Issue7

5th NOV 2012/

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MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

‘Very difficult for Newsnight editor to come back,’ says Michael Crick

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An American war veteran’s perspective on the Presidential Election

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NUS President fears repeat of 2010 violence - Liam Burns concerned that violence may hamper #Demo2012 - Millbank protest left ‘a cloud over the organisation’ Andrew Williams Features Editor

The President of the National Union of Students (NUS) has expressed concern that a repeat of the violence seen at the student protests of November 2010 could overshadow this month’s #Demo2012.

Liam Burns, who succeeded Aaron Porter as NUS President in July 2011, said: “It would be stupid to say I wasn’t [concerned]. I’m not naïve enough to think that we shouldn’t mitigate the chance of risk, but one of the things I can’t do is stop any arsehole from coming along on the day.”

He also criticised some of the decisions made by his predecessor in the aftermath of the Millbank demonstration. “It would be disingenuous for me to say that he coped completely well across the board, because part of the reason why I ran [for President] is that I think we should have made some different calls,” he explains.

Burns’ comments came in an interview with The Mancunion ahead of the latest demonstration against cuts to education funding on 21 November.

This week marks the second anniversary of the infamous ‘Demo 2010’ protest against the trebling of tuition fees, which saw hundreds of students ransack the Conservative Party’s Millbank HQ. Vandalism and violence marred the demonstration, as footage of a student launching a fire extinguisher from the top of Millbank Tower became one of the abiding images of the protest.

Despite “broad support, if not enthusiastic

support” for the demonstration amongst the vast majority of students’ unions, both Loughborough University and the University of Reading have refused to back the action.

Tellingly, Burns mentions the possibility of a repeat of Millbank as “one of their main concerns.”

He also reveals that the organisers made a point of ensuring that the route did not pass Millbank, a move which he says would have “purposely antagonised the chance of heightened tensions.”

“I think we’ve done everything we can to negate violence,” Burns insists. “All of our students’ unions are quite clear about this being a peaceful demonstration. I think we’ve set the tone right.”

Khalil Secker, Campaigns and Citizenship Officer at the University of Manchester Students’ Union, was quick to back Burns’ message.

“I’m aware that things like Millbank put the average student off going on a protest, because they don’t want to be associated with violence.

And therefore I can sympathise with the stance of Liam Burns and the NUS.” #Demo2012 will focus on the themes of education, employment and empowerment and, with the events of November 2010 firmly in mind, Burns is unequivocal that violence will form absolutely no part of the day. “For me the reason that violence will never form a part of this campaign is that it doesn’t make sense tactically. You want public sympathy on your side; violence is not going to engender public sympathy.”

“One of the things that I’ve always said about Millbank is that I don’t think the act of

NUS President Liam Burns: Burns: ‘You want public sympathy on your side; violence is not going to engender public sympathy.’

peacefully occupying a locus of power, when you consider the trebling of tuition fees, was in any way disproportionate,” Burns explains.

“But when you start smashing windows, causing vandalism and harassing people, it’s not Nick Clegg or David Cameron who’s going to come down and clean that up. It’s cleaners that work in the building and we’re trying to claim that we’re fighting to get their kids into uni.”

He continues: “Our members are perfectly clear of the expectations that we have. Our NEC has agreed that we’re not going to support any form of violence.”

02 : NEWS

ISSUE 07 / 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Highlights

Clive Anderson interview

Party goers enjoy a spot of ballroom dancing at the Student Action Halloween Party. Photo: Hanyi Han

Features, Page 9

Picture of the week

Should the Leeds Student have interviewed Nick Griffin?

Comment, Page 11

Football Manager 2013 - review Games, Page 22

NUS President fears repeat of Millbank Continued from front page

But it seems that there is division within the NUS on the issue. At a pre-demo event last month, the organisation’s Vice President of Higher Education appeared to contradict Burns’ outright rejection of violent tactics.

In response to a question asking whether tactics used by the student movement in Canada – including bank blockades and direct action – should be replicated in this country, Rachel Wenstone said: “That action clearly works, and it’s clearly important… it’s up to you what tactics you want to use. If you want to go and occupy something, occupy something. It’s about

changing people lives and whatever you think works for that, do that.”

Meanwhile, Burns was critical of his predecessor’s handling of the Millbank protests. Whilst he accepts that Aaron Porter was under “exceptional” pressure at the time, he claims that the fallout left “a cloud over the organisation”.

“It won’t be lost on anyone that it was a difficult time for the NUS post-demonstration 2010, but there are decisions that should have been made differently. Would I have made them differently, with all of the pressure that he had? I will never know.”

Burns cites these decisions as his motivation for running to succeed Porter.

“We needed to move on

from the fee vote and the demonstration… it was about a process of reconciliation to ensure that we weren’t seen as a divided movement. I think broadly that was successful. We feel in a much more comfortable place now.”

Those involved in the Millbank protest include previous members of the University of Manchester Students’ Union executive. A former Campaigns Officer, Amanda Walters, admitted to being inside Millbank on the day. She told Sky News the following day that she “had no qualms about criminal damage” in the name of student protest.

Full interview with Liam Burns: page 8

The emissions benefits of the United States producing shale gas instead of coal are overstated, researchers at the University of Manchester have found.

The US is burning less coal due to increased shale gas production, but millions of tonnes of unused coal are being exported to the UK, Europe and Asia, researchers said in a recent report from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University.

They also warned, although US CO2 emissions are down 8.6% from a peak in 2005, the trade in coal may displace more than half of these reductions overseas.

“It is the total quantity of CO2 from the energy system that matters to the climate,” Dr John Broderick said, lead author on the Co-operative commissioned report. “Research papers and newspaper column inches have focussed on the relative emissions from coal and gas.

“We must seriously consider whether a so-called “golden age” would be little more than a gilded cage, locking us into a high-carbon future.”

Professor Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre said US coal exports had increased since the supply of shale gas became significant in 2008.

“This increases global emissions as the UK, Europe and Asia are burning the coal instead,” he said.

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ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

NEWS : 03

Students reach Poland in RAG charity hitch Teams made it to Germany, Switzerland and Krakow in Jailbreak 2012 Jonathan Breen News Editor

Students took to planes, trains, ferries and any other form of transport they could as part of the annual charity event ‘Jailbreak’ last week.

Some made it to Belgium, Germany and Poland. But some didn’t make even it out of Owens Park.

Starting at 4:00pm on Friday October 26, the event – hosted by the University of Manchester Students’ Union division of Raise and Give, or RAG – saw students try and get as far away from Manchester as they could in 30 hours, all without out spending a penny.

This year’s winners, ‘Dilworth 3’, made it to Krakow, Poland.

“We officially got to Berlin in the 30 hours, but we thought we might as well try and get as far as we could,” said team member Tara Murphy. “We were in the lorry in Germany when the time was up, but at that point we already knew we were going to Poland.”

According to RAG, the rules are if you are in a mode of transport like a plane, or in this case a lorry, when the 30 hours are up, it is where you get off that counts as your final destination, regardless of the time.

“We started by going north to Newcastle then got the night coach to London then got another night coach to Dover, where we got in the lorry,” said Miss Murphy, speaking on

Thursday evening. “We literally just haven’t left the lorry, we got in at Dover, then we went to Berlin, then to Krakow then Warsaw.

“We have been doing deliveries with the driver and we’ve been picking up things and we stayed with the driver’s family in Warsaw.

“We’ve been pretty much living off snacks, in Warsaw the driver’s family cooked for us.”

The trio, who also included Lewis Haines and Joshua Brown, finally got back to Manchester on Friday morning, six days after the official finish.

Participants of the event have until December 16 to raise at least £120 through sponsorship, or failing that a deposit check of the same amount is cashed, the proceeds of which go to KidsCan, a children’s cancer research charity.

Teams usually receive donations based on reaching a certain destination. Friends of ‘Dilworth 3’ chose to give £30 if they reached Berlin.

The first team out of the country were ‘When in Rome’, who found themselves on the way to Belgium after sneaking on to the Eurostar at St. Pancras International, London.

“We got to St. Pancras, got pretty drunk, and fancied going to Paris,” said one team member, a first year Music Production student. “So we ran past the security people on the Eurostar. The girls with us got kicked off the train by security.

But we snuck past security do-

NUS officer demands Nick Griffin interview retracted Jonathan Breen News Editor A National Union of Students officer has demanded a student newspaper retract an interview it printed with Nick Griffin.

NUS black students officer Aaron Kiely wrote an open letter on his official blog calling for the Leeds Student to retract an interview they published on October 26 with the British National Party leader.

“We demand that the Editor of ‘Leeds Student’ remove this offensive interview that gives a platform to a fascist immediately,” Mr Kiely said in the post. “Leeds

Student risks giving legitimacy to a fascist organisation, and boosts the BNP’s attempts to join the political mainstream.”

“The BNP stands for the elimination of the democracy and all freedoms that the Leeds Student claims to support.”

Leeds Student features editor Lucy Snow wrote a response on the Guardian’s website as part of their Blogging Students series, defending the decision to publish the interview.

“It insults students’ intelligence to insist that they must be protected from extreme views. The idea that talking to Griffin or any other fascist legitimises their arguments is laughable,” she said in the article.

Students tried to get as far away from Manchester without spending any money for Jailbreak 2012. Lisa Williams, of team Destination Unknown holds up a sign to get to Dover Photo: Lisa Williams

ing James Bond-esque stuff.

“We were officially the first team out of the country. We were screaming on the, everyone around us thought ‘what the hell are these guys doing.’”

Once in Brussels, the pair’s plan was to head east, “to Germany and Russia, but we got in at 10pm, there were no trains outbound so we had to spend the night in Brussels paid for by “generous donations”, some Liverpool guys on the train got us a room for the night.”

‘When in Rome’ eventually managed to make it as far as Ko-

Over 100 hundred people have signed Mr Kiely’s the letter, including two students from the University of Manchester.

The NUS has a No Platform for Fascists policy, which saw, among others, George Galloway banned from NUS events last month.

“We must never give a platform to fascists anywhere in the student movement,” Mr Kiely said in his letter.

NUS president Liam Burns posted on his official blog saying he would not be signing the letter, but strongly supported the organisation’s No Platform.

“I have made it clear to the National Executive Council why I won’t be signing the letter because I believe that our work must always be with the students’ unions we work for, not separate to them,” he said in the post. “However, we also need to ensure those students that rightly found the article offensive know that they have our support in using their voice in their unions structures.”

blenz, Germany.

For Lisa Williams, one half of team Destination Unknown, who made it to Brussels, the experience was” the best and worst weekend of my life,” said the chemistry student. “There were times when I wanted to just sit down and cry.

“It was so good, it was incredible, but there are times when I think ‘why would you do that to yourself.’”

The team almost made it to Asia in one fell swoop, but lacked the necessary paper work.

“We got offered a flight to Islamabad [at Manchester Airport],” Miss Williams said. “But we didn’t have visas and they wouldn’t issue us with boarding passes without visas.

“I wish I had a Pakistani visa, so we could have accepted that flight. It would have been great.”

But once the time limit was past, it was up to teams to get home on their own – an expensive reality for Miss Williams.

“I’m totally broke now,” she said. “We ended up buying a Ryanair flight to Manchester and

End in sight for ‘Toast Rack’ Anhony Organ News Editor Manchester Metropolitan University’s famous “Toast Rack” building is set to be left vacant as the University moves to its new campus.

This year will be the last that the iconic Hollings Faculty is used by over 3,500 Fashion, Food and Hospitality students, and next year the new £139 million Birley Fields campus in Hulme will be used instead.

The move is part of MMU’s ten year plan to consolidate from seven campus locations to two, in central Manchester and Cheshire, by 2014.

Built in 1960, the Grade Two listed building was designed

by L. C. Howitt, who also designed the Manchester Crown Courts of Justice and Blackley Crematorium.

Student opinion on the building seemed mixed. Emily, a final year Fashion Marketing student, said: “I don’t like it. It’s a bit decrepit and run-down.”

Her friend Sam, in the same year and course, said: “It’s really famous, even my grandparents know it. It is drafty though and we sometimes get rained on in lectures because it leaks. Even the lecturer got wet once.”

Asked about the move to the new campus Sofia, a second year Hospitality student, said that she was “excited about the new facilities”.

But Esme, a second year Fashion Design student, said: “I like having

we had to buy a hotel in Brussels too which was like 60-70 euros, so now I’m completely broke.

“But it was the best feeling in the world sitting down on the plane and knowing you’ll be home within an hour.”

Other teams made it to Switzerland, Holland and France, and one – team ‘Supermario bros’ – didn’t leave Owens Park.

Teams in previous years have made it to Dubai and New York.

our own area for Fashion and having been here two years the move next year will be disruptive.

“We chose a house in this area, I like it. Oxford Road seems really busy.”

The Manchester Modernist Society, which describes itself as “a small band of urban enthusiasts”, has been allowed into the building this year to document its history.

They will select the top 52 items which they find in the building, one for each year since its construction, and archive them in an online “museum”.

Project manager Haleh Moravej, also senior lecturer in applied nutrition at MMU, said that the aim was “to create a visual digital narrative and for staff and students to celebrate the building by getting to know how it all started and by whom and how. “[This] is a one-off life opportunity not to be missed.”

An MMU spokesperson said that it the future of the building was currently “undecided”.

04 : News

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Shisha bars threaten NEWS IN BRIEF strike on Curry Mile Manchester Museum unveils £1.57 million exhibition Manchester Museum’s new £1.57 million Ancient Worlds exhibition is now on display, marking the centenary of the museum’s opening.

The exhibition is split into three sections, offering insights into ancient civilisations such as Greece, Rome and Egypt, and is the culmination of four years planning and construction.

Manchester Museum director, Dr Nick Merriman said: “Manchester Museum’s Egyptology collection is one of the best in the country – it is a real asset for Manchester and the university.”

1,000 zombies descend upon the city

Hundreds of zombies marched through Manchester last week to raise money for the Big Issue in the North.

The parade of around 1,000 fancy-dressed fundraisers began at the Printworks and ended in Market Street.

After years of success trying to beat the world record for the most zombies in one place, the march is now an annual event to raise money for a good cause.

Hustings take place for new GMP police comisioner Hustings for Greater Manchester’ first ever police commissioner take place this week, ahead of the ballot on the 15th November.

There are five potential candidates ad whoever wins will take charge of one of the biggest forces in the country.

The £100,000 a year role includes setting priorities and having the power to hire and fire the chief constable.

Shisha bosses may strike if their compromises are not met in indoor smoking crackdown Ellen Conlon News Editor

The Curry Mile could see a quiet four days as shisha bosses threaten a mass ‘strike’ in protest against the crackdown on indoor smoking.

The Mancunion recently reported on the new campaign launched by Manchester City Council and the NHS promoting the dangers of smoking shisha.

It aimed to raise awareness of the health risks associated with shisha and to make people aware that smoking shisha in an enclosed space, as in many of the Curry Mile bars, is illegal.

But owners of shisha bars and cafes on the Curry Mile, who have been breaching the 2007 national smoking ban, want to prove to the council how vital their businesses are to the local economy in Rusholme.

Outdoor smoking areas must be less than 50 per cent enclosed, meaning that areas with only one

side open are breaching the ban.

Eight of the businesses on Wilmslow Road have already been fined a total of nearly £21,000 by Manchester City Council in the last 12 months for indoor smoking, but this has not acted as a deterrent.

Shabir Mughal, Chairman of the Rusholme Traders Association, explained how the shisha bars have created “loopholes” to dodge the fines.

“By the time the process goes through, the ownership of the shisha bar has changed. That’s what they’re struggling with.”

Not fazed by the council’s fines, shisha bosses have decided to hold a meeting with Mr Mughal and members of the council where they will discuss what will happen next.

Mr Mughal explained how he wanted to use this meeting to tell the shisha bosses that “what [they’re] doing is wrong and this is what you should do, and if you obey

Shisha bars on the Curry Mile have been breaching the national indoor smoking ban but want Manchester City Council to ‘compromise.’ Photo: Rebekah Akingbala

by these rules we wont bother you, but if you don’t we will come down heavy on you.”

But the shisha bar owners want to use this meeting to suggest some compromises and threaten that if they are not agreed to, they will strike.

But Mr Mughal does not see this as an option: “There is no compromise because they are compromising the law,” he said. “The law is there to stay, it can only be changed in Parliament.”

“We are not against the shisha bars,” he added, “because it’s diversity in the Curry Mile. It’s just that they are breaking the law.”

The compromises that

4G goes live in Manchester Jonathan Breen News Editor The UK’s first 4G mobile network went live in Manchester last week.

The country’s largest network operator EE, until recently Everything Everywhere, owner of T-Mobile and Orange, rolled out the new service on October 29.

Manchester is one of 11 cities around the UK to get the superfast network, which will see speeds between 8 and 12 mbps, up to five times faster than its predecessor 3G, allowing users to stream TV without buffering and download movies in minutes.

The company is investing £13.8m in its network in the city.

All Orange and T-Mobile stores in the region will become EE stores.

Twenty million people can currently access the technology, but the company plans to roll out the service to more towns, cities and areas next year, and aims to reach 98 per cent of the population by 2014.

“Today is a landmark day for our company, the UK mobile industry and, most importantly, the country’s businesses and consumers,” Olaf Swantee, CEO at EE, saidin a press release. “But this is just the start as our 4G network will continue to grow stronger and wider by the day.

“We’re investing £1.5 billion in our network to be the first company to offer mobile 4G in the UK.” The base rate tariff for 4G will be £36 a month and have a limit of 500MB data usage, with the top end at 8GB, costing £56 a month.

The other cities with the network are London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow and Southampton.

By Christmas, Belfast, Derby, Hull, Newcastle, Nottingham and Southampton will also have access.

Countries such as the United States, Japan and Germany already have 4G networks.

the shisha bar owners are considering include legal changes that would allow them to have smoking rooms with extra strong fans, or to be issued with special ‘smoking licences’ which could be withdrawn if their owners misbehaved.

If these demands are ignored they will consider a four day strike.

Mohammed El-Ghazzeh of shisha bar Cuba Lounge, said: “We want the council to see that Wilmslow Road will be like a ghost town if all the shisha places were closed.”

“To ask people to sit outside in British weather is unrealistic, if they don’t die from the smoke they’ll die

from the cold,” he added.

But Mr Mughal does not see this as being a successful protest: “If they want to go on strike they can go on strike because it’s not going to make any difference,” he said.

“I don’t think that there will be any effect. They are trying to show that the place might look derelict but I don’t think so.”

“It will not affect curry houses at all because the customers who come to the shisha bars don’t go to the restaurants anyway,” he added.

“It’s going to hurt their pocket, not ours or anybody else’s.”

Russell Group could see £80 million loss Ellen Conlon News Editor

The number of undergraduates has dropped in a third of the Russell Group universities , says its Director General, Wendy Piatt.

Dr Piatt, talking on a BBC Radio 4 documentary, said that this shortfall could cost Russell Group universities around £80 million.

The documentary, Universities Challenged, was broadcast last week and looked at the effects of the government’s reforms to university fees and funding.

Dr Piatt said: “Having far fewer students than planned does create a real financial hit.

“It’s hard to give a very accurate number, but across the Russell Group it may amount to something like £80 million. We’re not clear [on the final total] at the moment, but it’s a significant amount of money.”

The government’s reforms allowing unlimited recruitment of undergraduates with A-Level grades of AAB or above have in part contributed to the struggle several universities have faced this year in meeting their target student recruitment.

The University and College Union general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “The fall in the number of undergraduates is the predictable failure of the government’s attempt to create an artificial market for the most highly-qualified students.

“Furthermore, the government’s admission that higher tuition fees forced a scramble for places last year highlights the unfair nature of this government’s hike in fees,” she said.

Ms Hunt went on to explain: “While many predicted allowing universities to recruit as many students as they could with A-level grades of AAB and above would be a problem for institutions outside the Russell Group, we now see the damage done to our higher education system by this ill-thought out policy is more widespread.

When asked whether the University of Manchester had felt the impact of a lower number of undergraduates, President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell said: “We will not know the final numbers until the official census date in December, but we will be below our target for home (UK and EU) students.”

“We knew that this year admission of home students would be challenging, with the new few regime and the cap removed on students who obtained grades of AAB or above, and this was confounded by the first fall in 20 years in A level grades achieved,” Professor Rothwell added.

“We will be looking closely at the distribution of our student numbers and are initiating a detailed ‘portfolio review’ to consider student demand and how we respond to this.”

05: News

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Top high street clothing companies blamed for ‘horrors of Italian sweatshops’ -University of Manchester researcher condemns existence of Zara sweatshops

the company has developed

-H&M “expanding by following this model”

necessitates production of a significant amount of its garment in informal inner-

- Zara and H&M deny allegations Michael Williams News Editor

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High street giant Zara uses sweatshop labour, says Dr Montero’s report. Photo: Chrisloader @ Wikimedia Commons

Academics condemn regional pay proposals Anthony Organ News Ed i t o r

Manchester academics have joined colleagues nationwide in condemning government proposals for regional pay in the public sector.

The open letter to The Times, signed by 60 scholars, warns that the proposals could “aggravate geographical, economic and social inequalities” and points to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) suggesting they could cost the economy £10 billion a year.

Under the government’s plans, national pay rates would be abolished and the salaries of public sector workers, including teachers, nurses and police, would be adjusted to reflect the region they live in.

The letter reads: “As senior academics working on regional issues,

we can find no convincing evidence within these reports to support the Chancellor’s inference that such regionally or locally-determined pay could boost the economic performance of regional economies.”

Professor Jill Rubery, Deputy Director for Human Resources at Manchester Business School (MBS), who signed the letter, said: “Regional pay would just reinforce the poverty levels in the economy, people have less money to spend and it will just reinforce the recession.”

Speaking about the effect on universities, she said: “Manchester finds it quite hard to attract people to move anyway, but it would be much more difficult if we were on a lower pay scale than, say, the South of England.

She predicted that “Manchester would just ignore the national system and start paying higher wages anyway”

but warned that there “might be more differentiation in what people are paid according to their subject area, with much lower pay rates in arts and humanities than in sciences”.

“The end result might be that it costs Manchester a lot more if student fees went on the salaries of the lecturers,” she continued.

Another signatory, Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio, Professor in Human Resource Management at MBS, said that regional pay is “about pushing people down in terms of pay and conditions”.

“In the university system this will mean even greater inequities amongst staff. Students may be getting better service in ‘formal terms’ but the learning experience is changing due to larger numbers, and access issues are likely to be even greater in future.”

The University and College Union supported the academics. A

spokesperson said: “People across the country are struggling as their bills rise and their pay does not keep pace.

Introducing further real-terms pay cuts is simply not on.

“The government should start listening to the evidence on this, and other, issues.”

A report published by the New Economics Foundation think-tank and funded by the TUC claims that this move could harm the economy.

It finds that under the new system there could be 110,576 fewer jobs nationally and that the economy could lose nearly £10 billion every year.

Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary said: “We hope that our report will prove to be the final nail in the coffin for these discredited proposals.”

Alan Manning, North West TUC Regional Secretary, said that the plans “will end up costing the North

West economy dearly as public sector workers suffer pay cuts and are forced to rein in their spending” and added that they are ust unfair, but ill-thought out”.

The proposals have already been questioned by several Conservative MPs and the Liberal Democrats, who last month at their party conference voted to try and block them.

A spokesperson for the Treasury said: “As the Chancellor set out in the 2011 Autumn Statement, there is a case for considering how public sector pay could better reflect local labour markets.

“In line with the usual process the Government is considering the independent Pay Review Bodies’ reports and will publish and respond in due course. Nothing has yet been decided.”

We're Hiring!

Trustee Vacancy - Student member The Students’ Union are looking for three students to join the Trustee Board.

Working alongside eight Officer Trustees and three External Trustees, you will be responsible for the strategic direction of the Students’ Union.

If you want to contribute to the Students’ Union but elections aren’t for you then this is a great opportunity to get involved at the highest level of the organisation.

Closing date: Noon, 23rd November

This unique opportunity will equip you with skills to wow future employers.

Strategy, compliance, risk management and financial oversight will be the main duties of your role and you will be required to attend at least six main meetings a year as well as possible Board Sub-Committees.

We are particularly interested in hearing from PGR students, women students and BME students.

We will be holding an information event on 14th November, 2pm in the Student Activities Area in the Students’ Union building on Oxford Road where you can speak to current trustees and have any questions answered about the organisation and what your role in it would be.

To apply, or for more information:

www.manchesterstudentsunion.com/jobs

ISSUE 07 / 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

NEWS : 07

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Very difficult for Newsnight editor to come back,’ says Michael Crick

‘Savilegate’: scandal has rocked the BBC’s flagship news programme.

‘Serious prospect of leading figures losing jobs’, says ex-Newsnight political editor Andrew Williams Features Editor

Newsnight’s former political editor has told The Mancunion that “it would be very difficult” for his one-time boss, under-fire Newsnight editor Peter Rippon, “to come back, in the circumstances” from the Jimmy Savile affair which has rocked the BBC. Michael Crick, who left Newsnight in July 2011, also said there was a “serious prospect of several leading figures losing their jobs.”

Channel 4’s chief political correspondent was responding to questions about his former employer’s handling of what he called a “very, very serious” scandal.

On Monday it was announced that Peter Rippon had ‘stepped aside’ as Newsnight editor whilst an investigation is conducted into his handling of the Savile scandal. It has emerged that Newsnight was aware and ready to broadcast allegations that Savile had abused teenagers on BBC premises, and that other BBC

Learning Commons closed after glass cracks Library opens 24 hours while problem is fixed Jonathan Breen News Editor The Alan Gilbert Learning Commons was temporarily closed after a glass panel cracked.

The panel, part of a glass balustrade, which runs around the edge of the cen-

tral atrium on each floor, is thought to have cracked around 1:00am Monday October 29.

“It cracked in the middle of the night when nobody was in there, about 1 o’clock in the morning on Monday,” University spokesman Jon Keighren said. “The building was empty so obviously

personalities might have been involved – only for the exposé to be pulled. Rippon remains in his position as editor on full pay, but Crick has cast doubt on the long-term future of his former boss.

“I think, effectively, it would be very difficult for Peter Rippon to come back in the circumstances, and I think effectively the Director General when he faced MPs yesterday said so,” said Crick.

“It’s quite clear that [Director General of the BBC, George Entwistle]

there were no injuries.

“Just to be on the safe side they don’t want to reopen until they’ve checked all the other ones, to see if any of them need replacing.

“It looks like the building will be closed for the rest of the week, we will know more on Monday [November 5].”

The University were holding “urgent” meetings with contractors and suppliers to find out how it happened and try and remedy the problem, they said in a statement on the library website.

The Learning Commons was due to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the same day as the incident.

The main library was opened 24 hours while the problem was being fixed.

wasn’t impressed that the original explanation was inaccurate and had to be corrected in so many ways, thereby causing the BBC huge embarrassment – because that version of events had been accepted by him, George Entwistle, and by the Chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, and other senior members of the BBC management.”

Speaking at the University of Manchester’s Foundation Day ceremony – which saw Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall and President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Phillip Craven pick up honorary degrees – Crick also expressed regret at the extent to which the affair has tarnished the BBC’s reputation. “It’s a tragedy for Newsnight, it’s a tragedy for the people who work on the programme, and I think it will take some recovering from. It’s hugely damaging to the BBC,” he lamented.

“I don’t know whether [veteran BBC journalist] John Simpson is right when he says that it’s the worst crisis to have hit the BBC, but certainly it’s been very, very serious. There is the serious prospect of several

leading figures losing their jobs.”

Crick left the Beeb last year in acrimonious circumstances after 21 years at the Corporation. His departure was the result of a dispute with Rippon, who had wanted to have Crick replaced as political editor. He explains: “It’s difficult, because my own relationship with Peter Rippon was tricky towards the end.”

“The BBC high command had decided that they didn’t want me to be political correspondent any more. They came up with another job with what I thought was a ludicrous title, called ‘Editor-at-Large’… they claimed that it would entail various things but I didn’t really believe it.” Unhappy at his treatment, Crick seized the opportunity to return to Channel 4 News – where he had been a founding member of staff – as its chief political correspondent.

A former Manchester Grammar School student, Crick became a University of Manchester trustee in September 2012. Trustees are responsible for the University’s vision and mission, exercising collective control over the institution.

A sign put outside Learning Commons directs students to the library after a glass panel cracked early Monday morning Photo: Jonathan

Thousands vote to elect new student reps Anthony Organ News Editor 21 new Student Representatives have been elected to provide a link between students and the University of Manchester Students’ Union (UMSU).

Over 4,000 students voted in the elections, almost matching the 4,500 who voted in the Executive elections in March.

Nick Pringle, UMSU’s General Secretary, said: “I am absolutely delighted that 4,215 students turned out to vote for student representatives in the recent elections.

“We had 79 candidates including people who have not been involved in the Union previously. Being an elected officer is an amazing job and I am really excited about more people wanting to get involved in the Union and represent students.”

15 different positions were offered but only 13 were filled.

They range from Faculty reps to “Liberation” reps, who campaign for minority students.

Meredith Boccanfuso was elected as the Undergraduate Medical and Human Sciences Rep, but as she was the only candidate the second position remained unfilled.

The role of International Action Group Chair is completely undecided because the election count was “suspended to investigate student complaints”.

Manchester Students’ Union would not comment further on the issue.

Lack of competition was a wider issue as four roles had the same number of candidates as positions, including three postgraduate roles and the Disabled Students Representatives.

But some roles received a lot of attention, such as Undergraduate Humanities Rep which featured 13 candidates and received 1,099 votes, with Arthur Baker and Ibrahim Tawab coming out on top.

Mr Baker said that he was “very excited” about the new role. “I’m thinking about how I’m going to do all the things I said I was going to do”.

Asked about the turnout, he said: “It was fantastic. This is the first election I’ve had experience of so I don’t know what it was like in previous years but I think it was pretty damn good.”

Daniel Joseph, one of the new Disabled Students Representatives said: “I’m elated with the win. My priority at the moment is to meet up with the other newly elected Disabled Students Rep, Gemma, to decide on where to get started.

He continued: “I thought we had a really good turnout, which hopefully shows that there is a large amount of enthusiasm and support for our campaign.”

The Union website says: “Student reps provide the link between students and their Union on academic issues, as well as raising any issues they need to escalate with Union faculty reps or the Academic Affairs Officer as they arise.”

08 : Feature

ISSUE 07 / 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

‘Aaron Porter was bullied,’ says NUS President Andrew Williams sits down with President of the NUS, Liam Burns, ahead of this month’s #Demo2012 Andrew Williams Features Editor

I

t seems like a lifetime ago now, but back in May 2010 Nick Clegg had become the freshfaced media darling of British politics almost overnight. His impressive performance in the pre-general election debates endeared him to an electorate unimpressed with the traditional choice which lay before them. Meanwhile, a categorical commitment that his party would vote against any proposed increase in tuition fees made the Liberal Democrats the student party of choice. The pledge went some way to securing the party a place in government.

Fast forward six months, and the first of a series of demonstrations against an unprecedented hike in tuition fees and planned cuts to education funding is taking place in central London.

Tens of thousands of furious students have descended on the capital to lay bare their anger at being betrayed by politicians. Activists are deeply concerned that the reforms will irreversibly harm the prospects of the next generation.

In the eyes of many, the legitimate political point that was made that day was forgotten amid the violence at Millbank. What started out as a peaceful occupation of the lobby of Tory HQ quickly mutated into a violent melee of flying objects and smashed windows.

It was to no avail; the government pushed through their reforms to higher education, and September saw the first cohort of undergraduates paying £9,000 per year filter through the doors of lecture theatres across the country.

Saturday will mark two years to the day since ‘Demo 2010’. Then, the worryetched face of the National Union of Students was Aaron Porter. Now, there is a different man at the helm ahead of a new series of demonstrations.

A former Physics student of HeriotWatt University, Liam Burns succeeded Porter as President of the NUS at what he says was “clearly a difficult time.”

Porter had been the subject of immense criticism in the wake of the Millbank protests, and Burns’ ascension to the top job was the direct result of a decision taken by his predecessor to cave in to the pressure.

“Aaron was in an incredibly difficult

position,” Burns explains. “I don’t think some Cabinet MPs have put up with as much pressure in their careers as Aaron had to cope with at that time. It was exceptional.”

“There was a lot of internal criticism, and some quite divisive rhetoric was used on the hard left, who were despicable in their treatment of Aaron.

There was a lot of legitimate criticism, but the way that was espoused – particularly at the demonstration in Manchester – Aaron suffered what I would only call bullying.”

Nonetheless, Burns remains critical of Porter’s handling of the 2010 protests, and admits that he would have run against Porter for the presidency had he elected to stand once again. “It would be disingenuous for me to say that [he coped] completely well across the board. Part of the reason why I ran is that I think we should have made some different calls. Do I know what it would

Our campaign work is changing things. The movement is imperative...

I guess the point is that if NUS didn’t exist, you would have to create it. be like to have been in that moment?

No, I just think there are decisions that should have been made differently.”

“This stuff was a cloud over the organisation, and I think at some point Aaron said look, I need to not run,” he continues. “Part of the reason for me running – part of the narrative – was, this organisation can’t only be one person.”

NUS President Liam Burns took over from Aaron Porter in July 2011

Now well over a year into his tenure, Burns believes that he has succeeded in preventing the NUS from becoming a “divided movement.”

With the biggest student demonstration in two years fast approaching, Burns is anxious to avoid the fate of his predecessor. On 21 November, #Demo2012 – stylised to reflect the huge extent to which Twitter has permeated the student consciousness in recent times – will see students from up and down the country take the government to task on their education cuts. He is absolutely determined that there will be no repeat of the violence which marred the protests of 2010.

“Our members are perfectly clear of the expectations that we have. Our NEC has agreed that we’re not going to support any form of violence,” says Burns. “For me the reason that violence will never form a part of this campaign is that for one, it doesn’t make sense tactically.

You want public sympathy on your side.

Violence is not going to engender public sympathy. We want voters to say, ‘this is what we’ll vote on’. When politicians knock on their doors, we want people to say that education funding, employment, youth unemployment are important issues – and they’re not going to do that in reaction to violence.”

To some extent, however, Burns is beholden to events. “One of the things I can’t do is stop any arsehole from coming along on the day, and that’s

true of any action we have in London.

I’m not naïve enough to think, though, that we shouldn’t mitigate the chance of risk.” In mitigation, the organisers were determined that the route of the demonstration should not “purposely antagonise the chance of higher tensions.”

“Some of the criticism is that it’s not going past enough iconic, ‘locus of power’ type places,” Burns relays. “I don’t think that’s true, but nonetheless I was certainly not going to do a route that went past Millbank or Whitehall.”

Burns’ honesty is impressive, and in many ways makes him the ideal man to take on what must at times feel like an impossible job. The NUS is structured so that its annual conference, rather than the leadership itself, decides on policy, and Burns reveals that he would not have personally chosen to go about the forthcoming campaign in this way.

“Would this be the way we would plan a campaign? Probably not, but that is what conference wanted,” he admits. “It’s taken a lot of work, because when the vote passed at conference back in April… it wasn’t an overwhelming majority by any means. One of the challenges at the time was that the campaign for the demo had come from a certain part of the movement, and we needed to decide how to get people on board with why it’s the right action to take”.

Despite cynicism in some quarters, Burns is optimistic that #Demo2012

will be a success. Recalling previous demonstrations, he suggests that, “even the deepest sceptics of the tactic of the demo knew that when people got on that bus, whether they were there because they were genuinely angry or because they wanted a big day out in London, they came off far more invested in their students union, they saw that there was a bigger picture and were angry about it and wanted to make change, whether it was about education funding or otherwise – they had become activists.”

He continues, “that’s what part of the demonstration is about – galvanising people, getting them angry, creating activists. And we have so many other campaign tactics that we want to use.”

“Will the demo, in and of itself, isolated as a tactic, do anything? No, of course it won’t, that’s part of what we’ve been saying to our members. We understand that there’s not a parliamentary mechanism to influence at this moment in time. But in general, is our campaign work changing things? Yes.” Burns is clearly convinced by the power of the organisation that he heads.

It might sound like a flippant question, but given that some have queried the effectiveness of past NUS campaigns, I have to ask: what exactly is the point of the NUS?

ISSUE 07 / 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

“The movement is imperative, because when I say NUS I’m not just talking about the people in this building, I’m talking about students’ unions. I guess the point is that if NUS didn’t exist, you’d have to create it,” he says.

“If we did not exist, you would have to expect your sabbatical officers to go off and try to lobby [Universities Minister] David Willetts, parliamentarians, the funding council – all of these different bodies that impact upon student life. That means they are not on your campus, not doing things locally, and not influencing your local decision makers.”

Speaking of Willetts, I turn the conversation to the current government’s higher education policy. There have been two central planks to Willetts’ vision for universities: increased funding and greater competition. Though Burns is keen to point out that he likes Willetts personally, he is in vehement disagreement with the government on both scores.

Last month, David Willetts told The Mancunion that “total funding for higher education is increasing.” Burns accepts that this is notionally correct,

Feature : 09

but counters, “increasing for who? He’s absolutely right to say that universities, net, have more money. But this is all about accountancy smokescreens.

Has the deficit gone down? Yes, but has the national debt gone up, or will it go up? Yes, massively, because you can’t take something that costs for every pound loaned at least 30p, and some commentators are saying up to 50p – that’s the debt you never get back in the end.”

“The other important bit is that ideologically we reject the idea of education being a consumer product.

It doesn’t work for anyone,” Burns ar-

‘Bullied’ ex-NUS President Aaron Porter

gues. “There’s no evidence to suggest [that competition improves quality].

There has been no increase in satisfaction in the National Student Survey.

There has only been a skyrocketing of complaints to the office of the independent adjudicator. That doesn’t sounds like quality to me – that just sounds like trying to produce consumers in a system that consumers can’t control… this is not an actual market, it’s not as if you can take your money and go elsewhere. You can’t take a lecture up to the Vice Chancellor and say, I’m sorry, this one’s broken, can I have another one?”

It is fair to say that Burns’ politics are far removed from those of the current government. I note that he is the latest in a long line of NUS Presidents to be paid up, Labour Party members.

All five of his immediate predecessors have at some point or another been actively involved in Labour Party politics, whilst past Presidents include Stephen Twigg, Jim Murphy, Charles Clarke, Phil Woolas and Jack Straw – all prominent Labour ministers at one time or another. I put it to Liam Burns that there is a pattern emerging, and

he accepts that, “there’s no smoke without fire.”

“There’s ‘union’ in our name. We believe in education, social justice – it’s not surprising that the vast majority of those of us who are party aligned would articulate into Labour.” Still, he argues that the personal politics of whoever holds the position of NUS President is more or less irrelevant.

“What is absolutely right is that there’s transparency – if I ever came out and said, this £6,000 policy by Ed Miliband is a brilliant idea, when clearly it’s not, you would rightly have no confidence in me.”

On the subject of George Galloway’s reported defamation lawsuit against the NUS, Burns refused to openly comment. He did, however, discuss other student issues being discussed in the national media.

He tells me: “the idea of Carnage running Pimps and Hoes, or ‘Slutdrop’… these things that are just deeply inappropriate. I think now – and I wouldn’t have said this five years ago – there is absolutely something to be debated in the students’ union in terms of what we tolerate regarding the treatment of

women on campus.”

“I know for a fact that you’ll have people reading this going, ‘oh, fun police, what are you talking about? Pimps and Hoes is just a bit of fun.’ Well no, it’s not. It’s women being put in a position where they should be somehow defined by sexuality and sexual acts.”

I end our conversation by broaching the subject of personal ambition.

Clearly, the title ‘NUS President’ is a fillip for anyone’s CV – why this a factor in his decision to take the job? “Yes, and I’m sure it is. I think it would be disingenuous to say that you don’t look at these things,” he admits.

“But it’s no the reason I do it, because I can assure you I’m paid a shit wage, I work ridiculous hours as do everyone in this building, and as do sabbatical student officers. The idea that someone would be President of SU on the back just of career prospects is ridiculous, because the opportunity cost of doing it is massive. You do it because you’re passionate and you want to change things for students. But nonetheless I’m going to talk about this job in my interviews, I can assure you!”

Anderson steals the show at Foundation Day Andrew Williams meets comedy writer and broadcaster Clive Anderson ahead of his guest lecture on the University of Manchester’s Foundation Day Andrew Williams Features Editor

On paper, the University of Manchester’s Foundation Day harbours all the components of a stuffy, earnest affair. The annual occasion, a celebration of the fusion of UMIST and Victoria University of Manchester, is undoubtedly a worthwhile tribute to the founders of one of the country’s foremost academic institutions, but the mood music of the day is contingent upon the personalities involved.

A lecture delivered by a distinguished guest sets the tone for the evening, which sees the conferment of honorary degrees upon a seemingly arbitrary collection of academics, businessmen and scientists.

Two factors looked set to ensure that the most recent edition, which marked the eighth anniversary of the University’s inauguration, would be more light-hearted than usual. Firstly, the presence of a mop-topped serial womaniser had caused quite a stir. Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall would become Dr Michael, recognised for his dubious contribution to music rather than his undeniable support for the contraceptive industry.

“He’s not high on my list!” admits Clive Anderson, the man tasked with delivering the 2012 Foundation Day lecture – and a second reason to be cheerful about the evening ahead. “But I suppose a high achiever in another area jollies it up a bit. My musical appreciation is pretty feeble anyway.”

Anderson strikes me as an inspired choice to kickstart proceedings; with a 25 year career as one of Britain’s wittiest broadcasters behind him, I suspect that his lecture will be anything but dull.

A barrister by trade, Anderson stepped into an altogether different field in 1979 when he became the first act to perform at the Comedy Store in London. His incisive writing caught the eye, and a foray into radio followed.

Yet Anderson is perhaps best-known for presenting Channel 4’s ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’, arguably the original comedy panel show. You might think that a decade spent presiding over some of the sharpest improvisational comics on both sides of the Atlantic would have encouraged the 59-year-old to deliver today’s lecture ‘on the hoof ’, but Anderson is not about to step up to the lectern unprepared.

“I was asked to give a lecture, so unlike normal

I’ve written it out, I’ve written it down,” he says, clutching a thoroughly organised file of notes befitting of his status as a Cambridge law graduate.

“I’ll be delivering it as though I know what I’m talking about, which is a bit of a stretch to be honest!”

Given his dual careers in law and television, it is quite fitting that Anderson’s lecture should be entitled, ‘is it time to have TV cameras in court?’

His central thesis – that the law is cripplingly slow at adapting to change – is more pertinent than ever in an era which has seen Twitter transform hundreds of millions of social media types into amateur reporters. Though the Lord Chief Justice recently ruled in favour of allowing people to tweet from court, a 1925 Act of Parliament forbids courtroom artists from putting pen to paper until they are outside of the courtroom. It is one of many legal absurdities that Anderson intends to highlight in his lecture.

“The biggest problem with the British justice system, and the one that I find most frustrating, is what Shakespeare called the ‘laws delays’ – the fact that getting a decision from a court takes such a long time,” he explains.

Anderson continues: “If you’re anything like an ordinary citizen sucked in to a legal dispute, it’s a nightmare. There are very few areas of law where I, as an ex-lawyer, would say, ‘I suggest that you institute court proceedings’. In almost every area I’d think, if anything, just try and avoid court at all costs.”

Though sceptical of the willingness of the justice system to haul itself into the 21st Century – Anderson notes that judges continue to wear wigs made of horse hair because that was the done thing 300 years ago – he argues that, “it would be a good idea to televise court proceedings. I don’t think I thought so fifteen years ago, but now I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t see what goes on inside courtrooms. People look at America and unfortunately quite often look at the outrageous examples and say well, there, it’ll all be like the OJ Simpson trial, like a circus. But that isn’t necessarily the case.”

It is a touch ironic that Clive Anderson is best placed to comment on one of Britain’s biggest ongoing legal cases not as a qualified lawyer, but in his capacity as a BBC employee. The Jimmy Savile scandal has seen over 300 alleged victims come forward with claims that they were abused by the former Top of the Pops presenter, yet Anderson is

Anderson: “Hucknall is not high on my list”

as bemused as he is appalled by the affair.

“My initial feeling is that the whole career and everything to do with Jimmy Savile is a complete mystery. I know everyone is now piling in and saying, ‘oh I never liked him,’ but I’ve never heard anybody say ‘I must rush home and see a programme because it’s presented by Jimmy Savile,’ yet he seemed to have loads of followers.”

“I’d certainly heard the rumours,” he says. “In fact the closest I was to him was that I interviewed him once on my chat show… but on a sort of entertainment chat show, when you’ve got somebody who’s a popular figure and yet you’ve heard rumours, you’re not in a position to substantiate it.”

“He used to say when challenged on this, ‘look I’ve been a famous person for ten, twenty, thirty, forty years. If there was anything to this, where is the exposé in the News of the World? Where are the newspaper stories generally?’ And it’s a strong point.”

Anderson laments that the scandal has taken its toll on his employer’s reputation. “I think the BBC have to take a hit on this, in the sense that he was a big BBC star,” he says. However, he is keen to stick up for the Beeb in the face of what has become a huge media storm.

“I’ll accept that there’s a certain amount of justified criticism but in general I’ll stick up for the BBC because it has it’s structural weirdness, its structural problems, but overall I speak not so much as an employee, more as a viewer and a listener, as an advocate of the BBC, even if that’s sometimes against the odds, because it does produce fantastic stuff.”

Needless to say, Anderson’s Foundation Day lecture is a triumph. He alludes to the Savile scandal at various points during his talk, and it is a testament to his comedic aptitude that he tickles the crowd rather than offends. A show of hands at the end of the talk reveals that Anderson has overwhelmingly persuaded the audience of his point of view. As University Place empties, I reflect that Clive Anderson turned what could have been a tedious formality into an amusing and informative afternoon.

Clive Anderson presents Loose Ends, every Saturday at 6.15pm, on BBC Radio 4

10

Politics & Comment

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

My Political Hero...

Ho Chi Minh

Out of recession, but does George Osborne deserve a gold medal?

The UK is finally out of recession, but what does this really mean?

Following months of hysteria over the Coalition’s ruthless economic approach, the recent news that the UK economy grew by 1% between July and September was warmly welcomed by the government and the Treasury, in particular. This indicates that the economy is now out of a double-dip recession.

Nevertheless, one must look at the data before deciding whether or not this truly shows that the UK economy is on the road to recovery.

The period in question was quite extraordinary and the growth in GDP owes much to the Olympic Games. Ticket sales for London 2012 alone accounted for 0.2% of the growth. The boom in the aviation and hotel industries in the capital also made a significant contribution. “More than half of the quarterly increase is attributable to the Olympics and the reversal of the jubilee effect in Quarter 2,” concluded Graeme Leach, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors. So it would be premature for Cameron, Osborne et al to pop the champagne corks and propose a toast to a great and certain recovery.

Rather, their time would be better spent implementing policies which inject confidence into struggling sectors of our economy.

For example, the recent figures show that construction has fallen by 2.5% in the last quarter. The lack of demand in the economy means that construction firms are risk-averse in their approach. Recent research by Post Office Mortgages has shown that the average first time buyer in the UK is now 35 years of age. This demonstrates the lack of affordable housing – a problem that the government must address with greater urgency. As opposed to reassuring us that a recovery can be achieved

across the economy through Osborne’s ‘Plan A’, it is now time for the government to take responsibility for injecting demand into the economy, so as to boost jobs and growth.

In an unfamiliarly positive week of press for the Coalition, unemployment fell by 50,000 – yet two-and-a-half million people remain in search of a job. This fall in unemployment doesn’t tell the full story, however. 1.4 million people are currently in part-time positions because they were unable to find full-time work – close to an all-time record. Youth unemployment remains an area of grave concern. Here in the North West, there has been a 53% increase in the number of longterm unemployed 16-24 year olds since the Tory-Lib Dem Coalition was formed two years ago.

Whilst some may insist that the UK is back on track, the outlook for graduates remains bleak. A recent study by the Higher Education Careers Service Unit has reported a 6% rise in the number of graduates who are currently in ‘non- graduate’ roles, such as low-skilled jobs in retail and customer service. The study also found that the number of graduates looking for work after six months has risen to 8.6% over the past twelve months. As undergraduates seek to maximise their employability in order to gain graduate-level employment upon completion of their degree, the competitiveness of the job market shows no sign of relent.

Although inflation is falling, the cost of living is still rising – particularly due to the fact that wages are not increasing in line with inflation.

The chronic lack of confidence in the labour market means that many hard-working people are primarily concerned with keeping their

jobs, rather than securing a pay rise. Asda was the first supermarket to reduce the cost of petrol last week, with a 2 pence drop in the price per litre at the pumps. The government quickly praised Asda, and the supermarkets that followed suit, without acknowledging that wholesale prices of fuel fell by twice as much!

Despite the emergence of the UK from recession, the fall in unemployment and the fall in inflation, the main problems that the UK economy faces show no signs of subsiding.

As Chancellor George Osborne recently announced a further £10 billion cut to welfare spending, one cannot help but question how much these measures will cripple demand in the UK economy. Instead of satisfying the rightwing of the Conservative Party Conference, the Chancellor should take a more longtermist view on how to help people in to work.

He must understand that the grossly distorted rhetoric about “scroungers” will not help the long-term unemployed to find work.

Whilst the growth we have experienced over the past three months is undoubtedly welcome news, one reasonably concludes that it has been an artificial result of one-off occurrences, notably the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This was a golden summer for Britain, but the performance of its economy can be best summarised as ‘could do better’. Until the government addresses the problems of housing, long-term unemployment and youth unemployment, the possibility of a triple-dip recession looms large.

Choosing French colonial and Vietnam War-era nationalist communist leader Ho Chi Minh was not a difficult choice for this column. I do not particularly support Communism in general, nor do I even consider myself to be especially left-wing, but the legendary leader is something of an inspiration to me. As a man who travelled the world and fought his whole life for what he believed in, he ultimately outfoxed and defeated both the French and the Americans to permanently liberate a country that was under occupation for 150 years, before which it had been subjugated for over a thousand years by the Chinese. He was also a shrewd, intelligent, and extremely dedicated leader who is revered in contemporary Vietnam almost as a deity.

Born in 1890 near the city of Vinh, north/central Vietnam, as Nguyen Tat Thanh to a family of fluctuating wealth, his father (a teacher and magistrate) taught him Confucian ideas and imbued him with a disdain for French colonial rule, as well as a strong sense of Vietnamese nationalism.

Ho became a sailor and travelled the world, before joining revolutionary Vietnamese communist leaders in Paris in 1917 where he read the works of Karl Marx, helping to form the French Communist Party. He then lived in Russia, China, Thailand and India for many years, fearing arrest by the French in Vietnam. However, the Japanese overpowered the French in Indochina (modern-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos) during the Second World War in 1940 and Ho seized the opportunity to propagate his nationalistic ideals and formed the Vietminh independence movement.

He had been away from his homeland for 24 years before his return in 1941. The Vietminh fought a guerrilla campaign against the Japanese (supported with Soviet weapons and American intelligence), and after the August Revolution of 1945 Ho Chi Minh became president of the new Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Unfortunately, however, the French wouldn’t relinquish their pre-war colonial asset and returned to reclaim Indochina. Even worse, the Chinese Army also marched into North Vietnam.

Ho made a deal to have the French return, reportedly saying “I would prefer to sniff French shit for the next five years than Chinese shit for the rest of my life,” perceptive comments considering the outcome a few years later.

By 1963, America was fully in Vietnam for one of the most unpopular wars of all time. Ho encouraged the merging of the guerrilla units into the NLF, more commonly known as the ‘Vietcong’, to fight for a united Vietnam (against both the US and her allies in the ostensibly corrupt South).

Unfortunately Ho died in 1969, six years before his dream was realised with a bitter and embarrassing American withdrawal and the formation of a reunified and independent Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1975.

Known affectionately in Vietnam today as Uncle Ho, the great Vietnamese nationalist hero had Vietnam’s largest city (formerly Saigon) named after him and lives on in the hearts, minds and daily lives of the 88 million people of a country he was instrumental in forming.

Oliver Reynolds

Tom Danaher

Comment

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

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The burning question...

YES The only effective way to deal with views such as Nick Griffin’s is to question them, have them out in the open, and to criticise.

Leeds Student made exactly the right decision by giving Nick Griffin a platform, because by allowing him to voice his opinions, they allowed us to see how ridiculous they are.

A particular favorite quote of mine (for showing just how stupid Mr. Griffin is) came when the interviewer, a gay man, asked him what exactly it is he finds so objectionable about people like himself.

Griffin’s reply was to explain that gay people simply need to understand that “a lot of heterosexual people – we don’t want to persecute you – but we find the sight of two men kissing creepy.”

Another absolute gem comes when he moves onto civil partnerships, saying that as it undermines the institution of marriage “children will die over the next few years, because they’ll be brought up in homes

Becky Montacute

which aren’t married.” Students aren’t stupid; the vast majority of them know that opinions like his are not just vile but absolutely ridiculous. They are not about to become BNP recruits anytime soon after seeing this sort of rubbish from him in their student newspaper. Just as the fallout from Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time made us question the standing of the BNP, the more people understand what his views actually, are the less they want to support him.

The NUS have a no platform policy, and have written an open letter to Leeds Student asking them to remove the interview.

This policy stops criticism from happening. It is also a policy put in place by a body, who should not be trying to push policies onto member universities. The editor of Leeds Student was elected democratically by the members of her union, and so absolutely had the right to make the decision to publish

“Was the Leeds Student right to publish an interview with Nick Griffin? ” the interview.

Views need to be heard to be challenged, not hidden away and for us to pretend they don’t exist. People like Nick Griffin exist, students need to know that and need to shout about just how wrong people like him are. This is the only way to fight these views, and so Leeds Student were completely right in their decision to go against the NUS and print the interview.

In justifying the publication of their interview with Nick Griffin, the editors of the Leeds Student must ask themselves what purpose it serves. I myself struggle to come up with something worthwhile. The leader of the British National Party, as the interview itself will attest, has nothing either relevant or valid to say, leading one to wonder whether it was a mere publicity stunt. Many column inches have been devoted to the subsequent discussion and debate, so the

NO

Ben Weich

Student has succeeded in this respect.

But I find it laughable that, in her response to the NUS’ call for the article to be retracted, the paper’s editor argued the need to confront extreme politics.

This would hold more water had the interviewer actually challenged Griffin, instead of offering a predictable, recycled probe into his views on homosexuality and the Holocaust.

No, I’m afraid this smacks of an attempt to generate controversy by flogging a horse which has long since been deceased. Post-recession (and with many of their votes returning to Labour), the BNP’s last embers of popularity are flickering out, and they are no longer considered significant or threatening. Sensing his 15 minutes are almost up, Griffin has reduced himself to a Renta-Shock, popping up with the political equivalent of a steaming bag of excrement

whenever an editor wants a cheap story. I find the validation of this tedious.

Inevitably, the other half of this article will at some point mention the importance of the freedom of speech, and this is a fair point. But we’ve heard what the BNP have to say. There’s a distinction between giving someone the chance to express their views and simply offering them the exposure they don’t merit, and that line has been crossed.

I don’t take exception with the Leeds Student publishing this interview as such, but rather the way they’ve dressed it up.

It wasn’t a serious piece; it was an attempt to get Nick Griffin to say something outrageous.

They should have presented it for what it is: the closest thing political journalism comes to the Jeremy Kyle Show.

Disagree? Tweet us @mancunioncom, or email us at comment@mancunion.com

Sweden’s showing us the way with paternity leave Whilst British women bear the brunt of childcare, in Sweden they have found a more equal system

Walking along the streets of Stockholm, the average Brit will see a scene quite alien to them.

Groups of men happily wandering around the city’s suburbs, pushing along prams, or with babies strapped to their backs. This is something a Swede will barely bat an eyelid at, but this isn’t a scene you’ll likely to see whilst wandering the streets of Manchester. This may, however, be about to change. The coalition has announced plans to bring in shared maternity and paternity leave by April 2015. So for today’s students, it means that we will be the first generation of Britain’s who will finally have the opportunity of equality in parenting. But disappointingly, it does not go as far as it should, falling far behind Sweden’s system

which has been in place since the 1970s. In short, it’s a good start - but not good enough.

Currently the British system gives men just two weeks of paid leave from work following the birth of their child, and they are entitled to no other time off. Women, on the other hand, are given paid leave for up to 39 weeks after birth, and can choose to take up to 52 weeks off in total.

Under the coalition’s proposals, mothers will automatically receive 18 weeks’ paid leave, fathers 6 weeks. And the couple will have 32 weeks, of which 16 are paid, to split between them.

So why is this change so important? By giving women so much more paid time off than men, the state has been reinforcing the sexist view of women as primary providers of childcare, with the negative impact this then has on their careers.

It isn’t, however, only negative for women. Many men who would love to stay at home with their children don’t because they would have to do so unpaid, which most families cannot afford.

Another problem is the general attitudes towards men and childcare. With its parental leave policy, the government had been endorsing the view that men don’t get involved in childcare. It’s seen as emasculating for men to be the ones to stay at home, which puts many men off for fear of how others will perceive them. Under the current system, the government had been effectively endorsing this view.

From 2015, a couple will be able to choose to split leave (pretty much) equally between them, letting them choose for themselves their roles within their own family. Within any partnership, partners must be able to choose between them who would be the best person to look after their

children, and that is not a decision in which the genitals that person happens to have should have any bearing. Couples are likely to have more pressing issues on their mind during that decision process, such as the stage each of them is in their career (and so if it’s sensible for either of them to take a large amount of time off ), or who would most enjoy spending that time at home with the children.

The problem comes, however, in reserving the first 18 weeks to the woman. It means that the message of women as primary caregivers, though weaker, is still there. The government needs to send the clear message that neither gender is expected to take the majority of childcare. A Swedish friend put it to me perfectly - “I think the biggest theoretical fault with the British system is that it by law says that men and women should be unequal to the law (which I obviously don’t think is acceptable). The biggest practical problem is that it will keep women away from work life and make them a less attractive choice during employment, and they are therefore put in a difficult position when trying to develop successful careers.”

Still a major concern for female students upon graduation is: will a man be chosen for a job over me because of my gender? The story’s a disappointingly familiar one: two candidates, one male, one female, fairly evenly qualified.

The employer, (especially so in small businesses) worries that the young woman will start having children within a few years, and doesn’t want to have to bear the cost of the time she’ll likely take off for maternity leave, and so they employ the man instead. The problem with the government’s

proposal is that it doesn’t change this perception.

If women have a larger amount of time allocated specifically to them, and men have much less, then women will still be seen as a bigger liability.

Because only 6 weeks is allocated automatically to the man, and stereotypes already favour women looking after children, women will remain disadvantaged.

The Swedish system is a much more sensible model, and what we should be striving for.

Parents are given 480 days between them, of which each has 60 reserved for them that the other partner cannot use. This is designed to challenge the stereotype that men aren’t involved in childcare by actively encouraging each parent to take time off to get the maximum time between them, and it means that the state does not in any way discriminate against either parent on gender.

The coalition’s proposals are a step forward.

They allow couples to split parental leave between them fairly, a massive improvement on the current system. What they do not do, however, is challenge existing stereotypes of women as primary caregivers to children, or stereotypes that men cannot hold that role. It seems right now, we may still be a while off my own personal dream - seeing groups of men wandering through the streets of Manchester, prams and babies in tow.

Becky Montacute

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Comment

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

An American abroad Stanley Philipose talks about his experiences as an American student during the Presidential election As a U.S. citizen studying in the UK, I’m experiencing for the second time the elections from another country.

The first time – the 2004 Bush Vs. Kerry election - I was serving in the U.S. Army and deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq. 9/11 would alter the direction of my life in ways I could never anticipate. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, I am the son of Indian immigrants and I love my city.

At the time period of the attacks, I was a student at Baruch College, which is part of the City University of New York. On that fateful morning, I was on my way to lower Manhattan to attend a Psychology class.

I recall the subway conductor talking to another transit employee, saying, “Today is a bad day.” I had no idea of what was going on. Midway through the class, we were told we had to evacuate because two planes crashed into the Twin Towers and the nation was under attack. We flooded into the streets and the transit system was shut down. I had to walk across the Manhattan Bridge to get to Brooklyn. As I crossed over, I looked back at the city and saw an ominous black cloud hanging over it. Over the course of the next year, a combination of personal convictions and tumultuous circumstances led me to enlist in the U.S. Army.

While in basic training, I was told that we were invading Iraq and I was given orders to deploy to Iraq between 2004 and 2005.

It was a difficult year with some painful memories. I remember loading the casket of a fellow U.S. soldier unto a C-130, and losing a soldier from our company. I paid close attention to the 2004 presidential election because of its direct implications on all of us serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During the deployment, politics weren’t

openly discussed much and most of the service members I served with believed in the mission, although a sizable minority were privately opposed to it. I vividly remember listening to Eminem’s Mosh, watching Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, and seeing then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama address the Democratic National Convention.

Much has happened since then. This election, I am not in the military, I am an MBA exchange student from The Ohio State University studying at Manchester Business School. Saddam Hussein has been executed and the war in Iraq is over.

Osama Bin Laden is dead and Afghanistan no longer makes the front page as it once did. All of these events that seemed at one time to be all consuming are no longer on the top of everyone’s minds. The public is weary of these conflicts.

This year’s campaign revolves around growth and unemployment. But through good times and bad, Americans make their way to the ballot box. I’ve found that other countries have far more intrigue for USA elections than we show for anywhere else, but I’ve been surprised at the degree of interest in this election by many of my fellow classmates at Manchester Business School, who have come from all across the world. Why is this?

One of my fellow exchange students, Jacky Lam from Hong Kong, has been watching the U.S. Presidential debates on YouTube. Jacky, who works for HSBC in Hong Kong, feels that Romney will be too soft on corporations because of his business background and prefers Obama.

He knows this election will impact China, which drives his interest. In particular, he tells me he’d like both of the candidates to

address the issue of quantitative easing, which he claims is artificially raising real estate prices in Asia.

Akshay Joshi, the president of the MBA Class of 2013 at MBS and who hails from India, says he follows the U.S. election coverage closely because of the implications it has on the rest of the world. He says President Obama has broad support among the MBA community at MBS in spite of the fact that Mitt Romney is the only one of the two candidates with an MBA and a business background.

Mr. Joshi was proven right; it was hard to find Romney supporters in the MBS community. This is not surprising. A BBC poll has found support in the UK for Romney is less than ten percent. In fact, of the 21 nations surveyed in this poll, only in Pakistan did Romney receive more support than Obama.

I think the media coverage in the U.K. is slightly biased toward Obama, but it’s far more measured than the current polarized media landscape in the United States.

Unfortunately, some of the points brought up by my classmates aren’t usually asked of the candidates. Many throughout the world feel like stakeholders in the U.S. political process, and that makes sense because of the increasingly globalized world we live in today. Americans may be voting in their own self-interest, but their votes affect people and nations all over the world and we should certainly keep that in mind at the ballot box.

My thoughts and well wishes go out to all those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Syria: My Home Farah Nassef writes about what the Syrian conflict personally means to her and her family Nineteen months have now passed since the start of the Syrian uprising against the Assad regime. Protests continue nationwide and with each passing day the death toll rises.

Yet, it seems people all over the world feel so removed from the situation that no one can muster anything more than a passing concern. For me, however, it still remains a weighty burden in my life. To me, Syria is home.

Damascus: where I once lived, attended school, and walked in its streets, has only recently begun to be seriously affected by the rising ferocity of the civil war. Most of the city is now controlled by the power of the Free Army. Almost every house bears battle scars.

The city’s infrastructure is being destroyed from within as roads have been turned to ruin by government air attacks.

And even bakeries have been specifically targeted to ensure that the people who thus far have avoided arrest or murder, will suffer a slow death of starvation.

The famous Hamadieh souk in Damascus was one of the liveliest and most unique markets in the world, selling everything from beautiful fabrics to etched shisha pipes,

has since the fighting last year become a shell of its former self. The market is situated right by the famous Umayyad mosque, where people would take to the streets in protest after Friday noon prayers.

When it became known for sprouting massive protests against the Assad regime the market and its sellers took a serious hit as many shops and stalls were forced to close as people became too fearful to shop there. When it is not filled with hordes of protesters, its desolation is torturous.

Similarly, an area known as Old Damascus, once famous for its bustling shops, lively restaurants, boutique hotels and narrow cobbled streets has within a year turned from a bustling hub of life into a graveyard of closed shops.

I have happy memories of spending many hours in the restaurants in Old Damascus, with their open roofs and cool streaming fountains right in the middle, whiling away time before the next delectable dish is served. Memories which make it all the harder to see this cultural hub decimated by the war.

The violence has also seen tens of thousands of families flee their homes, some of

whom are left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. My family are among the fleeing masses, and though they were lucky to get away with their lives, all their worldly possessions were reduced to a couple of suitcases and boxes.

All my life I have watched the news, read books, and seen films about refugees and civil wars. While I always felt deep sympathy for those people, I would never have thought my family would ever be one of them, to undergo this hardship.

To be labelled a ‘refugee’.

My aunt made the difficult decision to move her, her two year old daughter and my grandmother to Lebanon when their neighbourhood became a hotspot for government air strikes. They spent the entire night before they left trying to escape the explosions and gunfire all around, lying on the floor, away from the windows.

Roughly translated, my aunt said “We didn’t want to leave our home, but we just wanted to sleep knowing we wouldn’t wake up to an explosion, or glass shattering.”

I recently visited Lebanon to spend Eid - a festive celebration after Ramadan - with my grandmother and aunt. Yet the ‘holiday’ was anything but

festive. Their grief at moving away from Syria had not eased, and they were in a permanent state of shock.

While my family’s story is sad, it is by no means uncommon.

Roughly 70,000 Syrian people have relocated to Lebanon in the past year - a statistic which came to life during my visit.

Every apartment building, restaurant, and café was filled with Syrian families, all trying to adjust to their new realties.

Meanwhile, I still have some remaining family in Syria. They have had the opportunity to leave but as my other aunt, and closest relative still living in Damascus, put it, “If it came down to it, I would rather die in my own home than leave and be degraded with my family.”

The situation is escalating but it seems we are no closer to a resolution. Promises of ‘negotiation’ and settlement by the UN have been beyond pathetic. There may be hope that the new Syria UN Envoy, Ibrahimi, who once managed to reach a successful treaty for the opposing sides in the civil war in Lebanon in 1989, will work his magic again. But that remains to be seen.

The end of this war will not mean an end to the troubles of Syria and its people. They may

Syiran flag held aloft by rebels get to return home, but the country to which they return will be a shell of what it once was. And while the physical and structural devastation is brutal, it will be nothing compared to the emotional damage the people have suffered.

Death, torture and ruin has permanently scarred Syria.

My own generation will not be the ones to regain any joy after the settlement, as war scars remind us of our losses.

But perhaps our children will.

I’m confident that this day will come as the Syrian people have shown infinite bravery in risking everything they have to fight for what they deserve.

I long for the day I can return to a country empowered and strengthened by its people, to walk along the busy Hamadieh market streets and eat delicious food with family reunited in Old Damascus. To put it more simply, I long for the day I can go home.

Letters

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ED. Students’ Union Facebook page: a wasted opportunity

T

he Students’ Union Facebook page has over 12,000 likes, but it remains squandered potential for increasing engagement.

When visiting the page you could be forgiven for thinking there were no societies on offer at Manchester. The only posts relate to ‘Demo 2012’ and standing in student elections.

How disappointing this is for first years who come to university hoping to get involved in all the societies, trips and sports on offer at Manchester. Once the Freshers’ Week fair is over, students must actively seek out societies and we all know how easy it is to fall into a trap of apathy with so much free time. The Facebook page should be telling us about what’s going on, how to get involved and ways to meet new people.

Ever fancied Judo? Have a passion for gaming? Want to be on the radio?

There is none of this. Instead, it constantly alienates students who aren’t that interested in politics with an endless stream of Demo 2012 posters and election advertising.

That’s not to say that I disagree with the sentiments of the Demo speech bubbles. But not everyone is politically engaged. Even those that are might not want to campaign on the streets of London. We shouldn’t be constantly pestering 12,000+ students with political messages and ignoring everything else and by doing it we only make those students disillusioned.

Take a look at the Facebook page for the University of Sheffield’s Students’ Union. This is the union with the highest satisfaction rating in the country. On it’s page you find a variety of posts and links for all the things going on for students. Sometimes there will be advertisements for the Demo, but it isn’t overwhelming. Photos of the Art Society’s Halloween face painting and a poster of a production by the Sheffield Theatre Company surround it.

Universities are diverse and the Sheffield Facebook page reflects that. It comes across as a welcoming body and when elections come around people will feel its something they can get involved in because it’s sold as a community. But who is going to want to stand in a Union that its Facebook sells as interested only in fighting national campaigns and protesting for political campaigns?

We can be so much more than that. We are so much more than that. If you want to sell elections don’t just endlessly advertise student democracy as something that is a good thing in itself. These positions just appear arbitrary to most of the 12,000+. Show the Union to be the active, vibrant place it is and people will stand because they feel its something worth standing for that the wider body want to be a part of. Democracy for democracy’s sake isn’t a compelling sell.

Richard Crook Editor Twitter: @RichardJRCrook

@THEMANCUNION

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14

Film

5

TOP

Bond Songs 5. Skyfall

Once Bond himself came to Her Majesty’s not so secret service at the London Olympics, the anticipation for Skyfall went into orbit. You may or may not think that it’s the film to grace Bond’s 50th anniversary, but the Skyfall theme has got it all.

Adele’s smoky voice plus seductive strings equals classic bond.

4. Thunderball British ladies’ man?

There’s only two people you’d think of: James Bond and Tom Jones. Beating Bassey, Dionne Warwick and Johnny Cash in the competition for this song, Thunderball secured both Bond and Sir Tom’s pulling potential for many years to come.

3. Diamonds Are Forever And ever and ever….Dame Shirley Bassey was chosen to bid adieu to Sean Connery’s Bond for the title theme to Diamonds Are Forever. It’s difficult to think of a trickier act to follow than Goldfinger, but the girl from Tiger Bay produced another classic that has stood the test of time much better than the film.

ISSUE 07/ 5TH NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Great Adaptations Are adaptations becoming a tale of the all too expected?

The recent BFI London Film Festival closed with the premiere of Mike Newell’s Great Expectations, due for general release on 30th November and, true to its title, the expectations are indeed huge for this Dickens classic. Director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) reunites with Goblet of Fire actors Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter to bring this much-loved story to life. With David Nicholls (One Day) penning the screenplay, it’s no wonder that this film was set to be hailed as a tribute to both British literature and cinema. What could possibly go wrong? Well, if the reviews are to be believed, quite a lot!

Perhaps the problem lies not with this particular adaptation, but with adaptations themselves. Firstly, there are simply too many, and Great Expectations is case in point. This is hardly Pip’s cinematic debut, having popped up on the big screen not once, but twice before this one. And of course Mrs Haversham has already spread her ethereal glow onto our TV screens this year in the highly

successful BBC adaptation.

The danger with taking on the mammoth task of adapting books to the big screen is that people get territorial, and if the film adaptation then turns out to be rubbish the gloves are definitely off. Who could forget Julian Jarrold’s 2008 flop of an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited? Don’t even remember it? My point exactly. Through reading a book, we become attached to the characters, we have our own ideas on what they’ll look and sound like, so that by the time we’ve finished reading it, we’ve already planned our very own feature film. Consequently, when that film finally does come out, the hardest critics to please are the audiences themselves.

But as with everything, there are two sides to this debate, and in cinematic history it is often adaptations that have become the classic films of their time.

Invariably this happens when the unique opportunities that film-making presents have been used to take the tale to another level. We all have a favourite, but Roman Polanski’s Tess stands out for me as a

1. Goldfinger Bassey’s back in and she’s number 1. (Who else?!) My first ever Bond film was Goldfinger and the title sequence alone was enough to get me completely hooked.

Dame Shirley’s first Bond theme was a total hit, and became just as iconic as the film itself.

Sophie James

let’s look ahead and look forward to Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. You can’t avoid great adaptations, so you might as well get stuck in – there’s certainly something for everyone.

Sophie James Film Editor

Review

Skyfall Director: Sam Mendes • Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes Released: 26 October progression perfectly.

An abundance of Bond’s classic humour comes through, including nods to the cars and gadgets of previous films, while still bringing us plenty of the new. The wonderfully crafted action sequences and impressive cinematography boasted in the trailers did not disappoint on the big screen; taking us through the beautifully lit parts of Shanghai, to carnage within the tunnels of the London Underground. But it was the characters that make this film the

2. Live and Let Die Whilst we’re all now sick of the sight (and sound) of Paul McCartney after he beatled his way round every single televised event this summer, there was once a much simpler time when McCartney was just a singer with another band, Wings. And his finest hour was the theme to Live and Let Die, Wings’ best selling single and the best selling Bond theme up to that point.

film which took a phenomenal story to new heights with its cinematography, direction and superb cast.

Equally, sometimes a film can simply bring a great story to a wider audience at just the right time, connecting with a generation as a commentary on society itself, just as was the case with Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting.

What filmmakers and directors have got to learn to do is to avoid the obvious, to show a bit of originality (and faith in their audience!) by taking lesser-known quality works to the screen. Joe Wright certainly learnt from experience on this one.

After a reasonable but ultimately slightly tired attempt to adapt the monumental masterpiece that is Pride and Prejudice, his star-turn came with the contemporary classic, Ian McEwan’s Atonement, from which he crafted a beautiful piece of filmmaking to rival the book itself.

So, keep an open mind, go and see Great Expectations. Apparently Ralph Fiennes’s Magwitch is worth the price of the ticket all on his own. If that fails to please, then

Four out of five stars After the disappointment of Quantum of Solace, Skyfall represented the ultimate test to see whether Daniel Craig could succeed in creating a Bond to remember.

After watching Sam Mendes’ latest installment of the 007 series, I found myself wondering how he, along with his supporting cast, could have achieved this to much better effect.

Mendes mixes nostalgia with clear signs of

Director

PROFILE Name: Baz Luhrmann Age: 50 Best known for: Romeo + Juliet Moulin Rouge!

success it is.

Both the reinventions of familiar faces and those making their debut are intriguing and refreshing. We are introduced to a bleach blonde Javier Bardem who brings us the most interesting Bond villain to hit the screen in decades.

Bardem’s Raoul Silva simple desire for revenge, and the extent to which he will go to get it, along with some elaborate analogous speeches and a dodgy jawline, make

The number of book adaptations released this year alone has been outstanding. Anna Karenina was a suitably condensed, raunchy version of the one-thousand page novel, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower starred Emma Watson with an American accent, and most recently Jack Kerouac’s On The Road was finally brought to the big screen. But perhaps more exciting than all of this is the eagerly awaited masterpiece The Great Gatsby, taken on by master of spectacular performance, Baz Luhrmann.

Displaying his credentials for wild and extravagant productions in Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann reunites with his Romeo,

sure that the Spaniard – in contrast to the cartoonish baddies desperate for world domination of previous films – cements himself amongst the Bond villain greats.

Ben Whishaw as a baby-faced Q, carries promise for the future, while a visit to Bond’s family home where he grew up provides us with a believable and humorous Scottish gamekeeper; likely a not-so-subtle nod towards fan-favourite Sean Connery.

With two gorgeous Bond girls in Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe, 007 has ample opportunity to flex his flirtatious muscles, and while we perhaps lack the chance to build an intimate relationship with either woman, this will hardly come as a surprise to bond fans.

The stealer of the show is found in one of the movies’ few familiar faces: ‘M’ (played by Judi Dench). Never before have we seen been treated to an insight into her background and the emotions that run through her relationships with agents. Riddled with regret and a determined sense of duty, M is a character we can’t help but sympathise with, despite her mistakes. Her relationship with Bond is probably the most touching that we have seen 007 form with anyone. And the climax of the film leaves us with a reminder that Bond can move as well as excite us, something that has been missing in the last few features.

Alex Morrison

Leonardo DiCaprio, as Jay Gatsby and stages the biggest and most colourful adaptation of

the Roaring Twenties to date. Australian born, Luhrmann’s trademark style combines vivid theatre spectacle with film cinematography, giving cinema audiences a stunning display of grandeur and performance. Having worked initially in theatre, his first film Strictly Ballroom was the start of The Red Curtain Trilogy which conveyed theatre interwoven in film, a style which he repeated with the critically successful Moulin Rouge!.

The tantalising trailer for The Great Gatsby shows his taste for extravaganza will make its extraordinary mark yet again.

Ally Mitchell

Film

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

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Preview

The Silver Linings Playbook

The Stockport Film Festival returns

Director: David O’ Russell • Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence This November brings the arrival of the buzzed about Silver Linings Playbook to our cinema screens.

It’s already a festival favourite, beating Ben Affleck’s muchhyped potential Oscar contender Argo to the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film tells the story of former teacher Pat as he tries to patch up his life after returning home from a stint in a mental institution, and his meeting and growing bond with Tiffany, a young woman still struggling in the wake of her husband’s death.

Director David O’Russell has brought together a cast of wellloved actors who have already proven themselves in various fields; Jennifer Lawrence already has a legion of fans from her lead in The Hunger Games and an Academy Best Actress nomination for Winter’s Bone, but this now gives her a chance to showcase her comedic talents alongside that emotional depth.

Whilst Bradley Cooper won over both the males and females in the audience as the suave best man of The Hangover films, with Robert De Niro and Jackie Weaver rounding out the cast this is decidedly more grown up fare.

Although the trailer focuses on the humorous elements of the film, and some reviewers are assuring belly laughs, both the protagonists are dealing with

some serious emotional issues.

Mental illness is rarely addressed in Hollywood with the amount of warmth and understanding The Silver Linings Playbook appears to promise. The characters are not supposed to be defined by their illnesses and O’Russell points out that they turn out to be some of the sanest people in movie. It is instead the blunt honesty of Pat and Tiffany, apparent in the trailer – “You look nice. How did Tommy die?” which is designed to provoke reactions and provide something refreshing for the audience. Who hasn’t ever wished they could just say whatever is on their mind regardless of consequences?

The storyline may seem fairly predictable, with the down-onhis-luck man meeting a quirky and unusual female to trade witty comebacks with, but this

is no ‘manic pixie dream girl’ in cute 50s dresses. This is a smart comedy drama which has won praise for treating its audience like intelligent grown ups.

However, festival audiences don’t always represent the majority of the film going population and what with having no superheroes or strippers in it The Silver Linings Playbook may not appeal to everyone. Though it does promise to be a warm and well acted (there is talk of nomination number two for Lawrence) film that deserves to be a must see.

Even if it is just for the reason that you want to witness with your own eyes the evidence that Bradley Cooper can look good even wearing a bin bag.

Lucy Gooder

It is exciting when new film festivals begin to take root on our own doorstep, like the Greater Manchester Film Festival, which debuted last month. However, an equally promising festival in the North-West is already in its second year.

Screen Stockport is an independent short-film and television festival that has aimed to bring together filmmakers of all ages, regardless of background or experience.

After a successful first year the Screen Stockport team came back in force last month with a diverse look at film-making in all forms.

From features on music videos, to short films and international works, the festival’s events proved fascinating for those with a burning interest for independent cinema. Furthermore, the day’s screenings were broken up by stimulating discussion with speakers of notable calibre; such as IMDB Founder and CEO Col Needham, who was in fact born and bred in the North-West.

What perhaps is most impressive about this festival is that it was founded by 19 year-old Manchester student Joe Barratt.

With parents who had careers in film production, Festival Director Joe took the knowledge he had been exposed to from an early age and applied it, to give his hometown of Stockport a cultural event they could be proud of. Currently a second-year Drama student at the University of Manchester, Joe’s standing is certainly reflected in the festival’s events, with a whole day dedicated to students. Young people from universities, schools and colleges were given the opportunity to submit short films to be presented and judged on the silver screen of the Stockport Plaza Cinema.

This year’s events were rounded off with two hilarious screenings with quintessential ‘northern’ roots. The first was a short called Escape Plan C which followed a husband in a dreary northern suburbia desperately trying

Crowd Funding site ‘Kickstarting’ the movie bizz Move aside Harvey Weinstein. Mr Redford, you can keep your Sundance festival. There’s a new indie movement in town and this one is controlled by you.

Kickstarter is a site that you may already be familiar with, but for those out of the loop, I’ll explain. It’s sort of like an online Dragons Den, but instead of inventors/entrepreneurs/artists asking a few millionaires for money, they are asking the entire World Wide Web. Basically, say you want to make a film and need, for example, £500,000 to it get off the ground, you can create a ‘project’ on Kickstarter to get it funded. On the projects page you must write an appeal or make a video to pitch why it’s worth supporting, and if people want to see this project made they ‘pledge’ their money. Once the project starts it has 30 days to make its pre-set goal and if it fails it goes unfunded. If the project makes its goal, the money is taken, and any money over the pre-set goal earned in that 30 days is kept also. It doesn’t have to be a film however, the Pebble E-Paper Watch holds the record for the most funds raised with $10,266,845. The games industry has flourished on this platform as well such as with funding the Ouya games console with $8,596,475.

Where it truly separates from Dragon’s Den is that the ‘backers’ get no stake in the projects they fund. They are not investors. They can however get unique perks depending on how

much money they give. For instance you might get a ‘special thanks’ credit if you donate £100.

This site, launched in 2009, is beginning to make waves in Hollywood, as it is fast becoming a real source of alternate funding for filmmakers struggling to get Hollywood support for projects. A few months ago Academy Award Winning screenwriter Charlie Kauffman got his stop-motion animated feature Anonmalisa funded reaching $406,237 with a goal of $200,000. The David Fincher backed, animated adult comic book adaption The Goon, at this time of writing, is also well on its way to being funded with $137,467 of $400,000 pledged with 24 days to go.

These are two above-the-title filmmakers with a dedicated following. They’re turning to Kickstarter to get their films made not only legitimises Kickstarter as a genuine player in the film business, but also shows filmmakers there is real alternative to Hollywood.

However, it remains to be seen whether Kickstarter will prove to be a viable option for filmmakers without the recognition or following of Kauffman or Fincher. Without the hard-core fans and press attention a ‘name’ filmmaker brings, many Kickstarter projects have failed, suggesting the site could just be an option for established acts, and sadly, not for struggling new artists.

Though it has not yet proven to be an option for the average, struggling filmmaker,

Kickstarter is definitely an option for established filmmakers to greenlight their original and risky passion projects which Hollywood is rejecting more and more these days. Just like Sundance and Miramax in the 90s, this platform has the potential to push original and alternative films back into the mainstream and into our cinemas, which is a project I would certainly back.

Dylan Wiggan

to build a spaceship in his shed to escape his incessant nagging wife. Imaginative and quirky we were told at the end that it has already been considered for a TV adaptation. Finally we were shown new Zombie comedy flick Harold’s Going Stiff. Set in the countryside of the North-West, groups of men start suffering from some kind of extreme arthritis which progresses to a mental deterioration and through to a zombie-like frenzy. We follow elderly Harold who is the first sufferer of this disease, but whose symptoms do not extend beyond this stiffness. It’s a wildly inventive and, at times, touching escapade, which was apparently all shot in less than week and entirely on a SLR Photographic camera – the first feature-length film to have been done so.

After a highly successful second year it’s clear the Stockport Screen festival is doing much to establish itself as a major hub for the celebration of filmmaking in the North-West.

Nihal Tharoor Film Editor

CORNERHOUSE Rust and Bone Marion Cotillard is arguably the most successful and versatile actress of the past five years. Having won an Oscar for her searing, visceral portrayal of Edith Piaf in the French film La Vie En Rose in 2007, she has since then ripped her way through mainstream Hollywood with almost contemptuous ease, from Inception and Contagion to playing Batman’s near nemesis in The Dark Knight Rises. A pleasant surprise then to hear she’s back on home turf with her next film Rust and Bone. After all, French cinema is academy award-winning territory for her.

Rust and Bone explores the bond between single parent/boxer Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) and Stephanie (Cotillard), a killer whale trainer who suffers from a horrific accident. I know, this looks about as implausible a plot as you’re ever likely to see, but trust me – Cotillard is very definitely in the “she’s never made a bad film” category, and Rust and Bone is no exception. Having wowed audiences and critics alike at Cannes Film Festival back in May, this month saw Rust and Bone arrive in London, where it was met with the same positive response at the BFI London film festival.

Don’t be put off either by the “love story with a difference” tag.

This one has genuine pedigree. With Cotillard and Schoenaerts acting their socks off, the film is also written and directed by French director Jacque Audiard, who already has two Baftawinning films under his belt: A Prophet (2009) and The Beat that My Heart Skipped (2005). As well as this, be sure to listen out for another score by BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated French film composer Alexandre Desplat. In short, this film brings together French film royalty with predictably regal results. Looks like it’s going to be another French invasion at the Oscars this year, and good on them!

Sophie James

OUT THIS MONTH NOVEMBER

SKYFALL DIRECTOR: SAM MENDES STARRING: DANIEL CRAIG, JAVIER BARDEM RALPH FIENNES JUDI

GAMBIT DIRECTOR: MICHAEL HOFFMAN STARRING: COLIN FIRTH CAMERON DIAZ OUT 21/11/12

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK DIRECTOR: DAVID O RUSSELL STARRING: BRADLEY COOPER ROBERT DE NIRO OUT 21/11/12

THE MASTER DIRECTOR: PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON STARRING: PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN JOAQUIN PHOENIX RUNNING TIME: 137 MIN

TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN PART 2 DIRECTOR: BILL CONDON STARRING: KRISTEN STEWART ROBERT PATTISON

Fashion

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Rain Man(c)

Emma Richards on the inevitable comeback of the waterproof shoe However, all is not lost. Fashion now meets functionality, as it appears the comeback of the welly-boot is in full swing. They have heard your cry for beautiful rubber friends (yes, we are still on the topic of wellies…)

As you pace down the human highway that is Oxford Road, desperately trying to make it to that dreaded lecture on time, you start to feel it. At first you try to ignore it, still in denial that you’re about to be caught out by what feels like an impending hurricane, but the drops are becoming increasingly heavy, and soon it’s a full scale rainstorm. By the time you reach the bus you are soaked to the bone, not to mention the sock. The only thing to do is to squelch your way onwards. It was always going to happen, let’s face it.

However, for those of us whose Student Loans can’t quite stretch as far as the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Hunter or Audra Bow to name but a few, online store ‘Love Wellies’, has an endless array of charms, including their own take on designer styles at a fraction of the cost. Furthermore, with fast and free delivery, staying practically fashionable no longer needs to feel like a chore, nor burn a hole in your pocket. Check them out at http:// www.lovewellies.com.

If it’s raining you need them. If it’s not raining, you still need them. Such is the country we live in.

TOP

This week: The Accessories Issue

5

Just because Winter is closing in on us, and the nights are getting darker, it doesn’t mean that Sunglasses should be locked away for the next couple of months. Sunglasses are a great way of bringing an essence of old school, Hollywood glamour to what might feel like a mundane outfit. If you’re lucky enough to be going somewhere warm over the Christmas break, or even if you just need something to hide behind when you have an almighty hangover, they can add a sometimes much-needed touch of style. This pair by Icon Eyewear (available at New Look) have a lovely vintage feel. The tortoiseshell frames are also a favourite amongst many high-end designers this season, such as Ray Ban, Gucci, Prada, and Linda Farrow. The over-sized style and metallic detailing around the edges of the glasses gives them an expensive look, however, they are a great buy at £11.

Increasingly seen around campus, rucksacks have made a stylish come back.

Comfortable and practical, it’s easy to understand their popularity. Adding the everfashionable Aztec design, this rucksack easily makes the top 5.

Craving: Dior Sunglasses, £239 Despite being a lot more of a splurge, this pair by Dior are actually not too dissimilar.

Again, the tortoiseshell framing makes for a good change from the conventional dark, winter colours, and it would be easy to emulate Audrey Hepburn’s iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s look by putting them on with a fur-collared coat. The beauty of tortoiseshell is that it’s an all season colour; it can compliment darker shades in winter, and contrast nicely to pastel shades in Spring and Summer. The expense of the glasses lies in the attention to detail; such as the patterned arms and branded ‘Dior’ hinges.

Even if you aren’t brave enough to pull this pair out on a (rare) sunny November morning, they are still a worthwhile investment for the warmer months.

Chloe Letcher

With a choice of long or short strap and a nifty separate compartment for a laptop, this khaki holdall is a girl’s more stylised alternative to a briefcase.

Watches: A Timeless Accessory

3) H&M: £14.99

When you think of accessories your mind may drift towards the more feminine range – necklaces, bracelets etc. Those aside, there isn’t a huge variety or choice in fashionable jewellery for men. However, watches are a safe and timeless classic for any gentleman..

Classic and simple, this leather and suede effect shopper provides a cheaper alternative than many other high street products.

Available in pink, khaki and black, you cant go wrong.

Image 1) Casio Silver Retro Digital Watch, £28 – Urban Outfitters: This is a classic Casio design, a little less bling than its gold counterpart and a backlight too, so even in the dingiest parts of Manchester you’ll know how long it is until that dreaded 9am.

Image 4) Mondaine Evo Big Date Mens Watch, £165 – House of Fraser: Mondaine are my personal favourite for watches. Their very classic and simple look is taken from the iconic railway time pieces the company originally made and the style has now also been used by Apple on their new Clocks app in the iOS 6 update for iPad.

Miles Zilesnick

On your head, son...

Take inspiration from the recent 90s fashion revival and brighten up your (and everybody else’s) morning bus ride with these statement-making sage green headphones from Urban Outfitters, £50

Everything you need to consider to be your very own hat connoisseur…

Gadgets. We all have them. We’re all dependent upon them (however much we may try to deny it), many of us are addicted, some of us are allergic. Whether glued to your ear, stuck to your hand or always by your side, chances are yours are varied and numerous. But now it’s no longer enough for our high-tech handhelds just to be useful, they’ve become an extension of our wardrobe and they’ve had to work for it. Gone are the days when the only word in the vocabulary of covers and cases was protective. Now it’s common to have numerous gadget guises as well as accessories and add-ons. There are phone cases to make your mobile look like a 90s gameboy, attachments that give you the look and feel of a home phone (I know, I don’t get it either) and even tiny dancing robot speakers. Even the humble memory stick has had a make over! Here are a few gadget fashion picks.

But if understated is more your thing, try these lightning bolt bud headphones for a quieter outfit quirk. Urban Outfitters, £12.

Get your hands on a cheaper piece from the muchanticipated collaboration between Topshop and J. W. Anderson and bring your iPad out of its shell with this bold tortoise print cover, £19.99.

Now if you’re anything like me, in its lifetime your phone will take several daily tumbles, numerous knocks and scrapes, a couple of underwater excursions and possibly the odd furious fling across the room when things really aren’t going your way.

Avoid catastrophe with this gorgeous galaxy print case from Topshop, £8.

As if the dreaded computer cluster queues weren’t encouragement to take your laptop into uni: wrap yours up in this lovely geometric case and make a sartorial (and scholarly) statement. Urban Outfitters £18.

Hats are quite possibly the most difficult accessories to pull off because there are really no rules about them. For example, I can tell you with full confidence that when trying to look smart the colour of your belt should always match that of your shoes.

With hats, all rules of the sort go flying out the window. Your hat also has greater definitive abilities than any other accessory you own. For instance, if you want to give the impression that you don’t place to much importance on the way you look, a bright yellow pompom hat will probably do the trick. Or if you want to give the impression that you’re an indie man through and through a well-fitting fedora will do (felt in winter and straw in summer).

When choosing a hat you must either think carefully about it or not think about it at all.

Whatever your decision, you must be extremely comfortable with your hat because if you’re not anyone will be able to tell that hats aren’t really your thing and they will immediately assume that you’re going through an identity crisis. The secret to pulling off any casual hat is to embrace any clash that ensues from its placement on your forehead. Keep it simple, keep it comfortable and most importantly make sure that it is you.

Damilola Ade-Odiachi

Beauty

Image 2) Swatch New Gent Collection, Brown Rebel, £44.50: A classic brand that always showcases unique designs. This watch also features a day and date function; useful for any student who’s not entirely sure what’s going on around them in this bubble we call university.

Image 3) Roman Leather Watch (Brown), £85 – Fossil: If you feel like spending a bit more but don’t want to breach the £100 marker, this is a very classic, professional watch, with a symmetrical and neat design that is good for both casual and formal occasions.

Are you as hot for gadgets as Aimee Grant Cumberbatch?

1) Urban Outfitters: £45

With an overwhelming variety of styles adapted from the most popular shoe trends on the highstreet, there’s something for every personality. From the simple, classic Hunter to the fashionable ‘Wedge-Welly’, via the nostalgic Go-Go boot-inspired wellies

by Christopher Ciccone, and the über comfortable quilted styles. The possibilities are endless.

Saving: Icon Eyewear (New Look), £11.

Gadget Candy

University Bags

2) Topshop: £45

SAVING & CRAVING

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4) Zara: £59.99 Wanting something a bit more glamorous? This leopard print effect shopper bag provides practicality and something a bit quirkier than the average shopper.

For those who would prefer a simpler design, the plain black may be a more suitable alternative.

5) Urban Outfitters: £45 Leather satchel bags are the perfect old school accessory.

Although rarely seen under £100, Urban Outfitters offers this vintage style replica.

Large enough to carry folders and its front pockets and easy lock fastening are perfect for keeping your essentials safe.

Alice Tofts

Fajazzle How does one accessorise one’s face? Is it even possible? Yes, says Jessica Cusack, by Fajazzling Accessories for the face have burst back onto the beauty scene in recent times, swept in with the tide of the 90s revival.

Fond memories of brightly coloured stickers applied haphazardly to the face as a child come flooding back to me, accompanied by the image of the heart-shaped patch of raw flesh it would leave when removed.

Nowadays, fun face things are far gentler on the skin and can be purchased in places other than dodgy party shops and Claire’s Accessories. Miu Miu was quick to jump on the bandwagon during its Autumn/Winter ‘12/13 show: models appeared with small circular mirrors framing their brow bone and inner corners of the eye – a mesmerising look and one which I am impatiently waiting for an opportunity to copy, facial glue at the ready.

Bindis – as popularised by the legendary Gwen Stefani – are the most prevalent facial accessory at festivals and clubs worldwide.

Ms. Stefani’s face has become something of a template for revellers, and who can

blame them? She looks fierce. Of course it would be ignorant to disregard the history of the bindi, whose positioning between the eyebrows signifies the sixth chakra, the site of ‘concealed wisdom’, which also plays an important role in yoga as the ‘Third Eye’. I enjoy a little spiritual meaning to my makeup. However, the definition and function of the bindi has loosened with time, and has been adapted by both Eastern and Western cultures. When my sister went to India this summer, I made a specific request that she bring me back some beautiful authentic bindis, and indeed she did. Now all I have to do is wait for more appropriate occasions to embellish my absent mono-brow. For ’tis not, alas, a library look.

In other facial accessory news, glitter is still an easy solution for when your face needs a last minute sprucing. Coordinate your glitz with your eye shadow (I love copperybronze shades) and dab in the corners and on the lash line for a more subtle sparkle. Or when at a festival just tip half a pot on your

face.

Tattoos have also had a revival – the transfer, non-permanent type. I would not encourage the eternal inking of skin just for the sake of fashion. Chanel released some limited edition tattoos featuring beautiful double Cs and swallows made out of pearls, and even the rather strange lip tattoo is not amiss at a fancy dress party or on the faces of Jessie J and Lady Gaga, for whom every day is a fancy dress party. Eastern traditions not only take shape in the form of bindis, but in Mehndi, or Henna to us Westerners.

Nail art is also an insanely popular beauty trend, with some artists adding gems or even piercings to their customer’s nails. Am I the only person here who kinda wants a nail piercing? Quite possibly. But the point is, Fajazzling (I really want to get this term off the ground) is indeed achievable, and more importantly, fabulous. I expect to see you all suitably sparkled out at the two Big P’s next year: Pangaea and Parklife.

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Music

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Editor’s column

Coming soon to a computer near you Tom Ingham Music Web Editor World domination is a scary thought. What if the Nazis had succeeded? What would our world be like? Would I have to wear lederhosen? Would I have a strong proclivity towards bratwurst? All troubling thoughts, but thankfully Hitler’s attempts failed. However, it turns out all he needed for world domination was a pair of specs and the ability to impersonate a jockey. PSY’s ‘Gangnam style’ stormed the planet, going to no.1 in 33 countries, and is already the most viewed video on YouTube, spawning endless parodies – using the internet like a giant Petri-dish for zany, high-octane music videos.

‘Gangnam Style’ features on PSY’s sixth studio album, ingeniously entitled PSY 6. The thought of a Korean artist having such an impact on not only the music world, but society in general, is something that was totally inconceivable until recent times.

Gigging across the country in beat up transit vans is a thing of the past; management and promotion through social networking sites is now the key to success it seems.

PSY’s brand of K-pop essentially takes Western influence (most notably from LMFAO) and then sticks a huge rocket up its jacksie, propelling it to dangerous levels of chaotic energy.

Listening to other infectious pop sensations like ‘Call Me Maybe’ and ‘Party Rock Anthem’, they all make use of heavy pulsating beats, garnished with staccato synth stabs which carry the melody. Although ‘Gangnam Style’ is very similar in these respects, its defining feature

SONGS 5 IN THE FIELD OF...

Laziness Chis Wosu

is of course the trademark dance, which all ages seem to have taken to. This Vic Reeves-esque bit of slapstick is ultimately what sells the song, and is indicative of the whole video which mocks the high-flying types who populate the Gangnam district in Seoul. Despite effectively being a joke, Park Jae-sang’s ostentatious suits and specs have made him one of the coolest and most recognisable artists around – probably pipping Roy Orbison as the most famous sunglasseswearing singer.

For us Brits, it is incredibly rare to hear such a popular song that’s not in English; Ritchie Valens’ 1958 number one ‘La Bamba’ being one of the few examples I can think of.

Take the line “Hey, sexy lady” out of the equation and I have no idea what’s going on. But then again, I don’t need to because there’s a bow-tie wearing Korean bloke parading around with a team of synchronised dancers – and for me, that says more than enough.

I can see why some have taken dislike to this viral sensation; it took off instantly, seemingly undermining any serious efforts by musicians in favour of sheer stupidity. But we don’t always want to cry ourselves to sleep listening to Adele; in times of austerity, sometimes you just want to run around like a lunatic – and now it seems we have the perfect excuse.

Just like the ‘Thriller’ video blew peoples minds, it appears we may have the same thing on our hands again. But could this harmless piece of YouTube royalty outshine MJ? Now there’s a scary thought.

Interview: The Cribs Wakefield’s finest speak to The Mancunion about touring, recording and the essence of punk.

“We’ve been on tour for a third of our lives now. It’s become so fundamental for us,” reflects Ryan Jarman. He’s speaking to The Mancunion, along with twin brother Gary, backstage at the Apollo, in the thick of a lengthy UK tour that takes in, I suggest, more towns than the average band might strive to reach over the course of an average live run.

“The reason why we do tour a little bit more in-depth than some other people is because we genuinely believe that playing live is the most accurate way for people to understand what we’re about,” says Gary. “You can be written about in magazines or be played on the radio, but that’s still other people’s interpretations of what you’re doing. That’s why we did well on the second record; we didn’t really have much money behind us, or much of the industry’s infrastructure, but those singles did well because people remembered that we came to their town.”

May saw the release of the band’s fifth record, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, a little over eighteen months since they announced a hiatus in the wake of appearances on the main stage at Reading and Leeds in 2010. Johnny Marr left the band in the interim, bringing an end to a three-year period of using the onstage introduction “We’re The Cribs from Wakefield, and Manchester,” and Gary claims that the former Smiths man’s departure provided the impetus to return to the studio sooner than originally expected. “It would’ve been weird if the last thing that people had heard of The Cribs was that Johnny had left. It just mobilised us.

It was that kick of inspiration that we needed, because we found ourselves in a situation where we felt influenced to start working again.” On the reasons for the split, he claims that both parties simply “wanted different things. We did think about the future, and Johnny spoke a lot about making a second record, but at the same time we wanted time off, and we didn’t want to make it so that he couldn’t do what he wanted to.”

The sessions for Brazen Bull saw the band recording with a host of producers, including the legendary Steve Albini, who produced first single ‘Chi-Town’. Despite his intimidating pedigree, Nirvana’s In Utero, Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and

Page and Plant’s Walking Into Clarksdale are all counted among his engineering back catalogue - Ryan reveals that getting into the studio with Albini was a straightforward process. “I just called him and told him we wanted to do about four tracks with him and that was it; his way of working is just first come, first served, really.

We’d wanted to work with Steve since we were teenagers really; we were supposed to work with him on our first album but we’d already started recording it elsewhere.” Gary adds that Albini’s business ethics were particularly attractive to the band; “he doesn’t record bands based on profile or money, or anything like that; he’ll go from recording Page and Plant at Abbey Road for the same amount he’s charging an unsigned local band from Chicago. He’s managed to maintain that way of working even though he’s been successful, and I think that’s really commendable.”

The band also coaxed Queen producer David Richards out of semi-retirement, although those tracks ultimately didn’t make it onto the record. Gary attributes the decision to work with Richards to his love of Queen’s Innuendo, and remains hopeful that the material will eventually see the light of day. “Put it next to the Albini stuff, or the [Dave] Fridmann stuff, he did most of the record, and they just don’t match. I’m still psyched that we did it, but you wouldn’t think it was us so much if you heard it - I think it’s gonna trip people out.”

Alongside more traditional merch stand fare as t-shirts and posters, the band are selling copies of The City Is Ablaze on this tour, a compilation of ten years’ worth of the post-punk fanzine Ablaze, for which Gary has penned the epilogue. It’s yet another reminder that The Cribs are far closer, in terms of approach and philosophy, to the punk scene than to the ‘indie’ scene that they found themselves wrapped up in after headlining the NME tour in 2008. It’s a misunderstanding that’s a little sad at times - a particularly unsavoury incident in 2009 saw The Slits bottled and heckled throughout their support slot to the band in Doncaster by a section of the Cribs fanbase with an attitude completely at odds with that of the Jarmans themselves. Do they consider

themselves a punk band?

“Yeah, absolutely,” says Gary, “and I think that book, which isn’t really anything to do with us, is indicative of our state of mind; we just want to spread the word about things we like. We thought some of our fans would dig it too, and I think that’s the essence of punk really, that communal sense of everyone helping each other out, and a lot of people involved with that fanzine is very much in tandem with the way we like to consider ourselves to operate, that DIY sort of thing. That’s what punk means to us really, much more than the aesthetic of the spikes and the leather and that sort of thing. Huggy Bear sound nothing like the Sex Pistols, and they sound nothing like Sonic Youth, who are totally a punk band...I think it’s just a state of mind thing really. That’s what makes it exciting for a band like us, being in control of what you do, and having things be as much about the culture and the ethic as the songs and everything else.”

Between the geographical closeness of their native West Yorkshire and the impact of having a genuinely legendary Mancunian in the band for a time, The Cribs acknowledge that Manchester is a city that’s been particularly kind to them over the years. “It sort of adopted us, Manchester,” says Gary. “To have a city sort of take you as their own like that has made for some really great memories. We played two nights at the Ritz when Johnny first joined, and that was pretty special because that’s where The Smiths played their first gig.” Ryan, on the other hand, is especially fond of the art deco surroundings of tonight’s venue; “you never fail to be amazed by the size of the place when you’re loading your gear in to the Apollo. There’s The Cribs are set for a trip to some less typical tour spots in the coming weeks, with shows in Greece, Turkey and Hungary booked before they take some time off; with Brazen Bull having proven a grandly-conceived, jaggedly-executed triumph, and their live shows as incendiary as ever, we can only hope that this next break is as short as the last; if there’s one thing The Cribs struggle with, it’s keeping quiet.

Joe Goggins, Music Editor

1. Afroman – Because I Got High

2. Bruno Mars – The Lazy Song

3. The Offspring – Why Don’t You Get a Job

4. The Beatles – I’m Only Sleeping

5. Maroon 5 – Never Gonna Leave This Bed

Not really a legitimate reason missing an essay deadline, but hey if you think this falls under ‘mitigating circumstances’ then go for it. Despite selling over 1 Million copies across the globe, sadly Afroman was never able to follow it up with another hit.

Apparently, this song came about after Bruno spent five hours “trying to make a song that was better than The Beatles”. I’m not quite sure what the ‘Fab Four’ would make of it but it did reach #1 in the UK Charts.

Let’s be real, nobody likes a sponger.

Despite its uncanny resemblance to The Beatles song ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’, the band miraculously managed to avoid being sued.

Their dark and angry lyrics are twinned with a light-hearted video - weird old Offspring.

Known musically for the yawning effect of the guitar present in the song, it was written as a tribute to John Lennon’s love of staying in bed. I guess if you stay in bed, you’re not outside fighting wars or harming the environment right?

Yep, exactly. Peace and love.

….until you realize you have an overdue book from High Demand Apparently written by Adam Levine after a “weekend bender”, perhaps he was still drunk when concieving the ‘Perspex box connected to the back of a moving vehicle.’ idea seen in their video. Very impractical!

Music

ISSUE 07/5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

19

Interview

Interview: Easy Star All-Stars On the face of it, joining a tribute band seems like a sure fire way of making a living in music. The songs are already written, fan-base built, just learn the suckers and hit the road – easy, right? Well, not quite and for most, the closest they’ll get to Wembley is usually the boozer just around the corner. The same cannot be said for the Easy Star All-Stars – even the label ‘tribute band’ isn’t quite right, not only have they produced their own material, but their arrangements of classic albums offer a completely different perspective to the originals.

And now they’re back with Thrillah, their take on Michael Jackson’s classic, a departure in some senses from their past work. “It was important to make an R&B record after three rock records. I don’t think people realise the influence of R&B on Jamaican music. We need to do albums that have many many great songs, not just one or two, and all the songs on Thriller are diverse and stand on their

own.” The album comes out just over year after the death of the legendary performer. “It certainly is a tribute to Michael Jackson, he is one of the most famous musical artists in the world, he is also one of the most underappreciated. The enormity of his fame and his iconic stature obscured his brilliance as a musician. The little things he did, which people now accept as the norm in R&B music, he really created some styles”.

The band is touring America and plays a string of UK dates in November, including Manchester’s Band on the Wall.

“We’re always excited to play the UK; we’ve been coming back two or three times a year since 2003.

I’m a huge fan of UK reggae and am thankful for its existence.”

Not only will fans get to hear the new album, but also tracks from their other acclaimed albums.

“We’re able to do a very diverse and interesting show. It’s the only show where you’re going to hear a Radiohead and a Michael

Jackson song back to back, but in a cohesive way that makes sense. The response to the Thrillah material has been great so far, and it’s really fun to play”.

The band really took off in 2003 with perhaps their most successful work Dub side of the moon. “I drew up a few arrangements in my home studio and realised, wow! this could really work. We didn’t set out to do a series of these albums; it was just an idea to do a project. But people seemed to like it so much, that’s why we went on to do several albums.”

Michael has certain stipulations when devising these covers.

“Due to publishing concerns we can’t change the lyrics, but we can add to them. We need to keep the melodies recognisable.

My license is in coming up with a different rhythm track and new bass lines that will help define the song on reggae terms. The main component of Dub is the deconstruction of the song, and creating new space by taking out certain parts.”

The band has received extremely positive responses from Radiohead regarding 2006’s Radiodread, and likewise for all their projects, and although MJ won’t be able to pass judgement on Thrillah, the

All-Star treatment is something artists do really seem to get excited by. You have to respect the courage of these guys, tackling albums which would be perceived otherwise as untouchable. But such is the

innovativeness and quality of their work; they have gained masive respect from fans and artists alike

Tom Ingham, Music Web Editor

Live

LIVE: Benjamin Francis Leftwich HMV Rtiz - 4/10 - 25th October 2012

Benjamin Francis Leftwich is the epitome of a nice man.

He is currently carving a groove playing nice music.

Walking onto the HMV Ritz stage, t-shirt sporting a jolly teddy bear, Leftwich faced a highly appreciative audience of fourteen-year-olds. They shrieked with delight as he embarked on ‘Pictures’ from his album The Last Smoke Before

the Snowstorm.

Leftwich heroically breathed his way through the track, amidst a softly curling cloud of dry ice and his gelled hair haloed by the lights. ‘Shine’ opened with the daring addition of a typewriter to the stage. Leftwich prodceeded to ‘play’ it and even multi-tasked, striking an intense pose for the gig photographer.

We were treated to

LIVE: Peace Soup Kitchen - 5/10 - 24th October 2012

the explanation behind ‘Manchester Snow’, a song about “a girl from Manchester that I had intercourse with 23 times in one week” Leftwich said, proudly brandishing a lone finger. A sultry ode, he cherished the syllables longer than seemed humanly possible.

The high-pitched audience couldn’t help but chatter loudly throughout – it was so totes emosh.

What happened next came as a real surprise: the band departed and Leftwich moved right forward to play ‘Maps’, free of the microphone. A hush fell, the applause was uproarious, then someone shouted, “I would have you UP THE BUM”, and the spell was somewhat broken. The rest of the gig was so notable, it would be hard to describe; in one really special moment Leftwich confided that he felt like a “magical fucking snow dragon” and a teenage girl, poured over the front rail, fanning herself. Who would have guessed the encore would be ‘Atlas Hands’, Leftwich’s biggest hit and the summation of his whimsical oeuvre. What a nice way to end.

Hype can be a hugely dangerous thing. With vehicles like Twitter, Soundcloud and, occasionally, print media (yes, really!), artists can amass a massive following on the back of only a few songs.

Obviously, for some it can be used to bring their music to a significantly wider audience.

But for others, it comes far too quickly, before they really have the material to support the level of hysteria surrounding them.

Judging from tonight’s gig at Soup Kitchen, Peace seem to have fallen into the latter category. In all fairness to the band, their set was just about flawless. They were playing to an absolutely packed room and they had the confidence of a band who know they have the crowd wrapped round their little finger.

There’s elements of a whole host of current bands in their sound, including Foals and Theme Park, and they showed their diversity during the set, ranging from the hazy beauty of ‘California Daze’ to the brazen indie of ‘Bloodshake’, which sent the audience into a frenzy.

However, those two songs made up a third of their set.

Yep, six songs, 25 minutes.

That was it. The tickets for the show were £7, so the set weighted in at over £1 a song.

This is where the danger of hype comes in. Knowing that they’re being touted as the next big thing seems to have led the band to think they can get away with massively fucking over a whole room full of people who have paid to come and see them. Only

time will tell if their attitude comes to overshadow their music, or if they get it together in time to produce the album that they’re clearly capable. It may be a matter of opinion, but I don’t think pissing off their live audience is the best way to secure a lasting fan base and ensure they aren’t forgotten about by next summer.

Rachel Bolland

20

Music

SSUE 07/5TH NOVEMBER2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Mancunion Recommends

NOW: Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city Interscope- October 22, 2012 - 8/10

Since Nas proclaimed ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’ in 2006, the genre has continually evolved in an attempt to cater for a more diverse crowd.

This has allowed for many different types of artists, both good and questionable, to rise to prominence.

Meet Kendrick Lamar. A rapper hailing from the streets of Compton, who has been given the allimportant green light by Dr. Dre and has been heralded by many as the saviour of West-Coast Hip- Hop. His style is very different to those before him and he has created a body of work that may just have left the rest of hip hop trailing in his wake. good kid, m.A.A.d city is more like a featurelength film than an album. Listening to the record track by track is a journey. One that portrays the story of a young person growing

up in L.A., conceptualised like none before him.

The intricacy of his lyrics, the depth of his issues and the pain that can be visualized through his tale set him above any other current rapper, in a body of work that will undoubtedly be labelled a classic in years to come. This is truly hip hop of a different calibre.

The album begins with the sound of a group of young men reciting the Lord’s Prayer, in the song ‘Sherane’, and introduces us to Lamar’s character, a young man desperate to be accepted by his peers and find his place. We are exposed to the moral struggles he faces in ‘The Art of Peer Pressure’, told about his experiences of drug/ alcohol use in ‘Swimming Pools’ and shown his personal battle against rebellion and staying true to his family in ‘Good Kid’ and ‘Real’. The songs are weaved together by powerful skits, which whilst occasionally annoying, are vital to the realisation of the story.

There are features by Drake and Dr. Dre, but this body of work doesn’t rely on big names, as exemplified by the omission of his Lady Gaga collaboration. Lamar has eschewed the traditional feature-heavy debut record, and in doing so is able to establish his own voice and identity. good kid, m.A.A.d city relies on Lamar’s ability to tell a story. His story. With this album, he has broken tradition and displayed a level of introspection and self-awareness that is rare amongst his peers, and painted a picture so complex that it can only help to inspire those around him.

Chris Wosu

THEN: Lou Reed - Transformer RCA Records; 1972 8/10

BOOK NOW: 0161 832 1111 www.manchesteracademy.net Live Music and Clubs at the University of Manchester Students’ Union

November 2012 Tyler Hilton

Monday 12th November

Thursday 1st November

Ryan Bingham

these tracks so original and exciting. While Reed’s vocal potential is also fully explored, sounding like honey on standout track ‘Walk on the Wildside’ and somehow like a raised eyebrow as he coos ‘why not get high’ in closing track, and my personal favourite, ‘Goodnight Ladies’.

Transformer may not be as ground breaking as any Velvet Underground work but it is a lyrical masterpiece and its enduring popularity, 40 years after its release speaks volumes for the brilliance of Reed’s defining solo album.

Rachael Conolly

Ladyhawke + Swiss Lips

Friday 2nd November

Tuesday 13th November

Pentagram

The Revival Tour 2012 feat. Chuck

Friday 2nd November

Twin Atlantic + Charlie Simpson

+ Dead Sara

Friday 2nd November

Ragan + Jay Malinowski + Cory Branan + Rocky Votolato + Emily Barker

Wednesday 14th November

Polica

Blood On The Dancefloor + It Boys

Saturday 3rd November

+ The Oceans Eyes

Carjack Mallone + Troops Of

Wednesday 14th November

Mafeking + Gudanza + The Finest Hour

Saturday 3rd November

Parkway Drive Thursday 15th November

Sonic Boom Six

Royal Republic

Sunday 4th November

Thursday 15th November

The Road To Warped Tour 2012 New Found Glory + Less Than Jake

Passion Pit

Monday 5th November

Seether

Rock Sound Riot 2012 Billy Talent + Awolnation

Sham 69

+ Man Overboard + The Story So Far

Fri 16th November Fri 16th November Fri 16th November

Shooting Pigeons + Standing For

Punch Brothers

What + The Entity

Tuesday 6th November

Gorira + Klone + Trepalium Wednesday 7th November

Fri 16th November

Levellers feat. Citizen Fish Saturday 17th November

3OH!3

Absolute Bowie

Thursday 8th November

Live Evil “Into The Dark 2012” feat Angel Witch + Enforcer + Age Of Taurus

Saturday 17th November

Feeder Sunday 18th November

Thursday 8th November

Band Of Horses

And So I Watch You From Afar

Monday 19th November

Friday 9th November

SOLD OUT

Tuesday 13th November

The Heartbreaks

Tuesday 6th November Lou Reed is a living legend, and rightfully so.

With an impressive sphere of influence, from his art rock days with Warhol and The Velvet Underground in the 60s, to his most recent, slightly bizarre collaboration with Metallica, the man has had an impressive impact on modern music.

Reed split from The Velvet Underground in 1970 and by the time he released Transformer his career had dwindled desperately, having never achieved commercial success with The Velvets, he was hard up, and his first album, a self-titled collection of unreleased Velvet Underground tracks, had flopped miserably. Transformer was set to define his potential as a solo artist and he completely delivered.

While the lack of influence from both Warhol as project director, and fellow founding member and experimentalist John Cale does mean Transformer is musically a lot more refined, a little tamer and a lot less cool than The Velvet’s sound, this isn’t all bad. Transformer achieved the commercial success that The Velvet Underground never did and it has an orchestral sound, even sounding, on ‘Perfect Day’ and ‘Goodnight Ladies’ like a film score. Although the obvious experimentation of the likes of ‘Venus in Furs’ is absent, Reed is still playing with your expectations from a rock album.

While musically the album is interesting, Reed’s coyly clever lyrics are the star of Transformer.

Casual references to shock topics like bisexuality and drug use and completely surreal pictures like ‘a dentured ocelot on a leash’ are what makes

Alabama Shakes

RESCHEDULED Original tickets remain valid

Hundred Reasons + Hell is for Heroes + Cable

SOLD OUT

TECH N9NE

Friday 23rd November

Friday 9th November

Chris Moyles Live + special guests

JJ Grey + Mofro + David Ford

Saturday 24th November

Saturday 10th November

Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Devlin + Krept & Konan + Saving Grace

Monday 26th November

Sunday 11th November

Architects Monday 12th November

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Books

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

21

Review

Saddam capture ‘memoir’ We Got Him! sensationalises a dark and messy war The politically timed re-release of Lt. Col. Steve Russell’s We Got Him!: A Memoir of the Hunt and Capture of Saddam Hussein troubles, not least for its celebration of violence and death

It’s election week in the U.S. of A. The candidates have smiled and shaken hands and rolled up their sleeves, and brought their fist hard down on the podium and blamed the other guy for months now. Campaign activities are telescoping towards the one, decisive day, Tuesday, November 6th.

And U.S. publisher Simon & Schuster have chosen to commemorate the quadrennial event with the paperback release of We Got Him!: A Memoir of the Hunt and Capture of Saddam Hussein, written by retired US army lieutenant colonel, Steve Russell.

We Got Him!… chronicles the six

months leading up to Saddam Hussein’s capture, from the perspective of Russell and his battalion who were stationed in Tikrit, Saddam’s hometown. The titular phrase is taken from the statement given by US administrator Paul Bremer upon Hussein’s capture, which opened, “Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.”

The BBC did not report an exclamation point at the end of this sentence when they published Bremer’s statement in full, which we can perhaps assume was issued as a press release. And yet, there in the book’s title an exclamation mark proudly stands to attention.

The exclamation mark introduces the book from the outset as entertainment, as celebration, and in some ways as propaganda. It sensationalises an account of a deeply complex, and far from uniformly successful war. It showcases, for your consideration, this one-sided account, written in the format of the incredibly commercially profitable, celebrity ‘memoir’, and encourages its listing by the bookreporter.com as a ‘thriller’. That this account exists in this commercial and entirely profitable state, at all, is concerning.

The publishers’ description of the

book, on their website, sets it up it in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s assassination: “When U.S. forces exterminated Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1, 2011, the world cheered not only the death of the 9/11 terrorist mastermind but the unmatched might, skill, and perseverance of America’s military elite.” This language reinforces a hegemonic U.S. world-view, in which America is always the victor. The “unmatched skill and perseverance” of the army, these words belong on propaganda posters.

The popular new US drama, The Newsroom, recently previewed a fictional depiction of the moment when Osama’s death was announced, and, indeed, the room clapped and cheered. I did not. And I can imagine few Brits cheering, either. It is not just that I find it distasteful and slightly chilling – cheering death in any form, it is that this cheering only reinforces the tunnel vision and obtuseness that began the Iraq war in the first place. To cheer is to forget that invasion was an arbitrary and rash decision, that it has been messy and unsuccessful process since then. The death of two dangerous

Profile

men does not change this.

This cheering is of the particular brand of patriotism that defines the U.S., and here reveals itself as a gleeful, vengeful patriotism. It extends to the all-encompassing (self-interested) worldview held by America, that basically goes ‘either you’re with us or you’re against us, and if you’re against us then it is our duty (and our right) to extinguish you’. And it is very much in America’s interests that there are, and remain, high-profile enemies against which patriots can rally; and subsequent mythologies surrounding the ‘extermination’ (as Simon & Schuster so charmingly put it) of these enemies by smiling, apple pie-fed American soldiers. This book is both mythology and the celebration thereof wrapped up in one package.

That the paperback release of We Got Him! comes less than a week before the US general election is no coincidence. As the publisher spins it, Sadam’s capture led directly to the circumstances allowing for Osama’s death, and therefore “opened the door for the most recent and essential victory in the War on Terror”. This is the worst case of history as told by the victors

– where the victors aren’t victorious, and the story is political collateral.

This release is well-positioned to remind (and gain from reminding) the American public of their superior international position and dominance.

It is self-congratulatory and selffulfilling. When America defines itself through a foreign policy of dominance and violence, this becomes the only role through which it can assert a coherent identity.

President Obama also turned his attention to books this week. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, the president discussed novelist Ayn Rand (writer of The Fountainhead) and her Salinger-esque appeal to the selfobsession of youth, “…as we get older, we realize that a world in which we’re only thinking about ourselves and not thinking about anybody else…that’s a pretty narrow vision.” However, the President couldn’t resist concluding his answer once more with an attack on his current closest enemy, the Republican Party. In a political system predicated on bi-partisan battles and one-upmanship I see little hope in the near future for America growing up.

Phoebe Chambre

Feature

Portrait of an author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Escape in a children’s story

Baz Luhrmann may be bringing The Great Gatsby to the big screen once more, but Aidan Gregory reminds us that the real magic still lies between the pages

Remember how fun reading was when you were a kid? Joelle Jefferis advocates reigniting the adventure sub

F. Scott Fitzgerald can be described as nothing less than an American literary titan. He was born in 1896, in the town of St Paul, Minnesota. His early life was a comfortable ascent through top American private schools that propelled him all the way to Princeton University.

Surprisingly, Fitzgerald was not the model student. At Princeton he persistently flunked classes.

So following President Wilson’s commitment to the Great War in Europe, he dropped out and enlisted as an officer in the US army. Unlike a later generation of famous American writers (Hemingway included), Fitzgerald never saw action.

The war came to its conclusion before he could be deployed to Europe. More importantly, his military service took him to Montgomery, Alabama.

There, he met Zelda Sayre; the deeply troubled love of his life. Together they formed an attractive couple who went on to epitomise the glamour, decadence and deep insecurity of the Jazz Age. By marrying Fitzgerald, Zelda sowed the seeds of the writer’s own destruction.

At the same time however, she also did an excellent service to literature.

Their volatile relationship and numerous affairs provided Fitzgerald with the emotional

I love reading. I always have done. I read because I want to be thrown into another world, interacting with fascinating characters and having adventures that I could never do in reality.

Quite simply, a novel to me is an escape. This is why I see no reason to ever stop reading so-called ‘children’s literature’.

The biggest adventures of my life have been at through the words of these skilful narrators. I feel too many authors suffer at the hands of demography fascism when in fact their works can easily match and surpass the quality of their ‘adult’-fiction equivalents.

If we turn to the phenomenon that is Harry Potter, books that parents would pick up for themselves after story time, it is clear that the distinction is moot when the story is good enough. So popular were the books with adults that Bloomsbury re-printed the series with special ‘grown-up’ covers. Here’s the crux of it, then, why did the adult versions need different covers?

JK Rowling is just the tip of the children’s author iceberg. Anthony Horowitz, Eoin Colfer, Diana Wynne Jones and Phillip Pullman all fill the children’s section

spark that enabled him to create the unique complexity of his (especially female) characters.

In addition to his tormented heart, Fitzgerald was a raging alcoholic. Like many great artists, Fitzgerald often wrote his material under the influence.

Alcohol has a way of bringing out creative genius (students of Manchester take note, all those nights at Sankeys may not be for nothing). You can smell the Jack Daniels seeping from the pages.

He mentions alcohol in every single one of his novels, and many of his short stories. From Benjamin Button’s fondness for whisky, to sipping cocktails on Gatsby’s lawn, it was an obsession of his that spilled onto the pages.

Tragically, meaningful recognition for Fitzgerald only came after his untimely death in 1940 at the age of 44. He suffered from the timeless curse of many a talented writer; he found fortune and success too early. After The Great Gatsby was published a higher level of success seemed unattainable. Resultantly his life had nowhere else to go other than self-destruction and penury. But following the USA’s entry into World War Two in late 1941, Armed Services Additions organised an effort to ship thousands of copies of The Great Gatsby out to US troops. Soon

it was being read in foxholes, tanks and cargo ships the world over. This step helped propel Fitzgerald’s works to a place where they truly belong: at the frontline of American literature.

If you read only one Fitzgerald book, make it The Great Gatsby.

It’s the glittering casing of a love story whose centre is peeled back to reveal hardened knots of class, aspirations, and money money money. It is a novel that itself mythologizes a certain time and a certain notion of America, just as Nick Carraway mythologizes Daisy, and Gatsby the American Dream. And a copy won’t set you back more than £3.

shelves with the adventures of your wildest dreams; it seems a shame to forget them simply because their covers are too childish. I have come to the conclusion that books are classed for children simply for their absence of graphic sex scenes. So if that is the kind of ‘adult’ book you’re looking for, you won’t find it in the children’s section (I hope).

This absence, however, doesn’t affect the quality of the writing or story for me. In fact, I’d argue that it improves a story; there are no plot contrivances to make room for romantic

detours for the sake of sealing the ‘adult’ label. This often makes stories neater and provides more of an impact, whereas in the case of the biggest selling adult book of the year, 50 Shades of Grey, messy plot points are cleared out of the way for the real ‘romance’.

My counsel is this: next time you go to the bookshop don’t simply pass by the kids section without a second glance. Lurking beneath those bright or garish covers could be an old favourite or an engaging adventures. It’s a classic case of don’t judge a book by its cover!

Games Clash of the Titans 22

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Jack Crutcher looks at the the three shooters battling for dominance this winter

This autumn three giants of the gaming industry will do battle in what promises to be an exciting month for gamers across the country. Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Far Cry 3 promise to offer up explosive new instalments in an attempt to innovate their way to the top-table of gaming royalty.

The stakes could not be higher for the Halo franchise after developers Bungie Inc bowed proudly out following the success of Halo Reach in 2010. Set to be released on the 6th of November new developers 343 industries have the tricky task of impressing fans who remain loyal to old developers Bungie whilst also proving popular enough to encourage neutral gamers that parting with their money before the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Far Cry 3 is a sensible decision.

343 industries have been charged with the unruly task of waking up Master Chief several years after he had cryogenically frozen himself at the end of Halo 3. In an attempt to escape Bungie’s shadow little time will be spent on the back-story, instead Halo 4 will plunge gamers straight into 343’s own take on the Halo Universe. The franchise will keep loyal fans happy with

the news that the Covenant are back at war with the humans (Grunts will remain fair game), Cortana will return (all be it with a condition known as ‘rampancy’) and popular weaponry like the DMR and the Assault rifle will appear relatively untouched. The game changer for Halo 4 will be the introduction of the Prometheans, the re-designed Battle Rifle and all the snazzy looking forerunner technology set to transform the Halo experience.

Black Ops 2 will be released on the 13th of November and has been billed as a return to the all-action gritty drama of Modern Warfare. The game is set in a ‘near future’ (2025) ravaged by a second Cold War (between China and the USA) caused by the dangerous convergence of weaponry and technology. Playing as Alex Mason’s son David you will aim to defeat the terrorist organisation attacking America’s drone network. The real innovation that will take this game to the next level is its RPG style story choices, with each player choosing his own path through the Black Ops universe.

This also means that Black Ops 2 will have multiple endings!

Where Black Ops 2 will particularly look

to hold on to loyal Call of Duty fans is its consistent focus on a wide selection of weaponry (there will be 6 different submachine guns alone) and the variety of futuristic military technology on show like the Quad-Rotor Helicopter Drone. Zombie mode will also return, with added features such as unlockable areas in transit and new types of zombies.

There may yet be a wildcard that has been over-shadowed by the aforementioned releases. Far Cry 3 is due for release on the 30th of November. Taking the action on show in Black Ops 2 and multiplying its explosive impact by ten probably would not do Far Cry justice. With an enormously expansive world to explore and psychotic warlord Vaas and his forces determined to kill you, gamers must carefully plot their way through the game. The sheer fun factor Far Cry offers is likely to be greater than that of Halo or Black Ops 2. Far Cry 3 is also set to bravely combine the action packed first person shooter that was Fry Cry 1 with the Grand Theft auto style free-roam of Far Cry 2, and unlike Halo and Black Ops 2 the scenery throughout the map offers plenty of interaction with your weaponry.

So which of these three would be kings is more likely to win their crown this autumn? Far Cry promises to be an actionpacked thriller that will do more than enough to please fans. But the pure scale and reputation of both the Halo and Call of Duty franchises mean the race to be King of Gaming this November will come down to which of these two leviathans best can address the hopes of loyal fans whilst managing to attract a new and more critically-minded generation of gamers. There can only be one winner this November so let battle commence.

Shadow Of The Colossus The question, are games an art form, has been asked since their conception. I can appreciate how the average person may just see games as compicated toys however I believe Shadow of the Colossus will forever prove that games can be art. I don’t make this claim simply because of its beauty, Shadow of the Colossus is a work of art because more so than any other game it is able to grasp hold of your emotions and make you fall in love with its characters.

The concept behind the game is elegantly simple, a man loses the girl he loves and so travels to a forbidden land where he must vanquish 16 colossi, some of which stand over 200ft tall, with nothing more than a sword, a bow and his horse. Each battle is essentially an enormous puzzle where you must find the colossus’ weak points and then strategically scale the colossi to attack these areas. These epic bouts with the colossi are astonishing; in particular the moment where you leap onto the wing of a 500ft long flying serpent from the back of your galloping horse is truly unforgettable.

Whilst the fights are outstanding what really makes this game special is how it is able to create such a strong bond between you and your horse. This is mainly due to the fact that the horse controls so poorly at times, meaning having to wrestle with it during these grand battles and makes the sense of accomplishment when you use it correctly so much greater that you really start to care for your horse more than any other game character I can remember.

This game truly is a work of art and demonstrates just how much potential gaming has to be a powerful art form in the future.is reflective of your character.

Arron Wray

Reviews

Does this year’s update of Football Manager live up to expectations?

Assassin’s Creed 3

For many students Football Manager stopped being a game a long time ago, it’s a way of life.

With standard playtimes going well beyond a hundred hours, Football Manager has a habit of taking up all your time, to the point where you’re fitting writing essays and attending socials around the game. Like FIFA, Football Manager has an appeal beyond the standard gaming audience, and while some will attack fans as spreadsheet obsessives, its popularity can’t be questioned.

Over the years, the game has become more and more expansive, from detailed press conferences to contract negotiations with hard-nosed agents and Football Manager 2013 certainly continues in this trend.

With this march towards to realism, could it be the case that the fun of the old Championship Manager games has been lost, the ability to run through a season on a rainy afternoon (it can take up to 5 hours just to get

Ditching the conveniently designed streets and rooftops of Italy and Istanbul, the much hyped Assassins Creed III brings us to the time of the American revolution for more sword-fighting fun. Ubisoft have gone all out to make what was becoming another yearly franchise release into a game substantially different from its predecessors.

The fighting mechanics this time around have been streamlined, down to a threebutton system. The result is a much more cinematic battle, with dynamic camera angles, killer slow motion and a new range of deadly finishing moves.

Realistic scenery replaces the slated roofs, convenient ladders and easy to climb walls of the previous games.

Sneaking, sprinting and diving your way around town is as fluid and satisfying as ever, with

Football Manager 2013 through pre-season), taking your local team from the Conference to the Champions League. Worry not, because Sports Interactive is aware of this problem. Enter Classic mode.

Classic mode cuts through complicated training regimes, masses of staff to hire, and lengthy press conferences, and replaces them with a strippeddown, bare-bones game. It lets you run through a season in 8 hours, and you’re only ever a few clicks away from your next match. Classic mode isn’t perfect; it lacks the reward of taking over every aspect of a club and turning them into an unbeatable powerhouse.

Plus, when you are losing, your options to turn things around are limited, gone are the team talks and specific opposition instructions. Still, Classic mode is a welcome addition.

As well as Classic mode, SI has imported the Challenge mode from the handheld versions. It sets different scenarios, such as a mid-season injury crisis or

rescuing a team from relegation when they’re bottom of the table mid-season. The game ships with five of these challenges with more to come through DLC. They’re good fun, and a great demonstration of just how bad things could get for Liverpool this season.

Along with two new game modes, FM 2013 features a revamped online mode and worldwide leader boards allowing you to compare yourself with fellow managers online. The user interface has been improved in a way that cuts down on clicking between screens, while making the menus more visually pleasing. Similar improvements have been made with the match engine improving both form and functionality. FM 2013 is the biggest update to the Football Manager series since the leap from Championship Manager, for fans of the series it is a must buy.

Sam Dumitriu Games Editor

intuitive controls and many different paths to take. Only occasionally do frustrating slip-ups lead to failed missions.

Competent enemy AI makes stealth sections challenging, at times frustrating, for new and old players alike.

New distraction techniques and more options for friendlies give you new tools for assassinations. Our hero, Connor Kenway, can kill enemies in even more ways than previous Assassins Creed stars, utilising weapons such as Tomahawks and Rope Darts.

The game runs on a brand new engine, Anvil Next, which claims to push the current gen systems to their limits.

Having said that, graphically it doesn’t seem to be that far ahead of last year’s Revelations although it is as well polished, as you’d expect from such a big budget game. The many cut scenes are where AC3 really

shows its stuff.

AC3 is open to new players to the series, giving plentiful explanations to the deep backstory straight away. This time around, instead of Da Vinci, you’ll be rubbing shoulders with historical figures, such as Benjamin Franklin. As ever, there is a detailed fact file for each landmark and character to satisfy history buffs.

At times, it can feel that the player is too limited by the story missions, not being given enough time to really interact with the open world and many side missions on offer.

Ubisoft have been perfecting their popular Assassins Creed formula every year, and this latest edition continues that trend. While it isn’t perfect, it is significantly closer than before.

Alasdair Preston

Food & Drink

ISSUE 07/ 5TH NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Feature: The Liquorists

Win a bottle of premium Brugal rum with the Liquorists! Read on to find out more from Jess Hardiman Give me a nice glass of Pinot Grigio and I’ll be very happy, but give me one more glass of venomous paint-stripper vodka mixed with economy lemonade, and you might send me to breaking point. It may at first glance appear to be the cheap option, but essentially you are still paying around £10 for a bottle of wince-inducing, unpleasant swigging and slurping. The Liquorists suggest you simply make a few minor alterations to your drinking habits, and make way for another sensation to experience on top of your waves of tipsiness and sozzlement: pleasure.

The Liquorists are otherwise known as Jody Monteith and Tom Sneesby: Manchester-based bartenders specialising as drinks consultants. With a strong urge to teach others in the art of enjoyable drinking, their mantra is ‘drink less, but better,’ which is more applicable to students than initially apparent. Encouraging people to follow this mind-set is by no means a hindrance to inebriation, (au contraire, my friend)

simply the idea that moving away from the cheapest drink in the bar may actually do you a favour - Jody points out that one good cocktail can cost the price of two of its cheaper counterparts, but will arouse at least double the satisfaction and usually has the same alcoholic content.

One of the main teaching tools that The Liquorists utilise is their rum, vodka, gin, whisky and tequila trails, which take the pub crawl concept and elevate it up a notch to the glittery world of cocktails, bars, and premium spirits. As you hop from bar to bar, you are given a specially selected drink, which showcases the best that the spirit has to offer. As well as this, the evening includes a meal, food pairings throughout and neat samples of the spirit in question. Each of the trails cost from just £35, where you’ll receive a night worth almost four times that. According to Jody, “Rum’s one of the biggest categories, because within rum there’s something for everyone.

It’s a massive category, and it’s also

made from sugar, which makes it very approachable.” Contrary to expectations of a demographic of older men, the trails have been popular with “a full spectrum of drinkers.”

However, these guys also believe the same mantra can be applied at home.

He says all you need is ice and citrus, “regardless of what kind of booze you’ve got - whether it be spirit, liqueur, wine or port.” He adds, that it’s all about balance, just like cooking.

One example that he gave us was a simple way of making a strawberry daiquiri at home. His recipe uses two eggcups of white rum, one eggcup of fresh lime juice and one eggcup of strawberry jam, which Jody explains has ‘all the fruit content for the flavour that you get from a liqueur, and it has all the sweetness that you get from sugar syrup’.

The genius of it is that you can then use the jam jar to shake it in.

All of these ideas embrace the concept of having the optimum drinking experience, which sounds a lot like many

a student’s ethos does it not? As I sipped on the port Cobbler cocktail that had just been made for me, a strangely refreshing blend of port, cassis, bourbon, grapefruit juice and lemon juice, I found myself relishing each sip. Having never been a fan of port, it just showed what a bit of ice and citrus can do…

We are also teaming up with The Liquorists for a rum giveaway! To be in with a chance of winning a bottle of premium Brugal rum, just tweet @theliquorists with the answer to the following question, followed by #drinksavvy: ‘Brugal Blanco is a premium white rum from which Caribbean island?’

Both The Mancunion and The Liquorists promote responsible drinking.

You must be over 18 to enter, and will be asked to provide identification. The prize is non-transferrable.

This week heralds the revealing of the scores, at Ollie’s last supper of delicious lamb and nude waiters

L-R: John, Sarah, Alison and Giles

Semi-naked waiters helped to spice up the tagine. Photo: Jess Hardiman

Ollie veritably set the scene for an exotic evening: Ravi Shankar’s sitar-playing filled the room; tall, flickering candles in wine bottles were crowded everywhere; burning incense – all of which created the atmosphere of some sort of ashram-student-cave.

All this effort was only slightly undermined by the kitchen roll napkins.

Ollie’s menu was smoked salmon on toast with olive oil for starter, Moroccan lamb tagine for main then gooey chocolate pudding.

Rachel voiced an anxiety about eating lamb as she didn’t like the idea of eating babies.

Once his guests were acclimatised to the exotic surroundings, Ollie clapped his hands loudly and shouted “Gustav!” whereupon two topless waiters emerged from behind a hippy tie-dye sheet and served the four diners.

Will said it was the best starter (perhaps he was forgetting Catherine’s caramelised tarte tatin) but the girls complained

of cold oily bread, which wasn’t even homemade. Presentation was complemented though - Ollie had artfully grilled the bread at angles on a George Foreman.

To herald the arrival of the main course, the waiters stripped down to just their boxers. Ollie hadn’t planned this, and perhaps in fear of full nudity decided to serve the final course himself.

Will said Ollie’s lamb tagine was surprisingly nice, Catherine enjoyed it but felt a side was lacking. Rachel found a bone and ate it out of politeness.

Rachel also provided much of the lewd conversation for the evening, asking such painful questions as “would you rather poo blood or bleed poo?” In fact, Rachel pointed out the entertainment was basically provided by the guests and if Ollie had organised something, such ghastly questions would have

been unnecessary.

The gooey chocolate pudding wasn’t such a hit. The diners complained it was dry, and Catherine thought it was because Ollie hadn’t used actual chocolate, only cocoa powder.

The individual ramekins were highly envied though.

Scores

1st Catherine - 24 2nd Ollie - 23 3rd Rachel - 22.5 4th Will - 21

Winning menu

Red onion tarte tatin Beef bourgignon with garlic mash Raspberry pavlova As the winner, Catherine receives a free meal for two at Wählbar, Fallowfield.

Emily Clark Food and Drink Editor

Could Manchester’s Food and Drink Festival be too much of a good thing?

Review: The Mark Addy Past all the new development full of identikit chains in Spinningfields, it is possible to find a true gem: the Mark Addy, named after a Victorian local hero. It seems initially unprepossessing, but once you walk down the iron staircase to the riverside pub, you’ll find an charming room, which was formerly a passengers’ waiting room for boats that plied the river. We sat in a booth and spent a long time looking over the enticing menu – too many delicious options! While we were there, the clientele included everyone from football fans coming for a pint of one of their many ales to shoppers tucking into amazing fish and chips or incredible value doorstop sandwiches.

We started with one of the signatures of the pub, the Manchester Egg, invented

by the chef as a take on the eponymous Scotch egg. It is a pickled egg with a black pudding coating, which even my black pudding refusenik companion enjoyed. It was meaty and hearty, but the egg gave a freshness and tanginess that worked really well with the blood sausage. We absolutely loved it.

For our main, we shared a portion of air-dried ham with fig chutney, which was delicious and sweet, and came with really good homemade bread. We also had a portion of buttered clams, including both normal and razor clams in a deliciously rich and salty sauce.

We mopped the juices up with the best chips I have eaten all year – cooked in duck fat and served with tarragon butter.

We were pretty full at this point

but couldn’t resist finishing off the meal with a glass of red wine and a cheeseboard. It came with four different cheeses: one smoked, one mild and two blue, which my companion found far too strong, and even I couldn’t manage one of. These were served with grapes and three different types of cracker, although the promised chutney never materialised.

We left stuffed and happy, after an amazing meal and an enjoyable two hours looking out over the sunny river.

It made a great destination restaurant, but you could just as easily drop in for a sandwich and some of those amazing chips. I know it won’t be long before I’m craving another one of those brilliant Manchester eggs…

23

The Liquorists’ top moneysaving tips - Stock up with ice and citrus. These two ingredients comprise the bare minimum for a drink – along with your spirit of choice, these can be fashioned into something delicious with ease.

- Make use of what you have at home. No one expects you to go and buy expensive bottles of liqueurs or syrups, so improvise. Jams can make a great replacement for fruit syrup, and sugar syrup can be made simply at home by heating equal quantities of sugar and water. One barspoon is equivalent to one teaspoon measure, and rolling pins canmake perfectly adequate muddlers.

- Go seasonal. This can mean anything from fruit to alcohol – port, in particular, is always on offer during the Christmas season and can be made into surprisingly delicious cocktails.

- Don’t buy the cheapest bottle of booze. Even if you just spend £3 more on the next one up, your taste buds will reap the rewards. Why not spend an extra few bob for a genuinely enjoyable drink? There are always exceptions to the rule, evident as Jody (rather reluctantly) tells us how he was “actually quite impressed” as to how good Asda Smartprice white rum is, but also recommends Aldi’s second-cheapest gin.

- Don’t go for the cheapest drink in a bar.

“There’s no satisfaction in it whatsoever,” says Jody.

Look out for happy hours, where you can often enjoy half price cocktails with a lot more taste.

Jess Hardiman Food & Drink Editor

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Arts & Culture

Review of

THE WEEK

17/10/2012, Micachu & The Shapes @ Islington Mill, REALLY got me thinking. Here is a band who season avantgarde sonic explorations of detuned guitars and circuitbent synths with whimsical indie-pop sensibilities, the result of which is something truly unique and identifiable.

Performed with an impish vitality, Micachu’s music appears to function as pop whilst refusing to cater for the exigencies or audience of your standard pop music.

With regards to genre, in smudging together influences as far afield as Harry Partch, The Velvet Underground, Timbaland and Joy Division, there is a certain analogous difficulty in locating a category (other than ‘WTF’) in which one could place the group. Indeed, much better is it to compare what Micachu is to music with what Andy Warhol was to fine art. Through alternatively recontextualising prevalent cultural reference points – say for example, the backbeat in pop music and the image of the Coca Cola can as a symbol of American consumer culture – both artists can be seen to play on the connotations attached to each artwork’s respective nominal subject (sound/image). Thus, rather than limiting herself to sound-worlds commonly connoted with the indiepop scene, Micachu is able to simultaneously pay homage to and yet distance herself from the pop idiom.

Mucking about as she does instrumentally, texturally and structurally (and therefore with the presumptive cultural frameworks attached to pop music), Micachu’s tunes seem to both serve as a satirical response to the banality of the ever-homogenising palette of the contemporary pop world, and equally as a celebration of the universal appeal of ‘fourto-the-floor’ beats and catchy refrains.

Her songs also adhere to the sense of disposability many of Warhol’s pop-art pieces took on. Indeed, Micachu writes about very ordinary, easy-to-relate-to subjects, and the tracks are delivered in an apparently punk-esque, throwaway manner. 5 out of 14 tracks on the new album are under two minutes long, which means that whilst intensely creative (and far from many of the utterly vacuous, musical abortions which find their way onto Radio 1), Micachu’s music doesn’t come across, nor is it meant to interpreted as particular profound. In short, these quaint, twisted approximations of pop song illustrate the need to identify the fine but distinct line that there is to be drawn between the sincere and the serious. It is just lots of fun.

Harry Smith

Must see

THIS WEEK

ISSUE 07/ 5TH NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Feature

How are you Feeling?

Moya Crockett reviews the David Shrigley exhibit at the Cornerhouse If you don’t recognise his name, you’re bound to be familiar with David Shrigley’s work. Over the last decade, his illustrations – disturbing, witty, crude – have seeped into popular culture. His new, free exhibition at the Cornerhouse on Oxford Road, How Are You Feeling?, apparently focuses on the ideas of self-help and psychoanalysis. This seems fitting, as the characters in Shrigley’s work seem so often to be suffering from some kind of mental illness.

Cornerhouse’s blurb emphasises the show’s interactive nature, but the first room’s gestures towards this feel rather half-hearted.

Among other things, Shrigley invites you to hit a giant gong with a mallet, nap on a black mattress (a psychiatrist’s couch?) and scribble your feelings on a whiteboard.

It’s all reasonably funny and sweet, but feels slightly like this is just where they’ve stuck everything that wouldn’t fit elsewhere. There’s also a mirror on the wall, but whether that’s art or just a mirror, I couldn’t tell you.

The third room is far more

interesting. Anyone can grab paper and art materials and have a go at drawing the oversized sculpture of a naked man standing in the middle of the room. The walls are covered in the results of this unconventional life drawing class, and the effect is lovely.

Cornerhouse’s claim that this show is “art-therapy” aroused the cynic in me, I’ll admit: it seems exactly the kind of abstract, meaningless statement you so often find in the art world. But if, at its core, therapy is simply something that makes you feel better, then this is exactly that. For many people drawing is a pastime that gets abandoned with age; I’m glad Shrigley reminded me what a soothing, energizing activity it can be.

The perceived value of art is the focus of a short play Shrigley has written for this exhibition, which members of the public are invited to perform on a small stage. It’s a nice idea with a thoughtprovoking script, but it’s hindered by English reticence: I’ve visited the exhibition twice and seen the stage occupied just once, by deaf

men signing the script to one another. Admittedly, this was perfect for an exhibition seeking inclusivity.

Room 2 is quintessential Shrigley, the walls plastered with his instantly recognisable drawings.

They vary immensely in tone. Some are laugh-out-loud funny (“MY HOUSE WAS SET ON FIRE

BY HOOLIGANS… she said”; a smiley caterpillar captioned “I like the way you move”), and the gallery constantly hums with chuckles. Some, though, are seriously disquieting.

This is a dark, scornful artist who likes to highlight life’s mundanity and ridiculousness.

Too much twisted nihilism and political bile (a jar full of ants is “society” and its “citizens”) can be exhausting, but Shrigley is excellent at surprising you with moments of simple, life-affirming beauty. One painting, just a circle of white on black, is captioned, “It’s easy to forget about the moon – but then suddenly you are reminded”.

There’s a lot to take in here, but it’s a wonderful, funny, challenging show.

Moya Crockett

David Shrigley, ‘How are You Feeling?’ Copyright: Cornerhouse Manchester

Feature

TEDx: the bizaare, the brainy and the ridiculous Natasha Self found her ideas challenged, her horizons broadened, and finally undertood CERN - not bad for a rainy Manchester morning in Salford On Sunday, Salford hosted its second ever TEDx Conference. TED conferences are talks that bring together the world’s most ludicrously brainy, ridiculously inspiring people. TEDx is an independent, self-organised version of this same concept, revolving around the albeit clichéd but valid premise of a shared future and the power of ideas.

As students, there is often a danger of becoming narrowly confined within our one field of study. Studying a degree in the social sciences for example, it is rare that I get the opportunity to engage intellectually with the hard sciences.

But TED offered a chance to broaden my interests, and sound just that little bit smarter when people bring up ‘that CERN thing’. It was also a refreshing reminder that you don’t have to be intellectually challenged only within the realms of your degree: there is plenty out there to engage in if you find it. And maybe set your alarm for a disgusting hour on a Sunday.

The speakers were a stimulating and eclectic mix. In the same seat I watched the ‘World’s Most Dangerous Man’ implore us to take care of troubled children; a leading figure at CERN

attempt to summarise the search for the genetic code of our universe in less than twenty minutes (‘imagine two ping poll balls colliding together to produce two bowling balls’) and, best of all, the head of Amnesty International go Gangnam style.

One of the most emotionally engaging talks of the day was Debra Searle on choosing your attitude when faced with changes we would never choose.

After her husband had to abandon their adventure from an irrational fear of the ocean (and he didn’t realise this sooner because…?), Debra continued her row across the Atlantic alone. Of all the terrors of the ocean, it turns out it was sea turtles who scuttled closest to her downfall, after one began chipping at the bottom of the boat and she had to row away in what must have been one of life’s most comically dawdling chase scenes.

There was remarkable encouragement to be had in hearing Sir Ian Wilmut, aka Dolly’s daddy (he is a leading embryologist who led the team which cloned Dolly the sheep) take you through the specific stages of the process of researching genetic diseases

and express optimism for the future of developing cures. Did you know Dolly was 1 out of 272 attempts to fertilise the mother sheep?

I don’t know how it is you wind up as a ‘futurist’, but I don’t reckon there’s a much cooler sounding job title. Ray Hammond spooked the hell out of a 1500 crowd by discussing our accelerating rate of development, so the next eight years of progress will equate to the past twenty and this will only increase. He estimated how between 2035 and 2050 computers will be as capable as people and it is inconceivable what they’ll be able to do. He brandished humans as having become “the virtual ape” or “Homo Virtualis”.

Jim Al-Khalili reassured us that ‘if you’re not baffled by quantum mechanics than you haven’t got it’. Hilarious trickster Paul Zenon exhibited many hilarious pranks to play at an airport as comeuppance for irrational safety procedures (that will probably get a whole generation of people banged up abroad) urging us not to “let ‘em confiscate your sense of humour”. Meanwhile John Robb delivered a refreshingly old school sermon on punk principles. We should

reclaim our culture and need no-one to ‘approve’ our art, citing it as a sad state of affairs how X-Factor contestants are ‘so desperate to get those four creepy people to love them’.

The day was outstandingly wrapped up in rap when Akala took to the stage with an impassioned energised eloquence to trace the roots of hip-hop culture.

He argued with passion that its birth may be traced far further back than the common narrative of the 1970s, way back to ‘griots’ in 17th century African cities who memorised hours of poetry along with examples of jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald ‘speaking rhythmically over drums’.

You can pick and choose from thousands of Ted talks to watch yourself online. I’m certainly looking forward to some rather more productive procrastination than the glossy pink allure of the Daily Mail showbiz page.

Plus the day was already buzzing with rumours of TedXSalford 3.0, so look out for details of that or even get involved volunteering it.

Natsaha Self

Martin Creed

Permanent Collections

Beat the Frog

Andrew Graham Dixon

Jane & Louise Wilson

Mass bell ringer for the Olympics and Turner Prize winning artist brings guitar pop to Islington Mill.

Disover the world-class permanent collections often overlooked at the Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester’s best ameteur comedy night returns to the Frog and Bucket - and you, the audience, decide who stays!

Dixon lectures on Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane as the Whitworths annul Pilkington Lecture.

This Turner-prize nominated duo exhibit poweeful large scale and video art inspired by Chernobyl at the Whitworth.

Theatre

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Must see 5th-11th November

Review

Wake me up when the musical ends Josephine Lane reviews the UK premiere of the Green Day musical: American Idiot

Johnny Come Lately Award-winning Manchester-based company Coal return to the Royal Exchange with their new show. The play blends physical theatre, comedy and tragedy, the play centres around a mother and daughter’s surreal experiences when a mysterious stranger turns up on the doorstep.

Runs from the 6th to 10th November at the Royal Exchange Theatre Tickets £10 or £5 on Friday

Orpheus Descending Whilst being one of Tennesse William’s lesser-known plays, Orpheus Descending, still has plenty of what we love about him: a young male drifter, an unhappy Southern belle and lots of passion. Stars Imogen Stubbs as Lady Torrance.

Runs from 24th October to 24th November at The Royal Exchange Theatre Student Tickets £10 and £5 on a Monday or Friday

Paper Tom A new piece of writing which centres around the theme of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Telling the parallel stories of two soldiers, one World War One and one today, ‘Paper Tom’ is sure to be a heart-wrencher.

25

The cast of ‘American Idiot: The Musical’. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

One Star out of Five Stars I’m becoming more and more aware these days, that anything, and I mean anything, can be adapted into musical interpretation. The Spice Girls songs, Shrek and even Legally Blonde are now apparently the perfect thing to adapt into stage musicals, literally anything!

Anything that is, except the Green Day album: American Idiot.

Okay, so perhaps the songs could be adapted into a fantastic musical.

The fact that American Idiot is a concept rock-opera album (who knew?) should make it one of the easiest tasks in history. The failing of this such adaptation however, was

that is only added about twenty lines of dialogue to the entire thing.

Oh yeah, there was a story somewhere in there too. It followed, ‘Jesus of Suburbia’ or Johnny, as he leaves his dull suburban life for the big city, develops an alter-ego (who I thought was his new best friend – the alter-ego thing was conveyed terribly) , falls in love, shoots heroin and then decides its all too much for him and goes back home.

The real failing of the show was its lack of context, clarity and dialogue: all amounting to the story feeling somewhat rushed. In the first scene, Johnny and his friends sit down to drink and discuss how shit their lives are, three lines later and they’re off on ‘Holiday’. How

and why their lives were shit, we never really found out. There was an entire sub-plot involving one of his friends and their pregnant girlfriend. She was basically present throughout the entire show, sitting on a sofa and moaning about the trouble with teenage pregnancy (well not really, but she should have been). We never even found out her name. Speaking of which, the character ‘Whatsername’ literally appeared out of nowhere, and our Johnny was in love. And yes, I know that in musicals relationships are established in seconds, but this character was given no context or introduction, and had no lines.

Putting my theatrical snobbery aside for a moment, I will say that

the show was not a total failure.

High-budget spectacles are scarcely boring. I have to admit my jaw did drop in amazement when the curtain went up and I was greeted with about 30 television screens, each with identical global news montages (whether this had anything to do with the themes in the story is questionable), the rock show-style lights totally blinded the audience and the whole thing made quite an impact. The show was visually great, particularly the dancing. I can’t say the singing blew me away though, and it didn’t really deviate from the way it was sung on the album. The combination of this, the lights and the presence of the musicians onstage made the whole thing feel like more of a rock show than a musical. Now I love a gig as much as the next person, and I don’t really mind Green Day that much, but this made me feel rather annoyed throughout.

I recommend the show with caution: go if you are a big Green Day fan, if not, avoid it like the plague.

American Idiot: The Musical runs from the 12th to 24th November at the Palace Theatre

Review Runs on the 10th November at the Lowry Theatre Tickets £5-£10

The Best of BE Festival

And the girls in their successful dresses Sophie Lipton reviews ‘And the girls in their Sunday dresses’ at the Contact Theatre Four Stars out of Five Stars

Three award-winning performances from the Birmingham’s International BE Theatre Festival. Featuring performers from Spain, Belgium and Granada, the evening will no doubt be an interesting one. There will also be an post-show discussion with the show’s cast and creators.

Runs on the 6th November at the Lowry Theatre Tickets £12

A scene from the BE Festival at the Lowry Theatre. Photo: The Lowry Theatre

Why I Love / Why I Hate Hannah Lawrence reveals her likes and loathes of theatre

If you are looking for culture, colour and creativity without leaving Manchester, ‘And the Girls in their Sunday Dresses’ is the play for you. Directed

by Princess Mhlongo, it brings the inspirational story of two African women who meet in a queue, waiting days for rice.

The two South African Award winning comedians Lesego Motespe playing a strong minded domestic housekeeper and Hlengiwe Lushaba playing a retired prostitute, emotionally touch, yet constantly tickle the audience. They uncover and explore the struggles of being black subordinated females in a country where the desire for equality is also essentially a waiting game. I’ve never seen such an engaging two man (or should I say two women) play that successfully kept me

Why I love: Physical theatre Okay, just to make it clear, I like physical theatre when it is used well – watching an hour and a half of Hamlet simply conveyed through physical theatre would not be my idea of fun.

However, as a rule I think that when it is used well it … well … really does work.

The use of physical theatre is one of the things that really takes a play from being a text to being a performance.

Particularly for subversive plays with

entertained from start to finish, with their edgy yet powerful performances.

At first, I did wonder why the stage only consisted of a chair and some gates, but it was soon apparent that no fancy stage design was needed with the immense raw talent that filled the room. I felt Lushaba really knew how to engage with the audience, from start to finish.

Not only could she project and powerfully hit the audience with her scripted lines, but her improvisational skills were exceptional, especially her cheeky hilarious behaviour to certain members of the audience. I do think audience participation can sometimes be a bit ‘pantomime-esque’, but here it just brought a new dimension of energy to the performance.

Clearly, the actresses had the ability to light up the room with laughter, but

an edge of satire, plays such as The Thirty Nine Steps, at moments physical theatre is far better for creating the atmosphere and comedy than language. And, although I wouldn’t say it’s a principle which theatre should always adhere to, there are times when the phrase ‘actions speak louder than words’ holds some truth.

also make us feel sensitive and serious towards the characters when appropriate.

Their emotions seem to feed the audience who constantly craved more, just like the women yearned for their rice.

Cleverly, the performance transitioned from reality to the women’s imaginations. From gospel singing in churches to advertising make up, these snippets did elevate the whole room, taking us on an adventure to the streets of Africa and back.

It broke up the characters’ tedious four day queue, giving the play movement. Ironically they were still waiting for rice.

It was truly amazing how this technique gave flexibility and even more vivacity to the drama.

Behind the laughter, political messages are ‘simmering’ with regard to black, poor women being tied down to the shackles of African society. These

Why I hate: Theatrical elitism As a student I have begun to notice an element of elitism present among many theatre-goers, particularly in relation to student theatre productions.

For many people I have come across, the term ‘student theatre’ seems to yield a rather disdainful inferiority; as something which is perfectly acceptable, but simply shouldn’t be considered alongside ‘real theatre’. It is this kind of attitude which alienates

messages are clearly voiced throughout the play, leaving the audience pondering over how much we take for granted in an egalitarian society.

Nevertheless, the actresses did not leave me feeling down, but left the audience on an empowered and liberated note.

The show is part of the ‘Afro Vibes’ festival, and after seeing this great piece of drama, I would not hesitate to watch any of the other performances. If you want a hilarious yet thought provoking watch that will take you on an inspirational journey, put on your Sunday dress and watch raw talent take its toll.

‘And the girls in their Sunday dresses’ ran from the 17th to 18th October at the Contact Theatre as part of the Afrovibes Festival

people from theatre. In fact, it creates a damaging two way process – such an attitude puts people off going to the theatre because it is seen as stuffy and out of date which, in turn, means that theatre is circulated by the same people, along with the same attitudes.

Having seen some outstanding ‘student theatre’ – here I use the phrase with pride – in Manchester over the past few years I think its time these attitudes were overcome.

Lifestyle SECOND 60 House party dos and don’ts ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

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Feature

Interview

We talk to Manchester Uni Confessions

How did you come up with idea behind MUC?

Victoria Goodwin shares her tips on how to host a good house party

I have a mate who ‘Liked’ a similar page for Portsmouth and then I went to find the one for Manchester. When I saw that there wasn’t one, I just thought that I might as well do it myself for a laugh.

Why do you think the page gained so much popularity so quickly?

I didn’t expect it to get so popular so quickly. It was really hard to start off but when I got some good confessions in, people were just sharing them and it just spread from there. I guess it’s something people like to read.

Have you come across any problems?

There haven’t been any problems so far. I know that I may have to change the profile picture at some point I just need to get around to it.!

I am very careful about what is shared on the pageand if people send in the confession, then it’s their choice to do so.

I am not saying that I agree with any of them (as funny as some of them are!)

Why do you prefer to stay anonymous?

Just because I don’t want to get myself into any trouble.

If I gave away my name then people might ask me to see the messages, become admin etc.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve received so far?!

If I had to choose one I would have to say the one about fantasizing over Crazy Bus Lady. It’s got a lot of ‘Likes’ and it cuts straight to the chase.

Having said that, I have kept some back in the inbox which are amazing- so look out for them!

If you could sum up the university experience in three words, what would they be?!

I know it’s four words but hey, ‘Work Hard, Play Harder!’

Photo: Miles Gehm

Going out is one thing, but house parties are a different board game all together. Walk down a street in Fallowfield at night and it’s pretty much guaranteed that you will stumble across a house party or two... or three, or four.

So what is it that makes a good house party and what should you expect when (or if ) you pluck up the courage to host one?

Firstly, people are going to make a mess and you’re going to have to clear it up. Deal with it. Put away anything fragile or valuable – I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that alcohol turns even the most sensible of people into complete idiots. Something as stupid as dunking some pour soul’s mobile into a drink might seem ridiculous when sober, but a few drinks down the line and it’s the funniest joke ever.

Secondly, boys will urinate in your garden. In fact, anyone who has been to Parklife will have noticed that in many cases, girls are no strangers to this either. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it, so don’t bother. If however, someone happens to defecate in your shower like they did at my friend’s recent housewarming, then you have every right to get angry. There are limits!

While it’s never too early to start predrinking in my opinion, you definitely don’t want to be sitting in a room at

8 pm in awkward silence, with about three people. Remember that student life starts and finishes late here in Manchester; the majority of people will still be hanging from the night before at 8!

When it comes to music, sort out a playlist. That song you have on your iPod that you only listen to with earphones in? It’s for a reason. Unless you want to experience shame, carefully select tracks that are accessible to everyone and that create a great atmosphere.

Nothing depressing! Again however, there are limits. It’s a house party and not Warehouse Project, so don’t spend a week agonising over your playlist.

I have been to house parties where hosts have gone as far as to hire DJ’s, lighting etc. If your bank balance will allow for this kind of student extravagance, then go for it. A friend of mine once hired a hot tub for her birthday and it turned out to be what I would probably consider to be the most awesome house party I have ever been to. Alcohol and half naked students make for a top night. So, if it’s a celebration and you want it to be a night to be remembered, think outside the box. Despite this, it goes without saying that the most important ingredient in the successful house party recipe is good company. Choose your guest list wisely!

Halloween feature

“I’m a slutty cat, duh” Tilly Suggitt’s take on costume choices for the 31st October I’m not sure at which point Halloween turned into ‘Night of the Slut’ but I think I missed the memo. This topic is a tough one; there aren’t many ways that I can approach it without sounding like the bitter fat girl, who cries in the corner into a pumpkin shaped bucket of sweets as sexy cats and naughty nurses frolic around her in various states of undress.

I came to the conclusion that, while these girls were dressed like they should be chilling in a window in Amsterdam’s red light district, they were probably just letting their hair down on the one night of the year that they felt like they could. I simply was too self conscious to join in.

I first started to notice that Halloween had become an excuse to go out in pretty much nothing when I went out dressed as a pirate one year. When I say pirate, I mean I had scars, an eye patch, an extravagantly frilly blouse and that I limped about calling everyone a “scurvy sea-dog” all night. I remember being puzzled as to why the barman wasn’t serving me, even though I’d been stood at the bar for an unusually long time, waving my hook about to catch his attention. After five minutes, I concluded that he just couldn’t see me, so scooted to the other end of the bar, but still no joy. The penny didn’t drop until one girl playfully meowed and pawed at the barman as he walked past and was, of course, served immediately.

So this year, I will still probably hide under the folds of a ridiculous and comical costume, but maybe I’ll sneak into the changing room of LuvYaBabes and be a sexy nurse for a little bit. At the end of the day, Halloween is about having fun and, if gallivanting around in just your knickers is what makes you happy (and you’ve got the thighs to pull it off ), I salute you. Just remember, Manchester is cold and pneumonia isn’t attractive, so take a coat.

I took in the girl’s black lingerie and fishnet tights. Naturally, I was curious as to what she’d come dressed as. When I asked her, she pointed at the two small black triangles atop her head and announced with glee, “I’m a slutty cat!” I noted that slutty cat girl didn’t actually have any whiskers. She replied that she hadn’t wanted to ruin her makeup by adding three black lines to each cheek. I asked what she’d be if she removed the ears, to which she shrugged and said good-humouredly, “Just a slut, I suppose.” I was disappointed, not even for a stuck-up, feminist reason, but because she hadn’t even made an effort. She didn’t even have a tail.

As the night wore on, I started to gain a new respect for slutty cat girl and her friends, sexy sailor and sexy bumblebee. As they drunkenly wiggled around the dance floor, I looked down at my costume and felt a slight twitch of envy. I wasn’t having that much fun, my eye patch was itchy, and I kept snagging people’s clothes with my hook whenever I tried to dance. At one point, I caught the eye of a girl dressed as a mummy, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, and we shared a nod of solidarity. She looked as miserable as I felt, whereas slutty cat girl and co. were shimmying around without a care in the world.

Frankly, I was really bloody jealous.

Image: Nicole Hodges

Blind Date at Trof, Fallowfield will be back next week. Thanks to the guys down there for getting involved. To check out their menu and what’s going on there head to http:// www.troffallowfield.co.uk/ To sign up for blind date please e-mail your name, year of study and course to keir.stone-brown@student.manchester.ac.uk with ‘Blind Date’ as the subject .

ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Career

Year Abroad Experience We talk to Politics and Spanish student Charles Brooke about spending the year at Seville FC

Lifestyle STUDENT 101

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As BOP faces scrutiny Lucy Gardner explores the issue behind controversial costumes

How did you end up with a job at Seville FC?

Charles Brooke with ex-Sevilla star Freddie Kanoute

It was one of the work placements which the University provided on the Blackboard database and, as soon as I spotted it, I sent an email directly to the Head of Press at Sevilla FC expressing my interest, and a few days later, after sending my CV and a cover letter, it was confirmed that the job was mine.

What does translating involve?

I was in charge of translating the website daily from Spanish to English, so mainly the news, match reports and interviews with the players.

Initially that was rather difficult as there was lots of specificvocabandsetphraseswhichIhadn’theard of. However, after a month or so, it became much easier as I got to grips with the style of writing at the club.

Ialsoeithertranslatedorwroteofficialclubletters in English to send to European clubs or players where Spanish isn’t spoken. For example, I had to send one to Sir Alex Ferguson congratulating him on serving 25 years at Manchester United. As much as it was an honour, this was a little painful as I’m a big Liverpool fan. I also sent letters of encouragementtoItalianstriker,AntonioCassano, whorequiredheartsurgeryandBoltonmidfielder, Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed during a Premier League game against Tottenham. These letters were far more difficult to write, as both were very sensitive issues, and so the wording of the messages was imperative: especially the latter, where nobody knew if Muamba would pull through. Thankfully, he did.

the manager signed by the respective people.

When the Sevilla FC manager, Marcelino, was sacked a few months into the season, I was only missing a few and his was one of them. I asked my colleague if he still needed the photo signing and he did. So, when Marcelino was on his way to his farewell press conference, clearly very emotional, I approached him and very politely asked if he wouldn’t mind signing something for the last time. He was very pleasant and instantly signed it and we shook hands. That was probably the hardest thing I had to do, as I saw first hand, with the dismissal of the manager, quite how cruel and unforgiving the football industry can be.

Was working for a Spanish company different to that in the UK?

What was the coolest thing you were given the opportunity to do at work?

This had to be meeting the players several times. If ever the President needed an official shirt to be signed by the players, I would go down to the changing rooms and wait outside until training had finished, and get them all to sign it.

Trying to control 20 or so millionaire footballers isn’t the easiest task, but they were all very friendly and none more so than the legendary Freddy Kanoute.

What was the hardest thing you had to do?

Certainly, there is a far more laid back attitude in general in Spain. For example, when I turned up to work every day on time and tried to be as precise in my work as possible, I earned the nickname “Señor Riguroso” (Mr Rigorous) from my amusing colleagues in the office. They saw the way I worked as being ‘very English’ and so there are obvious differences between the Spanish and English workplaces. We don’t need two hours of sleep in the middle of the day, whereas for them it’s a must.

My work mate had asked me to do him a favour: to get an individual photo of each player and

I opted for a morph suit and went out clubbing with mates.

Callum We had a party this year and then went out. I was a vampire.

I had hoped that a fit guy would allow me to attack them, mwahahaha.

Georgina I dressed up as a bag lady and went to a house party.

Stefan I went home for reading week, so I celebrated Halloween with

My housemates and I are used Halloween as an excuse to have a massive house party.

I dressed up as a witch and I even pushed the boat out and had a go at making poison apple punch, which I saw a recipe for online. The state of our house the next day was the scariest thing this year!

Poppy I cleared out Sainsbury’s Fallowfield of Halloween goodies and then sat in and ate them with my boyfriend. Some horror films were on the agenda!

Students play host to many an ill thought out party. Recently a Facebook campaign launched against what was going to be Jabez Clegg’s Friday night BOP ‘Armed Forces vs. the Taliban’ theme. The group attracted almost five hundred likes and lead to Social Junkies, the organisers of the event, to pull the theme and distribution of flyers. However, with the BOP being infamously dubbed as the ‘easiest place to pull in Britain’ and being filled to the brim with students every Friday night, should it really have been a surprise? The city’s students are living in one of the most culturally diverse areas of the country – were they taking a good night out too far by becoming culturally insensitive or is it one more story that will be laughed at as just another ‘typical student’ thing to do? The Sun splashed “Harry the Nazi” across its front page seven years

ago when the nation’s hedonistic royal was seen sporting a swastika at a party. Newquay have banned the mankini in a bid to keep rowdy stag parties from wandering the streets whilst leaving little to the imagination. With major stories of shock and embarrassment hitting the news-stands on a regular basis, should today’s students really know better?

This week, Dana Fowles asks: What did you do for Halloween? old friends I hadn’t seen for a while. We all bought matching skeleton onesies from Primark and hit the town.

Ben

Inappropriately dressed celebrities, and the odd member of the public who happened to be in the wrong clothes at the wrong time, provide stories for tabloids and magazines nationwide everyday but every once in a while they cross the line and become front page newsworthy.

That said, I think working in a football club is slightlydifferent,andsoitwasn’tasrelaxedandlaid back as it would be in other Spanish workplaces; everyone was very hardworking as it’s such a high pressure and busy environment.

We ask, You answer

I had to work on Halloween, but I still dressed up (as Black Swan)!

Hannah

Prince Harry, Pimps and Hoes, the inevitable stag do mankini – failing to see the link?

I then went out in Manchester with my mates.

Andrew

I didn’t dress up though.

Sophie I dressed up as a pumpkin for a laugh and headed to a house party with my friends. It was good!

Jess I went home for Halloween this year. I’m not going to lie, I was a big kid and went out trick-ortreating with my little cousins, under the pretence of looking after them. Then I stuffed my face with sweets and vegetated on the sofa!

Katie I decided to go as the classic ghost. It was a toss-up between that, a chav or Count Dracula!

I didn’t celebrate Halloween until November 2nd because I was working on the 31st. My mate’s organised a house party and I went as a zombie.

Matthew I chose to be a dead zombie hooker and stayed in eating all the spare trick-or-treat chocolate, of which there were loads because the kids were so scared when I answered the door that they just ran away.

Lauren

The University of Manchester’s very own Tabz O’BrienButcher, the Students’ Union’s Women’s Officer, recently featured in the Manchester Evening News after criticising the Carnage student pub crawl that has recently been brought to universities across the country. This year the theme of the night was sold as ‘Pimps and Hoes’, something which the Women’s Official cited as a “message to women students, many of whom who are in halls and have moved away from their home and their families for the first time in their lives, that their only worth is as sexual objects for men.”

The Carnage events also caused controversy this year with racist comments being scrawled across the legendary Carnage t-shirts and in previous years the six-bar-strong night out lead to students desecrating a war memorial. It has to be questioned whether the tasteless themes that constantly spark a debate do in fact lead to behaviour that gives students a bad name or whether it should be seen as a three year phase of carefree immaturity.

60 years on from World War II and Prince Harry’s outfit still caused outrage across the country – with tension, both old and new, still rampant throughout today’s society, should students give certain nights a miss and hold on to their morals or is it all just a bit of harmless fun?

Do you have a story that you’d like to share? Send them to lifestyle@mancunion.com

Dream Job Airline Pilot Qualifications needed: 5 GCSEs and 2 A levels Salary: £70-£100K Location: Worldwide

Do you see yourself as a future jet setter and want to sample the taste of the ‘high’ life? Then becoming an airline pilot might be just the career for you.

As a fan of the television programme ‘Air Crash Investigation’ and also possesing an innate dislike of being lobbed high into the air in a metal object therefore to begin with I was under the impression that a career as a pilot would either lead to certain death or even worse perpetual cabin fever.

However on reading more into the profession it became apparent that the job was not as bad as I had imagined. With an average wage of a commercial airline pilot at £90,000 you will pushed

to find a job with a greater average income and combined with the benefits on offer from working in the airline industry you may find yourself holidaying in places you dare not imagine on a student budget. So how do I get this job you may now be asking?

Well to begin with a degree can be helpful but completely necessary. Next up, you will need to take on an intensive 18 month course which mixes classroom theory and practical work. These schools take you from zero hours flying time to a full Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL). There is however one draw back wih this course and that is if you

don’t have £75,000 to spend then you won’t be able to afford it. The other option for those of us without such deep pockets is the ‘Modular training courses in which you take modules separatley and as you can afford them. Before you begin this course you must already have a private pilots licence which can cost £2,000 to attain. However pricey this may seem it is miniscule incomparison to the hefty the integrated course.

Keir Stone-Brown

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Lifestyle

ISSUE 07/5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Experience... Liverpool

Health

Alcohol

Becky Leddy takes you down the M62 to our northwest neighbours

Uncovered Theresa Ita reveals the truth about alcohol The obsession with quick weight loss is continuously dominating media headlines. But what is of concern is the endorsement of dieting by celebrities. The vocalization of celebrities on their dieting is questionable considering the roles that celebrities have managed to acquire in society.

Should celebrities be vocal about their strange dieting habits?

Only an hour away on the train yet easily forgotten when you’re looking for a way to spend your weekend other than hungover, Liverpool is an essential visit. Like a smaller, less daunting version of Manchester, the same football- bar- shopping culture one may associate with the glam northern cities is rife, only it’s a little less mortal and a little more boss.

The city centre is easy to cover if you dedicate an afternoon to explore; head to the bombed out church on the corner of Berry Street, often open for exhibitions and the perfect starting point for wandering tangents. West is Chinatown, with its spectacular gate guarding the oldest Chinese community in Europe, as is the vast Anglican Cathedral.

Directly opposite is Bold Street, hub of the Liverpool Ropewalks area, where bars and boutiques nestle aplenty. There’s a smaller, more accessible version of Manchester

Northern Quarter’s own junk jungle; Ryan Vintage with neat rails, more reworked garments and naturally, less character. Claudia Pink is a boutique quickly becoming a household name in Liverpool.

Claudia began making her own jewellery in the Scouse version of Affleck’s Palace and now does business, pride of place, in Bold Street selling glamorous head dresses belly chains and bindhis amongst other unusual costume jewellery.

Markets and fairs are an increasingly popular past time in Liverpool; ‘Some Student Fair’ next on at Bumper (Hardman Street) on 10^th and 24<sup>th</ sup> November are magnets for cheap, up-and-coming collections.

Handcrafted jewellery from local student entrepreneurs Flower Children is a regular stall secured for their glitz and glam accessories and a huge hit with jewellery fanatics.

Food wise, lunch at Lucha Libre, Liverpool’s most hyped Mexican street food restaurant, is a must. If Mexican isn’t for you, head to Bazaar for some middle eastern tapas in a stylish setting, with everything from mirrors to mosaics available for sale.

A further 15 minutes walking will take you to the Albert Dock, which is delightful on a sunny day, offering spectacular views of the Wirral and ferry rides for those wanting the real maritime experience.

After dark, Friday and Saturday nights are booming in Liverpool when locals and students alike come out to play. Santa Chutpitos is an intimate cocktail bar whipping up poisons such as the ‘hand grenade’ to spark up your evening. Similarly sister bars El Bandito and Salt Dog Slims give that same grimy, cellar party feel you’ll have no choice but to end your night in since they’re open

til 5am and beyond. Bar Bodega is another continuing the latest Latino fad sweeping Liverpool, catering to a niche clientele with chorizo tequila, sangria martinis and noughties RnB. Fantastic.

For an experience alternative to a night at Deansgate Locks, head to Palm Sugar on Liverpool One, or for indie tunes Bumper and Magnet do the trick. You also can’t go wrong with Heebie Jeebies and La’go for cheap bevvies and a heart warming combo of soul, swing and hip hop. All in all, you’ll find that no matter where you end up knocking back shots, everywhere has that warm fuzzy feeling of being a sound northern city where you’ll be bezzies with at least one barman and have told the taxi driver your life story by the end of the night. It’s just that kind of place.

The infamous, dangerously in love singer, Beyoncé Knowles is known for her performance in Dreamgirls. For her role she lost 1 ½ stone in two weeks. Her diet: the Maple Syrup. What is the maple syrup diet? It is a detox drink consisting of maple syrup mixed with water, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. On average people who partake in the maple syrup diet drink six to nine glasses daily.

Celebrities now play a significant part of media life; we are constantly updated with what they are wearing, what they are eating and what they are doing. Many celebrities, such as Beyoncé, are role models in society.

And whether you believe it or not, they are very influential people. Body image in society today is a sensitive topic, we all know someone who has had an eating disorder. So when we are bombarded with news headlines about our favourite celebrities dieting and losing weight quickly, there is a sort of temptation and attraction to try it out. Because of this, celebrities should not be spreading their quick weight loss tricks to the media. Diets are usually justified on the basis that our favourite celebrity tried it out and in our eyes they can do no wrong.

Dieting is not the best way to healthily lose weight and maintain it. What we do know is that we love our celebrities regardless. But more thought should be placed on revealing such dieting tips to the media as they do set an example.

Food for thought.

Have something to say about travel contact us: keir.stone-brown@student.manchester.ac.uk

Couples’ holidays: Do’s and Don’ts Ashley Porter gives us her advice for travelling with a boyfriend going to spend alone together as well as with other people, and make sure you establish what you want to do while you’re there so you don’t miss out because of everyone else!

Don’t: attempt to have sex in public just because you’re on holiday. It’s probably illegal and to be honest, it’s a bit gross.

Do: take more than one bikini if you’re going somewhere hot.

They take up significantly less space than normal clothes, are acceptable street-wear in most holiday destinations and it’s not like your boyfriend’s going to complain!

When you get to that point in your relationship where you decide that uni was too much hard work and you want to get away from the hard slog with your one and only, there are a few things you should bear in mind… here are a few: Do: Look around for the best places to eat. The chances are, if there are a lot of people in a restaurant then it’s a good one.

Don’t: argue. You’re on holiday!

Do: try the local cuisine! A lot of restaurants won’t appeal to tourists and will be quieter, and if you’re prepared to try and tackle the language then even better (or just make your boyfriend do it)!

Don’t: spend your evenings on the internet. Work can wait until

you get home, as can talking to your friends or checking the football score. No boyfriend or girlfriend goes on a couples’ holiday to sit around while you ignore them.

Don’t: drink tap water. Even places like France often treat their water differently to the UK, and no one wants a stomach upset when they’re on a romantic break!

Do: Take lots of pictures. It’s going to be one of the best trips of your life!

Do: keep an eye on the calendar and pack for emergencies. The unexpected arrival of Mother Nature’s gift doesn’t have to ruin the holiday!

Don’t: let a man with a camera take a photo of you. He will then harass you into giving him €4 for the Polaroid. If you really want a photo of you together, ask someone who looks like they want a photo taken. They’ll always be happy to if you offer first!

Do: if you’re going on holiday with other people as well as your boyfriend, do make sure you talk about how much time you’re

Don’t: let your boyfriend walk around with his backpack on his front to try and evade pickpockets. He will just look stupid and ruin your pictures. You will also look so much like tourists that you’ll probably attract pickpockets.

Do: split your money and valuables, just in case.

Wednesday 21 November 2012 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 Organised by The University of Manchester

CAREERS SERVICE

In association with

FindA

FindA

Masters PhD .com .com Register at:

www.manchester.ac.uk/postgradstudyfair

Societies

ISSUE 07/ 5th November 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Stitch and Bitch

Knit Soc settle down for a 9 hour Knit-a-thon equipped with beer and yarn. Photo: Knit Soc

Knit Soc is a recently established society which aims to bring people together who are interested in knitting, crochet and other textile based crafts. It mainly involves sitting in a pub knitting and chatting, in their own words it is a place where people can get together to 'stitch and bitch'.

They meet bi-weekly in The Ram & Shackle in Fallowfield. Lizzy Clark from Knit Soc said “we welcome all abilities, even people who have never tried knitting before! We have some supplies for those who are new, but we recommend that people bring their own once they are competent in order to get

going on their own projects.”

Knit Soc are in the process of planning a trip to the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate from the 22-25 November. Lizzy said, “this will be a great trip, and a chance to see all sorts of different creative experts, buy exciting materials and learn something new.

What better inspiration can there be?”

Knit Soc are also interested in getting involved with the recent phenomenon of Yarnbombing, which is a kind of street art that showcases colourful displays of yarn, wool or fibre instead of paint or chalk. They have currently been helping a local artist

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BA Econ on an international project which will be on display in Whitworth Park. Lizzy encourages everyone to “keep your eyes peeled for wool related sheanegins around the university campus - who knows what Knit Soc will do next?”

Knit Soc are always looking at getting creative with their members, particularly to organise charitable ventures as a group, and welcome all ideas and inspirations. They are open to any suggestions and encourage people to get in touch.

On Friday 26 October Knit Soc embarked upon a knit-a-thon as part of a Student Action campaign. They knitted in the Student Union from 9am-9pm, and had a combined total of 130 hours of knitting between them.

They also taught twelve people how to knit, one of which continued for three hours!

They were knitting squares to be put together to make blankets for the homeless.

To get involved, search 'University of Manchester Knit Soc' on Facebook or head down to one of their meetings. “We are a friendly bunch and always welcome members of any ability, and hopefully we will prove to you that knitting is fun, not just for girls and certainly not just for grannies!”

Rachel Heward

Veg Soc

Meet the newly established Veg Soc - representing all the vegetarians and vegans

Kate Bullivant talks to John Shenton about fivea-side football, BA Econ and future careers.

BA Econ’s five-a-side football in aid of the road awareness charity, Brake. Photos: BA Econ

The BA Econ Society is the biggest course society with over 1000 members, each year they hold a number of socials, a trip abroad, fundraising activities and career talks, appealing to all social sciences students. In previous years, the society was very focused on promoting careers in banking and finance. However, this year the society is aiming to showcase all the other sectors social sciences students could work in. The first of these specialised events takes place on the 15th November, 5.30pm in Arthur Lewis Common Room. Current BA Econ students who did an internship over the summer will share their experiences, explain the benefits of internships, and how to secure a graduate job at the end. The speakers are: John Shenton- PwC Alex Siwek – Ernst and Young Toch Eduputa - Shell Jason - Local MP Jessica Nightingale - Civil Service; Foreign Office Rich Edwards - Caplor Energy It may seem that this society is only of interest to BA Econ students, but this is not the case. They welcome anyone who might have an interest in what their talks have to offer, and it’s a great way to find out about alternative career options.

Recently the BA Econ society held a 5-a-side charity football tournament. The chosen charity was the road awareness charity Brake. I spoke to the External Relations Officer John Shenton, who explained why this charity is particularly special to the BA Econ society. ‘This charity has personal importance to our society because last year’s president Rob McCormick was killed in a road accident in Manchester. We held this tournament to raise money for a great charity and because of the fantastic support it offered Rob’s family after the accident. We will continue to raise money for them in the future. There were 16 teams that took part in the tournament and we managed to raise £300. Congratulations to winning team ‘Virgin Jimmy’, a big thank you to everyone who took part and helped support this worthwhile charity’

Veg Soc’s day trip to the Unicorn grocery store, who sell frech organic produce. Visit their website to find out more. Photo: Ruby Box

Veg Soc is for students who have a passion for vegetarian and vegan cooking. Their aim is to share recipes, organise various socials and campaign for better veggie options on campus. You don’t have to be a vegan or vegetarian to join, and if you are looking to become one, they have a support system to help you. I spoke to the chair of Veg Soc, Ruby Box to find out more about this scheme.

“We run a vegetarian and vegan mentoring scheme to support anybody wanting to make the transition. Or even for people who just want to give up meat

Societies

Events

one or two days a week! All they have to do is contact Lacey on her email address (see below).”

Vegetables… ‘‘People often think vegetarian food is boring lettuce and carrots, but anybody making the transition from meat to veg will discover there are a huge variety of delicious vegetarian recipes.

From vegan cookies and cakes, to veggie hot pots, burgers and curries. For every meaty meal, there’s a tasty veggie option.’’

Trips…

Unicorn Grocery. Photo: Veg SocSunday 14th October, Veg Soc took a trip to ‘Unicorn’. This is a

supermarket in Chorlton, completely vegan, fair trade, sustainable, organic supermarket stocking as much local fruit and veg as they can find. Future events include Meat Free Mondays: for more information on this go to VegSocCampaignGroup on Facebook and get involved. ‘’It’s going to be big!’’.

What’s coming up…

Veg Soc is new this year, and so far has been extremely popular.

They have socials most weeks, which are of course vegan and vegetarian friendly. This Halloween the social is Pumpkin Potluck, this involves everyone

Monday 5th Novenber

Tuesday 6th November

BONFIRE AND FIREWORK DISPLAY Plattfield Park 7pm

MANCHESTER ART GROUP Sandbar, 120 Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M1 7HL 5pm-6pm ROLE PLAYING SOCIETY

JUDO TRAINING Armitage Conference Room 7pm TO 8 30pm

Council Chambers, Barnes Wallis Building, Altrincham Street 6pm-7pm

carving a pumpkin and we will make recipes out of the remainders. Ruby told me how ‘all the carved pumpkins will be donated to Student Action’s elderly Halloween as decorations’. On top of this there are going to be film nights, cooking demonstrations and trips to food festivals.

Get Involved…

Monitoring Scheme: laceyahna. munroe@student.manchester. ac.uk Facebook: VegSocManchester Come along to our next social.

If you want to find out more on Brake and the amazing work they do then visit their website: http://www.brake. org.uk/ For more information on the BA Econ Society then visit their Facebook page: http://www. facebook.com/ Or you can contact the president on: tochin.eduputa@ student.manchester.ac.uk

Kate Bullivant

Wednesday 7th November CIRCUS SKILLS Burlington Society 2pm-4pm MUGSS - REHEARSALS

University of Manchester Students’ Union 7pm-8pm

MUGSS - CREW MEETING

Thursday 8th November

The Arch - outside Barnes Wallis building, North Campus, M1 3NL 6 30pm-7 30pm

MUSEA - LIFE DRAWING University of Manchester Students’ Union - Room 8 5pm-6pm RAW MANCHESTER ROCKS SOCIETY

HARMONY GOSPEL CHOIR Upstairs in Jabez Clegg 4pm-6pm

Hardy Wells – Rusholme 8pm-9pm

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ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Team GB’s victory over Brazil at London 2012 has a sparked a real enthusiasm for women’s football (Photo: damianjohnkerr@flickr) more teams to create a second division, and perhaps a real sense of competitiveness is the only real point that carries any sort of weight. However, whereas clubs such as Manchester City seem keen to heighten the reputation of their women’s team, others such as Manchester United have not.

There is also a similar sense of realization regarding England’s coaching strategy. The well documented figure that there are only 2,768 English coaches with UEFA A and B pro badges

compared to the 23,996 Spanish, 29,420 Italian and 34,790 German coaches applies to the women’s game as well. This prompted the recent creation of St. George’s Park, a state of the art facility in which the England teams train along with qualified coaches. In this sense, the ambitions of both the men and women’s team are similar- a longing for success in our national sport.

The last ambition of this four-fold plan is to make women’s football the second most played sport in England, behind men’s football by

SPOTY 2012 - Why it has to be Wiggins

Finlay Donaldson Come the 16th of December this year, Great Britain will have their final opportunity to celebrate what an incredible year it has been for British sport. By the end of the night one person will walk away with the coveted Sports Personality of the Year award.

While the shortlist has yet to be announced, there are many athletes who can rightly claim to be deserving of the award. Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray, Bradley Wiggins and Ellie Simmonds have all been mentioned as possible winners, in the year of Britain’s ‘Greatest Summer of Sport’.

Whatever superlatives have been thrown around, there is no denying the fact it really has been a special year for British athletes, with some outstanding individual performances. It’s no wonder the shortlist has already been extended from 10 to 12.

Whilst Andy Murray would probably walk away with the title in any other year, I can’t help feeling that the bookies favourite, Bradley Wiggins, should take the crown.

With the Tour de France taking place before the Olympics, his amazing feat might not linger so strongly in the public’s memory as it perhaps ought to but it remains an incredible achievement.

In winning the Tour, one of the most gruelling and challenging sporting events in the world, Wiggins became the first Brit ever to win the event. The fact

Photo: surreynews@flickr he won so emphatically, winning the Yellow Jersey after Stage 7 and retaining it for the remaining 13 stages makes his achievement even more impressive.

Whilst many cyclists would consider the end of the Tour de France as a golden opportunity to take a holiday, Wiggins was back in the saddle less than two weeks later winning Team GB another gold medal in the time trial.

As the Lance Armstrong saga continues to tarnish the sport of Cycling, Wiggins has become a role model the sport badly needs. A consummate professional, Bradley also shares the title of Britain’s most decorated Olympian with fellow cyclist Chris Hoy. It is a difficult task at the best of times comparing the achievements of athletes in different sports, which is exactly what the Sports Personality panel have been assembled to do. How does a US Open title compare with Rory MacIlroy’s Major win for example? There are so many variables that can be taken into account and even then, often it comes down to a personal opinion.

However, Bradley Wiggins ticks all the boxes. He is an athlete in the form of his life, has won numerous titles this year and proven himself to be one of the leading talents in his sport. More than that, he is a role model to the future generations of sports men and women, motivated by glory and success not money and fame.

Quite simply, Wiggins is one of the most successful athletes Britain has ever produced, and has just had his most successful year. That is why he should win Sports Personality of the Year.

2018. This final statement of the FA is the perhaps the most crucial outcome of the first three stages of the plan. However, they are a long way of reaching this goal.

Despite the high attendances of the Olympics as well as the high viewing figures the BBC receive whenever a women’s match is televised, the average attendance for a WSL match is only 500 peoplethe attendance of some Northern League men’s matches.

The whole strategy may pay off in the long term and I fully believe

Bizarre Sports #7 – The Eton Wall Game Tom Acey Sports Editor As the most prominent of the elite public schools, Eton is renowned for its many sporting curiosities – Eton Fives, for example, has been played almost exclusively at the college since the 18th century. There are none quite as eccentric, however, as The Eton Wall Game - an ageold football/rugby cross that appears to exist solely in the name of time-honoured tradition.

The game is believed to have been played since the early 1700s, and centres on the formation of a rugby-style ruck, known as a ’bully’ against ‘The Wall’, a three-hundred year-old structure that runs alongside the school playing fields.

Using their knees and feet, players try to force the ball towards the opposition ‘calx’, where they may attempt to score a ‘shy’ without ‘knuckling’, ‘furking’ or ‘sneaking’ in the process. Confused?

You’re not the only one.

If the description so far leaves you imagining some wonderfully-idiosyncratic Eton oddity, then prepare to be horribly disappointed. By all admissions, The Wall Game is rubbish. Eton themselves admit that ‘few sports offer less to the spectator… goals are very uncommon’. ‘Uncommon’ is probably a bit optimistic - the last goal

that women’s football deserves far more coverage than it currently receives; however, it seems to be fully based on the idea that the same nationalistic fervor for the Olympic games will carry on into the future. The FA should confirm a 2016 Olympic women’s squad, highlighting it as the pinnacle of the women’s game, rather that trying to create a seemingly quick fix solution to the growing schism between the men’s and women’s game.

ons diacomm

Following the success of women’s football in the Olympic games, the FA have recently announced a five-year plan named the ‘Game Changer’, in the attempt to spread the coverage of the women’s game in England.

The plan focuses around four main areas; the creation of an elite performance unit and the appointment of a head of elite development for development of youth, delivering a new commercial strategy for women’s football including further broadcast strategy, expanding the FA Women’s Super League by introducing second division in 2014 to enable promotion and relegation and finally to improve participation and extend the existing fan base.

The plan seems to be formulated on the back of the pride of the Olympic games that saw 70,584 fans turn out at Wembley to see Team GB defeat Brazil. David Burnstein believes that ‘women’s football is the area with the most potential for growth in the nations favorite game.’ With manager of the year nominee Hope Powell leading the charge, the plan seems to be grounded on solid evidence.

However, this seems a grand proposal that comes off the back of a very uncertain start for the Women’s Super League. The league was formulated following the cancellation of the Women’s Professional Soccer League, the first professional women’s league based in the United States. That league failed because of the lack of financial backing, and that seemed to be a problem for the new WSL

even before the league began, with sponsors Yorkshire Building Society and Continental Tyres being announced days before the league started last season. This season only Continental Tyres remain as sponsors.

This not only puts this seasons financial state in doubt, but also undermines the idea of developing a commercial and broadcasting strategy that is specifically trying to gain a separate identity from the men’s game.

Considering the men’s Premier League received £3bn pounds for their latest television rights, it seems odd that Burnstein is distancing himself from this money which will be used not only to pay for ‘parachute’ payments for relegated clubs, for example, but also to help fund projects in grassroots football. In the place of the Sky/BT deal the WSL is currently supported by ESPN, a company who is under particular questions about it’s viability in the UK after loosing out to B.T on a Premier League package, who are showing a mere 10 live matches the 2012/13 season as well as highlights, hardly enough to create ‘strong commercial partnerships to elevate the profile of the women’s game,’ an aim which is outlined in the ‘Game Changer’s’ mission statement.

The competitive nature of the WSL is also something that Burnstein is looking to address.

Arsenal Ladies, Birmingham and Everton have finished in the top three places respectively for the past two seasons, with Arsenal only losing twice in those two seasons. An introduction of

ime Photo: wik

Andrew Georgeson

Photo Credit: Name of photographer

Women’s Football: How realistic is the fiveyear plan?

w a s scored back in 1909.

Even Hartlepool United fans haven’t had to wait that long.

Still, the College continues to host the annual St. Andrew’s Day fixture, in which the ‘Collegers’ (the scholars) take on the ‘Oppidans’ (that’s the fee-payers, to you and me). Recent fixtures have, admittedly, been more than a little dull, with the majority finishing scoreless. Prince Harry did record a one-point shy in 2002, although that might have been because he was the only one able to understand the rules.

Other famous participants in the fixture include ex-Prime Minister Harold MacMillan, George Orwell and, incredibly, Boris Johnson. Young Boris must have displayed some ‘bullying’ prowess, as he was in fact ‘Keeper of the College Wall’ (team captain) during his time at Eton. If only The Wall Game was an Olympic sport the idea of Boris Johnson as an Olympic athlete is perhaps just too good to be true.

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ISSUE 07/ 5th NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.MANCUNION.COM/

Wenger’s moving measure of success After seven trophy-less years, should Arsenal be satisfied with Champions League football?

Dylan Wiggan Arsene Wenger spoke to shareholders the day after his Arsenal side suffered their second defeat on the bounce, the comprehensive defeat to Schalke following a shock Premier League loss at Norwich. There he made the claim that simply qualifying for the Champions League is more of an achievement than winning the FA Cup or League Cup. This statement sparks a debate on what counts as ‘success’ for a club in today’s football climate, and shows how quickly expectations can change from club to club.

Back in 2005 simply achieving a ‘top four finish’ would not have even been a target for Arsenal. Qualifying for the Champions League was a given, and a serious title challenge and perhaps a cup run was expected. Now it seems the top four is a big achievement for London club, with their Manager using it to excuse seven trophyless years.

Arsene argued that, ‘if you want to attract the best players, they don’t ask if you won the League Cup, they ask if you play in the Champions League’. It cannot be argued that the top players wish to play in the Champion’s League, but surely to win trophies is the real desire for Europe’s elite, even the cups

Could Wenger’s Arsenal be waving goodbye to the Permier League elite? Photo: Ronnie MacDonald

After they retire and look back less would be cause of shame on their career, would the averfor the club. Rewind a few short age player be happier to have years ago and scrambling a seven seasons in the ChampiUEFA Cup place via the Fair on’s League or a few FA Cups to Play award was an achievement their name? and a cause of great jubilation The answer to this is perfor the City faithful. haps best shown in the exodus This shows how quickly of star players from Arsenal the landscape of fans expectaincluding Ashley Cole, Gael tions and measures for sucClichy, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabrecess can change in modern gas, Alex Song and Van Persie. football. Many will point to the All these players left despite extreme influx of money as the Arsenal’s qualification for the cause of this- best shown in Champions League and all (exthe Manchester City example. cept this summer transfers Van And many fans would argue Persie and Song) have gone on that great investment would to win trophies. curb the downward trend of Whether Arsenal fans agree Arsenal’s expectations. Howis another matter, but it is clear ever, a note of caution must be that if Arsene ends this season taken with this approach, as without any trophies, for the Liverpool can attest. Hundreds eighth year in a row, but qualiof millions of investment has fies for the Champion’s League, been met with relatively Prehe will deem the year a success mier League stagnancy for the for his team.

Merseyside team, showing how Contrast this with the case money on its own doesn’t solve of Manchester City. They, with everything. the aid a few hundred million Arsene Wenger is undoubtpounds of investment, have edly one of the finest managin the time since Arsenal last ers of his generation. But these won a trophy developed from a comments depict a man not UoM Tabel Tennis team.

Photo: Dong mid-table to relegation-fighting only slipping away Ming fromLau comteam into one of Europe’s elite peting at the very top level, clubs. but more poignantly one that Such is their turnaround, is settling for just that. Listing that their supposed ‘underpera top four finish as an achieveformance’ in this year’s Chamment was probably intended pion’s League group stages has to promote the strength of the been met with great derision Premier League. However, his from fans and pundits alike. words came across as more of Rather than marvel at the fact an admission that his club now this team has come so far, so has lesser targets then the likes quickly, the expectation is of Manchester United, Chelsea for City to reach the Knockand the emerging Manchester out Stages. That is what now City. counts as success, and anything

Ice Hockey captain pleased with ‘incredible’ varsity Matthew Barber University of Manchester captain Matthew Rohani described the inaugural ice hockey Varsity as “an experience of a lifetime” as his side overcame MMU 8-7 in a tightly-contested match.

Rohani was ecstatic with the turnout at Altrincham’s Ice Rink. “Four months of hard work and over a year’s planning have definitely paid off tonight,” he said, “we couldn’t have asked for a better turnout.” He stressed how important the crowd were in influencing the game. “The atmosphere was incredible,” he said, “it was amazing to step onto the ice with your name being announced to the crowd and feeling that all eyes were on you and your team.”

The match itself was an intense affair, with the University of Manchester taking a 5-2 lead by the end of the second period, only for MMU to fight back to level terms. UoM eventually edged their opponents to

claim an 8-7 victory. Rohani said “the match was just amazing on all levels - we couldn’t have had a better result if we’d written a script! The pace was fast, the game was intense and the players fought hard for puck possession at every stage.”

Rohani offered praise to his MMU adversaries for their spirited comeback. “I knew MMU would fight back in the 3rd, but I didn’t realise how strongly,” he said, “coach Langlois really knows how to rally the [MMU] players together when his team are trailing.”

The UoM captain was also pleased with the way his own side rallied to win the contest. “I did expect the game to be quite tight, but morale plays a huge part in any sport and when the scoreline stood at 5-2 you had to expect an avalanche in our favour,” he said. “Having said that, ice hockey is a fastpaced sport and it takes less than a second to put the puck in the back of the net, so no lead is safe, which MMU proved to-

night.”

Matthew Rohani on the ice at the Varsity.

Photo: Martin Klefas-Stennett’s

Ciaran Long and Andy McKinney were particularly impressive for UoM, and Rohani spoke of his admiration for the ability of the team he played with. “I’m still amazed that I got to play on a line with professional players that I’ve watched from the stands of Manchester Phoenix games,” he said. “I think one of the greatest things about this Varsity was that it gave players like myself, that have only been playing a year or two, the chance to play alongside some of the most talented players in the country of our age group.”

Rohani also took time to credit surprise package Alex Pugh. “[Alex] had an average season with the Metros in 201112,’ he said, ’but really impressed tonight with a 5-point game!”

In the light of the success of the ice hockey Varsity, Rohani already can’t wait for next year’s game. “I would love to play in the next Varsity match,” he said, “I’ll be putting in the time at training to impress for next

Upcoming home fixtures: 7th November: Mens: Basketball: Mens 1st vs Chester Armitage Site 20:00 Football: Mens 1st vs Loughborough Armitage Site 14:00 Lacrosse: Mens 1st vs Nottingham Timperley Sports Club 14:00 Tennis: Mens 1st vs Coventry Sport City 13:00 Volleyball: Mens 1st vs Durham Sugden Centre 16:30 Hockey: Mens 1st vs Sheffield Armitage Site 14:30 Womens: Fencing: Womens 1st vs Durham Sudgen Centre 14:00 Hockey: Womens 1st vs Nottingham Armitage Site 13:00 Netball: Womens 1st vs Newcastle Armitage Site 13:00 Rugby League: Womens 1st vs York Armitage Site 14:00 Tennis: Womens 1st vs Chester Sugden Centre 13:00 Volleyball: Womens 1st vs Northumbria Sugden Centre 14:30

SPORT WWW.MANCUNION.COM

2 5th NOV 2012 ISSUE 07 FREE

Women’s football: the five year plan

Arsene Wenger’s philosophy anaylsed

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in UoM triumph in thrilling Sport Brief Ice Hockey Varsity

Kauto Star retires Horse racing legend won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice and the King George VI Chase five times: a record. He is being retired at the age of twelve.

Tempers boil over between UoM and MMU at the end of the Varsity. Photo: Martin Klefas-Stennett

University of Manchester Manchester Metropolitan Ciaran Milner Sport Editor In the inaugural ice hockey contest, one could be forgiven for expecting a tepid affair.

The two sides on display at Altrincham Ice Rink did not share the same deep-seated rivalry that is associated with the Rugby clubs of our two Universities.

Indeed, both teams on the ice were made up of players from the same club, the Manchester Metros.

Former teammates, friends, allies; call them what you want, but this contest was no amiable affair by any stretch of the imagination. As the battlescarred ice left at the end of the match would testify, ice-hockey

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is not a sport that does ‘tepid’ well. Instead, we were gifted with a fantastic and frenetic varsity contest that kept on giving and giving, before building to a thrilling, dramatic finale in the last third.

It was the University of Manchester who came out on top. They started in fantastic style, surging to a deserved 3-1 lead in the first third. Pugh scored twice for UoM and Oliver Bayne slotted home for MMU, but it was Ciaran Long who gave the third its champagne moment.

Capitalizing on a mistake from an MMU defender, he flew across the rink towards the MMU goaltender before dummying him brilliantly with an exceptional display of close

control and slotting the puck into an empty net. UoM were dominant in the period, and well deserving of their lead.

The same pattern of play continued in the second third, with UoM dominating and MMU attempting to hit them on the counter attack.

Pugh started the third in the same form he displayed in the opening, scoring two goals in quick succession to make it 5-1. MMU pulled one back with Sean Day scoring, taking good advantage of a powerplay.

The goal was all MMU had to celebrate from the third, though, with UoM rampant throughout; only a string of excellent saves from Tom McDonald in the MMU goal kept the score at 5-2. Pugh, Long and De’ath in particular were excellent for the boys in purple.

Fast-paced, action packed, dramatic; it was in the final third that the game really took off, displaying all the qualities that are associated with great sport.

MMU, refusing to accept defeat

Twitter @Mancunion _Sport

despite their three-goal deficit, came out for the final period of play looking like a different side.

Playing some fast and sharp hockey, they stormed through the UoM defence to score two goals quickly through Adrian Rajkumar and Sean Day. In a fierce and frenetic period of play, Pugh was sin binned for 2 minutes for slashing and Bayne, arguably MMU’s standout player, immediately took advantage by smashing in the equalizer for MMU. The game was well and truly on.

Completely against the run of play, UoM managed to regain the lead with a sharp counterattack. By now, the game had an excellent pace to it; pulsating, vibrant and frantic, the match was showing off all the qualities of ice hockey to the spectators at Altrincham Ice Rink. Alongside the match itself, the atmosphere was building to a thrilling crescendo; every tackle or shot was accompanied with fullblooded cheers from the crowd, all of whom were fully engaged

in the breathtaking spectacle unfolding before their eyes.

MMU rallied around the tremendous noise and managed to equalize quickly.

What followed was a frantic period of hockey, with both sides exchaning blows in quick succession, eventually tieing the score at 7-7.

The outstanding Ciaran Long then came crashing in to score what would be the winner for UoM, following on from a sharp passage of play. The goal was enough and, helped by a string of fantastic saves from their goaltender at the death, UoM held out to win the game.

This was a truly fantastic tie between two evenly matched teams. UoM looked well in control in the opening two thirds of the match, but MMU responded brilliantly, taking the game to UoM with an astonishing fight back in the final third. UoM held out to win, but both teams should be credited for making this thrilling Varsity one to remember.

Email: sport@mancunion.com

Clattenburg accused Referee Mark Clattenburg has been accused by Chelsea of using abusive language to John Obi Mikel and Juan Mata. He denies the accusations.

Hulkenberg signs for Sauber Nico Hulkneberg has signed for Sauber’s F1 team for the 2013 season. The German is considered one of F1’s rising stars.