gair rhydd - Issue 864 by Cardiff Student Media

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ISSUE 864 MARCH 10 2008 CARDIFF’S STUDENT WEEKLY free word - EST. 1972

SCIENCE&ENVIRONMENT/FEATURES/OPINION/RASPUTIN PHOTO: Natalia Popova

“Spokesman for terrorists” makes student address

Controversial editor of Hezbollah’s newspaper, Ibrahim Mousawi, speaks at Cardiff as part of a national anti-war campaign Portia Nicholson News Reporter Cardiff University hosted an evening with controversial speaker Ibrahim Mousawi, the editor of Hezbollah’s newspaper, in a World Against War event last week. The event, which had been criticised beforehand by local media reports, saw leaders of social movements in the Middle East and Britain come together to discuss the occupation of Iraq. Chris Nineham, from the Stop the War Coalition, Hassan Juma’a, the President of Iraqi Oil Workers’ Union, and Prof. Justin Lewis, from Cardiff University School of Journalism, also spoke to an audience of over 200

people. Held in the Law Building on Monday March 3, the speakers called for a complete end to the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as urging for opposition to be voiced concerning any attack against Iran. The speakers also discussed the broader struggle against war around the world and against continuing threats from the US administration. But the event had been submerged in negative media attention due to Mousawi’s attendance, focusing on how he had been previously dubbed “a spokesman for terrorists”. In a national tour of the World Against War movement, which culminates in a worldwide day of protest, Mousawi left a trail of media upset in

many of the towns he visited. One newspaper in Liverpool wrote: “A Middle East activist accused of defending the murder of women and children is coming to Liverpool.” The Conservative Party, including leader David Cameron, has tried and failed to have Mousawi banned from Britain, saying that he is a “vicious antisemite” and a supporter of terrorism. But Mousawi, who is banned from both France and Ireland, has denied that he is anti-semitic. He said: “People have the right to live in peace and without fear of their homes being invaded. “We must all denounce war and we must all fight together to stop the killing.” He also made direct reference to

the terrorist label imposed on him by government and media opposition, urging his audience to “make up their own minds” and research him. Dr Paul Mason, from Cardiff University School of Journalism, was critical of the event’s bad press. He said: “Had any of these people bothered to attend, they would have witnessed a moving, human account of what happens when a super-power chooses to invade your country on the spurious grounds of ‘regime change’.” Dr Mason also stressed that journalists had misinterpreted Mousawi’s visit. He said: “This wasn’t a call to arms, or a rallying cry for the psychotic and murderous, but two first-hand accounts of America’s and Israel’s brutal actions

in Iraq and Lebanon. There’s your terrorism.” One of the organisers, Max Pettigrew, a PhD student at Cardiff University, was impressed with the turnout at the evening. Speaking to gair rhydd he said: “The rally indicated how many people want an end to the wars on people in the Middle East and an end to the war on our minds in the UK.” He urged students to “keep active on campus” and to attend the upcoming anti-war demonstration in London on March 15. The rally will form part of a global day of protests and marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. For more information visit www. stopwar.org.uk.

SPORT/POLITICS/TAF-OD/LISTINGS/TELLY/JOBS&MONEY

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MARCH.10.2008

NEWS

NEWS@gairrhydd.COM

this week in gair rhydd:

Science and Environment get healthy

18 Money matters: Jobs and money on student expenses

Go Global News Special

Sudoku

Go on... ease yourself into your Monday morning. You know what to do!

PHOTOS: Natalia Popova

A fortnight of global diversity ends in style:

Blood spilt in sport:

The future of Rubber Duck

Optomotery versus Real Ale Madrid

Politics assess the EU reform treaty

read more, interact with others and have your say at

www.gairrhydd.com

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MARCH.10.2008

NEWS

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Welsh national pride Rebecca Smith Reporter

the Senedd. Council Leader Rodney Berman said it was a “fantastic opportunity for people to celebrate being in Wales”, and to celebrate the unique heritage and history of the country. Shops and bars in the city celebrated the day by hosting special Welsh foodtasting sessions throughout the day and a ‘Really Welsh Food Festival’ was held showcasing the best of Welsh products. Other events included Welsh learner tasting sessions and performances from Welsh choirs and dancing groups. International students from universities all over Wales, including students

from Cardiff University, were invited to celebrate along with First Minister Rhodri Morgan at a dinner reception held a few days before St David’s Day. The dinner provided an opportunity for international students to represent their country and to celebrate the role of international students in the growing cosmopolitan culture of Cardiff. Shreenivas Raju, President of the Indian Students’ Society, found the event a massive success. He said: “It provided a unique opportunity to take an active part in celebrating, understanding and appreciating Welsh culture.”

Zenyth and The Three Aces - Battle of the Bands finalists Cath Duddridge LMS Correspondent

PHOTO: Chris Beale

Cardiff was at the centre of the St David’s Day celebrations last week, hosting a variety of events celebrating the national saint and Welsh culture. The St David’s Day Parade took place in the city centre with over 2,000 people marching alongside Welsh bagpipes and a pageant cavalry troupe. The city was dressed in flags as participants paraded down St Mary Street, marched past the Millennium Centre and finished at the Assembly building,

The first semi-final of Battle of the Bands saw a new venue - CF10 a fantastic crowd and four bands that really shone as they battled it out for a place in the final. After much deliberation and vote counting it was Zenyth and The Three Aces who managed to gain a final slot, despite very stiff competition in the form of Doctor Nut and Sheafson who very narrowly missed out. Second and third place were separated by just one vote, which goes to show just how important audience members are in this competition. The second semi-final is on March 13th in CF10, and the final is on March 20th in Solus. Tickets for these events can be bought from the Union box office and online at www.sutickets. com. LMS Exec David Neal said that he had a great night and can’t wait for the final, but was disappointed that Doctor Nut didn’t go through as they were ‘the highlight’ for him. Last year’s winners The Stopmotion Men attended the event and member Elias said that the night was ‘very well organised’ and ‘it was good to see the event held in the Students’ Union this year’. Winners Zenyth thanked their supporters as well as their stand-in drummer Jimmi Nicholls. They are now looking forward to the final.

Semi Final 2 Date: Thursday 13th March Location: CF10 Time: 7.30pm

Cardiff professor is Peer of the Year Elections are coming... Baroness Ilora Finlay is recognised at the Women in Public Life Awards for her care work with terminally ill individuals Ceri Isfryn Reporter An honorary professor of medicine at Cardiff University has been named Peer of the Year at the Dods and Scottish Widows Women in Public Life Awards. The Baroness Ilora Finlay, from Llandaff, won the award for her care work with terminally ill individuals and for raising the profile of allergic reactions. The former Welsh Woman of the Year said: “It is such an honour to be in the company of so many other women who have achieved outstanding results from their own dedicated work.” Ms Finlay, the current President of the Royal Society of Medicine, was

last year named Parliamentary Charity Champion. Other acknowledgments for her mammoth efforts include the Outstanding Achievement award at the 2007 ePolitix Charity Champion Awards. The women were hailed for the “important contributions they make to their communities and to public life”, in a joint statement released by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Minister for Women Harriet Harman. The awards recognise the efforts of women in politics, the civil service and community leadership. They also aim to encourage more women to take an interest in participating positively in our democratic process and communities.

Today (Monday 10 March) marks the start of a week of campaigning by those running for positions on next year’s Students’ Union (SU) executive team. Those who are elected will be in charge of running the Union and helping the organization to move forward. They will also be responsible for representing and addressing the issues that affect the student body. In total, there are six sabbatical and 14 non-sabbatical roles up for grabs. The six full-time sabbatical positions are for President, Vice-President, Athletics Union President, Health and

Education Officer, Societies, International and Post-Graduate Officer and gair rhydd editor. Every student will be able to cast their votes on Monday March 17 and Tuesday March 18 at various polling stations around the University and SU. Students are being urged to make the most of this opportunity to have a say in how their views will be represented by members of the executive team on an institutional, local and national level. For more information on the elections and to read candidates’ manifestos, go to www.cardiffstudents.com/ elections.

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NEWS Corinne Rhoades News Editor Plans are underway to revamp Wednesday nights in the Students’ Union (SU), following the cancellation of Rubber Duck two weeks ago. Last week gair rhydd reported that Rubber Duck was suffering from poor ticket sales. After Rubber Duck was abandoned a fortnight ago, Solus will remain closed on Wednesday nights until March 19, when it will reopen for its traditional End of Term Party. But the party will not be themed as Rubber Duck. Instead, an all-day event similar to Drink the Bar Dry will take place, with Bar FTSE running from 12pm until 6pm after which Bar Roulette will run until 6pm. The results of a Rubber Duck survey are currently being compiled to gather student feedback. After Easter, Wednesday nights will be relaunched under a new brand. A spokesperson from the SU Entertainments Department said: “Both drinks prices and entry prices will be greatly reduced. “We are consulting with the student body and will announce the exact details in the last week of term.” Tickets are now also on sale for a post-Varsity event from the SU box office at a cost of £2. A spokesperson said: “It will be an all-building event, the biggest event to be held in the Students’ Union with a capacity of over 3,000.”

PHOTO: Samantha Shillabeer

Rubber Duck revamp

NEWS@gairrhydd.COM

‘Still human, still here’

Samantha Shillabeer News Editor Cardiff’s Student Action for Refugees society (STAR) held their ‘Still human, Still here’ protest last week in order to raise awareness about the forced destitution of asylum seekers in Britain.

The protest was held on the steps of the Students’ Union on Wednesday March 5 and had members of STAR and Amnesty International camping out in sleeping bags between 3-8pm. They were holding anti-destitution signs and giving out stickers to passers-by, as well as attempting to collect signatures supporting better treatment of those seeking asylum. Miriam Fine, member of STAR

and second year Medicine student, explained the harsh conditions faced by refugees in the UK. Speaking last Wednesday, she said: “If people are denied asylum, they are only given 20 days to leave the country. “During this time they are given no housing, medical care or benefits and have no way of supporting themselves and nowhere to go.”

Mystery of the Antarctic solved

Students’ views wanted Emma Barlow Reporter The 2008 National Student Survey is now well under way. The University and the Students’ Union is encouraging as many final-year students as possible to complete the online questionnaire. Pro Vice Chancellor of Education and Students, Professor Jonathan Osmond, said: “The University hopes that as many students as possible will respond, allowing Schools to build up a picture of the undergraduate experience.” In the questionnaire, which takes five minutes to complete, students are asked to rate and comment on teaching, course organisation, assessment and feedback, academic support, learning resources and personal development. Students’ Union President Jonny Cox said: “If you have any views on your experience of Cardiff University and how it could be improved it is vital that you fill in the survey as it gives the University and the Union an idea of how the students are feeling.” Results of the survey will be published nationally in the summer.

Cardiff University experts make substantial new discoveries into the formation of the Antarctic ice sheet Shazia Khawaja Reporter A team of Cardiff University researchers have made significant progress in uncovering the mystery of the Antarctic ice sheet. Academics from the school of Earth and Ocean Sciences worked with scientists from the National Museum

of Wales in a bid to gain a greater understanding of the temperature changes that led to the formation of the ice sheet. Dr Carrie Lear, lecturer in Palaeoceangraphy, travelled to Africa with her team to carry out their research. They presented their new temperature records using the ancient sea floor mud they recovered from Tanzania in East Africa.

The chemistry contained in the shells of the small organisms called ‘forams’ found within the mud, revealed that ocean temperature did o in fact cool by about 2.5 C. Dr Lear said: “These new records show the world’s oceans did cool. “You could call it a time of global cooling and that volume of ice would have fitted onto Antarctica; so now the computer models and the past climate data match up.”

She added: “We really want the government to review their policies regarding asylum seekers and hope that our efforts help to raise awareness about this important issue.” To learn about the work of STAR or to get involved with future projects, email cardiff.star@hotmail.co.uk. For more information on the ‘Still human, still here’ campaign, visit www.stillhumanstillhere.org.uk.

Goodbye to Welsh graduates Melissa Moore Reporter More graduates from Wales leave the country than any other nation in the United Kingdom. This is expected to have a deeply negative impact on Welsh employers, who may be affected by a skills shortage as a result, especially in the fields of maths, marketing and bioscience. The Higher Education Statistics Agency surveyed 2003 graduates from Welsh universities, and figures showed that only 48% remained in Wales for their vocation, compared to 98% of graduates from England, 89% from Northern Ireland and 75% from Scotland. These startling statistics have raised alarm from business and recruitment companies. Director of Professional Recruitment Wales Chris James said: “We are, in part, the victims of education not keeping pace with the real world.” However, Leighton Jenkins from CBI Wales said that these statistics provide encouraging evidence of Welsh higher education standards, illustrating the success of Welsh universities. He argued they are “a positive reflection on the high quality of Wales’ graduates being in such high demand”. The Welsh Assembly Government has a target of an 80% employment rate by 2011, and graduate recruitment will be vital in helping to reach this goal. To improve Welsh performance, companies are calling for further investment in business-university collaborations to help make the market more attractive to graduates.

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

NEWS

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New technology + higher education = ? The way new technologies are set to shape higher education is to be researched in an independent inquiry launched recently.

A UK independent inquiry has been launched that will look at how the use of new technologies will shape higher education. Former chancellor of the University of Kent, Sir David Melville, is to chair the inquiry, which is set to look at the impact newer technologies have

had on the behaviour and attitudes of current and prospective university students, as well as the issues this poses for universities and colleges. Melville said: “We know students have different attributes and expectations, particularly in the first and second year. It’s a lot to do with social networking sites. “We will focus on the newest technologies and the way the web enables students to take part in

Review of higher education set to tackle competitive complacency Jonathan Evans Reporter The government will set up a comprehensive review of the future of higher education in a bid to enable universities to meet and beat its global competitors. John Denham, Universities Secretary, claimed a series of reviews led by vice-chancellors will be held to tackle competitiveness complacency. He said: “International developments are setting the context for most of our domestic challenges. “I want us to be as proud of the university system in 15 years time as we can be today.” Denham commented that because of rising standards in emerging and developed countries, “excellence today is no guarantee of excellence in 10 to

15 years time”. He added that the government wants a larger proportion of the £5 billion of private investment in research and development to be used by UK universities to help combat international competition for students. He warned that universities should be “prepared for radical reform and change where necessary”. The report has been welcomed by the chief executive of Universities UK Diana Warwick. She said: “We are pleased that the government has called on the sector’s expertise to contribute to its review of higher education.” Mr Denham explained the review would be isolated from next year’s review on student fees to avoid being “embroiled” in a debate seen through the “prism” of fees.

Going old school Louisa Majer Reporter Students are being offered jobs at their former schools as they take an Open University degree course. The pioneering scheme aims to encourage pupils from low-income backgrounds into higher education. The project has been running for four years at Monkseaton High School in North Tyneside and is now being offered nationwide. Working as laboratory technicians, classroom assistants and computer software managers, students can earn up to £6,000 a year while continuing their university education. Students are limited to working 20-25 hours a week to allow time for their studies. The scheme has been praised as students no longer have to

decide between employment and education. Dr Paul Kelley, headteacher at Monkseaton, claims the project will also provide incentives for teenagers who, from 2013, must remain in education until the age of 18. Jimmy Baldwin, 20, is studying for a science degree under the scheme. He said: “This is the perfect way to study - you’ve got money and you get education at the same time.” He added: “My parents aren’t super rich. I’ve got their support but not financially.” Margaret Chaytor, the project coordinator, claims students embarking on the scheme will have an advantage over those who study the traditional way. She said: “It offers much more experience in life skills than somebody who has gone from A-level to university.”

whatever they are involved in.” He added: “The interesting question is whether this attitude to social networking changes students expectations in the way they might learn.” The inquiry will also look at whether universities can use the new technologies to aid the process of selfdirected learning. It is hoped that the report will be produced by the end of the year.

PHOTO: Jake Yorath

Anna Milewski Reporter

Monetary award for School of Medicine Cardiff University School of Medicine has recieved a £1.8 million grant, from a possible £3.8 million, to help aid major health problems in Wales Louisa Majer Reporter £1.8 million has been awarded to Cardiff University’s School of Medicine to help tackle major health problems in Wales, such as suicide and obesity. The grant comes from the Research Funding Scheme (RFS), a joint initiative launched in 2005 by the Welsh Assembly Government and the Medical Research Council, which aims to promote research and evaluation in a broad range of health and social care topics. Cardiff University has received the largest share of the total £3.8 million grant, which is more than double what was committed in 2006. Professor David Fone, of the School of Medicine, is heading one project which examines the determinants of mental disorders. He said: “Mental disorders of anxiety and depression are common in Wales, with up to one-third of adults reporting symptoms of poor mental health. “This study seeks to analyse neighbourhood risk factors for poor mental health in order to give better information with which to plan effective strategies to improve the mental health of the population.” The findings will help shape future Assembly policy. Health Minister Edwina Hart said: “Issues such as obesity and suicide are just two areas where there is a real need to develop greater understanding of the conditions in order that the health

service can provide the best possible prevention, support and care for those affected.” The research grants awarded to Cardiff cover a wide range of topics together with a number of successful PhD awards.

06 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

NEWS

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Top uni funded Students set to by whale hunt sample ID scheme Identity cards to be rolled out to students in revised government plans to kick-start the ID scheme Students may be among the first in the UK to receive ID cards, according to new changes by the government to its planned identity scheme. The changes mean that it will not be until 2011/12, three years later than originally planned, that most people

Steph Cockroft Reporter The price of alcohol is set to rise in an attempt to solve Britain’s binge-drinking problems. A Home Office review has admitted that the recent Licensing Act 2003, which extended drinking licences to 24 hours, has failed to curb Britain’s increasing binge culture. Now new methods are being proposed to alleviate the problem and encourage a more ‘continental café bar culture’ approach to drinking, as adopted in many neighbouring European countries. The binge-drinking culture among Britain’s youths has grown alongside a rapidly expanding drink and bar industry. It appears many people are going on nights out with the intention of getting as drunk as possible. A Home Office report suggested that some see getting ill, losing their memory and behaving out of character as all part of the fun. In November 2006, Exeter University saw a first year Accountancy and Finance student die

will have to give their fingerprints when applying for a passport. Plans to force passport applicants to have an ID card have been dropped. However, there will be exceptions to this rule for airport workers and those in security-sensitive jobs, who will still be required to have ID cards from 2009. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said students would also be encouraged to after attending a pub golf social. Gavin Britton, 18, consumed excessive quantities of wine and spirits, which led to an aspiration of his gastric contents, triggered from ethanol poisoning. At one pub, he stood on a chair and downed a half-pint glass of vodka, gin and pineapple juice. Although he was violently sick, he continued drinking in four more pubs. He was found dead the next morning. The government is trying to avoid culture like this continuing by increasing the costs of alcohol. Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, is under pressure to announce this price increase in his annual budget on March 12. Ministers are also ready to change the competition laws in order to permit supermarkets to raise the price of cheap beers in unison, following criticism that they were selling strong larger and white cider more cheaply than water. The UK recently topped a poll as Europe’s heaviest alcohol consumers.

get identity cards from 2010, as part of plans to let “consumer demand” drive the initiative forward. Ms Smith confirmed that non-EU migrants will need ID cards from November when applying for leave to enter or remain in the UK. The government’s previous plans included taking all 10 fingerprints of everyone applying for a new passport from 2008.

Battling the binge:

Your Uni: your words “I am not usually concerned about my safety when drunk, but it depends on what I am drinking, who I’m with and my mood at the time.”

Andrius Mikalauskas First year Economics and Finance

It emerged last week that St. Andrew’s University has been accepting funds from the Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), an agency responsible for the country’s annual whale hunt. The funds, which have been supporting the University’s ongoing whale research, provoked outrage amongst conservationists who claim the money legitimises whale hunting. However, the University claims that the funds help to further scientific

understanding of Antarctic whale populations. The University’s Research Unit for Wildlife Population Assessment received £31,900 in 2002 and £5,000 in 2005 from the ICR. According to the International Whaling Commission, which regulates hunting, the Japanese caught nearly 1,250 various species of whale for scientific research between 2005-2006. In response to the recent upset, the University has promised to review the current situation before accepting future funding.

“I always drink in moderation. Whether I feel unsafe depends on the situation and how many drinks I’ve had. It varies from time to time.”

Jessica Hancock Third year English Literature

young drinkers targeted in alcohol price boost

Jonathan Evans investigates Cardiff students’ alcohol safety “As I am Muslim it’s forbidden in our religion to drink. It isn’t attractive being out of control and that’s one of the main reasons why I don’t drink.”

Mohammed Aldossary First year English Language

“I occasionally drink quite a lot, but I know my limits. I haven’t been in any situations where I’ve felt unsafe as I’m sensible.”

Chris Fellows First year Biomedical Science

PHOTOS: Natalia Popova

William Taylor News Editor

Amy Bullen Reporter

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

NEWS SPECIAL

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GO GLOBAL: a round up gair rhydd takes a look back at a fortnight of festivities and events to celebrate Cardiff University’s diversity and range of cultures William Taylor News Editor

This year’s Go Global showcase saw a diverse range of societies united through numerous events. Over 20 events marked the fortnight long celebration of Cardiff Students’ Union’s festival of culture and di-

versity. A core team of students who helped plan and organise the fortnight was comprised of 50% international students. Sally Airey, Societies, Postgraduate and International Officer and the fortnight’s main organiser, said: “All the events were really popular and exceeded our expectations. “Everyone agreed it was great to see so many diverse events all taking place within the Students’ Union building.” Airey added: “Even though it was a re-

ally big success, myself and the Go Global team will be reviewing and evaluating the festival to see how we can improve on it for future years. “Next year we want to make the International Music Night as big as the Global Village event. “My thanks go to all of those involved, especially the societies who did so much to help promote and organise their events,” Airey concluded.

08 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

WORLD NEWS

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World News in brief Ruth Smith Reporter

Goo therapy

There is hope of a new treatment for diabetics that comes from the slimy goo of an exotic green and pink frog. The frog is called the South American Paradoxical Frog, as it shrinks in size as it ages and oozes out a substance which wards off infection. This substance could stimulate the release of insulin – the hormone which diabetics lack. An artificial copy of the substance has boosted insulin production in diabetics with type two diabetes. Scientists are currently undertaking more research.

On the tracks

A woman from Ahmadabad, India, gave birth unexpectedly to a premature baby girl whilst on the toilet of a moving train. The baby then fell through the toilet and onto the tracks of the railway line. On realising what had happened, the mother informed her relatives who were travelling with her. The train was stopped and guards at one of the previous stations found the baby, who had been alive for nearly two hours and was eight to 10 weeks premature.

Dou-bull-ing

Whale hunting to ‘save the planet’ Emma Barlow Reporter ‘Eat Whale and Save The Planet’ is the controversial new tagline of Norwegian pro-whaling lobby the High North Alliance. The tagline comes after the results of a divisive new study showed that harpooning the giant mammals is less damaging to the environment than farming livestock.

fuel use and showed that a kilo of whale meat represented just 1.9 kilos of greenhouse gases, in contrast to 15.8 for beef and 4.6 for chicken. The study reported: “Greenhouse gas emissions caused by one meal of beef are the equivalent of eight meals of whale.” Environmental campaign group Greenpeace has fought back, arguing that almost every kind of food was more climate friendly than meat. A spokesperson said: “Most fish and

seafood have similarly low emissions. “The survival of a species is much more important than lower greenhouse gases from eating it,” the spokesperson added. The findings come just a few days before the International Whaling Commission is due to meet in London to review the stalemate between pro and anti-whaling countries.

Mafia boss’ son Indian incentives released from jail Abigail Whittaker News Editor

Fear grips Sicilian town as legal delays free mafia associate Emma Jones Reporter

The owner of one of Spain’s sporting legends is due to pay £25,000 to have his bull, El Alcalde, cloned. The bull, which is 16-years-old and too old to have more offspring, is due to be cloned to ensure the future of bullfighting. The cost of cloning and buying a new breeding bull comes to around the same amount, but the idea of cloning is considered risky. The situation has sparked much controversy in Spain between bullfighting supporters and animals rights groups.

Norway and Japan, the world’s two major whaling nations, have received years of condemnation from anti-whaling countries. But these findings are now said to support the hunting of whales for meat. Rune Frievik of the High North Alliance said: “Basically it turns out that the best thing you can do for the planet is to eat whale meat compared to other types of meat.” The survey focused on whale boats’

The Sicilian town of Corleone is worried for its reputation as a reallife mafia boss’ son returns from jail. Giuseppe Salvatore Riina arrived home after a six-year prison sentence on charges of extortion, money laundering and mafia association. Salvatore Riina was smiling and greeting friends in the street, and carrying pastries for his mother as locals looked on. Giuseppe, 28, is the son of mafia boss Salvatore ‘The Beast’ Riina, who established a violent mafia empire in Sicily in the 1970s and 80s. Riina Senior, now 77, is currently serving 12 life sentences for murder following his arrest in 1993. Police authorities believe him to be

responsible for the murders of antimafia magistrates, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, in the 1990s. Riina Junior was released from jail last week two years early as it emerged that his trial had still not been concluded when he reached the maximum number of years allowed to be served in custody before a definitive sentence. However, since Giuseppe’s arrest, Corleone has been transformed and now locals, keen to sever the town’s mafia ties, are urging him to leave. The mayor, Antonio Iannazzo, condemned his return. He said: “We don’t want him here. “Corleone does not forgive him and wants to push on with the process of change,” he added. Under the conditions of his release, Riina must obey a curfew and is required to sign in with the local police three times a week.

Poor families in India will be paid nearly $3,000 to bring up their female children, the Indian government has recently announced. The initiative is hoped to discourage the widespread practice of aborting female foetuses in the country, which has resulted in a gender imbalance in some regions. Experts estimate India has lost 10 million girls in the past two decades. In 1994 gender selection and selective abortion was outlawed in the country, but the practice still continues with only one doctor having been convicted for carrying out the crime in the 12 years following the ban. Last year, in a series of reports entitled ‘Kokh Me Katl’, which translates as ‘Murder in the Womb’, two journalists working for India’s Sahara Samay television channel found 100 doctors, in both private and government hospitals, who were prepared to perform illegal terminations of female foetuses. Under the new scheme outlined by the government, poor families in seven Indian states will be paid cash on giving birth to a daughter and then receive further payments in periodic instal-

ments throughout her childhood until she reaches 18. India’s Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Choudhury said she hoped the scheme would encourage families to look upon girls as an asset as opposed to a liability. A preference for boys, who carry on the family bloodline and inherit wealth, has always existed in Indian society. Vijayalaxmi Nanda, a women’s rights activist, welcomed the scheme, but believes it should not only be the poor who were targeted. She said: “The problem of sex-selective abortion is mostly with those who are above the poverty line. “I think it is the urban, the middle class, the prosperous who are doing so.” She continued: “The pressures are myriad…a kind of cultural preference, like dowry, like female right to inheritance, to land, to property and to other things. “These are the basic areas that need to be looked at.” Female infanticide occurs in 80% of Indian states, with rich areas often being the worst affected. In the wealthy northern state of Punjab, female foeticide is a particular problem, with just 793 girls being born for every 1,000 boys.

OCTOBER.22.2007 FEATURES@gairrhydd.COM

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FEATURES

10 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

OPINION

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R A S P U T I N Juvenile Journalism

“I

believe in equality for everyone – except reporters and photographers.” Guess who said that. Shaw? Schopenhauer? The Millword? Nope. It was Gandhi. Well, what did he know anyway? Prince Harry has returned from Afghanistan after his presence there was revealed by The Drudge Report, an American website apparently specialising in getting to a story first (it also broke the news of Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinski). This may seem inevitable now, but when you think about it, did you know for certain he was there? Not many people did. Except, of course, for journalists, which is where Gandhi’s comment comes in (uh, kinda). In order for everyone to be equal in knowledge, it is necessary for one group of people to relay information – to be more equal than the rest. And so, when it comes to the public interest, journalists are close to royalty (so to speak), which is why the Ministry of Defence arranged an agreement with the British media’s most senior editors that the news of Harry’s deployment would not be released to the public. Not that to honour journalists’ noble calling was the reason for the news blackout – nor, God forbid, respect. It was done out of knowledge of their power; that journalists would find out, and having been left out of the loop like little children, that they would react like little children – and Tell. So, dear readers, they bribed them with chocolate-covered promises of special access to the Prince, on the proviso it was reported only when he returned. The editors agreed not to tell the public of the Prince’s placement in Afghanistan. Can you believe it? This behinddoors bartering? This misleading of the public? This corruption of free speech? How absolutely bloody…sensible.

There are times when it’s a good idea not to exercise free speech Disclaimer time. I am a fierce hater of censorship and staunch advocate of free word (I believe it’s something like “gair rhydd” in Welsh). Everyone chucks around Voltaire (“I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (though I like the amusing change in meaning brought about by a “your”/“you’re” mistake)), but pseudo-pseud that I am, I prefer the words of Albert Camus: “Free press can, of course, be good or bad, but most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.” In short, I like free speech a lot.

THE DRUDGE REPORT: Look, you’ve drowned the poor man But while free speech is an inalienable right to people and press alike, there are times when it’s a good idea not to exercise it. As Gandhi also said (or was it Uncle Ben?), “With great power comes great responsibility.” Stories involving details of military movements require discretion. That’s why a British Second World War slogan was ‘Careless talk costs lives’, not ‘Careless talk costs lives but ultimately represents a staple of freedom so it’s OK’. That just doesn’t fit on a poster. I disagree with people saying the news blackout over Prince Harry’s stationing in Afghanistan was wrong, or even, to quote an article in close proximity to this one, “ludicrous and scary” (though said article is actually very, very good). To me, it seems entirely necessary. Harry’s stationing there, perhaps not – but arguably because it gives them less of a chance to get on a self-righteous professional soapbox, that’s not the issue many people in the media seem to want to discuss. The fact is that Prince Harry was being sent to Afghanistan, and even the highest of high-ranking journalists couldn’t stop that from happening. The Drudge Report has managed it now all right, but the only way senior journalists could have stopped Harry going altogether would have been to refuse the proposition of a blackout – as suggest-

ed by Marina Hyde of The Guardian, somewhat wise after the event. And call me cynical but had the papers done this and splashed Harry across their front pages, I’m not convinced it would have been for moral rather than commercial reasons. The Society of Editors’ Bob Satchwell wrote in The Guardian that the increased access would give the public “a deeper insight into a new side of Prince Harry”. Noble motives. Not to report Harry’s movements

BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO ROYALTY

was the right decision; the only decision, in fact. The Editors Did Good. To risk the lives of soldiers in a fit of moral self-indulgence – or just for prestige of having the story, as The Drudge Report almost certainly did – would have been stupid and dangerous. People should stop being so indignant about not being told. So many have complained they’ve been led up The Guardian path, but these people are guilty of blithe naiveté as well as appalling punnery. It was for the safety of troops – they must realise that. Their rights have not been violated. Free speech still exists. You just have to be responsible with it. After all, if Neighbours (and Home & Away, apparently) has taught us anything about journalism recently, it’s that it requires responsibility. Look at Elle and Belle with their constant retractions because they printed some unresearched story. Actually, what Neighbours has really taught us is that journalism is, apparently, incredibly easy to get into. One new character (Riley) dropped out of university months before his finals, only to later recognise his true calling as a hack. Despite his lack of degree, his lack of commitment to a degree, and the fact it would have been a degree in veterinary science, he’s now writing front-page stories for The Erinsborough News every day. I bet that pisses off any of you slogging your guts out for a 2.1 and relevant work experience. It certainly gets me Riled (boom boom).

You cannot risk the lives of soldiers in a fit of moral self-indulgence And even student journalists have a responsibility to be impartial. Yes, Varsity, I’m talking to you. You may be independent of Cambridge University, but that’s no excuse to print blatant propaganda in the build-up to student elections. Unlike gair rhydd, which is constitutionally neutral, Varsity chooses to celebrate its ‘freedom’ by flagrantly flaunting the laws of impartial journalism. I only wish I was reading too much into something. But it’s hard to misread an editorial entitled ‘VOTE FLETCHER’. Varsity is, of course, entitled to print whatever the hell it likes. But tainting an election with massive media bias towards a candidate, however brilliant, doesn’t just undermine journalism; it undermines student democracy too. Free speech is a valuable right. It’s a shame to see it abused by people who think it excuses bad journalism and dangerous revelations. Because here are some free words for you: it doesn’t.

Because some of us write our columns

The limerick?

here once was a form made for those Who found it more fun than mere prose; Limerick was its name, But it never found fame, But why? It’s so fun! Oh, who knows? All right, so the limerick was never quite up there in literary circles’ highest echelons, so I can’t really lament its fall from grace too much because, well, it was never really in grace. It never caught on in the same way as the sonnet, the haiku or, y’know, just talking normally. But when it was invented (by Thomas Aquinas, supposedly), it had so much promise. It was the next big thing, the world was told. It would replace iambic pentameter. There were even talks of a limerick translation of The Bible – ultimately scrapped due to its brevity: In the story of young Jesus Christ, Maybe three lines will suffice: He was born and He died (Indeed, crucified) But He came back to life, which was nice. But like Peter Cook to follow, the limerick’s comic talent was consigned to obscenity – making it funnier to some. Sadly, I can’t give examples here. This column doesn’t lend itself to the story of the man from Nantucket. Thankfully, the internet is bringing about a comeback, in the form of ‘anti-limericks’ such as the following: There once was a man from Japan Whose limericks just wouldn’t scan; When asked why this was, He answered, “Because I always cram as many syllables into the last line as I possibly can.” With your help, we can give limericks the publicity they deserve. And for those of you don’t know how to write one, here’s a handy template: There once was an X from place B, That satisfied predicate P, He or she did thing A, In an adjective way, Resulting in circumstance C. Happy limericking.

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

EDITORIAL & OPINION

OPINION@gairrhydd.COM

freewords Est. 1972

It’s that time of year again If you’ve managed to make your way to lectures this morning without being given a flier or bumping in to someone in fancy dress shouting “vote for me”, then congratulations. But be warned: it is inevitable that you will not escape unscathed. On the surface it all seems like a circus, but beneath the facade the Students’ Union Elections are an integral part of ensuring that our Students’ Union is run democratically and that it represents its student membership. Every student enrolled at Cardiff University is entitled to vote and it is key that students use their vote wisely. Inside gair rhydd this week is the Manifesto Booklet. Inside this booklet each candidate running in the election has a page on which they declare their policies, and state why you should vote for them. Some candidates will only be visibile at the crossroads, others only glimpsed on a night out, or some just seen once in a lecture. On any of these occasions it will be rare if you get a clear insight into what each candidate represents, but by taking the time to read the manifestos you will be able to approach the polling station on March 17 and 18, and vote having made an informed decision based on policies and ability - not just on who gave you a sweet or who shouts the loudest.

Everyone makes mistakes To everyone out there who spotted the two typos on last week’s front page, congrats! Just moments before the newspaper went to print a change was made to the text, and... well... you all saw what happened. Perhaps the saddest thing about this mistake was the behaviour of an as yet unknown individual(s) who pinned the front page of last week’s newspaper to the office door with a circle around one of the typos and some abusive scrawl. Given that over 37 student volunteer editors gave up over 200 hours of their free time to edit the newspaper last week (not mentioning the writers, proof readers or photographers), this sort of obnoxious behaviour really does put a dampener on spirits. The individual(s) concerned in this matter will be uncovered, as CCTV footage is currently being analysed. But if the individual(s) would like to come forward feel free to help the team of proof readers from 9am every Friday in the gair rhydd office. Editor Amy Harrison Deputy Editor Ben Bryant Co-ordinator Elaine Morgan News William Taylor Abigail Whittaker Samantha Shillabeer Corinne Rhoades Investigations Lee Macaulay Politics

STOP THE PRESS Prince Henry Charles Albert David Windsor of Wales has been withdrawn from Afghanistan. But why weren’t we told he was there in the first place? Jamie Thunder laments the death of the free press

hey say that the first casualty of war is truth. Well, they do if they’re glib berks with an agenda to push at the expense of realising the human casualties, anyway. But certainly, truth rarely comes out of it looking too good, as the recent furore around Prince Harry’s jaunt to Afghanistan showed. The Prince went to Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, and stayed there for ten weeks. During that time, the UK’s media voluntarily agreed not to publish any suggestions that the third in line to the throne was involved in active military service. The reason for this is obvious: had the Taliban insurgents known he was in the area, they would have done all they could to capture or kill him, therefore endangering further the lives of his unit. During his time in Afghanistan, a handful of foreign news outlets broke the story, but the coverage was not deemed widespread enough to be a threat. However, at the end of last month, American news website The Drudge Report gave the report its first mention in a major news outlet, and Prince Harry was recalled from duty amid increased fears for his safety.

What’s worrying is that the blackout was implemented in the first place Some of the media coverage since the embargo was broken has been hilarious. One particularly solemn radio report proclaimed the horror of Harry’s situation in Afghanistan: “Hot, dusty conditions…without access to a shower for days on end.” I ask you, where is the humanity? But what’s worrying is the fact that the blackout was ever implemented in the first place. Censorship, whether voluntary or not, has long been a part of war reporting and that won’t change. In many cases, such as bans on reporting troop positions, it’s entirely understandable and necessary to protect soldiers. This wasn’t. I’m in no way saying that the public (and of course, therefore, the

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HARRY: Not any more, you don’t Taliban) should have been informed that Harry was in Afghanistan, but rather that he should never have been sent there if the only circumstances in which it were possible were ones that misled and misinformed the public. Harry clearly wanted to serve his country, and military leaders had two choices. One was to not send Harry to war, and the other was to send him to war, but reach an agreement with the press to safeguard both him and his fellow soldiers. The latter was the option chosen, but it seems only to have been done to indulge the Prince. However capable he may be, he’s no Monty (that’s Field Marshal, not Panesar). He’s not required. His presence won’t turn the tide of the war. One man’s will should not be imposed at the expense of freedom of the press. If he really wants to serve his country, why not relinquish some of his wealth to help improve public services? This isn’t an attack on Harry himself though; whatever your opinions on the

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war or the monarchy, he’s been brave (though, let’s remember, no braver than any other soldier), he’s done a job, and he’s consistently rejected any ‘hero’ label with refreshing modesty. It’s an attack on a media who tamely capitulated and decided that the public’s right to know was less important than one already very privileged man getting what he wants. It’s simply not justifiable – Harry’s arrival wasn’t going to win the war, so an attack on the public’s right to information (and one concerningly agreed upon and imposed by the press themselves) was just not worth it.

He is not and cannot be a ‘regular person’ The idea that for one person’s thrill a full media blackout can be suggested, agreed upon by broadcasters and imposed is both ludicrous and scary. HarAnneka Buckle, Gareth Ludkin, Aisling Tempany, Magdalene Quartey, Ted Shiress, Richard Williams, Jamie Jones, Luke Havill, Rob Blake, Alice Duggan, Hannah James, James Clifford, Harry Gates, Mark Hampton, Lizzie Vick, Oliver Lewis, James Hinks, Gem-

ry should realise that due to his status there are some things he can’t do – fight on the frontline is one of them. He is not and cannot be a ‘regular person’, however much he may wish to be. He has a certain status in the UK that marks him out as a potentially huge target for the Taliban (and if anything did happen to him, a massive propaganda victory for them); he can’t just go bang-bang kerblammo because the alternative is “sitting around Windsor”. There has been talk recently that this event may set a precedent allowing Prince William to fight under similar agreements. Hopefully it won’t: any such agreement represents a threat to the public’s information system, and the circumstances are in no way extenuating enough to justify it. Harry should not have been deployed, and neither William nor Harry should be similarly indulged in the future if our press is to remain independent.

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MARCH.10.2008

OPINION

OPINION@gairrhydd.COM

The stumbling man

Mark Boyle believed he could hitchhike from Bristol to India and not spend a penny. He was wrong. Two writers consider his plight Anneka Buckle

veryone enjoys a great story. The show-stopping protagonist; the ingenious mix of pain and emotion; the quest for freedom; the list goes on. But what really makes a successful tale is the hook, the part that catches the public’s attention. So when I heard of Mark Boyle’s mission, inspired by the philosophy of Gandhi, to set off on an epic journey from Bristol to India, I was most definitely ‘hooked.’ The story goes that Mark Boyle, 27, wanted to go walking. But not on the walks we usually think of, with the dog or into town. Instead, Mark, who is convinced that a world without money is possible, wanted to prove that you can get to India on foot without spending a penny. By swapping the delightful name of Mark for the Gaelic name of ‘Freedom’, it’s fair to say that Freedom was making quite a statement. After studying business and economics at university, it was the film Gandhi that changed his life, as he immersed himself in Gandhi’s exhortation to “be the change you want to see in the world.” As such, Mark’s big belief that as we get richer, we become less willing to share, is a notion he’d like to put behind him. Sad as it may be, turning your back on capitalism with these idealist hopes of peace doesn’t get you anywhere. OK

I lie; it got Mark to France. But why no further? Perhaps it’s because this ‘free-loading backpacker’ didn’t think to pick up the ‘I’m going around the world, maybe I’ll need to learn a few languages along the way’ book.

Turning your back on capitalism with these idealist hopes gets you nowhere If this man says he wants to put the faith back into humanity, then surely he should have the decency to be able to communicate with locals along the way. It’s a big enough statement to suggest people will help you get by for free but if they can’t even understand what you’re saying, then your idealism has

gone a step too far. Imagine the scene: ‘Er, you give me money - yes? At least most people know how to say NO in English. Reading Mark’s online blog has been a learning curb in itself. It seems this modern ascetic has some way to go if he wants to catch up with the early Christians who advocated fasting as a way to spiritual fulfilment. How St. Mary of Egypt would have laughed at giving up after a mere couple of days going hungry, after she spent forty seven years in the desert holding up on herbs. Mark writes, ‘the last few days have made me realise the magnitude of what it feels like to be homeless. I can’t take money or a bus ride or non-vegan food.’ I thought this man had a degree? Mark aka ‘Freedom’, seems to have forgotten that those who hand him things for free have to pay real money for them them-

selves, so how can this be a money free exercise, apart from just himself? I should warn you that Mark is part of a ‘freeconomy’ movement where you take money out of the equation and settle on getting by for ‘free.’ It’s a shame Mark never made it to India where you can barter on the price of things because in most places, money is the medium of exchange, developed because the system of barter was too complex.

If you want to travel, learn some of the foreign lingo By being a part of the ‘freecomony’, Mark also believes that money is the cause of inequality. I think he needs to

Garteh Ludkin

ILLUSTRATION: Kevin Lewis

magine 9, 000 miles. Now imagine walking that distance with no food or money. Crazy you’d think, but this is the challenge that Mark Boyle, 28, from Bristol took upon himself, travelling from Bristol to India relying on the kindness of the general public for accommodation and food. Needless to say the journey was cut short after the intrepid traveller had made it no further than Calais. With the help of two friends who joined him in Dover, the trip had to be cut short. None of them could speak French and, unable to explain their plight, everyone believed the group to be a bunch of freeloading travellers. Cold, tired and hungry Mr Boyle had to abandon his almost ludicrous walk a disappointingly long way away from the finish line. On the 9,000 mile walk to Gandhi’s birthplace in India, Mr Boyle planned to walk between 15 and 45 miles a day. Anyone who has any sense however knows that that is a pretty extreme, tough and fairly ludicrous trip. Especially considering the fact that Mr Boyle embarked on the journey with no back-up team, no car load of blister plasters, no rucksack of deep heat and no spare trainers. Instead he had a rucksack containing T-shirts, a bandage, a knife and a pair of sandals. Now call me a pessimist but with that inventory I don’t think he ever

had a hope in hell of making it further than Calais. Mr Boyle, however, had ample belief that people across the world would help him out on this epic quest travelling through countries such as Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. I myself have walked 45 miles in a day, and for the next two days I could not, or did not want to move from the sofa. Keeping this rate up for what I imagine would take at least 1 year would be suicidal. But let’s consider why he didn’t make it, ignoring the physical problems and the countless issues with planning. The fact is that Mr Boyle could not make it further than Calais because he didn’t speak the language. Mr Boyle’s journey relied on him being able to converse in a variety of languages with people around the world to explain what he was doing. Inevita-

bly, of course he couldn’t and subsequently was considered a free-loading traveller. It is unsurprising in the end that he received no help, especially in Calais where I am sure they are fed up of people coming too and fro wanting free lifts.

It is a pretty extreme, tough and fairly ludicrous trip So why can’t the majority of the UK population speak another language? Why do we struggle so much that we feel it necessary to create our own little versions of Britain abroad, to re-enact a Saturday night out in warmer climates?

It’s a sad fact but it is true, albeit not applying to every British person. There are many people who can speak a variety of languages but as the creators of the English language, the most widely used language in the world, why have we become so lazy? British people are hopeless at languages, and learning another language is one of the many things on my list of things to do. I am constantly embarrassed by foreign students in Cardiff who come to study here and speak almost fluent English, correcting my own poor grammar. It makes me feel even worse when I go abroad on holiday only to find many more fluent English speakers. With my nose in a phrase book I eventually give up and converse freely with many Europeans. Do we just not care about learning other languages? I certainly think so,

be reminded that skill, luck, inheritance and simple selfishness also play a massive role in community breakdowns today. It’s a cynical world out there and it’s true that in the western world, extreme goodness is treated as a rarity. I am aware however that in other cultures, the idea of a “good” person, a saint or a prophet is often embraced, and I for one am guilty of stereotyping Mark as a tree-humping hippie. It worried me at the end of the show when a mother showed up in Dover, wanting to let her seventeen-yearold daughter embark on this ill-fated pilgrimage also. If there was a Gaelic word for ‘reckless’ or ‘stupid’, it was at this point that I wanted to get a pen and write it across her forehead. What ‘mother’ lets her daughter go off with a 27-year old man and pays for them to get over to Calais but gives her no other funds whatsoever? This is not a valuable lesson on how to point the middle finger up at capitalism in favour of the kindness of humanity; it’s a lesson that if you want to travel anywhere, learn some basic foreign lingo and don’t just walk around asking people for money. Nice idea, Mark, but the story had too many inconsistencies for me. By the way, if anyone out there is willing to lend some of their hard earned cash to Mr Freedom then now is the time because he’s walking around Britain as we speak in preparation for ‘India Take Two.’

and personally, I believe that we should not be let out of class before we learn at least one other language to an adequate level. Sadly though, the school language system is appalling and under funded. If it was not so, maybe even someone like me, with a mind like a sieve, could have locked on to a language to use for the rest of my life, thus improving my job prospects no end. When I first heard about Mr Boyle’s journey, I first thought that he was an absolute nut case. But I also kind of admired what he was doing. It’s a challenge, it’s exciting, it’s dangerous, and it’s a life changing trip. It is also an interesting experiment of human kindness, to see just how generous is this ravenous world in which we live actually is. However, this inhuman world failed at the first hurdle leaving Mr Boyle stranded on the shores of Europe. Yet you must also think, what you would do if you were approached by a random stranger who did not speak your language but clearly wanted something from you? I’m sure that many of us would walk away fairly briskly. Now this puts me in a contemplative mood. I am off hitch hiking to Morocco from Cardiff in literally 17 days. I really hope that things turn out a little better for me, hitch hiking is a bit different of course, people have been doing it for years, but maybe I should pull out that phrase book once again to brush up on the essentials. Otherwise it may be a long trip.

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MARCH.10.2008 OPINION@gairrhydd.COM

Down but not out

Are you poor? Check. Are your grades lower than average? Check. Well then, welcome to university. Two writers tackle the positive discrimination debate Magdalene Quartey

t a glance it seems relatively straightforward, but I cannot help but find something not quite right about positive discrimination. Not because I view it as being very wrong, (I do to some degree think its unfair), but because it doesn’t add up that on the one side, we are advocating equality in all areas, yet directly contradicting it on the other. For some, anyone against positive discrimination will appear to be selfish, maybe emotionless or unconcerned about others. But it is not a matter of lacking empathy for those less fortunate, rather it is based on the principle that it seems unfair on the part of those discriminated against. It may be true that people from less privileged backgrounds do not get the opportunity to go to universities and so need this help. But then this is a problem in itself, in that why should your socioeconomic background count towards university entry? Isn’t it wrong in the first place that, students from lower socio-economic backgrounds have a lower chance of getting into universities? Perhaps this should be the issue politicians are dealing with, instead of just handing people privileged access because of their less privileged background. My view to some extent is summarised by Professor Alan Smithers, head of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, who argued that it would be illegal to discriminate on grounds of gender and ethnicity, adding: “It is difficult to see how positive discrimination on one characteristic can be against the law – while it can be advocated on another which has less of a connection with degree results.” I am from a not so privileged background and the first from my family’s generation to enter into higher education. I worked tremendously hard to get the grades that I did and got into

Aisling Tempany

ositive discrimination in university is, I believe, a complete myth. How any university department knew before I got here that I’m broke and have little money is beyond me, since here everyone seems utterly clueless whenever I mention the fact that I don’t have a money tree at home, that everything costs more than I can afford. Are they really, behind the scenes, trying to figure out which student is poorer and thicker and thinking, ‘yes, that’s the perfect student for our highstandard university’? Is that student who doesn’t have the necessary skills for the course, or the necessary bank balance suddenly going to be looked at as if they were Stephen Hawking simply because they’ve got a quota of class equality to meet?

a good university without positive discrimination, which I find just a tad too convenient for those who aren’t willing to work hard enough, (not implying that most people don’t). Positive discrimination re-affirms an already complex hierarchal society, that we have people who are better than others. Although I get the feeling that those being discriminated against, will fair no less, regardless of whether students from less privileged backgrounds are prioritised before them. So then one might ask what my whole argument is about. Put simply, I find it wrong that there should be a divide in the first place, which someone might say, is a sign of naivety on my part. I’m not against university for people of all socio-economic backgrounds, which I strongly believe in; I guess what I’m arguing against is the means of achieving this ideology. Kenton Lewis, assistant registrar in

been prudent to not get involved. According to The Independent, ‘Ministers have been reluctant to sanction positive discrimination in favour of candidates from struggling schools – arguing that the final decision must be that of the individual universities’. Like mentioned before, standards should be raised for these students, because I don’t think a lot of them appreciate being treated like back thoughts, and if there were better policies, and open opportunities, surely more students from less privileged backgrounds would have more chances of going to university. Maybe I should say that if it doesn’t harm anyone, then I guess positive discrimination is ok. But doesn’t it? What message is being sent to these students? That it’s ok that there are

people better than them and therefore discriminating against these people is right? What appears to be the case is that the government is not finding better ways to deal with the socio-economic divide in society so conveniently introduces positive discrimination. As a matter of principle, I think positive discrimination is unfair and to a degree wrong. Why should some part of society get preferential treatment? Those who accept positive discrimination must be in dire need of it, what other reason is there? Maybe this is the only exception I’m willing to accept – that students who benefit from positive discrimination have no other options. Doesn’t make it fair, though, does it?

The government is not finding ways to deal with the socio-economic divide in society, so turns to positive discrimination charge of fair access at St George’s, said: “Without the scheme, the majority of these students would not have had the opportunity to study medicine”. But why shouldn’t these students have had the same opportunities to increase their standards before they get to the university entry stage? Besides, shouldn’t students be judged individually rather than grouped along a standard bar, which would eliminate issues of one’s socio-economic background? Knowing how controversial the issue is of course, politicians have I imagine this idea to have come from the same disgruntled middle-class types who used to complain about tuition fees and how they stop lowerincome students coming to university. I’m no class warrior, not by far, but every so often an article or piece of research will appear basically arguing something about how poor students get the royal treatment at university, while everyone else suffers.

Academic life will always discriminate against the poorer students Academic life has always, and always will, discriminate against the poorer students. They will always be the students struggling in part time jobs

HARD UP? Come to university while writing their essays, usually too exhausted and stressed by both to really commit to either. But, if for a moment I accept that it does exist, is it really a bad thing? Is it really wrong to offer people with fewer opportunities in life a bit of a hand in trying to make something with their lives? In a world where every opportunity depends on money and who you know, not what you can do, what’s really wrong with this sort of helping hand to people who don’t have the money or the contacts? I think I should be slightly insulted though that people might be thinking I was a charity case at university because my background resembles an episode of Shameless. I have As and Bs just like everyone else. Considering my lack of resources and many non-university pressures, it’s always a shock that I do as well

as I do academically. Not that I would know if it was a secret, but I don’t think anyone’s pulling any strings behind the scenes as part of some government agenda.

It shouldn’t be analysed to exacerbate social-class tension There are all sorts of reasons for why people get into university. They aren’t always to do with A-Levels. Some people work before they enter university; that stands out more to admissions officers than five or six-year-old exam grades that are a distant memory to the applicant. It’s not positive discrimination, its life, which is diverse, complex and strange, and shouldn’t be analysed to exacerbate social-class tensions.

OPINION Cardiff, Disability and me

Columnist Ted Shiress has had his mobility scooter stolen, and has a few things to get off his chest

can safely say I have just had my most tiring and stressful week at university yet. Why? Deadlines? No. Well, imagine you go into a chip shop for thirty seconds and come out realising you have lost the ability to walk a reasonable distance at a reasonable speed. That is pretty much what happened to me the previous Monday. In a nutshell: my mobility scooter got pinched. Thankfully, a kind, sensitive mother and her money enabled me to have a new scooter up and running by the following Saturday, however those four days in between were somewhat less than lethargic. Remember when I used to rant continuously about the paving stones around the university? Well, just imagine having to hurriedly rush across them unsafely - pushing a zimmer frame weighed down by text books and folders. I am sure many able-bodied people would not fancy such a task, now imagine it with my dodgy drunken limp and hap-hazard hand grip? Rather not? I do not blame you. As with many things in life, it is amazing just what you take for granted after a while. I did not own a mobility scooter before coming to Cardiff, and I did not really feel like I needed one. I led a lifestyle that mainly consisting of staying in or catching lifts when I wanted to go out. I invested in my scooter just a week before I started here, and now I cannot think what life would be like without it. Just over the four days, I have spent my time arriving to lectures late, incredibly tired, buying taxis or relying on a helping friend’s hand. This is not a way a student can lead their life; there is not always a kind friend or two to help you back after a couple of drinks, there is not always half an hour to walk into university and there definitely is not the stamina! What I would say as a side-note is that I am pretty certain there is a highly embarrassed student out there in ownership of someone else’s scooter after a drunken night but is too embarrassed to confess. If this is the case, I invite you to notify the union who will be more than happy to collect it anonymously saving you the embarrassment of meeting me! As gair rhydd goes to print Ted’s mobility scooter was returned.

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MARCH.10.2008

LETTERS

LETTERS@gairrhydd.COM

letters@gairrhydd.com

Dear gair rhydd, I am pleased to inform you that later this year the University will be delivering a new email system and a range of other collaborative tools for students. This is as a direct response to feedback from students about the existing email service and in line with the University’s ambition to enhance further the Student Experience. The Modern IT Working Environ-

the

ment (MWE) is a new University initiative at Cardiff, which will deliver significant IT developments for students. The first version of MWE will provide a fundamental set of tools and an improved underlying IT infrastructure for Cardiff University. One of the early MWE deliverables for students will be a new email system, CardiffMail, to replace Squirrel and Pegasus. Students will also be receiving a new University instant messenger tool (Sametime), a sophisticated calendaring tool and online team workspaces. For more information on the Modern IT Working Environment developments log-in at: https://mwenews.cardiff.ac.uk/ If you need help or advice on any aspect of computing, then please contact our Information Services Helpdesk

‘insrvConnect’. Any issues reported are dealt with promptly by our friendly and dedicated staff. You can either visit 40-41 Park Place (Monday to Friday 9.00 to 17.00), telephone: 029 2087 4487 (Monday to Friday 8.00 to 22.00) or Email: insrvConnect@cardiff.ac.uk. Through reporting any issues you have, it allows us to improve the services we provide. For more information visit: www. cardiff.ac.uk/insrv/it/help/ Tom Wiersma Information Services Directorate Cardiff University

In response to “A helping hand”

Issue 863 Dear gair rhydd, If I had a pound for every time I have said I would be writing a letter to the newspaper about something that had annoyed me I would be very rich, however, this is actually the first time I have really felt the need to write in. I was shocked to read that there are people out there who feel it is acceptable to gain money from the University just for their ‘beer money’ fund. I myself have had to go to the Student Support Centre about financial help, but unfortunately I am not able to benefit from this service. The help that

This week has seen a great deal of debate online at www.gairrhydd.com. Here are some highlights from the forums: Cancelled · Issue 863, by Corinne Rhoades Thomas Carroll : Mar 3, 01:12 am If I remember correctly, the pub golf night dress code was as “golf attire or pornstars”. They really don’t do any favours for their reputation with those sorta sleezy nights and it only serves to make Rubber Duck more of a “jock night” rather than what it philosophises to be i.e. a “sports team night”.

Students take to local tipples · Issue 863, by Samantha Shillabeer Thomas Carroll : Feb 29, 07:36 pm Expensive to run? They made £4,000 profit! Any bar in town would be happy to get that in 1 day. Without sounding harsh, maybe the charity idea could be reined in a little if they need more money for organising it. A festival which doesn’t raise alot for charity is better than no festival at all.

festivals every year, even for profit.

Who’s your Daddy? · Issue 863 Vanessa : Mar 1, 11:16 am Max Gogarty’s blog appeared in the Travel Blog, not Comment is Free. It was the reaction to it that made its way onto Comment is Free. After all, who ever expected a feud to spark up over Travel. Wellbred, wealthy people go travelling all the time and we all get told about their amazing experiences. It’s just that usually their journeys are more unique and better written. Perhaps more shameful than the blog were the editor’s initial responses that his blog was a result of his talents. Which just dug the hole further. So then they called their readers cyber-bullies. Disappointingly this will all happen again in a few days/ weeks/months, with some slightly better sub-editors.

lar. At the end of the article James Hinks writes that many studies have shown that societies that have very little or no dairy products are less prone to the problems linked with them – heart disease, arthritis and the acidic reaction he talks about. What I think is more important than these studies is the simple common sense fact that grudgingly we seem to miss. We are the only animals on the planet that drink any kind of milk after weaning age. Cows don’t drink milk and nor do all other wild animals. The way we ‘cope’ with milk the way we do is because our genetics have evolved over thousands of years so that the majority of people in western societies are not lactose intolerant. People in areas where milk has not been a traditional food source have around 90% lactose intolerance! It is sad that the fantastic information in the article and common sense information is lost in the mire of positive views we get from a government that is beholden to the milk and dairy industry. It’s about time the public at large knew the full story behind dairy products

100% completely agreed with Thomas. Well said.

Has non-organic food reached its sell-by date? · Issue 863, by James Hinks

Rob Prior : Mar 1, 04:24 pm

Jonathan Evans : Mar 2, 01:42 pm

— Rob Prior : Mar 1, 12:36 pm —

Really enjoyed the festival guys, well done. It was great to see so many people attending as I had feared it would be somewhat of a niche event. But I agree with Thomas, the Real ale and Cider soc should try to hold these

I am writing in to applaud the excellent and thought-provoking article James Hinks (Pg.21 March 03 issues) provided on dairy products and the status quo view that still holds sway in much of our society regarding dairy in particu-

Most of these environmental groups consist of very white, upper middle class kids with nothing better to do than pretend to be poor and ‘revolutionary’. Plane Stupid and other groups display an earth shattering contempt

loj94jdn : Feb 29, 08:54 pm

Are these actions really plane stupid? · Issue 863, by Sophie Cole

the Student Support Centre provides for students in financial difficulties is very important and to hear that students who are not struggling for money were able to get help when there are many students who cannot offended me. Obviously, this is not the fault of the Student Service Centre, as in my experience the staff were very friendly and did everything they possibly could to try and help me. I hope that the people that were involved in this plan to gain ‘beer money’ read this and realise that this service is a very important one for many students who do need help, to abuse it is tantamount to stealing! Anonymous

forum

for the millions of people who fly every year, and for humans in general. They self-rightousely act as if they are the saved, preaching to the sinners. They are also deeply authoritarian. Strip away the banners and singing etc, and we see a campaign for less freedom, less choice, less everything really. In fact the only thing they seem to be campaigning for more of is more government intervention in our lives, artificially lowering society’s horizons. Furiously censurious, they demand less debate and shout down anyone who disagrees with them as ‘deniers’, equating difference of opinion with holocaust denial, ‘Terrified of scepticism’ as John Staurt Mill would put it. Plane Stupid are determined to restrict people’s freedom of movement through flight, one of the greatest advances of 20th century. Air travel doesn’t even contribute that much to global warming. An exhaustive study by The Economist showed that emissions from air travel make up around 3.5% of total CO2 emissions, dwarfed by energy production and industry. So why the myopic focus on air travel? Having said that, they should be allowed to protest, as long as they are not harming anyone. In the same way as we should allow BNP representatives to speak, misanthropic groups like Plane Stupid should be allowed to proteste openly, in order for the public to see them for what they are, middle-class miserablists railing against modern, affluent society.

gair rhydd

FREE

ISSUE 863 MARCH 03 2008 CARDIFF’S STUDENT WEEKLY free word - EST. 1972

THIS ISSUE: the cribs interviewed & reviewed

features get nostalgic fashion shoot for spring

welsh cult icons plus all the latest music, film, arts & book reviews PHOTO: Ed Salter

Cardiff University’s response to “Going Nuts”

CANCELLED Rubber Duck looks set to undergo a radical revamp after last week’s event was abanoned due to poor ticke sales Corinne Rhoades News Editor The doors to Solus were locked last Wednesday night after poor ticket sales forced the cancellation of Rubber Duck. The club night, which is run by the Students’ Union (SU) and was

traditionally popular with sports teams, has been suffering from a decline in attendees since midway through last semester. In a bid to boost sales, a string of offers were devised to try and revamp the night. Last Wednesday’s Rubber Duck had a Pub Golf theme which was set to involve students drinking at 9 different holes before returning

to the ‘clubhouse’ in Solus. But the Students’ Union Entertainments Department cancelled the event at 9.30pm because “not enough tickets had been sold to give those who’d already bought their tickets a good night”. The previous week under a hundred people were left in attendance by the end of the night.

A spokesperson said: “We recognise that the night only works if the club’s full, so rather than see just a few people in there we decided to cancel.” As a consequence, students who had bought tickets were refunded and given drinks vouchers. Junction, Solus’ bar, was also kept open so students could stay but

many chose to continue their night elsewhere. Vicky Williams, Social Secretary of the Ladies’ Rowing team, attended Rubber Duck after a social the week before its cancellation. Continued on page 4

INSIDE: SPORT/LISTINGS/TELLY/INTERVIEWS/FEATURES

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OCTOBER.22.2007 FEATURES@gairrhydd.COM

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FEATURES

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MARCH.10.2008

FEATURES

FEATURES@gairrhydd.COM

National No Smoking Day

Wednesday March 12 is National No Smoking Day, Elle Smith reveals all about the day and how it came about

n Wednesday March 12th it will be National No Smoking day, the UK’s biggest mass quit attempt to kick the habit. Each year more than a million people will attempt to quit on No Smoking Day, the UK’s foremost public health event. The Day brings together professionals who share an interest in promoting health, generating significant media coverage, and providing an annual focus for the three in every four smokers who want to stop. No Smoking Day is also a major contributor to achieving smoking prevalence targets. Current government targets for reducing smoking prevalence in the UK are to achieve a reduction in smoking rates from 26 per cent in 2002 to 21 per cent by 2010. With such high awareness levels, the day is a focus for many smokers attempting to stop. The NHS have set out and implemented a number of initiatives aimed at meeting these government targets, which include the NHS stop smoking

services, making cessation products available on prescription, the NHS stop smoking helpline (0800 169 0169) and ongoing television adverts and public information campaigns. Calls to help lines, sales of stop smoking products and visits to stop smoking services have all been reported to peak on No Smoking Day, demonstrating the continued impact and effectiveness of the campaign. No Smoking Day was established as a national event on Ash Wednesday in 1984, and has grown in status and in impact over the past 25 years. The No Smoking Day campaign is organised by a charity of the same name that has been registered since 1991 and is supported by a coalition of governmental and voluntary sector organisations with an interest in health. The success of the Day is built on the commitment of local organisers throughout the UK. There are now over 8,000 registered campaigners for No Smoking Day and the charity circulates

over 35,000 campaign packs each year. The No Smoking Day campaign has become one of the best-known awareness days in the UK, with around 70 per cent of the population annually aware of the day. The charity’s website states that the main messages for National No Smoking Day are: - No Smoking Day is a good opportunity to stop - Smokers can get help when they want to stop - There are health and other benefits to stopping smoking Each year the campaign is entirely redesigned and relaunched with a fresh campaign theme. Over the years, topics such as the cost of smoking, smokers’ perceptions of their habit and sex and smoking have been covered. Last year the Smoke Free Cardiff Partnership was awarded the ‘Best Evaluation of a Campaign’ Award as part of the No Smoking Day 2007 Organiser of the Year Awards

Non-smoker Christofer Lloyd shares his opinions on smoking

moking is a national disease. Tobacco is the most deadly drug in the UK and kills nearly three times more than all illegal drugs and alcohol combined. Cigarettes cause lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, bronchitis, fertility problems, birth defects… and yet smoking is still perfectly legal. Thankfully, the government has taken measures to reduce smokers’ effects on those who don’t share their death wish, by banning smoking in public places. Now, herds of smokers cower outside pubs and clubs clinging to their cancer sticks, engulfed in their own fumes… which is some justice. I have to admit, I expected the smoking ban to be a half-baked government whim, assuming nobody would follow or enforce it. But I was wrong.

Even at 12 you know smoking will bankrupt you, wreck your lungs, make you stink Going out at night you can now breathe and return without stinking of other people’s fags or needing replacement lungs. Progress. Another forward step was raising the minimum age from 16 to 18, which should deter people from starting and brings cigarettes in line with alcohol. However, smokers still cost the NHS billions every year, with 40% of all hospital admissions

directly resulting from smoking. It’s hardly surprising, when you consider the chemicals put into cigarettes. These include benzene (petrol additive), ammonia (toilet cleaner), tar, nicotine (insecticide), carbon monoxide (car exhaust fumes), arsenic (rat poison) and hydrogen cyanide (gas-chamber poison). Plus, nicotine is almost as addictive as heroin and one cigarette’s worth, if injected, would kill 7 adults. I cannot understand why anyone smokes. Obviously at some stage everyone must start. But why start?! Even at 12 you know that smoking will bankrupt you, wreck your lungs, make you stink…etc. Obviously, peer pressure contributes, but everyone has willpower and the ability to say no. More significantly however, 70% of existing smokers want to quit, which is a telling testimonial. Plus, 20-per-day smokers burn £2,500/year, over 10% of the average income. Smoking is a 9th century historic relic, a habit for those who don’t know better. The issue for me today is not that people smoke, that’s their prerogative. But, when it affects those who consciously decided not to, it becomes more problematic. And with 10 million Brits puffing away, smoking affects everyone, cancer-chasers and the rest of us, leaving taxpayers to subsidise smokers’ conscious, continuing selfharm when they demand healthcare. Not convinced? Cigarettes also contain secretions from Beaver penises and vaginal follicles and Sperm Whale intestines, so they’re not even vegetarian!

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

POLITICS

POLITICS@gairrhydd.COM

Europe: EU go all over again Jonathan Evans on the implications of the EU Reform Treaty and how it is time to let our leaders decide the fate of Europe

lmost 8 months ago, the then new Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the new European Reform Treaty would not be subject to a referendum for the British people because of the four “red lines” secured in British interests. In Labour’s 2005 election manifesto it states: “We will put it [the constitution] to the British people in a referendum and campaign wholeheartedly for a ‘Yes’ vote”. So is the government right to stand by its current claim, which has the Conservative leadership and others saying it will transfer substantial sovereignty away from Parliament and instead cede much to Brussels?

This treaty is born out of the need to provide the EU with a greater degree of efficiency It is mostly true to state that in ‘substance’ the reform treaty is substantially equivalent to the old Constitution that was rejected unanimously by Dutch and French voters in 2005, initiating a ‘period of reflection’ in the EU that eventually resulted in this new treaty. However, there are two important

IS IT AS SIMPLE AS YAY OR NAY? differences that make the reform treaty unlike the old constitution. Firstly, it is not a document replacing all previous treaties like the old constitution did, but is instead an amending treaty. Secondly, the new treaty has ditched key constitutional clauses, such as an official European national anthem, flag and the European motto – though they will still exist unofficially. What about the sacred “red lines” that Britain has secured, underpinning Labours argument against a referendum? Ultimately the new charters provisions will not allow a new European ‘right to strike’ in Britain, meaning our sovereignty in this area is not undermined. However, some legal experts say this guarantee could be ‘leaky’ and would not stand up in court. This treaty is born out of the need to provide the EU with a greater degree of efficiency in an enlarged EU of 27

member states. The treaty has created a new post of President of the European council who would be appointed for a two-and-a-half year term: replacing the current ‘unworkable’ six-month Presidency for one country held on rotation. Some smaller countries find governing the EU’s complex agenda a hard task, and while not pleasing everybody, this will allow the EU to function better. Public opinion on the treaty has not been favourable, but the reasons for this are likely to be a result of a vehemently euro-sceptic press and misinformation, rather than opposition based on what is actually in the treaty itself. Plaid Cymru in Wales and the SNP in Scotland; along with the Tories, back a referendum. But is this opposition from public and party all that it seems? A recent so-called mini-referendum of postal votes in 10 marginal Labour and Liberal Democrat constituencies revealed 88% want a referendum on the treaty and 89% would vote ‘No’ if one was held. The shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague responded to the results by saying: “the vast majority of people want to be given a referendum and want to say no”. These results were taken in certain areas of the country, with a turnout of only 36.2% along with the protestors in Westminster who scaled parliament and those “two to three thousand” who

marched outside parliament, this is not representative of the mass public.

Public opinion on the treaty has not been favourable due to euro-sceptic press and misinformation So the call for a referendum on a past promise on a document that now only amends not replaces the previous treaties is highly debatable. The over-arching aim of the reform treaty is to make the European institutional structure work more efficiently, not to further cede powers to the mythical ‘federal’ beast that is Brussels. It even gives parliaments and the directly elected European Parliament more time to scrutinise and suggest amendments on legislation. You don’t hear that in the press. Gordon Brown along with all the other EU leaders say: “This is an amending treaty and not a constitutional treaty.” Perhaps in light of this explanation we should trust our government and let our representatives, who ‘we’ have elected (well perhaps not Gordon as PM), to do their job.

HER T-SHIRT SAYS IT ALL

Oliver Lewis shows us how the Russian Bear’s feeble attempts at grasping democracy are deeply-rooted in the psyche of a nation at odds with Liberalism

s outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates his replacement, Dmitry Medvedev on his election victory, wide spread voting irregularities threaten to mire what is supposed to be a victory for Russian democracy and liberalism. Putin now plans to step down from the Presidential position, which he has held for two terms totaling eight years and will take a position as Medvedev’s Prime Minister. Medvedev has held the position of Deputy Prime Minster since 2005 and received ‘full support’ (and some say ‘puppetering’) from Putin. His victory has also been criticised as a culmination of Putin’s efforts to sustain political power and control over the government, the media and business, which has defined Putin’s presidency for the past eight years. Since his inauguration as President on the March 26 2000, Putin has vowed to restore stability to the region after widespread political corruption and turbulence in the 1990s, as the old guard Communist Party officials wrestled for control in the new democracy created from the ashes of the Soviet Union.

While Putin has been seen as securing an economically stronger Russia, he has been criticised for his use of authority and popularity to create what many have argued is a one party state. Upon receiving what was expected to be a landslide victory, Medvedev and Putin took to the stage in the centre of Red Square, attended by thousands of young supporters. The night continued with rock ballads, favoured by Medvedev; a slick public relations exercise presenting the both leaders as culturally conscious in tune with the issues of the day. “Despite this quite unpleasant snow falling from the skies, this is a very special day in the life of our country,” declared Medvedev. The election, he said, “means we will be able to maintain the course suggested by President Putin.” This statement of support comes as no surprise, it represents a gentle hand shake between the two men, subtly declaring that Putin will still have power in government and the path that he has set while in office will be followed. The event coincided with wide-

spread protests and arrests when police broke up a peaceful rally protesting the vote, declaring Medvedev as a figurehead president and Putin’s pawn. Thousands of police were deployed in the Russian capital, where the rally was disrupted before it even began, and large numbers were arrested. Among those arrested were prominent human rights activist Lev Ponomaryev, who exposed torture in Russia’s penal colonies and faces a prison sentence. Amid the chaotic scenes, protestors attempted to mount individual gestures of defiance. Medvedev received the expected acknowledgements from Europe and the United States where a White House spokesman said “the United States looks forward to working with him.” Britain also replied to Medvedev’s victory by stating it would “judge the new Russian government on its actions.” The head of the Russian elections commission said that Medvedev has received approximately 70.2% of the vote. His closest rival, Gennadi Zyuganov of the Communist Party received

PUTIN POINTS AND THE OTHERS SIMPLY FOLLOW registration procedures kept many 18% then followed by Vladimir independents from standing. Zhrinovsky, the ultranationalist LibMedvedev, contrastingly received eral Democratic Party candidate, who huge coverage on Kremlin supported received 9%. Both opposition parties TV networks and he declined to dedeclared that they would challenge bate with his opponents. the vote. Concerns over the quality of elecDebates surrounding the legitimacy toral procedures were again damaged of these elections have continued to when last month, the Russian election circulate and several issues of voting watchdog, the OSCE declared that irregularity have come to light. The they would not monitor the elections head of the Parliamentary Assembly due to “Moscow’s restrictions”. of the Council of Europe (PACE) a For the 96,000 polling stations European, political oversight council, only 300 international observers stated that Russia’s “democratic powere monitoring them. Despite these tential” was unfulfilled. controversies, PACE declared that The only Western observers present the elections: “Although flawed - renoted that candidates had been denied flected the will of the electorate” equal media access and bureaucratic

18 gairrhydd

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

MARCH.10.2008 SCIENCE@gairrhydd.COM

Food for thought

Cardiff, look to and James Hinks imparts his nutrient knowledge and embrace advises the student population to embrace Omega 3, the future to ensure success Gemma Lavender Science Reporter

cientists and engineers of all ages are soon to take part in the annual event that is National Science and Engineering Week. The week, which was formerly known as National Science Week, began on Friday and ends on the 16th of this month. The event takes place all over the United Kingdom. Cardiff University has ensured its participation by providing a seminar of the practical applications of Quantum Physics and how this might transform society. This ‘exhibition’, that invites general members of the public, will be held at the Cardiff school of Computer Science. For the secondary school students and primary school children who prefer the biological or psychological side, presentations and activities are held at the schools of Bioscience, Medicine and Psychology. At the Trevithick building, Doctor Who fans will be investigating the science behind the series. It will pose how close we are to time travel and building our own TARDIS, as well as questioning whether it is possible that we too may live in fear of the Daleks in the future. The University will also be making an appearance at the main venue of the week, which takes place at Llandrindod Wells, Powys. It is set to encourage primary school pupils to explore the themes of climate change, renewable energy and local Habitats alongside Conservation. As well as presenting scientific research to the young generation, the profile of science and engineering should be raised with the improvement of public understanding and accessibility to both subjects. With the success of the Science and Engineering Week of 2007, this year’s event is also shaping up to be impressive.

completely understand the irony of me, a first year student, writing an article on optimum nutrition for benefit of revision! I do not deny the fact that I, quite frankly, am sounding like my Mum. However, concentration while revising and completing coursework is, as I’m sure you know, vital. These levels can be maintained and increased through a change in your diet. So here’s the run down to keep you at the top, as opposed to slumped at the bottom. of the table. Zinc is an essential vitamin; a trial in North Dakota

showed remarkable improvements in speeding up thinking with Zinc supplements. For your information, Zinc is found in fish, meat, eggs, nuts and seeds. Essential fatty acids contain Omega three; these basically oil the brain and thus improve intelligence and behaviour…I hope you’re taking notes! The main chemical involved in memory is acetylcholine, which is derived from a type of fat called a Phospholid. The highest dietary sources for these fats are egg yolks and oily fish such as mackerel, herring, trout, tuna, anchovy, salmon and sardines. Sardines are a good choice as they are also a significant source o f

DMAE. This is a producer of chorine, increasing the production of acetylcholine. This, you should already know is crucial for memory. Additionally DMAE reduces anxiety and is a mind stimulant, need I reinforce: all are beneficial for revision, exams and coursework. (delete as appropriate) Right, preparation: when you cook at high temperatures your food will inevitably burn, and stick to the neverto-be-washed pan, casually starting to decompose in your over-flowing sink. However, what is much more important than the tribulations of domestic chores is the fact that high temperatures damage the delicate fats, Omega 3 and Phospholid. B a s i c a l l y, when the test

is approaching and the dissertation deadline is whispering down your neck, steam, bake or grill your food. By making sure that your dinner is prepared under moderate heat, you will preserve all the necessary nutrients. Again, pointing out the obvious, but, remember, a diet rich in fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grain and good quality protein - while being low in sugar and additives also - will supply the optimum nutrition for your brain. The likelihood of this diet being implemented by a student may be small. I can see the ‘Red bull’ seeming an easier option, but, the truth of the matter is tuna, eggs, seeds, fruit are cheap and easy to put into everyday foods. They will help you through the exam time, even if a more stereotypical student diet is resorted to after.

Ceri Isfryn reveals the positives of both the Students’ Union and the Council, in their efforts to fulfil the ‘green living’ dream

set out to write an angry article about the lack of recycling facilities available in the student community, and to scorn the negligence of the council in particular. Ironically, I find myself writing to commend the efforts of such establishments and to raise the profile of schemes in place to aid student recycling. Poor awareness is the only acceptable explanation I can find for lack of interest in recycling, because I’m reluctant to stereotype and deem us all lazy. The council was set to be my biggest complaint, having being disgruntled when the recycling at my halls of residences was not collected for well over the standard two-week period. My issues were quickly quashed however when the council hastily removed the waste following a questioning call. They also informed me that there are whole campaigns dedicated to the issue of student recycling in Cardiff. The provocative ‘Get it Out for Car-

diff’ campaign features two of Cardiff University’s Journalism students in order to motivate recycling, especially in highly student-populated areas such as Cathays. A Cardiff spokesman commented: “We work closely with the student union on promoting recycling.” But this campaign was launched last year, so despite its success, it will be unheard of amongst a third of the university’s students - first years. It is this problem of awareness which needs addressing if student recycling is to fulfil its potential and help Cardiff Council achieve it’s ambition of ranking “among the best of European

The University comes up trumps, claiming to recycle 30% of all resources

cities in terms of sustainable waste management”.

Awareness needs addressing if student recycling is to fulfil its potential One of my other initial complaints was the lack of on-campus recycling amenities for things plenty of students have in abundance: clothes and books. I was proven wrong once again by discovery of the Residence’s end of year scheme where they collect any unwanted items, even kitchen utensils, and donate them to an external charity. Despite this being a service only currently available to halls residents, the scheme’s existence silenced my complaint. First year medic Jonquil Nash

praised the scheme: “I think that being able to donate your unwanted stuff is a really good idea especially as loads of people are sharing houses next year. If the scheme was extended to second and third years, obviously it would be even better for the environment.” The University itself also came up trumps, claiming to recycle 30% of all resources as well as having a departmental Eco Champion in place to devise intuitive ideas for their school and offer help with any green issues. So I find myself unable to kick up a fuss about anything other than a frustrating lack of alertness about Green services, which as I discovered are plentiful. Granted, we as a generation do far more than our parents did. But with abundant help at hand, I for one am tinged with eco-guilt, and hope you will be too after being enlightened on Cardiff’s student-friendly green facilities.

gairrhydd

MAWRTH.10.2008

TAF-OD

TAF-OD@gairrhydd.COM

DUFFY’N CYNHYRFU’R DYFROEDD

Nid yw cael enw unigryw yn ddigon i Aimee Duffy y dyddiau hyn. Mae ei llais, ei ffasiwn a’i phryd a’i gwedd unigryw yn ennyn sylw’r wlad. Ffion James Golygydd Taf-od

id oes amheuaeth nad ydych wedi clywed yr enw poblogaidd ‘Duffy’ dros yr wythnosau os nad y misoedd diwethaf. Mae’r enw wedi bod yn atseinio yng nghlustiau miloedd ar filoedd o bobl dros Brydain ac America. Gyda’i phersonoliaeth fywiog a charedig, mae Aimee Duffy yn ennyn sylw’r wlad. Mae’r ferch ifanc o Nefyn wedi bod yn eithaf adnabyddus i ni’r Cymry ers 2003, pan gymrodd hi ran yn y rhaglen deledu Wawffactor. Er mawr syndod i ni heddiw, cipio’r ail safle wnaeth Aimee Duffy yn hytrach na’r safle cyntaf fel yr oedd disgwyl iddi ei wneud. Gallwn ddychmygu fod hyn wedi bod yn hwb aruthrol iddi wrth barhau â’i cherddoriaeth gan egluro ei llwyddiant. Ym mis Tachwedd 2007, ymddangosodd Aimee Duffy ar y rhaglen deledu Later with Jooles Holland ac am yr eildro Nos Calan. Ar Chwefror 22ain, ymddangosodd Duffy am y

trydydd tro ar raglen boblogaidd Jools Holland gan brofi fod ei thalent yn dal i fod yn newydd ac yn ffres. Mae Duffy wedi ymddangos ar amryw o raglenni poblogaidd eraill megis Friday Night With Jonathon Ross a heb os, mae hyn wedi bod o gymorth iddi wrth hysbysebu ei senglau a’i halbwm newydd.

Mae hi wedi cadw ei safle rhif un yn y siartiau am dair wythnos yn olynol Ac felly erbyn heddiw, ychydig o ymddangosiadau teledu yn ddiweddarach, mae Aimee Duffy wedi cadw ei safle rhif un yn y siartiau am dair wythnos yn olynol gyda’i sengl ‘Mercy’. Tipyn o gamp. Sengl gyntaf Aimee Duffy oedd ‘Rockferry’ a chafodd y fideo ar gyfer y sengl ei ffilmio ym Mhorthmadog. Dyma gân a gaiff ei hadnabod fel cân adnabyddus agos-atoch Mae nifer o bobl wedi cymharu llais

ifanc ac unigryw Aimee Duffy i lais enwog Dusty Springfield yn ogystal â llais Lulu. O ganlyniad i’r tinc hen ffasiwn, gwahanol yma yn ei llais, gelwir hi yn ‘the blue-eyed soul singer from north Wales’ gan yr Observer. Cynhaliwyd gig gan Aimee Duffy yng Nghlwb Ifor Bach yma yng Nghaerdydd yr wythnos diwethaf, ac wedi siarad ag ambell un hynod o lwcus, darganfyddais fod y gig wedi bod yn un ardderchog. Yn ôl y ffodusion, roedd y gerddoriaeth oddi ar ei halbwm newydd yn wych, yn wreiddiol heb son am fod yn wefreiddiol. Gyda’i gwisg ffasiynol o sgert brethyn a’i gwallt fel petai’n dod o’r 60au, llwyddodd Duffy i ddeffro synhwyrau'r gynulleidfa trwy gyffroi ambell un o’i gorun i’w sawdl. Wedi cael golwg cyflym ar ei gwefan, nid anodd yw datgan fod cerddoriaeth Duffy wedi cael dylanwad anferthol ar Brydain. Mae oddeutu 23 gig wedi eu rhestru ar y wefan, ond yn anffodus i’r rheini ohonom sydd heb docynnau, mae tocynnau 14 o’r gigs wedi gwerthu allan yn barod. Felly os am brofi talent fwyaf newydd Cymru… brysiwch!

Cawl a Chân Bwyd a diwylliant traddodiadol - Pa ffordd well i ddathlu diwrnod ein nawddsant cenedlaethol? Gwilym Dwyfor Golygydd Taf-od

i chlywyd llawer o’r ddadl honno dros gael gwˆyl y banc yng Nghymru i ddathlu Dydd Gwyl Dewi eleni, gan fod Mawrth y cyntaf yn digwydd bod ar ddydd Sadwrn wrth gwrs. Yn wir, profodd eleni bod angen diwrnod rhydd ar y Cymry er mwyn dathlu gwˆyl ein nawddsant mewn steil. Cynhaliwyd gorymdaith o ganol Caerdydd i’r bae yn y prynhawn a gyda’r nos roedd noson o gawl a chân yn y Mochyn Du. Y dafarn oedd yn darparu’r lluniaeth oedd yn rhad ac am ddim ac yn flasus iawn, ac Aelwyd y Waun Ddyfal oedd yn gyfrifol am yr adloniant. Dau ddaliad o ryw ugain munud yr un a roddwyd gan yr aelwyd mewn awyrgylch digon anffurfiol.

formiad unigol. Derbyniom groeso gwresog gan y gynulleidfa yn y dafarn lawn. Mae’n rhaid eu bod yn mwynhau achos ymunodd llawer yn hwyl y canu erbyn y diwedd wrth i hen ffefrynnau fel ‘Dros Gymru’n Gwlad’ ac ‘Oes Gafr Eto’ gael eu bloeddio canu! Gwlad y gân yw Cymru wedi’r cwbl felly pa ffordd well i ddathlu

ein diwrnod cenedlaethol? Does dim dwywaith bod pawb yn y Mochyn Du wedi mwynhau’r noson ac roedd hi’n braf bod yr aelwyd yn rhan ohoni. Go brin y gwelir noson cystal ar Fawrth y cyntaf y flwyddyn nesaf gan mai nos Lun fydd y noson honno, oni bai wrth gwrs, y cawn ein gwˆyl banc o’r diwedd.

Gwlad y gân yw Cymru wedi’r cwbl felly pa ffordd well i ddathlu ein diwrnod cenedlaethol? Perfformiwyd rhai o ganeuon ysgafnach a mwyaf adnabyddus repertoire y côr a chafwyd ambell i berf-

Cenin Pedr: Oes, mae gennym flodyn i ddathlu, ond beth am ddydd gw ˆyl?

Duffy: Nefyn yn magu seren!

Eitha Tal Ffranco

Gall nos Lun fod yn noson ddigon diflas, felly be well na gig bach annisgwyl? Gwilym Dwyfor Golygydd Taf-od

e bai rhywun yn crybwyll gig Gymraeg yng Nghaerdydd y mae’n debyg mai Clwb Ifor Bach sy’n saethu i’r meddwl fel lleoliad. Yn wir, byddai rhywun yn synnu faint o gigs Cymraeg eraill sydd i’w cael o gwmpas y brifddinas mewn lleoliadau gwahanol, diddorol. Un o’r rheiny oedd gig lawnsio albwm newydd Eitha Tal Ffranco ychydig yn ôl. Cynhaliwyd y gig ar nos Lun, y trydydd o Fawrth yn Tommy’s Bar, Howard Gardens. Adran gelf a dylunio U.W.I.C yw Howard Gardens a roedd bar bychan Tommy’s yn leoliad cwbl ddiethr i mi. Lleoliad da iawn serch hynny, gyda awyrgylch ymlaciol a sain da oherwydd ei faint. Jo Mcgregor oedd yr artist cyntaf i berfformio, a llwyddodd i osod sylfaen da i’r hyn oedd i ddod. Roedd ganddi lais swynol iawn ond roedd y gerddoriaeth amgen ychydig bach rhy rhyfedd i mi ar adegau. Rhyfeddach byth oedd rhyw greadur bach oedd ar y llwyfan gyda hi! Roedd hwn yn gafael mewn iwcalili er nad oedd o’n gwneud llawer o ddim gydag ef ar wahân i’w daro o dro i dro a dawnsio’n wirion! Roedd ei chaneuon yn hir iawn hefyd ond wedi dweud hynny, roedd ei llais yn ddigon i sicrhau fy mwynhad o’r set. Wyneb mwy cyfarwydd oedd yr

ail i chwarae, sef Alun Tan Lan. Er fy mod i’n hoff o’i gerddoriaeth, dwi ddim yn meddwl fy mod wedi ei weld yn chwarae’n fyw o’r blaen a cefais fy mhlesio. Teimlais fod natur y gig a’r lleoliad yn gweddu i’w gerddoriaeth. Hynny yw, cerddoriaeth ideal ar gyfer eistedd i lawr, ymlacio, a mwynhau. Setiau da gan Jo Mcgregor ac Alun Tan Lan felly ond noson Eitha Tal FFranco oedd hi, noson lawnsio ei halbwm newydd, Os Ti’n Ffosil. Dyma albwm gwerth ei phrynu ar sail y gig hon, cyfuniad o gerddoriaeth unigryw a geiriau gwallgo’! Ni ellir honni bod y defnydd o organ yn beth prin yn y SRG y dyddiau hyn, achos yn amlwg, mae artistiaid fel Euros Childs a Radio Lux yn gwneud defnydd helaeth o’r offeryn, ond mae cerddoriaeth Eitha Tal Ffranco yn rhywbeth gwahanol eto. Am y geiriau a thestunau y caneuon ar yr albwm newydd, wel, mae rheiny yn ddiddorol a dweud y lleiaf! Mae’r traciau yn amrywio o ganeuon yn sôn am fynd i’r banc i nôl pum deg ceiniog, i ganeuon am fwyta cymdogion! Nid gig dda yn unig a gafwyd am y pris rhesymol iawn o £3, ond set o gomedi ‘standup’ hefyd i bob pwrpas! Cafwyd rhyw grynodeb bachog, hynod ddoniol o bob cân gan brif leisydd Eitha Tal FFranco cyn i’r band eu perfformio. Rhwng hynny a chyfaill rhyfedd Jo Mcgregor roedd y noson yn wledd i’r galon yn ogystal â’r glust!

Not yet registered with Jobshop? If you would like to recieve free regular updates about great parttime job opportunities within the University, Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union and outside, please come and see us. You can find us on the ground floor of the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union and we are open between 10am4pm Monday-Friday.

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

JOBS & MONEY

JOBS@gairrhydd.COM

State of Play

More students are going to uni than ever before. But no one can afford it. Portia Nicholson looks at how top-up fees are really affecting our university experiences

hist The Times has reported that University applications have fallen, the BBC have suggested that applications have risen. The main issue the media appear to agree on is that there has been a decline in applications from young people of ‘poorer backgrounds’. The NUS claim that the number of students entering university from lower socio-economic backgrounds has fallen from nearly 90,000 to 87,900 - a 1.25% reduction - since the introduction in 2005 of variable university top-up fees. Since the introduction of top up fees, students no longer pay up front for their course, but fees are now covered by a loan which is repayable by graduates once their annual income passes £15,000. The National Union of Students estimates that since top up fees were introduced, the cost of a studying a three-year university degree, including fees, living costs and books is around £39,000. A recent report has suggested that the fear of getting into such massive amounts of debt is putting many students from poorer backgrounds off going to university. The study for education charity The Sutton Trust also stated that financial considerations were strongly related to youngsters’ decisions about choosing a local university and living at home. The Sutton Trust has called for more information to be available to young people from deprived backgrounds about financial packages on offer, as information on bursaries does not reach would-be students soon enough to

affect their choices. From 2006, universities have been able to demand even more money, with top-up fees of up to £3,000 as long as they offer bursaries of at least £300 to students eligible for grants. To charge £3,000, they had to convince the Office of Fair Access they were doing everything possible to attract lower-income students, most frequently through much larger bursary packages of up to £4,000. But this report shows that on average universities spend 16.5% less on bursaries than planned. So not only are students-in-need being left in the dark about bursaries, the resources aren’t being provided either. Adding insult to financial injury, in 2006 England’s university managers suggested that fees would have to rise to at least £6,000 a year to cover teaching costs.

A Guardian poll of 100 university heads revealed growing unease about the new funding system which allows a maximum £3,000 to be charged. and fees for some science courses could reach as much as £10,000.

Students strongly oppose lifting the cap on top up fees and there have been nationwide protests Most students strongly oppose the government lifting the cap on top up fees and there have been nationwide protests. The Campaign to Defeat Fees (CDF) has been launched by Socialist Students.

This has seen students organising and campaigning against fees at campuses and colleges across the country, showing how a mass campaign could be built. Other student activist groups include ‘Education Not for Sale’ and the NUS are also campaigning against raising the cap on top up fees under the Admission Impossible campaign. So how are student’s able to afford university now? According to new research from Equifax, 83 per cent of parents are footing the education bill for their student offspring, but not all parents can afford to do this. Many students work part time, but a government-funded study suggested that undergraduates with part-time jobs are a third less likely to get a first or 2:1 than other students, harming their career chances. That’s a tough choice to make. All things considered, debts of over £20,000 are extremely difficult to pay off. Bill Rammell, Minister for Further and Higher education has estimated that it will take a male student who entered higher education in 2006-07 an average of 11 years to repay their student loan. Due to child care commitments, the figure for women could be as much as 16 years. Despite the increase in debt, there is going to be a review of the caps on top up fees in 2009 which could see future students graduate with astronomical debts of up to £33,000 by 2010. This kind of debt could see the dramatic reduction in applications from students from lower socio-economic backgrounds continue.

Top up fees? Stop them please!

Christofer Lloyd shares his opinion about the injustices of the new system

op-Up Fees are the most stupid idea since smoking. Charging students with little or no earning power (by virtue of being in full-time education) ever increasing amounts to receive a service that once was free. They are the government’s latest attempt to steal even more money from those without any. Obviously existing student debts averaging £15,000 weren’t high enough. The motion over top-up fees was so contentious it only won by a 0.8% majority, yet it was still passed without question. So, how did we end up here? I see two contributing factors. Firstly, with the government having thrown £7

billion into Iraq (and Afghanistan) and spectacularly failed to find any WMDs, it had to find a way to fund its war-waging habit.

University has become such a commodity that people are willing to pay through the nose for it And how could they get away with this? University has become such a commodity that people are willing to

pay through the nose for it. This isn’t the only issue. The whole top-up fee system reeks with inequality, as apparently random amounts are charged depending on which side of the borders you live. For 2008, English students must pay £3145 per year, whether studying in England or Wales, while Scottish universities charge English and Welsh students £1735. Welsh students in Wales are only charged £1255 per year, while Scots studying in Scotland get off scot-free, but must pay a £2289 endowment upon graduation, averaging out at £572 per year (as Scottish degrees last four years). However, even more ridiculously

students from non-UK EU countries pay the same as locals. So a Lithuanian studying in Edinburgh pays nothing, while someone with Scottish parents living south of Hadrian’s Wall pays £1735 per year. I despise top-up fees. They turn university attendance into a matter of access to money, not intelligence. Or a willingness to enter into spiralling debt. Furthermore, in humanities, lectures are few and far between with evermore substantial reading lists being dished out instead. Being charged £3145 per year for the privilege just rubs salt into the wounds. Do you agree? Have your say at www.gairrhydd.com

Graduate

ave Clough 22, graduated with a BA (Hons) degree in Graphic Media Communication in 2007. He now works as a Graphic Designer in Leeds. What is your full time job title? Junior Graphic Designer Where are you based? UYR Design Ltd, Drighlington, Leeds What does your job involve, e.g. what are your day-to-day responsibilities? I work as a junior designer in the leisure department at UYR and so my job consists of designing flyers, posters, menus, and logos etc. for nightclubs and bars. It involves being creative and being able to adapt a style to each specific client, as every one likes different things. Once I have been assigned a brief, I have full responsibility over the project, from designing the artwork, to emailing it to the client, receiving amends, amending them, and so on, until the final piece of artwork is produced. How did you apply for your job? Briefly describe any interview/assessment process that you went through. I was fortunate enough to have been approached by UYR after seeing my work in a gallery at my ‘end of year’ show at University. The company rang me and asked me if I would be able to go down for an interview. I gave them my website address so that they could view my work prior to seeing me in the interview. My online portfolio gave UYR a chance to see all my work prior to the actual interview . Even my CV was designed so that an impact was made as soon as I met the interviewer; simple things like the paper stock it was printed on, and a legible font makes all the difference. I talked about my work and explained my reasoning behind it and questions were asked about myself, who I was, and who had I been influenced by etc. What is the best/worst thing about your job? The best thing is that we are a pretty young team and so we all get on really well, and as a result, help each other out, giving ideas and sharing knowledge. Another good thing is that some briefs do allow you to be as creative as you wish and you can create some really nice artwork. One of the worst things is being given a brief where you have no flexibility to be creative whatsoever, and you actually feel a little ashamed that you have created such a shocking piece of artwork. What advice would you give to students thinking of entering into a similar field? The best advice I can give is to be prepared for your interview. Don’t worry, chill out and be yourself! The company wants someone who they will like working alongside and someone they can mould and teach to be a good asset to their company.

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MARCH.10.2008 TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

HOT

!TELLY! We're Voting! You Should Too!

VOTING

t’s that time of year again, the time of giving but also gratuitous self promotion... yes fine ladies and gentlemen, Sport Relief has reared its ugly head once again. I know that these events raise loads of money and change little Timmy’s life but does it have to be so cheesy, so sickly sweet just an all round bluergh fest. We as viewers are subjected to watching the (once) famous make desperate attempts to win over the public and gain some much needed approval, all under the guise of charity. I would have more respect for the institution if the ‘celebrities’ involved put their hands up and admitted that although doing one’s bit for charity is dandy, boosting one’s self profile is also damn good too. This self promotion does come at a price and quite a dear one oh faithful reader. That price is humiliation. These celebrities actually have to do sports, and in the process they reveal their

appalling lack of fitness to the nation. This year we see Jonathan Ross and Jimmy Carr play a bit of tennis. As you can imagine much ‘fun’ will be had regarding tennis shorts and sweat bands. Lemar and Ben Shephard are going to have a go at boxing, which should be entertaining because there is a genuine chance that someone might get hurt. Talking of getting hurt, David Walliams and James Cracknell are going to be swimming in shark infested waters from Tarifa to Punto Cires. I hope with every fibre of my being that a shark gets involved and he has a hankering for a side of Walliams. That

SPORT Well, another cracking Six Nations comes to a tediously inevitable close, with France being less predictable than Britney Spears’ choice of wig, England being hyped by every English pundit, but being roundly laughed at by the remainder of the entrants. Once again, Ireland have completely failed to justify why they are even allowed to enter the tournament, by bascially phoning in their matches so far. Wales, however have been a revalation, with Gatland and Edwards working their magic upon a captive country. Italy have also shown great promise, giving the supposed big boys a run for their money, mentioning no names (*cough* England *cough*). Unfortunately, this competition has been roundly condemned as one of the most

TELLY

NOT

ABSTAINING

would not only make my life but also make for the best television ever. Aside from Walliams bothering peace loving sharks, there is also going to be a special edition of Strictly Come Dancing which is a reality TV format I have long grown tired of. It is no longer amusing to see footballers dancing, I have moved on thank you very much. At least this inclusion in Sport Relief makes sense, dancing is considered a sport in some circles. However, a special edition of The Antiques Road Show and a celebrity edition of The Apprentice

have zero relevance. Although I would be impressed if Sir Alan Sugar could be convinced to dress as an umpire throughout the show and the contestants being forced to do laps if they fail at a task. I do not want to come across as some sort of cold hearted cynical media type who hates charity. I have nothing against helping people and I do appreciate the good work done by Sport Relief which rasied £18m in 2006. I am just filled with loathing at the very idea of celebrities shoving the faux morality down my throat in order to stretch their 15 minutes. There must be a better way to raise money that does not leave me wanting to spew the entire contents of my stomach all over my television. Either way it is still important to do one’s bit, so maybe go volunteer at your local hospice or teach some under privileged kids. Donate to Sport Relief by calling 08457910910, or go to www.sportrelief.com

SOAPS

boring since its inception as the rebranded Six Nations. Perhaps it is time to invite a seventh team to join the roster? There had been talk of inviting Argentina to play, taking up camp in Spain, but that would be unfair on struggling European sides. I believe that Georgia should be invited; they very nearly ruined Ireland’s day in the RWC. Oh, Scotland played some matches as well.

Coronation Street is disturbingly amazing this week. Tina gets her baby aka Damien 2 hoovered out with the help of Gail. David finds out and being the rational person that he is pushes her down some stairs. Hollyoaks is similarly exciting when Nancy finally sees the light and reports Jake for attempted rape. Jake’s reaction is to kidnap Charlie which is amazing enough in itself, but Jake being Jake takes things one step furher and decides to kill them both by gassing them. Which sounds a lot like deadly farts but actually involves him locking himself in the car with the engine running. Who knows if poor Charlie will survive? I do but I’m not telling, I don’t want to ruin the magic. In the world of Eastenders, Shirley may

or may not be dying of cancer, much like Patric Swayze. She discovers a lump and goes to the hospital as you do but we are left waiting fo find out if she has the big C or nay. Neighbours is dull this week with all the drama focusing around Libby and her love rat of a boyfriend Darren who turns up unexpectedly. There’s no physical fighting or anything so it’s not really worth watching. Neighbours just isn’t the same when it’s not on the beeb.

FILM

SHOWGIRLS, FIVE, WEDNESDAY ) Holy crap! Jessie from Saved by the Bell is naked and in a terrible movie, it’s all kinds of horrible! Famous for just how bad a film it is, and holding the title of worst sex scene in movie history, this is certainly one of the most dire pieces of cinema ever commited to celluloid. Jessie comes to Las Vegas as a drifter, but after landing a job as a stripper she soon climbs the social ladder, encountering the city of sin’s dark side, and Kyle Maclachlan.

FUDGETUNNEL

THE FIFTH ELEMENT, CH4, SATURDAY ) ) ) ) It’s the future and Bruce Willis drives a flying taxi; this is the part I understand. There is also the beautiful cosmic weapon that Bruce must help in order to combat evii and the oddly named Mr Zorg. It’s funny, action packed and Bruce is great!

24 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

TELLY

TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

MONDAY Sportrait BBC1 10.35pm

Wild BBC2 8.00pm

BBC 1

BBC 2

The Fixer ITV1 9.00pm

10th March Timbaland’s Birthday

Freshly Squeezed C4 7.00am

ITV 1

Channel 4

Cruising five 11.00pm Five

6:00am Breakfast 9:15am To Buy or Not to Buy 10:00am Living in the Sun 11:00am Homes under the Hammer 11:30am Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 12:15pm Bargain Hunt

6:00am CBBC 10:30am BBC Active Citizenship 10:50am BBC Active Citizenship 11:10am Razzledazzle 11:30am Watch 11:45am Hands Up! 12:00pm The Daily Politics 12:30pm Working Lunch

6:00am GMTV Newshour 6:58am GMTV Today 8:35am LK Today 9:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 10:30am This Morning 11:10am ITV News 11:15am ITV Wales News and Weather 11:20am This Morning 12:30pm Loose Women

6:10am Kids TV 7:00am Freshly Squeezed 7:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 8:00am Just Shoot Me 8:30am Frasier 9:00am Will and Grace 12:00pm News at Noon

6:00am Kids TV 9:00am The Wright Stuff 10:30am Trisha Goddard 11:30am Build a New Life in the Country 12:30pm Five News 12:45pm Law and Order

1:00pm BBC News; Weather 1:30pm Wales Today; Weather 1:40pm Regional News and Weather 1:45pm Doctors 2:15pm Diagnosis Murder 3:00pm BBC News and Weather 3:05pm CBBC

1:00pm Bobinogs 1:20pm Primary History 1:25pm FA Cup Semi-Final Draw 1:30pm Ricky’s Castle in the Sun 2:15pm Don’t Get Done, Get Dom 3:00pm Murder, She Wrote 3:45pm Flog It!

1:30pm ITV Lunchtime News and Weather 2:00pm Dickinson’s Real Deal 2:30pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 3:30pm The Royal Today 4:00pm Rosemary and Thyme

3:25pm Countdown 4:15pm Deal or No Deal

1:45pm Neighbours 2:15pm Home and Away 2:50pm Rough Guide to... 3:00pm Mary Higgins Clark’s Lucky Day

5:05pm Newsround 5:15pm The Weakest Link

4:30pm Ready Steady Cook 5:15pm Recipe for Success

5:00pm Goldenballs

5:00pm Richard and Judy

5:00pm Five News Kaplinsky 5:30pm Neighbours

6:00pm BBC News and Weather 6:30pm Wales Today; Weather 7:00pm The One Show 7:30pm Watchdog 8:00pm EastEnders 8:30pm Panorama

6:00pm Eggheads 6:30pm Brainbox Challenge 7:00pm The Twenties in Colour: The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn 7:30pm Mastermind 8:00pm Wild 8:30pm Delia 9:00pm White Girl

6:00pm Wales Tonight 6:30pm ITV Evening News and Weather 7:00pm Emmerdale 7:30pm Coronation Street 8:00pm Wales This Week 8:30pm Coronation Street

6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Hollyoaks 7:00pm Channel 4 News 8:00pm The Fake Trade

6:00pm Home and Away 6:30pm Zoo Days 7:00pm Five News with Kaplinsky 7:30pm How Do They Do It? 8:00pm Fifth Gear

9:00pm The Fixer

9:00pm Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe

9:00pm Breaking into Tesco

10:00pm BBC News; Regional News 10:25pm Wales Today; Weather 10:35pm Sportrait

10:30pm 10 Days to War 10:40pm Newsnight

10:00pm News at Ten and Weather 10:35pm Demolition Man

10:00pm Without a Trace

10:00pm The Woman Who Escaped the Wests

11:15pm Inside Sport 11:55pm Goodbye Lover 12:25am Goodbye Lover 2:00am Weatherview 2:05am Sign Zone:Spartacus 3:05am Sign Zone:What’s Really in our Food

11:20pm BBC Four on BBC Two:The Comet’s Tale 12:20am Joins BBC News 24 2:00am Vocational Bitesize 4:00am Vocational Bitesize

12:40am UEFA Champions League Weekly 1:10am The Taxman Cometh: Tonight 1:35am Hidden Loves 2:05am Loose Women 2:55am Make Me Perfect 3:40am ITV Nightscreen

11:05pm Without a Trace 1:40am In Your Dreams 1:50am Stagnate 1:55am 3 Minute Wonder: Best of FourDocs 2:00am World Cup Skiing 4:00am Say What You Think

11:00pm Cruising 12:55am NASCAR: The Sprint Cup 1:55am USPGA Golf 2:45am NBA 360 3:30am Race and Rally UK 3:55am Motorsport Mundial

9:00pm Traffic Cops

with

Natasha

PICK OF THE DAY The Weakest Link, BBC1, 5.15pm This programme is still running?! There is only so much of the eye-winking, snooty talking and deathly critiquing Anne Robinson I can take! But then again, I guess she has to have some source of income to fund the numerous facelifts and botox injections she’s had. Pretty soon, every member of the nation will have appeared on the show and it will start to lose its appeal. However, it’s lucky they’ve blagged this time spot, for an hour earlier and it would have been competing with the big boys of Channel four and the addictive Deal or No Deal in the ratings! Shame, I would have paid to see Robinson’s demise!

02920 229977

20% student discount on all pizzas and starters 62 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NN

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

TELLY

TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

TUESDAY Strictly Sinatra BBC1 12.15am

11th March John Barrowman’s Birthday

Brainbox Challenge BBC2 6.30pm

Cops With Cameras ITV1 9.00pm

Sex, Lies and Soaps C4 9.30am

BBC 1

BBC 2

ITV

Channel 4

6:00am Breakfast 9:15am To Buy or Not to Buy 10:00am Living in the Sun 11:00am Homes under the Hammer 11:30am Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 12:15pm Bargain Hunt

6:00am CBBC 11:10am Princess Margaret: A Love Story 12:00pm The Daily Politics 12:30pm Working Lunch

6:00am GMTV Newshour 6:58am GMTV Today 8:35am LK Today 9:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 10:30am This Morning 11:10am ITV News 11:15am ITV Wales News and Weather 11:20am This Morning 12:30pm Loose Women

6:00am Kids TV 7:00am Freshly Squeezed 7:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 8:00am Just Shoot Me 8:30am The Morning Line 9:30am Sex, Lies and Soaps 10:00am Advertising Uncut 10:30am TV Is Dead? 11:00am Trouble Online 11:30am Tricky Business Two

6:00am Kids TV 9:00am The Wright Stuff 10:30am Trisha Goddard 11:30am Build a New Life in the Country 12:30pm Five News 12:45pm Law and Order

1:00pm BBC News; Weather 1:30pm Wales Today; Weather 1:45pm Doctors 2:15pm Diagnosis Murder 3:00pm BBC News and Weather 3:05pmCBBC 5:00pm Newsround

1:00pm The Maths Channel - Year 5 1:10pm Arabic Language and Culture 1:30pm Fred Dibnah’s World of Steam, Steel and Stone 2:00pm am.pm 3:00pm Murder, She Wrote 3:45pm Flog It!

1:30pm ITV Lunchtime News and Weather 2:00pm Dickinson’s Real Deal 2:30pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 3:30pm The Royal Today 4:00pm Rosemary and Thyme

12:00pm News at Noon 12:30pm A Place in Slovakia 1:00pm Cheltenham Festival 4:15pm Deal or No Deal

1:45pm Neighbours 2:15pm Home and Away 2:50pm Rough Guide to... 3:00pm Perry Mason: The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host

5:15pm The Weakest Link

4:30pm Ready Steady Cook 5:15pm Recipe for Success

5:00pm Goldenballs

5:00pm Richard and Judy

5:00pm Five News Kaplinsky 5:30pm Neighbours

6:00pm BBC News and Weather 6:30pm Wales Today; Weather 7:00pm The One Show 7:30pm EastEnders 7:57pm BBC News and Regional News 8:00pm Holby City

6:00pm Eggheads 6:30pm Brainbox Challenge 7:00pm This World: Miss Gulag 7:30pm Wainwright’s Walks 8:00pm An Island Parish 8:30pm Johnny’s New Kingdom

6:00pm Wales Tonight 6:30pm ITV Evening News and Weather 7:00pm Emmerdale: Deceit 8:00pm Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Hollyoaks 7:00pm Channel 4 News 7:55pm 3 Minute Wonder: Iraq and Me 8:00pm Supersize vs Superskinny

6:00pm Home and Away 6:30pm Zoo Days 7:00pm Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky 7:30pm Animal Rescue Squad 8:00pm Monster Moves

9:00pm Hotel Babylon

9:00pm Immigrants

9:00pm Cops With Cameras

9:00pm The Woman Who Stops Traffic

9:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

10:00pm BBC News; Regional News 10:25pm Wales Today; Weather 10:35pm Week In, Week Out Special

10:00pm Pulling 10:30pm 10 Days to War 10:40pm Newsnight

10:00pm News at Ten and Weather 10:35pm Harry Hill’s TV Burp

10:00pm Shameless

10:00pm CSI: Miami

11:05pm Sport Portraits 11:45pm Film 2008 with Jonathan Ross 12:15am Strictly Sinatra 1:50am Weatherview 1:55am Sign Zone:Tropic of Capricorn 2:55am Sign Zone:Life in Cold Blood

11:20pm Mad Men 12:10am Badminton: All England Highlights 1:10am Joins BBC News 24 2:00am The First Black Britons 3:00am Mary Seacole: A Hidden History

11:05pm Call Up 11:35pm Dexter 12:35am Nightwatch with Steve Scott: Crime 2:25am Loose Women 3:15am The Jeremy Kyle Show 4:05am ITV Nightscreen

11:05pm Strictly Baby Ballroom 12:05am Cheltenham Festival Highlights 12:40am PartyPoker.com Late Night Poker Ace 1:35am World Cup Skiing 3:30am KOTV

11:00pm Law and Order: Criminal Intent 12:00am The FBI Files 1:00am NBA Basketball 3:45am Football Italiano 5:10am Neighbours 5:35am House Doctor

PICK OF THE DAY Strictly Baby Ballroom, Ch 4, 11.05pm It’s all fake tan, teeth whitening and costume fitting for these tots, as their pushy mums urge them to compete in ballroom competitions across the country. It’s quite sad to think that these children (no matter how much they say they ‘enjoy’ it) are forced into such a sport, for the sake of a few medals and titles to their name. I’m sure they would much rather be playing with the other kids, than practising their dance steps and getting rather rigorously ‘beautified’ for the occasion. As they shimmy and cha-cha their way to the top, the cries of “Go on darling, do it for mummy” become rather too apparent!

Every second pizza half price 62 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NN

02920 229977

Monster Moves five 8.00pm Five

with

Natasha

26 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

TELLY

WEDNESDAY What’s Really in Your Food BBC1 3.05am

Bill Oddie’s Wild Side BBC2 8.00pm

BBC 1

Rock Rivals ITV1 9.00pm

BBC 2

TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

Shameless C4 11.05pm

ITV 1

Channel 4

12th March Pete Doherty’s Birthday

Law and Order five 12.45pm

Five

6:00am Breakfast 9:15am To Buy or Not to Buy 10:00am Living in the Sun 11:00am Homes under the Hammer 11:30am Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 12:15pm Bargain Hunt

6:00am CBBC 10:30am Open Gardens 11:00am See Hear 11:30am Budget 2008

6:00am GMTV Newshour 6:58am GMTV Today 8:35am LK Today 9:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 10:30am This Morning 11:10am ITV News 11:20am This Morning 12:20pm Budget 2008 ? An ITV News Special

6:00am Kids TV 7:00am Freshly Squeezed 7:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 8:30am The Morning Line 9:30am Sex, Lies and Soaps 10:00am Advertising Uncut 11:00am Trouble Online 11:30am Tricky Business Two 12:00pm News at Noon 12:30pm A Place in Slovakia

6:00am Kids TV 9:00am The Wright Stuff 10:30am Trisha Goddard 11:30am Build a New Life in the Country 12:30pm Five News 12:45pm Law and Order

1:00pm BBC News; Weather 1:45pm Doctors 2:15pm Diagnosis Murder 3:00pm BBC News and Weather 3:05pm Mister Maker 3:25pm Take a Bow 3:30pm CBBC

2:30pm Animal Park: Wild in Africa 3:00pm Murder, She Wrote 3:45pm Flog It! 4:30pm Ready Steady Cook

2:00pm Dickinson’s Real Deal 2:30pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 3:30pm The Royal Today 4:00pm Rosemary and Thyme

1:00pm Cheltenham Festival 4:15pm Deal or No Deal

1:45pm Neighbours 2:15pm Home and Away 2:50pm Rough Guide to... 3:05pm The Long Island Incident

5:00pm Newsround 5:15pm The Weakest Link

5:15pm Recipe for Success

5:00pm Goldenballs

5:00pm Richard and Judy

5:00pm Five News Kaplinsky 5:30pm Neighbours

with

Natasha

6:00pm BBC News and Weather 6:30pm Wales Today; Weather 7:00pm The One Show 7:30pm A Question of Sport 8:00pm Holby City

6:00pm Eggheads 6:30pm Brainbox Challenge 7:00pm The Primary 8:00pm Bill Oddie’s Wild Side 8:30pm Johnny’s New Kingdom

6:00pm Wales Tonight 6:55pm Budget Broadcast by the Chancellor of the Exchequer 7:00pm Emmerdale 7:30pm Coronation Street 8:00pm The Bill: Heat on the Beat

6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Hollyoaks 7:00pm Channel 4 News 7:55pm 3 Minute Wonder: Iraq and Me 8:00pm Relocation, Relocation

6:00pm Home and Away 6:30pm Zoo Days 7:00pm Five News with Kaplinsky 7:30pm UEFA Cup Football

Natasha

9:00pm Torchwood 9:50pm Wonderland

9:00pm Rock Rivals

9:00pm Grand Designs Revisited

10:00pm BBC News; Regional News 10:35pm Budget Statement 10:40pm The National Lottery Draws 10:45pm Crimewatch Special

10:30pm 10 Days to War 10:40pm Newsnight

10:00pm News at Ten and Weather 10:35pm Dancing with Colin

10:00pm Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA

10:00pm Showgirls

11:30pm Made 1:00am Weatherview 1:05am E-Mail is Ruining My Life 1:35am The Choir: Boys Don’t Sing 2:35am Sign Zone:Island Parish 3:05am What’s Really in our Food 3:50am Gardener of the Year 2007

11:20pm Budget Statement 11:25pm Desi DNA 11:55pm Indian School 12:25am Joins BBC News 24 2:00am German Shorts 3:00am Spanish Shorts 4:00am GCSE Bitesize Revision

11:05pm The Oldest Record Shop In The World 11:40pm Free Ride 12:10am Nightwatch with Steve Scott 1:55am B Monkey 3:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 4:15am ITV Nightscreen

11:05pm Shameless 12:10am Cheltenham Festival 12:40am 4 Music:Jack Penate: Loose at the Seams 1:10am 4 Music:4Play: Johnny Flynn 1:25am Wedding Days 2:25am Love and Money

12:20am PartyPoker.net Poker Den: The Big Game II 1:50am NHL Ice Hockey 4:20am World Supercross Championship 5:10am Neighbours 5:35am House Doctor

9:00pm Sport Apprentice

Relief

Does

The

PICK OF THE DAY Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA, CH4, 10.00pm A lot of the restaurant owners asking for Ramsay’s help in the US seem more concerned with getting themselves on the telly than actually improving their business. At first the conflicts are amusing to watch but the stubbornness and reluctance to change of these restaurateurs can make for painful watching and a pretty pointless programme. These people need a good slap.

02920 229977

20% student discount on all pizzas and starters 62 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NN

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

TELLY

TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

THURSDAY Mister Maker BBC1 3.05pm

Empty BBC2 11.25pm

BBC 1

Trial and Retribution ITV1 9.00pm

BBC 2

ITV 1

13th March Emile Hirsch’s Birthday

Trouble Online C4 11.00am

Channel 4

House Doctor five 5.35am

Five

6:00am Breakfast 9:15am To Buy or Not to Buy 10:00am Living in the Sun 11:00am Homes under the Hammer 11:30am Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 12:15pm Bargain Hunt

6:00am CBBC 10:30am The Chat Room 10:50am English Express 11:10am Coming to England 11:30am See You, See Me 11:50am Primary History 12:00pm The Daily Politics 12:30pm Working Lunch

6:00am GMTV Newshour 6:58am GMTV Today 8:35am LK Today 9:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 10:30am This Morning 11:10am ITV News 11:20am This Morning 12:30pm Loose Women

6:10am The Hoobs 7:00am Freshly Squeezed 7:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 8:30am The Morning Line 9:30am Sex, Lies and Soaps 10:00am Advertising Uncut 11:00am Trouble Online 11:30am Tricky Business Two 12:00pm News at Noon 12:30pm A Place in Slovakia

6:00am Kids TV 9:00am The Wright Stuff 10:30am Trisha Goddard 11:30am Build a New Life in the Country 12:30pm Five News 12:45pm Law and Order

1:00pm BBC News; Weather 1:45pm Doctors 2:15pm Diagnosis Murder 3:00pm BBC News and Weather 3:05pm Mister Maker 3:25pm Take a Bow 3:30pm CBBC

1:00pm Decision at Sundown 2:15pm Don’t Get Done, Get Dom 3:00pm Murder, She Wrote 3:45pm Flog It! 4:30pm Ready Steady Cook

1:30pm ITV Lunchtime News and Weather 2:00pm Dickinson’s Real Deal 2:30pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 3:30pm The Royal Today 4:00pm Rosemary and Thyme

1:00pm Cheltenham Festival 4:15pm Deal or No Deal

1:45pm Neighbours 2:15pm Home and Away 2:50pm Rough Guide to... 3:00pm Columbo: Grand Deceptions

5:00pm Newsround 5:15pm The Weakest Link

5:15pm Recipe for Success

5:00pm Goldenballs

5:00pm Richard and Judy

5:00pm Five News Kaplinsky 5:30pm Neighbours

with

Natasha

6:00pm BBC News and Weather 7:00pm The One Show 7:30pm EastEnders 8:00pm Waterloo Road

6:00pm Eggheads 6:30pm Brainbox Challenge 7:00pm Torchwood 7:50pm Torchwood: Declassified 8:00pm 10 Things You Didnt Know About Tsunamis

6:00pm Wales Tonight 6:55pm Budget Response by the Shadow Chancellor 7:00pm Emmerdale 7:30pm Great Welsh Roads 8:00pm The Bill: Corrupted

6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Hollyoaks 7:00pm Channel 4 News 7:55pm 3 Minute Wonder: Iraq and Me 8:00pm Jamie at Home 8:30pm Jamie at Home

6:00pm Home and Away 6:30pm Zoo Days 7:00pm Five News with Kaplinsky 7:30pm UEFA Cup Football

Natasha

9:00pm Ashes to Ashes

9:00pm That Mitchell and Webb Look 9:30pm The Catherine Tate Show

9:00pm Trial and Retribution

9:00pm Pramface Babies

10:00pm BBC News; Regional News 10:35pm Budget Response by the Conservative Party 10:40pm Dragon’s Eye

10:00pm Sport Wales 10:30pm 10 Days to War 10:40pm Newsnight

10:00pm News at Ten and Weather 10:35pm Your Channel

10:00pm Big Bang Theory 10:30pm Skins

10:10pm Get Carter

11:10pm Question Time 12:10am This Week 12:55am Skiing Weather 1:00am Edwardians in Colour: The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn 1:30am Lark Rise to Candleford 2:30am What’s Really in our Food

11:20pm Budget Response by the Conservative Party 11:25pm Empty 11:55pm Ideal 12:25am Arrested Development 1:10am Joins BBC News 24 2:00am GCSE Bitesize Revision

11:05pm Sharp End 11:35pm Unsigned 12:05am F1 Preview 12:55am Nightwatch with Steve Scott: Emergency 2:40am Loose Women 3:30am The Jeremy Kyle Show

11:35pm The Sopranos 12:40am Cheltenham Festival 1:10am Sport’s Dirty Secrets 2:10am Erasable You 3:40am Trans World Sport 4:35am Phones4U Urban Beach Tour 5:00am Richard and Judy

12:05am Quiz Call 4:00am Football Argentina 4:40am Dutch Football 5:10am Neighbours 5:35am House Doctor

PICK OF THE DAY That Mitchell and Webb Look, BBC2, 9.00pm Sadly this sketch show will never quite match up to the brilliance that is Peep Show but with Buzzcocks over we just have to make do. The sketches are incredibly hit and miss; some leave me giggling and others simply bored. “Helivets” leaves me cold but a sketch about TV gardens and a spoof football advert both had that little spark of genius that makes this show worth watching, especially in comparison to the show that comes after.

Every second pizza half price 62 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NN

02920 229977

28 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

TELLY

TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

FRIDAY Budget Response BBC1 10.35pm

Arrested Development BBC2 3.50am

BBC 1 6:00am Breakfast 9:15am To Buy or Not to Buy 10:00am Living in the Sun 11:00am Homes under the Hammer 11:30am Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 12:15pm Bargain Hunt

1:00pm BBC News; Weather 1:30pm Wales Today; Weather 1:45pm Doctors 2:15pm Diagnosis Murder 3:00pm BBC News and Weather 3:05pm Mister Maker 3:25pm CBBC 5:00pm Newsround 5:15pm The Weakest Link

6:00pm BBC News and Weather 6:30pm Wales Today; Weather 6:55pm Budget Response by the Plaid Cymru 7:00pm Sport Relief 2008

BBC 2

14th March White Day (Japan)

Moving Wallpaper ITV1 9.00pm

ITV 1

6:00am CBeebies 7:00am CBBC 8:30am CBeebies10:25am Fun with Phonics 10:30am See You, See Me 10:50am Primary History 11:10am English Express 11:30am Pod’s Mission 11:45am Something Special 12:00pm The Daily Politics 12:30pm Working Lunch 1:30pm Animal Park: Wild in Africa 2:15pm Don’t Get Done, Get Dom 3:00pm Murder, She Wrote 3:45pm Flog It! 4:30pm Ready Steady Cook

6:00am GMTV Newshour 6:58am GMTV Today 8:35am Entertainment Today 9:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 10:30am This Morning 11:10am ITV News 11:15am ITV Wales News and Weather 11:20am This Morning 12:30pm Loose Women

5:15pm Recipe for Success 5:55pm Budget Response by Plaid Cymru 6:00pm Eggheads 6:30pm Brainbox Challenge 7:00pm Scrum V Live

9:00pm Storyville 10:00pm BBC News; Regional News 10:25pm Wales Today; Weather 10:35pm Budget Response - Lib Dems 10:40pm National Lottery EuroMillions Draw 10:45pm Sport Relief 2008

10:00pm Top Gear Ground Force 10:40pm 10 Days to War 10:50pm Newsnight

1:30am Sport Relief Presents Little Britain’s Big Swim 2:30am The Survivor 3:50am Weatherview 3:55am Joins BBC News 24

11:15pm Newsnight Review 11:35pm Budget Response 12:40am Tumbleweeds 2:20am Star Trek: The Next Generation 3:50am Arrested Development 4:15am Arrested Development

TV is Dead? C4 10.30am

Zoo Days five 6.30pm

Channel 4

Five

6:00am Kids TV 9:00am The Wright Stuff 10:30am Trisha Goddard 11:30am Build a New Life in the Country 12:30pm Five News 12:45pm Law and Order

5:00pm Goldenballs

5:00pm Richard and Judy

5:00pm Five News Kaplinsky 5:30pm Neighbours

6:00pm Wales Tonight 6:30pm ITV Evening News and Weather 6:55pm Budget Response 7:00pm Emmerdale 7:30pm Coronation Street 8:00pm Fuel’s Gold: Tonight 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Moving Wallpaper 9:30pm Echo Beach 10:00pm Al Murray’s Happy Hour

6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Hollyoaks 7:00pm Channel 4 News 7:25pm Cheltenham Festival Highlights 7:30pm Unreported World 8:00pm A Place in the Sun: Home or Away 9:00pm The World’s Greatest Comedy Characters

6:00pm Home and Away 6:30pm Zoo Days 7:00pm Five News with Kaplinsky 7:30pm Massive Speed 8:00pm Ice Road Truckers

11:00pm The Late News and Weather 11:40pm Real Crime: A Killer Came Calling 12:30am Nightwatch with Steve Scott: Emergency 2:15am F1: Australian Grand Prix Qualifying 4:20am ITV Nightscreen

12:05am 4 Music:The Shockwaves Album Chart Show 12:40am 4 Music:The JD Set Presents: Palace Fires 1:00am Cheltenham Festival Highlights 1:30am Goalissimo! 2:25am World Cup Snowboard 4:25am Red Bull Air Race

1:30pm ITV Lunchtime News and Weather 2:00pm Dickinson’s Real Deal 2:30pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 3:30pm The Royal Today 4:00pm Rosemary and Thyme

1:45pm Neighbours 2:15pm Home and Away 2:50pm Rough Guide to... 3:00pm Danielle Steel’s Star

with

Natasha

9:00pm NCIS 10:00pm Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

11:00pm Law and Order: Criminal Intent 12:00am Quiz Call 5:10am Neighbours 5:35am House Doctor

PICK OF THE DAY Arrested Development, BBC2, 3.50am This episode is the first in the second series and sees Michael and his son George Michael leave behind their dysfunctional family to start a new life in Phoenix. Meanwhile, Lindsay and Tobias agree to see other people. Feeling depressed, Tobias stumbles across a flyer for what he thinks is a support group for unhappy men. G.O.B. seems to be managing the Bluth company okay, but things disentegrate when he discovers a contract signed by his father and a certain Middle Eastern dictator.

02920 229977

20% student discount on all pizzas and starters 62 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NN

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

TELLY

TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

SATURDAY Casualty BBC1 8.40pm

Monk BBC2 3.40pm

BBC 1

The Dukes of Hazzard ITV1 9.30pm

BBC 2

ITV 1

15th March Honen Matsuri

Deal or No Deal C4 11.55am

Law and Order five 10.30pm

Channel 4

Five

6:00am Breakfast 10:00am Saturday Kitchen 11:30am Football Focus 12:20pm BBC News; Weather 12:30pm Sport Relief 2008 12:45pm Six Nations Rugby

6:00am CBeebies 7:00am CBBC 10:25am Thumb Wrestling Federation 10:30am What’s New Scooby Doo? 10:50am Best of Friends 11:20am Animalia 11:45am Sportsround 12:00pm Sound 12:30pm Them 12:45pm Falcon Beach

6:00am Engie Benjy 6:10am Kids TV 8:20am SpongeBob SquarePants 8:50am Kim Possible 9:25am Dancing on Ice 10:25am Dancing on Ice - The Skate Off 10:55am Coronation Street Omnibus

6:10am Kids TV 7:00am Goalissimo! 8:00am The Morning Line 8:55am T4:Beauty and the Geek 9:55am T4:Friends 10:25am T4:The Hills 10:55am T4:Friends 11:30am T4:Friends 12:00pm T4:Vanity Lair

6:00am Sunrise 7:00am Kids TV 10:00am Football Italiano Highlights 10:30am Fifth Gear 11:30am Neighbours

2:50pm Six Nations Rugby 4:50pm Six Nations Rugby

1:30pm Film 2008 with Jonathan Ross 2:00pm Strangers on a Train 3:40pm Monk 4:25pm Final Score 4:30pm Wales on Saturday

1:10pm ITV News and Weather 1:15pm ITV Wales News and Weather 1:20pm F1: Australian Grand Prix Qualifying 3:05pm Never Say Never Again 4:40pm ITV Wales News and Weather 4:55pm ITV News and Weather 5:10pm Never Say Never Again

1:00pm T4:Age of Love 2:00pm Channel 4 Racing 4:10pm Deal or No Deal

1:40pm Good Boy! 3:15pm Awakenings

5:00pm Coast 5:10pm Wild 5:40pm Wildlife on Two

5:00pm Jamie at Home 5:30pm Willie’s Wonky Factory

5:25pm Mighty Joe Young Chocolate

7:30pm I’d Do Anything 8:30pm The National Lottery Draws 8:40pm Casualty

6:10pm Gardeners’ World 7:10pm The Culture Show 8:00pm The Lost Gospels

6:10pm All New You’ve Been Framed! 6:40pm Harry Hill’s TV Burp 7:10pm Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway 8:30pm Duel

6:30pm Channel 4 News 7:00pm Grand Designs Revisited 8:00pm ER

7:20pm Five News and Sport 7:35pm Ice Road Truckers 8:35pm NCIS

9:30pm Love Soup

9:00pm Have I Got Old News for You 9:30pm Cortes 10:30pm Opal Dream

9:30pm The Dukes of Hazzard

9:00pm The Fifth Element

9:30pm CSI: NY

11:55pm The Fabulous Baker Boys 1:45am Culture Show 2:35am Six Nations Rugby 4:15am Six Nations Rugby

11:30pm ITV News and Weather 11:45pm The Kylie Show 12:45am Nightwatch with Steve Scott: Mystery 1:40am Huckleberry Finn 3:30am F1: Australian Grand Prix Live

10:00pm BBC News 10:20pm Match of the Day

11:40pm Below 1:20am Weatherview 1:25am Joins BBC News 24

10:30pm Law and Order

11:25pm Interview With a Poltergeist 12:30am 4 Music:Mike Skinner Meets Muse 12:40am 4 Music:Muse - HAARP: Live at Wembley Stadium 1:10am 4 Music:Beat Stevie 1:25am 4 Music:4Play: Passenger 1:40am School Disco

PICK OF THE DAY The Dukes of Hazzard , ITV 1, 9:30pm This terrible adaptation of the quite gash TV series is something you shouldn’t choose to watch, usually we save this section for a particularly good tv show, but today we are using it to tell a cautionary tale. There once was a boy called Paulie, he started watching this film excited at the prospect of exciting car crashes, Sean William Scott, and the busty Jessica Simpson. As the film neared its end poor Paulie made a shocking discovery, he had contracted Syphilis! Watch The Fifth Element instead you mook.

Every second pizza half price 62 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NN

02920 229977

11:30pm Crimes that Shook the World 12:30am Quiz Call 5:10am Wildlife SOS 5:35am Wildlife SOS

30 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

TELLY

TELEVISION@gairrhydd.COM

SUNDAY Stage Beauty BBC1 11:20am

Last Man Standing BBC2 11.00pm

BBC 1

Dog Rescue ITV1 6.00pm

BBC 2

16th March Alan Tudyk’s Birthday

Dispatches: Iraq’s Lost Generation C4 7.00pm

ITV 1

Megastructures five 11.00pm

Channel 4

Five

6:00am Breakfast 7:35am Match of the Day 9:00am The Andrew Marr Show 10:00am The Big Questions 11:00am Countryfile 12:00pm The Politics Show 12:35pm The Politics Show 12:55pm The Politics Show

6:00am CBBC 10:00am Something for the Weekend 11:30am Animal Park 12:30pm Boxing

6:30am The Sunday Programme 7:25am CITV 10:45am Championship Goals 11:45am Prescription: Murder

6:00am The Treacle People 6:10am The Hoobs 7:00am Trans World Sport 7:55am World Cup Skiing 8:50am T4:Friends 9:20am T4:Friends 9:55am T4:Hollyoaks Omnibus 12:30pm T4:Vanity Lair

6:00am Kids TV 10:00am It Pays to Watch Extra 11:00am Megastructures 11:50am The Prisoner of Zenda

1:00pm Keeping Up Appearances 1:30pm EastEnders 3:00pm Sport Relief 2008: The Million Miles

1:30pm Jubal 3:10pm They Came to Cordura

1:45pm ITV News and Weather 1:55pm ITV Wales News and Weather 2:00pm The Crocodile Hunter Diaries 3:00pm F1: Australian Grand Prix

1:40pm T4:Smallville: Superman the Early Years 2:40pm T4:Smallville: Superman the Early Years 3:40pm T4:The Simpsons 4:10pm T4:The Simpsons 4:45pm Stranded in Grizzly Country 5:45pm Time Team

1:45pm Football Italiano 4:15pm Extraordinary Animals 4:50pm Five News and Sport 5:10pm Jumanji

5:30pm School Choirs Gala Concert 2008

5:10pm Raise the Titanic

6:00pm Dog Rescue 6:30pm ITV Wales News and Weather

6:45pm Channel 4 News

6:05pm BBC News and Regional News 6:30pm Antiques Roadshow Sport Relief 7:30pm EastEnders 8:00pm The Passion

7:00pm Cooking in the Danger Zone 8:00pm Top Gear: Botswana Special

7:00pm Dancing on Ice: The Final Skate-Off

7:00pm Dispatches: Generation 8:00pm Wife Swap USA

9:00pm The Last Enemy

9:00pm Around the World in 80 Gardens

9:00pm Lewis

9:00pm Factory

10:00pm BBC News; Weather 10:20pm Scrum V

10:00pm Match of the Day 2

11:20pm Stage Beauty

11:00pm Last Man Standing

Willie’s

Wonky

10:00pm White Noise

11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Revolution 68: The South Bank Show

Iraq’s

Lost

Chocolate

7:00pm The Best of Ice Road Truckers 8:00pm The Best of Ice Road Truckers

9:00pm Absolute Power

11:15pm Joe Kidd

11:50pm Mark of Cain

PICK OF THE DAY Jumanji, five, 5.10pm Few films made me happier when I was small than this comedy action flick about a game that brings the dangers of the jungle into your house, bringing Robin Williams with them. The special effects may not live up to today’s standards but this is far too enjoyable for that to matter. Putting the weirdness of seeing Kirsten Dunst so young aside, this will make for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon; there are monkey’s in a shop, what fun!

02920 229977

20% student discount on all pizzas and starters 62 Crwys Road, Cardiff, CF24 4NN

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

FIVE MINUTE FUN

FMF@gairrhydd.COM

found on facebook Housemate done something stupid?

1. Log on to the book of face Send 2. Join the group ‘Found on Facebook’ more 3. Upload embarrassing photos oddities! 4. Pick up gair rhydd on Monday and laugh

Across

Down

8 Fat (4) 9 Naming a candidate (10) 10 Stationary part of a motor (6) 11 Memorial (8) 12 A flightless New Zealand bird (4) 13 Inability (10) 17 Used to hold up pants (4) 18 Court case (5) 19 Listen (4) 20 A shield (10) 22 Misplaced (4) 23 Penalized (8) 27 Come back (6) 28 With the current (10) 29 Marks on a playing card (4)

1 Sycophants (10) 2 Existing only in the mind (8) 3 Lacking aesthetic sensibility (10) 4 Islamic prayer leader (4) 5 In a little while (archaic) (4) 6 Nuclear (6) 7 Knowing a secret (4) 14 Bell (5) 15 Word that is the same backto-front (10) 16 Copy (10) 19 Peaks (8) 21 Labor organizations (6) 24 “Once ____ a time” (4) 25 Despise (4) 26 Profound (4)

competition crossword

Sudok leaves u fo page 2 r

Exercise your mind...

WINonal ers ng p A aini tr sion ses

Then exercise your body at

Put your entries in the competitio

n box outside gair rhydd

Every week gair rhydd will be giving away a gym package to one lucky entrant who correctly completes the competition crossword, courtesy of Dave’s Gym.

Every winner will receive a free personal training session with one of our qualified instructors. This can be a gym workout, weight-training, boxing or Thai Boxing session. You will also receive a personalised gym programme and a free guest pass so you can come back for another workout or try one of our studio classes: choose from HipHop, Khai Bo, Bodypump and many more. This prize is worth approximately £35! Conditions: Use of any of our facilities is subject to our terms and conditions and at the user’s own risk. An appointment must be made for the session. Prize must be claimed within four weeks of notification. It is not exchangeable for cash and is not transferable to any other party. Dave’s Gym: Tel: 029 2046 0232 E.mail: enquiries@daves-gym. co.uk Web: www.daves-gym.co.uk

NAME.... EMAIL....

How to enter: Simply complete the wordsearch opposite and drop it into the crossword competition box outside the gair rhydd office on the 4th floor of the Students’ Union. The first correct entrant to be plucked from the box every week will win the Dave’s Gym package.

32 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

LISTINGS

LISTINGS@gairrhydd.COM

This Week: Listings learns there is more to Chumbawamba than just

MUSIC

COMEDY

MONDAY SAID MIKE + KICK BOX RIOT + SAVE YOUR BREATH @ CLWB IFOR BACH - A five piece rock band from Pontypridd (Said Mike), a band who write music in a musty damp room (Kick Box Riot) and another band who I know nothing about. 7.30pm. £5. WESTLIFE + THE MACDONALD BROTHERS @ CIA - Musical mastership. Aren’t the Macdonald Brothers the two kilted ones from X-Factor? TUESDAY PAIGE @ BARFLY - Bouncy pop-punk with varied influences. Toetappable, head boppable. What more do you want? 8pm. Check venue for prices. JACK PENATE @ GREAT HALL, SU - Takes influences from rock’n’roll, ska, Hispania and mod-rock to create a delicious, soulful sound buzzing with catchy riffs and powerful vocals. 7.30pm. Check venue and/ or ticket touts for prices. WEDNESDAY THE METROS @ BARFLY - Hotly tipped five-piece fusing indie, pop and mod with a sprinkling of punk. Lovely. 7.30pm. £6. DREADZONE @ THE POINT - Not the heavy metal band you first picture in your head - a reggae band who are renowned on the scene. “DREADzone”, get it? 7.30pm. £12.50adv. THURSDAY CHRIS REA @ ST. DAVID’S HALL - My Mum loves him. £27. Check venue for times. CYMBIENT + THE GALA BAND + EUGENE FRANCIS JNR @ BUFFALO - Surf soundscapes and experimental instrumentation from Cymbient, acoustic melodies, electronica, sheer quirk from Eugene Francis Jnr and probably something nice from The Gala Band. 8pm. £4. FRIDAY WOLF PEOPLE + AVASH AVASH @ TOMMY’S BAR - Jack Penate: Lovely hat Apocolyptic Blues, apparently. 8pm. £4/3 nus. SATURDAY THEM IS ME @ BARFLY - Reef Bassist’s side project, joined by Jonas Jalhay on guitar (Lady Sovereign) and Nathan ‘Tugg’ Curran on drums (Reef, Basement Jaxx). 7.30pm. £5. SUNDAY HIJACK OSCAR @ BARFLY - Who is Oscar? 7.30pm. £5.

Chumbawamba (Yes, really) The Point

13/03/08 ◆ £12/10 adv. Listings Editor Josie Allchin Recommends

f there’s any song that takes me back to my 90s childhood, it would almost certainly be that anthemic favourite of any self-respecting youngster of that era – you know, that one about the whiskey drink, the lager drink, the cider drink and the vodka drink? Of course you know it, it’s the unmistakable chant of Tubthumping by the larger than life Chumbawamba. Getting to number 2 in the UK charts in 1997, Tubthumping received the maximum airplay that helped them gain the notoriety that most bands crave, because believe it or not, Chumbawamba (in various guises) have been around since the 1980’s. Although as you might have guessed, not managing to release a successful single until the late 90’s. But unlike many of their other one hit counterparts, Chumbawamba actually have quite an interesting “Pre-Hit” history. The band themselves took the political stance of anarchism, and in 1982 when they first formed, played punk rock style music and performed in squats and communal housing for like-

MONDAY “Here I go again on my own...” TUESDAY COMEDY CLUB @ CF10, SU - A club, for Comedy! Who would have thought ‘eh? WEDNESDAY Wednesdays are clearly not the days to be funny. THURSDAY MICHAEL MCINTYRE @ GLEE CLUB - A right South London Cockney wide boy, who has appeared on Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You and 8/10 Cats to name but a few. ‘One of the most gifted performers to emerge in years’, says The Evening Standard. Sold Out. Sucks for you. FRIDAY CHAMBERS & NETTLETON, PAUL KERENSA, PIERRE HOLLINS AND STU WHO? @ JONGLEURS - Northern lasses Chambers & Nettleton are emerging triumphant as one of the brightest comic duos on the circuit today. The only female double act cutting it on the live comedy circuit, they are fast gaining a reputation for their warmth, infectious charm and caustic wit. 8pm. £8. SATURDAY SEAN PERCIVAL, BEN NORRIS, STEVE HUGHES + MARTIN ‘BIGPIG’ MOR @ GLEE CLUB - Dudley’s very own ‘Sultan of Smut’, perfored by Sean Percival, is a consistently popular act from a larger than life and earthy performer. And Martin ‘Bigpig’ Mor has a simply fantastic beard. Sold out. SUNDAY PAUL KERENSA @ SMALL O’NEILS - Recent winner of the Gong Show at the Comedy Store: a kind of comedy survival show which includes Ben Elton and Rik Mayall amongst its former winners. He was voted winner of the ITV Take The Mic 2002 competition and has been finalist in at least four other national comedy competitions. 8.30pm. £5.

THEATRE

MONDAY ACT ONE DANCE DOUBLE BILL MUMMY: VINCENT DANCE THEA TRE - Vincent Dance Theatre’s two of the company’s best-loved Aurora Lubos. 8pm. £12 plus con TUESDAY SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER: LIZA THEATRE - A rumbustious story ab and George Hasting, and their atte her friend Constance Neville. 7.30 SILVER: DIVERSIONS - THE WELS MILLENNIUM CENTRE - Establis small-scale touring dance com vation, showmanship and humo National Performing Arts Comp concessions. WEDNESDAY SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER: LIZA THEATRE. 7.30pm. £24 - £8.50. SILVER: DIVERSIONS - THE WELS MILLENNIUM CENTRE. 7.30pm. THURSDAY SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER: LIZA THEATRE. 7.30pm. Matinee 2.30 CELEBRATING LINDA SMITH @ Linda Smith, the comedian, write from ovarian cancer in early 200 production which marks her out £1.00 from every ticket sold w Action. FRIDAY SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER: LIZA THEATRE. 7.30pm. £24 - £8.50. STATE OF MATTER: 2FACED DANC CENTRE. 7pm. £10 plus concess SATURDAY SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER: LIZA THEATRE. 7.30pm. Matinee 2.30 SUNDAY UPSWING AERIAL: LOVED UP £10. 2pm & 4pm.

minded people. Their lyrics were all the things you’d expect – anti-war, anti-poverty, anti-government and anything else anti they could think of. Their first EP was released in the mid – 80’s, Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records, which was a direct dig at Bob Geldof and his “Live Aid” efforts. In the early to mid-90’s the band started to take on much of the dance and techno music influences that were floating around in the same era, and left behind their anarcho-punk roots in preparation to release music of the latter style. However, it wasn’t until an unexpected signing to record label giant EMI (for which the band received a load of criticism, as they once appeared on a compilation entitled “F*** EMI” and more interestingly, what’s a band of such political ideals doing signing to a heavily profit driven company?), that they scored that big hit. The band enjoyed roughly a year of fame, which, among other things, they used to voice their politics – famously pouring a jug of water over John Prescott at the 1998 BRIT Awards. After this, the band seemed to fade away again into obscurity, releasing a number of follow-up records, but none likening to the success of Tubthumping. Perhaps though, this was the band’s doing, preferring not to get mixed up in the dog-eat-dog money driven world of the music business, but to stay true to their roots that they knew best. Or maybe, because they were just crap. Either way, this band should be a fun bunch to watch, eccentricities and dubious political stances aside.

Students’ Union, Park Place, 02920 387421 www.cardiffstudents.com ◆ Med Club, Neuadd Meirionydd, Heath Park 02920 744948 ◆ Clwb Ifor Bach (The Wels 02920 399939 www.clubmetropolitan.com ◆ Dempseys, Castle Street 02920 252024 ◆ Iotas, 7 Mill Lane 02920 225592 ◆ Incognito, Park Place 02920 412 www.cafejazzcardiff.com ◆ The Riverbank Hotel, Despenser Street www.riverbankjazz.co.uk ◆ St. David’s Hall, The Hayes 02920 878444 www.stdavidshallcardif uk ◆ The New Theatre, Park Place 02920 878889 www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk ◆ The Sherman Theatre, Senghennydd Road 02920 646900 www.shermanthea Stadium Can’t miss it. www.millenniumstadium.com ◆ The Point, Cardiff Bay, 029 2046 0873 www.thepointcardiffbay.com ◆ Tommy’s Bar, Howard Gardens (off

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

LISTINGS

LISTINGS@gairrhydd.COM

t alcohol and a third-rate 90s anthem.

E & ARTS

L: TEST RUN/LOOK AT ME NOW, ATRE @ WALES MILLENNIUM CENfirst double bill featuring solos by Polish performers, Janusz Orlik and ncessions.

GODDARD & COLIN BAKER @ NEW bout two young men, Charles Marlow empts to court Kate Hardcastle and 0pm. £24 - £8.50. SH COMPANY OF WALES @ WALES shed in 1983. From its roots as a mpany with a reputation for innoour, they have grown to become a pany for Wales. 7.30pm. £12 plus GODDARD & COLIN BAKER @ NEW

SH COMPANY OF WALES @ WALES £12 plus concessions.

GODDARD & COLIN BAKER @ NEW 0pm. £24 - £8.50. @ WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE er and radio broadcaster who died 06, is celebrated in this new stage tstanding contribution to comedy. will be donated to Ovarian Cancer GODDARD & COLIN BAKER @ NEW

CE COMPANY @ WALES MILLENIUM sions.

GODDARD & COLIN BAKER @ NEW 0pm. £24 - £8.50. @ WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE.

GOING OUT MONDAY FUN FACTORY @ SOLUS, SU - Cardiff’s own alternative music night.

Also features DJing by Oddsoc and bands put on by LMS. This week, The Big Differents. 10pm - 2am. Free entry with NUS. £3 otherwise. TIGER TIGER - still a good night out, hasn’t seemed to suffer too much as a result of Revolutions coming to town. 10pm - 2am. £3

REVOLUTION - very classy joint, better to go on a week night because its cheaper. My friends went last Friday and met a couple of girls who smelt funny apparently. TUESDAY Let’s face it, if there was ever a night when it was acceptable to stay in and do fuck all it’s a Tuesday. However... THE GEORGE - One pound a pint on selected drinks and with a yellow card. Enough said. Last orders 11pm, and they get pretty damn yampy after that, they’re your best mate when your ordering your drinks but come 11 you may as well be Jewish and them the Nazis. JUMPING JACK’S - Marketed as the ‘best night out in town’. It isn’t. WEDNESDAY RUBBER DUCK (pictured right) @ SOLUS, SU - It’s dead. Gone forever. Sob sob. OCEANA - Try not to be bitter about this place being partly responsible for killing the Duck. Open til 3. REVOLUTION - Probably hasn’t changed since Monday THURSDAY BOUNCE @ WALKABOUT - Simply incredible. These are the sort of nights you take for granted as a student. Messy, sweaty, boozy, fighty, angry, sicky - lovely! FRIDAY ACCESS ALL AREAS @ SOLUS, SU - bit of this and a bit of that. Basically a poor man’s Come Play. 10pm - 2am. £3 FIGHT CLUB @ ST. MARY’S STREET. 9pm - 4am Sunday morning. SATURDAY COME PLAY @ SOLUS, SU - Saturday night mayhem, Union style. 10pm - 2am. £3.50. ANYWHERE IN TOWN SUNDAY MOTD2 @ YOUR HOUSE. It’s time relax and reflect on the week that’s been. Free.

STAND-UP COMEDY SHOW: BEN NORRIS & MARTIN ‘BIGPIG’ MOR GLEE CLUB 14/03/08 ◆7.45 ◆ £12/10 adv.

Listings Editor Dan Jones recommends

en Norris - From his humble comedy beginnings as the promoter and compere of a monthly comedy club in Aldershot way back in 1993, Ben Norris has become a regular headliner on the UK comedy circuit and has performed around the world in Prague, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Dubai and much of the far east. As well as regular appearances cheering up hippies at music festivals like Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Ben has performed stand up on various TV shows including ‘The Stand-Up Show’, ‘The Comedy Store’ and ‘The World Stands Up’ on satellite channel Paramount. Ben has made a name for himself as very successful warm-up act for entertainment big-cheeses such as Jonathan Ross and Graham Norton, in what his web-site regards as a ‘very under-rated skill’. Back in 97/98 Ben hosted a weekly music and entertainment show on MTV which some thought would mark the beginning of a television presenting career for Norris, but since then he has set

SOCIETIES MONDAY

Move on, nothing to see here. Quite literally.

TUESDAY ACT ONE MUSICAL - THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE! @ YMCA THEATRE - Shiver me timbers, nothing like watching a stage covered in seamen on a Friday night! Arrrrgh. Swashbuckling fun with action, swords and humour, apparently you’d be more than silly to miss this! Doors 7pm, starts at 7.30. £5 with concessions, £6 without. WEDNESDAY ACT ONE MUSICAL - THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE! @ YMCA THEATRE. Doors 7pm, starts at 7.30. £5 with concessions, £6 without. THURSDAY LMS BATTLE OF THE BANDS, SEMI FINAL PT.2 @ CF10 - Contenders include: Everyone Must Win (well, in this case maybe not), The Low Lights, Screaming Eagle and Nihilistic. May the best band win... £3/£2. ACT ONE MUSICAL - THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE! @ YMCA THEATRE. Doors 7pm, starts at 7.30. £5 with concessions, £6 without. FRIDAY ACT ONE MUSICAL - THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE! @ YMCA THEATRE. Doors 7pm, starts at 7.30. £5 with concessions, £6 without. STUDENT SAFETY DAY - in the union pop-shop (next to the shop) from 10am4pm, with members of the student-police initiative. Free attack alarms. Find us In AAA on Friday night spreading the safety message from the old Burger Bar. Free bottle covers. Oi! Listings needs YOU...

Does your club or society have future events that need publicising? If the answer is “yes”, then the lovely people at Listings can help. Simply email us the details of your event, and we’ll dedicate this column to letting the world know about it. LISTINGS@gairrhydd.COM

tled for the odd appearance on a few popular terrestrial quiz/list based shows such as Singles Night, 100 Greatest Children’s TV Shows, 100 Greatest Musicals, They Think it’s All Over, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and Mock the Week. Arguably Ben’s finest hour (for him personally at least) came in 1998 he performed his first full solo Edinburgh show Sitting Room Only which was a sell-out success. There’s still time for Norris to become a undisputed success as a comedian, maybe even as famous and successful as his cousin, actor Martin Freeman (the one with the shit hair-cut from The Office, Time I think he was called). Martin Hutton a.k.a Martin ‘BigPig’ Mor – A big lump of friendly Northern Irish humour, who’s special powers are listed as ‘animalkeen senses that enable him to track people and objects with an impressive degree of success, and uncanny comic improvisational skills’. BigPig hopes to rid the world of evil, or at least point and laugh at it as long as it remains here. Among numerous appearances on TV and radio, he has also performed for inmates in the exercise yard of an Italian prison. Mor combines startlingly original material with bold, energetic improvisation. His love of working the audience, and an inability to remember his script, means that every show is a unique interactive live event, and no two shows are ever the same.

sh Club), 11 Womanby Street 02920 232199 www.clwb.net ◆ Barfly, Kingsway, Tickets: 08709070999 www.barflyclub.com/cardiff ◆ Metros, Bakers Row 2190 ◆ Liquid, St. Mary Street 02920645464 ◆ The Philharmonic, 76-77 St. Mary Street 02920 230678 ◆ Café Jazz, 21 St. Mary Street 02920 387026 ff.co.uk ◆ Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton 02920 304400 www.chapter.org ◆ Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay 0870 0402000 www.wmc.org. atre.co.uk ◆ The Glee Club, Mermaid Quay 0870 2415093 www.glee.co.uk ◆ Cardiff International Arena, Mary Ann Street 02920 224488 ◆ The Millennium Newport Road) 02920 416192 ◆

14 gairrhydd

FEATURES

OCTOBER.22.2007 FEATURES@gairrhydd.COM

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

XPRESS RADIO

STUDIO@xpressradio.CO.UK

monday 10th

tuesday 11th

wednesday 12th

9am-11am Just the two of us with Alexis and Emma 11am-1pm The Wade and Morrissey Takeover 1pm-2.30pm The Great Al and Steve 2.30pm-4pm Rach in the Afternoon 4pm-6pm Faces For Radio 6pm-7.30pm Spotlight 7.30pm-9pm The Bronze 9pm-11pm Balthazar! 11pm-12am Trash De Luxe 12am-1am Roadtrip 1am-2am On the Decks 2am Xpress Jukebox

9am-11am Sarah and Phil 11am-1pm Shaz and Hannah are the Angry Mob 1pm-2.30pm The Stark and Moo Show 2.30pm-4pm Sam and Greg 4pm-6pm For Your Ears Only with Rich and Gwil 6pm-7.30pm Things Fall Apart 7.30pm-8.30pm Glitches and Prose 8.30pm-9.30pm Urban Science 9.30pm-11pm Roots Chariot 10.30pm-12am One Buk $how 12am Xpress Jukebox

9am-11am Chit Chat with Carly 11am-1pm A Cup of Tea and a Biscuit with Lucy 1pm-2.30pm The Weekly with Mike Thomas 2.30pm-4pm TNT 4pm-5.15pm Kate and Paul do the Sports Show 5.15pm-6pm Back of the Net 6pm-7pm [Insert Pun Here] 7pm-8pm Methu Dawnsio 8pm-9.30pm The Exhibition 9.30pm-11pm Weekday Warmup 11pm-12.30am Funktionality vs. Comatose 2am - Xpress Jukebox

LIVE 87.7FM

&DIGITAL

thursday 13th

friday 14th

saturday 15th

sunday 16th

9am-11am The Kat and Ash Show 11am-1pm The Grapevine with Hannah and Soph 1pm-2.30pm The Oli and Stefano Show 2.30pm-4pm Hits and Giggles with Claire and Louise 4pm-5.30pm Loud Noises 5.30pm-6pm Xpress Debate 6pm-7.30pm Transmission 7.30pm-9pm Xposed 9pm-10.30pm Signals Over the Air 10.30pm-12am Thrift Store Show 12am-1am Thursday Night Lights 1am Xpress Jukebox

9am-11am We Love Fridays with Char 11am-1pm Suz and Nic’s Pic and Mix 1pm-2.30pm Ciao Bella with Amy Aiello 2.30pm-4pm 3 Men in a Room 4pm-6pm Girls on Top with Han and Jess 6pm-7.30pm Girls, Uninterrupted 7.30pm-9pm The Takeover 9pm-11pm The Plastics 11pm-2am Live from AAA 2am Xpress Jukebox

10am-10.30am Saturday Morning Speech: The Culture Show 10.30am-11am Saturday Morning Speech: Upbeat Quiz 11am-12pm Saturday Morning Speech: Soapbox 12pm-2pm The Jack and Tom Delusion 2pm-4pm Jazz Society 4pm-5pm Classical Show 5pm-6pm Filmage Hour 6pm-7pm Heads in the Clouds 7pm-8.30pm Radio Fun, Yeah? 8.30pm-10pm Saturday Night Therapy 10pm-12am A DnB Spectrum 12am-2am JJ’s Lounge 2am Xpress Jukebox

10am-12pm Living for the Weekend with Matt and Carrian 12pm-2pm Get Roasted with Flic and Lucie 2pm-2.30pm eXposure 2.30pm-3.30pm Rock Solubalization 3.30pm-5pm Root Blue 5pm-7pm Jordi and Alec Show 7pm-8.30pm Dig Le Muzika 8.30pm-10pm The Classroom 10pm-12am Starfish and Coffee 12am Xpress Jukebox

press radio sponsored by www.pigsback.com/cardiff

mainstream show of the week: wake up with kat and ash

Anything could happen as we grab you by the balls and drag you into Thursday. Don‘t miss your chance to win a stack of fantastic prizes, play the ‘Wheel of Four-Choones’, catch up with the latest showbiz happenings and be spectator to us humiliating ourselves as we vye for the title of Kat vs Ash champion. This may be your only chance to wake up with Kat and Ash, so make sure you‘re there!

thursday: 9am til 11am

gig of the week xpress radio presents... an afternoon with mystery jets friday 14th march the taf FREE ! The long-awaited return of Xpress Radio’s acoustic sessions is triumphantly heralded by the arrival of Mystery Jets in Cardiff this Friday. The London-based four-piece will be following in the footsteps of

The Automatic and attack + defend who both played in The Taf exclusively for Xpress last year. Rising above the drunken din abounding at Drink the Bar Dry, Mystery Jets are predicted to showcase a selection of new tracks, including new single ‘Young Love’, from their forthcoming album ‘21’ due to be released later this year. Currently signed to 679 Recordings, a label recognised for giving artists space to breathe, Mystery Jets take full advantage of this and produce records that sound as if they’ve come together in the backgarden shed. Often using homemade instruments, such as a metal colander, their sound is rather DIY, complete with slightly out-oftune guitars and tinny pianos. And yet somehow, Mystery Jets make this work. Having toured extensively around both the UK and internationally for a number of years, this is an unmissable opportunity to see this band for free, either as a welcome diversion from stumbling students, or as you’re gearing yourself up for a night of drunken debauchery. RM

xpress radio chart 1. LCD Soundsystem – Time To Get Away 2. Foals – Cassius 3. Tiny Masters Of Today – Hologram World 4. These New Puritans – Elvis 5. Los Campesinos – Broken Heart Beats Sound Like Break Beats 6. Mystery Jets – Young Love (shoes remix) 7. The Teenagers – Love No 8. Johnny Foreigner – Some Party Scenes 9. Art Brut: Pump Up The Volume 10. Late of the Pier – The Bears Are Coming

as judged by the xpress radio music team

specialist show of the week: housemasters

A little bit funky, incredibly filthy, slightly dirty but very very naughty. Everybody loves house music! Russ and Tom present a radio show packed with massive house tunes that will get you pumped up and ready to RAVE!! Keep up to date with the best new records that are breaking into the clubs as well as classics that people have been dancing to for years.

wednesday: 11pm til 12.30am

14 gairrhydd

FEATURES

OCTOBER.22.2007 FEATURES@gairrhydd.COM

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

PROBLEM PAGE

PROBLEMPAGE@gairrhydd.COM

From the Desk of

TEd

e m so

d n Ha

He’s a ruddy good lad.

Ted Handsome’s Television Shows That Only Idiots Like An Occasional Series

There’s much to dislike about Elvis Presley. His godawful music, casual racism and gaudy outfits. That said, one can only admire his healthy disrespect for television. He notoriously would shoot televisions as a leisure activity, an act so needlessly destructive and wasteful that one cannot help but admire it. I also harbour a healthy disdain for the medium of television, and have found a disturbing trend among students to bleat and bray about how great Noel Edmonds is and what some Australian dullard is doing in relation to some other Australian idiot. Therefore, it’s high time that somebody (i.e. me) redresses this balance.

No. 1 - Neighbours

I bastard hate this fucking show. I hate soaps in general, but to have the whole concept of a soap run through the filter of possibly the most annoying of all the accents, the whiny striney Australian belch of a language. Seeing vapid blond haired hunks of idiocy staring off into middle distance, and with the facial expression of a freshly slapped fish, makes me want to vomit myself stupid, which is possibly the only way I believe I could ever enjoy this televisual abortion. The fact that every fucker wearing their pajama bottoms and ugg boots stops everything to watch it, shows how much of a waste of time that Neighbours really is.

No. 2 - Skins

Being a teenager is bloody awful. It’s all bad skin, involuntary erections and stupid voices. It is not abo-ut shagging and taking enough drugs to stun a mule. And so seeing all these gleaming and shiny scamps getting into all sorts of humourous scrapes involving sex and drugs, not only makes old Ted very bitter, but also warms his black and gnarled heart that if teenagers are stupid enough to lap this up, then they’ll be stupid enough to buy the mixture of baby laxative and chalk dust that I have been hawking by the swings in the park.

No. 3 - Scrubs

Either this is an incredibly audacious experiment in trying to produce the world’s first comedy show that isn’t funny, or it is the worst program ever to be broadcast on television. I understand that it prides itself on having a strong moral base and aims to teach their audience a lesson in morals by the end of the show. Anyone who genuinely uses this shitpile for any kind of moral guidance, is clearly dangerously stupid, and shouldn’t be allowed to sharpen their own pencils, let alone exist in civilized society. I await your correspondence, if you operate a computer, you fucking numpties.

A letter about fighting the power Dear Ted, At university, I like to be seen as somewhat of a stickler for the rules. I go to lectures, I hand in my essays and I’ve certainly never stolen any street furniture or vandalised city property in a fit of student japery. So, when I discovered a letter from the University library stating that I had somehow been slapped with a £5 fine for an overdue book, I literally fainted. How can I possibly live this down? Yours June Impetigo Talybont Court June, you don’t have to take this

sort of shit off’ve nobody. Who gave the Library the authority to start telling YOU to give THEM money? They’re not the boss of you; you need to start fucking shit up. Punch a cop, kick a horse, do something! Otherwise they’re going to be on your case 24/7, all up in your grill messing with your shit. You could be up at 4am jonesing for a pack of smokes, but you can’t, because some jumped up little Hitler at City Hall decided that you need to pay half your fucking wages in tax. Yet you look out of your window, and all that you can see is gang battles on every street corner, kids of thirteen hopped up on goofballs and crack

robbing TVs and radios, meanwhile a single mother can’t get a break, because all the good nurseries have shut down. And you just know that all the fat cats are smoking cigars and sleeping with whores, all on the bankroll of your hard earned wages. It’s sick and you need to get up off your ass and start doing something. Start a riot! Eat the rich! Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! Out, Out, Out! Who are ya? Who are ya? I hope this helps. Yours, Ted

Dharmic religions, the soul is eternal, and especially within Hinduism, there is an importance placed on karma. Buddhism teaches that the main purpose of life is to become enlightened on the subject of the nature of the universe. This is similar to the Sikh view, insomuch as Sikhs believe that they spend their life searching for knowledge, but also balancing this search with a moral and spiritual set of values. Taoism teaches the need for introspection, whereas followers of Shinto believe that death is pollution and that human life should be prolonged for as long as possible. Scientists such as Richard Dawk-

ins have long argued that the only reason for life is to reproduce, as outlined in his ‘Selfish Gene’ theory. Douglas Adams parodied the search for the meaning of life in his Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy novels in which he states that the meaning of life is actually 42. Of course, this is all a load of shonky old bollocks put out by idiots who are scared of death. You, much like Patrick Swayze, will all end up dead, so fucking get over it. Much Love, Ted

A letter Dear Ted,

Why? Yours, Fanny Toaster Splott Fanny, what a question. Where to start? Within the Abrahamic heritage, the meaning of life is seemingly to seek the pleasure of of either God or Allah in accordance with whichever religious text you subscribe to. Whereas, within the

Dear fair reader, this week, it was my birthday. I’m not going to say which one it is, or else you young hip things may reject me. Let’s just say it’s after voting age and pre-bus pass. Birthdays are like tits, essentially. Ladies, you’ll appreciate this. When you are small, you obsess about them but the bigger you get, the more others make a fuss about them. Whether that’s true or not, it did mean that I got to write the word ‘tits’ in a newspaper, which amuses my puerile mind. Heh, ‘tits’. You see, ladies and gentlemen, it’s not how old your birth certiﬁcate says you are, but rather how old you feel. Or rather, how old the girl you feel is, eh lads? Eh? It’s all ‘banter’ at the end of the day, whatever the blue blazes that actually means. TH xxx

38 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

GRAB!

COMPETITIONS@gairrhydd.COM

WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!

Be a Part of the Battle!

he much awaited Battle of the Bands Grand Final takes place on Thursday 20th March. This huge finale is the result of six weeks of heats held at Talybont Social. Four finalists will make it through the intense competition for the opportunity to record a track with Offshore Studios, £300 and a coveted slot at this year’s Summer Ball. The finale will be the last event to be held in the Students’ Union before the Easter break and the Live Music Society will be pulling out all the stops to make sure that it ends with a bang! As well as four top live performances there will be also special guests, a live DJ set and a couple of surprises along the way. This really is an event not to be missed. The bands involved really value the support shown by the students, so why not go and show support by buying a ticket to this event at the Students Union box office? We have a pair of tickets to give away absolutely free to two lucky winners. To be in with a chance of winning these tickets please answer the question below and email your name and address to the email above: Which band performed in the semi-finals last week? a) Nihilistic b) Langur c) New Fast Black

Pigs Back Xpress!!

ith the exciting launch of Xpress Digital last Friday we have even more good news. Pigsback, the student saver website, are sponsoring Xpress on Digital up until the Easter break!

Pigsback.com/cardiff is a leading community website that rewards and entertains its members. Our membership stands at 600,000 and we work with some of the UK’s leading brands and retailers, bringing together unique offers and competitions to provide an entertaining and rewarding experience for our members. Pigsback.com/cardiff is a new and exciting way to optimise your on-line experience. When you register at www.pigsback.com/ cardiff you will receive a free welcome token of £2.50. Using the site you can earn more and more ‘piggy points’ which will increase your piggybank (one piggy point is the equivalent to 1p) and allow you to redeem your piggy points on a range of goods (e.g. Box of wine, Boots voucher or even pigsback merchandise) Being a member of pigsback.com/cardiff allows you access to unique offers from around the city. You will be able to locate a business and see what special offers they have, exclusive to pigsback.com/cardiff. You will then be able to download any vouchers and print them off to redeem in stores. (e.g. 2 pints for 1, Buy a main course and get the second half price, 2 for 1 on all t-shirts) So sign up today at www.pigsback.com/cardiff (which is totally free) and start earning your piggy points and get access to exclusive offers in Cardiff! To be in with a chance of winning £100 in iTunes vouchers just answer this question by checking out www.pigsback. com/cardiff, and following the link to enter the competition! Listen to Xpress for some hints and clues about the question below! Question: Who won Best New Group at the Brit Awards 2008? P.S Don’t forget, you can only enter by checking out www.pigsback.com/cardiff

WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

SPORT

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THE WORD ON... ...the ‘wonder kids’ of the sporting world Richard Williams Sports Reporter

or every new sporting sensation that breaks into the harsh, difficult zone known as the public eye, and fulfilling the very potential which has garnered such a reputation can be a difficult milestone to achieve. Some reach their goal, others fail. The latter is all too much of a common occurrence in case studies of sport’s ‘wonder-kids’. For every Wayne Rooney there is a Charley Hearn. Who? Exactly.

With talent at such a young age there is always the danger of how a gifted individual can go astray Your typical thirteen-year-old schoolboy has one dream, no matter of his physical capabilities, skill levels or enthusiasm. This dream is to be a professional sportsman, usually a footballer. Some choose rugby, others cricket. A drive to make Britain a thriving athletic nation for the 2012 London Olympics has led to increasing numbers of youngsters taking up track and field sports, with the hope of representing their country at home, in front of pas-

sionately patriotic fans. As is with your budding footballer, rugby player or cricketer, an unfortunately large proportion of these children will fall away from the sport. A small percentage may go on to be professional, an even smaller segment have the potential to go on to achieve greatness. Those athletes seen running, swimming, throwing and jumping seek the golden prize of 2012 competition. However, for the latest in a line of sporting ‘wonder-kids,’ 2012 is too far away. Step forward Tom Daley, the future of diving. Daley is soon to be a sporting sensation. He is 13 years old. A pint-sized speck on the face of sport in Britain. Daley discovered a couple of weeks ago that his prodigious talent had won him a British Olympic squad place for this summer’s Beijing Olympics. When the 29th Games begin, Daley will be fourteen years and eighty-one days of age. His discipline, the ten metre dive, will see the spotlights of the world’s media focused upon him. Many of us are not familiar with the world of diving. It is an extremely technical sport to master, and an even tougher task to be one of the world’s best. Tom Daley may not have exactly perfected the sport, but one look at his Youtube videos displays more than a passing glimpse at the potential and ability of the boy soon to be Britain’s youngest ever male Olympian. He has mastered the art of entering the water and not making a single splash, a task much more difficult and technical than it sounds. Daley is not new to the eyes of the

TIGER WOODS: Started playing young, now world class golfer

media. He was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year for 2007, an award previously won by Wayne Rooney, Jenson Button, Dean Macey and Theo Walcott. There is a strong likelihood that he may win the awards for 2008, regardless of whether he wins a medal in China this summer. With talent at such a young age, there is always the danger of how a gifted individual can go astray. On many occasions preceding Daley’s, ‘wonderkids’ have seen their careers fizzle into obscurity. The tag ‘child star’ is difficult to shake off for some. When The Sun named then Millwall midfielder Charley Hearn as one of the sportsmen to watch for the new Millennium, along with an as yet to be known Monty Panesar, expectation was high. Now, aged 24, Hearn plays non-league football, whilst Panesar is a cult figure amongst English cricket fans.

Hopefully, he will be known for his ability and not a rough diamond lost to the pressures of being a wonderkid Some of the more recent sporting youngster-turned-success stories include Tiger Woods and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Both honed their unique talents at a young age, and now dominate their respective sports. Coincidentally, both golf and snooker have seen a new

TOM DALEY: Young Olympic hopeful

breed emerge in recent years. Female golfer Michelle Wie and China’s young Ding Junhui are tipped for the very top. Whether they reach the heights of Woods and O’Sullivan depends on three things: commitment, mental attitude and confidence. Wonder kids can go one of two ways: greatness or obscurity. Greatness is a word that can only be attached to a few child stars. One of football’s developing stars is Freddy Adu, who made his professional football debut as a thirteen year old for D.C. United in America’s MLS. He currently resides at Benfica, one of the big three in Portugal. Since his explosion onto the scene, he has won multi-million sponsorship contracts and has quickly become a recognised figure around the football world. For every Adu, there are those who don’t see their dreams go to plan. Sonny Pike was destined to be an English star; he signed for Ajax Amsterdam’s an English star; he signed for Ajax Amsterdam’s famous youth academy at the tender age of seven. However, it all went downhill for Pike. His parents divorced and Pike himself suffered a mental breakdown at the age of seventeen. The media spotlight is largely a harming affect on the talent and development of sporting youngsters. Pike is just one example. To a lesser extent, the talents of English strikers Cherno Samba and Danny Cadamarteri were lauded by the national media when they emerged on the scene. They too faded into relative obscurity, rather

than becoming stars.

Tiger Woods honed his unique talents at a young age and now dominates in the world of golf

A year ago, Manchester United announced that a nine-year-old Australian, Rhian Davis, was set to join their academy, after a DVD was sent to them by his English grandfather. Davis has some outstanding skills (again worth a visit to Youtube) but should nine-yearolds really be in the public’s eye? After all, Davis may be the new Pike, rather than the new Rooney. Hopefully, he will be known for his ability and not a rough diamond lost to the pressures of being a ‘wonder-kid’. This warning should also be offered to Daley. He has displayed his vast talent to Britain. The next step is the world. Beijing awaits for an athlete who has the golden opportunity to become that rare thing; a ‘wonder-kid’ turned good. So many child stars in sport lose their way. Daley has the chance to prove he can make it where so many others have failed in the past, and unfortunately will go on to fail in the future.

40 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

SPORT

SPORT@gairrhydd.COM

The IMG Roundup

Locomotive’s season is right on track Jamie Jones IMG Reporter Engin Loco 4 - 1 AFC History

Football Tables

AFC HISTORY: Piledriver minded 3-4-3 in the hope of salvaging something from the match. This opened up the game, with both teams pushing forward and creating chances. It was Engin who took advantage of the increased space, however, scoring another two goals in the second half. The third goal was a delightful lob from Richie Veale and the fourth was an inch perfect 25 yard curling shot from Tom Stephenson. At the end of the game, the History

Optom strikers put them out of sight Luke Havill IMG Reporter Optometry 5 - 2 Real Ale Madrid

occasion. Although Real Ale had the best of the second half by far, for all the work-rate and industry of Liam Stokes-Massey and Danny Halliday, Real Ale’s missed chances cost them and Optometry capitalised. A well taken fourth goal for Optometry from a precise free-kick put the game out of Real Ale’s reach. As Real Ale pushed the game, the fifth soon followed, with Optometry’s floppy-haired striker capping a fine performance. Both teams go into next weeks fixtures with the intention of picking up enough points to chase down third place in this increasingly tight division.

IMG: Sport hurts

IMG...what a load of rubbish?

Pete Dean & Steven Florey Sports Editors AFTER COMPLAINTS made by local residents and a University official, IMG football has been asked to clean up its rubbish on Wednesdays. IMG Chair Andy Buttons and AU Vice-President Scott Pigott spent last Wednesday afternoon encouraging teams to clean up their left over plas-

tic bottles. In the process four black bin liners of rubbish were collected. Scott Pigott commented, “while the fields look great now, I just hope we can keep them looking clean over the next few weeks.” At an IMG meeting due to be held later this week, Andy Buttons will urge teams to clean up their rubbish. Andy said: “I feel disappointed that so many teams are leaving their rub-

bish behind. If we do not clean up our mess we risk losing the privilege of using these facilities next season.”

BUTTONS: Bin man

players felt hard done by. They had matched Engin in grit and determination, but could not put away the chances that they created. History, who have failed to be clinical in front of goal for the past two games now, should learn from the superb finishing of their opposition. The result leaves History’s chances of winning the Premiership dead in the water, while Engin are tight on the heels of Premiership leaders J-Unit.

Go-MED!

PHOTO: DAVE GREEN

OPTOMETRY PICKED up another impressive result against a combative Real Ale team. This match was a physical encounter at times, with both teams striving for the win. Real Ale’s Adam Kinchin forced an early sub for Optometry who had to replace their striker because of an impressive blood injury. It was Optometry who began the game the better side: on the small pitch Real Ale struggled to keep the ball with Optometry closing down the limited space well. This meant that it was only a matter of time before Optometry scored. The goal came with a pinpoint cross from the left into the box, which was converted with a well-taken half-volley. This gave Real Ale the wake-up-call that was needed and they immediately hit back. A long ball was played down the middle to Dean Pickin who turned on the ball and slotted it into the left hand corner of the net. The match then evened itself out with both teams scoring. Optometry scored when their striker rounded the keeper to score a well-taken goal. Alex Harding came in off his wing to head in

an equalizer. With the sore at 2-2, Real Ale right back Chris Moore missed a sitter of a header that would have put Real Ale in the lead. And it was Optometry who finished most clinically in front of goal. They punished Real Ale for switching off, heading in from a throw-in to take the half-time lead. Real Ale came out in the second half with a point to prove, playing at a high-tempo and stringing some majestic passes together to create a hatful of chances. Real Ale striker Mike McCabe should have had a hat-trick but he couldn’t hit a barn door on this

Premiership

IMG FOOTBALL

PHOTO: DAVE GREEN

ENGIN STAYED in contention for the Premiership title with an impressive win against AFC History. Engin undoubtedly deserved the win in the end with some classy play up front. The result could have been vastly different if History had managed to put away the multiple chances that were presented to them. The first half saw both teams competing to stamp their authority onto the game. The Engin players looked sharp and immediately seemed to have the edge over most of the History players in a number of challenges. Engin capitalised on this dominance with a delightful through ball from Lloyd Godwin, which caused confusion amongst the History defence. The History keeper Danny Pugh came out but did not get near the ball, and Richie Veale skipped past him, coolly slotting the ball into the corner of the net. History responded positively as they

knew that they had to win this game to stand any chance of challenging for the Premiership title. Both teams continued to create chances and Engin were denied another goal after a good save from History’s keeper. But it was good play by History forward Andy Godwin that brought his team back into the match. He flicked the ball over his marker to enable winger Ben Sherwood to run through the Engin defence and to place the ball past the keeper, making the game 1-1. The first half finished level but History seemed to hold a slight advantage going into the second half. But minutes into the second half, Engin showed why they are second in the table. Engin’s second goal came from some neat build up play on the edge of the History box. The ball fell to Mike O’Kane who struck a shot that seemed to be going straight at the History keeper. However, the ball moved a substantial amount, catching the keeper off guard, and somehow ended up in the back of the History net. History changed to a more attacking-

Rob Blake IMG Reporter MOMED 4 - 2 CARBS MOMED CONTINUED their fine form with a battling victory over a strong CARBS side. Early on, both teams struggled to assert themselves, restricting each other to half chances. This included a fine run and shot from MOMED’s Ollie Jones that the keeper did well to keep out. A mistake was needed for the deadlock to be broken. CARBS took the lead after a back-post mix up allowed the striker to tuck away the loose ball. The lead was short lived however; MOMED talisman Nick Childs was allowed time and space to curl an inviting cross from the left, which John Duvet dispatched with a well-placed header. The second half proved to be a livelier affair. CARBS regained the lead when a counter attack finished with a placed shot that was rolled under MOMED keeper Gump. Unfortunately for CARBS, this goal proved to be the catalyst for a muchimproved MOMED display. Sam Cockeram deceived the CARBS’ keeper with a shot that took an awkward bounce - in the by now badly cut-up penalty area to draw the teams level. After a spell of dogged defending from CARBS, MOMED took the lead for the first time. The large head of Captain Chris Allen met a delightful cross from first half goal scorer Duvet to send the ball beyond the reach of the CARBS’ keeper. Hysterical celebrations, notably from the goal scorer, ensued. But MOMED had time for another. Substitute Bannister calmly finished a neat attacking move. CARBS will be encouraged after a battling display, but it was MOMED who took the three points and maintained their claim for a top three finish in the IMG Premiership.

Diff

Pts

J-Unit

Engin Locomotive

Law A

MOMED

AFC History

GymGym

Chemsoc

-9

Economics

-10

Mini Street Elite

-11

CARBS

-7

Division One

IMG FOOTBALL

Diff

Pts

SOCSI

Butthead FC

Blazin’ Business

-3

Uni Hallstars

Inter Me-Nan

-5

Pharm AC

Engin Automotive

-3

SAWSA

-4

Psycho Ahletico

-9

Music Buteys

-11

Division Two

IMG FOOTBALL

Diff

Pts

Havana Dragons

Earth Soc

Real Ale Madrid

Optometry

Law B

Cardiff Crusaders

-7

AFC Cathays

-10

JOMEC

-2

Engin Numatics

-12

JapSoc

-15

Netball Tables Premiership

IMG NETBALL

Diff

Pts

Economics A

125

Cardiff IMG A

CARBS A

Law A

Economics B

-4

Cardiff IMG B

-20

Pharmacy A

-29

Dentistry

-31

CARBS B

-23

SOCSI A

-49

Division One

IMG NETBALL

Diff

Pts

English A

Engin Locomotive

Medics A

Law B

SOCSI B

Christian Union

-15

GymGym

-21

Engin Numatics

--14

SAWSA

-45

English B

-100

Division Two

IMG NETBALL

Diff

Pts

Medics B

Biology

J-Unit

Psychology

Pharmacy B

Cardiff IWC A

Cardiff IWC B

-18

Optometry

-20

Engin Automotive

-7

Newspaper J.

-180

gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

SPORT

SPORT@gairrhydd.COM

The IMG Roundup Gym Gym win by twelve in battle of Britain Alice Duggan IMG Reporter GymGym 12 - 0 English B

a whole played a much more dynamic and cohesive game. The play was very fast, at times too fast, and each team gave the ball away frequently through hasty passing. The GymGym centre, however, was quick to take advantage of any blunder by the English attack and was influential in boosting their score. Any hopes that English had of taking away some points from the game were dashed by this GymGym assault. The second half score went much the way of the first. GymGym racked up a further six goals, leaving English defeated and dejected, trailing 12 goals to nil as the final whistle marked the end of the match. In the end it was a well-deserved win for GymGym. Their recent introduction of training sessions, announced in last week’s gair rhydd, seems to explain their improved form. In fact, the clash itself signifies how far both teams have come, with their previous encounter having taken place in Division Two just

GS: Blind? one season ago. With a marked improvement in both English and GymGym, the teams will

Economics’ grand slam hopes still alive Hannah James IMG Reporter Economics A 24 - 5 CARBS A ECONOMICS A PULLED clear at the top of the Premiership league after an impressive win over CARBS A last Wednesday. After drawing against Cardiff A and losing against Pharmacy A, CARBS A needed a win to keep their hopes of Premiership glory alive. Unbeaten Eco-

nomics A were also looking for a victory to maintain their unbeaten record. Both teams were chomping at the bit as they took to their starting positions on court, but it was Economics who stamped their mark in the opening minutes with some clean and obviously well-rehearsed game play. Facing a CARBS shooting duo that has been untouchable this season, Economics were clearly aware that to win they needed a strong defence and an aggressive attack to keep the ball from the CARBS attacking circle.

Solid teamwork enabled Economics to score the opening goals but some impressive retaliation from the CARBS defence allowed a brief counterattack. This was not enough to pressurize Economics, however, who continued the first half with flawless play. By half-time, Economics were 16-2 ahead. Yet CARBS were not disheartened: they returned after half-time with some fresh players and renewed fighting spirit. A fast sequence of play for CARBS A, of their typically high standard, allowed them to score the first

PHOTO: NICK WARRENER

GYMGYM PRODUCED a clinical performance to record their second win of the second phase, overturning a struggling English outfit. With both teams at the bottom of Division One, the match between English B and GymGym promised to be a close one. It offered an inviting opportunity for one of the teams to pick up some much-needed points. In a break from recent bad luck, English won the toss and chose to take the first centre pass. This good fortune was, however, short lived. A bad case of butter fingers soon ensued and neither team were able to hold onto the ball for any sustained length of time. This meant that the game was an end-to-end affair. Despite the supporting efforts of English WA Rosie Hill in the attacking

third, English were unable to capitalise on their possession of the ball. English’s failure to convert gave GymGym a chance to open the scoring, and GymGym shooter Gwen Owen duly delivered the blow. GymGym looked to be the stronger team in the first half, taking the largest share of the possession. Although not 100% accurate in their shooting, both the GS and GA were quick to recover any rebounding balls and recorded some good points for their side. Some feisty play followed from both teams and, as the whistle blew, GymGym WD Delyth Till executed the splits in an attempt to win the ball. The first half finished with GymGym 6-0 up and with English failing to make their mark on the game. The second half saw changes to both teams. English returned to the court rejuvenated and immediately made a greater impression on the game. The English defence managed to ward off several potential goals and the team as

be looking to secure an even greater reputation when the new IMG leagues start up again next season.

THE ONES TO WATCH: FOOTBALL goal of the second half. Economics reacted coolly, however, making calm and collected passes which ensured that they maintained a substantial lead for the remainder of the game. The final score of 24-5 is a disappointing result for CARBS as it effectively quashes their dreams for the Premiership title. Cardiff B and Law A are now the only obstacles that stand in the way of Economics A and a Premiership grand slam.

Earth Soc v Havanna Dragons: It’s a two horse race in Division Two and this match will effectively decide who will emerge as the champions.

THE ONES TO WATCH: NETBALL English A v Engin Locomotive Another title decider. A strong English A outfit face the daunting challenge of Engin Locomotive, who are unbeaten in Division One.

IMG SNAPS: English A go, it’s looking hopeful, but our

Who are your main rivals?

somehow managed to lose

last match is against Engin Lo-

Engin Locomotive, who we see

her shoes. To this day nobody

comotive who haven’t yet lost.

as our main rivals for the Divi-

knows where they are.

son One title. One of our team-

ENGLISH A: Intelligent?

Who’s your key player?

mates is going out with an engi-

Who’s the least intel-

Rhi Tomlin - she also plays

neer and they have a bet riding

ligent player?

for the university team so is

on the game. She’s certain to

We’re all English students so

clearly of a high standard.

get a lot of stick if we lose!

work it out for yourselves!

Most frequent goalscorer?

Funniest story

If your team was an ani-

What are your recent

What are your expecta-

Our shooters are Alice Madge

from a social?

mal, what would it be?

achievements?

tions for this season?

and Kirsty Page; however, I

At Rubber Duck, a few of the

A peacock - an elegant and

We were Division Two

We all have our fingers crossed

wouldn’t like to say who is

girls ended up playing twister

attractive team to watch.

champions last year.

that we’ll win the Division One

more successful for fear of

on stage. In the midst of the

title. With only two games left to

offending one of them!

shenanigans, Emma Newton

PUT YOUR TEAM IN THE SPOTLIGHT... E-mail us at sport@gairrhydd.com

42 gairrhydd

MARCH.10.2008

SPORT

SPORT@gairrhydd.COM

Bloody Brilliant

RUGBY: Hart bypass surgery

BOTH THE men’s and women’s water polo teams were out in force again at the weekend, competing in the semi finals of the national BUSA competition. In traditional style, both teams edged their way in front of their rivals, each gaining a place in the final four. The men’s squad travelled up to WATER POLO: Breastroke inadvisable

PHOTO: NATALIA POPOVA

CARDIFF’S TWO finalists in the University Kickboxing Championships of 2008 narrowly missed out on clinching titles in the club’s most successful year to date. Abi Pepperman and Rachel Pace, Cardiff’s two female fighters, fought extremely close matches. Rachel went through to the second stage of her category but faced a significantly taller opponent. Although she fought tactically to offset the opponent’s advantage, the other competitor claimed victory. Cardiff’s Sam Lewis used his experience in the ring to prepare him for next year’s tournament, while Jordan Smith had a very close match in his first level that meant the judges were unable to pick a winner but eventually his opponent gained the advantage. Also joining in on the success, Liam Lord won his first fight and was very grateful to the coaches for their advice and encouragement. The second level of Josh Thomas’s tournament was bloody

and painful to watch but, despite some massive blows, he continued solidly to the end. Nick Waldron commendably went through to his third level after forcing an opponent to bow out after thirty seconds. Wes Woollard produced some amazing kicks in his four exhausting fights and only very closely lost to the eventual tournament winner. In the third stage of his competition, James Drake fought on despite a heavy nosebleed and delivered a crushing turning kick to the head, only to lose by a tiny margin. After a long day, our Heavyweight competitor, Tad Piotrowski, reached the final of his category and bore the brunt of some extremely heavy punches in a powerful match. Jack Hall, a finalist in the Cruiserweight category, forced his match to a third round and fought so competitively that confusion arose, as there was no clear winner. Unfortunately, the decision did not go in his favour. Nevertheless, on the whole it was an incredibly successful tournament. SARAH ZORAB

Lizzie Vick Kickboxing Reporter

Harry Gates Water Polo Reporter

Splash And Grab

Hart Beat On Hot Jack Zorab Sports Editor HARTPURY Mens 1sts ............ 59 CARDIFF MEDICS’ Mens 1sts .. 12 THE MEDICS travelled to Gloucestershire on Wednesday with ideas of performing their play-off party trick in front of the most discerning of critiques: Hartpury College. In last year’s play-offs the Medics’ pushed Worcester all the way until succumbing to a last minute drop-goal. This time around they were aiming to re-produce that magic but end up on the right side of the scoreboard. However, Hartpury were a class apart from any other opposition the Medics have faced this year and as they aim to become champions of BUSA for a second time in a row they put on a real show. Hartpury’s strength, speed and fitness were so far above other sides in the BUSA premier league that when the Medics’ threw everything they knew how to throw at them from the kick-off it made little impression on Hartpury’s rhythm or style of play. The Medics’ soon worked out how to at least frustrate the hosts. The team strapped on their collective crash hats and stopped the bulldozing forwards from passing the ball out of the tackle to their predatory backline. Josh Pettitt then decided to really rile up the locals

and timed his run perfectly to snatch a floated pass off the Hartpury fly half and score under the sticks; Crabtree converted and at 12-7 the Medics were punching above their weight. After that though, Hartpury showed their class and pulled away to be leading 33-7 at half-time. After the break the Medics managed to play with the ball in hand much more as they actually dominated the re-starts thanks to Carter and Devonport’s well timed flying tackles on the Hartpury catchers. Crabtree, James and Gough in the centre also had more time on the ball as the pack, in particular the fresher Nick Willetts, hooker Jun-Suk Cho and Rhodri Thomas, built on their solid first half scrummaging and managed to get the nudge on Hartpury when they had to. This allowed Pettit to get his second of the day with a lovely chip over his opposite man after the backs showed some deft handling skills to afford the winger some scarce space. The Medics ended the game just managing to resist Hartpury after some gruelling phase play from the hosts, leaving the scoreboard to rest reading 59-12. In truth it was a totally comprehensive victory for Hartpury but the Medics now know what lies in wait for them next season and importantly having to play Hartpury away will no longer seem like going to battle in a mythical land; just an immense challenge.

Walsall on Saturday to play against Edinburgh, Manchester and Oxford. The first match against Edinburgh was tough: goals were few and far between and the Scottish side, after being defeated by Cardiff last year, were keen to show what they were made of. The first half of the match saw both sides fight for every ball, every shot and every pass to try and put their team ahead on the score sheet. It was the second half of the match that proved decisive. Strong saves form Cardiff keeper Tom Nelson allowed Cardiff to hold level at 8-8 right up until the last two minutes of the match when they managed to put away a further two goals past Edinburgh to firmly seal victory. The Oxford match was always going to go Cardiff’s way. After an extremely convincing victory in a friendly fixture last month, and coming off the back of a defiant win over Edinburgh, the men’s team were confident of victory. The first half of the match was close, with possession of the ball fairly even, powerful shots and quality goals from both sides, it looked at the half way stage as though it could go either way. However, mid-way through the second half, Cardiff stepped it up a gear. Some skilful goals supplied by Captain Dave Hinder saw the final score rest at 12-7, a result that sealed a place in the finals for Cardiff’s men’s team. The final fixture against Manchester was cut short due to time restrictions; however, this bothered neither team as both had already qualified for the finals. Both sides still gave it their all and Manchester managed to narrowly scrape a 5-2 victory. The women’s team were then in action on the Sunday. After an incred-

Shots

Mark Hampton Shooting Reporter LAST WEEKEND, West Midlands Shooting Ground played host to over 22 universities at the BUSA clay shooting championships. Cardiff University sent two teams of four from its shooting club including two GB and one Welsh international amongst a wealth of other experienced shooters. The club, which still in its infancy and is yet to join the AU as an official club, returned with bronze team medals. There were two main competitions on the day, the Championship class for the first teams and the Trophy class for the second teams, which were held over two slightly different courses comprised of 50 targets. Following this, the teams shot a 50-target flush, in which targets are sent off randomly. This gives each team a total score from a possible 250 targets. The seconds were the first to head out, on what seemed quite a taxing course, although this should have been expected from a ground that has held the World Championships several times. Things were looking good as Cardiff’s Will Bancroft narrowly missed out on breaking 40 targets with a score of 39, David Ruddock posting a 36, Andy Hamer on 29 and Nick HibbertHingston smashing his way to 18. After

this effort, the Cardiff boys were midway in the pack, with only the flush to go. A solid team effort gave the team a score of 32 on the flush giving them a total of 154 out of 250, leaving them at 16th place out of 33 teams. Next out were all the first teams on to the championship course. With a harder course and strong competition from 22 of the country’s best shooting universities, it was going to be tough for Cardiff. The team captain, Mark Hampton, was disappointing with the lowest score of the team, shooting only 30. Both James Mansfield and Ben Breedon shot consistently breaking 37 and 36 targets each. Welsh international Nick Parish shot his way to a huge score of 43 out of 50, only to find out that his score had been miscalculated as 46. Showing true sportsmanship and honesty, Parish corrected the organisers’ mistake. The team then went on to put in an awesome score of 47 on the flush, placing themselves firmly in bronze medal position with a score of 193 out of 250, trailing Plymouth Uni by a single target. The Royal Agricultural College lead the way with 207. The club will be entering teams into the 2008/09 event, but are looking for more support. If you shoot, or are interested in starting shooting, get in touch with the club. You can find them on the facebook group – Cardiff Uni clay shooting.

ibly convincing performance in their first round encounters, the girls were eager to carry on their winning streak and they arrived at Walsall confident of success. However, with Newcastle, Manchester and Birmingham as their opponents they had a tough day ahead of them. The first match against Newcastle passed without any problems. The strong Cardiff side pulled out a convincing win, with goals from young Jennifer Myo and Becky Carling, the final result ended 12-2. The second match against Birmingham, however, proved a lot more difficult. With GB players in both the team’s starting line ups, it was always set to be a close encounter. It was the final quarter of the game that proved crucial after some wide shots, awesome saves and some incredibly fast swimming, the final result stayed at a frustrating 5-5 draw. The final match for the girls did not go their way. After two matches having already been played, the women’s side swam out once more to try and take down Manchester. However, the northern side was on a winning streak of its own and with a great display of skill and determination, they powered on to a 7-3 victory over Cardiff. The Ladies’ fate was out of their control and it was only Newcastle’s ability to stay within nine goals of Birmingham in the final match that allowed the Cardiff girls to progress to the finals. Both teams were delighted with their victories and are now back in training for the finals. With an illustrious record of BUSA success behind them, the Cardiff players know that the medals are well within reach.

Five - A - Live James Clifford Football Reporter CARDIFF UNIVERSITY Mens Football Club held their annual 5 aside tournament on Sunday which saw 13 teams from a combination of BUSA and IMG compete at Talybont. The teams were split in to 2 leagues with the top two in each league progressing to the main semi finals. 3rd and 4th were put through to the plate competition. The eventual winners of the main competition were Cardiff Cougars who beat a strong Cardiff Freshers side. In the plate competition, Law emerged victorious after a close fought game with Cardiff 4th team. The tournament enabled IMG and Mens Football to forge some new links. Carbs Captain, Matt Maltby commented after the tournament, ‘It was great for the football club to put this event on, which was very well organised and well attended.’ More recently, Cardiff 3rds emerged victorious against the 4ths in the annual B.I.F.F cup held at Llanrumney on Wednesday. The 4ths were unlucky to have two penalties saved by eventual MVP Jon Kaye who also scored the final goal of the day to make it 2-0.

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MARCH.10.2008

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CARDIFF UNIVERSITY Motorsports Club headed to Rye House, Hertfordshire for Rounds 5 & 6 of the BUKC. Encouraging results, including the first race win in eight years during the last round, meant the team was in confident form before racing commenced. Conditions for the day were ideal for racing with a few icy patches on the track in the morning. The day started positively with Chris Lipscomb driving well to finish in third, after starting eighth on the grid. The other A team drivers had mixed results, with all of them involved in unfortunate “racing incidents”. Greg Parry decided that the final lap of the race is an ideal time to hit on women and consequently crashed into one before proceeding to check whether she was alright. David Rocke was taken out by a back-marker, and Henry Williams was caught in a crash that involved half the

field at the first hairpin. The driver of the day accolade belonged to Lawrence Archer, who completed a lights-to-flag victory. Team members watched on as he extended his lead over the first few laps of the race, holding a seven second lead at one stage. He capped an impressive morning for the B-team, with Pete Merry and Tom Adams also finishing well in their morning races. Afternoon races again yielded mixed results. The A-team had varied fortunes, as did the B-team. One particular highlight from the day, though, was the level of “delving” – where one kart dives up the inside of another into a corner for position – that occurred. There were a number of great delves, some of them spectacular and some lucky to come off. The next rounds are at Clay Pigeon in Dorset, where hopefully luck will be on our side. The final rounds are to be held at Llandow Kart Track, where hopefully local knowledge will aid the club to a great days racing.

Pomp It Up PHOTO: LAUREN PERRY

Speed Freaks Henry Williams Motorsport Reporter

Silver Surfers CARDIFF MEN’S Surf Team put on a display of high calibre surfing to gain second place at last weekend’s BUSA Surf Championships in Newquay. The team had high hopes with a wealth of experience in former European longboard champion and 2005 BUSA finalist Elliot Dudley and 2007 Welsh Junior finalist Rob Blythe both hoping to lead the charge against the dominant South-West universities of Swansea, Marjons, Plymouth and Falmouth. The event began in onshore 2-3 foot surf at Fistral beach with all Cardiff’s surfers making it through their round one heat, including Rob Blythe beating Billy Norways of Falmouth, who went on to win the overall event. Rounds two and three moved to Towan beach where conditions were

tough with the 1-2 foot swell proving inconsistent, causing Blythe some difficulties while Hayman, Dudley and Rob Miles prospered in the cleaner conditions, advancing to the quarter finals. The quarter-finals were held back at Fistral in 3-4 foot waves where surfers Dudley and Miles were knocked out while Hayman progressed to the semifinals. In a tough heat he came third to finish joint 8th overall. Falmouth’s team took the top spot with 87 points. A consistent team performance put Cardiff in second with 64 points, equalling their best result in the competition’s history and finishing a full 10 points clear of last years winners Plymouth. Rob Miles, captain of the surf team said “The standard of surfing at this competition has really improved, but the Cardiff boys showed our quality and put some big names out of the competition”.

HOCKEY: Trophy hunters

Cardiff 3rds surpass expectations and other hockey teams en route to final Lauren Perry Hockey Reporter PORTSMOUTH Ladies’ 1sts ........ 1 CARDIFF Ladies’ 1sts .............. 2*

SURFING: Stoners on the water

PHOTO: WILL GREGSON

Dan Ryan Surfing Reporter

*After extra time CARDIFF TRAVELLED to Portsmouth to compete for a place in the BUSA trophy final and expected a tough challenge. Both teams started tentatively from the push back. Unfortunately, it was Portsmouth who went ahead, capitalising on an anxious opening 10 minutes from Cardiff. However, conceding appeared to settle the Cardiff nerves, and Cardiff started playing the fluent hockey they have become accustomed to. Laura Vasey displayed great vision to pick out Nicky Traynor, who slotted the ball diligently past the Portsmouth goalkeeper. Portsmouth sustained their pressure, but Cardiff worked hard to keep the home side’s chances to a minimum, going into half time with one goal apiece. The second half was much like the first, but Cardiff coped efficiently

with the Portsmouth onslaught. With Portsmouth being unable to create an opening despite all their possession, they changed their formation, in order to confuse the Cardiff defence. Cardiff however were not willing to let Portsmouth take the lead, and marked the skilful Portsmouth attack impeccably. Portsmouth squandered the few chances they did get, which they came to regret at the final whistle. Cardiff saw extra time as their chance to get to the final. Portsmouth looked drained and tired as they finished normal time, and Cardiff, aware that one goal would win the match, looked to capitalise on the home side’s fatigue. Cardiff started in a much more attacking manner, maintaining possession in the Portsmouth half for much of the first period of extra time. Cardiff went into half time full of confidence, knowing they had the advantage. Cardiff’s domination continued in the second half of extra time, and were awarded multiple short corners. The Portsmouth defence were struggling to get the ball to their attack, and when they did Cardiff broke it down and came straight back at their opponents. As the umpire signalled that two minutes remained, it seemed penalty flicks

would have settle the game. This was the best outcome Portsmouth could hope for, as they really did not look like scoring from open play. However, the persistent Cardiff attack was awarded with a short corner shortly after the two-minute signal. The away side calmly huddled on the top of the circle to decide which routine to use. As they settled into their positions the opposing supporters looked tense, as this was likely to be the last chance of the game. Charlotte Lloyd swiftly injected the ball to Emily Allan, who sent a thunderbolt of a shot to the goalkeepers left. A sense of shock rippled through the stadium. As it registered that Cardiff had won the game and were in the final, a sense of elation partnered with relief, soared through the team and their traveling supporters. At the end of the match coach Gavin Vollmer obviously proud and excited stated, “The whole team played so well, without exception. An amazing performance”. Having beaten higher opposition in Portsmouth 1sts, Cardiff will go into the match beaming with confidence, aware that they have exceeded this season’s expectations.

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OCTOBER.22.2007

INSIDE: The Word On... Child prodigies, thegairrhydd latest .COM FEATURES@ BUSA success and IMG does community service

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-GAIR RHYDD AND QUENCH MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY UNIVERSITY UNION CARDIFF, PARK PLACE, CARDIFF CF10 3QN

PHOTO: ED SALTER

Cardiff crush U.C.L 64 - 0 in the BUSA CUP First Round

Roz Lambe Rugby Reporter CARDIFF LADIES Rugby secured a second round BUSA Cup berth after a 64 - 0 smashing of UCL. Though the visitors finished in the same position as Cardiff in their respective league, the Welsh side ripped their opponents apart in an impressive display. Cardiff got the match started and immediately put pressure on the UCL forwards, as second row Nikki Bamber stole the ball to regain possession for Cardiff. Only six minutes had passed before the home side got their first score of the day. Brilliant interplay by the backs saw the ball passed out to winger Anwen Harry, who popped the ball back inside to centre Tina Lee for the try. The lead was added to four minutes later when Cardiff won a lineout in UCL’s 22 and full back Alex Quinnell went over the line. UCL did manage to make their way into Cardiff’s half but excellent defensive work kept the visitors static. Cardiff were awarded a scrum and a great pick and go, by number eight Becky Blakeway, split UCL’s defence and allowed fly-half Kat Lenan to kick the ball up field. Lee chased and gathered and passed the ball out to winger Fran Thistlethwaite, however UCL managed to track back and force Cardiff into touch. Great work in the scrum meant UCL had to kick, but the ball went straight to hooker Kerry Boxall. Props Jess Bain and Fran Manzai secured the ball, allowing Lenan to score under the posts. Molloy added the conversion, taking the score to 17 - 0. Minutes later, and in a similar fashion, Lenan made a break from the half way line to score her second try, which was once again converted by Molloy. An excellent take by Bamber at the restart saw the ball fly out to Lee, who passed out wide to Quinnell. Scrum half Ceri Hill continued the momentum, taking Cardiff into UCL’s 22, where the ball was secured by the forwards then passed wide again for Quinnell to score. Molloy added the conversion, which left the score at 31 - 0 at half time. Play continued in Cardiff’s favour after the break with Molloy scoring and converting her own try to add the full seven points. Next to score was centre Fran Acuna, who stepped a number of UCL players after the ball was stolen at a scrum within the visitor’s 22. In the following play, a great pass by Hill allowed Lenan to sprint from the halfway line and score her hat-trick, which Molloy duly converted. This was quickly followed by flanker Louise Steel, who also ran from halfway after a good offload from Hill, to touchdown under the posts. Molloy converted to take the score to 59 - 0. Solid tackling by Acuna and Holly Morris kept UCL at bay and, with minutes remaining, Molloy scored and converted her second try after sprinting down the wing. This left the score at a convincing 64 - 0 to the home side and takes Cardiff into the second round of the Cup to face league rivals Bath next week.

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