dementia and alzheimers to showcase their current findings Holly Giles Science Editor

ast week the Royal Society of Biology returned to Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences for a panel event of five of Wales’ top researchers in dementia and alzheimers. The event highlighted current understanding of the condition but also how far we have to go to understand it fully and completely support patients. There are currently 850,000 people in the UK living with dementia meaning 1 in 75 of us are living with the condition but it currently consumes 20% of the NHS’ budget annually. This highlights the need for drastic research and remedies to cut back the millions spent by the NHS each year.

The Event’s Speakers Dr Matthew Clement Dr Tim Hughes Dr Owen Peter Professor Andrea Tales

To contact our science desk, drop us an email at science@gairrhydd.com

SCIENCE

Lesley Butcher

Your science desk Hollly Giles

The first talk was by infection and immunology specialist Dr Matthew Clement. He provided a background to the condition and explained that alzheimers occurs when the brain is inflamed. Unlike inflammation after a cut on your hand, the brain is unable to swell as the cranial space traps the brain and means it cannot grow in size. This increases the pressure in the brain and leads to an increased permeability in the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). This BBB is normally tightly controlled meaning substances in the blood cannot travel to the brain but in cases of neuroinflammation pathogens can freely travel across the BBB and into the brain to alter brain activity. It is Clement’s belief that infections can influence the protein levels in the brain and alter cognitive decline. He showed this through behavioural studies with mice which when given a specific infection they were unable to recognise new objects as have cognitive impairments; it is not the infection that directly causes the disease but it speeds up the cognitive decline. This changes our perspective on treating Alzheimers as means we need to emphasise treating infections and using over the counter drugs to minimise the spread of infections; these pharmacy drugs could drastically decrease the strains on the NHS for specific dementia medication. We then heard from Dr Tim Hughes who specialises in the microbiome

CT Scan: Brain scans are used by researchers to understand alzheimers better, but with growing knowledge we are stepping away from these methods towards more novel approaches. Source: Wikimedia Commons of the gut and its link to alzheimer’s disease. Recently the scientific community have noticed a link between a healthy gut and a healthy brain. They tested this through using a probiotic on mice given a fatty diet and saw that probiotics improve inflammation and return cognition to normal levels. He was quick to emphasise this is “not a magic bullet” but that “the take home message is that diet is incredibly important but that probiotics help maintain a healthy gut”. These investigations have all used mice as mammalian animal models but Dr Owen Peters, from Cardiff University, encouraged the use of Drosophila Fruit Fly as model organisms instead. They are cheaper to use and easier to manipulate and have 80% of human genes associated with disease are conserved in the drosophila genome. This provides a new opportunity for research into the genetic links behind the condition. They have been able to show a group of genes that contribute to the development of alzheimers through the accumulation of the protein amyloid beta in the brain. With new technology they can turn on these disease genes and see the change in neuronal function; here an instantaneous neuronal process changes to take ten seconds, reflecting the decline in cognitive function. Although flies cannot tell us everything and cannot reflect cognitive behaviour, they can be used to identify risk genes for dementia and as a guide for more expensive mammalian experiments. An example of these experiments can be seen in the lab of Professor Andrea Tales from Swansea University who specialises in ophthalmology. She was keen on emphasising that “memory is not the only brain function that is abnormal in dementia” and that other side effects, including vision, concentration and attention, should not be overlooked (no pun intended). She explained that a key challenge in dementia research is the

difficulty in defining attention but it is widely recognised that visual attention is important in brain function; “if you don’t attend to it then you don’t remember it” explained Tales. Healthy people are able to selectively process and filter out unnecessary information but for patients with dementia, they cannot inhibit irrelevant information to focus their attention. This shows why patients with dementia interact with their environment in the way that they do and shows the importance of understanding the wider effects of dementia in providing the best possible care to patients. Patient care was also emphasised by the final speaker Ms Lesley Butcher from Cardiff University’s School of Healthcare Sciences. Butcher is passionate about changing the current problems in patient care and “shifting culture form a task-centred attitude to a person-centred attitude”. This will be tackled in her new research campaign which was launched last week (Friday 15) where care homes across Wales will undergo a training program to tackle the human rights of people with dementia and how they can be better met. The main principle of the campaign, titled A Person Like Me, is that people with dementia are still people and that we need to aim to find our similarities and not our differences in order to empathise with patients and improve our interactions with them. Butcher explained “there are problems in care” but that many centres volunteered to be in the project showing they are keen to improve and help their patients. The campaign starts in South Wales but aims to be across Wales by 2020 and subsequently to be a national campaign by 2021. Through this she aims to transform patient care and ensure their human rights are not only met but exceeded. The event highlighted the steps that are being made by the scientific community in understanding and alleviating dementia from our society

but also showed how far we still have to go. As Dr Owen Peters explained, “that with more old people so there will be more alzheimers”. With an ageing population predicted to be composed of 20% of UK residents being over 65 by 2030 it shows that without research the costs of dementia treatment will only increase, a fact that our NHS simply cannot handle. These key progresses though show that we are starting to understand this condition and through it can offer hope for patients through improving patient care, medication and understanding.

It was a really interesting insight into the current work of researchers, not only because it’s a disease that affects my family but also to see the work our degree to can lead us to. Catherine Hindson Second Year Bioscience Student

I found the five experts had such different takes on what alzheimers disease actually is and what the best approach would be to tackle it, making it so diverse and also an eye openener to the disease’s complexity

Becca Hall Second Year Bioscience Student

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Chinese researchers have developed a fly- New study ing robot that conducts operations in-flight proves Some are speculating this technology could be used to help maintain high-rise buildings

Charlotte King Deputy Editor

n light of the rising number of high rise buildings and skyscrapers across the globe and the dangers that come with the repair and maintenance of these buildings, researchers at the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have designed a flying robot as a possible solution. At the 2019 International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, an international conference on robotics and intelligent systems held in early November, the researchers reported that they had developed a new flying robot, representing a major advance in safety and efficiency of building maintenance. Traditionally, the regular inspection of high-rise buildings with “glass curtain walls” has been conducted by humans, but this process is proving “very dangerous, costly and inefficient”.

Wall-climbing robots have attempted to take over the maintenance of these skyscrapers, however, they were incapable of avoiding obstacles and travelling smoothly over grooves on wall surfaces; these are feats the new flying model can achieve. Moreover, the robot can conduct “interactive operations” while in flight, allowing it to clean these glass curtain walls itself. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the flying robot has been designed so that the system can be controlled precisely without any force sensors at all and is known for its “enhanced flexibility” and “strong mission adaptability”. To test the system, the team of researchers carried out several experiences. For example, they fixed a light switch to a wall and had the robot press the switch to turn the light on and off, and they got the robot to move along a glass wall, as it would if it were to be used to maintain high-

rise buildings. Meng Xiangdong, the robot’s designer, has said: “In the near future, we might see an extensive use of this

new system in large infrastructure maintenance, and other special applications, such as scientific sampling.”

Holly Giles Science Editor

Flying Robot: The team think that one day this could change the face of skyscraper maintenance. Source: Meng Xiangdong (via Eurekalert)

Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics celebrates a decade of discovery The Cardiff University centre has made groundbreaking discoveries in the genetics, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness

Charlotte King Deputy Editor

ardiff University’s MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics recently celebrated a “decade of discovery” to mark the Centre’s tenth anniversary and is transitioning from being a Medical Research Council Centre to a Cardiff University Centre. Established in 2009, the Centre was the first of its type in Wales and is renowned for being one of the world’s leading centres for research into the underlying causes of mental health issues, according to Cardiff University, conducting ‘groundbreaking’ research and advancing scientific understanding of some of the causes of psychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. The Centre states that its main objectives are to better understand how psychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders arise, to develop new approaches to diagnose individuals and to identify novel treatment targets. “Ultimately, we aim to become a leading centre of translational neuroscience.” Over the past ten years, the Centre has reportedly published over 1,900 research papers and is actively engaged in more than 70 collaborations with researchers across the

globe, and last month, the Centre celebrated its decade of successful research so far. Professor Sir Michael Owen, the current director of the Centre who will soon be replaced by Professor James Walters, said: “It has been a great ten years and it’s been marvellous to see so many important discoveries in a whole range of different psychological disorders. “The MRC Centre has been at the forefront of landmark discoveries in neuropsychiatric genetics over the last decade, providing important insights into mental health conditions and dementia.” A lot of the Centre’s research over the past ten years has been primarily focussed on identifying genetic risk factors for disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and ADHD. Researchers at the Centre have also, however, “pioneered” studies looking at the genetic overlap between disorders. They believe this has important implications for how mental illness is diagnosed and has led to the identification of novel areas of biology wherein new treatments can potentially be targeted. The Centre has also won many awards for its research, for example in 2015, it was awarded the Royal College Psychiatrists’ Presidents Medal for contribution to policy,

running does lengthen your life

I am certain there will be more significant discoveries in the Centre’s next chapter. Cardiff University Vice Chancellor, Colin Riordan

public knowledge, education and meeting population and patient care needs, and in 2012, it received the Sidney R. Baer Prize for Innovative Schizophrenia Research. Speaking about the Centre, Cardiff University’s Vice Chancellor, Colin Riordan, said: “The Centre has led some of the most important discoveries in the genetics of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders of recent years. It has changed the face of mental health research - and, ultimately, changed the way we think about many mental health conditions. “I am certain there will be more significant discoveries in the Centre’s next chapter.”

Some of the Centre’s landmark discoveries

2010: Discovered rare genetic variants increasing the risk of ADHD.

2013: Led international study uncovering 11 new susceptibility genes for Alzheimer’s. 2014: Helped identify 108 genome regions associated with schizophrenia. 2015: Identified genetic modifiers in Huntington’s disease. 2016: Discovered factors enhancing resilience in those at familial risk of depression. 2018: Published the largest genomics study on schizophrenia. 2019: Discovered rare DNA

deletions/duplications of are responsible for developmental difficulties in children.

e all know that going out on a run is good for our health, but how much do you actually have to do to reap the benefits? In a new study this month researchers have seen that running for only fifty minutes a week is associated with a 27% lower risk of death. This was also associated with a 30% lower risk of death from cardiovascular diseases such as a heart attack and a 23% lower risk of death from cancer. Fifty minutes is less than the weekly recommended duration exercise so it’s fair to think that this is less than the bare minimum but the new study shows that really any amount of exercise does do your body good, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “run for your life”. A team at Stanford University School of Medicine investigated this finding further by tracking 500 elederly runners and they found that the longer they stayed active the less likely death became. These pensioners were not running far or fast but showed that a small amount of running each week really did make a difference. Scientists behind the research think this is because running is a full body workout that uses all the major muscles in the body as well as challenging the respiratory system, cardiovascular system and excretory system. These are all areas which commonly fail in the elderly so helps explain the beneficial effects of running. This was also confirmed by a secondary American study which found, compared to non runners, people who ran tended to live three years longer on average regardless of the speed they ran, or their smoking, drinking or weight levels, unlike results seen in other targetted studies. For running sceptics like myself, when reading this statistic it is easy to wonder whether the three years they gained they spent running but statistically it does return more time than it consumes. Running for two hours per week accumulates to six months of running over 40 years. However it leads to an increase in 3.2 years of life in that time. This is a higher payback of time than any other sport proven so far and shows that an hour of running statistically lengthens your life by seven hours. This means that for every hour you run you gain another six to watch Netflix. If that in itself isn’t enough of a motivation for you to start running, I don’t know what will.

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Your @Caerdydd desk Tirion Davies Natalie Graham

The Bare Necessities

The student-formed project tackling homelessness in Cardiff Tirion Davies @Caerdydd Editor

omelessness in Cardiff is at its worst in decades. It’s not hard to walk Queen Street and see the true extent of the problem. According to the Office of National Statistics, at least 11 homeless people died in Wales in 2017 and between 2013 and 2017, Cardiff and Wrexham had the highest rates of deaths amongst homeless people at 1.7 per 100,000 population. With the growing number of tents appearing on Cardiff streets, and more and more people living in poverty finding themselves homeless, when it comes to offering support, every little helps. Included in those attempting to make a difference for those living in poverty, are the leaders and volunteers of The Bare Necessities project. The Bare Necessities programme, formed by former Cardiff University student Lucy Wilkinson, was created as a way of tackling some of the issues people from lower income backgrounds and homeless people might face. The student-led project aims to empower communities and provide basic amenities to be clean and comfortable. As a way of supporting people living in poverty, The Bare Necessities exists as a project to provide daily essentials to those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them. Daily essentials including shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, sanitary towels, deodorant and men’s grooming products, to name but a few, are always needed by the project. The Bare Necessities often work with other projects to tackle homelessness, including Cardiff Purple Bus project. Volunteers from The Bare Necessities work with Salvation Army’s bus project to stop at various points across Cardiff to feed those in need and provide them with warm clothes and other necessities. The Bare Necessities project also sorts donations to create their ‘Bare Necessities paper gift bag’, including a tampon and pad, face cream, nail polish and lipstick to distribute as part of the Purple Bus Project. The Salvation Army has noted that beauty products can help to enrich the lives of men and women living in poverty; The Bare Necessities understands this and thus aims to empower people through these donated products. Lucy Wilkinson is always in contact with Jo Jones and Sali Hughes, who run the national Beauty Banks, an incredible way of offering beauty products to those living in poverty. In addition to this, The Bare Necessities receive a huge volume of donations from Escentual, an international luxury beauty brand based in Splott, in collaboration with their campaign “Give and Make up”. On Mother’s Day, Bare Necessities even organised a soap making class where funds were donated to help buying more products. Helping women in poverty feel beautiful is one of just many of the successes The Bare Necessities can boast.

Michael Sheen joins the team: Michael Sheen with some of the members of the Bare Necessities team during the Homeless World Cup this summer. The team distributed over 300 goodie bags during the World Cup. Source: Lucy Wilkinson During the Homeless World Cup in the summer, actor Michael Sheen was an avid supporter of the event. The event helped to raise awareness for the hundreds living in poverty in Cardiff, and gained support from thousands of Cardiff residents. Lucy and her team, with the support of celebrities like Michael Sheen, managed to donate over 300 goodie bags full of just some of the many donations supplied over the year to those who played in the Homeless World Cup.

Bare necessities: Some of the many donations. Source: Lucy Wilkinson The Bare Necessities also works in collaboration with The Charity Women’s Aid, an organisation who work with survivors and women in poverty to rebuild their lives with survivors’ workshops and therapy sessions. Bare Necessities volunteers aided in applying the finishing touches on the Charity Women’s Aid’s Cardiff building earlier this year. Women living in poverty often struggle to find support, but with projects like The Bare Necessities aiding the work of places like Charity Women’s Aid, it can make a massive difference in someone’s life.In addition to this, the project has been a part of the Student Sleepout events the past few years here at Cardiff University, as a way of raising awareness around the real struggles people

living in poverty have to face every day. Students take to the streets for a night or two to experience homelessness, sleeping in tents or in sleeping bags on the streets of Cardiff as a way of raising awareness surrounding the crisis found in Wales in regard to homelessness. During last year’s Purple Bus project, many Cardiff University volunteers from The Bare Necessities, who aided in the dispatch of the packs of food and necessities, noted the shock from those who received the packs. Although there is a hot food and drink van which often helps the homeless (located behind Debenhams, close to Minsky’s bar), the Purple Bus project is a massive aid to those living in poverty. Many living on the streets are often turned away from shelters due to lack of accommodation. Additionally, these shelters can often be breeding grounds for drugs, with many deciding not to seek shelter as a way of combating their own substance abuse. Projects like The Bare Necessities and the Purple Bus project are brilliant because they offer amenities to homeless people who’ve found going to a shelter would be too unsafe for them. The women who received the packs through the Purple Bus project were grateful for sanitary products, as these are items people often forget to donate (food and clothing are the items most often donated). Donations like clean, dry clothing are items appreciated most by those living on the streets, as one of the hardest things is to keep clothing dry, especially as the temperature drops and it becomes harder to stay warm. Those who aided in the project last year, also included Christmas cards and a present of chocolates or warm socks, with one man mentioning it would likely be the only Christmas gift he’d receive. Jessica Gulliver, one of the volunteers at the project last year, said "I think they were more surprised that

people were actually taking time out of their day to not only give them things but to talk to them, and it was bizarre that a few of them were saying how we were such good people for doing it when I’d like to think that most other people would do the same, or at least treat them like people and talk to them." Many of the volunteers noted that those they gave packs to were shocked they were receiving a choice when it came to clothing and food. They hardly get any choice, for those living in poverty, receiving anything is a welcome gift; choice is an added bonus. Clothing donations in particular are helpful, as clothing is something easy to donate (we all have clothes we don’t want anymore) but it’s hard for those living in poverty to afford clothes for themselves.Sometimes

Soap making activities: Soap is always a necessity to the homeless. Source: Lucy Wilkinson it’s easy to take basic amenities for granted, but to those living in lower income backgrounds and on the streets, soap and a jumper with one or two holes is a luxury hard to come by. Any kind of donation which could be offered up helps those who need it most. Lucy Wilkinson created an organisation and project which has undeniably helped hundreds of people in Cardiff who are living in poverty. Bare Necessities and projects by Cardiff University volunteering schemes are brilliant and are important in our community in helping those who have no means of accessing basic amenities. It's important we support them.

With help always needed sorting donations and distributing packs of goodies, the team always welcome a helping hand if you're looking for a way of getting involved!

To learn more about The Bare Necessities, search them on Cardiff University Students' Union's website. If you're interested in meeting the team in a fun, festive way, the Christmas Meet & Mingle will take place on December 1 on the second floor of Cardiff Student's Union. With a £4 ticket, you can join the Winter Adventure treasure hunt and cosy up with a cup of mulled wine.

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Autumn Photography Season 40 years of Welsh culture caught on camera

up base in Glynneath, they investigated the South Wales valley, curating an extensive collection of photographs that now stand as a testiment to a bygone era of manual labour that once stood as the foundation of Welsh industrial communities.

Natalie Graham @Caerdydd Editor

ational Museum Cardiff ’s Photography season is currently showcasing work by four of the most influential photographers in the field. Including Bernd and Hilda Becher, August Sander and Martin Parr. The exhibition comprises of exclusive photographs making their exhibition debut, and displayed in Wales for the first time. The exhibition that I want to focus on is Martin Parr in Wales. Martin Parr has been documenting Britain’s scenery, culture and people for the last 40 years. He explores themes of everyday life, from recreation and communication to portrayals of consumerism and nuanced natural emotion. Parr has a close affiliation with Wales, having lived just across the border in Bristol which is also home to the Martin Parr Foundation, containing a personal archive. Parr now resides in Tenby, Pembrokeshire which he has described as ‘the most picturesque seaside town in Britain’. In this time he has undertaken a variety of editorial and cultural commissions from photographing working men’s clubs, to coal miners. In 2004 Parr was appointed Professor of Photography at the University of South Wales, Newport. Martin Parr is understandably one of the most influential photographers currently in the industry. Parr is best known for his cynical and ironically witty photographic projects, which portray social classes and all aspects of modern life. His work however doesn't come without criticism. The portrayal of class in his work has been interpretted by some as patronising. In repsonse to critics the photographer stated he is 'pretty democratic when it comes to classes... I've done them all- though its more difficult to identify a posher class in wales'. Martin Parr in Wales is made up of a collection of Parr’s work in Wales which started in the 1970s continuing through to 2018. Expect to see photograph’s depicting male voice choirs, seaside breaks, food

Other work by Martin Parr: The last Resort & Small World Source: Natalie Graham and festivals. When asked if he had intended to show Wales and the people in a particular way, during the curation of the exhibition, Parr responded stating “I just took the best pictures, which by coincidence were taken in Wales." In previous interviews the photographer said that he hadn’t gone out to capture Wales. “They’re just pictures…by default are a portrait or interpretation of the country. There are places that aren’t represented, but that’s the point really. These are the pictures I’ve come across." The matter of fact nature in which Parr talks about his work demonstrates that he understands real life, nothing is staged or falsely represented. Parr has said “I just show things how I find them… It’s not a journalistic statement. It’s a personal statement. You could argue it’s fiction based on reality-my interpretation of the world”. Parr's work mainly focuses around South Wales. He was asked the most interesting aspect of welsh life to photograph. His repsonse was the Tower Colliery in the South Wales valleys. Tower Colliery was the oldest continuously working deep coal mine in Britain until its closure in 2008. It was the last mine of it's kind

Martin Parr In Wales: Tenby Beach front. Source: Natalie Graham

to be in full operation in the South Wales valleys. Martin Parr has captured a lost Wales, its a nostalgic step in to the mid century industrial past. A Wales where couples summit Snowdonia in the seventies, coal miners strike in the eighties, work chirstmas parties photgraphed showcasing the careless nature of the nineties and beach goers in the 2000s. Whether Parr intended it to be interpreted in this way or not, his photography stands as a timeline, portraying an ever evolving and modernising society in Wales. Parr's exhibition is realtable and down to earth, he showcases the very best of life; middle-aged women on a night out, parties at working men's clubs in Llantrisant amongst the mundane day to day lives of normal people simply getting by.

At first glance the Becher's work may seem nothing more than simple, architectural photographs of Welsh mines. But their influence has been widespread in the photography and conceptual art scene. The collection mainly featuring a compilation of Welsh mineheads, is more than 30 years worth of work, starting in 1966 through to 1997. The atmospheric body of work documents South Wales water towers and gasometers, including Great Western Colliery in Pontypridd and Deep Duffryn Colliery in Mountain Ash. This is the last exhibition Hilla Becher selected prior to her death in 2015. Exhibition highlights the Bechers individual photographs and recognisable typologies. Many photographers have expressed how the Bechers were pioneers of a new style of photography, their meticulously selected material provides portrays this. It gives you the opportunity to gain a rare insight into the research methods and creative process that comes with photography, as well as exploring the photographers' time in Wales.

Alongside Martin Parr's work, Bernd and Hilla Becher's Industrial Visions photography is also being showcased. For over 50 years the Bechers set out on a project to document industrial structures across Europe and the United States. In 1965, the Bechers set foot in Wales for the first time. One year later, the couple and their two year old son headed back to South Wales in a VW campervan, towing an old caravan used as a blackout room. Setting

Events - November 2019 National Museum of Wales Cardiff: Dippy about Yoga! November 21 and 28, 7:30am

Wales Millennium Centre: Pixie Perez Confessions of a Drag Queen November 16, November 23 and December 13; 8:00pm

Wales Millennium Centre. Source: Thomas Duesing (via Flickr)

Nativity! The Musical November 19 - 23, matinee and evening performances available 4.48 Psychosis November 20 - 23, 7:30pm

Cardiff and Vale Events: Holton Road Barry Christmas Weekender Friday November 22, 12:00pm 8:00pm Barry highstreet Pub Quiz at Pontcanna Inn Monday November 18, 7:00pm

New Theatre Cardiff: OrbitL Magic of Musicals at Christmas Thursday 21 - Saturday 23 November, matinee and evening performances available

Pryzm Cardiff: Sciences Bar Crawl Tuesday November 19

‘Is this all there is’ 1975 is a notable photograph. This photo portrays a couple at the summit of Snowdonia. Parr adds a slight twist of his characteristic sardonic wit as he captures them looking confused at to what to do now. He has a unique ability to turn photos in a dramatic tableau. It has been pointed out that Parr has started to use a telephoto lens, muchlike the one used by James Stuart in Rear Window, to photograph visitors to Tenby beach. Parr stated that 'Using this lens has given him a new lease of life, shotting the wonderful beaches of Tenby'.

Christmas at the musicals. Source: Susan Nilsson (via Flickr)

Captain Morgan UV Jungle Saturday November 23

Y Plas: Sonny Fodera Rise Tour November 22 Bernd & Hilla Becher: Northern Holland Source: BM. (via Flickr)

Martin Parr Wales is at National Museum Cardiff October 26 until May 4 2020 Bernd and Hilla Becher: Industrial Visions is at the National Museum Cardiff October 26 until March 1

Clwb Ifor Bach Larkins Wednesday November 20 Dan Bettridge Thursday November 21, 7:30pm

Dreadzone. Source: Drew de F Fawkes (via Wikimedia Commons)

Dreadzone Friday November 22

Bury Tomorrow

November / Tachwedd

December/ Rhagfyr

January/ Ionawr

Hot 8 Brass Band

Treatment Presents: Sonny Fodera - Rise Tour

Devin Townsend

Ashanti

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LIVEWIRE THE AC/DC SHOW

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Against The Current

Kano

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Gentleman’s Dub Club

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Bedlam presents: The High Contrast Band

Bury Tomorrow

Sigala

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Gabrielle Aplin 13/03/20, £20 ADV

Stiff Little Fingers 13/03/20, £22.50 ADV

Fish 19/03/20, £32.50 ADV

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BABYMETAL

King King

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Neil Warnock: One of Cardif City’s greatest ever managers

The 70-year-old left the Bluebirds by mutual consent last week Olly Allen Sport Editor

eil Warnock’s three years at Cardiff City were transformational, emotional and compelling – with never a dull moment in between. In tribute to the veteran manager, Gair Rhydd Sport has taken a look back at an era that will go down in Bluebirds history.

A remarkable transformation

Cardiff were on a steady decline when Warnock arrived in South Wales in October 2016. Following relegation from the Premier League and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s fateful spell in charge in 2014, Russell Slade had driven fans away with his dreary brand of football and Paul Trollope, in his first managerial role for six years, won just two of twelve games before getting sacked with the club second from bottom. It cannot be understated just how impressive the transformation was that Warnock carried out over the next 18 months. Despite being the Football League’s oldest manager, he took the club to a level that had previously been unimaginable. He got off to a perfect start, beating local rivals Bristol City 2-1 in his first game thanks to a goal from Sol Bamba, who had arrived on a free transfer less than a week after the new manager was appointed. In many ways, Bamba would come to epitomise the Warnock era at Cardiff. The defender’s key traits of determination, hard work and fighting spirit would come to characterise the whole team, while his infectious personality is similar to that of Warnock’s. Like Bamba, Junior Hoilett was signed up for free almost instantly, and Neil Etheridge and Nathaniel MendezLaing also joined for absolutely nothing the following summer along with Callum Paterson on a Bosman transfer. None of these players had ever achieved an awful lot in their career, but they became integral parts of Cardiff’s promotion-winning side in 2017/18. In an era when teams are increasingly forced to spend a lot of money to get out of the Championship, the Bluebirds’ selection of bargain players plucked from obscurity was a refreshing change. Cardiff weren’t even being tipped for

Warnock’s best Cardiff quotes “When I pass away, I don’t want clapping or a minute’s silence, I want a minute’s booing at Bristol City”

Your sport desk Reece Chambers George Willoughby Ella Fenwick Luke Wakeling Olly Allen

On the EU: “Why did we have a referendum in the first bloody place? I can’t wait to get out of it, if I’m honest. I think we’ll be far better out of the bloody thing. In every aspect. Football-wise as well, absolutely. To hell with the rest of the world” “I think van Dijk has got better attributes on ball than Bamba, but I don’t think he’s a better defender”

the play-offs at the start of that incredible campaign, let alone automatic promotion. But they won each of their first five games and didn’t drop out of the top four all season, holding their nerve under continual pressure from Fulham towards the end of the campaign to make the top two. The Bluebirds rarely faulted, defying the odds and the pundits who were waiting for their downfall. They lost just three games at the Cardiff City Stadium all season, and had the joint best defensive record in the league. Their direct, no nonsense football may not have been particularly attractive to watch - Cardiff ranked bottom for total number of passes and pass accuracy and 21st for average possession – but it was hugely effective. A neversay-die attitude and momentous team spirit made the Bluebirds incredibly hard to beat. That is one of the hardest things to coach in football, and was at the core of Warnock’s Cardiff transformation. He significantly improved individual players too. Captain Sean Morrison became one of the best centre-backs in the league under Warnock, always leading by example. He was an imposing figure in both boxes on the way to promotion, scoring an impressive seven goals. Callum Paterson meanwhile was signed from Hearts as a right-back and converted by Warnock into a midfielder with freedom to roam. The decision proved to be a masterstroke, with the Scottish international contributing 10 goals and five assists in his debut campaign.

The ‘most difficult week’ of Warnock’s career

The Premier League has never been kind to Warnock and Cardiff’s only previous season there ended with the club bottom of the table, so survival was always going to be a difficult challenge. But the Bluebirds came much closer to beating the drop than many predicted, finishing just two points from safety with relegation only confirmed in the penultimate game. There were highlights, such as the home wins over Fulham, Wolves and Bournemouth, the dramatic away victory against Southampton and the historic final day swansong against Manchester United. But ultimately Cardiff failed to deal with the demands of the topflight on too many occasions and their lack of quality was exposed by better teams. In addition, Cardiff’s season was clouded by the Emiliano Sala tragedy that shocked the football world. One of the most affected was Warnock, who had met Sala several times and welcomed him to South Wales. He described it as the “most difficult week” of his career, in which he contemplated leaving the club. He cited it again in his leaving statement last week, saying 2019 had been the “most challenging period

Most memorable Warnock games Cardiff City 3-1 Leeds United, 26 September 2017

A dominant display saw the Bluebirds overtake Leeds at the top of the Championship table and stake an early claim as promotion contenders.

Hull City 0-2 Cardiff City, 28th April 2018 With the promotion race hotting up, the pressure was on Cardiff, but Sean Morrison scored twice to ensure a vital win and a memorable away day.

Cardiff City 0-0 Reading, 6th May 2018 No one will remember what went on in this drab stalemate, but it gave Cardiff the point they needed to confirm promotion to the Premier League.

Cardiff City 4-2 Fulham, 20th October 2018 The wait for a win back in the top-flight was finally ended in style. It lifted Cardiff off the bottom of the table and out of the relegation zone.

Manchester United 0-2 Cardiff City, 12th May 2019 Relegation may have already been confirmed, but the Bluebirds still waved goodbye to the Premier League with a first victory over United in 65 years.

both emotionally and physically that I have ever encountered”. It was rare to see the veteran boss go into his shell, and it seems he understandably is yet to quite comprehend the devastating incident.

Derby defeats

As is the case with most relegated teams, promotion was the expectation for Cardiff upon their return to the Championship. But whether it was a relegation hangover or Warnock making it very public that he would be leaving next summer, the team appeared to lack the motivation and desire that is at the heart of Warnock’s philosophy. Several injuries to key players compounded their problems. Wins over Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham provided glimpses of the Bluebirds’ potential, but it was clear something wasn’t quite right. Defeats to local rivals Swansea City and Bristol City laid bare Cardiff’s flaws and the frustrations of fans grew. Warnock had teased quitting on a number of occasions, and went to chairman Mehmet Dalman after the Bristol City loss to tell him that it was best for him to step down. It seemed like the right decision to make, and ensures he remains held in high regard by supporters, who can only thank Warnock for the joy he brought and how he transformed their club. He has been described by many as one of Cardiff’s greatest ever managers.

An icon

Warnock is the last person you would rule out returning to management, but if this is the last we’ve seen of him in the dugout, then football will be without one of its icons. In a world of mediatrained professionals, Warnock is the anomaly. He’s not afraid to tell it like it is, but equally will be the first to crack a joke at any opportunity. He is pure entertainment and there’s something emi-

nently watchable about him – whether it’s his raging, profanatory half-time team-talks (well worth a search on YouTube) or standing disconsolate with his hands on his head staring at referee Craig Pawson for an uncomfortable length of time after Cardiff’s defeat to Chelsea last season. I could write a whole feature on iconic Warnock quotes and moments. Although his 40-year managerial career has had its low points, his successes have been remarkable. Warnock has achieved a record eight promotions in English football, transforming the likes of Notts County, Sheffield United and Queens Park Rangers in the process. Even at clubs that he hasn’t got promoted, Warnock has had a significant impact, saving clubs such as Torquay United and Rotherham United from relegation. Among all of these though, he still ranks promotion with Cardiff as his greatest ever achievement.

What next for the Bluebirds?

At the time of going to print, the club are yet to announce who the new manager will be, with Neil Harris, Mark Hughes and Lee Bowyer the supposed three contenders for the job as I write. If they do go after one of this trio, it is clear they are keen for another manager in the vein of Neil Warnock. The squad would not be suited to a possession-based system, and may just need a shot of motivation to get a bit of confidence back. After all, there is undoubted quality in this Cardiff side. The core of the team that won promotion remains at the club, and success this season remains an open possibility. The Bluebirds are seven points off the play-offs with 30 games still to play - that’s two thirds of the season to close what isn’t a significant gap. A run of three or four wins in the Championship can catapult a team up the table, and Cardiff face two of the bottom three - Stoke City and Barnsley - in their next four games. The new manager will also have the January transfer window to strengthen his side, so don’t rule out another promotion push in South Wales. Image source: Lewis Mitchell

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What can VAR learn from the TMO?

Rugby fan Ben Lovell-Smith discusses how the benefits of the TMO can improve football’s VAR failings Ben Lovell-Smith Contributor

his Premier League season the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was introduced for the first time to Britain’s top league. It has caused mass debate, with calls for it to be scrapped already. Fuel was added to the fire this weekend, as David McGoldrick’s goal was ruled out as John Lundstram’s big toe was offside in the build up. Factually speaking, the decision was correct, but it took four minutes to come to this decision, significantly disrupting the flow of the game and leaving fans frustrated as they waited. Mick McCarthy has since called for VAR to be scrapped, claiming that it is ruining football and Sky Sports pundits have questioned whether the technology is even being applied properly. Introduced in 2000, rugby’s Television Match Official (TMO) has historically caused similar frustration. Many England fans still dream

about Mark Cueto’s disallowed try in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final, Wales fans remain bitter about Sam Warburton’s red card in 2011, Scotland fell victim to a TMO scandal in 2015 and even this year’s tournament produced numerous incidents which questioned the efficiency of the TMO. On the whole, however, it is accepted that the TMO is beneficial for rugby, what can VAR learn from this? Rugby’s use of the TMO today is very sophisticated, but that has only been made possible by gradual introduction and through trial and error. When first introduced, the referee decided when to use the TMO, meaning that generally it would only be used to determine whether a try had been scored. This changed in 2012, when the TMO was first authorised to interject with play, subsequently increasing the in-game reviews of foul play, forward passes and other intricacies that the referee may struggle to cover. At the highest level, the officials rarely miss a key incident, which has

Close look: VAR has been criticised for its inconsistent decisions Source: Wikimedia Commons only been made possible by gentle introduction. Football has not adapted adequately to the technology. The rules are unsuited and there is no clear protocol for referees to follow. There is disagreement over the definition of important rules such as offside and handball and VAR’s decisions reflect that uncertainty. In rugby there is clear protocol for awarding tries, yellow and red cards and other foul play. For instance a high tackle is anything above the

nipple line, or a referee will ask the TMO ‘try or no try?’ or ‘try yes or no?’, dependent on what he has seen. The referee has the final say on all decisions, retaining his/her liberty to interpret the laws and will regularly overrule the TMO. In this way, rugby is able to remain subjective, and decisions are made with the flow of the game. VAR is trying to make football objective, and failing miserably. It should not be scrapped, but a major rethink is needed.

Cardiff Uni Netball Club hosts charity tournament The mixed tournament raised money for the charity ‘Meningitis Now’

George Willoughby Deputy Head of Sport

he Cardiff University Netball Club hosted a mixed tournament on November 3. We caught up with fundraising executives Georgia Summerill and Briallen Taylor who were able to give us some information on the fantastic event. Tournaments like this are a regular occurrence for the netball club, who successfully run annual events for great causes. “The netball club holds a mixed tournament annually as an event to raise money for charity,” said the pair. “This year we thought about making it open for anyone to join to increase participation.” The tournament was structured with 12 mixed teams consisting of seven to ten people per side. There were two pools of six, in which games lasted seven minutes with the winners and runners-up of the two pools playing each other in the semi-final and final. Summerill and Taylor spoke about the importance of raising money and

awareness for an important topic. “We chose to represent ‘Meningitis Now’ as it is so relevant to the student population. We want to raise as much awareness as possible to make sure students are getting the vaccine to prevent catching this deadly disease. “We also have a couple of members of the club who have been directly affected by meningitis whether it’s been a close family member or friend so it is close to our hearts.” Combing sport with charity is something that Cardiff University Netball Club value highly.

We want to raise as much awareness as possible to make sure students are getting the vaccine Summerhill and Taylor

Plenty of money and awareness has been raised for several causes and more events are scheduled for the future. “In January, we are holding a ball with the Cardiff University Rugby Club where the money from the

Annual event: Cardiff Uni Netball Club hosts a mixed event every year. Source: Cardiff Uni Netball tickets along with raffles will all go to charity.” “We are also planning on holding another mixed netball tournament in the next term due to the successful response received after this one, as well as planning on holding a blood drive in the next term.” The netball team is committed

to supporting charitable causes and their work hasn’t gone unnoticed by other clubs at Cardiff University. “We have had other university clubs contact us in relation to organising future similar events which would be great as we want to do as much as we can to contribute to charity.”

New father Davies wins World shot put title Luke Wakeling Sport Editor

elsh Paralympian and new father Aled Davies won his fourth successive World title in F63 Shot Put, showing his seven week old daughter ‘how it’s done’. The athlete’s seventh World title adds to Davies’ impressive haul of medals– he is also a double Paralympic champion and quadruple Eurpean champion. The 28-year-old said that his daughter was all the motivation he needed, as he now heads to Tokyo hoping to become a triple Paralympic champion. Davies might not be a household name for the average athletics fan, but he should be. Born with hemimelia of the right leg, the athlete competed for Wales at swimming as a child before making a switch to athletics to commit to shot put and discus in 2005. The Welshman won his fourth successive World Shot Put title in Dubai on 10th November, throwing an impressive 15.38m to win the F63 event, just after becoming a father. “Of course, I wanted to show this beautiful little girl how it’s done, that’s what it’s all about to be honest–her, not me” smiled Davies, with his seven-week-old daughter in his arms. This title is his seventh world gold medal, including three won in discus, adding to his two Paralympic medals won in London and Rio and his four European golds. Despite his excellent record and experience, this tournament proved to be a huge challenge for the athlete from Bridgend. Winning, he said, does not get any easier with age. “This competition was probably the hardest one of my life…I know I had to dig deep for this one.” Davies, the World Record holder for both the F42 Shot Put and Discuss, was not going to hand over his world titles easily. “I’ve been dreaming too hard and too long to roll over and hand over titles. I had to fight for this one, I really did. “I think back to my first world champs in New Zealand in 2011 and I got fourth place at the age of 18, and now here we are, almost 10 years later and we’re still on top of the world taking world records and winning gold medals.” The 28-year-old admitted he had lost his confidence over the last few years and had ‘forgotten’ that he is a double Paralympic and then triple World Champion. “I’ve won every accolade…I think I’ve just forgotten; this competition was about regaining that confidence.” Indeed, Davies, who attended Cardiff Metropolitan University, now has his sights set on Tokyo next year, aiming to become a triple Paralympic champion. “We’ll take that to Tokyo now and do the job properly there.”

30 SPORT

Record England women’s attendance set at Wembley

Jack Vavasour Cardiff Blues Columnist

ositive news for Cardiff Blues supporters this week as they recorded only their second victory of the season. Unfortunately, it was preceded by a defeat at home to Munster. At the time, Munster were still awaiting the return of their World Cup players. Despite this, they were still able to put 33 points on a struggling Blues side. Cardiff managed to fight until the end and recorded 23 points, sadly this was not enough as the Irish side came out victorious. The gulf in class between the sides who will make the play-offs and the sides who won’t is becoming more and more evident by the round. Cardiff don’t look like a side who are in any serious shape to contend with the larger clubs in the competition. Following on from this defeat, Mulvihill’s side faced the Cheetahs. Their opponents have challenged in this tournament since they joined in 2017. The South African sides face a far greater challenge than their European counterparts. They must travel far further for all of their away fixtures. However, they will face more breaks as they cannot compete in the European Champions Cup. This can be seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage as their players will be refreshed going into the next round having had a few weeks off, alternatively they might be lacking in match sharpness. Regardless of these factors, Cardiff managed to overpower the Cheetahs. This can be considered as a huge statement for the Arms Park outfit. Cheetahs are third in their conference and are a serious power in the Pro 14. A dominant 30-17 victory announces the Blues’ challenge for this season. It handed them only their second victory of the campaign. We have been waiting for the Blues to turn up all season and finally we have seen what they can do. They were pushed over the edge by Jarrod Evans’ boot, but to have such match awareness and professionalism to realise the importance of penalties is what makes teams great. Cardiff are only above Southern Kings in their conference, this is a damning reflection of their season. This is also worrying as every other team will be boosted by the return of their international stars, this cannot be overlooked as we have seen with Treviso. They have leapfrogged the Blues and if other sides have a similar reaction then Cardiff might be concerned as they have minimal players to boost their stock. They now face what should be a simple victory against Rugby Calvisano away from home before hosting Leicester Tigers, another side who have fallen from grace in recent years. Without a doubt, Cardiff should look to succeed in Europe in order to save their season. Domestically it isn’t looking positive for them.

Nearly 80,000 spectators were in the national stadium to watch the Lionesses against Germany Matt Hancock-Bruce Digital Media Editor

familiar scoreline, but a new era for women’s football. That was the overarching theme of last Saturday, when England’s Women’s team welcomed old foe Germany to the national stadium. Despite the 2-1 loss, spirits remained undampened with the game being a sell-out – some 86,000 tickets sold. Despite attendance on the night only reaching 77,768, this nonetheless shattered the previous record for an England Women’s home fixture of 45,619 set back in 2014 when the hosts again lost to Germany. In fact, the only time the UK has seen attendance higher than this for a women’s game came in the final of the 2012 Olympics, when USA beat Japan in front of over 80,000 fans. As with most matches between the two nations, penalties played a crucial part. The visitors went ahead after less than ten minutes courtesy of a goal from captain, Alexandra Popp. With ten minutes of the first half to go, the Lionesses were gifted the opportunity to pull the game level. With Beth Mead being awarded a

penalty having been brought down in the box by the away side’s goalkeeper, responsibility for the spotkick fell to Nikita Parris. The FA women’s super league alltime top scorer was unable to beat the German shot stopper, her third penalty miss from her previous four attempts. Luckily English breaths weren’t held for long as the hosts soon tied the game, Ellen White sneaking past the German defence to send the sides into the break at one goal apiece. Unfortunately, the cheering all but ended there for the homeside. Germany controlled much of the second half, having a goal disallowed on the hour mark. Perseverance shone through however, and the visitors made sure they would return home with a win under their belts. Teenage winger, Klara Bühl, netted the decisive goal just seconds before the final whistle. Even though there is no such thing as a friendly between these two sides, the Lionesses won’t be too discouraged by the result as they proved something far greater; women’s football is ready for the limelight, and may have already stolen it. 2019 has been a fantastic year for the women’s game globally. Most no-

tably for the attention gathered from me World Cup this summer. England’s semi-final loss attracted UK television audiences in excess of 11 million, a record only recently beaten by the Rugby World Cup final. Worldwide, the tournament reached almost one billion people through TV alone and its impact on fans and young female athletes is potentially game changing. Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid’s women’s team set a world record for club football, attracting a crowd of

over 60,000 for their clash against Barcelona. Club records have also been smashed in Italy and France as female club teams across Europe begin to sell tickets in numbers that compete with the men’s game. With the European championships just around the corner, England have already shown that they are ready to be the hosts. Without a doubt, the tournament has a great chance to shatter the records once more as women’s football continues to grow.

Wembley Stadium: The home of English football Source: Wikipedia

Tyson Fury stars in WWE

The self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ has been making the headlines in a brawl with WWE superstar Braun Strowman Ella Fenwick Sport Editor

yson Fury, known for his undefeated win streak and a heavyweight world championship title in boxing, has introduced his persona of the “Gypsy King” to the world of WWE. At the start of October, Fury appeared on Smackdown in Los Angeles. After a stare-down with WWE superstar Braun Strowman, Fury was left in a rage being contained by security. Despite the original plan of Fury to star as a one-off guest appearance, he was seen on the following Monday night on Raw, due to the ordeal. Fury entered the ring as a natural entertainer, demanding an apology from the “Monster of Men” star. The running order of events did not run cleanly with outbursts of fights, trash-talking and the inclusion of other WWE stars brawling to keep the separation between Fury and Strow-

man. This eventually led to the announcement of his debut match which was on October 31 in Saudi Arabia at the WWE event Crown Jewel against the 27 stone, 6ft 8in Braun Strowman. Fans were left to question his decision to fight after Fury had sustained a worrying eye injury in September against Otto Wallin. During the intense four-week build-up, Fury was training rigorously at the WWE performance centre, to prepare himself for a fight unlike anything previous in his career. Fury faced Strowman in the ring, putting his new wrestling skills into practice, performing WWE classics and submissions, one of which was a drop-toe hold. In the end, Fury didn’t move far from his boxing roots and won the match with a knock-out from a singular punch to Strowman. After the battle in Saudi Arabia, Fury appeared again to congratulate Strowman but went on further to join the extensive and over-exaggerated storylines of

WWE to create a tag team between them. Fury’s career has received huge exposure on social media and within the news, after primarily being focused on boxing, he has now reportedly earned £12 million for his performances of WWE. Fury has not ruled out the possibilities of a future in WWE, with many opportunities that could arise benefitting his career. These swaps of career paths are not unheard of, despite the extravagant layout of WWE with many critics branding the fights as fake.

Fury’s career has received huge exposure on social media There is a lot of money to be earned from it, due to the large global fan base who watch and support WWE, compared to regular boxing matches.

There have been similar swaps made by other boxing heroes such as Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather. A future fight in his boxing career is the rematch against the WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in February. The first bout, which ended up as a controversial draw, saw Tyson Fury comeback from a remarkable knockdown which looked to have finished the fight late on. Fury got himself back up from the canvas and produced one of the most iconic performances of the decade. The rematch is one of most anticipated events in boxing. Another exciting aspect of Fury’s career involves the release of his autobiography. In interviews, Fury has opened up about the battles he faced with his mental health in his career. Fury has been a pioneering force for opening up about mental health, and he is now able to talk about his experiences in his autobiography.

BUCS Highlights

CHWARAEON 31

A round-up of Cardiff University’s sporting action from the latest BUCS Wednesday of the season

Cardiff 21-38 Bath

Cardiff 4-2 Cardiff Met

Men’s Rugby

Golf

Iesytn Harries Contributor

ardiff University’s Golf Team had a strong return on Wednesday with a convincing 4-2 win against Cardiff Met at Radyr Golf Club. Having lost to an impressive Bath team last week by a half point it was vital that the team got back to winning ways as their quest for promotion carries on. Debutant Samson Douglas was introduced this match having impressed the captain in the lead up for the match. He certainly delivered, winning the last match of the fixture which proved vital. Douglas is looking to carry on this result in future matches. Iestyn Harries, Tom Beckenham and Peter Edwards also brought points

back for Cardiff University. It was Edwards’ first win in red this year whilst Harries and Beckenham carry on their good form for this year. Unfortunately, James Geaves and Alex Donoghue are still looking for their first wins this year, but have many opportunities at upcoming matches before Christmas. Three points this week sets Cardiff up for a very important game in the future as they travel to the prestigious Kendleshire Golf Club to challenge the very strong and organised UWE team. Before that clash, Cardiff travel to Swansea for a cup match which could see some new faces feature as the captain looks to rotate the team. They’ll be hoping to beat their rivals in what many call a mini Varsity. The match will be played in Pennard Golf Club.

Securing a win: The team after their victory. Source: Iestyn Harries

Cardiff 1s 11-4 Swansea 1s Ultimate Frisbee: Round up

Hannah Mudd & Joe Penning Contributors

his year saw the first ever BUCS league organised for women’s ultimate frisbee, taking the format of two, one-day events competing against other teams in the area. Cardiff’s first team competed against both Bath and Swansea’s first teams. The first match was an intense game against Varsity rivals Swansea. Cardiff started the game with confidence and quickly put some smooth points on the scoreboard. Using the capabilities of captain Alice Walker, Cardiff were able to keep the disc moving and tire out the opposing team. The team made some impressive grabs and speedy plays to continue scoring points, with the final score being 11-4 to Cardiff. Cardiff was next set to play Bath’s first team which would be Cardiff’s toughest game. After a few unfortunate drops, Cardiff found themselves 4-1 up on the scoreboard. Cardiff continued to tighten up their defence and began generating more turnovers by forcing Bath to attempt harder throws. Cardiff were able

to remain calm on offence and steadily increase the gap on the scoreboard. The final score was 9-5, beating Bath for the first time in over three years. Cardiff’s men’s second team faced one of their hardest games of the season against none other than Cardiff’s men’s first team. With the first team starting on offence, they quickly tried to move around the second’s defence with short, fast passes before a miscommunication caused a turnover near the first team’s end zone. The second team aimed to capitalise on the first’s mistake and made a quick play only for it to be unfortunately dropped in the end zone. Although putting up a tough fight, the first team managed to take a half-time at an unjust 8-0. Both teams became increasingly mud covered with noteworthy layout defences coming from the first’s captain Joe Penning and the second’s newcomer Jack Constable. As the game entered its final stages, the second’s capitalised on the first’s tired legs, finally being able to score a spirit-breaking point assisted by Jacob Woodbridge. The final score was 15-1 to the first team.

Ben Lovell-Smith Contributor

t was another disappointing Wednesday for Cardiff as they were blown away by Bath’s strong forward pack in poor conditions, making it six losses on the bounce for the boys in red and black with a 21-38 loss. The game started with promise. A fantastic turnover in the midfield caught Bath off guard, giving Huw Roberts the opportunity to eat up the open space before offloading to his winger, George Thomas, who grubbered through and utilised his searing pace to finish a stellar try and put Cardiff into the lead. However Bath seemed to be galvanised by this and responded with two quick tries, utilising their strong pack and managing the conditions excellently. It was nothing glamorous, but highly effective. Cardiff remained determined and were getting a fair amount of joy in the wide channels. Roberts was able to take advantage of the space and broke the defensive line again, this time down the right hand side, giving the Cardiff forwards the perfect opportunity to give Bath a taste of their own medicine with the pack scoring a push over try on the base of posts and levelling the scores once more. However, the dominance of the Bath forwards was becoming too much to handle and Cardiff were conceding too many penalties at the set piece and at the break down. The situation was made worse when

tighthead prop Freddie Barnes was forced off with a broken nose. Bath remained composed and used their opportunities well, but it was not pretty. Playing to their strengths in the torrid conditions, they retained possession for the remainder of the half and were able to score two more almost identical tries. Kicker George Worboys was on fire too, converting all his kicks, including an outstanding one from the touchline at the end of the half. The second half was a scrappy affair in worsening conditions, a factor which simply played into the hands of the Bath gameplan. Bath’s forwards continued to dominate the game and added a further ten points to the score, putting the game out of Cardiff ’s reach. The most delightful part of the game came at the end. As Cardiff were gaining little ground in attack it forced a change in plan. A pinpoint up and under, allowed Thomas to put enough pressure on the catcher to force an error, and super sub Charlie Dyde capitalised with a wonderfully subtle pick up and offload. After a quick ruck, Cardiff crossed the line, putting some gloss on the scoreline. Despite the poor run of form, Cardiff should remain upbeat and remember that the horrific conditions of the past months are not suited to their skillful and expansive team. Expect them to climb the league table once the conditions dry up.

Exeter 1s 7-4 Cardiff 1s

James Miller Contributor

Lacrosse

ardiff ’s men’s first team headed to Exeter for a long-awaited match against the Exeter Men’s first team. Early possession was soon dictated as Exeter’s main adjective, but it wasn’t as easily reached as they had hoped, with face off specialist Matt Ellis giving his heart and soul to ensure the ball was slowed down and put into red possession. A superb display of defending from our destructive D-unit: Bryce Johns, Toby Dean, Josh Chalfen and Shabaz Khan, meant that Exeter had to fight hard for their chance at goal and with calculated checks and man on man coverage, Exeter had been slowed down once more. Shots came frantically from all angles and with goalkeeper Ollie Tylers keeping his head cool possession was soon turned to Cardiff. Midfield was where most of this feisty game was fought out. A Barrage of big hits from mid-

fielders Umesh Rupani, Paddy Henderson, Jamie Maughan and Charlie Pearson meant that the ball struggled to get back into Exeter’s attacking half. Fancy footwork and sterling stick skills from both Akito Jacques, James Miller and Alex Jones meant that the ball glided past Exeter’s midfield. Goals came from Akito and James’ fast movement and the ball was soon moving quickly round Exeter’s defence thanks to attackmen Freddie Madison, Caolan Pledge, Harri Rowley and Patrick Parry. Fantastic off ball movement and perfect picks from his fellow attackmen meant that Madison could slip and slide his way through the defence managing to get two goals under his name. High spirits and motivation from both teams made the game rough, energetic and entertaining to watch. Unfortunately, the end score was 7-4 to Exeter, but Cardiff ’s spirit was not tainted and they are ready for their next match against the Bristol first team.

Getting to know...

Hugo Tyson Ice Hockey

or our latest installment of ‘getting to know’, Deputy Head of Sport George Willoughby spoke to Hugo Tyson of the Cardiff University Ice Hockey team. Having had a desire to play when he first started university, Tyson was able to contact the club directly. “I got involved with the ice hockey team by emailing them. I always knew I wanted to play so I actually chose my university options based on universities with ice rinks.” With no prior experience, Hugo was very new to the sport. “My first time playing hockey was roller hockey back home, Cardiff was my first time ever playing real ice hockey.” Understanding your role in ice hockey is very important, and Tyson undertakes plenty of tasks to complete outside of the rink too. “Committee-wise I am the club secretary,” he said. “It is my job to organise every aspect of running the club from booking the rink and buses to liaising with opposition teams and paying refs.” “Player-wise, I am in the defence which is vital for helping the goalie out but also on the attack to keep the intensity up.” As we have found with all the previous ‘Getting to Know’ segments, managing sport and university life can be difficult. Tyson was able to provide more information on how he finds the perfect balance. “Balancing a sport and a degree isn’t hard, ice hockey only trains one hour a week due to the cost and we have one game a week or so.” Sport at Cardiff University can be beneficial in numerous aspects, and Tyson was quick to point out how it has enriched his experience. “Playing sport at university has been the best decision I have ever made. Sport helps you keep active, and the social scene is what will create memories and friends for life.” Varsity is always a date for the diary, regardless of the sport. The clash between Cardiff and Swansea is like no other. The atmosphere was something that has been recognised by Tyson. “In ice hockey, the Varsity game against Swansea is the highlight of the year.” “There is nothing better than hundreds of students in the arena all cheering you on and having a great time.” When asked about whether team performance or socials were more important, here is what Hugo had to say. “Team performance or the social scene is a difficult question.” “With ice hockey, we don’t have the best of teams as we rely on people joining who have already played.” “I love the social scene because I think it’s the backbone to a good team spirit.” The most important bit of advice Hugo Tyson would give to his fresher-self was rather straightforward. “Join the sport sooner!”.

To contact our sport desk, drop us an email at sport@gairrhydd.com

sport

BUCS Highlights Ultimate frisbee, golf and more Page 31

CHWARAEON

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VAR vs TMO How can football learn from rugby? Page 29

Blues Column Blues should focus on Europe Page 30

Aled Davies wins fourth consecutive world title Luke Wakeling Sport Editor

ith the birth of his daughter Phoebe in September, Aled Davies embarked on his World Para-Athletics Championships in Dubai with added motivation. The shot put champion, from Bridgend, is one the most successful Welsh paralympic athletes. After his most recent gold, Davies dedicated his win to his daughter, Phoebe, who was only 29 born in September.

Looking back at Warnock’s time in Cardiff Olly Allen Sport Editor

Japan 2019: Owen Watkin in action against New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup Bronze medal match. Source: Welsh Rugby Union.

Exclusive: Rugby World Cup ‘dream come true’ says Watkin Reece Chambers Head of Sport

fter starting in crucial Rugby World Cup knockout matches, young Welsh prospect Owen Watkin has described the tournament in Japan as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity.’ The 23-year-old was one of three centres selected by Warren Gatland, but injury to Jonathan Davies gave Watkin his chance to showcase his ability on world rugby’s biggest stage. “To represent your country at a World Cup is something you dream of as a young boy growing up. I felt massively privileged to be able to go out to Japan,” Watkin exclusively told Gair Rhydd Sport. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to play out in Japan at the World Cup.” Having only previously represented Wales 16 times, Warren Gatland’s se-

lection of Watkin showed the belief Welsh rugby holds in the centre. However, with world-class competition for a starting place from Jonathan Davies and Hadleigh Parkes, Watkin was aware that he would need to wait for his opportunity. That opportunity came at a crucial time - against France in the quarter-final after Davies aggravated a recurring knee injury in training. “Obviously it was disappointing for Jonathan [Davies] to not play the game, but it was a great opportunity for me and a dream come true to start in a World Cup quarter-final. “To start that France game in a World Cup quarter-final was one of the highlights of my career so far. Before that I had to do what I could from the bench but I finally had my opportunity. “I think I’ve shown that I am capable of handling it as a starting centre and professional rugby player.

“You try and prove yourself, and do whatever you can for the team in that amount of time.” For Watkin, having Davies as a mentor has allowed him to fully reach his potential. “He’s been one of the best centres in world rugby for the last five or six years. He’s a brilliant player and I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can from him to make myself a better player. “Even though he was disappointed to not be playing, he was really supportive and wanted to bring the best out of me.” As well as Davies, Watkin also paid tribute to Gatland in his final campaign as Wales boss. “He’s changed Welsh rugby completely with everyone around the world holding high expectations of us. We’re expected to do well and be successful and I think Warren has embedded us in that as players and as a

country. “ With it being Gatland’s last campaign, there was added importance on every game. That certainly showed in the semi-final defeat to South Africa with emotional tributes to the New Zealander post-match. However, Watkin noted that Gatland’s final words in the dressing room after the defeat showed the true belief he has in the Welsh squad. “He said that he could never criticise our effort and the things we put our body through just to get that win. All twenty-three of the boys tried their very best and it just wasn’t meant to be on the day. “ Looking towards the future, Watkin wants to continue developing and take his opportunity in the starting XV. “I’ve got to keep working hard and doing what I do best. I’ve just got to be patient and I’m sure my time to start with Wales will come as long as I keep working hard.”

eil Warnock’s three year spell as Cardiff City manager came to an end last week, with the veteran boss leaving by mutual consent after defeat to Bristol City. A series of poor results under Warnock’s tenure left fans increasing disgruntled down in 14th in the Sky Bet Championship. Gair Rhydd Sport looks back at his tenure in South Wales, as he took a struggling Championship side to the Premier League in the space of just 18 months and very nearly 28 kept them there.

Tyson Fury’s WWE spotlight Ella Fenwick Sport Editor

ormer boxing heavyweight world champion, Tyson Fury, has recently appeared on WWE. Fury’s debut match was against experienced WWE superstar Braun Strowman, in Saudi Arabia at Crown Jewel. The intense match was won by Fury following his boxing roots with a singular punch knockout. Appearing on the follow up WWE show, Fury has partnered with Strowman to create a tag-team. Fury’s future looks bright with more appearances lined up and a rematch in February against WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. 30