The Mancunion - Issue 12 by The Mancunion

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The UK and Ireland’s Best Student Publication, 2022 Issue 12 / 25th April 2022

Money on our minds:

The Mancunion supports Ukraine

www.mancunion.com

Students set to lose money amidst cost of living crisis page 8

Magic Bus prices set to rise due to nationalisation page 10

Photo: David Burrell @ Flickr

Everything you need to know about sex in our new Sexion pages 16 & 17

News

Opinion

Science

Withington’s Wilderness Records closes

Half of Africa’s wheat imports come from two countries: Ukraine and Russia

Disposable vapes – what’s the catch?

Film Battle of the screens: Film vs TV

Page 4

Page 9

Page 13

Pages 24 & 25

Music Partying with Thundercat at Manchester Academy Page 23

The Team: Editor-in-Chief: Jess Walmsley Managing Editor News & Current Affairs: Ella Robinson Managing Editor Culture: Michal Wasilewski Online Editor: Sophie Berkley News Editor: Archie Earle News Editor: ShikharTalwar Co-Science & Technology Editor: Sam Bronheim & Emma Hattersley Investigations Editor: Joe McFadden Features Editor: Serafina Kenny Opinion Editor: Annie Dabb Deputy Opinion Editor: Gemma Brown Music Editor: Reece Ritchie Deputy Editors: Sarah Taylor & Maddie Drake Lifetsyle Editor: Erin Botten Film Editor: Benjy KaluberGriffiths Deputy Film Editor: Florrie Evans Fashion Editor:Alex Bikard Deputy Fashion Editor: Zahra Mukadam BeautyEditor: Alice Henderson Sport Editor: Arsh Asthana Food & Drink Editor:Katie Hourigan Food & Drink Editor: Izzy Langhamer Theatre Editor: Jay Darcy Books Editor: Aileen Loftus Deputy Books Editor: Ava Innes Sub-editors: Elinor Burt, Katy Bray, Naziha Mardem-Bay, Designers: Emily Turvey, Jonno Hadfield, Serafina Kenny, Sam Bronheim, Anja Samy, Jess Walmsley, Ella Robinson, Erin Botten MarketingTeam: LucyPummell & Conrad Pope Anja Samy Student Media Coordinator

Email us:

mancunion.editor@gmail.com

@themancunion

We won 'Best Publication in the UK & Ireland 2022' at the SPA Awards!

News 3

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

UoM UCU fails to meet threshold for strike action The University of Manchester has failed to meet voter turnout numbers to strike over key issues about work and pay conditions and pension cuts. Jacob Folkard News Reporter

embers of the University and College Union at the University of Manchester have not met the threshold required for more strike action over pay, working conditions and cuts to pensions. In the dispute over pay and working conditions, only 47.91% of individuals eligible to vote over strike action took part, meaning that the University fell short of the 50% requirement by just over 2%. Despite the low voting numbers, however, those who voted were

79% in favour of performing strike action, and 86% in favour of performing action short of a strike. The numbers in the dispute over pension cuts were a little higher, the University missing the threshold by just 0.98%, with only 49.2% of those who were entitled to vote actually voting. However, similarly to the other disputes numbers, of those who voted 82% were in favour of strike action and 87% were in favour of industrial action short of a strike. The strikes are focused on two main areas of dispute; the USS pension cuts and pay and working conditions.

Cuts were recently implemented by Universities UK which saw the average lecturer lose up to 35% from their future guaranteed retirement income. Whilst University of Manchester UCU members will not strike, 24 other universities have secured a mandate to take further strike action, joining three other Universities with live strike mandates over pensions. The other key dispute is the pay and working conditions, which has already resulted in 13 days of striking this year. This includes disputes about the gender, race and disability

pay gap, as well as salary disputes, which have been worsened by new inflation figures. The strike also aims to tackle, zero-hours and insecure contracts and unmanageable workloads. UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: “More than seven in ten UCU members have again voted in favour of strike action, which is a damning indictment of the way vice-chancellors run universities and treat their staff. “Pay for university workers has fallen by over a quarter in real-terms since 2009 whilst tens of thousands are exploited on precarious contracts and a

workload crisis goes unresolved. Even during this almost unprecedented cost of living crisis, vice-chancellors on eye-watering salaries – who manage institutions sitting on tens of billions of pounds in reserves – have shown zero willingness to listen to their staff and are more intransigent than ever. “Our union will now be taking these latest ballot results to a special meeting of its higher education sector where members will discuss how they wish to use this new mandate for action.”

Student loan interest rates soar to 12%: Will current students be affected? Should students be worried about the 12% inflation rate beginning in September?

Ella Robinson Managing Editor (News)

tudents and graduates in England will pay up to 12% interest on their student loans from September 2022, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). For lower-rate earners the interest, which is based on the retail price index (RPI) measure of inflation, will jump from 1.5% to 9%. For graduates earning over £49,130 it will increase from 4.5% to 12%.

The retail price index is based on changes in costs over time, including housing. The interest rate will fluctuate wildly over the next few years, but from March 2023 it will reduce as it becomes capped at the rate private lenders are offering. This is because student loans are not allowed to rise above interest rates “prevailing on the market” but there is a six-month lag before this comes into effect. The IFS is predicting interest rates on student loans will fall to between 7 and 9% in the next few

years, and then to a low of around zero between September 2024 and March 2025. They are predicting little longterm impact on repayments, and are encouraging students not to worry, particularly as “most graduates from the 2012 to 2022 university entry cohorts are unlikely to ever clear their loan balances”. Higherearning graduates who do clear their debt “will typically only be affected in their late 40s or early 50s” according to the IFS. Nonetheless, the IFS have called for the government to

change the current system. Ben Waltmann, senior research economist at the IFS said: “There is not good economic reason for this. Interest rates on student loans should be low and stable reflecting the government’s own cost of borrowing. The government urgently needs to adjust the way the interest rate cap operates to avoid a significant spike in September.” The NUS’ Hilary Gyebi-Ababio is worried the high interest rates will deter thousands of students from going to university, calling the

figures “brutal”. The IFS have suggested higherearning graduates will be most directly affected by the increase, as they are more likely to repay their entire loan. But those earning below the £27,295 threshold are expected to incur an additional £2,300 interest during the six months of higher rates. Students beginning in 2023 are already facing rule changes, having to repay their loan for up to 40 years, rather than the current 30.

Afghan refugees awarded funded places on UoM Masters course

UoM is to offer a group of Afghan women free masters places on a course centred around educational leadership and change Archie Earle News Editor

he University of Manchester is set to give a group of 15 female Afghan refugees free places on a Masters course in Educational Leadership in Practice. The move is in an effort to support the women in their goal of setting up places of education for Afghan refugees no longer living in the country. The scheme will be conducted

through the University’s blended learning programme in an effort to make the process of the course easier. It is hoped that the skills learnt through the programme will aid in the establishment of places for education where refugees are most heavily affected. The initiative will be part led by the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh. The AUW is part of multi-institution scheme that is attempting to help female refugees rebuild Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban control of the

country after the withdrawal of US troops. One of the students who has been offered a place told UoM: “We live in a world full of inequalities, and education means I come to understand them, engage with them and finally overcome them – education means hope to me. I have come a long way, and a longer one lies ahead so that the next generation of Afghanistan does not go through what we went through.” Another said: “The University of Manchester is allowing me to gain

a world class education, but also gives me a bigger responsibility to use it for the good of women in my society. My ultimate goal is to influence grand policies on education – particularly girl’s education – in Afghanistan.” Dr Alexander GardnerMcTagart, head of the MA in Educational Leadership in Practice programme said: “I count this as a significant teaching milestone in my 25 year career and look forward to growing our outreach and collaboration with the AUW,

providing world-leading education where it matters most.” The Educational Leadership in Practice Masters takes roughly 24 months to be completed and contains modules such as models of Educational Leadership, Educational Policy and Leadership and Leading Educational Change. The course implores participants to ‘Be the positive change your educational organisation needs’.

4 News

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

You may miss the magic of the £1.50 bus The £1.50 magic bus fare may have to be scrapped as Manchester receive half the funds requested Shikhar Talwar News Editor

he £1.50 magic bus fares may no longer be guaranteed, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham announced, after the government provided only half the money Manchester had requested from it ‘bus service improvement plans’ pot. Manchester is set to become the second city after London to have a council controlled transport system. However, as the central government is providing just £94.8 million of the £218 million requested, the Magic Bus, £1.10 cheaper than standard Stage Coach bus prices won’t be able to continue.

A second year Biosciences student said, “As an international student and as a woman, the safest and ideal option of transport personally feels like public transport especially buses. I believe it is important for buses should be affordable and removing the £1.50 magic bus would reduce accessibility of buses for many people.” The Magic Bus was introduced to Manchester in 2006. Since then it has been widely used. It runs through student areas and has been used by many students to go from the Fallowfield Campus to University or the City Centre, for a cheap fair price. A second year history student said, “I used the bus regularly to come to Uni from the Fallowfield campus

last year. I remember waiting for those magic buses. If they do not continue, I think would affect the students a lot!” Meanwhile other students have complained about how if buses can’t be put down to £1.50 then the frequency of the buses will also reduce. Removing this fare could affect the student body and the larger public. Hence, councillors from all 10 greater Manchester councils are still asking the government for the full amount of funding, under the campaign ‘Back Our Buses.’ Burnham and the councillors still have a focus on making Manchester more connected and accessible at a cheaper price. The Bee Network is “connecting up every area and

community in Greater Manchester.” The aim is for buses run 24 hours a day in ‘key routes’ and cap the fair at £2 for adults on single journeys. The lack of funding resulted in Andy Burnham telling the Manchester Evening News, “We’re not going to be in a position to do everything that we wanted to do.” Greater Manchester councillors and MPs of the labour party have come out in support of Burnham’s plans. For example MP of Bolton South East, Yasmin Qureshi, tweeted that Burnham, “will change the lives of my constituents for the better.” Greater Manchester’s Labour councillors have also released a joint statement criticising the Conservative government which said:

“Politics is all about choices. Currently we have a government which would rather write off billions of pounds of taxpayer money stolen by fraudsters than invest an extra £120 million in improving our public transport network and easing the cost of living through cheaper bus fares. “We’re launching a campaign calling on the Conservatives to back our buses. And we hope local Conservative councillors and MPs – who so far have opposed our plans for cheaper fares and more frequent services – will join us in securing better buses for all those we represent.” They have also started a petition asking for the full £218million funding to ‘Back our Buses’.

Withington’s Wilderness Records now closed Student favourite for drinks and music is closing after just 3 years. Lucas Rohan News Writer

fter three years in business, Wilderness Records is set to close this weekend, with a final celebration taking place this Saturday the 23rd to coincide with Record Store Day. Located just off the Withington High Street, Wilderness Records was a South Manchester hub for musicians, journalists, and local students. A coffee-shop, bar, and wellstocked record store all in one, Wilderness was known for its extensive brand new vinyl selection and treasure trove of second-hand vinyl and cassettes, as well as its offerings of coffee, cocktails, and cakes.

It also served as a venue for talks and live gigs and hosted local legends like Hacienda titan Dave Haslam, who like dozens of others shared his condolences on their Facebook page. Opened in 2019 by a team of Manchester entrepreneurs behind ventures like Escape to Freight Island and Crazy Pedros, the café had the misfortune of opening less than a year before the COVID-19 pandemic began to threaten the livelihoods of music venues across the country. As noted in the announcement of their closing, Wilderness continued to operate through the pandemic however they could, selling toasties “when that was the only way we could reopen”, and serving beers and cocktails to a handful of outdoor

tables in the early summer months of 2021. But in a comment given to the Manchester Evening News, Lyndon Higginson, one of the founders of Wilderness Records, noted that as long as people buy their “records from Amazon and coffees from Costa’’, local independent businesses like Wilderness will struggle to stay open. The closure will be a significant loss to the community - Wilderness prided itself on avoiding becoming a “stuffy music shop”, and served as a hub for the burgeoning post-punk and indie band scenes in the area.. One can only hope that the handful of other independent businesses on Withington High Street will be better supported in light of this loss.

Bin collectors to walkout for four weeks

Burnham signs a four city wide green deal

Four weeks of bin collection strikes beginning in May could cause chaos across Manchester

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has praised the signing of a historic multi-city green deal

Miriam Jarvis News Reporter

efuge workers are set to strike for 10 days and then walk out for an additional two weeks from May 3. This comes after the General Trade Union (GMB) and Unite Union received 94% in favour of striking in their recent ballot. The ballot was called following an “offensive” pay offer by Biffa who manage the waste in Manchester. Bin collectors were offered just a 17p per hour increase in their pay. This has caused even more outrage due to the current cost of living crisis and rising energy crisis. Refuge workers are members of the GMB and Unite unions, who look after general trade, such

as social care, utilities, and distribution. The members took part in a ballot for industrial action. The strikes will last for 1o days initially, with a further two-week long industrial action beginning May 23. It

is estimated that 220,000 houses across Manchester

will be affected by this action. Due to the timing of the strike, beginning just two days before the local elections, it will force electoral candidates to comment on the issue. Further action could be expected as bin truck driver, Ben Wrigley, told the Manchester Evening News, “I’m willing to picket until Christmas if necessary.” A Manchester council spokesperson said: “The negotiations are ongoing between Biffa and the unions and we would urge them to reach an agreed way forward to avoid disruption to Manchester residents.” Students in private rented accommodation are likely to be affected by the strikes, but the University of Manchester are looking to arrange alternative waste collection for students in university halls.

Clara Margotin News Reporter

reater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has signed a historic four city deal in order to develop green energy. This deal will be carried out in collaboration with the leaders of Liverpool, Belfast, and Dublin. The green deal will look to deepen collaboration between the four cities concerning green energy. Making the four cities world leaders in sustainable energy. They will share knowledge and innovations, intensify cooperative research and development, and collaborate on investment, business, and the organisation of related events. Burnham, with the Mayor of Liverpool Steve Rotheram, recently returned from a trip to Ireland and Northern

Ireland. They met Kate Nicholl, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, and Alisons Gilliland, the Lord Mayor of Dublin. Greater Manchester Mayor Burnham said to the PA news agency that the deal “had come at the right time to deal with challenges being faced in energy markets”. Given that Manchester receives 150,000 tourists from Ireland annually the deal entails collaboration on tourism as well. Greater Manchester Mayor Burnham said that the deal “had come at the right time to deal with challenges being faced in energy markets”. Burnham added, “The deal is a starting point … [it] puts forward the idea that the first tangible outcome might be a four-city conference in Liverpool or Manchester, particularly focused on this

issue of green energy”. UoM students’ reactions to the four cities partnership are diverse. Lucia and Millie, second year Physics students, say that they “don’t really understand the purpose nor the scope of this deal.” Meanwhile, Alex, a third year Economics student, said that he believes that it will encourage “green progress”. Alex said that “we’ve been waiting for this kind of intercity agreements for ages”, and therefore that “if we don’t support it, there’s no point in trying to make things change”. Like many people in England, Alex declared not being satisfied with PM Boris Johnson’s national measures regarding sustainability and climate change. The four cities agreement could therefore, in Alex’s view, represent a concrete starting point in this direction.

News 5

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

‘Power in our Land’: Ryebank Community Camp to Celebrate First Birthday The longstanding campaign to Save Ryebank Fields from the threat of MMU development

Katie Hourigan Food and Drink Editor

he Ryebank Fields Community Camp is to celebrate one year of its occupation, with a weekend of community workshops, crafts, vegan food and spoken word, from April 22-24. The weekend will close with a community hike led by people of colour to mark the 90th anniversary of the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass. . The camp was established on April 24 2021 to support the longstanding campaign to Save Ryebank Fields, the naturally rewilded land in Chorlton, from the threat of Manchester Metropolitan University development. Beginning as a collection of tents, the camp is now is home to two permanent structures of over 6 feet, a watch tower and an ecohouse, made from purely recycled

materials. With support from Extinction Rebellion and Animal Rebellion Manchester, the aim is to provide a permanent on-site presence to ward off developers. The Wider Campaign The fields at Ryebank were initially given to MMU by Manchester City Council in the 1970s to remain as playing fields. Since the decision to move MMU sports facilities to Carrington, the fields have been abandoned and left to naturally re-wild, creating a rare spot for biodiversity in central Manchester. Ryebank is home to one of the UK’s rarest trees, the native black poplar, as well as an aspen grove, native bluebells, wild garlic, and more than 70 species of bird. Yet since 2020, the University has entered the process of

auctioning the land to housing developers, who will undoubtedly threaten the delicate ecosystems at work. The Save Ryebank Fields campaign aims to prevent this sale. The threat to Ryebank ties into the wider debate around our Right to Roam. Under the current Countryside & Rights of Way (CRoW) Act, public access is restricted to only 8% of English land. Within even this limited space, access to green space is not spread equally across the country – there are “close to two times as many LGSs (local green spaces) designated in the south as there are in the north of England”. To build private housing on the Ryebank site would be to further increase such inequality. We spoke to activist Robin, who has been living in intervals at the

camp since January of this year. Why does a permanent on site presence make it harder for developers to act? “At the moment, there’s a shortlist of five developers – MMU are simply trying to sell to the highest bidder. From the moment it’s sold, developers can arrive and begin to fence off land to start building works. “A 24 hour presence makes life difficult for the developers – because of legal safety requirements, they can’t begin this work if there are any people in the area. “Any developers would also have to physically dismantle our structures – which costs them both time and money.” How does the camp tie into the pre-existing campaign to Save

Ryebank Fields? “The capaign is a long one, it’s been going for twenty five years! Local residents and the Friends of Ryebank group had already organised a ‘tower duty’ rota, of people keeping watch from the tower in the day for any updates of development. The camp provides an overnight presence, filling in those gaps.” Why should we save Ryebank? “The current IPCC report has us on track for 3.2 degrees of warming – which means total deastation. Now is not the time to start cutting down trees, which of course, help remove carbon. It’s also about more than Ryebank – that as a community, if we can care so much about Ryebank, we can care about other green spaces, other vulnerable environments that are at risk,” said Robin.

The Grand Tour: News from Universities around the UK Archie Earle News Editor

his new series looks at university news from around the UK.

First, UK and Ukrainian universities are to be matched as partnered institutions in an effort to aid Ukrainian staff, academics and students during the war. The scheme will look to

secure long-term collaboration with Ukrainian institutions in order for academics to be able to teach students, and give students opportunities beyond the war.

British Pop Culture archives set to open at UoM The new archive will be run by the John Rylands Library Archie Earle News Editor

he University of Manchester is set to open the first national collection dedicated to the preservation and research of British Popular Culture. The archive will open at the John Rylands Library and Research Institute, in collaboration with the British Pop Archive, to celebrate British Popular Culture. The archive will look

specifically at television, counterculture, music, and other pop culture fundamentals. Research conducted will look at impact and influence both domestically and around the world, looking also at impacts of specific areas such as politics and the economy. The project will work with music journalist and broadcaster Jon Savage, who has recently been appointed Professor of Popular Culture at UoM. Savage gained notoriety with his history of punk book, England’s Dreaming and has

also appeared in documentaries on the BritPop music scene and newwave band New Order. The flagship exhibition launched by the archive will be ‘Collection’, which will centre around Manchester based pop culture, it’s culture scene and unique location for all things pop culture. It will go in to depth about why Manchester was chosen as the home of the exhibition and will be led by Mat Bancroft, Jon Savage and Hannah Barker. On the opening of the archives,

Jon Savage said: “It’s very easy to look at artefacts from 400 years ago and say that’s really important. What we are saying is this is important now. Maybe if more people had kept material from Shakespeare’s time it wouldn’t just be Shakespeare that we’re talking about.” Art Curator, Archivist and Director, Mat Bancroft, who has been art director for Johnny Marr since 2012, will also lead the archives: “We launch the British Pop

Archive with a Manchester focused exhibition full of unique and unseen artefacts. These materials tell the story of a vibrant city with art, culture and music at its heart. More than that they foreground the creative catalysts, musicians, producers, artists, designers and writers who have instigated this repositioning of landscape – to propose media as the new cultural capital of the city.”

6 Features

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Student by day, Labour councillor by night: In conversation with Sam Flemming

The Mancunion sat down with Sam Flemming, a student at UoM who is also Wigan’s Labour councillor, to ask him how he juggles the two roles Isabel Riley Features writer

ur generation are so often demonised as ignorant, apolitical snowflakes, while all we’ve ever known is economic decline, climate collapse, austerity, and political turmoil, not to mention a global pandemic. The chronic underrepresentation of young people in the political sphere - from national policy to local council personnel - is so discouraging, it’s no wonder that many young people are so completely disillusioned with the establishment. Not all are, though. Meet Sam Flemming, who you might have sat next to in a lecture hall, or walked past in the SU. Sam is a second year Politics and International Relations student here at the University of Manchester, but at the age of 19 became Labour Councillor for Bryn, Wigan, after securing a victory at the end of November 2021. The main inspiration behind Sam’s campaign was his determination to change the current state of youth under-representation in politics. Rather than wallow in anger at this woeful state of affairs, he decided to do something about it. He rejects the notion that young people have insufficient “life experience or work experience to be good representatives”, saying that his is “simply different life experience”, by no means less valuable to that of his older peers. He provides a fresh perspective, one keenly interested in the long-term future, when it comes to decision making. Perhaps unexpectedly given the portrayal of young people in the media, Sam says he met with very positive feedback from constituents while running - in fact most of the people he canvassed seemed “very happy a young person was running”, and he said that colleagues have been “very helpful and have given advice and support when I needed it”. As if his victory weren’t an impressive enough feat on its own, Sam balances his day-to-day duties as a councillor with his equally busy student life. When he is not busy attending lectures or working on assignments, he is responding to the concerns of his constituents. This involves venturing out in the community so he can identify issues in the community and bring them up with the relevant council department. These issues can include anything and everything from “getting a new tree planted to replace a dead one, having fly-tipping cleaned up by the council, having a bus stop repaired, getting dog fouling cleaned up and signs put down to try and deter it in future”. And of course he attends council meetings to vote on all Wigan-wide issues, not only eagerly listening to but questioning the cabinet. He is also on two scrutiny committees where he argues for resources for his ward, always doing his best to hold leaders accountable . These are the Confident Council Scrutiny Committee, which is concerned with budgetary decisions taken by the local cabinet, and the Confident Places Scrutiny Committee, which deals with “a range of different issues including local transport links, the environment, local economy, and more”. Despite him “only being in office for about 3 months “and admitting what he’s “been able to accomplish has been rather limited”, he is already making a real difference to his local environment. Indeed, he is “very proud of the frequent litter picks [he is] now arranging and taking part in” alongside other party members and local residents. He has also “delivered approximately £2,000 in funding to local

community groups”. Sam believes improving people’s daily lives is “politics at its best”, and is his primary goal as a local councillor. It is clear he is not afraid to get stuck in to achieve this, not just voting in the Council Chamber but working closely with his community on the ground This comes at a personal cost though. Like most of us, Sam missed out on a vital part of the student experience, as the pandemic prevented him from moving to Manchester. But now as lessons are back in person and things are moving back to normal, Sam’s dedication to being a councillor means he is still missing out on the full student experience. Sam has said that “it is difficult balancing council work and studies but [he has] managed it so far without issue [because] a lot of stuff for both can be done online and that makes things considerably easier than they otherwise would be”. When asked for some advice for young people looking to break into politics, he said that running “really isn’t as daunting as it seems, and there is always help when you need it”, be it from party or peers. The process of becoming a councillor began by Sam being interviewed by a panel of Labour councillors, who then approved him and added him to a list of potential candidates. He then was invited to give a speech and was subsequently selected as the candidate for the upcoming election. All in all, while undoubtedly unnerving, it is a simpler process than you’d initially assume. And not to detract from Sam’s achievement, b u t hopefully his experience goes to show success of youth in politics is not as unattainable as it seems. T h i s achievement is by no means the end of Sam’s political career. When I asked, he shared plans of delving further in the political world, with intentions of running as an MP and when asked, didn’t deny even loftier aspirations of becoming PM one day. Whatever your political affiliation, Sam is undoubtedly a pioneer for young voices in politics, an inspiration, reaffirming faith in the system and I for one am looking forward to following his political career. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that one day we will have a Manchester alumnus as head of state... Sam serves as a reminder that no matter the barriers and frustrations young people face when trying to make our voices heard in politics, it’s by no means an impossibility. I hope his experience can help reinstate some faith in the political process and encourage others to take up the mantle, whatever the

party, and get involved - maybe not run for office like Sam but certainly to become more involved in day-to-day politics. Even if politics really isn’t for you, getting involved in local community projects is a great first step. From litter picking to holding members of parliament accountable, Sam is a testament to the fact that even the smallest things can make a difference.

“It is difficult balancing council work and studies but I’ve managed it so far without issue”

You can find Sam on Twitter at @SamFlemming5 or via his profile on the Wigan Council website.

“Running really isn’t as daunting as it seems, and there is always help when you need it”

Investigations 7

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Saving Private Students: What’s life like in university-leased private halls?

Lucy Giles investigates the oversubscription of halls and what student life is like in Manchester IQ Wilmslow Park private halls. Lucy Giles Investigations Reporter

n investigation by The Mancunion has revealed

students

were

left

feeling

“stressed and frustrated” after oversubscription of accommodation led to first-year students being assigned to private halls leased out by the university. Lauren, a first year medical student and Emily, a first year History student, were both placed in private halls by the University despite not actually applying for them. They spoke to The Mancunion about the process of getting placed in these halls and their experiences living there. Lauren

and

Emily

were

allocated

their

accommodation at the end of August 2021. They both said they’d received their allocation very close to the moving in date, and much later than many of their peers. This meant that they were left with very few days to decide whether they would accept the accommodation.

“

...placed in private halls by the University despite not actually applying for them Lauren said she “felt very stressed and frustrated with university starting so soon, with no word from the university about accommodation”. She soon began to worry “whether she would have anywhere to live at all”. When they finally received their allocation of accommodation Lauren and Emily were told via email that “Due to high demand for accommodation the university has provided an additional number

The price of the Halls has also been an issue for

halls are not currently an available option for

the students living there. When they were put into

students applying for university accommodation.

the accommodation the Halls originally cost £168.00

Whilst they were not an option in 2021, this year

per week, making them the most expensive self-

they are on the website but it is stated that they will

catered Halls offered by the university. However,

not actually be available for the next academic year.

this was later lowered to £158.00 per week. Both

girls

were

confused

and

Many students come to university hoping to live

somewhat

with several other students. Large flats often help

distressed when they found out where they would

to curb feelings of isolation very quickly have the

be moving too, for they feared that being in private

chance to meet several new people, giving freshers

halls would not only be more expensive but also not

a wide pool of potential friends to draw from.

allow them to have the ‘real’ university experience they were looking forward to. They were concerned about the different experience they would have living in these halls as opposed to more classic University accommodation. Emily told The Mancunion she initially tried to look for alternative accommodation but upon meeting

her

flatmates

decided

she

wouldn’t

change. Similarly, Lauren decided that with only

This communal living is seen as an integral

5 days before the deadline to accept her offer she

part of the university experience many students

would take it to avoid missing out on university

love. Both Lauren and Emily feel as though they

accommodation altogether. Both agreed had they

have missed out on that, stating that they both had

been given longer they would have attempted to

wanted to live with a larger number of people and

live somewhere else.

feel as though in these flats they don’t really get the

Over

the

past

two

semesters

Emily

and

Lauren have found benefits of living in their accommodation.

“

Lauren said she “felt very stressed and frustrated with university starting so soon, with no word from the university about accommodation”. She soon began to worry “whether she would have anywhere to live at all”.

of rooms at Wilmslow Park Hall of Residence.” Wilmslow Park are private halls administered

Emily likes the facilities and enjoys having the

by IQ Student Accommodation on Oxford Road,

privacy of en-suite. She was pleased with the fact

which according to the IQ website “offers a variety

that the kitchen/lounge is fairly spacious. Although

of student rooms in Manchester, with social spaces,

she found it quite frustrating that those who were

transport links to universities and local amenities”.

paying less in other accommodations had amenities

For the academic year 21/22 many freshers

the private halls do not, such as a vacuum cleaner

found themselves placed in an accommodation

for each flat.

they never applied to; in fact, many were not placed

The biggest downside that both Lauren and

in ‘university’ accommodation at all. The reason

Emily brought up was the size of the flats and the

why so many students like Emily and Lauren were

sociability of the accommodation. The flats in

placed in these leased out private halls was due to

their accommodation range from 3 to 5 people in

a large increase in students applying for university

total. Whilst this does it keep the accommodation

accommodation for this academic year.

peaceful; Lauren and Emily found they had to trade

The

Mancunion

obtained

statistics

via

Freedom of Information request, revealing that for

the chance to meet a greater number of their peers for this ‘peace’.

the academic year beginning September 2021 a total

If given the choice, both girls believed they may

of 718 more undergraduates applied for university

have chosen to live in more traditional university

accommodation than in the previous two years.

accommodation. This is especially the case when

applied,

talking to students who live in Fallowfield Campus

a net total of 593 more students applied for

Halls, as they don’t share many of the infamous

accommodation this year than the previous two.

aspects of ‘Fallowfield student life’. Lauren stated

This increase of students, alongside the closure of

that when in her accommodation, she sometimes

other university-run accommodation like Owens

doesn’t feel like she is actually at university. Both

Park, has resulted in the University of Manchester

feel isolated at times, as often the flat can be empty,

leasing out privately run student halls to house

when there are very few other people to be around.

Whilst

125

their students.

fewer

postgraduates

“

given the choice, both girls believed they may have chosen to live in more traditional university accommodation.

It is interesting to note that as it stands these

true University experience. The main thing that Lauren and Emily would have liked to see when getting allocated their accommodation was more time to decide and less uncertainty in the run up to moving into their halls. Overall interesting

Emily and

and

Lauren

perhaps

have

different

had

first

an year

university experience. They acknowledged their issue of sociability wasn’t “the end of the world” but they would have still liked to experience university like most of their peers. Despite the less than ideal living conditions of some Fallowfield Halls of Residence, they continue to have a charm for those living there. The allure of an active social life and opportunities to mix with hundreds of like-minded students are a persistent draw of Fallowfield life. Clearly, private halls have been used as a temporary solution to the large increase in demands for student halls at the University of Manchester. Whilst their facilities are an improvement on many of the other university Halls of residence, it seems that social life is still an important factor in the experience and life in student halls – an experience which private halls do not seem to have the same ability to recreate. A

University

Manchester

spokesperson

said: “There are years where the popularity of the University results in a higher-than-expected intake of new students; 2021-22 has been such a year. It was therefore necessary to source additional accommodation during the summer of 2021; the additional rooms at Wilmslow Park were arranged as part of this response. “The

University

Accommodation

Office

attempts each year to match students’ preferences in their applications with which Hall of Residence they offered. Typically it is possible to achieve this for over 80% of applicants. Due to the popularity of some Halls however it is not possible to guarantee a choice of accommodation.”

8 Investigations

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Money on our minds: Students set to lose money amidst cost of living crisis Some student maintenance loans will lose around £450 in value in the coming academic year. Jacob Hartley Investigations Reporter

he Mancunion‘s projections indicate students will be poorer in the coming academic year, despite the government’s nominal increase of the maintenance loan. New statistics and projections from The Mancunion show that some student maintenance loans will lose around £450 in value in the coming academic year, especially for those coming from poorer economic backgrounds. This academic year (2021/22), those whose parents earned £25,000 and below were loaned £9,488. In the coming year (2022/23), the number will rise to £9,706 – an increase of 2.24%. In real terms, this equates to a price increase of £218. For those coming from higher income brackets, the increase is higher – the maintenance loan of those from familial incomes of £65,000 or above goes from £4,422 to £4,534. Though a lower increase, of £112, it does represent a larger growth: nearly 2.5%; those from richer backgrounds are less affected.

While a nominal increase, this does not match the UK’s predicted, or even current inflation rate, and so represents a lower value than the current year – students will have less purchasing power next year. It is impossible to know exactly how much students will lose, as it is impossible to totally accurately predict what the 12-month inflation rate will be in September. However, it is known that inflation is rising, and will continue to rise throughout the year. In March 2022, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was increased 7% from a year previous, and it is predicted that it will hit at least, but probably beyond, 7.4% by the end

of the year. With 7% being the current level of inflation, students from the lowest income bracket would have needed £10,152 to maintain their purchasing power – £446 more than they are getting. In another scenario for students, predicting inflation hits 7.4% by September, those students from the lowest income bracket would need £10,190 to maintain purchasing power – nearly £500 more than they are getting, which is, for many students, equivalent to a month’s rent. Again, for students from higher income backgrounds, the percentage gap – between the amount they are receiving, and the amount they should receive to maintain value – is slightly smaller than that from lower income backgrounds. Using 7% as the model of inflation, students from incomes of £65000 or more will have 95.5% of last year’s purchasing power, compared to 95.25% for those from incomes below £25,000. This all comes amidst a rising cost of living crisis with students already struggling. The National Union of Students (NUS) wrote that students are already burdened by the cost of living crisis: “ 79% of students are worried about their ability to get by financially. One in four have less than £50 a month to live off after rent and energy bills, and 5% of students are visiting food banks”. The NUS UK President Larissa Kennedy commented that “We know that thousands of students are already being forced to choose between heating and eating, and with this cost-of-living crisis only expected to get worse, the Government needs to act to support the most vulnerable”. Despite these statements and the reported struggles of students, the situation is set to deteriorate further next year. This news coincides with an almost unprecedented surge in interest rates on student loan repayments. Interest rates on student loan repayments are set to hit 12% this year, escalating dramatically from

4.5% in the year before. Branwen Jeffreys, writing for the BBC , claimed many students “working towards their degrees don’t realise interest is being charged during their studies until they get their first statement the year after leaving university”. This is not a standalone issue for students, and certainly not a new one. Rents in university halls are increasing dramatically, and have been for a long time. According to Unipol’s Accommodation Cost Survey 2018, “In 2011/12 rents accounted for 58 per cent of the maximum financial support on average. This has risen to 73 per cent in 2018/19”. This shows a dramatic loss in disposable income for students. The 2021 Accommodation Cost Survey revealed more of the same problems: “rent rises continue to outstrip inflation by a big margin”. And for those students who choose,

either by necessity or by preference, to live in cheaper student halls, those options are disappearing: “lower-cost accommodation is disappearing fast, as old university stock falls out of commission and is not replaced”. There does appear to be truth in this for students at Manchester. Some of the cheaper accommodation, such as Owens Park, has been closed down. It has been replaced by ultra expensive accommodation such as Unsworth Park, which next year, will set students back £7,169, nearly 75% of the £9706 allotted to students on the maximum financial support. This seems unfeasible for the vast majority of students. Students in expensive accommodation like Unsworth Park, with no additional financial aid, have to choose between living on under £50 a week, or racking up even more debt than they already have to the government. Yet increasing the value of rent seems to be the trend: the 2021 survey

states that “rent levels and the actual cost of living generally are becoming evermore detached from the financial support available to students through the state”, and are on a “collision course” with the increase in students entering university from less well-off backgrounds. Talking to students, it quickly became clear that many felt disillusioned with the way they were being treated. Holly Thomas, first year Economics student at the University of Manchester told The Mancunion : “ The lack of purchasing power

among students has been worsened by a rise in fees and no rise in funding. This reflects the current government’s general contempt for the working class. If the Conservative party want to pride themselves in apt opportunity for all, that starts with ensuring every student can afford to put a meal on the table”. Another student, studying English Literature, commented: “ To me, this just exacerbates the sense that going to university is not really accessible to all. Especially considering that for many people this’ll mean even more hours of poorly-paid labour in term time, at the expense of what we pay so much for in the first place: access to a great education and an exciting student life. Every year students seem to pay more for less”. Students are just one of many groups struggling in the cost of living crisis – their financial problems all compound one another. After graduation, students are going to be expected to pay back more and more, as interest skyrockets to 12%. And before they will leave, the loans that will cause this debt will not even perform their most basic function: allowing the students to function.

Opinion

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Ukraine & Russia: Half of Africa’s wheat imports come from two these countries Harri assesses the gravity of Russia’s ban on wheat exportation and the negative global consequences it will have Harri Talfan Davies Opinion Reporter

ince Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, few have acknowledged one of his most barbaric moves yet: the Russian ban on exporting wheat, barley and rye. “The bullets and bombs in Ukraine could take the global hunger crisis to catastrophic levels… If you think we’ve got hell on earth now, you just get ready.” - David Beasley, Head of the World Food Programme (speaking to Politico on March 22). Unsatisfied with the war-crimes of the Russian military, Putin has sought to use grain as a humanitarian weapon - threatening the world’s supplychain in the hope of relaxing western sanctions. This export ban, intensified by Ukraine’s inability to harvest crops whilst under invasion, has wiped 30% of the world’s wheat supply off the face of the earth. Europe’s ‘bread basket,’ as it is known, is increasingly empty. The global consequences of this absence cannot be overstated. Initial estimates from the UN food and Agricultural organisation suggest that an additional 8-13 million people worldwide will face undernourishment should this ban and invasion continue.

For some, this prospect is just around the corner. North African nations such as Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria are already experiencing severe food supply strains. Throughout the previous harvest season (2021), severe drought had denied these countries the opportunity to produce their own food, forcing them to rely heavily on foreign imports instead. Egypt is the largest importer of wheat on the planet, with the whole of its supply coming from the combatants - 60% from Russia and 40% from Ukraine. Couple this now collapsed supply with the soaring price of wheat - a tonne that cost 150 euros in 2015 now costs 400 euros and you have the perfect storm. Surely this can be resolved through solutions within Africa? A recent UN report concludes differently, that “There is limited scope to replace imports from the Russian Federation and Ukraine through intra-African trade”. Simply put, “as the supply of wheat is comparatively small, and many parts of the continent lack efficient transport infrastructures and storage capacity.” Further eastward, Asia similarly must prepare for serious supply strain. Bangladesh has already seen its wheat prices surge by 38% while Pakistan and Indonesia (the world’s second largest buyer of Ukrainian wheat) will

feel similar effects. Whilst we remain rightly focused on the absolute devastation in Ukraine, politicians must show they are able to hold two ideas in their head at once. Ukraine needs military aid, and the world’s food supply chain needs propping up quickly. It is not a question of one or the other, it is a matter of action on both right now. With Ukraine’s need for military aid, an energy supply crisis in Europe and world-wide food supply chains under severe stress, one fears that western nations are destined to get caught in limbo. But the wringing of hands will not suffice. To begin addressing the challenge, world leaders must address the £8 billion shortfall at the World Food Programme (WPF); which understandably has been challenged by the world’s focus on COVID-19, climate commitments and unresolved conflicts. To put it bluntly, it is a shortfall that must be recovered. Yet where is the western leadership on this issue? France has begun the conversation merely by raising the reality of food shortages, but what is needed urgently is global leadership and global solutions, in which the whole of Europe plays its part. Without urgent action, the world faces a global food crisis many thought not possible in the 21st century.

ISSUE 12/ 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

10 Opinion

The privatisation of Channel Boris, Dorries and their motley crew are here to take public broadcasting away from you - We take a look at why Channel 4 might be privatised and what this actually means for us and the programmes we love so much Tom Grant Opinion Writer

he government announced the news that many in the media industry had been dreading, the plan to privatise Channel 4 before the next planned election in 2024. Now, there’s one thing you need to understand about Channel 4 before knowing what is to come next, and that is its current structure. Many of the conversations I’ve had with people over the last couple of days have consisted of things like “but Channel 4 has adverts” and “we don’t pay for Channel 4”. Yes, that’s true. But that’s what makes Channel 4 so great. No taxpayer money goes towards the network, but the channel is in public ownership. This means that the channel has a remit set by Ofcom which it must adhere to, but is then funded commercially.

Taxpayer money does not go to Channel 4, despite the many claims

If only Nadine Dorries (Seretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) had known this before stating in the House of Commons that the channel was “in receipt of public money”. Then, she may have had a better answer than “and… so… although it’s… yeah, and…”, which was a painstaking 10 seconds none of us will ever get back. But that’s a key thing. Taxpayer’s money does not go to Channel 4, despite the claims of many. Another thing about Channel 4 you should know is that it does not create

any of its programming in house. Not a single programme you see on Channel 4 is created by the Channel Four Television Corporation. This is what gives Channel 4 something different, something new. Channel 4 gives those well sought after and forever required opportunities to the little people in the room. Those independent production companies up and down the nation. The people just starting out or the people who want to have a chance. Channel 4 is the place those people go. Some may say this comes down to politics, and it is probable that it does. Channel 4’s news contract is with ITN, and has been since its launch in 1982. Channel 4 News was the programme which the current Prime Minister refused to appear on before the 2019 General Election. In return, they replaced him with a giant ice sculpture of the Conservative Party logo, to emphasise the current climate crisis. Channel 4’s Dispatches programmes have uncovered stories on austerity and the poverty of families up and down the nation, something that has unfortunately come to light again in the last few weeks. And this is one thing those who are for the privatisation seem to continue mentioning. Programming for lifestyle, comedy, drama and entertainment all seem to be ‘bettered’ with privatisation, according to those behind the idea. That, and its journalistic integrity. Many for privatisation keep arguing that the ‘leftiness’ and ‘wokeness’ of Channel 4 News need to be replaced. The news that comes from the channel aptly named Independent Television News. Channel 4 took on programmes like Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin, cult-classic Skins, followed university students in Fresh Meat, and coughed up the cash to poach The Great British Bake Off from the BBC. From Grand Designs to Derry Girls, The Big Breakfast to Gogglebox, Channel 4 has consistently stuck to its remit. Being the fourth channel. Producing programming neither

the BBC nor ITV would air. Naked Attraction on BBC Two? 8 Out of 10 Cats on Channel 5? It just doesn’t work. What the government is now doing is not only narrowing down the creative industry, it’s narrowing down opinions. As for the creative industry. What of it? Channel 4’s Youth Schemes in the North have provided those without contacts in the industry countless opportunities to achieve their goals

Naked Attraction on BBC 2? 8 Out of 10 Cats on Channel 5? It just doesn’t work!

and dreams. As someone who wants to work in media, I can only hear a unified cry of despair through what I read from friends and contacts. Because you may think that through privatisation some things will get better. And they may, mine is just an opinion shared amongst one group of people. Of course there are people on the other side who believe the channel should go into private hands; the government is one of them. But will we still see the same creative output? Probably not. Without a remit to actually invest in stories of those who are underrepresented, what’s the point? Channel 4’s newly opened office in Leeds aspires to give those in the North an opportunity, and is the only network with a main headquarters in the city. Why would a multi-media conglomerate who operate elsewhere care about an office in Leeds? Straight back to London we go, I imagine. Which begs the question; why? Why would privatisation work? There is no taxpayer money going to

the network, it’s not in debt, and it certainly doesn’t need to compete with the likes of Netflix, as Nadine Dorries would have you believe. We can sign petitions, and make a fuss, but the truth is, more MPs are bothered about the privatisation of the channel than some laws that deserve more attention in our country today.

I saw a certain idea when reading the unfortunate news of the government’s fatal decisions, and it is what I leave you with today: I wonder whose friend fancied a share in Channel 4?

Sport 11

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Billionaire business owners: What are they doing to football? How has a working class sport become plagued by greed? This article focuses on how billionaire sports owners have changed football Ava Griffiths Sport Writer

illionaire football club owners. Their investments have either brought your club unprecedented success or has left you attending protests trying to get them out. Here in the city of Manchester, this difference has been played out right in front of us. The City Football Group which owns Manchester City has completely transformed a club once in the shadow of Manchester United. Meanwhile, the relationship between the Glazers and the red side of Manchester has become a toxic one. How has a working class sport become plagued by greed and extreme wealth? Elite level football is a business. From this, we see the rise of corporate tycoons running our clubs. Of course, the investment can bring huge success to a club. Chelsea and Roman Abramovich’s takeover in 2003 being the most obvious example. Once a mid table club from West London down by Fulham Road, on the edge of bankruptcy, have now gone on to win the Champions League twice and have earned the status of one of the biggest clubs in the world. With the recent news that Abramovich was selling the club, most Chelsea fans had nothing but gratitude for the billionaire, whose investment led to an era of unparalleled success. Other fans have a more fractured relationship with their owners. The resentment between Manchester United supporters and the Glazers

has been growing for many years. Yet this should come as no surprise. Before their takeover in 2005, the club was debt free and had been since 1931. The club’s debt now stands at £494.8 million. This is because in order to buy the club, the Glazers took out loans secured against Manchester United’s own assets, meaning the responsibility for paying interest on those and indeed paying off the loans entirely fell on the institution, not on the Glazers themselves. A truly crazy business move, one which has now come back to haunt the club. Fans are left feeling their beloved club is simply there for the owners profit. Clubs which are built on tradition and a solid working class community can clash with wealthy businessmen with no background in football. The takeover of West Ham is no exception. Of course they have recently found success under manager David Moyes so the pressure on the board has settled slightly. However the club’s owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, made their money in the adult magazine and film industry. When they took over in 2010, they promised so much for West Ham, now banners with ‘sold a dream, given a nightmare’ are held up by supporters at matches. But it is West Ham’s move from Upton Park to the Olympic stadium in 2016 which I believe captures everything wrong with the corporate world becoming involved in football clubs. A true east London fortress built on West Ham’s rich history which stood for 112 years traded in for a multi purpose

stadium three miles away, just off a Westfield shopping centre. The local businesses which made up a buzzing Green Street are simply left behind. The iconic family run, Nathan’s pie and mash shop, open for 80 years feeding hungry supporters on their way to Upton Park, is now permanently closed. This was just two years after West Ham’s move. Food trucks which also stood outside the old ground, have been denied the right to set up outside the new stadium. There has been a complete and utter disregard for the community built around the club. Unfortunately, protecting this community simply was not part of the business plan for David Sullivan and David Gold. Meanwhile, in Germany a model called the 50+1 model means Russian oligarchs and US hedge funds cannot muscle their way into the ownership of football clubs. Since 1998, when the 50+1 rule came into existence in German football, members have owned 50 percent of their clubs plus one share, limiting commercial investment to a minority stake. Fans are therefore more involved with off field decisions, the powers of those at the top are limited. This is unlike what we see in the UK. Whilst many fans are drawn to this 50+1 model, the ownership of clubs falling to a few wealthy individuals does not seem to be going anywhere. Recently, Newcastle United was sold by Sports Direct CEO Micheal Ashley to Saudi backed Public Investment Fund (PIF). It was a controversial deal which collapsed in 2020 as the Premier League was not convinced

PIF was completely separate from the Saudi Arabian government. However, in 2021 it seemed there was enough evidence to prove this was not the case. It means Newcastle are now the world’s wealthiest football club, surpassing Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, with owners who are worth an estimated £700bn. In 2021, the proposal of the breakaway European Super League showcased the greed from the so-called ‘top six’ clubs in embarrassing fashion. Within 48 hours of the announcement, club owners were apologising to fans as the plans collapsed due to severe backlash. Businessmen with no loyalty or appreciation for the community built around the football clubs in this country, attempted to create a separate competition all for a money grab. A league with no relegation? Who thought that would be something football fans wanted? An obvious case of money and profit being put before supporters interest. The already fragile relationship between the board of clubs and fans has been damaged permanently. One thing this whole scandal did show was how even as the corporate world tightens its grip on football clubs, fans will not allow them to get their hands on everything. To owners, football is their very own profitable business. To fans, it is, and always has been far more than that. If owners fail to recognise this, supporters may feel like walking away from the club. A disaster for the sport. After all, football is nothing without fans.

12 Science

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Unicorns at Chester Zoo!? The arrival of a new okapi calf at local Chester Zoo is a vital step for the conservation of this endangered species

Anna van der Zwaluw Science Writer

ou may have never heard of the okapi – they’ve certainly never been mentioned in my units on animal diversity. But, these beautiful and rare animals have had recent success in the form of a newly born calf in the local captive breeding programme at Chester Zoo. Okapis are hoofed, herbivorous mammals with characteristically large ears, chocolate brown bodies and white striped legs. Although they may look similar to zebras, okapi are most closely related to giraffes. The species – Okapia johnstoni – has only been known in the scientific world since 1901. They had previously been known colloquially as the ‘African Unicorn’ due to their rarity and shy nature. Breeding programmes have been set up in order to preserve this endangered animal including at our local Chester Zoo! At the end of February, a female calf stepped outside to join her fellow okapis. There are 5 individuals at Chester, and only 14 in the UK. The new calf has been named Kora after a village in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in The Democratic Republic of Congo. Today, this is the only location on the globe where wild okapi are a native species. Estimates for the population of okapis in the

wild are difficult to make due to their rarity, but tend to fall between 10,000 and 35,000. Sadly, this population has been in decline over the last 25 years. Poaching, deforestation, armed conflict and illegal mining in in recent years has lead to okapi classification as ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. Such conservation efforts can be very costly. So why should we care about conserving niche species like okapis? Loss of any species from a particular habitat has knock-on effects for the rest of their ecosystem. Each animal, plant, fungus and microorganism plays a role in a complex food web of many organisms. So, if a single species is lost, its knock-on effects can quickly escalate to impact many more species. Captive breeding programmes in zoos provide a sheltered environment where population size can be increased in a controlled manner. Zoos also provide an opportunity to improve education and awareness about rare animals like the okapi. Such species might otherwise be unknown and unseen by much of the wider world. From a genetic perspective, breeding programmes are important for monitoring the health of a species. Smaller populations have a smaller gene pool (meaning fewer different possible characteristics that they can inherit) which increases risk of

Menstruation is cool, period. Society may have painted the picture that menstruation is widely human, but there are many other animals who also experience this fundamental process Jess Ferguson Science Columnist

ost people who have periods will agree that they’re a huge pain and inconvenience. The cramps, the blood on underwear, the mood swings and the cost of products are all huge things that make our lives just that little bit more difficult once a month. In fact, people find periods so annoying that there has recently been a huge drop in the sales of sanitary products. This is thought to be due to the increase in contraceptives which will stop or delay your period.

@Rawpixel

Whilst this is all very well, we all know that periods are hugely important, and we are very much not the only animals that menstruate. Dogs, apes, old-world monkeys, elephant shrews and even bats have periods. Great apes such as orangutans and gorillas have menstrual cycles very similar to humans ranging from 29-35 days long. However, the occurrence of an

ape menstruating (which is day 1 of the cycle) is very rare as females spend most of their fertile lives either pregnant or breastfeeding (although I wouldn’t recommend this method to stop your periods). I’m sure you’ve heard of a dog ‘coming into heat’ which basically means that the female is in oestrous, and her ovaries have released eggs. This will last for about 3 weeks during which time a small amount of blood is discharged. Whilst bleeding on and off for 3 weeks sounds totally horrendous, luckily for dogs this happens about twice a year. In bats, the menstrual cycle lasts for 33 days, similar to humans. However, not much is known about this, and it is thought that this only occurs after mating which occurs from August to October. This process has been thought to allow female bats to have another chance at mating during the same season if the first did not result in a pregnancy (a bit weird I know …). Most of the studies out there about bat periods (yes, people actually spend their lives studying this), only really have seen menstruation in captive bats as it is so difficult to see this in the wild. Therefore, most of the data available may not be accurate. Whilst menstruation might seem like quite a wasteful and energy-consuming process it has evolved many times meaning there must be an advantage to it. The continuous and increased number of periods that humans are subjected to might feel like a cruel joke from mother nature but in fact it is our ancestor’s libido and need to procreate that is to blame (I mean … take a look at the apes!). This is yet another example of how we are unique in nature.

disease and poor health with every

new generation born. Human intervention is therefore important for increasing populations of rare animals in a way that ensures maximum

Chester Zoo @ Flickr

future health of the species. Furthermore, as the only living relative of giraffes, and the only extant species in their genus, the extinction of okapis would mean the end to an entire taxonomic lineage. This is the equivalent of a family tree reaching a dead end. If okapis are lost, they and all of their already extinct close relatives will be gone forever. Okapis have a relatively long gestation period of around 440 to 450 days (compared to human 280 days), after which a single calf is born. This means that re-growing the population size will take a long time. But, every successful birth is another small step forward in conserving this species. If you find yourself visiting Chester Zoo, make sure to pay Kora and her fellow okapis a visit, as such rare species may not be around to be seen forever.

Is violence an evolutionary trait? Genetics could help explain patterns of violence in both sexes Lauren Manning Science Writer

en are more likely than women to perpetrate nearly all types of interpersonal violence and are the most common victims of interpersonal violence. Research has largely focused on the role of gender norms and masculine values in promoting male violence. It has been argued that the prevalence and pattern of male violence is a result of the social norms which cause men to value hierarchy, power, respect, and emotional suppression. These factors definitely play a part, but there may be a scientific explanation to explain the patterns of male violence we see. In ‘Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe’, Bingham and Souza present an explanation of male violence based on the difference between the roles of males and females in mammalian reproduction. For males, mating with multiple females increase their potential reproductive output – a man can get multiple women pregnant. However, for females, mating with multiple males has little to no effect on their potential reproductive output – a woman cannot be a little pregnant. If an organism’s purpose is to have as many offspring as it can, as Bingham and Souza argue it is, then it is advantageous for males to have multiple mates. These males, therefore, will compete for females to mate with. This is not a new idea, but one that isn’t always considered in the search for the origins of male violence. Based on this idea of male-male competition, it is logical to assume that violence between males should be the most prominent form of violence. That is exactly what we see. Males are nearly ten times more likely to commit homicides and are 2 to 3 times more likely to be victims of homicide, compared to females. This means we can assume males who

have the most competitors for mating opportunities should be involved in violent competitive interactions more often. Unsurprisingly, this is exactly what we see. Unemployed, unmarried, young men are the most common offenders and victims of homicide. Young males between the ages of 20-24 are almost 5 times more likely to commit homicides than older men aged 50-54. Moreover, unemployed men in their peak reproductive years (aged 25-44) are around 5 times more likely to commit homicides than employed males of the same age. Of course, these statistics are not a result of evolutionary processes alone. Humans exist within large, complex communities, and the socially pressures ideas and cultural values within these groups will impact our behaviour. Some scientists have argue this behaviour initially evolved in response to sexual selection by females, and is socially facilitated by the presence of other men in pursuit of the same goals. Further evidence for this theory comes from our closest living relatives – the great apes. A few studies have shown that the most severe forms of violence between males in these species tend to be linked to sexual access and reproductive success. Furthermore, females seem to be attracted to these males which successfully compete, resulting in male violence being actively selected for in both sexes. You may find yourself thinking that humans have risen above these basic motivators for sexual reproduction. Yes, we are more complex than other mammals, and we live within expanded social contexts which influence our behaviour in very different ways to apes. But, our genetic information has been shaped in the same way as other mammals over millions of years. As a result, our behaviours are still influenced by these same fundamental needs. This may help us to understand the cause of male violence in our species, and perhaps give us some clues on how to prevent it.

Science 13

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Can pharmacogenomics be introduced to the NHS?

We look at why pharmacogenomics could revolution the NHS if it had the chance and how much modern medicine could change for the better possible before.

Isobel Green Science Writer

he general conversation between a patient and a doctor involves a patient describing their ailment, the doctor investigating what has been described and then deciding on a diagnosis and treatment plan. However, when they prescribe you a treatment, it is usually extremely generic to the diagnosis. Medicine follows a ‘one size fits all’ approach. It is expected that one treatment should work for everyone with the corresponding condition. But it is not expected that one TV channel will satisfy everyone wanting to watch TV, hence we are adorned with hundreds of channels. So why is medicine any different? As individuals, differences in our DNA make us all unique. We therefore have varying responses to drugs. Some will benefit from a medication, some will not respond and some will have adverse reactions. Drugs are usually tested on a large population and the average response is recorded: evidence based medicine. But there is often little alternative for those which do not fit the average. The personalisation of medicine is tailoring treatments based on your individual needs. The concept is not new, but being able to predict a drugs reaction in our bodies has not been

What is pharmacogenomics? Pharmacogenomics is a branch of personalised medicine. It is the study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs. It involves determining genetic differences associated with adverse drug reactions by performing a genetic sequencing test. If genetic variations are found in a patient, adjustments can be made to their medication such as dosage or changing the drug. The genetic sequencing test involves taking a blood, saliva or body tissue sample to be analysed in a laboratory. The results of this test can then be matched to appropriate medications. It was recently announced this service might be available on the NHS by next year. Why integrate pharmacogenomics into the NHS? You might be questioning the necessity of pharmacogenomics, particularly its integration into the NHS. Adverse drug reactions are more common than you might think, particularly with commonly-prescribed drugs. • Only about 50% of people taking antidepressants notice improvement in symptoms • Over 5 million people in the UK receive no pain relief from codeine The general premise of personal-

healthcare budget can be spent appropriately. Health is valued in quality adjusted life years (QALY’s) – a measure of quantity and quality of life. QALYs quantify the

ised medicine is to use the known individuality in a population to improve patient diagnosis, care and treatment. Strategies are needed to employ personalised medicine such as a specific test for a certain mutation in a tissue to prioritise the use of a specific treatment. A more recent strategy, which is being introduced to the NHS, is to employ broader tests which can test for hundreds of genetic variants as opposed to just one. This will allow for precise treatment monitoring. Health economists work to provide information on whether to introduce a new intervention into a healthcare system. They base this information on the value the intervention can provide to the system, compared to what is currently in place, so that the fixed

health effect of a medical intervention. A valuable intervention results in more QALYs gained for less cost. For example, cancer medications are easy to measure with QALYs as it is easy to determine how many extra years of life a patient receives from the medication. Does pharmacogenomics hold any value to the NHS? On paper, yes. An economic analysis of pharmacogenomics will highlight the cost-effectiveness of the intervention as the genomic tests are relatively cheap for the amount of QALYs gained. However, this does not take into account implementation issues. Practically, pharmacogenomics will be a nightmare to implement. GPs and clinicians will have to develop their knowledge of pharmacogenomic relevant medicines, and then adapt their consultations to account for the genomic testing. This assumes they

are willing to change the way they work. It will have to be decided when is best to test individuals; when they are born, or to wait until they need a medicine. An information system is then required to hold and transfer individuals information. There are also patient level factors to be considered as part of this implementation. A patients ignorance or poor health literacy may hinder their acceptance of the care. There may also be reservations towards knowing their genetic status in situations where there is an absence of effective treatments for conditions such as Huntington’s disease or Alzheimer’s. Why is it now then that the government have decided it is a good time to introduce pharmacogenomics to the NHS? There are still a lot of factors that need enlightening; who to test, when to test them and how to gain the support of clinicians. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, is the NHS currently in a position to take on such a pioneering technology? Or politically, will it be of great benefit to promote the NHS as a world leading healthcare system in genomics?

A special thanks to Professor Kathrine Payne; professor of health economics at the University of Manchester, for her help with this article.

Disposable vapes - what’s the catch? Disposable vapes make up a fifth of the market, with low prices and bold flavours. What’s the catch? Harry McLeod Science & Tech Writer

aping - it’s really, really popular. 3.6 million people vape daily, and the number is only increasing. This is thanks in no small part to JUUL, who in 2015 introduced a small, sleek, USB form factor, which younger users seem particularly drawn to. The brand might only be 7 years old, but it already dominates three quarters of the £15.5 billion vaping market. Disposable vapes have recently enjoyed a resurgence since their sales were actually in decline before JUUL. Unlike JUUL vapes though they can’t be recharged, and their pods containing the all-important e-liquid are not replaceable. However, they still represent 20% of the market. They imitate the small, trendy form factor that JUUL nailed back in 2015 - only they’re now even cheaper. £4 for 600 puffs can seem like a very attractive option for cashstrapped youngsters. The names are also seemingly aimed at newer, younger users, with flavours, like “blueberry blast” that wouldn’t look out of place on a pickand-mix counter. They give the impression of a cheap, accessible, and tasty alternative to smoking. Pay peanuts, get monkeys The problem starts with the price. You get what you pay for, and anyone selling a vape pen for £4 is going to have to cut corners somewhere - or

perhaps almost everywhere. Most cheap, disposable vapes lack a microcontroller, a piece of circuitry needed to make sure the vapour output is properly controlled. A study done in the US investigated the consequences of this missing circuitry, finding that as a result, the vapour emissions varied wildly. Carbonyls can include compounds classed as carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and toxic, and are the primary toxin tested for by health officials. Well-made vapes with proper microcontrollers emit far fewer carbonyls than traditional cigarettes. In addition, the study found that nicotine in vapes was far more palatable form than in cigarettes, for example, because of a special reaction with acid in the vapour. This reaction makes it less obvious how much nicotine you’re vaping, so you are way more likely to get nicotine-dependant (as many young people already have). What happens to a vape when it’s finished? At the moment, there is no real way to recycle your used disposable vape. None. It seems some users have a dumping ground in their house for

used vapes, a sort of graveyard for brightly coloured plastic bodies. The problem reached such a level that an Australian engineer-turned-entrepreneur, Alex Fairclough, put out an offer online to collect and recycle used vapes. His DMs where promptly flooded by people from Queensland to Sydney, whose drawers where packed with plastic deadweight, with no way to rid themselves of it. You shouldn’t have to be an electronics expert to recycle a vape pen, but the structure of disposable vapes mean that it is necessary. In these vapes, the battery and e-liquid pod are connected, making it mixed waste, something which e-waste recycling centres simply won’t take. Separating them involves wire cutters, a steady hand, and the real possibility of starting a lithium fire - don’t try it at home! Lithium batteries, if punctured, can very quickly catch fire, and then even explode. It is a small wonder so many people just dump them in the trash, where a whole other set of problems start to emerge. These batteries are damaging for the environment - with heavy metals like cobalt, lead and nickel leaking

into soil and landfills, local ecosystems can suffer. The damage isn’t done though, and can go on to affect humans, as aluminium and lithium have been found in trace amounts in drinking water. Rechargeable vapes can have their battery section taken out, and accepted by an e-waste centre, but the gross, soggy e-liquid capsule cannot. Soaked in nicotine and other harmful neurotoxins, that’s destined for the tip. Why does it matter? Vaping is seemingly better for your health and the environment than cigarettes, but that doesn’t necessarily make them a great alternative. Critics have argued that rather than being a smoke-free alternative for long-time smokers, they often end up hooking first-time users on nicotine. For example, Rebecca Williams, a cancer researcher and studier of tobacco marketing tactics for 20 years, feels their low entry barrier and candy-reminiscent flavours are there to entice younger, even underage users to get into vaping. Policy makers are being urged to

do more to address this growing segment of the vaping market, but action is slow, with the UK being yet to take any meaningful action. In the meantime, do yourself a favour: if you must vape, maybe consider getting a more expensive vape, because those cheap, disposable hits? They may be cheap for a very good reason.

14 Lifestyle

ISSUE 12/ 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Making exam stress a thing of the past With exam season fast approaching, here’s some top tips for how to minimise any stress you may be feeling

Erin Botten & Annabel Benton Lifestyle Writers

niversity exam season is approaching. Whether you’ve got exams, essays or reports on the horizon, preparing is a must. It can be hard to juggle student life with deadlines whilst looking after yourself and avoiding burnout. Most struggle under intense pressure to perform well. The Mancunion has compiled the best ways to minimise stress and maximise your time during exam season. Looking after yourself is always the best route to happiness.

Notion The first step to getting on top of things is a plan, and Notion is the perfect digital solution. As both an app and a website, Notion allows you to completely plan your day, with options to create a calendar, to-do list and goal pages. It’s free to download and is a great option for students who want to cut down on bulky notes and organise digitally. It’s also a brilliant way to keep track of other parts of your life. The app also includes customisable journals and habit tracker pages, giving you everything you’d get from a fancy bullet journal. Finally, Notion can be used for more academic purposes. It can fully compartmentalise timings, reading lists and collections of anything you wish to save.

Tidy space, tidy mind It’s no secret that we’re more inclined to be productive when our space is clean. A cluttered space instantly distracts concentration. So, before the revision even starts, begin your preparations by spring cleaning your study space. Hoover, dust and organise. Searching for notes amongst dirty clothes and takeaway boxes isn’t going to motivate anyone. A bit of a spring clean may give you the boost you need to get started on the work you’ve been procrastinating. You can check out The Mancunion‘s guide to student room design, where you can find tips on where to go to find handy storage solutions for decluttering your space. Making your environment relaxing is also a great plan for exam season when a calming room will mean you can retreat from the chaos of work into somewhere which looks, smells and feels amazing.

Forest Another app to consider for increasing your productivity is Forest. Our phones can often be the biggest barrier to getting work done, with endless apps available for a mindless scroll whilst procrastinating. Forest combats our phone obsession by getting users to plant a tree for a set period of time, which dies if you leave the app. Users create forests and buy new trees through their productive hours, with the option to plant real trees if you save up enough coins. If you don’t want to invest in an app for your phone, Apple’s do not disturb will work in a similar fashion. If you find yourself equally distracted by Netflix from getting that reading done, there’s also a laptop equivalent to Forest called SelfControl.

Make a schedule Before you begin working, a schedule is a must for breaking down looming deadlines and adding breaks. One way to do this is to make a big list of everything you need to cover and divide your list into attainable and realistic tasks. This allows you to fit everything you want to get done into the time you have left whilst motivating you to start ticking off those goals. It’s also a great way to make time for breaks and other commitments, such as any lectures, society socials or paid work. Productivity guilt is a common issue for students during exam season. Scheduling your time allows you to see friends, exercise and get involved in societies without feeling as though you have to be studying. Google Calendar is a straightforward app for this.

Keep it varied Once you get into your revision or writing your deadlines it’s important to keep things varied so that your mind remains focused. One way to do this is by following the popular Pomodoro method: spend 25 minutes working followed by a five-minute break. These timings can be repeated for as long as needed, with each 25-minute block used for something different to keep things mixed. It’s a good idea to keep variation in the spaces where you revise, such as in different areas of your house or out and about in coffee shops (see our best study cafe recommendations guide). You may prefer to increase your productivity by studying in the University libraries surrounded by other students, and you could move to a different space each hour to keep things fresh. But, don’t forget to take breaks – a brief walk can be a quick solution to a mental block!

Snacks Snacks are the way to our hearts and our minds. We all know it’s hard to concentrate when you’re hungry, but eating the right things is something we usually forget. Chocolate, pot noodles and meal deals can be filling, but they only give a short burst of energy. After a while, you can feel a bit gross. In fact, consuming goods high in sugar can increase your sense of stress, making you burn out much quicker. To avoid a mood/energy crash, aim for foods that are healthy and brain-boosting.

Or, just mix up your snack options. Nuts, dark chocolate and berries are known to help with brain activity – all of which can be found in Morrisons and Lidl. They can also boost your energy, along with bananas, watermelons and dry fruit. If you’re wanting something a little more chewy, natural or energy bars are the way to go. Instead of downing a coffee every hour and getting the shits, innocent smoothies are a great substitute. They have sour shots, energisers and thicker smoothies packed with vitamins. Admittedly they’re a little pricey, but Lidl does a good substitute for £1.59.

Digital Breaks Studying mostly involves staring at a screen or book for an excessively long period of time. Not only does that strain our eyes, but it can lead to headaches. Most of us take a break by scrolling through our phones for a while. Although it may elevate stress temporarily, it’s still overstimulating our minds. Digital breaks are essential in order for a proper break. You need to leave your study environment and step away from what you were doing. It’s a period of reset. Some easy ways to do this are doing quick chores. Hoover your room, reorganise your study space, do the dishes, maybe even meal prep. You’ll be grateful not to be staring at your study notes and unconsciously be doing something active and productive. Going for a walk without your headphones or phone can be a quick but really effective option too. It almost lifts a weight off your shoulders and freshens your mind. Go with a friend, grab some food, or venture around the park. Being out of the house helps clear your mind and start your next study session afresh.

Mindfulness The final tip to success is making space for relaxation and unwinding from stress, with a work-life balance being key during times of intense studying. Exercise, even if it is just a short walk, is an easy way to release endorphins. Additionally, yoga and meditation are perfect for reducing worries and connecting with yourself. Subscriptions to apps such as Calm are great for meditation. Although, there are unlimited free options for free yoga and meditation on YouTube. The popular channel Yoga with Adriene is a good place to start. Keeping your body well fulled and drinking lots of water is a simple way to boost your mind and body, yet these simple steps are often overlooked during times of stress. Get lots of sleep, take your vitamins and be kind to yourself: the work will get done and it doesn’t have to be to the detriment of our happiness.

Lifestyle 15

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

A letter to my ex-lover: Letting go your way Lifestyle Editor Erin opens up about how writing letters to helped her to overcome past trauma and the other options available to survivors of assault

Erin Botten Lifestyle Editor

hy We Don’t Leave was one of the hardest articles I’d ever written. Not just because of the events that took place in the article, but because my story was finally out, cemented in time. Never before had I so openly exposed the details of what I’d endured, but then again I’d never really digested it either. Once the article went live it suddenly felt real. What had happened to me was real, and not just a faded recollection. But, to this day, it may as well be. That’s why I wrote my ex a letter ... then sent it. Those I exposed in Why We Don’t Leave have never once been held responsible for their actions. Each of them walks freely, weightless with absent guilt. In fact, most of them unnervingly deny any accusations thrown their way, brushing it off as an event of the past. I still live in the past, and it’s something I can’t shake off. So I took action and started to let go. “Why is sexual assault illegal if it can’t be criminalised?!” was a question I repeatedly asked my Dad after breaking the news to him. I’d decided to consider charging both exes for sexually assaulting me. Yet, it seems even with evidence, any form of official conviction isn’t easy. I was clueless as to how the reporting process worked and had no idea what I’d really be getting myself into with my father warning me of all the consequences that hadn’t occurred to me. The problem with the Criminal Justice System isn’t that they often ignore women in cases like these, with personal accounts now being viewed as evidence in court. It’s the sheer amount of time it takes. If you’re lucky, the process only takes a few months, otherwise, it could be much longer... Why would I spend my remaining time at university dragging up trauma from the past in an effort to get a court to believe me? Worst still, if I lost the case, why risk being counter-sued for defamation? These were the realities that my Dad had made clear to me, and something UoM’s advisors had subtly alluded to. That’s not to say court is a worthless option for all, particularly in cases of rape or domestic violence. In fact, there a many benefits to the reporting process these days. With diary entries and the victim’s experience itself now accepted as evidence, the process is far less stigmatising than the media portrays. But, I’m just not ready for that, and writing the article highlighted it. One Friday evening, just before their closing, I went to UoM’s Advice Service, found by the SU’s Hive. After filling out a form

privately disclosing why I needed help, they took me into a quiet room. Not once was I rushed, talked over or made to feel worthless. They listened to every word, never pushing me to make a decision. If anything, they were apologetic for my experience, working hard to make sure I felt heard and safe. I can’t praise them enough as they provide support for whatever decision I wish to make, being transparent about wait times and the process behind each possible action. By the following Monday, they’d followed through with their word and received an email from a UoM Advice and Response caseworker (again, a really lovely lady). During our meeting, she shared the same compassion as her colleagues. If she didn’t know something, she made sure to find out, making it clear that she was available no matter what.

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What had happened to me was real, and not just a faded recollection. That’s why I wrote my ex a letter... then sent it. It was from reaching out to them that I was to find specialised counselling services for those affected by sexual assault (listed at the end of this article). Previously, I’d been rejected by the university’s counselling service after two sessions. The counsellor informed me that I should simply find myself, she never broached the trauma I’d experienced. Had I given up based on that failure on the university’s part, I’d have gotten nowhere. But, by exploring my options and seeking professional help, the burdens of the past are starting to slowly ease. I learned there was no right or wrong move. The only person getting penalised was them, not me. You can even make a statement to the police, and they will investigate on your behalf to see if they’re able to make a case in court without having to inform the perpetrators. The same goes for universities: even if you do not attend there, you can make a formal complaint against a student followed by an investigation. Again, every decision is student-led with no pressure guaranteed.

So, after confiding in those I trusted, I decided to act on the anger I felt. If I couldn’t bring myself to criminalise these men, I’ll certainly condemn them. Why We Don’t Leave was just a start, shielding each man behind false names and anonymity. But, the shield was about to lift, and I was finally going to expose them not to the world, but to themselves. In both letters, I outlined what each of them did, setting out the scene in detail lest they forget. Every line was one condemnation, bringing to light the world I now lived in. Unlike the article, I didn’t need to hold back. In doing so, feelings I’d previously fought to keep buried came pouring out, not just in sorrow, but in rage. If I was to be listened to, the bubble had to be burst with a blunt awakening in response to their own actions ... “The kicker of all this is? You will never face the consequences of what you’ve done. You will never have to ever consider piecing yourself back together or be asked how you’re coping. You will go on about your life as if nothing had happened. That’s what hurts the most. You can just walk away. “But, after reading this, I know you can’t ignore what you did. You can’t just forget it ever happened and you’re not getting off scot-free. I hope this has made you realise what you’ve done and the weight it holds, and that you don’t even think about doing it to anyone else ever again. What you did was disgusting. To do it again after this letter would be repugnant.” So, why write a letter? Because not only would I finally be heard by my exes, but by myself. By spilling my guts without fear of judgement, I began to process how I felt and what needed to change. Regardless of if I burnt or sent the letter, I was in control. That’s what this was about for me, control. Addressing your trauma is a very personal decision, but it is your decision. Choice for you may have been abruptly robbed in the past, but this is where you steal it back with every decision you make moving on. They’re now powerless to you and your voice. The tables are turned. With that in mind, it was time for me to charge. How did I want to move forward? How did I want to reclaim my body? How was I going to heal? Writing it all out physically meant I was able to make peace with the past. They hadn’t gotten away with it, and I wasn’t just a victim. Unofficially, I’d won, refusing to remain silent or accept the past. After that letter, it’d be hard to walk away guiltlessly. I’d changed and so would they, both for the better (hopefully). Writing a letter is one of the millions of ways of letting go of trauma, grief and pain.

I chose to send the letters I wrote because I knew no danger or consequences would come of it. Had the opposite been true, I would’ve instead burnt them as I know others have done. Writing it out in a diary can be therapeutic. You get the same safety in knowing no one will judge you, again giving you the space and freedom to let out how you really feel. Talking about it can help alleviate the weight of the past too. Venting and having someone hear you, empathise and share your emotions can provide a sense of validation and reduce isolation. By speaking to people you trust, they can guide you and help you make sense of what happened, maybe even suggesting professional help. They provide a clear mind where sometimes you can’t. The best advice anyone can give you though is save everything. One day, I may change my mind, and that’s ok. If I still want a fair shot in court, I’m absolutely going to hold on to every shred of evidence I have. The texts? Screenshottted and sent to friends for safekeeping, and saved to my phone. Diary entries? Kept in my drawer. The advice service emails? Archived, with all the information you give to the service stored for 5 years. The letters? Got a copy of them mate. In the end, the only way to let go of a painful past is to distract yourself. For me, that’s through writing. For others that may be through sports, arts, music, or even just reading. Finding a way to express yourself productively in a way where you feel something has been done is essential in providing closure. Had I not written the letters, I’d still feel justice hadn’t been done. But knowing I handwrote and delivered both letters, refusing to be forgiving in my words, I feel like I’ve won. They haven’t walked all over me whilst I sat there in silence. One way or another, they’ve been informally condemned, and I can move on. I hope you can too.

Services • UoM Advice Centre: Floor 2, Student’s Union. 10:00 - 16:00. Call 0161 275 2952 • Brook (sexual health service): Lever Street, NQ. 13:00 - 18:00. Call 0161 237 3001 • St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre: The Old St Mary’s Hospital, Oxford Road. 24 hours. Call 0161 276 6515 • Manchester Rape Crisis: Ardwick Green North, Ardwick. 10:00 - 16:00. Call 0161 273 4591 • Refuge: 24 hours. Call 0808 2000 247 • Rights for Women (free legal advice): Mon-Wed, 18:00 - 20:00. Call 020 7490 0152

Sexion

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

One night stand-outs

One night stands can ruin your faith in men... but they’re not all bad - Izzy exposes the greater shame and responsibility of the infamous one night stand that women have to contend with, in comparison to men Izzy Langhamer Culture Writer

uch a staple of our culture. Something so frequently disappointing, fairly messy and almost guaranteed to leave you with a headache. No it’s not Boris Johnson’s latest misdoings, although you’re just as likely to question the rationale and hairstyles of everyone involved. It’s the good ol’ the One Night Stand: or “am goingg back w him !! see u spoon” as you’ll text your friend from about 2m away in a crowded Factory. Although as pulling hotspots go, in some student clubs even the walls are likely to be dripping with some undiagnosed STI. As a reformed puller myself, I have some words of wisdom to offer on the subject of ONS. The words coming to mind mainly being ‘hassle’ and ‘not worth it’. Let’s not completely disregard this great British tradition though. The ONS is always there for you, whether you’re at your lowest, most craving-any-human-touch-possible ebb, or riding high on the fact that you know you look amazing tonight. The dizzy heights of the ONS experience for me has to be coming home with a gorgeous (tall) Irish pilot mere days after finishing Sally Rooney’s Normal People. After meeting his friends in the queue and convincing the lads

on tour that 42s was in fact a reputable club and not the croaking toad of a night out, I knew it was kismet. Not even the obstacle of an Uber driver insisting we wear masks when I had nothing but a (clean!) handkerchief in my bag to wrap over my mouth could stop us. Yes, as this Irish prince pulled down my makeshift handkerchief mask to kiss, I thought: ‘God Bless the one night stand’. And this was before we even made it to bed. To which I mean to say, not every ONS has to leave you with regret. We are in the age of female sex positivity, which means that women are encouraged to live free and unrestrained sex lives. Oh, and just hope they’re not assaulted in the process of course. Women tend to experience higher levels of guilt or shame after a ONS, 35% of women feeling this way compared to - a still fairly high 20% of men. Since Eve bit into that crisp apple of temptation, women have taken on a lot of the shame for humankind, so its no wonder that this extends to sex, where women are shuffled into the staid virgin/whore binary. Moralising aside, it is frustrating that the physical consequences for sex are also on women. Whether it’s being on the pill or having to take plan B after the condom comes off half inside you (who knew Love Rosie had such a foot in reality?), women bear the brunt of the sexual aftermath. It’s a sorry state of affairs, and only

lightened by the fact that you have a vaguely more exciting health worry to think about than the usual period cramps, thrush, or conjunctivitis from sleeping in mascara. All this to say, it’s not exactly a women’s world. However, there are vital things that us women can do to make ONS more enjoyable, and dare I dream - emasculating. The bonus of a ONS is that they don’t know you which leaves room to construct hilarious lies such as trying to convince them that you in fact got an Uber to Liverpool not Fallowfield. I also like to keep myself amused by telling them “I’ve never done this before” whilst on top, just to compensate for any particularly poor performances. Not knowing each other also means that those excruciating embarrassments - such as an Inbetweeners style floppy dick freak-outcan at least happen with someone you could well never see again. My only

warning would be that in Fallowfield, everyone knows everyone, and you could well open the door for your ONS to be told that he only lives “in that house literally right over there”. Oh. This article (which is already longer than most one night stands) would not be complete without a homage to some of the archetypes I have discovered in my time. The Virgin. The Tourist. The Friend’s Friend From Home (a risky undertaking). The One That Turns You Celibate. For all the ONS out there - past and future - let’s raise a cheer. Where would we be without that post sex regret as you shamefacedly shove your sheets into the washing machine? Without that sinking feeling that you’ve wasted your only glow in the dark condom on a random? Lest we find out.

Sexion

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

How Normal People made us fall in love with sex Normal People shows authentic intimacy, vulnerability and consent between two people for whom, when talking is too difficult, only physicality remains Pip Carew Culture Writer

grew up on a diet of American teen dramas like Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, and Glee. I loved the scandal of the characters’ lives all of which seemed to be oriented around their sex lives. In these shows, sex was a plot device. It was a snide way the characters could seek revenge on one another, or complicate the pre-existing relationships these shows dramatize. Sex seemed to be the main focal point of these narratives (let’s not forget the episode of Glee where Quinn seemingly becomes pregnant simply by sharing a hot tub with Finn). Yet the sex scenes on these shows felt impersonal, often strangely devoid of intimacy, as if weaponised by the writers. In Euphoria season 2, the whole betrayal of the Maddie/Cassie/Nate situation became the main source of conflict in what used to be a well-balanced examination of intersectional teenage experiences. I devoured those boxsets then. Now I question if they were the right sort of introduction to sex. Sex appeal has always been a draw for TV dramas - it’s the state in which we are the most vulnerable and, well, naked. It wasn’t until I watched Normal People (based on the novel by Sally Rooney) that I realised how much that vulnerability had been erased from the shiny pseudo-porn that occupied teen dramas of the 2010s. Watching the show felt intrusive for a different reason as moments between the central protagonists, Marianne (Dasiy EdgarJones) and Connell (Paul Mescal) were charged with great authenticity - the kind that is rare to see on tv and even rarer to experience in real life. Normal People was a revelation, particularly for a sort of shy, bookish, hopelessly romantic subsection of the population. Here were these two characters that could absolutely not communicate effectively and yet their chemistry was powerful enough to overcome the fumbling limitations of language. The setting was beautiful, the characters complex, and there were so many heated sex scenes. It made for perfect quarantine viewing.

Connell and Marianne epitomise that quote from Jane Austen’s Emma, “if I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” The grandeur of Austen speaks to the calibre of romance that Rooney presents us with, but instead of long-awaited marriage proposals, in Normal People their love is humble, small, and unpretentious. You could never imagine the characters confessing their feelings in such an extravagant manner, but the sentiment is there, in the silences and the small movements throughout, always towards each other. We see them over the course of several years, school and university. All of these exchanges (cups of tea, car journeys, lingering glances) constitute a relationship that courses through their lives, intertwining and breaking apart in equal measure. It takes them several goes to truly get it right until circumstances once again intercept. It’s realism with a tinge of Romanticism. Words go unsaid; important moments are fumbled through hesitation while the intimate moments illuminate the potency of their connection. When talking is so difficult, only physicality remains. Occasionally, the sex scenes feel more revealing than the conversations between them since there’s no self-consciousness in the moment. What is partially so magnetic is how the relationship between Marianne and Connell is naturalised onscreen. Before they even start sleeping together, the tension between them is evident. Their tenderness for each other only grows throughout the series. The first instance of intimacy between them is the kiss that occurs in Marianne’s house. After it happens and Connell rushes out, we see Marianne sit for a moment at the table, her expression illuminated by excitement and disbelief at what has happened. It is apparent here how those four walls of the house that has previously been devoid of meaning have suddenly become alive with possibility, her world has opened outwards because of a moment of mutual tenderness. This savoured moment is indicative of what the right relationship can do in provoking a sense of optimism in a shared future. The start of their sexual relationship in the following episode becomes a natural progression between two characters who

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“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more”

- Emma Jane Austen

understand and feel tenderly towards each other amidst and despite external barriers. Connell himself became something of a sex symbol amongst avid watchers of Normal People and anyone possessing eyes. His chain instantly garnered much fascination, as well as its own Instagram page which has 155k followers to date. The attraction to this character lies not only in his aesthetic beauty but the ease with which he asks for consent. Much of the conflict throughout Normal People derives from the couple’s inability to communicate with one another but never when it comes to consent. When they have sex for the first time, it is evident that Marianne has never done it before, Connell reassures her that they can stop, “if it hurts or anything just say, it won’t be awkward at all.” How many people must have watched that and wished that someone had shown them that degree of consideration during their first time? Asking for consent is a basic gesture but it’s imperative in making your partner feel safe during a vulnerable exchange. Often even brief mentions of consent are omitted from sex scenes in favour of pacing. Perhaps there is also a fear of ruining the overall sexiness of the impromptu sex scene. But consent shouldn’t feel like a PSA. Nor should it be a moment written specifically to teach the viewer about proper sexual etiquette, it’s the decent thing to do and both Marianne and Connell come off way better for it. When it comes to consent, words cannot be minced. Connell isn’t perfect though. His mother, Lorraine rightfully chides him after he invites the more socially acceptable Rachel to the debs (the Irish equivalent of prom) over Marianne who he’s sleeping with. This mistake tortures Connell for many months which speaks to a certain degree of respect you should show the person (or people) you’re having sex with. The series also depicts the stigma surrounding sex and mental health, particularly in small Irish communities. Throughout the show, the central relationship becomes a subject of voyeuristic fascination to those around them. Particularly in one scene when Marianne’s friend, Peggy, proposes a threesome between them which provokes instant discomfort.

It seems hypocritical to condemn the voyeuristic musings of the other characters when as the viewers we are privy to each intimate exchange between Marianne and Connell. However, I think there’s a magnetism that’s difficult to ignore when we can fulfil our need for connection through an understanding in fiction. The idea of love like this is comforting, the sex feels truthful and authentic in a way that isn’t voyeuristic but liberating in its awkwardness. Maybe you’ll spend your whole life seeking out that kind of connection, maybe you’ll even catch glimpses of it. Never before had that feeling been rendered so well in a programme. During lockdown, Normal People made us feel excited about life again. Aware of the potential in those around us, it awakened an insatiable appetite to make those human mistakes of drinking too much and falling in and out of love (and sleeping) with the wrong people. So yes, I do think that cutting out the sex would ruin the texture of the story and its truthfulness, especially when based in a country that has historically ignored the existence of sexuality outside of marriage. The sex scenes are as essential as the dialogue. They are a different form of communication that goes beyond the clumsy stumblings of linguistics. The sex scenes operate as part of the whole, not as an anomalous means of injecting gossip material. So, as Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends is set to dominate our screens in May, we must query why her stories continue to have such a hold over us. I’ve watched Normal People at least five times and read the book twice - with my housemates, with my mum, on Sunday evenings when I’m feeling lonely. And although it’s emotionally devastating and I’ll inevitably cry at the same bits, there’s very little that (if you’ll excuse the innuendo) has touched me so deeply. Going beyond simple attraction - Normal People does what great art should do; it incites you to start living, to enjoy an extraordinarily normal life with extraordinarily normal people.

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The sex scenes feel more revealing than the conversations between them since there’s no self-consciousness in the moment

INSIDE CULTURE SEXION: PAGES 16-17 SPRING STYLE SUMMER: PAGE 23 HERBIVOROUS REVIEW: PAGE 25

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20 Music

ISSUE 12/ 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

H a r r y S t yl e s : ‘As It Was’ single review

Harry Styles releases new single ‘As It Was’ from his forthcoming album ‘Harry’s House’. Will Waterhouse discusses Harry’s newest venture Will Waterhouse Music Writer

wo years since the release of his second album ‘Fine Line’, Harry Styles releases his single

hat drum beat and main synth hook could be likened to a Her’s or Declan McKenna track but sonically, it builds similar to a Gus Dapperton record. In a similar vein and as mentioned above, the track has the vulnerability

‘

A s It was’ off of his forthcoming a l b u m ‘ H a r r y ’s House’. ‘As It Was’ was cowritten and produced by Harry Styles’ collaborators, Tyler Johnson and Kid Harpoon. The track begins with the voice of his goddaughter Ruby Winston, daughter of British filmmaker Ben Winston. She can be heard saying ‘Come on Harry we want to say goodnight to you’. Following this it feels as though the track continues with innocence and vulnerability at its core. In an interview with Roman Kemp on CapitalFM harry reveals the meaning behind the opening: “It’s the voice of my goddaughter. She used to try and call me before bedtime every night, and one time it didn’t ring or something, so they sent me that. I dug it out when we were in the studio and put it in front of the song for some reason, and I kind of just fell in love with it, so it stuck.” Musically the track isn’t exactly what I expected from Harry’s new venture. The kick, snare, and high-

o n e often hears in bedroom pop records. The lines “Answer the phone / Harry, you’re no good alone / Why are you sitting at home on the floor? / What kind of pills are you on?“, speak to a deep sadness and when juxtaposed with the undoubtedly upbeat nature of the track the result is emotionally turbulent. The melody contour is heartache but the lead synth is plucky and eager. Combined with Harry’s vocals growing ever stronger throughout the track and bells entering

t h e mix in the final chorus leaves you tentatively uplifted… but you’ll have to listen again to make sure that’s the right way to feel. Styles’ fans have picked apart the lyrics as ravenously as one might assume. But it takes no effort to understand that, ‘You know i t ’s

n o t the same as it was’ , speaks to eve r y b o dy ’s experience of time passing and the painful emotional changes in anyone’s life. Of course his fans have speculated as to the who/when/where etc. of these lines, and to them I say good luck with your investigation. This is classic Styles though, just check out the lyrics to ‘Two Ghosts’ from his debut album and the words ‘We’re not who we used to be‘ seem recapitulated in this newest track. ‘As It Was’ comes with an accompanying music video which was filmed in London by Ukrainian director Tanu Muino. We see Styles performing in a red sequinned leotard with intriguing choreography opposite a woman in a blue version of the same outfit. Some have suggested this mirrors the blue and red pill from The Matrix, the former representing blissful ignorance, while the latter represents painful truth. This would aptly chime with the lyric ‘What kind of pills are you on?’ but equally this could just be GCSE English Literature style conjecture. See for yourself:

Listen to ‘As It Was’ here :

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

CULTURE

Live review: Crawlers

Music 21

Daniel Tsourekas reviews Crawlers’, most famous for their hit song ‘Come Over (Again)’, return to Manchester for a live gig at YES bar in the Pink Room Daniel Tsourekas Music Writer

rawlers’ rise as a band has been fascinating to watch. Within the span of a few months they managed to go viral with exceptional single ‘Come Over (Again)’, leading to them signing with Polydor, and playing for Sound City. Fast forward to April 2022, and we’re seeing them play a headline UK tour, alongside them announcing support for My Chemical Romance and Måneskin. It’s safe to say that they’re gaining traction in an extraordinary way. One of the biggest stops on their still ongoing tour was Manchester, as they performed in front of a sold-out Pink Room at YES.

Going into the venue, the atmosphere gave away hints of unity, progress and understanding. After all the main act is known for striving towards safe spaces in alternative music, as well as deeming their music genderless and genreless. It was refreshing to see an audience show these levels of compassion towards each other. Floor 4 opened the night with an energetic and promising performance. The Manchesterbased non-binary three-piece had the crowd moving with electric riffs, crisp vocals, and their signature punk aesthetic. Throughout their performance, multiple unreleased tracks were played, including soon to be released heavy hitter ‘Fascists.’

The main highlight of their setlist were the last two songs, which included their heaviest track to date, which is unreleased, and their latest song ‘Tooth Infection.’ Definitely keep an eye out for ‘Floor 4’ in the near future. Next up was Dollie Demi. If there’s one way it could be described it would be… interesting to say the least. Their sound was a mix of pop, punk, and garage, and while sonically it might have not been up to par with the previous act, it certainly kept the crowd entertained and on their feet. With the audience being properly warmed up for the main act, the lights went down, and lead singer Holly Minto’s voice reminding people to take care and respect each other’s space

and boundaries, while laughing as she mistakenly declared “How’s it going London?!” Crawlers arrived on stage with Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Bulls on Parade’ blaring from the pink speakers, before immediately kicking off the setlist with ‘Magazine.’ What followed was a captivating yet short setlist with the band playing most of their discography, including ‘MONROE’, ‘Feminist Radical’, ‘Statues’, and ‘Hush’. Highlight of the night was the performance of fan favourite ‘Come Over (Again)’, in which they brought out one of their biggest fans to perform the song alongside them in sign language. It was a heart-warming moment, and unfortunately a rare one as the deaf community isn’t as visible as

it should be in the music industry. For the encore, they performed ‘Placebo’, in which Holly announced that she was gradually losing her voice but stayed to perform one last song for the energetic Manchester crowd, a crowd that never disappoints. Whether it be the emphatic stage presence the lead singer had, the pure energy her bandmates followed her with, or the random addition of trumpets throughout the live show, Crawlers went on stage wearing their influences and hearts on their sleeves and provided their fans with a concert that will be memorable at the least.

Paul Weller Live: A night of nostalgia Millie Sheppard reviews a nostalgic night of hits from The Jam and Style Council frontman Paul Weller Millie Shephard Music Writer

n a tour postponed for two years due to the pandemic, Paul Weller returned to perform at the Manchester O2 Apollo on the 15th April. Delivering an extensive set covering his career, playing songs by The Jam, The Style Council and his solo tracks, Weller gave a show that was worth the wait. Despite the break in performing, Weller, also known as the Modfather, was natural. I chatted with audience member Yvonne Trace, 57, who has been a life-long fan of Weller having seen him live twice before. She

remarked that “watching him perform his more mellow tracks on the piano, I felt as though I was watching him in his home without an audience.” This candid honesty ran through the set, as he swore casually about COVID-19 and offered insights into the band’s offstage conversations. Watching him made it obvious how his career has spanned decades, as I felt invited into his world. This raw feeling translated to his stripped-back set design, which mainly featured an eclectic arrangement of amps and the band’s instruments. Though he was performing to a sell-out audience in one of Manchester’s largest venues, Weller’s set gave the impression we were watching in a small bar. This helped Weller

to create an intimate audience experience, which he continued by dedicating a song to a specific family in the audience. His affinity with the audience encouraged us to form a connection with the music, which was aided by his use of lighting. Beginning the night with flashing bright white spotlights, Weller created anticipation which only made it more thrilling to hear the beginning notes of ‘White Sky’. Later, glitter ball lighting accompanied his performance of ‘You Do Something To Me’, drawing us into his touching performance. The band made up of Andy Crofts, Tom Van Heel, Ben Gordelier, Steve Pilgrim, Matt Leyland, and Steve Cradock, also used the stage as an opportunity to show their support for Ukraine

during the current conflict by hanging the Ukrainian flag. His ease on stage translated to the setlist, which he described as a mix of “old songs, new songs, all songs”. He transitioned from more upbeat tracks such as the iconic ‘Stanley Road’, which is the title track of his 1995 album, to the slower ‘Going My Own Way’ with no difficulty, showing his capacity as a musician. Though now 63, Weller’s setlist showed a youthful diversity reflected in his energetic performance, as he nimbly traversed the stage. Whilst by the end of the night I was hot from dancing, Paul Weller himself was breathless – completely comfortable. The long wait for this gig made me eager to see the crowd’s reaction. Though the average audience age was closer to my parents than my own, the Apollo held real energy on the night. In the end, everyone – even those in the seated area – was dancing. Getting to see Paul Weller with some of his long-

time fans felt like a privilege, as their passion showed how crucial Weller’s music had been for a generation. Although the setlist had previously planned the impressive two encores, you could easily be convinced that the second encore was prompted by the crowd, who remained chanting “We want more!” even when crew members began clearing away instruments. For me, this double encore was the highlight. In total, both encores gave the audience six more songs, many of which were crowd-pleasers such as ‘That’s Entertainment’, ‘Changingman’ and ‘A Town Called Malice’. The evening ended with Paul Weller thanking the audience, but as I danced along to such seminal tracks feeling the beats ripple through the floor beneath me, it was me who felt lucky.

22 Music

CULTURE

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Live Review; Partying with

THUNDERCAT The Mancunion reviews Thundercat at his headline Manchester Academy show postponed from 2021, in support of his 2020 album It Is What It Is.

Alex Cooper Music Contributor

fter all too familiar world events postponed Thundercat’s 2021 UK Tour, he finally graced the stage at Manchester Academy on April 1st. Real name Stephen Bruner, Thundercat is well known for his unique use of the bass guitar, influencing the hip hop sphere and beyond. His mark can be heard over seminal records by artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Mac Miller. As a solo artist, however, he combines elements of soul, jazz, and funk, and has produced critically acclaimed records such as Drunk and It is What It Is , the latter of which won a Grammy in 2021. The world of Thundercat has much to explore; he incorporates many genres into his work while being enjoyed by a large audience, reflected in the packed-out crowd in Manchester, the penultimate stop before a sold-out Brixton Academy. The crowd filed into the sounds of a DJ set by local MC Konny Kon, which got the audience suitably hyped up for the evening that was to come. Main support came from English-Japanese artist Miso Extra, who donned matching jerseys with her band, and held the decently packed-out crowd with her effortless flows and catchy instrumentals, punchy beats, and manipulated instrumentals – creating a dream-like soundscape. Performing on the release day of her debut EP, Great Taste , Miso Extra looked to be having a great time on stage, engaging the crowd with bilingual lyrics with Lily Allen style delivery. By the time it was time for her slot to end, it felt like barely any time had elapsed, and left the crowd very up for the evening ahead. Miso Extra’s Great Taste EP is on Spotify now. Approximately 40 minutes later, a nonchalant Thundercat walks on stage without much fanfare and charmingly asks, ‘You guys doing well? Manchester right?’. Perhaps this opening remark was only charming since he got the city right, and didn’t fall at the first hurdle. Afterwards, he immediately plunges into the opening run of It Is What It Is , playing intro ‘Lost in Space / Great Scott / 22-26’ seamlessly into ‘Interstellar Love’ , constructing the tone of the evening before our eyes.

A wide and rich sound emerges from his six-string bass, and the familiarity of the studio recordings descends into a jam with his keyboardist and drummer while keeping the thread of the song. The paired back stage lighting made everything feel much more improvised, suiting the music. Some in the audience were bemused, but it soon became abundantly clear we were witnessing a masterclass. Thundercat’s playfulness didn’t stop just musically; he told stories in between songs at considerable length. “All my friends are dead”, he joked after only two songs in the introduction anecdote to the ode to his best friend ‘I Love Louis Cole’ ; receiving a half laugh-gasp from the audience. However, the crowd ran with him for the most part, save for some talking over him in the more lengthy breaks. These breaks provided light relief but also texture, as the lengthened renditions of album tracks were incredible but very intense. Another highlight included a toy shark being thrown on stage, and the drummer keeping it on one of his drums for the rest of the set; it was equal parts funny and musically impressive. It became clear that Thundercat’s set was just an incredibly welldrilled show, and if you ran with it, the reward was immense. Each band member relied upon nods and winks from the others, much like a jazz gig, and in chaos came an incredible live experience. Dropping hit ‘Dragonball Durag’ early in the set, the whole crowd started dancing, and we became part of the improvisation, voluntarily shouting lines back to him (including “I know I’m covered in cat hair, but I still smell good”, which has to be a first at the Academy). Another first was during ‘A Fan’s Mail (Tron Song Suite II)’ in the middle of the set, Bruner stops the music and demands that the audience show him pictures of their cats. Automatically and without question, people started putting their phone screens in the direction of the stage, Bruner complimenting a selection. My own cat was overlooked, but maybe next time. Through the laughs and the fun came a moment of homage, with Bruner dedicating his song ‘A Message for Austin’ , about late friend Austin Peralta to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, regarding his influence on

his own upbringing as well as friends and contemporaries Mac Miller and MF DOOM. Thundercat celebrates his cohorts with warmth and recognition. He has built a career on collaboration, meticulously referencing throughout the set of individuals who he looks up to. The audience was left with a sense of community, but also a considerable amount of musical homework to enjoy. The gig ticks along, with the audience feeding off the energy of the extended tracks, when Bruner comes in with the distinctive bass riff of the massive hit ‘Them Changes’ . ‘You know it? Sing along!’, he understatedly says with a smile. The energy elevates and it becomes a moment of collective catharsis, further elevated by the incredible bass solo that has become customary but no less mind-blowing. This was the highlight of the gig for me. This transitions into the set closer ‘Funny Thing’ , with an increase in tempo and equal feedback from the crowd. The 1 minute 56-second album track becomes a five times longer jazz disco party, forming a call and response with the line “I just wanna party with you”. By the time it comes to a close, the crowd are at a fever pitch, and Bruner and his band leave the stage. Hearing the demands of ‘one more song’, an encore of 2013’s ‘Tron Song’ is performed. A totally effortless continuation of the previous hour and a half, Bruner looks like he’s barely broken a sweat. A somewhat uncalled for mosh pit is formed, which quickly fizzles out due to it not being that kind of gig at all, and the participants opt for dancing instead. After one final flourish, he bids his farewell, and we filtered out onto Oxford Road knowing that we had seen something incredible and joyful. I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. Thundercat brings a jazz mentality to his live performances, breathing new life into his songs and cementing his place as one of the finest and still underrated artists. Suddenly his resume seems like an understatement; his musical talent is borderline supernatural and produces a unique live show. I think it’s probably the most creative gig I’ve been to, and remarkably still completely accessible and enjoyable. Thundercat created an atmosphere that left you just wanting to party with him.

ISSUE 12 / 11th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

CULTURE

Books 23

PEOPLE PERSON by Candice Carty-Williams

‘Lost in a perpetual realm of teenagehood’ - People Person is the hotly awaited second novel from bestselling author of Queenie, Candice Carty-Williams, but does it live up to her debut bestseller Queenie ? Aileen Loftus Books Editor

andice Carty-Williams is best known for her immensely successful 2019 debut novel, Queenie. The novel led CartyWilliams to become the first black woman to win the Book of the Year accolade at the British Book Awards in June 2020. There is a TV series in the works too, a Channel 4 eight-episode adaptation of Queenie due to be broadcast in 2023. Personally I didn’t fall in love with Queenie, the way many people did, disliking the repetitive insertion of group-chat messages and larger than life characters. However, its head on confrontation with topics such as race, discrimination, contraception and violence were powerful enough for me to be interested in what CartyWilliams wrote next.

People Person is her second novel, following Dimple and her four siblings, or half-siblings, who share a father they do not really know. They meet only once during their childhood, when their usually absent father Cyril Pennington brings them together, much to the chagrin of their four different mums. However, fast-forward fifteen years and a dramatic event brings all five siblings back into each other’s lives. People Person was always going to be a tricky follow up from the lockdown bestseller, but it shares both Queenie’s strengths and its weaknesses. The commentary on everyday racism matches the success of this in Queenie. While the tone of the book is comic, there is a constant undercurrent and reminder of the discrimination and microaggressions Black people experience in Britain. It is a book almost exclusively populated by Black

people, mostly Black women, while white people occupy the margins of the pages. The police are an ever present concern, but remain absent from the novel due to the characters’ deep mistrust and avoidance of them. I also enjoyed the circular nature of the book, with its patterns of mirroring and looping, which can be seen in the plot, between the siblings and within the different generations of family. However, the novel didn’t fully do its plot justice. People Person was dominated by weak or cliched dialogue, interspersed with clunky descriptions, before returning to extended chunks of speech. The protagonist, Dimple, is a not-thatsuccessful influencer. It felt like a feeble depiction of an influencer, only brushing the surface of the complexities of an age of Instagram, and sticking in the realm of the obvious. Dimple is thirty, with her siblings a

similar age, yet they read like adults written as teenagers and for teenagers. In fact, I reckon Carty-Williams would be fantastic at writing young adult fiction, but here her characters seemed lost in a perpetual realm of teenagehood. Perhaps it is intentional, a display of the effect of their childhood lacking love and support from a father figure, but I couldn’t be sure, given it was a trait even characters outside the family shared. The moments of action were the strongest elements of the book, and this propelled it on quickly. It was, admittedly, a difficult book to put down, and the twists and turns of the early sections had me hooked. It just got a bit lost in between times, as the pace slowed. A couple of convenient plot points later and the novel reached a satisfying, if tooneat, conclusion. Overall I couldn’t say I didn’t enjoy it, but it isn’t going to be a book I rush to recommend or to reread.

VAT

‘Blooks’, or book-like objects, can tell interesting stories from unfair tax on period products to exploding gifts Ausrine Naujalyte Books Writer

Don’t judge a ‘blook’ by its cover

viral post from this year claimed that the German tax on books is much lower than the one set for period products such as pads and tampons, at 7% and 19% respectively. Therefore, a book was released which contained 15 tampons and was sold at a lower price than the packet would cost if it was sold as sanitary products. Interestingly, I found that the original claim was true, but the law has been changed and now both items would have the same 7% tax - a win for book protests and a step in the right direction for ending period poverty. The post inspired me to look into what other ways the book form was used for nonbook purposes. Hiding objects in books is an old practice – many films use it as a way to smuggle in tools for escaping from prison or to hide valuables in a book-safe. However, while looking into this topic, I discovered “blooks” (“book-like” objects) that were exhibited at the Grolier Club in Manhattan a couple years ago. A preservation librarian called Mindell Dubansky has been collecting “blooks” for over 20 years and this exhibition consisted of items from her vast collection. 130 “blooks” were displayed, less than a third of the entire Dubansky’s collection. Some of the more interesting items include: an alarm clock (of course shaped

as a book) by Lava Simplex, a company that is mostly known for their lava lamps, “blooks” filled with paper caps that explode when opened, a small candle lantern which is surrounded by a book-like case. But what is the purpose of blooks? Some answers are quite simple – book lovers love books and there is a market for book merchandise. The best way to test this claim is to search for gifts for bookworms – you’ll find dozens of BuzzFeed articles, Pinterest posts and guides to finding the perfect gift for the Rory Gilmore in your life It’s clear that the “Tampon Book” was an item produced as a way to protest the fact that sanitary products were categorised as luxury items and luckily this categorisation was changed. Books and protests are linked concepts, as many manifestos are books or leaflets, but protesting by using the form or the concept of the book is a powerful idea. And finally, hiding things in books (book safes or book flasks) makes a lot of sense – these objects blend in with the rest of the bookshelf and don’t require a secret location. They also make quite good gag gifts and therefore are popular with gift givers. To many people books are objects worthy of respect and care – not everyone would use a book to replace a broken sofa leg. Owning objects that are shaped as books and using books as a way to protest suggests that we understand their power and worth.

24 Film

CULTURE

State of the Industry: The age of film is over, the time of TV has come In the age of streaming, video-on-demand, and binge-watching it is interesting to consider the question: does TV currently provide a better viewing experience than film? My answer is yes.

Joe McFadden Investigations Editor

ince the birth of peak TV in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a debate has been raging about whether TV provides better experiences and stories than mainstream cinema. Ever since television sets first became widely available in the 1950s the film industry has always decried “the death of cinema” and how those small, square boxes in our living rooms will kill off the theatrical experience once and for all. Of course, 70 years later, we know that this did not happen and nor do I think it will ever happen; but in the age of streaming, videoon-demand, and bingewatching, it is interesting to consider the question: does TV currently provide a better viewing experience than film? My answer is yes. Yes, in its current state, TV does provide a more nuanced, varied, and ultimately better viewing experience than film. Television’s main advantage is its ability to tell longer form, more character driven stories than a standard 2-hour film. When an artist is given say 80 hours to tell one story, the results are almost always more complex and wellrounded. Take, for example, AMC’s late golden age hit Mad Men (2007-15). Spanning the entirety of the 1960s, Mad Men tells the story of Don Draper

(Jon Hamm), an advertising executive whose struggles with identity form the centre-piece of a show that is more interested in exploring its broken characters than it is marketing campaigns. As an art form, television is fundamentally better suited for storytelling because it enables creatives to actually go down the rabbit hole and ask the kind of questions usually reserved for great novels.

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TV is a vehicle to tell unique, one off stories free from the constraints and expectations of film The length of a TV show allows writers to thoroughly explore and cross-examine all aspects of the human psyche. A character such as Don Draper would have made for a poor film as, even with an extended 3-hour runtime, it would barely scratch the surface of what made Mad Men so extraordinary. Furthermore, the form of TV allows for more experimental works to reach audiences, resulting in more profound viewing experiences. Beginning in the 50s with Alfred Hitchock Presents and The Twilight Zone , TV anthologies have served as a vehicle to tell unique, one off stories free from the constraints and expectations of film.

In recent years shows like Black Mirror and American Horror/Crime Story have become streaming staples, demonstrating television’s versatility in its ability to support a wide range of ideas under one vague label. However, the crown jewel of this versatility and experimentation afforded to TV is best illustrated by FX’s Atlanta (2018-22). The brainchild of Donald Glover, Atlanta loosely charts the rise of rapper Paper Boi but is really about what it means to be black in modern America. The show barely follows a traditional framework, with episodes instead focusing on a particular character (or, as in the season 3 premiere ‘Three Slaps’ case, no characters at all). Episodes can range from depressingly realistic to something more akin to urban surrealism, making for a viewing experience unlike anything else. This experimentation is what makes TV such an effective conduit for creativity, because it gives writers the space to operate independently of established conventions and methods of storytelling. A special mention must also go to the medium of animation as its ‘the sky’s the limit approach’ has resulted in art like BoJack Horseman that truly encapsulates what TV can be. Finally, audience interaction with TV creates lasting, emotional connections with artworks, giving television a sense of

intimacy that no other visual artform allows. Now, cinema does have a transformative effect in and of itself but the sense of intimacy television affords us is unrivalled. The weekly release of TV creates a bond with the audience and when a TV show is on the air for years we often see characters grow and change with us.

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TV will always be my first love These aspects also create the ‘watercooler television’ – the idea that everyone is watching the same thing at the same time and can’t wait to dissect it on company time! Indeed, oftentimes the conversation surrounding the show is as important and thrilling as watching the show itself. Imagine watching T he Sopranos’ controversial finale ‘Made in America’ in 2007, or being amongst the first to tell people Breaking Bad is the best show you’ve ever seen (except possibly The Wire )! These bonds created around, and even with, a TV show is what truly makes TV the best medium to tell stories in today. Indeed, having a loyal fanbase can save, or even revive, a show

( Community and Star Wars: The Clone Wars respectively), so having a connection with audiences makes TV a truly special medium because you’re not just offering your vision to the world, but sharing it with them in real-time, creating a sense of unity and community that film doesn’t quite have I love cinema. I love the beauty of the big screen and that precious two hour window where you’re transported to a different world, free from all of life’s worries and responsibilities. But TV will always be my first love.

Its intimacy is unmatched and its experimental capabilities unlimited. The ability to get to know characters, watch them develop, make mistakes, leave shows, die, and, sometimes, even grow up with them, will always have an enduring appeal to me. The power of the small screen lies not in its ability to make us laugh or make us cry, but how it becomes a part of us. It joins our lives and we form a bond with it, an ever-lasting connection that is unique to every single person – even if we’re watching the same show.

Bridgerton is back with a much stronger season 2 Bridgerton is back and better than ever, with Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey taking centre stage, the trashy period drama delivers

Florrie Evans Deputy Film Editor

ridgerton is back, favouring a classic enemies to lovers narrative. Gone are the numerous sex scenes from season one and in their place stand slow burn Austen-esque moments. The near touch of a hand, the clenching of a fist, a few long yearning stares, and many heavy breaths later we are supposedly swept away in the romance of the Viscount

and Kate Sharma. Bridgerton season two explores the next book in Julia Quinns original series, The Viscount Who Loved Me . Starring Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton (or the Viscount) and Simone Ashley as his enemy turned love interest, Katharni Sharma. Variety has confirmed that this new season has already overtaken the show’s last series and has reached 627.11 million hours of viewing since it’s March 25th release.

Apparently we all love a slow burn period drama. The trashy (in a good way) world of Bridgerton is now clearly the place to get your fix. A contrast to classic period dramas, Bridgerton continues to go against the stories of white characters living in a white washed world, and offers a postracist world. Although in season one there was little acknowledgement of race, season two offers a dialogue surrounding Indian culture, as both female love

interests, Edwina and Kate, take joy from their cultural traditions. This is not only in the form of their vibrant costumes, which are jewel toned and often in paisley print (in India known as boteh) but also in the traditions they practice, and the names they call each other. We often hear Edwina calling Kate Didi, meaning older sister in Bengali and, Kate calling Edwina Bon, meaning sister. Actor Shonda Rhimes

“wanted to make sure that if you are watching Bridgerton from another country, you’re not thinking to yourself, “’Well, this has nothing to do with me.’ Well, absolutely it has something to do with you. The humanity in every character should feel universal.” Whilst this is certainly what makes Bridgerton so accessible as a show, one can’t help but wonder whether the erasure of racism creates a danger of denying people’s lived

experiences. The fact that the existence of racism is talked about in season one, yet never fully addressed, calls into question where the show stands, and alters the escapist nature of the TV programme. Bridgerton is not without its flaws, but with vibrant regency gowns, elaborate balls and a modern take on classical music, it is the trashy period drama that we all deserve to indulge in. 3.5/5.

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

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State of the Industry: Long live Top TV April the silver screen

The precedent set by modern TV is not only one that destroys the artistic integrity of the film but perpetuates a cycle of negative watching and passive viewership. Benjy Klauber-Griffiths Film Editor

recently found myself reading an article written by The Mancunion ’s very own Joe McFadden; a supposed ode to television, a manifesto for miniseries. I once believed Mr McFadden to be a competent and insightful writer. It thus shocked, and rather disturbed me to discover that in the process of editing his work, I found myself in a position of necessitated rebuke, forced into writing this rebuttal to the ignorant musings and whimsical analyses of what must be one of the worst ‘takes’ in the history of student journalism. In this response, a cohesive defence of film, I quickly hope to put the minds of like-minded cinephiles at ease. My esteemed colleague characteristically begins his article with his weakest point. The television show, he argues, enables more effective characterisation, taking the 80-hour slog of advertising nightmare Mad Men as his shining example of this. You really would be a mad man to think sheer breadth equates to depth. Whereas the skill and craft of any screenwriter worth their salt is to condense meaningful characterisation within the (roughly) two-hour time frame of a film, TV enables what can only be called sloppy writing. “So what if that character doesn’t hold up”, the TV executives scream at us, “we’ll let it slide, we have 79 more hours to fix it”. Far from effective writing or meaningful development, the nature of the sprawling TV epic simply allows for mistake after mistake and is forgiven through one or two excellent episodes, with Mad Men being a prime offender. Accordingly, I can only assume that Mr McFadden w o u l d

consider a Godfather miniseries the height of character ‘development’. It also appears that McFadden fails to recognise that this debate goes beyond simply whether you prefer TV or film. His secondary point, deeming television to be the ideal site of creative experimentation is at best laughable. Camera wielding artists, radicals and revolutionaries have historically used independent film, not the far more commercial and necessarily linear space of TV, as the medium for expression.

“

Television doesn’t free you; it controls you. Notably absent in the film form is the need to come up with new storylines or drag out content over 6 episodes or seasons. There is a reason independent film and not independent TV constitutes the various film festival circuits. The condensed filmic form allows creatives to express their experimentation, or diverse perspectives within a carefully crafted period. It is in this limitation where audiences are rewarded with the most pertinent expressive or prescient commentaries whilst the limitlessness and saturation of TV depreciates such art. Simply put, the episodic nature of TV dilutes the narrative creativity, politicised messages, and artistic licence by stretching interesting content to the extreme. Because TV remains dominated by the commercialism needing to create long r u n n i n g s e a s o n s , c r e a t i v e s will always be drawn to the stand alone quality of film. Furthermore, his argument for TV cultural phenomena is e q u a l l y

unconvincing. Sure, shows like Euphoria cause a stir. Succession seems to be the current new thing. But the notion of TV facilitating discussions that can’t be had regarding films? Ridiculous. Take 2017’s Get Out , one of the most talked about films of the decade. Highly politicised, experimental, and unique. Even the recent Fresh has inspired TikTok dances and social media trends surrounding its sexy cannibal. Whilst series undeniably have their cult followings and relevance to a cultural consciousness, the idea that this is something exclusive to TV is to ignore the much longer history of iconic films which continue to be talked about to this day. The left out of left field approach to filmmaking and the entirety of that abominable article must now be undertaken. Clearly Mr McFadden’s so-called opinions have failed to understand basic Aristotelian principles of drama, principles I’m sure, dear reader, you yourself are well-versed in. A basic explanation for the sake of this pitiful author is therefore necessary. Aristotle suggested that audiences enter the arena of drama to witness the rise, fall, and potential success of our central characters before leaving, after a set time, refreshed and renewed. The term he used is catharsis and all visual storytelling is dependent on it. Hence where McFadden argues that the elongation of stories, waiting for the next episode, the hour upon hour of narrative extension is television’s success, I must argue, according to the above principles of drama, that it is in fact its tragedy. Narrative completeness, the experience of catharsis through intense but limited viewership is the most effective way in which storytelling, meaningful progressions, rises and falls in tension, can be displayed. A tangible start and end are crucial to this. Within a television culture in which we must choose between arduous, mind numbing ‘binge watching’ or long waits between weekly episodes, the very art of the story is lost because we lose these clear points. And this leads me onto McFadden’s most tragic and destructive misstep; the passive watching encouraged by TV. How often have you found yourself on your phone as an episode of Friends, Peep Show, or Jane the Virgin blares out of the screen? How many times have you had to ‘tune back in’ to a show playing in the background? And, you may say the same happens during

a Netflix film. Perhaps. But the continuity of a film, the sheer momentum of watching a twohour picture will almost always refocus the modern viewer far more effectively than the stopstart character of TV binging. Just as I argue above, film relies on this contained tension, beautiful and valuable because writers can’t take the ‘find out next week’ way out. TV quite literally tells us when we can go on our phones. “Oh, there’s an ad break here, check your Snapchat”. “A gap between episodes, time for a quick swipe on Tinder?” In no other format are viewers so unbelievably passive. Sure, there are the ‘highbrow’ TV shows as mentioned. But even within these, the very format of TV strictly regulates how and when we watch. “Are you still watching?” Here’s fifteen seconds to check Instagram. Television doesn’t free you; it controls you.

“

Benjy Klauber-Griffiths Film Editor

rom long awaited final seasons to a Marvel extravaganza or television royalty, April promises TV audiences some of the most exciting shows of the year. In an unusual sojourn into television, The Mancunion film (and apparently TV) section hopes to set you up with some of the best upcoming dramas, comedies and superhero charmers coming to the small screen this month. Derry Girls: Season 3 The final series of hit Channel 4 show Derry Girls has finally reached our screens after long COVID delays. The show returned with a bang in a first episode that contended with GCSE stress and featured a guest appearance from Irish acting legend Liam Neeson. Audiences are set for one last season of laugh out loud hilarity, endearing relationships, and small-town madness from this Northern Irish coming-of-age bonanza. With two episodes already out, make sure to catch the rest every Tuesday.

arduous, mindnumbing ‘bingewatching’ or long waits between weekly episodes Not to mention the ‘catch up culture’ of modern TV. Distracted last week? On your phone for that crucial moment? Don’t worry, here’s a rundown of everything you missed before each episode. The need to focus and give your attention to every scene? Lost. Unlike film, where the training wheels are off and it’s up to you to concentrate and engage, modern TV seems to think that it needs to hold your hand throughout. Irrespective of preference, it is obvious that this phenomenon promotes, yes you guessed it, a lazy viewer. If nothing else, TV has debased the very value of watching because it encourages this nicely packaged version of what we’ve inevitably already missed and really, have no investment in. All in all, this TV hack is simply deluded. If high art, experimentation, and a meaningful onscreen experience is what you’re looking for, look no further than film. Crucially, modern TV encourages a form of negative watching, no matter the show, predicated on distraction, passivity, and being spoon-fed content. Much like the original line from The Lord of the Rings, “the time of the Orc”, McFadden’s “time of TV” would be violently disastrous. The age of film is more relevant than ever and far, far from over. This has all been written in good jest. Joe McFadden is facing neither redundancy nor work place bullying)

Moon Knight: Season 1 Marvel Studio’s recent entries into TV have been largely hit or miss. But when star Oscar Isaac was cast as the Deadpool-esque anti-hero Moon Knight, fans were excited. And it’s safe to say the show hasn’t disappointed. Airing on Disney+ every Wednesday we’ve already got the first three episodes of this Egyptian themed, mystery action adventure. Ancient deities, crazed cultist megalomaniacs and (possibly) Marvel’s first ‘f-bomb’. Unlike many of the genre’s cornier installations this is a must watch for superhero and action fans alike. Charming, funny and packed full of action.

Better Call Saul: Season 6 The Breaking Bad spinoff success story Better Call Saul culminates in its final season this month. Narrating the rise of sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman, the show continues the mythos surrounding one of the most acclaimed shows of all time. Promising cameos from Walt and Jesse, the final season is sure to deliver. Divided into two parts, the first seven episodes will be released from April 18th. Get ready for what might be the show of the year!

26 Theatre

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ISSUE 12/ 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Beauty & the Beast at the Palace Theatre:

A nostalgic yet inventive retelling of the tale as old as time Roxanne Perron explains how Beauty and the Beast, currently playing at the Palace Theatre, honours the original film whilst offering something new Roxanne Perron Theatre Writer

s a huge fan of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, getting to watch the stage adaptation at the Palace Theater was nothing short of a sensational experience. Watching the Disney magic that happens live on stage throughout the production fulfilled every expectation of the little girl inside of me who used to watch the 1991 classic twice a day and who knows the songs and dialogue of the film by heart. The show is chock-full of memorable moments, from beginning to end. I had chills throughout the performance as my favourite parts of the film were reproduced live before my eyes. One such moment was, in the reprise of ‘Belle’, when Courtney Stapleton runs to the front of the stage to sing “I want adventure in the great wide somewhere”. As I have this quote tattooed on my body, her powerful delivery of this line gave me goosebumps, and I instantly knew that the casting department had chosen a perfect Belle. Another highlight was the entirety of the scene in the library, wherein Belle teaches the Beast how to read. It was such a sweet and tender scene that Stapleton and Shaq Taylor (as Beast) brought to life so

masterfully with their physical acting. This was shortly followed by the ballroom scene, and the moment when Belle appears at the top of a staircase in THE dress is purely unforgettable—the entire audience gasped in unison. The waltz in front of a backdrop of stars then proceeded to move me to tears. Finally, the Beast’s transformation at the end of the show was an incredible feat of pure magic, making me tear up once again. I truly have no idea how they manage to execute the effect, but that moment alone embodies the essence of theatrical magic and is something that everyone should get the chance to see for themselves. The story of Beauty and the Beast is also synonymous to many classic songs, which the musical did justice to in every way. ‘Be our Guest’ was nothing short of spectacular, with dancing dishes, an astounding tapdancing interlude, and a switch to a videostreamed birds-eye view of choreography carried out by the ensemble on the ground. However, despite ‘Be Our Guest’ being the most extravagant of the musical numbers, the others should not be discounted in the slightest. The choreography of ‘Gaston’ mesmerised me—the use of beer mugs as accessories that the actors clinked together with impressive synchronisation and the dancing on tables perfectly encapsulated the essence of the song. The title song was also executed to perfection—with The X Factor winner Sam Bailey (as Mrs. Potts) sounding so very enchantingly like the original Mrs. Potts (Dame Angela Lansbury DBE, who narrated the

prologue of the stage show) from the film in her rendition of the song. The musical also includes some original songs, my favourite of which was ‘Home’, sang by Belle after she takes her father’s place as the Beast’s prisoner. Stapleton’s performance of this number was so very powerful—the unbridled emotion she brings to the song, along with her astounding voice, made it nothing less than memorable. The sets themselves were also incredible, and transported us to a diverse array of locations, from Belle’s village to the many different rooms of Beast’s castle. Everything from the stage pieces and backdrops to the animated segments were simply exquisite and flowed seamlessly into place as we transitioned from one scene to the next. Indeed, we were moved from one location in the story to another with a grace that is a testament to the amazing skill and work of the production team as well as the lighting and sound crew. But of course, the show could not have come to life in the way that it did if it hadn’t been for the sheer talent of the cast. Courtney Stapleton was an amazing presence on stage and had me spellbound by the special energy she brought to Belle, as well as by the beauty and clarity of her voice. Shaq Taylor also had a great voice and, despite a sometimes stiff line-delivery, was able to play the Beast with all the energy required by a role that was very centred on physical demonstrations. Gavin Lee was absolutely amazing as Lumiere, embodying the humour and flamboyance of the character in a way that left the audience laughing after almost every line. I was also impressed by his ability to hold

Lumiere’s exaggerated posture and his arms at 90-degree angles for the entirety of the show! It is no surprise that he is a 2 x Tony and an Olivier nominee – as well as a 2 x Drama Desk Award winner! Nigel Richards was a natural as jumpy and nervous Cogsworth; Sam Bailey was such a sweet Mrs. Potts—magnificent with Rojae Simpson, who was absolutely adorable as Chip; and Emma Caffrey (as Babette) and Samantha Bingley (as Madame) added lovely dynamism to the interactions amongst the Beast’s servants. Tom Senior (and his biceps) brought all the cocky energy one would expect from Gaston to the stage, and, opposite him, Liam Buckland was a very dynamic LeFou—fully committing himself to the awkwardness of the character and ending up on the ground more often than not! Finally, I was so very impressed with the skill of the ensemble, who carried out lively choreographies and impressive costume changes seamlessly throughout the entire show. They brought the scenes to life and watching them was at times as enthralling as watching the main cast. They deserve such a loud shout-out for giving the show a definite ‘je ne sais quoi’. All in all, the musical was one of the most beautiful productions I have ever seen, reflecting the pure talent and passion that went into putting it on. This is definitely a must-see show! Beauty and the Beast plays at Manchester’s Palace Theatre from 31st March until 4th June, before continuing its UK tour until January 2023.

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

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Theatre 27

Review:

Beauty & the Beast Theatre Editor Jay Darcy reviews Beauty and the Beast at the Palace Theatre, starring Gavin Lee, Sam Bailey, Nigel Richards and Martin Ball Jay Darcy Theatre Editor

’ve seen enough Disney musicals to know they pull out all the stops. Budget doesn’t seem to be a thing of concern for Disney Theatrical Productions. Beauty and the Beast is the stage musical adaptation of the Disney musical animated film of the same name, itself based on the classic fairytale. The current UK tour is a brand-new production, having been redesigned by the original creative team who designed the Broadway production – allowing the original creatives to have another go at the musical, this time with modern technology. It’s certainly one of the most elaborate productions I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen – well, everything. In fact, after the show, I did a vox pop, and I was asked why people should listen to my advice to see the show – and that was my response: I’ve seen everything, and this is one of the best musicals I’ve ever seen! Press night was fabulous from the beginning; ATG wanted to make this one

extra special. On arrival, we were given roses, wine, and cupcakes with red frosting (vaguely resembling roses). They truly made us feel like guests. Whilst this might have softened us critics up, there really was no need: the musical speaks for itself. The set design is incredibly impressive, as one always expects from a Disney musical. Bedknobs and Broomsticks – which is also currently touring the UK, and we have reviewed twice – is not quite as elaborate, but part of that musical’s charm is its use of actors to bring on and take off props, instead of relying entirely on machinery. Still, the flying bed and broom are mind-boggingly marvellous. How do they do that?! Similarly, Beauty and the Beast has the Beast “fly” as part of his transformation, shocking audiences. I tried so hard to spot a string, but I could not see one. Moment earlier, when Gaston fell from the castle, the string attached to his body was very visible – Disney clearly wanted to save the magic for the metaphorphosis. From the flying carpet in Aladdin to Elsa’s dress change in Frozen, Disney knows how to create magic onstage. In fact, I bumped into Matt Croke – the second and final actor to play Aladdin in the West End – during the interval. We spoke about the spectacular performance of ‘Be My Guest’ – truly one of the most incredible numbers I have ever seen; I knew it would be remarkable, yet it exceeded my expectations. I told him that I was smiling throughout the entire performance, just like I did during ‘A W h o l e N e w World’

in Aladdin. Matt compared ‘Be My Guest’ to ‘Friend Like Me’ in Aladdin – he said audiences think that surely the interval will be straight after that huge number, but the act continues. Whilst ‘Be My Guest’ had be smiling, the end of the second act had me crying – tears of joy! The Beast and the household staff transforming back into humans was beautiful to see – especially Mrs Potts (Sam Bailey) reuniting with Chip (Rojae Simpson), who had previously asked his mother if he’d ever be a boy again. Their reunion, as humans, was especially poignant. Oh, I’m almost tearing up just writing this. The cast deserve particular praise. I knew of Courtney Stapleton from Six, a gig musical that requires big voices, but she still exceeded my expectations. Her characterisation of Belle was perfect. Shaq Taylor was brillisnt as the Beast. The supporting cast were arguably the best characters. Maurice, Belle’s father, was played to perfection by Martin Ball (Casualty, Chalk, Keeping Mum, Top Hat). Tom Senior was brilliant as the egotistical Gaston – definitely one of the most loveable villains I’ve seen in musical theatre. The staff were all exceptional. Liam Buckland (covering for Louis Stockil) was hilarious as Gaston’s pathetic sidekick, Le Fou. However, it was the household staff that truly stole the show. Gavin Lee (Lumiere) is a 2 x Tony and Oliviet nominee and a 2 x Drama Desk winner, so my expectations were high, and he did not disappoint. He had fantastic chemistry and banter with Nigel Richards (Cogsworth). Samantha Bingley (Madame) had an incredible pair of lungs, and Emma Caffrey (Babette) was fabulously French! Sam Bailey, best-known for winning The X Factor and being in the original cast of Fat Friends, had big boots to fill, for Mrs Potts

was originally voiced by none other than Dame Angela Lansbury DBE (who narrated the prologue in this stage musical). I saw Bailey in Chicago some few years back; she played Matron “Mama” Morton – set to be played by Sheila Ferguson (lead singer of the Three Degrees) when the current tour comes to Manchester, and soon to be played by Gemma Collins (TOWIE). Bailey honoured the original portrayal whilst also making the role her own, and her relationship with Chip was adorable. If I had to find a criticism for this marvellous musical, I’d simply acknowledge that some people might think that it has an overreliance on projections. Projections are used to create set and scenery, to great effect – especially the opening prologue – but its continuous use arguably takes away from the magic. Heck, instead of using a real circular mirror when the dancers lay on the floor in a circle and danced, they projected a recording. But this was so unique and welldone; I absolutely loved it! Furthermore, the use of projections makes this musical unique; like Bedknobs and Broomsticks uses its cast to bring on and take off set, this musical will be remembered for the gorgeous images and video footage projected on to both a screen that occasionally covered the front of the stage and the set itself. A memorable moment came when Maurice is almost eaten alive by wolves in the woods. This musical was near-perfect. From the costumes to the lighting, it’s hard to find anything to fault. Nostalgic, magical, brilliant – and beautiful. Beauty and the Beast plays at Manchester’s Palace Theatre from 31st March until 4th June, before continuing its UK tour until January 2023.

28 Fashion & Beauty

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ISSUE 12/ 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

The SU Fashion Show is here! We give you the low down on all the information you need to know about the charity event hosted by the Students’ Union taking place on April 25th at 7pm in Academy 2 Zahra Mukadam Fashion & Beauty Editor

n collaboration with RAG, the Students’ Union are organising a ticketed charity event involving fashion, music and fun. The event will consist of a swap shop, a live fashion show, music from DJs, bands and Fuse FM and a silent auction. The event will be held on April 25th and is open to both students and nonstudents!

How does the swap shop work? Students will donate clothes prior to the event and will be given a token for each item they donate. This token can then be swapped for an item of clothing at the swap shop which will take place after the event.

Swap shops are a great opportunity to not only find a fun item of clothing, but to shop more sustainably. It is also a super handy way for students on a budget to save their money, get rid of unworn clothes and still enjoy that sweet serotonin of receiving a new clothing item!

The catwalk Some of the clothes donated to the swap show will be used to dress the models who will walk down a catwalk during the event. You can watch models strut their stuff in all kinds of fun, interesting outfits. Get inspiration for your own fashion ideas and unleash your inner fashion critic as you look at all the outfit combinations. If you donate clothes, you might even catch your own clothing item on stage!

Coordinated by the Chair of Thrift Society, Hannah Wellock, Manchester influencers will be donating clothes to the auction, so expect a range of colourful, designer and funky clothes on offer!

The silent auction After the catwalk, bands will perform and people can bid for the items of clothes they have just seen in the silent auction. The highest bidders will then be announced and will be able to go home with the item of clothing they wanted. All the profits of the show go to charity, so bare that in mind during the auction and you could make a really positive impact (and be the winner of a cute item of clothing).

What societies are involved? The event is in association with RAG, so RAG are helping with funding the event. The Thrift Society and Fashion Society are both helping with the organisation of the event with the Thrift Soc providing clothes and the Fashion Soc providing models. FuseFM will be scheduling some student DJ’s to soundtrack the night.

Where does your ticket money go? Money from the Fashion Show will be going to charities supporting the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

Spring style edit based on your favourite UoM Library zone

Zone vibes:

Blue 2 is for the Fallow guys, gals and non-binary pals. A chance to show off your latest Depop outfit and sip on your kale smoothie.

Zone vibes: Zone vibes:

Green is for the room bookers, group projecters and selfish solo studiers. Powered by Pret baguettes and Huel, you need to up your game with a pair of designer trainers and of course a knitted half zip to remind everyone of your London heritage.

Red is for the professionals amongst us. The home of the Law books means you need a smart casual outfit. Iron your best shirt and pair with some relaxed wide leg trousers and clean trainers for an effortlessly cool look. Upgrade your cotton totebag to a leather bag and for an extra touch, match your smart watch strap with the outfit!

Zone vibes:

A sturdy tote bag is needed for the humanities students fighting for a seat in Purple, using their ten tonne bags of books as weapons, add a pair of Doc Martens and nobody will be after your seat when taking a quick cig break. Funky socks and earrings from independent creatives are a must accessory for anyone in this zone.

Zone vibes:

Located in the bunker like setting, Orange is for the crammers and procrastinators who need minimal distactions. Comfy clothes are a must along with your trusty waterbottle and battered tote bag.

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM 28 Food & Drink

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ISSUE 12/ 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM Food & Drink 29

Vegan Food Envy: Herbivorous

A review of Withington’s vegan staple, from Philly Steak loaded fries to Nutella cheesecake! Asha Lawson Haynes Food and Drink Writer

here do I start with Herbivorous? The friendly, welcoming staff? The organic, local produce? The fact their entire menu is vegan? Or the fact it’s only a stone’s throw from Fallowfield? Herbivorous is a relatively new vegan comfort food joint located in the heart of Withington. Damian and Robyn (the two lovely co-owners of Herbivorous) started their vegan comfort food journey 6 years ago, with stalls in London’s Brick Lane and at festivals across the country. Following the success of the original Stretford Market Herbivorous site and more recent move to Hatch in 2019, the Withington spot continues to take inspiration from their “epic road trip” across the USA, in which they first experienced the American vegan food scene. Upon first glance the Herbivorous site in Withington appears to be an explosion of bright, vibrant colours and once inside the festival themed décor makes for an informal, joyous dining experience. The paper menus, hanging plants, wooden tables and chairs and photographs of the brands early days at festivals all contribute to the eclectic blend of styles and materials which in turn create a

warm atmosphere within the venue. To begin, we ordered a Manchester Union Larger and some Philly Steak Loaded Fries (£9.50) to share. These came in the bucket-load, their secret-recipe cheeze sauce oozed through the delicious paprika salted fries, topped with the vegan Philly steak ‘steak’ , that reminded me a bit of good quality donner meat with its thinly cut slices. This dish came with optional added jalapenos (which we asked for on the side due to my inability to hack spice). We then ordered three small plates: the Mac and Cheese (£6), Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls(£7) and finally the Buffalo wings (£7). The chicken balls were intensely crisp on the outside yet had an almost identical texture to chicken on the inside and when paired brightly with the bright red sweet and sour sauce. The Mac and Cheese was again, delicious, with the smokey sweetness of chorizo sausage . Vegan cheese can be difficult to get right, yet Damian and Robyn’s recipe manages it perfectly. Damian told me sometimes people come into the restaurant just to try their top secret cheese sauce, that often they just order a tub of it to take home! By this point, we should have been full , but we were so intrigued by their two bestsellers that we just had to try. We

ordered the house made seitan fried chicken burger (£9) and their Pulp Fiction-inspired Big Kahuna Burger (£10). My only words to describe the later is “Hmm that is a tasty burger ” (Samuel L. Jackson said it first). It consisted of a grilled beef patty marinated in teriyaki sauce topped with melted cheese, grilled pineapple, smokey seitan bacon and sriracha mayo. They really managed to bring to life the fictional Hawaiian burger, with sweet pineapple, salty bacon, and spicy sriracha. The chicken burger is ‘always a sell out’, with its secret batter mix containing 11 herbs and spices. To finish, we shared a Nutella cheesecake which was one of the highlights of the meal. It tasted just like a Ferrero Rocher, with a biscuit bottom followed by a thick layer of dense chocolate goodness then was topped with nuts. The texture was heavy like a ganache and both me and my friend fought for the final bite. The owners aim upon opening was a type of ‘soft activism’. The couple wished to encourage those originally sceptical or scared of vegan food to try comfort dishes which are familiar to them. With this in mind I brought my friend who loves meat and after trying the buffalo wings he was in awe of the capability vegan produce has to be not only better for the environment but tasty as well.

For those interested in making seitan, vegan or not, in how its made Herbivorous also offers Master Classes. Due to years of practice Robyn has developed an expertise in the field and she wish to share her knowledge with others, giving them a foot in the door to develop more recipes. The demand for these classes is always high, with most of them selling out. For £25 you get a master class and a full meal as well as getting to know the owners on a more personal level. Besides the fact the entire menu was vegan, 90% of the products are made in house and are locally sourced. All their fruit and veg comes from “Better Veg” one of the few remaining independent food retailers left in Manchester, and drinks mostly from Manchester brewery’s. I would definitely recommend Herbivorous. If you’re looking for a cheap tasty meal be sure to head down for their lunch menu offer on every Tuesday (for students only, so take your ID) at both sites. It offers a Philly Steak Sandwich or a Chicken Burger with a can of pop for only £5! And keep your eyes peeled – the couple are potentially looking to expand again, and open another site!

Top 8 best Food podcasts 2022 Katie Hourigan Food and Drink Editor

hether it’s a long train journey ahead, an afternoon pottering in the kitchen, or you’re finally planning to tackle the washing up, the following food podcasts are here to keep you company. A peer inside the fridge and mind of these various chefs, growers, home cooks and food writers will allow you think about food in new and thoughtful ways.

1. Lecker Lecker describes itself in simple terms as ‘a documentary podcast about how we eat’. Each episode maintains this documentary feel, zooming in on a particular niche, whether that’s the Isle of Man’s World Bonnag championships, the science of lactofermentation, or life as a female chef with ADHD. Human stories remain at the centre of these carefully crafted ‘audio essays’.

2. Dinner Document

4. Snack Sounds

The backlog of cook and writer Rebecca May Johnson’s Dinner Document feels a bit like being given access to her journal, complete with biro scribbles and hastened shopping lists. A Substack and newsletter read aloud, Dinner Document is complied of a combination of precious scraps – miniessays, recipes, playlists, and allotment updates. Her writing touches on a love of meals on trays and crisp sandwiches, and a hatred of washing up and bad porridge. It’s end of evening or early morning listening, soothing and unrushed.

FuseFM’s Snack Sounds, sees UOM student Gloria Coles explore the intersection of food and music, as creative pursuits enjoyed both on an individual and communal level. Find the soundtrack to match your Withington kebab, opulent Italian dinner party, or bowl of steaming ramen here, or catch Gloria on air on Tuesday afternoons, 1-2pm.

3. The Food Programme (BBC) Listen to BBC Radio Four’s The Food Programme live on Sundays at 12:30 and Mondays at 15:30, or trawl through a backlog of 806 episodes, to hear condensed, informative podcasts ‘investigating every aspect of the food we eat’. Recent highlights include ‘How Spain does beans’, ‘Wassail! Wassail! A celebration of cider, orchards and song’ and ‘The Rise of Ultra-Fast Grocery Delivery’. The annual roundup of the year’s best cookbooks is ripe with nostalgia.

5. Racist sandwich Racist Sandwich foregrounds the political nature of food and its consumption. Stephanie Kuo and Juan Diego Ramirez discuss questions of race, class, gender and geopolitics within the food industry and media ‘with humor, grace, and little pretension’. Episodes worth seeking out include ‘Erasing black barbecue’, ‘I Know a Bodega When I see One’, and ‘The Memory of Za’atar and a Free Palestine’.

6. A Bit of a Mouthful If you can make it past A Bit of a Mouthful’s insufferable jingle, there is a nice chat between MOB residents Michael, Will,

and Sophie to follow. Promising ‘food hacks you’ll actually use’, the episodes move over a baffling range of topics. The episode titled ‘Sounds, Spoons, Crunching and Melting’ covers, kidneys, crisps, Wetherspoons breakfasts, gram flour, and whether poached eggs are actually rubbish – all in under 50 minutes.

7. At the Sauce Voted ‘Best Organic Food Blogger’ in the 2019 BOOM awards, Alex Ryder’s podcast At the Sauce reaches out to sources across the food industry – master bakers, farmers, food photographers, and small producers. They talk pork pies, soft cheese, and burnout in the hospitality industry.

8. Hacking Hunger Produced by World Food Program USA, Hacking Hunger provides in-depth coverage on ‘Hidden, human stories about food on the front lines of hunger’. This is essential listening for understanding the politics of hunger and the global imbalance of food distribution today.

30 Lifestyle

ISSUE 12 / 25th April 2022 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Agony Aunt Angela: Submit your worries, queries or quandries to Aunt Angela

A library full of possibilities I

love a good crush scenario, even if it is just as friends. Usually, our minds overcomplicate crushes to the point of alienating the possibility of actually dating that person. We place them on a pedestal, like we do celebrities, and begin to obsess over them. The drama! The possibilities! I love it. First off, get it out of your head that she’s cooler than you or far too pretty. If you even stand a chance of having a normal/non-awkward conversation with her, you’ve got to believe that you’re on an even playing field. There’s no such thing as ‘out of your league’, that’s just a social construct that caters to pretty privilege. Once you get over your fear and take her off the pedestal, work out what you’re going to say to her. What do you want out of this conversation? Bare minimum: acquaintances. The prob-

lem is that going up to someone and just blurting out “friends?” can be a bit odd in the adult world. It’s a slow natural process that can sometimes lead to other things. A perfect sneaky way of working up to a conversation is sitting near her. If you arrive in the library after her, look around for seats and just so happen to pick a spot next to her. Oops! If she arrives after you, that’s a little more tricky. Maybe pack your things and grab a coffee, sitting near her on your return. Or, if she’s sat near(ish) to a power socket, move to ‘charge’ your laptop. Ok, so now you’re sat near her, and the chances of falling in love and living happily ever after (as friends of course ...) are much higher. The oldest trick in the book is to ask a question, more specifically, asking for help - that’s how you start a conversation. Compliments are

good sometimes, but they’re a dead end. They don’t lead to conversation. The perfect convo formula? Question, compliment, question, conversation. E.g. Do you know where x is? I like your x. Where did you get it from? Etc. Even if you know the answer, questions can be a good ice breaker. Once you’ve had your initial conversation, maybe ask to be study buddies. Make your intentions clear. It means neither your or her time or even hopes are wasted. But, the best bit of advice I have isn’t the usual ‘just be yourself’ spiel. It’s be confident, or at least fake it. Don’t be afraid to be shy or to have periods of quiet, but don’t sell yourself short. If you’ve exchanged smiles, it’s likely she’s open to chatting and friendship too. Good luck! Kisses, Agony Aunt Angela

Submit your worries here

Politics and silence

ender issues aren’t female-led issues, it’s for gender as a whole, otherwise the module would be ‘feminism and politics’. You’re right in thinking the module is there to shine a light on the misogyny that is rampant in politics globally, providing a voice to female students. However, assuming that gender translates to female issues only feeds into the issue of gender and politics. Your making assumptions based on gender, thus stifling any progress towards equality from the get-go. Holding back and letting others who are more affected by gendered political issues (such as female students) is initially the right thing to do. But, from what I can tell it’s providing no real benefit to your learning because you’re not learning anything by holding back. Seminars are set up for discussion, however that usually doesn’t happen. Either the class sits in silence or everyone has the same opinion,

wasting everyone’s time. Shake it up a bit. If you have a different opinion, don’t be afraid to share it. There’s no such thing as an ‘ideal answer’, you’re just giving an answer that the room may want to hear. But what’s the point in that? That’s not your opinion, and you shouldn’t be afraid to explore it. Providing alternative answers opens our minds up to critical viewpoints, widening our political and ideological bubble. We ultimately gain a more accurate understanding of the world around us and why people foster into a certain ideology. Obviously don’t be overtly offensive by using misogynist or homophobic rhetoric, but that’s just a given in seminars. If you worry your opinions will be offensive, state that. Explain that this is what you think and that you’re open to hearing what others have to say. When people shut you down with no reason as to why you may be wrong in your thinking, that is in itself ignorant.

That is essentially what you are fearing by not giving your opinion. Ultimately, your female classmates aren’t using their voices to discuss the issues in front of them. Why shouldn’t you use the space? Again, as a man, you are part of the discussion of gender in politics. Your views and experiences are just as valid so why not use your voice. You’re not taking away from their space if they’re not using it. Frankly, the lecturer would probably be grateful for some discussion in her classes. Speak up, and don’t cater to the views of everyone in the room. By assuming what women want to hear, you’re unknowingly contributing to the bias women face in politics. Furthermore, gender isn’t just about women. It’s about equalising all genders within the political field, and that’s something people easily forget. Kisses, Agony Aunt Angela

Horoscopes 25.04.22 - 09.04.22 Fortnightly Astrological Prophecies from Catherine Shatwell (charlatan in training)

Sagittarius (23.11 - 21.12) If anyone wanted your opinion, they’d ask.

Capricorn (22.12 - 19.01)

Aquarius (20.01 - 19.02)

They say two brains are better than one, but in

I don’t really have anything for Aquarius this

your case, one was probably too many. Airhead.

week, I was just asked to distract you for a while so the FBI agent could catch up with you.

Pisces (20.02 - 20.03)

Aries (21.03 - 20.04)

Taurus (21.04 - 20.05)

You get salmon and cream cheese sandwiches

Just because you’ve got an answer for

Building a personality around your Docs isn’t

in your meal deals.

everything doesn’t mean people need to hear it.

original, it’s derivative.

Gemini (21.05 - 20.06)

Cancer (21.06 - 22.07)

Leo (23.07 - 22.08)

Started work at 9. Piercing mad by 11.Studying psychology

Let’s face it, you’re basically destined to be an

at 16. But then you stopped revising, started travelling.

If ignorance is bliss you must be over the moon.

Sure, you were born somewhere down south. But your

electrician or a plumber.

personality is stolen from Afflecks.

Virgo (23.08 - 22.09)

Libra (23.09 - 22.10)

Scorpio (23.10 - 22.11)

There’s no need to repeat that ‘witty banter’ in https://youtu.be/ZXsQAXx_ao0

the pub again, everyone ignored you the first

Please stop crying. They’re not coming back.

time.

Which Bridgerton Character Are You? I do say… the latest series of Bridgerton has got us all donning our tiaras. Take this quiz to find out which character you should spend a night out on the ton with. Where can we find you at the ball? a) Making steamy eye contact with my latest conquest b) Looking absolutely RAVISIHNG from the edge of the floor c) Drinking wine d) Balls are misogynistic e) Eavesdropping on all the season’s gossip f) Dazzling everyone with my diamond credentials How would you woo someone? a) ‘You are the BAE-ne of my existence’ <3 b) ‘A horse isn’t the only thing I can ride’ c) Poetry d) Annihilate them in conversation e) Pine from afar f) Do nothing, people are always falling in love with me If it’s not too improper, how’s your love life? a) I’m a total rake b) Fantastic! If I could only get out of this corset c) Better than my art d) I’m far too busy changing the world e) Still waiting for a proposal…. f) Vanilla but satisfying Reason for your last breakup? a) I won’t be tied down to one lord/lady/ other b) Family first c) Artistic differences d) They didn’t support my girlboss lifestyle e) Can’t breakup if you’ve never been in a relationship f) Jilted me at the altar :/

Which song would you like to hear the string orchestra cover in the next series? a) Starlight- Dave b) Vroom Vroom- Charli XCX c) mememe- 100 gecs d) Paper Bag- Fiona Apple e) Adore you- Harry Styles f) Touch- Little Mix Your confidants would describe you as… a) Stubborn b) Family-oriented c) Pretentious d) Independent e) Shy f) Optimistic Pick a TV show: a) Succession b) Derry Girls c) The Great Pottery Throwdown d) Killing Eve e) Gossip Girl f) Pride and Prejudice Write your answers here, you’ll forget;

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Mostly As: reformed? A focuses on

You are Anthony Bridgertoncan a rake ever be charming flirt with a reputation as a player. This season what fills you with excitement and challenges you.

Mostly Bs: You are Kate Sharma- with your fierce dedication to your family and a talent for horseback riding, you are a force to be reckoned with. Although your stubbornness is incomparable, your heart is big. Mostly Cs: You are Benedict Bridgerton- an artistic soul, you deviate from the path that was set out for you. You are currently on a journey of self-discovery. Be careful not to become too enrapt in your own brilliance. And you look great in a flowy shirt. Mostly Ds: You are Eloise Bridgerton- truly a feminist icon, no one has more steadfast beliefs than you and everyone must hear about them. Independence is an asset but remember everyone else is still learning too… Mostly Es: You are Penelope Featherington- poor Penelope cannot catch a break. Perhaps if you spent less time gossiping, you could focus on your own happiness. Don’t be too hard on yourself and fear not wallflower, your time is coming! Mostly Fs: You are Edwina Sharma- with your delicate beauty and charming smile you are quite the catch this season. Be careful dear of giving your heart away too easily.

I’m Laura Frances Heitzman, a digital illustrator, designer and mural artist based in Manchester, UK. My signature style as bright, fun loving and carefree. My use of colour, shape and overlapping abstract line art is what gives my illustration style an edge. Every piece is created with love and my main goal is to spread joy and empowerment through my work. If you would like to get in touch I’d love to hear from you! Just send me an email over at hello@laurafrancesheitzman.com.