InQuire 8.10

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eu referendum - yes/no?

comment - page 6

Issue 8.10

django unchained review

campus art adventures

8th February 2013

the catching lives lowdown rugby six nations lift-off

iq entertainment - page 17

iq culture - page 21

iq features - page 12

sport - page 22

societies, the media groups will be taking part in a series of challenges, which you are all welcome to join in with. Two presenters from CSRfm will be attempting to stay awake and broadcast live for 48 hours straight, with many guests from around campus coming

in for a chat over the course of the event. KTV, the university’s own student led TV station, will be filming and streaming the entire event live, again over the 48 hours, whilst some of our braver InQuire editors will be sleeping rough somewhere on campus.

The event is in aid of local homeless charity, Catching Lives, who are based near Canterbury East Station, and provide vital support to the many homeless people who sleep on the streets of Canterbury every night.

More information on the event

can be found in the Features page 12 of this issue. Student Media hopes to raise as much money as we can in aid of such an important cause.

To donate, go to www.justgiving.com/ Awakefor48, or by texting ‘LIVE48 + £’ to 70070.

donate to #awakefor48

FROM midday on the 14th to midday on the 16th February, the three Student Media groups – InQuire, CSRfm and KTV – will be staging a fundraising event on campus, in aid of the homeless charity Catching Lives.

Along with other campus

COMPETITION!

win a vip package for prism on 1st march! includes free entry for you, queue jump for you and 10 of your friends, a vip booth and two bottles of bubbly. Just answer the question on the IQ page for a chance to win!

News

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Editor’s Note Hey, As you may have noticed from our pretty bold front page, InQuire, KTV and CSRfm are taking part in Awake for 48 to raise money for Catching Lives.

We urge you to tune in, watch it all unfold and support our Student Media by donating anything you can. It’s all for a good cause.

In the meantime, welcome to Issue 8.10! We’ve got a shiny new website full of goodies, so make sure to check it out at: www.inquirelive.co.uk Pamela InQuireLive

2012/2013 Editorial contacts: Executive: Rex Ejimonyeabala Chairman chairman Pamela Head - Editor newspaper.editor Nina Collins - Website Editor website.editor Newspaper: Matt Gilley - News newspaper.news Jamie Ovens - Comment newspaper.comment Natalie Tipping - Features newspaper.features Harriet Cash - Culture newspaper.culture Chad Greggor Entertainment newspaper.entertainment Alex Cassidy - Sports newspaper.sport Website: Perpetual Brade - News website.news Amelia Guttridge - Comment website.comment Laura Ricchetti - Features website.features Alice Bryant - Entertainment website.entertainment Lisa Gheysen - Culture website.culture George Hopkin - Sport website.sport Caroline Wadham Distribution distribution To contact any of the committee, just add @inquiremedia.co.uk to the end of the adress under their name.

gove plans a-level reforms Kerrick Whalley

EDUCATION Secretary, Michael Gove, has announced plans for a major overhaul of A-Levels, to be implemented from September 2015. Of these proposed changes, virtually all have been met with some form of opposition, whether from teachers’ unions or universities.

A central theme through these reforms has been a drive to increase standards and lower the risk of grade-inflation.

This is reflected in Gove’s recent proposals to reintroduce linearity to the A-Level syllabus, which has led to the planned reformation of the AS-Level and the abolition of the January examination period.

This is in addition to restrictions on the number of resits available to students to one per exam paper. First year A-Level examinations will be ended and the AS-Level repurposed as a separate standalone qualification to be taken over one or two years.

Proposed reforms have also

included changes to A-level syllabuses, which are intended to increase the input of leading universities in deciding content.

Michael Gove has criticised A-Level syllabuses by claiming in a letter to Ofqual that they “do not always provide the solid foundation that students need to prepare them for degreelevel study and for vocational education”.

In response to the call for increased involvement, Russell Group universities have agreed to form a new organisation to consultant Ofqual on A-Level content. This organisation is to have particular focus on facilitating subjects that are recommended for applications to high-ranking universities.

Reservations have been expressed by institutions about putting their names to the qualifications. It is notable that these plans are in fact an extension of current arrangements whereby universities are consulted on existing syllabuses.

News of the abolition of first

mps back lower voting age call Tayler Campbell MPS have voted in favour of lowering the UK voting age to 16, in a backbench motion brought forward in Parliament, championed by Liberal Democrat Stephen Williams.

The motion was passed by a majority of 73 (119 to 46), backed by the Liberal Democrats and then by Labour. Wayne David, Shadow Constitutional Reform Minister, said that the majority of the opposition front bench also supports votes at 16.

Under current legislation, a person must be 18 or over to vote in the UK. In recent years, there has been an increasing pressure to lower the voting age, primarily driven by the Liberal Democrats.

In their 2001 and 2005 manifestos, they adopted the policy of reducing the voting age to 16. Their 2010 general election manifesto also stated the same, but in the Coalition Agreement, May 2010, there was no commitment to this change.

Pressure has also been exerted by the Votes at 16 Campaign.

Launched in 2003, it is a coalition of political parties, pressure groups and charities,

including groups such as the National Youth Agency, the National Union of Students and Youth Parliament. Votes at 16 claims that this change would have a positive impact, engaging 16 and 17-year-olds with further responsibility in our society, and empowering them through the democratic right to influence their future.

It is commonly argued that at 16, young adults are not mature enough to make considered political judgements. Yet at 16, they are already allowed to make considerable decisions and take on responsibilities such as leaving education or joining the armed forces.

Williams said: "I believe that 16 and 17-year-olds have sufficient maturity and sufficient knowledge in order to cast a vote if they want to. We don't have compulsory voting in this country so we would simply be affording the opportunity for 16 and 17-year-olds to vote if they wished."

The result of this vote is not binding on the government, but speaking afterwards, Williams said: "Today Parliament made history by supporting my motion to give 16 and 17-yearolds the right to vote."

year AS-Level examinations was met by the University of Cambridge with a warning that such reforms were a threat to equal opportunities.

They have argued that the ASLevel had given confidence to many students who may not have otherwise applied to top universities.

It has also proven to be a reliable indicator of a student’s performance at degree level and is used by many top universities

to distinguish the most able students.

Gove’s reform proposals remain controversial. However, as in the case of the University of Cambridge single institutions can prove sources of both support and detraction. This is indicative of the range and scope of these plans, which, if successful, will leave a radically different education system from the one the Conservatives inherited in 2010.

55% of spanish youth jobless Simon Terhaag AFTER another year of economic hardships, Spain is facing a staggering 55% youth unemployment rate – the highest it has been since the middle of the 1970s.

Though the overall unemployment rate is far from under control, currently measured at 24.6%, it is young citizens between the ages of 16-24 that are facing the most trouble when looking for a job.

While all of the EU is facing economic hardships, Spain plummeted into a recession, which is strained further at the moment due to austerity cuts.

The Spanish are dealing with a second recession in just four years, kicked off by the bursting of the property bubble in 2008.

To combat the national debt, countries across the EU, including Spain, have put in place austerity measures to cut spending, in an effort to strengthen their economy again.

Specifically, the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, has come under heavy criticism for the current state of affairs, after aiming to have significantly lowered the

unemployment rate by the end of 2012.

When the Prime Minister entered office in late 2011, an estimate of 5.27 million people were unemployed.

Currently this number has risen to 5.97 million. Rajoy plans to extend cuts to save another €65bn (£55.6bn), with the opinion that doing so would cut the public deficit, and strengthen the economy in the long run.

According to Andrea Broughton, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies, “the unemployment rate is unlikely to fall significantly in the EU in the near future” due to just these cuts, as well as uncertainty over the Euro at large.

The situation may not be quite as bleak as it seems, though.

Since the youth unemployment percentage includes citizens termed as ‘economically inactive’, largely youths that are in education. A number as high as 55% may exaggerate the problem.

Under other methods of calculating unemployment rates, however, Spain’s youth jobless rate remains the highest in Europe.

News 3

ukba ‘bullies’ foreign students Sam Baldwin

THE UK Border Agency (UKBA) has been accused of “bullying” international students in their bid to drive down net migration figures to the government’s coveted target of 100,000 per year.

Complex regulations and a tightening of policy have caused an apparent mishandling of visa applications for prospective students. Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, warns that UKBA actions, in combination with a series of “hostile” speeches and policy initiatives concerning immigration by UK government ministers, are driving overseas students away from Britain and into the arms of educational

“competitors” such as the US, Australia and Canada. The export education market has an estimated worth of £15 billion.

Such instances of ill-treatment include the refusal of entry to many individuals without explanation after failing their “authenticity” interviews with the agency and the mistaken deportation of PhD students attempting to complete a viva (a short examination for their doctorates). In October 2012, 30,000 international students were told they could not begin their course without registering at the same police station in London. Due to lengthy queues, many had to return several times in order to be seen.

Professor Sir Adrian Smith, Vice Chancellor of University of

star wars filming may come to kent Nathan Lucking

A site in North Kent near the Bluewater shopping centre has reportedly been chosen as a possible site for the battle scenes in the upcoming 7th episode of George Lucas's sci-fi classic series Star Wars.

The new film, set to be released in 2015, would be the first since 2008. It is to be directed by JJ Abrams, whose previous works include Lost, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek and who is also directing the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness later this year.

The recently controversial sale of the rights to the hugely popular series to Disney, who are set to produce at least three

new additions, one every two or three years, has brought huge discussion online between fans of the series.

This will not be the first time the UK will play host to heros and villains from a distant galaxy, scenes from previous episodes have been shot in studios and one other location in the country. “Finally some production news, if true it’s great they are filming the Wars in the UK again”, commented one user about the rumour on www.theforce.net, a fan site and forum.

Very little has been confirmed about the new instalment but with a release set for 2015 more details on plot and location will surely surface soon.

the Arts London, is one of many leading figures in education to state his disapproval of government attitudes over this topic: “The UK would be a poorer place in every sense if we were perceived as unwelcoming to international students. That means universities must work positively with the UKBA to get it right; it also means that Government must work with universities to be sure that their policies on immigration are genuinely in the UK’s best interest.”

The UKBA has been the object of further scrutiny as over 600 Syrian students face the possibility of deportation due to difficulty accessing tuition fee funds. EU sanctions that limit bank transactions between Syria and the UK have left the students in dire economic situations, whereas some students aided by a government scholarship have had their money withdrawn as a punishment for publicly opposing President Assad’s regime.

Online campaign group Avaaz has set up a petition urging the Foreign Office to assist these students and ensure the completion of their studies.

teacher found guilty of sex texts Ashley Peart A maths teacher lost his job and family because of his sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court over sharing sexually explicit messages with an underage female pupil, on Facebook.

Michael White, 33, who lived in Godwin Road, Canterbury, was arrested after both the police and the school were made aware of the “fantastical” relationship between teacher and pupil.

The seizure of White’s computer and mobile phone by the police revealed the highly sexualised contact the two engaged in, with a picture of the naked girl sent through a Facebook message. Donna East, prosecuting told the court that when questioned about the relationship White said they were “merely making out a

fantasy”.

In court, White admitted to causing a child to engage in sexual activity and making an indecent photograph. He proclaimed to police that he did not intend to act on his feelings.

East continued that “He said he met up with her on 7th July and hugged her but didn’t kiss her.”

Thomas Restell, defending White, said: “Mr White’s behaviour was reprehensible and an abuse of his position as a teacher.” Judge Heather Norton deemed his behaviour “inappropriate” highlighting the teacher’s lack of insight.

She spoke of the teacher’s disregard of the trust parents have for those who teach their children. Norton sentenced White to an eight-month jail term suspended for two years, with him having to sign the sex offenders register.

gay marriage vote passes by 400-175 Pamela Head Newspaper Editor

MPS voted in favour of gay marriage by an overwhelming majority on Tuesday evening.

The Commons voted in favour of same-sex weddings by 400 votes to 175, a majority of 225.

There were 75 abstentions.

The decision came after more than six hours of bitter debate and almost half a century after homosexuality was legalised in Britain.

Prime Minister David Cameron has described the move as “an important step forward” that strengthens society.

Initial assessments suggested that 139 of Cameron’s Conservative MPs voted against the bill. In Kent, all of our MPs are Conservatives.

Daniel McPaul, Kent University Conservative Association President said: “While I respect the views of any genuine religious conviction against gay marriage, I believe the vast majority of KUCA members support this progressive measure to

enhance legal equality and to help redress the prejudices of the past.

“I think that many Conservatives need to take a big step back and reflect on their core values of individual liberty as well as common pragmatism and see that proposals concerning equal marriage are both inevitable within a liberal democracy as well as morally right.”

Karl Lewis, President of the LGBT Society said: “The vote passing is a tremendous thing for the LGBT movement and something unthinkable just a few years ago, especially under a mostly Conservative administration. I think there is a general consensus now in politics that LGBT rights matter and I hope this can help lead to further drastic improvements in rights for LGBT people.

“I still think this bill should go further and include opening up Civil Partnerships to heterosexual couples and giving the Church of England and Wales the option of performing Civil Marriage in the future, but

on their own terms.

Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert has put forward two amendments so far, one to open up civil partnerships and the other to allow humanist weddings.

Lewis added: “It’s sad to see that, despite the effort the Kent Union LGBT campaign has put on him, Julian Brazier, our local Canterbury MP, has voted against the bill.”

Kent Union voted to support gay marriage last year.

Colum McGuire, VP (Welfare) said: “I am continually inspired by so many student activists who play such a key role in furthering the equality agenda.

“Students’ Unions have a long, proud history of fighting for human rights and I believe it’s absolutely right for that to continue.

“Our members overwhelmingly voted in favour last year for Kent Union to support equal marriage and shows just how proactive students are in issues across a wide spectrum of society. Long may it continue!”

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News

under-reported: google maps covers north korea Melissa East

AFTER years of North Korea being a mostly unfilled gap, Google Maps has finally been permitted to show more detail than ever before of this highly secretive country.

Often referred to as a ‘Hermit Kingdom’, the country is notorious for its isolated and clandestine nature. Whereas previously only the location of the capital city, Pyongyang, was displayed, now internet users have access to information such as photographs, weather updates, terrain, landmarks and cities.

The information was put together on Google’s Map Maker tool, a feature created in 2008 that allows Google account users to submit data such as photographs and general knowledge of the area.

The Map Maker tool has also been used to collect data from other lesser known countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

Due to North Korea’s reclusiveness, satellite images were one of the primary sources of data for forming a detailed map. Reportedly numerous contributors towards the Map Maker tool were South Koreans

with links to their northern neighbour. Jayanth Mysore, Google Map Maker’s senior product manager commented how “these maps are especially important for the citizens of South Korea who have ancestral connections or still have family living there”.

Mysore went on to remark that beforehand “one of the largest places with limited map data has been North Korea” but now “the world can access maps of North Korea that offer much more information and detail than before”.

Inevitably, the map is limited in detail and has several grey areas. It is in these uncharted

zones that numerous mass prison labour camps are believed to lie, in which a total of 200,000 people are thought to be confined.

Unfortunately, whilst the rest of the world will be able to gain a glimpse into this mysterious country, only a small percentage of its 23 million inhabitants will be able to see this step forward for themselves. This is a result of Google being banned in North Korea, along with the majority of the World Wide Web. Even if North Koreans were permitted access to the internet, the chance of being able to afford it would be questionable, as an alarmingly high percentage of

the population face starvation and poverty.

Google Maps’ progress follows a highly publicized visit to the country from Google’s Chairman, Eric Schmidt, although the United States government believed that this move was “ill advised” and “not particularly helpful”. This criticism is due to North Korea recently launching a rocket into orbit, a move that was disapproved of by the US since it could be seen as an illegal test of long-range missile technology.

Following the launch of North Korea’s rocket last December, South Korea have recently fired back with the setting off of their

own 140-tonne satellite rocket, a move that can only worsen the two countries’ relations. US officials have stated belief that North Korea’s satellite is not operating as expected, despite denial from Pyongyang.

South Korea predicts that the rocket launched by the North has the capability to travel a total distance of 6,200 miles, far enough to reach San Francisco.

Although international governments thought that the North Korean regime would improve after the succession of Kim Jong-un, the world is keeping a close eye on the country that labelled the US as its “sworn enemy”.

under-reported: context behind mali conflict

Johan Robson

THE recent French intervention in Mali has caused much controversy among the international community. The decision to fulfill a paternal role to their old colony and stop Islamists from gaining control of the country has been defended by the Western powers by claiming that it is crucial for the safety of the country and the future of northern Africa as a whole.

François Hollande, the French

President, claimed that the operation would be over in a matter of weeks and would not escalate to a long protracted war such as Afghanistan. The US and UK (as well as other European countries) are also involved in the conflict after offering aid to France.

Critics claim that France is involved because of the abundant natural resources in Mali. Hollande has strictly denied any claims of such motivations. The fact remains that 75% of France’s energy is

nuclear, fuelled by uranium.

Beneath the deserts in northern Mali rests the world’s third largest uranium reserves as well as considerable oil reserves. It should also be noted that until recently a French company had exclusive rights to uranium in Niger (neighbouring Mali), but the Government had issued permits to multiple countries such as China and India to explore for uranium and oil.

Critics claim that France is trying to reassert its economic monopoly over resources in the

area.

Others say that Western powers are trying to exert political influence over northern Africa to counterbalance the Chinese influence in the area, which has been growing significantly during recent years with a number of economic ventures in the area.

China has recently apparently given millions ‘as a gift’ to the Malian people as well as venturing into various development projects in Mali dealing with security, industrialization, infrastructure and agriculture.

Corporate interests have been shaping the face of northern Africa for years already, as was exposed by the Wikileaks cables in 2010 which outlined how oil giant Shell was manipulating the Nigerian government to further their financial ends at the expense of the people living in the country.

Regardless of the true motivation behind the intervention, it is unlikely that the conflict will be over quickly.

Already now French troops have admitted that the Islamists are better armed and prepared than they expected, and with other Western powers involved it has the potential to accelerate dangerously.

The prospect of the conflict escalating has already begun to materialize as an unfortunate reality, as the conflict has begun to spread to neighbouring countries. Militants had raided a BP gas field in Algeria, killing at least two and kidnapping around 40 European and Japanese workers as retaliation for France’s involvement.

This has struck fear into many French citizens who are afraid of possible terrorist strikes on French soil, which is understandable considering the circumstances.

The situation in Northern Africa is volatile, and unless Western powers tread very lightly it could escalate into a very dangerous and prolonged conflict – a situation that would echo American involvement in the Middle East.

Comment 5

israel and iran: an unlikely love story?

Anusha Tabari

PATRIOTISM can turn the friendliest of allies into the bitterest of rivals but there are occasional marks of mutual respect: tactical voting during Eurovision, tributes to Soviet soldiers in Berlin, the way every American becomes Irish on St. Paddy’s day. How about love letters sent between Israel and Iran?

No, you don’t need glasses; you read it right the first time, and yes, the reunification of the two Koreas does seem more likely considering the current international climate.

Nonetheless, prepare yourself for the unlikeliest love story since Oedipus married his own mother.

The idiom that the pen is mightier than the sword may be outdated, but its message today translates as social media being mightier than the bomb.

For 10 years, Israelis and Iranians have been fed sensationalist stories that they are on the brink of war with each other, and it was an overheard conversation about this matter that triggered Ronny Edry, a 41-year-old graphic designer from Tel Aviv to send out a message.

Edry became our story’s accidental peacemaker by

creating a simple poster of himself and his daughter, waving the Israeli flag. The poster reads: “Iranians, we will never bomb your country, We <3 You.” The picture was uploaded to Facebook and mostly ignored by his Israeli contacts, so to log in after a few days and be greeted by a sea of notifications was a genuine surprise.

Suddenly ordinary civilians were using their own image to share that poster, and soon enough Iranians began to respond. At first they didn’t use pictures of their faces, out of fear, but soon enough they proudly smiled under a poster: “Iran loves Israel”.

Naturally, the campaign went global, with numerous countries joining in; international citizens meeting to talk and ordinary Israelis uploading personal videos with the message: “I love you and I want to get to know you”.

On a related video, you will also find an Iranian boy with a scarf obscuring most of his face. At first he apologises if they are disappointed by the lack of response and reiterates the strict climate of his country, and then he praises the campaign and reciprocates the messages to all Israelis.

Underneath the video, there

is a slightly chilling comment contemplating whether or not the boy is still alive.

The reason I’m so crazy about this is the powerful way they give a peace sign to one another and a reversed two-fingered salute to the fear-mongering propagandists of the other side.

Social media is humanising this situation. Individuals are rising up, not to revolt, but to say: “You will not tell me who my enemy is!”

The situation of these two proud, stubborn nations is not dissimilar to sibling rivalry.

Religious bearings run deep and often conflict with one another, but both Judaism and Islam come from the Abrahamic tradition, and Jerusalem is a holy land for both.

Okay, it’s not like President Ahmadinejad and Prime Minister Netanyahu are going to start braiding each other’s hair of an evening and getting together for Sex & the City marathons, but remember, this wasn’t the doing of the United Nations or a foreign superpower. It didn’t take a celebrity, it didn’t take a politician. The people are being spokesmen for themselves.

To all the people with the lingering thought, “A poster is not going to stop a war”, I say maybe so, but being

single-minded will cloud you from seeing the positive communication and honest dialogue that is engaging the whole world.

Reaching out to offer empathy

to the people you’re told should be your enemy is an action that is having a domino effect; hopefully one with the ability to inspire even the most stubborn of hearts.

how to make democracy work for you George Hopkin Website Sports Editor

I remember the first time that I ever voted as a citizen of the UK. It was on 5th May, 2011, on the subject of the Alternate Vote (AV) referendum. I walked down from my family home in Woodford Green to the local library – my area’s polling station – and confidently asserted my adult citizen right.

I was 18. My big choice to vote against AV, which was made confidently, may only have added a little to the statistic of millions, who turned out across the nation, but my mark was made and that made me feel happy. I engaged in democracy.

Fast forward a year to May of 2012. I voted once again, but this time in the local elections. My constituency technically encompasses both Essex and London, so I turned out to choose local council

representatives and the next Mayor of London.

At 19, I was slightly more inthe-know about politics but still quite naïve, I must admit – this is mainly what sets me very much against those in Parliament who want the voting age to be lowered to 16. At that age, I was merely a kid, and I think that most people of my age were similar; a teenage child, without great experience of the political world, who shouldn’t be expected to formally decide

on who runs the country.

I voted once again in 2012, and helped Boris Johnson win narrowly against Ken Livingstone due to the great work that I had seen the former do for London over his past four years. Again, I actively engaged in democracy.

So, when I see students of our age almost totally nonchalant about the political battlefield, I sigh a little and look back to the times when I have voted.

I’m glad to live in a country that

allows citizens to make such monumental decisions as to which political party and local MP candidate to support, which politician should effectively lead the city of London, and even which group of people should represent a local area. I love democracy and think that we should all be engaged in it: It is our right and responsibility as democratic citizens. We must do so in the knowledge that there are other countries that are home to individuals who do not have the opportunity to interact with political power beyond being told what the tyrannical government is going to do.

Writing this, I think of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her continuing fight for open democracy in Myanmar (Burma): she was put under house arrest by the Burmese government for around 15 years, being kept away from

her family, but still she stood strong for democracy and her nation’s people. The ability to choose our government is not only what makes us civilised, but what should make us feel fortunate and grateful.

Now, University of Kent students and members of Kent Union can look forward to leadership and part-time officer elections. I normally don’t refuse the chance to criticise our Union, but now I will do. All I’ll say is that if we’re unhappy about the status quo, we can vote for change; if we’re happy, then for continuity. We can vote; we can stand. At the end of the day, we have choices.

The national game is closed for business at the moment, and may be until 2015 without the case of by-elections, but for local students, now there is a good opportunity to think about democracy and be grateful for our powers as citizens.

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Comment

eu referendum: why we should leave teh value Jak Allen

LOATHE him or love him, David Cameron has finally pledged to deliver an EU referendum. The European Union, recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been highlighted as a beacon of hope, glorified through the leadership of Herman Van Rompuy.

However, the president of the European Council is the very reason why we citizens of the United Kingdom should no longer accept our role as a puppet in the grand plans of the Brussels bureaucrats.

Any British person who possesses a deep sense of democratic and patriotic idealism should object to taking orders from a leader elected by a select minority within the European Council. This elitist voting process displays the paradoxical nature of what the EU claims to strive for and how it actually works.

The former French President, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, once declared that the creation of the

EU Constitution was Europe’s “Philadelphia moment”, alluding to the conventions that led to the formation of the USA. Britain stands here today the subject of large-scale EU regulations and laws.

UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, has claimed that 75% of British laws originate from the EU. Defensive responses on the EU’s position have claimed a much lower percentage. Either way, the Eurocrats’ tendency to regard anything unregulated as being almost synonymous with illegality has marked itself on British shores, leaving a suppressive stamp on our sovereignty.

It is of no secret as to how economically disastrous the Eurozone has been. A Britain free from EU regulations could be the source of a million new jobs in Britain, according to a study by the Bruges group.

The reason is that more than 90% of the UK economy is not involved in trade with the EU, yet still bears the burden of the regulations.

of lolcats Chadwick Gieger

Nigel Farage wants to leave behind the “silent assassins of European democracy”.

At a time when the economic slump looks here to stay, the removal of EU membership costs would help a great deal in the recovery of our nation. MP Gerrard Batten claims that the total cost in EU membership for the UK equates to around £65.7 billion a year.

This unnecessary burden epitomises the current role of the EU. Bureaucrat has become a very dirty word and with

170,000 of them working for the EU, the wages alone are unsustainable.

To cherish one’s sovereignty should be sufficient in resisting what Farage called the “silent assassins of European democracy.”

We should leave behind any perceived obligations to serve the EU and look more to recovering our British identity, if Cameron fulfils his referendum pledge.

eu referendum: why we should stay Jonathan Hann

I fondly remember a time when Nigel Farage’s brand of obtuse right-wing Euroscepticism was seen as ridiculous, rather than something that mirrored societal vogue. A time when casual xenophobia, disproportionate action, and a misunderstanding of economics, politics, current

affairs and history were something reserved for grandparents. How times have changed; it’s just lucky that the fallacies of the anti-EU argument have not.

The IMF figures from 2011 show that the European Union represents 20% of the globe’s gross domestic product. Britain is a key European player, the union represents 48% of

President of the EU Council, Herman Van Rompuy

Britain’s total exports; the primary reasons for this are the benefits of free movement, lower trading tariffs and reduced costs.

After leaving the EU, Britain would have to completely overhaul its trading system, which could have crippling results if improperly handled.

Arguments in contention of this point are the positions of Norway, Switzerland and Turkey; who maintain close trading ties with the EU, without being bound by fishing quotas, agricultural policy or EU-wide regional policy.

However, in each of these cases Britain would be either subject to the same set of trading laws but without any way to negotiate them, restricted in the export of British services which constitute a large section of our trading GDP, or face potentially limitless trading tariffs - none of which appear very appealing (because they’re not).

But hey, economic flagellation is a small sacrifice when our remuneration is political autonomy from the oppressive (democratically elected) regime in Brussels - and their 2012 Nobel peace prize - right?

Actually, I’m one of these peculiar people who believes that environmentalism, international human rights, fair trade, economic productivity, an international justice system, food and drink standards, hygiene standards, access to healthcare abroad, international cooperation and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world are positive things.

Something rather nice about democratic institutions is that they’re democratic. A renegotiation of EU policy that adversely affects Britain (certain regional fishing quotas for example) is something that we should strive for, and understand that this refinement is a function of democracy. The EU allows Britain to function as an economic power, and internationally promotes the ethical tenets that we as a country claim to uphold.

Devolution is a nasty word: its prefix engenders privation, negation and separation; unfortunately for all the exasperated sceptics out there, these strategies just aren’t ethical or economically viable anymore.

LOLCATS is the kind of phenomenon that Daily Mail writers would call ‘inane’ and ‘vacuous’. This type of kneejerk reaction to the abstract, absurd, strange and sadly misunderstood world of cat memes is nothing new.

‘Lolcat: Teh Exhibishun’ is a gallery of lolcat pictures which recently opened in London.

Tom Peck, a critic for The Independent, reviewed the exhibition with some more than scalding remarks, including: ‘If you don’t know what a lolcat is, congratulations, but to humanity’s eternal shame it can rightly be described as a phenomenon.’

His tirade was followed by a predictable backlash. Many lolcat fans retaliated in the only way they knew how: by creating a mash up of the Grumpy Cat meme with Tom Peck’s face.

At surface value, it can be easy to see why some people loathe lolcats - this kind of silliness just isn’t on. Aside from all the avid fans, there are those who see the phonologically spelt captions and the cats with bread wrapped around their faces, and react by wanting to destroy humanity with radiation and fire.

Perhaps there will one day be a kind of Charlie Brookeresque dystopia where we converse entirely in memes or meme references, maybe this has already started to happen. Perhaps lolcats are the harbingers of the end of human intelligence, the forerunners of ‘memespeak’, the language which was George Orwell’s original draft for ‘newspeak’ in his prophetic novel 1984.

Or, perhaps they are just silly pictures of cats that give a momentary glimmer of happiness to the average fan.

They don’t have to make sense, they don’t have to be everyone’s cup of tea, but they will certainly never take over the world.

Comment 7

is it right to send our troops to mali?

David Stibbards BRITAIN is fortunate that we have not been required to fight another nation-state on British soil since the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands. As such, our wars are now typically interventions in the affairs of other countries, ‘police actions’ and pre-emptive attacks on ‘rogue states’.

Since the death of global communism, there is no longer a seemingly clear dividing line between good and bad, but hundreds of small conflicts absorb our time and resources, such as intervention in Bosnia and Libya, or punitive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mali falls neatly into the

category of interventionism, where one of the most liberal democracies in Africa was overthrown by a military junta which was distressed with the civilian government’s failure to contain a nationalist Tuareg rebellion. This is far from the end of the story, as the real threat is the Islamist soldiers pouring into the conflict.

In a statement delivered on 14th January, Tuareg rebels reconciled with the Malian government and resolved to fight against the Islamic extremists, saying: “We’re ready to help, we are already involved in the fight against terrorism.”

Accompanying this was the intervention by France, who

retains strong ties to its excolonial territories in West Africa, in a successful attempt to prevent the capture of a major military airport.

This is no longer a war to suppress nationalism and independence, but to prevent the spread of a dangerous and violent Islamist splinter group.

These extremists practice the brutal laws we are all familiar with, as well as destroying monuments and ancient records.

Where does Britain’s contribution of advisors and logistics come into this? Why are we to deploy around 330 troops in the region? Because it is the right thing to do.

We are a permanent member

of the UN Security Council, and have certain responsibilities.

When a nation or a region requests military aid, and the UN resolves to help, we must either participate as requested or resign.

As the Americans learned so painfully in 1941, isolationism is no protection from the rest of the world and as events in Algeria have shown us, Africa’s problems can very quickly become our problems.

David Cameron’s message is clear: “Together with our partners in the region, we are in the midst of a generational struggle against an ideology which is an extreme distortion of the Islamic faith, and which holds that mass murder and

terror are not only acceptable but necessary.”

There is a danger of ‘mission creep’, of course. That the deployment of military advisors might spiral into the use of ground troops. If this is the case, and such is the need, so be it. Mali’s democracy has already fallen to the instability caused by this scourge.

Remember, when evaluating this war alongside others in the region and of our time, rarely will the context for such an engagement be so clearcut. Remember also that it is not Islam itself which is being fought, but a splinter group which threatens to return us to the days of black and white, good and evil.

obama, assassins, and the dark side of twitter Rebecca Potter

“IT would be funny if Obama gets assassinated on MLK Day… just saying.” And why exactly would that be funny? “Cus they are both black it would be ironic.” This tweet is apparently the opinion of an average American teenager.

On Monday 21 January 2013, Barack Obama took to the stage in Washington DC to be inaugurated once more into the position of US president, and he was again greeted by a land-slide of criticism from the country he has vowed to “preserve, protect and defend”.

Whilst this criticism has always been expected for any new political candidate across the world, it appears Obama

(who won last year’s election by 332 electoral votes to Romney’s 206) was to be the recipient of some particularly violent abuse, via one of the world’s leading social networking sites, Twitter.

Claiming that it would be funny if Obama got shot on Martin Luther King Day – shocking enough on its own – was only the tip of the iceberg for many Americans. Some took to Twitter urging someone to actually shoot Obama, with one user claiming that there must be something wrong with assassins if they were able to take out Lincoln and Kennedy but not their current president.

Forgive me if I’ve gotten something wrong, but when did it become okay for people - in some cases those who are

barely out of childhood - to wish the murder of someone through a social networking site? With many of us using these sites for hours every day, has the digital media desensitized us to the manner in which we write and conduct ourselves?

It has become apparent to me that, globally, many Twitter users have forgotten that what they are posting can be seen by anyone with an internet connection.

This issue has been surging forward more over recent months with Twitter becoming the central point for a number of police cases, led by the temporary arrest of a teenager from Dorset who sent death threats to Olympic medalist Tom Daley. It was later followed

by a celebrity who revealed the name of a young girl involved in a court case, breaking a legal injunction.

This in some ways puts an ironic quotation mark on the right of ‘free speech’. Noone is as anonymous as they would like to think on social networking sites, and opinions that threaten individuals or spread hate clearly will not be tolerated. This is confirmed by how the offending anti-Obama Twitter account, its_jennarose, has since been shut down.

For me personally, it makes me wonder how people like those listed above can be allowed to have their viewpoint shared amongst the masses.

The influence these individuals are clearly having in many

parts of the States is worrying, particularly when many of them can’t even correctly spell the poison they’re writing.

Article originally found at the NEW InQuire Live website. www.inquirelive.co.uk/comment

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IQ Kent Student Mediaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts to help homeless charity Catching Lives Features, page 15

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Who really deserves to win an Academy Award? Culture, page 19

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IQ Features 11

rag presents: take me out at the attic

Ellie Turnbull

It’s that time of year again, the dreaded build-up to Valentine’s Day. At this moment, you are probably forced to face the fact that you have absolutely no plans, after which follows some serious self-reflection on why you are destined to be forever alone. Or, you are suddenly forced to face the fact that you actually have made no proper plans with your partner and are beginning to live in fear that you are therefore an awful boyfriend/girlfriend. In which case, never fear students of Kent! Kent RaG is here to bring you a Valentine’s Day never to be forgotten.

After its enormous popularity last year, Kent RaG will again be hosting its own version of Take Me Out in the Attic. For those students who perhaps don’t indulge too much in Saturday night television whilst at university (or at least pretend not to), and have actually never come across Take Me Out before now, this is how it goes: Guys ranging from questionable to high levels of attractiveness are put before a panel of gorgeous young girls, to be questioned, judged and flirted with. After revealing any and all of his embarrassing traits along with ‘special talents’, the girls leave their lights on or off dependent on whether they would

be interested in a date with said guy.

When there are only the ladies left who have consistently kept their lights on, the guy uses a process of elimination to whittle the group to a special final two.

Then finally, after some serious thought and a bit of persuading from the two remaining ladies, he is able to choose which of them he would like to take on the all-important date.

Naturally, we like to make things nice and fair, so at our own Take Me Out, there will be panels of girls AND panels of guys for our lucky contestants to potentially find a date, and maybe even successful companionship with.

Do you think Take Me Out could be the opportunity you need to improve your love life? Fancy getting involved to win an all-expenses paid date, or know someone who would? Just get in contact with Kent RaG to nominate yourself for being a contestant or even on our male or female panel. Come with cheesy chatup lines at the ready!

So that’s your Valentine’s Day planned. Come and support your fellow students in their quest for love and help raise some money along the way!

Romance, laughs and charity, a great evening for couples and singletons alike. No need to thank us, just donate generously!

Take Me Out is in the Attic on Valentine’s Day. Come along to see a representative from each Student Media group take part!

Easy

inquire puzzles

Hard

12

IQ Features

going live for catching lives

about the charity

inquire’s plans

Natalie Tipping Newspaper Features Editor

Natalie Tipping Newspaper Features Editor

Catching Lives is an independent charity based in Canterbury. The aim of the charity is to improve the lives of homeless or vulnerable people in the city who have nowhere left to go. The organisation offers immediate help in the form of its Open Centre, located near Canterbury East Station.

The charity works with the homeless to give them access to designated accommodation quickly and safely.

Unfortunately, due to the harsh economic climate of recent years, Catching Lives was almost forced to close a couple of years ago. This cannot be allowed to happen, as the homeless in Canterbury need help. They rely on

As one of the three media groups organising this event, which is aiming to raise money in support of a local homeless charity, certain members of the InQuire team have decided to sleep the work of their volunteers, as well as rough for the night to experience the from donations and fundraising within life of a homeless person, in order to get the local community. more insight into the problem many are The main aim of the charity is not faced with. simply to give the homeless food, It isn’t exactly going to be the sanitation and clothing, but best night’s sleep that any of to reintegrate them into us have ever had, nor is it society, give them a new going to be particularly beginning and new fun, but we believe hope in life. Working Donate at www. it’s necessary to closely with partner understand the justgiving.com organisations, the centre also AwakeFor48, or by texting cause.

We’ve also offers access to ‘LIVE48 + £amount got in contact medical services to 70070 - anything with many other which provide between £1 and £10! societies around care that is almost campus and tried impossible for many to get them involved. visitors to get access The Capoeira Club to anywhere else.

ktv’s plans for event Alec Cockram KTV Head of News

As part of the Going Live for Catching lives campaign, KTV will be live broadcasting the entire 48 hour student media marathon. This means that no matter where you are in the world you can tune in via the website and see for yourself the efforts that the student media team are going to, as they happen, in order to raise money for the much deserving charity – Catching Lives.

On the Thursday night, there’s RaG’s version of Take Me Out. A show like that is always good for a laugh or two. No likey?

Then why don’t you watch Ryan and Jessie’s Karaoke session? Whatever your interests, television tastes or sleep pattern, at some point during the 48 hour event there will be something for you. Not forgetting of course the premiere of

the Varsity promo video and the final announcement of how much money we have raised.

As well as being able to listen and watch at any time, you can send us a tweet with the hash tag #Awakefor48.

Let us know how we’re getting on and tell us some of your favourite moments.

Broadcasting an event such as this will be no small feat. With a crew of around 20 taking shifts, manning cameras, managing feeds and catching sneaky naps when they can get them.

will be performing in The Attic on Friday between 3 and 4pm, and the Japanese Drumming Society will also be performing at some point over the two days.

Out in the plaza we will have some of the sports teams running their own games which you can take part in for a small fee. The UKC Knights Inline Hockey Team will be setting up a ‘Hit the Target’ event outside the SAC building, so for a small donation, why not have a go?

If you’ve got a free hour between seminars, why not head up to the Attic and see what’s going on? CSR will be based there for the duration of their marathon broadcast, and KTV might even get you on camera! Nobody really wants to spend time in the library do they? Didn’t think so...

We hope that as many people as possible will help out with and donate to the event. Details of how to donate to this event can be found to the left of this article, please give generously!

csr’s plans

Ryan Bartrop CSR Station Manager

Over the course of the Charity Event, CSR will be embarking on our longest broadcast yet, aiming to break the record for the longest amateur broadcast.

Myself and Jessie Martin will be attempting to broadcast live for 48 straight, without any sleep, rest, or even caffeine.

That’s right, no energy drinks, no chocolate, no pick ‘n’ mix, nothing. It’s going to be difficult, but here’s an overview of what we have planned, amongst other things, for the marathon broadcast: - On Thursday, we’re sending Jessie on Take Me Out to find her a date this Valentine’s Day. - We’ll be taking over many specialist shows, with genres including Dance, Ska, Hip Hop, Metal and Jazz.

- We’ll have Acoustic Performances throughout the show, as well as

performances from the Japanese Taiko Society - that’s Japanese drumming for those who don’t know!

- We’ll also be interviewing some of the societies taking part in the event on the plaza.

- When we’ve gone delerious due to lack of sleep, we’ll be taking part in an early morning Karoake session.

Call in or come and join us for some fun and madness over the course of our media marathon!

IQ Features 13

spotted: venue presents tinchy stryder

& events The Venue Friday 8th February Venue Presents: Vernon Kay Saturday 9th February SOAP! Wednesday 13th February FLIRT! Onesies Friday 15th February UniTrash Saturday 16th February Blue Rinse Wednesday 20th February FLIRT! Saturday 23rd February SOAP! Wednesday 27th February FLIRT!

The Attic Thursday 14th February Student Media Event Thursday 14th February RaG Take Me Out Thursday 19th February Comedy Central Tuesday 26th February Pluck Your Acoustic Photography by Moritz von Hochberg

14

IQ Features

recipe of the week: vanilla yoghurt cake

WHAT TO BUY • • • • • • • •

200g self-raising flour, sifted 100g ground almonds 150g caster sugar 1 tsp baking powder 2 large eggs, beaten with a fork 250g vanilla yogurt 150ml sunflower oil 1 zested lemon

inquirers: my life in books

Kat Mawford

1. Favourite Childhood Book: The Brothers Grimm – Hansel and Gretel

I grew up with fairytales being read to me and then re-reading them myself.

Although it’s difficult to pick a single one, Hansel and Gretel has to be it despite the obviously pretty disturbing end! As with almost all fairytales, I love the simplicity of the story and the fact that there are always so many different versions of the narrative. The evil stepmother, the children going off into the woods, the amazing gingerbread house, the children outwitting the witch... what’s not to love?

WHAT TO DO

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

160C/gas mark 4. Butter or oil a 20cm spring-form tin.

Put all the dry ingredients for the cake in a bowl with a good pinch of salt and make a well in the centre.

Put all the rest of the ingredients in the well and stir with a wooden spoon, gradually incorporating the wet ingredients.

Spoon into the tin and bake for half an hour. The cake is done when a skewer comes out clean, if not give it a little longer.

Leave for 10 minutes to cool in the tin, then turn onto a plate.

Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Serve with crème fraîche or yoghurt.

George Hopkin Best Childhood Book: Homer The Odyssey

When I was younger I developed a fascination with the ancient world. It came partly from video games such as Empire Earth and Age of Mythology, but mainly because of Homer. The Odyssey is the definitive fantasy story: dealing with the return voyage of the Ithacan King Odysseus from the ancient Trojan War, the whole epic involves his numerous mythical and chaotic adventures and the trouble he went through just to get back home to his small island off the west coast of Greece, and, more importantly, to his loyal wife Penelope and young son Telemachus.

I go back time and time again to The Odyssey – with my favourite version being Pope’s heroic verse translation.

It’s a gem, featuring mighty gods, mere mortals, and bizarrely realistic LotusEaters, great both for children and anyone who values the imagination.

Best Book That I Have Had To Study: Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice Through my education I’ve enjoyed a lot of reading. Most of the time I sigh at the thought of compulsory reading, but I reckon that academic life has opened me up to a huge amount of work that could otherwise have gone

2. Favourite Teen Book: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Although I was at the younger end of my teens when I read this it’ll have to count for this category as it stayed a firm favourite and I’ve gone back to it several times. For me, this book has never lost its appeal, despite being intended as a children’s story. Bilbo’s encounters with dwarves, trolls, elves and dragons are really entertaining for me, and often funny, as well as cleverly written, and it’s this book which led me onto reading some of Tolkien’s other work, especially the Lord of the Rings, which I loved.

3. Favourite School Required Reading: Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe All of my favourite required reading texts came from A-Level English, and although it’s hard to pick one, it’s got to be Marlowe’s version of the Faustus legend. Funny as well as being serious, and with so many adaptations to watch alongside reading the play, this is not only my favourite of this category, but my favourite play in general. I spent my time reading it half-worrying for Faustus, half-hating Mephistopheles and mostly just enjoying the situations they end up in together, playing tricks on others.

4. The Book That Taught Me Something: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Each time I read this book, I feel like I understand it a different way. I’ve never read anything like it in terms of how much you are drawn into the story.

Set in Nazi Germany and written from the point of view of Death, a not-quiteimpartial narrator, this book not only taught me more about World War II and its effect on German families, but also about writing itself. This is one of the books that has inspired me to want to write in the future, whether it be stories or articles.

woefully undiscovered. I’ve learned to enjoy writing by authors from Christina Rossetti to Alan Bennett, but my favourite study book has been Pride and Prejudice. I was sceptical at first, much preferring the superb J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Harris at the age of 16 (not to mention football, girls, and my Xbox), but as time goes by and I see more of the world, my love of Austen just grows and grows. Pride and Prejudice is a deservedly famous love story and a hilarious social satire that is never irrelevant –this brilliant Regency period novel, depicting the

colourful journey of young people from singledom to the state of marriage, is one that I’m delighted to have been forced to study. And yes – men are allowed to enjoy it as well as women!

Book That Has Influenced Me The Most: Plato - Republic Plato’s Republic is the first book of philosophy that I ever read and is still the most important. At the age of 17, I was struggling for ideas. So when I properly engaged with this book something special happened: I started to really open my eyes. The book is primarily a discourse on philosophy itself, morality, and idealistic politics, and therefore, I think, it deters a lot of potential readers. Please do not be deterred. Written in the form of dramatic dialogue, Plato introduces the reader to the greatest philosopher of all time – the bearded ancient Athenian Socrates who claimed that he knew nothing at all, and is, I believe, to cultural Western rationality what Jesus is to Western faith. It is accessible if one wants it to be, with Plato aiming to lead the reader on a reasonable and logical journey through various topics of conversation, and taught me one of the most important lessons of my life so far.

There is nothing better for myself than having an open mind and heart that are willing to learn and seek for the truth.

IQ Features 15

h&m style awards: the candidates

Heralded as an award which supports ‘young and talented fashion design students, the H&M Style Award is a demanding competition to find the next person who will be designing the clothes we wear. On 29th January, the winner was revealed at the Mercedes-Benz Stockholm Fashion Week, so we’ve decided to take a look at each of the finalists, their clothes and the ideas behind them.

T-shirt tops, making the actual style Daniela Rodriguez Amy Carr

Having beaten applicants from 19

different fashion schools from around Europe, the eight finalists invested their hopes in a prestigious fashion jury who had to decide who should win €50,000 as well as the chance to have their clothes in H&M’s autumn collection. All was not lost for the runners-up, as the public also get to vote for the candidate they think is the best. The winner of this “People’s Prize” gets the opportunity to partake in an amazing internship at Jonathan Saunders in London.

Alba Prat From Germany, the first contestant’s picture on the H&M website reminds me of a sort of stylish 80s geek, and her clothes are much the same. Prat’s aim is to create an abstract collection blending art and science. Her clothes are characterised by large suit jackets, reminiscent of the padded shoulder look, and creepers, in bold blacks, blues and reds.

Maia Bergman The next candidate is Britain’s entrant, her style contrasting completely with Prat’s collection: she has pastels, pastels everywhere.

Her models look more girly, and she has successfully moved into the next decade: her clothes are inspired by 90s grunge. Included are A-line dresses and

of her clothes look very wearable and current. It is the colour and the batik look which makes them more unique, yet still remind me slightly of a chaotic child’s painting.

Erik Litzen Sweden’s entrant produced the only collection in the final aimed at men.

Erik says his clothes are aimed at those who exist beyond limitations like age and sexuality. Baggy or flared seems to be key, with a mix of both the peasant and the business man shown in his cool greys, browns and splashes of bold.

Eleonora Bruno The eccentric clothes inspired by fictional muse Madame Rouy are from Italy’s hope, Eleonora Bruno. Hers are some of the more radical items in the final, and not something I’d wear whilst walking down Canterbury High Street.

Mark Tan Denmark’s entrant sports a goatee and calls his collection “Boohbloom”.

When I heard the ideas for his collection were inspired by the interaction between the body and wood, foam and plaster, I got a feeling that this might be an odd collection. However, compared to the feather headdresses of Bruno, in fact it seems surprisingly normal.

Disappointing considering his epic goatee.

We all know the French are supposed to be the most chic. High expectations then for Rodriguez’s collection, which she meets. Her clothes are simple, yet elegant, and her inspiration, the minimalist Casa del Agua and Japanese and Korean historical costume can actually be felt in her design. Definitely my favourite.

Thom Barends Our last candidate is a student from the Institute of the Arts in Arnhem, Holland. Thom Barends’ justification seems very perceptive: our “generation is the first who is not assured of a better financial standard then their parents, [...] we have to work with the luxury our parents created”. But his clothes are very hit and miss. The military style boots, hoodie and jacket look good; once again it is the fur in his collection that makes me think it’s perhaps not everyday wear.

And the winner is.....

Minju Kim Minju Kim, the Belgian entrant, has an emotional justification for her collection: “Everybody loves in different ways.” Yet her models seemed to me to just be wearing some form of scrum cap. Her mix of pastels, geometric shapes and fur seems just a bit too odd to ever be sold on the high street, but I guess we’ll see how she does...

the fashion round up Amelia Bundred After a successful collaborative collection with Orla Kiely, Japanese brand Uniqlo have announced that they have teamed up with Celia Birtwell for a capsule collection, due on UK shelves in March, which promises to feature Birtwell’s iconic vintage prints.

10 people have been arrested for stealing £1.7 million worth of merchandise from Giorgio Armani’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection from a trading post in Verona. All in the name of fashion!

It’s nearly here… Rihanna’s highly anticipated River Island collection is due to hit the shelves on 5th March but will be previewed at London Fashion Week on 16th February. In an interview for The Telegraph, Rihanna spoke of her love of British street fashion and coined her collection as ‘casual, chic, flirty’.

Michael Kors has announced plans to raise money and awareness for the United Nations World Food Programme through various events and campaigns. The launch will begin with two unisex watches, released in March, under the slogan ‘Watch Hunger Stop’. It is said that each watch sold will feed 100 children and with the current popularity of the designer’s watches, the campaign is sure to make a difference.

Even fashion’s hottest need a break! It has been announced that Alexander McQueen will not present a show for Autumn/ Winter 2013 at the highly esteemed Paris Fashion Week, as creative director Sarah Burton will be on maternity leave.

16

IQ Entertainment

music

albums in brief

tinchy stryder at the venue

The Joy Formidable The Big Roar With dramatic swells of bass rhythm and an upbeat, plastic-y pop voice this album creates an excellent indie rock mixture. Perfect for long drives to new places, the lulling background melodies will send you across elusive paths of thought.

Full of meditative enjoyment that you can play on repeat, this is an album not to be missed.

Julie Peppiatt

Biffy Clyro Opposites One thing you can say about Biffy Clyro’s Opposites, there sure is a lot of it. The album spans two discs of 10 songs each. While Biffy Clyro’s expansive, energetic post-rock indie and Scottish accented vocals make for great listening, their sound stays relatively stagnant between each song, making a two disk album seem a bit redundant. Tracks Sounds Like Balloons, The Joke’s on Us and Black Chandelier are excellent, though.

Chad Greggor

Frightened Rabbit Pedestrian Verse Scott Hutchinson, lead singer of Frightened Rabbit, threw down a gauntlet for himself with the title ‘Pedestrian Verse’. Fortunately, nothing here lives up to the title, this album sees a return to the personal songwriting of The Midnight Organ Fight. As their first ‘band album’, where all members have contributed to the composition it is also their most varied. Bubbling sequencers, thudding piano, all are fitting alongside the galloping drums and guitars. This is anthemic alt-rock as it should be: intelligent and intimate.

Matthew Gilley

Le1f - Flyzone Le1f sounds a lot like if SpaceGhostPurrp and Death Grips had a baby with a lisp. His EP Flyzone has less of the club swagger of his single, Wut, but Float, Breezy, and Spa Day are great tracks.

Chaz Limbaugh

Photograph by Moritz von Hochberg

Pamela Head Newspaper Editor

Thanks to the awesome power of social media and some very dedicated fans, The Venue played host last week to hip-hop artist Tinchy Stryder. For free.

With around 1,000 people in attendance, I was prepared for it to be a little more crowded than usual, but this was ridiculous. From 9pm, the Venue was rammed.

We’d made the stupid decision to stand in the middle of the dance floor, empty at the time, though not for long.

Within minutes, the bottom floor was packed out, a baying crowd chanting anything the DJ asked as he called out: “Tinchy has just arrived in the building!

Cheer! Tinchy!”

Even though he’d been in the green room for a good few hours. Ah well.

With the crowd suitably hyped up and the insane light show beginning, Tinchy Stryder emerged on to the stage to a chorus of wild girly screaming, that did not let up for the entirety of the gig.

He played his way through the usual songs, Number 1 and Never Leave You included. It was all good, all well practiced and all designed to get the crowd going, singing along and whooping. Even though it was only half an hour long, it wasn’t bad for a free gig.

He seemed an expert at whipping the crowd up into a frenzy, nearly stripping off half way through and asking if any girls wanted to ‘join him backstage’, I’m sure many girls would have gladly taken him up on his generous offer.

Meanwhile, on the screen behind, a big video of him played on repeat, showing him trying on different headphones

before settling on a pair that had his signature on. Funnily enough, they were a perfect fit.

Everywhere you looked, there were pictures of headphones. On the bar, on the walls, on screens. By the end of the night, I could close my eyes and see the same picture imprinted on the backs of my eyelids.

It’s glaringly obvious why he agreed to do the gig. The promotion was shameless, the references frequent and the discounts big to lure in students.

But none of this detracts from the fact that Kent won a prize that many other universities fought for, and one that caused great envy among non-Kent friends.

This show was worth the money (ha) and worth the effort it took to get him, despite the blatant advertising campaign. Well done, Kent.

my bloody valentine release new album: mbv Jonathan Easton

It has become an industry joke, but after 22 years since the magnificent Loveless, My Bloody Valentine are back with an album simply entitled mbv.

Kevin Shields, frontman and overtly obsessive perfectionist, announced at the band’s first gig in 4 years last week that the new album “might be out in two or three days”. This was a line that many laughed off but, sure enough, on the 2nd February a message read on the band’s Facebook page: “We are preparing to go live with the new album/website this evening”.

The new album and website went up at 11:58 pm and, as if on cue, decided to crash. Go figure. The big question asked was whether this album would satiate the fans and how it would compare to Loveless.

It is worth noting at this point that

we are going to print only a couple of days after the album has been released so this should be considered less of a review and more of a first impressions piece. First impressions however can be the most important and, upon initial listening, mbv is stunning. There is little reinvention of what Shields & co. had laid out in their sophomore album, with the first few songs sounding much the same. This is hardly a bad thing, however. It is mind-boggling how new

their 1991 album Loveless sounds, even today. No band has yet created a comparable sound in the two decades since its release. So believe me when I say that sounding similar to Loveless is no criticism of mbv.

There is so much discussion among the residents of online forums about the mythology of My Bloody Valentine that many people don’t really know what they sound like. A term coined in Sounds magazine in the late 80s, ‘shoegaze’, is the genre that My Bloody Valentine have come to embody. Loud distorted guitars, intricate drumming and subdued vocals are all mainstays of the genre and are very evident within mbv.

Perhaps a criticism of mbv is that it isn’t enough of a change from Loveless but it still sounds unlike anything else out there. Basically, I’m trying to tell you that you should listen to it. A lot.

IQ Entertainment 17

tv, film & games

tarantino tackles westerns

Daniel Stocker-Williams

Another success for Quentin Tarantino. This time the traditional Spaghetti Western receives an explosive revamp, whilst remaining typically Tarantino. One can expect to see his usual stylish flair, fancy camera work and acute attention to detail.

Accompanied by reams of flawless dialogue, and a trail of human carnage.

The plot – unusual for Tarantino – is in chronological order (excepting some flashbacks) and has a single protagonist; the former slave, Django (Jamie Foxx). The film follows the plot of a German legend, in which Django plays the less than thinly veiled role of Siegfried, who must rescue his imprisoned love – Broomhilda von Schaft (Kerry Washington). The excellent cinematography, particularly of the beautifully stark southern

landscapes, adds to the fairytale mise-en-scène and makes watching this film an immersive experience, which is necessary considering its lengthy running time: a leg-stiffening 165 minutes. This is assisted for the most part by a brilliant soundtrack, though there are a couple of unusual anachronistic choices, for example the rapper Rick Ross’ 100 Black Coffins, which feels distinctly out of place.

As we have come to expect, there is a stellar cast. DiCaprio excels as the sadistic, yet deceptively smooth plantation owner Calvin Candie, of the infamous Candieland. At his right hand is his head-slave Stephen, whose unnerving mannerisms show Samuel L. Jackson in his most disturbing role yet, a bold statement considering his portrayal of the homicidal Ordell in Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. Undoubtedly, the show-stealing performance is by

the silver-tongued Christoph Waltz, as the gentle bounty-hunter King Schultz.

His emancipation and subsequent companionship with Django, gives this film its much needed humanity. It is unfortunate, and somewhat ironic, that the weak link here is Jamie Foxx, whose character demands a necessary certain grit and menace he seems unequal to.

This is a violent film; no surprises there. The action sequences are fantastically gory and genuinely exciting, with blood-spatter being used to full effect. On occasion however, Tarantino errs on the side of excessive brutality. The ‘Mandingo’ fight scene for instance, sees two slaves graphically fight bare-fisted to the death, which I found both a little grating and unnecessary.

Although heavily preoccupied with cruelty, this film is not without its laughs. Jonah Hill makes a brief appearance as ‘Bag Head #2’ of a bagheaded-racist-mob suffering a type of wardrobe malfunction unique to their clique. This and Foxx’s pale blue satin get-up, with accompanying frilly cravat, are hilarious scenes that serve well to offset the later gripping, but intensely dark exchanges.

Overall, Django Unchained is an involving and exciting thrill ride, which sees Tarantino as writer and director once more at the top of his class. It is well worth a watch on the big screen.

dmc: nothing to cry about...

Lisa Gheysen Website Culture Editor

Released on Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, DmC: Devil may Cry certainly has nothing to cry about. Swapping from Capcom, developer of the previous four games, to Ninja Theory, known for beautiful environments, but lack of game mechanics, the fear of the faithful was the loss of the fluid combat that made the Devil may Cry franchise famous. Not so. The elegant and intuitive controls remain. Combining combos with different weapons from Eryx, Chuck Norris-style demon gauntlets, to Aquila, giant angel ninja stars, taking out enemies has never been easier or more deadly. If, when you stop, you don’t feel like a warrior god then you haven’t played for long enough.

The plot, however, is entirely predictable; a battle between good and evil. Lucky then that main character and gameplay are incentive enough

to continue. Dante is the same smartmouthed character he’s always been, quipping while in a muzac-filled lift that this is the true hell, but he has a likeability lost to its predecessors.

The letter grading system, previously shown only at mission’s end, now has a live feed during gameplay, working as serious motivation by increasing and decreasing depending on hits you take and your combo combination skill.

After all no one wants an F in Dante’s class! Ultimately, the pacing is the winner in the incentive creation game.

The constant development of your arsenal, shifting challenges of missions and ever more difficult enemies mean you rarely get bored.

Ninja Theory shows its true skill, though, in DmC’s world. In an alternate universe from former instalments, it’s given a sleek urban reboot. The demon overlords, no longer snarling monsters, instead are clever schemers, commanding the world through debt, brain-washing media and mind-

controlling, succubusinfused soft drinks. Even the city itself is at their bidding, bending and rearranging itself to trap, crush or block Dante as he battles his way around.

My only quibbles with this stellar contribution to the gaming world are its length (spanning only two evenings and at my calculation about 10 hours of play, it’s a tad paltry) and the clearly delineated missions, great if you’ve been playing five hours straight, it’s four in the morning and you have a 9am seminar, but not so good for immersion into the fantasy of being a demon hunting badass.

Whatever its faults and virtues, there is one thing you can say about DmC: it always looks cool.

PICK OF 2013 COMEDY Robert Linton KTV Station Manager The Wrong Mans James Corden writes and stars in a new comedy crime thriller that will be on our screens later in 2013. The idea came to Corden on the set of Gavin & Stacey with the help of costar Matthew Baynton. The two will both appear in the new show which focuses on Baynton’s character (Sam) finding a ringing phone at the site of an car incident. And answering the phone turns the pairs lives around.

The show will air on BBC2 and a great cast, including Dawn French (Vicar of Dibley), Emilia Fox (Silent Witness) and many more. This sounds like the makings of a hit comedy series.

Malachy’s Millions Finally, we have another king of comedy returning to our screens.

This time it’s Peter Kay. He has been recently cast in a new Channel 4 comedy spoof of Secret Millionaire, in which Kay plays a self-made millionaire who gives up everything for one week to help a poor Northern mining community. Yet again, Kay has taken up a character role and in my opinion this is when his comedy is at its best.

The Wright Way Ben Elton has penned a series of classic comedies including Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. Now he has written a brand new sitcom for BBC1.

The show is set in a local council’s Health and Safety department, run by manager Gerald Wright (David Haig, Yes, Prime Minister) who takes his job as a rule enforcer very seriously, in the office and at home. The BBC have said that this new comedy will feature “a mix of established performers and fresh comedy talent”. This will hopefully produce a great comedy, with plenty of laughs.

Other returning series in 2013 include: Heburn (BBC2), Bad Education (BBC3), Cardinal Burns (E4), Trollied (Sky1) and Life’s Too Short (BBC2).

KTV also has a very busy 2013 with coverage of Varsity and Union Elections. We have also commissioned many new shows, including a regular series of KTV Cookbook, with the first episode being released for the Chinese New Year. More information visit www.ktvlive.co.uk

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IQ Entertainment

tv & theatre

refreshers comedy box-sets selection

Apparently not everybody conforms to the cereal chomping, box-set watching, dressing-gown clad student stereotype, but Alice Bryant, Website Entertainment Editor for one would never scoff at an afternoon spent on the sofa with a share-size packet of crisps and 10 hours of DVD material...

Green Wing

A completely underrated British comedy, Green Wing merges the hysterically surreal with an engaging storyline and memorable, well developed characters. It indulges in some absurdly silly behaviour (Mark Heap’s performance as Alan Statham is a notable example), whilst also producing dramatic cliffhangers (coincidentally at one point some of the characters do actually end up hanging off a cliff) that leave you gasping for air.

If you were, in fact, gasping for air, you certainly would not want to be put in East Hampton hospital. In contrast to Scrubs, where the doctors actually behave a little bit like qualified professionals, the Green Wing cast are reminiscent of teenagers on work experience: they awkwardly bumble about, mercilessly compete against one another, and occasionally attempt to have sex with the nearest animate human. All in all, Green Wing will leave you feeling giddy with giggles, but slightly confused. In a good way.

Dan “Preacher Man” Ashcroft from Nathan Barley

Peep Show Nobody can truly ever be sure how the two protagonists of this show, Jez and Mark, ever made friends at university.

Mark is conservative in nature: a delightfully petty, socially awkward history enthusiast who likes nothing better than to feel superior to others and to tap away on his Blackberry.

Jez, his flatmate, is a hedonistic 30-something who dabbles in drugs and wants to be in the The Prodigy. Only he can’t really play any instruments.

Or sing. Or do anything much, for that matter.

Peep Show has been going nine years, and the two opposing characters bounce off each other so well that, despite being commissioned for eight series in total, the programme never feels stale. It’s a comedy of embarrassment that will reduce you to a twitching, cringing husk of the person that you once were. And it’s too good to miss.

Nathan Barley Nathan Barley is a satire of the ‘Shoreditch twat’; a breed of hipster that lives in the East London area, works in various media jobs, and proclaims that

continuously before zooming through each other’s frames. At first this proved amusing, and then irritating, until the dull ache of boredom set in and you just will for the one hour show to end.

The show consisted of a series of scenes to create a montage, highlighting the fractured, surreal nature of dreams.

This was created by the company through their improvisation and exploration of cubism and object theatre. The cubist element of the show felt unoriginal and tacky as they used corrugated cardboard to create the cubist, scenic background in the picture frames. Things started to pick up with the introduction of a puppet dressed as an old man, fighting against a wind, carrying a bunch of flowers. The skill of the puppeteers was extremely evident in this part as all the individual pieces of the puppet moved in perfect synchronisation.

The puppet’s flowers flew out of his hands and when they got stuck in the corners of the frames, the flowers rotated to face the audience as two legs appeared underneath; the flowers thus became ballet dancers performing the last dance of Swan Lake. This was a beautifully creative moment in the show.

Unfortunately, it did not last.

Following this mesmerizing scene, all

hope for the show’s success was again snatched away when the sound of a cow consumed the theatre as random letters fell through the picture frames. This bizarre, seemingly unrelated scene left the audience bewildered and perplexed, not to mention a little bored.

The heads then reappeared, this time in a train window indicated by a horizontal line. Whilst this simplistic act was successful, unfortunately it took them five minutes to stop moving the line of the window and proceed with the scene.Although the scene improved as the heads interacted with each other and a rogue head was beaten by the other ‘passengers’ with their newspapers, it just trailed off leaving the scene stagnant and the audience disappointed.

Despite the glimpse of characters the audience briefly saw in the puppets, the show appeared to only exist for the puppeteers to display their skills instead of displaying developed puppets which enveloped, entertained, and enchanted their audience. The lack of entertainment and plot left this show feeling empty and the puppets void of character and charisma. The puppeteers tried to form a fantastical, surreal world where these engaging characters existed. Unfortunately it is not a world that I want to visit again.

everything is ‘gonna be total fucking Mexico’ whilst wearing some form of post-ironic 80s garb. Written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, the series is a scathing but equally entertaining portrayal of Barley, who Brooker acerbically describes as a ‘meaningless strutting cadaver-in-waiting’, incessantly tapping on his ‘handheld twit machine’ whilst being hailed by his peers as a genius to the point where ‘that’s well Barley’ becomes a ringing endorsement.

The cast features the comedy giants Richard Ayoade, Julian Barratt, Noel Fielding, and even a brief appearance from Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s rich in material and talent, and parodies the pretentiousness of the new media era which Brooker is now, ironically, so heavily involved in. Despite only having six episodes, Nathan Barley is a largely overlooked comedy that hsa a lot to offer, and some utterly fantastic quotes: “Keep it dusty.”

“That’s well coinci-mental.”

theatre review: the heads events spot

Marianne Cutts

The critically acclaimed Blind Summit

theatre company brings its audience another performance of puppetry entitled The Heads, performed at Soho Theatre, as part of the London International Mime Festival. After the huge success gained from their fantastic show The Table, there were high expectations for their next show.

Unfortunately, the renowned company did not deliver. The first twenty minutes of the show were torturous.

In individual picture frames heads appeared, and rotated upside down

highlights Gulbenkian

Seven Psychopaths - 8th - 11th February CSR FM Valentine’s Film: Wall-E 14th February Francesca Martinez: What the **** is Normal - 15th February Life of Pi - 22nd - 26th February Richard Herring: Talking Cock - 23rd February The Marlowe Theatre No Wave is 3, featuring The History of Apple Pie - 14th February Stomp - 19th - 23rd February The Lounge Theme Park: 8th February

Editor’s Note A short apology, in the last issue of InQuire, 25th January 2013, the article Oscar Nominations Analysis was attributed to the wrong writer, the article was in fact written by Kelyn Luther.

To read an open letter to the Canterbury Odeon cinema please visit inquirelive.co.uk/entertainment

IQ Culture

this week in culture Over 1,000 original Hollywood B-movie posters have been donated to the American Academy by a private collector from Chicago, who had been amassing the collection since 1977.

Salman Rushdie has had to cancel a planned appearance in Calcutta, India, after the police asked for a written affirmation that he would not be in attendance. The event was to promote the new film of Rushdie’s book Midnight’s Children.

Leading ballerina Svetlana Lunkina, from the Bolshoi Ballet, has left Russia over alleged threats to her filmmaker husband. The news comes in the wake of an acid attack on Bolshoi artistic director Sergei Filin, but the events are not believed to be connected.

Director of the National Theatre, Sir Nicholas Hytner, announced plans for a “more experimental repertoire”, which will be shown in a temporary wooden shed whilst the theatre’s smallest stage, the Cottesloe, is under renovation.

rising stars at the 2013 baftas

Megan Weal

The dresses have been chosen, our favourite actors and actresses are on the edge of their seats, and the fake “well done, you deserve it” claps and expressions are being meticulously practiced - it is, of course, awards season. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards are back on Sunday 10th February, and with the anticipation quickly mounting once again, the speculations are coming in thick and fast.

The EE Rising Star award is no exception. Previously won by some of the most well-known, notable young actors such as Shia Labeouf (2008), Kristen Stewart (2010) and Adam Deacon (2012), it’s no wonder that this year’s nominees are biting their nails in anticipation of accepting the distinguished accolade on the night.

And for 2013, the nominees are (drum roll please): Elizabeth Olsen, Andrea Riseborough, Suraj Sharma, Juno Temple and Alicia Vikander.

In stark contrast to last year’s wholly male list of nominees, 2013 is the year of the girls. Sharma, the only male nominee on the list, shot to stardom through his first acting role as Pi Patel in the Oscar-nominated Life Of Pi. The novelty of his evocative debut

performance meant there was little that detracted from his character. Despite his enrapturing performance, though, surely the honour should be awarded to someone a little more distinguished and varied in their acting career?

Saying this, perhaps one of the 2013 nominees is over-qualified for the prize. I am, of course, referring to 31-year-old Andrea Riseborough. Her role as Brenda in the 2010 picture Made In Dagenham provided us with

Rising Star nominee Juno Temple

academy awards: snubs of the year

Jonathan Easton

It is awards season again and, as always, the Academy have proved to be out of touch with what actually are the best films of the year. So without further ado, let’s get to it.

Holy Motors (dir. Leos Carax) The archaic rules of the Academy state that each ‘foreign’ country puts forward a single film for nomination.

This then gets whittled down to a shortlist of five. France put forward Intouchables instead of my film of the year, Leos Carax’s magnum opus Holy Motors. That the film requires the audience to participate and think about it meant it never stood a chance at Best Film or Best Screenplay. As for the performances, to my mind Denis Lavant gives the best performance of the year, portraying no less than 11 completely different characters. It should also be nominated for Best Original Song, but now I’m nit-picking.

The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) Sure, The Master was rightly nominated for Best Actor, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, but what makes it a masterpiece is its production.

Shot in 70mm film (which basically makes it look really, really nice and the colours all stand out), the film should undoubtedly be nominated for Best

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Cinematography. The Master should also be recognised for its writing, with Anderson creating characters as colourful as the images on screen. There is some semantic rule which means Jonny Greenwood is unable to be nominated for Best Score but he should be.

Moonrise Kingdom (dir. Wes Anderson) Quite possibly one of the most twee films of 2012, Wes Anderson’s latest outing was nominated for Best Original Screenplay but nothing else. Combining remarkable performances from the two young actors and supporting stars with Anderson’s unmistakable visual style, this should have been nominated for a whole bunch of Oscars as opposed to the measly one it received. Perhaps

I’m being sentimental, but Moonrise Kingdom filled me with a warm, fuzzy feeling that I think should be rewarded.

Sightseers (dir. Ben Wheatley) Sightseers is a quintessentially British film about caravanning and serial killing starring an angry woman and a bearded ginger man. Brilliantly written, acted and shot, Sightseers amassed a grand total of zero Oscar nominations and not even a BAFTA nod. Perhaps more understandably overlooked given its overt ‘Britishness’, Sightseers does so little wrong and so much right that it’s hard to think of many films last year which were better made. Stunning shots of the Yorkshire dales made me even consider getting a caravan, a girlfriend and a big rock.

Poor form, Academy. Must try harder.

the recreation of a major step towards gender equality and in 2006 she accepted the Ian Charleson Award for her classical stage appearances in Miss Julie and Measure for Measure.

Do these previous honours mean she should be cut from the 2013 nominees list? Would Riseborough have been more suitable back in 2010?

There’s no arguing with the nominations now, but this year my bets and hopes are on Juno Temple to walk away with the title on Sunday night. She shone continuously through 2012 with her incredibly evocative roles in Killer Joe, with Matthew McConaughey, and Jack & Diane alongside Kylie Minogue.

Despite her work amongst such A-list stars, Temple never fails to shine through and has undoubtedly come a long way from her attitude-fuelled teenage roles in St. Trinians (2007) and Wild Child (2008). She embodies the title Rising Star. Temple is an actress continually growing in on-screen presence and confidence, preparing to cruise to the top of her game in 2013.

Plus, the name Juno is very cool.

Whoever picks up the prize, I highly recommend grabbing the popcorn, sitting down to a night at the BAFTAs and revelling in our homegrown British talent.

events calendar Sat 9th Feb Chatback Comedy Club’s Kids Hours 2pm, Gulbenkian Theatre Wed 13th - Thurs 14th Feb Coppélia (Russian State Ballet of Siberia) 7.30pm, Marlowe Theatre Sun 17th Feb A Celebration of Britten 5pm, St Gregory’s Centre for Music, Canterbury Sat 23rd Feb Vintage Comedy & Music Night 7pm, King’s Hall, Canterbury Mon 11th - Sat 16th Feb Alan Ayckbourne’s Absent Friends 7.30pm, Herne Bay Little Theatre Tues 19th Feb Krapp’s Last Tape 8pm, Marlowe Theatre Weds 20th - Tues 26th Feb Art By The Sea 111 Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable

Homage to Georges Franju in Leos Carax’s bizarre, reflexive Holy Motors

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IQ Culture

the art roundup

Julia Smith looks at some cultural delights close to home.

London is host to an incredibly exciting (and unfortunately expensive!) range of exhibitions this year. There really hasn’t been a better time to go out and explore the delights of the world-famous museums and galleries that our wonderful capital has to offer. But for those of you who don’t have the desire - or the pennies - to travel to that big bustling city, Kent is bringing out the big guns this year, too. So forget journeying northwards, and hop on to the HS1 down to the East Kent coast to satiate your culture cravings.

Forget what you’ve heard about Margate; the once-grim seaside town has been given a massive boost thanks to the opening of the Turner Contemporary in 2011. Situated on the very same shores that the inimitable J.M.W Turner once painted on, the gallery is a shining minimalist beacon amongst the sad neon arcades and abandoned fish and chip shops.

back to pay the bills, bills, bills

Megan Weal

I don’t know about every other 90s child in the English-speaking world, but the news of a Destiny’s Child comeback led to immediate excitement and some questionable dancing to Survivor – and then total disappointment.

Why is it that our favourite childhood pop stars feel the need to try and relight a flame that dwindled and went out at about the same time as our interest in Tamagotchis? Don’t get me wrong, at the sight of my favorite pre-teen toy the excitement inside me builds and I can’t help but start to relive endless days of playing. However, after 10 minutes I am reminded that I grew out of these toys before. Consequently, the novelty wears off and I place the toy in a bag to take to charity. Doesn’t the same happen with every cheesy musical comeback that desperately forces itself onto our screens?

2012 ignited and cemented these feelings with the embarrassingly unsuccessful No Doubt album, released in September after the band had spent 11 years apart, the holographic weirdness of Tupac releasing a single from the grave, and the unquestionable cheesiness of a Steps reunion after 12 years. So why do Destiny’s Child seem to think their 2013 comeback will be

one of longevity and musical relevance?

The answer is obvious - Beyoncé. The woman is a marvel; the only thing she seems to struggle with is choosing baby names.

In the music game, relevance is key, and Beyoncé seems to be the queen of keeping her music current and maintaining a strong fan base. Her album releases aren’t annual, with the last four being released over the past nine years. She never completely removes her toes from the celebrity

It’s comeback time, but are we ready for this jelly?

music pool, though, with public appearances aplenty and the flaunting of her famous curves.

As well as Beyoncé, both Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland have been sporadically gracing our screens over the past decade so we don’t forget who they are. Together and separately, Destiny’s Child seem to have grasped throughout their careers that relevance and familiarity is key to being continually successful and not being thrown onto the ever-growing pile of embarrassing, nostalgic and novelty comeback attempts.

The same can be applied to the imminent comeback planned by Justin Timberlake. Continual appearances in magazine spreads and films such as The Social Network and Friends With Benefits, aimed directly at the audience that followed Timberlake throughout the early stages of his career, mean that his fan base is still holding firm. These musicians have grown alongside their audiences.

So is keeping a finger in the musical pie the key to the comeback? If it isn’t, at least such comebacks take us back to the school discos and karaoke parties of our childhoods - even if the latest attempt to be current and relevant is highly embarrassing and misjudged.

vilify politicians, you find yourself hard-pressed not to empathise with Birgitte as she pursues what becomes increasingly clear to be a thankless task.

Importantly, knowledge of Danish politics is not needed in order to understand the show; in fact it is quite striking how much of the programme makes sense from a British standpoint.

In many ways, this series isn’t really about politics at all but the people within politics, their relationships with each other and those outside the bubble of government. It is this sense of the outside, the isolation of politics, that is at the forefront of the programme. Its characters, trapped in a Machiavellian peep show, are a far cry from the caricatures that form the cornerstone of British political satire.

Each episode is a new struggle; the audience can only

watch as politicians, media advisors and journalists wage a war of attrition which, despite its subject matter, seems oddly divorced from reality. This isn’t to say that the show feels unrealistic; on the contrary, often supposed embellishments are uncomfortably plausible. Borgen is one of the most challenging representations of political life.

Though the format is not exactly new – The West Wing is definitely similar – in Britain it is distinguished as being a political show that is neither current affairs nor comedy. Though programmes like Yes Minister and The Thick of It are brilliant satire and great comedies, they don’t capture the brooding malevolence and desperation of Borgen.

It is fair to say that although this realism can make for great viewing, it is a series which, for all its outstanding writing and believable characterisation, is very dark with few light moments.

So far in series two there has already been a stroke, a suicide and a forced resignation.

Borgen is a truly great series which I would highly recommend to those in looking for a gripping, insightful and challenging drama; those in search of light entertainment may want to look elsewhere.

on the box: borgen series 2

Kerrick Whalley

Alright, so I’m not making it sound all that appealing, but the Turner really is a wonderful haven. With major, internationally important exhibitions having graced the bright white walls of the gallery last year (Alex Katz may not mean much to many, but Tracey Emin might), the folks behind the programming have followed suit for 2013. Opening this month are exhibitions of Rosa Barba and the fantastically intriguing Carl Andre - his brick installation at the Tate caused a big hoo-ha in the 70s.

With both exhibitions running until 6th May, it’s well worth the £5.20 train fare (even cheaper with a railcard, or use your bus pass to get there for nada) to experience this incredibly satisfying gallery for yourself. Stay classy, Kent. You’re doing remarkably well.

Borgen is the latest Danish drama to hit BBC Four since The Killing, except this time the focus isn’t homicide but the no less mundane world of Danish politics. This series can lay claim to some of the most engaging and believable characters of any television drama. Those hooked on series two, currently broadcast on BBC Four, will be relieved to hear that series three is going out in Denmark at the time of writing, so will likely make it to this side of the North Sea at some point in the future.

First and foremost, Borgen is a gripping drama that challenges the audience’s perceptions of politics and the media. It follows fictional Danish Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg, leader of the also fictional Moderate party and head of a governing coalition.

Despite the popular tendency to

IQ Culture

ukc campus art adventure

Manon Barthod

There is no place like a university, bubbling with creativity, to find various works of art. Out on an ‘art raid’, armed with a notebook and a camera on a Saturday morning, here are some of the things that are to be found.

One who is interested in paintings may want to make a stop at Rutherford hall. First, there is a portrait of Nelson Mandela by Janet Wilson, an artist from Johannesburg. A mosaic of different brown and pastel colours blend and reveal the face of this charismatic leader, here to inspire students of the School of Politics.

For those contemporary art lovers, four paintings by a Kent graduate, Stephen Dorsett, decorate the walls on the opposite side of the Mandela portrait. Dorsett describes himself as a “neo-expressionist painter” who uses three-dimensional illusion in his “abstract-form” paintings.

Anyone entering the Keynes foyer is challenged by a confusing vision: a water fountain, and, above it, a photo

of what almost seems to be that same water fountain. This recalls a Dadaist tradition initiated by Marcel Duchamp’s ‘ready-mades’, also know as ‘foundobjects’. The principle is that art can be anything, even an object which isn’t art-designed. One may also think of a Belgian surrealist artist called René Magritte, famous for his painting of a pipe with the following inscription below it: “This isn’t a pipe”.

This photograph seems to echo the same: “This isn’t a water fountain”. It is merely an image of a water fountain.

Magritte would say, if you don’t believe me, try drinking water out of it.

The School of American Studies is also based in Keynes, which would explain why photos depicting the United States in various aspects can be found there.

Among these photos one can spot the classic landmarks of America such as Niagara Falls or the Washington Monument.

Jack Kerouac, in his famous On the Road, said: “This is the story of America. Everybody’s doing what they

Called ‘the Oscars of the design world’ by London’s Design Museum, the Design of the Year awards celebrate the best ideas and innovations of the last 12 months across an incredibly broad range of categories. This year’s nominations include designs as varied as artist Yayoi Kusama’s collection for fashion house Louis Vuitton, cigarette packaging by the Australian Health Department, the Olympic cauldron and the British government’s Gov.uk website.

The nominations highlight the impact of good design, whether of a product, website, building, app, bicycle, art installation, teapot – you name it, the Design Museum have thought of it.

The overall winner will be announced

on 17th April. Here are some of the highlights.

The Centre for Vision in the Developing World’s Child Vision Glasses are self-adjustable corrective spectacles, which children can adjust themselves until they see clearly. A potentially life changing solution for children with poor vision in areas of the world where glasses are largely a luxury,

pause for thought Martin Porritt chooses this week’s poem.

As with much of Wendy Cope’s

poetry, this is funny, true, and sad.

It is also immediately memorable -- and, in the tradition of one of her favourite poets, Philip Larkin, the poem is lucid enough to be read through in one sitting, and yet rewards the reader every time he or she re-reads it.

think they’re supposed to do.” Three photographs of American gatherings placed one above another seem to echo this theme of fervent togetherness. A political rally and two sports meetings, all occasions to line up in almost an army-like fashion and wave the American flag as well as any starspangled shape or form.

The campus also harbours outdoor art, notably intriguing sculptures such as Hymn by Stephen Cox, behind the Keynes bus stop, with its menhir-like shape. A clever sculpture called Huella Humana by Asun Bassas, based on the theme of DNA and human beauty, can be seen before the Stacey building.

But perhaps the most curious art on campus can be found anywhere, such as on trash cans or on trees. This anonymous art, done by students for students, is there to enjoy for anyone who dares open their eyes. With such a wide variety of art, there’s bound to be something you’d like to see, here at the University of Kent Canterbury campus.

Photography by Manon Barthod.

Visit inquirelive.co.uk to see more.

design of the year shortlist

Tippi Jones

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their simple design also looks great.

The Occupied Times of London is a free, not for profit newspaper originally produced by the Occupy London movement in 2011. The design is in the tradition of self-made zines and radical publishing, with the typeface Bastard, designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, chosen for its difference from typefaces used in corporate advertising.

The incredible Book Mountain, in the market square of Spijkenisse in the Netherlands, is a literal mountain of bookshelves which sits under a glass pyramid roof. Readers access the shelves by stairs and corridors, with the 480-metre route leading to the reading room and café at the summit. The space currently houses 70,000 books, with room for a further 80,000.

Men and Their Boring Arguments One man on his own can be quite good fun But don’t go drinking with two They’ll probably have an argument And take no notice of you.

What makes men so tedious Is the need to show off and compete.

They’ll bore you to death for hours and hours Before they’ll admit defeat.

It often happens at dinner-parties Where brother disputes with brother And we can’t even talk among ourselves Because we’re not next to each other.

Some men like to argue with women Don’t give them a chance to begin.

You won’t be allowed to change the subject Until you have given in.

A man with the bit between his teeth Will keep you up half the night And the only way to get some sleep Is to say, ‘I expect you’re right.’

I expect you’re right, my dearest love.

I expect you’re right, my friend.

These boring arguments make no difference To anything in the end.

Wendy Cope

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Sport

SIX NATIONS BEGINS CRICKET PETITION STOPS BUCS Freddie Hulbert Cricket 1st Team Captain

Sam Clemence THE opening weekend of Six nations action was one of the greatest ever, featuring resounding victories, miraculous upsets, perfectly setting the tone for the next month of exciting international rugby.

The first match of the day saw 2012 champions Wales take on Ireland, with former Welsh turned Lions coach Warren Gatland watching from the stands, the pressure was on for potential British tourers this Summer to impress.

In a close 33-20 victory, Ireland eeked out the win, relying on the effortlessly cool boot of Jonny Sexton, and the veteran guile of Brian O Driscoll.

The second Saturday game saw England take on Scotland at Twickenham. England, playing

without star centre Manu Tuilagi, showed the class that took them past New Zealand in the Autumn, stream rolling the visitors 38-20. Owen Farrel was nearly faultless on the day, converting 3/4 conversion and knocking over four penalties for a total of 18 points. Billy Twelvetrees was impressive in his international debut, scoring a try and constantly gaining yards on the gainline.

Sunday saw the final game of the opening weekend, as France travelled to play perennial underogs Italy. In a dramatic upset, the Azzurri staged a last minute goalline stand, churning out a 23018 win. Italy standouts Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni scored the two tries, in a landmark victory that exposed Francee, who never seemed to get in the game, and were sloppy throughout.

BUCS, the British University Colleges and Sport recently announced that for certain divisions, cricket would be reduced from a 50 over format to the 20twenty format.

Whilst this form of the game has become commercially popular over the past decade or so, it is not deemed to be as challenging, productive or fulfilling as the original 50 over format.

Unsurprisingly the decision caused a stir amongst members and the University of Kent Cricket Club decided to take a stance against the decision It was felt that this decision would hinder the development of university cricket and would not provide adequate opportunity to those not already at top cricketing institutions.

The club’s ethos is to promote a ‘competitive spirit in an inclusive environment’ and the introduction of 20twenty cricket does nothing to further our cause.

For those who are not familiar with it, part of BUCS’ mission statement is ‘to enhance the student experience through sport’ and to be ‘part of developing sport at [your] institution’.

The recent change of

format was certainly not in line with this promise.

The introduction of 20twenty cricket meant that the university and potential sponsors would be unwilling to invest in cricket clubs and their facilities.

The wickets below the premier divisions are in poor condition for the most part and this change would have done nothing to improve that situation.

Education is supposed to break the cycle of opportunity and this decision is in breach of their development strategy laid down in partnership with Sport England in July 2009 to create ‘an inclusive environment in which all universities feel they can offer something to the partnership through the development of shared goals and outcomes, rather than the imposition of an agenda’.

Whilst we understand that the best cricketers should be encouraged to attend established cricketing universities it is spectacularly unfair that the opportunity to play a decent length game is only on offer to those people already playing a high standard of cricket.

Suffice to say a letter was written, a petition set up and within 72 hours we found ourselves with over 1000 signatories.

The cause had gone viral

on Twitter and Facebook leaving controversy in its wake. Professional cricketers Mathew Hoggard and Matt Prior had even voiced their opinions on the matter.

On the afternoon of the 28th January, it was announced there would be a re-vote on the matter and by the morning of the 30th, the decision had been taken to reverse the proposal.

Matt Harris VP (Sport), speaking on the result, had this to say: “The University Cricket Club raised their concerns to me and began a national petition for the change, gaining 1500 signatures in less than seven days from members of the cricketing community all over the UK including professional county clubs and players.

“Without their direct action and passion for the sport nothing would have changed and one day cricket would barely appear in the cricket calendar.

This is an incredible effort by the cricket lads.

“Without their direct action and passion for the sport nothing would have changed and one day cricket would barely appear in the cricket calendar.

They should be extremely proud of themselves to bring about such an important change on a national issue.

MATCH REPORT: KENT VS HERTFORDSHIRE LACROSSE

Simon Johns

IT was Wednesday afternoon and the sun came out to greet Men's Lacrosse in their first game back since December.

Having not been able to train for the last few weeks and losing experienced players to referee the game, nerves were running high. The opposition was a relatively unknown Hertfordshire side, who have picked up some good results already this season.

The game started slow, in the first five minutes neither team threatened and both looked slightly disoriented in their play. All of a sudden the Kent midfield lead the charge, driving at the Hertfordshire defense and forcing them to make mistakes. Good individual goals from Sam Perry, and Ian Hopkins meant that UKC ended the quarter 7-1 up. The second quarter started how the first had ended, with Kent maintaining

possession for large periods and Hertfordshire attacking on the counter where possible.

Team Captain Tom Butler kept the team disciplined and this allowed UKC to finish the half 15-3. As half time came,

the changes were made with two experienced midfielders coming off to Referee the game. This turned out to be a disaster for Kent, who appeared toothless and nervous on the ball without their experienced

heads commanding the midfield. Kent lost the quarter 7-1, there is little more to say than Kent completely lost their composure. The score at the end of the third quarter was 16-10.

Time for changes, Kent

decided to bring back on their experience and mix in some freshers who were rested and ready to go.This worked. Ashley Osborne came on and made some blistering runs to the surprise of both teams. Tom Lay making his first team debut, was comfortable on the ball and came close to scoring mid way through. Gavin Shepherd also performed well in his debut.

Kent dominated the rest of the match, winning the quarter 6-2. With a huge final scoreline of 22-12, the match saw an astonishing 34 goals!

Goal scorers: Simon Johns 8, Sam Perry - 6, Tom Butler - 4, Tom Robertson - 2, Ian Hopkins - 2. Man of the Match went to Simon Johns.

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Sport 23

BARCLAYS PREMIERSHIP TRANSFER WINDOW ROUNDUP Elliott Moore WITH another transfer window over until the summer, has your club strengthened enough during January?

With a lot of business being conducted earlier on in the month, such as QPR’s £8m purchase of Loic Remy from Marseille, and Mario Balotelli’s £19m move from Manchester City to AC Milan, deadline day was rather quiet: David Beckham’s move to PSG as a free agent, and Arsenal’s £8m move for Malaga’s left back Nacho Monreal were the highlights.

And what of Peter Odemwingie? In the transfer saga of the month, he took to Twitter to manoeuvre a move away from the Baggies, then apologised, then travelled without authorisation from the Midlands to London, only to find QPR unable to negotiate with a stubborn Jeremy Peace, who demanded

QPR’s Canadian winger Junior Hoilett on loan. An awkward return for Odemwingie to the Hawthorns is inevitable.

Newcastle further boosted their French ranks with the astute signings of Mathieu Debuchy, a snip at £5m from Lille, Moussa Sissoko, who looked imperious as he collected a brace in an astonishing 3-2 win over Chelsea at St. James’ Park on Saturday, Yoan Gouffran, the pacy former Bordeaux forward, and former Montpellier man Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, signed for around £6.7m.

Only time will tell if Mike Ashley’s significant investment will reap dividends, but the signs are positive.

Liverpool added to their £12m acquisition of Daniel Sturridge with the exciting signing of tricky Brazilian winger Philippe Coutinho for a reasonable £8m. Coutinho most certainly is a talent, and will add

a considerable amount of flair to a Liverpool midfield which can lack pace and trickery.

Speaking of pace and trickery, Manchester United’s £15m purchase of Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha adds to the already deep pool of attacking talent at Old Trafford, to complement the likes of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.Christopher Samba returned to the Premier League from Anzhi Makhachkala for a reported £100,000 a week, with Tony Fernandes splashing £12.5m to secure him. For me, he is a top defender, and is a more than adequate replacement for the departing Ryan Nelsen, who is moving to Toronto FC to begin his coaching career: a shame for QPR, as he has been one of their standout performers.As previously mentioned, Beckham made the much-touted move to Carlo Ancelotti’s PSG, for a last

crack at the Champions League, complete with the announcement he will be donating his 5 month wage with the Paris club to a local Paris charity.

A grand gesture which will only increase Beckham’s stature in the game. Monreal’s transfer has been greeted with quiet optimism, particularly in the light of his consistent performances for Malaga in La Liga and the Champions League, even more so when looking at the reasonable £8m fee. Not only will he

allow Andre Santos to move to a more advanced position on the left side, but Monreal will expect to challenge the injury-prone Kieran Gibbs fiercely for the left back spot, and early reports from Spain suggest Monreal may be the more accomplished of the pair.

Bring on the summer, where the real moves should happen. Expect bids for Falcao of Atletico, David Villa at Barcelona and, perhaps, Luis Suarez at Liverpool.

CRICKET END UNBEATEN RUN IN BUCS INDOOR LEAGUE Freddie Hulbert Cricket 1st Team Captain IN a term which has seen lucrative sponsorship deals, and revolution against BUCS’, and official plans for sustainable development, one might wonder how the University of Kent Cricket Club found the time or the energy to play any cricket at all.

In fact, readers might be surprised to learn that in the midst of all this commotion, the club has actually been rather successful on the field as well as off it.

This time of year is often considered the off-season where cricket is concerned, but many clubs and universities across the country play indoor cricket during the winter period.

Interest in indoor cricket has grown amongst universities over the past year it seems, probably due the poor weather we experienced last summer which all but ruined the outdoor season. As a result 120 teams entered this year’s BUCS indoor competition and Kent found themselves in one of two London groups fighting for a place in the semi-finals at Edgbaston.

London group B was shared by the likes of UCL, St. Mary’s, Christchurch and Kingston.

Kent dominated the group in spectacular style, winning

all seven of their games, which leaves us in the last 12 of the competition.

Special mentions should go to Buzz Gould, Adam Ball and Mathew Durrell for their continued efforts and outstanding performances in each and every game.

The whole team worked incredibly hard though and stayed focused throughout.

Over the past few years the club has also competed in the highly competitive Canterbury Indoor League which is played at the St. Lawrence county ground

each week. The league has three divisions and up until this year the club has only ever had one team competing in Division 1.

However, the decision was taken over the summer to enter a 2nd indoor team providing more opportunity for members to get involved during the winter and develop the already thriving indoor reputation which Kent has. The 1st team saw a historic finish in division 1 as runners up to Canterbury who are three-time national champions and just ahead of Whitstable who won the

national title last year at Lords.

It is generally acknowledged to be the strongest indoor league in the country and the club were delighted to finish 2nd after a hard fought campaign.

Special mentions again should go to Mathew Durrell for his relentless all-round contributions and Adam Dobson – a Fresher this year – for some fierce fast bowling which was instrumental in the team’s success.

The 2nd VI are well placed for promotion in division 3 and in a season of mixed fortunes for

the boys the senior players have done well to lead the team and allow those players new to this format of the game to develop.

Special mentions should go to Josh Parsons for his efforts with the bat, David Leach for several aggressive and sustained spells of bowling and Simon Prentice who has worked tirelessly to ensure that promotion is secured for his side.

The girls also enjoyed a successful, if a little frustrating, first round of their BUCS tournament in Southampton.

Captain Charlotte Miles took a relatively inexperienced side to a group which, in terms of talent, saw teams competing from both ends of the spectrum.

To place 3rd out of 5 was a fantastic effort given the circumstances, especially considering that Exeter and Southampton who finished above them are both Premier division sides. Special mentions should go to Laura Thompson for outstanding performances with the bat and in the field.

However, given that many of the girls had only started playing cricket a few weeks previous, special mentions should really go to each and every one of them. The club is incredibly proud of their achievements so far and we wish them the best of luck in the next round later this month.

visit our website at - www.inquirelive.co.uk/sport

InQuire sport RAVENS SURVIVE 49ERS SECOND HALF SURGE

Ed Wading SUPERBOWL XLVII was in the history books before the opening whistle was blown. It featured, for the first time in playoff history, two brothers as opposing head coaches; John Harbaugh for the Baltimore Ravens and Jim Harbaugh for the San Francisco 49ers. The match was filled to the brim with storylines. The return of the biggest game in American sports to New Orleans for the first time since the hurricane, the final game of controversial Ravens legend Ray Lewis, and would the 49ers gain a record-tying sixth Lombardi trophy? Yet despite all this, the battle for fraternal dominance headlined the occasion.

If the pre-game drama wasn’t enough, the game itself was determined to live up to the hype. A back and forth affair, separated by a 35 minute power cut, eventually

went to the Ravens, 34-31.

For those who don’t know, the Super bowl is the pinnacle of achievement in American Football, the championship of championships, the endgame for all 32 teams in the National Football League. To even reach it is a privilege, and the chance to hoist the trophy is considered a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So, for two brothers to both reach the Super bowl separately is surprising, let alone at the same time.

Speaking after the game, John lamented the win over his brother: “It’s tough. It’s very tough, it’s a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. It’s very painful.”

The game started well for the Ravens. Quarterback Joe Flacco was faultless, connecting seemingly impossible throws with receiver Anquan Boldin.

With a halftime lead of 21-6, it seemed like the game was going to be a blowout, even more

so when, after the halftime break, Ravens return man Jacoby Jones took one to the house. Jones, a New Orleans native, took the kick-off back 108 yards for a touchdown, tying an NFL record and breaking the Super bowl record.

However, this electrifying play seemed to affect the stadium, as a power surge plunged half the Super dome into darkness.

The 34 minute delay seemed to only benefit the 49ers, who, at 28-6 down, had a lot of work to do. They responded impressively, racking up 17 points in the 3rd quarter, with Quarterback Colin Kaepernick showing his incredible athleticism as well as poise beyond his years.

Errors by Baltimore running back Ray Rice kept San Francisco in it, and the biggest comeback in Super bowl history seemed to be on the cards, with the score 28-23 going into the 4th quarter. However,

the Baltimore defence, led by Linebacker Ray Lewis and Safety Ed Reed, both future Hall of Famers and two of the best to play their respective positions, held strong, stopping a last effort drive by the 49ers to score the winning touchdown.

With the score 34-29 to the Ravens, and 1 minute on the clock, Baltimore took an intentional safety, a controversial and rare move in the NFL. As a result they sacrificed 2 points, but also took the clock down to 4 seconds.

The resulting punt return from the 49ers was stopped, and the game was sealed for Baltimore.

For the 49ers, this will be a tough loss to recover from, there were several contentious decisions that could have gone in their favour. But, with a roster that’s young and talented, and a charismatic and determined head coach, they will have a lot of time to bounce back, and, even though this year belongs

to the Ravens, the future looks bright for the bay area.

The 37 year old Ray Lewis’ swan song was complete, and the Ravens, secured their second Super bowl championship in team history, the last coming in the 2000 season, when a younger and more effective Lewis was the game’s MVP. It has been a rocky road for the 2012 Ravens, and the road doesn’t look much clearer for next season. They will lose their polarising leader Ray Lewis, the heartbeat of the team since it was founded in 1996, and may lose their other cornerstone on defence Ed Reed. Superbowl XLVII will be a moment to savour for Ravens fans, with an average team age of 29, the chance might not come around again soon.

For now though, the Ravens return to the East as Champions, one more piece of silverware in their cabinet, one remarkable game in the books.