Issue13 by The Mancunion

10TH FEB 2014/ ISSUE 13 FREE

MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Music interview: P12 Bombay Bicycle Club

Film: The Passing of The Master

P18

Students’ Union Exec: Mid-term review

P8-9

Clubbers in hospital after Factory ceiling collapses Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor Seven people were taken to hospital after the ceiling collapsed at nightclub Factory 251. Around 850 people were evacuated from the nightclub on Princess Street in the early hours of Friday morning after a large piece of plasterboard fell from the ceiling onto the dance floor. Firefighters, police and ambulance crews arrived at the scene, but it is thought that no one was seriously hurt. The roof came down on the second floor during Factory’s ‘F//CK Thursday’ night, which boasts “3 floors of Euphoria & Debauchery”. However, club goers instead

found themselves holding up the ceiling, seen in pictures uploaded to social media. On Twitter, University of Manchester Physiology student @harry_pettite said, “Dancing around holding a collapsed ceiling above my head, definitely a new experience”. Another Twitter user, @priest_17 said, “As if a night at Factory wasn’t bad enough.” In a statement on their Facebook page on Friday, Factory said, “Sincere apologies to anyone caught up in last night’s incident. “A failed screwhead caused a piece of plasterboard to come loose. After inspection we’ve repaired the plasterboard and are pleased to announce it’s business as usual tonight.”

‘Voyeurism’ charge for university staff member Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor

RedRum nightclub, in Fallowfield, faces allegations of attempting to mislead emergency services Photo: Michael Williams

A male member of staff has been charged after two women were watched while using a toilet in University of Manchester buildings. The two incidents happened on 2nd December 2013 and 28th January 2014 in women’s toilets on campus.

The man, who works in the House Services team at the University, has been accused of peering over the toilet cubicle from an adjacent cubicle and watching the women. He has been charged with two accounts of voyeurism, and is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 18th February 2014.

Fallowfield nightclub RedRum ‘put lives at stake’ Michael Williams News Editor Fallowfield student hotspot RedRum has had its license revoked after “putting lives at stake” on multiple occasions. A catalogue of four serious offences have been recorded against the nightclub, including allegations that a clubgoer was left bleeding and unconscious in front of the entrance as club door staff closed the shutters. The door staff stand accused of misleading the police and ambulance services about incidents at the club. RedRum licensee Dr Jajoo employed door staff

directly, rather than using an accredited company or registering himself with the Security Industry Authority – despite being warned by the police that this was illegal. It is also alleged that the club purposely kept the clock on the CCTV footage almost an hour behind, and kept CCTV tapes for half as long as they claimed to, in order to cover-up incidents there. “This isn’t like bars in Fallowfield where things get a bit rowdy when they’re open late,” said Withington Councillor Chris Paul. “This is just on a different level. This is people’s lives at stake.” Dr Jajoo maintains the allegations are “racist” and the product of a “personal vendetta against

[him] by the Greater Manchester Police”. He also claimed that incidents at the venue were not as they were described in police reports. Speaking to The Mancunion, Councillor Paul called the actions of Dr Jajoo “complete incompetence”. “If the incidents had gone a little differently, someone could have died,” he said. “And not once did they call the police or an ambulance.” Supt Wasim Chaudhry, of Greater Manchester Police, told The Mancunion, “There was a successful application to revoke the license due to a history of incidents linked to the RedRum premises. “We absolutely refute any suggestion of a

‘personal vendetta’ as well as any allegation of racism or impropriety.” The Mancunion spoke to a female student, who asked not to be named, who was involved in a physical incident at RedRum with a male stranger when it was open. She spoke of her shock at the allegations. “Door staff are supposed to protect you on nights out,” she said. “Luckily I was okay after it happened because I had my friends with me, but I’d hate to think what would have happened if I was alone. Would I have just been left outside to bleed? Would they have called an ambulance for me?”

Continued on page 2...

02 : NEWS

ISSUE 13 / 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Highlights

Food & Drink:

Adventures without alcohol

Clubbers hold up the ceiling in Factory251 last Thursday after a “failed screwhead” caused plasterboard to fall on revellers. Photo: amandat1 on Instagram

Page 22

Picture of the week

Arts & Culture:

Manchester’s private galleries Page 24

Continued from page one... Councillor Kate Chappell, Manchester

City

Council’s

executive member for the environment, echoed the student’s sentiments. “The committee were very concerned that not only had four violent attacks taken place in or outside the premises over the last year, but that on each occasion it was

Lifestyle:

Internet trend; Neknomination

left to members of the public to contact the police,” she said. The

licence

revocation

came after a hearing on 30th January were told of four

Page 27

separate serious assaults in RedRum over a nine month period. A 23-year-old man was at-

If I was alone. Would I have just been left outside to bleed? Would they have called an ambulance for me?

tacked inside the club on New

Year’s Day and left with a frac-

victim suffered a broken jaw,

Dr Jajoo admitted his door

tured jaw. The door staff are

fractured

and

staff should have reported

alleged to have thrown out

a mouth injury requiring

this to both the police and

the victim and later claimed

stitches after he was punched

ambulance services, but they

that they were unaware of

to the ground and kicked

failed to do so.

the assault and that it had not

while on the floor.

taken place.

victim’s

tion would get worse if they

friend called an ambulance

called [the police and am-

aware of the incident when

to the incident – but bar and

bulance] than if they didn’t”,

they were contacted by the

door staff from RedRum later

said Councillor Paul.

victim’s girlfriend after he

told police they had not seen

had been taken to hospital.

it.

were

Cure cancer while playing on your phone Page 15

www.mancunion.com Facebook: The Mancunion Twitter: @THEMANCUNION Editor: Jonathan Breen editor@mancunion.com

A 20-year old man celebrat-

before the revocation comes

ing his birthday went for a

into effect, and he told The

and missing a tooth after an

cigarette

Mancunion he “of course”

incident on the 30th Novem-

on the 10th February 2013

ber where he was kicked and

and was punched, banging

punched by a group of men

his head on the floor, which

after leaving the nightclub.

led to a bleed on the brain,

This incident also went unre-

a perforated eardrum and a

ported.

fractured jaw.

In July of last year, another

News Editors: Michael Williams, Pippa AllenKinross & Aidan Gregory news@mancunion.com

foodanddrink@mancunion.com Film Editors: Sophie James, Robbie Davidson & Angus Harrison film@mancunion.com Features Editor: Sam Dumitriu features@mancunion.com Games Editor: Alasdair Preston

opinion@mancunion.com

Postal address: Univerity of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR

Fashion Editors: Susie Coen & Marie Yates

Phone (0161) 275 2933

BeautyEditor: Haylee Wells beauty@mancunion.com

RedRum

Food & Drink Editors: Ben Walker & Maddy Hubbard

News Web Editor: Dan Harold Opinion Editors: Alice Rigby, Charlotte Green & Joe Anthony

outside

plans to appeal.

This time RedRum licensee

News Reporters: Inez Dawoodjee

fashion@mancunion.com

Dr Jajoo has 21 days to appeal against the decision

Another man was left with a

Sub-Editors: George Bailey, Jennifer Grimshaw & Eleanor Muffitt

Visit Our Website

the

broken jaw, needing stitches

Deputy Editor: Harriet Hill-Payne

Games:

only

time,

“They thought their reputa-

made

Police

This

cheekbone

games@mancunion.com Lifestyle Editors: Moya Crockett, Isabelle Dann, Beth Currall & Lauren Arthur lifestyle@mancunion.com Music Editors: Tom Ingham, Patrick Hinton & Phoebe Clarke music@mancunion.com

Sport Editors: Andrew Georgeson, Thomas Dowler & Thomas Turner Sports Reporters: James Eatwell & Jonathan Roberts sport@mancunion.com Theatre Editor: Stephanie Scott theatre@mancunion.com Web Editor: Jennifer Ho webed@mancunion.com Photography Editor: Peter Chinnock photography@mancunion.com Photography team: Patrycja Marczewska, Joshua Brown & Cil Barnett-Neefs

ISSUE 13 / 10th fEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

NEWS : 03

University staff and lecturers walk out over pay dispute - Unions threaten further action if offered pay increase of one per cent is not improved - Further strikes planned this week at MMU and University of Manchester Dan Harold News Reporter University staff walked out on Thursday in protest at the one percent pay rise offered by employers. The strike is the latest in the long-running dispute between staff and employers over the proposed pay deal, and is the fifth protest since September. Around 300 members of the three campus trade unions Unison, Unite, and UCU - joined picket lines on Oxford Road as part of a national day of action that saw strikes take place across the country. The unions – who represent academic staff, support staff and postgraduates who teach - say that the offer would represent the fourth year in a row that university staff have been given below inflation pay rises. Andy Cunningham, Unison Assistant Branch Secretary at Manchester Metropolitan University and former Campaigns Officer at University of Manchester Students’ Union, told The Mancunion, “The short term issue is around pay, we’ve

had a 13 per cent pay cut in the last four years. “What it means is everybody, from cleaners all the way up to fairly high-paid technicians, is finding it hard to make ends meet – as prices go up and wages stagnate. “So, this year they’ve offered us another pay cut and they’re justifying it on the basis that we have to make changes and things like that, but the sector is really rich, universities are richer than they’ve ever been before and that money at the moment is going to fill the pockets of vice-chancellors and senior managers.” Commenting on the length of the dispute, Mr Cunningham warned that while student support for the unions appeared to be growing, there was a continuing risk to student’s education. “I think [the employers] felt like it would be over by Christmas. Today shows that it’s not, and if anything student support today has grown massively. “So, I’m hoping today puts a bit of pressure on them to bring a pay increase back to the table, otherwise it is going to be further disruption, that means staff

Students, staff, and lecturers from Manchester Metropolitan and University of Manchester came together on Thursday in a day-long strike Photo: The Mancunion losing money, students losing out on their education, all so they can protect their privileges.” Current UMSU Campaigns Officer, Clifford Fleming, said that the protest was about “us students standing in solidarity with staff and saying that us as students recognise that staff need good pay. “Students are coming here expecting obviously a good standard of teaching, they are wanting a good quality education, but the staff are being asked to do more and more and more for less and less and less. “And it’s not like the University don’t have the money to pay for it, they’ve got like £36 million in profit and they’re spending £1 billion on capital investment, that’s a hell of a lot of money and

they aren’t willing to pay staff.” In response to these allegations, a spokesman from the University of Manchester said, “The University is a charity, so it does not make any profit. Any surplus is put back into the University, for example into things like scholarships.” Rosie Dammers, UMSU Education Officer, said, “I think the University should stand up for what is right – to pay their staff a decent wage. I think it is absolutely disgusting that we don’t pay our staff properly, there’s still staff in this university on minimum wage – we need to make sure, first of all, that we are paying everyone a living wage, secondly we need to think about what we value and we value education.”

However, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association said it was clear that the strikes were having a minimal impact on education and that support was “visibly dwindling”. A spokesperson for UCEA said the institutions it represents “would like see trade unions turn their attention to constructive negotiations for this year’s pay, which begin next month. All HE institutions are consistently clear that there is no scope for further pay increases beyond those already paid last year, and all are united in their commitment to protect students’ education.” While negotiations for the pay offer for the next academic year are due to begin next month the UCU have plans for further strike action. Monday (February 10th)

there will be a strike by University of Manchester lecturers from 9-11am and all day by lecturers at MMU. Commenting on student support for any further strike action, Ella Milburn, a Spanish and Japanese student, told the Mancunion, ‘I spoke to a lot of students who: A. weren’t interested; or B. who said they were interested and then haven’t come. ‘If everybody who was even slightly interested came for like half an hour it would make such a big difference, there would be fuck loads of people here. Because loads of people do actually care when you speak to them, and I think more people would start to care if you actually explained it to them.’

Undergrads hold own Student protestors could face lectures during strikes eight years for violent disorder Anna Phillips News Contributor H i s t o r y undergraduates at the University of Warwick have taken it upon themselves to organise their own series of lectures in replacement of those cancelled by the recent Union strikes. Third year students used their old notes and lectured second year students, and second years lectured first years in an attempt to prevent students missing key exam material. Academics and other university

staff across the country have staged the walk-out in protest of a one per cent pay offer. Staff members at Warwick have expressed disappointment due to the students’ decision to continue with lectures themselves. Remy Osman, a second-year student at the University of Warwick who helped to organise the lectures defended the reasons behind the students’ actions. He said told The Mancunion: “Those who organise the lecture and the

others who come to them all feel that now we are on our sixth strike, they are having a negative impact on our education”. Rather than ‘replacing’ the hard work of their lecturers, Remy said their actions were “an attempt to re-create the excellent lectures from which I have already made a lot of notes”. Second-year History student Reece DeCastro, also at Warwick, admitted to The Mancunion that he does not have a firm opinion either way, but understands

the reasons for organising the lectures. He said: “It is quite annoying to have lectures cancelled when we’ve been told that the topics might still come up in our exams. “That being said though, whether striking is the right way to go about it or not, I definitely think something needs to be done about our lecturers’ pay.” Union strikes are planned to continue throughout February, including Thursday 6th and Monday 10th.

Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor

Three University of Birmingham students could face up to eight years in prison after being charged with violent disorder following a protest. The students have been named as Simon Furse, 22, Tomas Frymorgan, 23, and Panagiodis Theodoropoulos, 30. Ten other students were released on bail after spending 28 hours in police custody on suspicion of criminal damage, aggravated trespass and assault. According to bail conditions they cannot enter any university or further education grounds, meet with other arrestees or meet publicly in groups of ten or more, and must sleep at their home addresses. Authorities said the protest, led by Defend Education Birmingham, turned violent,

accusing the protestors of injuring staff, damaging campus property and throwing fireworks and smoke bombs. However, students have accused police of kettling them for four hours in the cold and illegally arresting those who refused to give personal details, which the police deny. A further six students have been excluded from University of Birmingham for involvement in political campaigning. This comes as Students’ Unions across the UK condemned the Birmingham Guild of Students’ Officers, who released a statement following the protest describing themselves as “disappointed” by the actions of students who took part. Over 75 Students’ Union Officers from around Britain have signed a statement calling the actions of the Guild “deplorable” and asking it to “carefully reconsider

its position”. The statement said: “We believe that protest action will always be disruptive, and the use of occupations and demonstrations has traditionally been an important and valuable tool in student activism. “We also find it deeply concerning that the Guild has still refused to publicly condemn illegal police actions on the campus, including kettling students and illegally demanding details from students who were told they would otherwise face arrest”. For the University of Manchester, the statement was signed by Campaigns Officer Clifford Flemming and Education Officer Rosie Dammers. At the time of writing, an online petition set up to reinstate the suspended students had reached almost 3,400 signatures.

University of Manchester students present their ideas to make the University and the Union better for students - will they PASS or will they FALL? All University of Manchester students welcome

Assemblies take place in the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union from 6pm. For more information go to manchesterstudentsunion.com/assemblies

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

NEWS : 05

The ‘Bucks Stocked Here: Union in deal with “tax-dodging” chain Union “aware of claims of tax dodging” but “do not have a policy in place to boycott” company Michael Williams News Editor

The Students’ Union have been branded “hypocritical” and “disgraceful” after a decision was made to carry Starbucks products in Biko’s Café. Since last Friday, Starbucks coffee products have replaced Peros coffee in the main Biko’s Café area. This decision has led to complaints from students regarding Starbucks’ tax-dodging reputation, especially as the decision comes on the Friday before the Union’s ‘Earth Week’ – a series of events including lectures on ‘Global Inequalities’ and ‘Sustainable Living’. After the Students’ Union announced the change on Facebook, students were quick to draw attention to this irony. “In your Earthweek video you talk about the need for more responsibility from us in order to survive in the future,” commented student Lloyd Cawthorne. “How does this act not contradict your goals for next week?” Starbucks only paid £8.6m in corporation tax in the UK

over a 14-year period, and paid £5m last year in its first tax payment since 2009. Starbucks coffee had been sold at North Campus for over a year, in the Biko’s North Café. However, following revelations that Biko’s North was operating at a “significant loss”, and its subsequent closure, the Starbucks offer was moved to Biko’s Café in the Students’ Union building. Students’ Union General Secretary Grace Skelton told The Mancunion that the Exec were “are aware of the claims of tax dodging made against Starbucks”, but said that “as a Union, we do not have a policy in place to boycott them”. An official statement released by the Students’ Union simply reads: “Following the closure of Biko’s North, we have moved our Starbucks products to Bikos and will be serving them alongside our usual menu items. “Peros coffee will still be available as an alternative, and can be purchased from the Union Bar. “All products served in the Student Union are Fairtrade and approved by NUS ethical and environmental criteria.” Students, however, were

not convinced by this explanation. Euan Bonnar, a third year History student, said: “I feel a bit disillusioned, for so long UMSU boycotted Coke as a result of a vote and now the Union has made the decision to sell Starbucks products without consulting its members. “It seems oxymoronic and doesn’t really contribute to any kind of transparency in the SU. If we had a vote on it and it passed, so be it, but the fact that they’ve taken this decision without asking us is pretty deplorable and not in keeping with the precedent already set.” Anna Willis, a second year Biology student, also drew attention to the Union’s previous stance on CocaCola. “It’s disgraceful that the Union is selling Starbucks, especially after banning Coca-Cola from 2007-2013 on the grounds of exploitation,” she said. Last week, The Mancunion reported how a small coffee cooperative formed by graduates from the University were made to attend a hearing against legal professionals from top corporate law firm Evershead, representing the

Son of top Manchester professor in helium gas suicide tragedy Charlie Spargo News Reporter Serious questions have been raised with the Home Secretary over the unrestricted sale of helium gas, after the 23-yearold son of a University of Manchester professor took his own life with £18 worth of the gas, which can cause asphyxiation when inhaled excessively, bought from the internet. Matthew Satterthwaite, a physics student at the prestigious Royal Holloway College, London, had previously suffered from depression after having trouble settling in at University. A psychiatrist in London had identified him as a suicide risk but the information was not transferred to his GP in Manchester when he moved

back home after dropping out of university twice. While his mother, Diana Mitlin, Professor of Global Urbanism at the University of Manchester, was working in Africa, he killed himself at his home in Chorlton-cum-Hardy. He was learning Swahili with the aim to travel to Tanzania to teach Physics, and wanted to learn to drive before he left the country. He had ordered the canister of helium, usually used for inflating party balloons, legally from the internet for £18 and kept it in his room before taking his life with it in September 2013. A note was found nearby that read, “I can’t take this any more. It’s been years since I instigated anything,” but it is not known when this was written or what connection it had with the

suicide. A JustGiving page in his memory has raised more than £3,000 to support the work of youth projects in Tanzania. Manchester Coroner Nigel Meadows said at the inquest into Matthew’s death that he would write to the Home Secretary, Theresa May, on the subject of regulating the sale of the gas. He also said he would explain concerns about the lack of communication between mental health institutions, something that may help in the future to prevent further tragedy such as this. “This is a big issue because people can’t get the records. There is no national database. It doesn’t exist. “I can write to the trust and explain this concern which is something I’m going to do.”

Biko’s Cafe began selling Starbucks on Friday - a decision branded “hypocritical” heading into ‘Earth Week’ this week Photo: Michael Williams

University. At the hearing, the ‘Coffee Cranks Cooperative’ were prohibited from selling their coffee from a purpose-built cargo bike on campus. Students also highlighted this disconnect. Leeroy Grimshaw, a third year MML French and Spanish student, said: “I’m sure that in Manchester, of all places, the University could have found perhaps a

smaller coffeehouse chain to help support a business that would contribute to taxes, rather than have a corporation that doesn’t pay any tax at all and is gaining a monopoly on the high street as it is.” Speaking last year to The Mancunion, when Biko’s North Café served Starbucks products, director of the Tax Justice Network John Christensen urged the

student body to “think very carefully” about their choice of coffee. “There are alternatives to Starbucks. Do [the student body] want to support companies that are undermining the economy in this country and elsewhere?”, he said. “Corporate responsibility begins with paying tax. You cannot run a democracy without tax.”

Recruiters target Uni of Manchester graduates

UoM graduates targeted ahead of Oxbridge

representative

Career’s Goldfield,

Inez Dawoodjee News Reporter Recently published research has indicated that Manchester

“We

very are

the

Tammy

said:

obviously students

from

Service,

pleased

highly

to recruit significantly more graduates in 2014,”

with the

are

number of entry-level vacancies

our

set to increase by 8.7%.

targeted

The largest growth is expected

by leading graduate recruiters

public

sector

employers,

and encouraged by the ongoing

accounting

firms,

investment

recovery of the graduate jobs

banks, retailers and engineering

market.”

and industrial companies.

graduates are the second-most

The Times’ Good University

Largest recruiters this year

target group of students in the

Guide ranks Manchester as being

will be Teach First, PwC and

country.

the 25th

Deloitte with over one thousand

High Fliers Research found that graduates from Nottingham and Manchester were targeted

best university in the

country. Oxford and Cambridge ranked 1st and 2nd respectively. Ms

Goldfield

added:

“Last

vacancies each. Employers also have increased work experience placements for

ahead of Oxford and Cambridge

academic

students

fairs,

increase of seven per cent in

Many graduate level positions

other

vacancies advertised and our

are filled by students who have

recruitment

already

recruitment

campus fairs

and

promotion events. Top

employers

include

large firms such as Google and Goldman-Sachs.

year

fairs

saw

were

fully

booked by employers.” The report concludes that the “UK’s leading employers expect

undergraduate students.

had

experience

working with the organisation.

ISSUE 12 / 3rd FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

NEWS : 07

University to cover bursaries cost after government cuts scholarships - Proposed cuts brought forward a year to 2014 - Scholarship Programme to be postgraduate-only Jonathan Breen Editor-in-chief University higher-ups are to meet this week and decide whether to delve into their own pockets to cover a second year of student bursaries in the face of government cuts. The decision over £1.9 million in bursaries for the 2015/16 academic year comes after the University announced it would defy government cuts and cover £1.26 million of bursaries for 2014/15 at the end of last term. The cuts, part of a £100 million reduction to the National Scholarship Programme (NSP), came as a surprise to universities across the country in December as they were brought forward a year to 2014. The University’s announcement at the end of last year followed an online petition and on-campus demonstrations by university students protesting the planned cuts to the NSP, which awards student bursaries. President and Vice-Chancellor

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell outlined the amount of funding the University is set to lose as a result of the government ruling, but promised that the university would support students who have already applied. “We will now lose £1.26 million in NSP funding as a result of this decision by government, which we think is unprecedented as a change in year to students who are ‘already in the system’,” she said. “The government’s decision has placed the University in a very difficult position as we simply don’t have such funds within a given year – any ‘new spend’ has to be at the cost of other budgets. “Nevertheless, we decided to cover the cost of the loss of NSP funding because we want to honour what we have presented to student applicants. This applies to all new home undergraduate students entering the University in September 2014.” As well as being cut, the NSP is to be made postgraduate-only, as part of savings announced in the coalition’s spending round. The scholarship programme was originally designed to provide financial support to undergraduates under the new £9,000 fee regime and was championed by the Liberal Democrats.

Government cuts come as part of £100 million reduction to National Scholarship Programme Photo: Green Lane @Wikimedia Commons Dame Nancy revealed that the decision was prompted by the proposed cuts, due in 2015, being moved forward by 12 months to the start of the next academic year. “We had expected the funding to be cut for students entering university in September 2015, but have now been told that NSP funding will be cut for students entering in autumn 2014,” she said. “At this point in the recruitment cycle a significant number of the students have already applied to us and will be

aware of the financial support that we provide to students from disadvantaged backgrounds through NSP.” The on-campus protest against the cuts was led by student campaign group Defend Our Education Manchester, who

expressed their delight at the decision with a statement on their Facebook page. “Ecstatic to announce that they [the university] will be covering all bursaries for 2014/15,” it said. “Thanks to everyone who signed the petition.”

Student protestors and police clash in Birmingham The latest protest at Birmingham Uni has caused outrage on both sides Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor 13 people have been arrested at a national students protest at the University of Birmingham. Three men have been charged with violent disorder following the protest, led by Defend Education Birmingham. Authorities say the protest turned violent, injuring staff and damaging campus property. The protestors have also been accused of throwing fireworks and smoke bombs. However, students have accused police of kettling them for four hours in the cold and arresting those who refused to give personal details, which the police deny. In a statement, Birmingham University said: “The university had no choice but to ask the police

for assistance in restoring order and protecting students, staff and university property. “While peaceful protest is part of university life, the university cannot tolerate behaviour that causes harm to individuals, damage to property or significant disruption to our university community.” Students at Birmingham University are still taking part in a sit-in protest at the university’s Horton Grange Conference centre despite several being threatened with expulsion from the university. Last Wednesday a 50 foot protest banner was tied to the university’s Clock Tower. The Guild of Students at Birmingham University have released a statement, saying: “The Guild is extremely disappointed with the action at today’s demonstration. “We wish to reiterate that this was not a Guild organised protest nor is the Guild affiliated to the campaign group Defend Education”. They added: “Whilst we oppose cuts to higher education, we do not condone the action taken today. It is unacceptable that this has negatively

impacted on our students”. However, Hattie Craig, VicePresident (Education) at Birmingham’s Guild of Students, has fought back against this statement. In a Facebook post, she said: “where is the condemnation of students being kettled for 4 hours in the cold and rain? Where is the outrage that they were refused water, food or access to toilets? “Where is criticism of the police for wrongfully arresting students? Where is the outcry against the actions of security […] when one student was pulled to the floor by her hair whilst shouting “peaceful”? Where is the indignation that a student collapsed in the kettle and the police refused to allow an ambulance onto campus? “The statement says the Guild is disappointed with yesterday’s actions; I am disappointed with the Guild”. Defend Education Birmingham has called for further protests in the coming weeks, alongside staff strikes.

Only £125 for travel until 30 June 2014 Of all the essentials you’ll need to think of for University, make sure you don’t leave home without your Unirider. Buy yours now at:

buymyunirider.com

Manchester University currently offers first year bursaries of £3,000 to students from households with an income of up to £25,000 per annum, and £2,000 for those between £25,000 and £42,611.

08 : Feature

ISSUE 13 / 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

One semester in - have the Exec kept their promises? Sam Dumitriu asks have the Exec kept to the promises they made during their campaigns? Sam Dumitriu Features Editor

Grace Skelton General Secretary Considering her responsibilities as a trustee for the Students’ Union and the recent financial difficulties the organisation has faced, Grace has impressively managed to implement the vast majority of her manifesto. Her key pledges to ensure all students had free access to wi-fi within halls and to expand silent study space are both in the process of becoming a reality. Currently some halls continue to lack free wi-fi access, but the University has guaranteed that every hall will receive free wi-fi access before September 2014 at the very latest. Communal areas such as Squirrel’s bar in Oak House will also have free wi-fi access. Study space within the Learning Commons remains an issue, but currently Grace is working with Rosie look at ways in which space can be utilised more efficiently as the Learning Commons is not technically full even in peak times. Probably the most memorable pledge Grace made was to give University of Manchester students access to discounted gig tickets within the academy. Obviously given the financial situation of the Union, this policy was dead on arrival. However, even in the absence of the Union’s budget deficit, doubts have been raised over whether this policy was ever likely to be put in place. Costings were not made available for the policy in the run-up to the election, and questions have to be asked over whether adequate research had taken place before bringing in the policy. Other pledges fulfilled by Grace include an anonymous exec phone number for students to text ideas or access advice, and success in campaigns to increase bursaries.

Tabz O’Brien Butcher Women’s Officer

Tabz is probably the busiest member of the Exec, indeed it was an effort to get her to take the time to respond to questions. That said, the sheer number of campaigns Tabz has launched is impressive. Fulfilling her pledge to launch an Everyday Sexism style campaign, this past Thursday Tabz kicked off the We Get It campaign. The campaign aims to highlight the Union’s zero tolerance to sexual harassment policy, and has had support from across the student body and the University, with Dame Nancy Rothwell endorsing it. Tabz describing the campaign said “It aims to get students to talk about their experiences of harassment on campus and beyond,

When I ran for the position, my manifesto points contained specific priorities. I feel that my priorities have changed over time, since taking up my post. Kazi Tawseef, Wellbeing Officer

and feed into the campaign to create a safer space for students at Manchester. In three hours we’ve got over 300 likes on facebook, and lots of tweets too!”. Also pledging to carry out a community safety audit using online mapping, she claims to have been working with over 50 community groups within Manchester to develop mapping tools and to launch a large scale Take Back the Night Bus campaign after hosting Reclaim the Night. She also launched a Woman’s Welcome Week, describing the week Tabz said “Events included LGBT Women’s film night, meet and greet with ISOC sisters, Manchester modernists heroines walking tour with the riveters, No More Page three campaign launch, a poetry event with Women for Women International, Fempowerment link up and launch event, a film screening of ‘Miss Representation’ and also a BIG women’s campaign welcome event bringing together all the different women’s groups and societies.”

Kazi Tawseef Wellbeing Officer

The manifesto pledge that likely raised the most eyebrows during the election was Wellbeing Officer Kazi’s pledge to bring in a dedicated 24h student ambulance service. Kazi justified the policy to The Mancunion “My concern was that the ambulance service is sometimes very slow to attend emergency call-

Election night seems so long ago Photo: Luchia Houghton-Lloyd outs. I once encountered a situation where a casualty was in a life threatening situation, but was told to wait an hour for an ambulance”. Having lobbied the University Kazi’s proposal was rejected on the grounds that it would not be financially feasible, he is currently lobbying the NHS. Another of Kazi’s policies was to lobby the University to bring in a reading week for all. However this policy was scrapped with Kazi explaining “After taking office and doing further research on it, I have found that it has got strong arguments against reading weeks [sic], both from academics and students. I decided not to pursue it.” Kazi’s policy to bring in an affordable students only gym was also scrapped after he found that there were many local gyms offering students decent deals during Welcome Week. Kazi commented on the U-turns “When I ran for the position, my manifesto points contained specific priorities. I feel that my priorities have changed over time, since taking up my post. This is mainly because of lack of information and feasibility analysis.” Other policies that Kazi prioritised had already been on the University’s radar and by the time of taking office the University had already taken steps to expand counselling services and expand the role of the Purple People during Welcome Week. With this in mind Kazi has still been able to work on some of his manifesto pledges including putting in a bid to fund a pay as you use bicycle scheme and lobbying the University to

lar TED conferences, will take place on March 2nd. Speakers will include BBC presenter Jon Sopel and New Statesman journalist Laurie Penny. Also attending is glutton for punishment/self-help trader Alessio Rastani, who was repeatedly heckled the last time he spoke on campus. He is also working on bringing personal development courses in public speaking and leadership to the University, and while currently the project needs more volunteers it looks set to be ready by the end of the semester. Omar is also organising the Global Week which runs from March 10th to 16th and includes a fashion show and a food festival. Currently ten cultural societies are involved and thirty people have volunteered to take part. Omar has also been working with Kazi to reduce re-sit costs and working with Clifford to launch the I’m Not Welcome campaign. He has also hosted the Great Debate with the Fempowerment society as part of Black History Month in October. Kazi Tawseef Photo: Manchester SU - Lloyd reduce re-sit costs for overseas students.

Omar Aljuhani Diversity Officer

Omar has been able to implement all of his manifesto pledge. Pledging to bring TedX to the University of Manchester has been successful and the event, which is an offshoot of the popu-

Charlotte Cook Community Officer

Charlotte has had mixed success in implementing policies from her manifesto. Her pledge to bring a “Students’ guide to website” which would offer students advice hit a stumbling block when she was told that the Union’s web provider could not facilitate an interactive forum. However, the web provider will be making expansions next year and it will be a long term project for the

ISSUE 13 / 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Feature : 09

Communications staff team and future Execs. While unable to offer free first-aid classes, working with the British Red Cross Society she has been able to run them for £2 a session, currently over 70 people have been trained and the British Red Cross Society will be holding free lessons to teach people to carry the knowledge into schools. Her proposal to write a weekly column in the MEN or the Manchester Evening Reporter’s community section was met with little interest

With so many promises made during SU Elections it is easy to become overwhelmed. Photo: The Mancunion (which you can find in the Union foyer) and we’ll be presenting the top issues back to the Council in a hustings on Friday March 28th.”

Clifford Fleming Photo: Manchester SU from the papers. Instead she has been promoting the excellence students do in the community by attending residential meetings. The Student Safety App, which she pledged is currently being worked on by the University and her proposal to protect Kosher accommodation has been successful in that Kosher accommodation is still being offered, although the extent to which she is responsible for this is unclear.

Liam Mayet Activitiesand Development Officer

Liam has fulfilled most of his pledges although some have had to be slightly modified based on feasibility issues. For instance, he pledged to hold regular meeting with society chairs. However, upon realising that there were over 350 society chairs Liam has dialled down the pledge instead working to improve the Activities Forum to establish links

plans on doing more this semester. Pangea is likely the first thing to come to mind when discussing the Activities and Development Officer. Liam was able to increase the quality of production by investing more creative installations and dynamic lighting. He has also worked to improve links with Man Met student societies by meeting with his MMUnion counterparts. He has also worked with Clifford to encourage the University to only sell ethical products by lobbying them to sign up to the Workers’ Rights Collective.

Clifford Fleming Campaignsand Citizenship Officer

Clifford has broadly been able to implement his manifesto with two exceptions, firstly his pledge to reduce commercial flyering outside the Union was out of his hands as the Council control the issuance of permits for flyering, although Clifford aims to meet the Council to discuss the number of permits issued. Secondly, despite pledging to campaign for cheaper utility bills and to conduct research into the utility prices, he has determined that this is no longer a priority preferring “campaigning to make positive change on campus and in society”. Recently, Clifford has worked on his pledge to raise awareness of global issues by launching Earth Week, which starts on February 10th and will include a food festival and a lecture series. Working with Community Officer Charlotte Cook, Clifford plans to launch Big Ask week, Clifford said “We’re encouraging students to give the SU feedback on what they’d like to change in their local area. We’ve been collecting information with our Big Ask box

We’ve been collecting information with our Big Ask box (which you can find in the Union foyer) and we’ll be presenting the top issues back to the Council in a hustings on Friday March 28th.” Clifford Fleming Campaigns and Citizenship Officer

Liam Mayet Photo: Manchester SU with society chairs. He has also had trouble in putting on the amount of charity events he had hoped, but

Rosie Dammers Photo: Manchester SU

Rosie Dammers Education Officer

Rosie has worked on a range of her pledges, although in some cases the

University has made commitments which cannot be backed out of. For instance, she pledged to lobby the University to switch from the BlackBoard online system to the Moodle Virtual Environment, but when she had taken office the University had just made a three year commitment to BlackBoard. To her credit, she’s continuing to work on online learning and managed to get student reps involved in developing new e-learning system within the EPS faculty. One area she has worked on is course feedback. Rosie has lobbied the University to publish online the results of course unit surveys and include lecturer comments to discuss what measures have been taken to improve the course. Rosie says “This already happens on some courses, however we need to make sure it

becomes common practice within the University. I am also lobbying for unit survey results to be made available to student reps, so that they can use them to make sure students comments are listened to, and needs met.” Study space remains a major issue for our Education Officer, Rosie described some of the actions she is taking, “I am currently working with the library to change the furniture in the learning commons so that there is more space for individual study. The library have agreed to put in desk dividers, and put out more desks during exam time. This is just a temporary fix; we hope for something more permanent in the future.”

My take:

Broadly speaking the Exec have kept their word. That said, some lessons should be learnt, firstly the most extravagant sounding pledges are usually the hardest to implement (see discounted gig tickets and the student ambulance service). Secondly, a lot of the time the University will either already be managing projects on the very issues students are campaigning on. Other times, they may be going in a different direction to the Union and will have paid commitments before the next Exec will take office. One remedy would be for candidates to research their policy ideas in more detail and ask the University to assist in this research, another aspect is to brief candidates in current university policy. Budget issues have been problematic this year, but candidates running in the next election should be given a realistic assessment of the financial situation by the current Exec. The jury remains out on whether any of this will happen when candidates run to replace the Exec in March. Students interested in standing can do so online on the Manchester Student’s Union website until February 27th.

Sam Dumitriu Features Editor

Opinion

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

We should all be Defending Education In light of the arrests at the University of Birmingham, Jenny Sterne argues that universities should be fostering protest, not criminalising it Photo:: Wikimedia Commons

My Political Hero... David Lloyd George

Photo: Defend Education facebook page Defend Educ ation are ‘fighting for free and democ ratic educ ation against pr ivatiz ation and cuts’; what should be a universal c all from students ac ross the countr y, in the wake of the £9000 fee hike and now the sell off of the student loan book to pr ivate companies. However, the events of Janu ar y 2 9th reveal the shocking lack of suppor t such protests are gaining from the student population and their respec tive universitie s. Of the prote sters that day, 13 were det ained for not handing over personal det ails, an ille gal prac tice, and then released on bail awaiting fur ther inquir ie s. The arrested students have now been suspended from universit y without a r ight to appeal, simply for being arre sted as par t of a prote st . These events are becoming the norm as the Universit y of Sussex protests demonstrated, when students were arre sted for simply sitting down on a road in their c ampus. It appe ars it i s no longer possible to protest without fear of severe retribution. Di ssent , which should be a natural par t of universit y life as we learn to que stion all that we know, i s becoming something the inc re asingly economic ally focused higher educ ation e st abli shment wi she s to st amp out alto gether. “ The Guild i s extremely di sappointed with the ac tion at today ’s demonstration” were the words of The Universit y of Birmingham’s own students’ union after the events on the 29th Janu ar y. The reason given by the Union in a st atement was that they “ will only suppor t lawful direc t ac tion and peaceful prote st”. As Adam Rowe, News Editor for Redbr ick News in Birmingham, confirmed, the protests in Birmingham bec ame confront ational when universit y securit y st aff blocked the entrance to the Universit y ’s main hall. Proper t y was damaged on c ampus and some graffiti was found during the prote st . Is thi s re ason enough to condemn and

withdraw all suppor t from a c ampaign demanding the conser vation of freedom of educ ation? The Vice Chancellor of Birmingham Universit y David E ast wood i s able to continue on a £400,000 + salar y, whilst advoc ating cuts throughout the Universit y and le aving many of the institution’s st aff on le ss than the living wage. Thi s pay gap, just one example of the inc reasingly corporate way in which universitie s are run, i s an injustice that surely ever yone must want to fight against .

Dissent is a natural part of higher education, u n ive r s i t y s t u d i e s encourage conf licting views However, the apathy of many students to the c ause s of Defend Educ ation i s st ark . They strug gle to accept the methods used by Defend Educ ation against the Universit y, sug ge sting ac tivi sts and Universit y management engage in debate s and di scussions, rather than just ant agoni sing e ach other. In re sponse to thi s, one Defend Educ ation c ampaigner wrote in Birmingham’s student newspaper “ we are fighting for a democ ratic universit y ”. If the Universit y was democ ratic, the demands of the student population would be enac ted - “it i s the tot alit ar ian power of management that forces a confront ation on anyone who wants to change how the Universit y i s run.” If the me ans to di scuss democ ratic ally with real re sults are not available then protests become

the only option. Prote sts that have hi storic ally made re al achievements have often used confront ational me ans in order for reco gnition of their demands to occur. One key example would be the suffragette s who had no democ ratic way to voice their demands so therefore confront ational ac tion was nece ssar y. C onfront ation i s then only exag gerated through the widely used technique s of kettling. In such a situ ation, cont ainment i s used to sc are people within prote sts, but public prote sting i s and must remain a c ruc ial par t of our democ rac y. The intention of B or i s Johnson to give the go ahead for water c annons to become a me ans of controlling prote sters i s just another example of the st ate s draconian methods in attempting to stem the r ights of the public to prote st without fe ar. These kinds of thre ats me an that violence c an e asily erupt in volatile protests; the prote sters know the kind of techniques the police are prone to using and therefore fear sparks violent energy. I am not denying that prote sters c an be ser iously at fault and irrational in c ase s, but the stupidit y of the few should not silence the major it y from being able to prote st without being demonized as hooligans or c r iminals. Universitie s are in their e ssence place s of ac ademic freedom, environments in which for generations students have been able to rese arch and que stion the world around them through their studies. Di ssent i s a consequential and natural par t of higher educ ation, Universit y studie s encourage conflic ting views on a range of subjec ts as a means of c re ating what will be; universit y studie s controlled by “things as they are” dec re ase s thi s autonomous power and destroy our abilit y to prote st .

It’s hard not to admire individuals who fought against entrenched privilege, and who took huge risks in the process. Showing conviction throughout a career is an admirable end to successfully reach. David Lloyd George achieved this goal, and more. Clement Attlee rightly gains plaudits for his role in shaping the welfare state, but it was Lloyd George who laid down the foundations. Born in Manchester to Welsh parents and raised in Caernarfonshire, Lloyd George was the first - and to date only - Welsh politician to become Prime Minister. Having developed a successful law career in his younger days, Lloyd George was politically active in the Liberals, and was elected to Parliament in 1890 for Caernarfon in a by-election, with a wafer-thin majority of 18. He built up a nationwide reputation by opposing the Second Boer War and through displaying strong leadership during attacks on the government’s Education Act. Lloyd George entered the Cabinet in 1906 as President of the Board of Trade after the Liberals’ landslide victory, and succeeded Henry Asquith as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1908. What followed next was truly remarkable. The 1906 Liberal manifesto had no commitment to the sort of social legislation that would become known as the ‘Liberal reforms’, yet fully in the knowledge that fierce opposition would occur, Lloyd George and Asquith enacted a series of progressive measures. Free school meals were provided for children in 1906 and in 1908 pensions were introduced for those over 70. National Insurance was introduced with the 1911 National Insurance Act, which gave the working classes a contributory system of security against unemployment and illness. These measures were met with considerable resistance from the Conservative Party, especially as they were financed by taxes on the rich by the provocatively named ‘People’s Budget’ in 1909. A fantastic orator, Lloyd George as Chancellor defended the budget designed “for raising money to wage implacable warfare against poverty and squalidness”. The budget passed through the House of Commons, but was voted down by a Conservative majority in the House of Lords. Rather than back down, the Liberals called two elections in 1910 to assert their mandate. Crucially, Lloyd George and the Liberals challenged the supremacy of the Lords over the Commons. Before the 1911 Parliament Act, the Lords had a right of veto over financial and public bills. The 1911 Parliament Act removed these vetoes, and established thereafter the dominance of the Commons over the Lords. The triumvirate of Lloyd George, Asquith and Winston Churchill was vital in these reforms over the years. That an unelected House of Lords (which was often opposite in political persuasion to the Commons) should veto legislation from the elected Commons was an affront to democracy. Lloyd George succeeded in his challenge against such disgraceful privilege; “who ordained that a few should have the land of Britain as a perquisite; who made ten thousand people owners of the soil and the rest of us trespassers in the land of our birth?” Lloyd-George emerged from World War I – during which he had served as Secretary of State for War and then Prime Minister - with his reputation at its highest point. However, it is his social and political reforming that make him my political hero. Asquith and Churchill were also key players during the Liberal achievements, but it was Lloyd George’s enduring charisma and oratory which was crucial. His policies entailed a crucial step away from the laissez-faire liberalism of the past, seeing the state as a positive force for good. It’s no coincidence that Lloyd George’s Keynesian economic plan for recovery during the Great Depression was entitled ‘Lloyd George’s New Deal’, echoing the work of another political hero of mine, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Lloyd George’s wisdom and influence was such that he was offered a place in Churchill’s 1940 cabinet, but refused. Fittingly, Lloyd George’s last Parliamentary vote was to condemn the government for not adopting the Beveridge proposals, which were to significantly expand the very welfare state that Lloyd George helped to create. I urge anyone, if possible, to visit the David Lloyd George museum in Criccieth, which has a fitting tribute to the great man. Perhaps a quote from the man himself will help: “The finest eloquence is that which gets things done; the worst is that which delays them”. Ben Fearn

Opinion

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Arts Emergency! More and more, a university education is seen as a commodity to be bought and sold. The Government has axed teaching grants and trebled fees, imposing a free market system on our universities. In a market like this, it’s always the poorest who lose out. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged to choose a degree based simply on how clear the career path from it is, and to see Arts and Humanities degrees as a luxury they cannot afford. The fact that so many of the projects aimed at helping these students get to university are so heavily aimed at vocational and scientific courses exacerbates the problem. This is a big part of the reason that disadvantaged students are still so underrepresented at our universities: fewer than one in 5 went to university in 2010, compared to more than two thirds of private school students.

Josie Long speaks to students at a rally in the SU bar. Photos: Arthur Baker @ Arts Emergency

At Arts Emergency, we believe that this is wrong. We’re a charity, co-founded by comedian Josie Long, which exists to promote the value of the Arts and Humanities. We believe that these degree subjects are valuable, and that they should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. A university education shouldn’t just be about getting yourself the highest paying job, it should be about widening your horizons, developing as a person, and

studying something you love. We chose our degrees largely because they interested us, and we think everybody should be able to do that. Education for it’s own sake shouldn’t simply be the preserve of the rich. Furthermore, the idea that Arts and Humanities degrees aren’t valuable is a complete myth. These subjects are incredibly useful, for both individuals and society. Arts and Humanities degrees equip students with the ability to

think critically, communicate well, and understand the world around them. In a rapidly changing job market, where a huge number of good jobs simply aren’t accessible via a vocational course, these are vital skills to have. In fact, social sciences graduates are some of the most employable, with higher average earnings than biological science or medical related subjects, and double that of non-graduates. All students deserve to know the benefits of academic

university education. The myth that Arts and Humanities degrees are a financial gamble or a luxury is preventing disadvantaged students from improving their life chances. That’s why we’ve set up Arts Emergency Manchester. We’ve just had our launch with Josie Long, and we’re preparing to run a volunteering project in local schools. We’ll be delivering an eight week programme, with sessions aimed at getting students interested in Arts and

Humanities subjects, getting them to engage with subjects like politics or anthropology that they might not have encountered before, and giving them the support and information about university that so many take for granted. But, we need your help! We need people who can help us design lesson plans, organise schools visits, and of course, work with students. If you’d like to help give local students the support and information they need to make informed decisions about University, (whilst gaining some valuable, CV boosting experience) then come along to our second meeting on Wednesday the 19th of February at 3pm in Room 2 of the Students’ Union. We’ll be designing lesson plans giving more information about how to become a mentor, and recruiting a new committee to run the society next year. Find us on facebook, or email a r t h u r. b a k e r @ s t u d e n t . manchester.ac.uk for more details! Arthur Baker

Michael Gove; why we need more women in politics This week alone the Secretary

government, and a quick scan

who doesn’t get a laugh not

handy umbrella term called

to have children or not is

personal scrutiny that men do

of State for Education has

of the front benches (and the

funny because she’s a woman,

sexism. Female politicians are

scrutinised, and Julia Gillard’s

not face, which is unfair and

announced that children at

house in general) shows a

whereas

often the target of sexism.

fitness to lead Australia was

unjust.

the age of five or six should

proliferation of middle aged,

who doesn’t get a laugh just

Their cleavage is discussed, as

called in to question as she

be tested and he wants to

upper class white men.

isn’t funny? One can parse the

the Daily Telegraph did when

hadn’t any kids. It means you

politics

extend the school day to 10

This isn’t the first time the party

reasons for the above in to lack

they published a picture of

take voice coaching lessons

positions in the country. If the

hours which would increase

has been charged with sexist

of opportunity, need for the

Prime Minister’s question time

to lower your voice, which

country is run by those middle

children’s stare out the window

behaviour, which in the past

Margaret Thatcher did because

aged, upper class white men in

time by around 30 per cent.

has included lack of support

her advisors feared she would

terrible, terrible suits then it

for

come across as ‘shrill’.

is likely that policy will serve

was

announced

recently

female

male

comedian

parliamentary

more and

women

powerful

that Gove would not renew the

candidates

patronising

own home town MP warned

the interests of those just like

contract of Ofsted chair and

language. However, this isn’t

Louise Mensch that, ‘A good

them as they make policy about

Labour peer Sally Morgan, who

just a Conservative party issue.

wife doesn’t disagree with her

what they know. In diversifying

was appointed by the coalition

Whilst 32 per cent of Labour’s

master in public and a good

representation, we can ensure

in 2011.

Gove’s motivations

MPs are female, only a paltry

little girl doesn’t lie’.

that

for this have been called in

12 per cent of the Liberal

in politics stops women being

heard, and that the nature of

to question, and he stands

Democrats parliamentary party

judged on their merits and

politics does not stultify and

accused of both politicising

are women, compared with 16

ability to do their job, and

stagnate from its insularity and

the

and

per cent of Conservatives. So

rather judges women on an idea

isolation.

misogyny. It has been reported

why aren’t there more women

of their immutable nature. In

why we need a non-upper class,

that Gove plans to install a

in politics?

sexism, a woman is and a man

non-bloke opposition member

male Conservative party donor

The world can still be quite

does. This isn’t the whole story

or cross bencher in a position

in Morgan’s place.

Harriet

sexist. Why aren’t there more

reform of maternity leave, and

and put a red ring around a

and it isn’t an all pervasive logic

such as head of Ofsted, and in

Harman,

other positions of power.

education

system

Labour’s

and

need

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

deputy

female CEOs, why aren’t female

actually existing discrimination

female

cleavage,

that refuses the entry of women

minister, remarked that it was

sports stars paid as much as

in the workplace as examples,

asking , ‘Whose boobs are

in to politics at the door. But it

‘raining

men, why is a female comedian

but all these factors have a

these?’

does put women under intense

men’

Cameron’s

politician’s

Sexism

Whether you decide

everyone’s

voices

are

And this is exactly

Bernadette Chapman

ISSUE 13/ 10th fEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editors: Phoebe Clarke, Patrick Hinton, Tom Ingham Interview

Opinion

theMUSIC OPINION: Are music festivals just for Summer?

Music festivals have always been closely associated to the summer season with popup tents, crap weather and that token near-naked raver. However, the growing trend of festivals being held at different times of year casts a certain dilemma over when really is the optimal moment to don the wayfarers and head knees deep into mud, cider and dance stages. The likes of Bugged Out, Pleasure Principle and, to a smaller extent, Manchester’s very own Pangaea, have all grown on the back of demand for music festivals all year round. It seems for many dancehungry students that summer is just too long to wait for the next weekend blowout. Yet there may be more practical positives to March music festivals than just getting your Jackmaster or DJ EZ fix. For example, the cost of festivals continues to increase steadily as summer inflation coupled with a thinner spread of artists arguably means you get more for your money at different times of the year. Even putting financial matters aside, the saturation of the British summer festival market has seen the popularity of European festivals surge something that will not appeal to everyone, despite the idyllic settings and guaranteed sunshine. Where does this leave us then? Well for those of us located in Manchester, the Bugged Out! Weekender offers

a fresh mid-year alternative. With an established line up featuring many mainstay techno and house artists such as Joy Orbison, Ten Walls and Dixon, Bugged Out! gives a different edge in being held at everyone’s favourite family resort, Pontins. It’s not quite the Croatian coastline, in fact it’s far from it, but the idea of staying in apartments and having indoor pool parties is far more appealing than spending the weekend in a damp and poorly pitched tent. Whilst it might be easy to let out a little giggle at this choice of venue, the use of an old resort shows a level of ingenuity which surely creates intrigue to what the rest of the weekend might hold. Not for one second would it be right to suggest that the summer music festival will remain anything other than dominant but as the niche that Bugged Out! is tapping into continues to grow, so will the number of festivals held across the year. With all things considered, March music festivals offer an alternative that should not be dismissed just because the name isn’t ‘Hideout’ or ‘Bestival’ - the financial and geographical practicalities mean that autumn, winter and spring time events such as the Bugged Out! Weekender should be penned into your festival schedule.

Sam Bartram

Top 5: by Patrick Hinton, Music Editor 1. Daniel Avery - Water Jump

TOP 5

SONGS:

to hear at the Bugged Out! Weekender

The opening track of Avery’s debut album is sure to live up to its name and provoke sweaty and bouncing dance floors. Especially when the bass kicks in.

the MUSIC INTERVIEW: Bombay Bicycle Club We caught up with bassist Ed Nash to discuss playing in churches, transcending the 2006 underage scene and the influence of dance music on their work Bombay Bicycle Club are back, in 2014 they are releasing their fourth studio album and setting off on a far-reaching tour; I spoke to bassist Ed Nash. Discussion begins with BBC’s forthcoming shows at the recently renovated Albert Hall here in Manchester. “The venue looks absolutely incredible, and as we are playing for two nights we can really settle in.” The band are no strangers to unique venues, having played in places such as churches before. Ed reveals how these compare to standard academy venues. “There are pros and cons to both academy shows and more unique venues. Obviously churches are a great place to play a gig as they look amazing and are far more interesting than academy venues. On the downside the sound is always pretty bad when you are playing in unconventional venues - or at least for us.” In the lead up to the summer festivals, I recall Melvin Benn in 2012 earmarking BBC for future major festival headliners. “At the moment I don’t think we are quite ready. We haven’t toured for a little while so we need to get back into the swing of things first. I think bands really need to step up their shows on every level to be able to pull off a headline slot. I’m not talking fireworks and dance routines, just putting on a show that is more than just playing your songs. This is something we are planning to do over the next year.” With extensive touring planned over the next year, Ed shares his feelings on life on the road: “It’s my favourite thing to do, I would always prefer to be on the road than be at home. I find it incredibly inspiring to be in a new place every day and get the chance to meet new people. I also think playing live is what we are best at. I guess the only downside to touring is the long journeys cramped up with one another...it can get

2. Downtown Party Network – Space Me Out (Mario Basanov remix) Filling his sets with tracks of this quality helped Dixon secure the spot of #1 DJ in the World in RA’s 2013 poll. With marathon sets common for Dixon, this will be perfect for some sunrise bliss.

We don’t hang out with or know any cool musicians... unfortunately. tense at times.” On the topic of the band’s increasing size, I question whether being on a major label has ever affected their sound and direction: “I can honestly say it hasn’t! We recorded I Had The Blues [But I Shook Them Loose] before signing to Island Records so the label had no input in the music. When we wanted to release Flaws as a follow up album they thought we were mad but went along with it. In the end it was more successful than our first album! I think this allowed them to trust us. Since then they have pretty much left us to do what we want. It’s a great relationship.” Harking back to the band’s past, I note how they still unfairly get shackled in with the “2006 underage scene” by some people. With latest single ‘Carry Me’ showcasing perhaps their most experimental side yet, could this be the album where they finally shed that image? “I completely agree with you. I think a lot of people immediately dismiss us because of the scene we came from and due to our terrible name. I personally think we left that behind years ago and ‘Carry Me’ is just a part of it. Hopefully people will give us a chance at some point.” Each member

3. Adam F - Circles (Eats Everything Rework) “c h e c k- c h e c k- c h e c k- c h e c kcheck- check- check- check...” Easily the best track Eats Everything has produced. That drop has been slaying dance events since 2012, the effect will be the same at the BO!W.

has known each other from a young age and they’ve been playing together from the age of 15. “I know the guys in the band better than any of my other friends. In fact I would consider us family as opposed to a group of friends at this point. It’s a great situation to be in, with family you can get into arguments that will be completely forgotten shortly after whereas with friends you might not talk for a while after. It means we can be completely honest with one another which is vital for making music.” Talk turns to Manchester’s thriving club scene. With the likes of ‘Shuffle’ sounding very dance influenced, I question whether dance music is a keen interest and influence for the band. “Very much so. Especially in how we structure our songs. On our new album most of the songs are based on electronic loops and samples, we look at building up and releasing tension using drums and percussion while the main motif continues...like in dance music. Also all the songs on this album were written on the computer and in their earliest forms were instrumental dance tracks.” Bombay Bicycle Club have had tracks remixed by dance music producers such as Dark Sky, Scuba and Pariah. “We just sent them the songs and they were into them. We don’t hang out with or know any cool musicians... unfortunately.”

So Long, See You Tomorrow is out now and BBC perform live at the Albert Hall on March 20th and 21st.

Patrick Hinton, Music Editor

4. Ten Walls – Requiem Ten Walls is bringing his brand spanking new live set to the Bugged Out! Weekender. This track - with its gigantic bassy riff and plinking cow bell percussion - will undoubtedly be a highlight.

5. Funkineven – The Joker The funky synth line that permeates through this eight minute epic is complemented by crashing high hats and atmospheric vocal samples. Perfect to get any dance floor moving.

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

: @MancunionMusic : / TheMancunionMusicSection

Music

Feature

Preview: Bugged Out Weekender Patrick Hinton, Music Editor Approaching their 20th anniversary, the impact of Bugged Out is hard to overstate. Existing from the days of putting on the likes of Daft Punk and The Chemicals Brothers at Sankeys for a fiver, they’ve become a mainstay of the UK dance music scene through their long standing commitment to hosting parties of the best dance music there is. This is epitomised by the forthcoming Bugged Out Weekender, their very own festival, which marks the celebration of their 20th year. The festival sees Bugged Out return to their spiritual home in the north of England. It boasts an absolutely massive line-up featuring some of the biggest and most important acts who have played at Bugged Out parties in the last two decades, as well as some of the hottest new talents on the scene. The Bugged Out Weekender takes place at Pontins in Southport, near Liverpool, on March 7th to March 9th. The location of a holiday park means this is a

Want to write for us?

festival without the inconvenience and discomfort of tents and outdoor sleeping as all attendees stay in the chalets available at inside Pontins. This also means that before the music starts at night there are plenty of activities on in the day ranging from go karts to arcade games to crazy golf, and best of all – pool parties, sound tracked by special guest DJs. Onto the main attraction, the music what a line-up it is. Student favourites are well represented with the likes of Dusky, Boddika, Julio Bashmore, Jackmaster and George Fitzgerald appearing across the weekend. Let’s hope Jackmaster makes a tweak-a-holic appearance at a pool party, jumping up and down in a wave machine whilst disco classics from Whitney Houston and pop bangers from Carly Rae Jepsen ring out through the room sounds pretty ideal to me. Jack also shares his name with a terrific

genre, of which no one is closer associated than Heidi. Her Jackathon parties never fail to make people jack their bodies. Another DJ you can guarantee will get the room pumping whatever the location is the legendary DJ EZ, you’ve all seen the boiler room so you all know what this man can do. Experiencing it live has got to be a no-brainer. Also performing is Resident Advisor’s Number 1 DJ in the world for 2013, Dixon. He’s one of those DJs that takes you on a journey of blissful house and techno, with every set feeling truly special. There’s a reason he’s the top dog in the game right now. A host of legends are on the bill, including Carl Craig, Dave Clarke, Kerri Chandler, Andrew Weatherall and Justin Robertson. With the pace that music evolves and moves at, only the very best stick around prominently for as long as these artists have. At the Bugged Out

Every Thursday, 5:30pm

Student Activities Office, 1st Floor of SU Preview

Bill Callahan For me, Bill Callahan exists in isolation. I could never place his music, which sounds as if it could have been made any time in the past fifty years. His appearance doesn’t give anything away either. If he hadn’t any grey in his hair, I wouldn’t balk if you told me he was twenty years younger than he is. I couldn’t even imagine what his fans would be like. On waiting for him to appear on stage, he still felt hard to pin down. There was an ancient man with long white hair reading the Guardian

Tickets are on sale now at www.buggedoutweekender.net and are priced from £159pp, which includes accommodation.

Mancunion Music Meetings

Review

The Ritz - 3rd February 2014

Weekender, they’ll show you why they remain so popular to this day. Long term Bugged Out partner Erol Alkan plays, having performed 10 hour long sets for Bugged Out before, it’s clear this is a man you can trust to deliver near perfection. Alkan’s label signee Daniel Avery is also playing, producer of one of the best albums of 2013.

Also performing live across the weekend are Kölsch, Ten Walls and Todd Terje. The latter is making his UK live debut. He comes boasting a back catalogue of songs as euphoric as ‘Inspector Norse’ and ‘Strandbar’, his set is sure be a truly special event.

as I waited, and a group of children around the age of 13 stood patiently next to me in skater hoodies. As he played, it was clear there’s something subtley iconoclastic about Callahan. Whilst his music is soft 70s Americana, his almost gravelly vocals lend it an edge that prevents it from feeling too stiff or dated. The occasional diversions in his songs in the form of stops and starts and unexpected guitar parts offer an intriguing alternative route to music that

Parklife Weekender 2014 7/10 could otherwise seem middle of the road. These diversions don’t jolt, and Callahan’s understated vocals mesmerise and provide a compelling consistency. ‘Drover,’ sounds like a train cutting through an old, lost America, with a harmonica for its horn and a guitar for the rushing wheels driving the rhythm forward. ‘Spring’ from Callahan’s new album, Dream River, fortunately does away with the jazz flute live therefore Callahan is alone to make the refrain, “All I wanna do is make love to you,” sound as seedy as it does on record. Whilst each song is a treat to watch, the mundane and soft rock elements of his music become more pronounced as the songs are performed one after the other. His appeal lies largely in his cool, calm vocals, and Callahan is better suited to a late night whisper on a record player rather than a two hour live experience. Bernadette Chapman

June 7th - June 8th, Heaton Park Some noses were turned last year following the relocation of Parklife to Heaton Park – an iconic Manchester venue in itself and the stage for The Stone Roses comeback in 2012. But there can be no grumbles this year as the bigger venue has been matched with even bigger headliners. The range of music on offer is as diverse as ever; from indie-giants Foals and Warpaint to the likes of Disclosure and Jon Hopkins. Drum and bass fans can also feel satisfied with the arrival of the Hospitality arena this year.

The 2014 line-up has generated so much excitement thanks to the news that the one and only Snoop Dogg will be bringing his ass to Manchester this summer. Other big announcements come in the form of an exclusive UK performance from Kendrick Lamar and the 2014 BBC Sound of the year winner Sam Smith will also be performing as will Radio 1’s Annie Mac. The festival will also feature some of the biggest names in electronic and modern dance music, such as: Nero, Rudimental, SBTKRT and some

classic vibes from dance legends Soul II Soul. Without wanting to put a curse on the whole thing; if the infamous Manchester weather behaves, Parklife 2014 has all the ingredients to be up there with Glastonbury as one of the biggest of the year. Parklife will be coming to Heaton Park June 7th and 8th,. Tickets and full line-up available from www.parklife.uk.com. Thomas Ingham, Music Editor

Photo: of other days @Flickr

Music

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Mancunion Recommends

Now: Bombay Bicycle Club So Long, See You Tomorrow Island. Release Date - 3rd February 2014

It is amazing how much a band seems to change whilst still essentially staying the same. For all the exotic and far flung influences infused into their new album, Bombay Bicycle Club are still four North London boys with a stupidly funky name. They’re past the debut of indie teenage angst, the suprise folk and an unexpected electronic tangent third album – now what? Nearly three years later, they finally answer. From the opening track of So Long, See You Tomorrow , ‘Overdone’, the new direction rings clear. Orchestral samples worthy of The Avalanches build to a massive atmospheric jam complete with tumbling slide riffs on Ed Nash’s bass guitar and Suren de Saram’s gigantic new drum sound. Lead singer and guitarist Jack Steadman’s voice sounds much more confident, whether with the trademark frailty or digital manipulation in the refrain of

5/10

lead single ‘Carry Me’ – the strongest song on the album and possibly of their entire career to date. Even on a single album, these aren’t the type of guys to repeat themselves. ‘Home By Now’ delivers the next tune to the backdrop of a beat built from harp and string samples. But annoyingly Bombay can’t seem to sit still on a single track either, as the hip-hop sample aesthetic soon gives way to the tried and tested methods of the guitar. ‘Whenever Wherever’ rides the wave of a classic breakbeat and solid synth riffs before swapping out for a slow, tender piano ballad that segues into new single ‘Luna’. The less said about ‘Luna’ the better, and the slow ‘Eyes Off You’ tries to make your eyelids feel extremely heavy in what seems like some sort of misguided apology. Yet if you listen carefully for the next 30 seconds, the start of ‘Feel’ is the best thing on the album. Samples of Arabian music intertwine with an electronic bass line to create a moment (tragically) cut short by yet another attempt to create a ‘dance inspired quirky indie track’. For a band that has gained so much ground with experimentation in the past, many of their new ideas come across as shallow and short-lived. At their worst, they seem to rely on past innovations with tons of production tricks that tie handfuls of interesting yet short and unconnected ideas together.

Lowell Clarke

For full listings visit:

manchesteracademy.net FEBRUARY

Sire Records - January 1977. Ramones’ most enduring tracks, due in part to its legendary “gabba gabba hey!” refrain. The Riviera’s ‘California Sun’, the album’s sole cover, is given the same treatment as the rest of the record, and may as well have been a Ramones song all along; its sunny, fun-time vibe fits right in with the rest of the tracks. Leave Home is unlikely to change anyone’s life – in 2014, man can no longer live by three chords alone – but it stands as a snapshot of a hugely influential band on the rise, and even now remains a fun, refreshing listen. Dan Whiteley

Bipolar Sunshine Saturday 5th

Cassetteboy vs DJ Rubbish Friday 7th

Deaf Havana Saturday 5th

illumiNaughty – Masked Ball Part 2 Saturday 8th

Riverside Sunday 6th

The Treatment Sunday 9th

The Wildhearts Thursday 10th

August Burns Red Monday 10th Phoenix Tuesday 11th

Johnette Napolitano (Of Concrete Blonde) Thursday 10th

The Defiled Tuesday 11th

Hue & Cry Thursday 10th

Mikill Pane Friday 14th

Memphis May Fire Friday 11th

Parquet Courts Saturday 15th

Manchester Orchestra Friday 11th

Tich Monday 15th

UB40 Saturday 12th

Sonic Boom Six Wednesday 19th

Gallon Drunk Tuesday 15th

M.A.D. Friday 21st

Augustines Wednesday 16th

Room 94 Saturday 22nd

The Summer Set Thursday 17th

MDNGHT Saturday 22nd

Berlin Berlin Saturday 19th

Laura Cantrell Saturday 22nd

The Temperance Movement Wednesday 23rd

RockSoundImpericonExposureTour2014 We Came As Romans + Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! + The Color Morale + Palm Reader Wednesday 26th Black Onassis Thursday 27th

MARCH

Devildriver Wednesday 9th

Uncle Acid &The Deadbeats Thursday 24th Patent Pending & People On Vacation Friday 25th Jace Everett with band Friday 25th

The Dear Hunter And Anthony Green Saturday 1st

The Smiths Ltd Saturday 26th

Temples Saturday 1st

Blood Red Shoes Monday 28th

Blackberry Smoke Sunday 2nd

John Butler Trio Sunday 27th

MAY

Black Lights Saturday 8th

De La Soul Friday 2nd

Example Friday 14th

Northside Saturday 3rd

Heaven 17 Saturday 15th

Clean Bandit Wednesday 7th

Maximo Park Saturday 15th

Then: The Ramones Leave Home Released barely nine months after their classic debut, The Ramones’s second record consolidated their status as pioneers of New York’s burgeoning punk rock scene and proved their early success was no accident. Leave Home – so titled because of their then-fledgling ambition to tour the world – embellished and improved upon their frantic rock ‘n’ roll formula; the tempos are faster, the choruses are catchier and the lyrics are even more tongue-incheek. “Gonna take a chance on her/one bullet in the cylinder/and in a moment of passion/get the glory, like Charles Manson” bleats Joey Ramone on ‘Glad to See You Go’, the album’s opening track, which serves to re-introduce listeners to both Johnny’s raucous guitar sound and Joey’s irreverent sense of humour. What sets Leave Home apart from their debut – and, in retrospect, the majority of their discography – however, is the increased influence of 60s girl groups such as The Shangri-La’s and The Ronettes: felt most obviously on doo-wop tinged tracks such as ‘I Remember You’ and ‘Oh Oh, I Love Her So’. Other highlights in the album’s brief, 30 minute running time include ‘Carbona Not Glue’, an update of sorts to their prior mission statement ‘Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue’, and the breezy ‘Swallow My Pride’, which cheerily revels in the fact that “things were looking grim/but they’re looking good again”. Meanwhile, ‘Pinhead’ has become one of The

Book now: 0161 832 1111

Sex Pistols Experience Saturday 15th Space & Republica Thursday 20th NMEAwardstour2014withAustin,Texas: Interpol + Temples + Royal Blood + Circa Waves Thursday 20th Ian Prowse & Amsterdam Friday 21st Quadrophenia Night Friday 21st Heaven’s Basement Saturday 22nd Transmission - The Sounds of Joy Division Saturday 22nd Azealia Banks Wednesday 26th Bonafide Wednesday 26th Deathstars Wednesday 26th Jack Savoretti Thursday 27th

The Hold Steady Wednesday 7th Janelle Monae Wednesday 7th Martin Stephenson & The Daintees Thursday 8th Jagwar Ma Saturday 10th The Clone Roses Saturday 10th Pentatonix Tuesday 13th Lit Wednesday 14th CASH – The No.1 Johnny Cash Tribute Saturday 17th Ned’s Atomic Dustbin + The Wedding Present + CUD + The Sultans Of Ping + The Frank & Walters + Chameleons Vox

GIGANTIC – Classic Indie All Dayer Bank Holiday Saturday 24th

The War On Drugs Wednesday 28th AWOLNATION Thursday 29th

REST OF 2014

Loveable Rogues Friday 28th

Schoolboy Q Sunday 1st June

Tyrese, Ginuwine and Tank (TGT) Friday 28th

The Polyphonic Spree Saturday 7th June Jurassic 5 Thursday 19th June

The Stranglers Saturday 29th

Extreme – Pornograffitti Live Tour Friday 4th July

APRIL Hopsin Tuesday 1st The Robert Glasper Experiment Wednesday 2nd Therapy? Troublegum 20th Anniversary Thursday 3rd Mentallica vs Megadeth UK Saturday 5th

Evile (Album Launch Show) Saturday 17th September Vance Joy Thursday 25th September The Orb Saturday 18th October Cockney Rejects Thursday 6th November Limehouse Lizzy Saturday 22nd November

Games

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editor: Alasdair Preson Feature

Retro Corner

The CoD-Fathers’ newest game

Was Toy Story’s Army Men the exception to the rule of bad movie tie-ins?

Alasdair Preston looks at the past and present of Respawn

The state of modern console FPS games has remained pretty much the same for a few years now. The two powerhouses, Activision’s Call of Duty and EA’s Battlefield, dominate the online multiplayer world and everyone else just tries to get by. Ever since the worldrenowned Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare released, the competition have been playing catch up. Modern Warfare redefined the genre as we knew it, and elevated the already popular franchise to the very top of the video game world. Records fell to it every year. Cut to 2014, and a challenger emerges with some serious pedigree. From Respawn Entertainment comes Titanfall, a multiplayer only shooter that hopes to put a dent in the lion’s share of the market that CoD and Battlefield have enjoyed for so long. What makes Titanfall stand out from the competition isn’t so much the game itself, but the guys who made it. Jason West and Vince Zampella, former heads of Infinity Ward and the men responsible for the FPS renaissance that was CoD4 have struck out on their own and created something new. The story of how Titanfall came to be is long, and involves the word “lawsuit” many, many times. In March of 2010 publishing powerhouse and owners of Infinity Ward Activision fired the duo for “breaches of contract and insubordination”. This started a

complicated and lengthy legal battle between Activision and the developers, that later included EA on the defendants side. The plaintiffs alleged that West and Zampella were talking to EA about leaving, that EA poached their developers and other infractions. In return, West and Zampella claimed that they and the rest of Infinity Ward were owed massive sums of money in royalty payments from the proceeds of the hugely successful Modern Warfare 2, and potentially that they had a claim to ownership of the Modern Warfare brand. The case was eventually resolved with a private settlement in 2012, Activision having already paid out $42 million in overdue royalty payments earlier. Representatives of the Infinity Ward Employee Group said “although it is a meaningful payment it is only a small portion of what we are seeking in litigation”. It remains unclear if any further payments were made. Regardless, the outcome that matters to us is that Zampella and West founded Respawn Entertainment, brought in 38 of the 46 Infinity Ward employees that left in the wake of their feud and developed Titanfall. Explaining Titanfall in one sentence is impossible. It aims to bring together many different elements to create a fresh, new take on the online FPS. A common criticism of the major FPS titles is the often-lacklustre solo modes. Most of the budget is poured into these cinematic blockbusters that are over in a flash and forgotten about even quicker. Titanfall doesn’t have a single player mode. It still has a story to tell, but it does this with it’s multiplayer matches. The idea at the heart of the game is the Titan, a powerful mech suit that towers above a normal man and carries the heaviest of weaponry. A sort of killstreak reward, the Titans come crashing down from the heavens into the middle of the action and players can Image: ToTheGame hop on in and cause some real damage. The

Preview

Preview Sucker Punch • Sony Computer Entertainment • Out: 21st March 2014 • Available only on PS4 Part of Sony’s strong exclusive performance on the Playstation 3 was down to inFAMOUS. This fresh IP starred Cole and his electric powers in an open world superhero (or supervillain, depending on your choices) story. Since the 2009 release of the first inFAMOUS, the franchise has become an important feather in the Sony cap, spawning a sequel and a DC Comics series. Second Son, the third installment in the series and the first to be on the new Playstation 4, has a new central character who has his own unique abilities. Developers Sucker Punch promise that, beyond simply controlling smoke, protagonist Deslin can absorb the powers of other conduits (people with

catchphrase we keep hearing from the guys over at Respawn is “asymmetrical gameplay”. Obviously, one soldier running up to one of these goliaths with his shiniest pistol out isn’t going to have a good time. From what we’ve seen, the game takes a cue from Halo here and encourages tactical use of the multileveled environments and soldier’s jetpacks to tackle a titan. The jetpacks can provide a little boost in mid-air rather than flight, and enable you to zip around the levels Mirror’s Edge style, wall running and ledge hopping up buildings and across chasms to gain the advantage. Gun combat looks familiar to those experienced in Call of Duty, fast paced and unforgiving. The matches themselves support 6v6 players, with a twist. The arenas are also populated with many AI controlled grunts to increase the carnage. How this plays out in full matches is yet to be seen, the blurry footage we’ve seen from the closed alpha test doesn’t involve competitive AI opponents. Respawn say that the alpha is intended as a network test and, as such doesn’t represent the full Titanfall experience. Rumours are circulating that the test was running at a mere 25 per cent of the eventual release’s graphical quality. If what we’ve seen so far is truly just a quarter of what we can expect, Titanfall should be an impressive beast on launch. So what does Titanfall do to make itself a next generation game? Titanfall will take advantage of the Xbox Live Cloud to make the troubles associated with player hosted and dedicated servers a thing of the past. Respawn developer Jon Shiring ‘bigged-up’ the benefits of the cloud on his blog, giving a nod to Microsoft and their pricing policy for use of the cloud making it an excellent option for developers who want to keep costs down without compromising the player experience. Titanfall launches across Europe on March 13th for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

inFAMOUS: Second Son

Playstation powerhouse franchise inFAMOUS makes it’s next-gen debut powers), and that the smoke is only ‘the tip of the iceberg’. The plot follows on from the ‘good’ ending of inFAMOUS 2. Cole’s very public and destructive defeat of his enemy has lead the U.S. Government to label all conduits as bioterrorists. Gameplay in this new title appears to preserve much of the former titles signature style, with open worlds, parkour and upgradable powers. One notable change is in the aiming system. Players are no longer required to ‘aim in’, and instead can shoot thunderbolts, fireballs or whatever else Deslin may be capable of freely, hopefully speeding up combat and making things more precise. The game touts new motion capture technology, used

Image:ToTheGame to accurately capture the performances and look of each character’s real life actor. Developers Sucker Punch are previously known for their work on the inFAMOUS franchise, and the Sly Cooper series on Playstation 2, another stellar Sony exclusive. inFAMOUS: Second Son is out worldwide on March 21st, only on Playstation 4.

Alasdair Preston

Army Men was one of the very first games I got the chance to play and enjoy. It was my 7th birthday present from my uncle, who was also an avid gamer. Army Men was supposedly only a spinoff from the phenomenal animation Toy Story, but the first game was so good and unique that it developed into a fan favourite. In Army Men, you play the role of Sarge, a Green plastic soldier who commands every operation set by the Green headquarters in their war against the Tan Army. The missions are usually carried out in a huge map, with a variety of weapons and vehicles you can pick up to serve your strategy. Of course, enemies’ troops are scattered across the maps in important sections, creating fortifications that aim to prevent our hero from accomplishing the mission. The types of mission also vary, from hostage rescue to assassination. A big plus of the game is that it does not limit your ways of achieving the objectives, creating a non-linear gameplay. You can choose from a variety of weapons to serve different strategies and approaches, whether a guerrilla attack or a full-blown rampage. It gives the game a tactical feel and makes you think, and as a kid I always felt like an actual commander ready to conquer the battlefield. I still remember a mission where Sarge was on an operation to rescue a Green official held captive in a Tan camp. There were a few tanks with many soldiers guarding the place. I called for an air bombing in the west area, to divert their attention and used a few Green soldiers to keep the Tans busy there. Meanwhile, I moved my main troops with combat vehicles from the west, with me as Sarge holding a rifle sniping most of the remaining Tan soldiers near the hostage. Or alternatively, I could use a quick car to lure the tanks into my minefield before going on a rampage killing the remaining Tans. Consequently, no mission is accomplished the same way, and this Image: ToTheGame element is what keeps players engaged in the battle of the little plastic soldiers. Despite being a follow-up product for Toy Story, Army Men was able to stand on its own. It was one of the good old games in the end of the 20th century, and a mustplay for gamers that enjoy tactical games.

Tuan Dao

Feature

How you can help cure cancer with your phone Newly released smartphone game Play to Cure gives you a way to do something useful with your gaming time that isn’t just beating your friend’s high scores. Cancer Research UK and have teamed up with Guerilla Tea to bring you a smartphone game with a difference. On the surface, Play to Cure is a simple game about flying your spaceship through a flight path predetermined by you and collecting as much ‘Element Alpha’ as possible. It provides all the usual challenge and competitive edge we’d expect from our quick play games on mobiles. Players can level up by completing flights successfully and dodging the asteroids that

whizz by, and spend points to upgrade ships. There are no microtransactions, adverts or annoying pay walls to contend with. In reality, the space nebula dust you’re aiming to collect is a representation of genetic data. Without you, the player, scientists would have to painstakingly analyse this data by eye to try and identify genetic faults that may contribute to cancer. Ordinarily, this could take years according to Cancer Research UK. The game aims to utilise the many, many hours we waste playing games that don’t cure cancer to help crunch this data and save scientists time. It sends

Image: Google Play Store

information on the flight path you choose and how you fly through the course back to their data centres to provide valuable information. Play to Cure: Genes in Space started life at a GameJam in 2013, a weekend in which many developers from organisations such as Amazon, Google and Facebook come together with the aim of conceiving and creating a full game in just 48 hours. Play to Cure: Genes in Space is available for free on iOS and Android, so everyone has a chance to lend a hand in curing cancer.

Alasdair Preston

ISSUE 13/10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editors: Susie Coen, Marie ClareYates, Halee Wells (Beauty)

TOP

@MancunionFash

Florals

Spring time crushes! Scarlett Whittell discusses the trends to drool over this Spring

Image credits: beyondretro.com, missselfridge.com, asos.com, topshop.com zara.com

Farwell Big Knit, Welcome Crop

In an era where hybrid cars occupy the

and disturbing images, and the graphic nature

PETA’s reporting of this vile practice, outrage

roads, vegan restaurants are popping up

of the video is not for the faint hearted, but it

amongst shoppers has sparked many big high-

everywhere, and even infant children know

is extremely important to acknowledge the

street brand names, such as H&M and New

the

comes

fact that the wonderfully soft angora jumper

Look, to suspend the order and sale of any

as a shock that the fashion industry still

you’ve been dying to buy from Topshop has

angora garments. However, frontrunners such

promotes the use of animal furs and skins.

been sourced from these incredibly cruel

as Topshop and Zara, only when confronted

When the quality of faux fur lining the rails

circumstances. Naively, we have believed that

with

is just as good as the real thing, why is there

the cultivation of angora fur came from the

thousands of signatures did they too halt all

still a need to indulge in ripping the hide from

gentle brushing of bunnies, but this luxury

production of angora products. Yet despite all

Goodbye Coat, Bonjour Blazer

an animal’s back because it would look ever so

fibre’s production has evolved from being a

of these brands’ attempts to publicly right this

I am so fed up with my winter coat, I’m honestly tempted to set it alight in the back garden. Everything is black, brown and dull – boring. To make up for this I am going to smother myself in statement colours for the rest of the year. Effortlessly combining blues and brights is the key to 2014, so this blue blazer from Zara is a guaranteed hit. Whilst it’s still a bit nippy, pair it with dark jeans and some cute heeled boots for a casual evening look. Then, when the sun finally graces our gloomy skies, you will be prepared to dig out your summer dresses, and couple them with your new vibrant blazer.

cute on a pair of gloves? This is a heated debate

worldwide industry to having 90% (according

very bad wrong, the cruelty in the production

that still continues to create friction within the

to the International Wool Textile Organisation)

of angora, as well as other animal skins, seems

world of luxury fashion, but the latest animal

being sourced in China. It is well-known

unnecessary in this day and age. Mock leather

cruelty issue has turned heads away from the

that China’s legislation concerning animal

and faux fur provide an extremely effective

catwalks of Paris and Milan towards our very

protection is pretty much (or definitely)

alternative to the real deal, with the benefits

own high street. In late 2013, undercover footage

non-existent, and of course the temptation

of subtracting the trauma and slaughter of

in China shot by PETA, depicted live rabbits

of low production costs and high profits

innocent animals from the equation. In a

having their precious fur ripped from their

is too enticing for companies to pass by.

world where it is second nature to recycle our

bodies, the pain and shock so unbearable the

So no wonder all of our favourite high-street

tins and plastic, why is it still considered the

animals’ screams resembling those of a child.

stores have been filled with these unethical

norm to wear a tortured bunny on your back?

I assume your mind is plastered with horrible

and cheaply-produced angora garments. Since

With the threat of frostbite finally declining, it’s time to pretty-up our hands. Gloves cut out the possibility for big rings, so this spring why not treat yourself to some new statement pieces. Jonny Loves Rosie have perfectly combined this year’s pastel-bright trends with some classy gold detail. After a whole season of being stuffed in gloves and mittens, our hands are screaming out for some glamour and this is definitely a good place to start.

Power Suits Final Years take note; whether it be for graduation or the inevitable 9-5 hell that awaits you, the power suit should be your uniform of choice. The tailoring for spring became a lot softer than it had been for previous seasons; lines were fluid, jackets were longer and pants were looser, meaning dressing with purpose has never been so comfortable.

Fifties It was only a matter of time before the almighty 90’s finally met its fashion match; and met its match it has. When drawing sartorial influence from times past, you’ll now have to rewind by a further 40 years or so, and start looking to the 50’s. Wider legs and large open collars were rife, notably at the likes of Prada and Missoni, whilst for further inspiration look no further than 50’s style icon James Dean, whose look was characterised by simple un-fussy basics..

Sportswear Sportswear has been a recurring trend on the men’s catwalks for as long as I can remember, and was once again back with force for 2014. For those of you thinking ‘not again?’ this season presented some new and interesting twists on the trend, ensuring collections felt new and current. Half zip rain jackets were a key piece; Kris Van Assche presented his in bold statement colours, a look that can easily be mimicked by picking up a more reasonably priced K-Way waterproof.

Blue For those of you wanting to be on trend for spring, without being a slave to the mighty fashion powers that be, invest in something blue. Chances are your wardrobes already full of it, and chances are you probably think I’m talking a crock of shit, but trust me, if GQ are saying its going to be big then it probably will be. If you’re thinking ‘what shade?’ then don’t, all were covered from baby at Calvin Klein, to navy at Giorgio Armani, whilst Balmain went brave with not double, but triple blue denim. Images: asos.com; prada.com; flikr creative commons @Butz2013; asos. com; urbanoutfitters.com

Natalie Clark reveals the shocking truth behind beloved angora threads

Now, we all love a big knit. But after about 5 months of continuous wear I’m feeling a bit stifled. Unfortunately we aren’t in the Caribbean, so warmth is still an absolute necessity in spring time. Luckily, I have the solution – cue the cropped jumper! Miss Selfridge has loads of different colours to choose from, but I felt like taking a walk on the wild side and give black a break. This lovely shade of blue is just enough to remind you that summer is on its way, and the fluffy texture gives of a hint of fluffy chicken (perfect for the run up to Easter).

Adios Gloves! Hello Rings

Beauty bible

Fashion Shock: Thugs bunny

Thank god winter is almost over, I was starting to think that the darkness and rain would last forever. Now that I can’t see my breath hovering like a little cloud in the air, I am flinging my big knits and thermal vests (joke) to the back of my wardrobe in a frenzy of spring time excitement. With the financial pains of Christmas finally starting to fade, and the shop windows bursting with bright treats, it’s the perfect time to start planning out your spring time collection. Let me introduce you, then, to my 3 new love affairs …

When you think of spring, you think of flowers. Unsurprisingly, many of the key designers at the various men’s fashion weeks were having a similar process of thought. Whilst Gucci went bold with head to toe floral looks, AMI and Marc Jacobs kept it more wearable in the form of casual separates; probably one of the easier ways to inject some springtime bloom into your wardrobe. And if all-over patterns aren’t really your thing, take inspiration from Raf Simons, who incorporated the popular theme in the form of large stand-alone floral graphics on sweatshirts.

Opinion

Insta-eating disorder?

Fashion editor Susie Coen discusses the dangers of favourite picture app Last week while out for dinner I was overcome by a horrible realisation. Me and four friends were out for sushi, totally engrossed in our gossip and unaware when our shashimi arrived in abdundance. Yet before I could say ‘can you pass the wasabi?’ the iPhones were out left right and centre frantically snapping away to get that perfect shot for Instagram in the hope of enticing those extra followers. I thought to myself, this isn’t normal.

ins-and-outs

Beauty

Opinion

Feature

Sean Gleeson runs us through the top 5 spring trends for men

Fashion

Image credits: Flickr Creative Commons @marlana & gant.co.uk

Spring fling

/TheMancunion: Fashion & Beauty

recycling,

petitions

containing

hundreds

Spring collections...

Stephanie Yeo discusses Spring’s beauty buys

While it’s been fun donning bright reds or burgundy lips for Christmas and New year parties, its time to put them away as Maybelline have just launched a permanent nude collection for Spring to add to their Color Sensational range. It has 5 different shades so girls with different skin tones will be able to find the perfect nude with an affordable price tag.

Another drugstore gem is the newly released Revlon Color burst Lacquer Balms. Better late than never, Revlon have jumped on the chubby stick bandwagon and they are delightful! These lip lacquers come in a matte or lacquer formula and have an extensive color range. They also include moisturizing benefits, which allows them to be versatile and suitable for any occasion.

Loving & Loathing

Loving & Loathing Kirsty Marsh tells us what she is loving & loathing this week

Pastels

Now, I’m not trying to place myself on a pedestal high above these traits, there have been multiple occasions where I’m confronted with paella that looks so good I simply have to share with my adoring followers (all 44 of them), but it’s that this cult of Instagramming has become so second nature to our generation that it overshadows some of the dangerous messages that can be conveyed.

Dr. Martens Sandals

Looking at high-end beauty, Guerlain have reformulated their renowned meteorites just in time for their Spring Collection. These illuminating powders have been a cult product for years and are now softer and more blendable than ever. Another notable release for Spring is the Eyebrow Kit, a universal brow product containing three different shades for different brow tones and a pearl highlighter.

The promotion of fad diets through trending phrases such as #22daysvegan #fastdiet #eatcleantraindirty creates a platform for likeminded people to encourage and reassure one another that this type of behaviour is normal. I’m not suggesting that eating well and exercising isn’t a positive way of life that we should all try to achieve. We all want those toned long legs to flaunt as we strut across the beach in summer and a flat stomach to match, but it’s the way we are bombarded with images, hashtags and ‘lifestyles’ which tell us that this obsession with what you eat and how many squats you do is a positive and natural mental outlook. Intrigued to see if these ‘trends’ went further I tried searching for #eatingdisorder and #anorexia and was shocked to see a plethora of images for me to feast my eyes upon which were actively endorsing mental illnesses. Bulimia was documented through images of vomit in the toilet with accompanying hashtags such as #bingeandpurge. There were photos of drastically underweight girls with comments which complimented and encouraged their hard work along with images of ‘inspirational’ quotes such as ‘keep calm and the hunger will pass’. I was stunned not simply by what I had found but also by how easily I had found it: through a simple search I had access to thousands of images. It astounds me that a company as formidable as Instagram allow these images to roam so freely on their social networking app. It dawned on me that the line between images of healthy quinoa salads, motivational messages to achieve impeccable abs and these Instagrams of bulimia and anorexia was perhaps much finer than one thinks. Of course we are all hankering for that body for summer. With spring approaching our motivation multiplies and we cannot escape the reiteration of ‘new year new you’ from every magazine. Yet if an inno- Images: Instagram @carolemch; @iwillcent Instagram of a sushi meal can all add to this complex culture of obsession we need to reconsider workforit the images which fashion powerhouses at the top are projecting through these social media networks and realign the compass of normality.

Calling all lip glow addicts! Dior have released their Trianon Spring collection and added a twist on their best-selling lipglow. It appears as a sheer coral in the tube but reacts according to your natural lip color to become a moisturizing colored balm. It is great all year round so you’ll definitely get your pennies worth. It’s a bit blooming miserable at the minute isn’t it? The dreary weather, the disaster headlines, the dark days…throw in the dreaded return to uni and we’ve got a full-on case of the January Blues. So I think it’s about time we all needed cheering up a bit. Thankfully fashion has got just the ticket with its abundance of candy colours and cheery pastels to remind us that spring is on the way. As per, Topshop and ASOS have some great offerings but if your purse strings are feeling particularly tight post-Christmas then this sherbet treat from New Look should satisfy your cravings and see you all the way through until Autumn.

Image: newlook.co.uk

Thanks to good old Doc Marten’s new range of sandals, I don’t have to resort to borrowing my Nan’s orthopaedic shoes anymore! Smashing! I am sure geriatrics across the land will rejoice that their clod-hoppers are now the height of fashion. Forgive me for being snarky; but surely it’s not great when your new shoes are the cousins of those advertised in the Cosy Feet catalogue (provider of “extra-roomy” footwear, beloved by octogenarians everywhere). They are dubbed “Man-Repellers”, for goodness sake, or the “functional flat” if you’re going to be all vogue-y about it. Plus they are an obvious breeding ground for blisters and mal-odour when combined with bare, sweaty skin. Oh but you can wear them with socks for added comfort and subversive, granddad-cool! Don’t make me weep. Image: http://uk.drmartens.com/uk

Instagram credits: @darkchoco4u @anyadanielle @stylebyme73 @love_me_makeup34 @fenztastic

ISSUE 13/10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editors: Sophie James, Robbie Davidson, Angus Harrison Top 5

TOP

70’s Soundtracks

Ant Cornish runs through his top 5 70’s soundtracks 5. A Clockwork Orange (1971) “Oh bliss! Bliss and heaven! Oh it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh.” Such are the thoughts of Alex as he listens to Beethoven’s 9th – and it is hard not to share this opinion with him as the use of 19th century music perfectly captures the timeless genius of this Kubrick masterpiece.

4. Manhattan (1979) This year, Poots is really going places. She’s currently starring opposite Zac Efron in romcom That Awkward Moment, and then it’s onto this summer’s Need for Speed. Lastly, she’s landed a role in Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, scheduled for a late 2014 release.

3. Jaws (1975) “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” The gripping leitmotif that signifies the imminent arrival of the villainous great white shark ( Jaws to his friends) has since become one of the most famous musical scores in cinematic history. Hats off to John Williams.

2. The Godfather (1972) “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” This Nino Rota composition is the musical manifestation of mafia. It carries the Sicilian roots of Corleone into America with unquestionable sincerity and style.

1. Taxi Driver (1976) “Thank God for the rain to wash the trash off the sidewalk.” And thank God for Bernard Hermann to wash the sleaze out of 1970s New York. The remarkable beauty of the saxophone provides elegance in a vice-ridden city producing the ultimate effect of juxtaposition.

Feature

the FEATURE:

Philip Seymour Hoffman

1967 - 2014 - The Passing of The Master Film Editor Angus Harrison reflects on the loss of a brilliant and controlled character actor It was approaching half past six on Sunday evening when my best friend text me “Phillip Seymour Hoffman found dead according to Wall Street Journal”. I always remember these texts. I remember the “Jacko dead!” text from my Aunty Lizzie five years ago and I remember the “Tony Soprano has died” text my brother sent me last October. Discovering death through text is unnatural and deeply incongruous - packing such dreadful meaning into a pocket of data, stripping the event down to the names and dates. Yet the news of Hoffman’s passing had an added effect I hadn’t encountered before. Complete disbelief. Even as the news reports multiplied and the details of his heroin overdose fell into narrative alignment, I struggled to imagine it. I wasn’t alone, the collective response to Hoffman’s death seems to have been one of sudden disquiet, a communal reaction that transcended ‘shock’ into a sense of genuine injustice. Granted the main reason for this reaction was probably the circumstances of his death, as he was described in many reports as being found with a hypodermic needle still in his arm. Yet I’d argue it is more than that. It was his stature. In every single one of his performances, be it Brandt in The Big Lebowski or the titular lead in Capote, he was so assured and so completely in command. It is hard to imagine that a human being so masterful and adept at performance was suffering or vulnerable at all. Reflecting on his passing there were two

performances that came to mind. Firstly, and most obviously in control, was his turn as Lancaster Dodd in The Master. It is a sure and excellent film altogether, yet Hoffman’s performance is the one that centres it and drives it - giving both the viewer and Joaquin Phoenix’s Freddie Quell an emotional focal point. One scene resounds above many

others, as the leader of cultish quasi-religion ‘The Cause’ Dodd comes under a grilling from a sceptic. Through a fracturing facade of calm Dodd responds “If you already know the answers to your questions then why ask...” before erupting “PIG FUCK” shortly and sharply. ‘The Master’ Lancaster Dodd barely shows any anger again in the entire film, it is a splinter of moment in which Hoffman was able to incorporate swathes of brilliant anger and shadows of vulnerability. The second film that came to mind was Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut Synechdoche, New

York. It is a sprawling and reflective film in which Hoffman plays the lead Caden Cotard - a theatre director given an unlimited ‘genius grant’ with which he sets about building a scaled metropolis inside a warehouse. Gradually the theatre of reality grows and before long it is a microcosm of real-time life being improvised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For me the effectiveness is how Hoffman manages to take Kaufman’s surreal Jungian epic and provide a relatable and completely human performance. It is a film that qualifies Hoffman’s unique ability to play unknowable characters in such a way that, despite their idiosyncrasies and quirks, draw you in and allow a connection. Trawling through Youtube clips of his performances, as I did on Sunday night, I was faced with the now most painfully poignant scene in the whole film. “I will be dying and so will you, and so will everyone here. That’s what I want to explore. We’re all hurtling towards death, yet here we are for the moment, alive. Each of us knowing we’re going to die, each of us secretly believing we won’t.”

Philip Seymour Hoffman is survived by his partner Mimi O’Donnell and his three children Cooper, Tallulah and Willa. Angus Harrison

Preview

the PREVIEW:

Maleficent

This summer’s cinema season will kick off with what may be one of Disney’s most ambitious and challenging projects yet. Hollywood’s leading production house, who has since long occupied everyone’s childhood with their tales of love and benevolence, seems to have taken a rather sinister shift with their latest Maleficent. You may recognise the name from Disney’s iconic Sleeping Beauty, where Maleficent is the nefarious nemesis of the royal family that casts a curse on the princess Aurora as revenge for being shunned out of the kingdom’s celebrations. So naturally, a part prequel and part live-action retelling of the beloved animation is very intriguing. A-lister Angelina Jolie portrays the eponymous villainess in the venture, donning horns and fake cheekbones to boot. We can also expect to see Jolie and Pitt’s daugther Vivienne in a small role as toddler Aurora, who we hear had to be kept away from her mother while she was in her Maleficent getup so the little one wouldn’t get scared, aww! Another big name we can expect to see in the movie is that of rising talent Elle Fanning, who has

previously proved her acting mettle in flicks like Ginger and Rosa and J.J Abram’s Super 8 and will be

second lead, portraying the character of the young and spellbound princess Aurora. Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Juno Temple and even the latest Doctor Peter Capaldi feature in supporting roles. Maleficent shows promise thanks to the big names that appear behind the camera, too. Twotime Oscar winning production designer Robert

Director: Robert Stromberg Starring: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Ellie Fanning Released: 30th May Stromberg makes his directorial debut with this venture, who has been responsible for blockbusters such as Avatar, Alice In Wonderland and Oz: The Great & Powerful, ensuring breathtaking ominous visuals for the audience. The script, meanwhile, is helmed by Paul Dini and Linda Woolverton, the latter having previously written for Disney for The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. James Newton Howard (The Hunger Games, Blood Diamond) will be contributing the background score. Disney released a haunting rendition of the classic ‘Once Upon A Dream’ sung by Lana Del Rey alongside a new sneak peak of the film that was shown during the 56th Annual Grammys this year. The film will explore the untold side of the fairytale, uncovering the truth of the events that led to Maleficent’s descent into evil. Unfamiliar aspects such as a war between the human kingdom and forest kingdom will be seen, while re-imaginings of old favourite scenes will also be included. Whether or not the movie will take a sympathetic stance for this eminent vixen remains to be seen, but we can’t wait to experience Disney’s sinfully somber outing. You can catch Maleficent in cinemas across the UK from the 30th May 2014. Parizad Mangi

/filmmancunion @mancunionfilm

Film

Review

the REVIEW: Dallas Buyers Club Film Editor Robbie Davidson found there was suprising humour in the thrilling real-life story of Ron Woodroof When Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is asked to stay in hospital when it looks like his HIV treatment may not be working, he promptly walks out the door, stating “I prefer to die with my boots on”. And so encompasses the Texan outlaw in his crusade to save himself from the crippling AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s. But like all great antiheroes he soon finds himself transforming the lives of others in the process. But director Jean-Marc Vallée makes sure that our antihero’s true character is not diluted by his new circumstances. Certainly not. Within the first ten minutes the ‘anti’ in McConaughey’s antihero are laid bare, as he is shown to be a thoroughly unlikable homophobic, racist, chauvinist southern hick. So when diagnosed as HIV-positive, his pursuit to learn more about the AIDS virus is as much as about reasserting his lost masculinity to the “gay disease”, as it is about finding a cure. Which makes his partnership with transgender woman, Rayon, ( Jared Leto) selling illegal drugs he’s smuggled from around the world, all the more unlikely and emotionally rewarding. As Ron becomes further

integrated into the community of Dallas’ outcasts - the willing members of the Dallas Buyers Club - his friendship with Rayon grows closer, whilst never drifting into sentimentality. The restraint on the

remarkable. McConaughey’s skeletal appearance is particularly haunting, but it is a performance which is truly revelatory. As Woodroof he allows his own personal charm and humour to shine through Ron’s hallowed

part of the film makers pays off when the tragic results of the AIDS death sentence take their toll. Much has been made of the physical transformation of both McConaughey and Leto - and it is

features, and continues his own incredible career resurgence, which could well see him pick up an Oscar next month. For me it is Leto who carries Dallas Buyers Club’s emotional punch. I

Cornerhouse Pick of the Week

Director: Jean-Marc Valee Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner Released: 7th February

haven’t seen an actor inhabit a role so beautifully for years. So much so that in one of the film’s most heartbreaking scenes, when Rayon goes to see his estranged father, there is a genuine feeling of shock and unease at seeing Leto dressed in men’s clothing to please his father. Face bare and pleading for money to help fund his new business venture, her father sighs “God help me”. “He is helping you. I’ve got Aids”, Rayon replies. And in that scene Leto not only earns every award and acclaim he has received, but Dallas Buyers Club captures the dreadful emotional turmoil suffered by those who were ostracised by society and their families simply by virtue of who they were, and because they were sick. Dallas Buyers Club is a modern day Western disguised as a searing social-issue drama. Or perhaps it’s the other way round. Either way, whilst our hero’s ultimate victory is not as satisfying as fiction would have allowed, his journey there is touching and funny enough that you end up simply grateful that this remarkable true story wasn’t left untold. Robbie Davidson

Boyle bounces back onto the TV screen Multi-award winning production at the National Theatre? Check. Olympic Games opening ceremony? Check. Feature Film? Check. Prime time TV series? Check. And all within three years? It can only be Danny Boyle. With an energy and daring that few can match, the Trainspotter himself brings his singular talents to the small screen with his new directing venture - the TV series Babylon (Sunday night, 9pm, 9th Feb). Tackling the complex relationship between the police and the public, this spoofy London-based drama is perhaps a surprising departure for a man who likes to dig deep with his directing. But as ever there is no compromise. As well as a cracking cast, filled with sure-fire TV staples such as James Nesbitt and Jill Halfpenny, Boyle has also teamed up with writers Jessie Armstrong (Four Lions, In the Loop, Peep Show) and Sam Bain (Four Lions, Peep Show). The combination of Boyle’s daring direction - shooting wide with the music loud - and the sharp-witted humour of two of the funniest writers of the last few years produces a TV spectacle that will shake up Sunday nights and blow away the post-Sherlock blues. Boyle’s return to TV after 13 years comes amidst a wave of stunning TV dramas such as Sherlock, Doctor Who, Borgen, The Killing and The Bridge – can Boyle compare? Just take a look at his track record, watch Babylon and find out for yourself. With Trainspotting 2 on its way, this could be Boyle’s last venture onto our small screens for some time - so don’t miss out! Sophie James Film Editor

Contrary Corner

Rush really grinds my gears

Rough Cut

Matthew Thomas went to witness a group of film makers’ homage to Tom Bruce is less than impressed with the critical acclaim the F1 thriller has received, and is delighted by its lack of Oscar the horror genres through an eclectic mashup of classics hammy and the special effects makeshift and prone recognition “I wanted the Xenomorph, what I got was this giant condom monster.” So went the words of one of the disenchanted prop masters on this often charming and sometimes baffling film-within-a-film. Intended as an affectionate pastiche of 1970’s horror exploitation films, Hiker Meat is the slasher film that never was and Rough Cut is the story of how it was made. Commissioned by Cornerhouse and masterminded by artist/director Jamie Shovelin, writer Mike Harte and composer and previous collaborator Euan Rodger, the Hiker Meat project began life as a lurid film pitch by Harte that Shovelin gave life in 2010 through a Frankenstein-like process of stitching together scenes in a mashup of “over 1000” horror movies from the 70’s and 80’s. As one would expect from this sort of B-movie silliness, the plot of this hypothetical movie revolves around a group of misfit American youths at the fictional Camp Pharos in California. They party, smoke weed and have sex before being dispatched with extreme prejudice by unseen malevolent forces. So far, so good, but this 90 minute film only yields two completed sequences and a trailer with the majority of its run time devoted to fly-on-thewall camera work of the actual production intercut with interviews of Rodger and Harte. Aiming to re-film Shovelin’s original compilation shot-for-shot, the Hiker Meat production team journey to the Lake District, where they contend with adverse weather, carnivorous midges, faulty pyrotechnics, vintage American motors and the aforementioned giant rubber condom (actually a sinister worm monster). It’s in these sequences that the film shows the most charm with the production team candidly commenting on their work with a refreshing self-awareness and spontaneity absent from most behind the scenes documentaries. Slasher film tropes are lovingly scattered through the film with homages to Sam Raimi and Brian De Palma most apparent. The acting is deliberately

to misfires. Shovelin’s previous collaboration with Euan Rodgers similarly used ‘archive footage’ to create a portrait of Lustfaust, a fictional Krautrock band circa 1970. They are here credited as composers and at one point, Rodger details an imaginary history of the band and where they were ‘at’, at the time of supposed recording. Writer Mike Harte similarly provides backstories for his paper-thin characters that never made it to screen showing an endearing affection for the deliberately corny material. A loving homage to horror exploitation flicks, Rough Cut is likable but lacks any real trajectory. The decision to re-dub the actors in post-production is baffling and Shovelin is notably absent from the on-screen events. Eventually, the film just fizzles out quite suddenly after 90 minutes, fortunately so as I feel any longer in the same vein would lead to boredom. I would recommend Rough Cut as a how-to guide to low budget film making but the lack of purpose could prove a turn-off to some. A Xenomorph this ain’t, but it’s intriguing enough for a casual viewing. Matthew Thomas

Released in September of last year, two-way racing biopic (bibiopic?) Rush revved its way straight to the top of the UK box office. At first one might assume it owes its undeserved popularity to a bunch of scalextric-playing F1 fanatics, but turns out that regular people like it too, not to mention critics (89 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, somehow). Worse still, there has been an online uproar in response to the reveal of the 2014 Oscar nominations, a list from which Rush has apparently been ‘snubbed’… ‘Snubbed’ is a negative word, but how can Rush’s failure to win an Oscar be anything but good? The legendary F1 rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt – acknowledged to be the sport’s greatest ever – is pared down to a few stern looks and a couple of snide trackside remarks. Rush is obviously supposed to be sexy, but under the bonnet it’s an exploitative sleaze fest. Laborious dialogue rings false and sexism runs rampant like an oil fire on the Nürburgring. In a shamefully misogynist move, Game of Thrones goddess Natalie Dormer is dispensed with as soon as they get the obligatory full frontal shower shot, and in another scene James Hunt seduces a pair of stewardesses with the mere beckoning of a finger. The dog! What is he like?! During the more dramatic

moments, leading lads Daniel Brühl and Chris Hemsworth don’t act, they just mope about. James Hunt is an alcoholic stoner? Oh no, he’s upset? Oh look, violins are playing while he sulks, smokes a joint and pours a quadruple whiskey! What a clichéd mess this film really is! Almost as bad as Flight. Not quite, but almost. Rush is a film about cars, and for this reason it’s inherently boring; if you’ve seen one car chase, you’ve seen ‘em all, and in this film there aren’t even any guns or hand-shaped grenades (See Death Race: 2000). No amount of edgy, rain-flecked cinematography is capable of making cars going in circles seem more interesting. If you want a properly good,

gritty, vehicle-based vendetta movie, look no further than 2013 Russian Academy Award submission White Tiger. Not only is it about WWII tanks – and thus automatically superior to Rush – but at one point a lead character suffers 90 per cent burns and survives. Rush’s Niki Lauda (played by Daniel Brühl) only received 10 per cent burns, so through the use of simple maths and logic, White Tiger is nine times better than Rush. NINE TIMES. Before this, director Ron Howard had a great track record (Cinderella Man, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, to name but a few) but regrettably, Rush is a 200 mph flop of a film. Tom Bruce

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

/TheMancunion: Books @MancunionBooks

Editors: Esmé Clifford Astbury, Annie Muir Review

The Bones Below by Sierra DeMulder The beauty of DeMulder’s writing is her ability to create vivid, immersive scenes for her reader, says Alex Webb

The Bones Below by Sierra DeMulder (Write Bloody Publishing, 2010)

Love and social commentary have always been prominent themes in poetry. Sierra DeMulder offers a fresh take on issues where others have used endless eyes-likethe-ocean metaphors and stanzas of dramatic iambic pentameter. DeMulder is one of the best poets to emerge in recent years, and her first book, The Bones Below, is more than enough proof of this. Evidence of DeMulder’s relevance in today’s society is her ability to discuss contentious issues ranging from women’s rights to the case of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Every poem in this collection connects with students, especially the politically minded among us. This is best shown in ‘Paper Dolls’, where DeMulder challenges the ‘correct’ response to rape victims: “the person who did this to you is broken./Not you”. The beauty of DeMulder’s writing is her ability to create vivid, immersive scenes for

her reader. This is especially true in ‘Unrequited Love Poem’ which will leave even the most cold-hearted lost for words. The ability to get into the reader’s head and make them feel the same way as the writer is a rare talent. DeMulder’s success is testimony to this skill. However, some of her best pieces are not so eloquent and decorative, as seen in the straight-to-the-point offerings of ‘For my Exes’ and ‘Come. Sit. Heel. Stay.’ where love and virginity are ravaged by a blunt approach, with impressive results. However, this collection is by no means perfect. In ‘O Economy (Part 2)’ and ‘Journal Entry’ I failed to connect in the way that I did with others. But, if you are one of many that had previously written poetry off as a pointless art I urge you to reconsider; DeMulder will prove you wrong.

Review

The Avenged by Charles Prandy The first book in the Jacob Hayden trilogy will certainly leave few disappointed, says Ali Pearson With the global rise of the Kindle and other e-book readers, publishing has never been easier for the amateur writer. Charles Prandy is a self-published author from Maryland and promises to write until his brain goes numb regardless of whether a professional publisher is interested or not. He attended Wesley Theological Seminary for two years, and it was there that he got the idea to write his first novel, The Last of the Descendants, which was published in May 2008. It is his Jacob Hayden Detective series, though, that has earned him some noticeable attention from the public.

Charles Prandy is a self-published author from Maryland and promises to write until his brain goes numb regardless of whether a professional publisher is interested or not The Avenged is the first of the Jacob Hayden trilogy and is proving immensely

popular on Amazon at the moment, receiving over one hundred downloads a day and will certainly leave few disappointed. “You took everything from me!” screams the lead character, Homicide Detective Hayden, to his enemy in the prologue of the book. The story is bookended by the final confrontation between the detective and the evil judge. I do wonder if the prologue slightly wrecks the proceeding story, for as we learn of Hayden’s close friend and colleague Charlie and his perfect wife Theresa, the question isn’t are they going to die but when are they going to die, which takes away some of the suspense of what is otherwise a gripping novel. Despite the small plot destroyer in the prologue, Prandy is able to produce plenty of sharp turns that will prove unexpected to the reader as Hayden gets embroiled in a case that is more complex than he could ever have imagined. The punchy chapters keep the story at a blistering pace but Prandy’s pragmatic style of writing means it is easy to follow. Hayden is an

admirable lead character who will receive sympathy from most readers for what he has to endure in this particular case. There are some issues with the editing with some clumsy grammatical e r r o r s cropping up. Some of the dialogue is unrealistic, as I would q u e s t i o n whether a 60-year-old judge and c r i m i n a l mastermind would actually use the insults ‘dickhead’ and ‘dipshit’ to address his footmen. Also, the way Prandy presents female characters is a bit antiquated in that they either only serve as condiments to the male characters or they have to disguise themselves as men. But, Prandy is likely to gain some loyal fans from the first

Books

TOP

Happily ever afters

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The book that inspired so many films, books, the best TV series ever and whose first line is undoubtedly one of the most famous in English literature is both undeniably romantic and sharply funny. Any slushy romance is brilliantly balanced by Lizzie Bennet’s cutting tongue and some of the best literary characters ever written: dastardly Wickham, drippy Mr Collins and the mortifying Mrs Bennet.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling The final instalment of the adventures of Harry and his pals answers all our big questions: “Will good triumph over evil?” “Is Snape really a baddie?” and “Will Harry and Ginny finally get it on?” Yes they will, for at least the next nineteen years.

3. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster Lucy Honeychurch finds not only love in this fabulously witty novel but also a way to open her mind and see that the world is much bigger and more interesting than her seemingly idyllic Surrey village. The classic film adaptation, with its beautiful Italian scenery and excellent one-liners, is always well worth a watch. Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins 4. The Gilman The titular story of this collection is an astounding but harrowing account of descent into madness. Other stories in the collection, notably ‘Three Thanksgivings’ and ‘Making a Change’ are perfect for those of you sick of love hearts and smug couples, as they show two women creating their own happy endings.

5. You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane This is a real rom-com of a book that is genuinely funny and has a believable ‘will-they-won’t-they’ plot. It is a lovely, cheery tale set in our very own Manchester, which gives our rain-washed streets a romantic, moonlit hue.

of the Jacob Hayden series because the plot is so involved and full of action. Whether he can repeat this in the next chapter of the detective’s life will be interesting to see. What is an undoubted success, though, is that a budding writer is able to get his story out there without worrying about satisfying publishers.

You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane (Avon, 2012)

Feature Historian John Davies Dylan described Dylan Thomas “roistering, drunken, Thomas: still asand a doomed poet.” Such disparaging assessments of controversial Thomas’ artistic existence, have not been lacking in 100 years on which the years since his death, have Carol Ann Duffy. Photo: MMU website Photo: BBC

always been counteracted by the popularity of his poetry

with the general public. A rock-star mythology, fostered by stories of a decadent and unruly lifestyle, has developed around Thomas, and some critics have opined that the attention his work gets is down more to his celebrity than his skill as a poet. Seamus Heaney gave an Oxford lecture on the

poet and opened by addressing the assembly, “Dylan Thomas is now as much a case history as a chapter in the history of poetry”. But he went on to note how ‘Thomas the Poet’ is one of his forgotten attributes.

Paul Riley

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editors: Ben Walker, Maddy Hubbard Feature

Feature

you Ask

we ANSWER ...good value fizz for Valentine’s Day

It’s that time of year again where chubby young Cupid has been firing arrows, with the usual mitigated success that a blind toddler has with a bow. As a consequence of this amorous atmosphere, all the shops in Manchester have been covered up in red hearts, crimson roses and gourmet chocolates. This week, as a result, I have been a busy little cherub myself, scouring the Wine aisles of some of our favorite supermarkets for a decent bottle of champers – something to guarantee success on a date for those who are organizing a meal at home. For those who have nothing planned for the splendid day of love this year, sitting on the couch scoffing chocolates, reading this article will be good preparation for when you actually do… Here are three carefully selected bottles, for three carefully planned dates… ‘Oudinot champagne Brut’: a bottle to share with a woman of notable virtue is an unusually classy bottle for this wine column. It is pure Chardonnay and about as consistent as busses on Oxford Road (very) and comes coupled with a generous brioche style, long, positive fruit and heartening signs of bottle age – according to the M&S marketing department. Priced at £25, you may have to extend your overdraft and negotiate a second student loan instalment very quickly, yet it tastes wonderful. In terms of a deal clincher, this is the ultimate winner, the move which check-mates’ your date and guarantees you a second evening. The prickly bubbly nature makes conversation smooth but the bottle presents a fine getaway should that conversation then hit the rocks. Truly wonderful stuff, the only down side is that hefty price tag. As our gruff politics professor once said, “You have to choose quality over quantity, even though by the looks of the track suits around, you probably cannot afford it”. He’s a permanent bachelor, so don’t worry. I hope if you do choose this bottle of champagne, the returns on your investment will make any banker green with envy. ‘Cave de Lugny Crémant de Bourgogne’: a mid-ranged bottle, nothing too flash and nothing to boisterous yet nonetheless quite a good addition to any candlelit meal for two. It is the ‘blanc de blancs’; the ‘whites of whites’, all Chardonnay and a lovely fine taste of crisp apples, apparently accompanied with bready aromas and a lively zesty character. To be honest the label doesn’t do it justice, this bottle is a superb choice, the cherry on top of a fine evening in even finer company. Interestingly, at 11.5 per cent APR you won’t be left red-nosed or on all fours but just enough to kick back and enjoy whatever interesting culinary delights you’ve whipped up for the grand occasion. I don’t usually shop at Waitrose, but when I do I try to pick out the best bottle for the remainder of my bank balance. In this case it was £12.99 and worth every penny! ‘Cava Brut’-Tesco: a bottle not to share unless you openly dislike whoever chubby young Cupid has paired you off with. Or at least that is what I first thought… Priced at a mere £4.99, this curiously underpriced bottle from cava mass-producer Corneliu is supposed to be fruity and very bubbly. I won’t lie; you certainly get your money’s worth with this fine specimen. Secondly, considering you could get five of these bottles for one ‘Oudinot Champagne Brut’, it is certainly worth mulling it over. If you so happen to be the type of person who enjoys a different bottle with every course then this is a brilliant choice. Your date may be a little overwhelmed by the bubbles and go down with hiccups, but you’ve still got desert on the menu – so it is a hard call. I hope this speedy comparison does actually come in handy for all those fortunate to end up spending the most rosy of days in the company of someone special. For those of you, like myself, who are sentenced to yet another year on the sofa, miserable and grumpy, wondering what in the world Aphorodite’s useless illegitimate offspring is doing with his bow – I shall see you at Tesco’s wine aisle, shopping for Cava… and much too much Victor Croci chocolate.

Nespress yourself Anthony Cornish reveals his love affair with the perfect cup of coffee If you are completely crazy about coffee, it’s time to kick out that Kenko and start having breakfast like a barista with Nespresso. If it’s good enough for George Clooney, it’s going to be good enough for you. The Nespresso Magimix coffee machine is elegant yet understated and is a certainty to get you out of bed in the morning. That boost, which is so desperately needed in the morning to get you out the door no longer has to be in the form of an instant coffee, rushed together in a Mr Bean-like fashion. As of now, it can take on a whole new dimension involving capsules, buttons and a magical black container with the sole purpose of making your milk wonderfully frothy. Photo: Anthony Cornish For one thing, you have the option of around 16 just this. A more appropriate description may be different coffee flavours, with that it is a shining beacon of hope that promises suitably exotic names ranging from ‘fortissio a start to the day that is simply not possible if lungo’ to ‘arpeggio’, giving you that shot of culture you’re stuck in the dark ages of coffee making. The you’ve so dearly missed. (The ‘capriccio esspresso’ result is not simply that a symphony of flavours is is a personal favourite on a Monday morning). In being conducted in your mouth, but of course, the other words, to be drinking instant coffee when actual ownership of such a nifty device means you the option of owning one of these exists is like command a great deal more respect among fellow dining in a French restaurant and ordering a pint coffee enthusiasts. Nespresso, aeroccino machine, of Carlsberg with your oysters - you tend not to. and the perfect latte. Of course, I may be accused of naivety in thinking So far, my appeal has been to those every Manchester student has the readies to invest students clambering out of bed, throwing on some in such a coffee machine but if, like me, you’re clothes and mixing up a quick (instant) café au lait drinking them every day, £100 seems a fair price in the kitchen before hopping on a magic bus to to pay for what you’re getting (especially divided Uni. I am, however, aware of that breed of people among your housemates). In addition to this this, who join the lecturers and businessmen in the my referring to it merely as a coffee machine is tedious queues of Starbucks and Nero to get their somewhat misguiding as it is so much more than

morning fix. This religious visit to the franchise is based on the belief that they can successfully fill that morning void so often dominated by lethargy, giving you that caffeine hit you desperately crave. These corporations are popular and it is mainly due to their sorting out customers with high-grade produce and with a street value of only around £2.50 a pop. However, the maintenance of this routine, week in week out for a matter of months will have you spending the same as you would have on the Magimix machine and you will have had to go out of your way every day to do so. With the Magimix, you can enjoy the fruits of a quality coffee without the hassles of travelling and queuing. After all this recommendation and appraisal, I feel it necessary to briefly mention my own personal experience with the machine. It was on returning from the Christmas holiday that my Birkenstock-wearing housemate Dom introduced the machine to our kitchen, armed with a shed-load of capsules. After a brief tutorial on how to treat it with love and care, the machine became one of the family and is now the most popular member. The mutual feeling towards the Magimix is one of pure adoration as it immediately transforms the users outlook on coffee from a mere mug of brown liquid to a chalice of flavours topped gracefully with a layer of perfectly modified milk to ensure beauty, elegance, and taste. My advice to you here is simple: sack off the instant, boycott the Starbucks, and start enjoying coffee in style with me and Mr. Clooney. (Now I’m off to make a coffee).

Feature

Adventures without Alcohol

Ben Walker explores the best options for soft drinks in Manchester, and finds that ultimately when you’ve got the best hot chocolate in the country it is impossible not to be content I recently got to thinking about soft drinks after trying a mixed berry smoothie at Fuel in Withington. What follows are some musings about some outstanding offerings available in Manchester to students, teetotallers, alcopop bingers, and champagne connoisseurs alike—you see soft drinks are for everyone… As I watched the waitress glide across the floor, a great vessel nestled in her hands, I was beguiled, literally, by the fruits of her labour. At my table arrived a whole pint and fruit pulp so thick that a spoon was intermittently employed, the rich texture and the tiny crunch of strawberry seeds confirmed my initial feelings: this is one of the finest tasting beverages I have had sourced in Manchester, and since it is cheaper than some beers on sale, and indeed wholly flavoursome, I stuck to slurping the mixed berry smoothies that evening, and what a revelation it was. This led to some thoughts about the purpose of drinking smoothies — I think our view of the smoothie is somewhat skewed. A government study tells us that apparently you can only get two of your five daily fruit and vegetable portions from smoothies, regardless of how much you drink. Well, this begs an interesting question, so what? If you buy smoothie for the health benefits I imagine you also enjoy dunking and dipping raw carrot and celery batons into Taramasalata, so I have full confidence that the five a day is made up elsewhere. You see, the health conscious amongst us don’t simply rely on Innocent Drinks to get all those delicious vitamins, right? We drink them because they taste so divine, simply sumptuous.

So, with soft drinks of the elite kind on my mind, I figured that the counterbalance to the cool, plummy sensations of the Fuel smoothie was hot chocolate. Too often just the third option in the Alan Gilbert, after coffee and tea, heartlessly assembled with some powder creating a chalky, watery, potentially heart-breaking experience — I’ll never forget the day I spent the best part of a fiver on the Café Nero Milano hot chocolate, and though it was served in a fancy glass, the drink was almost as sorry as I was for purchasing it. So, hoping to avoid more disappointment that would have surely just sent me right back into the arms of the Fuel smoothie, I focused the mind, and indeed epiphany struck. Chocolate Boutique

by Paul A Young in the Northern Quarter is an outpost of the famous London chocolatier, and his little store, across the road from Teapot, I had heard, sold hot chocolate. Like any good pilgrim I kept faith and upon completion of my journey I was rewarded with a spiritual experience indeed. Salted caramel hot chocolate, ladled from a cauldron, where a lady stands and stirs with devotion, love, and due care and attention. A wooden plate, a ceramic bowl, and the most indulgent hot drink I may ever have sipped resulted in me buying a second — an orange chocolate one! Even including the solid form of chocolate, this was the best cocoa experience I’ve ever had. Photo: Ben Walker

/TheMancunion: Food & Drink @MancunionFood

Food & Drink 23

Feature

V-Day Restaurants Personally I don’t really see the point of Valentine’s Day. And this isn’t some bitter singleton speaking – I have been accused by multiple friends of being a “serial monogamist”. No, I’m just turned off by the idea of love as a consumer spectacle. I don’t really see why you’d want to be in a relationship where your partner only remembered to value you on one predetermined day of the year… But hey, enough cynicism. Even if you don’t go in for the chocolates/roses/cheese-y Hallmark card there is an upside to Valentine’s Day – it provides the perfect excuse to push the boat out a bit and treat yourself to a nice restaurant meal. With this in mind I thought I would provide a handy guide of restaurants in Manchester that might suit the occasion:

For the couple still in the honeymoon phase: Ah, the start of a new relationship – the bit where you don’t even fart in front of each other yet and are still pretending to be richer/funnier/ have a better taste in music than you really do. These restaurants will allow you to dress up and be a bit flash, although you might regret it when you next check your bank balance… San Carlo A favourite of footballers and minor celebrities, this swanky Italian joint is sure to pull out all of the cheesy and clichéd stops in the classiest possible ways. Try the sharing platter of fish and shellfish cooked in white wine with “a touch of tomato and garlic” or the ‘Tagliata Di Filetto Di Manzo’ (doesn’t Italian sound romantic? That’s basically just steak) then finish with something chocolatey. Australasia Ideal for couples who are beautiful but rather

Recipes

our

Maddy Hubbard provides the ultimate guide to the best restuarants to celebrate Valentine’s Day, whatever your relationship...

dull, the music will drown out some of your conversation while the glamorous surroundings are perfect for people watching. Perhaps more trendy than romantic, nevertheless it’s the kind of place you want to be seen. The menu is a slightly confused sounding fusion concept, but the cocktails are sure to be fabulous and beautiful people tend not to eat much anyway. The French For proper foodies only, this one will require an investment of about four hours and £79 a head for their 10 course tasting menu. The food is guaranteed to be stunning but it’s probably best to be sure you are both up for eating ‘Ox in coal oil’, a raw meat tartare, or ‘lamb belly and sweetbreads’ before you commit to spending over three weeks of your food budget on one meal. For the Valentine’s Day refuseniks: So you secretly would quite like to do something for V-Day but don’t want to come across all soppy. Here are a few restaurants that would mean you can have a fun night out but avoid the cringe-factor of candles and roses. SoLiTa Despite being described as ‘Dude Food’, I don’t reckon the menu here is particularly gendered. The appeal of deep-fried mac ‘n’ cheese, aged Dexter prime rib steak or one of their epic burgers is pretty universal, and the place is very Northern Quarter but not in an exclusive way. And don’t worry, they wouldn’t be seen dead playing love songs. Luck Lust Liquor and Burn Another NQ favourite, and okay I’ll admit this one is a bit more up itself. They have a neon

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Image: San Carlo Chichetti sign saying “Jesus Loves Tacos” and I don’t think they hire anyone without tattoos. But it’s not their fault; they can’t help that they’re the sister restaurant to Almost Famous. The food and cocktails are great and the place manages to be romantic – dimly lit, pink fairy lights, candles etc – but not in an embarrassing way. For the Tinder date you accepted for the company: You don’t want to be alone on the 14th but you’re not sure about this one. In fact you might both have accepted out of pity/desperation, so bearing that in mind it’s really not worth splashing the cash. Fallow But you never know, it could be the (unlikely) start of something beautiful. In that case the

low-key but friendly charms of Fallow are the answer. They’ll be offering a tasty three course menu with a glass of wine for £20pp, and you’ll probably be pretty close to home if you decide to do a runner… Dosa Xpress Functional doesn’t even begin to describe the décor, but at least they’ve made an effort with some fairy lights. At the end of the day the tasty South Indian food is so cheap you really can’t complain, and they might even put a fake flower on the table as you gaze into each other’s’ eyes and struggle for conversation. Wetherspoons To be honest, if you really think that Spoons is your best option I’d say cancel and stay in getting fabulously drunk with your mates.

Joanne Procter’s marshmallows are fabulous homemade edible gifts for Valentine’s Day

Chocolate & Pistaccio Marshmallows These chocolate and pistaccio marshmallows look impressive and will definitely earn you lots of brownie points if you make them for someone special. They’re deceptively simple and taste delicious.

Ingredients 1/2 tbsp cornflour 1/2 tbsp icing sugar Drop of vegetable oil 2 egg whites 500g granulated sugar 250ml water 8 leafs gelatin 80g milk chocolate (or dark if you prefer) 100g pistachios in shell (shelled weight probably about 60-70g but

don’t quote me on it!) Method 1. Grab a 20 x 20cm cake tin, and rub a little bit of oil all over the base and around the sides. Seive the icing sugar and cornflour together in a bowl and add a bit of it to the cake tin, making sure it’s coated evenly. 2. Crack the egg whites into a large mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peaks. 3. Put the egg whites to one side. Pour the sugar and water into a saucepan and put it on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then whack the heat on full and boil it until it’s at the ‘hard ball’ stage. I love that name. It’s basically 122 degrees Celcius. It does help to have a sugar thermometer (I used a meat thermometer – same difference, I think!) because I think it would be pretty hard to guesstimate. Whilst you’re waiting for it to boil, soak your gelatine leaves in water for 10 mins. 4. Start whisking the egg whites again, then as you’re whisking, gradually pour in the hot sugar syrup. Whisk it in really well. As soon as that’s all in, grab the gelatine, squeeze the water out of it and put it in the egg white mix. Keep whisking and whisking, until the mixture is firm but still pourable. It will also be incredibly sticky. Messy, but fun! At this point, pour it into the cake tin and leave it to set for two hours. Roughly the amount of time it will take you to wash the marshmallow goo out of the mixing bowl, and the sugar syrup out of the saucepan. 5. Now the fun bit. Sprinkle the rest of your icing sugar and cornflour mixture over a worktop or chopping board. Using a knife, separate the marshmallow from the edge of the tin, then tip it out

onto the chopping board and cut it into cubes of a size you deem acceptable. 6. Boil some water in a saucepan, take it off the heat, and place a bowl over the top of the pan. Put the chocolate in the bowl and melt it down. In the meantime, de-shell and chop the pistachios finely. 7. Now, this bit is fun. Smear half of the marshmallow with chocolate and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. 2 tips. 1 – use a butter knife to spread the chocolate on the marshmallow or it. gets. messy. 2 – Make sure that either your marshmallow slices can stand up on end, or you have some way of propping them up that doesn’t involve them lying on their chocolate-covered side. 8. Leave them to cool for half an hour and you’re done! These guys make a great present, or just a great way to feel smug about not paying a bazillion pounds for premium marshmallows in Selfridges. Photos: Joanne Procter

Arts & Culture

Feature

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editors: Abbie Roberts, Matilda Roberts

Private Galleries Matilda Roberts visits Manchester’s Artzu Gallery and Craft and Design Centre to see what the city’s private galleries have to offer.

Private art galleries offer a very different experience to public ones. Less about giving the opportunity to contemplate, learn about, and enjoy art they instead sell art and give the opportunity to contemplate the value of individual artworks. Public galleries are often overlooked as places to observe art. The commercial side of the art world often intimidates people, particularly students, or the commercial art displayed within them is dismissed as ‘kitsch’. I visited Spinningfield’s Artzu Gallery and the Manchester Craft and Design Centre in the Northern Quarter to see how valuable a visit to these private galleries could be. ‘Seeing Difference’, a group exhibition showing at the Artzu Gallery, displayed different artist’s vision of the world through his or her own particular perspective. Identical locations are portrayed with differences, revealing the artist’s hidden world. Matt Wilde portrays busy Manchester scenes in which people are doing normal everyday things like waiting for the bus or reading the newspaper. His paintings are bold and cartoonlike; the scenes are colourful while his figures are often painted with black and sketchy lines. When you look closer into his paintings you notice his use of

newspapers, receipts or tickets underneath the surface of his paintings. Michael John Ashcrot also paints scenes of Manchester. His paintings capture beautifully the contrasts between light and dark, shadows and reflections in the city. Anna Gillespie sculpts the human form from natural materials such as acorns and bark. Her sculptures appear to be an expression of her growing concerns about the environment. These were the artists I found most interesting in the gallery, finding the rest to be more obvious examples of commercially appealing art. The experience of visiting the gallery itself was not ideal. I would have liked to spend more time observing the art. However I felt slightly unwanted in there, despite the gallery’s website proclaiming the gallery ‘proudly stands like a beacon’ not just for private collectors and corporate art buyers but for ‘art lovers’ and ‘artists’ too. I was the only person to enter the gallery while I was there without being greeted at the door and I didn’t feel comfortable getting out a notebook and sitting to draw what I saw. The Manchester Craft and Design Centre was a wholly different experience. Home to eighteen working studio boutiques where the resident artists both make and sell their work, as well as a café and an exhibition space this former fish market is the perfect destination for personal gifts and new craft ideas. Selling jewellery, bags, ceramics, interior accessories, furniture and paintings

all the artists were friendly and welcoming whether or not you seemed likely to buy anything. The exhibition showing there at the moment is Alinah Azadeh’s ‘Gifts of the Departed’. Alinah Azadeh is an interdisciplinary artist using processes of public ritual, dialogue, gift and narrative exchange. This is an exhibition dedicated to her mother who died in 2004 Asian Tsunami. Her Gifts of the Departed are objects taken from her mother’s kitchen, wrapped in cloth and wool and bound with texts taken from the artists blog at the time, which documented some of the almost unbelievable signs, dreams and events around her mothers death. The artist describes the process as beginning as a ‘creative making ritual of grief ’. The collection then expanded into using found object and Sufi texts to create what feel like three-dimensional poems. I found the objects to be really beautiful and personal expressions of grief and belonging. The artist literally binds up the belongings of her mother with her own memories of her. I would really recommend a visit to the Manchester Craft and Design Centre, a fun place to brows for gifts and craft ideas, to meet interesting people and to see a unique and intimate exhibition. Artzu gallery I would recommend to those either interested in the art market and its changing fashions or to those who practice their own art as a place to go for possible ideas. But don’t expect a smile!

Feature

I swapped Facebook for knitting and won’t Abbie Roberts on the addictive procrastination alternative to ever look back! social networking and its hidden associations with crime producing endless reams of woollen delights, you start to see the world in a completely different way. Before you know it, everything you see can be improved with a bit of wool. This starts off fairly harmlessly – that jacket of yours never did have enough pockets - but then it changes, you change – that man’s head really is bulbous, why not quickly fashion him a nice beret right there in the queue to the self-checkout? But there’s no stopping you then. It gets darker. Knitting is a gateway drug to crime itself - that park bench really could be spruced up a bit, oh and that pothole does need covering over, knit1-purl1-knit1-purl1. It’s not vandalism you’ll tell yourself, it’s art. But deep down you’ll know it’s wrong, but it’s done now and the only way to remove your knitted work from the handlebars of that stranger’s parked bike is to cut it off and you know that to apply scissors through your own knitting is the greatest pain you could possibly inflict upon yourself. But it’s ok, you checked for CCTV beforehand, just walk casually away. Of course I wouldn’t want to put you off, knitting is a wonderfully relaxing hobby and not everyone goes into such a frenzy - you

Emily Leach calls out to all up-coming artists and introduces her new project SKREACH THE ARTS. SKREACH THE ARTS is an online wonderland where I showcase all things fantastical and wonderful in the world of the arts. Tantalise those tastebuds with up-and-coming artists, romanticise with visionaries and ooze ambition with fellow entrepreneurs who share my passion and flare as I sprawl their talent across the web. I’m on a mission to get down and dirty with these go-getters, to fondle and nurture their innermost passions, in an effort to rid the arts of the impersonal critiques and elitist jargon that deters the interests of many. As an Art History student at Manchester I have cured dozens of sleepless nights with the aid from theorists and critics whose unnecessarily turgid vocabulary casts me into a dull, flaccid slumber. Their despairingly academic critiques intimidate and frazzle the heated desires of talented yet inexperienced artists. And although I believe the works of these theorists to be integral to the study of art, I believe it important too that those small-time artists boiling and bubbling with passion are given refuge as they struggle within the pool of sharks. SKREACH THE ARTS opens its arms to those talented gogetters who, overspilling with pungent individuality, are determined to dive and splash fearlessly into the art world. If you think you’ve got the gills to withstand the waves then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via my website at www.skreachthearts.com.

What’s on

this WEEK Selfridges Festival of Imagination 15 January 2014 - 20 February 2014 Selfridges Festival of Imagination forms a series of pop-up events curated by Maria Balshaw, director of Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester City Galleries. As well as inspirational talks from some of the UK’s most celebrated artists, writers and academics, there is a PopUp Whitworth, an in-store exhibition of artworks that have been a driving force for debate, contemplation and creativity.

Images from the Manchester Craft and Design Centre

So the exam season’s finally over and with it ended the obsessive compulsive procrastination that grips each and every one of us – the endless refreshing of newsfeeds, the sudden onset of urges to go on a jog and hoover our room – “The oven’s dirty!”, “The pencils aren’t sharpened!”, “The cereals aren’t in alphabetical order!” For most of us, by the end of exam week, our accommodation has never been so clean, our shelves never so organised and our Facebook friends never so thoroughly stalked. But this year I took procrastination to a whole new level - more extreme than cracking open a brand spanking new box set with the familiar “just one more episode” resounding in my ear – instead, I learnt to knit and “just one more row” haunts my preresults-day dreams. Instead of walking out of my final exam feeling purposeless because there were no more seasons of Breaking Bad to curl up with, I was twitching to get to town and into Poundland (yes, Poundland!) to further fuel my knitting addiction. Now don’t be fooled by the innocent reputation knitting has - once you get the hang of basic knit1-purl1 and you’re

Feature

could just become one of those ‘home-made gifts’ people. Everyone loves homemade gifts or at least everyone says that when really they’d rather have a professionally made hole-less scarf that they’re not obliged to wear every time they see you, but it’s very easy to ignore that little fact. After all, you put a lot of time into it and it’s the thought that counts. To conclude, knitting instead of going on Facebook does seem like a more productive alternative to the inevitable procrastination of January exams, but that argument probably won’t hold up in court.

Image: Flickr, Deutschemeister

Relics: Paintings & Drawings by David Lunt The Portico 05 February 2014 - 28 February 2014 Enter a fantastic, dystopian world in this exciting new solo exhibition from Cheshire based artist David Lunt. Relics brings several paintings from the artist’s collection together with his latest project, as yet unseen by the public. Undeniably atmospheric, Lunt’s surreal imagery depicts a Dystopian world filled with fabricated lands and the strange ruins of failed civilisations, embracing his interest in the cinematic image and the bizarre nature of the Uncanny.

The Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts Show EventCity, M41 7TB 06 February 2014 - 08 February 2014 Make sure you visit the Creative Stitches & Hobbycrafts show to discover all the latest supplies, ideas and innovations in the creative crafting world. With over 100 exhibitors it’s the biggest event of its kind in the North West. There are so many inspiring features to see and enjoy, including The Sewing Hub, The Giant Textile Books and Les Miserables Costumes, plus an extensive programme of free workshops, demonstrations and talks, catwalk fashion shows and so much more.

Theatre

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editor: Stephanie Scott Review

Review

All Our Friends Are Jessica Dead Wheeler

Coriolanus - National Theatre Screening

reviews All Our Friends Are Dead

Amber De La Haye reviews The National Theatre’s screening of Coriolanus at Cornerhouse

The National Theatre have taken advantage of technology to give us regular live streams of their very best shows to cinemas around the world. With sell-out-in-seconds, criticallyacclaimed shows available at a fraction of the price and less than a magic bus ride away (at Cornerhouse), this is an opportunity not to be missed. Book tickets now for King Lear, directed by Academy Award winning Sam Mendes, on the 1st May. Also coming up is War Horse and the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The Donmar warehouse was stripped back to basics for this Roman tragedy, with the black brick wall adorned by an angry red stripe and a red fighting ring painted onto the floor. The lack of color in the sparse setting is reflected in the dark, post-apocalyptic costumes of the cast, and serves to emphasise the blood soaked Coriolanus (Tom Hiddleston) whilst bringing the play into the modern day. After all, Coriolanus is pressingly relevant. The discontented commoners in hoodies express their hunger and anger with graffiti and protest in scenes that call to mind the Arab spring, current protests in Kiev and the ever-growing number of our population forced to use food banks. The updated play was also bitingly clear, Hiddleston brought a contemporary edge to Coriolanus and the script cuts meant the play was focused on action and immediately comprehendible, even for those encountering the play for the first time. Battle scenes were presented clearly with simple props of chairs and ladders complimented by great special effects (descending fireballs) and an uncomfortably loud wall of sound. Hiddleston, with his Etonion background, was perfect as the tragic hero hurtling towards

Katie Norris and Sinead Parker became friends at Manchester School of Theatre, where they graduated in 2009. They describe their comedy as ‘off-beat, dark and ridiculous.’ Winner of Best downfall on the hubris of his proud, forthright Comedy Sketch Show at the 3 minute Theatre Awards, this nature and undisguised disgust towards the original piece has been well common people. He was at once both strong received at the Manchester and vulnerable, a merciless war hero who Fringe, Camden Fringe and the relishes in blood and enters the stage with Edinburgh Fringe Festival. his face soaked in the blood of his enemies, All Our Friends Are Dead is an extremely funny and imaginative but also a victim of a status hungry mother (Deborah Findlay) who has molded him into a piece of comedy. Marrying live music with particularly dark saglory-machine. tirical humour, the show breathes The overbearing mother and absence of new life into the comedy sketch a father figure was also picked up on and genre. Norris and Parker do not hold back, they possess a fearlessfurthered through the emphasis on the ness that is essential in comedy. homoerotic bond between Aufidius (Hadley Their dubious characterisations Fraser) and Coriolanus, who is greeted by his and renditions of Disney clasenemy with a passionate kiss. Aufidius watches sics make for an unpredictable Coriolanus jealously throughout the play, and and deliriously funny show. Particularly entertaining was the symbolic killing of his life-long enemy shows Coriolanus strung upside down in chains, his blood dripping onto Aufidius’s face as he kneels below in a parody of Coriolanus’s earlier blood soaked face. Along with many productions of Coriolanus, the hero is emphasized as just that, a hero, whose hubristic flaw is the need to speak his own mind and inability to lie and simper like the more successful politicians (Mark Gatiss as Menenius is an excellent cunning manipulator). This largely skirts over his hatred and disgust for the common people, his desire to remove any representation they might have and belief that he deserves to eat whilst they do not, a representation which doesn’t sit well with me, especially combined with the choice to assign simple northern accents to both the commoners and enemy. Overall, however, Coriolanus is an outstanding production, making Shakespeare’s text relevant today in an immensely watchable, tense and dramatic show.

their sketch of two suspicious widows singing a medley of songs, with lyrics inspired by the deaths of their husbands. A live band were used in some of the comical material and contributed to the strange, unique atmosphere of the show. However, the performance probably would have been sufficiently engaging without them. Norris and Parker compliment one another magnificently. Their strong, quirky relationship makes this show what it is: a dynamic stream of madness and hilarity. The duo, resembling a young French and Saunders, maintained an excellent energy and humour throughout; it was captivating. They speak a comedy language that is both familiar and fresh. The performance had an edge; it felt uninhibited and truly original. Definitely look out for these two.

Lying at the very heart of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers is a secret that ferments throughout the years, becoming increasingly toxic and forbidding. At first glance, Russell’s masterpiece is a colourful display of costumes, dancing and singing set in the hubbub of a 20th century Liverpool with plenty of laughs, cheeky one-liners and contagious musical numbers. Yet, Russell explores the ramifications behind harbouring those secrets that seem to burst from your chest every waking moment of your life. Just what will happen when those you love discover the truth? At the outset of the play, the secret is conceived from hope and desire as twins are separated at birth for the benefit of both Mrs Lyons (a wealthy woman) and Mrs Johnstone (a working-class mother). 3. MY CHILD Mrs Lyons: Hello, Mrs J. How are you? Mrs J.? Anything wrong? Mrs Johnstone: I had it all worked out. With one more baby we could have managed. But not with two, the welfare have already been on to

this WEEK To Russia With Love Contact Theatre presents an evening of theatre, consisting of four short plays, to highlight and protest against homophobia in Russia. As well as this, the show also coincides with LGBT history month and many other queer theatre projects at Contact Theatre. Go along for a night of discussion about, and celebration of, the most basic of human rights - the right to love. 8th February at the Contact Theatre

Ballad of the Burning Star Ballad of a Burning Star acheived sell out success at the Edinburgh Fringe 2013 and now it comes to The Lowry. The play is political, fresh and, at times, racy as it depicts the struggle of one Jewish boy’s struggle to come to terms with the violence of his homeland.

Blindsided

Coriolanus screening at The Cornerhouse. Photo: Johan Perrson

This week, Jennifer Leung tells us about her favourite scene from the famous musical Blood Brothers, by Willy Russell

me. Mrs Lyons: Twins? You’re expecting twins? Narrator: How quickly an idea, planted, can Take root and grow into a plan. The thought conceived in this very room Grew as surely as a seed, in a mother’s womb Mrs Lyons: Give one of them to me. Please, Mrs Johnstone. Please. Mrs Johnstone: Are y’.... Are y’ that desperate to have a baby? Mrs Lyons: Each day I look out from this window I see him with his friends, I hear him call, I rush down but as I fold my arms around him He’s gone. Was he ever there at all? I’ve dreamed of all the places I would take him The games we’d play the stories I would tell The jokes we’d share, the clothing I would make him I reach out. But as I do, he fades away. Mrs Johnstone: If my child was raised in a palace like this one He wouldn’t have to worry where

What’s on

11th and 12th February at The Lowry

My Favourite Scene

my FAVOURITE SCENE

His next meal was comin’ from His clothing would be Supplied by George Henry Lee Mrs Lyons: He’d have all his own toys And a garden to play in Mrs Johnstone: He could make too much noise Without the neighbours complainin’ Mrs Lyons: Silver trays to take meals on Mrs Johnstone: A bike with both wheels on? Mrs Lyons: And he’d sleep every night In a bed of his own Mrs Johnstone: He wouldn’t get into fights He’d leave matches alone And you’d never find him Effin’ and blindin’ And when he grew up He could never be told To stand and queue up For hours on end at the dole He’d grow up to be Mrs Lyons / Mrs Johnstone: A credit to me.

This play promises to keep its audiences constantly enthralled, as a romantic play with an unexpected element of murder. A girl growing up in a battered part of Stockport in a battered time at the end of the seventies falls in love with the man who will mash her heart into a thousand pieces. 23rd January to 15th February at the Royal Exchange

The Good, The God and The Guillotine Contact Theatre presents an exciting production by Proto-type Theater. This music-driven, dynamic show takes it’s cues from gigs, recitals and the opera and promises to be a piece of exciting theatre comparable to no other. Inspired by Albert Campus’s novel; The Stranger. Tuesday 18th February at the Contact Theatre

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editors: Lauren Arthur, Moya Crockett, Beth Currall Feature

The world’s greatest power couples In celebration of Valentine’s Day, we take a look at some of the world’s most iconic lovers (and one of the worst), from the 1920s to the present day 1. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton She was the violet-eyed star of Hollywood’s Golden Age, “the most beautiful woman in the world”; he was a serious Shakespearean actor, a brooding Welshman with a fiery temper. Their tempestuous affair caused a scandal when it began on the set of Cleopatra in 1961 and has fascinated the world ever since. ‘I wish I could tell you of my love for you, of my fear, my delight, my pure animal pleasure of you - (with you) - my jealousy, my pride, my anger at you, at times,” Taylor wrote in a 1974 letter to Burton. “Most of all my love for you, and whatever love you can dole out to me.” It’s the stuff of movies, except it was real. 2. Johnny Depp and Kate Moss This turbulent, hard-partying relationship didn’t last, but Christ, was it photogenic while it did. For four years in the mid-90s, Johnny and Kate’s matching cheekbones, leather jackets, and insouciant attitudes made them the coolest couple in the world. They eventually split in 1998. (Incidentally, the pair are banned for life from New York’s Mark Hotel, after they caused $9,767 worth of damage in the presidential suite. Depp blamed the damage on an armadillo hiding in his closet. The animal was never found.) 3. Barack and Michelle Obama Barack’s politics are often divisive in 2014 – the starry-eyed young President of 2008 seems a long way off, doesn’t he? – but his 24-year relationship with Michelle has always been difficult to fault. Their charm lies in their apparent normalcy (she likes gardening, he plays basketball, sometimes they bicker) and the fact that, while he might be the most powerful man in the world, she’s never lived in his shadow. Fist bump for Barack and Michelle! 4. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy The love affair between movie stars Hepburn and Tracy lasted for twentyseven years, but was never acknowledged during Tracy’s lifetime. Racked with Catholic guilt, Tracy could not bring himself to divorce his estranged wife, while Hepburn was fiercely independent and uninterested in marriage. Nevertheless, the pair’s electric on-screen chemistry – they starred in nine films together – left audiences in little doubt as to the true nature of their relationship. When Tracy died in 1967, Hepburn was at his side. “Love is nothing to do with what you are expecting to get,” she would later say. “Only with what you are expecting to give, which is everything.” 5. Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton They work together constantly, live in separate houses, and dress like ageing Victorian urchins crossed with Camden goths. But despite all the outré eccentricity, they’ve always seemed like one of cinema’s most reliably rocksolid pairings. Recent photos of Tim kissing a blonde woman in Manhattan broke our heart. If those crazy kids can’t make it, who can?

6. Iman and David Bowie Perhaps the most unlikely and most fabulous power couple on this list, Brixton-born space oddity David Bowie and Somali supermodel Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid first met in 1990. According to Bowie, it was love at first sight: “I was naming the children the night we met.” While Iman has spoken of her admiration for her husband’s outré fashion sense, she doesn’t borrow any of Bowie’s outfits: “Honey, I have hips. They’d never fit.” Married for 22 years, they prefer to stay out of the limelight, splitting their time between Manhattan and New York. 7. Beyoncé and Jay-Z They’ve been together since B was 20, and any other year, the number one spot on this particular chart would have belonged to pop culture’s king and queen. Unfortunately, though, Jay and Bey seem to have missed the memo that domestic abuse = not romantic. In his rap on Beyoncé’s recent single ‘Drunk in Love’, Hova appears to glamourize Ike and Tina Turner’s violent relationship, which, frankly, is just a bit tragic. We still love you, Queen B, but have a word. 8. Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf Writers Vita and Virginia began their relationship as professional associates before becoming friends and, then, lovers in the 1920s. Their romance lost momentum around 1928 – the year Woolf published Orlando, a semibiographical novel based partially on Vita’s life – but the women maintained a deep friendship until Woolf’s death in 1941. Perhaps remarkably for the time, both women’s husbands were accepting of the affair between their wives. “You have no idea how stand-offish I can be with people I don’t love,” Vita wrote in a 1926 letter to Virginia. “I have brought it to a fine art. But you have broken down my defences. And I really don’t resent it.” 9. Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake It was the ultimate pop-star romance of the late 90’s: two God-fearin’ Southern teens fresh out of Mickey Mouse Club, with bleach-blonde hair, perfect abs and not a whiff of sex about them. Their 2002 split, amid rumours of Brit’s infidelity, inspired Justin’s classic break-up anthem “Cry Me a River” and (less fortunately) preceded Britney’s infamous meltdown. At least we’ve got the memories.

And the worst... Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Keeping the Daily Mail Online’s comment section buzzing since 2012, it’s Kimye! Kanye tweets things like “I just f***ed Kim so hard,” while Kim goes on Ellen DeGeneres to talk about losing her virginity. It’s narcissism beyond the point of parody, although that didn’t stop Seth Rogen and James Franco trying in their spot-on piss-take of the ‘Bound 2’ video. Do you think if we ignore them, they’ll just go away?

Debate

Does a relationship enhance your university experience? While many people are eager for a relationship while at uni, others simply want to enjoy being young, free and single. Here, two students debate the issue YES: ELLA NO: Beth Before I begin, a disclaimer. It’s really not my intention to sound smug here. But it has to be said: there are many great things about being in a relationship at university. For most people, uni is the first time you’re able to really experience something close to an adult relationship. You don’t have to worry about your parents or siblings walking in on you or hearing anything that they shouldn’t (there are housemates to consider, of course, but that’s far less embarrassing!). Being able to make dinner for your boyfriend or girlfriend in your own house – your own food, your own wine – feels almost like being a proper grownup, and that’s quite exciting. Embarking on a relationship away from home definitely feels like taking an extra step into becoming your own person, clichéd as that may sound. There are practical (and somewhat selfish) reasons for wanting to be with someone at university, too. Your housemates might be great, but they’re not necessarily going to bring you a cup of tea and a cuddle the morning after a big night – they’re more likely to be in their own beds, nursing their own hangovers. In addition, university life can sometimes feel quite overwhelming. Whether it’s the pressure of an intense workload or drama within an extended friendship group, it can be a great relief to know you’ve got someone to lean on and escape with. Of course, university relationships have their issues. One big one is that things can get very intense, very quickly, and it’s easy to feel smothered or like you’re missing out on other things. Living in your own houses, free from parental interference, can mean that you end up essentially living together, and it’s all too easy to spend nights out draped across your significant other before heading home to bed with them. And then, panic! Suddenly you realise you don’t know any of the latest gossip and you haven’t actually had a good dance with your mates in weeks. It’s so important to get the balance between friends, Photo: Elina Baltina (Flickr) work, and a relationship right, and I think being at university does make achieving that balance more difficult. Remember: the University of Manchester Counselling Service I’ve only been in a relationship since my second year of uni, and for can be contacted for all sorts of reasons. If you’re struggling that, I’m glad, as I think being in a whirlwind romance from the very with relationship issues, feeling down after a break-up, or beginning might have made it trickier to make solid friendships in first experiencing loneliness, don’t be embarrassed to get in touch year. Overall, though, I can’t imagine my time at Manchester without at http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/counselling/ my relationship – it’s made it what it is in so many ways.

I am well aware that everyone is different, but I have no shame in admitting that I am not a relationship person in the slightest, at least during this point in my life. University is one of the most exciting times of our lives, and I simply fail to see how being tied down would enhance this experience. Granted, there are a few couples who manage to create time for their work, friends and their other halves, but a relationship with this kind of balance is like gold dust - at any age. I can see why people desire the affection and the company, but why now? Why during uni? When I wake up after a night out, I don’t want to turn over to someone next to me begging for cuddles or getting in my face. I want to lie in bed, stuff my face and cry over all the embarrassing things that I did. And on said night out, I want to be pathetically intoxicated, dance with my friends and have the chance to meet new people without having to look over my shoulder for my boyfriend’s approval. If I stumble out of the club at four, or mooch away at one because I’m pissed off and not drunk enough, I can do that without having to let anyone know. I am almost 100 per cent sure that I have commitment issues, but I just can’t even fathom the idea of having to inform someone of my whereabouts, or receive the go-ahead for my plans. I came to uni for independence, not to be parented. I don’t think I would have made the close friendships I have made at Manchester, had I found a partner early on. In fairness, my best friend and I have what I imagine a university relationship would be like: she is my rock, the person I go to for everything, and I would be utterly lost without her. However, we remain our own people; we have separate friends and interests here, and that sense of liberty is crucial for university life. I personally think that I would have been inhibited had I gotten into a relationship during my first year, and that time really lays the foundation for the two or three years to come after Fresher’s. Although I look forward to falling in love and eventually (hopefully) marrying one day, the life I lead here in Manchester couldn’t be further removed from ‘settled’, and that is exactly what I wanted out of my university experience. I didn’t come here to find love, I came here to have the time of my life, get myself a degree, and in all honesty, to find out who I really am. And once I’ve found that out, maybe then I’ll be ready to get into a relationship.

/TheMancunion: Lifestyle @MancunionLife

Lifestyle

Sex & Relationships Finance

Careers

Struggling for ideas this Valentine’s? No fear, Beth Currall has your date night sorted, whatever kind of valentine you are this year

The place where former Manchester students report back from the ‘real world.’ This week, we chat to research geochemist Michael Lawson.

It’s a date!

Career Corner Photo: Andrew Taber (Flickr)

Valentine’s Day creeps upon us every year, and we all share the same despair, panic and frustration when making plans, whether we’re coupled up or riding solo. However, Manchester is bursting at the seams with quirky, romantic things to do this Friday, so Lifestyle have hand-picked some of the best options for all you lovely readers. Intellectuals Want to take your beau on an interesting, yet mentally stimulating date? One of the best places to take them would be the Manchester Museum, which not only allows you to keep the topics of conversation flowing but is also free to enter probably best you treat your other half to a meal afterwards however, to avoid looking like too much of a cheap-skate. Fancy something a bit more chilled? Catch an independent film or an exhibition at Cornerhouse. Gaming enthusiasts should get down to Friday Night Magic couple’s special at Fatboy 3 in the Northern Quarter, which, according to its advertisement, ‘requires smooching’.

Photo: The Alchemist Image-conscious couples Don’t try and pretend, we know there are loads of couples out there who can’t wait to find a place to spend Valentine’s Day that will provide a great backdrop for your PDA Instagram photos. The Alchemist bars are being transformed into Love Labs for the evening, but pairs are advised to reserve places online at www.thealchemist.uk.com . You could also take a turn on the Manchester Wheel, priced at a mere £6 for students ( just gently remind your date to bring along their NUS card). For those who really want to splash out, The Podium restaurant and bar area inside the Hilton Hotel have created a special wine and dine menu for £60 per couple. With those jaw-dropping views, you’re bound to get a few likes on those soppy selfies. Singletons Who says you have to be loved up to enjoy Valentines? Grab your mates and a bottle of Sainsbury’s Basics vodka, and get yourself down to some of the amazing club nights Manchester has to offer. Gorilla is hosting Juicy: The Players’ Ball, where you’re guaranteed back-to-back floor fillers and a feel-good atmosphere. Sankeys are also paying homage to the romantic day with a Music is Love special, but if it’s a true cheesy night you’re looking for, Sound Control’s most popular night, Cherry, returns to ensure that any sad singleton will have a cheap drink in their hand and a smile on their face by midnight.

Photo: Marc Falardeau

Social Media

Idiotic internet trend: Neknomination

The latest internet super-craze sweeping the globe has already caused several deaths The first time a “NekNomination” appeared on my Facebook news feed, I thought someone had been nominated for an award for doing something heartwarming for society. This feeling was quickly punctured after I pressed play and realised that downing a pint of beer and vodka – often infused with a gruesome ingredient, such as dog food – doesn’t deserve any recognition. It doesn’t even merit a Facebook update. The viral hit – a “game” in which one one downs a pint on camera before nominating others to carry on the challenge in the space of 24 hours – began in Australia. From downing pints in uni kitchens, to drinking 568.3 milliliters in the middle of the road, the boundaries are pushed further and further with every video. The location is significant, but just downing an ordinary pint won’t do. In each video, it seems as though more spirits and more ingredients are added to the drink. I suppose it’s almost like X Factor, just without the glamour,

talent, or dignity. (So maybe it’s not a million miles from X Factor after all…) NekNominate is a form of cyber peer pressure, because breaking the chain will, supposedly, break your dignity. Sorry Mr. BNOC, no “lad points” for you there. However, like all short-lived internet crazes, this chain is already rusting – and it’s time to break free from its shackles. Already, people have died after attempting to be a part of the Facebook commotion, and for this reason it must end. I suppose it can’t be worse than Manchester’s own ‘Tower Challenge’ but at least that isn’t always filmed and uploaded onto Facebook for everyone to see. I’m not saying the ‘Tower Challenge’ is healthier. If you want to attempt something that won’t leave you feeling like death in the morning, go eat a salad. You have 24 hours. Good luck. Sophie Lipton

Michael graduated in 2005 with a BSc(Hons) in Environmental Science. He then went on to do a PhD in isotope geochemistry, also at Manchester, graduating in 2010. Currently living in Houston, Texas, he works as a Research Geochemist at ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company. What does your current job involve? We assess new techniques and applications in geochemistry, and develop more traditional technologies to find out where to drill, what the quality of oil or gas is likely to be, and what challenges we might face in getting the oil and gas out of the ground. What do you most enjoy about working for ExxonMobil? The opportunities are massive at a company like ExxonMobil. At the moment, I’m applying cutting edge technology to challenges that have a big impact on the way we do things. I get to attend international conferences and scope out interesting and exciting geochemistry to identify future areas of research for our group. Training is first rate, and the chance to work with really smart people from all kinds of backgrounds is second to none. What did you most value about your course at Manchester? The Earth Science department has a great atmosphere at Manchester – all of the faculty and students get along and socialize, which is really important when you’re going to spend the next few years of your life living and working with them. My time at Manchester gave me the opportunity to work with the top people in my field, and there are excellent analytical facilities on offer. The skills I developed during my undergrad and PhD have given me a really solid platform to understanding and contributing to the requests we receive at the research company. While I was doing my PhD, I attended many international conferences and gave talks about my own research, and through this I gained a lot of confidence in public speaking. This has been particularly useful when working in a field like mine – you have to be able to get your message across to people who don’t speak geochemistry! What advice would you give to Environmental Science undergraduatess, or those thinking of applying for the Isotope Geochemistry PhD at Manchester? I’d encourage anyone to make the most of doing research at Manchester by agreeing to working on what may seem like unrelated projects. These actually give you a much broader knowledge than you would otherwise have, and the people you work Photo: trekkyandy (Flickr) with may be the ones that help get you a position in academia or industry in the future. Networking outside of the group at conferences is really useful - these are the people that you’ll see year in, year out at conferences, so it’s nice to know a friendly face should you move on to another university later in your career. But most of all, enjoy your time at Manchester - it’s a great city. With thanks to Rosie Haynes at the Alumni Association. Moya Crockett

Photo: Olga Pavlonsky (Flickr)

Are you in your final year? If so you can join our online alumni community, Your Manchester Online (YMO) and stay connected to the University after you graduate. Discounts, networks and updates on events and activities are just some of the features available to registered members. Go to www.manchester.ac.uk/ymo to sign up today.

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

SPORT

/TheMancunion @Mancunion_Sport

Sports Editors: Andrew Georgeson, Tom Dowler and Thomas Turner

Contact: sport@mancunion.com

“Equality isn’t competing with men; it’s collaboirating with them”

Sport Editor Tom Dowler reviews UMSU’s ‘Women in Sport’ event, addressing the challenges facing women’s sport Last Tuesday, the Academy 2 welcomed a panel of experienced female sports stars and prominent journalists as part of the Women’s Voices amplified project to discuss and debate the issues women face in sport. The distinguished panel included Shelley Alexander, the Editorial Lead on Women’s sport for the BBC, Rimla Akhtar, chair of the Women’s Sport Foundation, England Rugby Player Sarah Hunter, former Arsenal Ladies footballer and academic Lottie Birdsall and freelance journalist Jessica Creighton. Jess Lishak, who chaired the panel, opened proceedings, with a condemning statistic about the vast inequalities in the sporting and journalistic world with regards to media coverage. Reportedly there is a staggeringly unfair ratio of 53:1 with regards to male to female sports coverage across all media platforms. Despite significant efforts to increase broadcasting of women’s sport, there is still much to achieve in terms of parity in coverage, sponsorship and respect across all sports. Shelley Alexander kicked things off with a fascinating insight into her career in sports broadcasting. Her first major editorial role was on Football Focus and she later took on a role as the Editorial lead of Women’s sport with the BBC. Shelley gave some poignant examples of the inequalities facing women’s sport, including how Team GB’s talented female cyclists are woefully underfunded and not

even a hand-me-down of my Grandad’s from the early 70s. The causal link is this. I am a fan of x > I go to x matches > x doesn’t experience any other season than winter > I wear an x scarf. It’s a fairly logical train of thought. So why do so many end up sporting their opponent’s badge around

will undoubtedly have heard vivid stories of trophy parades, promotions, and more importantly, an overriding sense of belonging and occasion. Our generation? We have a half and half scarf, a commemorative mug and an iPhone video clip which looks like it’s been filmed by a person having a fit in

their neck? Both reasons are as bleak as each other. The first is the trend to commodify and capture memories. Any of you with football supporting Grandparents

the midst of a riot. Concerts have taken a largely similar turn. We seem more intent upon proving our attendance than actually enjoying the experience as it happens.

The Women in Sport Panel Photo: @ExecTeam_Tabz

allowed to travel with the men’s team, yet were more successful in London 2012, with Lizzie Armitstead claiming a bronze, while Mark Cavendeish and his highly-touted team didn’t make the medals podium. The BBC has diversified its sport coverage and now 20 per cent of sporting output focuses on women’s sport. Now the Women’s Super League goals are televised and this has brought in two significant sponsors which can only help the game continue to grow. When Manchester City fell 0-1 to Chelsea at home, the match programme showed a team picture of City’s Women’s side – a clear sign of progress and a desire to increase exposure of the women’s game. Rimla explained the importance of

Scarved for life Sport Editor Thomas Turner laments the rise of the ‘half-and-half scarf’

There are plenty of reprehensible features of modern football which we ought to lament. The rise of adults in full replica kits and filming matches on iPads are just two. But few irk me quite as much as the half and half scarf. For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, just take yourself on a walk down Market Street next time either of the Manchester teams are at home. Amongst the selection of shit hats and string legged dancing Bart Simpsons, there will appear to be a selection of City or United scarves. But take a closer look. Half of the scarf will occasionally adorn the name and colour of another team - usually that night’s opponent. It’s bad enough that they’re even sold - but of late they’ve begun to infiltrate our stadia too. As the camera pans to the stands on almost any high profile game, you will see them. The Merseyside derby is a recent example. They used to be confined to the showpiece games Wembley cup finals, say. Now they’re knocking them out every week. A commemorative half and half scarf for the Mickey-Mouse-tin-pot-Capital-Onecup-semi-final-second-leg between United and Sunderland? Sod off. Now before you stop reading and label me trivial/pathetic/nonsensical/ dickhead (delete as appropriate), hear

sport to her as she felt no one judged her for the colour of her skin or her religion on the sports field. The head of Muslims in Sport Foundation appreciates the impact of sport on the lives of others and she herself has had a fascinating experience in sport. She represented Team GB’s female Futsal team at the Muslim Games in Iran. This was an amazing experience for her and she was intrigued at how desperate Iran was to win the Futsal – even hiring Brazilian coaches to secure victory. Rimla asserts that participation and inclusivity is the vital aspect of sport for everyone. She envisages more careers in sport for women and concedes that while improvements have been made, there is plenty more to accomplish.

England’s rugby star Sarah Hunter told the audience about her experience at her primary school that allowed her passion for sport to grow, while playing mixed games in P.E. Her school encouraged mixed sports up to the age of 12. The Rugby Football Union has heavily invested in the women’s game. However, she highlighted the vast differences between the men and women’s national side even as recently as her first cap in 2007. Back then, the two sides had different sponsors, kit providers and even the traditional red rose was different, resembling a somewhat patronising unblossomed rose! Currently both sides share resources and the Women’s RFU has merged into one united RFU. Rugby leads the way in women’s sport, the 2010 World Cup on home soil was broadcast on Sky and the Twickenham Stoop was sold-out for the final (which England sadly lost); however, progress has been made. Perceptions have changed and supporters have noted the lack of aimless kicking in the men’s game compared to the desire to play expansive rugby in the women’s. The Women’s Six Nations is available on BBC, so be sure to keep an eye out for Sarah charging from the back of the scrum against Ireland on Saturday 22nd February on the BBC red button. Lottie followed Sarah, with a fascinating insight into her work as an academic looking into gender inequality in sport at Cambridge. The former Arsenal ladies player and England Youth Squad member spoke candidly about the need to

Photo: @KCMANC

me out. There’s a serious point here. Let me make it clear that I have nothing against scarves. I’d even go as far as to say I’m an advocate. I even have football scarves - including a Mancini-esque hooped claret and blue number, and

increase funding in sport and cited the American example of spreading funds more evenly compared to the current fiscal situation in the UK. In America, there has been a 403 per cent increase in participation in women’s sport, which is a shining example for British sport to follow. For Lottie, the change in policy is vital and she has briefed ministers on ways to increase awareness, participation and funding in the UK. Finally, Jessica Creighton highlighted the vast inequalities in university sport based on financial resources, equipment and access to facilities and stated the lack of female sporting coverage in journalism and broadcasting as one of her major reasons for joining the sports journalism industry. Over the years, male attitudes to women’s sport has changed and the BBC and Sky have both contributed to this, with more coverage of women’s sport and dedicated programmes to increase awareness and encourage participation in sport. Women are no less able to play sport than men and that is the most damaging stereotype that needs to be eradicated for women’s sport to progress. Afterwards there was a lively Q&A session discussing solutions to gender inequality in sport. Have you encountered gender inequality in your sporting experience at University? Tell us about your experiences by tweeting @mancunion_sport.

Now I’m of course not saying that the half and half scarf prevents you from experiencing that sense of belonging. But they embody a trend whereby telling people ‘I was there’ is becoming more valuable than being there in itself. Secondly, and more worryingly, it is a product of the depressing trend in the relationship many fans have with their clubs. The global expansion of football and subsequent Premiership era has encouraged people to abandon the notion that football clubs ought to be rooted in a community. There is a reason why I’m yet to see such a specimen for West Ham-Millwall or Sunderland-Newcastle. It’s because to a lot of these fans, such matches don’t embody a grand showcase of entertainment. The fans aren’t there to be awed. They are there instead out of a fierce rivalry based in devoted support to their home or adopted team. A telling quote doing the rounds on the twitter is ‘don’t let your kids grow up thinking football is a TV show’. But too many do. They flock to the big games in the manner of the middle-aged WWE fans we laugh at so much, picking up their mementos of the night’s main event. It’s their money of course, and they are free to spend it as they wish. But I can’t help but think they’re misunderstanding the reasons which make these games so high profile in the first place. Many will of course disagree. We all have our opinions, after all. But the more we allow our football stadia to succumb to the trappings of tourism, the more we diminish the value of what attracts so many people there in the first place.

SPORT : 30

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Seamus Soal takes a look at what’s going on in the University’s martial-arts scene A tapping noise was echoing through the conference room at the Armitage Centre on Monday night. Unfortunately it was not the peaceful and jazzy expression of tap dance but rather me tapping my way out of various pins, wrist and elbow locks. Since starting the Way of the Warrior I felt the need to learn more about the martial arts I am reporting on. Widening my gaze beyond my beloved kickboxing and taking the ‘hands on’ approach this week I got involved in Man Uni’s Jiu Jistu club. I arrived early for the class to meet Thomas Pacey and some of the other club members to discuss what Jiu Jitsu was all about. Before the class had started I was already impressed by the society’s knowledge. I got a brief history lesson on the origin of Jiu Jitsu, a 6th Century Japanese grappling martial art taught by the samurai as a response to losing their sword on the battlefield. The martial art geekness in me was excited as it is a great sign when members can talk about the history of their specific martial art. The traditional name of the style is Shorinji Khan Jiu Jistu which has been modernized for the application of self defence against punches, kicks and weapon defence from bottles, baseball bats or knives etc. Not to be confused with that of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu we

commonly see in MMA which focuses more on competition fighting than real life application. Like other Japanese martial arts, such as Karate and Judo,

This week, he visits the Jiu Jitsu club to learn more about the sport... the hard way! of business was ground work. The aim was not to force the opponent on their back but to simply yield to their pressure, use it against them and pin

certainly appealing. Next up the class worked on ‘break fall’ technique. These are used, as hinted in the name, to break your fall and roll

them on the floor. I could quickly see how a technique like that could be used in practical situations. For smaller people like myself the idea of using an opponent’s weight against them was

into a fighting position. Thankfully I was given private tuition on this as it was my first day. It was the technique that left me most frustrated as most times I looked like a bad break dancer drunk at

Seamus gets to grips with Jiu Jitsu

the uniform of the Jiu Jitsu club is the traditional ‘gi’. Class began as expected with a quick warm up of jogging, press ups, sit ups and various stretches. The first order

a wedding. Finally the class worked on some defence from punches. If someone was to throw a punch the technique was to block, counter and result in the opponent being immobilized in a lock where you could then sweep them or pull them to the ground. The class covered a wide variety of techniques which have not all been covered in this article. But I could see how years of training in this martial art could develop an individual into someone not to mess with. The club itself was a very friendly environment; all of the members from the instructor right through to the beginner grades were all very encouraging, knowledgeable and helpful to me on my first day. I would highly recommend the Jiu Jitsu club. No matter what stage you are at, whether you are a complete first timer or a senior, the club can accommodate that ability and for students looking to learn practical self defence I would give it a go. The club trains Mondays and Wednesdays at the Armitage Centre Conference room from 8:30pm10:30pm. Mancunion Sport would also like to wish the club good luck in the upcoming Randoori Nationals in Northampton on the 15th and 16th February.

Manchester athletes leading the way Students excel at North of England athletics championships in Sheffield Jerome McIntosh and Seren BundyDavies competed at the North of England Athletics Championships at the EIS in Sheffield on the weekend of the 18th/19th January. Jerome competed represented City of Sheffield AC and excelled in the 60m on the Saturday in the senior men’s section, making the semi finals with a new personal best (PB) time of 7.16 seconds On the Sunday, he won his heat with an indoor PB, ran a PB in his semi-final and made the very competitive final and came a highly respectable 4th. He made yet another PB with an electric 22.40 seconds for the 200m. Seren (competing for Macclesfield) won a gold medal in the 400m final, which she ran in a PB of 54.12 seconds. Jerome spoke to Mancunion Sport about the build up to the event, the day itself and his ambitions for the rest of the season. The speedster had an injuryravaged season in 2013, struggling with a tear in his meniscus (knee cartilage), but he was delighted with the lead up to the Championships in the New Year. “Training around that time was difficult, as it was revision period, but I had just had a nutrition change as I was struggling to manage [studying] medicine and athletics. “Working in hospital Monday to Friday made it very difficult to eat and drink

regularly, so I tried a supplement recommended by a friend...and it really helped…so I was in high spirits for the competition.

“I’m happy with the race I won, but I believe as most athletes do that I can still go faster, so I’m looking forward to BUCS to improve further.”

Seren also took time out to speak to the sport section. She said leading up to the event: “Everything was going well as I’ve

been lucky to have no real injuries or setbacks in winter training. “After competing indoors at Sport City over 600m I knew I was in good shape so decided to do the Northerns My training stayed pretty much the same until a week or two before the event as I’m still focusing mainly on the outdoors. Everything had been going well though. “I knew I was in PB shape as training has been going well. My season was cut short due to a stress fracture early last year, so I was happy when I ran as well as I did. “I’m competing this weekend (8th/9th February) at the Sainsbury’s British Athletics Indoor Championships which I’m ranked 5th going in to so I’m hoping to at least make the final (of my first senior trials). “My major aim for the season is to hopefully make the Welsh commonwealth team.” It’s reassuring to see that Manchester’s athletes are ahead of the rest of the competition in the early stages of this season and Mancunion Sport would like to wish Jerome, Seren and their squad mates the best of luck over the remainder of the season.

SPORT : 31

ISSUE 13/ 10th FEBRUARY 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM/

#PurpleandProud

Water Polo: Making a Splash Manchester defeat Sheffield Hallam 17-7 in a convincing attacking display Erdoo Yongo and Eve Yongo Sport Reporters University of Manchester 1sts

Sheffield Hallam, although they could have held an even higher lead as the UoM team created numerous other chances.

At the beginning of the second half, the home side came out the same way they ended the first half and were able to punish Hallam with a hat-trick of

goals in the first five minutes. Hallam though, were still determined to level with Manchester and nearly managed to do so with goals from Horne and

Sheffield Hallam University 1sts 7 The University of Manchester Water Polo first team overcame Sheffield Hallam 17-7 at the aquatics centre. Both teams started the match with a high intensity, however, the UoM team held the edge; even before the match started Manchester radiated confidence. This showed as they instantly settled into the match with the first goal scored by Armstrong. This was shortly followed by another from the UOM’s number 7 – Chionh. Manchester were brilliant in all aspects of their game, especially their defending - they managed to steal and intercept nearly all of Hallam’s passes in the first half and the keeper was really in tune with the game, making some excellent saves while also aiding Manchester in exploiting Hallam’s weaker areas. For this reason Manchester dominated possession. By the end of the first half, Manchester had raced ahead to a 5-2 lead over

The victorious UoM Water Polo Squad.

Sabell. Despite Hallam’s momentum, Manchester did not look worried or concerned about going on to win the match. Manchester kept their composure, applying pressure and in the end got their just reward with three spectacular goals from Armstrong, Chionh and McCloskey which gave them some breathing space. Manchester ended the match very comfortably and the final whistle perhaps came too soon, with the attacking force of the home side in full swing. Although Hallam were, at times not seemingly genuine contenders in the match, they did have periods at which they were quite threatening. This created a great show for spectators, especially the neutral. The victory was very much a team effort. Armstrong and Chionh stood out the most. They had the strongest partnership of both teams and were crucial play makers throughout the game. Particularly, towards the end of the game when their combination became much of an annoyance to the Sheffield defence. It was a very hard decision to make, but Chionh edged the battle with Armstrong to become the man of the match.

Broncos buckle under Seahawk pressure Rob Eden analyses Superbowl XLVIII -Seattle Seahawks 43 - 8 Denver Broncos

Super Bowl XLVIII was headlined as the most legitimate Super Bowl in years, by that I mean it was the winner of the AFC versus the winner of the NFC. Previous winners include the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens, all of which won the Super Bowl having entered the play-offs in the wildcard round. Thus, Super Bowl XLVIII stopped the debate surrounding whether or not the Super Bowl champions really were the best team in the NFL, as these were statistically the best two teams in the NFL. Another view that headed the build up to the game was that Super Bowl XLVIII was going to be the best offence in the NFL (Denver Broncos) versus the best defence in the NFL (Seattle Seahawks). Every NFL fan pictured a ferocious clash, featuring Peyton Manning slugging it out against Richard Sherman and the ‘legion of boom’. Yet, most people did not give the latter any chance of coming out on top against the record breaking 37-year old Broncos quarterback. Peyton Manning had broken the record for the number of touchdowns thrown in a single season, by throwing 55 regular season touchdowns. He had also thrown for 1-yard more than Drew Brees’ 2011 record, to reach 5477-yards. Yet, realistically every NFL fan knows that the regular season does not really matter when it comes to Manning. That is because of his reputation to choke in the playoffs.

This season’s playoffs did look different; Manning had beaten Tom Brady in the AFC championship game, Brady being the king of the playoffs. Yet, as soon as Denver’s first snap flew over Manning’s head for a safety, the Seahawks did not hold back in ripping in to Manning and the Broncos.

notably the great Ray Lewis. The fact that an offensive player did not win the MVP award also tells you everything you need to know about who won the ferocious clash between the Broncos’ offence and the Seahawks’ defence. Smith arguably made the play of the game by intercepting Manning

So was this a case of Manning choking or Seattle playing extremely well? Statistics suggest the latter. Peyton Manning actually continued his recordbreaking season as he set a Super Bowl record of 33 total completions in the game. NFL analysts quite rightly pointed out that the Broncos only managed to

A devestated Peyton Manning had a torrid time in Super Bowl XLVIII

The final score was 43-8 to the Seahawks. Seattle’s linebacker Malcolm Smith won the prestigious Super Bowl MVP award, that feat alone is only shared by two other linebackers, most

and returning the ball 69-yards for a touchdown. At the time, it meant that the Seahawks led 22-0 in the second quarter and essentially killed the game off.

rush for a total of 27-yards. This added more pressure on Peyton to throw the ball, which is particularly hard to do against the best defence in the league. Therefore, I’m more inclined to believe

that Peyton did not choke; it is just that no one on the Broncos’ offence stepped up. Though what would not have helped their cause, was their lead wide receiver, Demaryius Thomas, suffering a separated shoulder in the first quarter; even though he played the whole game and scored a touchdown. In retrospect, I think a lot of the postanalysis has fallen on the Seahawks’ defence gaining praise, which is justifiable. However, I think that Russell Wilson’s influence in the game must not be overlooked. Wilson is 25-years old and has just won the Super Bowl in his second season in the NFL. The man is so talented that he turned down the chance to play Major League Baseball in order to play in the NFL (although he is reportedly about to enter spring training with the Texas Rangers). Time and time again he made a great play to keep his teams drive going, either with his arm or his ability to scramble. The fact that he spearheaded a 43-8 win shows what a great quarterback he is, and he must now be considered by many to go on and grab a few more Lombardi trophies in the future. Despite the fairly anticlimactic spectacle that the Super Bowl was this year, a halftime performance from Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers ensured that over 111 million people watched it in the US, which coincidently was another record that the Denver Broncos helped break this year.

SPORT

10th FEBRUARY 2014/ ISSUE 13 FREE

MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Way of the Warrior

P.30

Water Polo Success

P.31

: @Mancunion_Sport : /TheMancunion

WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Women In Sport Panel

P.29

Eagles soar to varsity victory

MMU claim the American Football Varsity in a dramatic 12-6 win the game to a nervous six-six. From a the ball to the Eagles’ 10-yard line. A defensive standpoint, the Tyrants had particular highlight of this drive was Tyrants’ quarterback Chris Payne’s Manchester Metropolitan University 1 2 been excellent. When it looked like the Eagles were about to make a play, the superb throw to wide receiver Ben Rob Eden defensive unit collectively stepped up. Fowles. The ball entered Fowles’ hands Sport Reporter Defensive linemen Matt Scott claimed perfectly on the run for a gain of twenty on the sidelines, “I must be on about yards. The University of Manchester Tyrants failed to capitalise in their recent varsity match against Manchester Metropolitan Eagles, losing 12-6 in what can be described as an exciting and hotly-contested affair at Burnage RFC. The Eagles started the game brightly launching a 70-yard drive to within 10-yards of Manchester’s goal line. However, a superb Tyrants defence blocked all of the Eagles’ attempts to finish their drive with a touchdown, instead forcing them to accept a field goal at fourth-and-goal. It was now a question of how the Tyrants would react to the intensity that the Eagles had demonstrated in their upbeat start. In most instances this season, the answer would have been the same – poorly. However, Tyrants running back Anthony Eiliazadeh led by example, using a combination of speed and power to drive the ball into Eagle territory. He then finished the drive by accelerating around two Eagle defenders to run the ball in for a touchdown with ease on the far left An agonising interception in the final quarter gave MMU Eagles a 12-6 win at Burnage RFC. hand side. Photo: Joana Kembryté. Speaking to Eiliazadeh afterwards, he commended his wide receivers stating, “That score was all down to the wide twenty tackles”. Tyrants running back Lawrence receivers making their blocks, running Although this was an obvious over- Sarpong also capped a formidable drive it in was the easy part.” exaggeration, it is comparably accurate with a blistering run down the left hand The Tyrants missed their field goal with the total domination shown by the side of the field, which consisted of him attempt, meaning they led by six points Tyrants’ defence. knocking over a few would-be tacklers to three. The fourth quarter brought everything in the process. But it was Sarpong’s The second and third quarters you can hope for in an American ability to accelerate after the hit that provided no points other than a field football match – drama. The Tyrants really impressed spectators, with goal for the Eagles which brought began the fourth quarter by taking comparisons being made amongst the University of Manchester 6

Tyrants’ sideline to NFL players such as Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch. However, the Tyrants could not seem to force their way over the line for a touchdown, prompting the Tyrants’ coach into implementing a risky fourth-and-goal attempt. Quarterback

Chris Payne rounded pocket pressure from the Eagles’ defensive line, but unfortunately could not get the pass off. Eventually he was stopped on the Eagles’ four-yard line whilst scrambling for a touchdown himself. The Eagles responded to the Tyrants’ long drive. Still finding it difficult to utilise their running game, the Eagles

Write for Mancunion Sport!

quarterback faked a handoff to his running back and played a screen pass out to his receiver on the left hand side for a gain of 30-yards. Nevertheless, the Tyrants’ defence continued to dominate and cornerback Chris Walsh provided the biggest hit of the game on a man twice his size, forcing the Eagles to punt on fourth down. However, this backfired for the Tyrants as the Eagles made a superb punt to peg their opponents to their own five-yard line. A time check revealed that less than two minutes remained in the game. With the scores tied at six points apiece, the Tyrants began their offensive drive needing to air the ball out to gain quick yards. Unfortunately the Eagles forced a pick-six - intercepting the ball and returning it from 20-yards out for the game-winning touchdown. Offensively, it just wasn’t the Tyrants’ day. A few dropped catches and unfortunate interceptions at critical points of the game proved costly for the University of Manchester side. Defensively, the Tyrants were incredible; they prevented the Eagles from scoring a single offensive touchdown, successfully limiting them to two field goals for six points. Defensive captain James Bowyer played exceptionally well at strong safety, making crucial tackles as the last man. Whilst Bowyer singled out Rufus Daw for having a great second-half, which included recovering an Eagles fumble. Next up for the Tyrants is a trip to UCLAN Rams. With the Tyrants now 0-5, they will be entering the game as underdogs. Although if the recent Super bowl shows anything, it is that the tag of underdog does not really matter in American Football.

Our weekly contributor meeting takes place every Thursday at 6pm on the first floor of the Students’ Union. No experience necessary. Tweet us @Mancunion_Sport for further details.