15TH OCT 2012/
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MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
50 Shades of P26 Fallowfield continued
Greater Manchester P14 Film Festival
David Willets MP Interview
Union Trustee dodged work for a month and still got paid - Former Camapigners Officer took 4 and-a-half weeks off work - Fellow trustees unable to reprimand her - Walters heavily involved in Millbank protest
Richard Crook Editor
A Students’ Union trustee who was paid to campaign on student issues skipped work for over a month and still got paid. Last year’s Campaigns Officer Amanda Walters took 10 and-a-half weeks off work between 2011 and 2012, far more than the 30-day allowance for members of the University of Manchester Students’ Union Executive. Ms Walters, whose job was to run campaigns on behalf of Manchester University students, claimed she was entitled to the extra holiday. But The Mancunion has obtained a document showing that her colleagues at the Union warned her not to take more time off. The document, written by her fellow trustees in March, accuses her of abusing her position and taking advantage of them. “You have undeniably taken a significantly larger amount of time away from work than
THIS WEEK MMU Prof suspdended
Manchester Metropolitan University has been criticised by academics from around the world after an internationally renowned psychology Professor was suspended earlier this month...
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1 in 6 student loans spent in a month
the rest of the executive ... it feels very much like you have taken serious advantage of your situation,” the document reads. The trustees admitted they were unable to stop her from skipping work and no disciplinary action was taken against her. Mo Saqib, who was Academic Affairs Officer at the time, told The Mancunion, “I didn’t believe going to her would achieve anything, and indeed it didn’t.” “The entire [holiday] system was selfregulated. There was just a mutual trust that people wouldn’t take the piss.” Ms Walters was in the second year of her role as Campaigns Officer, having been elected unopposed by 3,112 students in 2011. The Students’ Union has no record of trustees’ holidays from last year because they were organised informally.
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An entire term’s loan is spent within the first month of university by one in six students, a new study has found...
Page 5 Amanda Walter, centre, celebrates her first election win back in 2010. Photo: Joe Sheffer
02 : NEWS
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Highlights
Jon Ronson Interview
University of Manchester vs MMU Chesire Rugby League Photo: Lisa Murgatroyd
Features, Page 8
Picture of the week
Tony Benn Interview Comment & Politics, Page 10
Radiohead Review Music, Page 19
Former Campaigns Officer dodged work for a month Continued from front page
Nick Pringle, General Secretary of the Students’ Union and a former co-worker of Amanda Walters, said, “I was made aware by my predecessor that she had concerns over another officer’s attendance at work which she dealt with.” “We’ve now got formal employment contracts which stipulate our holiday entitlement and arrangements for taking time off and we’ve got processes in place to properly record absences for the first time.” “If an elected official was to take ten weeks holiday then this would obviously be completely unacceptable.” Khalil Secker, who has replaced Ms Walters as Campaigns Officer, said, “As all this happened before my time I feel unable to comment. However, I can promise students that I won’t
take more than my allotted leave.” Ms Walters was responsible for campaigning for students’ rights and her £16,800 annual salary was paid for with tuition fees. She was heavily involved in the student protests of 2010 and admitted to being inside the Tory HQ building when it was ransacked by protesters. She told Sky News the following day that she “had no qualms about criminal damage” in the name of student protest. Ms Walters told Sky News, “There’s a democratic deficit in this country when someone can be elected on a certain pledge, and then turn around and say they’re no longer going to keep that.” Despite this, Amanda Walters spent only 30% of her campaigning budget. This included spending £1,845 for the Palestinian cause, but devoting just £30 to
education. The dispute over holiday centred on Time off in Lieu (TOIL), which allows for extra holiday to compensate an employee who works beyond paid hours. It is thought Amanda Walters felt she had earned TOIL from her previous year’s work. But her colleagues claimed this was “unfair” and represented an “abuse of the position.” They told Ms Walters there was an unwritten agreement that TOIL would only be taken within reason and members of the Executive would follow the general guidelines for staff, which required any TOIL to be taken near the time in which it was accumulated. Amanda Walters ignored repeated requests for comment by The Mancunion.
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Police seize estimated £1m in drugs and drug money Jonathan Breen News Editor Police seized hundreds of thousands of pounds of suspected drugs money and drugs in Stockport last week. Greater Manchester Police officers and the Force Drug Unit executed drugs warrants at 13 addresses across the Stockport area, and one in a North Wales holiday park, seizing an estimated £1million on the morning of Wednesday 10 October. “This is a significant recovery and has come about as a result of months of investigative work and planning,” Inspector Steve Dix said. Approximately £250,000 to £500,000 was seized from one address, and a further £150,000 and £7,000 from others. Large amounts of what are believed to be Class A drugs and Benzocaine – which is used to `mix drugs’ – were also seized, including around 3kilos of cocaine
Food & Drink Editors: Jessica Hardiman & Emily Clark foodanddrink@mancunion.com Film Editors: Sophie James & Nihal Tharoor-Menon Features Editor: Andrew Williams Games Editor: Sam Dumitriu Lifestyle Editor: Dana Fowles lifestyle@mancunion.com Literature Editor: Phoebe Chambre literature@mancunion.com Marketing: Michael Green & Edmund Alcock marketing@mancunion.com Music Editors: Sophie Donovan, Dan Jones & Joe Goggins music@mancunion.com
from one address, which has an estimated street value of £500,000. Police arrested seven men and three women on conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, who remain in custody for questioning, and confiscated several cars, including a Renault Laguna and BMW X5. Inspector Dix said, “We are searching addresses right across the borough as part of this investigation and have already seized vast amounts of cash and drugs. “Bringing to justice those who blight our communities by peddling drugs is an absolute priority for officers across Stockport and today’s seizure will significantly dent the activities and ambitions of those involved in such activity.” Police are urging anyone with information about the sale or supply of drugs to contact them.
Music Web Editor: Thomas Ingham Science & Technology Editor: Keir Lewis scienceandtech@mancunion.com Sport Editors: Ciaran Milner. Tom Acey & Matthew Barber sport@mancunion.com Theatre Editor: Josephine Lane theatre@mancunion.com Web Editor: Jenny Ho webed@mancunion.com Design Supervisor: Sean Redmile Advertising : Stefan Redfern stefan.redfern@manchester.ac.uk Tel 0161 275 2930
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 03
Petition against MMU Prof suspension gets international support Academics from around the world warn that Professor Ian Parker’s suspension could damage MMU’s international reputation Anthony Organ News Editor
Manchester Metropolitan University has been criticised by academics from around the world after an internationally renowned psychology Professor was suspended earlier this month. Professor Ian Parker, a leading Professor of Psychology linked to the editorial boards of over a dozen journal and book series, was suspended on 3rd October “pending an investigation into allegations of gross misconduct”. At the time of writing a petition calling for him to be reinstated has attracted more than 2,300 signatures from people across the globe. Signatories also sent messages to MMU’s Vice Chancellor John Brooks warning that the institution’s international reputation will be damaged by the decision to suspend Prof Parker. Dr Matthew Jacobson in Barcelona, Spain urged the University to “reconsider this suspension as it reflects very badly on how MMU looks to the international community.”
Professor Ian Parker
Dr Thomas Teo from York University in Toronto, Canada said that he would not be recommending MMU to his American
and Canadian students until the University’s “decision is reversed”. Students and staff were not told of Prof Parker’s suspension and many only found out days later when the news was made public through an online campaign and the petition to reinstate him. China Mills, a PhD student linked to Prof Parker’s Discourse Unit and the initiator of the campaign said: “No-one has officially told [the students] anything, and the same for the staff. He’s just disappeared overnight.” Mills explained that students who had Prof Parker as a supervisor were simply told “that some supervisory replacements will be arranged” but that no timescale was given. She said: “Because of his reputation, not MMU’s reputation, people have come from all over the world to study just specifically with Ian, so it’s not possible to replace him. “They’ve really changed their lives to come over here, and it’s been a massive upheaval for them so it’s incredibly stressful. There were students in tears; it really affects lots of people. “Some students have said that if this isn’t put right they will withhold their fees and demand a refund because what they paid for has not been provided.” A spokesperson for MMU denied that students had been left without support due to Prof Parker’s absence and said that it was natural for students to “get no advanced warning of a suspension.” “Clearly students will get no advance warning of a suspension but it is not true that students
Manchester unveils memorial for ‘A Clockwork Orange’ author Ellen Conlon News Editor ‘A Clockwork Orange’ author and former Manchester student has been honoured by the unveiling of a blue plaque outside the Samuel Alexander Building. Anthony Burgess grew up in Harpurhey and Moss Side, graduated from the University of Manchester in 1940 and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the institute in 1987. The ceremony on October 10, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and was proceeded by a trumpet fanfare Burgess wrote as a birthday present to his son.
Other than a plaque outside his flat in Monaco, his home for 17 years, no other monument exists to Burgess, who died in 1993. Dr Andrew Biswell, director of the Anthony Burgess Foundation, attended the ceremony and said, “Although Burgess was one of the great English-language writers of the 20th century, he has always been neglected by his country of birth. “So I am delighted that the university has decided to install the first British public monument to Burgess, 50 years after ‘A Clockwork Orange’ was first published.” After graduating with an English Literature degree
MMU suspended Professor Parker “pending an investigation into allegations of gross misconduct”. Photo: Joe Sandler Clarke have been left without support in our colleague’s absence,” he said. “His PhD students have been offered alternative supervisors while undergraduate teaching is being covered by a team of academic colleagues.” But Mills said that the PhD students have “had to initiate it [supervision] themselves because technically they don’t even know that he’s been suspended.” “They’ve not actually been told officially,” she continued, “but I can think of one or two who have actually emailed administration
Burgess went on to write 33 novels, 25 works of non-fiction, two volumes of autobiography, three symphonies and more than 250 other musical works. The ceremony began with a discussion on Burgess chaired by Dr Howard Booth, lecturer in English and American literature, with Dr Biswell and Dr Kaye Mitchell from the English and American Studies department. “Burgess is a major novelist who deeply loved literature and language – he wrote so well about other writers,” Dr Booth said. “It’s a great opportunity for all of us in the new School to celebrate a former English literature student. “Who knows, in fifty years’ time there may be a blue plaque for one of our current students. Professor Jeremy Gregor, head of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures then unveiled the plaque.
to ask what is going to happen and those people have been offered alternative supervision.” When asked whether MMU was worried that the suspension of Prof Parker would damage the University’s reputation abroad a spokesman was dismissive of such talk. “As regards reputation, this is a complete red herring,” he said in a statement. “All organisations have contractual agreements with their employees, codes of conduct and the like. Procedures are set down in legislation and all
organisations must follow these procedures. That is what has rightly and properly happened in this instance. If we were found not to have followed these procedures, now THAT might affect reputation.” A spokesperson for the University and College Union (UCU) said: “Ian Parker is a UCU rep and internationally-renowned academic. We believe the university’s decision to suspend him was heavy-handed and disproportionate and a misuse of the suspension procedure. He has not
Police link sex attacks in student area Eloise Marsh
Two sexual assaults in Fallowfield and Withington may be connected, according to police. The attacks are said to have been carried out by a young Asian man. The most recent incident took place on Egerton Road, Fallowfield on September 20, when a 22-year-old woman was stopped and asked for directions. The same man later followed and sexually assaulted her. This attack is being linked to
an assault on July 14, where a man approached and assaulted a 20-year-old woman on Mauldeth Road West near the Ladybarn Lane junction in Withington. The culprit in both incidents is described as a man of Asian descent in his 20s, around 5ft 8 and of chubby build. Police have increased patrols in the areas. Inspector Andy Smith from Greater Manchester Police’s Student Safe Team said, “If anyone sees any suspicious behaviour in the area, they should call the police immediately. We are well
been charged with anything and UCU is offering him our support.” A spokesperson for MMU had earlier told the Times Higher Education supplement (THE) that the institution “can obviously not comment on the exact nature or content of the allegations while they are being investigated”. The spokesperson also told THE that “external speculation” about the reasons for the suspension was “wholly inaccurate”.
placed to respond to these calls within a matter of minutes. “If young women are genuinely concerned about their safety, they can contact the police to pick up a panic alarm which they could carry on their keys.” The Student Safe Team, who were on campus during Freshers’ Week, advise students to stay in groups while out and stick to well-lit areas. The Students’ Union has launched a Safe Taxi Scheme this year in conjunction with local taxi firm Union Cars. The project allows students to use their student ID as a deposit for the fare, which will be returned to the Union the following day to be collected by the student who will then pay the outstanding fare.
ISSUE 05 / 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
04 : News
Shisha as dangerous as cigarettes, say NHS Manchester City Council and NHS launch awareness campaign in effort to publicise dangers of smoking shisha Jonathan Breen News Editor
Manchester City Council and the NHS launched a campaign publicising the dangers of shisha last week. The drive aims to make people aware of the health risks associated with smoking shisha and that, as with cigarettes, it is illegal to smoke shisha in an enclosed space. “First and foremost we want to make people aware that smoking shisha is as dangerous as smoking cigarettes and is harmful to people’s health,” Councillor Glynn Evans, Manchester City Council’s executive member for Adults’ Health and Wellbeing said. The campaign, which kicked off on Monday 8 October, runs for eight weeks and is focused around Rusholme, because of the concentration of shisha bars in the area. As a part of the effort, council enforcement officers will be handing out a £50 fine to anyone caught smoking shisha in an area that does not have three sides open to the outside. In shisha bars, flavoured tobacco is smoked through pipes, a Middle Eastern tradition.
There are a number of common myths associated with smoking shisha, one being that because the tobacco is flavoured and passes through water before it is inhaled it is not as dangerous as cigarettes. But with shisha there is an added risk because more smoke is inhaled. “Many people are still unaware that shisha pipes actually contain tobacco as the use of herbs or fruit as flavourings masks the tobacco, so we want to give them the facts,” said Councillor Evans. Health experts have said shisha smokers are at risk of similar health problems associated with cigarette smoking, such as heart disease and cancer. Users can also become addicted just as with other tobacco products. David Regan, Director of Public Health, said, “There has been an alarming rise in the number of shisha bars and the number of young people taking up smoking through this route. “It is important that we educate young people so that it prevents the next generation from joining what seems to be a growing trend.” In the last three years there has been a large increase in the number of shisha bars on the curry
Shisha bars along in Rusholme, the area being targeted by a new shisha awareness campaign Photo: Rebekah Akingbala
mile, with around 30 opening in the area since 2009. “They can spring up quite readily because they don’t actually have to have a license apart from to sell food and play music,” a council spokesperson told The Mancunion. Many shisha bars in Rusholme allow smoking indoors, and over the last year nine establishments
in Manchester have been prosecuted for violations of the smoking ban. “Since December 2011 we’ve had eight different bars prosecuted [in Rusholme] and the total fines for those were nearly £15,000 in total, plus another bar in Chorlton,” said the spokesperson. “All were for allowing smoking inside.” “You can technically
allow smoking outside if you’ve got outside premises but obviously some of them don’t. Shisha bars that have no outside space are automatically flouting the law. “If someone is found smoking shisha inside, then like smoking a cigarette in a café, they could be fined.” Rusholme Business Association Chair Mr
Shabir Mughal felt it was unfair for shisha bars not to obey law as other businesses in the area do. “They’re allowing people to smoke inside the premises. If someone comes to my restaurant and wants to smoke they have to go outside,” he said. “It is not fair-trading.”
‘Wonder material’ potential mapped out Anthony Organ News Editor
Potential uses for “wonder material” graphene have been mapped out for the first time in a University of Manchester paper. The “Graphene Roadmap” analyses various graphene applications currently being researched and estimates when they can be expected to become realised. The report says that “graphene’s many superior properties justify its nick-name of a ‘miracle material’”, since it combines qualities such as “ultimate” mechanical strength, record high electronic and thermal conductivity and impermeability to water and gases. Professor Kostya Novoselov, who codiscovered graphene at the University with his colleague Professor Andre Geim in 2004, said: “Because the developments in the last few years were truly explosive, graphene’s prospects continue to rapidly improve. “Its full power will only be realised in novel applications, which are designed specifically
with this material in mind, rather than when it is called to substitute other materials in existing applications.” One such application currently being researched is “rollable e-paper”, which takes advantage of the flexibility of the material. These electronic colour displays would be able to be rolled up like a scroll and could be available as working prototypes by 2015. The material is also ideal for use in touchscreen devices since it is “far superior” to the indium tin oxide currently used. It would prove far more long-lasting and would open a way for flexible devices, which the report says “ensures that graphene-based devices will probably dominate flexible applications”. The first graphene touch-screen devices are estimated to be on the market within three to five years, but ultrafast internet and a replacement for silicon in computer chips are unlikely to be available until 2020 As well as computing applications, graphene could find medical uses in drug delivery and tissue engineering, in which the material could
be used to strengthen regenerated tissue in patients to improve its strength and elasticity. Graphene oxide has even been used to kill tumours in mice and could potentially find use as
Kostya Novoselov. Phoo University of Manchester an antibiotic or anticancer treatment, but not
before 2030. Efforts to combine the material with solar cells have also “proved to be highly beneficial” and it is hoped that it will be able to improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources. Prof Novoselov said: “Different applications require different grades of graphene and those which use the lowest grade will be the first to appear, probably as soon as in a few years. Those which require the highest quality may well take decades. “One thing is certain – scientists and engineers will continue looking into prospects offered by graphene and, along the way, many more ideas for new applications are likely to emerge.” A roadmap for graphene, published in the journal Nature, was written by Nobel Prizewinner Prof Novoselov and an international team of authors.
05: News
ISSUE 05 / 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Student loan spent in month by one in six students ‘Beer, cider and spirits’ labeled one of the biggest expenditures Ellen Conlon News Editor
An entire term’s loan is spent within the first month of university by one in six students, a new study has found. The average student will use up their first month’s loan by November 20th, seven weeks into term, says the survey, commissioned by VoucherCodes.co.uk, while one in six will spend it within 28 days. ‘Beer, cider and spirits’ was labeled the second-largest area of expenditure for the 1,000 students questioned, taking an average of £45 per month from each student, second to ‘supermarket shopping,’ while ‘new clothes,’ ‘eating out’ and ‘books’ also ranked as high money-takers. According to the survey, the average student spends £18 a month giving to charity. When asked if he had already splurged his whole loan, at the beginning of week three, Thom Nixon, a second year law student at the University of Manchester said: “No, but I am spending it rapidly.” Will Jones, a third year physics student said: “I don’t have much money left, it all went on rent really. I plan on living on £26 a week for the rest of this semester.” Laurie Morris, a third year
economics student seemed more confident: “Although I’ve spent most of it, I think it’ll be alright because when I graduate I will have a job.” When asked what would happen if he didn’t get a job straight away he added: “it could be financial meltdown!” Some universities, such as the University of East London (UEL), have begun introducing measures to ensure that the money students receive on top of their loans, through bursaries and grants, goes to good use rather than being spent recklessly. When asked how she spent her loan, Jess Toomey, a third year art history student at Manchester said: “I paid rent twice, then I got on ebay and got excited. Then I went to Missoula and got excited.” She added: “I’m already three quarters into my overdraft.” UEL is hoping to stop such frivolous spending by their students by ensuring that their grants can only be spent on necessities such as books or accommodation. This helps to measure the impact of the cash bursaries and scholarships they offer. According the University’s vicechancellor Selena Bolingbroke, the outcome has been positive, with better attendance and better results. When asked whether she
‘New clothes’ and ‘beauty treatments’ feature in the average student’s top ten monthly spends, the survey says. Photo: Amy Hallett
thought it would be possible to extend these conditions to the government maintenance loans that all students receive, Ms Bolingbroke said: “It is an interesting idea, but I think you would be much better off investing time and money in educating students to manage their finances better.” Blanka Hay, who received a grant while studying at Manchester said: “The money is just given to you and, considering you probably never ever had that kind of money before, it’s hardly surprising if
you use it unwisely.” But she disagreed with the suggestion that conditions should be placed on maintenance loans: “It’s unfair not to let young adults make their own decisions with money that is basically theirs.” Liam Burns, President of the National Union of Students agrees, arguing that some students may have financial needs that impact on their studies but do not fall into the categories covered by the scheme. “Students have life to manage,” he says. “We
don’t make any other section of society jump through such hoops for public money.” Both Southampton and Chester University currently have their own entitlement cards, loaded with money to be spent on specific items, which aim to help its owners “invest in their student experience.” Scotland, whose students the survey found to be the worst at handling its cash, managing to use up their loans within an average of just 43 days, have their own measure to regulate their student’s spending.
Since 2005, Scottish students have received their loans on a monthly basis, rather than termly as in England. Katrina Mary, a student at the University of Edinburgh favors this method: “I am less inclined to make the large purchase than an English student might make when they first get their loan,” she says. “I can only spend what is available at the time.” There are currently no plans for any restrictions or constraints on the average £3,600 a year maintenance loan available to all students in England.
Manchester Uni Facebook page for ‘hilarious, emabarrasing confessions’ launched Jonathan Breen News Ed i t o r
A Facebook page for students to write about the deepest secrets and most outrageous stories was created last week. ‘Universit y of Manchester Confessions’ w a s s t a r t e d o n We d n e s d a y O c t o b e r 1 0 and within a day obt ained 1,151 likes. It is linked with a similar Manchester Metropolitan page. The creators of the pages, current a n d e x- s t u d e n t s w h o p r e f e r r e d t o s t a y anonymous, said, “I got the idea from my friends over at L eeds Met and saw how it had taken off there and thought it would have the same – if not a greater r e a c t i o n i n M a n c h e s t e r.
“Some of the stories we are getting s e n t a r e g e n u i n e l y h i l a r i o u s a n d i t ’s a page that shouldn’t fizzle out, as every week people will have new stories and experiences to share with us. “ The page was only launched yesterday a n d h a s t a k e n o f f d r a m a t i c a l l y. ” Students are invited to anonymously message “hilarious, embarrassing confessions,” to then be posted. Among the submissions are tales of sexual debacles, alcohol-infused blunders and halls of residence pranks. One story on the Universit y of M a n c h e s t e r p a g e s a i d , “A f t e r t e l l i n g halls of residence floor mates, if they u s e my G e o r ge Fo re m a n g r i l l t h e y H AV E t o c l e a n i t . O n e d e c i d e d h e h a d a special privilege to not do so. I went in his room and pissed on his bed in
‘respect’ of his privilege. “A f t e r t u r n i n g h i s l i g h t o n t o a d m i r e my mess, his apple mac was sitting [there]. I tried to rescue it with his tracksuit bottoms that were tossed o n t h e f l o o r, h o w e v e r t h e c o n t r a c t e d illness was terminal!” The first post on the Manchester Metropolitan Confessions page said, “I got onto a lecture theatre computer t o d a y, a n d e d i t e d o n e o f t h e l e c t u r e r ’s p o w e r p o i n t s . I t n o w h a s # YO L O o n every single slide in massive letters. Sorry to the lecture this affects.” There are similar pages for other universities around the c o u n t r y, including for Exeter and Nottingham.
06 : News
ISSUE 05 / 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
UK Universities ‘face collapse NEWS IN BRIEF into global mediocrity’
A 17 year old boy has died after falling from the top floor of the car park at around 8.15pm on Monday 8th October. Emergency Services were called to the scene and administered CPR but the boy later died from suffered serious injuries. The Metrolink tram service was briefly suspended whilst the scene was examined but quickly resumed. Enquires are currently ongoing.
Second World War grenade found in Stockport A man in Stockport found a grenade in the grass on his way home from the shops. Aiden Rosevere took the grenade home to show his nan and she immediately called in the bomb squad. A police spokesman said: “The grenade is understood to originate from the Second World War. A cordon was put in place on Outwood Road while bomb disposal experts attended the scene.”
Man jailed for wearing ‘offensive t-shirt’ A man who wore an antipolice t-shirt on the day PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes were shot has been jailed. Barry Thew, 39, walked around Radcliffe town centre wearing a t-shirt that read “one less pig, perfect justice” on the front and “kill a cop 4 fun.co.uk ha haa” on the reverse. Thew was sentenced to 4 months for a public order offense, and another four months when he admitted to breaching an earlier suspended sentence order for cannabis possession.
University of Manchester slips one place in world rankings Michael Williams News Editor Top UK universities are on the brink of a “collapse into global mediocrity”, warns Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education. Baty’s comments come after the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, published this week, reveal that leading universities in the UK are being overtaken by Asian institutions. Despite an increase in overall score of almost 5%, the University of Manchester dropped one place in the rankings from last year – coming 49th. The University has also increased their score in every judging criteria but one: teaching, research, citations and industry income. The only area the University has slipped in is international outlook – down 2.5%. The University of Manchester declined to comment, stating “the University measures itself by the Shanghai Jiao Tong Index, the only indicator the University refers to in benchmarking against other institutions”. Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield and Newcastle, amongst oth-
ers, have also fallen down the rankings. Three UK universities made the top ten – Oxford ( joint second), Cambridge (seventh) and Imperial College (eighth). “Outside the golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge, England’s world-class universities face a collapse into global mediocrity, while investment in top research universities in Asia is starting to pay off ”, said Baty. Korea’s four universities in the top 200 have all climbed this year, with Pohang University of Science and Technology at number 50. China and Singapore have two universities apiece making the top 200, all of which have, too, ascended the rankings. “We cannot afford to slip further behind,” warned University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt. “The UK and other Western nations have seen their reputations slide as they cut funding and the East invests in higher education. We are particularly concerned that, as we struggle to keep pace with our global competitors, the government continues to pursue policies that can only further harm our standing on the world
Oxford highest-scoring UK University. Photo: Robert Stokes @ Flickr
Boy dies after falling from Manchester Arndale car park
stage.” Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, pointed to public investment as key in ensuring the UK is not left behind. “Cuts in public investment have seriously weakened some US public universities,” Dr Piatt explained. “If we are serious about staying on top, the government must concentrate investment where it will have
the most impact: in our worldclass research-intensive universities.” David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, proposed another possible reason for the slide. “I think that the quality of the teaching experience is the biggest challenge going forward”, Willetts told The Mancunion. “We’re actually increasing the cash going to our universities.”
Last month Dame Nancy Rothwell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester, told The Mancunion she believed “we’re under-spending on higher education in this country”. Dame Nancy continued, “I appreciate that we’re in difficult times at the moment and there have been cuts across the board, but education is critical for the future.”
Teenager has stomach removed University leaders stop foreign after 18th birthday celebrations students queuing overnight Ellen Conlon Editor
A teenager has had her stomach removed in an emergency operation after celebrating her 18th birthday a with a liquid-nitrogen laced cocktail at a wine bar. Gaby Scanlon, from Lancashire, was out with her friends at Oscar’s wine bar on the 4th October, when she became breathless and developed a severe stomach pain. She was then taken to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary where she was diagnosed with a perforated stomach. She was immediately operated on. “Medical opinion is that this would have proved fatal had the operation not been carried out urgently,” said the Lancashire police. Oscar’s wine bar has said that they are “tremendously concerned” about Gaby and their “heartfelt best wishes” go out to her family “at this distressing time.” Police say that the bar has ceased
selling all liquid nitrogen cocktails following the incident and had cooperated with all the agencie “The investigation is still in its early stages and we are still interviewing witnesses to establish the full facts,” they said. Gaby is now in a stable but serious condition. Liquid nitrogen has become common as a method for flash freezing food or drinks and creating a vapour cloud. Oscars wine bar posted a photograph on its Facebook page last month of one of its liquid nitrogen cocktails. It contained champagne and was sold for £8.95. If swallowed, liquid nitrogen can cause cold burns to the throat, mouth and stomach, killing the tissue. As the vapour hits the stomach it warms quickly, releasing large volumes of air which burst the stomach.
Ellen Conlon News Editor Complaints from university leaders have led to a new ruling meaning international students will no longer have to register in person with the police. Last week foreign students were forced to queue through the night to register at a single office in south-east London within seven days of their arrival and faced “startling difficulties.” This was voiced in a letter to David Cameron, signed by the heads of two London institutions. Craig Calhoun, director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Richard Trainor, principal of King’s College London complained to Mr Cameron that it was “impossible” for students to comply with these regulations, and that they were facing “unacceptable and humiliating” difficulties in trying to do so. “The police are turning away any students who arrive after 6.30am, forcing people to queue overnight… the Metropolitan Policy literally makes it impossible for most to comply,” said professors Calhoun and Trainor. “We believe that the present situation is unacceptable and humiliating for the UK higher education sector, and in-
deed for the country. We hope you will do everything in your power to seek a swift resolution before it escalates into an even greater debacle.” Daniel Stevens, international students officer for the National Union of Students filmed one of the overnight queues. “It is absolutely unacceptable that students be asked to queue for hours, often in terrible weather, and be expected to arrive before 6.30 to have any chance of being seen,” said Mr Stevens. But after so many complaints, starting this Monday, students will be able to register through their universities, rather than in person. Forms can now be submitted through universities or pre-stamped forms can be collected from the Overseas Visitors Records Office and returned, completed by the end of the year. University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt complained about the original poor arrangements, saying that they were damaging Britain’s international reputation. She said: “At a time when we need to be attracting the brightest brains to this country, and are already facing huge competition from other countries, we seem to be intent on committing PR disasters for the whole world to see.”
ISSUE 05 / 15th OCTOBER 2012
NEWS : 07
Photo Credit: Name of photographer
Stressed academics face ‘increasingly intolerable pressure’
A UCU survey found that stress levels for academics are increasing. Photo: Jonathan Whiting
University staff are considerably more stressed than the average British working person Anthony Organ News Editor Academics face above average stress levels and a “long-hours culture” according to a report published by the University and College Union (UCU). The report, part of U C U ’s Wo r k l o a d C a m paign, surveyed over 14,000 academic staff at nearly 100 institutions about stress relating to workload demands and hours of work and found that stress levels were
worse than comparable data from 2008. Sally Hunt , UCU ’s general s e c r e t a r y, said: “The result of all this pressure can only drive down standards for students. “The problem has got worse over the past four years and with funding cuts, increased workloads and rising expectations from students and parents paying much more for their education, the situation is likely to become even worse. “ We c a l l o n i n s t i t u tions to hear this col-
lective cry for help and take action to mitigate the increasingly intolerable pressure on stressed-out staff.” Stress levels were given a value from 1.00 to 5.00, where 1.00 is the highest stress. Academics scored 2.51, considerably lower than the British working population’s average which was 3.65 in 2008. Academics from Manchester Metropolitan and the University of Salford had above average stress levels and over 30 per cent of
respondents from the University of Manchester and MMU regularly work over 50 hours a week. Mar t yn Moss, UCU ’s regional official in the N o r t h We s t , s a i d : “ We can take some comfort that staff at Manchester ’s big ge st three universities did not report the highest stress levels of those that took p a r t i n t h e U C U s u r v e y. But we can’t be pleased with their results as staff at all three Manchester universities reported higher levels of stress than the average for the general British working population. “ We a r e u r g i n g t h e s e institutions to consider these results care-
fully and take steps to protect the health and well-being of university staff in Manchest e r. ” Stephen Court, a senior research officer at UCU, who compiled the report, said: “There is pressure to win research funding under the new Research Excellence Framework (REF), while lecturers feel they need to raise their game in teaching with the introduction of higher tuition fees. There is also pressure to do well in the Nat i o n a l S t u d e n t S u r v e y. ” The REF will assess the quality of research at each university and be completed in 2014. The results will be used to decide how much research funding each institution receives, with effect from 2015-16. Despite the University of Manchester being very researchintensive, stress levels were average for a u n i v e r s i t y. A U n i v e r s i ty spokesperson said: “The University of Manchester puts a high priority on the wellbeing of our staff and students. “ We h a v e a t e a m o f professional counsellors and psychotherapists on campus, offering confidential help with any personal issues affecting work, self-esteem, relationships, mental health or general well-being. They are available to all University of Manchester staff and students.”
Man Met student jailed for millionpound fraud Jonathan Breen News Editor A Manchester Metropolitan law student was jailed for masterminding a million-pound VAT fraud. The 36-year-old, a former lance corporal with the Royal Artillery, funded his lifestyle illegally getting £1.5m from Revenue and Customs, Manchester Crown Court heard. Hackney, who was arrested in spring 2010, ran a scam for four years that saw him setup multiple companies to falsely claim VAT refunds for international exports of construction equipment that never took place. Paul Hackney lived a life of luxury. He was chauffeur driven in a Rolls Royce Phantom, lived in a £3,250 a month flat and travelled by helicopter from football matches. He kept the money he received in offshore bank accounts in Zurich, New Zealand, Curacao, Somalia and China. In 2007, while technically a regular student, Hackney enjoyed luxury holidays to Australia and the Caribbean and owned an Audi Q7, BMW 7 Series and a £70,000 Range Rover. Hackney, formerly of Salford, has been jailed for six years after admitting conspiracy to cheat the revenue and conspiring to launder money. He was also barred from serving as the director of a company for 10 years. His defence said he had done “some very positive things in his life” before the fraud. Hackney was described as a ‘model prisoner’ while serving time on remand. Russell Bateman, 33, from Sandbach and Andrew Plant, 44, from Stoke, were given suspended sentences for their roles in the scam.
08 : Feature
ISSUE 05 / 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
HIM: Adventures with Jon Ronson Andrew Williams meets investigative journalist and author Jon Ronson to talk extremists, conspiracy theorists and psychopaths Andrew Williams Features Editor “For some reason I’m feeling nervous”, the corkscrew-haired twenty-something taking a seat next to me says, with some trepidation. Perhaps her apprehension stems from the fact that the man preparing to address us, Jon Ronson, has experienced some of the strangest phenomena humanity has to offer; frequently sharing the company of society’s greatest eccentrics, at times bonding with conspiracy theorists, occasionally keeping the counsel of extremely dangerous men. The seasoned investigative journalist is at Waterstones Deansgate to discuss Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, an assortment of his wildest and wackiest adventures over the past two decades. A decent crowd has turned up on a typically rainswept Tuesday evening to hear Ronson read a series of extracts from his new book. The compilation chronicles three nights of crime fighting with a real-life Batman; depicts life in the Alaskan town of North Pole, where it really is Christmas every day; and sees Ronson join Robbie Williams for a spot of UFO hunting in the Nevada desert, to introduce just three chapters from a thoroughly entertaining collection of stories. It is the first time that Ronson has talked to an audience about Lost At Sea. Though visibly nervous, his effortless charm, vaguely camp mannerisms and unusual vocal inflections bring the highlights of the book to life. In an interesting juxtaposition, I am forced to consider whether I have ever heard the word ‘fuck’ used quite so many times outside of a Chris Rock show, though much of this is down to Ronson’s ingenious channelling of the little-known evangelical Christian rap ensemble Insane Clown Posse (sample lyric: ‘Barrels in your mouth, bullets in your head / The back of your neck’s all over the shed). Needless to say, the crowd go home extremely happy. The following day, I receive a call from Ronson a couple of hours ahead of our scheduled meeting time: rather than chat to him in the bar of his central Manchester hotel, could I accompany him on a trip to Fallowfield to meet a small group of antiabortion protestors? Naturally, I agree. As we edge our way down the Curry Mile, Ronson, who lived in Rusholme for eight years, savours the surroundings of his “old stomping ground”. I sense that this will be the perfect opportunity to see him in his element. The secret of his success is obvious: Jon Ronson is, quite simply, a brilliant observer of people. Where many journalists would approach a belligerent
racist or religious fanatic with an abrasive, gung-ho attitude, Ronson eschews the Paxman-esque approach in favour of a conciliatory one. His conversational tone puts his subject at ease and ensures that, eventually, whatever he wants to hear will more than likely come to the fore. “If you ask the questions that they’re used to being asked,” he argues, “they go into automatic mode. It’s good to ask them more leftfield questions”. But what fuels his desire to throw himself into such bizarre situations? What is it about these sub-cultures that he finds so alluring? “It’s mysteries. It’s a mysterious world that you want to try and understand – you want to try and solve the mystery”, he explains as we climb into another cab. “And it just so happens that the mysteries often happen on the fringes of society. I like to go to places where people are displaying the outermost aspects of their personality”. This penchant for the peculiar has seen Ronson enjoy a remarkable career. Throughout the ‘90s, he made a series of documentaries for Channel 4 focusing primarily on extremists, placing him in direct competition with the man synonymous with the genre, Louis Theroux. “We went through a difficult patch many years ago”, Ronson says of his rival. “We were always being compared to each other so we both became very aware of that. But that doesn’t happen anymore because we’re older and we’ve both had success.” Today, Ronson accepts that he is better known for his written work whilst Theroux is best associated with television; between them, the pair have essentially carved up their chosen field for the best part of twenty years. Ronson really hit his stride at the turn of the century. The 2001 bestseller Them: Adventures with Extremists followed his attempts to infiltrate a supposed “secret room from which a tiny elite rules the world” – considering former BBC Sport presenter David Icke’s claim that the world’s most powerful political and business leaders are in fact twelve-foot tall lizards in human suits, before being unmasked as a Jew at a Jihadist training camp run by “Osama bin Laden’s man in London”, Omar Bakri. His 2004 follow up, The Men Who Stare at Goats, began life as an investigation of a crack team of US Army soldiers who would try to kill goats just by looking at them. The 2009 film adaptation saw none other than Ewan McGregor take on the prestigious role of Ronson himself. Last year, The Psychopath Test tapped into an innate desire within the human psyche to characterise almost every conceivable quirk as some form of mental defect. Upon his startling discovery that according to the DSM – a comprehensive
manual detailing 374 mental disorders – he might suffer from as many as 12 such disorders, Ronson turned to the twentypoint Hare psychopathy checklist to ensure that he wasn’t a psychopath, too. “It’s possible that if I was properly scored by a psychologist who applies the test I might get a zero”, he was relieved to find. “It’s because I’ve got anxieties and anxiety is the opposite of psychopathy. So if you’re an anxious person you’re just not a psychopath.” In many ways, Lost At Sea continues where its predecessor left off – “looking for the right sort of madness”, as Ronson puts it. He explains that the sheer variety of stories in the book is a reflection of the fact that you never quite know where a story is going. “Quite often you’re doing something and you’re thinking, I’m getting nothing here, this is really disappointing. Then you write it up and you realise that it’s actually brilliant.” Though mundane on the face of it, Ronson cites his time behind the scenes at Deal or No Deal as a case in point; utterly fascinating, it explores the division between happy-go-lucky contestants and those convinced that their ‘system’ will work, that ‘fate’ will win out. The latter is seemingly a viewpoint perpetuated by the show’s host, Noel Edmonds, who emerges as one of the least likeable characters in the book. “He was more likeable than he was when I grazed past him about ten or fifteen years earlier. He seemed humbler and less of a bastard… I think the fact that he’d had some failure before Deal or No Deal has seen him improve as a person”. In light of the ongoing revelations regarding Jimmy Savile, one story from Lost At Sea stands out. In 2001, Ronson followed former pop impresario Jonathan King as he stood trial for a string of sexual assaults on young boys throughout the 1980s. The result is an extraordinarily harrowing story, as King reveals himself to be “completely, totally remorseless”. It is quite a departure for Ronson; even his most serious stories tend to have a funny side. “That one was definitely less funny”, says Ronson. “When I read it back the other day I was surprised at how graphic I allowed the piece to be. But then if it’s going to be about something forensic like a trial, you have to be forensic in your writing as well.” King was convicted, and sentenced to seven years in prison, for his part in what was to all intents and purposes “a paedophile ring”. Whilst Ronson has no sympathy for “his absolute narcissistic inability, or unwillingness, to see it from his victims’ point of view”, the story throws up an interesting question about the ethics of similar cases. “Where he’s sort of got a point is that nobody thinks of [Rolling Stones bassist] Bill Wyman,
Ronson: “I like to go to places where people are displaying the outermost aspects of their personality”. Photo: Barney Poole
or any other good looking, heterosexual men, who it’s known have had sex with people under the age of consent, as monsters, and yet he is considered a monster – so why is he being singled out?” Perhaps, I suggest, this dichotomy of sexuality goes some way to explaining the apparent cover up which saw Savile evade justice during his lifetime. “Well everybody knew”, Ronson claims. “There are big rumours about two other people from the time… one definitely and another person I won’t name because he’s too famous. The allegations have been made in public, but very fleetingly. A very disproportionate number of paedophiles hung around Radio 1 in the 1970s”. With only a short period of time left before he must leave to catch a train, I turn attention to Ronson’s idiosyncrasies. What are his foibles? “Well I’m definitely overly anxious, and I stress all the time. It’s always irrational worries… if I tried to phone home now and I couldn’t get
my wife on the phone, my first thought is, she’s dead. It always manifests itself in ridiculously irrational ways, as I think happens a lot with anxiety.” True to his anxious streak, he is sinking into a severe dilemma as he weighs up the various merits of catching the 15.42 or the 15.56 train. “My anxiety today is ‘at what point is my body going to crash?’. I can’t tell you how much easier this is than writing… I find the writing exhausting and draining and massively stressful.” It strikes me as unusual that a writer should find his craft so gruelling, but then Ronson has never been one to do the simple thing. He has just moved to New York “entirely on a whim,” and his next book is underway. “I am a natural worrier,” he maintains, “which makes it ridiculous that this is what I do for a living”.
Feature : 09
ISSUE 05 / 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Willetts promises ‘more cash per student’ ‘Total funding for higher education is increasing’, says Universities Minister Andrew Williams Features Editor The Minister of State for Universities and Science has responded to criticism of the government’s attitude towards higher education by promising that “universities will have more cash per student”. In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, David Willetts set out to assure students that the coalition government is investing in higher education in an effort to raise standards across the board – contrary to claims in some quarters that his department has cut overall spending. Willetts sat down with The Mancunion against the backdrop of a poor showing for UK universities in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) world rankings, published in the first week of October. Of the 31 UK institutions included in the top 200, 18 saw a drop from their position last year, falling by an average of 6.7 places. In the face of a surge in the performance of emergent Asian universities, Willetts is clear about the challenges facing higher education in this country. “I think that the biggest challenge is the quality of the teaching experience – and this applies to both domestic students and international students – to make sure that when they leave university they feel that they have learned a lot, that their minds have been developed as well as it being a wider, rich social and cultural experience. I want people to look back on university as three incredibly worthwhile years.” Nonetheless, university leaders are thought to be concerned that further budget cuts are imminent at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Last month, the University of Manchester’s Vice Chancellor, Dame Nancy Rothwell, told The Mancunion that in her view the government is “under-spending on higher education” – a claim that Willetts refutes. “Total funding for higher education is increasing”, he says unequivocally.”We are more than protecting, but actually increasing the cash going to our universities, and that’s why we can deliver on the improvements to the teaching experience, because universities will have more cash per student.”
“What there has been is a shift from teaching grants to fees and loans, so there is a saving for the Exchequer because these loans are eventually repaid, but without any reduction in the cash going to university. So it’s an incredibly good combination.” “Of course, there are tough times”, he continues, “and if you look around public expenditure – because of the disaster in the public finances that we’ve inherited – we’ve had to get a grip on public spending. I know it’s controversial, but one of the effects of a shift to fees which students don’t pay up front is that the amount of money going to universities to pay for teaching is rising.” As Willetts quite rightly identifies, his department’s decision to almost treble undergraduate tuition fees to £9,000 per year was – and remains – hugely controversial. The first wave of students paying the higher level of fees arrived in Manchester last month, and there has already been an observable impact as a result of the changes. Two weeks ago, The Mancunion reported that a number of previously thriving halls of residence, including Allen Hall and Little Court, lie empty as a series of factors – including a twothirds drop in the number of students opting to defer entry – saw a drop in the overall intake of University of Manchester students. Whilst he is at pains to point out that applications fell only slightly this year, I put it to Willetts that the headline figure of £9,000 might discourage some people from applying to university. “I don’t believe it should”, he contends. “If you look at the figures, once you allow for the fact that there is a decline in the number of 18 year olds, because the birth rate was falling in the early ‘90s, there hasn’t been a significant fall… as understanding [of the new system] spreads around, I don’t see why anyone should be put off from going to university.” Indeed, he argues that consternation at the drop in the number of applications has been overblown – “there is always this sort of turbulence in the first year” – whilst suggesting that the plans have been misrepresented in some quarters. “The language of debt itself is pretty misleading – [taking a student loan] is not like having a credit card”, he explains. “I think at the start there were instances where young people did sadly think they had to reach into
their back pocket, or their families had to pay for their tuition. I think now most people understand that they don’t… the amount they pay monthly is falling, not rising. I think the way that the previous system was front-loaded on bigger repayments up front was an unfair burden on young people.” Yet £27,000 in fees alone for a three year undergraduate degree strikes me as an eye-watering figure. I question whether degrees are as valuable today as they were when Willetts, who graduated from Oxford with a first class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, was a student. “I think the hunger for university graduates is such that university degrees are as valuable now – for many, not for all – as they were historically.” However, a decade on from Tony Blair’s infamous aspiration that 50% of all young people should go to university, surely we need more people embarking on vocational pathways, rather than academic ones? “I don’t think we should have a central government target, and there probably are some people who go to university who might have, looking back, found going into an apprenticeship a better option. But overall, my view is that there is a pretty deep-seated social and economic trend towards more people going to uni, and I don’t see that going into reverse. I think that is basically a good thing.” Willetts’ responses are indicative of a department looking towards the future of higher education, rather than querying past policies. He is, therefore, relaxed about the prospect of increased marketisation in higher education. “Competition, above all in the quality of the student experience, is a good thing. It’s good for students. And I know that being a student is not the same thing as buying a car – and in that sense it’s not a consumerist experience – however a lot of the good features of consumerism apply.” One of the principle ways in which higher education is set to evolve in the next few years is through the introduction of a set of newlyestablished private universities. Just as the government is determined to push its free schools agenda, Willetts is not afraid to show his support for a move towards privately run institutions. “I think what will matter is the quality of the education, rather than the exact legal status of the institution”, he says. “If a former polytechnic can teach Law competently, with proper, quality assessment, and the students think they are getting a good deal… we mustn’t put ideology in the way of a good education for students.” “The problem in Britain is that
we take diversity and turn it into a hierarchy. My view is that there are different ways in which universities can be good, and one way of being good is obviously the prestigious, research intensive universities. Another way of being good is being a world class regional university, providing the kind of vocational qualifications you gain access to the professional jobs in the area. And that can also be done very well indeed… sometimes, the teaching at some of the less prestigious universities deserves more respect than it gets.” Aside from higher education policy, The Mancunion was keen to quiz one of the most senior Tories at the Cabinet table on some tough years ahead. Last week Ryan Shorthouse, director of the Bright Blue campaign of which Willetts is a board member, suggested that “the best chance of a second term may well be another Lib Dem coalition”. Alas, Willetts refused
to be drawn on the likely outcome of the next election: “What we’re aiming for, and what this conference is all about, is our being able to govern as Conservatives on our own. We’re aiming to win, and that would be in the best interests of the country. There is a real opportunity to win the next election, and that’s what we’re focusing on.” Meanwhile, he echoed David Cameron’s message that the rich will have to pay their fair share of the burden as the government continues to tackle the deficit. “I think there’s been a more energetic crackdown on tax abuse under this government than ever before, and if you look at what we’ve done with increasing capital gains tax in some cases, it’s clear that richer people are absolutely bearing their fair share. Those that have that kind of income and wealth do need to contribute, and they are.”
10
Politics & Comment
ISSUE 05/ 15th October 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Students’ protest Israeli attacks on the Gaza
My Political Hero... Dr Swee Dr Swee is the most highly-achieving yet deeply humble person I’ve ever met. As a 4ft 11 Singaporean doctor who came to study orthopaedic surgery in London (a speciality dominated by 6-foot rugby players), she was sneered at. She ignored them and became the first female orthopaedic surgeon ever appointed at St. Bartholomew’s hospital.
“New Labour: it’s really a Tory Party” Eve Fensome chats to former Labour MP Tony Benn “The world is run now by the big multinational business corporations.” Is Tony Benn’s unwavering response when I ask him how much power politicians really hold. “We don’t elect them, we can’t defeat them, they don’t have to listen to us. And our whole democracy has been challenged and to some extent undermined by the way that multinational global finance operates.” Adding determinedly; “that’s something we’ve got to think about.” I meet Tony Benn after an event run by the Stop the War Coalition (of which Mr Benn is President) at Methodist Central Hall in the Northern Quarter. Earlier he’d delivered an impassioned anti-war polemic with a level of vigour and energy which would be unexpected in most 87 year-olds. His speech is peppered throughout with personal anecdotes, including one recalling his memory of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and his first-hand account of the devastation it left behind. He’s been a cabinet minister in the governments of both Wilson and Callaghan and is the only surviving Labour member who witnessed Aneurin Bevan’s famous speech of 1951 in which he resigned from the Cabinet over the introduction of means testing for free dentistry and opticians. Tony Benn was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1950 and had served more than 50 years as an MP when he retired in 2001 for which he holds the title of the longest serving Labour MP. With this in mind, as ask him what is the biggest change he has seen in the Labour Party during his lifetime? “Well, I think that the Blairite counterrevolution to set up New Labour – which is not Labour at all; it’s really a Tory Party, I think that was one of the greatest changes.”
He continues, musing: “Of course there have been other examples in the past, since Ramsay MacDonald even, but we recover from these things and I think we are recovering from the Blair period.” I ask if he felt that the Labour Party was currently moving to the left? “The Labour Party is a coalition,” I’m slightly surprised to hear him say, but he explains: “there are different forces, there’s the left and there’s other people who are not socialist at all. So our first job in the Labour Party is to persuade the party to adopt the policy we want and then if that becomes party policy then to persuade the public that that’s what we need.” What do you think individuals can do to try to change things? “There’s the trade union movement and there’s the Labour Party, they’re all socialist and social organisations. Put them all together and they represent a very very powerful body of opinion. “If you have a Labour government then push that Labour government to do what you want, if you don’t have a Labour government push to get a Labour government that does do what you want. And if you elect a government that understands and takes the correct action, then I think you have to support that government.” “Having said that, I’m Labour and I have been all my life but I don’t think that joining the Labour Party is the only thing to do. The thing to do is to stand up for the causes you believe in and campaign for them.” As a campaigner against an unelected Lords and a republican, it’s an irony that Tony Benn’s career was launched by the accident of his aristocracy. Upon the death of his farther in 1960; the rules of the establishment required him to take a seat in the House of Lords. He was determined
to remain in the House of Commons, refusing to take up the peerage, instead asking his constituents to return him to parliament in repeated bi-elections, until the powers that be surrendered in 1963 when they passed The Peerage act, allowing the renunciation of peerages, of which Benn became the first to do so. I ask him what if we elect governments on the promises that they’ve made in their manifestos, which they then go on to break? “Well you have to go on and on campaigning.” He pauses then, sounding a little world weary, adds: “I mean it’s a terrible thing to say but there is no short cut. Demonstrations, letters to the papers, letters to MPs and to ministers and campaigns and broadcasts and all the things that people do when they have a cause they believe in. Because to get a really big change takes a lot of time.” And really it’s this determination and extreme willingness to take up a fight that has made Tony Benn so well known. Urban Dictionary says of the term Bennite ‘Implies outlandishly left-wing views, thoroughly at odds with any sensible establishment.’ I’m sure he would be amused and feel slightly validated to hear this because he in turn believes the establishment to be very rarely sensible, except when they are corruptly perusing their own interests. He may be outlandish in one way; requiring of himself and calling others to a path of perseverance, which makes for an uncomfortable prospect in a world driven by emotional gestures and instant gratification. However, as the gestures become ever more fraudulent and feeble, and gratification endlessly postponed by austerity, it might be, that his charming but unbending principles might not seem so outlandish after all.
Growing up she was a strong supporter of Israel, until they invaded Lebanon in 1982. “I could not cope because I just could not believe it. To say you wanted to flush out some terrorists was not good enough for me. If Lebanon had maybe a hundred terrorists, are you telling me that you have got to kill hundreds of thousands of people just to get those people?” She went to work for Christian Aid treating the war-wounded in Lebanon. Around 3,000 Palestinian refugees lived in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila where she was put in charge of an orthopaedic department. Christian Phalangists – a right wing group in Lebanon who openly modelled themselves on Hitler’s facists – moved in and slaughtered everyone in the camps over a period of three days. She spent three days and nights operating round-the-clock in a basement shelter. After an exhausting struggle to save every life possible, she was ordered out of the basement and onto streets which were littered with bodies. The foreigners were all put before a wall where there were bulldozers. They were made to take off their overalls and put their belongings in a pile. Later she was told that this was a mock execution, but she had been so angry at the time that she didn’t realise. She’d been too busy loudly telling off the officer in charge, shouting, “How dare you go into my hospital? What are you going to do with my patients? If any of them lose their lives because of your soldiers, you just watch it!” 400,000 Israeli citizens demonstrated in Tel Aviv, angry because Israel was meant to be overseeing the refugee camps. As a result of this public pressure, Israel called a Commission of Enquiry to identify who was to blame at which Dr Swee was asked to testify. Later she wrote the award winning book ‘From Beirut to Jerusalem’ about what she had seen and set up the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians. That was 30 years ago and she’s still going strong. “I might not be a good surgeon but I have got the loudest mouth in town, and a rather effective one! In 1986 I was critical of some of the military policies in Occupied Gaza and West Bank, and made my views known publicly” When the Commissioner General told me, ‘You are upsetting quite a few people. If you are going back to Gaza, you will create a lot of problems for some of the colleagues you are working with.’ I assured him I was not important enough so that was when I said, ‘Fine. I will leave!’” Medical Aid for Palestinians is a charity that combines humanitarian medical aid with human rights advocacy, which may perhaps seem like an awkward mix at first. Consider the fact that out of 470 essential drug items in Gaza, 253 are out of stock. Consider the fact that bombings have destroyed Gaza’s sewage system, causing widespread infection and bloody diarrhoea – particularly amongst children. Medicine, like pretty much everything else in Palestine, has become extremely political.
Khalil Secker
Comment
ISSUE 05/ 15th October
11
The burning question...
YES The government has decided to ban smoking indoors, and has failed to follow this through. The law bans all smoking indoors, with no clause to excuse shisha. All the justifications used for passing this law in the first place apply to the smoking of shisha. If anything, they apply more than cigarettes. Being a passive smoker is not something one consents to, and being a passive shisha smoker is similarly damaging. Moreover, there should be uniformity of the law. A law is a law, and should have the same weight and purpose everywhere. The cafes which offer shisha are also cafes in themselves. Many serve snacks, drinks and host live entertainment. It’s possible, and indeed probable, that many people want to visit these cafes and not smoke shisha. Why should they be forced to passively
Antonia Jennings
smoke? Excusing the cafes from the smoking ban can make them very alienating and unwelcoming places for these people. If shisha was banned indoors, the cafes could arguably benefit from the extra business from new, nonsmoking customers. If you’re still not convinced, think about the fact that these cafes don’t serve alcohol, making them popular family destinations. Even if grown adults enter these cafes in the knowledge they will passively smoke, children most certainly do not. I am not arguing for the banning of shisha. Shisha can be a fun, sociable and relaxing activity for many people. However, there is no reason for people to smoke shisha indoors. Many shisha cafes have outdoor smoking gardens, with heaters and parasols to protect smokers from the elements.
“Should the smoking ban apply to shisha cafes?” It would be simple and easy to move all their shisha pipes outside. The UK has adjusted to the banning of smoking cigarettes with ease, and should do the same for shisha.
To say that shisha cafes should be regulated by the same laws that make smoking indoors illegal is to entirely misunderstand the culture behind the two different ways of ingesting smoke.
NO
Emma Bean
Shisha cafes operate under a culture where everybody clearly knows what to expect when they enter them. It’s not correct to compare them to the situation in pubs before the smoking ban, as the primary aim of a pub is to drink and have a sociable time. The primary aim of a shisha cafe, as the name suggests, is to smoke shisha with refreshments on offer secondary to this. Whilst it is problematic that in some cafes children are to be found passively smoking, the answer to this is to ban children from them, much like we ban children from pubs, not to remove people’s free choice to enjoy shisha in a warm environment. This is the key difference between cigarettes and shisha: whereas with cigarettes within pubs and clubs, lots of people who didn’t want smoke in
their face had to put up with it, with shisha cafes the culture is such that there aren’t people there apart from those who wish to smoke, and the people who work there are almost exclusively shisha smokers. To work at a shisha serving establishment you would need to ingest smoke whether it is served inside or out; to set one up and serve your customers you need to smoke it both actively and passively. People who do this make an active choice to learn the skill, whereas to sell cigarettes you do not need to do this, much like people smoking outside of an establishment don’t need to be served by anyone – they are entirely different things.
Disagree? Tweet us @mancuniondebate, or email us at comment@mancunion.com
The reality of being with a woman, by a woman An anonymous contributor offers an alternative perspective on two woman relationships, in repsonse to Claudia’s article in lifestyle last week. Yes, the ultimate downside to being in a lesbian relationship is the truckload of stereotypical questions we often get asked, like “Who’s the man in the relationship?” that is definitely worse than homophobia, the coming out process and the fact we can’t legally marry. The way in which sex is represented is also intensely political, you can’t go past a ‘Lad’s Mag’ without seeing images of sexualised, for-the-benefitof-men, faux-lesbian encounters. The media storm that was created by images of Britney Spears and Madonna kissing at the 2003 MTV VMAs, and no doubt the increased music sales of these two artists, shows the way in which two women being intimate is most commonly known in society: a fun diversion, but ultimately it exists for the pleasure of men and the patriarchy. Stereotypical statements of “size doesn’t matter” don’t help anyone; not all sex ultimately centres back to penises. And issues of different libidos and desires is something that affects all sexual relationships, regardless of who is involved or what their gender identities might be. Whilst the sex may be mind-blowing, it may also be mediocre or just plain bad. As with all sex, gay or straight, how good it is is dependent on so many things, like whether or not you feel totally comfortable with your partner. The stereotype that lesbian sex is awesome because there are two vaginas or sets of breasts is damaging to the community, as it neglects to mention the phenomenon of ‘lesbian bed death’. This is the issue that lesbian couples in long term relationships have sex less and less compared with straight couples. Surely this needs to be addressed urgently, rather than the continued perpetuation of the myth that the sex is hot hot hot, and stays this way for the entirety of the relationship. Claudia found shopping with her lesbian partner to be a positive experience. I don’t know how positive an experience I find it to be when I can’t
Whilst LGBTQ rights have improved, homophobia still persists. Phoo - Wikimedia commons
display affection to my partner whilst shopping the same way a straight couple can. Homophobia still exists. Although it is less severe and explicit, it’s still a problem faced by same-sex couples. Many same-sex couples, both male and female, feel uncomfortable holding hands in certain areas of this city, due to the threat of harassment. In a perfect world we should be able to express our sexuality and sexual desires as we see fit but many members of the LGBTQ community feel unsafe doing so. And postulating the myth that loads of lesbian couples have sex in the changing rooms of shops doesn’t help our fight against homophobia. It may explain why Claudia found her shopping experience so positive though. The reality of not being heterosexual means you have to come out, continually, for the rest of your
life. Every time you forge some new relationship, be it with someone you have to work with on a presentation for uni or people you go for drinks with after the first class, you have to make the decision whether or not to come out to them. From my own personal experience, this is a process which can be wrought with anxiety and fear. And not to mention coming out to friends and family, the people who knew you when you identified as straight. From knowing people whose parents cut them off after they came out, the reality of the situation is that people’s lives can get turned upside down after coming out. Research from the Family Acceptance Project in California shows that LGBT youth are eight times more likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts. That is the reality of being a
girl with a girl, or a boy with a boy. And whilst synchronised PMS is a downfall in a lesbian relationship, not being able to legally marry is a bit worse. I wouldn’t call myself a supporter of gay marriage, I support marriage equality. Having a separate title between marriage and civil partnerships sounds a bit like ‘separate but equal’ which was deemed unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1954 in relation to schools in the United States having to integrate white and black children. I can’t marry in a church, and I don’t know how many members of my family will actually come to my wedding. This is the reality of being a girl with a girl. Furthermore, if we consider job application forms which ask what our marital status is, having to tick a box saying ‘in a civil partnership’ immediately lets your potential employer know your sexual orientation. For some, this means prejudice in the recruitment process, but also prejudice in work. Stonewall, a gay rights charity, have found that one in five lesbian and gay people in the UK have experienced homophobia in the workplace. These statistics highlight the fact that homophobia persists and how having separate titles for marriage and civil partnerships is so damaging. In relatively liberal countries, like the UK and US, these statistics and pervasive homophobia are most certainly true and a fact of everyday life - we must not forget just how much worse it gets. Proliferating myths and stereotypes surrounding lesbianism is not helping anyone. A lesbian relationship is not that much different to a straight relationship and stereotypes only miseducate and damage our community. We need to start seeing people in a relationship as people, not as their gender.
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Comment
ISSUE 05/ 15th October 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Investment pays off for Asia Antonia Jennings observes the benefits of Asian investment in higher education
Photo: Candy Schwartz @ flickr
The release of both the QS World University Rankings in March and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings this month has shown the steady rise of Asian universities, at the expense of British and US institutions. Campuses across the world have been rated by close to 18,000 academics, showing that the quality of British Universities is second only to those of the US. The rankings were a sobering read for American academics however, as they saw 51 US universities drop in the top 200. Asia has not only just started pouring money into its higher education institutions; the last decade has seen the continent trying to ‘Westernise’ its educational and research methods, alongside much government and private investment in its universities. So while the rise may be surprisingly speedy, it’s not completely unexpected. Universities in China, Singapore and Australia made the biggest gains in numbers of universities moving upwards, and South Korea saw all of its universities get a higher place. Seoul National University was one of the biggest risers, moving from 124th place in 2011 to 59th this year. Speaking to the New York Times, editor of the Times Higher Education rankings Phil Bary commented “We’ve been talking for years about the rise of Asia… But this is the first solid empirical evidence.” Asia’s population demographic is also playing a part in its success, as its increasing numbers of young people are demanding a higher quality of education. Youth is clearly on the march in Asia, with four of the continent’s top 10 universities less than 50 years old. The continent boasts thousands of universities, with many new ones opened each year. In the 2011/12 QS survey of young
universities, Asia fill four of the top five places. The more recent figures included in the specialist Asian rankings published today suggest that they will make an even bigger mark this year. Perhaps surprisingly, the University of Manchester has not been one of the many British universities seeing their place fall. Ranked 32nd in the 2012 QS league table, Manchester sees itself above Durham, St Andrews, LSE and Warwick. Just a few weeks after the National Student Survey showed Manchester’s student satisfaction levels are among the lowest in the country, Manchester is shown to be steady climbing the world league tables. The President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell said “Manchester is now tantalisingly close to realising the vision mapped out by my predecessor, Professor Alan Gilbert. Although we are already planning well beyond 2015, this is an important milestone in our continuing journey towards becoming one of the top 25 universities in the world, and it is a tribute to the outstanding staff here at Manchester.” However, the future of British universities outside the ‘golden triangle’ (Oxbridge and London) is uncertain at best. The increase in student fees only covers what was subsidised by the government before, and does not result in the universities actually receiving any more money. Many predict that if British universities do not manage to generate some extra income in the following years, there is a danger of a real slippage in standards. “Outside the golden triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge, England’s world-class universities face a collapse into global mediocrity, while investment in top research universities in Asia is starting to
pay off,” rankings editor Phil Baty told the Guardian. What is also interesting about the league tables is the nature of the universities that have been big climbers. The QS table has put Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the number one spot, which is a sciencefocused, networked and translational university. Other universities which have these qualities have also been big climbers, possibly revealing a trend that may be a pointer to what the role of higher education is to be in the future. While the classical, ancient blue-skies reach institution may not quite be on its way out yet, it may soon be seen as equal to specialist technical universities and colleges. Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, speaking to The Telegraph said “Our institutions already do more with less, beating many key rivals despite lower expenditure. But as these tables show, cuts in public investment have seriously weakened some US public universities. We cannot afford to take this path. If we are serious about staying on top, the Government must concentrate investment where it will have the most impact: in our world-class research-intensive universities.” As the university of the future attempts to establish itself, the success of the investment schemes in Asia should be noted in Britain. At a time when every British economic policy has the aim of maintaining the country’s global competitiveness, trebling tuition fees and cutting university funding does not seem the right path to take.
Disagree? Tweet us @mancuniondebate or email us at comment@mancunion.com
manchester.gov.uk/shisha
IS AS HARMFUL AS CIGARETTES
AND COULD LAND YOU A *If smoked within an enclosed public space.
FINE
*
To find out more visit: manchesterstudentsunion.com/demo2012
14
Film
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Pixar studio made its name with Toy Story. It captured the imaginations of children and adults alike. They had set themselves a very tough act to follow with this sequel, but pulled off another great piece of cinema.
For the Love of Film
The Greater Manchester Film Festival delivers a day to celebrate Manchester as the City of Cinema For film lovers in Manchester, last weekend was a long time coming. Of course, here in this city we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to film, with massive cinemas such as the Printworks and the cinematic gem that is the Cornerhouse. But there’s always been something missing – a creative outlet, a chance to celebrate and inspire Manchester’s buzzing film community. Last week, local film director Simon Powell – amazed that Manchester with all its cinematic facilities was still without a major film festival – stepped into the breach and founded the GMFF: the first Greater Manchester Film Festival. The festival, supported by famous faces like Christopher Eccleston, had two objectives: to
bring together the worlds of short film and feature film, and to inspire anyone and everyone to get out there and have a go – to brave the world of film and get filming, directing or acting. I went to day two of the festival, which kicked off with a master class and “director’s Q&A” with Eran Creevy. At the moment busy with production of his latest feature Welcome to the Punch, starring James McAvoy and executive-produced by Ridley Scott, Creevy took us back to his beginnings in the industry. By starting out as a lowly runner, Creevy got to see up close the working methods of the likes of Woody Allen. Soon moving (with great success) into music videos, it wasn’t until 2009 that he finally released his first feature film Shifty – a
semi-autobiographical tale of an Essex-based drug dealer. The film, starring Riz Ahmed, Daniel Mays, Francesca Annis and Jason Flemyng, was very much a breakthrough movie for Creevy, receiving a BAFTA nomination and five BIFAS. It’s hard to believe that a film so successful was filmed in just eighteen days and on a budget of £100,000, but it was. On Saturday in Screen 2 of Manchester Printworks’ Odeon, Creevy brought the whole process to life. The film itself, screened after the Q&A, was electric – intimately depicting a single eventful day in Shifty’s life – but the power of the event was to juxtapose the film’s story with Creevy’s. His drive, discipline and passion shone
out both in person and through his chosen medium, leaving the audience in no doubt that the key to a great film is not so much cash, as time, discipline and sheer hard work. To bookend the day with a complete contrast, GMFF’s evening entertainment was the world premiere of festival-founder Simon Powell’s first feature film: Girl Shaped Love Drug. This event was equally inspiring, marking Powell’s journey from fitness instructor to film director (with a sure-fire winner of film to boot!) and founder of Manchester’s first feature film festival. All in all, the day cutely pitched together two directors with completely different backgrounds and budgets, who were both using GMFF to spread the same message: get out there, get everyone involved and get filming! Sophie James
GMFF Screening of the BAFTA Short Film Tour 3.
BAFTA 2012 Short Films Even in this first ever year of Manchester’s
film festival a strong precedent has been set Aliens (1986)
on the standard that the GMFF has to offer. A lucky relationship was forged when BAFTA contacted the organisers after seeing some of their activity on Twitter. They were in fact so impressed by the potential this new film festival had that they allowed a BAFTA short film screening tour to be hosted during the weekend’s events. With this came 8 utterly unique and expressive short films, each completely independent from one another, from some of the most intriguing directors and animators in the world. Spanning over two hours the sheer range of subject-matter, style and substance that these films embodied made for a diverse viewing. As to be expected there were several films that carried political undertones in both an explicit and a more subtle sense. Only Sound Remains is set in the wake of violent postelection protests in Iran, as a family tries to hide the news of death of their youngest member from their grandmother. With the whole film transpiring in the tranquility of the grandmother’s house, it’s a quiet, poignant look at loss in its immediate form. Abuelas instead looks at the long-term scars that loss can bring, in the context of the brutal Argentinean dictatorship during the 1970s that ‘disappeared’ thousands and forever destroyed families. Not all had a specific political context; Two and Two is set in a classroom where a headmaster decrees that now 2 + 2 = 5. Most are willing to accept this lie but there are a few brave children who stand and challenge this ruling, with brutal repercussions. The short has a strong message, though rather simple, which resonates louder amongst the bewildered innocence of the classroom. From a more creative standpoint, animation films held their ground amongst the heavier subject matter. A Morning Stroll is a hilarious visual anecdote where a man walking down a street in New York City comes past a chicken having a leisurely and contented walk. The man rather bemused turns to watch this chicken make his way up the stairs of an entrance to a house, confidently peck on the
door, and walk in through. We follow this same scene from 1959 to 2009 to 2059, and though the world changes around him this chicken never ceases his morning stroll. The animation is employed cleverly to follow the narrative, evolving with each era, and what A Morning Stroll lacks in substance it makes up for in its wit and absurdity. Absurdity certainly played a role in other shorts, particularly Bobby Yeah which, it can be confidently said, is one of the most disturbing clay-animations ever made. It essentially follows a mutant creature who, when caught stealing from other strange organisms, gets attacked. Its plot is pretty much indecipherable, but really what BAFTA is crediting here is the unbelievably creative, intricate and graphic clay motion. Think of Wallace and Gromit in the midst of a horrifying LSD trip. It is highly entertaining, but I do have serious concerns for the mental state of creator Robert Morgan. What stood as the biggest crowd pleaser was arguably the short Mwansa the Great. Set in a village in Zambia, it follows young Mwansa embarking on an imaginary adventure to prove his greatness to his friends and help his sister. It is a familiar concept, with the director jostling between the children’s fantasy and their more modest reality, but it is the acting that makes it such a heartwarming tale. Mwansa and his sister Shula are mischievous, confident and lively in their presence, and their wide-eyed journeying takes us eagerly into a beautiful world where imagination can empower everyday life. All these films were entertaining and offered the audience some food for thought. BAFTA 2012 Short Films proved a highly successful screening which hopefully has launched a long lasting and fruitful relationship between BAFTA and the GMFF. Nihal Tharoor
Into the Archives: GMFF shows us Manchester through the ages A real treat for those fans of history and cinema came with the feature Manchester in Film. Essentially a collection of some of the most fascinating stories in Manchester’s history ever captured on film. This screening was a product of tireless editing by the North West Film Archive which for over 30 years has been responsible for the preservation and restoration of over 36,000 items, from the pioneer days of film in the mid1890s to the present day. The feature began with a film made in 1914 intended to show a day in the life of Manchester’s finest. One shot shows a police constable walking near Deansgate Locks following his evening patrol, likely gazing at a property which will a century later be graced by Vodka Revolutions. We are shown Manchester in the aftermath of its Blitz in 1941, often overlooked due to London’s bombings but still showing a
devastating impact. Historical buildings and landmarks stand decapitated and lie in rubble, whilst a defiant narrator holds firm that the people of Manchester stay united and strong against Hitler’s army.
Jumping forward twenty years we see the historic visit of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, during his world tour. Arriving at Manchester into its miserable rain and wind, Yuri refuses to enter a roofed car and chooses to be driven round open top to wave to ecstatic crowds who have flooded into the streets to greet him. At a
speech he proclaims Manchester is the greatest city he has been to on his world tour! And the crowd goes wild. The final time jump comes to a sweltering summer in the 1970’s. All the swagger and style which made Manchester on of the coolest cities of the times radiates, as flared jeans, long hair and big moustaches populate the streets. The look of BBC series Life On Mars is brought to mind, and perhaps this is the first time the city bears some resemblance to what it is today. The narrator makes a timely statement that Manchester’s universities are some of the fastest growing in the country. This retrospective does well to cement the breathtakingly changes in culture, landscape, and society that Manchester has gone through in this last century, a fitting start to Manchester’s new film festival. Nihal Tharoor
Film
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
15
Review
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
A Year in Film: 1977
Director: Stephen Chbosky • Starring: Emma Watrson, Ezra Miller
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Or rather, thirty-five years ago, in a galaxy much closer to home. Yes, 1977 shall forever be remembered as the year that Star Wars blasted onto cinema screens in all its lightsaber-swinging, Empirefighting glory. A New Hope has inspired multiple generations, spawned countless parodies, and is recognised the world over. But it would be far too easy to spend 400 words on George Lucas’ epic saga. 1977 is not just the year of Star Wars. It also holds another science-fiction masterpiece to its credit- namely Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The film with the famous notes grossed $337,700,000 worldwide, making it the second highestgrossing movie overall and truly turning ’77 into the Year of the Geek. But for those with other tastes, there was plenty to choose from. If you liked your films a little off-beat, there was the downright crazy Jabberwocky, brought to you by some of the minds behind the famous Monty Python’s Flying Circus (Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin) and based on the poem of the same name by Lewis Carroll. For the more musically-minded out there, Saturday Night
Charlie (Logan Lerman), the so-called ‘Wallflower’ in Stephen Chbosky’s adaption of his own best-selling novel, joins the ranks of the burgeoning group of thoughtful teen movie characters grappling with the struggles of growing up and finding meaning in the modern world. Indeed the obligatory reference to The Catcher in the Rye makes it clear that Charlie and his new friends are united in the fight against uniformity. Charlie’s best friends, Sam (Emma Watson, embracing a role a million miles away from Hogwarts and Harry) and Patrick (the fantastic Ezra Miller), are burdened by different social stigmas: Sam’s promiscuous youth prompts her to reflect on why she and the people she love pick people who treat us like they’re nothing. The film is littered with these ponderous reflections which you sense would sound better in a bad song than coming from the mouths of supposedly intelligent and sophisticated young adults. At times you feel the group’s ‘indie’ credentials are hammered home too heavily, if slightly lazily: a case in point being the three friends’ frequent references to their love of The Smiths which is then undermined by their inability to recognise David Bowie’s Heroes
for most of the film. Yet despite the characters’ straddling on the good side of self-importance, The Perks of Being a Wallflower has moments of real poignancy, especially as the revelations of Charlie’s past become clear, and more importantly, genuine humuor thanks largely to Miller’s extroverted performance. Patrick’s struggles with his secret romance with the school jock is one of the most touching, if undeveloped, threads of the film’s narrative. Charlie’s relationship with his supportive English teacher (Paul Rudd) also struck a chord with me. The film benefits from a nice visual flair thanks to Chbosky’s confident direction. Watching Watson play a character other than Hermione Granger was an unusual experience, especially with an
accent she struggles with at times. Yet it’s a promising start for her post-Potter career and she fulfills the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ elements of her role admirably. She makes up what is a generally strong main cast, with the stand-out being Ezra Miller. The supporting cast is similarly good with the fellow ‘wallflowers’ providing the necessary comic relief to what is, at times, quite a serious film. The cliches of the teen movie genre are all present (gay best friend, acid trips and canteen fights) but are dealt with more sensitively than you might expect in a film which always feels like it could slip into pretentious self-indulgence, but manages to stay grounded thanks to its likeable leads and heartfelt sentiment. Robbie Davidson
Fever also made its debut, with the unforgettable John Travolta dancing his way to becoming a household name. 1977 was also a prime year for animation, with the release of the sometimes overlooked Disney classic The Rescuers. Four years in the making, it involved the work of 40 animators, who produced over 300,000 drawings. Naturally, 1977 had its share of action too. The Spy Who Loved Me, the tenth film in the James Bond series, came out in cinemas, marking Roger Moore’s third outing as the world-famous secret agent. The Academy Award winning romantic comedy
Annie Hall was also released that year. Described by its director, Woody Allen, as a “major turning point” in terms of his work, his decision to introduce an extreme level of seriousness resulted in a film which not only received widespread critical acclaim, but also four Oscars, including the aforementioned Best Picture, at the 1978 awards. In the end, 1977 was a truly diverse and rich year for film. From beautifully animated classics to bizarre poem adaptations, it appears that it had it all. Charlotte Mather
World Premiere: ‘Girl Shaped Love Drug’
CORNERHOUSE
GMFF founder Simon Powell presents the World Premiere of his first feature length film at the Greater Manchester Film Festival
Holy Motors
The room is silent. There is a sense of anticipation as sharp dressed film-goers wait with their complimentary drinks. It is already apparent that this is no ordinary cinema experience. This is, in fact, the world premiere of festival director Simon Powell’s Girl Shaped Love Drug at the Greater Manchester Film Festival. Shot amongst the streets of Manchester, this gritty fairytale tells of a romantic, yet simplistic love story set within our very own city. Powell effectively captures the spontaneous one-day adventure and developing narrative of ‘him’ (Sacha Dhawan) and ‘her’ (Rachel Austin) as their personalities unfold. Although the vital ingredients of ‘boy meets girl’ are present
ODEON
LISTINGS
in this film, this is not a case of your typical romance. Finally! The characters that grace a romance hold some sense of realism! Whether this is due to the cinematography or sharp screenplay, we have certainly witnessed this couple that walk awkwardly together in amongst the city streets. Girl Shaped Love Drug flits between being what seems at times a very light-hearted, realistic documentary to providing us with moments of very powerful theatre. Be certain to be entranced with an intense scene from Dean Andrews (Ashes to Ashes). Powell cleverly juxtaposes aspects of a traditional love story with a bitter sense of realism, which is enhanced through the use of beautiful
aesthetics. However, this can often create in certain scenes a deliberate, uneasy effect. Shooting on location across various areas of Manchester city centre, the film creates a deep resemblance to other contemporary British realism films, including those of its ‘daddy’ Shane Meadow’s Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) and This Is England (2006). The film often creates what seems a ‘fly on the wall’ approach, embodying aesthetics of a documentary style, especially through the use of a hand-held camera. Powell’s romance is beautifully shot and the aesthetics are certainly reminiscent to elements of the French New Wave, through its black and white cinematography, improvisational acting and on-location filming. We often hear of New York, Venice and Paris as the cities of love, but its a breath of fresh air to see something a little different to the conventional romance. With Girl Shaped Love Drug, Powell has created something a little more realistic and closer to home, stating that he wanted “to work with old Manchester to reflect an old story which is love”. At the crux of it Girl Shaped Love Drug is a love story with a twist and there is no pretence about this. This is a film as much about Manchester as it is about boy meets girl. Faye Broadbent
ON THE ROAD (15) LOOPER (15) DIRECTOR: RIAN JOHNSON DIRECTOR: WALTER SALLES STARRING: JOSEPH GORDONSTARRING: SAM RILEY, LEVITT, BRUCE WILLIS GARRET HEDLUND RUNNING TIME: 119 MIN SHOWING: 13.10 15.00 16.00 RUNNING TIME: 124 MINS 17.50 18.50 20.40 21.40
TAKEN 2 (15) DIRECTOR: OLIVIER MEGATON STARRING: LIAM NEESON, RUNNING TIME: 91 MIN SHOWING: 13.05 14.05 15.25 16.25 17.45 18.45 19.30 20.15
Director: Leos Carax Language: English In a disused department store, filled with the decaying bodies of disassembled mannequins, Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) and former love, Eva (Kylie Minogue) talk of lives that could have been. This is Leos Carax’s Holy Motors, a joyfully disorientating film about living multiple lives in the space of one day. Oscar is a man of seemingly infinite means who makes it his business to live the lives of others. In the space of 9 different “appointments” throughout his day we see him take on guises as varied and as bizarre as a motion capture artist, an assassin and a father to an angst-ridden teenage girl. Between jobs, Oscar spends his time secluded in a giant white limousine with only his doting assistant, Céline (Édith Scob) for company. Much like in Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis (2012) the life of the man trapped in the limousine is one of intense loneliness. Oscar spends all of his time pretending to be other people so when it becomes time to be himself, he is lost. To say that this film tells a story would be misleading – there’s very little actual plot to speak of. The film joyfully drifts from scene to scene with little regard for narrative structure. Instead it’s a film that showcases the wonderful emotional powers that cinema holds. Before we are introduced to Oscar, Leos Carax himself is shown pushing down the wall to an apartment which leads to an audience in front of a cinema screen. This, along with many clips of what look like Murbridge-style, early cinematic experiments and the previously mentioned motion capture scene, gives the feeling that this film is spanning the whole of film history. The whole effect is one that makes you immensely proud to be a lover of cinema. Andrew Home
OUT THIS WEEK: MADAGASCAR 3 DIRECTOR: ERIC DARNELL STARRING: BEN STILLER, CHRIS ROCK, DAVID SCHWIMMER RELEASED: 19/10/12
OUT THIS WEEK: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 DIRECTOR: HENRY JOOST GENRE: HORROR, THRILLER
Fashion
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
How to be a Warehouse Project Wanker Jake Pummintr sacrifices his weekend for an evening of people watching people who, for some reason, think that they are doing the rest of the world a favour by attending. Here are a few simple things to consider:
As you may or may not have seen, all sartorial bets are off when it comes to the infamous WarehouseProjectthatiscurrentlyinManchester until the New Year. Originally taking place at the Old Boddington’s Brewery in 2006, the sell-outguaranteed night is now at the larger Victoria Warehouse in Trafford Park, meaning there are even more try-hard “ravers” in the same place at the same time. Whilst the concept is not particularly original, it is by far one of the best nights out that Manchester has to offer with its everimpressive line-up. Your experience however, is subject to the irritating presence of the WHP W**kers. But fear not, for here at the Fashion section of The Mancunion, it would be our pleasure to outline how you can both avoid and identify the
The clothes: girls, contrary to the embarrassing amounts of bodycon dresses I noticed on Saturday night, WHP is not the place for glamazons who are incapable of dressing down when going out. Boys, please strive to remain clothed at all times – it’s bad enough being shoved into sweaty t-shirts never mind naked, sweaty armpits. With regards to your t-shirts, let’s leave neon hues to the people in control of the lighting please. To those of you who insist on wearing coats or hoodies, please don’t. It gets hot and no amount of cologne or perfume can save us from your odour. You are either very coldblooded or descendants of the Russian mafia.
returned home with a once-white leather pair of shoes that now resemble a grimacing shade of grayish-brown. Do not wear your best pair of anything. It’s not a fashion show. The attitude: We are all aware that you will most probably be off your face, however, when throwing shapes and insulting the rest of us with your dance moves, remember a little something called personal space. It’s not easy to come by when inside but don’t shove yourself around like there’s no tomorrow. Another thing, there is no need to yell “mate this song is sick” at the start of every drop. Finally, to you smokers out there who have decided that going to the smoking area is far too mainstream for you, flick your ash on your own hair or in your own eyes, not in ours.
5 Nights out The well-trained POUTer knows that cleavage, bodycon, sky-high heels, and all the St. Moritz you can buy are a must have when heading over to Deansgate Locks. It’s clearly a night to look your absolute best. Or at least make a lot of effort trying to. Complete the ‘poutfit’ by nabbing a drunken footballer hanging off your arm by the end of the night. Tilly Miller
Renowned for their thought provoking, and sometimes controversial, Facebook events, Tuesday’s Gold Teeth is a favourite with hip-hop fans. Held in the Deaf Institute, meaning it’s also a big hit with all you hipsters. The night sells out every week, so they’re obviously doing something right. Grainne Morrison
Wednesdays: AU Social
Tilly Miller interviews Berrin Golding, owner of Withington High Street’s new vintage haunt ‘Mockingbird’ - check out the complete interview online @ mancunion.com building and creating the store that I never fully understood the process of turning a building site into a shop, so when Saturday came and people walked in only then did I realise how beautiful the shop had become.
On Wednesdays we don’t just wear pink. It’s AU Social time so boys grab something crisp with a collar, beige chinos, plus anything with an Abercrombie tag and you’re set to go. Girls go with the “less is more” approach and a nice shade of orange to help you glow. Miles Zilesnick
Do you choose the clothing style to cater to the student population or did you have another target audience in mind?
Murkage on a Thursday means denim shorts or shirt with grubby converse and sunglasses inside. The coolest kids will wear a beanie too whilst getting low to the dub and ‘bleak grime’ (their descriptionnotours).Thesmall and sweaty space at South means heels and any sort of glamorous attire are a no no.
Have you had a good initial response to the store? I have had a brilliant response, which I wasn’t expecting! People have walked in surprised and say they forget that they are in Withington because it is so different! I have really had a great response and I am so grateful to the local people. Just the other day a man came in and said that I had a very nice shop even though he wasn’t even buying anything!
Have you opened any shops before or is this your first clothing store? No but I have done the Christmas market and student markets in the Manchester Academy for a long time, as my mother, myself and my sister all make handmade jewellery, crochet hats and headbands. Then I felt like I really wanted to settle somewhere properly and realised Manchester was home for me and that I should create a base for myself locally. This shop came up for sale and as soon as I came in to see it I fell in love with the building. I never even thought of not going for it. When did the shop open? I think it was Saturday the 6th of September. I was so involved with
The lowest item I have is 9 pounds and then with the vintage it can go up to 150 pounds. But there is a huge price range, and in the brand new clothing I have the highest at the moment is around 60 pounds. I will always stock items which are more affordable as I have many people to cater for. With the jewellery it ranges from 6 pounds up to 30 pounds for the vintage pearls. Do you have any best-selling items at the moment? The best selling items at the moment are warm jumpers, I think a lot of the students have been coming to the shop for them, maybe they are missing home or their boyfriends or something! Read the entire interview online: www.mancunion.com
Elizabeth Harper
Fridays: The BOP It’s Friday night and the feeling’s right, for the stickyfloored, fancy dress-crazed BOP. Brace yourself for an overdose of green monsters, 90’s pop and obligatory hot dogs to end the night. With a different theme every week, BOP hums of Luvyababes’ finest attire. Tip: Add a cheeky prop such as a whip or a sombrero to get heads turning. Faye Howard
For the girls: We’ve all been there: you head out for a few quiet cocktails at Font and somehow end up returning home at 6am somewhat worse-forwear. This is fine until your alarm buzzes and you remember that all important 9am seminar you absolutely cannot miss. Getting ready in a rush is always a challenge, but when you’re lingering in that strange place between still being drunk and very hungover, whilst also in last night’s clothes, style often takes a backseat. I have a friend who put foundation on her toothbrush in a rush to get ready for a lecture- not a great look (or taste). With the right attitude, however, one can give the appearance of a well-rested, healthy student whilst actually dying on the inside. I’m not saying we can all look like Olivia Palermo after two hours of sleep and 20 units of alcohol, but a hangover is not an excuse to look like a homeless Ian Beale. If you haven’t yet realised-the dishevelled look is popular in Manchester; girls spend an hour trying to perfect the ‘I just rolled out of bed’ look – you don’t even have to try! There is always time to wash your face, brush your teeth (with toothpaste!) and knot your hair. Keep makeup minimal: concealer for the tired eyes, blusher to brighten the vodka-ruined complexion and mascara if you’re putting in an effort. Now for the clothes: there are a few essential items to have for those mornings when your brain
is just not functioning. Black wet look leggings with an oversized white shirt is always my go-to outfit but for those of you who are braver than myself, add a statement necklace to give it more of an edge. If you’re feeling especially courageous you could take heed from Stella McCartney and brighten up your complexion with a bold and bright orange or green jumper. The most pertinent rule to remember is to avoid busy prints; you’ll find it hard enough to focus on the words you’re writing down, never mind realising halfway through your class that you’ve worn a floral top with neon tie-dye leggings. If you can master this, you can definitely get a first in your degree. And try not to judge those fellow course mates wearing badly chosen ensembles after an ill-fated night out, not everyone reads The Mancunion… For the boys: At this point in the academic year, you can safely assume that most of us have attended a 9am lecture in the throes of the worst hangover in the history of hangovers. This is particularly true for those of us who can’t afford the better stuff and thus stick to Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s or Spar basic vodka. We’ve woken up with puke on the side of our faces and chunklets in our beards and hair with a little over 30 minutes before the lecture that we can’t miss. While we all understand the dynamics of the hangover, none of us want to walk into a lecture reeking of alcohol and looking like death, so without further ado, I present to you my guide of how to look like a decent respectable human being after a night of excess. Rule 1: In the morning you must pick yourself off the floor and shower. It is essential. The girl you’ve been checking out for weeks will notice that you smell like a homeless man’s dog. It’s also a great way to rid yourself of dried vomit. If you don’t want to go through the rigours of washing your hair then use dry shampoo. Rule 2: You must not wear sweat pants. I am aware that sweats are the go-to items of clothing for comfort, and that the thick cotton provides you with a sense of security, but it is not acceptable. You want to look good don’t you? A respectable middle would be your most comfortable pair of jeans. These Tepphar jeans from Diesel are extremely comfortable. They are unlikely to chafe. Pair the jeans with a sweatshirt. This light coloured sweatshirt from Topman will
keep you warm and snug; two things you need after a night of debauchery. Rule 3: Don’t be afraid to wear a hat. If you feel that your hair for some reason is not its usual buoyant self then do not be shy about tucking it into a beanie. That way you won’t have to think about it for the rest of the day and the rest of the world will be spared from your limp locks.
Beauty
Thursdays: Murkage
To be honest I just go out and choose what I think is nice and going to sell well. I try to have unique pieces as well, and not have too many of one thing, so I will have a maximum of six pieces of one particular item. But if it is really popular I will get more. I choose all the vintage pieces and a lot of them are what I have collected over the years.
What is the typical price range of clothing and Jewellery within the store?
Grainne Morrison and Damilola Ade-Odiachi try and solve the student style dilemma faced all too often...
Mondays: Pout
You will get home in the early hours of the morning covered in undesirable substances with but a few being mud, alcohol, urine (hopefully you have not been this unlucky) and copious amounts of sweat from the people next to you, in front of you, behind you, as well as on top of you if they were truly dedicated to being a WHPW. A quick message to those of you who are guilty of this: you will be bottled. Period. The shoes: Your shoes will also be destroyed. This is a lesson I learnt the hard way when I
Manchester Profile: Mockingbird, Withington
The Lecture after the Night Before
Tilly Miller, Grainne Morrison, Miles Zilesnick, Elizabeth Harper and Faye Howard give you Manchester’s favourite nights out.
Tuesdays: Gold Teeth
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Saving Face Come rain or, well, rain, Jessica Cusack advises on how to combat the elements and survive the library long haul So here we are. Another academic year is well under way. Yet while our brains have developed, our friendships blossomed, and our knowledge of the best time to shop at Sainsbury’s sharpened, Manchester’s climate appears to be stuck in a cold, wet, rut. Just what is a student to do in such a damp situation? How does one save face? Let’s start at the top, or as it’s more commonly known, 8am when your alarm buzzes. A good facial wash, preferably with a scrub, is a must to wake up that face and sluice off the dirt and pollution of Manchester living – I love Garnier Pure 3 in 1 (£5.99), plus it triples as a face mask, perfect for a bit of mid-week pampering/a fun thing to scare your flatmates with. Follow up with a rich moisturiser to protect your skin from the brutality of the wind and rain – if you can’t quite stretch to Protect and Perfect Day Cream (£22) which is amazing, go for Simple Rich Moisturiser (£3.80). All you need for a busy day in and out of lectures is a lick of mascara, a creamy blush to give your face
some colour, and a tinted lip balm. Cyclists may want to consider waterproof mascara to avoid being mistaken for a panda when frantically entering the lecture theatre drenched following an Oxford Road rain shower. Once inside the either boiling heat or freezing cold of your given Uni location, the fun really starts. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security by thinking that away from the rain, wind, sleet, hail and snow you shall be your beautiful best – you shall not. The library central heating (colding) system will assure this fact. To combat this saddening fact of scholarly life I propose these two measures: 1. take a suitcase of extra clothes, varying in warmth, so you can shed or layer as your body temperature sees fit, and 2. take arms with miniature beauty prods to see you through the day. Drastic it may seem but when you’re pulling 9 to 5 shifts in the Libz you’ll thank me. A mini pot of moisturiser (Nivea Soft, £3) will revive your skin from the drying effects of sudden
temperature change and harsh central heating. A similarly small hand cream (Nivea Q10, £1.52) is also essential. Seeing as your hands cannot be covered indoors without looking like a vagrant typing away in fingerless gloves (trust me, I’ve been there), hand cream is vital to save your paws from withering away in the cold. Lip balm needs no explanation – we’ve all experienced that horrible sensation of a pout so dry it feels as if it will fall off your face. Not cool. Carmex (£2.69) is always a winner for me. And so while we stumble through the mid Autumn mist, summer adventures being a distant memory and the Christmas hols a bloody mile off, comfort yourself in the fact that there is a way to survive. And in my opinion it’s through moisturiser. And also lots of layers, hot water bottles and hats. And a sturdy brolly. …Okay, and having the heating on even though it’s October. There, I said it.
Rule 4: Be kind to your feet. Today is not the day for loafers, or brogues. It is the day of the comfortable pair of trainers. After all the moves you pulled on the dance floor, your feet deserve the day off. I would recommend a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor’s. If you have followed all of these rules then I guarantee that you’ll be well on your way to being considered a hunk of a man when your inner god feels like a mouse.
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Music Live
Guest columnist
A look at opera from within Catherine Fahy Type “Cherebino’s Aria” (a rip-roaring number from Mozart’s classic Nozze di Figaro) into Youtube and the first thing to greet the intrepid music lover is Europop’s answer to Katherine Jenkins, belting out the same incessant section of the piece accompanied by a diabolic synth outfit. This monstrosity comes courtesy of artists Adya & Geisha, and the less said about the accompanying dance routine the better. It’s no wonder that, with the prevalence of internet clips featuring countless other tone-deaf opera wannabes, journalists are continually harbouring the death of classical music and its need to modernise and reform. The only problem is, classical music has never been so accessible or exciting. The stigma of opera only being for the rich has been one attached to the genre for years, an idea the industry has been trying to shift for just as long. Practically every professional opera company has a range of affordable tickets and student programmes, as well as events for young and old to engage with the often daunting repertoire. Somewhat paradoxically a lot of the blame can be given to the classical light contingency; the crossovers and pretenders proffered on gaudy talent shows, shouting bad Italian amongst the rest of the modern menagerie of the freakish and upliftingly tragic. The creeping subtext beneath these token nuggets of operaesque entertainment is that the full opera- meal is far too rich a dish for those without their own chateau on the
ISSUE 05/ 15TH OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
continent and the right kind of inbreeding - more Duchess of Cambridge than Jeremy Kyle. As well being more accessible, opera has never tried so hard to reel in the cool-cat kudos. The ENO last year put on an acclaimed production of Berlioz’s Faust directed by Terry Gilliam (Monty Python fans shriek in excitement now) followed by a new opera by ultra-chic Nico Muhly with its own viral video campaign. More and more innovative creative-types are flocking to opera and classical music, allowing people to rediscover the passions and relevancy of classical repertoire. It’s incredibly dangerous and unexpected then that one of opera’s crossover artists Alfie Bow has described himself as “bored stiff ” at the opera. The mindless damning of an entire art form is staggering. Although it is clear opera needs to be taken off its artistic pedestal to be properly appreciated, and I confess, I too have been bored at the opera; but I’ve also been moved, engaged and felt everything that good art makes us feel. Admittedly, my views are influenced by the fact I’m currently studying classical singing, but I believe opera would be viewed as more accessible and less-glamorous if people could meet people within the industry. I can say from personal experience there is nothing glamorous about Tesco Express and 12 hour rehearsals. They say it’s not over till the fat lady sings, but that’s merely who you’re sitting next to on the 4am Megabus to rehearsals.
Faktion presents: Hieroglyphic Being Gulliver’s - 8th October 2012 - 8/10
Thanks to the ever-reliable Faktion series, Manchester was lucky enough to play host to one of the few genuine enigmatic figures of modern electronic music in the form of Jamal Moss, the Hieroglyphic Being. Despite various attempts in the past from dogged local promoters, Monday represented the Chicago legend’s first time in Manchester to cast his eccentric spell of dancefloor oddities to the local converts of the windy city’s famous musical doctrine. Dreadlocks flowing, the other-worldly visitor quickly appeased the Chicago purists as the template shifted between Fingersesque house and dark, rumbling 909-laden excursions, invigorating the minority still stationary. The records subsequently picked out and chopped up by “The Being” were as unexpected as you’d expect from the man. Pulsating acidic house, a plethora of disco edits through latin funk, dub and psychadelic rock were all paid their dues as the selfproclaimed Sun God utilised his enviable selection skills to maintain a cosmic hypnosis over the crowd for more than 3 hours. It’s rare to see such an galvanizing performance from someone armed simply with turntables, who instead of throwing down a mundane, tempo-matched collection of ordinariness, cooked up a vivacious congregation of diverse yet fluid selections. Although lacking the reel-to-reel aesthetic of Ron Hardy, “The Being” commandeered the man’s almost copyrighted reversing records - albeit via CDJs – alongside his own fractious brand of low-fi crunch to further stir-up the feeling of those early Music Box parties. With his performance, Hieroglyphic Be-
ing gave a lesson in how to pilot a musical journey and preserve the excitement and flair needed in a true DJ’s arsenal. In doing so Jamal Moss keeps true to the thrill-seeking musical style of his city’s predecessors, while
introducing distinctive and kaleidoscopic influences that produce a sound all of his own. Joe Timothy
Midnight Beast
Academy 1 - 9th October 2012 - 7/10
Photo: Amy Hallett
SONGS 5 IN THE FIELD OF... Soundsystem Culture Sophie Donovan, Music Editor
Straight away the boyfriends are no longer bored, and all ages are singing along. Costumes and props play an important part; shark outfits are worn in their opener ‘I kicked a shark in the face’, before rubber swords are flung about while screaming the profound lyrics “I’M A FUCKING NINJA” in ‘ninjas’. They then take to their respective instruments and show off their musical prowess, unsurprisingly causing all the ladies to swoon. To end the show, they triumphantly deliver their single ‘Booty Call’ as the penultimate song of the encore, before finally finishing with the tune that made them famous; their witty parody of Ke$ha’s – ‘Tik Tok’, which is bellowed along to by the audience, before a BOOM of confetti canons as Stefan thanks the now beaming crowd.
It was just under three years ago when the three London lads ‘The Midnight Beast’ rose to fame and since then they have managed to clock up over 50 million views on YouTube. Despite this success, I found myself sceptical of their recent credibility with the release of their sitcom earlier this year. Could this (like their forefathers S-Club 7)
hint at a career decline? I was not reassured by the army of teenage girls (and a few bored looking boyfriends) making up the majority of the audience. This led me to realise that the target market of ‘TMB’ may be slightly younger than that of us ‘sophisticated’ uni-goers. But the mood changes suddenly. The lights go down. The backing instrumentalists enter
dressed uniformly in tiger onesies; more figures appear dressed in fluorescent suits until finally three of them strip off their striped balaclavas to reveal the trio: Class Joker – Dru, Resident Hunk – Ashley, and Fiery Frontman – Stefan. The show starts with energetic choreography carried out both by band members and backing dancers.
1. King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown Augustus Pablo
2. Blackboard Jungle Dub - Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry (The Upsetters)
3. Your Teeth in my Neck - Scientist
4. Pick a Dub - Keith Hudson
5. Heavy Duty - Herman Chin Loy
Arguably an album that best represents the art of dub, this is the title track from Augustus Pablo’s 1975 collaboration with the legendary King Tubby. Pablo supposedly fell in love with music whilst at school when an unnamed girl left him a melodica.
One of the first dub albums ever pressed, only 300 copies were released in Jamaica. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was born in 1936 and recently told the press, “I’m not eating dead mwaah, I’m not eating dead moooo, why should I die?”... And we agree.
Also known as “The Dark Prince of Reggae”, Keith Hudson was a schoolmate of Bob Marley. Working as a dentistry apprentice to earn money for recordings, Hudson often worked with backing band The Soul Syndicate in the studio, heard on this record.
Chinese Jamaican producer Chin Loy was responsible for one of the first dub albums, -Aquarius Dub, released in 1973, and mixed at Dynamic studio himself. He was the first to record Augustus Pablo in the early 1970s, and also hired a welshman to build the first 24-track recording studio in the Caribbean.
Released on the 1981 album, Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires, ‘Your Teeth in my Neck’ is the most recent of the selected five. An aprentice of King Tubby, Scientist sourced his material for this record from “Love And Unity” by Michael Prophet. .
Marissa Davison
Music
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Live
Radiohead Manchester Arena 9/10 6th October 2012 If you think about live music from the coldest, most emotionless viewpoint possible – that is, the financial one – there are only a handful of rock bands who fit into the highest echelon of commercial viability, who can travel to almost any dark corner of the world – from Manchester to Manila, from Bristol to Buenos Aires – and sell out a massive show. Some of them have drifted from being legitimately creative to churning out embarrassing dad-rock, like Muse or the Chili Peppers. The likes of Foo Fighters, U2 and Coldplay, meanwhile, were never very interesting to begin with. And sitting alongside them, jarringly incongruously, are Radiohead; tonight’s show at the Arena, which sold out to 21,000
capacity in minutes, is relatively intimate by their standards. They are the only band in the world whose enormous commercial stature has been vindicated by the enduring brilliance of their recorded output. “Hi, I’m Lady Gaga.” mutters Thom Yorke early on, with a grin that’s equal parts endearing and unsettling. This passing reference to the pop superstar, though, is about as close as tonight’s show comes to typical arena fare – the band don’t air an album single until fifty minutes into the set, Amnesiac‘s ‘Pyramid Song’. There‘s plenty of tracks in the band’s back catalogue that would present the opportunity for a mass singalong – ‘Just’, ‘Karma Police’ and ‘Creep’ all spring to mind – but none of
them make the cut tonight. The set is dominated, instead, by the electronic side of Radiohead – the side they’ve been cultivating ever since the radical departure that was Kid A - and the seamless translation of these songs to such a massive setting is a genuinely remarkable feat. ‘Myxomatosis’ and ‘The Gloaming’, challenging and erratic on record, sound enormous; more composed, understated cuts from In Rainbows, such as ‘Nude’ and ‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’, perhaps more impressive still; in front of tens of thousands, there’s no mitigation of the sense of hypnotic intimacy present on the studio versions. The biggest triumph, though, is the transformation of material from last year’s The King of
Warehouse Watch: SBTRKT Week 2 - 6th October 2012 8/10
other rooms all the more enticing. I n R o o m 2 , Ko r e l e s s , Jacques Greene and Caribou managed to create and maintain a fairly tranquil atmosphere for over four hours, soothing the crowd with their progressive st ylings. The choice to put Oneman on last was also a very good one. His set included every thing from ‘I’ll Bring Yo u F l o w e r s ’ t o ‘ 1 3 8 T r e k ’ to ‘Everybody Dance’ and kept the crowd moving a n d a ’g r o o v i n g u n t i l f u l l time.
Photo: lanewayfestival@flickr W H AT W E N T O N : Yo u o n l y n e e d e d t o g l a n c e at the lineup to know that this night was all about v a r i e t y. Prett y much all st yles of EDM were represented, giving each room its own individual v i b e . To g i v e y o u s o m e idea of what I mean, I’m prett y sure I walked past Room 3 at some point and heard somebody drop ‘Ay o Te c h n o l o g y ’ . I d i d n ’ t stick around long enough to be certain, but yeah, a diverse selection indeed. Elsewhere, the likes of D i s c l o s u r e , Fo u r Te t a n d
Limbs. A reflection of Yorke’s appreciation of the more modern electronic likes of Four Tet and tonight’s openers, Caribou, that album contained a number of tracks that felt, judged against the incredibly high watermark that the band have set themselves, a little underwhelming, but their live counterparts are revelatory; the yearning ‘Bloom’, the recorded version of which was flat and repetitive, sounds so much more forceful, and a stripped-back rendition of ‘Give Up the Ghost’ challenges the more-revered ‘How to Disappear Completely’ for the title of the evening’s most hauntingly
beautiful moment. There’s still room for Johnny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien to ply their original, guitar-based trade though; ‘Airbag’s crunching riffery arrives early in the set, and The Bends‘ blistering opener, ‘Planet Telex’, is given a rare live outing. There’s time, too, for the occasional misstep; ‘Staircase’ was likely included for its novelty rather than through any perception of it matching the rest of the setlist’s high standards, and it’s high time the band gave up on the tepid ‘These Are My Twisted Words’. Irrespective, tonight remained an exercise in the reappropriation of what
constitutes an ‘arena show’. Tremendous musicianship, visionary songwriting and a light show that struck the difficult balance between subtlety and flamboyance are enough to render huge choruses and extravagant stage sets obsolete; accusations of self-indulgence and grumbles over ticket prices seem a little gauche when entertainment of this level is on offer. Radiohead are a national treasure. Cherish them.
fronting the band on tour. ‘Nightrain’ features early on, alongside heavy numbers ‘Halo’ and ‘Standing in the Sun’ from his new album. ‘We’re All Gonna Die’, featuring the lyrics ‘we’re all gonna die, so let’s get high’, sees Slash join in on the chorus. The intro to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ takes us back to his Guns heyday, propelling middle aged men to re-live the hedonistic dream of someday becoming a guitar god. The set is finished with Velvet Revolver classic
‘Slither’, before an encore of ‘Fall to Pieces’ and a mass clap-along to ‘Paradise City’. Perhaps surprisingly, Slash is every inch the professional. He arrives promptly, plays a hit laden set with the same gusto as twenty years ago and although the extended guitar solos can get a bit tedious, he’s just giving those in attendance exactly what they want to hear. Axl Rose, take note.
Joe Goggins Music Editor
Slash
SBTRKT / Four Tet / Disclosure
SBTRKT graced the main room with fairly crowdfriendly sets, but it was the eagerly anticipated appearance of TNGHT that really got the punters going. Hud Mo and L u n i c e ’s o w n b r a n d o f voweless, doom-infused hip hop was heavier than anybody could have expected and pushed the sound system to its very limit. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, this limit was broken by a few of the other a c t s . Te c h n i c a l g r e m l i n s plagued the otherwise innovative sets of Illum Sphere and Rustie, which made a venture to the
Photo: danielledalledonne@flickr
W H AT W E N T O F F : ‘Higher Ground’ - by TNGHT ‘ U p D o w n U p D o w n’ - b y Ko r e l e s s ‘Nova’ - b y B u r i a l & Fo u r Te t W H AT ’ S O N N E X T: FRI BLOC PA RT Y w/ B l o c P a r t y, T h e m e P a r k , W i l l T ra m p S AT - W H P P R E S E N T S w/ A r m i n Va n B u u re n , P a u l Va n D y k , M a rc u s S c h u l z
Daniel Jones Music Editor
Apollo - 8th October 2012 7/10 Slash tweeted before the gig that it was almost 25 years to the day since he first played in Manchester. Although the Manchester Apollo hasn’t changed much since then, the musical landscape that Slash first inhabited certainly has. Guns ‘n’ Roses are no longer at the peak of their powers; Slash left the band in 1996 to pursue other projects, and the less said about the direction that Axl Rose has taken the band in since, the better. Luckily for the people of Manchester, the city is playing host to the second show of his ‘Apocalyptic Love’ European tour. The crowd are warmed up by Ginger Wildheart, the eponymous lead singer stomping around the stage with the energy of someone half his age. Although Slash now has two solo albums to his name and a wealth of material from his Velvet Revolver days, he still relies on Guns ‘n’ Roses classics to prop up the set list. A strong musical partnership appears to be developing between Slash and Miles Kennedy, the singer providing vocals for most of the album as well as
Charlie Boydell-Smith
Photo: m_g_gray@Flicker
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Music
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
New music
Animal Collective: Centipede HZ Domino; 2012 8/10
There is something very reassuring about the fact that a band as bloody minded and downright weird as Animal Collective can still headline festivals such as Coachella and Manchester’s own Warehouse Project. Their previous record, Merriweather Post Pavilion, cemented their status as this generation’s most beloved oddball act, entrancing a whole new audience with its Beach Boys-on-DMT vocal harmonies and swirling production. This album finds the band reunited as a full quartet for the first time in years and was recorded in the same room, rather than via zip files and snatched IM conversations from across
the globe as on MPP. The result is a far busier, more challenging listen. In interviews, Animal Collective have denied allegations that Centipede HZ is a reaction against the adoration that MPP received, but it is difficult not to see this album as a return to their audience baiting roots. While fans of early classics such as Strawberry Jam will find l ittle to dislike here, this record is sure to prove divisive among newcomers. Opener ‘Moonjock’ announces the band’s latest direction with thundering thrash metal percussion before mutating into their fastest song yet. On single ‘Today’s Supernatural’ they hit their stride, hurtling on a wave of skewed melodies and lurching grooves faster than their worn-out synth pads can carry them. These two tracks set the tone for the album, establishing a frenzied tempo that rarely lets up, and a lo-fi sonic palette drenched in white
noise. While MPP’s gorgeous melodies unfurled elegantly, the band’s attitude to innovation here is slapdash, with ideas tripping over each other rather than being carefully deployed. An album this hyperactiveis extremely demanding to listen to in one go, but those who can bear it should persevere. Animal Collective have once again proved themselves masters of the format, interlacing their songs with woozy commercial snippets and their trademark otherworldly synth gurgles. Most importantly, the earworms are still here. I defy anyone not to have the demented nursery rhyme of ‘Applesauce’ in their head for months. Not just an exercise in artistic opacity, this album is simply another step on Animal Collective’s abstract journey; those who are able to stomach its excesses will be rewarded with a treasure trove of sonic brilliance.
Tom Short
BOOK NOW: 0161 832 1111 www.manchesteracademy.net Live Music and Clubs at the University of Manchester Students’ Union
OCTOBER 2012 Reckless Love Monday 15th October
Parlotones + The Chevin Tuesday 16th October
Rick Astley Wednesday 17th October
Street Dreams Saturday 27th October
Guns 2 Roses Immortal Technique
The Enemy
Sunday 28th October
Wednesday 17th October
Mark Tremonti Thursday 18th October
Big Boy Bloater Thursday 18th October
Dan Le Sac & Friends
Damien Dempsey Sunday 28th October
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster Monday 29th October
Thursday 18th October
Owl City + Matthew Koma
Grizzly Bear
Tuesday 30th October
Thursday 18th October
Everytime I Die
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Bowling For Soup
Wednesday 31st October
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NOVEMBER 2012 Tyler Hilton Thursday 1st November
Twin Atlantic + Charlie Simpson
Saturday 20th October
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MUK Records Label Launch
The Heartbreaks
Saturday 20th October
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My Darling Clementine Monday 22nd October
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Dog Is Dead
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Carjack Mallone
Alex Clare
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Wednesday 24th October
Sonic Boom Six
London | £27,000 plus £3,000 language allowance
NME presents Generation Next Howler + The Cast Of Cheers
A conversation turns from sport, to the economy, to politics. And you’re there not just to translate it, not just to interpret it; you’re there to enable us to make the right choices to help safeguard national security.
Wednesday 24th October
Discretion is vital. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.
Friday 26th October
Wednesday 17th October
Gaz Coombes
www.mi5.gov.uk/careers/mandarin
Thingumabob & The Thingumajigs
Saturday 27th October
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Mandarin Intelligence Analysts
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Impericon Never Say Die! Tour 2012
Evile
Make sure we’re not kept in the dark.
Lacuna Coil
Mindless Self Indulgence Thursday 25th October
Modulate Thursday 25th October
Labrinth Thursday 25th October
Sunday 4th November
The Road To Warped Tour 2012 New Found Glory + Less Than Jake + Man Overboard + The Story So Far Monday 5th November
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Books
ISSUE 15/ 25TH FEBRUARY 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Manchester student Alexander J. Allison talks about his first novel Books editor , Phoebe Chambre, talks to the student and debut novellist
The Bell Jar’s new cover: a necessary facelift? The new ‘chick-lit’ image of The Bell Jar’s anniversary re-release undermines the novel’s integrity, but can all be forgiven if it reaches a wider readership?
Like you and I, Alex is a student. Except unlike me (and I’m guessing unlike you) he’s just published his first book. Alex wrote The Prodigal whilst doing his undergraduate degree, and published it with small pioneering American press, Civil Coping Mechanisms. He’s now doing an MA in Creative Writing here in Manchester. The Prodigal is a novel about, or at least set around, poker – its protagonist, Martin, spends most of his time playing poker. The author playing poker Except no one is gambling anything real – the story is punctuated by Martin’s small gains and petty losses, and here, in the online poker room, is where the only real action takes place. The characters are too insulated by their own privilege and self-hatred to even spend time together, or time apart from their computer. And we’re left wondering whether anything will ever really happen. I talked to Alex about Peep Show, saturation of technology, and the genius of Adam Levin. First I want to say that it’s hugely impressive that you’ve already written a book. How old are you if you don’t mind my asking? I’m 21. I wrote the book when I was 19. Why did you write it? I just had the time to, and I thought it was a story that was worth telling. I’m a professional poker player. I’ve been making a living from doing that for about two and a half years now. And I’d been writing poetry since the age of 17, with semi-success.; published in a couple of journals, a couple of literary magazines. I was one of those precocious kids who thought they were good enough to actually send stuff out. This was my first attempt at long-form fiction. You’re a professional poker player? How many hours a day do you spend playing? Well it depends. I play tournaments. So if you’re still in a tournament after 8 hours that’s a pretty good sign, you’re going to make some money. But if you bust out all of your tournaments in the first 45 minutes, then you give up for the day. If you and your protagonist are both poker characters, do you share any other traits? This is a question I get asked a lot – ‘Is Martin you?’ I modeled him on my physical build. He probably looks like me, but he’s not who I am. Martin’s a completely horrible person. I’m not rich at all. Martin has all of the luxuries that I’ve never had. My girlfriend says that I’ve got big problems with people with privilege. And that is manifest in the book that I wrote – which kind of chastises this terrible person for living the life that I couldn’t. That’s an interesting reading. Well, I think a lot of people are very eager to read it as autobiographical. They want that element to be there but it’s not really. It’s usually a case of unimaginative people, unable to see the difference between an artist and that work. That sounds so pretentious.
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“How is this cover anything but a “fuck you” to women everywhere?” Dustin Kurtz, a marketing manager at Melville House, succinctly vocalises many blogs-worth of outraged reaction to the cover of Faber and Faber’s 50th anniversary edition of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. The cover depicts a woman reapplying her makeup, while morosely gazing at her mirrored image. Criticism of the book cover appears to fall into two categories: first, the glamorised image as undermining the serious nature of the narrative – which includes the limitations placed on women in society. The image
reduces the daring and confessional elements of the novel to a superficial exploration of artificial and artful femininity. Secondly (and related), the response is tied to a negative reaction of the so-called ‘Plath industry’. The entirely un-superficial concerns of the author are misrepresented in favour of garnering revenue, an apparent inevitability given the current commercial landscape of publishing. However, both arguments ultimately stem from the belief that a book cover should reflect the themes and concerns of the author – an element that does not fall within the author’s creative purview. Leading us to ask, should a book cover reinforce its content or can it legitimately challenge and reinterpret such content? As the first point of contact for the reader, the image of a book cover has the power to engage, or dismantle, the interest of the reader. The image has to be able to display the broad genre of a book, while also attracting (in the publisher’s interest) as wide a readership as possible. The image becomes central to a novel’s commercial success. The increasing number of titles that are reissued and repackaged following a corresponding film release
reflects the commercial drive behind book covers. The recent reissue of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, to coincide with the new film adaptation, evidences exactly this: it placed the actors who had portrayed the protagonists, Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart, on the cover, aiming to attract the wider film audience. The image on the cover of a novel significantly directs the type of readership and popular appeal of a novel. A drastic re-imaging of a book through the cover art always presents a danger. Readers are often tentative about a repackaging of a narrative that has been familiar, and personally significant. Faber’s paperback publisher, Hannah Griffiths, said “we often look to packaging as a way of describing an old work afresh”. However, when trying to attract new readers to a work, the core demographic of target readers are often antagonised and alienated by a controversial cover. Repackaging LM Montgomery’s classic, Anne of Green Gables with a buxom (and almost lascivious) blonde cover girl instead of heroine Anne’s fiery red locks, in the recent edition by CreateSpace, has stirred up a controversy, and possibly resulted in a loss of
sales within the established readership. Many readers have contacted Amazon in an attempt to redress the distortion of the central heroine in the cover image. ‘Imaginative’ repackaging is a gamble, and the publishers will hope that a controversial reaction will bring more publicity to the re-issue, and therefore more readers (and sales) than it will alienate. As a commercial endeavour, literary fiction has to be able to distinguish itself from the other books within its own genre and style. An interesting and arresting choice of cover image is one way to achieve reader interest and essential publicity. Undoubtedly, the controversial image from Faber’s edition of The Bell Jar has served its purpose: the cover has invoked debate, and many column inches to the novel’s re-issue. Rebranding it in the chick-lit genre, with the inevitable connotations of caricatured romantic entanglements and triviality that go with that, may prove to be a financially astute move. However, in the case of The Bell Jar, if it brings more readers to this beautifully wrought classic then it can’t be all bad. Holly Rimmer Tagoe
Feature
Do creativity and mental instability really go hand in hand?
So how do you feel about the book now that it’s come out? I think it’s a good book. I’m pleased with it. I spent a year and a half editing the thing to try and make it into the book I wanted it to be. My issue now is whether the Americans will find it funny. Because I’m thinking of this as a comedy, and my litmus test for each line was can I hear this coming out of either Mark or Jez’s [from Peep Show] mouth?
The anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s death provides a chance to reflect again on the relationship between these two mental states
That’s very British humour. Incredibly deadpan. I wanted to ask you about all the typographical design in the book. Did you ever read any Adam Levin – The Instructions? I’ve read everything by Adam Levin. Hot Pink and The Instructions all of his short stories in McSweeney’s He’s just a mind above the world. The Instructions came out after I wrote The Prodigal. So it wasn’t an influence. But definitely lots of us who are working in the same ways, and thinking about the same things, are trying things out with that. I think the typographical stuff is really mirroring the internal state of the character. The chapters where there’s most of it in is in parts where the character is experiencing the most emotional trauma - Martin’s first breakdown when he moves house and he’s all thrown up and in a horrible mindset. I felt that the structure did that as well. The rhythm of the book is somewhat unsettled. No, I think of the structure more like a comedy sketch show. You’ve got the main plot and you might be flicking away from it – like a flashback. ‘Lost’ is really the inspiration for that structure. I think television shows have influenced this book more than other books have. That’s interesting because technology is the lurking presence in the book – not even lurking actually, it’s the elephant in the room. It is the book really. That’s how it should be. I find it infuriating that so much of what is written now is written outside of the internet – without reference to it. I think that’s improving. People are very afraid now to read anything that’s written now, that’s a period piece. Like where Martin’s iTunes crashes and the room goes silent, he becomes aware of the silence and it feels like a threat. I mean, that’s how we interact with technology. The Prodigal (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2013) Phoebe Chambre
Sylvia Plath in 1957-wikipedia
Monday 11th February marked the 50th anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s untimely death. The famous writer and wife of Ted Hughes committed suicide, aged only 30, having spent most of her adult life struggling with depression. Although her literary output was not vast, all of her work has been subsequently cherished for its resonant poignancy and wit, capturing the emotional turmoil Plath experienced. Plath first came to prominence for her poetry, which has since been credited with originating the ‘confessional’ genre of poetry. In 1958, she began attending evening creative writing seminars where she was encouraged to write from her own experiences. While she remained anxious about doing so, her poems
began to tell of the deeply painful mental struggle she dealt with. Her first collection, The Colossus and Other Poems, was published in 1960 and is less open and more abrupt than Ariel, a posthumous collection that had been written during a creative burst a few months before Plath’s death. When reading the two, you feel as though you have undertaken Plath’s own psychological journey. Many would suggest that it is Plath who sparked the now-familiar debate about the link between creativity and mental instability. It is certainly difficult to imagine one without the other in her case, if only because her work is so intensely personal and these were two very significant aspects of her self. Her only novel, The Bell Jar, is a semi-autobiographical roman à clef, chronicling the protagonist Esther Greenwood’s decent into mental illness. Various suicide attempts lead Esther to courses of ECT, as Plath herself underwent. Throughout the novel, socially acceptable identity is questioned – does a woman have to conform to the housewife and mother ideal or can she strive to achieve her own independence? Plath wrote The Bell Jar after her second pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, an event which made her feel as though she had failed at being a woman. Although
we now live in a more progressive world than ‘60s America, this element of Plath’s work still echoes with women today. The Bell Jar is being re-issued by Faber and Faber to celebrate the book’s 50th anniversary. Of course, Plath is not the only literary figure to have been troubled. The list of writers who have suffered from depression is a long one: William Blake, Leo Tolstoy, T.S. Eliot and Spike Milligan are but a few. Many works depict the despair felt by those suffering with mental illness. For example, J. K. Rowling drew on her own depressive experiences when describing how the Dementors suck all life and soul out of their victims. Virginia Woolf used a streamof-consciousness style to highlight the psychological plight of her characters that she knew only too well. However, Sylvia Plath was arguably the first author to truly address the taboo surrounding mental illness; in The Bell Jar, Esther discusses with her therapist about how she feels trapped by her illness. For this reason alone, it is essential that Plath’s work is remembered as ground-breaking, for its documentation of both sides of its writer. Without her, the stigma associated with depression would undoubtedly be much greater than it is today. Elizabeth Mitchell
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Games
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Where did it all go wrong for Pro Evo? Shanda Moorghen looks at fall of Pro Evo and the rise of FIFA
D own the ye ars, th e b att le be t we e n FIFA and Pro Evo h a s b e e n conside red to be an u n eve n o n e . Ko nam i’s most famous g a m e h a s of te n c rushed the com p e t i ti o n to t a ke over the market a s fo o t b a ll’s f ine st . However, i n rece n t ye a r th e t a bl e s have turned . The re was a ti me, wh e n P ro Evo cou l d just make up th e n a m e s o f p l aye r s and te ams and i t would s t i ll d o the g a me to have. Pro Evo a lways h ad su b st anti al change s i n i t s ye a rly re l e ase s and i t was so re a li s t i c a n d e asy to play that FIFA j us t d i d n o t make the cut . Pro Evo 6 m a rke d t h e wide st g a p bet ween the t wo g a m e s . Things changed pret t y qui c k ly a f te r ward s. A s i nc red i b le a s t h i s s e e m s, just as Konami slowe d d own i ts pro gre ss, EA saw i ts c h a n c e , a n d you c an’t say they d i d n’t t a ke i t .
Th e s tr i d e s made by F I FA t h e l a s t 5 ye a r s h ave been s t u n n in g . F ir st o f a ll, FI FA h a s n ow m atc h ed a n d p e rh a p s b e tte red P ro Evo in ter m s o f flui d i t y a n d sm o o t h n e ss . T h e ra p i d flow o f at t a c k a n d defen se i s i m p re s s ive a s ever a n d t h e p a s sin g i s c r i sp. At t h e sa m e t im e, P ro Evo i s n o t a s sli c k a s b efo re w it h do dg y fi r s t touc h e s a n d p a ss in g . B e c aus e P ro Evo n o l o n ger h a s t h e c ut t i n g e d ge th at it h ad, it m ig h t a ls o b e us e ful to rec o n s ider t h eir li c e n s i n g a g re em en t s. I t ’s a lways n i c e to b e a b le to c o n t ro l p l ayer s wh o you h ave a c t u a l ly h e a rd o f, s o m e th i n g th at h a s a lways b een a p lus s i d e fo r FI FA . Or i g i n a li t y wa s t h e p r im a r y fo rc e o f Ko n a m i b e fo re. A go o d exa m p l e o f th i s wa s wh en t h ey in t ro du c ed “d iv i n g ” i n to th e g a m e ; s o m et h in g
t h at F I FA wou l d n ever do. T h at m ove a c t u a l ly so l d m e t h e g a m e at t h at t im e a n d l e ad to s o m e c l a s sic b a n ter. Yet , n owadays , t h e o n ly n ew t h in g a b ou t P ro Evo seem s to b e t h e p l ayer o n t h e c over (F I FA h a s Me s si wh il e P ro Evo h a s Ro n a l do, a s if c o m p a r i s o n s were l a c k in g ). F I FA h a s m oved o n qu ite a b it in t h e l a st f ive ye a r s in ter m s o f b r in g in g in n ew c o n ten t to t h e g a m e. Even t h ou g h t h e sh if t f ro m F I FA 12 to F I FA 13 i s n o t a s m in d- b l ow in g a s t h e p rev iou s ye a r s, it s t il l get s t h e j o b do n e. T h e n ew sk il l g a m e s a re f u n a n d t h e Matc h D ay o p t io n re a l ly sp ic e s u p t h e m atc h e s. T h e c o m m en t a r y o n P ro Evo c ou l d n o t get a ny m o re du l l w it h v ir t u a l ly n o p ro g re ss m ade over t h e l a st ye a r s wh il e F I FA’s c o m m en t a r y i s even m o re p a s sio n ate t h a n b efo re, wh ic h i s a a c h ievem en t in it sel f. To b e f a ir, P E S 2 0 13 i s a c t u a l ly b et ter su ited to t h e c o m p et it io n F I FA i s p rov idin g . However it m ig h t b e a c a s e o f to o l it t l e to o l ate. E A h a s t h e m a rket do m in ated, a n d t h ey do n’t l o o k l ike t h ey ’ re get t in g c o m p l a c en t . Ko n a m i f a n s n eed to a c c ep t t h e g l o r y days a re n o t c o m in g b a c k fo r a wh il e. I n t h e en d, I t h in k T h e O l d Rep u b l ic w il l su c c eed, a n d t u r n a go o d p ro f it , b u t it w il l a l so s er ve a s a n in tere s t in g exa m p l e o f h ow qu a l it y i s n o t t h e o n ly t h in g t h at i s n eeded in a su c c e ss f u l MMO.
Matthew Humphreys looks at the survival horror classic Resident Evil The Resident Evil series has been a guilty pleasure for me for as long as I can remember. Despite the dodgy dialogue and controls, I have enjoyed every game that I have played. Resident Evil 1 though is the real highlight for me. The game was very tense with a constant feeling that something was going to be waiting for you behind the next door, or a zombie dog would come hurtling through the window at you. There were both poor controls and very little ammunition in the game, adding tension to each encounter as you fumbled with your gun trying to shoot the monster of the moment, hoping you didn’t miss. The poor controls ironically worked, adding tension rather than frustration. Encounters were usually with one or two enemies at a time, but even a single enemy could kill you. Sometimes you would find a room with four or five enemies in and you would need to run away as fast as you could. Boss fights also ramped up the suspense, mainly because they would force you to use a large amount of your dwindling ammunition, leaving you to try and find something to fight off subsequent enemies with for some time after. The game took place in an old mansion and surrounding area, with backtracking to open new doors and solve puzzles you didn’t have the right items or information for previously. The puzzles were clever, often mixing riddles with logic and really making you think. Recently I played the Wii remake of RE1 and I still found the game to be enjoyable. The difficulties in control and lack of in game resources work to make small encounters tense, something the later games couldn’t do without throwing massive hordes at you, or giving some enemies ridiculous amounts of health.
Review
News
FIFA 13
Deja Vu: EA release identical Wii game
EA Sports PS3/360/PC/Wii/Wii U/PS Vita Reviews It’s that time of the year again, EA and Konami resume their yearly conflict. However, this might be the most impressive battle of the last decade. A week after Konami released its gem, PES 2013, EA responded with a beauty of its own, the latest from a franchise soon celebrating 20 years, FIFA 2013. Even though this is mainly a review of the latter, it cannot go unnoticed that PES 2013 have taken huge forward strides. Once again, FIFA has taken the next step in creating the most stunning piece of its franchise yet. The stadiums are vibrating, the chants are louder, the colours are brighter and the passion of the game seems to flow all around the world. But, this might not be enough to convince the real players of any change at all. Has the presentation been improved? Yes! Has the interface been improved? Yes! Are there new game modes available? Yes! You notice the trend there. Lots of positives to be honest but no marquee change to be honest. But, is that such a bad thing? FIFA 2012 was after all the complete game. Having a look at the teams, there might be some injustices, as always with FIFA. Juventus, the unbeaten Italian champions, are not impressive, Chelsea might be a bit too good (European champions I know, but still), Arsenal have been overestimated and some of the
Shanda Moorghen
Messi tears through the defence in Fifa 2013
slightly weaker teams have been underestimated. Nonetheless, Barcelona and Real Madrid are still well above the rest, followed by the evenly rated Manchester United and Manchester City. This might spice up the games when playing online, even better with the Match Day option. If you look at the players as well, some ratings really make no sense. Along with the brilliance of Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi and Iniesta, it seems incredible that Ribery is on par with them. Same thing for Vidic; he’s a great defender sure, but after a whole season out and obvious signs of a decline, 88 might be a little too steep. But overall, the players are worth what EA have granted them. Not much to account for in terms of gameplay either. Improved and much more fluid dribbling skills are a plus. First touch control is a bit harder so this bodes well for players
who like a challenge and like the passing game. There appears to be an improvement in the artificial intelligence with smarter runs and better positioning. The franchise has also tried to show that even more than spectacle, realism has been preferred. So, you can forget about dribbling with Sylvain Distin or scoring a scorcher with Jamie Carragher. Talking about defenders, we’ll move to the main drawback of the game. The defense is very poor. Too many mistakes that might take out the fun of the game sometimes, even more during tight games. On the other hand, the online mode is as impressive ever. FIFA 2012 was a revolution, the most complete football game ever made. FIFA 2013 is an improvement on that, no marquee changes but still it remains the best.
Gamers angry as EA releases carbon copy FIFA 13 on the WIi and PS Vita When I was looking for someone to review FIFA 13, someone suggested I copy and paste a review of FIFA 12 and change the dates. This is unfair, FIFA 13 has been an improvement on FIFA 12 offering better graphics and improved gameplay. At least, that would be the case if you bought it for any console other than the Wii. EA have released a nearidentical version of FIFA 12 as FIFA 13 on the Wii, apart from updating the game with the summer’s transfers, new kits and changing the soundtrack, EA have released the exact same game two years running. There are no new modes, no graphical improvements, no AI improvements; it would be almost impossible to justify a purchase of FIFA 13 on the Wii to someone who already has FIFA 12. One user commented “FIFA is one of the best selling titles on the Wii. Why wouldn’t they bother to at least give some token improvements?”. While another said “Practices like these beg the question, “Are EA’s resources stretched so thin in some areas that they have to cut corners like this?” With the Wii U coming out
in a matter of weeks, it’s clear that developers have given up on the Wii. Electronic Arts Chief Operations Officer (COO) Peter Moore told tech magazine Wired “Year on year, Wii has just dropped, and clearly we don’t make games for it anymore”. Even so, this will offer little consolation to the gamers who were duped into buying this, under the assumption they were getting a new game. Interestingly enough, it should be possible for a game like FIFA to update kits, transfers, and music through downloadable content, making the annual release obsolete. Sadly, this is unlikely to catch on though, because as long EA holds the licenses and people
are willing to pay they’ll milk the franchise for everything they can get. The copy/paste approach wasn’t isolated to the Wii, with FIFA fans on the PS Vita taking to social-media to complain about FIFA 13 being identical to FIFA Football released in February. Users have posted negative reviews on Amazon and Metacritic. FIFA 13 is great game on the PS3 and 360, and it’d be shame for it to be overshadowed, but if EA continue to pull stunts like this, they deserve to be called out.
Sam Dumitriu
Food & Drink Recipe The best of Burton Road ISSUE 05/ 15TH OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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This week’s Food & Drink section is all about baking, as we wave goodbyeThe Great British Bake Off
Enticing icing at And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon. Photo: Frides O’Neill South of Fallowfield, past Withington Village and into the land of West Didsbury lies Burton Road, a haven of bakeries and general homemade goodness. I’ll admit, I
was getting bored of the cupcake fad, but something about And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon, self-titled ‘purveyors of tea and cakes’, had me
once again standing, eyes wide and possibly drooling, torn between the impossible choice of cakes on display. Making someone choose from such a delectable selection is bordering on torture, especially when it involves a white chocolate sponge topped with vanilla icing and a juicy raspberry, and a spiced ginger cupcake covered with cream cheese icing and ginger nut sprinkles. The only solution is to get both. This isn’t the only dilemma you might face on Burton Road, as the windows of every restaurant, bar and bakery scream ‘Pick me! Pick me!’ The good news is that whatever you go for, you won’t be disappointed. Try Love2Eat for unpretentious, good food, cooked well. The Monday night ‘Supper Club’ includes a casserole, cake and a glass of wine all for £7. Rhubarb restaurant is another great choice, at £13.95 for two courses. The menu boasts pan-fried liver and black pudding, pork escalope with braised lentils and smoked bacon, as well
as ginger sponge pudding with caramel sauce and Chantilly cream. If you’re more into big breakfasts than fancy suppers, look no further than the Burton Road Bakery, which claims to have the best Eggs Benedict in South Manchester. You may think you prefer your breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning, but head on down to Folk and you won’t regret swapping your pillows and duvet for their ‘breakfast in bread’: everything we love about an English breakfast piled up lovingly in sandwich style. It’s cutlery-free consumption for you – and less washing up for them. Everybody wins. Being away from the student hub, another of Burton Road’s merits is that you can actually tell when it’s the weekend. On Friday and Saturday night every bar and restaurant is packed, and Sunday morning sees an influx of young and oddly good looking folk rolling in and out of every open door. Is it something in the cake? Frides O’Neill
Eve’s Signature Bake
This recipe is taken from Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Bake Book (aka: The Berry Bible) - so you could say this was more like the technical challenge. However, a couple of (dare I say it) improvements to the original, makes this my family’s signature bake. It’s a million times cheaper and better than shop-bought! Millionaire’s shortbread For the shortbread: 75g caster sugar 75g soft butter 250g plain flour For the caramel: 100g butter
The Great British Bake Off Drinking Game We didn’t come up with this beauty all by ourselves. In fact, the inspiration came from James Morton’s blog. James is the Scottish fair isle-clad one, yes. The one we all fancy. Get some friends round, some baked goods and enjoy!
This game is sure to get you Berry tipsy (fucked)
In knead of a game to prove you’ve been bread for drinking?
Drink one (lady) finger
Drink two (sponge) fingers
Drink three (iced) fingers
Chin your drink!
- When the words ‘soggy bottom’, ‘good bake’, ‘good crumb’ are mentioned - If Paul criticises a bake, with an extra two fingers if Mary follows with a tactful yet backhanded compliment - When Mel and Sue say ‘bake!’ in an unnecessarily stupid register - When the presenters eat something - When there’s a close up of a contestant doing an odd facial expression
- For every intended double entendre or innuendo from Mel and Sue -For each individual disaster in the technical bake -For every montage with animals -When Paul scrapes the bottom of a bake with his knife -If someone blames the weather for ruining baking conditions
-For every unintended double entendre from Mary, Paul or the contestants -When someone pleads or prays in front of an oven -Every time Mary gives a silent but clearly disapproving glance -If Mary is wearing something shocking yet hip
-Every time a contestant cries -If someone drops or throws a cake on the floor -If Paul Hollywood really rates a bake (must use one of: genius, beautiful, love, amazing, fantastic, brilliant, perfect)
Emily Clark Food & Drink Editor
If you don’t join this society you certainly won’t be taking the biscuit
Baking Society This year sees the arrival of our first ever Baking Society. Started by two guys with insatiable appetites for all things baked, the group has received massive interest in its first few weeks. With the fortunate addition of a female committee member, the society has big ambitions for the year ahead. We held our first meeting on 4th October, with over 50 people in attendance. It was a great success and gave people the chance to meet new people and indulge in all sorts of cakes and biscuits – even a sophisticated slice of black forest gateaux. In the future, the society is planning themed weekly meets where
everyone brings something they’ve made at home and shares it round. It’s a great way to showcase your skills, and hopefully pick up some tips and new recipes from others in the group. The committee is keen to get new people into baking, by holding demonstrations and proving to students that baking your own cakes, breads and pies needn’t be expensive. We’re also planning to add a competitive element by having some Bake Off style showdowns with prizes for the best creations. Baking is a great skill to learn, and it’s so simple to get started. Shortbread, for example, is quick to make, tastes great and is really cheap. Use the BBC
Food recipe online, and substitute the vanilla extract for other flavours such as orange or almond if you want something a bit different. Many people might be put off by the initial cost of baking equipment, but to start all you need is some scales, a big bowl and a cake tin. An oven is also useful (but not essential – see fridge cake and microwave flapjacks). Any large supermarket will supply your needs, but other stores such as Wilkinson and TKMaxx often have good selections. For ingredients the committee’s preference is Aldi or Lidl. Although the internet is an excellent resource for recipes, it’s nice to have
your own chocolate-stained books. Some of our favourite authors are Edd Kimber and Dan Lepard. There is also a range of excellent magazines to choose from; Delicious Magazine is a great starter and the Asda one is brilliant quality for a freebie. Stay updated by finding our Facebook page to keep you poated. Alternatively, to get in touch by email, contact: manchesterbaking@gmail.com
100g light brown sugar 1 x 397g tin of condensed milk 2 tablespoons of syrup For the topping: 200g milk chocolate
Method: Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, Gas 4. Line a 33 x 23 cm Swiss Roll tin with baking paper. To make the shortbread, mix the flour and sugar in a bowl and rub in the butter until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Press it very firmly into the tin, or it will crumble, and bake for 20 minutes until a golden light brown. Cool in the tin. Mix the condensed milk, butter, syrup and sugar in a saucepan and heat very gently until the sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Let it bubble gently. Stir and do not take your eyes off it or it will catch and burn! After five minutes it should be thicker and a golden caramel colour. Pour over the cooled shortbread. Let cool again. Melt the chocolate slowly over a pan of hot water and then pour over the caramel. Leave to set and cut into small squares as it is very rich!
David Wood Eve Commander
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Arts & Culture
Must see
THIS WEEK
15-21 OCTOBER Untouchable / Intouchables The Cornerhouse (our favourite) is screening Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s comedy-drama Untouchables, which follows the unlikely story of new friends-by-circumstance Phillipe, paralysed millionaire, and Driss. Now France’s foreign languge submission for the 2013 Oscars, this one is not to be missed.
Jane and Louise Wilson Commissioned to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Atomgrad is a series of images from the public spaces of nearabadoned city Pripyat. Shown alongside the world premiere of their new film The Toxic Camera, this is a soberingly beautiful exhibition.
First Cut To marvel at the possibilities paper, yes, but also don’t miss the permanent collections - the room of Lowry’s is one to especially look out for. And don’t forget the interactive room - lie in a giant kalaidoscope and see yourself magnified probably a few too many times.
Focal Points If you haven’t been down yet to check out the print of a guy with a fried egg bikini, you’re missing out. The Whitworth’s collection of photographs from the 80s onward celebrate everyday life, the mundane chores of other peoples lives suddenly fascinaing when captured by the professional camera.
Free for Arts Manchester Perfect for those of you who are already a bit too far into your overdraft, this free festival celebrates local talent and community spirit. Spurred on by their desire to provide ‘inventive and unique’ arts experiences for all, the Free For Arts gang present an impressively divese range of events around the city, varying from static, though far from traditional, exhibitions, to interactive performance events. Check out their website for futhur performance details.
Harrie t Hill-Payne Arts & Culture Editor
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Review
What’s it going to be then, eh? Sean Doherty reviews Fifty Years of a Clockwork Orange at the John Ryland Deansgate, as the University celebrates the anniversary of the publication of alumni Anthony Burgess’ controversial novel Although it contains some interactive content in the form of interviews, readings and movie trailers, artefacts from the production and reception of both film and novel make up the majority of what is on show. The exhibition focuses largely on Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 adaption of Burgess’ novel; somewhat fitting as it was this film rather than the novel itself which led to the torrent of attention and abuse ‘Clockwork’ received from the public and press. As well as original stills and photographs from the film’s production, visitors can view the psychedelic promotional artwork of Philip Castle which accompanied the film’s release. Various rejected screenplays (one of which was written by Burgess himself ) may be seen, showing how Kubrick’s script reached its finished form. Perhaps the most eye-catching piece on display here is the iconic giant, white phallic sculpture (Herman Makkink’s Rocking Machine), the murder weapon wielded by Malcolm McDowell’s character in one of the film’s most notorious scenes. Newspaper props from the film are placed against real world articles condemning
Kubrick’s work and there is a jarring similarity in their sensationalist headlines. The Sun’s review attacks the film on the basis of it featuring ‘more bare breasts, and more pubic hair than any reputable film’, an odd objection to come from a publication which in 2010 celebrated 40 years of Page 3 girls. In a society which has witnessed The Human Centipede, the declaration that A Clockwork Orange should prove to be ‘THE FILM SHOCKER TO END THEM ALL’ seems far from prophetic. Furthermore, the headline asking ‘ARE WE HEADING FOR A SUPER-VIOLENT SOCIETY?’ appears to suggest that though times may change tabloid journalism remains the same. Arguably the highlight of the exhibition is the display of letters sent between Kubrick and Burgess as they express a mutual artistic admiration and plan (ultimately unsuccessfully) to collaborate on Kubrick’s fabled Napoleon project. Other correspondences from Burgess reveal a frustration, both at Kubrick receiving credit at the expense of himself, as well as various film producers treating him ‘as though I’m just the boy
around here’, exposing a vulnerable, human side to the author, rather than having him presented as an untouchable literary figure. Should visitors seek to gain insight into Burgess’ creative process they may view the English-Russian Dictionary which he used in composing the novel’s teen-slang known as Nadsat. Burgess’ own typewriter is also on display, a tool he remarks as having the double use of keeping him focused as well as ensuring ‘the rest of the household knows you are at work and does not suspect you of covertly devouring a Playboy centrefold’, an advantage today’s laptop authors sadly lack. So if you would like to get a closer look at elements which led to the creation of a modern cult hit, and do so in beautiful surroundings, you should definitely check it out. Just don’t bring your gran.
Sean Doherty Contributor
What we saw Hockney: Hogarth this week Exhibition
The Whitworth exhibits Hogarth’s 1735 series A Rake’s Progress against David Hockney’s 1965 interpretation of the work The Hogarth exhibition is more about Hockney’s early work than a direct comparison between the two artists, and in that sense, its a fascinating insight into Hockney and his world. The context to Hockney’s paintings is set by the first room, housing influential paintings by his revolutionary contemporaries from his 1959 class at The Royal College of Art. These friends helped bring Hockney’s own life, political thoughts, and sexuality into his work which is a clear motivator behind his Rake’s Progress. But his main influence was his trip to New York, which he wrote about saying ‘I was taken by the sheer energy of the place...It was amazingly sexy, and unbelievably easy’. Contrasted to Hogarth’s fiercely heterosexual London, with the protagonist Tom Rakewell falling foul of the women in the syphillis-filled brothels, Hockney’s New York is much more of an exploration of his own adventures in the city’s gay bars. Subtler and far more abstract, the tensions of his experience living in a
city that was introducing its own homophobic crackdown creates an interesting backdrop. The artistic style is modern and light, but with carefully chosen images that make up the oblique sequence. Hogarth’s Rake has a seemingly moralistic tone - a warning perhaps against the pitfalls of an 18th Century young inheritor and the downward slope he could easily fall down. However, in Hockney’s prints he places himself directly in almost every frame, showing the real effect New York had on him as a person and an artist. He visits Washington, 24 hour bars, meekly but passionately watches two male joggers, and experiences the life of an American prisoner albeit through the art of cinema. Instead of a slow, literal decline into Bedlam as in Hogarth’s Progress, Hockney’s male is hardly definable in his final frame from the four other boy’s walking mindlessly towards a screen, personal music devices in their back pocket and all wearing baggy jeans and capsnot a far cry from a typical
day down the Oxford Road. In essence Hockney’s series is far more personal and indicates a real progress in his art as well as his development as a man. The Hogarth engravings are much more side-lined, shown more as a context to Hockney, but really are beautiful. The detailing and activity in each one shows great personality and, perhaps the exhibition was slightly lacking in further information on Hogarth’s life and work. If you want a quick look into early Hockney and a truly interesting interpretation of Hogarth’s famous sequence, this is a really neat (and of course free!) exhibition. If you’re popping back from uni on your way home, the Whitworth is a really rewarding visit.
The First Cut at the Whitworth, showcasing the use of humble paper, presents an engagingly diverse selection of style and scale, in a series of generally surprising and playful images, sculptues and instellations. WE LIKED: The Wondeful Story of London, as Abigail Reynolds contructed a series of images spliced together from two editions of the same London guidebook, the first from 1936 and the second from 1950, exploring, in the artists own words, ‘beliefs that could not, ... like
buildings, be recontructed post war.’ WE DIDN’T: The two Tom Gallant images, from his series Old Game Birds, divided opinion: traditionally painted pheasants against contemporary wall paper in a collage effect seemed to me to grate, the paper offensively vibrant and paint failing to hold is own - but then, perhaps that was the point of the ‘Old Birds.’ Harriet Hill-Payne & Toby Parker
Flora Anderson Contributor
The Harbingers 2, © Claire Brewster
Theatre
ISSUE 05/ 15th October2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
25
Review
Must see 15th-22nd October
Not such a Lighthearted Intercourse Imogen Duran t reviews the new play at the Bolton Octagon, Lighthearted Intercourse comedy. From the outset, it appears to Nicholas Shaw and Fiona Hampton in Lighthearted Intercouse. Photo: Ian Tilton
Light-Hearted Intercourse Light-Hearted Intercourse has its world premiere this week after being unearthed from Bill Naughton’s (Bolton’s most famous playwright) archives and being brought to life by director David Thacker. The play looks at a young couple in the 1920s adjusting to married life whilst keeping secrets from their pasts from each other.
Runs until 3rd November at The Bolton Co Borderline
Vultures
Dolly Parton – 9 to 5 The Musical Written by the buxom bombshell herself, 9 to 5 begins its UK tour in Manchester this week. The story follows office workers Violet, Judy and Doralee as they turn the tables on their sexist, bigoted boss.
Runs until 20th October at the Manchester Opera House. Tickets £15-£42
Afrovibes 2012 Touring African festival, Afrovibes comes to The Contact Theatre for a week of contemporary performance. Containing dance, theatre, spoken word and music events, Afrovibes promises to be ‘thought-provoking, challenging and stimulating’.
Runs until 20th October at The Contact Theatre. Ticket prices vary
Three Stars out of Five Stars Priding himself to have once been ‘the most eligible bachelor in Bolton’, Joe is one of three million unemployed in the 1920s who is who is desperately struggling to support his family in the midst of an economic crisis. The first Act of the play introduces its fundamentally whimsical tone; while his need to go out and look for work retains the sombre backdrop to the piece, Joe’s overriding temptation to return to bed with his wife takes precedence and ensures that the play is immediately declared to be a
simply be an enactment of the trials and tribulations of a man attempting to resist his most carnal desires. While the jokes throughout the first half are both tender and numerous, they do point to the somewhat older target audience. It was certainly entertaining, but I can’t quite say that the overtly sexual humour reduced me to tears in the same way that it did some of the older members of the audience. However, as the play progresses it develops in substance. The introduction of third character, an elderly man who is immediately recognisable to the audience as an aged Joe from the future, adds a surfeit
of sentimentality. This is clearly an attempt to counterbalance the flippant nature of the comedy that has held dominance thus far. However, although his words of wisdom throughout the play add a feelgood factor, the pursuit of dramatic irony in the protagonist’s refusal to recognise him causes his character to ultimately become a little bit annoying. It is only in the more serious moments of tension in the second half of the play that power is truly achieved in the representation of the couple’s hardships. It is impossible not to be moved by the most heated of the arguments between the couple, and Nicholas Shaw presents a heartbreaking performance of Joe, a man who has been subjected to the pains of intense manual labour. The heavy focus on the Bolton area serves here to develop his character through his fierce regional loyalty, making up for the audience’s tricky adjustment to the thick Northern accents at the start of the play. The suitably suggestive ending then neatly references back to the light-hearted tone at the start, ensuring that the audience leaves regarding the couple with fondness. The play might never be internationally acclaimed, but ‘Lighthearted Intercourse’ captures the spirit of the region and ensures that Bill Naughton prevails as ‘Bolton’s greatest playwright’. Lighthearted Intercourse runs at The Bolton Octagon until November 3rd.
Review
Filled with grey Sophie Lipton reviews the new play at The Contact Theatre, Fields of Grey
Borderline Vultures
Three Stars out of Five Stars
An interactive, 360-degree experience taking place in a ‘secret Salford location’ , exploring communication where there is no common language. Performed as part of the InOnTheAct festival.
Runs until 28th October at The Lowry Theatre Student Tickets £10
Between You and Me Performed by Performing Arts students from The University of Salford, Between You and Me is an interactive interaction between the audience and the characters of Charles Dickens and his Manchester-born peer Harrison Ainsworth. Performed as part of the InOnTheAct festival.
Runs 20th to 21st October at The Lowry Theatre Tickets £5 and free on Sunday 21st
Why I Love / Why I Hate Helen McCarthy reveals her likes and loathes of theatre
Fields of Grey, directed by Contact’s Artistic Director Baba Israel, gives an insight into the Afghan American war. It is about an American soldier, and a British Muslim Mujahid who shot each other at battle. They are transported into a locked room where there is a heavy feeling of distrust, dislike and differences. However, it slowly becomes obvious that their dilemmas and difficulties are not actually fields apart. In this two man play, the actors seem to really interact with the audience from the beginning. Unknowingly stuck in what seems like a state of limbo, the actors only have the audience to question their confusion. This mixed with with Mtume Gant’s and Avaes Mohammad’s strong acting, injected emotions into the audience, making us feel part
Why I love: Macbeth’s witches The last time I saw Macbeth, the three witches consisted of one pregnant pensioner, one very attractive woman with monumentally high cheekbones, and a teenage boy in a nightie. How can you possibly go wrong with that? Macbeth has everything; violence, gore, murder, passion, a crazy ass Queen. Thoroughly perfect theatre. But the witches are the icing on an already very palatable, but slightly bitter and wonderfully disturbing, cake. The fact that they’re first onstage in
of the performance. However, Gant’s rendition really does deserve a mention as his diverse range of emotions were hard hitting and convincing, showing off his flexibility as an actor. I may have not had the unique experience of walking into a space ship, but the way I was escorted into the theatre was unconventional, and I felt as if I was walking into another planet. Unlike any piece of theatre I had seen before, the doors were only open to a select number of the audience at a time while we taken on a journey. From meditation to washing our hands, an eerie yet thrilling atmosphere has been successfully created. The stage was minimal, yet impressive as it was literally a cube layered with sand placed in the centre of the room. Before the play started, news clips encompassing the US Afghanistan war were beamed onto the translucent walls of
Act 1, Scene 1 gives any theatre director their dream on a plate – the best opening you could possibly imagine. Every time they appear there’s an opportunity to make the audience grip onto the arms of their seat until their fingers puncture the fabric. Every line they speak is revolting but oddly satisfying, like a gory children’s nursery rhyme. Thankfully, the broomstick and pointy black hat is very passé now so we don’t have to endure that anymore. It’s just pure disgust and terror, and that is such a fantastic combination
the cube, filling the first of many awkward pauses the show had in store. I found there were too many silences within the play which decreased a needed sense of urgency. This caused my interest to dwindle at some points during the performance. However, the use of technology and visual affects beamed onto the stage certainly tried to grab my attention. At first I felt this was a great technique utilised, but it became overused, fragmenting the plot of the play. Ultimately the effects triumphed over the acting and I found myself thinking ‘was that really necessary?’. I found both characters were quite balanced in their political views at the start of the play. Unfortunately the mutual stance was discontinued when the performance ended at an abrupt halt only depicting the American soldier in a negative
Why I hate: The Crucible It’s practically sacrilege to say that you don’t like this theatre classic, but I really, really don’t. Not only does it plague me with reminders of English lessons at school, it also underwhelms me to the core. Possibly one of the most famous allegorical plays ever written, The Crucible follows the chaos that a group of young women unleash on a 17th Century Puritan town in Massachusetts. They accuse someone of being a witch,
light. It was almost as if the ending had been cut short, time taken up by fancy videos and effects. This ambiguous and quite biased ending made the show appear ironically quite grey and confusing, leaving me questioning why only the American solider had come to terms with his guilt. Overall, no key knowledge of the US-Afghanistan war was needed, which makes it a watch for all keen theatre goers, especially for those who like to ponder on controversial endings. Evidently Fields of Grey had potential for a black and white hard hitting political fresh theatrical performance, but the use too many different techniques created a sense of grey ambiguity. Fields of Grey runs at The Contact Theatre until October 13th.
all hell breaks loose and there are people put in stocks and thrown in fires before you can say ‘Act 2’. However, what’s really going on is Arthur Miller sticking his finger up to Senator Joseph McCarthy, head honcho of the ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ and determined to oust Communists throughout the nation. There’s a lot going on in it but it’s dull, the main characters are almost impossible to like and yes it makes a point, but that’s it really. And Death of a Salesman left me numb as well, but that’s for another week.
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Lifestyle
60
SECOND
Interview
Travel
Fifty Shades of Fallowfield The second part of Gwen ’s 50 Shades of Grey parody
We talk to Union J member Josh Cuthbert How did you first know that you wanted to be a singer? I performed as Scrooge in my year six school play. Since then my mum has always said that I should pursue singing, so I did various projects and formed bands. I wanted to be a singer because it’s what I love doing; I love performing and being on the stage.
Did you ever feel like giving up? I have felt like giving up a few times. I came close to making it so many times but fell at the last hurdle. Fingers crossed this is the break I need! How has your X Factor experience been so far? My X Factor experience has been amazing so far. We have been working with the best people in the industry and have loved every minute of it! Plus I got a cheeky haircut out of it! If you could duet with one other artist, who would it be and why?
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
The only reason that I came to this stupid ChemSoc social was because I thought that he would be here. Now I’m stuck in 256, in my lab coat, with a randy 2nd year droning on about some silly module that I really
It’s...
don’t care about.‘ I’m doing Practical Chemistry at the moment,’ one of his chins wobbles as he speaks. ‘It’s terrific!’ I mumble a response and wish he’d go away. ‘I’m currently doing some experiments in column based protein extraction,’ he continues, before edging closer to me; a creepy smile on his face.’ Perhaps you’d like to extract some protein from my column?’ I resist the urge to vomit, give him a withering look and head to the bar. ‘Two shots of tequila please,’ I say. ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ My inner goddess shrieks with excitement at hearing the familiar, velvety, smooth voice behind me. I turn around and come face to face with the sexy PhD student, blushing furiously as memories of our last encounter come flooding back. ‘Do you want to go somewhere quieter?’ he asks, the same sultry look glistening in his eye. Overcome with lust, I oblige immediately. We walk up the street and before I know it, he’s dragging me into the Ichiban Noodle Bar. I look up at him, puzzled. I’m more of a Krunchy Fried Chicken kind of girl. ‘It’s much more private in here and we can grab something to eat,’ he explains, placing his hand possessively on my lower back. At this point in time, however, I am hungry for one thing and one thing only. In my overexcited state, I’m having trouble using the chopsticks when the
noodles arrive. Aiming for my mouth, I poke myself in the cheek. A piece of broccoli falls to the floor. Pretending nothing has happened, I stab a king prawn and enter it slowly into my mouth, letting the sweet and sour sauce run down my chin in what I hope is a seductive manner. ‘What are you doing?’ he says, shooting me a quizzical look. But with my hand resting on his crotch under the table I continue; plonking another prawn into the dipping sauce and letting my tongue gently fellate the shellfish. A visible bulge appears in his chinos. He knows where we’re going with this now. My excitement growing, he picks up a spring roll and bites into it ferociously. Bits of carrot and pork cascade from his mouth. A piece of onion rests suggestively on his stubble. A young Korean family at the next table look concerned. Then without warning, he’s stood behind me. He takes my hand in his and begins to feed me with the chopsticks, kissing my neck the whole time. I feel his free hand move slowly across my shoulder and sliding beneath my lab coat into my blouse and then my bra. He gently caresses my breasts and I gasp with pleasure. The mother in the Korean family next to us places her hands over her son’s eyes. ‘Let’s go back to mine,’ he whispers in my ear, dragging me out of the door before I have even had the chance to agree. As we wait at the bus stop, the tension becomes too much. Suddenly I’m pinned
Blind
Date
Lucy, 2nd Year, Art History
Patrik, 2nd Year, Spanish and Business Managment
It would probably be Chris Brown. I pretty much love all of his songs and he is my singing idol. And finally, how do you stay grounded in such a manic industry?
First impressions?
To stay grounded I speak to my family all the time. I also make sure I never forget where I came from!
Chicken and pesto sandwich and Gin at Trof.
Follow @UnionJWorld on Twitter and watch the boys perform live on ITV1, Saturday, 8pm.
First impressions?
Sweet, attractive, Scandinavian and clean.
Happy British girl, thought from the start it was going to be good.
What did you have to eat?
What did you have to eat? I had the Spanish stew with pork and some fresh white bread
What did you guys talk about? Our topics of conversation included Uni life in Manchester, couchsurfing and what English people have for breakfast.
What did you guys talk about? We started off the evening with a history of arts lesson, then it took off in all different directions.
If they were an alcoholic beverage which one would they be and why?
If they were an alcoholic beverage which one would they be and why?
Dark Swedish ale – quite intense but not too gassy.
Old fashioned, very wise girl with some interesting sweetness and well, possibly exotic too because of her abroad trip.
Were there any awkward silences? We managed to survive about 2 hours with very little silence, we are pretty different so had a lot to ask about. Rating? 7/10 Finally, hug, kiss or something more? Hug outside New Zealand Wines.
up against the timetable and we’re kissing passionately, his hands running through my hair, mine pulling at his. Even the slight smell of urine can’t weaken my desire. The 142 arrives too quickly and we’re both out of breath, panting. He tells me that I won’t have to wait too long before he is inside me. My bean begins to pulsate in anticipation. He leads me up the stairs and to the very back of the bus. Luckily we have the top floor to ourselves and my stomach begins to flutter as his lips lock on mine, aggressive, powerful and commanding. Our kisses are violent and I decide to clamber on top of him. This time I am the one in control, holding him prisoner. I inhale sharply as he slowly slips his hand beneath my skirt and slides his skilled hand up my thigh, teasing me. I feel his rock hard love truncheon pressing against me and all of a sudden I’m undoing his zip. I begin to run my hand up and down his glory. Eager to return the favour, he slides his fingers between the thin material of my knickers and my soaking snapper is all ready for him. With every jerk and jolt of the bus I come closer and closer to tipping over the edge. By the time we’ve reached the Ram and Shackle, I feel as if I’m about to implode; that’s when he suddenly stops. Flushed and panicky, I untangle myself from him. He looks deep into my eyes. I quiver with anticipation, sure that he’s about to come out with another incredible suggestion. ‘This is where we get off, baby!’ he grins
Lucy
& Pa trik
Were there any awkward silences? Nah, it was impressively good Rating? 8/10 Finally, hug, kiss or something more? Hug and a kiss on the cheek
Lucy and Patrik ate at Trof, Fallowfield. Thanks to the guys down there for getting involved. To check out their menu and what’s going on down there, head to http://www. troffallowfield.co.uk/ To sign up for blind date please e-mail your name, year of study and course to keir.stone-brown@student.manchester.ac.uk with ‘blind date’ as the subject
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Relationships
Year Abroad Experience
Lifestyle STUDENT 101
Fancy doing a year abroad? Holly Turberfield talks to us about her experience in Gran Canaria
I could rock up to a club in jeans and flats and have the best night visited friends in Germany and Italy who I met on my year abroad and we will be friends for a lifetime.
Holly Turberfield, student at The University of Manchester studying Spanish and Portuguese, has just returned from her year abroad. She takes us through her journey from university student to Gran Canarian language assistant through the Comenius teaching scheme.
my own topics to encourage them to speak. Sometimes it was embarrassing because the younger ones would not understand, or it would just make me cringe to hear them speaking amongst themselves in Spanish about me (some good, some bad!)
How did you feel on the day you left for Gran Canaria? I felt so overwhelmed, from wanting to cry because I was that scared about living in another country, to feeling excited walking past the beach front bars playing Latino music.
Did you learn anything new? I learnt so much, from building my confidence by having to stand in front of a foreign class, to taking up hobbies like surfing. It’s a totally different lifestyle. Most importantly, I learnt how to cook, which has had the biggest affect on my lifestyle. From living with people from all around the world, I’ve learnt that buying a packet meal from Sainsburys is not the way forward!
Describe a typical day in the school you were teaching. A typical day would involve around four hours work where I would take half the class into my own classroom. I had full control. My class focused on their oral ability, so I had to plan
What was the highlight of your time abroad? Making friends from all around the world and learning about different cultures. I’ve since
Did you notice a big difference between the student culture of Gran Canaria to that of the UK? The nightlife was totally reversed. Compared to going out in England around 10pm until 3am and then getting cheesy chips at the kebab shop, I would be going out around 2am until 8am and getting black coffee and croissants on the beach afterwards. I could rock up to a club in jeans and flats and have the best night- something I definitely preferred in comparison to the usual fake hair, eyelashes, boobs and fake tan here in Manchester!
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Following the death of a student in 2006, we investigate: at what point do initiations become dangerous? The topic of student initiations has become somewhat controversial since the death of a student at the University of Exeter back in 2006. At what point do these ‘welcome rituals’, involving binge-drinking marathons designed to encourage team bonding and commitment, become dangerous and potentially tragic? Universities have always had such traditions in place to highlight ‘la crème de la crème’ when it comes to team loyalty. And they’re not just in America either. In 2009, The Telegraph published a rather disturbing account involving University of Cambridge students having to swallow live goldfish and yup, you guessed it, throw them back up without killing them in order to prove their worth. I’ve heard similar (yet fortunately, not so revolting) stories from members of University of Manchester sports teams: asking new students to drink beer through fish gills, eating dog food and streaking through Owens Park bullock naked…welcome to university, freshers! Several universities have opted to ban the term ‘initiation’ but such a move is evidently ineffective. ‘Unofficial
How did you feel about returning to Manchester? I felt prepared with regards to my language skills and confident that I wanted to finish my degree. My experience in Gran Canaria was so beneficial that I’m planning to further my language next year by completing a Masters out there.
Terrible tales from between the sheets... nights’ will continue to be organised by university societies. Freshers arrive at university with a desire to be accepted and this, combined with copious amounts of alcohol, can have disastrous consequences.
This week: Lucy on flat mates with benefits other details Unfortunately for me, however, my naivety only held out until night two of Fresher’s Week. My new flat mate and I stumbled rather loudly into my room, giggling, much to the annoyance of the girl next door. Here’s the twist: it wasn’t awkward. It wasn’t awkward the next day or for the following week when I spent very little time in my own bed.
It was just three weeks ago when I showed up to halls fresh faced and ready for a whole new life. I’d left my home and friends behind with their final words of wisdom still ringing in my ears: don’t get ‘intimate’ with your flat mates.
How ridiculous, I thought – there are more students in Manchester than anywhere other place in Europe and I’d have to be stupid to sleep with one of the four guys that I have to live with for the next nine months.
Had I found the holy grail of casual sex? I suddenly couldn’t understand why everyone made out that this was such a difficult situation. This lasted until day five, the day that the bomb was dropped. The girlfriend bomb, that is. I’m ashamed to admit that the news of being an unintentional home wrecker didn’t faze me (I was more
put off by the accidental morning snuggle we had shared whilst watching a film, something which both of us agreed was now taboo) but it wasn’t exactly the ideal flatmates-with-benefits scenario that I had first thought it to be. I have come to the conclusion that the saying ‘if it’s too good to be true, it probably is’ is a very good one. Does it all just end up like Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman? Or, more realistically, in fights and tears? With something so fun, care free and simple turning into a tangled web of lies and shame, I have to ask myself – is there really such a thing as absolutely no strings attached sex?
But who is to blame? Those who want to be there and participate in such activities will do so, and on their own accord. It is ultimately up to the individual to say ‘no’ to something they don’t what to do and if the team captain uses this against them (and quite possibly losing a talented team member in the process) then more fool them. Initiations won’t decline on the university agenda anytime soon, and in my opinion, shouldn’t be discouraged. At eighteen years of age, students should be responsible enough to make their own decision and realise when things are being taken too far. No team position is worth risking your life for, whilst on the other hand, refusing to take part in a level of team banter that you feel comfortable with may become an obstacle for meeting new people and facing new challenges in the future. Having been a member of a sports society myself, I can only state that such activities bring a team closer: something which is often impossible to achieve on a training ground. Zara Zubeidi
Do you have a sex story that you’d like to share? Send them to lifestyle@mancunion.com
Dream Job Dream Job – TV Presenter Qualifications needed: BJTC accredited courses Salary: 14K – 100K+ Location: Worldwide
Do you have a clear and attractive voice? Likeable personality? The confidence to be quick witted and handle unexpected events smoothly? If the answer is yes to all of the above then a job as a TV presenter may be just the ticket for you. Being a TV presenter offers up great experiences from travelling the world to meeting inspirational people but as with all jobs it does have its challenges. Some presenters, particularly at the beginning of their careers, have to work long hours till late at night or even early in the morning. But putting in the work can pay dividends later with primetime slots
for the most successful. There are no set entry qualifications, but a BJTC accredited course may help. These courses aim to make you more employable and give you the skills necessary to enable you to cope with the demands of life in the broadcasting industry. The courses can also open up doors as the BJTC holds members such as the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Sky. However as much as a qualification can help personality, enthusiasm and determination are as, or more, important. Getting involved in broadcasting and getting as much experience as possible is essential so sending off CVs and harassing (to a
certain extent!) is a must and you may well start as a runner, which involves collecting coffees and doing all the jobs no one else wants to. If you are interested get in touch with Manchester’s own FUSE TV and see if there is anything you can do to get you on the path to stardom.
Keir Stone-Brown
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Lifestyle
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Experience... Rome Olivia Burt whisks you away to Rome for a magical three days
Rome is the home of Italy’s, if not the world’s, architectural and artistic heirlooms coupled with too much gelato, pizza and steamy men on Vespa’s. It is an ideal location for a long weekend away. Thanks to lastminute.com and cheap Easyjet flights arriving in Rome won’t break the bank. However I would recommend staying in a hostel as close to the centre of Rome as possible. This way you’ll cut your transport costs throughout your stay as most sights are within walking distance and your experience will be more enjoyable having stayed in the heart of this vibrant, unique city. Friday After arriving at your hostel, head over to the Colosseum for an evening tour. Although undeniably impressive in the day, this iconic building is truly magnificent at night, particularly as you’ll be able to appreciate its beauty without the thousands of tour groups that crowd it during the day. When walking round, scenes of ‘Gladiator’ and ‘Troy’ will without a doubt spring to mind as the gory history of the Colosseum resonates
throughout its walls. For me, what’s most striking about this historic landmark is despite 2000 years of earthquakes, wars, fires and plundering it stands before us relatively intact today. Saturday Wake up early so as not to miss the Campo del Fiori Markets. This typically Italian food market is only open during the morning and has been running since the mid-1800’s. It’s the perfect place to mingle with Italian locals stocking their kitchens as well as buying a delicious breakfast or picnic lunch. Then head over to the Pantheon and try and avoid the heavy midday queues. The Pantheon is another of Rome’s hugely iconic historical monuments, the beautiful ceiling of this building is a must see. When in Rome one must shop and eat too much Italian food, so I would recommend wandering through Rome’s countless boutiques, pausing for a cappuccino in the famous Piazza Navona and enjoying something typically Roman- a delicious pizza or bowl of pasta. After your meal, head over to the Trevi Fountain- Rome’s largest and
most well known fountain, perhaps due to Anita Ekberg’s swim in La Dolce Vita. A trip to Rome is not complete without the ritual custom of throwing a coin into the fountain. It is said by Romans, that if you throw a second coin, you’ll fall in love with an Italian. As evening falls, stroll over to the to Spanish Steps and the Piazza di Spagna and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere and numerous street performers, gelato shops and caricaturists as well as a romantic view of Rome from the top of the steps. Sunday A visit to the Vatican is definitely an unforgettable experience, as it is a city in itself. The home of the Pope also has one of the greatest museums in the world however you must be prepared for long queues and huge crowds – stamina and patience is required! My top-three-mustsee parts of the Vatican City are the stunning Sistine chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and people watching in St Peter’s Square. This action packed weekend will leave you longing for more from Italy’s most famous city.
Can You Handle Yoga? Challenge yourself with Bikram Yoga and you’ll increase your fitness and concentration levels It has been hailed to be the best way to de-stress whilst improving your fitness levels, but what exactly is Bikram Yoga and why is it so popular? Bikram Yoga is a form of yoga, comprising of 26 posture sequences and two breathing exercises. It is performed under intense heat: 105 degrees lasting for ninety minutes. The challenging nature of Bikram is designed to stimulate the organs, glands and nerves, as a result flushing oxygenated blood through 100 percent of the body. At first Bikram Yoga may seem intense, but as your body becomes used to the temperature you will no longer moan (as I did in my first session) but rather enjoy the relaxing environment. What I loved most was the calming and humble nature of Bikram Yoga, the fact that there is no competition and all levels are accepted. You are able to achieve your own goals and work at your own pace. The supportive and friendly nature of class means that you are not left feeling bereft of water and confidence, but eager to come back for another class (once you get over the heat, that is). The popularity of Bikram Yoga lies in the fact that you can simply challenge yourself and your body to increase your fitness levels which
ask
Q
KEIR
Hi, I’ve been hearing on the news about a disease going round called whooping cough and at the moment I’ve got a hacking cough. I’m concerend I have it what should I do? Whooping cough has been in the news recently because there has been an upsurge in the number of cases being seen by doctors. Its caused by a bacteria called Bordetella pertussis and classically affects babies and
A
Healthy
Eating
We’ve all heard the University weight gain horror stories: the super-skinny girl from Sixth Form who came back at Christmas four stone heavier than when she left in September, with thighs like tree trunks. Home-cooked dinners are replaced with ready meals, fruit with ’3 for £1′ sweets and let’s be honest, the only ‘potatoes’ that most students go near come in a Walkers packet. Who can blame us when it seems that nutritious diets are too expensive to be accessible on a student budget? However, there are ways to avoid the dreaded Uni weight gain. Here’s how you do it… First thing’s first: look for bargains. Yes, crisps, sweets and other convenience foods are always on offer, but this is also true when it comes to buying groceries. In most supermarkets, fruit that is out of season (i.e. strawberries) have multibuy offers so you can get more for your money. It may also be worth looking for fresh fruit and veg that are nearing their ‘Use By’ dates. Just remember to eat them sooner rather than later. If you go to supermarkets later in the evening, you will often find plenty of reduced items. In addition, market stalls sell groceries at affordable prices.
positively affects your lifestyle. After regular classes, you automatically begin to notice that you can sleep better, your concentration levels improve (those essays no longer seem like missions) and in the long term, you get rid of aches and pains. Enrolling for the ten consecutive days at the Bikram Yoga classes in Manchester for only£20 is a great way to experience Bikram Yoga. My
advice to you is to give yourself a challenge and attend a full session for ninety minutes. What I do know is that perseverance is needed in any form of fitness and exercise that anyone embarks on. The positive effects of Bikram Yoga do not occur overnight, so I recommend that you try it more than once. Go on, challenge yourself! Theresa Ita
Ask Keir is a column aiming to answer all your health questions. If you want to know about that funny looking lump that won’t go away, why your GP won’t give you those antibiotics or anything at all to do with health get in touch at: askkeir@gmail.com children but can also infect adults although less commonly. The news has centered on the rising number of adults in the last year developing the disease. In the young it can be serious however in adults it is generally less so. The ‘whooping’ part of whooping cough comes from the noise made by sufferers. When having a coughing fit they struggle to breathe and on taking a breath in make a characteristic sound similar to that if you held your breath under water and came up gasping for air. Slightly strangely not everyone with the whooping cough necessarily whoops especially young children
All questions will of course be kept confidential and anonymous
who can end up not breathing which is obviously very serious and needs immediate medical attention. The symptoms start out very similar to the common cold (runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes etc.) and then progress to more serious symptoms including coughing fits which can last as long as three minutes bringing up thick phlegm and can cause vomiting. Most people are vaccinated as a child against the whooping cough but there are several boosters required to give complete immunity and children can end up missing them leaving them open to the infection. As
for the treatment if its in the early stages your doctor will most likely give you antibiotics however if its in the later stages he/she will probably not give you anything as the body’s own defence systems will have almost fought off the infection. Otherwise they’ll advise you just to have bed rest, drink plenty of fluids and stay away for others until it’s passed. Remember if you are worried or want to know anything more seek advice from your GP. Keir Stone-Brown
Another good idea is to team up with your flat mates. It makes sense to club together to buy items, especially essentials such as bread and milk. That way, you’re all cutting your costs and preventing food waste. Arrange a flat meeting and make a list of all of the foods that everybody likes. Be careful not to end up paying for someone to eat gourmet steak three times a week when you’re a vegetarian though! Frozen foods are not necessarily unhealthy foods. Frozen vegetables, for example, do not lose their nutrition – this is a complete myth! Frozen meat and veg are student friendly products; you can preserve them for much longer. It’s processed foods that you need to be careful of, however, as they usually contain lots of saturated fats and salt. Shoving that pizza in the microwave may seem like the easy, tasty solution to your hangover hunger pangs, but think of the long term implications. If your problem is that you are not exactly Gordon Ramsey in the kitchen, have no fear. There are so many nutritious meals you can make with very little culinary experience or knowledge – take it from somebody who knows! Think baked potatoes, stir fry and vegetable fajitas. If in doubt, there is bound to be at least one accomplished chef in your flat or house that can give you a helping hand. Learning to look after yourself is all part of the University experience, so don’t throw in the towel too easily. Happy healthy eating students!
Beth Currall
Societies
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
When you ask the local population of Manchester their opinion on students there is an inevitable deluge of comments regarding late parties, vomit on street corners and litter galore. Yet for many their experience is entirely different thanks to the community projects which are run out of your very own Students' Union. Student Action Manchester is a
volunteering organisation within the union which looks to give back to a city that students gain so much from. At present we run 28 projects per week that work with people in the local community. There is a huge variety, this week alone for example we will give out food to the homeless, take a group of people with learning disabilities bowling and run an animal
themed party for children at a local homeless families' refuge. There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in Manchester, but what makes Student Action stand out is that these projects are entirely run by students, meaning we not only give back to our local community, but also help students develop skills that they can take out into ‘the real world’. It is also a fantastic
way to break out of the Oxford Road ‘bubble’ which dominates student life. By helping local people you can broaden your university experience and realise there is a lot more to Manchester than trips to 256, the library and Sainsburys! We are always looking for new ideas to benefit our local community, so if you see an opportunity in the area where you feel students could make a positive impact then come and tell us about it and we can try and set it up!
Here are two examples of projects that student action run.
Student Action: Homeless Outreach Ruby Box, 2nd year at Manchester University and is one of the project leaders for Homeless Outreach. Every Thursday she takes two volunteers to the staff room of the Union to make sandwiches, tea, coffee and hot chocolate before hitting the streets of Manchester to provide food for people who are homeless. "I look forward to it every week; it's more than just giving out the odd sandwich. You get to meet people on the street and we often stop to talk to them for a good half an hour. It’s about offering that extra emotional support as well as food." It may seem quite daunting going up to people asking if they
SRHS support students at university with eating disorders.
mistook an eating disorder as a sign of vanity, when it is actually a serious compulsive behaviour that is often used as a coping mechanism for stress. SRSH are also in association with eating disorder charity B-eat. Their aims are to change the way people think and talk about eating disorders, to improve the way services and treatment are provided and to help anyone believe that their eating disorder can be beaten. Visit the website (see below) for more information, support and opportunities to volunteer and fundraise. Students suffering from eating disorders can go to the SRSH meetings as frequently as they want. They run support sessions every two weeks in room four of the Students' Union at 6.30. The next meeting is Monday 29th October. You can volunteer with SRSH by becoming trained as a facilitator to run the group sessions as well as helping out with advertising, awareness and fundraising.
Student Run Self Help (SRSH) is a country wide organisation that runs peer support sessions for students with eating disorders throughout UK universities. I spoke to Laura Saunders from the group, who explained: "We work to support students and young people with eating disorders and encourage them to talk about issues they are facing. They receive support from two students who are trained facilitators that run each session, as well as other students who suffer from eating disorders." It is extremely important that eating disorders are recognised in universities, and students suffering know where to go and who to talk to if they want. A
recent survey from the University of Cincinnati revealed the challenges among university students in recognising the warning signs that lead to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. While most students were able to identify risk factors such as depression and anxiety, less were able to recognise that situational events such as a recent life change or criticism from a friend or family member can also lead to the disorders. The survey exposed the fact that females were much more familiar than males with the warning signs of disordered eating such as purging, unexplained weight loss, and distorted body image. It was also noted that some students
Societies
Monday 15th October
Tuesday 16th October
FUSE FM MARKETING
MANCHESTER ART GROUP
University of Manchester Students’ Union Foyer
Sandbar, 120 Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M1 7HL
6 30pm-7 30pm
5pm-6pm
JUDO TRAINING
Look for us on Facebook under, ‘Manchester Art Group’ and check out our website www. manchesterartgroup.co.uk
Events
Armitage Conference Room 7PM TO 8 30PM
Natasha Krause is the project leader of the Willow Bank scheme. Willow Bank is a family refuge where single parents and their children can come to keep them off the streets. Student Action has linked with Willow Bank so that each week it provides volunteers to play and interact with the children at the refuge, and in return Willow Bank lets them use their facilities.
- Rosetta Mack, Support Assitant at Willow Bank homeless families refuge
Volunteers from Homeless Oureach show their support. Photo: Jack Burke
Student Run Self Help
Student Action: Willow Bank
The work of Student Action is much appreciated by the homeless families that are in crisis.”
want food, because you don’t know the reaction you are going to get. Ruby assured me that the reaction is always a positive one: "You just explain that you’re from Student Action and that you are handing out food if they want it. I spoke to one man who was so thankful and sometimes he is so hungry he just curls up on the street not knowing when his next meal will be. It has been volunteers from Student Action that have approached him with food and drink." Homeless Outreach believes that "it doesn't matter how a person ends up on the street, what matters is that they are there now and need our help."
For more information email manchester@srsh.co.uk or visit www.b-eat.co.uk Rachel Heward
I asked Natasha about her project: "Each week parents come and drop their children with us at the playroom for two hours. In this time we usually try and do one hour inside and then one
Harmony Gospel Choir
Winning performance at the University Gospel Choir of the Year awards.
I met up with the Treasurer Dominic Fenton who explained what the society is all about. They kindly invited me to sit in on their rehearsal from 4pm to 6pm upstairs in Jabez Clegg (every Wednesday), they have a lot planned this year, December 8th is their bi-annual concert and they have just won the University Gospel Choir of the Year award. Surely you have to be quite good at singing to join the choir? No, absolutely not. Even if you've never sung before you’re still more than welcome. You don’t even have to think you’re good at
Wednesday 17th October MANCHESTER LABOUR STUDENTS University of Manchester Students’ Union steps 5pm-6pm
MUGSS - REHEARSALS University of Manchester Students’ Union
29
singing because you will eventually realise that you are, and our job is to help teach you. There is no audition, and no fee so all you have to do is drop in on our Wednesday session. Usually there are 50 people in the choir but this year is it a bit bigger, and we have about 70 to 80 people. Our conductor Tosin is fantastic at getting the best out of us, and we have Dave on the piano who has just completed his PhD at the RNCM. Gospel music is linked with Christian ideologies. Do you structure your society around Christianity and can nonbelievers and people of other
hour outside. All our activities are education based so hopefully they gain something other than just fun from the sessions. It allows them to play and meet with other children their own age who also live in the apartments. It’s great for developing a sense of community. A lot of the children show signs of learning difficulties and ADHD, and this programme forces them to interact and teaches them skills, such as sharing toys, that are so valuable for getting along later in life." "I have learnt so much from being part of this project and am still learning today. It’s such a worthwhile thing to get involved with especially when we organise events, such as our animal themed tea party and we are planning great things for Halloween." Sign Up www.manchesterstudentsunion. com/studentaction You can also contact action. su@manchester.ac.uk for more information or come and see Jack in activities office on the first floor of the Student Union.
Kate Bullivant
faiths get involved? You’re right that Gospel music is associated with Christianity and this is something we all recognise and respect. Nearly all of the music we sing is focused on Christianity and half way through each rehearsal we stop for a short prayer. However, our main aim is to include everyone. Personally I am not religious at all, but I respect that the music I love derives from a religious background. As a committee we try to strike a balance between incorporating religion without people feeling alienated or intimidated. One can respectfully ignore the prayer at half time, but understand that it’s there for the people who do practise Christianity within the group. We are concerned with the inclusion of Christianity but not the doctrine of Christianity. What’s great about our society is that you can take away from the religious words and put them in a wider context, we sing about inclusion, hope, peace and love. And these are important no matter what your religion is. Facebook page: http:// www.facebook.com/#!/ groups/220547981977/?fref=ts Kate Bullivant
MUGSS - CREW MEETING
Thursday 18th October
The Arch - outside Barnes Wallis building, North Campus, M1 3NL
MUSEA ARTS SOCIETY - Life Drawing
6 30pm-7 30pm
Burlington Rooms
For more information visit www.mugss. org
5pm to 6 30pm
CIRCUS SKILLS Burlington Society 2pm-4pm
RAW MANCHESTER ROCKS SOCIETY Hardy Wells – Rusholme
30 : SPORT
ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Ben Weich How quickly things change in football. Less than two months ago, André Villas-Boas and his Tottenham team were being booed off the pitch with disheartening regularity. Now though after an impressive run of four consecutive Premier League wins, it seems that the AVB project at Spurs is beginning to bear fruit. Villas-Boas’s first three months in his new job have been far from easy and he’s shown remarkable resilience. Most new managers are at least afforded a honeymoon period, but the Portuguese’s appointment as Spurs’s Head Coach was received largely with pessimism and disapproval. There are two main issues that most people have with Villas-Boas. The first is his reputation-shredding tenure as Chelsea manager, and the second is that he’s the man who’s replaced the darling of English football, Harry Redknapp. There’s a sizeable bloc of Spurs fans whose devotion to their wheeler-dealer messiah means they’re unlikely to ever warm to the new boss. The media has scarcely been kinder. Journalists and pundits have been lining up to take pot-shots at Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy for his perceived foolishness in hiring Villas-Boas. Former Spurs player and manager Glenn Hoddle has branded the appointment “more than a slight risk”. Elsewhere, AVB’s numerous critics have used words like ‘gamble’, ‘failure’ and ‘doomed’ with ceaseless vigour.
I must admit that I too was sceptical at first. Like almost everyone else I struggled to see past the nightmare that was his only other job in English football. I hoped Levy would go for David Moyes, not just because I thought he’d be the best man for the job, but also because I was intrigued as to how he’d do on a considerably larger budget than he currently has at Everton. However, after looking at the appointment thoroughly and objectively, I think Levy made the right choice. I am now (apologies in advance) an AVBeliever. I’ve been arguing his case for a while and I’m finally starting to feel vindicated. Having watched each of Tottenham’s matches this season, it’s fairly obvious that Villas-Boas has changed how the team play, in a subtle yet definite way. Under Harry Redknapp, Spurs’s game was based on fast, counter-attacking football, and it still is to an extent. But now further dimensions have been added to their play, and Villas-Boas’s vision for the club is clear. A devotee of the 4-3-3 (and its cousin, the 4-2-3-1), AVB has, unsurprisingly, got the team playing in much the same style as his Porto side of 2010/11, with whom he enjoyed so much success. A high defensive line has been employed, as has the tactic of relentless pressing of the opposition high up the pitch. The team is still focused on speed, but steel has been added to the midfield to help retain possession and dominate in the crucial area of the pitch – something they struggled to do last season. The idea is to make the pitch as small as possible when
Photo Credit: Name of photographer
Villas-Boas comes good for Spurs
the other team has the ball, limiting their options, and then to stretch it when on the attack. Without sounding too hyperbolic, it’s very much linked to the same ethos of ‘Total Football’ on which the great Netherlands and Barcelona teams have been built. The team plays in this style, and does well, for most of each match. But not being accustomed to the new system, they look as though they don’t yet have the endurance to maintain such a demanding game for 90 minutes, usually running out of steam after about an hour.
The stamina will come though, and Villas-Boas will also buy players who are better suited to his tactics. They’ve shown glimpses of real potential so far, and when they get up to speed they’ll be a handful for even the best teams. During his Tottenham side’s spectacular collapse last season, Harry Redknapp’s flaws as a manager were harshly exposed. Once other managers figured out how to negate Tottenham’s everattacking, tactically-primitive 4-2-4, they went on a long run of poor form which ultimately cost the club
Michael Schumacher - an F1 legend Tim Manson Formula 1 will see its greatest-ever driver exit the sport for a second time as the 2012 season comes to a close at the Brazilian Grand Prix in November. With seven World titles and having placed himself on the top step of the podium an astonishing 91 times, Michael Schumacher will step down with his place as a legend of F1 guaranteed. For Ross Brawn, his team director at both Ferrari and at his current outfit Mercedes, Schumacher is “the greatest racing driver of the century.” As with many starlets within the top tier of motor racing, Schumacher impressed on the karting circuit as a youngster, before moving up the ladder until his progress was marked with a win in the German Formula 3 championship in 1990. The year after, he was given his breakthrough chance, as he drove for the Jordan team in the Belgian Grand Prix. In his first two seasons in Formula 1 we saw glimpses of his huge potential as he finished 3rd and 4th, respectively whilst driving for Benetton. Undoubtedly, if the car had been better he would have been able to achieve higher finishes, as Schumacher displayed teasing flashes of brilliance, indicating what he was capable of. Whilst his entrance to Formula 1 might not have been as explosive as the debut seasons of his Mercedes replacement Lewis Hamilton, over the next 13 years he would establish himself as the leading driver in the sport, barnstorming his way
to seven world title wins. The first of these titles came in 1994, but not without controversy. With one race left and only one point separating Schumacher from his nearest rival Damon Hill, they collided in a crash which put them both out the race and decided the championship in Schumacher’s favour. There have been theories and rumours abound that the collision was
not an accident, though nothing has ever been proven. He followed the controversial end to the 1994 season with some of the most outstanding racing the sport has ever seen as the German went on to secure back-to-back world titles. This earned him a switch to Ferrari, where, after a somewhat slow start by his standards, he went on to achieve racing history. From 2000 onwards, he won five consecutive world titles, collecting more race wins and championships than any driver throughout history. In 2002 he had his most dominant season, taking 11 race wins and wrapping up the title with six races remaining, in the process securing a world record for the earliest ever victory. There is no doubt that Schumacher is a legend of the sport. Some will say that Formula 1 is more about the car than the driver, and their point is perhaps exemplified by his three-year return to racing in 2010, in which he only managed one podium position in an uncompetitive car. However, drives like the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix evidence the true brilliance of the German, a race in which he lapped the field up to third position, displaying some incredible driving panache in wet conditions. His astounding period of dominance with Ferrari from 2000 onwards is unlikely to be repeated, and ensure that he will be remembered as a legend for years to come.
Champions League football, and Redknapp his job. What Spurs fans will find most refreshing is Villas-Boas’s strategic nous, and his ability to tailor the way the team play according to the opponent, sometimes mid-match. It’s the very thing Redknapp was unable to do and it’s the thing that’s stopped Spurs from becoming titlecontenders. It’s all well and good to have an effective style of play, but to be successful over the course of an entire campaign a manager needs to have a Plan B (and C) up his sleeve. With every day that passes,
Villas-Boas looks more comfortable in his role. His team is thriving in the new system and results are following. Their historic win at Old Trafford was a real coup and many are tipping Spurs for a serious top-four push once again. As the off-pitch circus that is Chelsea Football Club rolls on, it’s becoming clear that last season’s fiasco wasn’t entirely his fault and questions over his man-management have died down somewhat. Contrary to ‘expert’ opinion, AVB could be at Tottenham for a long time yet.
Bizarre Sports #5 – Wife Carrying Finlay Donaldson Whilst many men around the world cherish going off at the weekend, spending a few hours away from the wife and enjoying some leisurely pursuits, a few creative souls from Finland got together and decided that the wives should be more involved. As a result, the sport of wife carrying was born. As the title suggests, the sport involves a man carrying his wife, or another woman (if he is that way inclined), through an obstacle course in the fastest time possible. Bizarrely, the origins of wife carrying appear to originate as a joke, supposedly reminiscent of a past in which men courted women by running to their village, picking them up, and carrying them off. In many countries that would be considered kidnapping, but who’s to judge? As well as laying claim to inventing the sport, the World Championships are still held in Finland every year, in the small eastern town of Sonkajavi. Understandably, the Finns are very proud of their history and have won the Championships numerous times. However in recent times, Estonia have established themselves as the top country for wife carrying. Not content with finishing second, the Finns persuaded a man by the name of
Taisto Miettinen to start competing. A jack of all trades and winner of many competitions, Taisto’s record of achievements reads like a list of obscure Scandinavian sports. Not content with being a national champion in water running, iron bar walking, snowshoe running and winter swimming, he has won the prestigious Wife Carrying Championships for the last four years. What a man. Those not in the know would wrongly dismiss this sport as a caveman-esque activity requiring little intelligence. However, there is more to Wife Carrying that meets the eye. As the sport has developed a number of different carrying techniques have evolved. The most common style used is the standard piggyback whilst the fireman’s lift is also popular. The most creative style has to be what is known as the ‘Estonianstyle’ and involves the wife hanging upside-down with her legs around the husband’s shoulders, holding onto his waist.
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ISSUE 05/ 15th OCTOBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Manchester prepare for inaugural ice hockey Varsity 23rd October at Altrincham ice rink
Armitage Site acknowledges frustrations over pitch bookings Ciaran Milner Sport Editor
Alex Underwood “It will be an intense game; it might even kick off a bit!” says University of Manchester ice hockey captain Matthew Rohani, ahead of next week’s ice hockey Varsity match. “It is the one time this year the players will really be able to go at it.” Speaking to Mancunion Sport ahead of the game, he seems to be in good spirits. “We lost a few players over the summer but the replacements are of an equal standard,” he says. “We are hoping to reach a similar level to last year.” The match against Manchester Metropolitan is the first-ever ice hockey Varsity, and will take place at Altrincham Ice Rink on Tuesday 23rd October. The game should be high on quality, with several new faces mixing it with semi-professionals on both sides. These include MMU goaltender Declan Ryan of the Telford Tigers, and Max Drakeley, defenceman for University of Manchester and Trafford Metros. Both teams have a wealth of talent to call on for the match, and Rohani will be looking for a strong start from his new recruits. The event will include prematch entertainment, cheerleaders, and, perhaps most importantly, a bar. The £5 ticket
Manchester Metros pose for a team photo. Photo: Matthew Rohani also includes free admission to the after-party at Walkabout (provided that you keep hold of it after the game). Information regarding tickets can be found on the Manchester Ice Hockey Facebook group. The venue can be reached by tram, either from Piccadilly or St Peter’s Square,
or by taking the number 41 bus. Car parking facilities are also available outside the ground. The match provides an opportunity for the two universities to knock chunks out of each other before they reunite as part of the Manchester Metros, a team comprised of all the Manchester universities, who
compete in Division One North of the British University Ice Hockey Association. The Metros won the Division last season and Rohani is confident that the feat can be repeated. He also believes that they can compete for the main prize at the Nationals next year, although he says it is now “a
harder and much more elusive prize to get hold of.” But all focus for now will be on this month’s Varsity game, and the chance for both teams to get one over on their noisy neighbours and assert their superiority once and for all.
National Football Museum: rekindle your love for the beautiful game Matthew Barber Sport Editor In the current climate, it’s easy to be despondent about English football. The country has never been so out-of-love with the perennially underachieving national side, while the ethics of the domestic league are under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Olympics. Thankfully, there is a cure to the media doom and gloom and a way to feel good about football again: a visit to Manchester’s fantastic National Football Museum. The museum, previously housed at Preston North End’s Deepdale stadium, moved to Manchester in July of this year in a bid to attract more visitors and display more of its some-140,000 collected exhibits. Urbis, a unique and elegant building that has previously hosted many artistic and cultural exhibitions, is now its permanent home; sleek and modern, it is the centrepiece of the picturesque Cathedral Gardens. Like many British museums, admission is free, though due to the quality of the experience I was persuaded to leave a donation. On entering the museum, I was greeted by the friendly staff and given a quick overview of the ascending tier layout. Inside, the building is just as impressive as on the outside, but the exhibits are what make the trip truly worthwhile; highlights include Maradona’s shirt from
Argentina’s infamous 1986 ‘Hand-of-God’ tie over England, the world’s only remaining replica of the Jules Rimet trophy and a ball used in the 1966 World Cup final, just to name a few. A particular favourite of mine was ‘The Art of the Game’, a brilliant, if bizarre, Renaissance-style painting in homage to Eric Cantona, with Beckham, Butt and the Neville brothers sprawled in adoration at his feet. There are many interactive exhibits; surely the hallmark of a modern (and non-boring) museum. These include a ‘You are the Ref ’ game, a video feature where you can record your opinion on goal-line technology, and lots more quizzes and challenges. The style of the museum advocates a personalised visit; as a Middlesbrough fan I was able to listen to snippets of commentary from our Carling Cup win and European comebacks, whilst also learning more about the club’s history. There is enormous capacity for both nostalgia (who could forget ‘fat’ Ronaldo’s wedge haircut) and learning, with much to discover about the beautiful game. The essence of football is captured perfectly; you laugh at the linguistic stylings of Robbie Savage and feel humbled by the fitting tributes to the tragedies Hillsborough and Bradford. I found the museum’s most impressive quality was to spotlight England’s role as the birthplace of football and its part in
the fabric of our culture. When I visited the museum, it was crawling with Borussia Dortmund fans, who had invaded the city centre in preparation for their Champions League tie with City that evening. But even they must have been overwhelmed by the passion we have for the game. This feeling is accentuated by the current exhibition, Stuart Roy Clarke’s ‘The Homes of Football’, a photographic catalogue of the beauty to be found in the often decrepit stadia of days gone by. A poignant video experience displays the point in ways that words never could: football isn’t about six-figure wages or flash endorsements; it’s about 11 players, in the park, having a kickabout. As my visit drew to a close, I viewed exhibits on the advancement in footballing technology, the changing kits, the revolutionary tactics and thought how much the game has changed. But then I saw this quote, from the Manchester Lete Roll of 1608, mounted on the wall. ‘There hath been great disorder in our towne of Manchester, a companye of lewd and disordered persons using that unlawfull exercise of playing ffote-ball in ye streets.’ Then, I thought, how little football has changed at all.
The National Fooball Museum opened its doors in July. Photo: Joe Clarke
The Armitage Site have admitted the booking system for their 3G fivea-side football pitches is “frustrating” amid student complaints, and have made clear their desire to improve the process. In the current system, students can book the pitches over the telephone up to eight days in advance. However, they are required to come in and pay for their pitch in person at least three days in advance to the booking. If they do not, the pitch booking is lost. Students have expressed their frustrations in having to travel out of their way to book a pitch. “It’s an outdated system” said English student David Butler. “It’s extremely annoying to go that far out of your way to book a pitch. Why can’t you do it over the phone?” Third year student and regular user Jack Mollart described how the situation was particularly annoying in relation to his studies. “When I’ve got a deadline, it frustrates me to go and book a pitch in person. I often don’t have time.” “Football is a great stress relief, so I’d love to play more. I live in Withington, though, so it’s extremely inconvenient to go and book the pitch in person”. The Armitage Site acknowledged student frustrations, and have made assurances that a new system will be in place soon. “Eventually, we will have an online booking system that will allow students to book daily” duty manager Mike Tomlinson said, “but at the moment, until the University update us, we’re on this system where you can book eight days in advance”. Tomlinson added that the current system remains in place so as to stop cancellations getting out of hand. “Every night we have to tippex off people who haven’t paid” he said. “The current system gives us the option to resell it so we’re not losing money.”
SPORT WWW.MANCUNION.COM
15th OCT 2012 ISSUE 05 FREE
Ice Hockey Varsity Preview
Villas Boas comes good for Spurs
P31
Perfect start for University of Manchester men
P30 Uni sport roundup Matthew Barber Sport Editor
The British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) season commences this week, here are a pick of the UoM fixtures for this week: Football - Men’s 1st team v Sheffield Hallam, Armitage Centre 2pm Women’s 1st team v Salford, Armitage Centre, 2pm Rugby League - Men’s team v Man Met, Broughton Park, 2pm Hockey - Men’s 1st team v Man Met, Belle Vue Leisure Centre, 2pm Tennis - Women’s 1st team v Sheffield Hallam, Sportcity, 2pm Basketball - Men’s 1st team v Bangor, Armitage Centre, 8pm The University take of Manchester men willback be hoping for more performances this one. Photo: Lisa Murgatroyd Manchester on Leeds Met in 2011. Photo: Jonathan like Whiting
UoM Men’s Rugby League 1st team claim 32-22 win against MMU Cheshire Andrew Georgeson
The University of Manchester Men’s first team kick-started their rugby league season with a convincing 32-22 win over MMU Cheshire. Although UoM finished winners, it was MMU who drew first blood just a minute into the game. A kick from Francis took an awkward bounce and wrong-footed the back three, allowing Clegg-Tyler to take a touch before dribbling over the line. UoM looked shaken by the early try, and it took a mistake from MMU to get them back
into the game. A dubious forward pass from Housten released Dawbarn, who, after a forty-yard run, passed to Seabrook to crash over the line. UoM began to turn the screw after the try and got a real foothold in the game. Scott came close, unlucky to knock the ball on over the line and the pressure continued with UoM gradually working their way up the pitch through a series of penalties and scrums. Eventually, Burkill crossed to make it 14-7. The hard ground and swirling wind was utilized by both teams, with the unpredict-
able nature of the bounce of the ball causing problems for both sides’ back threes. UoM’s third try of the day was similar to MMU’s earlier score, as Seabrook’s cross-field kick took a fortunate bounce to find its way to White, who finished in the corner. MMU, seeking a quick response before half time, rallied with the try of the match. The move started after a fine line from Cummings who managed to reach the 22 before being stopped. Although the chance looked like to have gone, a quick return pass between Clegg-Taylor and Keans-
ley saw the former get his, and MMU’s second try of the day. The first half ended in another UoM try, Longworth capitalizing after MMU were caught offside close to their line. The score going into the second half was 24-12 in UoM’s favor, however, MMU began to dominate after the restart. The breakthrough came for MMU just 10 minutes into the second half. After failing to use an overlap, Seabrook’s kick was intercepted by MMU’s impressive Clegg-Taylor, who ran the length of the pitch to complete his hat trick. This time the conversion was missed, meaning a healthy 8-point lead was still maintained by UoM. MMU went onto score again half way through the second half with Francis crossing the
line, reducing the deficit to just 2 points. This comeback was short lived though, with Scott crossing for UoM just 5 minutes later when MMU were penalized 5 yards from goal. MMU did push for one last try towards the end of the game, but the stubborn UoM defense held tight. Right at the death, Bates powered over the line for another UoM try, making the full-time score a 32-22 win for the University of Manchester. Post-match, UoM’s Bates said ‘I’m delighted with the result, we made it hard for ourselves but we came through it.’ The win sets them up for the rest of the season in which Bates hopes they will be ‘pushing to win the league.’
Table Tennis - Men’s 1st team v Liverpool, Sugden Centre, 2pm Badminton - Women’s 1st team v Leeds, Armitage, 2pm All fixtures to be played on Wednesday 17th October.