4TH NOV 2013/ ISSUE 07 FREE
MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Most controversial fashion campaigns
Jailbreak round-up
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WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Student helps with earthquake relief
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Students not told about asbestos in halls of residence • Freedom of information request
reveals eight halls of residence still contain asbestos in need of work • Students didn’t know when moving in Pippa Allen-Kinross News Editor Thousands of students at Manchester were living in halls containing asbestos until 2012. Some students are still unknowingly living among asbestos, as eight of the residences which were identified as containing deteriorated asbestos have not yet undergone work to remove it. An Asbestos Management Survey in 2011 identified 60 university residences which contained asbestos that had deteriorated and needed work. In Fallowfield these included Owens Park Tower Block, all of Oak House, Tree Court, Little Court, Mall Block, Green Court, the Armitage Centre, Cavendish House, Spencer House, Morley Building and Lindsay House. In Victoria Park these included Birley, Greenworth, Houldsworth, Oaklands and Plymouth in Hulme Hall, and all of Dalton Ellis. And in Whitworth Park the residences identified included Aberdeen House, Burleigh House, Derby House, Dilworth House and Garstang House. Several students have expressed outrage that
they were not made aware of the asbestos in their halls. Monique Davis, a fourth year French and Italian student who was a resident in Tower Block 2010-2011, said: “knowing that the university is still yet to inform me that my halls contained asbestos is perhaps more worrying than finding out it was there in the first place. “They have a duty to inform us about something as serious and potentially dangerous as this. “We pay a lot of money to be provided with safe and appropriate accommodation. It seems clear that the university has abused their position of trust.” Although asbestos in good condition is harmless if left undisturbed, when damaged it can be very dangerous. Breathing in asbestos dust can cause severe and sometimes fatal lung conditions such as mesothelioma, lung cancer, and absestosis. According to the British Lung Foundation, many of these conditions can lie dormant for years, or even decades, before they materialise.
Continued on page 2
Halls across campus identified as containing deteriorated asbestos Photo: University of Manchester
02 : NEWS
ISSUE 07 / 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Highlights
Music, A tribute to Lou Reed
Students set out on Jailbreak last month, the RAG event where people try and get as far away from Manchester without spending any money Photo: Manchester RAG
Page 24 Picture of the week
Games, Review: Football Manager 2014 Page 19
Arts & Culture, Make your own Origami
Page 24
continued from page one... Asbestos is still the single greatest cause of work related deaths in the UK, killing around 4,500 people every year. The material was banned at the end of 1999, but was widely used for insulation, flooring and roofing before its dangers were known. As such, any buildings constructed before the year 2000 may still contain asbestos. In a statement to The Mancunion, a University spokesman said, “Like other universities, we have a statutory duty to ensure our premises comply with strict health and safety regulations, including those relating to asbestos. “The University’s Asbestos Management Team has an effective, robust and efficient system for the management and control of asbestos as set out in our Asbestos Management Plan, which is freely available to view online.” They added, “The University buildings that contain asbestos, including halls of residence, have been fully inspected according to national guidelines and pose the lowest possible risk to staff and students. We take student welfare extremely seriously and work continues across campus to remove or manage any last remaining asbestos.” Eight residences remain that have not
Iris Chase @Flickr yet been cleared of asbestos and are listed as in need of work. These residences are Allen Hall, Ashburne Hall, Broomcroft House, Dilworth House, Green House, Grosvenor Place, St Anselm’s Hall and Wright Robinson. All except Allen Hall remain in use. Jack Griffith, a first year Chemical Engineering student living in Wright Robinson halls, told The Mancunion, “I actually had no idea there was any asbestos in the building, as far as I’m aware we haven’t been informed about it. “I have no problem with it, as I know it’s only harmful when inhaled, but I
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Lifestyle, How to: live on £20 a week Page 22
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think it would have been nice to be told about it so I’m aware that it’s there.” Dom May, a first year Geography student also in Wright Robinson, said, “they should have told us, even though I am aware that it causes us little trouble... we still had a right to know. “You would want to know if your house had asbestos in it so why weren’t we told that our flat had it in?” In response to a Freedom of Information Request from The Mancunion, the University said, “As part of the University’s asbestos management plan and following the introduction of legislation, we are required to assess the condition of
Food & Drink Editors: Ben Walker & Maddy Hubbard foodanddrink@mancunion.com Film Editors: Sophie James, Robbie Davidson & Angus Harrison film@mancunion.com Features Editor: Sam Dumitriu features@mancunion.com Games Editor: Alasdair Preston games@mancunion.com Lifestyle Editors: Moya Crockett, Isabelle Dann, Beth Currall & Lauren Arthur lifestyle@mancunion.com Music Editors: Tom Ingham, Patrick Hinton & Phoebe Clarke music@mancunion.com
asbestos products and to re-inspect asbestos items which have previously been identified. “Following this type of condition assessment, certain items were identified as having deteriorated therefore these were identified as requiring work to be undertaken.” They added, “Various asbestos surveys have been undertaken within these buildings prior to 2011. Asbestos management surveys did not come into existence until 2010 when new guidance was issued from the HSE. “There is no legal requirement to fully re-survey buildings for which asbestos information is available. “However the University undertakes this as it provides an additional quality check on the existing information and provides a more up to date record following various building lay-out changes”. Although the University began a programme which has removed and managed asbestos in 52 residences since 2012, the programme is not due for completion until summer 2014. Re-inspection surveys are due to commence in February 2014.
Sport Editors: Andrew Georgeson, Thomas Dowler & Thomas Turner Sports Reporters: James Eatwell & Jonathan Roberts sport@mancunion.com Theatre Editor: Josephine Lane theatre@mancunion.com Web Editor: Jennifer Ho webed@mancunion.com Photography Editor: Peter Chinnock photography@mancunion.com Photography team: Patrycja Marczewska, Joshua Brown & Cil Barnett-Neefs
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 03
University staff strike in national action over pay - Students, staff, and teachers turn out to support protest - Strikes in 21 cities across the country Daniel Harold News Reporter Academics and support staff from the University took part in a nation-wide strike last Thursday, in protest at the university employers’ pay offer of a 1 per cent increase. Staff and students from a number of north-west universities joined colleagues from the University of Manchester at picket lines on Oxford Road, before a rally held at the Students’ Union. Both were attended by hundreds of academics, support staff, students, and trade union representatives. The protest was part of a national day of action that saw strikes in 21 university cities around the country, marking the first time the three biggest unions in the education sector – Unison, Unite, and the University and College Union - went on strike together. The action was backed by ballots of members of all three unions after they rejected the employers’ offer of a one per cent pay rise for university staff. The implementation of the one per cent rise would have made it the fourth year in a row that university staff have been hit by below inflation rises. The unions – who represent academic staff, support staff and postgraduates
who teach - say the latest offer would mean university workers have suffered a real term pay cut of 13 per cent since 2008. Speaking to The Mancunion, Freyja Peters, Communications Officer for the University of Manchester’s UNISON branch, said, “This decision [to strike] was not taken lightly, and followed lengthy negotiations at national level. “Although this appears to be a salary increase, it must be weighed-up against the fact that the cost of living has been escalating at a greater rate. “Our lowest-paid members are indicating that there is a shortfall between salaries and living costs, and we are increasingly hearing of members (nationally and in the north-west) struggling to cover basic costs of living, having to take second jobs, and even using food banks.” A statement from the union’s said: “the employer’s final offer of 1% represents a fourth consecutive year of wage restraint in higher education. “The effect is felt across all grades of staff in higher education. Our members are reporting real falls in income and difficulties in maintaining their standards of living.” Peters added: “UNISON believes that the HE sector has cash surpluses of over £1bn, so we think there is definitely scope
Academics, students and university staff went on strike over a proposed one percent pay rise Photo: Understanding Animal Research @Flickr
for employers to revise their pay offer. “Recent HEFCE reports also indicated that staffing costs as a percentage of HEI income were at an all-time low.” The pay offer for staff at the University of Manchester comes off the back of the university retaining a £48.8million surplus for the year ended 2012, according to the most recently published financial review. The University and College
Employers Association, which represents institutions, questioned the validity of the strike, claiming that less than five per cent of the people who work in the sector voted in favour of strike action. A spokesperson for the UCEA said, “Our institutions tell us that the vast majority of staff understand the reality of the current environment and would not wish to harm their institutions and especially their
Movember charity run in Platt Fields Aidan Gregory News Editor To tie in with the worldwide month of ‘Movember’, the first ever UK ‘Mousdashe’ charity marathon is to be held at Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield on the 23rd of November. The race will raise money for both local and national charities, including Rethink Mental Illness, Prostate Cancer Research Centre, and Young People’s Support Foundation – A Manchester based charity which aims to provide young people with “advice and friendly support on anything from mental health, domestic abuse and substance
misuse, as well as help finding work and entering education”. The move has been inspired by Movember; a charitable movement which started 10 years ago in Melbourne, Australia, and has since raised over £300 million for prostrate and testicular cancer research. Jake Stott, CEO of Mousdashe, set the charity up after graduating from Mathe University of Manchester two years ago. He described the run as “essentially Movember meets Race for Life”. When asked what inspired him to set up the charity, Stott explained that after graduating he spent a year working as a trader in
an investment bank, before deciding it wasn’t for him. He said, “I quickly realised that trading doesn’t really make much of a difference. After a year I left, and whilst doing Movember last year trying to think of moustache related puns I came up with “The Mousdashe” and it went from there. He added, “The Mousdashe has brought together the nation’s love for keeping fit, the desire to don moustaches and most importantly our passion to raise money for charity. The Mousdashe gives everyone a chance at the end of the month to parade their Mo’s and run for Men’s and Mental health.” This month, Stott hopes to raise £10,000, which he said
will give him a platform for further expansion next year. The event has been well received by the charities it supports. Kate Macdonald, CEO of Young People’s Support Foundation, said, “We support 2,000 people a year, but there are more that need our help. The Mousdashe event is a fantastically fun and exciting way to raise money and enables us to offer more support to those that need it.” A second run is being held in Brixton, London on the 30th November. The races cost £19 + £1.70 booking fee to enter, and all proceeds are donated to the charities.
students.” He added, “Trade unions know that pay increases to HE staff on the pay spine will mean that salary costs in most HE institutions will actually rise by around 3 per cent this year.” However, the strike action had the full backing of the University of Manchester Students’ Union, which had called on students to join the action. A statement put out by the UMSU said it “believes that
Report slams UK universities-fossil fuel industry ties Oscar Watkins Contributor A new report claims that universities in the UK have the equivalent of £2,083 per student invested in the fossil fuel industry. The report, which estimates UK universities have £5.2 billion invested in fossil fuel industries, specifically mentions the University of Manchester’s close relationship with BP. It states, “Universities offer their credibility for cash when they sign deals sponsoring staff positions, buildings, conferences and lectures with fossil fuel companies.” This comes a year after BP announced plans to open a £64m research centre at the University of Manchester to “help its search for oil in deeper and more challenging environments.” The University’s said at the time, “BP’s alliance with the University of Manchester... enables BP to access
all University staff should be properly supported and should receive a fair wage. “We believe that in times of hardship students should stand in solidarity with University staff to defend high quality education, promote fair working conditions and oppose the marketisation of education.”
the University’s world-class executive education, high-quality research facilities and its undergraduate talent pool.” The report, titled Knowledge and Power – Fossil Fuel Universities, was written on behalf of the oil and gas watchdog platform and divestment group ‘350.org’. It also said Manchester “boasts close research relationships with EDF and Shell.” Both sponsored Manchester’s School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences postgraduate conference in 2012. “Just £1000 from Shell and £500 from BP ensured that every participant of the conference got a BP-branded goodybag with a Shell-branded screwdriver inside among other conference merchandise. The report, called Knowledge and Power, was published as part of a divestment campaign urging universities to make ethical decisions. Bill McKibben, the founder of climate change fighting organisation ‘350.org’, urged students that, “Severing our ties with the companies digging up the carbon won’t bankrupt them - but it will start to politically bankrupt them, and make their job of dominating the planet’s politics that much harder.”
ISSUE 07 / 4TH NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
04 : News
Manchester student helps with earthquake relief in Philippines
- 340,000 displaced by earthquake, so far 218 reported killed - UN say 46 million dollars needed Sean Doherty News Editor As those in England assess the damage caused by St. Jude, one of the worst storms in years to hit a nation used to more temperate weather, a University of Manchester student has flown out to the Philippines as part of a team who are working to help those affected by the recent earthquake in Bohol. Christine Cassar, who is doing her PHD in Humanitarianism and Conflict Response, is working as part of a response team from the Manchester based agency Disaster Aid UK. The team are beginning relief operations, carrying out assessment work and providing shelter to those who have been made homeless by the earthquake. Christine got involved with Disaster Aid UK after working as an Ambassadorial Scholar for Rotary International, the group which
founded Disaster Aid UK. “[Working for] Disaster Aid seemed like an amazing way to put into practice what I was studying,” she said. “We tend to think that academia and practical work are separate from each other, but combining the two is incredibly enriching and rewarding.” After volunteering with the group for a year and a half, this is her first experience of overseas disaster relief deployment. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Bohol on 15th October. So far 218 people are reported to have been killed due to the earthquake, 204 of those in Bohol, and 719 have been injured. Over 340,000 people have also been displaced and there have been widespread problems related to power outages, lack of sanitation and the absence of safe drinking water. Christine is working on a municipality on the West of the island where 100 per cent of homes have been either damaged or destroyed. Those in her
group are assessing what is needed most and are working with a Filipino partner organization - Balay Mindanaw to help provide family survival kits and non-food vital items, such as tents mosquito nets, kitchenware and cooking utensils, to families in need. The group is also working to provide a long term structure, so that people may rebuild their homes and children may go back to school, as well as providing ongoing psychological support. Christine pointed out that although the scope of the tragedy is undoubtedly vast, she has been amazed by the strength and resilience of those affected. “One of the most heartbreaking stories we’ve heard is that of a woman and her three children sitting and having breakfast on the morning of the 15th in their kitchen in their house in a valley. The earthquake caused a landslide above their house and a huge boulder, the size of a car, came crashing down instantly killing the mother and two infant children, and injuring the third son,” she said. “The father was lost for words, he was utterly devastated but had to be strong for his son. And I think this is
the message we’ve been getting from a population so affected by the events of the past few days - it’s recognizing the tragedy yet seeing a way forward from it.” The United Nations has estimated that 46.8 million USD would be required to adequately support those affected by the earthquake. Governments across the world have been giving their condolences as well as providing aid to the Philippines to assist with the fallout of the disaster. International aid agencies are also continuing to deploy volunteers to help maintain a supply of food as well as provide shelter and medical assistance to those who need it. Christine said she felt foreign aid should be seen as more than simply financial assistance. She added that
despite being a relatively small group, the commitment of Disaster Aid UK’s volunteers mean that it is able to reach communities on the other side of the world. “I think it’s important to realize that there is so much expertise that can be shared; so many communities that can be helped overcome times of hardship,” she said. “If we work together and pool in financial, technical, and even academic resources we can be so much more effective in contributing to protecting and preserving lives.” She encouraged individuals, groups, companies and entities to help support the work done by Disaster Aid UK. Anyone looking to look at the work done by Disaster Aid UK or who would like to contribute in any way can find them at http://disasteraiduk.org.
PhD student Christine Cassar is working with Disaster Aid UK to help those affected following the disaster in Bohol. Photo: Disaster Aid UK
HOMESICK?
OVERWHELMED? LIKE YOU’VE NOT SETTLED IN?
You’re not alone! The Students’ Union advice service have got loads of hints and tips to help you feel more at home in Manchester. They can also offer a friendly and sympathetic ear. For practical advice on settling in at uni visit manchesterstudentsunion.com/adviceservice
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 05
University partners with free online course provider of Lausanne and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.
Cox endorses £3m RNCM bid Inez Dawoodjee News Reporter
Prof Reece added, “Manchester is determined to produce some of the best and highest quality online courses to showcase our excellence in distance education and to benefit both students across the world and those here in Manchester.” MOOC was launched in an attempt to provide wider access to higher education at a time when tuition fee hikes have discouraged many from applying to universities. Professior
Sebastian
Thrun
of Stanford University set up Udacity, a pioneering online education company that delivers courses in maths, science and design. This led to the launch of
University of Manchester, in partnership with Coursera, has made free online courses available Photo: Visma Finland @Flickr
-”seen by some as the future of online education” -Thousands of people expected to take part
courses is an important step for Manchester. “They will appeal to a broad
similar
online
education
companies, including Stanford based Courera. Coursera’s
Co-Founder
Daphne Koller said, “We are proud
to
welcome
to
the
audience from across the globe,
Coursera partnership this group
of
and will form an important part
of
Online Course (MOOC) provider
these courses will be free to
of fulfilling our commitment to
from
Coursera
Introduction
participants, and we expect
social responsibility.”
demonstrating the ever-growing
to Population Health; Water
that many thousands of people
Manchester was among 13
of the latest universities to
Supply
in
will take part. MOOCs are seen
universities that partnered with
and
partner with an online education
Developing
Our
by some as the future of online
Coursera this week, bringing the
everywhere access to an even
company providing free online
Earth: its Climate, History and
education,” said Associate Vice-
total number of higher education
more diverse set of perspectives.
courses to anyone with internet
Processes; and Global Health and
President for Teaching, Learning
institution collaborators to 100.
access.
Humanitarianism.
and Students, Professor Richard
courses through Massive Open
Inez Dawoodjee News Reporter Manchester has become one
The University of Manchester is
currently
offering
four
-
An
and
Sanitation Countries;
More courses are expected to be added soon.
“Signing
up
to
any
Reece. “The development of these
Just four injections of a chemical known as ATX-101 can eliminate the fat which collects under the chin, dermatologists from the University of Manchester have discovered. Collaborating with other clinical experts from France, Germany, Belgium, and Spain, their goal was to discover a safer and cheaper
alternative to plastic surgery. In a clinical trial, 363 people who suffered from fatty deposits in their chin and face were injected with the agent or a placebo four times over four weeks. The patients who had been given ATX101 showed signs of significant improvement. Professor Berthold Rzany, the author in charge of the study, said that “This study demonstrates that subcutaneous injections with ATX-101 yield a clinically
meaningful and statistically significant reduction in unwanted submental fat, decrease the psychological impact on patients, and are well tolerated”. ATX-101is a chemical derived from the acid found in bile, which destroys fat membranes. When injected into a fatty area of the body it triggers an inflammatory response which calls up special cells called macrophages, which in turn allow the fat cells to be reabsorbed by the body
11
different
institutions countries,
global impact of this movement, providing
students
Other members include the Netherlands’ Eindhoven Institute of Technology, the University
UoM scientists develop ‘double chin’ cure Aidan Gregory News Editor
outstanding
Professor Rzany added further that “This study and three additional phase III clinical trials of ATX-101 will provide the first true evidence base for nonsurgical submental fat reduction”. After those additional trials have concluded, the next step will be to gain permission from the health authorities to begin offering the treatment to the general public Dr Gavin Chan, from the Victorian Cosmetic Institute, has questioned whether this latest
treatment will be as effective as surgery. He maintains that for now, liposuction is still the best treatment available. “It remains to be seen whether this new formulation will be effective, and will be interesting to watch considering the lack of efficacy associated with fatreducing injections in the past. Double chin liposuction can be done under light sedation and is considered to be relatively noninvasive, with no visible signs of surgery and often only a few days of down time”. The overall results of the study are to be published in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Pop star- turned- physicist Professor Brian Cox has added his support to a campaign to renovate the Royal Northern College of Music’s Concert Hall into a state- of- the- art venue. The College’s Concert Hall’s revitalisation will allow more music to be showcased, by both professional artists and students alike. Broadcast journalist John Suchet is also lending his names as a Champion of the ‘Your RNCM’ campaign. The £3 million campaign is set to begin in January as part of an ambitious £6 million project conducted by the College to better student experience. It includes the installation of new equipment like airconditioning and heating systems. The Concert Hall will also be expanded to seat 750 and is to be equipped with a balcony and a raised floor area. Professor Cox said: “I am proud to feel part of Manchester’s rich cultural landscape and I love the RNCM building; it is an inspiration to both visitors and students. “The transformation planned for the Concert Hall is very exciting and I am delighted to support the Your RNCM campaign.” In September this year RNCM received an award of £ 2.8 million from the Higher Education Funding Council to help renovate and redesign spaces at the College in order to cater for the increasingly diverse teaching styles. Beethoven expert and presenter for Classical FM John Suchet said: “It’s been a joy presenting Beethoven at the RNCM twice in the last year. Students past and present are an inspiration to work with.” He added, “It’s good to know that the future of classical music is safe in their hands. I wish the RNCM the very best of luck with the development of the Concert Hall, and look forward to talking Beethoven again in the fabulous new Hall.”
University of Manchester Students present their ideas to make the University, the Union and the Community better for students - will they PASS or will they FALL? All University of Manchester students welcome!
Assemblies take place in the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of the Students’ Union from 6pm. For more information go to manchesterstudentsunion.com/assemblies
ISSUE 07 / 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 07
Jailbreak 2013 wrapup: winners, losers and Mickey Mouse -Teams reach Berlin, Paris, and Disneyland on Charity hitchhike -Over £2000 already raised for KidsCan Michael Williams News Editor Students faced ticket barriers, mental barriers and language barriers last week – all for a good cause. Reading week began in such exotic locations as Berlin, Paris and even Disneyland for some lucky students – and they didn’t pay a penny to get there. Teams set off for Manchester Raise and Give (RAG)’s annual ‘Jailbreak’ event at 4pm on Friday, 25 October, where the aim is to get as far away from Manchester as possible without spending any money. This year’s winners, ‘Mr & Mrs Badonde’, managed to get all the way to Berlin using just their charm and determination.
All money raised from sponsorship goes to KidsCan, a charity set up at the University of Salford and the only research facility in the UK dedicated to researching cures for children’s cancer. Each team raises a minimum of £240 in donations, and prizes are given to teams that reach the furthest destination in the world and the furthest distance in the UK. After racing to Manchester Piccaddilly train station and running into a kindly train conductor who – “after lots of begging” – let the team onto the train, Gemma and Chris were onto another mode of transport – and also their first hurdle. “We went to the coach
Team Chained for Charity ran into adversity in Scotland... Photo: Tom James “It was the most surreal weekend of my life,” said team member Gemma Westcott, who took part in the event with her boyfriend – Mr Badonde, Chris Carr. “I don’t actually know how we got to Berlin, but we did.”
station, and the manager was like, ‘no chance you’re getting on a coach for free’,” said Gemma, a third year Biomedical Sciences student. “We thought, ‘you know what, let’s just ask the coach driver’. He just said ‘yeah, hop on’.”
This luck and perseverance took the team to Dover, where the team hitchhiked in the old-fashioned sense of the word – thumbs out, by the side of the road. The kindness of strangers seemed to continue. “Eventually a car stopped,” said Gemma, “and it was this Latvian man.” “He looked like Gru from Despicable Me. He was quite scary but he was really nice, at heart he was a bit of a softie. We made friends with him by the end.” The team only found out where they were going upon arrival: “we thought originally that we were going to France on the ferry”, recalls Gemma. “We got to Belgium and then realized we were in Belgium.” “The Latvian guy asked if we wanted to go to Berlin with him, and we thought we couldn’t miss the opportunity to go to Berlin. We thought it was in West Germany then we realized it was East Germany – we were in his car for twelve hours. “It was [awkward] at first because he didn’t really speak English. We would ask him questions like ‘are you going on holiday?’ and he just didn’t understand. “We kind of slept off most of the 11 hours. He was a lorry driver, so he was pretty hardcore at driving.” While the kindness of Latvian Gru may have proved the key to victory for Mr & Mrs Badonde, strangers a lot closer to home proved harder to crack. Team Chained for Charity, Tom James and Edmund Salim, were spurned at every turn in
...whereas Team Mem & Em were welcomed with open arms at the ‘Happies Place on Earth’. Photo: Manchester RAG Scotland. Not being able to leave the country due to Edmund’s visa, “the plan was to get to John O’Groats”, explained Tom, as the team sought the coveted ‘furthest in the UK’ prize. Donning bright orange prison-issue jumpsuits, the duo soon ran into difficulty after making their way to Perth within five hours of the start of the event. “In England, it was easy for us. We just asked, and people were like ‘that’s cool’.,” said Tom. “As soon as we got to Scotland they wanted full permission from the companies, and they
wanted us to have called ahead of time – we had done, but they wouldn’t give us permission.” Perhaps due to looking like they were actually breaking free from jail, the team encountered resistance from our Scottish breathren. “The conductors were proper moody, none of them would let us on. The only trains we caught in Scotland we got from sneaking on.” Having snuck onto a train, the team were issued with an ominous warning. “The conductor said, ‘I’m not gonna charge you now, but you’re not going to get
through the barriers at Glasgow’,” said Tom. “We were at the barriers, wondering what to do, at half six in the morning. I was about to go and plead with her to let us through and she just said, ‘long night, lads?’ and let us through. “When we walked through there were loads of railway workers in their bright orange jumpsuits, it was so funny.” Soon after this stroke of luck, however, the team ran out of steam. Locals did not provide much encouragement : “they said, you’re not going to end up anywhere”, recalls
Tom. “That was sort of a downpoint. Maybe we just had a bad experience, but they weren’t friendly at all. Most of the people we came across would encourage us but they really didn’t want to donate or help us out at all.” Calling it a night, the team decided to focus their attentions on “having a good time and spreading the word”. “We didn’t really do exactly what we set off to do, but it was good anyway”. In contrast to Scotland, one team found themselves in the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’. Team Mem & Em made it to Disneyland Paris through “half-asleep French blagging”, said team member Emily Hodson. Any plans to get further and win were put on hold for Mickey. “We figured that discounted and speedy entry into Disneyland Paris followed by a chat with Mickey Mouse would make for one hell of a story”, Emily wrote in a blog. “Forever thinking about RAG Publicity, we wanted to get the best Final Photo ever for KidsCan and we did just that.” When asked for a word of advice for Jailbreakers in 2014, Gemma of Mr & Mrs Badonde remained boundless. “Most of [our success] is because we were so optimistic. The thing that got us through was that we were so confident. We just believed that we’d get really far, and that’s what got us through.” Team Chained for Charity’s Tom offered some different, though no less sage, advice: “Obviously, don’t go to Scotland.” The Jailbreak tracker, with a full map and links to donate to the teams, can be found at https://www. raise2give.com/jailbreakmanchester-rag-2013/.
08 : Feature
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Time for a revolution in the way we teach economics?
Post-Crash introduce economist Ha-Joon Chang as part of their lecture series “What you won’t learn in an economics degree” Photo: CIl Barnett-Neefs
Economics syllabus attacked for “failing to provide students with the tools and the information they need to assess economics in the real world”
T
he world has changed, the syllabus hasn’t, is the rallying cry of the University of Manchester Post-Crash Economics society. Despite barely being around for a year they have already received national media attention and support from leading economists such as Ha-Joon Chang. Their petition calling for a change to the way economics is taught has collected over 300 signatures. “Courses should teach students to think independently and critically but the vast majority of economics modules assign no marks for these skills.,” PostCrash Economics told The Mancunion. With nine economics modules awarding 90 percent of their marks for multiplechoice questions, the issue should be raised of whether studying economics is nothing more than a box ticking exercise. They point to the Manchester Matrix and Student Charter, which lay out what students can expect while studying economics at Manchester - learning to think independently and critically is mentioned in the first line. Failing to teach a plurality of economic theories seems to go against that. “Economics questions are also almost always considered only from a single viewpoint; as a field economics contains a plurality of different schools of thought yet we see none of this in our syllabus.” The Post-Crash Economics society takes issue not with just what is taught
but also with the way it is taught. They take aim at economics tutorials where students passively take notes rather than challenging the theory before them. “We should not be going to tutorials to copy down answers to mathematical exercises off a board but to question the assumptions and shortcomings of a model and discuss how well they match up with the real world.” Options are limited for students studying straight economics who have no opportunity to take on a dissertation and with the pressure to get a well-paid job in the city, many will shy away from more critical modules. For subject with its thought so closely related to politics there’s rarely an opportunity to critique economic theories with controversial political implications. Essay writing is not taken seriously with many courses giving marks for just handing the essay in, and others handing out high marks with ease. With a greater focus on the mathematics and often just a single theory, students rarely have the chance to challenge the relevance of a theory. There are of course exceptions, Dr Sakir Yilmaz uses data to critique neoclassical theories and Nick Weaver teaches a broad array of theories in his development course. Both lecturers are still prone to rely on multiple-choice questions with over half of the marks up for grabs on their second year courses. The Post-Crash Economics society
is not going to wait around for the economics department to change the syllabus. They place an emphasis on selfeducation, holding regular book groups, putting on an extra module with lecturer Dr Yilmaz covering bubbles, panics and crashes and holding a regular lecture series called “What you won’t learn in an economics degree”. Cambridge Development Economist Ha-Joon Chang was their first guest lecturer and gave a talk on the potential gains from a pluralistic education in economics opposed to the standard focus on neoclassical economics. Before the lecture, he sat down for an interview with The Mancunion. He told us what he thought was the biggest problem with undergraduate economics education. “They teach only one approach, neoclassical economics. Being taught just one approach, [students] are being led to believe this is the only way to do economics, and it is the only scientific way to do economics. “Even if you are dealing with problems which this approach is good with. You are going to ignore issues that this approach is not interested in. For example, we learn a lot about market exchange but we learn very little about production. “When you think about it we spend most of our waking life working, yet we don’t study it, we don’t talk about it.’ Chang argues that mainstream economic theory has been actively
harmful. ”Mainstream neoclassical economics has been particularly harmful in the free market approach that has been dominant in the last few decades. “This is not the first financial crisis, as soon as they started liberalising markets and opening up borders to foreign capital flows, we have had crisis after crisis over the world. “Even in its most benign form neoclassical economics is biased in
Courses should teach students to think independently and critically but the vast majority of economics modules assign no marks for these skills.
favour of the status quo. Neoclassical economists are structurally disinclined to ask questions about the underlying structure.” One difficulty with accommodating a more critical, pluralistic economics education is that you risk sacrificing the depth of understanding in mainstream theories. Manchester Economics post-grad Martin Kelly shares this concern, “Educating all our undergrads in a pluralistic environment would be brilliant in allowing them to replicate debates that currently exist in journals. “However this emphasis on pluralism would come at a detriment to the much broader subsections of economics that are largely uncontroversial, where the subject sees many of its greatest – and most applicable – developments.” Chang is all too aware of the problem, but suggested that it is not as big of an issue as you might think. “You have to make some trade-offs, students have a limited amount of time and attention. If you broaden things, you’ll have to make other things shallower. But these days students are taught the same theory two or three times over. The level of mathematical sophistication might change, but the same macro theory is taught every year. “If you cut that out, there will be room for a more diverse intellectual diet. Economics education may not seem like the most pressing issue, but it is important to understand that the way economics is taught affects our every day life. Civil servants, politicians and financiers are all educated in economics and it shapes the way they address major socio-political problems.
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Ha-Joon Chang points to the way mainstream neoclassical economics has shaped our response to the financial crisis. “Every theory has underlying moral and political judgements, therefore they look at the world in a very different way. “The idea that what is rational for individuals is rational for the whole society has led to an austerity policy, which was not necessary like it was in Greece and Italy. “The small conservative bias in neoclassical economics has restricted the scope of reform. We have become immersed in this way of thinking that refrains from structural changes.” Chang was sceptical of the prospects of economics teaching changing any time soon. “If something goes wrong, political leaders get voted out, business executives lost their jobs, but professors have tenure. It is hard for academics to change their ways because for academics their ideas are their identity. It is extremely difficult for them to say I got everything over the last twenty years wrong.” One worry with the Post-Crash Economics Society is that their criticism of neoclassical economics is politically motivated. At university level, economics is one of the only courses available where a student is likely to leave more right wing than they started. Is the Post-Crash Economics Society seen as just a push to make economics teaching more left wing? “There definitely is that danger, as seen from the Guardian headline ‘Economics students rebel at orthodox free market syllabus’, however this is a complete misrepresentation. The Post-Crash Economics Society is politically neutral; our argument is simply that economics education is failing to provide students with the tools and the information they need to assess economics in the real world.
“We don’t want all modules teaching mainstream economics to be scrapped and replaced with classes on Marx, we are just asking for pluralism, context and critical evaluation which is essential for economics students of any political persuasion.“ One defence given by the economics department at the University of Manchester is that it is important to teach the mainstream theory to improve student’s employment prospects. “Like most other university courses around the world, economics teaching at Manchester focuses on mainstream approaches, reflecting the current state of the discipline. “It is also important for students’ career prospects that they have an effective grounding in mainstream economics.” The economics department also points to the fact that many students are able to talk modules outside their discipline. “Many students at Manchester study economics in an inter-disciplinary context alongside other social sciences, especially Philosophy, Politics and Sociology. Such students gain knowledge of different kinds of approaches to examining social phenomena.” Post-Crash are not satisfied with this response. They want to see economics education transformed throughout every course and not just when they take the odd politics module. “We want to see much greater plurality on the economics syllabus but not just in optional modules – we think that all economics undergraduates should leave university with a well-rounded understanding of economics. “As well as models and theories being taught in their socio-political context, we would like to see time and space in every module being dedicated to critical analysis of the theory.” Despite their strong criticisms towards the economics department, the society is pragmatic and willing to cooperate in order to bring in a more pluralistic
Feature : 09
Ha-Joon Chang speaks to the Mancunion Photo: Sam Dumitriu education. “We have been trying to work with the economics department as much as possible, we feel that we can resolve the issue much more quickly and come out with a result much more to everyone’s satisfaction if we do work together. The department have obviously defended their syllabus but have so far been prepared to listen to and work with us.” One cause of the push towards a monoculture within economics education has been the Research Excellence Framework, which decides how university funding is distributed. In an op-ed published in the Guardian, Post-Crash Economics founders Zach Ward-Perkins and Joe Earle argued that a lack of heterodox representation
has caused non-mainstream views to become marginalised. “Every four years a panel of leading academics grade economics journals from 4 stars to 0 depending on their academic quality. The problem is that there are no recognisably nonmainstream economists on this panel and the grading is done behind closed doors with only institutional results published. Because of this the highest graded journals are all neoclassical and universities must hire academics who subscribe to this school of thought.” Neoclassical economics can accommodate a wide variety of views from supply-side economics to Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty’s call to raise the
income tax on the very richest to 90%. Yet, when we push heterodox ideas to the outskirts, we limit our ability to understand the world when the data doesn’t fit the theory. While neoclassical economists struggled to see the crisis coming and struggled in the aftermath, heterodox economists were able to offer a variety of explanations. Austrians pointed to a miscalculation in interests encouraging bad investments, while Post-Keynesians were pointing to Hyman Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis. We should not discount neoclassical economics, indeed the private sectors reliance on its models suggest they are still useful in day-to-day life. One example would be Eugene Fama’s Efficient Market Hypothesis, which casts doubt on the ability of stock-pickers to manage your money and has saved people a lot of money. Another would be Alvin Roth whose pioneering work in game theory leads to a system of kidney donor matching which has saved countless lives. Yet it is important for theories to come into contact with different schools of thought, which hold different assumptions. They make us question why we first thought what we thought and encourage us to understand our own position to a much greater level of depth. When engaging with a Marxist, Austrian or Post-Keynesian economist, a neoclassical economist will have to know their theory inside out to respond persuasively. It is a real shame that at Manchester economics students will rarely get the opportunity to engage with dissenting opinions. But, with the growing momentum of the Post-Crash Economics society, for future economics students that will hopefully change. Sam Dumitriu
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Opinion
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
We live in a surveillance state and no one cares Charlotte Green que stions why we are happy to allow the state to violate our civil libertie s in the name of our protection Photo: Indiana Barrister
My Political Hero... Edward Kennedy Too often
Photo: Mashable Online Many of us have expressed apathy and unconcern with the prospect of being spied upon. Hell, we’ve got nothing to hide. It doesn’t matter that you are being monitored every second of every day. The major governments of the world are sanctioning surveillance, not on the basis of your guilt, but on the grounds that one day you might possibly become guilty. And still the collective reaction is one of indifference. Who really cares if a few phone calls are tapped or a couple of emails are analysed. There seems to be no line that NSA or GCHQ can cross, no threshold of privacy invasion that once breached will lead the masses to denounce their practice unethical and unconstitutional. As, fundamentally, it most certainly is. Slowly though, it is happening. There is a moment when that realisation takes root in your mind. Suddenly the uncertainties, the disassociation evaporates and it becomes clear that we are allowing something terribly, dangerously powerful to embed itself in our lives without so much as whimper. For me the light-bulb moment occurred when I came across a speech, containing this quote, “You and I are told increasingly we have to choose between a left or right. Well I’d like to suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There’s only an up or down: up; man’s old -- old-aged dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. And regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.” As someone who proudly affiliates myself with the political left, I was horrified to find that I was wholly concurring with the words of Ronald Reagan. To reach this point something must have gone horribly wrong. Establishing exactly what has gone wrong is rather difficult however. Since Snowden blew the whistle to the Guardian back in June we have been subject to a deluge of information, practically water-boarded with it during this last month. It’s gone from Nineteen Eighty-Four to Huxley’s Brave New World within a remarkably short space of
time. From being deprived of information, we are now so saturated with it that we have been reduced to passivitiy and inactivity. Each new scandal eclipses the last, and much like a Hollywood blockbuster, by the fourth or fifth sequel we’re pretty indifferent. Currently the reveals are coming thick and fast, and even at the time of writing this I am aware that by next week this article will seem out of date. The last seven days have been dominated by the fury of the Merkel, and we’ve seen some truly spectacular cowering from White House officials and congressmen in the wake of that freezing phone call.
“Those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on a downward course
”
We’ve also heard thinly veiled threats from our Prime Minister against those papers, such as the Guardian, who flouted the state perception of ‘social responsibility’; “…if they don’t demonstrate some social responsibility it would be very difficult for government to stand back and not to act.” He mentioned D-notices and injunctions in the same way that a threatening man in a pub might mention the quality of hospital food. And this is just the latest indication that our current government is dangerously keen on restricting information accessibility; since last November the government has been considering a series of proposals that would make it easier for public authorities to refuse Freedom of Information requests on grounds of cost. Their cost priority is of course financial, not the democratic or social cost. In light of this the new press regulations seem ominous, a way to provide the state with the means to gag the press, without having to resort to controversial public procedures such as D-notices.
The state has already acted in dubious ways to prevent Snowden’s information becoming public. In August the spouse of a Guardian writer was detained by Heathrow officials under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. He was held for over nine hours, denied a lawyer and his electronic devices were confiscated. His partner is Glenn Greenwald, the reporter responsible for revealing NSA’s mass surveillance programme. Being a complicated issue is not an excuse for lethargy. You would not permit a group of people belonging to a state organisation to break into your house, search through your personal possessions and read your private documents without a warrant, without your consent, without evidence that you had been involved in any wrongdoing. Imagine your concern upon discovering that someone had been reading your letters. Your bank statements, bills, legal correspondence, even love letters. Yet all of these things are happening in the digital sphere. Through Prism, a deadly secret surveillance program run by the NSA, spy agencies have access to the information from servers including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Yahoo. The British agency GCHQ has access to data from Prism. Both organisations are also able to massintercept data from fibre optic cables, thus allowing them to access both phone and internet networks. Why do we accept this violation if it is digital not physical? In reality there is no difference. And by not speaking out, by tacit acceptance you are permitting these intrusions into your life. We are no longer ignorant of their practices yet we watch dully through thickly lidded eyes as our civil liberties, so hard won, are stripped from us in the name of our protection, and yet without our knowledge or consultation. Does the end really justify the means? Yes a few have risen up, marched on Washington, spoken in support of Snowden and Manning and demanded constitutional safeguards. But I suspect most of us would prefer to have been kept in the dark, anything for a quiet life.
the unknown Kennedy; Edward M. ‘Teddy’ Kennedy was the youngest of Joseph P. Kennedy Snr’s children and arguably the Kennedy brother with the most successful political career. Teddy initially distinguished himself as a key tactical manager of both John and Robert’s electoral campaigns before indicating that he would not run for office on the grounds that “the disadvantage of my position is being constantly compared with two brothers of such superior ability.” However, the urge to follow the family trade, and to compete on a level playing field with his brothers, proved compelling and Teddy ran for and subsequently won John’s vacated seat in the US Senate in 1962. It was this seat that he held for almost 47 years and in which he formed one of the most distinguished senate careers in history. It could be suggested that Teddy was favoured by luck. Certainly, a plane crash in 1964, still early in his career, left him in hospital for several months and allowed him to study legislative issues in much greater depth. When he returned to congress he rapidly gained a reputation as a fierce and bold legislator, characteristics that marked the rest of his career. He was also often deemed to be the most affable of the Kennedy’s and this helped him become the youngest Senate Majority Whip to that date. However, Ted did not escape the so-called Kennedy curse. One of the most notorious episodes in his career occurred in 1969 when Kennedy crashed his car, apparently due to alcohol consumption. Infamously, Kennedy had a passenger, Mary Jo Kopechene. While Kennedy escaped, Kopechene died and Kennedy failed to notify authorities of the crash until after her body had been found. The case marked the start of a lifelong focus on Kennedy’s private life, with personal scandals often eclipsing his political work. The unforgettable tragedies of Kennedy’s life though, were the assassinations of his two older brothers. Teddy was particularly close to Bobby and delivered a eulogy at his funeral that has now passed into the public consciousness as timeless prose. An often-overlooked mark of Teddy’s character is that he became somewhat of a foster parent to his thirteen nieces and nephews. Teddy often explained his decision not to run for president on a number of occasions by highlighting that it was the ‘expected thing’ after his brothers’ untimely deaths. What Teddy Kennedy should be remembered for was the extensive and striking legislation he pursued relentlessly through his life. He was unafraid of approaching controversial issues and in his lifetime championed racial equality, gay rights and universal healthcare. Another notorious episode in Teddy’s life, for entirely different reasons, was his decision to enter apartheid South Africa in 1985, against the wishes of both sides of the struggle there. He met with Winnie Mandela and raised the profile of South African issues around the world. However, his most distinguished triumph was his unfailingly bipartisan approach to politics. While he tirelessly countered Reagan’s attempts to introduce conspicuously conservative legislation, he worked with George W. Bush on the No Child Left Behind Act when few others would. In his final year of life he broke the Republican filibuster against the Obama healthcare package. He was awarded both an honorary knighthood and the medal of honour. While his life may had been marred by tragedy and scandal, Kennedy’s political career was an overarching triumph. The legend of the ‘liberal lion’ should be one that all political figures know inside and out. Alice Rigby
Opinion
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Students in Manchester shouldn’t be living in fear Reports of violent crime are never far from the tabloids, horror stories of muggings, rapes, and life or death situations occupying the pages of newspapers and the headlines most weeks. Manchester recently topped a poll of most dangerous places for students to live. Adding to this, were the shocking reports of a 14 - year old boy being arrested for sexually assaulting three different women near the University of Manchester. These attacks didn’t take place in the dead of night, nor were they motivated in any way. The equally alarming story of the student left in critical condition after getting a take-away has people more on edge than ever. Police have made attempts to reassure the local community but are people actually feeling safe? Common sense tells people that they need to be aware of their surroundings when walking late at night or attending social events in the city, but as with these apparently random attacks there seems to be no sure-fire way to keep safe. In the case of the sexual assaults discussed above, one of the victims was attacked in broad day-light at 2pm. Another was heading home from University Library when she was attacked down a side
street. In situations like this how much can actually be done to protect yourself? If Manchester has such a high crime rate and with violent and sexual crimes seemingly concentrated around the University area it seems enough is not being done. Thinking about the student bubble, there is a relatively rare a police presence on Oxford Road or even in Fallowfield, the two busiest places for students in the city. It should be noted that all three of the attacks took place in the vicinity of Oxford Road. The violent attack in Withington was yet another unprovoked incident, the young man had been working in the Learning Commons before getting the magic bus home and stopping in a takeaway. He was then beaten up before managing to make it back to his shared house and collapsing. His friends called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital where he remained in critical condition. Police are still appealing for any witnesses to the attack and even used the University of Manchester’s student system to ask people for help. A level of awareness is acceptable, there’s nothing wrong with a quick check over the shoulder or making friends aware of movements and whereabouts,
Khan’s take-away in Withington
but most women feel defenseless when it comes to these situations. There are the classic mechanisms of holding keys between knuckles or having an umbrella handy but it is truly worrying that the only answer appears to be resorting to violence. 19-year-old Sarah Martin was quoted “I live in a house with 5 other girls and it’s scary but the chances are one of us is going to find ourselves in a dangerous situation.” The University makes students aware
of the “Safe Zones” - designated shops or food outlets that are part of the group that allow passers by to call in if they feel threatened or unsafe in anyway. Aside from that it is difficult to think of any plans or programs in place that directly target safety in the student bubble. The lack of Police presence does nothing to ease any minds and with the crime rate steadily increasing something has to give soon. What was most worrying about the recent incidents is their background,
these were simply students in the wrong place at the wrong time and could have just as easily been anyone in the same situation. To have to live in that hit or miss mind set is quite frankly, terrifying. The University of Manchester refused to comment to The Independent when quizzed on the latest statistics and this did little to convince people that their safety is assured. There needs to be a swift and noticeable effort within the campus area to help people to once again feel safe at University. Joint efforts from both institutions have the potential to make huge impacts in peoples mindsets. Salford University have a system in place known as Campuswatch that is run by volunteers and they report crime dropping by 10 per cent on and around campus since the scheme was implemented. Something similar could drastically improve day to day life at the University of Manchester. Until that time, students will continue to live in genuine fear of being attacked or raped or being the victim of some sort of violent crime. They are urged to keep taking the necessary precautions and keep their wits about them. Emily Thomas
UK drugs policy is failing Many will have been shocked to hear of the death of a 30 year old man at The Warehouse Project’s opening night this year. Nick Bonnie was the unluckiest of a host of revellers who were admitted to hospital after falling ill at the event. The incidents were a result of a ‘bad batch’ of ecstasy which had been provided to guests by dealers within the venue. The Warehouse Project has responded to the tragedy with a ‘ground-breaking’ new policy which to my mind is obviously flawed. This involves any drugs confiscated being tested by an on-site testing facility, and any warnings resulting from this will then be sent out on WHP’s social media networks. While this may serve to highlight the prevalence of dangerous substances at the venue, frankly, their policy is akin to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. This policy signifies a tacit acceptance of their use at the venue. You could be forgiven for thinking that drugs were perfectly legal at WHP. I have witnessed it myself on several occasions. Attendees take drugs openly and with impunity. The idea that WHP has a zero tolerance policy on drugs is laughable. The reality is that students are going to continue taking drugs regardless of the dangers. Cambridge University’s The Tab has produced a ‘drug survey’ which stated that 84% of students at Manchester had tried drugs.
46% of the 5,126 U.K. students surveyed had tried MDMA – the drug of choice for many at WHP. Neither the law, nor even the deaths deter students from taking illegal drugs. If the law is failing as a deterrent and is merely functioning to ensure high profits for criminal gangs in a dangerous and unregulated market, surely we need to consider a change of tact. The only way that we can control a dangerous commodity is to bring it within the law. Rather than creating a black market where unscrupulous dealers sell substances to students with no regard for their safety, how about we eliminate these dealers (and the associated crime that goes with them) altogether? What we have now is a market essentially gifted to criminals. Currently, the profit margins at the production and wholesale level of illegal drugs are between 2000-3000% making it a very attractive market to organised crime. If drugs were legalised, then overnight, criminal gangs are put out of business and the behaviour of otherwise law abiding students is no longer criminalised. Isn’t it time we finally accepted that the War on Drugs is a total failure? Instead of wasting police time and taxpayer’s money on a paternalistic policy that has many unintended and highly damaging consequences for society, it is time to have a rational debate on drugs in an attempt to create a policy that will both mitigate harm and
protect individual liberty. New Zealand has pioneered a new approach to drugs that may provide a template for future policy revision in the U.K. The Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 (PSA) received Royal Assent on July 17th 2013. The Act allows for the strictly regulated, but legal, sale of a number of synthetic narcotics known as ‘party pills’. The PSA ensures the rigorous testing of newly-legalised drugs. The contents are clearly labelled on the packaging and purity is guaranteed. The entire supply is now taxed and regulated. Back in 2005, a young Tory leadership contender by the name of David Cameron expressed a desire for “fresh thinking and a new approach” to drug policy, stating that the U.N Body on drugs policy should consider legalising drugs and regulating the drugs trade. Flash-forward to 2013 and Prime Minster Cameron seems to have reversed his position, rejecting calls for a Royal Commission on Drugs on the grounds that the current U.K. policy is ‘working’. This kind of duplicity is all too common in politics. Sadly, Mr Cameron now chooses to propagate the fallacy that the U.K’s policy is ‘working’ and refuses to even debate the subject. The current policy does not deter use, it creates an unregulated market that empowers criminals and endangers otherwise law abiding citizens. Josh Knowles
Wednesday 20 November 2013 10.30am-4.00pm
Manchester Central (The G-MEX Centre) • Meet representatives from OVER 90 UNIVERSITIES (both UK and overseas) offering thousands of postgraduate courses • Free seminars on “Funding”, “Study Overseas”, “Teacher Training”, “MSc and PhD Studies” • Free entry and free fair guide STUDENTS AND GRADUATES FROM ANY UNIVERSITY WELCOME
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ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Phoebe Clarke, Patrick Hinton, Tom Ingham Opinion
Interview: Etherwood
the
MUSIC OPINION
Is the Mercury Prize worth winning?
Matthew Byrne James Blake took home this year’s Mercury Prize thanks to his talent for producing sumptuous electronic minimalism whilst in his bedroom. Perhaps his debut album would have been a more worthy winner but James Blake deserves the acclaim that this prize will grant him. I feel though, that the award has been overshadowed again by the surprise exclusions from the shortlist. Impressive albums from These New Puritans, Bat for Lashes and Fuck Buttons were all overlooked, whilst My Bloody Valentine missed out because they released their album independently off their website, rather than having a big distribution deal with companies such as ITunes or Amazon in the Uk. To exclude an album for corporate reasons like that devalues the artistic merit of the award, leaving the winner questioning if there are better albums out there that simply didn’t adhere to the rules. For a prize that on its website declares that it is the musical equivalent of the Turner award for art, and the Booker prize for literature, it bewilders me how Radiohead, the band that has been one of the most innovative in their long career, and always challenged the way people think (like any good book or piece of art does), have somehow missed out thus far. Despite being nominated more times than any other artist, the Mercury’s reputation of making controversial decisions looks like it has counted against Thom Yorke and co. You can never accuse the judges of the Mercury prize of siding with public opinion.
TOP5
Songs
in the field of Sex Samuel Ward
They have ignored popular acts such as Oasis and Blur and crowned unknowns like Speech Debelle. The judges should however, pick the album that is the best and not be contrary for the sake of it. I’m not arguing that the Mercury Prize hasn’t been claimed by some superb albums though, with Portishead’s mesmeric Dummy and Franz Ferdinand’s fantastic debut deservingly scooping the gong. Although an apparent curse seems to loom over some of the more controversial acts that have triumphed, with Speech Debelle , Miss Dynamite, and Anthony and the Johnsons seemingly disappearing into the musical abyss afterwards . Normally, the Mercury prize does at least pick a varied short list which encourages people to delve into albums that they wouldn’t usually listen to. This boosts the sales for the smaller artists and increases there fan base. But in opting for a list filled with big hitters such as Arctic Monkeys, David Bowie, Jake Bugg, Rudimental, and Disclosure this year, they’ve overlooked artists that would have benefited more from the attention. Why not nominate Fuck Buttons instead of Jake Bugg’s bland country folk? There is no doubt that being chosen for the Mercury Prize does mean something to a lot of artists. The confidence they must gain from being recognised for all their hard work must be very fulfilling. Does it equate to a long affluent career with a large fan base? Of course it doesn’t. Would they trade their award, to write an album as great as In Rainbows? I’m sure they would.
1. Air - Sexy Boy Not knowing French, this indeed is a very sexy song - after all, the only lyrics in English are “ooo sexy boy”. Either way, the smooth, obviously-french edge is enough to get anyone aroused.
the MUSIC INTERVIEW
Etherwood
Phoebe Clarke speaks to newest signing to Hospital Records imprint Med School, Etherwood about production techniques, experimental samples and his set at the Hospitality Warehouse Project Phoebe Clarke Music Editor Undoubtedly one of the most promising young talents in the Drum and Bass scene today, the Mancunion recently gave Med School talent Etherwood aka Woody, a whopping 9/10 for his self-titled debut album. In anticipation for his set at Hospitality at The Warehouse Project, we caught up with Etherwood to discuss production techniques, Eastern samples and his diverse live set. Although often praised for his consistency in delivering beautiful beats and heartfelt melodies, Etherwood is keen to denounce the labelling of his ‘signature sound’. “It’s always a tough thing to comment on. I hear words like ‘chilled’ and ‘atmospheric’ but that’s all pretty subjective really. I tend to use a lot of keys and guitar over synths and plugins, which I suppose contributes to a more live and acoustic sound.” However, there’s no denying album ‘Etherwood’ showcases his distinct style. “It certainly captures a particular ‘mood’ I think. I wanted to put a stamp on my style as a producer and hopefully I’ve achieved that with this debut.” In fact, Etherwood seems to have stormed electronic music form nowhere as 2013’s producer to watch. “As soon as I heard that Tony Colman aka London Elektricity had been listening to my tracks and liked them, I was really stunned. I’ve always loved Hospital Records and so having a debut release on Med School was a massive milestone.” “My creative process has developed substantially since, it’s always developing. Experimentation is extremely important to me and track ‘Unfolding’ which appeared on New Blood 013 was something a little different from me. The reception it had was really overwhelming which definitely instilled a confidence to be able to explore certain sounds and move away from a comfort zone.” It is this determination to push boundaries
Experimentation is extremely important to me... this album incorporates Eastern samples and Indian flute.
that has created such a moving debut. Woody explains how most songs are written on the guitar or tend to sprout from a piano driven part. ‘We Are Ever Changing’ is the best example of this. “‘We Are Ever Changing’ has an Eastern vibe to it. My girlfriend features on the vocals and I incorporated some Indian flute samples that I found on my hard drive and fitted perfectly. It’s ace when you stumble across something that works so well.“ This experimental ethos also led to new production techniques. “I’d tended to use really long reverb on pretty much everything. So I experimented by using some reverse reverb and panning to keep each song individual. It’s fairly subtle but makes a huge difference to the overall vibe.” Collaborations on the album produce something special as lyrical meaning builds upon the complexities of Etherwood’s production. He elaborates, “it’s always great working in the studio with vocalists. You can bounce ideas off each other and come up with something perfect. In fact I wrote ‘Falling Out Of Consciousness’ with Georgia Yates
and Bev Harling in mind, which features both vocals on the same track “– a pretty unusual approach for drum & bass. However, although seemingly effortless to producing the highest quality music, Woody stays humble in describing obstacles in producing the album. “‘Weightless’ was the hardest track to write” he explains. “The hardest part was allowing the drums and bass to sit alongside the piano part without becoming too overpowering. It went through a lot different stages before settling where it did.” Similarly, collaboration with fellow Hospital Hitter Nu:Tone on ‘Shattered’ “started out as a kind of amen/jungly thing with a long stretched vocal sample. It was all a bit messy. Up steps Dan Nu:Tone and really nailed it, perfecting it in his studio. Having a fresh take on it really helped.” Looking towards the future, Woody seems hopeful for future projects. “I’m back in the studio, working on new material and the album has created a real momentum in terms of productivity” he explains as new projects look like they’ll be breaking new ground. “I love using strings in the studio. They create instant atmosphere that you just can’t find with pads or synths. I hope with future projects I’ll be able to record or play live with a full orchestra.” Forever looking to new influences, his set at Hospitaltity WHP on the 29th November will touch upon a vast array of genres in typical Etherwood style. “My sets are usually fairly diverse, moving from liquid rollers to deep techy tunes and chucking in some half time tracks to keep things interesting” he describes. “I’m looking forward to dropping a few tunes from the LP to see how well they translate in a live context too. I’ve never been to Warehouse Project before so I really can’t wait to play!”
2. Jamiroquai - Feels Just Like It Should
3. The Vaccines - Post Break-Up Sex
4. Oasis - Fucking in the Bushes
5. The Starland Vocal Band - Afternoon Delight
Probably the dirtiest song ever written. The throbbing bass, shrieking guitar and lip-licking lyrics are all too much to handle, especially when whispered from the heartthrob that is Jay Kay. Only the space cowboy himself can be this sexy.
Don’t act like you haven’t done it or wanted to do it. Either way, it’s a sensitive subject and the Vaccines exploit it perfectly by hammering at their guitars the same way they hammered their ex’s DVD collection after they found out.
Whether it’s because you’re a die-hard Oasis fan or couldn’t wait 10minutes with your night’s pull for the next magic bus through Fallowfield, you’re going to know about it. If not, you’d be glad to know Liam doesn’t say a word in this one.
How this became a no. 1 in 1976 I’ll never know. Not because of the birds tweeting on the record or god-awful flanging guitar but because of those overly-magical lyrics. Perhpas people were too busy enjoying some afternoon delight of their own.
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMbER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
: @MancunionMusic : / TheMancunionMusicSection
Opinion
the MUSIC OPINION Thomas Ingham Music Editor The recent passing of Lou Reed has been one of the most high-profile in recent years; forget the media circus surrounding monkey loving MJ, the true great and good have all paid tribute to the New York icon. David Bowie, a collaborator and friend summed it up pretty perfectly, “he was a master”. I’m not going to pretend like everything the man touched turned to gold; trawl through the Reed catalogue and there’s some decent turds in there. To me Lou was a maverick, writing about his own fucked up existence and bringing light to those others on the fringes of society. Say Lou Reed to most people and they’ll think Transformer, and quite rightly too. Released in 1972 it was Reed’s second solo album after his departure from The Velvet Underground, although many of the songs were composed during the VU days. ‘Walk On the Wild Side’ with its tales of drug dealers and transvestites shocked many at the time of its release, epitomizing the stance taken by Lou to the mainstream. The defining bass line, laid down by Herbie Flowers came about as a result of the session bassists shrewd dealings. By double tracking the bass parts, firstly using an upright acoustic bass then an electric bass, he doubled his rate, and in doing so also happened to create the integral glue to a timeless piece of art, not bad for
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13
R.I.P. Lou Reed
an afternoons work. ‘Perfect Day’ is the other heavyweight, with its melancholy sadness and beauty all wrapped up as one in the glow of a delicate spring morn. After its appearance in Trainspotting and ensuing Children In Need rejig the track reached the top of the single’s charts, the last big moment of fame preLulu for Reed. The influence of Bowie and Ronson is all over Transformer, from the soaring backing on ‘Satellite of Love’ to the unmistakably glam inspired ‘Hanging Around’ the all-star production gave Lou an added shove into the limelight, paving the way for the fall (critically speaking, not if you ask me). Berlin, it’s fair to say was panned by most critics, most notably Rolling Stone who probably find the lyrics to the title track quite poignant now “You’re right and I’m wrong/oh babe, I’m gonna miss you now that you’re gone”. Released in 1973, Berlin did away with Glam, and all things Transformer for that matter. As a Rock opera this is no MeatLoaf, the record plays on themes of prostitution and drug addiction, not dogging and motorcycle accidents. Later of Pink Floyd fame, Bob Ezrin brings the orchestration which marries perfectly with the sombre subject matter. Although often thought of as bleak and distasteful in some parts, here we find Lou’s voice sounding perhaps most at home on testing ballads like ‘Sad Song’ and title track ‘Berlin’. The reaction was always going to be mixed when following a classic and it was
only much after the event that this record got the recognition it deserved. Moving from the unfairly critiqued to the deserved, an album that Metallica fans hated just as much as Lou Reed’s - Lulu. Just plain bizarre is how I’d sum it up; “I would cut my legs and tits off/ When I think of Boris Karloff and Kinski”. The problem for most is that it seems like both parties recorded their parts separately, without hearing what each other had done and then blindly threw them together. Reed’s sometime sick and abstract spoken word poetry has no place sonically in Metal, but this had to be a conscious decision on some level – who they were trying to piss off is unknown but it brought both to the forefront at relative quite points in their respective careers. Lulu of course wasn’t the first time fans had been exposed to the rebellious side, need I mention 1975’s symphony Metal Machine Music. I think we’ve all got Lou’s back on this one, just reading the liner notes makes me want to give the man a ruddy
good handshake (or a high five, if you’re that way inclined). “This record is not for parties/dancing/ background romance. This is what I meant by “real” rock, about “real” things. No one I know has listened to it all the way through including myself. It is not meant to be”. Death as a result of liver failure was no big surprise considering the life led, although Lou did get clean and still managed to put out great works. Growing Up In Public is a gem, Paul Simon meets Peter Gabriel sprinkled with the distinctive Lou reed humour and tone heard on tracks like ‘The power of Positive Drinking’ “Some people ruin their drinks with ice/and then they, they ask you for advice/They tell you, I’ve never told anyone else before”. Not to be confused with the very much alive Lou Bega - Lou Reed, the man and his music, will always remain influential and inspirational.
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Review
Portico Quartet
London Grammar
Gorilla - 27th October 2013 Mercury-award nominees Portico Quartet began as four bright eyed buskers weaving their own brand of nu-jazz on the Southbank for scratch. Breaking on to the Jazz scene with their distinctive minimal sound and dreamy ‘hang’ (a very rare Swiss instrument that looks much like a Caribbean steel pan), they have clearly evolved through their three studio albums. The most recent of which, ‘Portico Quartet’, is a tour de force of electro-jazz fusion which truly bridges the gap between jazz and house music. As they emerged onto the smoky stage at Manchester’s Gorilla
Music
they were all but unrecognizable from the buskers huddled on the pavement of the Southbank just a few years ago. The bassist sawed into his electric double bass with gusto to create a piercing drone that instantly silenced the room. The rest of the band sampled the live bass sound and transformed and layered it into a swelling ambiance. The first few tracks displayed the band’s recent move to more electronic pastures, using live sampling to create rich sound worlds driven by fat African-influenced beats. Soon the band reverts to more
8/10
acoustic instruments and the hang provides a colourful and rhythmic backdrop for wild saxophone improvisations. Up to this point the band had not said a single word, and it was obvious that they preferred to let the music do the talking. As Swedish guest vocalist Cornelia took the stage the band seemed relieved to be temporarily out of the limelight. Cornelia has joined Portico Quartet on tour off the back of recent collaborations with Bonobo and Henry Saiz. As the band slipped into a backing role and Cornelia’s girlish voice screeched over the crowd, I couldn’t help but think: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; The band has come this far without a vocalist and are clearly not used to having to limit their creativity to accommodate an attentiongrabbing singer. Overall, an incredible display of creativity and mediation between instrumental and electronic music, which waned slightly during the three songs that featured Cornelia. Jamie Bulman
Sound Control - 27th October 2013 This time last year London Grammar had not even released a single, now they have reached No. 2 in the UK album charts with If You Wait and have a US tour under their belt. Currently on the UK leg of their tour, Hannah (vocalist), Dan (guitarist) and Dot (synthesist and percussionist) certainly didn’t disappoint in Sound Control on the 27th October. The band attracted an older audience, with many students and seniors rubbing shoulders in the intimate venue. Having met at Nottingham University halls only four years previous, the indie-pop-trio have created an original, minimalist sound, mixing electronic synthetic beats with a droned guitar and a classical, echoing voice. Hannah Reid took centre stage and had the crowd instantly hushed with her opening note in ‘Hey Now’. Compared frequently to Florence and the Machine and The XX, you can’t help but feel that her vocals really are one of a kind, capturing everyone’s attention with her stylistic use of ornaments and melismas. Particular highlights
were ‘Darling are you going to leave me’ with Hannah on piano and Dot on bongos, together sharing the vocals with seamless transition. They really got the crowd going with their Top 40 hit ‘Wasting my younger years’, with its emotional lyrics and climactic choruses. Its pulsing melody was the first time the audience really began to let loose, amazed by Hannah’s voice, the audience
9/10
beckoned people to ‘ssh’ if a noise was made. Finishing with ‘Metal and Dust’ the really took advantage of the darkened stage, their subtle use of strobe lighting complimented Hannah’s countermelody. Although the gig was less than an hour, everyone left satisfied. The bands interaction with the audience perhaps showed why they have acquired such a loyal following so quickly.
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Music
ISSUE 07/4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Mancunion Recommends
Book now: 0161 832 1111
Now: Arcade Fire - Reflektor
For full listings visit:
manchesteracademy.net NOVEMBER
Merge Records. Release Date 28st October 2013 8/10
Arcade Fire have never been the type to shy away from the big and the bold; right from the get-go they built their grandiose songwriting around weighty subjects such as human mortality, religion and existential angst. It comes with no surprise, then, that after conquering the world of indie rock with 2010’s The Suburbs, Win Butler and co. decided to take the next logical, and potentially gamechanging, step in their career – to get to work on a double album. Usually reserved for the giants of the music world, the double album has history of separating the men (ie. Springsteen) from the boys (ie. Biffy Clyro). With this hefty weight of expectation in mind, I’m pleased to report that all 75 minutes of Reflektor place Arcade Fire firmly in the big leagues. Lead single and title track ‘Reflektor’ kicks the album off in no-nonsense fashion; a hazy stab at dark disco rock that’s equal parts Depeche Mode and Chic; a ‘Get Lucky’ for the confused and restless. Boasting a rare guest appearance from none other than David Bowie on backing vocals, the song sets the
tone for the record; picking up where The Suburbs’ retro New Wave leanings left off, Reflektor sets its sights firmly at the future, with an abundance of fuzzy synths and dance beats. Though Bowie only appears in the flesh briefly on the first song, his presence is felt throughout the album, with the ‘We Exist’ channelling the vibe of ‘Let’s Dance’, and ‘You Already Know’ playing out like a homage to Ziggy-era Glam Rock. Other highlights – of which there are many – include the bluesy ‘Normal Person’, which discussing schoolyard bullies and alienation, and ‘Afterlife’, a propulsive piece of electro-pop that culminates in Butler asking “when love is gone/where does it go?” As far as the double album format goes, this is definitely a record of two parts; the first contains the more immediate upbeat tunes, whilst the second half is subtler and in parts more subdued. That’s not to say it’s disjointed - the album works as a cohesive whole, with synth-laden backdrops and danceable beats on display throughout. ‘It’s Never Over’ and the Prince-y funk of ‘Porno’ keep the pace going towards the end, neither of which would sound out of place on the Drive soundtrack, both working as effective 80s pastiches. A double album that actually deserves its slightly testing running time, Reflektor breaks brave new ground for the band, marrying their grandiose stylings with a more modern, slinkier sound, resulting in their most energetic and lively set of songs to date. Above all, though, it leaves you with the promise that Arcade Fire aren’t finished evolving yet, and that where they go from here is anyone’s guess. Dan Whiteley
Karnivool Tuesday 19th They Might Be Giants Wednesday 20th Panic! At The Disco Wednesday 20th The Rifles Thursday 21st
Then: Nirvana - In Utero Original Recordings Group September 1993. Following the commercial success of Nevermind, In Utero is Nirvana’s response to the different world that such success threw them in to, with the associated crises and conflicts that arose. As a counterpoint to Nevermind’s slick polish and practised sounds, In Utero was recorded in two weeks by Pixies producer, Steve Albini. The album benefits from the rawer, immediate and more natural sound this different approach allowed. On ‘Milk It’, we hear what I think may be a chuckle from Kurt Cobain as he screams, and there are a few fluffed drums and arsing about guitar sounds throughout. The band’s charm comes through, despite the album’s obviously dark and melancholy tones. The album stands on the brink of mainstream rock, wails, screams, shouts and heavy guitars with their distinctive grunge sound place it on the precipice of popular acceptability, not quite falling in to the heavier stoner rock around at the time, saved by melodious hooks. Despite the noise factor, the album feels intimate like the radio at night. When the tempo slows, for example with the emotionally complex ‘Dumb’ and its resonant strings, it provides temperance to the louder, faster counterpoints of rollercoaster tracks, such as ‘Very Ape’, which features a wicked groove in the chorus, as close to boogie friendly as the album gets, reminding us, as can be forgotten, that Nirvana wrote some
Joseph Whelan Monday 4th Bring Me The Horizon Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th Watsky Tuesday 5th Deap Vally Tuesday 5th Dillinger Escape Plan Wednesday 6th KAL & Satellite State Disko Wednesday 6th 36 Crazyfists Thursday 7th PublicServiceBroadcasting Thursday 7th Marillion Friday 8th The Union Friday 8th Unknown Mortal Orchestra Friday 8th Whole Lotta Led Saturday 9th Demons of Ruby Mae Saturday 9th Satyricon Sunday 10th Alice In Chains Monday 11th The Queen Extravaganza Monday 11th Defenders Of The Faith ft Amon Amarth Wednesday 13th The Wonder Years Wednesday 13th Stephen Lynch Live Thursday 14th Gary Numan Thursday 14th Laura Veirs Friday 15th Road To Warped Tour Friday 15th Naughty Boy Saturday 16th Mallory Knox Sunday 17th Television Sunday 17th Blue October Monday 18th Hayseed Dixie Tuesday 19th
great tunes. As a perfect swansong, In Utero builds on the fresh and rough sounds explored in Nirvana’s first album, Bleach. As the follow up to Nevermind, In Utero provides a bitter, beautiful repost to the media whirlwind that followed their most popular album. It’s almost worth having Nevermind around to inspire such a response. Bernadette Chapman
Editors Friday 22nd The Backhanders Friday 22nd The Virginmarys Friday 22nd Temperance Movement Friday 22nd Absolute Bowie Saturday 23rd Lee Nelson Saturday 23rd Crystal Fighters Saturday 23rd MSMR Sunday 24th Vuvuvultures Sunday 24th The Passengers perform the songs of Iggy Pop Sunday 24th Barenaked Ladies Monday 25th The Fratellis Wednesday 27th TheDismembermentPlan Wednesday27th Hudson Taylor Thursday 28th Dan Baird & Homemade Sin Friday 29th Flux Pavilion Saturday 30th The Complete Stone Roses Saturday 30th The Lancashire Hotpots Saturday 30th The Doors Alive Saturday 30th
DECEMBER Capercaille Sunday 1st Papa Roach Thursday 5th Watain Thursday 5th White Lies Friday 6th
Electric Six Friday 6th Dutch Uncles Friday 6th Shed Seven Saturday 7th For Those About To Rock: Livewire The AC/DC Show Saturday 7th The Word Alive Sunday 8th TheMenTheyCouldn’tHang Thursday12th Alabama 3 Friday 13th Kurt Vile Saturday 14th Gogol Bordello Saturday 14th Scar the Martyr Saturday 14th Primal Scream Sunday 15th Black Veil Brides Thursday 19th Levellers Friday 20th The Ratells Sat urday 21st Overload Saturday 28th
JANUARY 2014 The 1975 Monday 6th Lamb of God Sunday 19th dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip Sunday 19th Megan Nicole Tuesday 21st Redd Kross Fri day 24th Julia Sheer Wednesday 29th London Grammar Wednesday 29th Mayday Parade Thursday 30th John Newman Friday 31st RX Bandits Friday 31st
FEBRUARY 2014 Jefferson Starship Saturday 1st Killswitch Engage/Trivium Saturday 1st Skindred Sunday 2nd Ron Pope + Wakey! Wakey! Thursday 6th Little Comets Wednesday 5th Protest The Hero Thursday 6th August Burns Red Tuesday 11th Phoenix Monday 10th Mikill Pane Friday 14th Kerrang! Tour 2014 Monday 17th Tich Monday 17th twenty one pilots Friday 21st Room 94 Saturday 22nd MDNGHT Saturday 22nd Laura Cantrell Saturday 22nd ReConnected Monday 24th
MARCH 2014 The Dear Hunter And Anthony Green Saturday 1st Kodaline Wednesday 5th Architects Friday 7th Haim Saturday 8th Heaven 17 Saturday 15th Sex Pistols Experience Saturday 15th Ian Prowse & Amsterdam Friday 21st OneRepublic Friday 21st Franz Ferdinand Saturday 22nd Transmission - The Sounds of Joy Division Saturday 22nd Azealia Banks Wednesday 26th The Stranglers Saturday 29th
Games
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
15
Editor: Alasdair Preson Review
Retro Corner
review: Football
Manager 2014
Sam Dumitriu gets hands on with the latest footie sim out of the box Sports Interactive • Sega • RRP: £34.99 • Available on PC, Mac, Linux & iOS Football Manager is a cruel maiden. Installing the latest copy could be the difference between a first and low 2:2, the risk of addiction is that serious. When Football Manager is an option, friends, relationships and the outdoors all take a back seat. Cited as the cause in 35 divorce cases in the past year, the game has a power like no other. Despite shoddy match graphics, a spread sheet interface and a steep learning curve, the Football Manager series are up there with FIFA, GTA and CoD as games with a true mass appeal. The newest entry does not mess with a winning formula. Yet, to use a footballing cliché, it’s a game of two halves. In 2013 we were introduced to the divide between FM Classic mode and the full-fat main FM mode. With the main game the options in front of you are daunting. Injuries, transfers and the press are not the only thing for you to worry about. Barely ten minutes into starting as Liverpool manager, I was discussing playing philosophies with chairman Thomas Werner. Long gone are the days when winning the match is enough, now you have win in accordance with your club’s philosophy. In Liverpool’s case it was attacking, possession football with a first team full of young players. Impulsively, I decided to expand the club’s philosophy to preferring English players to do my bit for the frankly shocking national team. After chatting with my boss, I was off to talk to my backroom staff. After explaining that I expected Champions’ League qualification and noting Jordan Henderson’s complete lack of ambition, I was off to talk to the press. For a game called Football Manager, there was a lot of managing and not much football. The attention to detail was frankly terrifying; on New Year’s Day I expected a message telling me that the transfer window had opened. What I got was a lengthy analysis of
changes to the top rate of tax. It felt less like questions from the press and pressures to playing a game, and more like actually being get the paperwork done before midnight. All employed as a full time football manager. that’s missing is Peter Odemwingie driving Something wasn’t right; maybe it was the down to Loftus Road without an offer being time it took to get through a season (too accepted. Classic mode also allows you to long), the learning curve (too steep), or just share your saves over the cloud with a PS the sheer number of tasks to manage (too Vita, ensuring that there’ll be no escape from many). I wasn’t hooked. Football Manager. Despite, getting almost Preparing your team for a match in the everything right with Classic, the match main game felt like more of a chore than engine needs dragging into the current anything else, while no doubt impressive in generation of gaming. Ugly 3D models and its realism, something was missing. I suspect weak AI let down an otherwise great title. Sports Interactive noticed this as well. In I’m not asking for FIFA style graphics and 2014, Classic mode takes centre stage. animation, but as it stands it’s just not up to Questions about whether Football Manager scratch. could still compel were quickly answered. Get Football Manager 2014 for the Classic Classic allows you to power through a mode, but beware; as hard as it is to get into season in an afternoon, gone are lengthy the main game, it’s ten times harder to get press conferences where you have to worry out of Classic. It took an unceremonious as much about the tone of your voice as what sacking to get me to stop playing and write you actually have to say. In their place snappy this review. Now I’m off to look for a new questions where you can fire off an answer club, I hear Palace are looking for a new and move on to the real action; tactics and coach. transfers. Tactics have been simplified from an array of toggles and sliders, to a list of instructions such as ‘pass into space’, ‘retain Sam Dumitriu possession’ and ‘get stuck in’. Transfers, on the other hand, have new level of depth. There are enough options for wheeling and dealing that could satisfy even transfer window king Harry Redknapp. Ever wanted to buy a young player for the long term but don’t expect them to break into the first team straight away? FM 2014 has you covered with an option to loan the player back for the rest of the season. Image credit: FootballManager.com Deadline day has been overhauled, with frequent
Bianca Boorer recalls the worlds most famous marsupial both past and present The first Crash Bandicoot was developed exclusively for the PlayStation, released in 1996. It’s about an anthropomorphic bandicoot named Crash, whose quiet life on the Wumpa Islands is often interrupted by the games’ main antagonist, Doctor Neo Cortex. He created Crash, and now wants nothing less than his demise. Hence, it’s usually up to Crash to defeat Cortex and foil any world domination plans he might have. This game must be where “rage-quiting” originated. A simple fall from a cliff meant you had to start the level all over again if your paltry three lives are up, and the checkpoints didn’t help at all! There simply weren’t enough of them to compensate for the amount of repetition of the more difficult levels. However, the challenge does give you a stronger sense of victory when you finally, heroically get to the end. It’s a test of your co-ordination and reflexes with complex and innovative obstacle layouts. Crash is a very fast paced guy, and you’re constantly running. No such thing as “camping” in his games. Since the original title, various versions of Crash have appeared across all formats. Wanting to relive my childhood, I found a Wii version of the game in a vintage game shop in Liverpool for about £14. This one’s the sixth main series title, Crash of the Titans. It was nominated for two awards back in 2007, so can’t be too bad can it? Here the storyline takes on a similar damsel in distress story to Mario and Peach as Crash has to try and save his sister, Coco. As if he wasn’t busy enough, he also needs to stop Doctor Neo Cortex from turning the inhabitants of the Wumpa islands into an army of loyal “titans” by employing his usual mad science. Interestingly, you can switch from single to multiplayer mode in-game. The second player takes the form of a white-furred version of Crash known as “Carbon Crash” and sits in Crash’s backpack. He can enter or exit the backpack whenever he wants to help his orange friend. This allows you to share the tension with friends and work as a team to succeed, as well as share the blame for failures. Great fun at parties where there will be a lot of yelling at the screen and wafting controllers around in celebration (or anger).
Image credit: ToTheGame
Bianca Boorer
Review
review: GTA Online
Alasdair Preston gives the verdict on GTA V’s multiplayer component The staggering ambition of Rockstar was to take the huge world of GTA V and allow many players to roam around it at the same time, engaging in a huge depth of multiplayer races, heists, battles and competitions all customisable to suit your exact desires. At first, the thing didn’t work at all. However, this is only because of the overwhelming demand for the service and the lack of servers to support all those players. One month later, GTA: Online is stable and hilarious. To make amends, Rockstar is giving everyone who tried to play in the month of October $500,000 of in-game cash. It’s a decent gesture, especially as players can
choose to purchase the currency with real money if they so wish. With this money, you can go out and buy pretty much anything you’ll ever need. Vehicles, safe houses, garages, weapons, clothing and everything inbetween is all purchasable for your character in the world of GTA: O. How you actually look isn’t decided by any complicated Bethesda style customisation screen. No, instead you must determine your lineage in a neat little alternative to spending hours trying to work out what every single little slider does to your mug. When you connect to GTA: O, it tries to drop you in the same
world as some of your friends. From there, you can gallivant around the city as you please. The main bulk of the game is in the jobs. These jobs cover just about anything you could do in the single player mode; races, death matches, cooperative missions and many more. The missions that make you co-operate are pleasingly challenging. It’s hard for one excellent player to make it a cake walk, forcing you to work together and play it smart. However, teamwork only seems to last so long. Most jobs I’ve been on have descended into chaos as soon as the danger has passed, with people ramming each other in all manner of vehicles and grenades being tossed on the highway. And I only instigated this half of the
time. An early problem lies in the levelling up system. As you complete jobs, your character can level up, unlocking access to more of everything. However, this also includes the guns which can lead to one higher level player dominating the rest with his superior weaponry, weaponry he probably only got by being lucky enough to get the service to work early on. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid playing in many jobs that give any competitors that sort of edge.
Image credit: RockstarGames.com
If you’ve got friends that you don’t hate, but have been holding a grudge against ever since they forgot to invite you to the pub, then you should play GTA Online with them. It affords you the opportunity to passive-aggressively work out your issues by, for example, using a helicopter to lift them and their Lamborghini out to sea and dump them there unceremoniously. It is deeply satisfying. Of course, as with any online game, there are the people who are only there to ruin your day. On any one server, there is at least one person who will undoubtedly kill you if you even slow down near them. This is where it comes in handy to have a “crew”, a team of your friends who you can call on to take down any troublemakers. Playing with your crew also provides XP bonuses to help you level up faster. As with the offline component, your character can increase their various driving and combat stats by practicing and, at first, they will be terrible at everything. Rockstar have really struck gold with GTA: Online. If you were still, for some reason, on the fence about buying GTA:V then you really shouldn’t be any more.
Alasdair Preston
ISSUE 07/4TH NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Susie Coen, Marie ClareYates, Halee Wells (Beauty)
Couture or Controversy? Top 5
Feature
Urban Outfitters: high street hero? TOP Sean Gleeson looks into the questionable affiliations of CEO Richard Hayne
With a turnover of $1.83 billion and 25 stores in the UK alone, Urban Outfitters has established itself as one of the most recognisable names in fashion retail. According to their website, their success is down to an ability to ‘connect with customers on an emotional level’, whilst these customers are also supposedly ‘the reason and inspiration for everything they do’. So, what is controversial about Urban Outfitters I hear you asking? Well, I won’t dispute the fact their ethos is one of the most heart warming I’ve read since I began studying Fashion Retail a couple years back… however a little lesser known fact is that their CEO Richard Hayne is in fact, quite surprisingly, a supporter of the American right-wing Conservative Senator Rick Santorum, making donations to his political campaign to the tune of around $13,000. Now, unless you’ve a vested interest in American politics, your knowledge of the Senator might not extend beyond the above introduction,
however what I will tell you is he has some pretty strong opinions when it comes to gay rights…and unfortunately not the good kind. He was once quoted as saying “If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything,” to the Metro Weekly, Washington DC’s LGBT News Magazine, whilst another of his more insightful comments reads, “I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts” (because that makes loads of sense Rick). In fact, it only takes a quick internet search to discover a whole back-catalogue of as equally shocking and narrow minded quotes from Santorum; not only has he compared homosexuality to incest and adultery, he goes as far to compare the molestation of minors by Catholic Priests to “a basic homosexual relationship”. Still feeling emotionally connected to Richard
Photo: Villain Media, LLC @Flickr
Photo: Urban Outfitters
Haynes’ fashion powerhouse? No, nor me. Although you could say it’s unfair to tarnish a whole company due to the political stance of one CEO, these donations are not the sole instance in which homophobia has tainted the Urban Outfitters brand. Back in 2008, the company withdrew a t-shirt supporting same sex marriage citing ‘bad press’, and apparent desire for the company to remain politically neutral. Which is funny because last time I checked a $13,000 donation to a Senators political campaign doesn’t necessarily scream ‘neautral’. Now, I’m not by any means suggesting we all boycott Urban Outfitters, that would be silly, and I’m first to admit its one of my first ports of call come loan day. I guess what I’m highlighting is that although when thinking of fashion, and the controversies that go with it, we’re often inclined to forget that homophobia is still an issue.
Photo: Don Shall @Flickr
Feature
German fashion manufacturers capitalising on the Holocaust Bianca Boorer discusses the dark past of major German fashion houses
Hugo Boss’s publicity took a dive after a GQ party where Russell Brand highlighted the fact that Boss had supplied uniforms to the Nazis during World War II. He said,
If anyone knows a bit about history and fashion, you know it was Hugo Boss who made uniforms for the Nazis Russel Brand
Sources: Daily Mail: Shameful truth about Hugo Boss’s links to the Nazis revealed: As Russell Brand is thrown out of a party for accusing fashion designer of helping Hitler.
GQ editor, Dylan Jones, responded: ‘What you did was very offensive to Hugo Boss.’ Brand replied: ‘What Hugo Boss did was very offensive to the Jews.’ However, Brand was called out for being a hypocrite when he was seen wearing a Hugo Boss jacket in February.
Another comment from his speech: ‘But they looked f**king fantastic, let’s face it, while they were killing people on the basis of their religion and sexuality.’ Hugo Boss was economical in his decision to join the Nazi party in 1931. By joining the Nazi party, he was able to secure contracts with them, he also believed Hitler would pull Germany out of the economic crisis. According to an article in the Daily Mail, ‘By 1940, the company was turning over some 1,000,000 Reichsmarks.’ Yet Boss ran his factories in a very Nazi-like fashion. Employees were from occupied countries, some of whom were kidnapped from their homes at the ages of 17-19, and exposed to harsh working conditions. Hygiene was poor with factories containing lice and fleas; they also had no access to medical treatment. Those who escaped were captured and beaten. In cases where workers committed suicide due to the drastic conditions, Boss paid for the funeral costs. After the war, Boss was classified as a Nazi supporter and stripped of his right to run a business. When he appealed, he was later classified as a “follower” instead. His business now lives on after his death.
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Beauty
Controversial Campaigns By Phoebe Nickalls
BeautySHOCK:
MAC: We trusted you
/TheMancunion: Fashion & Beauty @MancunionFash
Exposed: American Apparel Anna Sopel reports on the truth about the high street giant Controversy is almost as synonymous with American Apparel as the disco pant. The high street holy-grail of leggings and basics has been through its fair share of lawsuits, criminal investigations and media storms. You may be thinking, what could this fair trade, anti-sweatshop, gay marriage embracing company be doing wrong? Well, their advertising campaigns alone are enough to cause outrage. For those of you who have not seen an American Apparel ad, imagine something close to softcore porn. Think young g-string clad models in polo necks, lying on a bed with their legs in the air, or a girl in a leotard lying on a sofa with her legs splayed open with the witty line “now open”. There are even whole buzzfeeds and tumblrs dedicated to ‘American Apparel’s raciest ads ever’ for those of you who wish to make further investigation. While American Apparel claims these ads are creative, honest and artistic, many people think they are overtly sexual images, which objectify women and appear to show young girls looking vulnerable. As a result many adverts have been banned and are under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority. The highly sexualised and risqué images that represent American Apparel as a company seem to be representative of its founder and CEO Dov Charney. It is fair to say Charney is unconventional in his approach as a boss; he is a self-confessed unrepentant sex addict who by his own admission often wears just underwear in front of his employees, apparently once merely wearing a sock (which wasn’t worn on his foot, I should add). Charney has been known by multiple sources to masturbate in front of a female journalist in a meeting and even said in a deposition hearing “I frequently drop my pants to show people my new product.” But, this ‘unconventional approach’ has landed him in some seriously hot water over the years. Charney has been the subject of at least five sexual harassment lawsuits since the mid 2000’s, although none of these has been proven and nearly all of them have been dismissed, thrown out, or remain pending. Dov Charney relishes his reputation as a libertarian and someone who shocks, and he believes that it is this “creativity” as he calls it, that has been so crucial in American Apparel’s success.
1. The Benetton Campaigns In the 1980’s, Benetton advertising campaigns took a dramatic turn depicting social issues of the times. Perhaps their most shocking campaign came in 2000 when famed photographer Oliverio Toscani chose to take images of American Death Row inmates, naming the collection ‘We, On Death Row’. Most of us at least know of MAC, their target market is 16-25 year olds and over the past ten years they have become one of the most trusted and liked makeup companies by women in Britain; they’re cool. Since their dawn in Canada they have developed in what most people would say is a socially responsible way, setting up foundations including MAC AIDS and even MAC Cruelty-Free Beauty. We trust them to make us beautiful while we are pleased to see a few charity campaigns at the till, perhaps orbiting a Rihanna or Lady Gaga makeup set. This gives us the impression that MAC are the good guys and we can trust them, right? So why at the beginning of 2012 were they removed from PETA’s list of cruelty-free companies? The first thing that I wanted to know is why would such a large company that did no animal testing and was proud about it, move backwards on such a controversial matter in the make-up industry? It seems as if old faithful can once again be blamed for this evil – money.
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Feature
Keir Forde discusses favorite cosmetics manufacturer, where there really is no beauty without bunnies
2. Tom Ford: For Men- 2007 In 2007 we saw Tom Ford release a highly controversial advertising campaign in collaboration with the photographer, Terry Richardson. What message was Tom Ford trying to show when promoting his new fragrance? Sex sells but many believed he crossed the line, objectifying women simply to promote his product.
Fashion
Even recently you may have noticed American Apparel once again being the focus of attention with a new T-Shirt they have brought out depicting a menstruating, masturbating vagina called “Period Power”. Whether you consider this taboo breaking and empowering or disgusting and distasteful, there is no question it will have provoked an opinion. Clearly these provocative acts of t-shirt and ad campaigns have done the company very little consumer damage; would you stop wearing one of their classic hoodies because of a slightly raunchy ad? Probably not. If these accusations against Dov Charney are true, he should probably rein in the obscene acts, and maybe put on a pair of trousers. The clothes seem to fit nicely, the CEO maybe not so much.
Craving & Saving
Craving Saving Are you fur real?
Skye Scott shows us how to get winter purrr-fect style without going hunting
3. Gucci 2003 Gucci marked the spot with this press campaign, shot by world famous photographer Mario Testino. The advert was condemned by the press, who believed the image was degrading to women. The director of Mediawatch UK, John Bayer called for an immediate ban on the advert for being provocative and overtly sexual.
4. Dolce & Gabbana 2007 D&S’s campaign for their ready-to-wear collection in 2007 features a girl with a hazy expression surrounded by five men, one bearing down on her. The advert was criticised by the press and Debonair Magazine who called it “a glorification of gang rape”. Find out the fifth component to this article on line.
While the company state, “Our products are not tested on animals unless completely mandated by law”, they are trying to deceive you into thinking this means they are against evil animal testing when what they are really saying is that they don’t test on animals themselves, yet get other people, in countries with fewer laws, to do it for them. They do this because it’s much cheaper to have products developed in Asian countries than back in Canada and they can hide the whole thing from the eyes of their largest markets back in the west, how clever. Little details are known about MACs exact testing and how animals are used, but when things are that secretive, they’re normally not something to celebrate. But does it even matter to us? Probably not. MAC makes good make-up and most customers ‘DGAF’ about animal testing, they just want good make-up and for that reason MAC will probably never face any negative backlash. The first person I told had the reaction “…but they’re so f****** good though,” which I think reflects the majority. But while you continue to buy their products, spare a thought for the rats and rabbits that are currently taking the bullet for you and being forced all the studio-fix you ever dreamed of.
Craving
Saving
Many designer labels continue to use real fur to show their exclusivity and their premium brand image. Everyone is desperate to show that they have the best quality products and it seems real fur shows just that. This Michael, Michael Kors Cotton blend coat with a fox trim hood is relatively cheap compared to completely real fur coats in the shops today. It is a premium twist on our everyday parka and could be worn everyday with jeans and converse to wrap up this winter. (If you can afford it!) At £255 it is way out of reach for a normal student budget. Even so, does wearing a fox around your head and neck really make you want to spend that much? Real fur is known for its amazing warmth capabilities in the cold winter but surely we could just add a few layers. The question is, is real fur worth it?
The fur debate has long been around, with many highstreet and designer brands, beginning to shun the use of real fur for more harmless alternatives. As the alternatives to fur continue to spring up the question is raised as to whether there really is a need for real fur or whether we are just selfish, fashion demanding consumers. Stella McCartney continues to sell her faux fur coats at a premium price alike to other designer real fur coats. But as students, Stella McCartney is well over budget; luckily H&M have faux fur at affordable prices. H&M have plenty to offer with faux fur jackets and coats in all lengths, colours and prices. This jacket is perfect for the winter chill, paired with day dresses and woolly tights for day or worn to cover up at night. It is a winner on all basis; style, price and of course its use of harmless fake fur. Now in the sale at just £20, get it before it’s gone.
Michael Michael Kors at Net-a-Porter £255
H&M Fur Jacket £20
ISSUE 07/4th November2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Sophie James, Robbie Davidson, Angus Harrison Top 5
TOP
Musical Sequences (Not in musicals!)
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Sarah Murray considers the musical moments, you’re least expecting
5. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) SPOILER ALERT: Predictably, the film closes with protagonist Steve Carell finally losing that burdensome cherry at the ripe old age of 40. He proceeds to celebrate said coitus with the lads in a fun fantasy musical rendition of ‘Aquarius’/’Let the Sunshine In’.
4. Anchorman (2004) In another Judd Apatow classic, Ron Burgundy and the gang explain to us the meaning of love with a spontaneous barbershop quartet performance of ‘Afternoon Delight.’
3. (500) Days of Summer (2009) Life is beautiful, you’re in love, and the only logical way to express your joy is through the medium of Hall and Oats. We’ve all been there. Only Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a flash mob to help him celebrate his recent hook-up with the beautiful Zooey Deschanel.
2. Beetlejuice (1988) In a darkly comic scene that could only be the brainchild of director Tim Burton, the guests of a dinner party, hosted by the Deetz family, become possessed by the ghosts of the recently deceased Adam and Barbara Maitland. Wanting to scare the living inhabitants out of their old home, the Maitlands take control of their bodies and groove to ‘Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).’
1. Wayne’s World (1992) There’s something about Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ that makes the urge to rock out literally impossible to suppress. Topping the list is the opening scene of Wayne’s World, the ultimate car ride sing-a-long that has everybody watching head-banging and air-guitaring with them.
Feature
the FEATURE:
Our take on events from the world of film and television
TV Advertising, the Hollywood giant killer Tom Bruce charts the decline of some former Hollywood greats from legends to lamentable
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are comparable in more ways than one. Both of Italian-American background, they got their first major roles within a year of one another, worked with the same great directors (though their paths have rarely crossed on screen) and they are often cited as the greatest actors of their generation. Their work in the past decade, however, has all but tarnished their reputation. Did they get lazy? Did they lose their touch? While their downfalls may have caused widespread lamentation, their extraordinary careers deserve celebration. Already a successful actor, Robert De Niro truly invaded the public consciousness in 1976 as the star of Martin Scorcese’s masterful Taxi Driver. PostVietnam/Watergate, the disenfranchised veteran Travis Bickle became an antihero in a time of uncertainty and paranoia. The Clash even put him in a song! Raging Bull followed four years later and an Oscar along with itdeserved for the double physical transformation alone. His roles in The Untouchables (1987) as Al Capone and Goodfellas (1990) as ‘unconscionable ball breaker’ James Conway are of particular note, transcending every trope of the mafia genre. De Niro’s role as Deus ex machina plumber Harry Tuttle in Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985) is often overlookedhe allegedly spent a month researching this minor role, such was his meticulous nature. Watch out for the physics defying rope swing, which for my money is the greatest escape in cinematic history. Sadly all good things come to an end, and De Niro has done some appalling work this past 10 years: his portrayal of a cross dressing sky pirate in
Stardust was a particular low point and the Subaru ‘Legacy’ ad did no favours for his legacy. Meanwhile upcoming films like Grudge Match and The Family look downright offensive, yet even they pale in comparison to The Hangover knockoff Last Vegas-
based on the trailer, I have decided it is the worst film of all time. Al Pacino gave an audition that Francis Ford Coppola could not refuse to win the role of Michael Corleone over established names like Martin Sheen and Robert Redford in 1972 mafia classic The Godfather. He further proved his worth as a leading man a year later with a mesmerising performance as the dishevelled hero cop in Serpico. Over the next twenty years Al Pacino enjoyed a wealth of success in a wide array of roles, though many argue that he peaked with Scarface in 1983. From the mid-eighties onward Pacino began to ‘experiment’ slightly - his abominable accent in
Local Stigmatic Piano (1990) was an early warning sign of horrors to come. Jump forward to 2003 and The Recruit- just like the one dimensional character he portrayed the pay check was his only motive. His turn as bumbling tycoon Willy Bank in Ocean’s Thirteen (2007) compounded his fall from grace; ‘I SLICE... like a goddam hammer!’... er, what? Worse was yet to come. Reprehensible Adam Sandler ‘comedy’ Jack and Jill (2011) saw him in a Dunkin Donuts campaign as the all rapping, all dancing ‘Dunkaccino’. And now he is hocking Sky Broadband services... Tony Montana, reduced to the status of a bum! This shameless self-pimping has become a disturbing trend; each trip to the cinema ensures exposure to Kevin Bacon in the abominable EE ads. All you can do is shake your head as A Few Good Men becomes The Fewer Good Men. Perhaps hope isn’t completely lost. Robert De Niro was, after all, nominated for an Oscar for his turn in Silver Linings Playbook and Al Pacino has recently excelled in a couple of fantastic HBO dramas. Yet this begs the question, why then do they allow the majority of their current work to fall so far below this otherwise high standard? Although there can be no reparation for Pacino and De Niro’s recent work, and while the future looks even darker, you can always look to the past. No one can take away the brilliance of Taxi Driver, Scarface, or The Godfather saga. Their joint last hurrah was undoubtedly Michael Mann’s operatic heist thriller Heat (1995)-one of their best films, if only it had been their last. Tom Bruce
Preview
the PREVIEW: The Invisible Woman
There’s always that one film every year that grabs your attention but probably (and regrettably) won’t grab an Oscar. This might be that film. The Invisible Woman is the story of Charles Dickens’ late career and his affair with the young actress Nelly Ternan during that time. The film stars and is directed by Ralph Fiennes, marking his second turn in the director’s chair. With two Oscar nominations, roles alongside the world’s least favourite wizard, an upcoming role in Wes Anderson’s much-anticipated The Grand Budapest Hotel and, perhaps most importantly, having voiced the character of Victor Quartermaine in Aardman’s Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit, it would be tempting for Fiennes to sit back and take it easy. Instead, he’s doing all this alongside launching his directing career, and it looks like it’s getting off to a flying start! As an actor who started off studying art, Fiennes makes an intriguing director, combining his artistic and theatrical backgrounds to create beautiful films whilst attracting casts that produce visceral performances to bring his artistic vision to life. After his BAFTA-nominated debut directing a modern-day take on Shakespeare’s Coriolanus (talk about a baptism of fire!) Fiennes has now turned from guns and army jackets to wigs and corsets in this film with a biopic-style focus on the latter part
of Dickens’ life. Although the word “biopic” may now have us groaning as we visualise James Corden miming to opera on the rooftops of Venice, The Invisible Woman is guaranteed to be the top pick of the recent biopic bumper crop. How is it going to be any different? Well, it’s based on the book by Claire Tomalin – most famous for her seminal biographies on Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. On top of this, the book has been adapted for the screen by one of Britain’s best female screenwriters, Abi Morgan. As you can see, we’re already a long way from those rooftops in Venice!
But it doesn’t stop there. It goes without saying that with his incredible acting and directing credentials, Fiennes can attract acting talent to his films like
Director: Ralph Fiennes Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones and Kristen Scott Thomas Released: 7th Febuary death eaters to Voldermort. This acting talent comes in the form of rising starlet Felicity Jones, playing the title character of Nelly Ternan. As it was Nelly’s story that moved Fiennes enough to take on the project in the first place, this could be the role Miss Jones has been waiting to sink her teeth into and with a glance at the supporting cast (featuring Tom Hollander and Kristen Scott Thomas) it looks as though we could be set to see knock-out performances all round. If that’s still not enough to stop you from going “what the Dickens?”, here are two final reasons to be excited about this film. Thanks to such colourful characters as Miss Havisham and Fagin, everyone can name a Dickens novel – even if that’s only whilst humming the tune to “You have to pick a pocket or two” – so everyone should want to find out more about such an influential literary figure and the women who supported him. More importantly, with Helen Mirren calling for greater recognition of women in film, The Invisible Woman, a story about the woman who supported Dickens, adapted from a book by a womanand by a female screenwriter, we can only help to promote the movement of women in film towards the ever more visible. Let’s hope it won’t similarly be left invisible amidst Oscar hype! Sophie James
ISSUE 07/ 4th November 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Film
/TheMancunion: Film @MancunionFilm
Review
the REVIEW: One Chance
Director: David Frankel Starring: James Corden, Alexander Roach and Julie Walters Released: 25th October
Lloyd Hammett is prepared to give the Paul Potts biopic one chance - only to discover it is an extended Britain’s Got Talent commercial
The first year of Britain’s Got Talent brought a watershed of hopefuls who believed they had what it took to become a superstar. This real life story of Paul Potts ( James Corden) shows how he went from being just an average shop assistant to a country phenomenon in winning the show as an opera singer. It is a film racked around the symbol of hope and how if you continue to believe you will finally reach your goal. Sadly, it never manages to portray this with any sincerity, mainly because it tries to swing the audience with nothing but pity. The lack of sincerity comes from scenes that feel so aware that a line or a close up can get an ‘aww’ from the audience without any real substance put into them. There is no development of the characters or rapport between them because the only two emotions they display are sympathy and hope. The director David Frankel seems to have decided that these are in fact the only two emotions available and is relentless with it to the point it is comical. It is ironically the lack of realism depicted in any of the people or changing points in Paul Potts’ life
that leave this supposedly real life tale wanting. The film is supposed to be light-hearted but the attempt to display with such vulnerability means it lacks any comedic value. The narrative and dialogue is bumpy and uneven causing for overwhelming awkwardness rather than the heartstrings puller it was
to work there has to be a feeling of sincerity and realness within the character, but Corden never manages to portray this. Everything is overplayed, his bumbling, his awkwardness and even his dream of opera, to a point where the film and performance feel dishonest. Paul Potts himself may well have been
aiming for. It almost seems over the last few years that Corden has suffered from Gavin and Stacey being too good. His attempts to break away from his character ‘Smithy’ have probably not quite gone to plan with regrettable films like Vampire Killers (2009) and Gulliver’s Travels (2010). For a biopic
all these, but it was too forced and overworked to display anything that amounted to lifelike. There seems to be genuine anguish for Corden in trying to master the Welsh accent, and he probably amounts to around fifty-percent of his lines in it. The best moment by far in the film (and it is hard to find one) comes in
The Selfish Giant Leo Mates goes to see the latest film from acclaimed British director, Clio Barnard
of emphasises the fact that these boys’ lives are not only miserable, but also monotonous. The impression is given of a middle-aged man, trying to make ends meet and angry at the world, trapped in the body of a thirteen year old. If anything, it’s less of a story and more of a snapshot of a couple of days in Arbor’s life. The fact that you see every side of it, including the parts with no real dramatic input makes the film seem more real, and less like someone had written it. In fact, I would genuinely not have been surprised if it had turned out it was based on a
Lloyd Hammett
CATCH UP
Now that reading week has ended work will start up again. With more work comes the need to sit down and unwind in front of some good telly. A current staple of the Beeb is period drama, seemingly on rotation. Despite being very different in tone, as the brilliant Peaky Blinders ends, The Paradise comes to pick up the baton. Peaky Blinders follows the titular gang in Birmingham during the inter-war period. In six episodes, plots interweave to a finale where this fantastical premise seems to be almost pedestrian. Cillian Murphy (of 28 Days Later and Dark Knight trilogy fame) stars as Tommy Shelby, broody leader of the gang who does what’s best for his family despite their protests. Sam Neill plays the hard-nosed inspector sent to catch the thieves, clean up the city and give rousing speeches to the Brummie Bobbies. Peaky Blinders is an English costume drama with an American gangster feel, with its family meetings, strong patriarchal leader and political intrigue; it’s been touted as Britain’s answer to Boardwalk Empire. Six hours of beautifully-shot gripping viewing. If you like your period dramas less gory then The Paradise is returning for a second season, with the first season well worth a look. It is set in a Victorian department store that is swallowing up the competition. It is run by John Moray (played brilliantly by Emun Elliott from Comedy Central’s Threesome). Denise Lovett ( Joanna Vanderham: Seek her out as Cathy in Sky’s 2011 The Runaway) joins as a promising shop-girl, much to the displeasure of the girls vying for Moray’s attention. Or for something different, just watch Misfits. Jack Evans
Contrary Corner
Cornerhouse Pick of the Week
The Selfish Giant, directed and written by Clio Barnard, is brutal. Not in a violent way, not in an overly emotional way, but in a way that never lets you forget that sometimes, life is just bloody awful. The story follows a pair of young friends from Huddersfield, who take up scrap collecting in order to make some money after they’re excluded from their school. Throughout, the message is pretty clear that they have nothing and no-one to rely on. In fact, barring their mothers, every other character in the film is trying to take advantage of them. The main character, Arbor (Conner Chapman) swiftly becomes obsessed with his new job as a scrap collector, and uses it to support his (seemingly jobless) mother and drugaddicted brother, whilst Swifty (Shaun Thomas) really just wants to look after horses. However, the scrap collecting leads to stealing wire from railway tracks, and looking after horses doesn’t exactly end well either. The horses have a pretty terrible time of it too, because in this film, nobody gets off easy. Not even baby horses (Spoiler alert). At times the film drags a little bit, but this kind
the twenty-seconds Potts sings in a pub for the first time. It is the only moment where the nature of what he is doing radiates through, due to the simplicity and naturalness of the shot. For a film reliant on opera singing to show its message the other instances where Potts sings feel unbelievably orchestrated and wooden. The poster for the film has ridiculously labeled it as the ‘new’ Billy Elliot (2000) but completely lacks in the socio-cultural backdrop displayed in this. What makes you route for Billy Elliot is that he is a beacon of hope within a community that is crumbling around him. The comedy comes off so well because it juxtaposes the grit, whereas with One Chance there is nothing but lighthearted sympathy for the good times and the bad. The adversity may not be as great but there is a lack of desire to show it with any realism, as cheap ‘aw moments’ are ultimately easier The real life of Paul Potts may be one of wonder, but across the big screen it lacks any real conviction. ★
TV
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true story. For those of you who want their films action packed, or with a bit of comic relief in them, this is not the film for you. It’ll leave you feeling emotionally drained, and a little like someone just punched you in the stomach. And if you’ve never had to sell scrap metal to buy food, it’ll make you very, very appreciative of that fact. It should be seen, simply for how well it manages to get its message across, without ever feeling like it’s preaching. Leo Mates
Schindler’s List is no masterpiece Parizad Mangi tackles Speilberg’s acclaimed holocaust tragedy Schindler’s List is a film that has been a household name ever since it was first released to adulation in 1993. Adapted from the book by Thomas Keneally, and directed by Hollywood royalty Steven Spielberg, the movie quickly became an award season favourite, winning a whooping seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. It has topped several ‘Best Film’ lists throughout these two decades and its impact has been so immense that it is used as a reference in schools when children learn about the Holocaust. But is it deserving of such a exemplary status? Should we neglect credibility of the product, or lack thereof, in favour of flattering the fraternity supremacy? As far as my personal opinion is concerned, I was left not only underwhelmed but as an enthusiast of both history and film to be disappointed by how Spielberg chose to execute the project. The black and white, the solitary lamp looming over two men in a dim room, suspenseful shots of pedestrians, all of which serve no purpose other than to string together self-gratifying pretentious drivel. John Williams’ famous composition may well be beautiful just as his other list of works, but is placed to timely contrive the correct sentiment Spielberg aims to evoke. It is a shallow effort that barely scratches the surface of an appalling and cruel situation. Its energies are focused on emotionally manipulating its audience rather than paying sensitivity to this very real and raw incident.
If you don’t want to take an ordinary student’s word for it, there are several revered members of the film industry and survivors that are not singing its praises. Renowned director Stanley Kubrick commented “The Holocaust is about 6 million people who get killed. Schindler’s List is about 600 who don’t”. It was described as “kitsch” by both Claude Lanzmann and Imre Kertesz, the former the director of the Holocaust documentary, Shoah, and the latter a Hungarian Jewish author and survivor of the Holocaust. The bigger issue is perhaps the dichotomy depicted between Schindler and the Nazi Goeth. Schindler was an astute business man who saved lives for his own gain, and though the film shows
him have a change of heart when he sees a little girl in a red coat amidst a sea of black and white, we cannot take Spielberg’s artistic liberty of Schindler’s conscience to be historically accurate. No subtlety in symbolism to be expected here. The morality here is in black and white, just like the film. Frankly, such a lazy approach of the subject should not be used to teach children history. And Spielberg should steer clear of this area, tragedy is not something that needs to be given the Hollywood treatment. Parizad Mangi
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Societies
ISSUE 07/ 4TH NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Student Action Spotlight
Intergenerational Projects
Deutsche Bank db.com/careers
The Student Action team tell us about their projects aiming to bridge the generation gap
Photo: Student Action Our intergenerational projects as part of Student Action work on the premise of tackling the social isolation of older people within our community, bridging the gap between young and old. Both generations have so much to contribute to one another, and through our projects we hope to facilitate that exchange. No intergenerational project runs without laughter, cake and some good old anecdotes! Our weekly socials and supermarket sweeps, alongside our film afternoons and parties, offer the opportunity to volunteer on an ad-hoc basis. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a more regular volunteer opportunity, we have 2 new schemes currently being set up. ‘Generation Game’ is a project which started towards the end of last year and is based in a nursing home in Didsbury. We are looking for a group of volunteers to go into the home on a weekly basis, engaging with the residents on both a group and individual basis. This is a fantastic opportunity to bring some care and fun back into the resident’s. Hand massaging, games, art & crafts, storytelling, get active, performances, quizzes, walks, reminiscence. These are just some of our ideas and we welcome your own con-
tributions. Please get in touch with the project leader Ciara if you’re interested: ciara.hagan@ student.manchester.ac.uk ‘Befriending’ With the aim of creating longer-lasting friendships within our older community, we wanted to set up a befriending scheme allowing you to buddy a grandparent for the duration of your course and beyond. This is a unique opportunity to work on a one-to-one basis with an elderly member of the community and the activities you involve yourself in will depend greatly on yourself and the person you are paired with. To find out more, please email the project leader Kate: kate.o@ live.com As a volunteer with Student Action and on our Intergenerational Projects you will receive full support and training. It is a fantastic organisation to be part of, not only will you make a difference and an impact on your community, but you will enrich your University experience as a whole, developing friendships with other like-minded volunteers. As you become more involved with the charity you can take on further responsibility taking on a project leader role or even setting up your own projects.
The socials project is a great way to interact with members of the local community, who certainly don’t have one foot in the grave. They are active, vivacious residents who are an inspiration to be around as we students approach our adult lives.
Joshua Barritt, Wednesday Social Project Leader.
We hope to partner you up with someone with similar interests to yourself and foster a relationship which will grow and grow. A chance to find a grandparent in Manchester
Kate O’Brien, Befriending Project Leader.
Student Action Spotlight
Learning Disability Projects The Student Action team tell us about their projects in the local community, working with learning disabled people Student Action runs a number of weekly projects within the local community working with learning disabled people. Before coming to university, it is fair to say that most people’s experience of working with people with learning disabilities is usually limited to family and friends. Upon starting university, you may then decide to help such people. However, you soon realise that it is not just a oneway thing; they also help you immensely through their endless joy, their appreciation and through their caring nature. It really is the case that you get out as much as you put in to each activity. At Student Action our projects with learning disabled people are focused on having a social side to things. Enjoyment is the key - both for volunteers and project members alike. The projects enable the project members to meet up in a safe environment and form friendships that last for a long time. Some members have been part of their projects for 10-15 years! Being able to see the members’ grow as individuals and realise that they can actually do things that they had been told that they would never be able to do is so rewarding and so empowering for everyone involved. The projects also give an evening/day of respite care to the members’ carers - something which cannot be
underestimated. We currently run four different weekly projects; People With People runs every Monday and Wednesday night, The Ladybarn Project runs on a Tuesday night and Saturday Stars runs on a Saturday. Each project takes different groups out from differing age groups, and activities that have taken place in the last year include going to the cafe in the Hilton Hotel, bowling, meals out, arts and crafts, visits to museums, park trips and even a residential trip to the Lake District! On all of the projects, the project members will not care how good you are at the specific activities they are doing, rather they just love having people around them who see them as they are - like fellow people - seeing beyond any disability they may have.
Photo: Student Action
You need a vibrant mind to shape bold ideas We need minds like yours at our Birmingham office We’re always on the lookout for new ways of doing things. If the same can be said of you, you’d fit right in at our Birmingham office where all our talented individuals have one thing in common: the desire to make an impact as they drive growth from the inside out. While you’ll be sitting outside the more traditional financial hubs, you’ll find yourself very much in the thick of things as you build relationships across the business. And enjoy all the rewards that come with being part of a prestigious global investment bank. Discover graduate careers with a difference at db.com/careers/dbaccess
ISSUE 07/4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
/TheMancunion: Books
Editors: Esmé Clifford Astbury, Annie Muir
@MancunionBooks
Interview
Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveller’s Mother Do you consider yourself a hipster? Lost the drummer boyfriend, currently going out with Eddie Campbell who is a well-known comics artist so this is my graphic novelist boyfriend. I’m sort of turning into an old lady. I heard Miley Cyrus for the first time the other day. The people I tend to come out for have been playing for quite a while. So I wouldn’t think of myself as being incredibly cutting edge or anything like that.
I read that you teach novel writing at Columbia College in Chicago. What advice would you give to young aspiring writers today on how to break into the industry? You can now pretty effectively put your own work out via blogs on the web as long as you’re not too worried about getting paid. I didn’t publish a novel until I was 40 so this advice won’t be popular, but I think it’s a good idea to work on your writing until it’s actually pretty hardcore amazing. Try to be patient and also not to get disheartened if the doors don’t swing open right away.
At a certain point I realized the film [of The Time Traveller’s Wife] was getting fairly far away from my idea of my book, so I just let go of it Would you say the film adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife did it justice
Audrey Niffenegger and Bianca Boorer Photo: Bianca Boorer in terms of depicting your story? I have not actually seen the film. I did read the script. At a certain point I realized the film was getting fairly far away from my idea of my book, and the film people have a right to do whatever they want so I just let go of it. I don’t really think of it as my film because I didn’t make it. I try not to say much about it because I don’t want to judge people for liking it or not liking it. Can you give us a little taster of the upcoming sequel of The Time Traveler’s Wife? It is mainly about Alba as a grown up. She’s grown up to be a violinist but she’s also got extreme stage fright and
so instead of becoming a performing artist she’s decided to become a composer. Her main problem is that she’s got two husbands and one of them doesn’t know about the other one. One of her husbands is a time traveller from the second half of the 21st century so in real time he’s 54 years younger than she is but they tend to meet back in the 1960s. I got interested in writing about climate change so you can expect that there will be some kind of horrendous weather things going on. I read an interview you did in 2010 and I got the vibe that you were very alternative and indie what with not owning a TV, having a drummer boyfriend and listening to the Sex Pistols.
TOP 5
Novels for Bonfire Night
Bianca Boorer talks to American writer, artist and academic Audrey Niffenegger Audrey Niffenegger is an American writer, artist and academic famously known for writing The Time Traveller’s Wife . She recently participated in the Manchester Literature Festival, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her at her hotel.
I didn’t publish a novel until I was 40 so this advice won’t be popular, but I think it’s a good idea to work on your writing until it’s actually pretty hardcore amazing What did you think of the Manchester Literature Festival compared to literary conventions held back home in Chicago? What’s nice about this one is that the University’s involved so there were a lot of students coming to it. In Chicago, a lot of the time you look at the audience and everybody’s grey haired. Just walking around Manchester is lovely. Your university’s huge! I had no idea it ate half the city.
1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Titled after the supposed temperature needed for paper to spontaneously combust, Fahrenheit 451 describes a version of the future where books are banned. The novel follows Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to set fire to any books that are found, and his horrifying realisation of the world around him. Photo courtesy of Harper Voyager
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling This book, the fourth in a series, sees Harry competing in the Triwizard Tournament after being mysteriously selected by the Goblet of Fire. The plot twists and turns, with the introduction of new wizarding schools and the return of a very unwelcome face.
3. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore Alan Moore’s graphic novel is loosely based on the story of Guy Fawkes and set in a future dystopian version of the United Kingdom. The story focuses on Evey, a young girl, and her relationship to V, a masked revolutionary who aims to overthrow the totalitarian government in charge.
4. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin This series of fantasy novels served as the inspiration for the popular television series Game of Thrones. Although the first book was released to little public interest, A Song of Ice and Fire has since grown into a global phenomenon due to the brilliance of George R.R. Martin’s writing style and storylines.
5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins The second book in the Hunger Games trilogy builds upon the tensions of the previous work and sees Katniss and Peeta returning to the arena for the second time. If you start it now, you could even be finished in time for the film, which will be released on 22nd November.
Review
Classics digested: The Great Gatsby Don’t be put off by literary classics. Olivia Stevens provides an introduction to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
WHAT
F. Scott Fitzgerald is commonly cited as one of the best writers of the 20th century. His work is strongly associated with life during the Jazz Age. Many of his works were heavily influenced by his turbulent marriage to Zelda Sayre. He only published four novels during his lifetime, with his final work, The Last Tycoon, released posthumously. His other focus was short stories, of which he published several collections. Two of his most famous were The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Babylon Revisited, both of which were adapted into films.
Told from the point of view of Nick Caraway, a young man who has recently moved to New York, the story starts with Nick visiting his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. Here Nick discovers Tom is having an affair which is known to all but Daisy. Nick finds a new house next to the home of the enigmatic Jay Gatsby, a man famous for his extravagant parties which he never seems to attend. Over time Gatsby and Nick grow closer, due to Gatsby’s desire to find Daisy, a woman he was due to marry years beforehand but who was deemed too poor. As the summer continues, and the temperature rises, tempers become frayed and tragedies occur.
is the author?
is it about?
WHY
Classic quote:
should you read it? A contender for the great American novel and often placed among the most distinguished works of American literature, The Great Gatsby is a book very close to many people’s hearts. It has often been adapted into other mediums such as film, ballet and even video games but the novel is the original and the best version due to Fitzgerald’s exquisite use of language. And it’s less than 200 pages. How often can you read a classic in an afternoon!
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past
Photo courtesy of Wordsworth Editions Ltd
WHO
Books
21
ISSUE 07/ 4TH NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Ben Walker, Maddy Hubbard Recipe of the Week
OF THE recipe WEEK
This week Amber de la Haye gets adventurous, cooking mystery vegetables from Curry Mile
Feature
The Inaugural Cheese & Wine Society Event Victor Croci, President of the Cheese & Wine Society, gives us a (slightly biased) account of how the first event went... Francophile could tell you that he could sense the Camembert and taste the Brie de Meaux, but there were more surreptitious cheeses originating from the land of Charles de Gaulle, croissants and general strikes. Comté and gruyere, both salty and mellow, were two such examples of many…
Long Dudi Curry Food shopping on the curry mile can feel a bit like you’ve been transported back to your gap year; rows of mysterious fruits and vegetables stacked up on the street, a bollywood soundtrack and questionable food-hygiene standards, or at least it does until the famous Manchester drizzle starts to dampen the dragon fruit. It’s easy to overlook the exotic fare on the curry mile, but the rewards for experimenting with an enigmatic vegetable are worth feeling a little embarrassed when you can’t pronounce the main ingredient of your new signature dish. This week we picked up a (comically named) long dudi, what appeared to be something of a courgette/butternut squash /potato hybrid which gently secreted a red liquid when cut. The Dudi is a technological rarity with almost no Google presence, so after a bit of experimentation we came up with this tasty simple student curry.
Incidentally, England was comfortably represented and did not fall short of great expectations. Spicy cheddar is, to quote one member present “a gift from the gods”, it is simply phenomenal and as you sink your teeth into it and unleash a flare of chili flavour in your mouth, you realise that there is something beyond the banal stereotypes of British cuisine. It came as no surprise then that there was a fair deal of extra strong mature cheddar to pick from and even sticky toffee cheddar. And of course for those with little or no taste buds left there was a decentsized slab of mild available. Traditional Blue Stilton provided ample banter for those who adhere to the noble continental lie that blue cheese found further than Calais is simply passed its sell by date by a month or two. Photo: Victor Croci
It was in the words of one distinguished guest, a long expected party; the 140 pink cloakroom tickets had sold out quicker than Facebook shares on May 18th 2012. Described as “the greatest social happening since the fall of the Berlin Wall” the Cheese & Wine society’s inaugural evening lived up to expectations as all 108 bottles of fine wine were poured out and a staggering 17 kilos of cheese reduced to mere crumbs. Photo: The Mancunion Ingredients ½ Long Dudi, chopped into chunks 2 chopped carrots 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 dried red chilli Salt & pepper 1 finely chopped onion 1 tbsp veg. oil 1 tbsp ground coriander 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp garam masala 200ml coconut cream 2 heaped tbsps ground almonds 1 handful of raisins juice of 1/2 lemon Instructions: 1. Heat the oil in a pan. 2. Add the ground coriander, pepper, turmeric and garam masala and stir fry for about 1-minute over a low heat. 3. Turn up the heat, add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for 5 minutes. 4. Add the long dudi and the carrot and continue to stir fry for another 7 minutes. 5. Add the coconut cream, ground almonds and raisins. 6. Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. 7. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and salt to taste. Serve with basmati rice. This could work with so many of the wierd and wonderful vegerables you can find on curry mile, so definitely have a go experimenting!
In terms of wine, the bottles had been carefully selected by the committee in order to offer the mass of attendees with a wide breadth of variety to quench their mostly virgin palates. Inspired by their beloved leader and President, Victor Croci, a Frenchman and notorious cork teaser, there was an understandable continental bias when it came to the 9 different reds on offer. In order to play it safe, two thirds of the wine on offer was of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape with the remaining third consisting of Merlot, Tempranillo and the odd touch of Shiraz for good measure. Naturally, like most events where the demographics are heavily inclined in favour of women, the white wine went first. Yet it
ON A
my day PLATE
The Man Who Plated Britain: this week, the Mancunian meets Marxist, Belgian refugee and Cheese and Wine Society President Victor Croci (as seen by Thomas Nixon). Food is very important to me because I come from Belgium, the culinary capital of the world. I like to keep breakfast simple: toast and butter. I live with my Mummy and Daddy and they cut the crust off my toast for me because crust is icky. By ten o’ clock, I’m normally hungry again
did so with flowing grace and so at around 10.45pm, when the pianist stop playing, every single drop of zesty Sauvignon Blanc, buttery Chardonnay and even the somewhat piquant Pinot Grigio was gone. Interestingly enough, the selection of white wine mirrored the fact that a great many distinguished guests present hailed from the new world. Australia, South Africa and California were amply represented and the Italians present were satisfied with the Pinot Grigio’s performance too. Turning towards the dairy component of the evening, what exactly does 17 kilos of scrumptious cheese look like? Well it takes up three entire tables and necessitates over 10 bunches of grapes to get through without mentioning the ridiculous 2000 cream crackers, cheese biscuits and the dozen baguettes. “I couldn’t possibly name all the cheeses which were wheeled out of the Queen Brie, a fabulous cheese shop in the Arndale food court, and onto the three large tables. There were simply too rich a variety”, replied Thomas Lalaurie, vice-President of the society, in a thick French accent. Any
so I pick up a yummy waffle. It reminds me of home because it’s rigid, divided and really bland. It feels all good in my tummy. Lunch is my favourite thing because after you’ve finished you can go out for playtime. I always have my favourite food for lunch. It is a special food from home called feves au lard avec fromage. It’s really tasty! Yum yum yum! At home time my Mummy picks me up and takes me home for an afternoon snack of Mini Cheddars. This is really nice after a hard day at school studying Bachelor of Arts European Studies and French because I always get tired after learning the language that I already speak. If I’m good, Mummy also gives me a carton of Um Bongo. My country used to own the place that Um Bongo is from in the old days and I think that’s really cool. I wanted to write about my dinner but I got sent to bed without it because I wouldn’t share
The feedback on the night was largely positive although two recurring motifs which did crop up like wind farms in Holland was the need for the cheeses to be labelled and the somewhat tricky question of door security. In the case of the latter, the second XV Sale Sharks rugby team has been made a generous offer to turn away students who, having failed to acquire a ticket, believed they were still entitled to the Lottery’s winnings. All in all, the event was widely saluted as huge step forward for the swathes of students who refuse to accept the culinary exile imposed on them by Britain’s tax rate on wine and the scarcity of affordable decent cheese available in supermarkets. It comes as no surprise then that the Cheese and Wine Society was founded in the clandestine nature of Gaff’s basement where, by candlelight, a handful of culinary revolutionaries with strong continental sympathies and ties raised their glass in a vote to create a popular movement capable of circumnavigating the dreadfully bland and flavourless wines which stock most supermarket aisles these days. Judging by this evening, they succeeded.
the Playstation with my brothers. Bye bye! By Victor Croci, aged 21 ¼
Photo: The Mancunion
/TheMancunion: Food & Drink @MancunionFood
Food & Drink 23
Feature
Feature
A Tour of Manchester’s Finest Falafel
Amber de la Haye goes in search of Middle Eastern perfection...
Manchester is a great city for the deep-fat fried chickpea, with a multitude of options from the Northern Quarter to Curry Mile and even out in the ‘burbs. However, not all falafel were created equal, so here’s a handy guide to help you traverse the terrain: Kukoos Price: £3.50 The most recent addition to Oxford road’s many lunch-break snack bars, Kukoos describes itself as bringing the sunshine to Manchester, and I’m inclined to agree. The bright orange decor, soothing Middle Eastern tracks and piles of mouth-watering super-food salads presented in huge wooden serving bowls are enough to brighten anyone’s day before you’ve so much as had a mouthful. Luckily, the food tastes as good as it looks. The falafel balls were warm and crispy, although perhaps a little dry, you get a generous helping of the salads of your choice, including a creamy curried coleslaw which lent the falafel an Indian flavour, and although the portions aren’t the largest it’s certainly filling. Kukoos is ‘street food’ however, so seating is limited, especially during the lunch rush. Special ability: You’re given the selection of a huge selection of sauces ranging from mango to mint alongside the classic tahini and hummus. Perfect for: A between lectures lunch-stop Go Falafel Price: £2.50-£3.50 Go Falafel does what it says on the tin: a tiny, fresh falafel and juice bar. Although this is very much a specialised takeaway with no seating at all and nothing on the menu but falafel, this allows them to focus on doing what they do
Photo: The Mancunion best, and they do it very well. Service is quick and friendly, often they’ll give you a free falafel ball to chew on whilst you wait for a fresh batch to be cooked up. The falafel balls are prepared on site and taste particularly fresh and flavoursome in the wrap. There’s a small range of salads for you to choose, including a vinegary red cabbage salad, spicy potatoes and pickled gherkins, all of which miraculously taste delicious together. The sauce is suitably generous and the wrap is soft but strong enough to hold the bulging falafel in place. The new branch in town is a great addition to the original curry mile outlet, with a slightly larger variety of salad. Special ability: The falafel balls are cooked to perfection, crispy but never dry.
I was pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere was relaxed despite the 80’s power ballad background music which I found myself occasionally joining in with but this might not be to everyone’s taste - and by this I don’t mean my singing! The waiters made you feel very comfortable; checking everything was alright and advising well when helping me, arguably the most indecisive person ever, what to choose! The food is all homemade and prepared in an open kitchen towards the back of the restaurant and the menu was wide ranging although a tad expensive. Presumably, in an attempt to compete with the other restaurants on Deansgate. Don’t fret though they have a set menu: a starter and a main for £14.50. We all opted for this and were not disappointed. To start my friend had the cerkez tavugu, described as shredded chicken with walnuts in garlic and mayonnaise it came looking a little ominous and my friend suggested it tasted “a bit like chicken sandwich filler”. A more successful dish was my tubule, cracked wheat with tomatoes, onions and parsley chopped up finely. It was zingy, light and refreshing, and came with lovely complementary pitta breads which was an added bonus.
Perfect for: a wallet-friendly meal out or date.
you ANSWER Victor Croci decides which supermarket’s basic wine is the lesser of two evils...
Welcome to an unorthodox wine column which uncovers the bitter truth lying at the bottom of a bottle of whatever sour grapes grow around Preston. This week I’ll be pitting two of the mightiest heavyweight champions ever to enter a student’s ring of fire: Tesco’s everyday value red vs. Sainsbury’s basic red. *Ding Ding*
Perfect for: Food on the move. Fuel Price: £4.30-£6.20 Withington’s Fuel has a wonderful atmosphere. A warm, cosy vegan and vegetarian cafe/bar with a slightly kooky design - cosy leather sofas for a
Topkapi Palace Nestled in the middle of Deansgate lies Topkapi Palace, a small Turkish restaurant. Having never been to a Turkish restaurant before I stepped inside not knowing quite what to expect...
chilled out lunch and higgledy-piggledy candle lit tables for an intimate date. They offer great drinks, with a large range of beers, ciders or freshly made coffee and incredible milkshakes, along with friendly fast service. They also have regular evenings of entertainment, so if you pick the right night you could watch a band, singer or comedy act over dinner. On the falafel front there are two options; the light bite falafel wrap or the more expensive main meal falafel burger. The wrap comes with both humus and caramelised onion chutney, which added a sweeter flavour, and the falafel balls were cooked perfectly, with a basic lettuce and tomato salad both packed into the wrap and alongside it. The falafel burger was more substantial, a typical veggie burger with gherkins, a slightly spicy tomato relish, salad, and Fuel’s amazing chunky home-made chips. The falafel options at Fuel make for a tasty meal, although they are a whole different breed of fried chickpea from the street-food options, offering an English take on this middle-eastern staple. Special ability: the lovely atmosphere makes it a joy to eat in Fuel.
weASK
Photo: The Mancunion
Faye Waterhouse tries out Turkish food for the first time. The choices for the main dishes were varied, with lamb, chicken, seafood and vegetarian options all accompanied by rice and salad, althougn I would maybe question the wisdom of including a donner kebab. It might be reassuringly familiar to some, but it’s not exactly a dish with the best gourmet credentials! I went for the Topkapi special chicken after it was recommended by the waitress. The chicken was in a tomato and onion sauce and was very tender and tasty. One friend had the moussaka and regretted her decision, saying it was “too heavy” and the rice accompaniment seemed a bit odd with this dish, but the pick of the bunch was levrek, sea bass in a pink peppercorn sauce, with two of my friends wolfing it down. Our deal didn’t include dessert and luckily we were all suitably satisfied, but we did happen to notice desserts cling-filmed in a glass cabinet which was a shame as it tainted the home-cooked, authentic feel to the rest of the meal. Overall everyone agreed Topkapi Palace proved a success, the great service and helpful staff really add to the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. Simple yet effective springs to mind and I would happily go again if I fancy a change from the usual Chinese, Indian and Italian options! Service: **** Food: ***
Let’s start with the basics, Tesco’s everyday value Spanish red wine, is as the title suggests; cheap, apparently of dubious Spanish descent and very red. It comes in a carton, which is handy because if you’ve purchased this wine then you probably aren’t someone who fusses over appearances or presentation, whether it concerns wine or yourself. As the packaging seems like a direct replication of certain long life milk products, you could probably even sneak it onto the breakfast table of your rehab common room when the warden isn’t looking. Yet priced at an extortionate £4.67, the Tesco’s marketing department clearly took pity on the student community by putting this red ‘wine’ out of financial reach. In the end, this litre of very pungent and bitter red liquid is truly abhorrent. You wouldn’t even get it animal tested unless the specimen taking the test has evolved in and about the Chernobyl postcode. In short this Spanish red wine mirror’s the story of the country’s housing market; an expensive and ill-advised investment which left you with an empty box. Now Sainsbury’s have spent a few pennies more on their basic Spanish red wine by placing it in a glass bottle. Described as an ‘easy drinking wine with light red fruit flavours’, this lures the potential buyer like a black widow lures an unsuspecting male, veiling the bitter end with a promise of sweetness… It certainly is an easy wine to drink although the entailing social implications may be a little harder to swallow. Apparently this red wine contains three different flavours but all I could discern was the painful taste of defeat and impending doom as I felt my career prospects draining away with each sip. Moreover this fine product of Sainsbury’s wine cellar has enjoyed a somewhat unjustified price hike since 2010, soaring by an appalling 75p. However at £3.50 this is certainly a perfect choice of wine to wheel out at dinner party if you openly dislike your guests. Perhaps even a fine wine when you find yourself passing out on some bins in a dark alleyway of the Curry mile, wondering what happened to your life. Tesco: O Sainsbury: 1
24
Arts & Culture
ISSUE 07/ 4th November 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Abbie Roberts, Matilda Roberts
Origami What’s how-to: on this paper week! 4th - 10th
Next Week - November Origami Sombrero!
Dyslexia Festival Launch Party Sunday 10th November 2013, The Dancehouse (M1 5QA), 6pm – 9.30pm £5 entry
Remember remember the 5th of November! Bonfire Night in Platt Fields (M14 6LA) Bonfire: 7.30pm, followed by Fireworks
Catalyst: Contemporary Art
Grayson Perry’s ‘The Vanityof SmallDifferences’ opens at Manchester Art Jalayla-Kessie observes a dark reflection of British class-inflected existence amidst Perry’s often exuberant and humorous tapestries.
Imperial War Museum North (IWMN) exhibits its very own collection of contemporary art that reveals the role of war in shaping peoples’ lives, personalities and futures through the experiences they have undergone. Bobbie Hook tells us why she thinks going to see this exhibition isn’t just an important thing to do, but a necessary one.
Image and Text: Abbie Roberts
1.Fold square paper vertically. 2.Fold top right corner to centre bottom. 3.Turn paper over. 4.Fold top right corner to centre bottom again. 5.Put thumbs into the model, separate front from back allowing side points to come together to form a square. 6.This is the completed preliminary base. 7.Fold the left and right edges to the centre. Turn paper round and repeat. 8.Fold the top point down over horizontal edges. 9.Unfold step 7 and 8. Pull bottom corner up allowing unfolded creases to guide it into position. Turn paper over and repeat. 10.Fold the right side flap across the left. Turn paper and repeat. 11.Fold bottom point up to meet the top points. Turn paper and repeat. 12.Take hold of two inner flaps and pull. 13.Crease firmly at the bottom and reverse fold the left point to make the head. Hold the base of the neck and pull the tail to make the wings flap.
Something that seems totally relevant in today’s culture is the impact of the media on our own perception of war. It’s graphic and invasive; on our TVs, computers, phones. Images of war are unfortunately commonplace and although they never lose significance, they become impersonal. The exhibition ‘Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War’ held at the Imperial War Museum North runs from 12th October 2013 to 23rd February 2014. On display are 70 works of art from the IWM collection by 40 artists of various artistic mediums ranging from painting to installation to film. This is the second largest collection of modern British art, but ‘Catalyst’ is the first major exhibition of its kind as all the work has been produced since the First Gulf War. The most interesting impression of the exhibition is the angle the curators have taken. The art is used to explain that it can fill in the gaps created by war journalism, which are surprisingly huge. It seems obvious but this exhibition couldn’t have been held in a more appropriate building. Designed by Daniel Libeskind and if you’ve seen it on the way to the Trafford Centre, it’s pretty hard to miss. Suitably dramatic and striking before you even reach the artwork, you get the sense of something profound and moving and according to the people at IWMN its striking three ‘shards’ ‘represent conflict on land, in water and in the air’. The artistic response to conflict in the media age is critical in reminding us that the media is a big influence on our perception of conflict. Afterall, it’s the only way we know what’s happening without being caught in the fray. But we’re removed from personal experience, the people involved have their own account that needs to be shared and is there a greater way than, for instance, making a page of stamps for the individual British servicemen killed in the Iraq War? (Steve McQueen, ‘Queen and Country’,from 2007)? Or presenting a real estate agents’ window of houses destroyed in Gaza in anIsraeli attack? (Taysir Batniji, ‘GH0809’, from 2009)? One notably impressive work is not in fact influenced by contemporary warfare, but is instead an up-to-date reminder of the horror of WWII. This particular piece, ‘Border’ by Darren Almond (1999), is an interactive work made up of two road signs: an entrance sign in front of an exit sign representing ‘Oswiecim’ (Auschwitz). The small space between represents the site of some of the most horrific acts of World War Two. It may be representational but the effect of stepping between the signs truly is spine-chilling. And now the pitch to get you to go: it sounds like a trek, but it’s not, hop on the X50 and you’ll be there in a tick! It’s an adventure getting out of the Oxford Road/ Piccadilly routes that we travel every day. Catalyst is perhaps the most poignant exhibition you will see this year. No conceptual craziness or unmade beds here: what you see is what you get, and what you get is something moving, thought provoking and entirely unique.
Image: flickr, Anosmia
Image: flickr, caxtonian ‘Not another ‘class conscious’ exhibition, augmenting the guilt of a middle-class crowd,’ I lamented as I joined herds of heels and tweed at the opening night of Grayson Perry’sThe Vanity of Small Differences. The opening night recruited a predominantly white, middle to upper class crowd. With complimentary wine in hand and British class issues at hand, the irony of the situation was palpably demoralizing. The plodding ritualism of the event – keeping to lowered tones of reverence for the absent artist and respecting the gallery space while sipping our Bordeaux – felt like a disservice to Perry’s arresting excavation into class and taste in modern Britain. Six epic tapestries, one acne-ridden protagonist and a narrative reflecting modern class politics - The Vanity of Small Differences is an emotionally charged shout-out to British audiences not to be fooled by neo-liberal mantras on social mobility. On the surface, the pieces follow Tim Rakewell’s rocket ascent from working class techno-genius to nouveau riche celebrity status, as signified by a shift in visual symbols from a hoover to a
Ferrari. The Vanity of Small Differences is, however, more directed at the subtle differences of taste that appear at various levels of middle class positions – as revealed in Perry’s Channel 4 documentary All in Good Taste, which is also exhibited. Tim’s character explicitly parallels William Hogarth’s eighteenth century social climber Tom Rakewell whose shallow pursuit of wealth results in a tragic death in prison. We are given the chance to follow Tom’s trajectory in a series of Hogarth prints displayed alongside the tapestries. But perhaps the more subtle comment of the exhibition is its examination of ‘small differences’ in taste across the middle class palette, from lower to uppermiddle class. Perry uses Tim’s trajectory through the middle class echelons to weave a narrative between brand-obsession at the lower and upper levels, to brand-resistance seen in an image of Tim as a yuppie family man surrounded by organic jam and vintage interiors. By mapping Tim’s progression in tastes according to subtle shifts in class status, the tapestries each embody a variations on own living rooms, inviting the viewer
to engage a strange game of ‘Where’s Wally?’ with familiar middle class brands and possessions, such as Cath Kidson bags and The Guardian. Expulsion from number 8 Eden Close satirically depicts a younger Tim fleeing his working class community, clutching his iphone to his chest and looking back aghast at ‘the horror’. His branded phone is key to the overall comment of the exhibition which marks the absurdity of attributing importance to possessions throughout, not least in the same tapestry where a handbag that is afforded its own seat at a dinner party. Finally, in Lamentation, the fickle façade of class mobility is cracked wide open as Tim lies Christ-like and exposed on the ground after a pointless crash driven by the hedonism of those over-burdened with possessions. Tim’s iphone now lies beside him, like a cracked mirror of his shattered skull. Like Tom Rakewell, Tim meets his end in the worst possible taste. While these tapestries are exuberant and humorous at times, Perry offers a necessarily black reflection of classinflected existence in Britain today.
Turner Prize ‘13: Yiadom-Boakye In the run up to the Turner Prize being announced on December 2nd, The Mancunion Arts&Culture bringsyouintroductionstothefour2013nominees. This week Matilda Roberts introduces Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Established in 1984, the Turner Prize is awarded each year to a contemporary artist under 50 living, working or born in Britain, who is judged to have put on the best exhibition of the last 12 months. Previous winners include Gilbert & George, Antony Gormley, Grayson Perry, Jeremy Deller and Damien Hirst. This year’s shortlist showcases artists whose work spans live encounters (Tino Seghal), film (Laure Prouvost), sculpture (David Shrigley), drawing and painting (Lynette Yiadom-Boakye). Born in London, of Ghanaian origin Yiadom-Boakye is the first black woman to be in contention for the Turner Prize award. She paints portraits of imaginary people, constructing them from memories of encounters with real people and scrapbook gatherings. Each work is completed within a single day – she says she never finds coming back to a work improves it. A writer and poet too, her paintings have a tantalising sense of narrative about them. Yet they are carefully ambiguous – clothing is generic, the setting is hard to discern and even the gender of the subjects is uncertain. She is nominated for her exhibition Extracts and Verses at Chisenhale Gallery. YiadomBoakye’s intriguing paintings appear traditional but are in fact much more innovative. Her portraits of imaginary people use invented pre-histories and raise pertinent questions about how we read pictures in general, particularly with regard to black subjects.
Theatre
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editor: Josephine Lane Review
25
What’s on
A Long Day’s Journey Into TOP 4 PLAYS Night TO Theatre Editor Josephine Lane reviews David Thacker’s latest production at the Bolton Octagon Theatre Undoubtedly the most famous play
hinges upon Mary Tyrone’s rapid
Thacker pulls this challenge off
from one of America’s most famous
descent into madness caused by
with ease and did well to stage the
playwrights, Eugene O’Neill’s Long
a morphine addiction, witnessed
production in-the-round, which kept
Day’s Journey Into Night opened last
by her alcohol-addicted sons and
the actors moving and created a good
week at the Bolton Octagon Theatre.
husband. Margot Leicester, who had
flow to the piece.
The play takes place over the course
the mammoth task of playing Mary
of one day, following the Tyrone
performed the role to perfection with
tragic with the mundane. Part of what
family’s tragic routine demise into the
grace, sympathy, tension and with
is so sad about the back-and-forth
past that haunts them, their addic-
excellent attention to Mary’s obses-
fighting, tension and lack of restraint
tions, problems, hypocrisy and the
sion with her hands: this element
is that the realization that this conflict
blame they put on each other. What is
was constant but was not over-done.
(aside from Mary’s ultimate decline)
commonly agreed to be the most sad
All the characterisation was very
is just a normal day for the Tyrones.
and poignant element of the text is it’s
strong, however Jessica Baglow’s no-
Having said this, the unconditional
painful autobiographical closeness to
nonsense maid Kathleen must also be
love the family hold for one another
O’Neill’s own life and family. All that
commended for bringing a light and
is a relatable to an audience, as well
is changed is, of course is the family’s
hilarious presence to the production.
as the difficult family dynamics and
surname as well as O’Neill’s ‘charac-
The challenge with a play that is
disagreements (although perhaps
essentially made up of a family who
not to the same extent). The play is
brother, Edmund and vice versa.
are constantly arguing is to keep the
well worth the trip to Bolton for the
momentum and energy up and not
beautiful writing and story coupled
to make this repetition stale. David
with flawless acting and direction.
Although unconventional in plot structure and story arc, the play
Sweeney Todd
The play beautifully balances the
ter’ taking the name of his older dead
Steven Sondheim’s classic musical comes to The Royal Exchange after being transfered from the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Except blood, gore and lots of operatic singing. Runs from the 1st November to the 30th November at the Royal Exchange Theatre
Mawgan Giles and Margot Leicester in ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’. Photo: Ian Tilton
Review
People
CATCH
Jessica Wheeler reviews Alan Bennet’s touring National Theatre play at the Lowry
Alan Bennett’s new comedy ‘People’ is immensely
charms that appear. An old flame of Dorothy’s pays an
This National Theatre touring production, directed by
fun with an expected dose of social cynicism. Bob
unexpected visit; Theodore (Paul Moriarty) the porno-
Nicholas Hynter, is delightfully funny and much lighter
Crowley’s sophisticated design depicts a decaying
graphic film producer whose offer Dorothy seizes.
than most of Bennett’s previous work. However, there
stately home somewhere in South Yorkshire. The per-
Bennett’s amusing cynicism is also directed at the
is a sense of loss and a word of scorn towards today’s
ishing house belongs to Lady Dorothy Stacpoole, who
Church of England. Dorothy’s sister, June (Selina
Britain that grumbles beneath its foundations. Ben-
persists in clinging onto it despite her younger sister’s
Cadell), is an Archdeacon, yet does not wear a cross
nett’s voice is very present on stage. He gives Dorothy
determination that it should go to the National Trust.
for her role is in administration and not all her work is
a monologue at the end that essentially reflects on the
The Trust are enthused by the historical gems the
‘entirely holy’.
state of the country today. The play is effectively an
house has to offer, particularly the full chamber pots in
Iris, played by Brigit Forsyth, is Dorothy’s wonder-
entertaining reflection on England – it’s history and it’s
the billiard room used by the likes of Elgar and Kipling.
fully perplexed companion. They are companions in
present day.
Bennett has a monumental dig at the heritage organi-
sitting and keeping warm. Forysth gives an enchant-
Dorothy, having shunned the concept of a mobile
sation, through means of satire and at times pure dec-
ingly comical performance, particularly when she is
phone, by the end has ‘caught up’ with the times; she
lamation. Lady Dorothy, performed brilliantly by an
being deceived into taking part in the ‘adult’ film. Her
uses a remote to extinguish the lights before her exit.
elegant Sian Philips, would rather her childhood home
response to being told that it was a ‘resuscitation’ being
‘People’, is an engaging production that is moving at
be the set of a porn film than be claimed by National
performed on the four-poster bed was, ‘I’ve never
times and wholly gratifying throughout.
Trust. The full chamber pots are not the only historical
heard it being called that before.’
The Real Thing Manchester University’s Drama Society presents Tom Stoppard’s ‘The Real Thing’. The play looks at art mirroring life in the theatre as well as marriage and adultery. Runs from the 6th to 8th November in the John Thaw Theatre atthe Martin Harris Centre
Kindertransport Diane Samuel’s contemporary play about children in the Holocaust looks at how we survive after suffering deep emotional trauma and how this can be passed on through the generations. Runs from the 6th to 9th November at the MMU Capitol Theatre
My Favourite Scene
my
FAVOURITE SCENE
Henrik Ibsen created controversy in 1896 when his play ‘A Doll’s House’ featured a free-spirited woman, Nora, leaves her husband, Torvald Helmer, along with her children, after Helmer disowns her for borrowing money for him. In these final moments of the play, Nora reveals she is leaving Helmer , and then does so, shutting the door behind her. Nora:That’s right. Now it is all over. I have put the keys here. The maids know all about everything in the house--better than I do. Tomorrow, after I have left here, Christine will come here and pack up my own things that I brought with me from home. I will have them sent after me. Helmer: All over! All over!--Nora, shall you never think
This week, Theatre Editor Josephine Lane tells us of another of her favourite theatrical scenes, from Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’.
of me again? Nora: I know I shall often think of you, the children, and this house. Helmer: May I write to you, Nora? Nora: No--never. You must not do that. Helmer: But at least let me send you-Nora: Nothing--nothing-Helmer: Let me help you if you are in want. Nora: No. I can receive nothing from a stranger. Helmer: Nora--can I never be anything more than a stranger to you? Nora (taking her bag): Ah, Torvald, the most wonderful thing ofall would have to happen. Helmer: Tell me what that would be! Nora: Both you and I would have to be so changed that-
Oh, Torvald, I don’t believe any longer in wonderful things happening. Helmer; But I will believe in it. Tell me! So changed that--? Nora: That our life together would be a real wedlock. Goodbye. (She goes out through the hall.) Helmer (sinks down on a chair at the door and buries his face in his hands): Nora! Nora! (Looks round, and rises.) Empty. She is gone. (A hope flashes across his mind.) The most wonderful thing of all--? (The sound of a door shutting is heard from below)
Cissie and Ada: An Hysterical Rectomy The immortal comic characters created by the late Les Dawson, aided and abetted by Roy Barraclough, are brought to life for the stage in this hilarious new play. Runs on 5th November at the Lowry Theatre
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Lauren Arthur, Moya Crockett, Beth Currall, Izzy Dann Ask Izzy
IZZY an earnest attempt to cure all your woes. Tweet any burning issues, genital or otherwise, to @izzydann flatmates have started Q My up a most hurtful habit. They always make an effort to cook dinner together yet never invite me to join them. In between meals, they also hold very public conversations about what recipe they’re going to try next time, who will buy what, and all the while I’m standing there and they just pretend I don’t exist or something. What can I do? the university’s A Join Cheese and Wine Society and offer up your flat for regular domestic sessions. Think about it: your flatmates will be prepping and preening themselves for another wild night in on their distinctly mediocre spaghetti bolognese, then suddenly the doorbell rings and a chaotic sea of beaded bubbles, brie, and beautiful Francophiles descends upon your kitchen. Amidst all the madness, your flatmates find themselves and their monotonous spoils exiled to the superego safety of their bedrooms while you revel in the Bacchian that is now your kitchen. Repeat within reason and, should you need to fill any spare dinnertime space in between, I recommend inviting my previously suggested Naked Communal Cooking Society. got a friend with a Q I’ve peculiar preference for dating fellow friends’ exes, and he’s even been known to make a move on our current affairs (including my own). How should I address the situation? him that everyone’s A Inform had words and that he might want to get himself tested for syphilis.
Do you have a problem that you’d like solved? Send it in to lifestyle@ mancunion.com
Feature
How to: live on £20 a week
A recent NUS survey revealed what we already know: student loans are insufficient to cover most students’ living costs. Will self-confessed big spender Jess Kharrazi be able to survive on just £20 a week? When I told my friends I was going to try to live on £20 a week, the general reaction was one of laughter and disbelief, “YOU!?” The task itself didn’t seem absurd to them, just the idea that I could actually manage it. Unfortunately and unintentionally, I’m a girl with somewhat expensive tastes. When looking for an iPhone cover online, the only one I could find that I actually liked turned out to be the world’s most expensive, at a whopping $35,000. My (quite frankly ridiculous) taste, inconveniently, does not match my horrendously low bank balance. So, I wanted to show that anyone, even me, could survive and still have fun on a limited weekly budget. The only cheats I have allowed myself for this week are my annual bus pass and a few spices we already had in the kitchen. So here we have it, my guide on how to live on £20 a week.
Day 1 Money spent : £12.05 Number of bus passes lost: 1 Yes, in under twenty-four hours I have managed to spend over half my weekly budget and ‘misplace’ my bus pass, the one cheat I had allowed myself for the week. Well done me! Consequently I embark on the long walk home from Lidl with the groceries I hope will get me through the week. My shopping bags contain pasta, pesto, mince, bread, butter, ham and tinned tomatoes – perhaps with the severe shortage of fruit and vegetables, it won’t be such a bad thing to have to travel by foot from now on. I stop by New Zealand Wines to purchase my first year favourite, twofor-£5 wine. Red Rum have a free night on tonight, so armed with my bottle of vinegar, I am still able to go to a classic Manchester night of “underground house and techno”. It would be stretching the truth to say that Red Rum is the place to be on this particular Monday night, but a bottle of New Zealand Wines’ finest can turn any night into a laugh. The music went down well with the crowd of 15 people, and if you’re with the right people you can have a great night anywhere!
renewed travel freedom, I want to go to Soup Kitchen for North by North West’s £1 night. However, this night out turns out to be purely hypothetical. I could have spent £1 on a ticket and polished off my second bottle of wine, but I’ve discovered that the real challenge this week isn’t living on a budget but coaxing out my friends, who have developed a serious case of third-year boringness. Symptoms include saying things like, “I’d like to but I can’t,” “I have a 9 o’clock start,” or the worst, “Shouldn’t you be working too?”
and sauce. As a student in Fallowfield or Withington, you’re lucky enough to have a large array of house parties to choose from every weekend. Most follow a strict formula: dark basements lit with fairy lights and a very serious student DJ playing whatever’s deemed as the music of the moment. Last year it was all deep house; this semester, groovy disco tunes seem to have taken control. Nonetheless everyone loves a house party and they’re a fun, FREE way to spend your weekends!
Day 4
Money left to spend: 45p
Money spent: 66p I’m getting slightly bored of the food routine, so decide to spice up my breakfast by putting pesto on my toast. Verdict: odd but delicious. Out of laziness I go to Sainsbury’s to buy a tin of kidney beans and a tin of chickpeas; it would probably have been cheaper elsewhere but sometimes convenience is worth a few extra pennies. I make a makeshift chilli con carne for dinner, using any vaguely red-coloured spice I can find in the kitchen.
Days 5 and 6 Money spent: £5.54 I am running low on food and alcohol for the weekend, so it’s back to New Zealand Wines for a wine top up and to Aldi for pasta
Day 7 I’ve done it! With a few pennies to spare, I treat myself to a welldeserved apple. Fruit has been seriously lacking in my diet over the past week, and this is definitely a welcome break from pasta. If healthy eating isn’t a main priority, you have an endless appetite for pasta and you’re not too fussed about the nights you go to, then living life on £20 a week is a breeze. With some clever investigation on Skiddle to find Manchester’s cheapest nights, a taste for vinegary wine, and an excuse to load up on carbs, this week hasn’t been as challenging as I thought it might be. With that said, now that I’ve proved I can do it, I am thankful to be able to spend a little more on my food shop next week. Hello, chicken! Hello, vegetables!
It’s...
Day 2
Money spent : 30p Luckily the hangover that comes with cheap wine means I can happily TV have a cheap day and night. I walk to and from uni, pick up an onion from Meezan on the way home, and munch on some bolognaise while watching The Great British Bake Off.
Day 3 Money spent: £1 Thank you to the good people of Manchester who have returned my bus pass! I can now stop pretending to enjoy the crisp air and light showers on my way to and from uni. To celebrate my
Photo: Images_of_Money @Flickr
Photo: Images of Money @ Flickr
TV
The aristocrats are back: MIC returns They’re posh, rich and kind of awkward – and we just can’t get enough, Rowena Cox-Willmott gives her verdict on Series Six
After weeks of anticipation, Made in Chelsea has returned to our screens, bringing with it the tears, drama and awkward silences that we seem to love so much. After last season’s antics and really important political and moral messages (obvs), the question on the tip of everyone’s tongue: will this season live up to the caviar and Moët standards of old? Even though I wouldn’t say I am MIC’s biggest fan, there’s no denying that it’s fantastic to see the old familiar faces. The whole gang’s there: Rosie ‘Weird Eyes’ Fortescue, weepy Louise, evil Spenny (who, as the villain, should really have the Jaws theme tune playing every time he walks into shot), and the ever-lovable trio of Jaime Laing, Proudlock (he has only one name, like Madonna or Cher, because he’s THAT cool) and my favourite, Francis Boulle. Maybe he’s my favourite because he’s unlucky in love, maybe it’s because he’s ginger and therefore fabulous. But, it’s most likely because he’s constantly basking in the beautiful prisms of his diamond empire, and subsequently always as happy as Larry! Whichever way, we love him. Season six looks to be promising us even more treats, as we are continuously introduced to more characters. So far we’ve met Louise’s brother Sam (who is probably 17 but definitely a stone cold fox), a man called Miffy (proving that unequivocal ‘poshness’ is fully equipped
to break gender barriers) and a gentleman named Freddie, who actually seems pretty insignificant… Who knows, maybe his daddy runs Channel 4. And of course, to everyone’s delight, we’ve been gifted another reality TV villain in the shape of Stephanie Pratt! Huzzah,
Anyway, apparently poor old weepy Louise has been misbehaving again, this time after Ascot. The cheek of it! Clearly the horses, sexy Italian midgets and champagne left her feeling a bit fruity, prompting wimpy-turned-rugged boyfriend Andy to call it a day. One can only
Photo: e4 press image
an American! How culturally diverse and ontrend. We should expect even more furore around the revelation that Louise famously spent the night with One Direction’s Niall Horan. Yes, Niall. Not the lovable curly-haired Harry Styles of your dreams, but Niall, the 13-year-old Irish one who I’m not sure has even hit puberty yet.
guess what this new situation will bring... More tears, perhaps? It looks as though Louise will be helped out in that department, though, as we’ve also seen Ice Queen Lucy shed tears after she TOO was swindled by evil Spencer. Maybe these two should just stop their fighting and join forces to create a scorned woman’s club, where they
can go shopping and bitch together. If Sex and The City has taught us anything, this is what women do. Or they could read some feminist literature and realise that their happiness shouldn’t revolve around men… but hey, each to their own. Anywho, a highlight for me so far is a quote by Mark-Francis – a man so posh it sounds like he constantly has six plums in his mouth – saying to Binky Felstead while sitting in a rocking rowing boat: “You capsize this boat, I capsize your world.” Powerful stuff, M-F. Keep it coming. A bunch of other stuff has gone on, but nothing of any real importance, apart from a cameo from Axl Rose – oops, sorry, I mean Phoebe Lettice – who was clearly vybzing off memories from her gap yah. I mean, cane rows on a white girl is totes a great look, yah. All in all, this season promises more of the same: quite a lot of things happening while nothing really happens at all. However, we can guarantee that there will be lots of Bloody Marys and love triangles (sometimes at the same time), helping to give us an insight into the dog-eat-dog world that is the Kings Road. So thanks, Made in Chelsea, even though it’s impossible not to hate you a little bit, you seem to have a hold on us that makes it impossible to turn you off. All I can say is, bring on Monday nights.
/TheMancunion: Lifestyle @MancunionLife
Lifestyle
Health and Wellbeing
Winter warm-ups
Exercise is never easy when it’s cold, wet and windy. Amy Bowden tells us how to stay healthy and motivated during the winter slump
Winter is on its way, which means after a busy day at uni we must all barricade ourselves indoors with a hot beverage in one hand and the TV remote in the other, right? So I’m also guessing that all of the hard work you put in for that ‘summer body’ is to be thrown out of the window? We are all guilty of hibernating over the winter period as well as eating our body weight in chocolate treats and hot, heavy dinners. And let’s face it, the festive period which is fast creeping around the corner doesn’t exactly help with our diet plans. Although motivation levels are running low as the cold weather creeps up on us, we must re-inspire ourselves to keep fit during this upcoming season. Only one change is required: your mindset! So here are some tips on how to stay motivated:
Running in the rain: worth it in the end. Photo: Stuart Grout @ Flickr pasta/bread.
Careers
27
CAREER CORNER
Where former Manchester students report back from the ‘real world.’ This week, we chat to Helena Malcolm
Train for an event Any big 21st birthdays coming up? Or want to feel fabulous on New Year’s Eve in that glitzy number you’ve been hiding away because you’re too comfortable in baggy jumpers? How about signing up for the next 5km run? There’s nothing like a short-term goal to keep your mind focussed and on track with your training. Start off by doing three thirty minute jogs a week, and build it up as and when you feel confident. You can even update your playlist with festive tunes to get in the Christmas spirit. Winter is also the best time for running as it’s not too hot, and you’ll find yourself running faster to keep warm!
Try something new and set a goal Don’t like running much? No problem! Set a weight loss target for yourself and work
towards and beyond it. Try an indoor class if you don’t think you can face running in the torrential rain. How about Zumba, yoga, dance classes or netball? You may even make some new friends and learn new skills. So find your nearest class and get burning those calories! Alternatively, you could do a home workout, whether that be a new workout DVD, investing in some fitness equipment or if you’re feeling adventurous, create your own exercise routine. Have a look at some You Tube workout videos that have proven to be very useful to some.
Diet Post-workout food? Protein helps your body repair itself so eat plenty of eggs, chicken, beans, salmon, tuna and so on. Foods with fibre: brown rice, whole-wheat
Metabolism boosters: Green tea, grapefruit, oats, turkey, almonds, berries, broccoli. Low calorie snack ideas: fresh fruit, low fat yoghurt, olives, vegetables. The key aspect to keep in mind with any diet is ‘balance’. Ensure that you maintain a healthy diet of carbs, but good carbs such as whole-grain foods and potatoes, milk and dairy foods, protein and fruit and veg.
Reward yourself After all of this hard work you definitely deserve a treat, whether that be a new outfit for your new and improved body, or a glass/ bottle of wine. Fancy a takeaway one evening? A treat every so often is fine as long as you keep motivated. So why not use 20 minutes out of the 1440 you have in a day for a great winter workout!
Sex and relationships
Why I hate texting
Texting is many people’s preferred form of communication. But, says our old-fashioned correspondent Emmanuel Demuren, it adds nothing to romance. Call me cynical if you like, but I absolutely detest texting. Not texting generally as a means of communication, but as a means to an end – that end being forming some kind of lasting, tangible bond with a member of the opposite sex (or same sex if you are that way inclined), and to find out whether you are romantically compatible through the medium of words on a screen. Small talk by text is boring. I cannot, for the life of me, keep up the façade that I actually give a shit what they’re eating for dinner, what they’re doing in the day tomorrow (when you know full well that they’ll be in the library), or what their favourite colour is (OK this never happens, but you get the point). Not because I don’t care, but because these small, trivial (yet important) points
should be discussed when you actually see the person. There is a positive motive behind this rant, I promise. There just seems to be something missing when flirting by text, and in person is always better. The fact that you can’t see how the other person is responding is a crucial problem; body language is a massive part of any interaction, not to mention something as complicated and potentially frustrating as a romantic one. My worry is that the phenomenon of text flirting is part of a wider culture of social regression in which we have become so unashamedly absorbed in technology that we are losing elements of our culture that we cherished in the past. It represents a process of desensitisation that ultimately makes our
society less and less concerned with truly human interaction. As novelist Aldous Huxley writes, “technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” Written many years ago, this statement is disturbingly relevant to modern day society. I’m not suggesting that flirting by text is going to completely replace actual interaction, but we should keep an eye on our usage of technology in romantic situations, as it can create an unnecessary superficial boundary between two people. Romance isn’t dead just yet, but as members of a generation that is becoming alarmingly obsessed with technology, we must be careful not to be accomplices in its demise.
Helena graduated from the University of Manchester in 2007 with a first in BA(Hons) Drama with English. She currently works in the charity sector as the Senior Partnerships Executive at the Alzheimer’s Society. What are your main responsibilities in your current role? I’m responsible for seeking out and securing new business, and account managing large partnerships with the corporate sector.
How did your career progress after graduation? I went travelling for a year after I graduated, and then began working in the charity sector, interning as an events assistant for three months. I was then offered a paid role in sales for a charity. I progressed to a fundraising agency in the client services team, account managing a portfolio of high profile charities, and worked there for two years. I moved to the Alzheimer’s Society eighteen months ago, and have been working in corporate fundraising ever since.
How has your degree helped you in your career? The performance aspect of my degree has hugely enhanced my ability to present, pitch and speak in public. I also developed a high level of written skills through both sides of my degree, and these have leant themselves to my responsibilities writing pitches, proposals and copy both on and offline.
What would you say has been your greatest achievement to date? I would say achieving a first in my degree, and completing the London Marathon this year!
What advice would you give to someone thinking of pursuing a similar career route? The charity sector is an incredibly fulfilling industry to work in and there are all sorts of areas that you can work within it. It’s a competitive industry, so you need to get experience by volunteering, taking an interest in policy and public affairs that affect the third sector, and be passionate about the cause.
What qualities does you need to succeed in charity corporate fundraising? You need to be business savvy, have excellent personal skills and be able to communicate in an empathetic and persuasive manner in writing and face to face.
For careers advice, visit careers.manchester.ac.uk. A poor substitute for face-to-face action? Photo: Jhaymesisviphotography @ Flickr
Moya Crockett
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
SPORT
/TheMancunion @Mancunion_Sport
Sports Editors: Andrew Georgeson, Tom Dowler and Thomas Turner
29
Contact: sport@mancunion.com
Club Profile- Athletics and Cross Country The Mancunion talks to women’s crosscountry captain Hannah Wilson 1) Why should people join your club? Our club provides members with the opportunity to train, compete and socialise with the combined interest of running which is so often thought of as a solitary sport. We pride ourselves in welcoming all abilities and unlike other sports are not limited to number of team positions, so therefore have a ‘more the merrier’ approach! 2) How successful has your club been over the past few seasons? The Manchester Relays were held on the 5th October, and our results were as follows: the men’s A team finished 16th out of 52 teams entered and the women’s A team finished 8th out of the 50 teams entered. In the Manchester area league we had some great performances, especially in the women’s
section, with Hannah Brown finishing 1st in the 17-19 category and 8th overall out of a massive 212 entries. 3) Where and how often do your teams train/play? We usually meet at the Armitage centre. Training is four times a week, plus any races or sunday morning training as extras. We currently have six fixed races organized by various universities which we are entering. We will also have more competitions on top of this. 4) Do you have to be of a high standard to join your club? No, as previously mentioned our club is open to all abilities, as such we have a range of members from the complete beginner to the elite athlete! 5) What is the social side of the club like? Socially we excel as a club with
near on weekly events. Major social events for the calendar include the christmas dinner, AGM, Didsbury dozen pub crawl and BBQ. With this level of socialising, opportunities it really would be hard to not feel included in our club. By joining the club you automatically become a member of ‘Alehouse’, this is a way that past members remain actively involved in the club and the fact that we have so many past members return for races and socials alike is a real testimony to the level of enjoyment people gain from our club! 6) Anything else? Our next big event is trip to Edinburgh, we are entering Edinburgh Braid Hills. For more information see: https://www.facebook.com/ UMACCC https://twitter.com/UoMXC
Club Profile- Volleyball The Mancunion speaks to club secretaryJose Puello 1) Why should people join your club? Volleyball is a great sport; it is quick, there are good rallies and there’s never a dull game because there’s always a fantastic dive for the ball, an excellent hit (or spike) or a shattering block. We offer a good opportunity for interested students to not only play volleyball but also meet, play and party with new people from all over the world. 2) How successful has your club been over the past few seasons? We have two men’s and two women’s teams. Our women’s first team have been playing in division one for a long time, getting to BUCS finals on a consistent basis. Our First men’s team won the BUCS Trophy a couple of years ago
Club Profile - Ultimate Frisbee The Mancunion speaks to club President Matthew Nancekievill 1) Why should people join your club? This club is made up of people who are up for trying something different. Almost no one has played Ultimate Frisbee before coming to University, so the club is incredibly welcoming to complete beginners looking to get into a new sport as well as maintaining a high National standard. 2) How successful has your club been over the past few seasons? The men’s squad has been incredibly successful lately as Regional champions in indoor and outdoor for the last five years. Plus they won medals at the past four indoor national championships (three Silvers
and a Bronze). We are looking to continue that trend and add an outdoor medal to our tally, bettering our fourth place finish last year. The women’s team are always competitive and tend to do strongly at regionals. The mixed team has ironically had mixed success with bronze medals at nationals being the high points. However, they always qualify for the National competition. 3) Where and how often do your teams train/play? We have club trainings twice a week. Wednesday 2pm4pm at Platt Fields park and Friday 8pm-10pm indoors at the Armitage centre. We also run an extra session for squad members wanting to compete
about with. Twin this with the Ultimate Frisbee exclusive “3-pint challenge” (you can fit 3 pints into an upturned Frisbee…) and you have yourself some incredible socials!
and until last year were in the first division. It is great for the teams and the spectators because we get extremely good opposition in matches, it makes our job that much tougher, yet enjoyable! 3) Where and how often do your teams train/play? Depending on the level of the player, they will train on different days. As a club our aim is to provide two trainings a week no matter your level. Our teams train side by side (not mixed) on Mondays and Fridays but we have mixed beginners session and social sessions with men and women on adjacent courts every Sunday. And most of the sessions take place in Sugden Sports Centre. 4) Do you have to be of a high standard to join your club?
6) Anything else? We have a very busy indoor calendar, having played three tournaments already and have another five before Christmas! You can keep up to date
Absolutely not! We welcome anyone interested in trying volleyball. If you’re completely new to volleyball we will teach you the basics and in time give you the opportunity to advance and try-out for the teams if you so wish. 5) What is the social side of the club like? Away from the court, we are still a busy club. We have organised games’ night, Laser Quest, house parties and of course the AU social! Most importantly, every year we organise a trip abroad to play some beach volleyball. 6) Anything else? Contact us on facebook: (University of Manchester Volleyball Club) Plus follow us on Twitter @UoMVolleyball.
with our scores by following @umultimate and can follow us as we aim to become regional champions for the 6th year running on the 26th/27th Oct!
in tournaments. These are 9pm11pm at the Armitage for the men and 7pm-9pm on a Monday at Belle Vue for the women. 4) Do you have to be of a high standard to join your club? ANYONE OF ANY ABILITY IS WELCOME!! As it is still a minority sport, roughly 90% of the club have never played before coming to University, so we welcome everyone to participate as we will teach the necessary skills to play Ultimate to a high level. 5) What is the social side of the club like? The club has a family-like atmosphere in that everyone looks out for each other and are just great people to hang
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SPORT : 30
ISSUE 07/ 4th NOVEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Boylan hot Sam sinks Chester Depleted Manchester come from one down to maintain winning start Josh Cook and Rob Eden Sport Reporters Reading week has taken its toll on the sporting teams across the University, none more so than all four men’s football teams, who saw themselves facing a full fixture list on Wednesday, with the majority of their players unavailable for selection. Despite these setbacks, the management succeeded in putting out four strong teams to compete, but this left the first and second teams with no substitutes as they welcomed Chester to the Armitage centre on Wednesday afternoon. UoM took to the field in a 3-5-2 formation and started the first half brightly with an early chance for CarterAllen. The ball was worked forward by Hornby on the right-hand side and Carter-Allen found himself 15 yards out with his back to goal. With a shoulder drop to his right he left his marker wrong footed but unfortunately, his shot lacked real force and was easily saved by the Chester keeper. This was an early sign of things to come and two minutes later a near identical move forced the goalkeeper into action once more. A ferocious shot from Carter-Allen was well held and Manchester sensed an early goal wasn’t far away. In the opening 20 minutes Manchester were well on top and should’ve made their dominance count. Every move seemed to be played into Carter-Allen who, on another day, could have found himself taking home the match ball. Chester struggled to really get going in the first 25 minutes and their captain was left up front to fight for any scraps he could latch on to. A task that is easier said than done when facing the commanding figure of Guy AnsahPalmer who returned to his favoured role of centre-back after enjoying stints
up front in the last couple of weeks. He certainly led by example issuing orders throughout the match, and hardly put a foot wrong at the heart of the UoM defence. Despite their early struggles, Chester found themselves in the lead after half an hour when their captain danced round the keeper and squared the ball to an advancing midfielder who smashed the visitors ahead with their first shot on goal. Manchester were shocked into a response and they found it just two minutes later as Sam Boylan smashed a wonder strike into the top corner from all of 30 yards. The relieved Manchester team breathed a sigh of relief as they returned to the half-way line to calls of calm from the side-lines. Boylan’s goal served as inspiration for the nippy midfielder who looked a different player from then on, charging forward skilfully on many occasions and serving as a talisman for the UoM side for the remainder of the first period. With 35 minutes gone, Mackintosh found himself on the end of a
crunching tackle that would see him sidelined for the remainder of the game; credit must be given for his attempts to continue given Manchester’s depleted team. Half-time came and Manchester’s frustration was there for all to see. As the players returned to the field, the message from the manager was clear: ‘Take your chances and we will win the game’. However, Manchester came out of the blocks slowly in the second half. Chester dominated the first five minutes of the second half and could have easily taken the lead had their captain not been controversially adjudged offside. Sensing the pressure, the first team coach called upon Anderson from the second team who made his way onto the field in place of the injured Mackintosh and it was the second eleven who would take the burden of reading week. Seven minutes into the second half, Manchester took the lead on the counter. Carter-Allen was in the forefront yet again, as he broke forward
confidently and with the Chester defence stretched covering options on both sides. He chose to play the ball to his right to Hanbury-Williams, who struck the ball sweetly to the keepers left, leaving him no chance. A great team move and Manchester had their just rewards for their dominance. It was one way traffic again and on the hour, another flowing move from the midfield split the Chester defence in half and Jack Warren put the icing on the cake with his shot taking a deflection, ending up in the back of the away net. After the early excitement, the second half mirrored the first - with constant Manchester pressure. Chester only looked threatening on the break. The best chance of the last 30 minutes fell to Boylan who still looked inspired from his wonder goal. Showing great individual flair, Boylan went past two defenders, gave a reverse pass to the right hand side of the box, continued his run and was unlucky to not grab a second on the incoming cross which ran inches in
front of his outstretched leg. Manchester’s goalkeeper Heltorp was troubled just once in the Manchester goal and saved well to keep any hope of a Chester fight-back to a minimum. The final whistle blew and Manchester had a deserved three points from the match, however, they can feel slightly frustrated that the score-line flattered the visitors, who failed to put our back three under any real pressure. Chester looked tired and sloppy in the midfield for most of the game. Man of the Match went to Boylan who was Manchester’s most creative player and scorer of the best goal of the afternoon. After the match, Boylan summed up his wonder goal as a bit of a surprise - it was amazingly on his weaker foot and he claimed that he always seemed to miss in training. He was obviously just saving the goals for when it matters. Next up for the first team is a trip to Leeds Carnegie on Wednesday with a place at the top up for grabs.
Carter-Allen
Hanbury
Hornby
Jones
Kolonas
Boylan
Mackintosh
Jowett
Ansah-Palmer (C)
Warren
Heltorp
Roos rally UMRLFC in World Cup break
The Mancunion Sport speaks exclusively to Aussie international Brent Tate as the World Cup favourites take some time out in Manchester Tom Dowler and Andrew Georgeson Sport Editors On Tuesday, the Men’s Rugby League squad took part in and won a touch rugby tournament held at Bell Vue Leisure Centre in Longsight. However, this wasn’t just another opportunity for UoM to put one over their rivals from Salford and Manchester Metropolitan University. It was a chance to impress members of the Australian National Rugby League side who chose Manchester as their host city for the World Cup. The worldclass players were on hand to sign autographs and to pass on their wealth of experience to the next generation of players. Mancunion Sport spoke to UoM’s first team captain Chris Bates about the afternoon with the team which most pundits agree are Rugby League World Cup Champions in-wait. “We competed in and won a touch
tournament against other Manchester Colleges, Salford and Man Met as well as the Canalsiders. “It was great for the lads to meet some of their idols, especially given that these are literally the best players in the World currently.”
Local rugby league clubs and schools from the Greater Manchester area also had a chance to meet their Aussie heroes, even though the majority of the kids didn’t have a clue who they were waiting patiently for to get their shirts autographed!
Australian centre Brent Tate spoke exclusively to Mancunion Sport about his experiences at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup which kicked off in Cardiff on Saturday 26th October. The injury ravaged Wallaby has undergone three knee reconstructions in his career, famously snapping his ACL in his last game for Australia in the 2010 Four Nations final. He made his comeback in the 28-20 victory over England in the opening fixture of the 2013 Rugby World Cup, and after months of rehabilitation it was a relief for him to get back on the pitch: “It was really important to get off to a great start in Cardiff against England and it was a fantastic experience. “We’re expecting a very tough battle against Fiji this weekend, they are a very physical side and we know the Sims brothers very well.” Despite Tom’s accidental mimicking of Brent’s accent with the pronunciation of Fiji as ‘Fee-gee’, the injury-plagued North Queensland Cowboy had only
positive comments to make about Manchester and the event aimed at the root of the rugby league community: “It’s been really good, mate. Pretty cold, but it’s been a nice change! “The people here are lovely, and the kids have been great. “It’s all about the community, which is great as they don’t play that much footie (Rugby League) here normally. “It makes it really worth our while when we get a response like this from the locals and we saw some very talented youngsters today.” Manchester’s UoM rugby league side are currently the only unbeaten BUCS team in Manchester. Recent excellent results include the demolition of Lancaster away on Wednesday (68-12) and cruising to victory away to Bangor (43-14). These have helped Manchester to the top of the Northern 2A League. All the hard work in training seems to be paying off and it seems that the Kangaroos’ visit boosted morale even further.
First team ease to victory in mixed week for Netball teams Helen Gavin UMWNC Club Captain
After an excellent start to the season for the UMWNC 1st team with wins against both Leeds Met and Leeds Uni, they went into the match against Northumbria brimming with confidence - knowing that a victory would see them remain at the top of the table.
With all four sport scholars taking to the court (Housby, B.Payne, C.Payne and De Winton) it was always going to be tough for Northumbria, and this was quickly affirmed in the first quarter when Manchester stormed into the lead. With fluent and precise netball from defence through to attack, the lead widened in the second quarter with
brilliant interceptions from both Bradley and Coates (first team captain) to maintain the pressure on Northumbria’s nervous centre court. This game was a different story last season, as Manchester had to beat Northumbria to stay in the Premiership in their last game, which just shows the improvements which have been made with the addition of exception-
ally talented Freshers and extremely productive training sessions. The match was finally won 56-32 to Manchester, an easy victory but none the less an important one as next week see’s them face the league favourites Loughborough. The rest of the club had a mixed day: after a bright start to the season the 2nd team lost 31-20 to Man Met 1st’s
and the 3rd’s lost away at Chester 36-29 after winning their first two matches. The 4th team won 34-22 and are still unbeaten with a great chance of winning the league and the 5th team won against Chester 3rd’s with a impressive score line of 56-11. The 6th team didn’t play this week but are definite contenders to win the Campus League.
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UoM retain varsity crown All of the action and reaction from the Silver Blades Ice Dome, by Thomas Turner, Josh Cook and Rob Eden
Continued from back page. Shortly afterwards, MMU goaltender Tom McDonald made a spectacular save, which impressed both sets of supporters. However, moments later Joe Greaves nearly broke the net with a power strike of his own, leaving McDonald grasping at thin air. And Greaves’ strike was to be the one which decided the game as UoM ended the second period 5-3 up. Ice Hockey is famously brutal as a contact sport and fighting is even an accepted and respected tradition in the sport. Finally, the fight that the crowd paid their entry fees for began after Pollitt and Revesz clashed in the middle
of the ice. The slight scuffle got the crowd going; however, sharp observers will have noticed that both players
had great big grins on their faces throughout, which took something away from the drama. Both teams rotated their rosters intelligently throughout the match and
Face in the crowd!
both sides gave their three goaltenders time on the ice, allowing them to experience the exciting occasion in front of an appreciative crowd. Phil Pearson, who kept net in the final third made a remarkable save to keep MMU in the game at 5-3. MMU threw everything they could at UoM in search of a comeback, but were persistently thwarted by the superb goaltending of number 25 Robyn Maby. The third period saw a few minor sin bins for various offences including hooking and other forms of interference, with tiredness playing a factor in both sides’ discipline. However, UoM kept cool heads under
Been before? We came down last year and enjoyed it. We have a friend playing this year which was a good excuse to come again! Hopefully the atmosphere will be just as good this year - but with a Man Met victory. Preditcion: UoM 7-10 MMU
University: University of Manchester Been before? Miranda: I am a self-confessed regular; the others are new to the game! Hoping for a few fights and a landslide University of Manchester Victory. Preditcions: Annelie UoM 7-5, Natalie UoM 11-6, Miranda UoM 15-2, Jack UoM 8-4 and Jess UoM 13-9.
With less than two minutes left on the game clock, both teams used their time outs in quick-succession in order to plan their final assaults. MMU even chose to bring their goaltender off in
Were you at the Varsity on Tuesday night? Tweet your thoughts and any pictures you have of you and your friends there on the night to @mancunion_sport
I quite enjoyed that it was a very physical game... the goals that did go in were pretty decent... I think the crowd enjoyed it.
University: Former students at Man Met
Names: Annelie, Natalie, Miranda, Jack and Jess
the final stages of the game, adding another attacking player to the fray. However, this bold move was too little, too late and the buzzer sounded, with UoM crowned Varsity champions for the second year in succession. After the match, both teams circled the rink, applauding the crowd and the trophy was presented to UoM’s captain Drakeley. Who was also deservedly named man-of-the-match.
Rink-side reaction
Names: Chris, Chris and Peter (left to right)
Face in the crowd!
pressure with goaltender Maby arguably pulling off the best save of the match.
Photo: Martin Klefas-Stennett
UoM Captain Max Drakeley
We weren’t going out there to kill eachother... perhaps we were overly physical when it wasn’t necessary. We didn’t really test the keepers enough.
Face in the crowd!
Name: Daniel Ingram (right) University: Salford Been before? I’ve never been to the Varsity game before but I often go to the Manchester Phoenix games. Been a fan of Ice Hockey for 6 years now. I support my hometown team the Cardiff Devils. Preditcion: I don’t know the teams so I can’t say sadly!
Face in the crowd!
Name: Jakob Brinkløv (top left) and Dave May (bottom left). All part of Manchester Tyrants American Football team. University: University of Manchester Been before? It’s our first varsity game, but I ( Jakob) played in Denmark when I was younger. Hoping for plenty of fights and a UoM win! Preditcion: 8-3 and 7-3 to UoM!
MMU Captain Tom Wilson
Photo: Martin Klefas-Stennett
Also... Jakob’s message for UoM’s goaltender Robyn Maby - call me Maby?
Top tweets and the best of the live-blog 17 for MMU seems a real feisty hooker, he’s back in the bin nearly immediately
As we experience problems without our internet connection I’ve been made to eat my words as MMU have managed to get a goal
SPORT
4TH NOVEMBER 2013/ ISSUE 07 FREE
MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
UMRLFC meet the Aussies
P.30
Football Report
P.30
: @Mancunion_Sport : /TheMancunion
WWW.MANCUNION.COM
More Varsity Reaction P.31
Pucking fantastic! UoM retain varsity crown after a thrilling contest in Altrincham University of Manchester
5
Schock, Revesz, Drakeley (x2), Greaves. Manchester Metropolitan 3 Brown, Graf, Gunn Tom Dowler Sport Editor The eagerly anticipated second annual Ice Hockey varsity saw a crowd of over 500 take rink-side seats to witness UoM beat MMU 5-3 at the Altrincham Ice Dome on Tuesday evening. Before face-off, the players’ theatrical entrances to the rink with music blaring heightened the adrenaline levels. Bizarrely though, the English national anthem was sung, despite both sides bosting internationally diverse rosters, featuring players from Canada, Finland and South Africa. The game started with a frenzy of big hits and possession changing sticks repeatedly. It was UoM who took the lead however, with captain Photo: Martin Klefas-Stennett Max Drakeley opening the scoring unassisted in the third minute to stalled a promising attack. ignite the UoM support. In the first period UoM demonstrated Despite the teams normally playing their superior passing interplay and together as the Manchester Metros, this was highlighted by Tom Revesz’s there was no love lost between the goal in the 15th minute, after the whole players who normally do battle on ice team combined allowing the forward as teammates. The sideboards took to draw the keeper and slot the puck in a pounding from several enormous to the net. collisions, and it was MMU’s viceUoM were rampant in the first period captain Adam Perona-Wright who was and the current varsity holders the first sent to the sin bin to cool-off capitalised on their ascendancy after hooking a UoM player, which
Varsity in Numbers
when Tyler Schock intercepted on the halfway line, and raced away to convert the breakaway opportunity with a fine, clinical finish. With a minute left on the clock in the first period, the first UoM goaltender Nicole Jackson made a fine save to maintain a clean sheet for her side in the first third of the match. The hooter sounded with UoM in control with a comfortable 3-0 lead.
MMU came out strongest in the second period, with the hairdryer treatment proving effective on two counts; firstly it warmed up the players who had clearly struggled to get into their game in the artic conditions in the Ice Dome and secondly, it forced them in to action. The trailing side executed a counter-attacking play with real panache, which saw Lee Pollitt
combine with Ben Brown to feed Vice-captain Allen Gunn, who swept the puck in to the UoM goal. Finally something for the MMU cheerleaders to actually cheer for! The first period of the game had seen MMU on the back foot, struggling to put any genuine attacking moves together. However, the Metropolitan team yet again showed their potency on the break. This time the roles changed in the attack - Gunn fed Brown who smashed the puck past the UoM goaltender to make it 3-2. This goal made the UoM support start to fear a plucky comeback, however, captain Drakeley scored in unusual style to settle the nerves and regain UoM’s two goal cushion. Be sure to take a look at Fuse TV’s highlights package because his second goal confused the majority of the crowd. In a desperate attempt to prevent a goal, an MMU defender’s stick went flying across the ice rink, drawing the attention of the supporters and, seemingly, the attention of the goalkeeper as the UoM skipper simply had to place the puck into the goal. Jamie Bower took the credit for the assist; with his wellweighted pass giving his captain the chance to add another goal to his tally. UoM then spurned another near certain chance at goal, with a cross to the near post requiring the slightest of deflections, but the puck just drifted wide. MMU capitalised on the miss, responding with a goal from Victor Graf, as the Swiss forward was fed by Brown and finished with ease to again reduce the deficit to one goal at 4-3.
550 2 5 50+ 1 Estimated crowd in Altrincham’s Silver Blades Ice-Rink
Goals for UoM Two minute sin-binnings captain Max in total Drakeley
Continued on P.31
Short musical interludes during breaks in play
Embarrassingly staged fight in the third period