Gair Rhydd 1187- 5 December 2022

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Cardiff University’s student paper | Established 1972

The Myth of 'Made in the UK'

Clelia Frondaroli Head of Comment

The typical consumer does not know where their cloth ing originates from. In fact, most fashion brands themselves are unaware of the areas in which their clothing is produced, as a result of manufacturers employ ing subcontractors to create gar ments. However, as concerns con tinue to grow over rising global temperatures and drastic weather patterns, the fashion industry (es pecially in the UK) has seen a dis cernible shift in consumers seek ing out independent brands that source production close to home. According to one survey conduct ed by Make it British, more than 93% of consumers are willing to pay more for products that hold a ‘Made in the UK’ label, suggest ing that UK goods are perceived to be of higher quality, interna tionally respected and valuable. Yet, behind this apparent drive for British made consumer products, there are many things that the ‘Made in’ label isn’t telling us.

Pioneered in the UK, the ‘Made in’ label was created in the late 1800s as an attempt to differen tiate imitation goods from au thentically manufactured British goods. However, there has been no law since its implementation in the UK that requires the labelling of origin on clothing and consum er products. This has led to the rise of ‘label fraud’, where cheaper manufacturing and labour costs abroad have meant that clothing is typically constructed overseas and finer details (such as buttons being sewn on or pockets lined) are stitched in the UK. This means that clothing labels are still able to claim that the product has been ‘made in the UK’, despite being produced in developing countries where workers are paid far below

the minimum wage.

This has had several detrimen tal implications for the clothing industry. Firstly, it reflects poorly on the ‘Made in’ label, giving the appearance that it is a marketing ploy intended to convince con sumers that they are sourcing clothing ethically, when in reality it is simply re-branded fast fash ion. It could also be seen as a sub section of ‘greenwashing’, where some fast fashion retailers are de liberately mislabelling their cloth ing as an attempt to appear more environmentally friendly. Further more, it is not fair on authentic independent British brands such as Oarsum, whose production is sourced entirely within the UK in a sustainable manner. Fraudulent origin labels negatively impact the perception of British goods as a whole, where poor quality gar ments and consumer products are passed off as ‘British Made’ de spite never being produced in the country.

However, it is also important to note that there is no guaran tee British-made products them selves are ethical. Although UK guidelines and law state that ‘it is against the law for an employer to pay less than the national mini mum wage’, there have been nu merous cases across the country where garment factory workers have been mistreated and under paid. In the case of one Leicester garment factory, migrant workers were found to be repeated victims of wage exploitation, where they would be subjected to extremely labour-intensive work for as little as £3 an hour.

To read Clelia' s full article on the mislabelling and greenwashing of consumer products, turn to page 15

Jasmine Jones Head of Sport

World Cup heartbreak for Wales

After an underwhelming first two matches for Wales, their world cup dreams hung in the balance ahead of the final group stage game against England. In Wales’ first World Cup since 1958, Rob Page and his team had much to prove, and a whole nation rooting for them back home.

Drawing against the USA, and losing against Iran left Wales with a moun

tain to climb and ultimately proved too much for the team that achieved Welsh history. To get through to the round of 16 Wales needed to secure the win against England and hope that Iran vs USA ended in a draw. If the other group match ended in anything other than a draw, Wales then needed to beat Eng land by at least 4 goals.

Alterations to the starting eleven were made by both teams ahead of the fixture, with Wales bringing in Joe Allen and Dan James to replace Connor Rob

erts and Harry Wilson. Danny Ward also started after Wayne Hennessey’s straight red card in the previous game against Iran.

England made significant chang es from their underwhelming draw against the USA.

To read Jasmine's article on the Wales v England match, turn to page 23

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

The Supreme Court has ruled that it would be unlawful for the Scottish parliament to legis late for a second referendum following a fast-tracked case brought about by Sturgeon’s legal advisor.

The SNP had wanted to hold a second referendum on independence next October following the UK’s exit from the EU (seen as a big draw for those voting to remain a part of the UK in 2014, and her party’s recent success in the Scottish parliament elections).

To read Katherine's 's article on the ruling, turn to page 6

Mae cyfnod y Nadolig yn adeg wirioneddol wyllt i gwmnïoedd y stryd fawr ac i’r rheini sy’n gweithio iddyn nhw: mae’r rhan fwyaf o gwmnïoedd yn gwneud y canran mwyaf o’u helw blynyddol yn yr ychydig wythnosau cyn y diwrnod mawr (mae’r tyrrau o bobl yng nghanolfan Dewi Sant Caerdydd ar y funud yn brawf o hyn). Ond, sut beth yw’r Nadolig i berchno gion busnesau bach Caerdydd, a hyn ny yng nghanol argyfwng costau byw?

I ddarllen erthygl Anest am y stryd fawr, trowch i dudalen 11

Edward Sutton Science and Tech Editor

was lucky enough to be able to speak to Dr Jen Allan who went to COP 27 this year with the Earth Negotiations Bulletin and is a lecturer here in Cardiff.

1.5C is the key temperature the UN is aiming towards for global warming. Dr Allan highlighted Alok Sharma’s words that 1.5C was on life support, backed again but concerns form sci entists.

To read Edwards' interview with the Cardiff University professor, turn to page 21

Qatar

Wales have been knocked out of the tournament. Image: SuperCam (via Flickr)

Gair Rhydd 2022/23

Coordinator

Elaine Morgan Editor-in-Chief

Beth Alaw Williams

Deputy Editors

Jasmine Jones

Katherine Seymour Nansi Eccott News

George Symonds

Shivika Singh

Lowri Powell

Luis Atkinson

Beca Dalis Williams

Features

Ruhaab Khalid Grace Robson Taf-od

Nansi Eccott

Lowri Davies

Anest Williams

Efa Ceiri

Megan Haf Davies

Millie Stacey

Politics

Katherine Seymour Francesca Ionescu

Jade Heath

Comment

Clelia Frondaroli

Evan Johnson-Charteris

Frances Marsh Advice

Megan Shinner

Lucy Matthews

Shaniece O’Keeffe Review

Alice Moore

Billy Edwards

Haris Hussnain

Science and Technology

Edward Sutton

Aditi Kallanagoudar Girish

Freya Shepherd

Welsh Editor

Malen Meredydd Sport

Jasmine Jones

Ryan Harris-Jewell

Eloise Martin

Rohan Kakar

Social Media Editors

Emily Smith

Jack Darlington

Haris Hussnain

Copy Editors

Alanya Smith

Alice Fox

Alys Mai Walters

Charlotte Grant

Claudia Titcombe

Efa Prydderch

Elliw Williams

Lois Campbell Lily Barry

Maisie Granger

Katie Bowen

Scarlett Carpenter

Write to the editor gairrhyddeic@gmail.com

A note from the Editor

Nodyn gan y Golygydd

Do boycotts work?

Yw boicotio’n gweithio?

At Gair Rhydd we take seriously our responsibility to maintain the highest pos sible standards. We may occasionally make mistakes, however if you believe we have fallen below the standards we seek to uphold, please email gairrhyddeic@gmail.com.

You can view our Ethical Policy Statement and Complaints Procedure at cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints.

Opinions expressed in editorials and opin ion 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.

Beth Williams Editor-in-Chief

The 2022 World Cup marks Wales’ return to the tournament after 64 years. While the location of the tournament has been shrouded in controversy, the long wait means that thousands of Welsh fans have decided to make the journey to Qatar regardless.

This year’s hosts have faced criti cism over its multiple violations of human rights, including women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Over 6,500 mi grant workers have died over the past 12 years while building architecture for the event. It has also been claimed that multiple FIFA officials were bribed to vote for Qatar as the tournament’s host nation. Despite the enthusiasm of some, millions of fans and political figures around the world are planning to boycott the event in protest of its lo cation.

‘Boycott Qatar 2022’ is a familiar cry to German Bundesliga followers, as fans have been using the league games to show their opposition towards the host nation. Their protests aimed to highlight the issues of human rights and environmental concerns surround ing the location of the tournament.

Downing Street have confirmed that PM Rishi Sunak has ‘no plans’ to attend the tournament, yet the same does not ring true for the Welsh leader, Mark Drakeford. The Welsh Labour leader

has been in Qatar since the start of the tournament, despite his English coun terpart Sir Keir Starmer saying that a boycott is ‘the Labour party’s position’.

Addressing criticism, Drakeford said ‘The arguments that are made by peo ple who have chosen not to come are absolutely real and to be respected. In the end, our conclusion was that people in Wales would not have wanted to see a seat for Wales left empty. It really is a very special opportunity to promote Wales on the world stage’. Yet, have wide talks of boycott been followed through?

The BBC decided not to broadcast the World Cup opening ceremony, which included British artists like Rob bie Williams and Clean Bandit after many other performers refused to take part. Around 1.2 million people are ex pected to travel to Qatar throughout the tournament, compared to over 3 million that travelled to Russia during the 2018 World Cup.

Some of those in attendance are us ing their time in Qatar to draw atten tion to these controversies, with com mentator and ex-footballer Alex Scott wearing a ‘One love’ armband to show support towards the LGBTQ+ com munity. While millions have made the journey or watched at home, this year’s tournament is certainly different from World Cups of the past.

Beth Williams

Prif Olygydd

Mae Cwpan y Byd 2022 yn nodi dychweliad Cymru i’r bencampwriaeth ar ôl 64 blynedd. Tra bod lleoliad y twr namaint wedi ysgogi dadl, mae’r aros yn golygu fod miloedd o gefnogwyr Cymru wedi penderfynu teithio draw i Qatar.

Mae lleoliad pencampwriaeth eleni wedi gwynebu beirniadaeth dros sawl achos o droseddau Qatar yn erbyn hawliau dynol, gan gynnwys menywod ac unigolion LBGTQ+. Bu farw dros 6,500 o weithwyr ymfudwyr dros y 12 blwyddyn ddiwethaf yn ystod adeiladu seilwaith y digwyddiad. Mae hefyd wedi ei honni fod sawl o swyddogion FIFA wedi ei thalu i bleidleisio am Qatar fel gwlad cynnal y bencampwriaeth yn ôl yn 2010. Er brwdfrydedd rhai, mae mili ynau o gefnogwyr a ffigyrau gwleidyddol o amgylch y byd yn bwriadu boicotio’r digwyddiad mewn protest.

Mae ‘Boycott Qatar 2022’ wedi bod yn ymgyrch gyfarwydd i ddilynwyr y Bundesliga Almaeneg, gan fod cefnog wyr wedi bod yn defnyddio gemau’r cyn ghrair i ddangos eu gwrthwynebiad tuag at y genedl cynnal. Mae eu protestiadau yn ceisio tynnu sylw at y mater o hawliau dynol a phryderon amgylcheddol yng nghylch leoliad y bencampwriaeth.

Mae Stryd Downing wedi cadarnhau fod Rishi Sunak efo ‘ddim cynlluniau’ i fynychu’r bencampwriaeth, ond nid yw’r un peth yn wir am arweinydd Cymru,

Mark Drakeford. Mae arweinwr Llafur Cymraeg wedi bod yn Qatar ers cych wyn Cwpan y Byd, er bod ei gymar Saesneg, Syr Keir Starmer yn dweud mai boicot yw ‘sefyllfa’r blaid Lafur’

Yn ymateb i’r feirniadaeth yn erbyn ei benderfyniad, dywedodd Drakeford: ‘ Mae’r ddadl wedi ei wneud gan bobl sydd wedi dewis peidio dod yn hollol wir ac yn benderfyniad i’w barchu. Yn y pen draw, ein casgliad oedd ni fuasai pobl yng Nghymru eisiau gweld sedd i Gymru wedi’i adael yn wag. Mae gwirioneddol yn gyfle arbennig i hybu Cymru ar lw yfan byd eang.’ Ond, yw trafodaethau ehangach am foicot wedi ei weithredu ar?

Penderfynodd y BBC i beidio darlledu seremoni agoriadol Cwpan y Byd, a chyn hwysai artistiaid Prydeinig megis Robbie Williams a Clean Bandit ar ôl i sawl arall gwrthod cymryd rhan. Rhagwelir fod tua 1.2 miliwn o bobl am deithio i Qatar yn ystod y bencampwriaeth, i’w gymharu gyda dros 3 miliwn a theithiodd i Rwsia yn ystod Cwpan y Byd 2018.

Mae rhai sydd wedi mynychu yn defnyddio eu hamser yn Qatar i fynnu sylw at y problemau yma, gyda sylweb wraig ac cyn-peldroedwraig Alex Scott yn gwisgo band braich ‘One Love’ i ddan gos cefnogaeth tuag at y gymuned LG BTQ+. Tra bod miliynau wedi gwneud y daith neu yn gwylio adref, mae pen campwriaeth eleni yn sicr yn wahanol i Gwpanau’r Byd y gorffennol.

Boycotting:. Many football fans have vowed not to follow the World Cup this year. Image: Jernej Furman (via Flickr)

Boicotio: Mae llawer o gefnogwyr pêl-droed wedi gaddo i beidio dilyn Cwpan y Byd eleni. Llun: Jernej Furman (via Flickr)

5.6 magnitude earthquake hits Indonesia

Alys Jones Contributor

A5.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Cianjur region of West Java, Indonesia and has left 1,000 in jured and 310 dead, with the death toll still rising as search efforts continue.

More than 22,000 homes have been de stroyed and 58,000 people left displaced, with many still missing. The earthquake struck at 1:21 pm local time on Mon day, November 22nd, and caused school buildings to collapse as classes were un derway, with more than 50 schools being affected. Around a third of those who had died as a result of the incident were children. Aprizal Mulyadi, a 14-year-old student said his “legs were buried un der the table” and was trapped after “the room collapsed” while he was in school.

A government official in Cianjur stat ed that some residents had been trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings and victims injured by the earthquake were seen being treated in a hospital car park.

Mus Mustopa, a resident of Padaluyu, a village in Cianjur, told an Indonesian tel evision network that he helped recover the body of an 80-year-old woman who

Source:

had died and stated that “I wasn’t pre pared and saw houses reduced to rub ble… Some 50 houses are damaged, with around 10 being heavily damaged”. After visiting some of the affected areas, Presi dent Joko Widowo announced that the government would provide compensa tion of up to about $3,200 to residents of heavily damaged homes and recom mended that homes should be rebuilt as earthquake-resistant buildings.

Indonesia’s Bureau of Meteorol ogy, the BMKG, also warned of a risk of landslides as 25 after-shocks had been recorded in the two hours following the earthquake, including one measured at a magnitude of 3.9. Around 6,000 rescuers have been dispatched to affected areas in recovery efforts. Some villages were

left inaccessible by land for more than two days after the earthquake, which had been especially destructive due to its epicentre, which was around 6 miles deep. This depth meant that the seismic waves had lost less of their force travel ling to the Earth’s surface, which resulted in greater damage. Shaking was also felt in Jakarta, the country’s capital, 60 miles from Cianjur.

Indonesia’s location makes it suscep tible to natural disasters, as it sits in the centre of a region known as the “Ring of Fire”. This region spans 25,000 miles around the Pacific Ocean which sets off frequent earthquakes and volcanic activ ity that stretches from Indonesia on one side of the Pacific Ocean to South Amer ica and California on the other. Indonesia

has experienced many similar disasters. In February of this year, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the West Sumatra province killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 460. In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured around 6,500 in West Sulawesi province.

The country experienced a severe in cident in 2004. A 9.1 magnitude earth quake struck the island of Sumatra in the northern region of Indonesia and trig gered a tsunami that struck 14 countries. 226,000 people along the Indian Ocean coastline were killed with more than half of the deaths occurring in Indonesia.

Selina Sumbung, chief executive of Save the Children Indonesia voiced her concerns regarding the lack of preven tative measures being installed by the government such as reinforced hills and stricter building codes. Sumbung expressed that the absence of such measures is related to the country’s de centralised system of governance and stated that “We’re (Indonesia) the largest economy in Southeast Asia, we do have a lot of resources. We’re just not pulling our weight”.

‘Wales Climate Week’ returns this November

Stephanie

Stephanie Pfiffner Contributor

explains a series of interactive conferences surrounding climate change

With this year’s frenzy Black Friday shopping wrapping up, it is worth reflecting on the sustainable consumer challenges we must face for a greener future. Si multaneously, the end of the annual Wales Climate Week 2022 strikes a more mindful tone concerning the im pact we all have on Climate Change.

The week-long event consisted of climate conversations through an in teractive, virtual conference which touched on vital topics such as climate adaptation and decarbonisation as well as living and energy crises in the face of social justice. The conference was open to the general public and encour aged speakers from various sectors to suggest innovative ideas and solutions. Which include community energy schemes, inspiring repair and reuse initiatives, embracing change within

communities and how to increase the capacity of people to show concern for our environmental future. For those not having managed to attend, the ses sions can be watched via the on-de mand page which is published on their website.

Julie James, Wales’ Minister for Cli mate Change, has stated: “Lots of great work has already been done in Wales to help reduce our emissions and meet our climate obligations, but we will only succeed if a national effort is made across the public sector, industry, and by the general public.”

As a means to further push the gen eral public’s initiative in helping with Climate Change, the fringe events programme was introduced this year. The program will include in-person community-based workshops hosted by organisations, which serve with the intention of encouraging people who are perhaps not actively engaged in climate conversations to unite and dis

cuss these pressing themes. The work shops will also have a narrower focus on marginalised individuals and groups as well as such that are most likely to be impacted by climate change.

According to a report by the Climate Change Committee, nearly 60% of the reduction in the emissions needed for the UK to meet its net zero target is likely to involve some element of be haviour change from the general pub lic. The fringe events programme is a great way to create awareness among the general public and create involve ment. “This is a chance for people across Wales to have their say on the future policies that are going to be needed to support our transition to a greener and fairer society - and I am keen that we will continue this dialogue in the important weeks and months ahead”, Julie James explained.

The Welsh Government, in its com mitment to engaging the youth in the conversation, has sponsored Youth COP

The program will include inperson community-based work shops hosted by organisations”

2022 early November; this has enabled around 120 school pupils from across Wales to engage in discussions on cli mate change and meet with organisa tions involved in climate change initia tives. These initiatives’ emphasis on the younger generation getting involved is a milestone needed to commit to in order to preserve the natural climate and land scapes of Wales.

The week-long event con sisted of climate conversations through an interactive, virtual conference"

OneLove armband and the football World Cup

Lowri Powell News Editor

England, Wales and other squads planned to wear anti-discrimina tion OneLove armbands at this year’s football World Cup. But the de cision was reversed after FIFA said it would give a yellow card to players who wore them.

England captain Harry Kane and Wales captain Gareth Bale had been ex pected to wear the OneLove armband throughout the World Cup to show sup port to the LGBTQ+ community and against the discrimination in Qatar. It was particularly significant in Qatar due to the country’s stance on homosexuality.

The state states homosexuality is il legal, and people can be punished for their sexuality. The football associations were prepared to pay a fine if their cap

tains wore the armband. Despite this, it was confirmed that wearing the armband meant a yellow card for both captains.

A joint statement from the FAW, the FA and other European football associa tions who intending to wear the OneLove armband, said: “As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the arm bands in FIFA World Cup games.”

They continued, “We are very frustrat ed by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented - we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to active ly support inclusion in football, and had no response. Our players and coaches are disappointed - they are strong support ers of inclusion and will show support in other ways.”

England women’s captain Leah Wil

liamson has said it’s “rubbish” to tell play ers to “stick to football” and avoid politics.

Leah, who wore a rainbow armband in support of LGBTQ+ rights at this sum mer’s Euros, said players should have “every opportunity” to promote inclusiv ity.

“Football has such a massive reach and impact on so many people that if we were to stay silent on issues that we thought we should speak up about, I think you’re ask ing them to be less of who they are and hide a part of themselves,” she said.

Wales’s official LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, the Rainbow Wall, issued a state ment stating that female fans who had worn rainbow bucket hats to the match had been told to remove them. Men however were allowed to wear rainbow merchandise into the stadium. Laura McAllister, former Wales International football player, took to social media af ter having her Wales rainbow bucket hat

confiscated by staff.

Following many fans experiencing discrimination - along with FAW staff who were part of the Red Wall - the governing body of Welsh football has confirmed it will present FIFA with their findings of incidents.

FIFA has reminded World Cup organ isers in Qatar about its policy of allow ing items displaying the rainbow symbol into stadiums. Meetings have taken place with Qatar’s Supreme Committee – who is in control of the tournament about their frustration.

Despite England backing down, BBC presenter and former England Interna tional with 140 caps, Alex Scott, wore the OneLove armband pitch side. She has been a vocal critic of Qatar’s treatment of the LBGTQ+ community and the coun try’s human rights record. She insisted she went to the World Cup in Qatar to have the ‘harder conversations’.

Shivika Singh

Luis Atkinson

George Symonds

Beca Dallis

Lady Susan Hussey, the late Queen’s lady-inwaiting, resigns following race comments to char ity boss

Pfiffner

Regular Earthquakes: Indonesia’s location makes it susceptible to natural disasters

AusAID via Wikimedia

Welsh music artists and the football World Cup

Beca Dalis News Editor

It’s a very exciting time to be living in Wales while the Men’s Welsh Football team are out in Qatar com peting in the FIFA World Cup and one thing that makes Welsh fans or mem bers of the Red Wall feel connected, is music.

Football Association Wales (FAW) have a partnership with BBC Horizon and Council Wales to ensure the devel opment of new, independent contempo rary music by Welsh artists. Lucky artists from Wales have been chosen to repre sent the country and create ‘anthems’ for the Red Wall.

Dafydd Iwan is well-known in Wales, and his big hit ‘Yma O Hyd’ has recently brought him world-wide attention. His iconic song has lately been revived and is now known by people of all ages across Wales. Some may remember when he sang the song in tears full of passion at Cardiff City Stadium before the Wales vs Austria match, and interestingly ‘Yma O Hyd’ got to the top of the UK iTunes chart in 2020. Earlier in November 2022 FAW released the ‘Yma O Hyd’ offi cial campaign song on YouTube, that has been re-mixed with backing vocals of 70,000 Red Wall fans at both of the World Cup Qualifiers for Wales and also

been viewed 7 million times by people from all over the world.

In the song he mentions the impor tance of the Welsh language. The song has been recently adopted as an anthem by the Welsh football team after a long awaited 64 years to be able to step to a world-wide stage. Rob Page, Wales’ man ager said “It’s a big part of what we’re all about”, “we’re all passionate Welsh people who love our country”.

On 10 of November, Dafydd Iwan sang karaoke with over 230,000 children online on S4C’s Stwnsh, as a send-off for the Men’s Welsh Football Team.

Other Welsh artists have been inspired by Wales success getting to Qatar, which includes Los Blancos with ‘Bricsen Goch’ and Lloyd, Don and Dom with ‘Calon y Ddraig’.The Gŵyl Cymru Festival has

been organised to celebrate Wales mak ing the World Cup with over 200 events across Wales. Some events that are tak ing place are fan bases for young children with the Urdd, after-parties and mainly entertainment. A gig will be held in Clwb Ifor Bach with Llyffant and Los Blancos headlining as a part of the celebration.

Sage Todz has produced a song for the Men’s World Cup which begins with Dafydd Iwan’s ‘Yma O Hyd’ and then it leads to his rap. The song is called ‘O Hyd’, which is a bilingual song that re flects societies in Wales in the current time. Sage Todz said that this was very exciting, “I’m really glad to continue to bring the Welsh language into a more modern context”. He also mentioned that his music is different and it’s comforting

to have this genre of music included in football.

Rob Dowling, FAW Head of Content and Engagement said “we naturally en gage with modern Welsh culture to high light not only the talent within the coun try, but also to represent the diversity of that culture”. Sage Todz recommended that the FAW worked with Juice to pro duce an exclusive track for the Women’s World Cup qualifiers. Juice Menace from Bridgend, but raised in Grangetown, Cardiff, who studied music technol ogy at Cardiff and Vale College has been asked to create an anthem for the Wales women’s team for the 2023 World Cup soundtrack. Destiny Jones, who is be hind Juice Menace, raps and uploads music to SoundCloud.

Discovered by a talent scout at Warner Music UK, who was persistent and determined to get Juice involved in the Women’s World Cup. He contacted through DM, email and finally mes saged her on SoundCloud, she said that it was a “crazy moment”. The track is called ‘For Her’, which echoes the FAW message of ‘For Us, For Them, For Her’ which is used throughout their cam paign. She admitted that she isn’t the biggest fan of football but said “I did it more because of what it means to be a woman in sport”.

United Kingdom are an ageing population.

George Symonds Head of News

After taking nearly a year to col late and record, the 2021 UK Census results have been pub lished.

Released on the 29th of November, it had been over ten years since the last (2011). The Census aims to be an offi cial survey across the entire population of the United Kingdom “to provide in formation that the government needs to develop policies, plans and run public services, and allocate funding.” (gov.uk). Operated by the Office for National Statistics, the Census allows for a “complete picture” to be drawn. Every person counted for was asked the same questions, in every region and country within the United King dom. Topics of religion, population,

sexuality and first languages spoken are among the key statistics recorded.

Religion is dominating newspa per headlines due to less than half the population of England and Wales iden tifying as Christian (46.2%, a decrease from 59.3% in the last census). This is the lowest ever recorded. The BBC reported that “in contrast the number who said they had no religion increased to 37.2% of the population, up from a quarter.

Population is currently the high est on record with a 3.5 million (6.3%) increase since 2011- only a 1.4 % rise in Wales however (44,000 increase). “In Cardiff, the population size has in creased by 4.7%, from around 346,100 in 2011 to 362,400 in 2021. This is high er than the overall increase for Wales (1.4%), where the population grew by 44,000 to 3,107,500.” By dividing the

entire population of Wales equally over the entire Welsh land size, each person would equate to a football field. Despite the increase in overall popula tion, there is a decrease of babies be ing born. “Over one-sixth (18.6%, 11.1 million) of the population in 2021 were aged 65 years and over, up from 16.4% (9.2 million) in 2011” (gov.uk). Quite the contrast to only 17.4% of the popu lation (10.4 million) being aged under 15 years- a decrease by 0.2%.

Those identifying as LGB+ have also substantially increased. The pro portion of the UK population aged 16 years and over identifying as hetero sexual was 93.6% in 2020; this has been a decreasing trend since the sexuality Census began in 2014. From the most recent Census looking at sexuality (in 2020) 3.1% of the British population identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

Within this, majority of LGB+ people are between the ages of 16 and 24; the proportion of men in the UK identify ing as LGB increased from 1.9% to 3.4% between 2014 and 2020; the propor tion of women identifying as LGB has risen from 1.4% to 2.8% over the same period. (gov.uk).

In correlation with a growing eth nically diverse population; the first language spoken within the United Kingdom’s population is also changing. Polish remained the second most wide ly spoken language with 610,000 speak ers. Followed by Romanian, which had a dramatic increase from being the 19th most spoken language with 68,000 speakers to 472,000 speakers. Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali and Arabic are contrast ingly on the decline, as is French, which fell out of the top 10 other main spoken languages this year. (The Guardian).

Charitable financial support needed this winter

Luis Atkinson News Editor

Research undertaken by the Movement for Good Awards (MGA) has revealed that 37% of the Welsh population are “more likely” to apply for support from charities than ever before this winter.

This announcement comes at a time when a poll of 67,000 Welsh citizens uncovered how roughly 40% of UK residents are going to be increasingly dependent on charities to help them get through the winter ahead. 37%derived from a study of 2,471 people – have admitted turning their attention to charities for support, whilst it is also estimated that about 32% of the Welsh population are more likely to reduce charitable spending in efforts to man age their finances better amid soaring energy and food prices.

It is deemed that 31% of residents may be willing to give up their free time to volunteer for charities endeav ouring to help those who need help.

The report showed how independ ent charities helping communities on a local scale will potentially see more donations than charities operating on a national and international scale. The MGA predicts that two-thirds – 65%of residents are more likely to support local charities, with a large proportion of that population selecting frontline charities specialising in helping those In need during the cost-of-living crisis. These revelations come as the Trus sell Trust – the UK’s largest network of food banks – announced that they have distributed a “record number” of food parcels from April to September this year, in line with the struggles many

households are facing. It is claimed that one in five individuals who are referred to the Trussell trust are from working households.

The Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards will be giving away £120,000 as a part of their annual 12 days of Giving Christmas campaign. Any residents who are willing to nominate a charity of their choice are encouraged to do so at www.move mentforgood.com. The first draw will happen on December 1st and the last draw will happen on December 16th, with ten charities being drawn every day. Nominations are open until Thurs day 15th of December.

Winners are drawn completely at random, and the more times a char ity is nominated means the more likely they are to be selected. As stated by the Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, Mark Hews, “ it’s perhaps no surprise that people intend to cut back on their charitable giving at this time, and it is clear that charities need help more than ever. Our annual £1 mil lion Movement for Good Awards have helped thousands of charities across the UK and we’re asking people to take a few minutes of their time to nominate a cause they especially care about”.

It is reported by Benefact Group that 250 £1000 awards were donated in June. Furthermore, another 250 £1000 awards were awarded in September, followed by an additional £500,000 of larger grants in October. A special draw had also been started to happen along side COP27, subsidising donations of £5000 to five environmental charities – a total of £25,000 in further funding.

Movement for Good is funded by EIO plc, part of the Benefact Group.

Financial pressure on university students

Libbi Mullin Contributor

Students in higher education are struggling to put food on the table as the cost of living crisis empties the nation’s pockets. With the official inflation rate at 11.1%, rising debt is consuming students like never before. Research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that around 29% of students are skipping non-mandatory lec tures and tutorials to save on costs due to anxiety.

Students do not qualify for gov ernment cost of living payments, causing them to take on new debts as a consequence of food and energy bills. Recent BBC research has found that 1 in 10 young people have re sorted to using food banks in the last 6 months. This debt has undoubted ly taken its toll on the mental health of students around the country toowith a separate survey run by the website Save The Student revealing that 4 in 5 students had resorted to considering the prospect of drop ping out of university.

Several universities and colleges have offered support to students to aid them during this time of crisis, one being Cardiff University. Cardiff University has taken on the initia tive of offering free period products to students, £2 lunches to help stu dents on tight budgets and keeping the students union building open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that students have a warm place to study

The University of Manchester has also offered its students a oneoff payment of £170 to help with the cost of living and has promised to scrap library fines and provide ebooks as part of their measures to help with rising costs. Despite this, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that financial support for students is insubstantial and is failing to keep up with the rising rate of inflation.

The National Union of Students (NUS) reports that 1 in 3 students are left with less than £50 a month after paying rent and bills, highlight ing the difficulties students are fac ing- it is almost impossible for them to eat and live well.

The Guardian reported that stu dents from low-income backgrounds will be amongst those affected most. “According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the reduction – which means students from the poorest families will be £125 out of pocket each month – is due to the falling value of maintenance loans, which students take out to cover their liv ing costs.” (Sally Weale).

In a conversation with Weale, IFS senior research economist Kate Ogden detailed that “Whilst others are benefiting from extra govern ment support, students have been left out in the cold”. Weale replied “Merely because of errors in infla tion forecasts, the poorest students will be more than £1,000 worse off this academic year than in 2020-21. This could lead to significant hard ship for many this winter.”

Wales and the World Cup: One thing that makes Welsh fans or members of the Red Wall feel connected, is music. Source Heo Manjin via Flickr

Cost Of Living Crisis: Welsh population are more likely to reduce charitable spending, Source: FoodBank Support via Wikimedia, Waldo Jaquith via Flickr

The Housing Secretary has called for immediate action on social housing conditions Awaab Ishak’s death sparks anger across the UK POLITICS

Jade Heath Politics Editor

In 2020, two-year-old Awaab Ishak died from prolonged mould exposure in his fam ily home, which caused severe res piratory problems. Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley considered it a “defining moment” for the housing sector in the UK. A recent inquest into the child’s death has uncovered a level of neglect from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), the housing association the family were renting from.

It has been revealed that Awaab’s father, Faisal Abdullah, first report ed mould issues in 2017, after which he was told to paint over it. Abdul lah raised the issue several times in the following three years, and a health visitor had written multiple times to the RBH. Meanwhile, the child’s health deteriorated. RBH had originally maintained that the home’s mould was due to the fam ily’s bathing habits. However, as the inquest unfolded, this line of argu ment fell through.

RBH admitted that remedial works should have taken place after mould was noticed in a July 2020 in

Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley considered it a “de fining moment” for the hous ing sector in the UK”

spection. Awaab died in December that year. They also admitted that shifting the blame onto the family’s lifestyle was inappropriate. Chris tian Weaver, a barrister who repre sented the family at the inquest, has argued that these admissions took two years “speaks volumes”. Their failure to act rather than admit was “even more deplorable”.

Sky News have reported that, in the past year, RBH have received over 100 complaints of mould and damp in properties they manage - a figure which they have confirmed. However, a former employee has anonymously contested this, argu ing that the actual amount of claims

ELSEWHERE IN POLITICS

Mr Blackford said he believed it was time for “fresh leadership” after five years in the role and said that he will stand down at the party’s AGM next week.

-Welsh NUHT has warned of a staff ing crisis

The National Headteachers Union Cymru said that increasing pres sure on teachers could lead to a “crisis” in staffing

and complaints will be hundreds more than formally recorded. She has also said that without drastic change, more people could poten tially die under the same circum stances.

Nonetheless, Kearsley has argued that these housing issues are not ex clusive to Rochadale, and has stated her intention of writing a report to government ministers regarding this issue. Housing Secretary Micheal Gove has recently announced that RBH will not be receiving its ex pected funding of £1m from the Af fordable Homes Programme (AHP). Furthermore, until the regulator of social housing has completed an in

Christian Weaver, a bar rister who represented the family at the inquest, has ar gued that these admissions took two years “speaks vol umes”.

vestigation proving RBH to be a re sponsible landlord, they will not re ceive any contracts for new homes. In a statement to Sky News, Gove argued that it would be “wrong of us (the government) to give public money to an organisation that is failing”. In addition, the regulator of social housing has now demanded that evidence must be provided from housing associations o prove that they are combating problems of mould and damp, and are effectively dealing with them. The government has threatened action if standards are not met.

Hopefully, these initiatives will help prevent similar outcomes for tenants residing in homes where liv ing conditions are not being met.

Hopefully, these initiatives will help prevent similar out comes for tenants residing in homes where living condi tions are not being met.”

Second Refurendum not in Scottish Parliament’s power

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

The Supreme Court has ruled that it would be unlawful for the Scottish parliament to legislate for a second referendum following a fast-tracked case brought about by Sturgeon’s legal advisor.

The SNP had wanted to hold a sec ond referendum on independence next October following the UK’s exit from the EU (seen as a big draw for those voting to remain a part of the UK in 2014, and her party’s recent success in the Scottish parliament elections).

The Supreme Court came to a unan imous decision on the case, stating that the legislation which created the Scottish Parliament (the Scotland Act) had reserved powers which impact the state of the union to the Westminster Parliament. While they recognised that an exception had been made to allow for the 2014 referendum, this had been a temporary exception. The court also rejected the idea that any referendum

While they recognised that an exception had been made to allow for the 2014 referen dum, this had been a tempo rary exception. ”

would be advisory and not have an im pact on the state of the union - argua bly, this cannot be the case if a majority were to vote for independence.

The ruling has already sparked out rage from some nationalist activists who have said that it proves that the union is not built on consent, and that the UK is not as democratic as thought. However, unionists have argued that the 2014 referendum was “once in a generation”.

Nicola Sturgeon argued that the result had revealed an “unsustainable” democratic deficit and has said that her party will treat the next General

Election as a de facto referendum. She said that the parliamentary majority for a referendum is “quite simply undeni able”. It is also true that opinion polling shows public support for independ ence at around the 50% mark, though there are disagreements over how soon this should happen. There will be a special conference in the new year for the SNP to work out how the de facto referendum within the general election would work effectively.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wel comed the “clear and definitive ruling” from the Supreme Court. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, he said:

Nicola Sturgeon argued that the result had revealed an “unsustainable” democratic deficit ”

“The people of Scotland want us to be working on fixing the major challenges that we collectively face, whether that’s the economy, supporting the NHS or indeed supporting Ukraine. Now is the time for politicians to work together and that’s what this government will do.”

The issue of democracy has been central to Sturgeon’s arguments as to why Scotland should be allowed an other referendum. She has pointed to the previous “vote no” campaign high lighting that Scotland’s place in the EU would be secure if it remained a part of the Union, however this has not been the case. She has argued that Scotland continuing to vote for nationalist par ties shows that support for their move ment is growing.

The results of the 2014 referendum were: 55% of votes to the “no” side to leaving the UK and 45% to “yes”. In recent years, that gap has apparently become smaller with the country es sentially divided in the middle over the question of independence.

-Ian Blackford to stand down as SNP leader at Westminster

Francesca Ionescu

Jade Heath

Katherine Seymour

The Supreme Court have ruled that consent from the UK parliament is required

A key issue in parliament? :Social Housing Conditions have been brought to politicians attention contstantly Source: Nico Hogg (via Flikr)

Democratic Deficit?: Nicola Sturgeon has accused the UK of being an undemo cratic union without consent. Source: First Minister of Scotland (via Flickr)

Rishi Sunak highlights women and girls’ safety

Rishi Sunak sheds a light on his children’s experiences and what he will do to improve safety

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

Rishi Sunak has spoken of his fears for his daughter’s safety on her walk to school and said that men have often taken their own freedoms for granted fol lowing a number of crimes against women and girls.

Speaking about his daughter Krishna’s wishes for more independ ence, the Prime Minister said “It brings it home to you as a parent and again over the summer the aw ful things that we read about with the young girl Olivia [Pratt-Korbel], which we’ll all remember.I want to make sure that my kids and everyone else can walk around safely.That’s what any parent wants for their children.”. He also cited this as a rea son for moving out of the Downing Street flat and closer to her school in his later months as Chancellor.

He further said that he was deter mined to crack down on crime and that he was prepared to put more criminals into prison if that was necessary. He also stated that higher prisoner numbers were a “logical

Labour

consequence of catching more crim inals” and that the government was building 10,000 additional prison places over the next few years. While he reinforced that he was uncom fortable with the numbers going up, he also said that the government can provide the necessary funding and capacity to match rising numbers.

Sunak also said that he saw tack ling crime as a part of levelling up, saying: “It’s often people who are in

parts of the country that may feel that they’ve been looked over in the past, or that are from more disad vantaged backgrounds that crime impacts the most.

“I want to deliver for those peo ple. Putting more police officers on the street to reduce neighbourhood crime is incredibly important to me”.

He also spoke on his new role as Prime Minister saying that it dawned on him during the Remembrance

Sunday service: “To have the opportunity to do that as prime minister, that’s something I’ll never forget. So in among all the other work I have to do, that was a moment where I did for a few seconds actually get to just take in the responsibility that I’ve got in this new job – and that was a pretty special moment which I won’t forget.”

Later on, the Prime Min ister was asked about women and girls safety at PMQs and reiterated his further commit ment to increasing the number of police on the streets. He also highlighted an online initiative which can be used to highlight areas where people feel unsafe to get more police to those areas.

Labour has accused the govern ment of “taking an axe to the vital services that are there to protect us all” when commenting on their cuts to the police services. The Conserv ative party has tried to reverse this with the pledge for 20,000 additional police officers in 2019, a number to replace the 19,000 lost since auster ity began in 2010.

BBC Journalist arrested during Chinese lockdown protests

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, was summoned to the Foreign Office for a meeting fol lowing the arrest of a BBC jour nalist in Shanghai.

Journalist Ed Lawrence was beaten and detained whilst cov ering protests against further covid lockdown measures in China. The UK foreign office de scribes the treatment of him as “completely unacceptable”

Footage of the arrest was shared on social media and showed police officers grabbing Ed Lawrence and pinning him to the ground and then taking him away in handcuffs.

The BBC has described the treatment of one of its journalists as “extremely concerning”.

Chinese officials had claimed Mr Lawrence was arrested “for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd”, but the BBC said that this explanation was not “credible”.

Laila Dawelbeit Contributor

Keir Starmer has an nounced that he wishes to abolish the House of Lords as part of Labour’s plans to ‘restore trust in politics’, as report ed by The Observer.

A new elected chamber would replace the upper house of Parlia ment, with its current members being either appointed or heredi tary. Starmer also wants to strip politicians of the right to make appointments to the Lords.

The party is expected to con firm these proposals in its mani festo for the next election after holding consultations on the de tails of the new chamber system, in addition to reforms to the cur rent appointments system.

Starmer has said that recent Tory scandals, especially appoint ments of ‘lackeys and donors’, have caused the public to lose ‘faith in the ability of politicians and poli tics to bring about change’.

Boris Johnson’s controversial issue of a life peerage to Evgeny Lebedev in 2020 has raised ques tions over the size and role of the

A new elected chamber would replace the upper house of Parliament, with its current members being either appointed or heredi tary ”

House of Lords. A friend of John son’s, and the owner of the Even ing Standard, Lebedev has only spoken once on the house floor.

Johnson’s resignation honours list, which is yet to be announced, includes what would be the two youngest ever life peers, Ross Kempsell, aged 30, and Charlotte Owen, said to be in her late 20s. After a short and challenging sev en-week leadership, Liz Truss is also said to be planning a resigna tion list of her own.

In a recent meeting, Starmer told Labour peers that there was solid support for the proposed reforms amongst the public and

across party lines. Several peers across the political spectrum agree that membership in the up per house has become excessive, with 784 sitting members com pared to the 650 MPs in the Com mons.

Research carried out by The Guardian in 2019 shows that over a 12-month period between 2017 and 2018, almost a third of the 800 peers barely participated in parlia mentary business, despite cost ing almost £3.2m in allowances. The emergence of these details shows that this isn’t the first time the House of Lords’ function was brought into question. Starmer

almost a third of the 800 peers barely participated in parliamentary business, despite costing almost £3.2m in allowances. ”

made the same pledge in his lead ership campaign, reiterating ideas from a review of constitutional ar rangements overseen by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The last significant attempt to reform the House of Lords came from the coalition government under David Cameron. However, after a Tory rebellion of parlia ment, the plans were abandoned.

‘Clear principles’ set out by Starmer for this change includes strengthening and expanding de volution, which will also be done by allowing the new elected cham ber to be ‘truly representative’ of the UK’s nations and regions.

The proposals do not go with out criticism, with one govern ment source concerned that the new chamber will ‘invariably clash with the House of Commons and other devolved chambers,’ and that ‘legislative gridlock and con fused mandates would make it harder for Parliamentarians to deliver commitments to their con stituents - as illustrated by the pa ralysis and stalemate over Brexit in the last Parliament.’

Foreign Secretary James Clev erly said that he found the arrest “deeply disturbing”. He continued “Journalists must be able to do their job without intimidation,”

Arrests such as these are not uncommon for journalists in more authoritarian states of

which China is one. However, we did see LBC journalist Charlotte Lynch arrested in the UK whilst covering Just Stop Oil protests. Though she had shown the police her media card, they still arrested and proceeded to question her on her coverage of the protests. Though Hertfordshire Police lat er apologised for the arrest, the experience was distressing for all involved, particularly having happened in the UK where this has been uncommon.

China has now gone on to suggest that Mr Lawrence did not make it known that he was a journalist saying: “Based on what we learned from relevant Shang hai authorities, [Mr Lawrence] did not identify himself as a jour nalist and didn’t voluntarily pre sent his press credentials.”

However, we did see LBC journalist Charlotte Lynch

”

An issue protested:The deaths of women have sparked protest across the country following Sarah Everard’s death Source: Tim Dennell (via Flickr)

would “abolish the House of Lords”

Journalist Ed Lawrence was beaten and detained whilst covering protests against further covid lockdown measures in China. ”

arrested in the UK whilst covering Just Stop Oil protests.

Keir Starmer says the move would “restore trust in politics” through an elected upper chamber

Contraversial Reform?:Previous reform of the House of Lords was seen when Tony Blair removed almost all hereditary peers Source: UK Parliament(via Flickr)

Questions for PM over rumours of a Swiss style deal

Eva Castanedo Contributor

Since Boris Johnson got elected prime minister, every UK gov ernment that has followed has worked to repeal thousands of socalled retained EU laws. These laws were copied and pasted into UK law as part of the EU withdrawal bill back in 2018 to prevent any acciden tal gaps in the statute book.

The Prime minister is now op posing an agreement that relies on the alignment with EU law and has proposed a bill that plans to scrap all of the retained EU laws. Yet, sud denly, getting rid of thousands of laws just because they are from the EU might have severe implications, including the inability to remove trade barriers with the EU.

This move comes in the midst of rumours that certain members of the government favour a Swiss-style agreement with fewer trade tensions and more immigration, which in volves following some EU laws, but in return, it has easy access to trade with the bloc.

At a CBI summit in Birmingham, Mr Sunak focused his speech on the benefits that Brexit can deliver by being able to trade freely with “the world’s fastest-growing economies” without being tied to EU regula tions.

This was seen as a way of sooth ing some Brexit-supporting Con servative MPs, such as those in the ERG (European Research Groupright leaning backbench MPs such as Jacob Rees-Mogg) who believe that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who backed Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, was urging for a more moderate form of Brexit to reduce a substantial amount of trade barriers between the UK and EU.

Last week Mr Hunt told the BBC that “unfettered trade” with the continent was “very beneficial to growth”, but he would not elaborate on how the UK might remove these obstacles now that it is not a mem ber of the single market and does not share legal regulations with the EU bloc.

This episode is the latest evidence of the ongoing division within the Conservative party regarding Brex it and acknowledging collectively whether Brexit had damaged UK trade. But the message sent and reiterated by Downing Street is that “exit from the EU had helped bring more freedom on matters like migration and regulation and had secured proper control of the country’s borders”, and “having the regulatory freedom to do that is an important opportunity of Brexit”.

Robert Jenrick has said that more immigration is not the answer to skills shortages Government will not ease immigration barriers

Annabelle Martin Contributor

The immigration minister, Rob ert Jenerick calls on firms to train local people as the head of the CBI says more immigration is needed to fill jobs and boost growth.

Jenrick has clashed with business bosses over access to overseas work ers, saying companies should train UK staff to fill vacancies rather than relying on people from other coun tries.

UK firms should be “looking to the British workforce” rather than re lying on immigrants to fill jobs postBrexit, a minister has said.

At its annual conference, the di rector general of the Confedera tion of British Industry (CBI), Tony Danker, called on the government

to use immigration to solve worker shortages in the UK, saying it must be “practical” on the issue.

Jenrick, who also dismissed week end reports that the government was considering a move to a more liberal, Swiss-style post-Brexit relationship with the EU, told Sky News the aim was still to reduce overall net migra tion.

Ending freedom of movement of people was one of the “fundamental principles” of Brexit and could not be adapted, he said.

Asked about the CBI’s call for more, targeted immigration to plug some workforce gaps, Jenrick said: “I don’t agree with that. We listen to the business community, obviously, and we’re aware of certain skills shortag es, and we want a pragmatic, sensible relationship with business.”

But speaking to Sky straight after

Jenrick, Tony Danker, the director general of the CBI, said: “Where’s the momentum for growth? That’s why you have to look at things like im migration or planning or regulation.”

On immigration, he said: “This should be a very simple system. What are the jobs we need to fill, number one? Number two, have we got Brit ish workers to fill them? And number three, if we don’t, let’s use immigra tion on a fixed-term basis to plug the gaps until British workers are ready to do the jobs.

“That’s not how our immigration system works today, and that’s why it’s not helping us with our growth problem.”

Asked about reports about a pos sible future change in the UK’s rela tionship with the EU towards a mod el like that used by the Swiss, Jenrick said ministers were not considering

Concerns over Conservative Unity Grow

Angus Tiffin Contributor

Rumours of division in the Conservative party are nothing new, but the cov ert nature of protests against the Chancellor’s autumn state ment suggests that Rishi Sunak may have more leeway than his predecessors. The Tories can be broadly split into two groups: the Austerians and the Libertarians. Where the former has an ideo logical commitment to balanced budgets and limited debt, the lat ter wants to see the state shrunk at all costs.

When times are good, the two sides normally agree. Reasonable growth means that the Austerians get more revenue for a lower rate of tax, and they also don’t want to add more heat to the economy by increasing government spending.

When times are bad, however, the factions are diametrically op posed. Where Libertarians want to see the stimulation of a flag ging private sector through tax cuts, Austerians see a decreased pool of government revenue and the need to put tax rates up.

We saw this debate during the summer’s Conservative leader ship contest. Liz Truss argued that tax cuts would remedy Brit ain’s lacklustre growth and pay for themselves. Rishi Sunak re sponded that the relationship be tween lower tax rates and growth was tenuous, and that borrow ing to fund cuts would be met by market scorn, raising the price of government debt. Ms Truss won the contest but, importantly, Mr Sunak was proven right.

The impact of this victory may best be shown by the difference in Tory backbenchers’ reactions

to Mr Sunak’s Autumn 2021 budget and the statement recent ly released by Jeremy Hunt. Both announcements saw a chancellor increase the nation’s tax burden significantly, but the backlash has been disparate.

Last year, Mr Sunak heard vo cal disagreement from major Tory players – including Robert Jenrick, Theresa May and Da vid Davis. Criticism of Mr Hunt, meanwhile, has been limited to anonymised newspaper quotes and vocal hardliners like John Redwood. It appears that the disaster of the September minibudget has put a muzzle on the Libertarian wing of the Conserv ative party. Polling by the Ob server suggests voters are about as confident in Mr Sunak’s ability to run the economy as they are in Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, a stark contrast with Ms Truss.

this.

“No, we’re not,” he said. “We have a settled position. There was a long debate, and there were respectable arguments on both sides as to the de gree of relationship that we had with the European Union.”

“But we chose in 2019 and 2020, when Boris Johnson signed the deal with the European Union, which was very clear – there wouldn’t be juris diction of European judges in the UK, we wouldn’t be paying money to the European Union, and there wouldn’t be freedom of movement.

Brexit stopped many foreign workers being able to easily work in the UK and companies are struggling to recruit - especially in industries such as hospitality which has relied heavily on European staff in recent years.

Mr Sunak heard vocal disagreement from major Tory players – including Robert Jenrick, Theresa May and David Davis. ”

This leaves the Libertarians with a clear choice between their seat and ideology. They can ei ther fall in line or speak out and jeopardise their chance at elec toral recovery – it seems most have chosen the former. One ca veat to this truce is Brexit. Recent rumours that the UK was looking to re-join the EU single mar ket in a Swiss-type deal had to be quickly squashed, in the face of significant rebellion. It seems that, for now, Mr Sunak has the backing of the Tory Libertarians, provided he steers clear of their passion project.

PM proposes crackdown on international students

Francesca Ionescu Politics Editor

Rishi Sunak has declared himself “fully committed” to lowering migrant num bers, with the latest proposal in cluding a crackdown on interna tional students entering the UK.

The government has been aiming to tackle the increase in migration - at its highest rate since the Second World War. The Office for National Statistics es timates that, due to “unique” fac tors in 2021, there were 504,000 more people that entered the UK than left. This is compared to the previous high of 329,000 in 2015. Added on to visa schemes for Ukrainian citizens, 39% of longterm immigration from outside of the EU is attributed to student visas post-Covid19 restrictions.

The Home Secretary, Suella

Braverman, has addressed the issue as students “propping up (…) substandard courses in inad equate institutions” and “bring ing in family members who can piggyback onto their student visa”. Yet Downing Street has still not given a definition of a “lowquality” degree. In January 2022, the Office for Students made a similar statement regarding poor quality courses for all students, measured by the percentage of students that continue into sec ond year, those that complete the course, and those achieving “pro fessional employment or further study” post graduation.

These plans raise worries over increasing tuition fees for Brit ish students to compensate for the loss of the high fees foreign students pay. While undergradu ate fees for a British student are capped at £9,250, an internation

al student could be paying up to £26,000 per year. For BBC Radio 4, the chairman of the Migration Advisory committee, Professor Brian Bell, stated: “Most univer sities for most courses lose mon ey on teaching British students and offset that loss by charging more for international students”. He expressed concern for smaller universities, especially Northern ones, as their survival might be dependent on foreign students’ payments. So, these possible measures could cause bankrupt cy. London, Cambridge, and Ox ford were some of the places he believed to survive if the propos als pass, as they meet the “elite” university criteria.

The Russell Group has stated for i newspaper that high num bers of international students “should be seen as a UK success story”, as 97.5% comply with the

The government has been aiming to tackle the increase in migration - at its highest rate since the Second World War. ”

terms of the study visa.

A No. 10 spokesperson has addressed concerns regarding damage to universities and the economy. He stated: “Of course we support our universities (…) and of course we will always act in the best interest of the UK.”

According to Sky News, the plans have not progressed since October since the Home Office is currently focusing on decreasing the number of small boat cross ings across the channel.

Rhaid “sefyll lan dros ein hegwyddorion” yn Qatar

Cafodd Yr Athro Laura Mc

Allister ei hatal rhag cael mynediad i Stadiwm Ah mad Bin Ali yn Qatar am wisgo het enfys. Ar Ddydd Llun y 21ain o Dachwedd, roedd Yr Athro McAllister ar y ffordd i mewn i’r stadiwm i wylio Cymru yn erbyn yr UDA pan ofynnodd i swyddo gion y stadiwm iddi dynnu ei

het. Mae’r het fwced, a grëwyd gan y Wal Enfys, grŵp cefnog wyr LHDT+ Cymru yn cynnwys lliwiau’r enfys i gefnogi’r gy muned.

Yn ogystal â bod yn gyn-gapten i’n tîm menywod gyda 24 o gapi au, mae Ms McAllister yn Athro Polisi Cyhoeddus a Llywodra ethu Cymru yng Nghanolfan Llywodraethu Cymru, Prifys gol Caerdydd. Mae hi hefyd yn Gadeirydd Pwyllgor Pêl-droed Merched UEFA, yn gyn-gadeir ydd Chwaraeon Cymru ac yn Gyfarwyddwr cyfredol ar Ymd diriedolaeth Bêl-droed Cymru. Dywedodd Laura McAllister wrth BBC Cymru Fyw; “Pan o’n i’n ciwio fyny i fynd mewn i’r stadiwm, gyda phobl sy’n

gweithio i Gymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru, ro’n i wedi clywed bod issue gyda phobl sy’n gwisgo het enfys LGBT pêl-droed Cymru.”

“Dyma nhw’n dweud: ‘Wel chi ddim yn gallu mynd i mewn felly rhowch yr het yn y bin neu fynd yn ôl i’r swyddfa lost property.”

“Nes i benderfynu bod cadw’r het yn bwysig i ni wrth fod yma yn Qatar a sefyll lan dros ein hegwyddorion.”

“Cawsom wybod gan y swyddo gion bod hyn oherwydd y rheo lau. Yn amlwg rwy’n gweithio ym maes pêl-droed ac felly fe wnes i ofyn pa reol ond doedden nhw ddim am ddweud.

“Roedd e’n brofiad eithaf llawdrwm. Yn syth bin fe ddechreuodd swyddogion fy

Staff prifysgolion Cymru yn streicio

Bydd staff o’r naw prifysgol ar draws Cymru yn cymryd rhan mewn streic ar 24, 25 a 30 o Dachwedd fel rhan o weithredu diwydiannol gan Undeb y Prifysgolion a Cholegau (UCU). Bydd y streicio yn deillio o al wad UCU am gyflog a thâl pensiynau teg i’r aelodau.

Mae’n cael ei ystyried fel y streic fwyaf erioed gan staff prifysgolion ac fe fydd yn effeithio ar brifysgolion tu hwnt i Gymru. Bydd dros 70,000 o staff mewn 150 prifysgol ar draws Prydain yn gweithredu, gyda siawns y gallai ef feithio ar hyd at 2.5 miliwn o fyfyrwyr.

Ni fydd darlithoedd a seminarau yn cael eu cynnal yn ôl yr arfer i fyfyrwyr ar y dyddiau hyn, ond yn ôl sawl prifysgol yng Nghymru, mae disgwyl i’r aflony ddwch fod yn un ‘bychan.’

Yn ôl Cymdeithas Cyflogwyr Pri fysgolion a Cholegau, mae yna “siom

fawr drwy’r sector gyda’r ymdrechion i darfu ar sefydliadau Addysg Uwch drwy dargedu myfyrwyr.”

‘Poen meddwl’ i fyfyrwyr

Myfyriwr sydd wedi’u heffeithio o achos y streicio yw Elan Gwilym, sy’n astudio Seicoleg ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd. Dywedodd Elan wrth Gair Rhydd: “Rwyf yn cytuno hefo’r streicio i wella telerau staff y Brifysgol.”

“Ond, nid wyf yn gefnogol o’r ffordd y mae’r streicio yn effeithio ni’r myfyr wyr. Mae’n gyfnod prysur iawn o ran fy ngradd, ac mae methu darlithoedd heb lawer o rybudd yn sicr wedi achosi poen meddwl.”

Mae Elan yn deall rhesymau staff Prifysgolion Cymru dros y streicio gan ychwanegu: “Mae’n hollol deg eu bod yn streicio dros gyflog teg, yn enwedig

amgylchynu a dweud wrtha i i dynnu’r het i ffwrdd gan ddweud ei fod yn symbol oedd wedi’i wa hardd.”

Yn ôl Newyddion S4C, dy wedodd FIFA, y corff sy’n gyfri fol am drefnu Cwpan y Byd, fod croeso i gefnogwyr LHDT+ yn Qatar a bod modd i ymwelwyr ddangos symbol yr enfys tra yn y wlad. Ond daw’r digwyddiad hwn wedi i nifer gwyno am ddif fyg croeso i’r symbol enfys yn Qatar.

“Siomedig iawn” am y dig wyddiadau yw teimladau Cym deithas Bêl-droed Cymru wedi gwneud cyhoeddiad am y mater. Dywed y byddant yn codi’r ma ter gyda FIFA, trefnwyr y gys tadleuaeth.

wrth ystyried sefyllfa economeg mae’r wlad ynddi ar hyn o’r bryd.”

Dywedodd Elan ei bod wedi derbyn e-bost gan Rhag Is-ganghellor Addysg a Phrofiad Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Caerdydd, yn nodi bod cymorth ar gael i fyfyrwyr y Brifysgol.

Ymateb Prifysgolion Cymru Ymatebodd Prifysgol Bangor i’r strei cio gan ddweud eu bod yn ‘siomedig gyda chanlyniad y pleidleisiau dros y gweithredu diwydiannol.’

Dywedodd Prifysgol Abertawe a Phrifysgol y Drindod Dewi Sant fod ganddynt ‘gynlluniau i geisio lleihau aflonyddwch i’w myfyrwyr.’

Nid dyma’r tro cyntaf rydym yn gweld aelodau o’r Undeb y Prifysgolion a Cholegau yn streicio. Mae’n dilyn sawl streic dros nifer o flynyddoedd wrth i uwch swyddogion prifysgolion fethu â dod i gytundeb ar ofynion yr aelodau. Cawsoch chi fel myfyrwyr eich ef feithio gan y streicio?

Effeithiau atal annibyniaeth yr Alban ar Gymru

chyfansoddiad y Deyrnas Unedig, Senedd y Dey rnas Unedig, y goron a mwy.

Sut effaith gaiff hyn ar Gymru?

Unedig ac o dan eu rheo liadau.

A r y 23ain o Dachwedd, dyfar nodd Goruchaf Lys y DU na allai Llywodra eth yr Alban gynnal ref ferendwm annibyniaeth

heb ganiatâd Llywodraeth San Steffan. Dywedodd Llywydd y llys fod y dedd fau a greodd Senedd yr Alban yn 1999 yn golygu nad oedd ganddi’r grym i ddeddfu ar feysydd o’r cyfansoddiad. O dan y deddfau mae rhestr o bynciau sy’n ymwneud â

Ym mis Medi 2014, cafwyd refferendwm an nibyniaeth yn yr Alban lle dangosodd y canlynia dau fod pobl yn cefnogi aros yn y Deyrnas Unedig gyda mwyafrif o 55% i 45%. Mae Prif Weinidog yr Alban, Nicola Stur geon, wedi gwneud sawl ymgais am bleidlais arall ers hynny ond does dim cytundeb wedi bod gyda Llywodraeth y Deyrnas Unedig.

Mae’r syniad o ail ref ferendwm wedi bod yn tyfu ers i Nicola Stugeon alw am refferendwm ar all, a sefydlwyd ‘indyref2’ yn syth ar ôl i’r Deyrnas Unedig adael yr UE wedi refferendwm Brexit 2016.

Mae’r syniad o annib yniaeth i Gymru ddim yn un newydd i’r Cymry. Sefydlwyd Yes Cymru er mwyn i bobl ddod at ei gilydd gyda’r ymrod diad a rennir i’r nod o Gymru annibyn nol.

Mae’r grŵp yn dadlau mai dim ond Cymru sydd â’i llywodraeth a’i sefydlia dau ei hun wedi’u hethol a’u creu gan bobl Cymru y gellir ymddiried yn wiri oneddol i lywodraethu er lles ei phobl.

Oni bai a hyd nes y bydd mwyafrif y Senedd o blaid annibyniaeth, neu oni bai bod Llywodraeth Cymru am gynnal refferendwm ar unrhyw gynnydd yn ei phwerau ei hun, bydd yn amlwg y bydd Cymru yn aros o fewn y Deyrnas

Ond mae’n amlwg bod y Cymry yn barod i ym ladd dros ein gwlad gyda’r protest mwyaf diweddar yng Nghaerdydd ym mis Hydref yn denu miloedd o bobl. Bu ymgyrchwyr yn cario baneri ac yn gwisgo hetiau bwced pêl-droed Cymru. Trefn wyd y rali gan All Under One Banner Cymru a Yes Cymru sy’n dweud nad yw Llywodraeth y Deyr nas Unedig yn San Stef fan bellach a buddian nau gorau’r Cymry mewn golwg.

Tarddiad: Llywelyn2000 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Nansi Eccott

Lowri Davies

Anest Williams

Efa Ceiri

Efa Ceiri Golygydd Taf-od

Nansi Eccott Pennaeth Taf-od

Millie Stacey Golygydd Taf-od

Megan Haf Davies

Millie Stacey

Nes i benderfynu bod cadw’r het yn bwysig i ni fod wrth yma yn Qatar a se fyll lan dros ein heg wyddorion.”

sefydlwyd ‘indyref2’ yn syth ar ôl i’r Deyrnas Unedig adael yr UE ”

Staff prifysgolion yn streicio gydag Undeb y Prifysgolion a Chole gau. Tarddiad:Stinglehammer (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sut Nadolig fydd hi i fusnesau bach Caerdydd?

Anest Williams Golygydd Taf-od

Mae cyfnod y Nadolig yn adeg wirioneddol wyllt i gwmnïoedd y stryd fawr ac i’r rheini sy’n gweithio iddyn nhw: mae’r rhan fwyaf o gwmnïoedd yn gwneud y canran mw yaf o’u helw blynyddol yn yr ychydig wythnosau cyn y di wrnod mawr (mae’r tyrrau o bobl yng nghanolfan Dewi Sant Caerdydd ar y funud yn brawf o hyn). Ond, sut beth yw’r Nadolig i berchnogion

Mae prynu anrhe gion yn heriol, ond mae hi’n anoddach fyth i berchnogion busnesau bach gystadlu â phri soedd y stryd fawr.”

busnesau bach Caerdydd, a hynny yng nghanol argyfwng costau byw lle mai siopau’r stryd fawr sy’n llwyddo denu cwsmeriaid gyda’u bargein ion?

Gyda’r esgid yn gwasgu i nifer y gaeaf hwn, mae prynu anrhegion yn heriol, ond mae hi’n anoddach fyth i berchno gion busnesau bach gystadlu â phrisoedd y stryd fawr o ganlyniad i gynnydd mewn costau creu. Yn ôl perch ennog ‘Caliela’, myfyrwraig ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd sy’n gwerthu papurach a nwyddau personol yn ei ham ser rhydd, dyma un o’r ‘Na doligau tawelaf’ ers sefydliad y busnes yn 2020. Gobeithia Ela y bydd hi’n gwneud y rhan fwyaf o’i helw eleni yn y marchnadoedd Nadolig, lle mae’n bosibl cyrraedd pobl hŷn cymdeithas nad ydynt yn gyfarwydd â siopa ar wefan nau megis Etsy. Crock-â-shwt; dyma gwmni

bach arall sy’n teimlo gwas gedd yr argyfwng costau byw eleni. Yn gwerthu cro chenwaith Cymreig, dywed y perchennog fod incwm y cwmni wedi gostwng eleni o gymharu gyda llynedd, er ei bod hi’n fwy prysur gyda mwy o farchnadoedd Nadolig a siopau yn prynu ei nwyddau i’w gwerthu. Yn ôl Angharad, perchennog Crock-â-shwt, dyma yw’r consensws gan sawl busnes lleol; llai o in cwm eleni o’i gymharu â’r un cyfnod llynedd. Fel Caliela, mae Angharad yn chwennych am aeaf llwyddiannus gyda sawl marchnad Nadolig ar y gweill a’r gobaith y bydd pobl dal i gefnogi busnesau lleol yn ystod argyfwng ariannol.

Felly, a oes angen i ni fel cymdeithas droi mwy o sylw at fusnesau lleol y Nadolig hwn? Neu a yw hyn yn ormod i ofyn mewn argyfwng cos tau byw ofnadwy lle mae troi at fargeinion y stryd fawr yn

Pryd o Daf-od Alys-Mai Walters

Mae TikTok wedi gwneud mwy i fi nag mae’r GIG wedi erioed’

Mae Amy Bronwen Ellis, o Bry chdyn, Fflint wedi bod yn dioddef ag anhwylder bwyta ers iddi allu cofio. Ers i Amy bod yn ferch ifanc, mae ei anhwylder bwyta wedi rhe oli ei bywyd. Nawr yn 43 mlwydd oed, does dim llawer wedi newid.

Dywed mai ei hatgofion cyn harach fel plentyn oedd cael trafferth gyda bwyd. Yn ei hardde gau, wnaeth Amy ‘ymdopi’ gyda’r anhwylder bwyta. Er yn hŷn, ni wnaeth y sefyllfa newid iddi. Dy wed Amy fod pob diwrnod yn an odd, wrth geisio osgoi bwyd a byw

Yr unig ddewis sydd gan Amy bellach yw codi arian er mwyn derbyn y driniaeth yn breifat.”

bywyd arferol. Tair blynedd yn ôl, fe dderbyni odd Amy driniaeth. Ond yn anf fodus, roedd yr holl brofiad yn anfuddiol i Amy a’i salwch. Dy wed- “roedden nhw’n erchyll ac yn arfer dweud os nad oeddwn yn bwyta nifer penodol o galorïau, yna doeddwn i ddim yn cael gweld fy nheulu’r diwrnod hwnnw. Ry dych yn gwella yna, ond unwaith yr ydych allan, mae’r holl beth yn cychwyn eto.”

“Pan gefais fy adrannu (sec tioned), roedd y gweithwyr yn mynd ar ‘google’ ac yn chwilio sut i drin rhywun ag anhwylder bw yta tra’r oeddwn i yno. Mae llawer o bobl wedi dweud wrtha i eu bod wedi cael eu adrannu a’i fod wedi eu gwneud yn waeth.”

Nid dyma yw’r tro cyntaf i ryw beth fel hyn codi ynglŷn â sefydliad y GIG. Nôl ym 2012, bu farw Averil Hart, ferch 19 mlwydd oed o Ano rexia o achos cyfres o fethiannau a oedd yn ymwneud gyda sefydliad y

GIG.

Ar hyn o bryd, mae Amy yn 43 mlwydd oed ac yn parhau i ddiod def ag anorecsia ac anhwylder bw yta. Mae Amy yn parhau i frwydro i dderbyn triniaeth angenrheidiol. Yr unig ddewis sydd gan Amy bellach yw codi arian er mwyn derbyn y driniaeth yn breifat. Er bydd hyn yn anodd ei wneud, mae Amy erbyn hyn wedi darganfod bach o gysur drwy ei chyfrif TikTok a’r defnydd o’r cyfryngau cymdeithasol. Mae Amy erbyn heddiw gyda miloedd o ddilynwyr sydd wedi eu cefnogi hi dros y misoedd diwethaf. Dywed Amy “Mae TikTok wedi achub rhan o fy mywyd, ac wedi helpu mi i ym dopi gyda fy mhroblemau ac rwyf yn gwybod fy mod i’n helpu pobl eraill hefyd.”

Cyfaddefodd Amy fod TikTok wedi ei helpu mewn cymaint o ffyrdd. Mae wedi ei helpu trwy godi ymwybyddiaeth nid yn unig iddi hi, ond hefyd i eraill sy’n cael trafferth gyda’r salwch. Dywed Amy ei bod

Trafod gyda’r Taf-od Steffan Thomas

Beth wyt ti’n astudio ac o le wyt ti’n dod?

Dwi o Sir Gâr ac yn astudio Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Vodka neu Gin? Vodka

Beth yw dy farn amhoblo gaidd? Dyw Friends ddim yn TV show da

Oes gen ti unrhyw arferion drwg? Gwario gormod ar drinks ar noson allan

Hoff albwm? Graduation- Kanye West

Beth wyt ti’n edrych ymlaen at wneud eleni? Crôls y GymGym

Hoff jôc? Beth ydy enw dyn llaeth gwaetha’r Eidal? Mario Torriboteli

Sut wyt ti’n gwella hango ver? Dwi ddim. Jyst yn diodde am y dydd

Beth oedd y ffilm ddiwethaf i ti wylio? Rocky

fwy hygyrch a fforddiadwy, gan amlaf? Serch hyn, sut y medrwn roi pris ar anrhegion personol a gwerthfawr fel y rhai mae Caliela a Crock- â-shwt yn eu gwerthu? Os am gefnogi busnesau lleol y ddinas, ewch i farchnad Na dolig Caerdydd ar yr Aes i fwynhau’r hyn y mae gan fus nesau bach i’w gynnig. Ewch i Instagram _Caliela_ i weld ei nwyddau hi, ac i we fan www.crockashwt.co.uk i weld crochenwaith Cymreig Angharad.

Barn Y Bobl-Sut ydych chi’n dathlu’r Nadolig eleni?

Tegan Rees Blwyddyn 2 Newyddiaduraeth a Chyfathrebu

dyma yw’r consen sws gan sawl busnes lleol; llai o incwm eleni o’i gymharu â’r un cyfnod llynedd”

I ddathlu’r Nadolig eleni, byddaf yn mynd adref ac yn treulio amser gyda’r teulu. Yn ystod y cyfnod ‘Dolig, rwyf hefyd yn gweithio, ond ar ôl gweithio, rwyf am fynd i farchnadoedd Nadolig Caerdydd er mwyn teimlo naws Na doligaidd gyda ffrindiau. Dw i am gefnogi Cymru yn y gemau rygbi ac am y tro cyntaf ers 64 mlynedd, fi am ymuno â phawb arall wrth gefnogi Cymru yng Nghwpan y Byd. Trwy gydol y cyfnod yma, rwyf am siopa yn gyson er mwyn sicrhau fy mod i’n prynu anrhegion i deulu a ffrindiau, a hefyd yn cymryd yr amser ‘ma i ymla cio ac i beidio â gwneud unrhyw waith prifysgol – fi angen brêc! Ar Noswyl y Nadolig, rydw i’n mynd i weld Les Miserables yn Stadiwm y Mileniwm gyda fy chwaer. Rydyn ni’n sicrhau ein bod ni’n treulio digon o amser jyst y ddwy ohonom ni, cyn bod babi fy chwaer yn cael ei eni.

wedi derbyn cefnogaeth gan filoedd o bobl ynglŷn â diffyg cymorth gan y GIG. Er bod Amy yn dal i gael trafferth gyda’i salwch, mae TikTok wedi rhoi gobaith iddi dros ei dy fodol.

Mae gan Amy ffydd mi fydd hi’n gwella ac yn derbyn y driniaeth angenrheidiol. Er mwyn cyfrannu tuag at ei thriniaeth, dilynwch y linc isod.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/ savingamycymru

Caitlin Griffiths

Blwyddyn 2

Newyddiaduraeth a Chyfathrebu

Er bod Amy yn dal i gael trafferth gyda’i salwch, mae TikTok wedi rhoi gobaith iddi dros ei dyfodol. “

Hoff gân carioci?

I gotta feeling - Black Eyed Pease

Pwy yw dy seleb crush? Margot Robbie

Pwy fydd yn trafod gyda’r Taf-od wythnos nesaf? Steff Evans

Mae fy nathliadau Nadolig yn dechrau wrth i ‘I’m a Celeb’ dod ar y teledu. Does dim byd gwell i fi na chwtsio lan ar y soffa yn yfed ‘Coca-cola’ a bwyta’n ffordd trwy focs o ‘celebrations’, ar ddechrau mis Tachwedd. Mae’r un sefyllfa yn cymryd ei le wrth wylio ffilmiau Nadolig yn hwyrach yn y mis, yn enwedig wrth i mi roi’r goeden Na dolig lan! Fel arfer, mae’r cyfnod lan at y Nadolig yn gyfnod brysur iawn i mi, ond wrth fod holl waith prifysgol mis Tachwedd yn dod i ben yna mae’r gweithgareddau traddodiadol Nado ligaidd yn cymryd ei lle. Mae’r rhain fel arfer yn cychwyn gyda thrip i Wlith y Gaeaf, ble dwi fel arfer yn gwario fy holl arian ar geisio ennill tedi, ac yn gwneud ffŵl o fy hunan yn sglefrio ia, er dwi byth wedi cwympo ar yr iâ! Am y tro cyntaf eleni dwi am ymweld â stondi nau sydd tu allan i farchnad Caerdydd, i flasu’r bwydydd gwahanol, manteisio ar yr atmosffer Nadoligaidd, ond yn ben naf i ddechrau casglu syniadau am anr hegion Nadolig. Yn debyg, y mae mynd siopa yn ffordd dwi hefyd yn cwympo mewn i naws Nadoligaidd, wrth weld yr holl addurniadau sy’n goleuo Stryd y Frenhines, Caerdydd. Ffordd newydd dwi’n dathlu’r Nadolig y flwyddyn yma yw cynnal cinio Nadolig ymysg ffrindiau prifysgol, ble cyn i ni gyd dychwelyd nôl gartref am ddiwrnod Nadolig ei hunan, rydym am gael diwrnod tebyg i Nadolig gyda’n gilydd.

Pryderon ynglŷn â llwydni a lleithder tai Prydain

Megan Haf Davies Golygydd Taf-od

Mae problemau llwydni a lleithder yn peri gofid i filoedd ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig, yn enwedig yn sgil yr argy fwng costau byw sydd ohoni. Gyda llawer yn bryderus am y sefyllfa ari annol y Gaeaf hwn, does dim syndod bod nifer o deuluoedd yn osgoi troi’r gwres ymlaen cyhyd ag y gallant er mwyn arbed arian.

O ganlyniad i hynny, y gellid dat blygu llwydni neu leithder yn eich cartrefi. Ond pwysig nodi, nid yn unig y diffyg gwres sydd yn achosi hyn, gall fod yn broblem ddyfnach o fewn adeiladwaith y tŷ neu gall hefyd ddibynnu ar ba fath o amodau byw sydd ganddynt.

Yn ôl data sefydliad o’r enw ‘Shel ter” sydd yn gweithio tuag at atal digartrefedd a sicrhau amodau byw addas i bawb, amcangyfrifir bod 1 o bob 5 tŷ yn gwynebu heriau gyda ll wydni a lleithder. Does dim amheua eth fod hyn yn ormod yn ein byd modern.

Yn ddiweddar, cafwyd lawer o sôn am hwn yn dilyn marwolaeth bach gen 2 oed o’r enw Awaab Ishak. Bu farw Awaab yn y fflat yr oedd yn byw ynddo yn Rhagfyr 2020 oher wydd datguddiad hirfaith i lwydni.

Er bod dwy flynedd wedi mynd ers y digwyddiad, datgelir yn ddiweddar ei fod wedi marw o gyflwr resbiradol wedi’i achosi gan y llwydni yn ei fflat yn Rochdale, Manceinion. Dywed Ysgrifennydd Tai Prydain sef Michael Gove ei fod yn bwriadu cynnal trafodaeth gyda’r Gymde ithas Dai oedd yn berchen â’r fflat lle bu farw Awaab dwy flynedd yn ôl. I ychwanegu at hyn, teithiodd Gove i Rochdale ar gyfer trafoda ethau gyda’r Gymdeithas ar ôl iddo rwystro cyllid yr “affordable homes programme” nes iddynt brofi eu bod

nhw’n landlordiaid cyfrifol.

Rhannodd Gove i BBC Brecwast “Rwy’n ofni bod miloedd ar filoedd o dai ddim yn y cyflwr delfrydol i fyw ynddynt” ar ôl hynny, ychwanegodd “ar y lleiaf”. Amlygir hyn y sefyllfa bresennol sydd gennym, gan fod ni fer annerbyniol o dai yn anaddas, ac mewn rhai achosion yn beryglus i fyw ynddynt.

Ceir lliaws o ffactorau gall achosi’r broblem yma. Adeiladwyd swm en fawr o’r tai sydd gennym ym Mhry dain heddiw yn y 60au a 70au a golygir felly eu bod nhw’n gallu dat

blygu problemau gyda’r insiwleiddio. Bellach mae gennym ddefnyddiau a nwyddau gwell er mwyn adeiladu tai sefydlog nag oedd ganddynt pryd hynny.

Ond, ar y llaw arall arwyddocaol yw nodi’r argyfwng costau byw sydd gennym ni eleni sydd yn atal llawer o bobl rhag troi eu gwres ymlaen yn nyddiau oer y Gaeaf. Torcalonnus yw gweld teuluoedd a phlant yn di oddef oerni’r tywydd o fewn y cysur o’u cartrefi, a bu llawer o bryderon yn cylchu’r effaith corfforol y bydd y diffyg gwres yma yn cael arnynt.

Ar ôl clywed y newyddion trist am Awaab, amlygir difrifoldeb y sefyllfa; yn wir, mae’n fater o fywyd a mar wolaeth. Felly mae teulu Awaab yn awyddus i barhau i godi ymwybyd diaeth er mwyn annog pobl i fod yn sylwgar yn eu tai am unrhyw ar wyddion, ac i’w diogelu yn y modd priodol.

amcangyfrifir bod 1 o bob 5 tŷ yn gwynebu heriau gyda llwydni a lleithder ”

Pam ydyn ni mor hoff o hysbysebion Nadolig?

Mae’r Nadolig yn fusnes mawr, ac nid yw byd yr hysbyseb deledu Nadoligaidd yn waha nol. Dros y ddegawd ddiwethaf, mae offrymau Nadolig gan rai fel Cocacola, Aldi, M&S a John Lewis wedi dod yn dipyn o ffenomen, gan swyno calonnau’r cyhoedd a lledaenu hwyl drwy gydol yr ŵyl.

Mae eistedd i lawr i wylio hysbyseb ddiweddaraf John Lewis wedi dod yn gymaint o draddodiad Nadoligaidd i lawer â chodi coeden Nadolig, ym weld â marchnadoedd Nadolig ac agor y drws diweddaraf ar y calendr Adfent. Hysbysebion Nadolig erbyn heddiw sy’n marcio dechrau tymor y Nadolig.

Bellach mae gan frandiau gynul leidfa llawer mwy ar gyfer eu hys bysebion Nadoligaidd na’u harlwy

eraill yn ystod y flwyddyn. Yn ogystal a chynnydd o’u gwylio ar y teledu, cail eu trafod yn y cyfryngau ac ar rwydweithiau cymdeithasol, eu ffry dio ar YouTube a’u rhannu â ffrindiau. Mae’r holl sylw ychwanegol hwn yn rhoi cyfle hysbysebu ychwanegol id dynt.

Ond beth yn union yw’r cynigion dwy funud hyn sy’n eu gwneud yn fwy na dim ond atgoffa i wario eich arian Nadolig gyda manwerthwyr penodol eleni?

Mae John Lewis, er enghraifft, wedi bod yn creu hysbysebion Nadolig ers blynyddoedd lawer, ond dim ond yn ddiweddar y maent wedi dod yn fwy

poblogaidd. Roedd eu hysbysebion cynnar yn faterol iawn, yn aml yn ffo cysu ar y broses o brynu a rhoi. Gellir cymharu’r hysbysebion cynnar i glud felt; yn rhestru’r eitemau y gallech eu prynu yn y siop y flwyddyn honno. Newidiodd popeth pan symudon nhw i ddechrau adrodd straeon. Yn sydyn, yn lle arddangosfa sy’n can olbwyntio ar gynnyrch, ffocyswyd ar adrodd stori oedd yn cyfleu teimladau’r boblogaeth yn ystod yr ŵyl.

Dros y blynyddoedd rydym wedi gweld datganiadau cofiadwy gan John Lewis, o Excitable Edgar a Monty the Penguin i Syr Elton John a’r Man On

ffocyswyd ar adrodd stori oedd yn cyfleu teimladau’r boblogaeth yn ystod yr ŵyl.”

The Moon ond mae neges bwysig yn hysbyseb eleni.

Mis diwethaf ar y 10fed o Dachwedd, rhyddhawyd hysbyseb Nadolig John Lewis sy’n codi ym wybyddiaeth am bobl ifanc mewn gofal. Dilynwyd hanes dyn canol oed yn dysgu sglefr fyrddio cyn croesawu merch ifanc yn ei harddegau o’r enw Ellie a oedd yn cario sglefr fwrdd yn ei llaw i gartref ei deulu wedi ei chludo yna gan weithiwr cymdeithasol. Pwy a ŵyr pa neges fydd gan John Lewis blwyddyn nesaf?

Rhyddhawyd hysbyseb Nadolig John Lewis sy’n codi ymwybyddiaeth am bobl ifanc mewn gofal.”

Bellach mae gan frandiau gynulleidfa llawer mwy ar gyfer eu hysbysebion Nadoli gaidd”

Problemau tai sy’n peri gofid i filoedd. Tarddiad: Josefine S. (via Flickr)

Mae’r Nadolig wedi ein cyrraedd. Tarddiad: Marco Verch Pro fessional Photographer (via Flickr)

Lowri Davies

Golygydd Taf-od

COMMENT

How Twitter Threads & Instagram Slides have changed journalism

Johnson-Charteris Comment Editor

Despite the recent turmoil Twitter has found itself in since being taken over by Elon Musk, by being on any aspect of social media, every one has interacted with a tweet or a thread of tweets. These can range from anything including but not limited to: humorous anecdotes to live sports news to hard hitting journalism. In con junction with Instagram’s multi photo option that launched in 2017, single users and brands alike can transmit a bundle of information/media through one click of a button. Although the old saying goes that you should not believe everything you see on the internet, the reality is we are increasingly being informed through the content on our so cial media feeds. But how does this affect the quality of jour nalism we receive? Should this make us worried for the health of our public sphere?

One of the most obvious wor ries that should inevitably come from this increased reliance on social media is the spread of ‘fake news’. Contrary to what a certain US president may be lieve, this does not include rep utable mainstream news sourc es you or I may disagree with. Instead, this mainly comes from regular people, as due to the na ture of social media algorithms anyone can make an account,

make some posts and gain trac tion/reputability with a group of followers. Although in the ory this allows users to bypass censorship laws or even basic traditional journalism logistics (ie: going through editors, the print cycle, etc): this allows for obvious misinformation to be spread, especially when put in an easy, digestible format that Twitter threads & Instagram slideshows.

Although some major news publications & those in the old er generations may bemoan that this signals the death of jour nalism as we know it, the best insight one could get about how the pages that are driving mod ern day journalism work, is to talk to an owner of one. As such, I talked to Hailey Baloutch, the owner of “Halfghanspam”, a for mer meme page now turned into a discussion board particularly

focusing around stories in and around the US and the Middle East, about what she thought the impact of social media sites like Twitter & Instagram have had on journalism.

On the topic of Instagram slides, Hailey said how “it’s re ally easy to present a very sani tized view of something in like a colourful infographic and just only present misleading infor mation” along with the author ity to restrict, delete or even turn off comments/responses to this. Whereas Twitter at least allows responses to be put on the same level as the initial posts (retweets) so the discus sion element can still be there. Although, with the recent mon etisation of blue verification checkmarks, Hailey also argues that Twitter is in danger of be coming too even where anyone can feasibly impersonate any

one & journalists find it harder to stand out not only to each other but to the public as verifi able news sources.

So are social media sites hav ing a negative impact on jour nalism? Well, it appears they are making good journalism harder and harder to find, but whether or not this is the end we will have to stay tuned with our post notifications on.

It’s really easy to pre sent a very sanitized view of something in like a col ourful infographic and just only present mislead ing information”

Time to drop the act: how the internet is finally seeing through the ‘wife guy’ persona

If you spend any time on the internet, then you’ve likely heard the name Ned Fulmer in recent months. Previously a quarter of Youtube creator group ‘The Try Guys,’ he went from seemingly mild and un problematic to an internet pari ah almost overnight. His online persona prior to this had been a funny guy who was madly in love with his wife. He talked about his wife so frequently that it became his ‘brand’ within the

For many people, it has become clear that creating a perfectly crafted brand of the nice, family-oriented man is in some cases simply a cal culated move to further a career .”

group. This is why it came as such a shock when it came out that he had not only had an af fair but that it was with one of his own employees. The in ternet was quick to react with anger and he was promptly re moved from the group, with pre-recorded content being scrapped or edited to remove him from the footage. Whilst this was shocking to Fulmer’s fans, this is far from the only time something like this has happened in such a public way and it’s becoming increasingly clear that people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the ‘nice guy’ persona many male celebrities and influencers try to put across.

Another victim of the down fall of his persona as a ‘wife guy’ is comedian John Mulaney. Pri or to 2021, much of Mulaney’s comic material focused on his

wife Anna Marie Tendler and their dog Petunia. He frequent ly made jokes about how the dog was like a child to them and projected the image of a happy marriage, however, Mulaney shocked both fans and Tendler herself when he filed for divorce in May 2021 after a stint in re hab. He had previously been very public about the fact that he and Tendler did not want children, yet just four months after the pair confirmed their split, it was announced that he was expecting a child with new partner Olivia Munn. Many fans claimed they felt betrayed by this, as it seems that the per sona of a loving family man had never existed.

For many people, it has be come clear that creating a per fectly crafted brand of the nice, family-oriented man is in some cases simply a calculated move

to further a career. These men project themselves as lovable dorks and market themselves towards a predominantly female audience in the hopes that fans will latch onto the likeable per sona they’ve created. However, there are many examples where

the brand they have created for themselves has crumbled as fast as it was built.

Evan

How is Twitter affecting the quality of present-day journalism? (Source: Daniel Aleksanderson Via Ctrl.blog)

One man’s ‘Wife Guy’ persona has ended in divorce (Source: Diem Legal Via Flickr)

Clelia Frondaroli

Evan Johnson-Charteris

Frances Marsh gairrhyddcomment22@gmail.com

Frances Marsh Comment Editor

The reality is we are increasingly being in formed through the con tent on our social media feeds.’

Frances Marsh reflects on the recent downfall of ‘wife guy’ personas in internet personalities

The myth of ‘Made in the UK’

Frondaroli Head of Comment

The typical consumer does not know where their cloth ing originates from. In fact, most fashion brands themselves are unaware of the areas in which their clothing is produced, as a re sult of manufacturers employing subcontractors to create garments. However, as concerns continue to grow over rising global tempera tures and drastic weather patterns, the fashion industry (especially in the UK) has seen a discernible shift in consumers seeking out independent brands that source production close to home. Accord ing to one survey conducted by Make it British, more than 93% of consumers are willing to pay more for products that hold a ‘Made in the UK’ label, suggesting that UK goods are perceived to be of higher quality, internationally respected and valuable. Yet, behind this ap parent drive for British made con sumer products, there are many things that the ‘Made in’ label isn’t telling us.

Pioneered in the UK, the ‘Made in’ label was created in the late 1800s as an attempt to differentiate imitation goods from authentically manufactured British goods. How ever, there has been no law since its implementation in the UK that requires the labelling of origin on clothing and consumer products.

This has led to the rise of ‘label fraud’, where cheaper manufactur ing and labour costs abroad have meant that clothing is typically constructed overseas and finer de tails (such as buttons being sewn on or pockets lined) are stitched in the UK. This means that clothing labels are still able to claim that the product has been ‘made in the UK’, despite being produced in devel oping countries where workers are paid far below the minimum wage. This has had several detrimental implications for the clothing in dustry. Firstly, it reflects poorly on the ‘Made in’ label, giving the ap pearance that it is a marketing ploy

intended to convince consum ers that they are sourcing cloth ing ethically, when in reality it is simply re-branded fast fashion. It could also be seen as a subsection of ‘greenwashing’, where some fast fashion retailers are deliberately mislabelling their clothing as an attempt to appear more environ mentally friendly. Furthermore, it is not fair on authentic independ ent British brands such as Oarsum, whose production is sourced en tirely within the UK in a sustain able manner. Fraudulent origin labels negatively impact the per ception of British goods as a whole, where poor quality garments and

Fraudulent origin labels negatively impact the per ception of British goods as a whole, where garments are passed off as ‘British Made’ despite never being produced in the country”

consumer products are passed off as ‘British Made’ despite never be ing produced in the country. However, it is also important to note that there is no guarantee British-made products themselves are ethical. Although UK guide lines and law state that ‘it is against the law for an employer to pay less than the national minimum wage’, there have been numerous cases across the country where garment factory workers have been mis treated and underpaid. In the case of one Leicester garment factory, migrant workers were found to be repeated victims of wage exploita tion, where they would be subject ed to extremely labour-intensive work for as little as £3 an hour. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that clothing made within the UK equates to ethically produced gar ments.

It could be argued then, that in a globalised world our clothing comes from all over the world. However, it is up to us as consum ers to look beyond what the label tells us and to seek out new ways to shop locally, sustainably and ethically.

Reading Elitism & the “BookTok” problem

Contributor

The wave of books being shared on the platform TikTok, which can be referred to as “BookTok “, has resulted in an ugly form of elitism. The video-sharing platform TikTok is a great place for communities to unite on common topics, which has been evident with users sharing their love for reading.

However, this community has been under scrutiny as TikTok users are calling out viewers for not reading classic literature, which are considered to be of superior taste. This tantalising shame has brought a negative light onto the TikTok community and affects those who like to read anything they prefer and creates a judgemental space for keen readers. This issue can also be seen from the way schools and universities only consider certain works of literary merit of educational purpose while diverse, contemporary written works are considered negligible. By repeating this toxic pattern of bravoing classics and discarding any works of diversity, we are continuing to marginalise the vast book world.

As a Creative Writing Master‘s student at Cardiff University, I believe it is vital for young people to read across the spectrum of genres and authors the book industry offers us in order to form a more comprehensive picture of topics touched upon in literature.

Contributor

The first World Cup to ban alco hol, the first World Cup held in the winter, the first World Cup where the organisers claim the event will be carbon neutral? The prestigious sporting event this year being held in Qatar will introduce many new ‘firsts’, some of them posi tive, but most of them negative. The build-up to the twenty second com petition has sparked controversy since 2010, when Qatar was awarded the privilege to host the event, beat ing countries including Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States. At the time, there was specu lation that Qatar had bribed FIFA, as an oil-rich country, only a fraction of the size of its competitors. Neverthe less, the excitement began, but so did the problems.

When Qatar began building their 8 impressive stadiums, questions surrounding the human rights of the workers started to arise. Nearly 30,000 migrant workers were building these stadiums in poor working conditions for very little pay, and across the years roughly 6,500 deaths were report ed. Qatar denied these allegations though, claiming that only 3 of these deaths were related to work. As well as this, two days before the tourna ment commenced, Qatar announced

that alcohol would be banned, leav ing the official beer supplier for FIFA, American company Budweiser, at a loss with their 47-million-pound deal. The problems just kept com ing, when earlier this week, a video of Danish news correspondent Rasmus Tantholdt being interrupted by Qa tari local authorities whilst filming a FIFA World Cup 2022 preview show went viral on Twitter. Tantholdt was filming in a public area when he was interrupted and was approached by a security guard who threatened him. The Danish reporter remained calm, and showed his credentials, insisting that he had the right to record in the space, however the security said he

needed a permit, and proceeded to block the camera.

To make matters even worse, FIFA president Gianni Infantino gave a 57-minute-long speech on potential discrimination at the World Cup. He began by stating that he understands these unfairly treated migrant work ers and other minorities as the son of Italian immigrants in Switzerland. He then added: “Of course I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not Af rican, I am not gay,... But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated [against],... As a child I was bullied – because I had red hair and freckles, plus I was Italian, so im agine.”

Infantino stated that the rights of the LGBTQ+ com munity would be protected in Qatar, despite gay marriage be ing illegal in the country.”

He then claimed that just as Swit zerland had progressed on their is sues with discrimination, so could Qatar, and importantly noted the scrapping of the kafala system, where workers were tied only to their em ployers. When questioned about the 6,500 deaths of migrant workers in Qatar, Infantino argued that critics are being hypocritical as in Europe 25,000 migrants have died attempting to flee their homes since 2014.

Creating even more controversy, Infantino stated that the rights of the LGBTQ+ community would be pro tected in Qatar, despite gay marriage being illegal in the country. Human rights groups including FairSquare and Amnesty International were quick to criticise Infantino’s words.

Earlier this month, the presi dent called on Ukraine and Russia to cease-fire for the duration of the World Cup, another absurd attempt to save face. He did acknowledge that football would not be able to solve problems as such so easily though, but he believed it could be a “positive trigger”.

With the competition having now started, will the action on the pitch distract from the chaos off it?

This increasingly popular book elitism online can sabotage many young reader‘s progress in reading taste as it is very likely that they will want to conform in order to fit into the “BookTok“ community. This can lead to young people‘s minds not seeing the purpose or joy in reading alternative literature, considering they are being demoralised by reading their personal favourites.

Although written works such as the Great Gatsby and the spectacular books of Ernest Hemingway are great literary pieces to dive into, gripping thrillers by Paula Hawkins and the fantasy worlds by Sarah J. Maas do not need to be belittled in order to appreciate their greatness. Therefore, the ridicule of “non-classic” works is not only detrimental to the reading community but also futile as blatant comparison does not add further value to the praised classic literature.

Furthermore, acquiring a more complex world view through diverse books is substantially more beneficial to a young person than solely gaining knowledge from aged classics. In the end, it is a matter of personal taste for which no one should be shamed for. Personally, I believe a lot of classic literature, such as that of F. Scott Fitzgerald, are best left in the dust.

Stephanie Pfiffner

Clelia

Why is the majority of our clothing still produced in factories overseas? (Source: Aaron Joel Santos, Via Flickr)

Qatar 2022: How has FIFA attempted to preserve their reputation?

What is FIFA doing now to prevent further damage to their reputation? (Source:

Ben Sutherland Via Flickr)

Dilichi Dieobi

Clelia Frondaroli analyses how fashion and consumer products are being mislabelled to appear more ethical and sustainable

The perks of being single at Christmas time

Head of Advice

Have you ever caught your self walking through Winter Wonderland and the Christ mas markets of Cardiff wishing you were there with a non-platonic oth er? If you answered yes to this ques tion, I can guarantee you aren’t alone in that thought!

Christmas is often a time when people get together and show love and appreciation for those around them often including spending qual ity time with a partner. Every year, there are people out there that sim ply can’t do that whether they want to or not. However, this doesn’t mean you have to spend the season feeling sorry for yourself or wishing your life away till next Christmas, when there is new potential for a partner to be a part of the picture. Even though it doesn’t feel like it, there are so many positives to being single at Christmastime. Whether this is your first Christmas alone in a while, or you’re struggling to con tinue finding the joy of Christmas without a partner, I’ve accumulated an exciting list for you!

Let’s start with the more obvious point. You get to save money and brain cells on thinking of gift ideas and buying them for your partner and their family members. You’ve probably already forgotten a few of your cousins, so who needs the

stress of remembering your partner’s siblings as well? In addition to this, fewer presents mean less time spent wrapping them. There are savings to be had all around, in time, money, stress, and gift anxiety. It’s a win-win really!

Now, Christmas time generally means family time. If there are two of you, there are two families, and potentially three if you count qual ity time just as a couple. There’s nothing better than getting to relive childhood Christmas magic in your

parent's house, in your old bedroom, and drinking hot chocolate by a fire with a movie. However, you can’t re ally plan on doing this for long, un less you plan on spending Christmas away from your partner or finely dividing yourself between the two families. Where do we go on Boxing Day? Where are we seeing the New Year in? It’s lots of questions and lots of decision-making that I don’t want to find answers to. By being single, you get to do Christmas the way you’ve always known it, you can

avoid awkward introductions, and don’t have to run your plans by any one else or their family.

If we combine saving money and not making huge time-management decisions, how about trying some thing new? You could solo travel to some European Christmas markets, or you and a friend could have a stay cation in a Christmas-filled city. You have so much freedom at the hap piest time of year, and you’ve got to make the most of it.

You may also see this as an op portunity to put yourself out there and go on some festive first dates. Generally, people are at their happi est and more emotionally available during the Christmas season. You never know, you could be planning your next Christmas together in ten months' time!

One of the best things about be ing single is that you can afford to be spontaneous and flexible during the Christmas period. You don’t have any expectations of your partner, what you’ll do to make this Christ mas special or what dates need to be planned. You have the freedom to go with the flow and see whomever you like. You aren’t held to anything, but you also don’t have to turn down so cial interactions because you’ve ded icated time to someone else already.

In many ways, being single is a blessing. You don’t need a partner to still capture the magic of Christmas!

Seasonal Affective Disorder: what you can do to help yourself

Shaniece O'Keeffe Advice Editor

Fighting SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) can be a tough battle over the winter period. A time where many students have press ing deadlines and it's the season of spending and gift giving; it can have a massive toll on people's lives. Sea sonal affective disorder is when you get consistent low moods and usu ally have a lack of energy amongst other common signs and symptoms. There is research to suggest that this is caused by the lack of sunlight that we experience, and the darker evenings can often trigger people’s sadness. Personally, for me it hits at 4pm where the weather is getting moodier and the day is coming to an end. Going to work or university in the mornings or afternoons, and leaving when it's dark has really af fected me so I knew that I needed to find certain coping mechanisms to keep me in more positive spir its. Waking up earlier and going for walks around Bute Park with a cof fee allowed me to start my days with a calm and peaceful mindset. It also means utilising most of the sunlight,

Professionals recommend that when working studying indoors, it is good to repli cate a bright room as if you were outside where it's sunny. "

which is something that can im prove your body's routine. Another useful way to overcome your low mood at certain times of the day is to plan something to take your mind off it. Exercising, meeting a friend or keeping busy in general can be a great way to battle through the feel ings, and something I have been try ing to implement more in my life. The environment you are in has

a big part in determining your feel ings. Professionals recommend that when working studying indoors, it is good to replicate a bright room as if you were outside where it's sunny. Turning your main light on, having the curtains open, sitting near windows and not being in an environment which replicates sleep and winding down can help. If you are in a room that doesn't allow this

then there are lamps you can buy which helps with giving your body a proper time clock, allowing you to naturally wake up to light even with the winter mornings. This is worth looking into if you are looking to help your routine even while suffer ing, making it that little bit easier to get on with your busy days.

Talking to your family and friends may not seem like it can directly

Waking up earlier and going for walks around Bute Park with a coffee allowed me to start my days with a calm and peaceful mindset."

help the feelings you have in the moment, but explaining the emo tions and reasons behind your be haviour, can give them a heads up that they may need to be there for you that little bit extra. In time this will allow you not to hide away all of your feelings but instead be open and honest with what you may need from them. That could be a 4pm catch up over the phone or even a bit more space; however, you deal with it they should support you.

This is all easier said than done, but I've found that going that little bit extra to rearrange my routine and talk more openly about how I have been feeling, has really helped me manage the moments I get sad; not stopping it completely but it making it easier to get on with my day. There is also your GP or men tal health advisor that can direct and help you more if you feel you need that extra support. Winter is still my favourite time of year. The Christmas spirit and festive period will always bring me joy; it is just about dealing with the aspects that aren't so fun which come with the cosy weather.

Megan Shinner shares some positives about spending the holiday season alone.

Shaniece O'Keeffe discusses some important factors to tackling Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Megan Shinner

A Solo Christmas: Spending the holiday season without a partner doesn't have to be as lonely as many people make it out to be. Source: Brett Sayles (via Pexels)

SAD: . It's tough having SAD. However, there are many ways you can ease the symptoms.

Source: Andrew Neel (via Pexels)

Megan Shinner

Lucy Matthews

Shaniece O'Keeffe

gairrhyddadvice@gmail.com

Life Advice with Lucy Advice Column

Decorating for a student Christmas

Caitlin Evans Contributor

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and with that comes the chance to turn your house into Santa’s grotto. Tinsel, fairy lights, and a big old Christmas tree; there’s nothing quite like transform ing the living room into a sparkly winter wonderland. This can prove quite difficult when you’re living in a student house, on a student budget, but fear not! I am here with some student- friendly solutions to all your Christmas needs.

Source: SHVETS productions (via Pexels)

Long-term birth control methods

Lucy Matthews Advice Editor

You have just introduced your new boyfriend to your parents, and you now awkwardly await to hear them utter that seven-word phrase that automatically induces you into a state of cringe and mock inno cence: ‘let’s have a chat about staying safe’. This talk is dominated by awk ward hand holds and the use of every word relating to sex that isn’t sex- if you are lucky, you may even get mum or dad reminiscing about their past experiences with the so-called ‘birds and the bees’. With new relationships come new sexual revelations and to ensure the safety of yourself and your partner-long term contracep tion methods need to be summoned.

Like the act of sex, contraception is an entirely private and personal affair. What worked for your mum's long lost auntie in the 1920s may not work for you and fears concerning what it may do to your mental and physical health are entirely common. Cancer, depression, hormonal imbalance, all phrases loaded with death and de struction welcome you when you em bark along the path of protected sex online and so I am here today to reas sure you and guide you towards what will work best for you and give you the safest and best sex of your life!

It is an overwhelming experience searching for the best long-term method of contraception that suits you, and it isn’t helped by the mass amount of horror stories that friends, sisters and even cousins alike will

share with you when guiding you to the best one. Depending on your lifestyle, age, health factors and flow, the methods of contraception out there today will work differently and more effectively from person to per son. Split into long-acting and shortacting reversible methods, all con traception can be reversed yet some involve more effort than others to do so. Short acting methods like the pill, the injection and cervical cap have a much shorter shelf life than long-act ing methods like the IUD and the im plant, meaning once you’ve stopped taking them, the chances of getting pregnant are a lot easier and perma nent.

With long-acting methods, short surgical procedures are usually re quired which ensure protection for a certain number of years. Sisters IUD and IUS are recognised as the most effective forms of long-acting meth ods and involves the release of pro gesterone (or copper in the case of the IUD) to stop a fertilised egg im planting in the womb. This may not be suitable for those who turn away from the idea of having a device per manently inside them and you may turn to the contraceptive pill instead.

If you don’t trust yourself to take the pill everyday at the same time, then the injection (also known as the shot) may be more suitable for those who want something with more longevity, lasting for thirteen weeks.

When choosing long term con traception, you need to consider the relationship you have with your pe riods as some methods have more of an impact than others. The implant, a tiny rod that is placed under the

skin of your arm, can cause irregular periods when first fitted and the IUS can make your periods a lot lighter.

In the case of the pill, you will have no periods for as long as you take it, yet not taking it for a week after a few months is advised by doctors to give your body a rest. Some experience particularly painful and ongoing pe riods after getting fitted with the IUD and so the message is clear: Know your flow before you go so you don’t have problems in the long run.

Like the act of sex, contraception is an entirely private and personal affair. What worked for your mum's long lost auntie in the 1920s may not work for you and fears concerning what it may do to your mental and physical health are entirely common. All contraceptives can affect, mood, skin health, weight and bodily func tion in different ways, and some see this come into play after a few weeks or even months of taking such. If you are nervous to take the pill just be cause it made your friend’s skin bad, it doesn’t mean this will also happen to you, each method reacts differently to different people and stopping and changing long term contraception is very common and a perfectly okay thing to do.

It’s a classic story, you hear about a friend of a friend that was taking her pill and still got pregnant. The success rate of long-term contracep tion has just as much significance as the side effects it will have on your body, and the chances of pregnancy vary from each one and they are im portant to take note of. The IUD and the IUS (long acting) are regarded as the most successful in terms of pre

Contraception should not be a scary or unclear pros pect for anyone"

Number one is tinsel. It’s cheap, it’s fun, and you can drape it virtu ally anywhere in the house. Take a trip to Home Bargains, stock up on some £2.99 strips of tinsel (classic gold or colourful, whatever your preference) and go crazy. Hang it above the window, behind the sofa, on the radiator (provided it’s not switched on) and watch your house be transformed. I know tinsel can be a bit of an opinion-divider when it comes to Christmas decorations, and some find it less fun and more tacky, but it’s a classic, and an easy and affordable option for students. It’s also mess-free (no tree pines all over the floor); guaranteed not to bother your landlord.

venting pregnancy, with less than one percent of users becoming pregnant accidentally whilst on it. The pill and the shot, despite their 1 in 100 birth rate, they’re less reliable if missed or not taken, increasing the risk of preg nancy by 6%. Designed to solely pre vent pregnancy, unfortunately there are no -long term contraceptives out there that come with the power to prevent STDs. To stay pregnancy and infection free condoms are your best friend, protecting both you and your sexual partner from motherhood and any sneaky STD’s that may come your way.

A contraception misconception is believing that the conversation sur rounds entirely anyone who can get pregnant, and that the pressure lands on them in seeking out contracep tion and getting themselves on it. In recent years, science has welcomed men into the conversation that sur rounds staying safe, and the opportu nity of male contraceptives will soon be on the table.

Contraception should not be a scary or unclear prospect for anyone who has started having sex or has had sex for years and has decided to go on it. Making sure you are safe and secure in the bedroom can lead to a much healthier and secure sex lifeand who doesn’t want that?

Number two is some DIY decs. Paper chains and snowflakes are some classic home-made Christmas accessories. They’re fun to make, they look great, and they cost almost nothing. All you need is some paper (coloured or white), a pair of scis sors and some glue or Sellotape. If you missed out on this experience in primary school and you’re unfamil iar with the assembly of the chain, it’s very simple: cut the paper into longs strips, and loop each one into a circle, connecting each one to the next to form a chain. If you’re feel ing extra jazzy, grab some coloured pens and get creative with some Christmas designs. As a bonus, this makes a lovely, wholesome activity to bond with your housemates. Pour yourselves some mulled wine, gath er around the table and spend the evening drawing Christmas trees and candy canes. Christmas arts and crafts; what’s not to love?

Finally, if you’re feeling a lit tle more extravagant, why not buy some battery-powered fairy lights? These can be found for fairly cheap at places like Home Bargains, and the battery-power means they won’t run up your electricity bill. Fairy lights are one of the best ways to make a house feel cosier, and there’s the added benefit that you can keep them up all year round.

Being a student doesn’t mean you can’t jolly-up your house a bit for Christmas. There are plenty of af fordable options out there, even if it means getting crafty and making your own decorations.

Homemade is always more fun, anyway, right?

I know tinsel can be a bit of an opinion-divider when it comes to Christmas decorations, and some find it less fun and more tacky, but it’s a classic, and an easy and afford able option for students. "

Disclaimer – this advice is written by a student. This is not professional advice*

REVIEW

WNO Youth Opera: Shostakovich’s Cherry Town, Moscow

Rebecca Jolliffe Contributor

Colourful, energetic and fun, WNO Youth Opera’s Production of Shosta kovich’s Cherry Town, Moscow per fectly encapsulates the reality of mod ern living, giving us a fly-on-the-wall insight into a microcosm of society in 1980’s Russia.

Directed by Daisy Evans with Mu sical Direction by Alice Farnham, Shostakovich’s Cherry Town, Moscow follows the story of a group of young professionals and families in a post Stalinist housing crisis, forced to move to a new part of town in a shiny new block of flats due to the destruction of their current living arrangements. Exciting though this all seems on the surface, things start to unravel thanks to unscrupulous business owners with their own ulterior motives. We watch as young couples deal with the realities of starting a new life, whilst the pro duction also shed a slightly political light highlighting the current housing crisis and the influence of socio-eco nomic standing. This felt like a good fit for the Youth Opera Company, con sidering the age of the cast.

I do believe we all did. I did feel though that an interval might have been ap propriate, with a 1hr 50 minute run time.

Hussnain gairrhyddreview@gmail.com

Though it does seem a little strange in the current climate to be perform ing a comedy set in and celebrating Russia, Daisy Evans comments in her programme note that she hopes we are able to “have fun, and for two hours, forget the outside world” which

Loren Enstein’s set and prop design was impressive, with an almost Brech tian-approach taken at times. Flying toilets, human telephone boxes and a hilarious little dog (which couldn’t not be mentioned) gave character to the environment and set the scene very well. The WNO Orchestra were ec lectic, dancing through Shostakovich’s score which, although sometimes could have been considered slightly too repetitive (the Cheryomushki cho

rus), had variety of style. The Youth Opera Company, all aged between 18 and 25, sang the score excellently with enthusiasm and clear love for the art form. Spearheaded by 10 leading char acters, most of the 33-strong company are students and graduates from Con servatoires worldwide and all perform to a professional standard.

Although the lead characters wore microphones, there were often in stances whereby if it had not have been for the subtitles above the stage, I would not have understood what was being said. I am unsure whether or not this was a technical issue.

The location was incred ibly decorated, the use of the radio was ingenious and made the experience so much more enjoyable.”

For me, the highlight of the after noon was Jared Michaud’s interpreta tion of Barabashkin: the lower-ranked estate manager to Drebyednyetsov (Mica Smith). Michaud’s New York estate agent-esque personification of the character was a refreshing relief in a story that could sometimes be tricky to keep on track of and his powerful voice is sublime – a glittering career awaits this young singer, I have no doubt.

All in all, this was a wonderful expe rience, and I would highly recommend trying it out. The location was incred ibly decorated, the use of the radio was ingenious and made the experience so much more enjoyable. The film quality was amazing, the food was delicious but maybe a little expensive and the stewards were so helpful.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and felt it would be an excellent introduction to Opera for those who are not so familiar with the genre, combining music, dialogue and dance with wacky costumes and bun dles of charisma.

Billy Edwards shares his experience from the Cardiff International Arena show Bob Dylan- ‘Hopefully

Edwards Review Editor

Iarrived at Cardiff International Arena to see a crowd weaved around the block. Before long, we were all hushed inside, locking our phones inside a pouch, and wait ing with bated breath for that even ing’s sell-out performance. It was al most spiritual. Many had arrived in t-shirts - including myself - adorned with images of the act, who had not performed in Cardiff in over a decade, throughout his sixty-year career; some highpoints including as a folk-trouba dour, the electric bohemian, and the rolling thunder rocker. Times have

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been a-changing, although there were no signs of the difficulties with live performance that comes with being eighty-one years old. The performance was such a credit to Bob Dylan, that the body of work surrounding his lat est record, ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’, is well deserving of joining the ranks of his greatest periods.

At first Dylan was seen shadowed and mysterious, whilst the band got a feel for the jam on Watching the River Flow. “They’ll put the lights up in a second”, I whispered to my girl friend, slightly unsure if they would. Then, suddenly, he popped his head above the wooden piano and sang, to a cacophony roaring of applause and cheers. It was a joy to see him im

songwriting master return to Cradiff soon’

mediately in good spirits. As he was getting warmed up, he missed a pi ano note and made a half-stern look and laughed, not a world away from the lovably confrontational attitude of Dylan in the mid-sixties. We had great seats – he was about twenty-feet directly in front of us, and regularly smiled and poised, even walking out into the middle in full-view to poise, to show his appreciation for the loud est applauses.

The setlist was extremely good from my fan-perspective. It mostly madeup of his latest album, Rough and Rowdy Ways, released in 2020. These were so exciting – my favorites were a darkly-atmospheric My Own Ver sion of You, and Key West: a languid, passionate ode to the songs heard on a wireless radio: “I’m searching for love, for inspiration, On that pirate radio station…” A regular complaint about Dylan shows is that he mutters through songs he doesn’t care about. That couldn’t be further from the truth on this tour: you could tell he had carefully chosen a repertoire of songs he loved playing, and gave it his all. One of the best features about the show was that it was entirely ‘phonefree’. It paid dividends for attentionspans in the entire audience. Upon ar rival, you were given a pouch to place your mobile into – this pouch was then magnetically-locked until the end of the show. This made the show even more intimate and personally emo tional; an impressive feat considering

the size of the arena. It was a small, very-skilled band and an unflashy dressing on the stage – all focus was on the songs.

Though casual audiences may be deterred by the omission of any big hitters like ‘Blowin in the Wind’ or ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, there were a few classics from his masterpiece albums wonderfully updated to fit Dylan’s current style. He’s not his own tribute act. From the epic album Blonde on Blonde, Bob was suave and bold on “If you go your way… and I go… MINE!” which was totally ecstatic, and the gorgeous When I Paint My Master piece, a fan-favourite demo recorded

in the early seventies, which finally feels finished and truly gorgeous on stage. A fantastic night concluded on a stunning version of Every Grain of Sand, with a few note-perfect bars of harmonica meaning nobody was go ing home dry-eyed. We can only hope Bob felt the adulation for him and his art in the two standing-ovation cur tain-calls; a striking moment that felt to some that the enigmatic, unpredict able Dylan was saying goodbye. Hope fully they’ve predicted wrong, and we see a true songwriting master return to Cardiff soon.

“An excellent introduction to opera for those who are not so familiar with the genre”

we

a true

Billy

Alice Moore

Billy Edwards

Haris

The performance took place at WMC. Credit: Elliot Brown (via Flickr)

Credit: Xavier Badosa (via Flickr)

The Motorpoint arena has been re-branded as Cardiff International Arena. Credit: Seth Whales (via Wikimedia Commons)

Netflix’s Community: Looking back on all six seasons

Alice Moore Head of Review

Created by Dan Harmon in 2009, ‘Community’ is a fictional American sitcom that surrounds the lives of students at Greendale Community College. Protagonist, Jeff Winger, is suspended from his law firm af ter his bachelor’s degree is found to be fake, and is forced to study at Greendale to get his life back on track. While pursuing his studies, he befriends a rag-tag group of stu dents from different backgrounds. This gang of six is made up of Britta (a young social activist and Jeff’s love interest throughout the series), Abed (a neurodiverse social recluse), Shirley (a religious single mother),

Dan Harmon is most known for his unique and surreal writing style.”

Annie (an innocent honor-roll over achiever), Troy (a former jock and high-school football star), and Pierce (a bigoted but well-meaning elderly millionaire). Throughout all six sea sons, this mismatched gang muddles their way through the highs and lows of community college, complete with meta-humour and pop-culture refer ences.

Within all of his works, Dan Har mon is most known for his unique and surreal writing style. The ‘Story Circle’ technique, coined in the late 1990s by Harmon himself, is his eight-step guide to episode plots. This was not only used for the pro duction of ‘Community’, but also for other series in Harmon’s reper toire such as ‘Rick and Morty’. The outline is as follows: a character is in a setting of familiarity (1) with a desire for something (2). In order to reach this desire, they enter an un familiar situation (3) and learn how to adapt to it (4). As a result, they achieve their desire (5), but pay a

price for it (6). Ultimately, they re turn to their original setting (7), hav ing changed (8) for better or worse. Although seemingly long, I think it is admirable that Harmon manages to enact this writing pattern into 20-minute episodes, without it ap pearing rushed or repetitive. Sprin kle in a few risqué jokes and a metareference from Abed, and you’ve got a perfect episode of ‘Community’.

The main reason that ‘Commu nity’ took my interest was because of its casual ‘watchability’. The series is episodic, meaning that an entirely different plot is prevalent in each instalment; you don’t need to have watched the entire run in order to understand what is going on. The setting and the characters stay con sistent, yet the events are completely randomized. For me, this is what kept ‘Community’ fresh and rele vant. All six series are littered with quirky catchphrases that any fans of the series would understand, and viewers are left awaiting the “Troy

All six series are littered with quirky catchphrases that any fans of the series would understand,.”

and Abed in the morrrr-ning” skits at the end of each episode. In all, it’s a great series for people who don’t really like the typical lineage of an average Netflix series.

I would recommend ‘Commu nity’ to anyone searching for an easy, funny watch. Whether put on in the background while working, or binge-watching shows with your housemates, ‘Community’s punchy, obscure humour is enough to keep you entertained for an evening.

The setting and the char acters stay consistent, yet the events are completely randomized. ”

The Power of The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker’s final episode

Adam Parsons Contirbutor

In an episode as convoluted as The Power of the Doctor, let’s start with Dan’s exit. Being on the train and realising that life with the Doctor isn’t what he wants is a neat exit for a companion, but I feel a moment like that would have come earlier for him. Honestly look ing back at S13, besides Dan’s rela tionship with Karvanista, he really didn’t have anything to do. Maybe S13 should have been just Dr 13, and Yaz and then this episode might have felt more rewarding as a payoff.

Next up: the Master swap, which opens a huge can of worms. It makes little sense to me. The master forces 13 to regenerate into looking like him, but also swaps his body with her. So, what’s the point then, be cause all of 13’s allies know it’s his face and would have stopped him. I like the body swap idea, but I would have the master in 13’s body so Whit taker had a chance to play it evil in her swan song. Also, does this make Dhawan technically 14? Or 16? Stick ing to an easy number system is im possible for this show.

The return of the classic Dr’s, or to be precise the return of the Big Finish ones, (except Tom Baker). I’m mixed on their cameos as I get it’s fan ser vice and yes, I am ecstatic that we got more Mcgann, but I feel it was a bit much on top of returning compan ions. I know that we have had a scene that was basically the same as this in the Big Finish story ‘Zagreus’, where 8 meets 5,6 and 7 in his head. But the difference there was it was an anni versary special in audio, so we didn’t see the actors look physically older.

The acting all around was great, and no one did a bad job ”

Thasmin, oh Thasmin they did you so dirty. The linchpin to the previous two specials and the first openly gay relationship with the doctor, and we get no resolution, whereas 10 snogs nearly every companion he’s with. I feel like this was queerbaiting to keep people watching, in the hope they would do something interesting with the dynamic. But no, Yaz just gets to have ice cream on top of the TARDIS and is then sent home. It was nice to see the companion support group, a concept that already exists from SJA and Big finish stories.

Ok, there are some positives though, with striking visuals and directing by Jamie Magnus Stone, whose works on Dr Who always look great, even when the story is bad his direction will carry the episode. I hope he returns in the next era. The acting all around was great, and no one did a bad job. I will say Dhawan, as the master is the highlight as his manic energy, carries all the scenes he is a part of.

Overall, I enjoyed it. With the ca veat that I had a bingo/drinking card and was progressively getting drunk er and drunker. It was definitely the best/most fun I’ve had with a Chib nall script, especially with a finale as

stuff actually happened.

My overall score is 4/10, enjoyable but could’ve had a much more coher ent script.

Jules Hamilton Contributor

What an action-packed end to the 13th Doctor’s era! Right from the very beginning of the episode we are thrown into action, being hit simul taneously by Dan’s near-death experi ence and exit, and the cyber masters stealing what appears to be a myste rious child, all before the beginning credits roll!

This episode did a fantastic job at paying tribute to the BBC’s birthday, and it’s a real treat for not only “new who” fans, but also those who enjoy some classic doctor who. Somehow, Chibnall managed to incorporate six different classic doctors into one episode! Needless to say, I was up out of my chair and jumping around my room with nerdy excitement! With Ace reconciling with the 7th doc tor, and Tegan remembering Adric’s sacrifice with the 5th doctor, it was touching and nostalgic, to say the least. A personal favourite moment was when Ace showed us all that

This episode did a fantas tic job at paying tribute to the BBC’s birthday ”

she is still an icon three decades on! When escaping the UNIT building, she equips herself with her classic Ace bomber jacket, and ends up de feating the daleks the way she always did, with her bat and some nitro 9 (with the help of Graham, who shows up at the perfect moment amidst the chaos)!

Whilst this nostalgia trip was lovely, the 13th doctor was REALLY going through it. The doctor finds herself surrounded by her worst ene mies, including the master, or should I say Rasputin. Never has there been a more iconic moment than the mas ter playing Rasputin by Boney M, as the doctor prepares to face her demise. Needless to say, Sacha Dha wan really delivered in this episode, portraying the master as truly psy chotic and cunning, and as much as I hated him destroying the universe, I couldn’t help but love him too.

Yaz is the only companion in Doc tor Who history who has stayed with an incarnation of the doctor from start to finish, and I think we really got to finally see this in the episode. She watched her doctor, who she has confessed to loving, be forcibly changed into her worst enemy, and instead of giving in, she bravely de fied the master, flew the TARDIS herself, and concocted a plan to save her. Something to remember is that Yaz is an ordinary human. She wasn’t born special, she didn’t have any special talents or abilities, and yet without her we would have lost the doctor forever. It’s characters like this that make me love doctor who, because it shows no matter how or dinary you are, we all have it within us to change the world, time lord or not.

Ultimate guide to Cardiff at Christmas

Jess Margetson Contributor

Cardiff does Christmas well! From the spectacular Christmas lights sur rounding Cardiff Castle to the festive market to Cardiff’s Winter Wonder land, there is plenty to do, see and most importantly, eat!

Christmas Market:

Plenty of shops, plenty of food, plenty of fun! It’s open well into the evening, a good place for a mulled wine or two.

The Cardiff Christmas Market is open from Thursday 10 November until Friday 23 December 2022 and has been around every year for nearly 30 years!

There is a great mix of both old and new exhibitors. There are numer ous original, hand-made items sold at the market, spanning from ‘The Boozie Brownie Co’, ‘Wick & Wonder’ as well as ‘Welsh Connection’ which boast their Welsh themed ceramics. If you love supporting small local businesses and want a taste of Wales, head to ‘Condessa Welsh Liqueurs’, a family business from Anglesey. Their Welsh cream liqueur is seriously good is great paired with either a delicious hot Welsh cake or even a buttered Bara Brith, made and sold at ‘Hot Welshcakes by Mum and Me’.

If you are a foodie like me, then fear not, because you are spoilt for choice at these markets. During my visit, I opted for a German Sausage. The cheapest starts at £6 and you can enjoy Krakauer, Bratwurst or Curry wurst sausages. Got a sweet tooth? You can grab a great crepe at ‘The Pancake House’. The crepes start at £4 with toppings including classic lemon and sugar, Nutella or even ham and cheese.

Winter Wonderland:

This year’s Winter Wonderland will be the biggest that Cardiff has ever experienced, now covering two sites across the city centre. The event will be split between both City Hall Lawns and within the grounds of Cardiff Castle. Of course, the undercover ice rink and the magical 150m ice walk is a must! Spaces for skating sessions sell out fast, so make sure you book your tickets in advance to avoid any inconvenience. Prices for adults are set at £15.50. However, for any stu dents reading, make sure you bring a valid student ID and it will only cost you £12.50.

The famous Giant Wheel offers the chance to rest your feet whilst taking in some of the great views. Indulge in some tasty food and drink, especially a velvety hot chocolate, which you will no doubt scold your tongue.

Ice Bar:

All dressed up and snowhere to go? On top of its popular rides and games, there are two spectacular bars you can visit. The ‘Sur La Piste Bar’ with a cozy rooftop terrace contrasts with the chilly -10-degree ‘The Ice Bar’. Uncover an arctic paradise and take selfies with beautifully sculpted frozen figures of polar bears and pen guins. Unfortunately for some, tickets are only available to over 18s. For 35 minutes inside, you get a choice of an alcoholic/non-alcoholic drink, plus 1 ice shot, costing £14.00. Don’t fret too much about the cold, you get a very fashionable free overcoat for your ses sion!

Source: Dr Who (via Wikimedia Commons)

Adam Parsons and Jules Hamilton share their thoughts on 2022’s last Dr Who episode

‘Community’s punchy, obscure humour is enough to keep you entertained’ for an evening’

Elizabeth Holmes is sent to prison

Robyn Pierce discusses the former biotech entreperneur’s multiple fraud convictions

Robyn Pierce Contributor

The once highly successful and praised businesswoman is now being sentenced to 11 years in prison, with a high probability of be ing ordered to pay back loses, start ing with the estimated 121m owed to investors. This is according to the official ruling by the San Jose, Cali fornia Courthouse

The sentencing derives from the discovery that Holmes’ start-up company Theranos was consistent ly providing false information and claims regarding its technological performances and diagnoses. This stems from her infamous “few drops of blood” claim where Theranos could diagnose multiple illnesses from a small sample. Many investors in the company were illuminated by this false sense of aspiration, some even going as far as recognizing her as the “next Steve Jobs”, showcasing just how much of a grasp she had on supporters of the company.

The waiting process now begins for any repayment the court will sentence Holmes to.

The company was launched fol lowing Holmes’ decision to drop out of Stanford University at the age of 19 and had gained striking increases of value through its company prom ises and highly aspirational aims; one being that it could ‘bring about a revolution in disease diagnosis’. Nonetheless, the company was dis

solved by 2018 as reports conclud ed that the technology just did not work.

Unfortunately for many investors in the company, such as Rupert Mur doch, the owners of Walmart as well as many financial bankers, they are now stranded in an unprecedented situation and have ultimately been

Climate Conversations: Dr Jen Allan

Edward Sutton Sciene and Tech Editor

Iwas lucky enough to be able to speak to Dr Jen Allan who went to COP 27 this year with the Earth Negotiations Bulletin and is a lecturer here in Cardiff.

1.5C is the key temperature the UN is aiming towards for global warming. Dr Allan highlighted Alok Sharma’s words that 1.5C was on life support, backed again but concerns form sci entists. The “scary” truth came in the stark warning about the differences between 1.5 and 1,6 and what that could mean for the world.

Dr Allan highlighted Alok Sharma’s words that 1.5C was on life support”

Unexpectedly, Loss and Damage took center stage at this COP. Dr Allan defined it as “permanent and negative effects from Climate Change”. It can be slow like rising sea levels but also rapid - as seen in the floods in Paki stan. These differences matter as they require different tools and solutions to deal with them. The impacts can be economic through loss of crops, lost lives and even the loss of cultur al sites. Loss and damage has been a tough subject to discuss for developed nations due to the financial compen sation as part of the schemes; these countries don’t want to be liable for disasters happening around the world.

The breakthrough was part of a de termined effort from developing na tions to get this passed, seeing nations from all over the world stand firm on the proposal. It’s still unclear as to

what shape this new programme will take – Dr Allan said it’s hard to guess as these tough negotiations haven’t started yet. It could be an insurance model or direct cash payments to na tions. A committee has been estab lished with two years to come up with a plan. Modelling the process of Loss and Damage from that of the success ful green climate fund is giving hope to afflicted nations that they’ll get the help they need.

Has this become the new climate focus? Dr Allan hopes not as there is still much research and development needed in mitigation and adaptation. It’s trying to find a “balance” between all these focuses to make sure all na tions are happy.

Next year is the first global stock take – an analysis of each country and the world as a whole on how were progressing in reducing emissions

defrauded by Elizabeth Holmes. The waiting process now begins for any repayment the court will sentence Holmes to.

Before Judge Edward Davila, is sued the sentencing, Holmes report edly read an emotive speech to the court entailing her being profoundly and tearfully apologetic to the inves tors as well as patients she misled.

“I regret my failings with every cell of my body,” she claims.

“I am devastated by my failings,” she says.

According to James Clayton, a North America technology reporter, this case acts as a “warning to Silicon Valley”. Silicon Valley, as described by the judge was a ‘formerly rural agricultural centre’ that became the “crucible for innovation around the world”. The judge argues that the re gions’ legacy was dependent on the investor’s ability to “make decisions free from lies and misrepresentation”. Subsequently, even though Clayton explains that “it is notoriously dif ficult to get successful prosecutions in cases of white-collar fraud” in the US, Holmes’ sentencing and the dis solvement of Theranos is a warning for Silicon Valley executives that there are “real consequences for mis leading investors”.

and tacking climate change. This will be key to try and figure out what this all means for policy and how the data translates into the updated country pledges for reducing pledges. Dr Al lan is sure that this will be the focus of next year’s COP in the UAE.

The scale of COP grows with each year – as does its importance to the world. It’s the UN’s biggest event and provides an important forum to small er nations that sadly are some of the most at risk from climate change. As we leave Egypt and head to the UAE, let’s hope the momentum for change continues.

Thanks again to Dr Jen Allan for taking the time to speak to us!

The scale of COP grows with each year – as does its impor tance to the world.”

NASA’S Artemis enters orbit around the moon

Matt Jordan Contributor

NASA’s Artemis I spacecraft

Orion has entered orbit around the Moon.

Last Friday, Orion successfully en tered a distant retrograde orbit, travel ling the furthest distance from Earth a human-ready spacecraft has ever travelled, although the capsule itself is empty of pilots for this mission.

The record was previously held by the Apollo 13 mission at 248,655 miles, unintentionally achieved when

Artemis I launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on 16 November . ”

the mission’s flight plan was changed after a mid-flight service bay explo sion. The planned landing was can celled, and the craft was instead navigated back into a free-return tra jectory looping around the Moon to bring astronauts Lovell, Swigert and Haise back to Earth safely.

Artemis I launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on 16 Novem ber, almost three months after the originally planned launch window of 29 August had to be scrubbed due to multiple technical difficulties. NASA re-attempted a launch in September but were once again forced to scrub due to a fuel leak, then cancelled an other attempt due to forecasts of Hur ricane Ian.

Despite the previous setbacks and more extreme weather - this time,

Hurricane Nicole - hitting the rocket on the launchpad earlier this month, Artemis was able to launch and has, according to NASA’s Orion vehicle integration manager Jim Geffre, per formed even better than predicted thus far:

“Orion has been performing great so far. All of the systems are exceed ing expectations from a performance standpoint.”

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing however. On 3 November at 12:09 CST, Mission Control unexpectedly lost communication with the satellite for 47 minutes. Engineers are cur rently investigating the cause, but no negative impact on the craft has been reported

Artemis I is the first flight of the Artemis program, consisting of an

uncrewed orbit and return from the Moon as a test of the Orion capsule and the Space Launch System - the most powerful rocket ever launched, combining Space Shuttle derived en gines with a rocket structure similar to Apollo’s Saturn V.

This will be followed by Artemis II (planned for May 2024) and Artemis III (2025), which will see humans re turn to lunar orbit and the surface for the first time in over fifty years.

ELSEWHERE IN SCIENCE

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing however.”

Aditi Kallanagoudar Girish

Edward Sutton

Freya Shepherd

Batteries linked to hundreds of waste fires

About 700 fires a year are caused by batteries put in household waste bins

Dr Jen Allan sits down with Gair Rhydd to discuss some of the headlines from COP 27.

Holems has been sentenced to 11 years in pris on . Source: FORTUNE Global Forum (via Flickr)

World Cup Heartbreak for Wales

Jasmine Jones Head of Sport

After an underwhelming first two matches for Wales, their world cup dreams hung in the balance ahead of the final group stage game against England. In Wales’ first World Cup since 1958, Rob Page and his team had much to prove, and a whole nation rooting for them back home.

Drawing against the USA, and losing against Iran left Wales with a moun tain to climb and ultimately proved too much for the team that achieved Welsh history. To get through to the round of 16 Wales needed to secure the win against England and hope that Iran vs USA ended in a draw. If the other group match ended in anything other than a draw, Wales then needed to beat England by at least 4 goals.

Alterations to the starting eleven were made by both teams ahead of the fix ture, with Wales bringing in Joe Allen

England dominated the first half, but Wales’ defensive ef fort was strong and the teams were still level going into the break.

and Dan James to replace Connor Rob erts and Harry Wilson. Danny Ward also started after Wayne Hennessey’s straight red card in the previous game against Iran. England made significant changes from their underwhelming draw against the USA, with Hender son, Foden, Rashford, and Walker all starting.

England dominated the first half, but Wales’ defensive effort was strong and the teams were still level going into the break. Wales’ first attack came just be fore half time with a strike from Allen but this led to a quick counter attack from Rashford whose spectacular over head kick went wide of the goal. The first blow for Wales came shortly after when Neco Williams went off with a suspected concussion being replaced by Connor Roberts.

Main man Gareth Bale was substitut ed at half time after making only one successful pass in the 45 to the shock of many fans speculating whether this will be his final tournament for Wales. 5 minutes into the second half it all fell apart for Wales. Rashford scored from a thundering free kick sending England into the lead and not a minute later Phil Foden made it 2-0 with a tap-in that highlighted Wales’ poor defence. England could breathe again knowing

surely this would send them straight through to the knockouts. Wales were left defeated and the red wall left heart broken. To add insult to injury Rash ford scored again in the 68th minute, making him a prime contender for the golden boot.

The final whistle came as a welcome relief to Wales after a solemn and un derwhelming performance. The tour nament that was set to make history is now over for Wales almost as soon as

it started and it is unknown what the future of this Welsh squad will look like. Now looking ahead to the start of the Euro 2024 qualifiers in the Spring, changes must surely be made to re vitalise the spirit of a team who have achieved so much in the last decade. One thing that’s certain is that despite the heartbreak, the whole nation is in credibly proud of our boys for making it to our first world cup in 64 years. We will be there again.

What Cardiff Alumni are professional?

Rohan Kakar looks back at the incredible sporting talent Cardiff University has produced.

Rohan Kakar Sport Editor

Here at Cardiff University, we love our sport. We take part in Varsities with plenty of other Universities such as Swansea and Bristol and we are great at what we do. In fact, over the years, Cardiff University has been home to some remarkable athletes and sportspeople that have graced the internationally competitive stage. Did you know that these famous athletes went to Cardiff?

Taking it all the way back to the early 19th century it is no surprise that the first notable name on this list is a rugby player. Wales love their rugby and so do we here at Cardiff (we’re very good at it too!) and one of the finest Welsh centre’s in history Jack Matthews studied medicine here at Cardiff in the early year of 1938. Jack Matthews was an integral part of five Victory Internationals for Wales, and he captained the side in a historic win against France.

Matthews played seventeen tests for Wales and six for the British Lions before he was swiftly taken to fight in World War Two. Mat thews returned from the war and thus became involved in working in the medical teams for boxing as

One of the finest Welsh centre’s in history Jack Matthews studied medicine here at Cardiff in the early year of 1938.

well as being team doctor for the 1980 British Lions tour to South Africa. Matthews played club rugby for Cardiff and along with Gleddyn Williams formed what is widely regarded as one of the best centre pairings in Welsh rugby history.

Moving forward in time, Rich ard Parks is one of the most fa

Parks played Back row for six clubs such as New port RFC and Celtic War riors, and in his early days was one of Wales’s most promising prospects.

Wales with Richard Parks”. Parks’ 737 challenge raised thousands of pounds for Marie Curie, and he has since been heralded as one of Wales’s most inspiring and influ ential men.

mous on this list, a rugby union player who played across thirteen years and represented Wales in ternationally he is a widely regard ed graduate of Cardiff University. Parks played Back row for six clubs such as Newport RFC and Celtic Warriors, and in his early days was one of Wales’s most promising prospects. He was forced to retire in 2009 due to a shoulder injury but he continued his sporting in terests, with a developing interest in extreme endurance. Parks, who graduated with a degree in Dental Surgery in 2000, was the first per son to complete the 737 challenge. This means that Parks climbed up the highest mountain on each of the world’s seven continents. This was an incredible feat that was filmed for television and earned him an honorary degree at Car diff in 2013. Parks then became an endurance television presenter hosting shows such as “Extreme

We can move from heroism into modernism, as we can talk about some of the more recent graduates who have recently plied their trade for Team GB in Tokyo 2020. Rupert Shipperly had a long road to the Tokyo games, having graduated with a degree in Human Geography and Planning in 2014 he became a teacher for four years but gave up and started pursuing his dreams. Shipperly, at the age of 28, finally made it into the Team GB hockey team and took part in the Olympics for the first time in 20 years. The team beat the cur rent world champions Belgium in

their group but got knocked out in the final eight to India, they showed though that they had more to come with Shipperly in the team. Wales only had one rep resentative in the athletics team in Tokyo and he was Jake Heyward, a 1500m runner who graduated in 2021 in Business. Heyward ran in 2020 with an Achilles injury but still made the final of the tourna ment, placing ninth overall, and since the Olympics has won silver in the 2022 European Athletics Championship. At the ripe age of 23, the Cardiff native has plenty more Olympics up his sleeve and could hope to win big in 2024.

This is a selected list from a plethora of past and present ath letes that have come through Cardiff University, all with a vari ety of degrees, many of them only getting better. Given the exciting sporting talent that is develop ing within the ranks of Cardiff University, we can only hope that there are more sportspeople to come and represent us at Cardiff on the international stage. Could it be you or one of your friends? We sure hope so…

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

promise to deliver ‘best first round in heavyweight game’ as they face off ahead of fight.

-Wayne Pivac future as Wales coach on the brink as exit now seems inevitable

After a disappointing Autumn Nations Series, fans are calling on the WRU to reinstate Warren Gatland to the international team.

Ryan Harris-Jewell

Eloise Martin

Jasmine Jones

Source: Jon Candy (via Flickr)

Rupert Shipperly had a long road to the Tokyo games, having graduated with a degree in Human Geography and Planning in 2014

- Tyson Fury vs Derek Chisora

Rivals

Rohan Kakar

England sail through to the knockout stage, sending Wales home after an emphatic 3-0 victory.

Source: Jeremy Segrott (via Flickr)

F1 announces new all-female Championship for 2023

Jess Margetson Contributor

It’s been 30 years since a female raced in Formula One, despite assertions that the organisation is “dedicated to giving the best pos sible opportunity for women to get into our sport.”

A new championship, exclusive to young drivers aged 16 - 22, was recently launched. The W Series, which features only women, will run alongside it. The series could debut as early as 2023 and is an ticipated to be a part of the F2 and

The series could debut as early as 2023 and is anticipated to be a part of the F2 and F3 feeder pyramid.

Given the success of women in the W series, Hamilton believed more needed to be done to help them advance their careers

F3 feeder pyramid. However, many questions the success of this ven ture as the similar concept of the W series has not been particularly ef fective as a gateway for women into F1. This is evident with the cancel lation of the last three races in the series, due to financial difficulties, leading fans to question, what will make this new venture a bigger hit?

The announcement comes af ter seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, criticised F1 for not providing the W Series with more support. Hamilton visited the W Series paddock during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend and met with some of the female competitors. Given the success of

women in the W series, Hamilton believed more needed to be done to help them advance their careers in motorsport. Hamilton spoke with Sky Sports, stating, “I’ve been fol lowing the W Series all year and the last few years, and I wanted to try to get down there and to try to see the young, inspirational women there”. Despite their talent and suc cess, drivers like Jamie Chadwick, a three-time back-to-back cham pion, have had difficulty moving up the racing ladder three years after the W Series’ debut.

Other veteran racers have of fered their opinions on the mat

Former female Indycar winner, Danica Patrick thinks there are sponsors out there who should be eager to support a female driver and hopes that more opportunities will arise in the near future.

ter. For instance, 2009 F1 world champion, Jenson Button, claimed in a Sky Sports interview that due to a lack of coverage and accessi bility of female role models in the sport, only a very small percentage of young girls “really want to go on

Snooker: The perfect hobby for the winter months

Thomas Mahoney Contributor

Upon hearing the word “snooker”, any young per son who is familiar with the term might be inclined to think of bow ties, smoke-filled rooms, or day-long snooze fests. First played in the 1870s and 80s, snooker is widely considered a very niche, difficult, complicated, and inacces sible alternative to pool. Despite it being the first two, I would firmly contest any student who dismisses

it as not worth the time.

Like pool, snooker is a cue sport, but there are some key differences between the two. A snooker table is twice the length of a pool ta ble, and unlike pool, snooker is a points-based game. The aim is to amass as many points as possible, by following an easy to remember, but difficult-to-execute system: pot a red ball, then any colour (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, or black), then red, then a colour, and so on.

Whoever has the most points after all reds are potted wins the round (frame). Especially on such a mas

CRISTIA-NO MORE!

A snooker table is twice the length of a pool table, and un like pool, snooker is a points-based game.

sive table, this is can seem an im possible task at first. However, pro vided that you set up right before playing shots (the internet offers limitless tips and points for begin ners, which I myself still am), you’ll become accustomed to the dimen sions of the table and find that you can pot after all.

There are various snooker clubs around Cardiff, my personal fa vourite being Penarth snooker club, whose staff are really jovial and welcoming. Membership tends to be extremely cheap (less than £5 for a year or even a lifetime), as you pay for the lights and equipment when you pay. Even so, this should come out to around £5/person/ hour – it’ll hardly break the bank. It’s worth checking up on the rules before playing, but this isn’t essen tial if you just want to turn up and practice potting.

All in all, snooker is very chal

and race cars,” which is a shame. Former female Indycar winner, Danica Patrick thinks there are sponsors out there who should be eager to support a female driver and hopes that more opportunities will arise in the near future.

lenging, but just as rewarding when you get it right. It’s an ideal chilledout alternative if you’re looking for a break from clubbing or vigorous exercise, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s at a loose end in these darker months!

There are various snooker clubs around Car diff, my personal favourite being Penarth snooker club, whose staff are really jovial and welcoming.

Man Utd has announced they have reached a mutual agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo to terminate his contract.

Jack Thomas Contributor

As the world’s eyes are fixated on the footballing scene as the FIFA World Cup continues, as little as days before the competition commenced, much controversy surrounded Portuguese superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Manchester United forward gained criticism following his interview with TalkTV, where many of his

comments left Manchester United and its fans feeling attacked.

Since re-joining Manchester United in the summer of 2021 from Italian club Juventus, Ronaldo continued his legendary status by leading the, relatively poor, Red Devils to Europa League qualification and a triumphant Champions League effort, finishing top of their group in the 2021/22 season.

Cristiano finished the season as the team’s top goalscorer with 24

Cristiano finished the season as the team’s top goalscorer with 24 goals in all competitions and was an impressive force throughout the season.

goals in all competitions and was an impressive force throughout the season.

However, as we go into the World Cup break, Ronaldo has only started 4 Premier League games in 14 game weeks this season, scoring only once. Not quite the influence United hoped for as they looked to build on their previous campaign.

Ronaldo’s unhappiness at Manchester United has grown since Erik Ten Hag took over from Ralf Rangnick at the start of the current season. An aging Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s 37 by now, has never been in Ten Hag’s plans as he looks to build for the future, and it’s clear that this has caused some friction between the two.

It seems that Ronaldo’s refusal to come on as a substitute for Manchester United in their game against Tottenham Hotspur in October acted as a crucial

turning point in the story, as Ronaldo later expressed, he felt as though Ten Hag was only bringing him on to prove a point. This moment felt symbolic of Ronaldo beginning to leave Man United as a club, not only the game, as he walked to the changing rooms before the game had finished.

Ronaldo finally decided to speak out about the situation in an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan for his TalkTV show, ‘Piers Morgan UNCENSORED’. In this interview, Ronaldo expressed that he felt “betrayed by the club”, as well as claiming he had “no respect” for Erik Ten Hag. Despite having the World Cup on the brink, the whole football world was talking about this interview, and the uproar caused led to Manchester United releasing a statement claiming they had “initiated appropriate steps”.

Many anticipated the club

In this interview, Ronaldo expressed that he felt “betrayed by the club”

Manchester United have released a statement claiming they’ve come to an agreement to terminate Cristiano’s contract with immediate effect

would attempt to come to an agreement with the Portuguese captain to terminate his contract but being the highest-earning player in the Premier League, and with 7 months left on his contract, they can’t have been simple negotiations. Many household names within the football punditry industry such as Gary Neville have claimed there’s no other option for Ronaldo but to move on from the club.

Despite currently being in Qatar with the Portuguese National Team, Manchester United have released a statement claiming they’ve come to an agreement to terminate Cristiano’s contract with immediate effect, 4 days following their previous statement.

Although currently wearing the red of Portugal, Ronaldo will not wear the red of Manchester

Source: EJ Mina (via Wikimedia Commons)

Source: Cristiano Ronaldo In Portugal Jersey Wallpaper (via HD Wallpa