7TH OCT 2013/ ISSUE 04 FREE
MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Interview: Mark Kermode
The Sun banned from Students’ Union shop
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WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Update: Veggie Cafe
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One dead, eight in hospital at WHP opening weekend • Batch of ‘bad’ drugs caused death
• Suspected drug dealer among the hospitalised, swallowed own supply • WHP to bring in drug testing initiative Sean Doherty & Michael Williams The Warehouse Project are setting up the first drug-testing initiative in a UK club following the death of a man and hospitalisation of eight others on their opening weekend. Owners of the popular club night announced they are working in partnership with the Home Office on the scheme, at a press conference on Wednesday October 2nd. Nick Bonnie, 30, died in the early hours of Saturday morning after taking what police suspect was a bad batch of ‘ecstasy’, which he had purchased inside the venue. Four of his friends, who also took the drug inside the club, were admitted to hospital but all made full recoveries. “He lost his life tragically, senselessly and needlessly on a lads’ weekend,” said his mother, Pauline Bonnie, a drugs rehabilitation worker.
“We hope we may have gone some way in helping in the realisation that drinking and use of any illicit drugs are a killer with consequences that will devastate lives forever.” A 25-year-old man, who is suspected to have been dealing drugs inside the venue, was among those hospitalised following the Saturday event. After being detained by security and handed over to the police, his behaviour made them think that he had consumed the drugs in his possession, a total of 12 snap-bags. He remained in critical condition for days afterwards but has since recovered. The drugs which are believed to have killed Mr. Bonnie were in powder form and police are currently testing them to determine what they are.
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The Warehouse Project where the drug-related emergencies took place. Photo: Google
02 : NEWS
ISSUE 04 / 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Highlights
Games, News: GTA Online
Crowds gathered in Manchester to protest against NHS cuts during the Conservative Party Conference
Page 15 Picture of the week
Film, Review: Blue Jasmine Page 19
Books, Interview: Michael Schmidt Page 21
continued from page one... Chief Superintendant Mark Roberts said, “After the tragic events of Friday night it almost defies belief that drug dealers would continue to target this venue and equally that people would risk their lives by taking drugs supplied by people who have no regard whatsoever for their well being and are purely interested in making money. “The main point to get across is you do not know what is in the drugs you are taking and the potential effects they can have.” The police have stated that they will be speaking to the management of the Warehouse Project to review security but it is unlikely that they will be reviewing the licence of the venue ,which Chief Superintendent Mark Roberts has referred to as “very well run”. A statement from the Warehouse Project website said, “Everyone at The Warehouse Project are devastated about the news and our condolences are with his family. “The Warehouse Project are assisting the police with their ongoing enquiries surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death. They have suggested that there may have been a bad batch of ecstasy in circulation as others who attended last night’s event are also unwell. “The Warehouse Project operates a zero tolerance policy with regards to drugs. However if you have taken something and start to feel unwell please tell a member of staff.”
In a press conference last Wednesday, 2nd October, the Warehouse Project revealed that they are now working on groundbreaking drug-testing scheme in association with the Home Office and drugs charity The Loop. Any drugs which are confiscated or voluntarily handed over will now be tested on-site to find what they consist of. Messages can then be sent out via social media to anyone who may be at the event to inform them if any drugs appear to be tainted. Sacha Lord-Marchionne, a representative for the Warehouse Project, talked about the rising dangers of recreational club drugs. “Drug use is of course widespread amongst young people in clubs, festivals and music events all over the country, every weekend. It is an issue we plan for carefully and in close collaboration with the police.” “We put various measures in place at the events to both minimise the number of people using drugs at the venue and, as best we can, to look after those who have taken something and are feeling unwell.” On question of having facilities where people could take their drugs to get them tested without fear of arrest he told the press, “We can’t legislate. The government has to legislate. Whether or not it is something we would support is up for debate because that would be condoning drug use which, of course, we don’t. ”
Sub-Editors: Dan Harold, George Bailey, Jennifer Grimshaw & Eleanor Muffitt
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Nick Bonnie, right, died at the opening weekend of Warehouse Project
Mr. Lord-Marchionne insisted upon the importance
Deputy Editor: Harriet Hill-Payne
Fitness, Review: Zumba
of providing as safe a venue as possible for club-goers, “We have about 5,000 customers and if it isn’t happening they are not going to stay in, they are going to go elsewhere. “Ninety nine per cent of other places don’t have private police on the door, don’t have drug sniffer dogs, don’t search everybody and don’t have paramedics on site.” “My argument is this is a safer environment for customers to be in than the majority of other places.” The club have said that they have since stepped up security, sniffer dogs and paramedics at the venue and are considering the implementation of more airconditioning, as well as the possibility of having an on-site doctor.
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ISSUE 04 / 07th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 03
Students’ Union boycott The Sun - Ban passes with 18 for and 2 against - Survey by The Mancunion finds 59 per cent against ban, 83 per cent say waste of time Michael Williams News Editor The Sun newspaper has been banned from being sold in the Students’ Union following a Union assembly. This makes Manchester Students’ Union the seventeenth university or college to ban the tabloid, which is the UK’s bestselling newspaper. Women’s Officer Tabz O’BrienButcher showed her support on social media, ”Great to see that students at the University of Manchester want to take a stand against media sexism and the sexual objectification of women!”, she said. The motion to ban The Sun, coming on the heels of the ‘No More Page 3’ campaign, was voted on by a panel of 20 randomly selected students in a Union assembly held last Wednesday October 2. Eighteen students voted in favour of a ban, while two voted against. The ruling has sparked new debate about the assembly process after it emerged that eighteen students make up just 0.045% of the 39,165 students at the University. David Michael Howe, a Middle Eastern studies student, said “why have student participation when you can get the result you want by only telling people who already are actively involved?” Becky Montacute, a PhD N e u ro s c i e n c e/ I m mu n o l o g y student, said “a referendum would have allowed for a discussion on campus on why Page 3 is so awful for women, that now won’t happen, and that’s a really sad thing. “I also think it sets an awful precedent, there’s no reason why this couldn’t also happen to any other paper - even if you think it was right to ban The Sun.” Student assemblies involve twenty randomly selected students tasked with voting on issues raised by their fellow
students. The panel must reach a threequarters majority either for or against the idea, or the issue goes on to an all-student online referendum. In a statement posted to their facebook page, ‘No More Page 3’ said: “Yesterday the University of Manchester became the 16th (including 4 Oxford Colleges) to stop stocking The Sun in support of No More Page 3. “They stand in solidarity with the British Youth Council and Girl Guides making it clear that the young people of this country will not tolerate media sexism and the casual objectification of 50% of the population.” In an interview with The Mancunion last month, ‘No More Page 3’ campaign team member Stephanie Davies-Arai said, “I don’t think bans work.
83%
Of students surveyed felt the Exec should not be spending their time on this issue “You change some things but you don’t change people’s hearts and minds. With the campaign as it is, people are becoming more aware of page three.” In an effort to gauge student opinion, The Mancunion surveyed 155 students, also randomly selected, on campus last Thursday. Of those students, 129 - 83% did not think the Exec should be spending their time on getting The Sun banned from the union shop. “It’s an issue that’s not particularly relevant”, said Philip Beetch, a third year Management student. “There are bigger issues that should be addressed.” Amy Laithwaite, a first year Religions and Theology student, said, “time is better spent
fundraising.” Others came out in support of the ban. Georgina Rawes, a third year History student, said “the casual sexualisation of women is one of the greatest challenges we face, and I’m proud that the Union is aiding this struggle.” Sarah Cook, a fourth year Speech and Language Therapy student, said: “I agree with the ‘No More Page 3’ campaign and the move to ban The Sun in the Union. “Half naked women are not news, and such an influential paper should not support the objectification of women.” 59% of those surveyed also said that they did not agree with the Union’s banning of The Sun. “People have the right to a choice, whether they look at it or not,” said Laithwaite. Nick Mackris, a first year Chemistry student, said “I think it’s a woman’s choice if she wants to be seen like that.” When asked for comment on the survey results, Women’s Officer Tabz O’Brien-Butcher said, “Disagreement with the content of an idea and the method by which we undertake democratic decisions with the Students’ Union are clearly different. “Given that the issue here seems to be our democratic process, the assembly system was passed with a huge majority in a referendum voted in by over 2000 students as the way in which students at University of Manchester wished to undertake Union democracy. “Assemblies are now in use for their third academic year and are largely popular with students.”
Additional reporting by: Sean Doherty Daniel Harold Inez Dawoodjee Aidan Gregory
The Students’ Union shop will no longer be sellign The Sun newspaper Photo: Lars K @ Flickr
www.thouronaward.org
Fully Funded Study in the USA Up to TEN awards, each with a total value of approx US$80,000 per year, covering tuition fees and living expenses, including travel in the USA, will be available (for one or two years) from 1st September 2014 for candidates who wish to pursue a postgraduate programme at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
Applications are invited by 5pm on 1st November 2013 from UK university graduates, including forthcoming summer 2014 graduates, who are British citizens normally resident in the UK. Come along and learn more at a Thouron Award presentation on: 3rd October, 6pm, Council Room, King’s College London, London. All welcome: ideal for final year undergraduates and master’s students considering a master’s or PhD programme in the USA. in association with
For further details visit www.thouronaward.org or contact Jennie Eldridge, Award Administrator on +44 (0)20 7848 3376 quoting ref TA13.
ISSUE 04 / 7TH OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
04 : News
UK first as Manchester students open food bank -University of Manchester volunteers have been heavily involved Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor
Manchester students have opened the country’s first student-run food bank. It was opened by volunteers at the Universities’ Catholic Chaplaincy, and includes students from the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan and RNCM. The project began after the students became aware of increased levels of poverty through their work with a mobile soup kitchen. Joey Ferrigno, Project Manager at the Manchester Central Foodbank, told The Mancunion: “We thought that we should start a food bank as a proactive measure that would prevent more people falling into this situation. “In order to combat this problem, we as a society need to admit that there is one so that we can go about solving it. Too often this problem is swept under the rug and away from where it can be seen by the public.”
Despite being tied to the Chaplaincy, Ferrigno insists that faith is not an issue where the food bank is concerned: “The food bank is open to anyone regardless of faith (volunteers and those we serve). “As Christians we try to not judge anyone who walks through our doors, as it takes a lot of bravery and humility for any individual to walk into a foodbank.” The Poverty Commission has warned that 1.6 million people across the Manchester region are at risk of being in severe poverty, whilst it is estimated that 47% of children in the Manchester Central constituency are below the poverty line, the highest level in the UK. However, Tory MP Paul Maynard has spoken against food banks during a recent food poverty summit in Manchester, claiming that those in need could become too reliant on the help. He said: “I value personal responsibility… I do not believe that immediate food relief should be the role of the government. “We can’t make food-banks part of the welfare state. What I don’t want to do is normalise food poverty.” In response, Joey Ferrigno told The Mancunion: “The food that we give is never paid for and is provided by donations. “More importantly we do not solely give out food but also act as a signposting agency. What this means is that we refer people onwards to other agencies we feel can best help them in their crisis. “There are many provisions in place to prevent people becoming reliant on the food bank.
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The new food bank is open at the Universities’ Catholic Chaplaincy. Photo: Manchester Central Foodbank on Facebook
“We only provide individuals and families with three days of emergency food, which is the time it takes for a new agency to process you. We can only provide food to each individual three times in a six month period, which prevents creating a dependency culture. He added: “I agree that we don’t want food poverty to become normalised. The first goal of a food bank is to put itself out of business.”
Hero Doctor helps victims of Kenyan mall massacre Sean Doherty News Editor
• Students and graduates from all institutions welcome
Wednesday 16 October 2013 10.30am-4.00pm
Please register at:
www.manchester.ac.uk/engineeringfair
• Find out about vacancies available in a wide range of areas from marketing to consultancy & construction to IT • Free entry and free fair guide
Organised by The University of Manchester
CAREERS SERVICE
Thursday 17 October 2013 10.30am-4.00pm
ull
Please register at:
www.manchester.ac.uk/financefair
Full details can be found on the website
www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/fairs
The food bank is open Wednesday 10-12 a.m. at the Manchester Universities’ Catholic Chaplaincy, next to the Church of the Holy Name. It hopes to eventually be open three times a week. Anyone interested in volunteering for the Manchester Central Foodbank should email mancfoodbank@yahoo.com or go to the Chaplaincy Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
A former University of Manchester PhD student has talked about his experiences working as a volunteer doctor following the tragic Kenyan mall massacre last month. Dr. Innocent Orora Maranga, who completed his PhD at the University’s Institute of Cancer Sciences and is currently a consultant gynaecologist in Nairobi, gave his assistance to those affected in the terrorist attack which caused 67 confirmed deaths. Dr. Maranga has highlighted the continuing strain on Kenyan hospitals. He said, “The Westgate siege is over, thank God, but we still have tens of people still admitted in various hospitals across the city....mostly in Intensive Care Units with serious injuries; mainly gunshot wounds and shrapnel injuries from explosives.”
“My involvement was mainly on receiving casualties ferried in by numerous ambulances. The first day of the attack was the most chaotic when ten ambulances could arrive at one go. Those on duty couldn’t manage by any stretch of imagination. “But thanks to the many volunteers who arrived simultaneously including the hospital emergency response team, the situation came albeit slowly under control. “Curious onlookers jammed the hospital to see for themselves what was unfolding – and this at times added to the chaos. Dr. Maranga, who founded the Kenyan charity CRT-K, an organisation which pays for free screening and treatment costs for low-income women with cervical cancer was thankful of his training at the University of Manchester. “Looking back at what I’ve seen and experienced over the past few days, I can’t help but
be grateful for the invaluable training I received in Manchester. Working long hours on my doctorate, staying at it even when results are nothing but discouraging was not in vain. “The additional training I attended on ‘Manchester Leadership Program’ came in handy on organizational skills and handling/participating in emergency volunteer situations came into play. “To cut the long story short, I left Manchester hardened and prepared for a tough merciless world! I have no regrets whatsoever for the four years I spent toiling in Manchester. “I must stress however, that my contribution in this tragedy was but a small sacrifice, there’re many unsung heroes and heroines who went into extraordinary levels to save the hostages. Mine was just that tiny little screw which tightens the spoke of the wheel to enable a bicycle to move!”
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 05
Future of Veggie Café still uncertain
Owner Lesley Brown feels left out of the loop. Photo: Cil Barnett-Neefs
-Owner still unsure as to fate of business -Union to make formal offer for alternative space Aidan Gregory News Editor
After a meeting with university and union executives, staff and students are still in the dark about the future of
“campus treasure”, Herbivores Vegetarian Café. The meeting held on October 1st between the café, and officials from the Students’ Union and the University resulted in little information being disclosed about the future of the café.
Lesley Brown, speaking to The Mancunion, said she was frustrated with the way the University and Students’ Union had treated her staff and business. “The University don’t want anything to do with me because they say I’m not their tenant, I’m the Union’s. So I’m just a piggy in the middle. “Things are decided without consulting people and talking to people,” she said. “Surely there is someone out there with enough common sense to understand
that this type of premises needs to be on the campus.” Brown added she feels the University is ignoring its student’s wishes and comments. “[Those in charge] don’t give two hoots about me but they should be concerned about the welfare of the students on campus and this is what is important. “If I was in a position like that where I was getting [negative] comments from customers, I’d be thinking ‘what’s wrong with my food? Should I be looking at the things on the menu?’ I’d be very concerned,” she said. “It’s not just a couple, we’re talking thousands of people.” The change.org petition has managed to gather 2,526 signatures, as of the 3rd of October. The ‘Save Our Veggie Café’ Facebook page has also managed to attract 2,328. When asked for a comment on Brown’s accusations, the university issued the following statement. “The existing lease is with the Students’ Union, but we are working closely with the SU to see what options are available to move the Café into alternative accommodation, and we will be writing to Mrs Brown in due course”. Plans disclosed by the university last month, are for the building to be converted to have disabled access. Then, once the veggie café is gone, the venue will be renovated as a ‘postgraduate lounge’. But Abbie Huff, founder of the ‘save our veggie café’ petition on change.org, is highly sceptical of the renovation plans.
Fire at Manchester Student Village sees 1,000 evacuated Sean Doherty News Editor Over 1,000 students were evacuated from their hall of residence last Monday after a kitchen fire broke out. After one student left a frying pan unattended during a late night cooking session, Fire and Rescue teams were called to Manchester Student Village on Lower Chatham Street at 2.58am.
The fire fighters managed to contain the blaze in the private halls sixth floor kitchen and used a special ventilation fan to clear smoke from the property. No-one was hurt as a result of the fire but it did cause significant damage to the communal kitchen and caused smoke damage to the rest of the floor. Councillor David Acron, Chair of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority,
has put out a plea for students to stay safe while cooking. “Every year our crews deal with a spate of cooking fires when freshers come to Manchester. “Leaving home and beginning to look after yourself is an exciting time, but please take care. “It’s easy to get distracted when cooking - that’s when a fire can begin with devastating consequences. “Always stand by your pan
or better still if you’re on your way home from a night out stop at a takeaway.” Nick Lake from MCR Students, the group which run the halls, praised the quick response of staff working during the night the fire broke out. “Our facilities team responded as required, raised the alarm and carried out a textbook evacuation. They deserve credit for their professionalism and
She told The Mancunion, “As a MA student, I do not quite grasp the concept of a postgraduate lounge and feel that it is unnecessary. “It is clear from the petition and the number of likes on the Facebook page that the Veggie Cafe should stay where it is, where it belongs. Students should be allowed to have a say.” All Ms Brown wants is for the café to remain where it has been for over 15 years. “My day is spent explaining the update on where we’re at to people. It’s mentally exhausting, plus the fact that we don’t know.” Grace Skelton, General Secretary of the Students’ Union, was able to shed some light on what lies ahead for the Veggie Café in the months leading up to January 2014. “The owner of the veggie cafe will be receiving a formal written offer from the Students Union detailing the terms and conditions if she were to take tenancy of an alternative space offered by the Students’ Union. “The University are also looking into whether they have any alternative space on campus that they can offer the veggie cafe. If the offer of alternative space from the Union is rejected and the university are unable to find alternative premises for the veggie cafe, then a formal process will need to be entered into.” As Ms Brown waits for that letter offering alternative space, the future of the veggie café still hangs in the balance.
it highlights the need for residents to take fire safety more seriously. MCR Students works closely with GMFRS to ensure the risks to residents are reduced and its properties are as safe as possible. The damage was restricted to the one kitchen, with smoke damage in the apartment hallway. Testament to the construction of the building, the actions of our team and the quick response of GMFRS.” Monday night also saw residents evacuated from Wilmslow Park halls of residence after a smaller fire broke out there. None were hurt.
Average student gains two stone in freshers year Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor A quarter of students put on up to 2st in freshers year, whilst nearly two-thirds have gained between 1 and 5 stone by the end of their degree, according to a new study. Overall, 80% of students asked gained weight during their university career. Although 59% of students attributed this weight increase to study stress, unhealthy eating and too much drinking was clearly shown to be a leading factor. Two thirds of students described their eating habits at university as either ‘very unhealthy’ or ‘quite unhealthy’. Over half of those asked said that takeaways after a night out was a cause of weight gain, and the same number admitted to eating takeaways or fast food three to five times a week. A third of students confessed to eating fruit and vegetables only once a week or less. A lack of knowledge and culinary skill was also shown amongst the students asked, as one third said they were unable to cook spaghetti bolognaise from scratch and 15% would struggle with scrambled eggs on toast, whilst 5% admitted that they could not even prepare cheese on toast. The biggest influences on food choices were shown to be cost, ease and speed of cooking, with only 10% of students saying they considered their health when deciding on a meal. However, an increase in drinking once you reach university also appeared to play a large part in weight gain. Over half of students asked said they drank at least three times a week, with 3% drinking every night. The study was conducted by Slimming World on 1055 former students, who are now Slimming World members. Of the students surveyed, 95% said that students need more help to learn how to eat healthily on a budget, and 94% thought more healthy food should be available at universities.
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ISSUE 04 / 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 07
Discrimination concerns over GP examinations Manchester report highlights issue of discrimination against ethnic minorities doctors Inez Dawoodjee News Reporter
Ethnic minority medical graduates may face discrimination in the GP exam, researchers from the University of Manchester have found. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, unearthed failure rates for eth-
nic minority candidates from international backgrounds that were significantly higher than those of white, UKtrained candidates, taking the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) exam - required to become a licensed general practitioner in the UK. Ethnic minority candidates who trained abroad had a fail-
Concerns over NHS and GP exam discrimination Photo: Jinan @Flickr
Uni of Manchester 8th for quality of life Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor
The University of Manchester has come 8th in the country in the University Quality of Student Life Survey by Lloyds Bank. Of the 91 institutions studied, the top three universities were Durham, Loughborough and Cambridge. Manchester led the way in the number of pubs and clubs in a university city, with nearly 250 different establishments to choose from, but the highest satisfaction with their
social lives was reported by students in Sheffield and Newcastle. Factors such as course satisfaction, graduate employment, crime rates, social life, sporting facilities and living standards were taken into account. The University of Durham not only had above average course satisfaction, with nine in ten students happy with their degrees, it also ranked as having the lowest crime rate in a university town, with just 0.88 incidents reported per 1000 residents. The survey also showed up discrepancies in graduate
ure rate of 65 per cent in the clinical assessment exams, compared to their locallytrained white colleagues with a failure rate of 4.5 per cent. “With continuing dependence on international medical graduates in meeting the workforce needs of many developed countries, including the UK, understanding the barriers that these doctors face in entering and completing specialist medical training is important,” said Aneez Esmail, Professor of General Practice at The University of Manchester, and a member of the team who produced the report. Information was taken from approximately 5,100 MRCGP people who took the exam, over the period of 2010 to 2012. Data was also taken from another 1,175 candidates who trained abroad. These results came out at the same time as a British Medical Journal Careers investigation, which found that ethnic minority doctors are nearly three times less successful in getting posts in NHS than their colleagues (13.8 per cent as compared to 4.8 per cent). Black or Black British candidates salaries, with up to £10,000 difference between graduates from higher and lower ranking universities. The average salary for students leaving university currently stands at around £21,000. However, students at the London School of Economics had an average salary of £27,388 after six months, whilst those at Cardiff Metropolitan University can expect an average of £17,118. Nitesh Patel, an economist at Lloyds Bank, said: “The top ten universities for the best quality of student life are a mix of the old, such as Oxford and Cambridge, and the relatively new such as Newcastle and Bath. “They all score well on course satisfaction, good employment prospects and high salaries. “Many of them are also rated highly for a good social life, particularly in the provincial cities in the north.”
were the least likely group to obtain secure jobs in hospitals with a 2.7 per cent success rate. Doctors of mixed ethnicity had a success rate of 3.5 per cent and Asian and Asian British doctors had a 5.7 per cent success rate. Reasons suggested for the differences in pass rates between international and locally trained candidates include different training standards as well as cultural factors like English fluency. “The vast majority of international medical graduates come from the Indian subcontinent and from countries where the discipline of general practice is very different. International medical graduates will therefore have much less direct experience of this specialty than their UK counterparts,” the report outlined. But, Black British and ethnic minority graduates also had a lower pass rate than white
British graduates - 17 percent compared to 4.5 per cent - in their first attempt of the clinical assessment skills exam. There was difficulty explaining the change in pass rate between locally trained graduates from different ethnicities. The researchers said they “cannot explain differences between white candidates and black and minority ethnic candidates who have trained in the UK.”Britishtrained candidates would all “have had similar training experiences and language proficiency.”Cultural factors and training standards would not account for the differences in pass rates between different ethnic groups, the report said. The authors also said they “cannot exclude subjective bias owing to racial discrimination in the marking of the clinical skills assessment as a reason for...” the difference in
pass rates. “We believe that changes to the clinical skills assessment could improve the perception of the examination as being biased against black and minority ethnic candidates,” said Professor Esmail, also the Associate Vice-President for Social Responsibility and Equality and Diversity at the University. “For example, the diversity of the examiners could be more reflective of GPs in the UK and the actors who represent patients should be drawn from a more diverse group to reflect the reality of general practice in the NHS. “Our report also recommends additional training for international medical graduates to better enable their adaption to the UK health care system.”
08 : Feature
ISSUE 04 / 07th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
‘Film critics don’t dictate people’s tastes. They never have and they never will’ Film critic Mark Kermode speaks about his latest book Hatchet Job Sam Dumitriu Features Editor With his sharp suits, greased quiff and massive hands made famous by The Thick of It, Mark Kermode is probably the most recognisable man in film criticism. Voted the nation’s most trusted film critic, Kermode got his start at The Mancunion. “Back then the way The Mancunion worked was that pretty much if you presented copy to them they were almost obliged to print it. It was really a great start, because if you wanted to write something, to write reviews, they were very welcoming and all-inclusive.” Despite being known for his epic rants about film, Kermode actually wrote for the music section. “I think I reviewed The Higsons at the Hacienda and Orange Juice, there was no money involved obviously and you had to get yourself into the gigs but if you turned up in the morning with copy, they would print it.” Kermode moved onto to write for City Life, an independent magazine set up by former Mancunion writers. The publication - a workers’ co-op - had an open door policy that helped budding journalists get a foot on the ladder. “They were trying to encourage people who wanted to be journalists to write and they were very, very, welcoming. But they made sure if you were going to write for them, you knew how to do everything else. So you knew how to edit, you knew how to typeset and you knew how to drive the van, if you worked at City Life you did all areas of production.” Getting into film criticism today is more difficult. “I think it’s very hard nowadays trying to break into film criticism, because when I was starting out I wandered into the offices of The Mancunion, the offices of City Life and the next thing I knew, I was a film critic. Nowadays it’s much harder, because blogging has meant that, whilst everyone has a voice, you’re competing against a million different other voices.” Readers of his past book The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex will know that while studying at the University of Manchester, Kermode lived in Hulme. The book featured horror stories about student housing squalor. Kermode however was more than willing to jump to the defence of his old stomping ground.
I can’t see myself ever being in a position when I look at the collected works of Michael Bay and think ‘God, did I have that guy wrong?’ “I liked Hulme! Hulme was a great place to live in if you were a student. I’m sure it wasn’t a great place to live in if you had no choice. Bearing in mind that the students who lived there, lived there because they had the choice to do so.” But, Hulme today is a far cry from the Hulme of Kermode’s days. “Hulme doesn’t exist anymore, Hulme has now been replaced by these modern flats, many which are really wonderful. I know one of the guys who designed one of them and it’s a very different area.” In the middle of Hulme was The Aaben Cinema, an art-house cinema where Kermode was a frequent visitor. “I was talking to Jon Ronson about it the other day, Jon was remembering going to the Aaben, coming out and then being chased across Hulme by packs of wild dogs. “Hulme was genuinely home to packs of wild dogs and packs of wild ‘crusties’ with dogs on strings. It was just part of the furniture. We just all got used to it.“ Despite the area’s reputation for burglary and crime in general, it was never much of an issue for Kermode. “You’d get broken into now and then, but none of us would have anything worth stealing. So it was fine.” Kermode’s latest book Hatchet Job discusses film criticism and whether it remains relevant in the age of social media where everyone has a voice. Kermode may be the nation’s most trusted film
BBC’s Mark Kermode got his start at the Mancunio PHOTO: Shetland Arts
critic, yet only three per cent of the public surveyed trusted his opinions on films. Are film critics still relevant? “Well, the question should be ‘Are they any more or less relevant?’ I mean I think what that survey proves conclusively is that film critics don’t dictate people’s tastes. They never have and they never will. “As a critic, you get told all the time, that a film has failed at the box office and it is your fault. You were rude about our movie and therefore people didn’t go to see it. That’s just nonsense, if critics have any sway over box office, you wouldn’t get end of year charts where the Transformers movies were up their with the most profitable films of the year.” For Kermode film criticism is not about telling someone a film is good or bad. “Filmcriticismisaboutsomebodywriting about a film in a way you find informative and hopefully entertaining. I don’t think it’s ever been the role of film critics to tell people what to see. I think it’s very, very telling when that survey said on one hand you are the most trusted film critic in the UK. On the other hand people trust you probably less than anybody in the world.” Kermode is best known for the passionate rants he launches into every week. Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Sex and The City 2 and just about every film Michael Bay has directed has been a victim of brutal Kermodian rant. “I don’t plan to do those rants that everyone remembers, Pirates of The Caribbean 3, Sex and the City 2, and all that stuff. I don’t plan that stuff in advance because that’s to do with being on the radio; it’s to do with being
in a conversation, in this case with Simon Mayo. It is impossible not to be impassioned, I hate Transformers 2 and I hate Sex and The City 2 and I hate Pirates of the Caribbean 3, and I genuinely loathe those movies until talking about them makes me cross.” Kermode’s favourite hatchet job was David Cox’s review of The Straight Story ‘Forrest Gump on a tractor’. “I just thought that was such a brilliant phrase that the movie will never be able to get past it.” Does Kermode ever get it wrong? “All the time. It happens all the time. The case that I talk about more than anything is seeing Blue Velvet in the Cornerhouse in the 80s, storming out of it being really furious and writing a really lousy review of it. Then years later realising it was a masterpiece and I was completely wrong about it. “Your opinions are constantly in flux and you can always come back to things and revalue them. “Having said that, I think there’s very little chance I’m ever going to go back to Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and say ‘I was wrong it was a masterpiece’. I can’t see myself ever being in a position when I look at the collected works of Michael Bay and think ‘God, did I have that guy wrong?’” Working as a film critic requires putting up with utter dross on a regular basis such as Pimp starring everyone’s favourite mockney Dick van Dire and Keith Lemon: The Movie. Does he ever think about giving it all up? “No! For everything that you see
which is terrible, you see something and unexpected. It’s the best job in the world. I watch movies and talk or write about them. As far as I’m concerned, as long as I can continue doing that I’ll be happy. “One of the things about writing hatchet job, was writing about film criticism at a time everyone was asking if film criticism had a future. “Half of the book was saying, I really hope it does, because I don’t want to give it up anytime soon.”
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ISSUE 03 / 30th SEPTEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Feature : 09
Interview: Vice Chancellor Dame Nancy Rothwell Jonathan Breen Editor-in-chief
Every student should learn entrepreneurship and social responsibility during their degree, the President of the University of Manchester believes. “I would like…every student at this university to have some training in social responsibility and some training in entrepreneurship, as part of their degree,” Vice Chancellor Dame Nancy Rothwell told The Mancunion in an interview last week. “You leave the University of Manchester and you might have a first class degree in physics, but you would also know how to write a business case and you would also know the ethical implications of what you’re doing and about global warming and about world poverty,” she said, adding that at some point, she would like this to be mandatory for all students at the University. This was just part of what the Vice Chancellor – the first women to hold the position at Manchester – saw for the future of the University, which she discussed when she sat down for an interview in September. The author and accomplished scientist also mentioned that by the year 2020 she hopes, “We’ll be on a single campus, we’ll still be the most popular university in the UK, we’d have students who were highly employable and highly satisfied with their course and importantly have learnt more than just the content of their degree. “A big thing we want to push forward is that students have a much wider opportunity for learning within the University.” With the government’s plans to cut funding for the National Scholarship Program, the conversation turned to disadvantaged and Widening Participation students. “We’ve decided to cover the cost, about £2
I don’t pay too much attention to rankings. “Some of [the measures] are simply people’s opinions. Each of the league tables vary enormously. million a year it will cost us,” said Dame Nancy. “They’ve taken away the National Scholarship Program and put [the money] into postgraduate taught. “The difficulty is there is a fixed sum of money;
The president of the University sat down with The Mancunion’s editor-in-chief Photo: Peter Chinnock
as soon as you fund more of one thing you fund less of another thing.” She added, “We put about £20million a year into widening participation and bursaries and support. Widening participation is a big thing for this university. “We have more students from disadvantaged backgrounds than Oxford, Cambridge, Kings [College London], University College [London], Imperial [College London], and LSE put together.” Last month saw the publication of the majority of university league tables, and with mixed results for the University of Manchester, Dame Nancy explained why she doesn’t pay much attention to rankings and why the results can differ so widely. “You can get over obsessed with rankings,” she said. “The trouble is which one do you pick – we’ve just gone up a lot in The Times and we’ve gone down in the Times Higher Education. “You could choose whatever you want, so I don’t pay too much attention to rankings. “Some of [the measures] are simply people’s opinions. Each of the league tables vary enormously. Shanghai Jiao Tong is very unusual, it’s highly elitist, and it only deals with science really. It’s things like how many times you’ve been cited, how many noble prize winners you’ve got, how many papers you’ve got in the top two science journals in the world. Nothing else. So it completely ignores humanities.” The University choose to only use the Shanghai Jiao Tong table for two reasons, because it is the only table where every measure is objective, and for “consistency”, because then-VC Alan Gilbert selected it in 2004. “On the other extreme, you’ve got ones that are based on asking five thousand people what do they think about the university,” the Vice
Chancellor continued. “And when you look at a university that’s gone up a lot it’s LSE, and that’s probably because LSE is in people’s minds, because of the huge controversy, so it works both ways.” She added, “You have to be careful that you don’t do things simply to go up in a league table that wouldn’t be something you should be doing
I never planned being Vice Chancellor at all. It was never in my career plan
anyway, like just giving more first class degrees. “A lot of the rankings have things like number of first class degrees awarded [as a measure], well we could fix that in an instant by awarding more first class degrees, but we’ve decided not to.” Despite the fact Manchester is by definition the most popular university in the country, with the most applications of any institution, student
satisfaction has been an issue. To deal with the problem the University has aggressively pursued improvements in this area. “Probably student satisfaction is the biggest priority,” said Dame Nancy. “The reason we haven’t done well in the UK tables is national student satisfaction, and we pay a lot of attention to that. We put in place action plans across every school in the University that was below 90 per cent. “So two years ago it was 79 per cent, last year it was 83, this year it was 85. Our target is 90. “I think we will struggle to get above 90 because of the nature of the university, you look at the ones that score very highly, they tend to be small campus universities; York, Loughborough, and Lancaster, and the big sprawling ones like us do always struggle. But, 90 would be reasonable. We’ve gone up a lot in the last few years.” Not only is Rothwell in charge of the largest university in the country, but earlier this year a BBC Radio 4 panel voted her the 15th most powerful woman in Britain, a list whose one and two spot were taken by the Queen and Theresa May, respectively. When asked, Dame Nancy said she was initially unsure whether she had power, but after considering the fact she runs an £800 million organisation that includes nearly 40,000 students and 10,000 staff, found “I have to say yes.” But she admitted, “I never planned being Vice Chancellor at all. It was never in my career plan.”
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Opinion
ISSUE04/7thOctober2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
The Myth of the Preferred A Level Damages Education Alice Rigby
Isabel Allende Photo: Lori Barra
My Political Hero... Isabel Allende
Photo: non-patrizan @FLickr
Students are bombarded with advice when choosing what to pursue after general education at the age of 16. Some choose apprenticeships, while others choose to study for vocational qualifications like GNVQs. Despite these other options, the vast majority still choose A Levels as a route to university courses or employment at 18. With that comes yet more choice and the government have recently initiated plans to put more pressure on schools to encourage students to select specific subjects. They proposed a new league table that would rank schools on the basis of how many facilitating, often referred to as preferred, subjects its students took. However, a study based on admissions information for popular courses released by Russell Group universities due to a FOI request showed that the concept of preferred subjects is less than satisfactory. What many students will recognise in amongst all of the data and discussion over the study’s findings is the complexity of subject selection advice at A Level. One of the features of the A Level system that can make it damaging is that the range of subjects studied narrows hugely at 16, with only a maximum of four being the norm. This means that there is a frightening amount of pressure on 16 year olds to both have an idea of what they want to do at a higher education or employment level and to commit to this through their selection of subjects. This pressure then narrows further with the list of preferred subjects. High performing pupils are encouraged to take the facilitating, classically academic subjects on the grounds of their future options. The list bypasses apparently less rigorous courses such as Economics, Politics and English Language. However, these are some of the most broadly studied subjects at university level. When students are discouraged from
studying them at A Level they have no experience of what these subjects are actually like. This could have a dual effect; on the one hand, it could prevent them from taking these subjects up at university due to their lack of knowledge comparative to students in the past. It could also result in some students taking these subjects and later regretting their selection. While this happens on a small scale today, it could become a much larger problem were students to begin courses unaware of their content. There are other problems for those that appear to fall down in front of the facilitating subject matters. Teachers, parents, universities and the media may discourage pupils from applying to the more rigorous universities and courses in this country on the grounds of their lack of ‘facilitating’ subjects. This would be tragically misleading. The study into preferred subjects showed, for example, that applying with drama among your three or four a levels seems to almost guarantee entry into essay based subjects. While the data is simplified and the combination of subjects not considered, it is clear that this supposedly ‘black listed’ A level is not actually opposed by university admissions tutors. While drama is often not a student’s chosen career path, they may enjoy the subject and wish to continue it in conjunction with other A Levels as a background choice. It is not unreasonable to suggest that taking the subjects you enjoy is much more likely to translate into success. If the learning in a subject is something you anticipate with excitement then you are more likely to attend and participate in classes and complete work with a productive enthusiasm. The problem with recommending certain A Levels is that the focus may be put too much on outcomes. Students are already aware of the pressure to get
certain grades. Asking students to keep in mind, from the moment they choose their A Level subjects, a certain post18 pathway only adds to this pressure. What is missing from their education in this circumstance is the transfer of a sense of the enjoyment of learning. For a student who may well be in education voluntarily for another 3 or 4 years, this would be a more useful achievement on the part of teachers. There is some sense in recommending certain subjects to certain students. Some degrees simply require specific subjects, such as economics with maths in most cases. Some A Level combinations may seem so unusual that a student will at least have to consider how they will justify their decisionmaking on their personal statement, for instance. Further, some subjects simply aren’t that helpful for students and so their selection should be discussed with those whose future opportunities this choice may damage. Similarly, having a loose idea of their preferred outcome can help channel students abilities throughout the relatively rapid A Level process. However, the myth of preferred subjects for high performing universities is clearly just that, a myth. Furthermore, the damage that perpetuating this idea does to students pressurised into taking specific subjects, with their future held to ransom until they do, is clearly excessive. What should be encouraged at the first stage when students really get to choose their own educational path is a sense of pride and enjoyment in the selection they make. Only then will students achieve the results, both personally and in their education, which will enable them to be most successful.
When you think of the 11th of September, you cannot help but feel a sense of belonging to a period where our world changed. However, when we think of that somber day, most of us remember the World Trade Center crashing down. Few actually know that 40 years ago on the same day, another country lost its freedom. The bombing of La Moneda coupled with the death of President Salvador Allende marked the beginning of nearly two decades of military dictatorship in Chile under the General Augusto Pinochet. Isabel Allende, noted Chilean writer, was one person who was there for both these 11th of Septembers. As she would later say in one of her most critically acclaimed books, The Sum of our Days: “Fear is inevitable, I have to accept that, but I cannot allow it to paralyze me”. Born in 1942, to a diplomat father and niece to President Salvador Allende, Isabel Allende is often considered a contemporary political hero in Chile. Her father left when she was very young and her mother remarried. Her stepfather being also a diplomat, she travelled the world and continued to do so after completing school. She worked with the United Nations in Chile, Belgium and all over Europe. In 1966, Allende went back to Chile. However, things were rapidly deteriorating in Chile. Richard Nixon did not agree with Salvador Allende’s ideology and later encouraged the coup d’état, immediately accepting the legitimacy of Pinochet’s government. It soon became clear to Isabel Allende that life in Chile would never be the same. She was a feminist, with a close relationship to Salvador Allende and leftist affiliations. She was lost all her jobs and made it on to Pinochet’s blacklist. This prompted her to leave Chile to live in exile in Venezuela for 13 years. In 1988 she left her husband and married Willie Gordon, an American citizen. Allende finally found a new home. She was granted US citizenship in 2003 and she was living in the United States when the 9/11 attacks occurred. Despite being targeted by Pinochet’s regime during her time in Chile, she kept fighting against the oppression and never gave up hope of seeing Chile free from military dictatorship. Two weeks after the coup d’état, Nobel Prize winning poet Pablo Neruda died in his native Chile. Being a counselor to President Allende, suspicions arose around his death. Pinochet refused to acknowledge a national mourning day in his honour. However, Isabel Allende, accompanied by thousands of people, went to give Neruda a final homage despite intense military scrutiny and threats. As a journalist in Venezuela, she often wrote about the sufferings of the Chilean people and the thousands of deaths that had occurred since Pinochet came to power. Moreover, though she is noted in the literary world for her magical realism, a lot of her work is influenced hugely by her love affair with Chile. Isabel Allende is my political hero irrespective of her writing abilities and acclaim. Despite all that she went through, including the death of her daughter precipitated by medical negligence, she maintained her core beliefs and fought for the rights of the free people of Chile. Though she creates whole new magical worlds in her books, in this world, the real one, she is a hero for a generation of Chileans. Shanda Moorghen
Opinion
ISSUE 04 / 7th October 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
11
In the wake of Student Action week the question is...
YES As our fractured, two-party political system continues to evolve into a multi-party one, party conferences are as valuable and relevant as ever. For party members, they offer a chance to be involved and hold senior members accountable. For the general public they are an opportunity to scrutinise the values and leadership of the part on offer. I admit that the speeches from various party members can descend into hot air, soundbites and rhetoric. However, many key events can be traced back to conference season; who can forget Tony Blair’s abolition of the Labour Party’s Clause IV in 1995, or David Steel’s “go back to your constituencies and prepare for government” battle cry at the Liberal Assembly in 1981? Margaret Thatcher’s famous “the lady’s not for turning” speech was made at the 1980 Conservative Party conference. These quotes are of course far more famous than the venues where they were uttered. However, the conferences supplied the platform for their
Ben Fearn formulation. Increased public scepticism over political leaders highlights the urgency for conferences rather than their descent into irrelevance. This year, Ed Miliband announced headline-grabbing policies such as abolishing the bedroom tax and freezing energy prices for 20 months just as serious question marks were emerging over his capabilities. People of the view that these events are irrelevant may argue that forums such as Prime Minister’s Questions are a worth test of leaders and their mettle. However, they all too often descend into playground politics and petty squabbling. Party conferences aren’t exempt from these tendencies, but they at least force both parties to answer to their own members alongside the country as a whole. Furthermore, in terms of policy making, the conferences can offer an indication of how manifestos will look at the next General Election. As a party member myself, attending a Spring Conference in 2012 gave me a fascinating insight into the democratic process,
“Do Party Conferences Still Have Value?” and it was a great leveller to see MPs mingling with delegates in between speeches. When I talk of democratic accountability, I’m not at all suggesting that party members contain some sort of omnipotent veto; indeed there often isn’t enough democratic power for members of certain political parties. However, what I am suggesting is that conference season is a good examination of a political party; it can be the difference between whether someone selects - or stays with a political movement, and even whether they’ll vote for them at the next election. There is common apathy in modern day politics, and enthusiasm can often wane. However, this makes party conferences more important than ever. As both party members and voters, we have a right to see our leaders and policy makers put to the test on the big issues.
“I am very pleased to officially welcome you to the 2013 Conservative Party Conference” announced one of the first speakers at the Midland hotel on Sunday. In reality, it was essentially a welcome to the Conservative Party Piss-Up. ‘Conference’ is no longer the accurate label of the four-day event; that would imply a serious gathering with an aim towards addressing issues within the party, and improving upon the performance and effectiveness of it. From my experience, a ‘luxury political festival’ is probably a better description given that most of the attendees stayed in a fourstar hotel, revelling in gallons of free wine, thousands of canapés and bellowing ‘Hear Hear!’ at every opportunity. Of course the taxpayer has shouldered much of the bill.
NO
Charlotte Green Conferences started as a platform for in-party debate and public engagement, They have become a hotbed of networking, inside jokes, fundraising and career advancement.Evening seminars are held by a mixture of think tanks and pressure groups that can afford the room fee, provide the most booze and hook the most well-known speaker. MPs with a significant public profile attract the largest audience, regardless of what topic they are speaking on. I saw a seminar on car-parks become full to bursting once the conference rumour-mill had confirmed that Eric Pickles was due to give a speech. Cabinet ministers are mobbed like rock-stars walking through a crowd at Glastonbury, with aides, MPs and unpaid interns all wanting to shake the hand they hope will nudge them into the upper echelons of frontbench politics. All of this cannot seem more removed from the concerns of
the general public. The thing about political conferences, whatever the party, is that most of it happens behind closed doors. We are only allowed to witness a tiny fraction of what actually happens. The speeches made by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, even Boris Johnson could all be made in a more standard (and less expensive) manner. Frankly, they could be made at the House of Commons, the home of politics itself. I also think it would be a far more effective way of engaging the population in politics if party members were allowed to actually walk the corridors of power as well as mingling with the decision-makers, instead of doing it in a building 300 miles away from Westminster. So do party conferences still have any intrinsic value? Not in the current format. We need revision or abolition, the champagne cannot be allowed to flow unabated at the taxpayers’ expense.
Disagree? Tweet us @mancuniondebate, or email us at opinion@mancunion.com
Save Our NHS: Where Were the Media No More Page Three: Manchester’s for Manchester’s Biggest Protest? Last month 50,000 people marched on the Conservative conference in the largest demonstration Manchester has seen in decades. Not since the Thatcher era have so many people taken to the city’s streets in a show of collective anger and frustration at the Conservative Party’s program of cuts and privatisations. Jeremy Hunt’s plan to auction certain services provided by the NHS to private conglomerates goes against the ethos of the NHS itself. Many people fear that handing large swathes of the NHS to profit-chasing businesses will have detrimental effects on the care provided. Allegations of corruption aside, what this process boils down to is the fragmentation of an institution that many believe represents the pinnacle of British society. That is why on a balmy September afternoon in Manchester, nearly every group in Britain was represented in their opposition to the plans for the NHS. From Liverpool Road, via the Tory conference in Manchester Central and down Oxford Road, whistles blew and flags waved in what Manchester police called the largest and most peaceful protest they have ever encountered. The march concluded with the 50,000 demonstrators congregated in Whitworth Park to hear talks from the likes of Owen Jones, Len McClusky and even Coronation Street’s Julie Hesmondalgh. What was surprising was the scant coverage the rally received in both the national papers and on news channels. The demonstration
the Guardian, such as George Osborne’s 7-year plan of austerity, barely mentioned the immense protest taking place among the main arteries of Manchester which surround the conference. It is crucial to remember that despite the momentum behind the Conservative’s program of ‘efficiency saving’ it is possible for communities to unite to defend the services they cherish. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s apparent crusade on the crowning jewel of Britain’s social policy suffered an awkward defeat at the hands of the people of Southeast London earlier this year. An alliance of locals formed to oppose the prospect of their local A&E being shut down. Lewisham Hospital’s A&E, a financially and medically successful service, was to be closed, leaving three boroughs and 750,000 people with only one accident and emergency unit. Ardent protesting from local communities and a high level of news coverage led to the case being taken to the high court where the cuts were found unlawful. This is an encouraging example of the influence people-power has in regulating the Conservative’s campaign of rampant austerity measures. The protests in Lewisham and Manchester are communicating that the NHS is off limits to the powers that be, with tangible results. If David Cameron wanted a Big Society, he is certainly getting it now. To win the war against the policies that betray the very foundations of our welfare state, we need the media to bring this degradation of services to the public eye. Not covering stories
itself featured on no front pages and coverage from the BBC was described by Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Burnham MP as ‘cursory’. Reports of the conference’s announcements in
such as Manchester’s big protest undermines both the cause and the people who care about it. Valentine Landeg
big decision isn’t all it seems The University of Manchester’s Students Union can now add itself to the growing list of university unions to ban The Sun newspaper in protest against Page 3. It’s time for a party, or at least, that’s what I’ve been told. But please wait a moment to pop the party poppers. Forty thousand students attend the University of Manchester. How many voted to ban The Sun? Eighteen. That is 0.045% of the student body (I’ll admit, I did have to use a calculator). This tiny percentage of students were able to ban The Sun because of the use of student assemblies to pass policy in the SU. Twenty students are randomly selected (in proportion roughly to match the demographics of the university), and vote on items brought up by students. If they achieve higher than a three quarters majority, the motion passes and becomes SU policy. As few as sixteen students can think a policy is a good one for it to become actual, factual policy. This isn’t the fault of No More Page 3, it’s just a stupid way to run a democratic union. But it is a huge loss for the campaign. A chance to engage students in why Page 3 is so damaging to women has been wasted. A referendum would have meant discussions across campus, flyers handed out, Facebook debates drowning in over one hundred comments (I mean, maybe I’m not too sad about the lack of those…) Thousands of students could have questioned why the highest circulation paper in the UK tells us that men do politics and sports, and women stand around with their pants on. That isn’t going to happen. Most students probably won’t even realise the Sun isn’t there. But at least that horrible paper buried shamefully at the bottom of the newspaper stand is gone. It’s also an awfully bad precedent. The opinion of sixteen students can ban a publication from the SU.
You might agree The Sun should have been banned, but what happens when it’s The Times for having offensively right wing comment pieces? Having a referendum makes it much less likely a small group can have massive influence within the SU. As it is, a tiny number of people can think banning The Sun is a good thing, and it just happens. At least the panel had a “short discussion” on the matter. Even if those twenty students asked are representative demographically of the student body, they aren’t elected, they have no right to make policy for any of us. There’s no reason the ten or so women on the panel’s opinions will represent mine. This would at least be better if the Assemblies were well publicised, so dissenting voices could attend and try to convince those twenty students, but they aren’t. Exec team member’s projects such as Activist’s Academy have been publicised much more widely than the assemblies were. There’s no reason to think that any other newspaper couldn’t also be banned under this system – and that is not ok. I suppose on the plus side of this whole debacle you have now read at least one reason, the one I managed to squeeze into this piece, as to why Page 3 is probably a bad thing. That wouldn’t have happened if both the ban and a referendum had not taken place. But that only happened because I bothered to write this, because discussion is important, even if UMSU don’t agree. A referendum would have reached a lot more people than this opinion piece ever will (sorry Mancunion, I love you and all, but not everyone reads this thing), and that would have been much better for No More Page 3.
Becky Montacute
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Phoebe Clarke, Patrick Hinton, Tom Ingham Opinion
Interview: Travis
the MUSIC OPINION Patrick Hinton Music Editor
Politics and Pettiness
Musicians are generally quite an outspoken bunch, is this a good thing? There are positives and negatives. The fame music generates for successful artists lends them a platform to transmit messages of real worth or in some cases to mouth off needlessly. Russian band and political activists Pussy Riot are a great example of a group being outspoken for all the right reasons. In their music they tackle sexism, homophobia and authoritarianism; a mutually beneficial relationship that gives their songs real power. A number of the group are currently imprisoned for their dissent and one member was hospitalised in late September following a five day hunger strike in protest at human rights violations in her prison. Pussy Riot exemplify a band who utilise their art to try enact positive change and they are worthy of reverence. And then there’s Azealia Banks - professional aggravator who occasionally dabbles in music. Azealia rightly shot to fame in late 2011 after releasing the aggressive immediate-anthem ‘212’. As critics scrambled to edit their big tips for next year lists to include the rapper, the Azealia Banks hype machine roared into life. Yet since then Banks’ output has been far from prolific. I’d say an acceptable turnaround from hit single to debut album is six months at most, after that the clamour for new material dies away pretty sharpish; we’re not a generation that likes to wait. It’s likely that if Banks had released her debut album in the honeymoon period following ‘212’ she could easily be established as a major name in the music world by now. Instead her musical output has been a constant story of singles being pulled and her album release date being pushed back from 2012, then to 2013 and now to January, 2014 – a date I would only pencil into your diary. So what has Azealia Banks been up to if not making music? She represents the other end of the spectrum to Pussy Riot in which her outspokenness is negatively channelled into petty and often offensive disputes with anyone and everyone; consequently her musical career suffers. Unfortunately the takesno-prisoners attitude that translated so excellently into
TOP5 songs pf this year’s WHP season Sam Bartram
her debut single is not a positive character trait in a person. Banks seemingly wastes all her time fighting those who slightly cross her. The ‘Controversies’ section of her Wikipedia details public conflicts with a solid twenty-three people. It’s got to be a little embarrassing to have had more feuds than songs released, at any stage of a career. The most recent example came last week when Disclosure downplayed the buzz over their collaboration that Banks had labelled the “greatest studio session EVAR”. The brothers merely conceded that it probably wasn’t “the greatest song of all time”; this enraged Banks who has now pulled it from her debut album and plans to leak it as an f-side, a “fuck-you side”. Whilst the song surely isn’t the best ever, I expect it is quite good so Banks is needlessly harming herself and her own career through her belligerent ways. Banks’ position as an influential figure and her constant use of the homophobic slur ‘faggot’ is also troubling. After Perez Hilton predictably involved himself where he was not needed or wanted she directed a string of homophobic abuse towards him, writing comments such as “what a messy faggot you are”. I’m all for character assassinating Perez Hilton on his many, many flaws, but his homosexuality is not one of them. Banks defends her use of these words by pointing to the reappropriation of racial slurs by hip-hop artists and noting her own bisexuality, but that does not make her a spokesperson for the entire LGBT community. It’s a shame as I am still anticipating the eventual debut album with some degree of excitement. There’s production from Lone on it which is a good sign – the current trend of UK dance music producers lending beats to American hiphop albums has been a great success. See: HudMo/Kanye and Rustie/Danny Brown. But if another year goes by that’s filled with bickering and devoid of music I’ll be ready to give up on her altogether. So being outspoken can empower and impair musicians. Long live the political activism of Pussy Riot, and let’s just hope the next time Azealia Banks opens her mouth it’s in a recording studio. Let the music do the talking.
Top 5 1. Boddikka - Heat An intriguing vocal sample is matched with punchy kicks to create a track that will no doubt be dropped by the likes of Jackmaster, Zed Bias and a range of other Warehouse Project performers.
the MUSIC INTERVIEW
Travis
Dan Whiteley catches up with Dougie Payne, founding member of the infamous Scottish fourpiece Travis to discuss their recording process, unorthodox procedures & international tours. Dan Whiteley Travis are a band that, for young and old alike, need no introduction. Famous for making sensitivity fashionable at the turn of the millennium, the Scottish four-piece are back after a lengthy hiatus with their new album Where You Stand. When I speak to Dougie Payne - founding member, bassist and sometimes-songwriter - he’s fresh off a twelve-hour bus ride to Denver, Colorado, on the band’s first major international tour in half a decade which hits the UK, including Manchester, later this month. Why, I ask, did they take such a long sabbatical? “It’s quite a long time, isn’t it? We kind of decided after we finished the last tour that we wanted to take some time out, and spend that time just being dads and being at home”, he admits, “Because you can’t get that time back. And if the success of previous records buys you anything, it doesn’t buy you stuff, it buys you time. Also, you need to spend time apart, ‘coz if you don’t, there’s nothing surer to break a band up than getting sick of each other!” A lot has happened in the time Travis have been away, not least of all the members’ steady embracement of middle age, a fact which Dougie states was not lost on the band. “There was a working title for the record, which was In The Middle Of. You just feel like that when your hit forty, but we all feel really good about it actually. It’s weird, ‘coz it’s like, we’re all forty, and we’re reflecting on what is – hopefully – the first half of our lives, but also we’ve all got kids so we’re looking forward as well. So it’s reflective and positive. That’s very much, I think, a theme of the record.” Certainly, reflection and contemplation are in typical Travis style - the order of the day on Where You Stand, and album which features songs written and co-written by Dougie
Life is movement, it’s change and song ‘Moving’ is a celebration of that . himself, including recent single ‘Moving’. “It was a couple of things: being and living in New York was part of it; a classic cliché.” he says, discussing how the track came about, “I was writing about, basically, moving around. Kelly [Macdonald, Payne’s wife] and I were moving every six months because she’s filming Boardwalk Empire in New York. The logistics of that is tricky, and I was finding it quite hard, and I had this epiphany. I was walking down the street one day, and I was like ‘ah, man, that’s what it’s all about!’ That’s just what it is, you don’t stop, and it’s just accepting that life is movement. Life is change, and that song is a kind of celebration of that.” Where You Stand reached number three on the UK Album Chart upon release two months ago, with gave the band a return to a level of commercial success they enjoyed a decade ago; their previous record, 2008’s Ode to J. Smith, whilst well received by fans, failed to make much of a splash on the radio. Reflecting on this, Dougie muses “Well, you always want a record to do well, but the nice thing about J. Smith was that it was critically well received, which we never really had before. Even The Man Who got absolutely slated; every single review was terrible. I remember sitting on Franny’s floor in his house and we had all the newspapers out and all the magazines, and
we were looking at them all and we were like ‘aww, fuck.’” The recording of J. Smith was, for Travis, a relatively unorthodox procedure. “We said we were gonna go into a rehearsal room for three weeks, write a record in those three weeks and then we’re gonna record it in two weeks, so within a month we’ve got a new record.” For a band used to painstakingly crafting their music, this was a big leap. “We ended up making this very interesting, odd rock album. It was very rocky, like a garage band, very reminiscent of Good Feeling, so I can understand why radio would slightly balk against that. I kinda got it, but I was still pleased that we made that record. It was huge for us.” As the conversation draws to a close, I ask Dougie what the future holds for a band that have achieved so many career milestones already. “We’ll see. We’ve got a lot of touring to do over the next year, we’re gonna be all over the place. This tour was a bit of a step into the unknown to be honest, because we haven’t played in the US for four years, and we had no idea if anybody would turn up! We had no idea what our situation was here, but it’s been great, really enjoyable and the shows have been fantastic, so fingers crossed that will continue.” On the subject of future Travis material, he sounds hopeful. “We’ll keep writing songs, and if we get a few songs we feel strongly about, we’ll just keep putting them out; we’ll keep going as long as we have the songs. With J. Smith, it felt like a full circle. This feels like the start of something new.”
2. The Prodigy - Breathe
3. Skream - Bang That
4. Dusky - Careless
5. LFO - LFO
Headlining three sold out nights, The Prodigy are back again to show why they are held in such high regard in the live dance music world. The Prodigy will shake The Warehouse in a way few other artists will have ever done before.
Surely one of WHP’s most played tracks towards the end of last year, and with it still being unreleased a continued air of hype is created around this aptly named banger. In the words of MC Chunky, “sing along if you know the words”.
Dusky’s latest release has the potential to be another big room smash. The duo play three times at this year’s WHP season, giving ample opportunity to catch tracks like ‘Careless’ which feature Dusky’s near-trademark vocal buildup and bassline drop.
This was first released back in 1990, yet it still sounds relevant today. LFO are considered true pioneers of the Acid and Techno sounds. Tracks like ‘LFO’ were made for a warehouse environment and twenty years on still serve their purpose.
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
: @MancunionMusic : / TheMancunionMusicSection
Music
13
Opinion
the
No More “Bring Me The MUSCIOPNIOIN Hair-straighteners”
James Birtles
While flicking through numerous TV channels over the long summer holidays, something caught my eye. It was on BBC Three’s dire coverage of Reading + Leeds 2013; they were showing coverage of Bring The Horizon’s live set at Reading. Why would this catch my eye you may ask? Well, Bring Me The Horizon have always seemed to be one of these bands people love to hate. They have been bottled at Reading and Leeds before, heckled during their support of Welsh rockers Bullet For My Valentine and are subject to abuse by trolls on pretty much all of their videos on Youtube. But now they were on the Reading and Leeds coverage with a crowd singing every word back instead of exchanging bottles filled with fluids. Locally, the jump in Bring Me’s popularity can be seen with their two dates headlining Academy One (with support from Pierce the Veil); when I first saw them in Manchester three years ago, they were only playing one date at the Club Academy. Their album, Sempiternal, which was released earlier this year led the band in a completely different direction and suddenly, they have had
increasing airplay on Radio 1 and with it their fan base has grown. Having reviewed the album for The Mancunion and giving it five stars, the point of this piece is not to detract from a great album but it most definitely isn’t Bring Me’s best album. As you can probably guess, I am a BMTH fan. I have been a fan since [2006’s] Count Your Blessings and have seen them numerous times (six, to be exact). Maybe because of this, I am cynical to these “new fans” or maybe it’s just me being a snob; for years, I suffered through the jokes of “Bring Me The Hairspray/Hair-straighteners” and “Oh why don’t you listen to proper metal like Judas Priest/Iron Maiden etc.” But now these are the people telling me “You really gotta listen to this album! Bring Me are amazing”. That doesn’t bother me as much as those who suddenly make a band their new favourite because they’ve only heard the newest release. In this instance, give these a copy of Count Your Blessings and they’d turn their nose up at it due to its different musical direction (being deathcore not metalcore). A change in musical direction introduces a major problem. Those fans that made you and stuck by you through all the shit can be alienated because
of your live shows. For many fans, Bring Me set-lists have lost their past with no songs from [2006’s] Count Your Blessings and [2004’s] This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For having made the final cut. Yet, we still hope that one day see ‘Pray for Plagues’ or ‘I Used to Make Out With Medusa’ will make a comeback on the tour and that you won’t
cut songs from Suicide Season disappear too. It is great that a band I supported through thick and thin and argued their musical credibility are on the rise. Just don’t forget those older fans. Also, if anyone thinks I’m still wrong regarding BMTH, I’m more than up for another argument.
Mancunion Music Meetings Every Thursday, 5pm
Student Activities Office, 1st Floor of SU Live
Laura Marling
Miles Kane
The Lowry - 30th September 2013 “You’re all so sick”. Laura Marling makes her voice heard above the sound of a germ ridden Salford Lowry. At the tender age of 23 she’s gained the respect of critics and peers alike, although she leaves the business of reading reviews to her parents (hello parents). ‘Take the Night Off ’ starts proceedings in a typically understated fashion, with Laura taking the time to reassure any chancers “don’t worry, that’s the longest song over”. By her own
admission, the inter-song chat does detract somewhat from the occult like image she conveys, but nevertheless her dry wit and poetry extracts ease the often torturous sound of guitar tuning, which happens after every song. There’s a fantastically natural feel to Laura’s performance; with such an engrossed audience there is almost no pressure on her at all, rather a warming sense of encouragement from her crowd. The night is beset by minor
8/10
mistakes and sloppy chord changes but it does nothing to detract from the power of her performance and serves only to remind mere mortals that she’s actually one of us. The phrase “oh, you get the idea anyway” is a fairly common one at Laura’s shows, and unfortunately tonight cramp stops ‘Ghosts’ in its tracks after little more than a verse. Marling’s attitude to romance is surprisingly practical and robust, summed up so perfectly in the Zep III flavoured ‘Master Hunter’ “I am a master hunter/I cured my skin/Now nothing gets in/ Nothing as hard as it tries”. This and the meandering ‘Don’t Ask Why’ quash any doubts over her minimalist live approach. What could seem like a fairly generic, soloacoustic performance on paper is elevated by a quiet, but brooding intensity that enthrals and intrigues all those in her presence. Not afraid to be frank, she respectfully dashes hopes of an encore and exits like someone who happened to just wonder onto the stage as if it were by accident. Proper class act. Thomas Ingham, Music Editor.
Academy 2 - 28th September 2013 Miles Kane is a pretty frequent sight in Manchester, something he was glad to mention at his gig on Saturday. He loves to jam with us and it’s clear we love to too. Sporting a snazzy new haircut he left much of his Paul Weller-esque crowd disappointed; although it’s become relatively uncommon to see many Noel Gallagher types walking around Piccadilly these days, you wouldn’t have know it from the crowd on Saturday night who were clearly paying tribute to his usual mod stylings. Having appeared at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Hyde Park it was no surprise that Saturday’s gig was packed out. He donned the stage with an air of confidence held by those few who know they rock and right from the word Go Miles had everyone on their toes with songs from his first solo album “Colour of the Trap” performing such songs as “Inhaler” and “Come Closer” along with “Give Up” from his new album released in February of this year. He is a brilliant showman, one whose enthusiasm was reflected vibrantly by the crowd. Although I had a blast, I still feel for the experience that Miles has he could do more to
move off the middle road and try something a bit more daring and new, speaking specifically towards King Crawler which although allows for some groovy rifts leaves much to be desired in terms of lyrics. Miles Kane definitely isn’t for everyone. He performs a mixture of indie/psychedelic rock and mod revival but if you ever liked “Arctic Monkeys” then Miles Kane might be for you. Many of the songs from his first album are co-written by Alex Turner (lead singer from AM)
6/10
and it is pretty clear they are. It is definitely recommended if you plan to attend a Miles Kane gig to revise your knowledge of his lyrics, because if Saturday was any testament to the crowds he pulls, you will enjoy your self far more being able to join in on the many sing alongs occurring during the course of his gig. Patrick Barker
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Music
ISSUE 04/7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Mancunion Recommends
Book now: 0161 832 1111
Now: Anna Calvi - One Breath
For full listings visit:
manchesteracademy.net OCTOBER
Domino Records. Release Date; 7th October 2013
Anna Calvi has so far managed to aim her seductive rhythm stick quite high, with her debut album being highly-regarded throughout the musical mob. However the challenge facing her now is the infamous second album. Calvi spent a good year writing this record and an intense few weeks recording which seems to have done it some good; the concepts behind the music are delicate but the production remains fiery and doesn’t completely overshadow her biggest trademark – passion. It’s hard for Calvi to be boring since her music is already eclectic and flailing but One Breath manages to strap on some new contraptions to her sound that present a new pocket of flavours. ‘Piece by piece’ is a brightly coloured track that feels like a rapids, pulling you either side
7/10
before gently floating you into pockets of smooth, arpeggiated violins. It’s complicated in the best possible way, never giving you time to make full sense of what’s going on. ‘Love of my life’ is definitely the black sheep of the album which locks you in a garage with plenty of fuzz pedals and beats you silly like you’re its little noise rock bitch. Nevertheless, the album definitely has a tender touch. ‘The Bridge’, the shortest track (unfortunately), is a pure, swooning choral taste of everything that relates the sweeter sides of Calvi’s two albums. The album succeeds in its aims to present a more focussed and wider view of Anna Calvi’s magical, deeply-voiced kingdom. Less of a statement-maker, more of a “let’s see what these feel like together”. There are still small problems. It can get a bit much at times and might feel like one giant church explosion, but that’s probably because this album is obviously deep; it’s the type of deep where you’ll hear a new interpretation with every few listens – which definitely isn’t a bad thing. All in all, the experimentation and bizarre hooks give the album a very twisted yet harmonic feel to it. Maybe it is a bit like the first album but Calvi has shown us that she can still write interesting music with the same passion, energy and sexiness that gives it its bite. Breath it and see. Samuel Ward
Then: Nas - Illmatic Columbia; 1994 In a decade full to the brim with great hip hop albums, Illmatic deserves to rank alongside the very best. Released in 1994 – a time when hip-hop was dominated by the g-funk sounds of west coast artists such as Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre – Illmatic helped to cast everyone’s attention back to New York and ignite the renaissance of the city’s hip hop scene. Nas enlisted the help of a number of producers for the album including DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock and Q-Tip. The beats are hard but a heavy sampling of jazz and funk melodies provides the album with an accessibility that has endeared it to many. This production masterclass proved to be the perfect platform for Nas’ street poetry. Employing polysyllabic rhymes, highly intelligent wordplay and his own expansive lexicon, Nas persistently excels himself as a lyricist throughout the album. Highly complex rhymes never compromise immaculate flow as the listener accompanies Nas on a journey through his gritty and often extremely bleak streets of Queensbridge, New York. No track illustrates this better than ‘N.Y. State of Mind’. Over a dark and jazzy DJ Premier beat Nas informs the listener “I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of death”. Yet despite the tough realities of Queensbridge – gang violence, drug addiction and urban decay – a sense of lingering hope still permeates the album. Nas isn’t slating his environment; he’s merely telling it how it is.
Illmatic isn’t without its critics, with many claiming it lacks the length and thus the depth of hip-hop’s other great works. Clocking in at less than forty minutes it’s definitely not the longest but Illmatic retains a focus and coherency rare in all but the best hip hop albums. The phrase “all killer, no filler” has never been more apt. When asked in an early promotional interview to explain the album title, Nas claimed it meant “the ultimate”. It’s a bold title to bestow on your debut release but, when the listening experience is as consistently excellent as this, who are we to disagree? Matt Gibney
Impericon Never Say Die! Tour Wednesday 9th Ryan Keen Wednesday 9th Kacey Musgraves Thursday 10th Johnny Marr Saturday 12th The Orb + System 7 Saturday 12th Turisas Saturday 12th The South Sunday 13th Children Of Bodom Monday 14th The Devil Wears Prada Monday 14th The Quireboys Tuesday 15th Sebadoh Tuesday 15th Goo Goo Dolls Wednesday 16th The Answer Thursday 17th Volbeat Friday 18th Kate Nash Saturday 19th UK Foo Fighters Saturday 19th Toyah Saturday 19th Orange Sunday 20th AlunaGeorge Monday 21st Baroness Tuesday 22nd Roachford Tuesday 22nd The Feeling Wednesday 23rd Skid Row/Ugly Kid Joe Thursday 24th Markey Ramone’s Blitzkrieg with Andrew WK Thursday 24th HIM Thursday 24th The Cult – Electric 13 Friday 25th The Pigeon Detectives Friday 25th John Power (Cast) Friday 25th Real Radio XS Saturday 26th North Mississippi Allstars Saturday 26th The Blackout Saturday 26th Warpaint Tuesday 29th Birdy Wednesday 30th Tyler Hilton Wednesday 30th Wiley and Dappy Thursday 31st
NOVEMBER Boomtown Rats Friday 1st IllumiNaughty Saturday 2nd 10pm – 5.30am Deserts Xuan Saturday 2nd Blood On The Dancefloor Sunday 3rd Watsky Tuesday 5th Deap Vally Tuesday 5th Dillinger Escape Plan Wednesday 6th KAL & Satellite State Disko Wednesday 6th 36 Crazyfists Thursday 7th PublicServiceBroadcasting Thursday 7th Marillion Friday 8th The Union Friday 8th Unknown Mortal Orchestra Friday 8th Whole Lotta Led Saturday 9th Satyricon Sunday 10th Defenders Of The Faith ft Amon Amarth Wednesday 13th The Wonder Years Wednesday 13th Stephen Lynch Live Thursday 14th Gary Numan Thursday 14th
Academy.Gig.Ladder.Iss03.indd 1
Laura Veirs Friday 15th Naughty Boy Saturday 16th Mallory Knox Sunday 17th Television Sunday 17th Blue October Monday 18th Hayseed Dixie Tuesday 19th They Might Be Giants Wednesday 20th The Rifles Thursday 21st Absolute Bowie Saturday 23rd Lee Nelson Saturday 23rd MSMR Sunday 24th The Passengers perform the songs of Iggy Pop Sunday 24th Barenaked Ladies Monday 25th The Fratellis Wednesday 27th Hudson Taylor Thursday 28th Dan Baird Friday 29th Flux Pavilion Saturday 30th The Complete Stone Roses Saturday 30th
DECEMBER Capercaille Sunday 1st Papa Roach Thursday 5th Watain Thursday 5th White Lies Friday 6th Electric Six Friday 6th Dutch Uncles Friday 6th For Those About To Rock Saturday 7th The Word Alive Sunday 6th TheMenTheyCouldn’tHang Thursday12th Alabama 3 Friday 13th Kurt Vile Saturday 14th Gogol Bordello Saturday 14th Primal Scream Sunday 15th Levellers Friday 20th
JANUARY 2014 The 1975 Tuesday 7th Lamb of God Sunday 19th dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip Sunday 19th London Grammar Wednesday 29th RX Bandits Friday 31st
FEBRUARY 2014 Ron Pope + Wakey! Wakey! Thursday 6th Little Comets Wednesday 5th Protest The Hero Thursday 6th August Burns Red Monday 10th Mikill Pane Friday 14th Kerrang! Tour 2014 Monday 17th twenty one pilots Friday 21st Room 94 Saturday 22nd
MARCH 2014 The Dear Hunter And Anthony Green Saturday 1st Haim Saturday 8th Heaven 17 Saturday 15th Kodaline Wednesday 5th Franz Ferdinand Saturday 22nd The Stranglers Saturday 29th
MAY 2014 Jagwar Ma Saturday 10th
04/10/2013 15:36
Games
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
15
Editor: Alasdair Preson Feature
Up to now: 2013’s gaming highlights
Retro Corner
Alasdair Preston describes one ofRare’s most divisive games
Matt Cole singles out key moments from the year so far ahead of the console launches Oxford Road is narrowing, we’re all getting smaller and we’re all suffocating under the weight of the new semester. It’s only been two weeks. Atop buses and high-rises we are watched over by disgruntled middle-aged men who threaten us with their grimaces as we trundle through the city’s countless potholes and undeclared lakes like uniformed penguins that have lost their capacity to dream. ‘Buy GTA V!’, the men bark at us. ‘BUY GTA V!’ We sulk, we nod. Students worldwide have been tussling with Rockstar’s proposition. Give into the oppressive marketing campaign and buy their game, or try to pass the academic year? I feel GTA’s sandbox will be too sumptuous for most gamers to turn down. That shouldn’t surprise – the visuals are sharp as nails, Los Santos is livelier and more detailed than any city previously featured in the series, and the riotous carnage has been restored after its glaring absence from GTA IV. As for the merits of any social commentary the writers seek to offer with this instalment, I’m yet to pass judgement. The developer has a penchant for blowing raspberries at society and tends to shy away from deeper critiques, which is of course perfectly fine. It only becomes a problem when they gloss over stereotypes and misogyny as if they’re merely comical laws of nature. These kinds of issues were addressed by vocal feminist, Anita Sarkeesian, who launched a Kickstarter project last year in an effort to highlight the rampant sexism ingrained in the medium. Her three-part video series titled Tropes vs Women in Video Games concluded this August and dealt admirably with the gender stereotyping and cynical sexualisation that female characters are subjected to by their creators. Discussions like this are rare in the community, so it was encouraging to see Anita’s work financially supported with such enthusiasm. Two blockbuster releases of 2013 that Anita might struggle to dissect include NaughtyDog’s The Last of Us and Irrational’s Bioshock: Infinite. The former is a masterfully underwritten escort journey through a postapocalyptic U.S, while the latter depicts a fantastical rescue mission set in Columbia, a
city suspended in the sky. The brevity of those descriptions do them a gross disservice but the two games are related in an interesting way – they both feature plutonic relationships between lead male and female characters and thereby side-step the common damselin-distress narrative structure that thousands
but to publish the game across all platforms so you have no excuses. Depressed executives at Nintendo resigned themselves to a dire year after they all-but sacked off E3, the industry’s major press event, presumably because they didn’t want to pit the WiiU against a gaming console that had games. Sorry fans, but you know it’s been slim Pikminings. Business-wise, Nintendo’s decision made sense, what with Sony and Microsoft’s claim to the meat of the coverage with the upcoming launch of their nextgen systems and Nintendo’s preference for their own digital presentations throughout the year, but it was no less disappointing. Bioshock Infinite, Image source: ToTheGame.com Unfortunately for Microsoft, the Xbox of videogames subscribe to. Although One price point of £429.99 happened to be heralded by many as beacons of class and the final geyser of crap to the face following maturity in the medium, and despite all of their poorly-received conference earlier on the (deserved) favourable comparisons to in the year in which they unveiled a long TV and film, the games still rely on you, the string of features that gamers either didn’t player, to demolish your way through town want or weren’t ready for. The company’s centres like a holocaust that has learnt how to Interactive Entertainment President during grunt. They’re enormously fun, enormously the meltdown, Don Mattrick, experienced polished games, but the scale of murder in the kind of alienation usually reserved each can be somewhat jarring. for Piers Morgan apologists sitting in on If the ennui of killing everything has taken its a Human Decency convention. And even toll, why not dunk your head in the charm well after scrapping their original vision for the that is Rayman Legends? For me, it is easily new Xbox, Microsoft received a relentless the best 2D platformer of this generation. throttling in the media for weeks on end just Its explosive energy, infectious music and for placating the fans. Gamers were calling it rhythmic platforming remind all who play the Xbox 180. exactly why it is they play games. It excites at There’s your incomplete overview of this the pure animal level, it makes you laugh at year. You’re right: no mention of the indie every character sprite, and it makes you curse scene, or of the SteamOS stuff, or of lots of at every mistimed jump. Maybe too much so. other big things. But shush! I’ve got bitches to Anyway, you should snap up Rayman if you kill in Los Santos. haven’t already. The gem was pegged as a WiiU exclusive until time caught the console with its trousers down, leaving Ubisoft with no choice
News
New Nintendo Details Emerge Ahead of the big console launch window in November, Nintendo broadcast a new episode of their ‘Direct’ series. The global online broadcasts have typically been used to showcase major Nintendo releases in the coming months. The biggest announcement was of a new Kirby platformer headed to 3DS in 2014. The testicular – pardon, titular character has been a staple of the Nintendo diet since the very beginning. The new game is currently untitled. Nintendo also trickled out
more details of several of their big releases in the coming months. Most notably came the “revelation” that Sonic the Hedgehog will be back for the next Smash Bros. game. Fans were worried he may not make the cut after comments from series director Masahiro Sakurai that the roster would be limited compared to the Wii’s Brawl, and that third party characters would be kept to a minimum. However, Sonic’s inclusion means that three of gaming’s oldest rivals Mario, Sonic and Megaman will
When people complain that Nintendo bank on the same franchises over and over again, their argument usually goes like this: “If it weren’t for Mario, Nintendo would be sunk. Oh, and Pokemon. And Zelda. Animal Crossing. Metroid. Pikmin…” and it goes on. But they always forget poor old Star Fox. And, to be fair, Nintendo themselves have rather forgotten the fuzzy pilot too. Without a single game out on Wii (besides Smash Bros) and nothing confirmed for Wii U, you could be forgiven for thinking Fox was all but done. And that’s a huge shame. Some of Nintendo’s very best titles (in my opinion) have been Star Fox. One of which is Star Fox Adventures. Star Fox Adventures started life as a Rare-developed Nintendo 64 game called Dinosaur Planet, and had nothing to do with Fox McCloud. After seeing the game in development, Shigeru Miyamoto (the Nintendo wizard) noted just how much the design resembled Star Fox and so, a few years later, the game surfaced as a Star Fox brand Gamecube launch title. The game was also the last one Rare developed before being bought up by Microsoft. What we were left with was a Star Fox game set on a planet of dinosaurs. So far, so good. When a world of talking dinosaurs found itself on the brink of destruction, they turned to the galaxy’s most famous talking animal to put them back together again. The link that brings Fox in is rather tenuous, and it’s easy to see how close this game came to having nothing to do with him. Despite all that, Adventures isn’t totally without some Star Fox style shooting sections and franchise trademarks. And, wouldn’t you know it, after a story about returning ancient spirits and stones to temples to put the whole planet back together it turns out that Andross, Fox’s nemesis was behind it all along. Adventures was immediately recognised for it’s outstanding graphics and almost Zelda-like gameplay, something previously unheard-of for the Star Fox franchise. For a character that had previously only ever been seen inside a spaceship, his new found love of running around with a dinosaur buddy and fighting evil reptiles with a sceptre irritated some. While the game itself wasn’t anywhere near as long as your typical Zelda title, the gameplay and design were every bit as high quality. It’s a title that I often find myself wanting to play through on a spare afternoon, if only I could remember what I did with that tiny Gamecube disc. Photo credit: ToTheGame.com
Alasdair Preston
News be battling it out in the same release for the first time. The new Smash Bros will launch for Wii U and 3DS early next year. Further information revealed that upcoming 3DS Zelda game “A Link Between Worlds” will adopt a less traditional approach to the usual linear dungeon progression system. The game that has Zelda fans buzzing will allow players to tackle the dungeons in whatever order they choose. Other parts of the Direct featured new footage of Super Mario 3D World on Wii U and Bravely Default, the new Square Enix RPG for 3DS. Both of these titles are expected to release by the end of the year.
Alasdair Preston
GTA Online now on...line Proving that it’s impossible to go more than two minutes without seeing GTA V somewhere right now, Rockstar released the belated online multiplayer mode for their phenomenally successful game last week. The game broke the UK record for day one sales previously held by Call of Duty: Black Ops selling 1.41 million. GTA V sold 1.57 million units in it’s first day on sale in the UK, and many more around the world. Unfortunately, this massive amount of players all trying
Photo credit: ToTheGame.com to access the same servers crippled the service in it’s first few hours of release as gamers clamoured to taste the ambitious multiplayer
imagined by Rockstar. The game promises a huge bustling online world set in the already-impressive Los Santos map. Players can co-operate to complete various jobs, or be as destructive as they’re used to in the single player mode. Characters can own property, earn cash, spend it and even pick who their grandparents are (which serves to define how the player looks). GTA Online is out (and hopefully stable) now as a free update for everyone who owns GTA V on PS3 or 360. Look for the Mancunion review in next week’s issue.
Alasdair Preston
ISSUE 04/7TH SEPTEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
/TheMancunion: Fashion & Beauty
Editors: Susie Coen, Marie ClareYates, Halee Wells (Beauty) Top 5
statement necklaces
TOP
5
By Elizabeth Linsley
This eye-catching necklace will instantly make any outfit shine. The pink colour is very on trend this autumn and will brighten up an otherwise all black winter ensemble. The detail in the necklace means you can keep the rest of your outfit simple, and still look like you’ve made an effort. Beaded Interwoven Necklace, Zara, £19.99
@MancunionFash
High-streets coolest cover ups
One piece three ways:
ON TREND: In the Pink
Anna Sopel explains how to wear the leather skirt to any occasion
Tick all the boxes for style and colour with this pink Zara jacket, featuring the favourite outerwear colour choice for this Autumn/Winter. Taking inspiration from London Fashion Week and confirmed by the likes of Mulberry, Christopher Kane and John Rocha; pink is the colour to be seen in this season and will look even better come winter, paired with flushed rosy checks that Manchester’s cold weather brings.
H&M Bouclé Jacket with a wool blend and lapels - £34.99 GBP. Hm.com
Boohoo stock a range of statement necklaces and with many under £10 they are incredibly purse-friendly! This plaited gold and monochrome necklace looks much pricier than it is and is simple enough to be worn over a sweater to university or with a chiffon blouse for a classier look.
This unusual New Look necklace mixes shades of embossed metal, looking fresh and fashionable and the subtle metal tones work well with a range of colours.. Wear with leather and denim to contrast with the different the textures. Limited Edition Lynsey Luxor Necklace, New Look, £14.99
Zara.com
Personally I would be hoping for a harsh winter to justify buying this coat. Sure it’s a bit pricey but it’s 15% off online right now, if you sign up for their newsletter, so that’s okay, right? This coat is also totally in keeping with the oversized trend, which works just as well for menswear as it does womenswear. Designers including Topman Design and Oliver Spencer favoured this particular style at London Fashion Week, because of its smart-comelaidback look. The practical nature of this coat is also a bonus as it is as smart as it is casual, making it a worthwhile investment.
AMERICAN APPAREL Oversized wool coat featuring single button closure and a suede collar £154 .00 store.americanapparel.co.uk
Coral Statement Warehouse, £16
BEAUTY
CORNER
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Stephanie Yeo shows us how to work this season’s hottest new beauty trend. Photo credit: Melissa Malala
Autumn beauty report: Coloured Eyeliner
We all have our classic look. Be it piling on loads of mascara or a flawless face of foundation, it’s your go-to for casual days without much effort. Then there are days where you put on a nice little cute number and wished you had extra time to jazz up your look! Fret not, because the coloured liner is here! They are understated and underrated, because a good coloured liner can indeed spice things up. This could be your first step to trying out a slightly dramatic colour that you’ve always secretly loved but never took the plunge. I personally like to use them on my waterline for a pop of colour, now let me present you my top colored liner picks.
This ‘Borrowed from the Boys’ style Jacket is perfect for A/W13. ‘Size does matter’ was the message that carried very strongly from London Fashion Week, with designers such as DKNY, Acne and Carven driving the trend forward. The trend has since trickled down to be found on the high street, and everywhere from Topshop to Primark are making the most of the cosy and oversized style. What’s best about this jacket is that it can be worn now, whilst there is still warm(ish) weather in Manchester but can also be carried through to winter by layering jumpers underneath.
The leather skirt is probably most suited to an evening look. This leather skirt has seen me through most pre-night out ‘I have nothing to wear’ panic attacks. This flattering pencil style will hold you in and accentuate your waist, whilst the leather fabric instantly adds some glamour. Here I’ve paired it with a bright crop top and heels for ideal drinking/ dining/ dancing attire.
Anyone who has walked into a high street shop will notice that ‘punk’ is having a bit of a moment. Your leather skirt will be your best-friend to emulate this current fashion. Worn here with a plaid shirt (of which there are also no shortage on thehigh street), a pair of dirty converse and a studded bag, the leather skirt proves to be perfectly on trend.
As gloomy winter days approach, the leather skirt will instantly refresh your winter wardrobe. Dig out your chunkiest winter knits and throw on top of a leather skirt for a stylish clash of textures and shapes. Worn here with an oversized jumper, a bright scarf, tights and boots- who knew the leather skirt could be so comfy and practical?
Urban Decay does a fabulous glide on eye pencil in ridiculous amount of colours (40 to be exact) so I’m sure you can find a colour to suit your inner wild child. They are called 24/7 for a reason because these babies don’t budge. If you’re beginning to dabble into colours, Rimmel London, Bourjois and Kiko too do coloured liners, they might not have 50 shades of grey but great nonetheless. Not forgetting how often Superdrug/Boots have 3 for 2, you could easily get a variety of them to play around with, at minimal cost.
Favorite pieces
Leather look
Trend report: Ladylike Luxe
No matter which shop you look in there is one clear trend that sticks out: leather. I for one love this look, there are so many different ways in which to wear it without looking tacky. Always stick to black. Although you can find leather look in other colours black is a safe bet. The quality is usually higher and there is less of chance that the clothing will have that plastic cheap look. Be careful when choosing pieces as there can be a chance of too much of a good thing. Jennie Rothwell picks her favorite pieces:
A statement necklace for the statement shy, this is an easy way of tapping into the trend for accessory virgins. The white, silver and coral colour combination will go perfectly with autumnal shades of navy and forest green, while the classical pear shaped stones and diamonds contrast with the spikes to keep the design interesting.
The ever so versatile leather skirt is a modern wardrobe staple. Like any item of clothing that will be worn over the years, in multiple ways and for varying occasions, it is worth investing in. This is a simple leather pencil skirt from H&M that set me back £79.99, but was worth every penny. The high street is overflowing with some brilliant ones, for the best skirts look to All Saints, Whistles and Miss Selfridge.
ON A BUDGET: Oversized
GOOD INVESTMENT: The Long Wool Coat
Tia Rope and Chain Twisted Necklace, boohoo.com, £12
Feature
Charlie Daniels reveals the most sought after jackets this A/W 13 ZARA Wool cardigan with funnel collar - £59.99
Fashion
Whether you’re dressing for lunch with friends or an evening out, this season the Lady-Like trend is on our radar. From patent midi-skirts to nude courts and yes, those pink coats we’ve been seeing everywhere, this trend is sure to be popular this season. Alexa Chung, Olivia Palermo and Mollie King are all celebrity fans of this trend as they embrace their girly sides this season. Look out for pastel hues, peter pan collars and silky textures to stay ahead of the crowd.
Photo: beautylish.com
Using the Make up Forever Aqua Eyes in 23L and Urban Decay’s 24/7 in Empire, this look is fun and flirty. The idea behind is so that the shimmery pink eyeliner highlights your inner tear duct whilst the purple accentuates the eye. A second look to try is a bronze navy duo that came to life with Kiko’s Glamorous Eye Pencil in 407 and 401.
1. Cami- Topshop £18
Necklace,
2. Leopard Skirt- ASOS £40 3. Tapestry Skirt- Miss Selfridge £35 Although the design of this necklace is bold, the simple colour scheme makes it easy to wear with a variety of outfits, from your hot pink Pout dress to your grey marl Deaf Institute tee. It could also be work with a checkered shirt to liven up your university wardrobe. Rope V Drop Necklace, Topshop, £18.50
1. Topshop, £40
New Look, £19.99
Miss Selfridge, £28
So you want to go out? Not feeling like wearing a dress? These leather shorts are an ideal alternative to that over worn pair of denim hotpants hiding in your wardrobe. The hem line makes these otherwise plain shorts more interesting and they can easily be paired with any top to create a day or night look. At £40 they may not be the cheapest, but with student discount who could say no? Luckily these shorts come in petite and tall sizing meaning that everyone can have a pair.
I always find it hard to find a nice skirt that can be worn with a range of tops, but at the same time making a statement in itself. The asymmetrical hemline of this skirt makes an otherwise plain bodycon shape more interesting. For less than £20 this skirt is a bargain and could be dressed up or down making it a versatile staple for your wardrobe. It can be machine washed so no extra care needed.
It’s getting to that time of year again when jumpers are brought out, and summer clothes are hidden away. It’s time to add a contrasting jumper to your autumn wardrobe, the leather sleeves on this jumper contrast with the grey flannel, keeping with the current trends. This jumper ticks both boxes for comfort and style and is a must have for autumn. There’s no need to turn up to lectures in that old hoodie when this jumper is just as comfortable but far more stylish.
4. Boxy Bag- Miss Selfridge £29
Lastly, I used Bourjois Contour Clubbing Waterproof eye pencil in Green (image at top) that is a great funky statement without being OTT. Don’t forget to smudge and blend it out with a Q tip to avoid harsh lines. Green is a great colour for Autumn and is flattering on every eye shade.
5. Nude Patent T-Bar Peeptoe Heels £27.99 6. Blue Knitted Angora Cable Jumper £46 7. Beaded Bracelet- Warehouse £8
By Phoebe Nickalls
Photo: eBay.com
And there you have it girls, your fast track to being on trend this Fall. Experiment with different colours to see what looks you can create.
ISSUE 04/7th October 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Sophie James, Robbie Davidson, Angus Harrison Top 5
Feature
TOP
5
One-Eyed Characters
Having eyes is pretty mainstream. This optically challenged crew is made up of the most fearsome individuals in cinematic history and their monovision actually works in their favour, making them even more memorable. They are also infinitely cooler than those bloody one-ears.
5. One Eye-Valhallah Rising (2009) Why is he called One Eye you ask? Well, that would be because he only has one eye. This is no hindrance to the mute demi-god warrior of Winding Refn’s 2009 masterpiece Valhalla Rising. Partial to a spot of disembowelment or a nice, refreshing hallucinogenic beverage.
the FEATURE:
Our take on events from the world of film and television
How Breaking Bad could change movies forever Film Editor Angus Harrison considers the achievements of Vince Gilligan’s landmark drama and argues that mainstream cinema should open the door to “the one who knocks” Contains Spoilers! It is over. The series that possibly marks the apex of America’s recent ‘Golden Age of Television’, has finished and Breaking Bad has left a tangible and effective legacy. Yet the lessons to take from Breaking Bad need not end on the small screen. If employed and properly understood, the golden age of television could save a far from golden age of blockbuster cinema. Pretty much every major release this summer was plagued by the same problem – stakes. Consistently in high concept, largely sci-fi/fantasy writing, the threat or impact of danger is focused in very large scale physical terms. Script doctor Damon Lindelhof, recently spoke out against this fetish for gigantism, despite being one of its chief proponents as a writer on both of JJ Abrams Star Trek films and Cowboys & Aliens. In a recent interview he said “Ultimately I do feel—even as a purveyor of it— slightly turned off by this destruction porn that has emerged and become very bold-faced this past summer…It’s almost impossible to, for example, not have a final set piece where the fate of the free world is at stake...Did Star Trek Into Darkness need to have a gigantic starship crashing into San Francisco? I’ll never know. But it sure felt like it did.” What separates Breaking Bad from this trend? Independence. Despite being the showrunner, Vince Gilligan recently said that “the worst thing the French gave us [was] the auteur theory”. Yet Gilligan does not see the alternative to the auteur being a committee, rather he trusts the multiple strengths of his team to produce something that is as singular
as it is collaborative. Gilligan is then allowed by AMC, has allowed him the freedom to organically develop the concept without studio interference. When we consider the colossal financial success of Breaking Bad, it becomes possible to re-imagine independence as the more reliable guarantor of profit (listen to Armando Iannucci’s lecture for BAFTA for more on this).
Yet ultimately we return to the idea of ‘stakes’. What is the ultimate cost of the danger? Well again Breaking Bad provides a fascinating model, for in this case the protagonist “is the danger”. As many
times as Hollywood blows up London or wipes out 89 percent of the population, I will never feel the rush of fear and dread I felt watching a DEA officer sat on the toilet reading Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Over the five seasons of Breaking Bad the investment in character is labored over so exquisitely that the thought of harm befalling them – even psychological – conjures exceptional audience reaction. This doesn’t completely remove spectacle from the equation, consider the plane crash at the end of season two - a moment of shock and awe, but built into such meticulous context that the true impact was a payoff with both an instant rush and an impression that lasts for days. It is reasonable to ask ‘how can a film of two hours hope to produce the same level of narrative finesse that Vince Gilligan can spread out over five seasons?’ Yet more recent films like District 9 or Skyfall are an indication of how wrong it would be to assume that character development is ‘television only’. Since the arrival of Christopher Nolan we have come to expect our blockbusters ‘dark’. Yet the mistake came when we started assuming ‘dark’ meant ‘mass destruction’ or ‘moody violins’. The darkest moments in Breaking Bad are lies, deception, and moral compromises. Seeing the world blown to pieces another time will no longer effect us. Seeing a man destroy his family through his own hubris? His selfish search for significance in a universe that seems to have forgotten him? That is a full measure.
Angus Harrison (Go online for full length article)
4. Elle Driver- Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) Femme Fatale nemesis of The Bride in Tarantino’s superb martial arts double bill. Weaknesses: Low ceilings, lampshades to the face, Kung Fu moves of the eye removing variety.
3 Eye of Sauron- The Lord of the Rings (20012003)
Preview
thePREVIEW: Oldboy
Here it is. The famous, loved, even revered Korean film has been re-made for our precious Anglo-tuned ears. It seems as though the ideas from Hollywood Omniscient fireball perched atop the dark diminish in quality one by one; like a fat man, whose tower of Barad-Dur. Hell bent on finding the rope is finally thinning, clings to the nearest mountain One Ring (he spends over 9 hours doing this, ledge, they turn their hand to stealing successes from though it’s more like 12 if you have the special the past, the present and the rest of the world. Luckily edition DVDs), he has serious anger issues for them original, moving and complex storylines can which he can’t seem to keep a lid on... be produced without the aid of hundreds of millions of dollars. Oldboy follows the struggle of the average Joe Doucett ( Josh Brolin) who, for apparently no reason, is kidnapped and locked in a windowless room for 2. Number Two- Austin Powers (1997) twenty years. Upon an equally spontaneous release he begins an enraged search to discover why he was Gambling addict with built in laser vision, cleverly concealed behind his devilish eye so brutally imprisoned; along the way cutting through patch. Unless you like to live dangerously, playa fog of allies, enemies, twists and turns. ing Blackjack with this cyborg swindler is not The original drags you in from the moment Oh advised. Dae-su (the Korean main character) comes on screen. Sliding smoothly from the comical first scene through to the ominous tone of the rest of the film, you watch his gradually deteriorating appearance 1. Cyclops- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and as you become entwined into each scene you more understand the care taken to relate his intense The late, great animator Ray Harryhausen struggles. Dark humor is injected at the most unlikely brings the stop motion beastie to glorious life but effective moments developing a completely in this 1958 classic. Although Homer purists immersive and provocative journey. may begrudge the theft of the man eating monWe have seen some of the pitiful Hollywood efforts ster from The Odyssey, it’s still fun to watch him to translate classic stories into anything more than battle a dragon and crush hapless sailors with their trollish over produced style of film. Often the a tree trunk. endearing charm of a story is captured and drowned in the concrete of Hollywood’s over-epic formulas.
Sometimes succeeding more by a game of numbers than by any artistic direction, the besmirched name of the film they have pillaged inevitably fades into contemptuous obscurity. Despite the failings of some of its predecessors, there
Director: Spike Lee • Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L Jackson Released: 6th December Hopefully Oldboy can mirror the cleverly adapted film The Departed. Through the aid of spectacular actors like Matt Damon and Leonardo Dicaprio, The Departed completely blew away audiences in 2006 and will remain a benchmark to anyone attempting to capture success from the Asian market. The director of Oldboy, Spike Lee, has a history of making intriguing and subtle films whilst still channeling the power of American cinema. With the inclusion of the champion of Asian style cinema, the venerable Samuel L Jackson, and the lead played by Josh Brolin who is no stranger to presenting a dark, tortured and angry character, this film seems to have most of what it needs not to follow The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo into the sin bin of remakes. Whether you have experienced the original and want to see how it will fair in the western format or you are just looking for something interesting to watch in the cinema, Oldboy promises to deliver a darkness and brutality reminiscent of the recent Batman series and hopefully will not be as horrific as listening to your stoned housemate explain why a degree in yoghurt would be useful. Fred Adomakoh
have also been many remakes where their original style is enhanced by the western budget and approach.
ISSUE 04/ 7th October 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
/TheMancunion: Film @MancunionFilm
Review
the REVIEW: Blue Jasmine
Director: Woody Allen • Starring: Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin Released: 27th September
Film Editor Robbie Davidson triumphs Woody Allen’s latest release but questions whether we can hope for a return to form I felt on edge when I came out of the cinema having seen Blue Jasmine. Being on edge is not a feeling I’d normally associated with a Woody Allen picture. Sometimes a little sad, maybe cynical, often still laughing, but a feeling that at any moment the song Blue Moon might send me spiraling into madness (it makes sense when you’ve seen the film), was certainly a new sensation. But this wasn’t a ‘typical’ Woody Allen film, although his recent output might suggest there’s no such thing. The prolific director has been steadily producing a film a year to very varying levels of success. So, perhaps it’s the law of averages which has led to Allen’s best film in decades. It’s certainly not the ‘return to form’ which many critics are hailing it as: Allen’s had many returns to form before ( the critically adored Midnight in Paris) only to follow them up with epic misfires (the charmless To Rome With Love). There’s no telling if his return to Europe in his next feature will continue the cycle. But I suspect when Allen returns to New York, a city so inextricable from his nature, he will produce his best work.
Whilst the majority of the film takes places in San Francisco, it’s New York where the titular Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) remembers her old life as a Park Avenue socialite, before her husband’s (Alec Baldwin) financial crimes leave her with nothing (bar a few Louis Vuitton bags) and living with her estranged sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco.
superlatives to describe Blanchett’s performance have all been used, suffice to say that I haven’t believed so completely in a character for years. You can both pity and loathe Jasmine over the course of a short scene: as she swigs martinis and pops Xanax whilst dispelling wisdom to Ginger’s kids on the merits of being a ‘good rich person’, Blanchett both
Jasmine’s descent into madness, her brief glimmer of redemption in the form of Peter Sarsgaard, and her final scene alone on a park bench talking to herself with no hope of a future, are a marvel to behold. All the
entrances and terrifies. Allen never makes her out to be a villain or a figure to be despised. But then Allen’s films have never been about passing judgement. They may have got darker and more cynical
over the years, but he never sets out to demonise the rich. Indeed I imagine the high life of Manhattan’s upper class is a lifestyle Allen is all too familiar with to pass any condemnation. If there was anyone Allen seeks to draw scorn upon it would be the adulterers (strange given his past films and his own personal life). Whether it be Jasmine’s philandering husband, or Ginger’s potential suitor, Al (Louis C K), it’s the men who cheat who are shown to cause the most emotional anguish. So whilst Blue Jasmine has some of the strongest political undertones of any of Allen’s films, the real interest is in the characters and their response to Jasmine’s drastic change in fortune. Allen has assembled a great supporting cast, who all shine when they could easily have been overshadowed by Blanchett’s towering performance. Blue Jasmine engages as comedy, drama and satire - a balance Allen hasn’t struck for years. But, perhaps Allen’s real masterstroke is that at times you feel like you’re not watching a Woody Allen film at all. And isn’t that after all what he’s always wanted?
Film
TV
CATCH UP
Sunday night television will soon be retained to viewing bliss. Finally! The repetitive slur of X Factor can be pushed to one side. We can gladly embrace Homeland’s return as the hit Emmy award-winning US thriller is back for a third series. After a gripping trailer, the suspense is rising and audiences will be itching to know what series 3 has in store. Homeland has travelled a long way from its original path. The drama follows Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) on her CIA investigation into whether Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) - acclaimed as an American hero - has been ‘turned’ upon his return from years of captivity in Iraq. Homeland is crammed to the brink with never ending twists and turns making the drama and its finales in particular, an unmissable viewing experience. I hope the new series will steer away from evolving into a tale of a warped romance. However, I have no doubt that Homeland will continue making its mark as a top quality thriller and promise gripping, on-the-edge of your seat action! Be certain to watch out for more twists and expect sterling performances from Danes and Mandy Pantinkin. So, catch up with series 2 on 4od before it airs on Channel 4 October 6th. The drama has me truly hooked. Be warned, Homeland makes addictive viewing. So if you fancy, following a dose of Downton Abbey, switch over from ITV to Channel 4 and strap yourself in for some fast paced action. Sunday night television doesn’t get much better. Faye Broadbent
Contrary Corner
Cornerhouse Pick of the Week
La Grande Bellezza
More than just a Pretty Woman
Suraj Vara reviews the Rome set homage to classic Italian cinema
Andrianna Hambi is a staunch defender of Julia Roberts and will fight anyone who disagrees
This week I went to see Paolo Sorrentino’s latest Oscar submission, La Grande Bellezza; upon exiting the Cornerhouse, I can see why it’s Oscar nominated. Sorrentino has teamed up with the fantastic acting talents of Toni Servillo to pay homage to the works of Federico Fellini and La Dolce Vita. Servillo plays middle aged, high society journalist, Jep Gambarella, a man with an irresistible charisma who, after receiving a jolt from his past, goes out in search for something missing from his present. The film has vibrant personality and a dark sense of humour which manifests in a critique of the superficiality and decadence in modern day society, religion, art, literature and the youth. Its subject matter can sometimes be a little disorientating, as in a particular scene when Jep addresses the audience directly, establishing the rules one must follow to show feigned grief when at a funeral; the disorientating part is in the next scene when he puts those rules into practice. We can’t help but take to Jep Gambarella when we first meet him, holding a cigarette between his teeth in front of a broad grin. His opening scene is actually his 65th birthday, which is a decadent, raving rooftop party, filled with middle aged, and older, men and women, furiously dancing to the latest club music in a desperate attempt to reclaim their youth. The further we follow Jep, the more we begin to love his soft approach and gentle demeanour, something which works well with his truthful and insightful commentary. His calm charisma in the dense and hectic
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nightlife of Rome draws in the audience who become powerless against his charming seductions, much like many of the women in the film. Soon, we find ourselves drawn into his search for a missing element in his life as he sifts through Rome, beyond its strings of clubs, strippers, alcohol and drugs. Sorrentino’s script is far from vague or wasteful as it delivers sharp, witty dialogue in a refreshing explosion of dark humour, commenting on the experiences of getting old, especially in the privileged high society circles Jep often frequents. Furthermore, Sorrentino frames Rome’s beauty in a vibrant yet noir style giving the audience the opportunity to experience the city’s beauty culture as Jep does; the sculptured works of art within the palaces of Rome under candle light, Rome’s ancient ruins as well as a breathtaking view of the Colosseum from Jep’s apartment. Although the film is abrupt at times and somewhat divergent from the plot, its exploration of the physical beauty of Rome, hidden beneath a seedy, intoxicated and decadent mask, pushed La Grande Bellezza into the realm of masterpieces; by the end of the film, we understand exactly what Jep means when he says “the trains in Italy are the best in the world, because they are the only ones that don’t go anywhere.” Suraj Vara
There are few things more pathetic than getting a laugh at the expense of an easy target. This seems to be Julia Roberts 21st century occupation, and I don’t like it at all. Sure, she might not be the best actress of all time. She’s no De Niro, no Hanks, no Bullock, but she does not deserve the abuse she gets. You can’t watch an episode of Family Guy without a Julia Roberts joke, but why? Is it her overly large facial features? Her lack of creative integrity? Her repetitive character choices? Perhaps. Nevertheless, I cannot accept that she is a fundamentally bad actress or crime against the film industry. She’s made some of the most popular films of the last 30 years. Maybe they haven’t all been controversial statements about the human condition, but they’ve been enjoyed by millions all around the world. Pretty Woman? Gave hope to prostitutes everywhere that one day, just maybe, their Richard Gere would come and save them. Erin Brockovich? Well that’s just female empowerment right there. She’s starred in some of the greatest romantic comedies ever. My Best Friend’s Wedding is possibly one of the best wedding-centric movies, apart from another Roberts great, Runaway Bride. Many criticise her
performance in homegrown Notting Hill, but she plays the perfect straight talker to Hugh Grant’s standard bumbler. Her more gripping roles in movies like Sleeping With the Enemy and John Grisham’s Pelican Brief show her to be not only legitimate and passable, but actually quite good. Don’t get me wrong, I know she has her faults. Eat Pray Love was a disappointment to say the least. Larry Crowne, even more so. Everyone makes mistakes. She’s had far less exposure of personal problems than most actors these days, and always keeps her opinions on others to herself. She’s a respectable woman with moderate talent, and in no way deserving of the abuse she gets. Even then, considering she might not be the best actress in cinema she has had massive success in Hollywood. She has topped the Hollywood Reporter’s ‘power list’ of top earning actresses twice, in 2003 she was paid an unbelievable $25million to appear in Mona Lisa Smile and The Ladies Home Journal ranked her the 11th most powerful women in the United States. That is a lot of power, which when combined with the Academy Award she won in 2000 for Erin Brokovich, surely makes her a force to be reckoned with? After all, she’s just a girl, standing in front of a movie going population, asking you to love her. And if you still refuse? Big mistake. Huge.
Andrianna Hambi
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
/TheMancunion: Books
Editors: Esmé Clifford Astbury, Annie Muir Feature
@MancunionBooks
Books
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Interview
Mr Darcy’s Death Elizabeth Mitchell muses on Britain’s favourite singleton becoming a widow
Michael theBOOKS INTERVIEW Schmidt Books Editor Annie Muir talks to the poet, scholar and editor-extraordinaire, Michael Schmidt
The press and the public react to the Helen Fielding killing off Mark Darcy in her latest book. Image: Esmé Clifford Astbury
In advance of appearing on our shelves this coming month, an extract of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy was published in The Sunday Times Magazine on 29th September 2013. First appearing in The Independent in 1995, Fielding’s column about the 30-something working singleton grabbed the imagination of women up and down the country. A year later saw the release of the novel Bridget Jones’s Diary, followed by the 1999 sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason. Riding on their success, the multiple awardnominated film adaptations, starring Renée Zellweger, were released in 2001 and 2004 respectively.
Twitter users flocked to express their discontent at the robbing of Bridget’s ‘happily ever after’ as well as their love for the deceased Darcy So, what has Bridget Jones been up to for all these years? In many respects, things haven’t changed that much: Bridget still drinks copious amounts of alcohol (although she’s matured from Chardonnay to cocktails) and obsesses over self-help books, and Daniel Clever seems as sleazy as ever. Then again, Bridget has grown up, both in terms of age and with the times. She’s been catapulted into middle age: she’s now 51 and preoccupied with wrinkles. She has two children,
Mabel and Billy, leading to nitrelated dilemmas and parental playground warfare. Instead of habitually checking her voicemail, Bridget’s obsessed with the number of Twitter followers she has. Oh, and she’s a widow. This bombshell was dropped on readers in no uncertain terms. At the end of the last novel, we left Bridget having just been proposed to by the slightly-awkward-lawyer-yetgorgeous-heartthrob Mark Darcy. The third instalment starts five years on from Darcy’s death, with the knowledge that he became Jones’ husband and the father of her two children. Although how he died will not be revealed until the book’s release, the published extract featured Bridget lamenting over Mark’s death as she struggles to form a relationship with Roxster, a 29 year old toyboy. Twitter users flocked to express their discontent at the robbing of Bridget’s ‘happily ever after’ as well as their love for the deceased Darcy. Although I personally had a day of mourning, maybe Fielding’s distressing move had a motive. The thing most readers ultimately love about Bridget is the sexual scrapes she got into as a singleton. Unattached as a widowed single mother of two, the predicaments can only be bigger and better than ever. Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy will be released on 10th October
Growth by Helen Isserlis Patience is like the buoy to warn swimmers; this far but no farther. Hope is like ivy growing on a fence; finding purchase, climbing an inch at a time. Fear is the squeaky party balloon; stretched, pressured yet contained. Optimism is watering a dead plant. Perseverance is going to sleep at night and waking up in the morning. If you would like to see your creative writing published in The Mancunion, email books@mancunion.com
Michael Schmidt OBE FRSL is, in his own words, “an anglophone Mexican publisher.” As the brains behind Carcanet Press and the PN Review, he is deeply entrenched in the literary history of Manchester. He has published five books of his own poetry, seven poetry anthologies, two novels, two works of translation and six works of literary history/ criticism. I was fortunate enough to go and speak with him and his colleagues at the Carcanet Press offices on Cross Street. Tell us a bit about what you do, and your association with Manchester. I started Carcanet, the publishing house, when I was 19 or 20. I was an undergraduate at Oxford and ran a magazine which went belly-up, so I started a press out of it and we published little pamphlets. These were very successful and received good reviews in The Times Literary Supplement so we started books, and we went from debt to debt, from weakness to weakness, and now we publish 30 to 40 books a year. I came and taught at The University of Manchester for about 23 years, and I set up the creative writing program with Richard Francis, first at undergraduate and then masters level. And when I came to Manchester I realised that I really wanted to have a magazine again. Magazines are to my mind the most wonderful thing you can have as an editor because you’re always discovering new writers and in touch with readers. If you get really enthusiastic, the next month you can publish the thing you’re really enthusiastic about, when of course if you’re doing books it takes a year before you can get it out.
I think the whole sort of approach of Carcanet, and PN review, has been that what you are sold as literature isn’t necessarily the best literature So I set up Poetry Nation (now PN Review) with the then head of English, C.B.Cox, and the very first issue was published in 1972 from Manchester University Press. It’s gone from strength to strength, partly because of the association with C.B. Cox, he was well-known as the editor of Critical Quarterly, and
Photo: Ben Schmidt
so he would say to Kingsley Amis ‘send us a poem’, and he would. It was one of the magazines that would help you make your reputation. Every issue has a poet whose never been published before. The last issue had two totally new poets. It would be boring just to edit according to familiar names. In Lives of the Poets (1999), you said that you decided you wanted to publish poetry when you were 19. Why did you want to be an editor? I love English, but I’m a foreigner. I’m not a native English speaker, but I’ve always loved English poetry from a very early age, and I guess it just seemed to be a way of engaging with contemporary work that was being produced. It’s very different working with a living poet and working with a poem in process, rather than reading a poem on the printed page. And I think I very early on distrusted other editors, because I’d see that there were (and still are) effectively only two or three poets that appear in all the bookshops, people whose presence may be a media presence, but the media presence then makes people want to read their poems. Whereas there are some very good poets who really ought to have been available at the time they started writing, but weren’t even being printed at that stage, because they hated the media, or they didn’t think media had much to do with the art. I think the whole sort of approach of Carcanet, and PN review, has been that what you are sold as literature isn’t necessarily the best literature. Some of the people you’re sold are very good, and some of the people you’re sold are crap,
and the development of an individual judgement is really quite important. I also have a really profound belief that English literature is literature in English not literature in England, or indeed in Britain, so there are some wonderful things happening in New Zealand, Australia and so on which really could inform and extend our pages, and just as we could inform and extend theirs.
Charles Monteith at Faber & Faber completely re-wrote, and reduced by two thirds, Golding’s Lord of The Flies. So editors are really important I read that you were working on a follow-up to Lives of the Poets, called A Life of the Novel. I’ve finished that now; I’m still doing the page-proofs. It’s awfully long! Much bigger than the poets. (I laugh because Lives of the Poets is of epic proportions.) Is your next project going to be Lives of the Editors? That would be really boring! (Laughs) Well, there was a project I had when I left Manchester University, which was based at the John Rylands Library in Deansgate. We have access to the copyright of a number of famous writers, including Hugh MacDiarmid, Robert Graves, Edgell Rickword and so on. They were all major editors or had relations with major editors, and the idea was to publish online what we’d call the backshop, or the backmatter, of these figures. So you can see how the correspondence between Edgell Rickword and his friends informs his writing: sometimes they will write to
criticize, sometimes write to comment… There was a wonderful conversation I had many years ago with Robert Lowell, the American poet. He said the worst moment in his life was when he won the Putlitzer Prize at the age of 30-something, because all of his friends who had used to read and comment on his work stopped talking about his poetry, because they felt in a sense he’d gone beyond them, or moved under another sphere. And so he felt completely unread. Also, when I was doing my history of the American novel I found out that Tom Wolfe’s novel Look Homeward, Angel was completely rewritten by his editor. Also Charles Monteith at Faber & Faber completely re-wrote, and reduced by two thirds, Golding’s Lord of The Flies. So editors are really important. What does the Manchester Literature Festival mean to you? I think it has become, now that it is a literary festival rather than just a poetry festival, one of the major literary festivals in the country. The directors always bring the people that everyone wants to hear but they also, almost always, bring unexpected people as well, so it both answers expectations and extends expectations, and every year there are new people there. I don’t attend as many events as I probably should though. Are you going to any this year? The ones I’m in! (Laughs) No, I’ll go to some of the readings too I hope.
ISSUE 03/30th SEPTEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Ben Walker, Maddy Hubbard Recipe of the Week
Restaurant Review
OF THE Nayaab: old-school Indian recipe WEEK done right
This week we have something for those with a sweet tooth, and looking for something with a little sophistication...
Lawrence Lob-Levyt tells us why Nayaab is standing out from the Curry House crowd for all the right reasons. Less than a 5 minute walk from the entrance to Owens Park, where the ill-fated Twisted used be held, Nayaab is an exception to the Rushcolme and Fallowfilwed curry house status quo - it is really very good.
Strawberry Daiquiri
with the chicken and pilau rice which added just an extra kick of flavour to the meal and showed that extra effort the chef had put into each dish, elevating it beyond the ordinary. And as an added bonus, 10% discounts for students and a reduced price on Mondays and Tuesdays for the buffet, bringing it down to £5.99 between 3 and 7 pm make the choice of where to eat in the week an easy decision, at least for me!
This is a sensationally stylish dessert that you can serve either elegantly or as ‘Mess’. Joanne Procter retells her recipes for a dish for both the discerning diner and student cook.
Lets talk drinks for a moment. The beverages here differ from the norm, and is alcohol free. The owners have decided not to apply for an alcohol license, instead making everyone in the community feel welcome, from students to locals. In their stead along with the usual fare of soft drinks, juices and lassis are a selection of mocktails, which don’t disappoint! The strawberry daiquiri is crisp and fruity while the pina colada is like a dessert all in itself. And being without alcohol they are much cheaper than their boozy counterparts, while also giving the poor abused livers of many local students the opportunity for a rare night off.
Photo: Joanne Procter Ingredients 100g popping corn 1 tbsp olive oil 100g white chocolate 300g strawberries, chopped 30ml white rum 1 tbsp caster sugar 75g pecan nuts 250g mascarpone Method Heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the popping corn and put the lid on the pan. Turn the heat right down and leave the corn to pop. Meanwhile, fill a pan with boiling water, and melt the chocolate in a large bowl on top of the pan. When the corn stops popping, that means it’s done, so empty the popcorn into the bowl of chocolate and stir it all in. Put that to one side to cool, and start the strawberries. Place the chopped strawberries in a saucepan with the rum, 3 tbsp water and the caster sugar, and bring to the boil.Once the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency, take off the heat and sieve the strawberries, retaining both the liquid and the strawberries to use later on. Leave both to cool.
Since the early 1990’s, curry has been generally acknowledged as the country’s favourite cuisine, featuring in popular culture as a standard part of daily British life. Have we been so exposed to it that we now take curry for granted, overlooking it and passing it by? Certainly many students seem to prefer to order whatever is cheapest, with little thought to quality or authenticity when we sit down in front of the TV and relax, or rinse down the cocktail of alcohol consumed on a weekend’s binge--what passes as curry these days barely deserves the name, and would certainly be unrecognisable to anyone on the subcontinent. With the majority of curry houses in Fallowfield and on the Curry Mile opt to cater to the mass of students pouring out of Owens Park, so it is understandable that the best you can hope for is a dish that is more oil than flavour, and whatever spicing that is added tasting so overpowering that you might as well eat a spoonful of chili powder. That is not even mentioning the standard reception for students, which seems to be more akin to the way people are boarded onto a flight, with people being treated like pieces of meat passing through a packing factory on the way to a supermarket.
Spread the pecans out on a baking tray and place them under a hot grill for just a couple of minutes, until they’re lightly toasted. Then crush them however you want--with a rolling pin in a paper bag, by hand, pestle and mortar…. go crazy! Place most of the nuts into a mixing bowl, but keep a few to sprinkle on top at the end. Add the mascarpone to the mixing bowl and mix together with the nuts. Once everything’s cooled, it’s time for the fun bit--assembling the trifle! I’ll tell you how I did it but if your muse is telling you to go your own way, feel free to rearrange the layers. Or, if you’re really wild, just mush everything together and serve a ‘Daquiri Mess’. Place a few bits of popcorn in the bottom of the glass. Next layer, the strawberries. Then a little bit of nutty mascarpone. Now, a nice sprinkling of crushed pecans and popcorn, followed by a drizzle of strawberry rum sauce.
my day
ON A
PLATE
Faye Waterhouse: Training for a marathon requires a strong mind; the ability to run for a very long time and a healthy nutritious diet. I reveal my typical diet on a day I have a long training run. 9am Breakfast is always the same every day and the most important meal to fuel my day. It’s my favourite and I wake up that bit earlier to make it all. I boil an egg and eat it while making porridge with whatever fruit I have in--blueberries and raspberries is the best combination. All finished off with two slices of wholemeal toast and honey. (I realise this may seem a lot to the average person).
With the ememories of Robinski’s and Twisted fading into history, gone are the beer soaked floors and dingy interior, the whole place has been given a massive facelift by its enthusiastic new owners. Whilst the exterior looks relatively similar, once you step inside you are welcomed by a warm and spacious interior that feels modern yet cosy. Even the entrance hallway now featuring a chandelier makes you feel like you are entering a first class establishment that aims to please. The dishes all taste fresh and creative, and although simple they seem totally distinct from anything that is served locally. A perfect balance being struck between flavour and spice, and for a mere £9.95 we had the full buffet, with more than enough dishes to make sure we didn’t get bored. Some of these are exceptional, my pick being the mixed grill starter, served sizzling straight from the tandoor clay oven boasting a varied selection of lamb and chicken flavoured with a spicy citrus sauce. In particular the seekh kebab was rich, and the meat melted in your mouth, the warmth of the spice complemented rather than covered up the succulent meat. The side orders where of the standard fare, such as rice, salad and naan, however a surprise came
11am Set out on my long run. I drink plenty of water to rehydrate and may take an energy gel or buy sports drink on my way if I know I will be out a while. 1pm I try and eat pretty soon after my run to aid recovery. Lunch is usually quinoa, cous cous or rice with tuna or chicken, tomatoes, cucumber and peppers. I sometimes add peaches to make it a bit tangy. Followed by an apple and a yoghurt. On a less active day I might bake a sweet potato and have it with beans and salad. 3pm I could spend the afternoon catching up with friends and doing most things to avoid uni work! I don’t tend to snack but will have dried fruit and nuts, a cereal bar or a biscuit if I am peckish. 7pm I like simple classics so something like spaghetti bolognese or cottage pie with lots
Overall, the combination of all these little touches, the comfy environment, the great service, the freshly cooked food that is offered on the basis that spices which complement the senses and can leave you wanting so much more, is something more important than the mass production of grease which so many restaurants seem sadly to be serving. Nayaab is a very welcome addition to the neighbourhood because for the ridiculously low price you are able to sample loads of dishes and leave without feeling unwell or bloated. Few Manchester curry houses can match the flavours, price, and comfort found here, and for it to be located on the doorstep of Owens Park means students are really missing out if they don’t seek out Nayaab and try something new and authentic. It might make them see our nation’s favourite dish in a whole new light!
of vegetables on the side and a slice of bread. I always have a dessert because that’s the best part right? Homemade fruit crumble, shopbought fruit tarts, or sticky toffee pudding. If I’m treating myself, I’ll choose a chocolate cupcake! I sometimes core an apple, stuff it with honey and granola or any nuts and seeds I have in then bake it for a quick, easy and cheap option. 8pm I sometimes go swimming in the evenings which can help to relax my muscles. 10pm Get home and feeling quite tired I’ll warm up some milk and grab a biscuit, slice of malt loaf or cereal bar. My diet is healthy and I tend to eat quite simply with a lot of slow-release carbohydrates with protein to keep me going. On weekends I often have a takeaway--Indian is my favourite and I can’t resist pick and mix at the cinema even if it does cost a ridiculous amount!
/TheMancunion: Food & Drink @MancunionFood
Food & Drink 23
Feature
An introduction to wine on a budget
weASK
you ANSWER
Recipes that are Victor Croci takes us on a whirlwind adventure from genuinely quick Central Chile to Bulgaria’s Reka Valley, advising along and easy, no ‘15 the way on what to drink and what to aviod right now, minute’ nonsence. Welcome to the wine column, which takes you on a debauched and decadent voyage through the world’s finest vineyards whilst confined to a measly student budget. In this week’s article I will be revealing the secret technique to singling out a decent bottle of wine from the hundreds of mediocre and vinegary substitutes which seem to make up Sainsbury’s aisle 7 this fall… So what exactly could you be looking for when shopping at your local grocery store or supermarket? Firstly, if you were tempted in acquiring a bottle of white you would have learned from experience that a disappointing white tends to have much direr consequences than a disappointing red. The safest bet in the under Tesco’s £4.99 price bracket is to aim for the Chardonnay. Far less acerbic than the Tuscan Sangiovese or the Venetian Suave grape, the dry yet crisp sensation of Chilean (£4.17) or Spanish (£4.59) Chardonnay lies safely in the middle ground. Its pacific and somewhat soft nature ensures that this is always the first casualty of the evening. Sauvignon Blanc is another of these centre ground white wines and generally comes with a refreshingly sweet and fruity flavour. However don’t be caught unawares as the classic notes of asparagus and
gooseberry come at a hefty price; a standard ABV lower than 10% or in the case of Tesco’s First Cape discovery series, an abysmal 5.5%. For those with a sweeter palate, south western French Monbazillac wine is a good investment as it combines Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion with Muscadelle. Usually available in supermarkets around Christmas, the bright molten gold complexion of its body will catch your eye instantly: It resembles diluted honey. As for the taste, it is either acquired or it is not. Imagine Disney’s sweetest and most lovable characters bottled up into a yellow alcoholic syrup: understandably a huge success with women. One to watch out for is the oddly trending Pinot Grigio. It tends to be an increasingly common student trap because the only difference between the wine priced at £3.99 and its £7.99 counterpart is the bottle’s design. To fork out an extra £4 simply because some intern at the Armani store wanted to play with shape patterns isn’t worth it. Worse still, the Italian Pinot Grigio on the shelves in Sainsbury’s and Tesco has the tragic characteristic of soiling your taste buds with a deeply unpleasant lingering after taste. Still, if style is all you are after… When it comes to red wines this fall there are two types of wine that stand out on most supermarket shelves: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Taste Test
A bottle of decent Merlot will generally be less acidic and less bitter than the Cabernet Sauvignon next to it, providing you are willing up the stakes to more than £3.49. If not, then you may have unintentionally placed a ticking time bomb in your Tesco shopping basket: Bulgarian Merlot from the Reka Valley. This wine from the Thracian lowlands is truly barbaric. Probably brewed in the rusting vats of a derelict industrial complex outside Sofia last week, a single swig will scorch your throat and set your digestive system ablaze, leaving you gasping for oxygen and cold water. For an extra pound or so you could acquire a bottle of Gaston Tureau’s Bordeaux (£4.99) or one from Chile’s Central Valley (£4.79) and actually make it to class the next day. In terms of cost benefit, Cabernet Sauvignon has certainly proven itself to be the most reliable bottled liquid in a supermarket’s wine section. Unlike most Merlot and unfortunately the vast majority of Rioja they seem to ship over from Spain in old jerry cans, from £3.69 upwards you are in safe territory with Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a stronger, slightly more acidic taste at first than Merlot and Rioja but by and large you won’t be left disappointed or feeling cheated. At least that is certainly what I believe after having uncorked more than 250 during my year abroad in Paris.
We try these so you don’t have to...
Sainsbury’s Lasagna
Pictured on the right, we have the middle of the range Italian Beef Lasagne, priced at £2.50. Our tasters described this offering as “tomatoey” with a “decent meat content”, but overall the conclusion was not good--it wasrelatively bland, undercooked despite following the microwave instructions, and the white sace was dry and floury. Could do better but an OK choice for a night you really can’t be bothered to cook-.
Named as Meat lasagne, the type of meat not being clearly labeled, here we have the cheapest of the bunch at a staggering 75p. As one may expect, this lived down to expectations. Described as “gluey” and “tasteless”, “cheap” with minimal meat content and a strong overtone of plastic cheese. However, for one taster this actually came out top, so I guess we shouldn’t assume all tastebuds are the same.
Could we Taste the Difference in the premium offering, priced at £3.50? Yes we could, andit was noticably better quality than the others, with a good rich, meaty sauce. However one of our tasters was put off by the red wine flavour in the ragu, and the beschamel was quite thick and a little gluey. Perhaps not worth the pound on top the £2.50 choice. (photos: Ben Walker and Maddy Hubbard)
In praise of Nigel Slater, Joanne Procter believes his latest book stands head and shoulders above the competition for fast and tasty dishes that are achieveable at home
Nigel Slater is something of an institution. He has perfected a unique style of relaxed, creative home cooking which we can all aspire to, and which translates perfectly into readers’ kitchens. This is reflected in all of his recipe books, but none more so than his latest work, ‘Eat - the little book of fast food’. Nigel has achieved something which many celebrity chefs attempt, usually with little success: he has created a book of recipes which really can be used every day; cheaply, easily, and quickly. Most self-proclaimed ‘everyday’ recipe books tend to disappoint, requiring a plethora of mysterious ingredients and, regardless of how quick and easy they are to create, leave the kitchen looking like a minefield which takes the rest of the evening to clean up. All of the recipes in ‘Eat’ require minimal ingredients and minimal effort. The average recipe takes 5 ingredients: a good example is the carrot and bulgur wheat porridge, which requires carrots, bulgur wheat, vegetable stock, mustard, coriander and butter. It takes a total of 20 minutes to make and the equipment required is limited to a blender and one pan. There is no compromise on taste either - the book provides an education in minimalistic cooking with maximum flavour. Nigel is a pioneer in simple, stress-free cooking which showcases good ingredients at their very best. For those who like to experiment this book is a perfect starting point. This is a rough guide to cooking, and the lack of precise measurements means this book is perhaps not suited to more meticulous cooks. For those who simply want a basic guide to good cooking, this is it. A beautifully presented masterclass in the ‘less is more’ philosophy which is found so rarely in modern cooking.
24
Arts & Culture
ISSUE 04/ 7th SEPTEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Abbie Roberts, Matilda Roberts
Bee Cultured
Manchester Weekender Thursday 10th – Sunday 13th October This coming weekend sees the return of the city’s favourite annual celebration: The Manchester Weekender! Hosted at a range of the best of the city’s galleries and museums and set against the glowing hues of this glorious urban autumn, Weekender brings together a feast of art, music and food in an eclectic mix of Manchester’s finest culture and entertainment. Editors Matilda and Abbie have picked out the most tempting of the arts and culture treats on offer over the four-day hoopla. Nature’s Library The Manchester Museum Ongoing, Free Entry Though not strictly a weekender special, this year’s autumn celebration comes closer to campus as it embraces the on-going ‘Nature’s Library’ exhibition, not only as Manchester’s favourite time capsule but also as an international stage for the world’s rarest, most beautiful and even extinct beings. The natural world collection at the University’s very own museum boasts an immense collection of over four million natural history objects including fossils, taxidermy and live animals. Contrary to the popular perception of natural history exhibitions consisting of endless corridors of dusty old out-of-reach specimens, the displays in ‘Nature’s Library’ are things of humbling beauty. From the most detailed trilobite models hinting at our evolutionary roots to the most striking shades of the globe’s most unthinkably intricate butterfly wings, the museum’s twisting chambers of beautifully preserved history promise an experience that leaves you stunned and converts you into a faithful between-lectures visitor. Ever thought you’d be able to look directly into the eyes of a leopard on an otherwise ordinary Tuesday morning, or measure your height up against a dodo’s in your lunch hour? Well, check your doorstep. Fashion’s Night Out: That Dame Upstairs life drawing dropin The Cornerhouse 18:00 - 21:00, Thursday 10 October 2011, Free Entry A life drawing drop-in and photography session in the galleries, painted, styled and dressed in a fully monochrome palette for a DIY evening inspired by film noir icons. Expect classic noir monologues as the statues momentarily spring to life and a 1940s and 1950s soundtrack, using restored gramophones. Manchester’s storytelling collective, Tales of Whatever, will also deliver live, stand-up accounts within the galleries, sharing contemporary first-person tales teased from their memories by the exhibition themes. Manchester District Music Archive: Play / Record The Lowry, Promenade Gallery Sunday 13 October, 1pm-4pm, Free Entry A session of live DJs, music, personal stories and talks to celebrate MDMA’s music history-led exhibition at The Lowry. Part of its ongoing exhibition, Defining Me: Musical Adventures in Manchester, the afternoon features a live set from DJ and author John McCready and an MDMA show-and-tell where you, the music lover, bring in your music and nightclub ephemera and stories. Tickets, album covers, posters, bootleg recordings, autographs, clothes: bring it all, scan it into the MDMA online archive and record your own story alongside some significant others. Manchester Weekender: Pedal Powered Artwork Greengate Square, Salford, 2pm, Sunday 13 October, Free Entry World Record-holding BMX cyclist uses the tyres of his bike as paintbrushes, creating a Pollock-esque masterpiece on a 15 footsquare of canvas. At the end of the show, the canvas will be split into sections, and you’ll be able to take home your own piece of the action.
All that is Solid Melts into Air: Jeremy Deller Manchester Art Gallery 12 October 2013 - 19 January 2014, Free Entry Jeremy Deller, who represented Britain in this year’s Venice Biennale, takes a personal look at the impact of the Industrial Revolution on British popular culture and its influence on our lives today. The exhibition combines contemporary music, film and photography with a range of 19th century images and objects. The radical transformation of the landscape in the early industrial era is shown in Victorian images of factories ablaze at night, shown alongside an apocalyptic painting by John Martin. Industrial folk music, the incessant rhythms and racket of the factory floor, heavy metal and glam rock will also permeate the exhibition in sound installations and film. Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War IWM North 12 October 2013 – 23 February 2014, Free Entry The Imperial War Museum North exhibits its very own collection of contemporary art that reveals the role of war in shaping peoples’ lives, personalities and futures through the experiences they have undergone across the globe. Featuring over 70 works by artists such as Steve McQueen, Willie Doherty, Paul Seawright and Miroslaw Balk, the Weekender and IWM North host two special events: 33RPM Sounds of the Revolution (former child soldier and hip- hop artist Emmanuel Jal performing new tracks from his forthcoming album) as well as Martin John Callanan performing Wars in My Lifetime, which involves a town crier reading aloud a list of wars that have occurred since 1982. Battle Royale: Nicola Ellis & Aura Satz Castlefield Gallery 6 September – 20 October, Free Entry ARTIST TALK: Nicola Ellis talks about her practice on Thursday 3rd October 6:30-8pm. Exhibition featuring new work by Nicola Ellis and Aura Satz, two artists who aspire to make explicit the materiality of the media they use. Both aim for explicit and visceral relationships between natural and manmade aesthetics. This exhibition brings together work on radically different scales by both artists. The drawings and small pieces exhibited here have played important roles in the development of larger works, offering the artists opportunities to both experiment and reflect. Double Indemnity The Cornerhouse 14 Sep 2013 – 5 Jan 2014, Free Entry Inspired by Billy Wilder’s classic film noir of the same name, Double Indemnity will explore questions of desire, possession and collaboration through new and recent work by a selection of high profile artists, including Sophie Calle, Jenny Holzer, Ming Wong, Anicka Yi and Frances Stark.
Photo: Bee Mosaic in Manchester Town Hall: dullhunk, flickr
with Arts Editor Abbie Roberts
Ever wondered why the bollards of the city are embellished with little golden bees, or why the clock face of the Palace Theatre mysteriously replaces its roman numerals with this emblematic creature? Your daily commute may even have been perked up slightly by a narrowlyavoided tread over the tiny etched bee sprucing up an otherwise boring concrete paving slab. Well, this enigmatic little mascot pasted around town is the ‘Manchester Bee’, the proud symbol of our city. Why? Because it represents the hard-working nature of Mancunians during the Industrial Revolution. There you have it, a hearty little snippet of Manchester knowledge to impress your friends in the pub tonight!
Feature
What Is Live Art? Jasper Llewellyn gives an insight into Manchester’s live art scene. To be honest, it is quite hard to pinpoint exactly what ‘Live Art’ is. The term was first used in the mid-80s to describe the work of artists that just wouldn’t quite sit comfortably in the pre-existing categories; they made pieces that weren’t quite dance, weren’t quite theatre and weren’t quite stand-up comedy. However, their work all shared one universal attribute – it was either live or had live elements. Whether that is the artist using their own body, such as Written In Skin, the tattoo art piece by performance artist Stefanie Elrick and tattooist Loren Fetterman performed at The Cornerhouse earlier this year. This art work involved the tattooist using a tattoo technique called ‘bloodlining’ to inscribe the confessions of audience members on the performance artist’s body! Live art can also include pieces which involve simply the artist’s presence in the space, for example - Maurice Carlin’s Performance Publishing piece that is currently running at Islington Mill in Salford where Carlin has spent 3 months lining the floor of a huge warehouse with ink prints, all under the watchful eyes of 2 webcams with live 24 hour feeds to the his website. Whichever way you approach it, the form aims to physically engage and excite their audience through live performance – I mean, why stand and stare at a static painting when you can have it talking back to you? Well, obviously thinking about it like that isn’t going to get you very far but for someone like me, a drama student who sometimes finds it difficult to engage with framed paintings, live art is very appealing and offers up a world of new possibilities. So anyway, the term was coined and has since slowly increased in popularity, in particular within the last 4-5 years with more work performed than ever. Tate describes it as the term used to describe “mainly performance art and action art” and to me live art is an umbrella term for a huge variety of different performance practices including elements of drag, stand-up comedy, live music, cabaret and more traditional visual art. The only unanimous feature is the live element. If you are interested in exploring this exciting and ever-changing form, you couldn’t be in a better place to do it. In Manchester, we are surrounded by a buzzing and vibrant art scene and specifically, a live art one. Venues such as Islington Mill, the Cornerhouse, the Contact Theatre and Blankspace have pieces of performance, body and live art littered throughout their programmes and it simply requires a bit of time spent on Google to track these pieces down. All of these venues also offer huge amounts of theatre, dance, music and art and are all pretty much in walking distance from University Place! In terms of live art, coming up there is the ‘Domestic’ festival, a collection of pieces performed in a block of flats off Oxford road from 8-17th November, the one-day ‘Emergency’ festival on October 5th at the Blankspace gallery and the cabaret duo Rashdash, performing their new piece ‘The Ugly Sisters’ at the Contact Theatre. Since I first came across performance, live and body art, I have seen pieces that made me want to cry, pieces that made me feel physically sick and pieces that just simply made me think. It is a scene still in its fledgling stages, so take advantage and see as much as possible and strike while the iron’s hot.
Image by Matilda Roberts
Theatre
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editor: Josephine Lane
Review
What’s on
All My Sons
Stephanie Scott reviews Arthur Miller’s post-war classic at the Royal Exchange Theatre
Talawa is Britain’s primary black-led theatre com-
the debris of a war that has affected everybody, not
two characters each discover a truth that breaks their
pany, created in response to the lack of roles offered
only those who fought in it. The main themes that
heart, our hearts break too. Their subtleties in creat-
to those of a minority ethnic background. Currently
run through the play are those of family, truth and
ing their characters, building tension and drawing the
the company is performing Arthur Miller’s All My Sons
responsibility, and although these are very serious
audience in are captivating.
at the Royal Exchange Theatre, boasting an incredibly
and sombre themes, Talawa took the script and teased
Before watching the play, I wondered whether an
talented cast lead by Don Warrington and Dona Croll,
the humour out of it, especially in the first act. Carried
all-black cast performing a text written in a pre-civil
both known for their TV appearances.
by Don Warrington’s commanding stage presence, the
rights era, and usually performed by an all-white cast,
audience are caught up in the seemingly light-hearted
would alter the meaning or the atmosphere of the
found that I was not impressed by Arthur Miller and,
community that Act One presents to them, laughing
play. This was not the case. Miller’s play confronts
having studied Death of a Salesman as a GCSE student,
and enjoying the comedy – which makes the second
universal issues that are common to all people and
I was only ready to give his work one last chance to
act all the more gut-wrenchingly honest, as the façade
Talawa prove that a black-led company does not
redeem itself. Five minutes into the Talawa produc-
is stripped away from the ‘All-American’ family.
need to have racial issues in the forefront of all its
After my first experience of watching All My Sons, I
tion, my mind had already been changed. Gone was
As well as Don Warrington’s very strong and varied
performances to be successful. Despite my aversion
the dull, dry playwright I had read on paper and seen
performance, making the audience both laugh and
to Arthur Miller, All My Sons was a hugely enjoyable
performed before – the cast brought the play to life,
cry at his will, Dona Croll and Chike Okonkwo, who
and moving production to watch – Talawa awakened
giving Miller’s story the vivacity it deserves.
play Kate Keller and Chris Keller respectively, also give
the work for a modern audience with passion and
wonderful performances. As an audience, we became
emotion.
Set in 1947 the play lingers in the shadow of World War II. It tells the story of a family struggling through
caught up with their emotions and so, when these
Review
Tree
my
Daniel Kitson first began performing comedy when he was sixteen, was nominated for a Perrier award in Edinburgh in 2001 and went on to win the whole darned thing in 2002 with his show, Something. Stewart Lee, after seeing Kitson’s show said he had seen stand-up ‘about as good as it could get’. Kitson has gone on to find further success in Edinburgh and beyond with his ‘story shows’, comedic and dramatic one handers which he himself performs. However most recently he’s got someone else in on the act, the brilliant poet/standup/layabout Tim Key. In Tree, staged at Manchester’s Royal Exchange theatre, we see Kitson and Key having a fairly reasonable and normal chat between strangers, but Kitson spends the entirety of the play in a tree, shouting down to Key below. The two unnamed men begin to get along and their lives and loves are unfurled through the medium of idle chat. You could call it a modern day version of Waiting for Godot (Godot here is Sarah, Key’s date), but it’s a lot less boring than that. Slowly we begin not to trust either character and we realise that they might not be as unfamiliar to each other as they even realise. This was a wonderful unpretentious hour of comedy, entertaining and thought-provoking.
FAVOURITE SCENE
PLAYS TO CATCH
this week Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Eugene O’Neil’s painfully autobiographical piece looks at the tense family dynamics within his own home growing up. A drug-addicted mother and alcohol-dependent father and sons are haunted by the mistakes and ghosts of their past. Runs from the 10th October to the 2nd November at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Educating Rita
Flora Anderson reviews Daniel Kitson’s play, starring Tim Key, at the Royal Exchange
Don Warrington and Dona Croll in ‘All My Sons’ at the Royal Exchange Theatre. Photo: Jonathan Keenan
25
Mancunian treasures the Library Theatre Company return to the Lowry with Willy Russel’s two-handed play. The piece sees straighttalking hairdresser, Rita, return to education to find herself tutored by Frank, an alcohol-fueled, failed poet lecturer. As expected, the unlikely two form a life-changing bond in this touching and life-affirming comedy. Runs from the 26th September to the 12th October at the Quays Theatre, The Lowry
All My Sons Michael Buffong returns to the Royal Exchange to direct Arthur Miller’s first successful plays. All My Sons tells the story of Joe and Kate Keller, an all-American couple dealing trying to deal with their son who, missing in action, is presumed dead by all but his mother. Runs from the 25th September to the 26th October at the Royal Exchange Theatre
This week, Theatre editor Josephine Lane tells about her favourite scene: the final part in Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull.
In this scene, Nina has returned after four years to the rural place
dreams, and little by little, I stopped believing myself. I lost heart. And
anymore. I’m a real actress now! I act with delight, with rapture. I feel
where she grew up. She left to pursue a career in acting and after this
always the strains of love, jealousy, constant fear for the child...I be-
drunk when I’m onstage and think that I am wonderful. Ever since
failed, along with the break-down of her relationship with Trigorin
came trivial, and commonplace, I acted without thinking or feeling...
I got here, I’ve been walking around, walking around and thinking,
and the death of her baby, she comes to visit her ex-boyfriend Kostya
I didn’t know what to do with my hands, I couldn’t move properly,
thinking and even believing that my soul grows stronger every day.
whilst she is in town. After hearing Nina’s words and realising he will
or control my voice. You can’t imagine what it’s like to know you’re
Now I see at last, Kostya, that in our kind of work, whether we’re
never be able to endure life like Nina has, Kostya shoots himself.
acting badly! I am a seagull. Do you remember the seagull you shot?
writers or actors, the important thing is not fame, or glory, not what
You left it at my feet, he came to me and said, “I had an idea. A subject
I used to dream about, but learning how to endure. I must bear my
Nina: “Why do you say you kiss the ground I walk on? I ought to be
for a short story. A girl, like yourself, lives all her life on the shores of
cross, and have faith. If I have faith, it doesn’t hurt so much, and when
killed. I’m so tired, Kostya! If I could only rest... rest. I am the seagull...
a lake. She loves the lake, like a seagull... But a man comes along, by
I think of my calling, I’m not afraid of life.”
No, that’s not it. I’m an actress! It doesn’t matter. So he’s here, too!
chance, and, because he has nothing better to do, destroys her....
It doesn’t matter! He didn’t believe in the theatre, he laughed at my
What was I talking about, before? I - Yes, about acting. I’m not like that
ISSUE 04/ 7th SEPTEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Lauren Arthur, Moya Crockett, Beth Currall, Izzy Dann Ask Izzy
Feature
ask
IZZY
an earnest attempt to cure all your woes. Tweet any burning issues,genital or otherwise, @ izzydann Recently, I decided to invest in a pair of proper trousers to make me feel deceptively mature. The colour palette is neutral complete with thoughtful details. However, I noticed that whenever I wear them I get all sorts of funny looks. Have I unwittingly made a fashion faux pas? The garment itself sounds aesthetically pleasing enough. Have you considered the possibility that, instead of trousers, you accidentally purchased leggings? This is a genuine phenomenon that can occur when individuals highly underestimate the extent of their bootyliciousness. If it happened to me, it could happen to you. This academic year, my girlfriend and I made the executive decision to move in together. We live with a few of our friends as well and have separate bedrooms so we can retain some personal space. I imagined some things would change in our relationship once we made the big move but now I am noticing several key differences. My girlfriend used to go out with her course mates just once a week, whereas now it happens at least twice plus she always invites them round to our new place for intense iPlayer sessions that very much cut into our own intimate time. Indeed, we always used to shower together whereas now she insists on showering solo in addition to other unmentionables. I understand it’s normal to want some boundaries, but should I be worried? I’m afraid she already finds you an insufferable bore. Judging by your new shower habits, one must assume the sex has taken an equally dismal turn. The extended social activity implies that the tediousness of your domestic life has now made some previously unattractive ‘mate’ a profound object of impossible desire. Start shopping for ladies on Tinder. Do you have a story that you’d like to share? Send them to lifestyle@ mancunion.com
101: Combatting A Face your Young-Life Crisis fears day Lifestyle’s Dana Fowles discusses hitting the dreaded third-year crossroads What do you do when you don’t know what to do? I have just started third year and am incidentally questioning my future. Up until now I have always been one of those annoyingly organised people with a well thought-out life plan. Since sixth form, I have had my sights set on a career in women’s magazines, but now I’m freaking out about committing myself to one industry. Do I want to be a journalist, teacher, author or ball-breaking businesswomen? In other words, I’m having a young life crisis. I have always loved to write. From the stories and poems of my childhood to my articles for The Mancunion, I have never second guessed that putting pen to paper is what I want to do. The problem is, I don’t know if writing about the latest diet, Kim K dying her hair blonde or Miley Cyrus rubbing her nether regions with a giant foam finger is enough to keep me fulfilled for the rest of my days. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of goss- but in reality, does anyone actually care? At the risk of sounding uncharacteristically pensive, do these articles make a difference to women’s lives, entertainment value aside? Anyone who has read any of my previous articles will probably be
It’s...
screaming, ‘Hypocrite!’ as we speak. In the past, I’ve predominantly written about my (pretty disastrous) love life. Although these articles have usually been received with a laugh, I can’t imagine me turning men into my fulltime career focus. In the words of my A Level History teacher, ‘Girls, we may like a man, we may want a man, but we do not need a man.’ That said, not all women’s glossies are limited to sex tips and new ways to starve ourselves. Take the October issue of GLAMOUR, for instance. There is plenty of career inspiration, from interviews with women who have set up their own successful businesses despite the recession, to tips on how to stay sane while job hunting. So it’s not all bad. The problem is (and it’s really more
of a privilege than a problem) that there are so many opportunities with a degree from UoM. The question is: which path is the right path? I’m hoping that at some point in the year I’ll suddenly have a light bulb moment and everything will become clear. In the meantime, I’m going to try my very best to stop this young life crisis in its tracks. I’m sure that by semester two, it will have been replaced with dissertation dread, but I’m going to try and see my future as exciting rather than daunting. The POA is to carry on writing (just maybe not about members of the opposite sex – boys, you’re safe for now) and getting as much experience in different fields as possible, in the hope that this epiphany is going to happen. Wish me luck!
Photo: StockMonkeys.com (Flickr)
No, it’s not Halloween come early, national Face Your Fears Day is creeping round the corner this week…
Tuesday 8th October marks the UK National Face Your Fears Day. This could be an interesting day for everyone who decides to take the plunge and confront their worst nightmare, and it could have a life-long effect on some. For many of us, spiders, heights, ghostly happenings and darkness trump the list of things that scare us the most, but I suspect it might be quite difficult to arrange a bungee jump or a séance within the next 24 hours. However, it would be a perfect day to get over the small hang-ups that linger in everyday life: for example, go and tackle that 400-page book that you’ve been meaning to read, go and apply for that job that you don’t think you have a chance of getting, or find that person you’ve had a crush on since your Fresher’s week and let them know you fancy them. You could even use this day to transform your lifestyle, such as joining a fitness class that you’ve always been too shy to
attend, or signing up for a fun run. Go to the doctor’s about that health concern you’ve had for a few weeks, or book an appointment to the dreaded dentist that you’ve avoided since you were a toddler. Try and whip up a recipe you’ve never attempted before, or, for the rather undomestic readers, tidy your floordrobe or put on your first load of washing! Don’t let the term ‘fears’ restrict you or make you feel as though you have to do something extravagant to accomplish the aim of the day; use it to your advantage. For all you know, the smallest change to your life could make the biggest difference. Beth Currall
Photo: epSos.de (Flickr)
Blind Date
Tara, 3rd Year Sociology
Jack, Masters Visual Anthropology
First impressions?
First impressions?
A nice-looking guy. He looked like someone I could have a good chat with.
She seemed nice! Very easy to talk to – I didn’t feel awkward around her, which was a relief.
Best features?
Best feature?
He’s got good hair.
She’s pretty, and she’s got a good sense of humour.
What did you guys eat and drink?
What did you eat and drink?
I basically ate all of his food as well as mine. I ordered a burger, which wasn’t the best date food because I have a tiny mouth and couldn’t fit it all in. He got some kind of sandwich, which again was quite embarrassing, because I can’t say sandwich properly.
I had a halloumi club sandwich, because I’m that guy, and a Brooklyn lager. Any awkward moments? No, I didn’t feel like it was awkward, although it really could have been. I thought conversation was flowing. Although, I’m quite bad at picking up on awkwardness… so maybe it was and I just didn’t notice.
Any awkward moments? It’s quite difficult to know when or how to end a blind date. When do you leave?! Are they your usual type?
Are they your usual type?
Probably not. He’s a bit older than me. But his surname’s cropped up a lot in my life, so maybe that means something.
No, not really. If I had a type, I guess it would probably be a brunette, and she’s very blonde. Did you find much in common?
Did you find much in common?
Yeah. We’ve had similar travelling experiences – we’ve both got into some interesting scrapes abroad.
He knows one of my housemate’s brothers! We do a similar course, and we’ve both travelled quite a bit.
Any secrets revealed?
Any secrets revealed? I’m not sure how much of this I can say without getting him into trouble, but he told me a good story about having to escape from Ethiopia because some… people were after him. How did you say goodbye? Kiss on the cheek. Would you see them again? Maybe. Rate out of ten?
Tara &
She told me that she once almost got human trafficked in Poland. I don’t know if that’s a secret, but it’s a good story!
Jack
How did you say goodbye? A quick kiss on the cheek. Would you see them again? Yeah, maybe. Rate out of ten? A strong 7.
7.8! Jack and Tara went on their date at Fallow Café.
Moya Crockett,. Photo: Josh Brown
/TheMancunion: Lifestyle @MancunionLife
Lifestyle
27
Horoscopes
Fitness
Amy Bowden on why Zumba is the most exciting and efficient way to slim down this season You don’t have to be a pro to follow
Looking to find an exercise that is fun, different and absolutely crazy? Would you like to burn 5001000 calories per hour? Then look no further than your local Zumba class! There is nothing more enjoyable than getting together with friends to have a laugh and a boogie. Zumba is also a good opportunity to exercise your vocal cords as you shake, jump and shimmy to the music. Who needs alcohol and an overpriced venue to have a good time? Never danced before? Don’t really do much exercise? Not a problem!
the simple step-by-step moves, and it doesn’t matter what fitness level you’re at. The instructors (who are usually bonkers, but in a good way!) will walk you through the routines and once you’ve got them there’s no going back, you’ll be just as hooked as I am! Zumba is a combination of different styles of dance: Afro-Caribbean, Contemporary, Bollywood and more as well as the incorporation of total body toning, i.e. lunges and squats. Zumba is Latin-inspired and involves a fusion of dance moves like Salsa, Merengue,
Reggaeton, and Flamenco. But be warned! The music is incredibly infectious and you may be prone to breaking out into spontaneous dance whenever you hear a song from the class. Let me tell you, you get some pretty odd looks when you’re in the middle of the Arndale Centre popping and locking to MJ’s ‘Beat it’ on your IPod. Also, Zumba is a great stress relief, so after a torturous day of lectures, studying, reading (I’ll stop there before I have a mini breakdown) why not use it as an inexpensive therapy session? So, hopefully I have tempted you into trying some local classes. If so, bring some friends to the party!
LIBRA (24 SEPTEMBER 23 OCTOBER) Your determination to give everything your all is admirable, but be careful you don’t burn yourself out. Going out four nights a week, making it to every lecture, getting involved with extracurricular activities and keeping in touch with friends and family are all important, but so is taking time for yourself. Downtime isn’t a luxury it’s a necessity.
Here are some of the many classes to join: The Armitage Sports Centre Monday 18:00 – 18:55 Soho Gym Manchester Monday 13:00 - 13:45 La Fitness Manchester Wednesday 13:00 – 13:45 Virgin Active Manchester Wednesday 19:30 – 20:15 Sunshine Studios Wednesday 20:00 – 21:00 Parrs Wood High School Monday 18:30 - 19:30 Photo: Cimm (Flickr)
Travel
The Gardens of Versailles
SCORPIO (24 OCTOBER 22 NOVEMBER) Scorpios are known for being feisty, but not everyone has your tough shell. Be careful with your words this week. There’s a time and a place for blunt honesty, and it’s not all day, every day. You don’t have to be insincere, just mindful of other people’s feelings.
Our elusive traveller Pip Squeak on his stay in the picturesque Gardens of Versailles Waking up in the Gardens of Versailles on a misty summer morning should be a joy. But you’re not allowed to sleep in the Gardens of Versailles, so my night hadn’t been the most restful. Every time something heavy crunched amongst the trees my eyes would be wide open again. What if it was the gendarmes? What if it was wolves? At 3am there had been a thunderstorm right above my tent. My GCSE physics was telling me what a bad idea it was to be the tallest thing around, pitched here by Louis XIV’s enormous ornamental boating lake, the Grand Canal. It was a scenic spot though. The whole Gardens are, though ‘gardens’ is perhaps a technical term here, since the plants and
landscaping do their very best to imitate plastic ornaments, as if organic shapes are somehow shameful. Gardeners wander round with ten-foot cookiecutters which they place around the privet and trim. Renaissance music is piped through hidden speakers and fountains carefully tinkle. Barely a leaf is out of place. As a jewel of the Renaissance, and an expression of man’s complete control of the landscape, Versailles must have been magnificent and awe-inspiring (and the Palace itself still is). These days its geometry, order and muzak make it an overly gilt rival to Homebase. Despite this, elements of wildness manage to creep in. If you pause by the gleaming statues, you realise these are scenes of sex, murder and betrayal hidden
beneath - the vicarious Tarantino thrills of the Sun King’s court. A slippery rat lives by the café, children don’t know the rules and flustered staff blow their whistles. At night the tourists and sparrows return to roost, the muzak fades when the fireworks stop, and the wild things are free to roam. The mosquitoes emerge from the standing pools in the relandscaped woods. The thunder, presumably too polite to speak during the day, lets off steam. Badgers (or wolves?) crunch amongst the trees. At 6.30am I strike camp. I swim in the Grand Canal, still hot from the day before. This is an uncommon moment of peace in a place that teems with 6 million visitors a year.
SAGITTARIUS (23 NOVEMBER - 21 DECEMBER) You’ve been a little reckless with your spending recently, but - sadly - this can’t go on forever. Sit down, check your bank balance, and figure out how much money you’ve actually got to last you until January, however terrifying it might be.
Photo: Jim Linwood (Flickr)
CAPRICORN (22 DECEMBER - 20 JANUARY) When it comes to matters of the heart, you are levelheaded to the point of cynicism: no silly crushes or love-at-first-sight for you. You’ve convinced yourself that you’re perfectly happy plodding along with your mates, and your work, and your cats. But are you really? It’s OK to want to believe in the idea of love - even if you struggle with it sometimes.
AQUARIUS (21 JANUARY 19 FEBRUARY) There’s so much else going on that work can sometimes end up last on your list of priorities. This week, force yourself to be productive. Get out of bed before 10am, do your reading before your seminars, stick to appointments, stop spending hours trawling Facebook and, you know, generally sort your life out. You’ll be surprised at how good it feels.
PISCES (20 FEBRUARY 20 MARCH) Someone has been keeping you guessing for a while as to how they actually feel about you. And how does this make you feel? Pretty rubbish, actually. Be brave and ask them where they stand. Whatever answer you get, it’ll be a weight off your shoulders.
GEMINI (22 MAY - 21 JUNE) You say indecisive, we say schizophrenic: whatever, Geminis are known for finding it difficult to make up their minds. You’re unsure about your feelings for a certain friend, but it’s not fair to drag them along for the ride while you figure things out. If you like them, go for it - but if you just like the attention, it’s time to bow out gracefully.
CANCER (22 JUNE - 22 JULY) It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, whether you’re spending all your time with your boyfriend or girlfriend, eating the same thing every night, not bothering to try and meet new people or declining offers of nights out because you want to watch Breaking Bad. This week, make a conscious effort to try new things.
ARIES (21 MARCH - 20 APRIL) You’re always the one people go to for advice and pep talks, but you’re not so good at being open yourself. Next time a friend asks you how you are, be honest with them. You don’t always have to be the strong one.
LEO (23 JULY - 22 AUGUST) You’ve had a big knock lately, and even the prospect of getting out of bed to drag yourself to a lecture can sometimes feel like TOO. BLOODY. MUCH. But nothing was ever improved by lying in a dark room, except maybe a hangover. Get up, have a shower, and don’t worry about burdening your friends - that’s what they’re there for.
TAURUS (21 APRIL - 21 MAY) If you’re getting upset about the same thing every time you go out, then it’s not alcohol that’s the problem. Addressing stuff in the sober light of day can be scary, but it’s worth it in the long run.
VIRGO (23 AUGUST - 23 SEPTEMBER) Confident as you are, you still sometimes feel awkward in new situations. Get out there, slap on a smile and introduce yourself to people; it’ll probably work better than you think.
Illustrations by Cecilia Tricker
Dance yourself fit
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
29
SPORT
/TheMancunion @Mancunion_Sport
Club Profile- SKUM The Mancunion talks to club President Andy Mutch 1) Why should people join your club? We are one of the largest clubs in the University, having socials every week in 256/Sir Joseph Whitworth in Fallowfield and we also aim to ski/snowboard every two weeks. Together we aim to have fun, make new friends and to enjoy Snowsports at every level. 2) How successful has your club been over the past few seasons? We have had a lot of success in both individual and team events over the last few seasons. Our Snowboard Race team has won the Indoor Nationals 3 years in a row as well as the Northern dry-slope league last season. Our Ski Race team have also won the Northern dry-slope league as well as having great success for the individual members. Notably, Sophie Miles from
our 1st Snowboard Team has placed on the podium in various positions through the individual events both indoors and at competitions in the Alps. Also, our freestyle competitors regularly get great results, especially Peter Speight who got 2nd in Slopestyle and 3rd in Big Air at the National Dry-Slope Championships in Edinburgh. 3) Where and how often do your teams train/play? We run training sessions for both our Ski, Snowboard Race and freestyle teams at Rossendale dry-slope and at Chill Factor indoor snow slope. These are on Wednesday afternoons throughout the year. We race in a dry slope league on Saturday afternoons as well as at indoor events such as BUCS and the 4 stage league Vs Leeds. 4) Do you have to be of a high standard to join your club?
Anyone is welcome to join SKUM, whether you’re a seasoned pro or a complete beginner. Many of our members come as beginners but leave having tried skiing or snowboarding and end up loving it as much as we do. Our aim is to allow people to enjoy Snowsports as much as we do. 5) What is the social side of the club like? Our socials are when our members can come and let their hair down. We run them every Tuesday in 256 Fallowfield. We also open our competitions up to social members to come along and support our race/freestyle teams. 6) Anything else? Our Annual Christmas Ski Holiday is open for booking just go to ‘SKUM do Val T 2013’ on Facebook where you’ll find all 1) Why should people join the details! your club? We are one of the largest and most successful sports clubs at the university. Our women’s and men’s team compete in BUCS and UPOLO and have been extremely successful in recent years. Our men’s coach is currently the assistant coach for the Great Britain Men’s Team and our ladies’ coach plays for the Great Britain Ladies’ Team.
Club Profile- Waterpolo The Mancunion speaks to club President Rory McCloskey
2) How successful has your club been over the past few seasons? Our 1st teams have been extremely successful in recent years in BUCS and this year we hope to make up for our recent dip in form as last year only the Men’s 1st team reached BUCS semis where they finished third. The club have made it their major goal to be on top on the
Club Profile - Equestrian The Mancunion speaks to club President Abbi England 1) Why should people join your club? Whilst being a competitive club that strives for performance excellence, our aim is to develop all riders into competent, sympathetic horse men and women. We are also very committed to making sure all our members have a great time on and off the
horse.
2) How successful has your club been over the past few seasons? For a non equine university we have done extremely well in the past, two years ago one of our teams won all of their league competitions to qualify for regionals. Last year they did one better and actually won regionals qualifying for nationals where they came sixth (the first time a Manchester team has ever reached nationals) 3) Where and how often do your teams train/play? We train at John Shaw Equestrian in Urmston every Wednesday with lessons for all abilities running from 11:15-6pm.
4) Do you have to be of a high standard to join your club? Not at all if you’ve ever wanted to try riding, or if you just can’t imagine your life without an equine fix, this is the club for you. We welcome anyone who may have an interest in horses, from complete beginners through to hard core dressage divas and showjumping stars.
5) What is the social side of the club like? We have two wonderful social secretaries that keep the calendar jam packed with a range of fun events from society swaps to curry nights, beach rides and trips to events like horse of the year show to the highlight of our social calendar SPORTSVEST a
short holiday in the sun with a few days of riding all included. 6) Anything else? We are always looking out for new people to come and give horse riding a try. If your inter-
BUCS podium once again where they belong. We enter all four teams, two men’s teams and two ladies teams, into UPOLO, which was set up by a former student at the University. 3) Where and how often do your teams train/play? Each session is taken by our expert coaches and lasts for one hour and a half. We train together Mondays and Thursdays at the Aquatics Centre between 6-7.30pm. We also have separate training sessions on Wednesday for the men’s and ladies. The ladies’ train between 3-4.30 and the men’s team train between 4.30-6. On top of this we have a separate circuit session with Aim Physical on Tuesday 6-7pm, which is a company run by two former players. 4) Do you have to be of a high
ested feel free to contact me via email at: president.umec@gmail.com or, just add our facebook page or website for more information Facebook:
standard to join your club? Our aim is to provide training that is suitable for both beginners and experienced players. 5) What is the social side of the club like? Socials are just as important as training for a good team atmosphere. On a Wednesday we will be making regular appearances (often in fancy dress) at the Athletic Union (AU) socials held at The Student’s Union. If that’s not enough we will be attending the AU Christmas Ball and summer awards as a club, holding our annual Welcome curry and Christmas curry and we’ll regularly be found in the pub after a training session. 6) Anything else? No horses, no sticks, just balls! Also check out our Facebook UOM Water Polo
University of Manchester Equestrian Club 2013-2014 Website: www.universityofmanchesterridingclub.co.uk
SPORT : 30
ISSUE 04/ 7th OCTOBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Valliant Manchester storm to varsity victory Men recover after shaky start to record the biggest winning margin in years. University of Manchester Manchester Metropolitan
36 11
Tries: Blyth x2, Kennedy, Williams, Harrison, Getley. Tries: Unknown x 1.
Tom Dowler Sport Editor The 1st XV were hunting their 14th varsity win in succession and by the time of the delayed kick-off, the 3,000-strong crowd was in fine voice at Heyward Road, with the fiery atmosphere inspiring some devastating hits in the early exchanges. MMU started strongly, forcing UoM to concede two penalties in quick succession. Max Proctor, the MMU full-back calmly landed the opening points in the game with three points from the tee. The varsity holders responded with persistent pressure and only outstanding covering defence prevented a UoM try. The referee penalised MMU, but fly-half Paddy Shaw couldn’t take advantage with the penalty attempt. This came as no surprise as the ball fell off the tee several times, clearly impacting his focus. For such a classic grudge match, there were surprisingly few ‘handbags’ or scuffles, which is a real credit to the professionalism of both teams. MMU were the stronger side for the first 25 minutes or so as UoM only showed glimpses of their dangerous counter-attacking potential. MMU butchered a clear scoring chance, but Proctor slotted another three points when UoM went offside as at a breakdown. The 13-time varsity champions desperately needed a try to find a foothold in the game, but a courageous MMU defensive effort held them out on their own five metre line. Once again, UoM’s lack of clinical finishing cost another genuine try-scoring chance, when a clear overlap was squandered in the left-hand corner. However, the alert scrumhalf Tom Wathey took a penalty quickly and caught the MMU defence napping. Full-back Nick Blyth finished off the move to reignite UoM supporters’ hopes. Shaw missed the conversion attempt, but the try gave UoM much-needed momentum after an unconvincing opening 35 minutes. Danny Kennedy had an outstanding game for UoM, the No. 8 set off on a barnstorming run from his own 22, swatting away MMU defenders at will as he tore in to the opposing 22. After a couple of phases, he crashed over to finish the attack he created himself. Despite the conversion hitting the right post, UoM held a narrow 10-6 lead at half time. At at the start of the second half, UoM’s left-winger, Joe Akinlotan made a scintillating break, yet his effort was in vain. Moments later, MMU shocked the buoyant crowd with a try of their own, finished by the impressive pack of forwards after a strong driving maul and excellent control
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at the back of the breakdown. It was hard to see who scored amoung the pile of strewn bodies. MMU’s normally reliable kicker, Proctor pulled his effort wide of the posts, to keep the match tantalisingly-poised at UOM 10 MMU 11. The moment of the match came at around 60 minutes when from an attacking scrum on the 40m line. UoM spun the ball wide and ran some excellent lines, with Richard Coskie putting James Williams in for a phenomenal score in the corner. The outside centre opted to go on his own, with two men outside him, but he finished in style. Shaw added the difficult conversion to give UoM a crucial six point lead. Minutes later, Kennedy made yet another
devastating run through the heart of the MMU defence. He offloaded to a wave of oncoming backs and UoM’s line-out maestro, Tom Harrison crashed over to all but seal the game for his team. Shaw added the conversion to boost the lead to 13 points – UOM 24 MMU 11. The UoM supporters were in fine voice and they showed off some razor-sharp Russell group wit with some very entertaining chants, which dug the knife in to the trailing MMU side. UoM repaid the faith of hundreds of the thousands who made the trip to Sale, with a try that any professional team would be proud off. Another quick-penalty exploited the sluggish MMU defence and sublime offloading put Blyth
in for his second try of the game with a well-executed swan-dive. The extras went unconverted, but this became irrelevant with MMU left far too much to do in the final 12 minutes of the match. UoM’s fitness was superior to their counterparts, as they ran in another try to end the game with the party atmosphere in full flow. The final try was scored by replacement Ryan Getley and the bruising frontrow forward was mobbed by his delighted teammates. Blythe slotted the conversion as the final whistle blew. Despite a disappointing first half, UoM won 36-11. Both sets of fans invaded the pitch to congratulate or console their respective teams and bizarrely, the varsity trophy had gone
missing, so the victors were not presented with their hard-earned silverware. Man of the match: Danny Kennedy (UoM, No. 8, above) the back-row battering-ram inspired his side’s comeback with a try of his own and he beat defenders for fun during the game. Kennedy was ferocious in contact and offloaded exceptionally to keep UoM marching up the pitch.
@mancunion_sport ‘UoM streaker halts a good bit of UofM play. After a pelting with Fosters cans shes off and we’re back underway.#manvarsity’
Best of the tweets and the live blog!
@mancunion_sport ‘The MMU chant ‘my dad shamshes your dad is ambiguous to say the least.#mancvarsity’ Man Met now have dropped the C bomb in their chant. Lowering the standards. ‘We don’t need no education’ is now on the jaw droppingly shocking PA system. Well, I suppose some of the crowd ascribe to this motto.’ ‘MMU are knocking on the door here but not being allowed in. It’s like their UCAS applications all over again.’
SPORT : 31
ISSUE 04/ 7th October 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM/
UoM girls outclass MMU
Women’s victory seals varsity double in Sale University of Manchester Manchester Metropolitan
41 12
Tries: Shutler x2, Watson x2, Rogers, Hale, Mulqueen Tries: Smalley x2 www.wilkinson-photo.com
Varsity in numbers 3000+
Estimated attendance at the Varsity.
77
The combined score of UofM’s men’s and women’s team.
0
People who found Felix’s facts midly interesting entertaining.
1
The number of diety playing for MMU. (J. Christ- MMU No.10)
2
The food hygene rating for Porky Pigs.
8
Camera angles covered by FuseTV. Lynsey Brownlie and Oli Fenton had put into their match prepaSport Reporters ration. UoM Captain Claire Shutler The early kick-off out of the two told the Mancunion Sport of highly anticipated Manchester the tough preseason they have Rugby Union varsity fixtures endured: didn’t disappoint the crowd ‘Training has been hard with at Heyward Road in Sale, with two sessions a week, but we’re the University of Manchester hoping for a big result!’ Women convincingly defeating The positivity was reciprocated a side comprising both MMU from the MMU captain: and MMU Cheshire players. “We have a positive attitude After a very successful season going in as it is a complete MMU last year, the UoM manager was team taking part.” quick to point out the need for An energetic start from UoM his side continue their run of rewas quickly rewarded with a sults, despite the long summer try from scrum-half Shutler break, emphasising the need to just three minutes in, followattack with vigour: ing an electric break down ‘We’re looking to bring last the left wing. Hannah Watson year’s winning form into the whose game management game, and treat it like an end of was pragmatic, yet expansive season fixture.’ throughout, converted from unBefore the game, both captains derneath the posts. Both sets of offered their views and were fans got behind the teams, willunanimous in telling us about ing their side to win the much the amount of hard work and sought after bragging rights. dedication their team mates
Top Varsity Chants
UoM dominated the early phases of the match, effectively pinning MMU in their own 22 and they soon turned the possession into points. This time it was fly-half Kayleigh Balchin who burst down the right wing creating the opportunity for a succession of passes along the line and a neat offload, which resulted in a try for left-wing Lucy Rogers. Watson was successful with the conversion, slotting the effort through the middle of the posts. After just ten minutes, UoM’s dominance was affirmed with a 14-0 lead. MMU inside centre Smalley ran the hard yards on a straight line, punching a hole in the UoM defence to score in the corner. The conversion went wide, but moments later the centre struck again to score her second try after extended MMU pressure. Smalley isolated a lone UoM defender and set off on an unstoppable 60-yard solo effort from
the centre of the pitch. Fly-half Merrick added the conversion, leaving the score at 14-12 as the first half concluded. After a frank team-talk, UoM were quick out of the blocks in the second half. The intensity levels increased and UoM began to open up the game. Shutler put in a captain’s performance on the day, scoring her her second try of the game to stretch her team’s lead. MMU were once again shaken by UoM’s relentless attacking play, as they struggled to get a foothold in the game. The poor MMU start to the second half was compounded when Balchin had to leave the pitch through injury. Without Balchin’s leadership, UoM took advantage of the shaken up MMU defence and after a well-worked turnover, Watson dotted down for a well earned try and a further conversion.
UoM did not give any mercy as they completed a series of successful tackles and offloads to storm through for another Watson try after a pass from Shutler caught the MMU defence off guard. This increased the score to a comfortable 31-12. In the dying seconds of the game, No. 8 Mulqueen scored the final try of the match, following a storming run from De Vera down the right hand wing, leaving the final score 41-12. Afterwards, the UoM coach said: “In our plan they didn’t score, but they were better this year. “We have a good competitive squad, which hopefully means a competitive season ahead”. Player of the match: Mikayla Hale, the inside centre was devastatingly effective leading the defence and she broke the MMU line on several occasions, taking a deserved try in a fine overall performance.
3
At one point #mancvarsity was the third highest trending Manchester related topic. (Behind City and United)
1
Very regretful young woman.
14
Years of glory for UofM.
13
Combined UofM tries.
7000+
Estimated beers consumed
“MMU, WE BEAT YOU, YOU’LL LEAVE UNI WITH A 2:2, WITH A KNICK-KNACK, PADDY WACK, GIVE THE DOG A BONE, YOU WON’T PAY YOUR STUDENT LOAN.” -UofM “I’D RATHER BE IN BAHGDAD THAN MAN MET” -UofM “YOU CAN SHOVE YOUR F*CKING RED BRICKS UP YOUR ARSE,” -MMU
SPORT MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Club Profiles
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Men’s VarsityReport
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7th OCTOBER 2013/ ISSUE 04 FREE : @Mancunion_Sport : /TheMancunion
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Women’s Varsity Report P.31
MMWho?
UoM complete Varsity double on day of dominance in Sale. Thomas Turner Sport Editor The University of Manchester’s two Rugby Union teams cruised to a victorious Varsity double on Wednesday, as both the men’s and women’s teams proved too strong in their annual bout in Sale. All talk of complacency, bad first halves and derby day nerves were rubbished by two heroic performances, with the women running out 41-12 in the early kick-off, before the men completed the double with a 36-11 win. After a bright start in which UoM women raced to a 14-0 lead, the score was closer than anticipated at halftime after a spell of MMU pressure led to them scoring two tries of their own. With just one of them being converted, UoM found themselves only two points to the good at 14-12 as the half-time whistle sounded. However in the second half, UoM ramped up the pressure and as MMU withered, UoM added a further five tries to end the game 41-12 winners. Indeed, such was their dominance that stand-out players are multiple. Captain Claire Shutler’s try in each half undoubtedly settled UoM nerves. Centre Mikayla Hale was a dominant presence throughout, making key tackles in all areas of the pitch. And finally Hannah Watson deserves great credit for her performance with both hands and boot, evidence of which can be seen to the right. The men similarly found themselves under pressure from MMU, falling 6-0 behind in the early stages of the first half. Late tries however from Blyth and Kennedy (my stand out player of the day) saw UoM take a 10-6 lead into the break. Despite an early MMU try in the second half, UoM tries from Williams, Harrison, Blyth and Getley saw UoM
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end the game 36-11 victors, with both Kennedy and Blyth putting in outstanding performances to complete a UoM double. There was, of course, the usual varsity camaraderie, which this year consisted of streakers of both genders, flares of different colours and a pitch invading tiger. MMU’s own Men’s team even joined the party, submitting a spoof team sheet pre-match featuring players such as S.Pock, E.Wok and A.Ragon. The crowd was both sizeable and vocal for both games, and the chanting was as antagonistic as expected. Predictably, chants of ‘we go somewhere you don’t go, uni, uni’ were met with a response of ‘shove your red bricks up your arse’, while the stadium announcer’s pleas for the main stand to sit down were thwarted by chorus after chorus of ‘stand up, if you hate Man Met’. However, despite their fans being outnumbered and their teams being outplayed, much credit must go to the Manchester Met contingent. Both of their teams fought valiantly on the day, forcing worried expressions on UoM faces at points in both games. What’s more, anyone who can chant ‘my Dad smashes your Dad’ with a straight face deserves the upmost credit. And there were many in the Jim Birtles Stand who could, and did. And regardless of the results, the day reminded us all in attendance exactly why the Rugby Union Varsity is the premier event in the Manchester university sporting calendar.
At Varsity on Wednesday? Let us know what you thought @ Mancunion_Sport